English 108: College Writing and Research

Fall 2004

Teacher: Dr. Cynthia Jenéy

Office: S/SC 222-K

Phone: 271-4447

Office Hours: M-W 1:30-3:30; Tues. 2:00-4:00

E-mail: jeney@missouriwestern.edu

WebBoard Online Forum: http://miranda.cailab.mwsc.edu:8080/~english10804

Required Text:

Spatt, Brenda. Writing from Sources Sixth Edition.

Make sure you have read assigned sections of the textbook before coming to class on the day readings are listed. Come to class prepared for quizzes and discussion based on the assigned reading.

Other Course Materials:

A stapler. Yes. Get your own. Bring it with you. You’ll need it.

A steady working MWSC email account. You can set this up through the MWSC web site (http://www.missouriwestern.edu) or contact computing services to get your email account information.
Several 3.5” floppy disks (PC-formatted), or a zip disk (100Mb), or better yet, both. Each one MUST be labeled with your name, “English 108,” and contact information (this increases the chance that it will be returned, should you leave it in a classroom computer)

Pocket folder for handouts; spiral notebook for notes, etc.
Acco Binder for term paper.

Recommended:

A good desk dictionary such as Webster’s New World College Dictionary.

The Official Course Description:

ENG 108 students will complete three formal research based projects in addition to other graded and ungraded work. In these assignments, students will learn how to analyze, synthesize, and evaluate the thinking of others in order to discover, develop, and test their own points of view. Final drafts of all formal writing assignments must be word processed. All students are expected to be prepared for class and participate in class discussions related to reading and writing assignments. In addition, students will keep complete portfolios of all their writings.

You should keep all assignments you have completed for this class. Before any grade appeal will be processed for a student in ENG 100, 104, or 108, the complete portfolio of writings will have to be submitted to the Departmental Review Committee. In order for an ENG 104 student to be admitted into ENG 108, he or she must earn at least a C in ENG 104.

For course goals & objectives, see the EFLJ Department website http://www.missouriwestern.edu/eflj/eng108.asp

This Syllabus: Read this syllabus very carefully, and refer to it often. All information presented here is regarded as part of your own knowledge for the course. All answers to your questions about the class will be based on an assumption that you understand the syllabus and seek further clarification. The teacher reserves the right to alter this syllabus and to make announced changes as need arises during the course of the semester.

Class meetings: Class meetings are conducted under the assumption that students are well-versed in the conventions of classrooms and academic environments. Come to class prepared, and plan to participate and remain engaged with the materials for the entire class period. Turn off all cell phones and pagers. In the unlikely and unfortunate event that you find yourself unprepared, come anyway – absence only compounds the problem. This is a writing- and participation-intensive course; good academic habits should produce satisfactory results.

Due Dates: Dates for handing in all required assignments are listed in the course schedule attached. There is no room in the semester calendar for late papers. Late papers are impossible due to the size of the class and the cumulative nature of assignments. There is no provision for “make-up” of missed assignments or quizzes. An assignment not received on its due date constitutes a failure to meet one of the minimum requirements of the course. Such a failure in turn will mean failure of the course. Make a note of all due dates now, and plan accordingly.

Attendance: If you miss class, consult your course schedule for assignments and readings. Contact a classmate for notes, and/or post a “Help!” message on the class WebBoard thread provided for such an emergency. A student with more than 6 absences (MWF) will automatically receive a failing grade for the course (this is the equivalent of missing more than two weeks of class during a regular semester). It is your responsibility to keep track of your own attendance in the class. Do not bring doctor's excuses or obituaries; absence is simply defined as lack of your presence. If you miss class it is your responsibility to contact a classmate (and of course refer to this syllabus) regarding announcements, assignments, changes, class notes, and additional assigned readings or writing.

Note: consult with me in advance of known legitimate conflicts or hardships. However, I cannot guarantee too much leeway—time waits for no human, and English 108 is stressed for time. Serious efforts to attend, and to complete the work for this class will be given fair consideration, especially in cases of earnest dedication and hard work. Note: weddings and vacation trips do not constitute conflicts, hardships, or emergencies. Incompletes are not an option at this time.

Contacting Dr. Jenéy: Office hours are established for the specific purpose of helping students who have questions concerning the content and assignments of the course or who may wish to discuss the materials further. Hours are posted at the beginning of this syllabus (and on my office door). Polite phone or written messages requesting further help with class assignments are considered a priority and are answered within 48 hours.

Email: Do not abuse the privilege of electronic communication. Your professors have limited time in the work day for composing and sending numerous messages of any length or detail. Do not send email concerning personal illnesses, absences or missed assignments. All nastygrams (rude or abusive messages) are saved and forwarded to the dean of students. Emails may or may not receive a response, since the campus webmail systems are prone to shut-downs, broken routers, DOS attacks, computer viruses and other technological failures. All email messages must identify the student, the course number and section number.

Assignments: Requirements for the course are four essays, a midterm, regular (approx.1/week) posts to the electronic forum, and a final exam. The final exam will be a literacy narrative based upon the work you have done, and the progress you have made as a writer throughout this semester. Early in the semester, I will give fairly specific e-forum assignments, but later in the semester, you will have more freedom to choose your own topics. Grades will be weighted as follows:

10% Summary Paper (required)

10% Paraphrase Paper (required)

10% Synthesis Paper (required)

20% Annotated Anthology (required)

20% Discovery Paper (required)

20% Position Paper (required)

10% WebBoard posts, Textbook Assignments & Exercises, In-Class Participation, Etc.

100% Total

A note about the writing in this course: although we will all encourage each other to be open and to explore ideas, experiences, thoughts, emotions, and beliefs, essay assignments and the electronic forum posts shall be considered public texts. Be mature. Be courteous. Be excellent.

Legal stuff: This course has a strict policy against writing about any un-prosecuted crime or suspected illegal activity which you have witnessed, or in which you have been involved. When in doubt, I will always err on the side of safety.

Electronic Forum: Depending upon the available technologies, students in English 108 may be required to post regularly to the class electronic forum. Written work posted to the forum will sometimes be responses to exercises in our textbook, sometimes summaries of reading material, and at other times analytical questions, commentaries, and working drafts of formal essays. The e-forum posts will be based initially upon specific assigned prompts, possibly becoming more open-ended over time, drawing from the reading and writing assignments in the class. Since internet technologies are often subject to snafu’s, crashes, viruses, and glitches, you should save a printed copy of every post you make, as well as backing up your writing on floppy disks.

You must use your MWSC email account for this forum. Do not shift around with Yahoo and Hotmail account subscriptions, as this will confuse the moderator, and possibly cause her to delete your membership. As moderator, I will do my best to insure that you do not receive advertising or other unwanted messages in your account. Expect the usual glitches and snafu’s when first getting subscribed to the electronic discussion group. I tend to use different technologies as time goes by, and as internet services evolve. I will try to make it as painless and easy as possible for you, but there is a certain amount of meticulous attention required at the outset, in order to get the forum up and running efficiently for us all.

Academic Honesty Policy:

You will receive a grade of F for any paper that shows evidence of cheating and/or plagiarism. You have the burden of proving that a paper showing evidence of cheating or plagiarism has in fact been written by you. You should keep thorough evidence of your writing processes for all papers so that you can meet this burden of proof. Any time another writer’s words, ideas, or information appear in your paper they must be properly punctuated and cited. Evidence proving plagiarism may lead to further penalties. Please note carefully the statement on plagiarism on the departmental website, found at http://www.missouriwestern.edu/EFLJ/plagiarism.asp.

Paper Format:

Formal Assignments should be typed (word-processed), double-spaced, with 1” margins all around. The preferred typeface is Times New Roman (or a similar font), and the preferred size is 12 point. Type your name and the date in the upper right-hand corner. In the upper-left hand corner type “Jeney” and “English 108-16.”

Text Box: Jeney
English 108-16 Text Box: Your Full Name
Date Submitted Text Box: As you can see, there is one space above and below the title, which

is centered on the page. Each new paragraph is indented. Your text-

book includes many examples of formal papers written in both APA

and MLA format.

Tentative Schedule

M 08/30	Introduction; Syllabus; Course Policies
W 09/01	Handout & Assignment.
F 09/03	Reading: Writing From Sources (WS) pp. 3-38
M 09/06	LABOR DAY HOLIDAY
W 09/08	Recitation
F 09/10	Intro. Summary; Summary Assignment (WS pp. 54-58).
M 09/13	Reading: WS pp. 38-58; Summary Exercise;
W 09/15	Intro. Paraphrase;
F 09/17	Discuss term paper topics.
M 09/20	Summary Paper Due Reading WS 65-116; A.1-8 pp. 76-77 Due. Assign Paraphrase;
W 09/22	Quotation.
F 09/24	Reading: Chapter 4 WS 168-226; Exercise 11 Due—list all sources mentioned in the text (WS 111-115)
M 09/27	Paraphrase Draft posted to WebBoard (bring printed copy to class); Paraphrase Workshop
W 09/29	Assign Synthesis – “Assignment 10” WS 207-222 (plus possible additional sources provided by professor).
F 10/01	Reading: WS Chapter 5 231-270
M 10/04	Paraphrase Paper Due; Synthesis Workshop
W 10/06	Continue Synthesis Workshop
F 10/08	MID-TERM BREAK
M 10/11	Synthesis
W 10/13	Assign Discovery Paper & Prospectus
F 10/15	Prospectus Workshop; Topic Development; Anthology development
M 10/18	Synthesis Paper Due; Prospectus Workshop; Topic Development; Anthology development (cont.)
W 10/20	Reading: WS Chapter 6; Topic/prospectus Development; Anthology development (cont.)
F 10/22	Proposal/Prospectus Development; Conference sign-up. WRITE DOWN YOUR CONFERENCE APPOINTMENT TIME
M 10/25	MEET IN LIBRARY.
W 10/27	Reading: WS Chapter 7; Writing & Citing; Anthology/Bibliography Workshop (cont.)
F 10/29	Prospectus Due: Reading: WS Chapter 7; Writing & Citing; Anthology/ Bibliography Workshop (cont.)
M 11/01	Conferences—Mandatory; no class meeting.
W 11/03	Conferences—Mandatory; no class meeting.
F 11/05	Conferences—Mandatory; no class meeting.
M 11/08	Reading: WS Chapter 8—Acknowledging Sources;
W 11/10	Anthology Workshop (cont); Assign Position Paper
F 11/12	WS Chapters 7&8; Persuasion; Position Paper.
M 11/15	WS Chapters 7&8; Persuasion; Position Paper.
W 11/17	Anthology Checklist Workshop
F 11/19	Anthology Checklist Workshop
M 11/22	Working Draft Due: Discovery Paper; Discovery Paper Workshop
W-F 11/24-26	THANKSGIVING BREAK
M 11/29	DISCOVERY PAPER & ANTHOLOGY DUE; WS Chapters 7&8; Persuasion; Position Paper.
W 12/01	WS Chapters 7&8; Persuasion; Position Paper.
F 12/03	WS Chapters 7&8; Persuasion; Position Paper.
M 12/06	Project Workshop: Anthology, Discovery (possible revisions), Position Paper
W 12/08	Open
F 12/10	Open
Sat. 12/11 – Fri. 12/17	FINAL EXAMS: TERM PROJECT DUE: Discovery Paper (Revised, if applicable), Position Paper, Anthology of Sources.