Jim Neal—001
Division of Liberal
Arts and Sciences
Department of
English/Foreign Languages/Journalism
Missouri Western State
College
Syllabus
Course: Composition and Reading II (ENG 108-08),
fall 2004, in SSC 210 from 12:30 until 1:50 p.m. TTH for three credit hours at
Missouri Western State College
Instructor: Jim Neal
I have no office hours, but you may meet with me before or after class.
Office and Phone: SSC 222T; 271-4239; my e-mail address is
Neal13@kc.rr.com
Texts: there are no required texts for this class; however, I recommend
that you check out my English II notes at nealz.tripod.com
ENG 108 Goals/Objectives and Means
See
http://www.missouriwestern.edu/eflj/eng108.asp
Basic writing requirements in ENG 108:
Students
will engage in exploratory writing exercises in which they learn how to
*analyze,
*synthesize, and
*evaluate the thinking of others in
order to
*discover,
*develop, and
*test their own points of view.
Students will complete
a minimum of three researched writing projects and a final exam in ENG 108.
Students will keep
complete portfolios of all writing that is done in ENG 108.
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 Department Review Committee.
Objective: The primary objective in Comp II is to
develop a proficiency in proper research and documentation. The secondary objective is to continue to
develop the student's writing skills beyond what was learned in Comp I and to
focus on any lingering areas of deficiency in basic skills. The tertiary objective is to develop a skill
and proficiency in persuasive techniques, with a sensitivity to style and
semantic nuance.
Grading
Formula: All
students are required to submit all work within the assigned specifications and
on time and to come to class prepared.
Attitude, effort, and attendance are a must. Students must complete all assigned papers to pass the course. The students’ grade will be based upon the
scores received on the assigned papers, the final exam, and bonus and penalty
points. The following grading scale
will be used in this class: 0 - 59% =
F, 60 - 69% = D, 70 - 79% = C, 80 - 89% = B, and 90 -100%= A.
The
papers will be graded holistically and receive a letter grade of A for
excellent, B for above average, C for average, D for below average, and F for
unsatisfactory. This grade will then be
translated into a percentile reflecting the grading scale in the previous
paragraph. The percentile grade will be
recorded. The criteria I will use to
arrive at this grade are unity, support, coherence, sentence skills, and following
directions. Students must avoid these
serious errors, any single instance of which has the potential of lowering a
grade one letter: ruptures in paragraph
unity, choppiness, sentence fragments,
fused sentences, verb ruptures (time and number unity), pronoun ruptures (in
unity, ambiguous antecedent, use of improper case), misplaced modifiers, comma
splices, faulty or mixed constructions, and rambling sentences (more than two
independent clauses joined by a repeated conjunction). Students should also avoid these minor
errors: spelling, typing, or
capitalization errors; abbreviations; use of low or improper diction, such as
"you," “just,” “get,” “got,” or "a lot"; omitted or
repeated words; use of the adjective rather than the adverbial case, or vise
versa, such as "secondly," "more importantly," or
"hopefully"; ending sentences with prepositions; split infinitives;
parentheses; use of double prepositions or double negatives; faulty parallelism
or faulty coordination; one-sentence paragraphs; ending a list with a
non-specific term or etc.; or punctuation errors. I do not grade on style; opinion; or topic, unless it falls
outside the perimeters of the assignment.
Assigned papers will be considered late at the end of the class period
on which they are due regardless of things like computer problems. Late papers will be penalized ten percentage
points for each class session they are late, though I will not accept papers
that are more than three weeks late, which means the student will not pass the
course. Penalty points may not be made
up. Failing papers may be rewritten
once, though the revised grade will not exceed 70%; however, if the paper is
very good except for one problem area, I might, at my discretion, allow a
student to correct it and split the difference. Rewrites of papers 1 through 3
must be accompanied by the graded copy and submitted to the instructor within
three weeks of the paper's original due date; rewrites of paper 4 are due by
the end of the final exam. Students who
simply omit a problem indicated on a graded paper will still be charged for the
error on the rewrite. Rewrites that are
not rewritten will be recorded as 20%.
I claim at least a week to grade papers.
At the conclusion of the term, I will
figure a percentage, which will break down as follows: papers 90% (papers 3 and 4 count as two
papers each and the final exam 5%. To
this average I will add up to five percentage points for perfect attendance,
consistent and constructive class participation, effort, and courtesy. I will subtract up to five percentage points
from the averages of those students who have come to class ill-prepared or
displayed rude or inconsiderate behavior such as talking other than when called
upon, eating, drinking, smoking, eye rolling, desk diving, yawning or sighing
loudly and blatantly, winking, blinking, nodding, sitting with feet propped up
on chairs or desks, note passing, or sleeping.
Tobacco chewing is not allowed. Students who engage in any of these
activities will receive two verbal warnings before being required to move to seating
assigned by the instructor and/or meet with the dean. Rudeness toward the instructor or fellow students will not be
tolerated. These points will be awarded
or deducted entirely at the instructor's personal discretion. Cell phones and electronic devices must be
turned off, and children are not allowed in the classroom.
Objectionable
material: This
class may contain frank and open discussions of gender, sexuality, race, and
ethnicity. There is a possibility that
religion, politics, drugs, and alcohol may pop up as well. The class discussions may include words that
some consider profane. Occasionally,
the instructor might, at his personal discretion, crossdress and/or interject
humor as an attempt to enliven the discussion and render the experience more
palatable.
Attendance: Students are required to attend all
classes. Students who miss four consecutive classes or a total of eight classes
before November 5 will fail the course, regardless of the reason for the absences. Students whose total absences in the course
exceed 7 absences after November 5 will have their final grade averages lowered
five percentage points per absence in excess of seven. Students who are experiencing difficulty
with attendance should check with me as soon as possible. Students entering class late or leaving
class early will be considered tardy, and three tardies will count as an
absence. Students missing more than
twenty-five minutes of class will be considered absent. Students absent for any reason will bear the
responsibility for obtaining lecture notes from fellow students. All absences are deemed excused, but that
means that the work missed may be made up.
An excused absence does not exempt the student from doing the work or
from the absence penalty. Students who
sleep or appear to sleep or engage in activities other than those being
conducted by the instructor during class will be considered absent.
Academic
Honesty: Since
honesty in the classroom is required, cheating, plagiarism, or knowingly
furnishing false information to the college constitutes a violation. I will not accept papers which are
substantially similar to those of other students or the sample papers. I will accept only original work.
Portfolios: Students must maintain a portfolio of graded
papers to verify assignments completed or dispute a grade. This must be turned in one week before the
final exam, and it will be returned on the day of the final. Course grades will not be issued until the
portfolio is handed in.
Students with Disabilities: Any student in this course who has a
disability that prevents the fullest expression of abilities should contact me
as soon as possible so that we can discuss class requirements.
Specifications for Papers in ENG 108
I don’t want folders, outlines, or
title pages. All papers must be word-processed,
laser-printed, and stapled in the upper left-hand corner. There must be a one-inch margin on all four
sides of the page. Click off the “widow
and orphan control” to make a consistent one-inch margin at the bottom of the
page. All papers must be
double-spaced. All papers must have the
student's name, the assignment number, and the current date in the upper
left-hand corner. All pages must have a header which contains the student’s
last name and the page number in the upper right-hand corner, one-half inch
from the top of the page. All papers
must have a title, which must be centered from left to right. The first and last words in the title must
be capitalized, as must all the major words.
Articles ("a," "an," and "the"),
coordinating conjunctions ("and," "or," "nor,"
"for," "so," "yet," and "but"), and
prepositions may be presented in low case unless they are the first or last
word. One may play it safe and simply
capitalize the first letter of all the words, but the title must not be presented
in all capital letters. The title must
not be underlined unless it contains a title; placed within quotes unless it is
a quote or contains a quote; or followed by punctuation unless it is a question
or an exclamation. All paragraphs must
be indented one-half inch. One space between words and following a period is
the current MLA style, but two spaces following are acceptable. Left justify your papers. Do not right justify. Use a 12-point Bookman or a 14-point Times New
Roman font. The first paper must contain a minimum of 600
words, and papers 2-4 must contain a minimum of 1,000 words. The word count pertains to the text and
excludes documentation, name, date, assignment number, and title. Short papers will be penalized one
percentage point per word. Penalty
points may not be made up. No paper may contain more than 250 words of
quotes. The instructor will assign the
topics for the papers. Do not fight
your topics. Strive for a smooth, even
flow by avoiding a series of simple declarative statements. Replace forms of the verbs "to be"
and "to have" with more colorful, active verbs whenever
possible. Do not abbreviate. Any paper which has a proof summary in the
conclusion or refutation will be penalized a letter grade. Please remember that this is not a creative
writing class, nor are we involved in a search for truth. Think of these assignments as drills
designed to develop a specific skill area.
The Papers
These are subject to change!
All
papers may be made up or contain
fictional information. I never assume
that what students write actually happened or reflects their personal
opinions. The students may be as
creative or frivolous as they wish, as long as they satisfy all aspects of the
assignment. Feel free to add Richard
Simmons, Elvis's ghost, and/or flying saucers.
These papers can be fun.
All papers will evolve through the
following steps: a group discussion of
the assigned readings and the assignment itself, peer tutorials, and grading by
the instructor. These are the sources
of help: the learning center, the
computer center, the textbook, fellow students, and family and friends. Still, you are the one who receives the
grade, and therefore you are responsible for your paper. Not all advice is good advice.
Also, I will be happy to answer specific questions on papers through, but not
after, the peer tutorial class period, though I WON’T PROOFREAD them. There is plenty of time to ask questions in
class and plenty of time between when the paper is assigned and when it’s due.
Papers
2-4 inclusive must be documented in accordance with current MLA style, and I
want parenthetical cites. Each must contain a minimum of six cites
from a minimum of two works cited entries.
Of these, at least one must be from a book-length source other than a
reference work or a computer-accessed source, and one must be from a periodical
source other than a computer-accessed source.
Introduce all quotes and paraphrases and identify your sources. Some of you may be tempted to respond to
these assignments by turning in papers written for another class, perhaps
written by someone else. This
temptation must be resisted! Don't do
it! It will not work! Papers 2 and 3 must contain and develop with
a minimum of three proof points a thesis which says, in effect, "this is
bad," "this is good," "we should do this," or "we
should not do this" and be organized in the "persuasive appeal"
format presented in class.
Paper #2: The conclusion of this
paper must present a specific object
which will elicit a specific emotional response from the reader. The introduction and/or refutation may
contain the same or similar objects as well.
Paper #3: The conclusion of
this paper must contain one of the “short cuts” presented in the “ethical
appeal” lecture. You may, if you wish,
present one in the introduction and/or refutation as well. In addition, this paper must be accompanied
by a separate piece of paper upon which the argument will be reduced to the
form of a syllogism.
Paper
#4:
This paper must follow the “two-scenario appeal” format presented in lecture.
The text of this paper must also contain a labeled
figure of speech (at least as specific as scheme or trope). The conclusion contains neither emotional
nor ethical appeal, nor does the paper contain a syllogism.
Course Outline for ENG 108
This is subject to change!
A
finished draft, one which could theoretically be handed in, is due on the day
of the peer tutorial.
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Weeks
1-4: "The Honeymoon":
Everyone likes everyone else; school is new, fun, and interesting.
Everyone should try it. We’re lucky
to be here. |
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Week1 |
8/ 31 |
We become acquainted, syllabi distributed and explained
(the riot act read)
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9/2 |
More of the same |
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2 |
7 |
More
of the same |
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9 |
Paper #1 assigned, standard format lecture |
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3 |
14 |
Research and documentation |
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16 |
Research and documentation |
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4 |
21 |
Research and documentation |
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23 |
Peer toots |
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5 |
28 |
Paper #1 due, paper #2 assigned, persuasive
appeal lecture |
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30 |
Lecture continued |
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Week 6: "The Days of Rage": You’ve just received your first paper
back. You hate me. You say bad things to and about me. You glare at me and mutter in class. I
don’t seem to realize that you may not be as fascinated by this boring,
stupid subject as I am. I don’t realize
that you have other classes and other interests and that you have to work to
pay your bills. You fabricate a Voodoo fetish doll in my likeness and stick
pins into it while burning a black candle and chanting a litany of all the
terrible things you hope will happen to me, most of which already have. |
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6 |
10/5 |
Assignment reviewed |
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7 |
Emotional appeal lecture |
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Weeks 7 and 8: “The Doldrums”: You lapse into a mute apathy. You no longer hate me, and we’re minimally friends again, though not as we were during “The Honeymoon.” |
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7 |
12 |
Assignment reviewed |
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14 |
Assignment
reviewed |
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8 |
19 |
Peer toots, last day rewrites of paper #1 will
be accepted |
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21 |
Paper #2 due, paper #3 assigned, logical
appeal lecture |
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Weeks
9-12: "The Black Hole": You
hate school. You’re sick and tired of
the teachers, the assignments, going to class, studying—the whole thing. Your relationships and health are
suffering. You’ve lost your sense of
humor. You’re behind on your bills,
and your car needs work, but you can’t afford to have it fixed. The attendance policy is catching up with
some of your fellow students, and they are dropping like flies. Some of your classmates have appealed my
grading criteria and attendance
policies but have lost, and now they’re considering hiring a lawyer. You would rather fail—let’s be honest,
you’d rather die—than have to write another paper or sit through another
boring lecture. That job at McDonalds
doesn’t sound so bad any more, and in some moments it is downright
appealing. All is darkness. No end is in sight. You’ve gone into the “ultraglide”
mode. The clutch is in, and you’re
coasting. This will basically
continue until the end of the term. |
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9 |
26 |
Ethical
appeal lecture |
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28 |
Assignment reviewed |
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10 |
11/2 |
Assignment reviewed |
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4 |
Peer toots |
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5 (no
class) |
Last
day for withdrawal without academic assessment. If you are failing the course, I would advise you to withdraw |
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11 |
11/ 9 |
Paper #3 due, paper #4 assigned, two-scenario
appeal lecture |
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11 |
Last day rewrites of paper #2 will be accepted |
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12 |
16 |
Figures of speech lecture |
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18 |
Assignment
reviewed |
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Weeks
13-16: "There’s Light at the End of the Tunnel!!": All those people who were complaining are
gone. Christmas vacation is just
around the corner! Finals are only a
couple weeks away, and I’ll be done!
Can I make it? Are you kidding
me? Are bears Buddhists? Heck yes I can make it! |
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13 |
23 |
Exotic
dancers and pizza buffet (actually, we’ll probably just review the
assignment) |
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25 |
Thanksgiving holiday |
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14 |
30 |
Peer toots |
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12/2 |
Paper #4 due, “writer’s tools” lecture |
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15 |
7 |
last
day rewrites of paper #3 will be accepted |
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Reminder: students who do not complete all assigned papers will not pass
the course |
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9 |
Review
for final exam, portfolio due |
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Final
Week: Give thanks! Rejoice!
Praise your God, Allah, Jehovah, Buddha, Confucius, Baal, Tophet, Emanuel Kant, and/or whom/whatever. It’s over! It’s Over!! IT’S
OVER!!!!! |
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Final Exam: Thursday, December 16, 2004, from 11:30 a.m. to 1:20 p.m.