Missouri Western State College, Division of
Liberal Arts and Sciences
Department of English, Foreign Languages,
and Journalism
English 108
Fall 2004
Cynthia Bartels
Office Hours:
10-10:45 MWF and by appointment
SSC 222N
816-271-5812
Required
Texts:
A Pocket
Style ManualÑD.
Hacker (Bedford) or another handbook if you already own one
Writing
with SourcesÑB.
Spatt ( Bedford/St. MartinÕs)
Computer
disks for revising and saving all work.
Folders,
thin notebook, and dividers
We will
use the Spatt text in class; be sure to bring it daily.
Course
ObjectivesÑupon completion of ENG 108, you should understand the following:
A more
detailed description of the course goals/objectives is available at http://www.missouriwestern.edu/eflj/eng108.asp.
Course
Specifics
Grading
We will complete three projects in this
class. Each of the first two projects contains several small assignments that
are just as important as the finished product. You need to be sure you get all the
work done and on time to do well on the projects. In addition, the quality of
your work, the percentage of the work that you complete, and your efforts at
participation will determine your final grade.
Grades
will come from the following. Point values are approximate.
Journal
writing: 30-40 pts.
Project
one: short writing assignments; 30-40 pts.
Political
Analysis paper: 100 pts.
Project
two: Annotated bib: 30 pts
proposal :
30 pts.
Final source based paper: 150 pts.
Oral
presentation: 30 pts.
Final:
50 pts
Please
Note: No one
will pass this class without completing all writing assignments, regardless
of what the student's point total would indicate. If students are
borderline between grades, other factors such as effort, class participation,
attendance, and attitude will be used to determine the final grade.
Late
Work: Be sure to bring all work to class, in
person, and on time. I cannot be responsible for work that you do not hand me
personally. For each class period an essay is late, I will subtract 10% from
your potential grade. A paper more
than a week late cannot receive more than 50% of the points, yet students must
write all papers in order to pass the class. Small assignments, journal
entries, or prewriting will not be
accepted late. If something should happen that
prevents you from submitting your paper on time, you must make arrangements
with me before the paper is due,
not afterwards.
Journal
entry assignments will be given over various readings. Although the
entries have due dates, I will not be collecting the journals each time.
As long as I have not collected the journals, you can make up any missed
entries. However, when I do collect them for review, they will be scored
and you can no longer make up any missed entries.
Extra
Credit: There
is no extra credit for this class.
Attendance and
Tardies: Each student is
allowed three absences. Excessive (more than 2) tardies or leaving early will
count as an absence. For each of these allowed absences you do not use, you
will receive five extra points. However, after you use the allowed three
absences, I will deduct 5 points from your final grade for each absence or its
equivalent. If you accrue more than six absences, you will fail the course. If you
must miss, notify me in advance and be sure to have a buddy whom you can
contact to find out what we did in class. Do not expect me to rehash the class.
Also, please do not ask me if we
Òdid anything.Ó This question irritates me.
You
should note, however, that mere attendance does not mean you will pass the
course. You must perform adequately on the tasks required and show initiative
in completing the course requirements.
If I
should be unable to meet class, a secretary, fellow instructor, or a note on
the classroom door will notify you. Be sure to note any assignments due upon my
return.
Plagiarism:
Plagiarism is claiming
anotherÕs words, writing structure, images, or ideas as your own. Plagiarism and cheating of any kind
will not be tolerated and may result in your failing the assignment or the
course or being suspended or dismissed from the college. Please note carefully
the statement on plagiarism on the departmental website, found at
http://www2.mwsc.edu/eflj/plagiarism.html .
Classroom behavior:
I expect you to respect everyone in this class. Part of learning to read
and write well is exploring ideas. There will no doubt be people who have ideas
different than yours. One of our goals is to learn to understand and respect
different ideas. Remain open-minded; you may even change your own ideas.
Understanding and developing ideas is a natural outcome of the reading and
writing, and therefore of this class, and thus I consider these an
accomplishment and evidence that you are becoming an educated and mature reader
and writer.
I also expect you to behave respectfully
in class. This means: do not interrupt, walk in front of anyone who is talking,
enter the room or a workshop late, or leave your seat or the room while class
is in session unless it is an emergency. It also means that you turn off cell
phones before you enter the classroom, and that they remain off until you have
exited the classroom.
Academic
Support: The Center for Academic Support, located in
LRC 213, offers you assistance with
your reading or with papers at any stage of the game. Contact the
Center at 271-4624 or Coral Dawson, the Writing Director, at 271-4531. I highly
encourage you to use this free service regardless of your abilities.