Missouri Western State College, Division of Liberal Arts and Sciences

Department of English, Foreign Languages, and Journalism

Fall 2004

This class has a very strict attendance policy in Writer’s Workshops as well as in class. If you miss seven class periods or four Writer’s Workshops, you will receive an F in the class. Ordinarily, there are no exceptions and no "makeups" for this attendance requirement. If you know of any circumstances likely to make this policy difficult for you this semester, you may wish to consult with your advisor to review your options. If you miss a class session, you always remain responsible for all information distributed, material covered, and assignments given during your absence. In addition, arriving for a class session without the required materials (textbook, draft, homework, etc.) will result in an absence for that class. Also, I will deduct points for excessive tardiness, so please be on time.

Missouri Western requires all students to help us maintain good conditions for teaching and learning. All students will treat their classmates, teachers, and student assistants with civility and respect, both inside and outside the classroom. Students who violate this policy may, among other penalties, be counted absent and asked to leave. If I see you sleeping in class, I will count you absent. You should review your Missouri Western student handbook for further information.

• Introduction to College Writing. Boston: McGraw-Hill, 2005.
• English 100 Writer’s Workshops. Fall 2004 ed.
• cheap, simple folders for turning in portfolios
• extra copies of your writing for group work as requested

Detailed course objectives are available on the web site for English 100:

In general you should improve your abilities in the following categories:

• writing for different audiences and purposes
• active reading and critical thinking
• using writing processes effectively to produce valuable results
• using written conventions more accurately

Your grade will be determined on the basis of your progress as a writer, the writings you submit, and your class participation over the course of the semester. The components of your grade in the course are:

Writing. You will complete four major writing tasks, each of which will be submitted along with a mini-portfolio of related material. A student who does not turn in an adequate version of all four tasks will not pass the course, regardless of other points earned. Since all of these grades are based on portfolios, you need to keep everything that you produce as part of this class for the entire semester in order to earn the best possible grade. No late work will be accepted for this class without prior approval or substantial reason (i.e., a documented emergency) and always at my discretion.

Writer’s Workshop. Throughout the course of the semester, you will attend the weekly small group Writer’s Workshops (listed as "labs" in the class schedule). Some of your Writer’s Workshop materials may be used in class, and some of your class papers will be critiqued and proofread in Writer’s Workshops. I will consider your Writer's Workshop participation as part of your class participation grade.

Quizzes and Homework. You will be given announced and unannounced quizzes to assess your attention to reading assignments. These, like all daily writings, may not be made up for credit. I will assign homework at various intervals; if you do not have the assigned materials for the designated class sessions, the grade will be zero.

The four main tasks and their portfolios will be evaluated according to the criteria discussed in the assignments.

Any student in this course who has a disability that prevents the fullest expressions of abilities should contact Missouri Western's special needs coordinator, Lois Fox, for possible certification of special needs and expert recommendations for assistance. You should also contact me personally as soon as possible so that we can discuss class requirements.

You will receive a grade of F for any paper that shows evidence of cheating and/or plagiarism. You always have the initial burden of demonstrating that a paper showing evidence of cheating or plagiarism is in fact your own original work. You should keep thorough evidence of your writing processes for all papers so that you can meet this burden of proof. Stronger evidence proving plagiarism may lead to further penalties. Please note carefully the statement on plagiarism on the departmental website, found at http://www2.mwsc.edu/eflj/plagiarism.html .

Whenever you are asked to bring anything, you should have with you a version that you would be willing to have marked up or handed in for review. Make an extra copy if you want a clean version for yourself.

Whenever you are asked to read something, the assignment is to be read before the start of class on that date. All reading assignments are in Introduction to College Writing, noted either by chapters (for example, "Ch. 11"), pages (for example, "pp. 405-20"), or titles. At times you will also need to do the reading before completing other tasks required by the start of class, so you should normally finish your reading well before the start of class. Remember, I will add additional homework to this schedule; quizzes may be announced or unannounced and cannot be made up!

Note: This textbook contains two sections separately paginated; therefore, I will designate which section by a I or a II before the given assignment.

8/30 Introductions. We will review class requirements and the standards and objectives.

9/1 Read II: 1-19. We will get started on the Task One assignment.

9/3 Read II: 23-32. We will explore possible Task 1 topics and strategies.

9/8 Continuation

9/10 Topics due for Task One.

9/13 Read I: 1-11. Bring adequate prewriting for the Task 1 paper.

9/15 Read I: 72-77

9/17 Bring a copy of Task One drafts for my review.

9/20 Problem solving session for Task One drafts

9/22 Bring full Task One drafts (at least 2 pages) for peer review session.

9/24 Read II: 35-38, 89. Bring full Task One drafts (at least 2 pages) for further revision.

9/27 Task One paper and portfolio due. We will get started on Task Two.

9/29 Read I: 170-174, 182-186, 176-178. We will explore possible Task 2 topics and strategies.

10/1 Read II: 121-125, 135-139, 140-143. Bring Task Two prewriting

10/4 Bring Task Two drafts (at least 3 pages) for workshop.

10/6 Bring a copy of your Task Two drafts (at least 3 pages) for teacher review.

10/11 Problem solving session for Task Two drafts

10/13 Bring Task Two drafts (at least 3 pages) for peer review session. Begin conferences.

10/15 Conferences

10/18 Conferences

10/22 Read II: 126-128, 144-146, and 154-155.

10/25 Read I: 141-143, 148-153,

10/27 Read I: 158-165, 191-198.

10/29 Introduce summary concept, review of format and structure

11/1 Bring reading summaries for peer review session and teacher review.

11/3 Read II: 148-149, 171-174. We will review documentation of sources.

11/5 Bring a draft of Task Three (at least 3 pages) for tone and voice work.

11/8 Bring a draft of Task Three (at least 3 pages) for sentence style work.

11/10 Bring a draft of Task Three (at least 3 pages) for word choice work.

11/12 Bring Task Three drafts (at least 3 pages) for peer review session.

11/15 Problem solving session for Task Three drafts.

11/17 TBA

11/19 Task Three paper and portfolio due. We will get started on Task Four.

11/22 TBA

11/29 TBA

12/1 TBA

12/3 TBA

12/6 Bring a draft of Task Four (at least three pages) for peer review session

12/8 Bring a draft of Task Four (at least three pages) for teacher review

12/10 Task Four paper and portfolio due.