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 108-05),
spring 2004, in JGM 108 from 9:30 until 10:50 a.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, pop quizzes and in-class themes, 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, 2, and 3 must be submitted to the instructor within three weeks of the paper's original due date, and rewrites of paper 4 are due by the end of the final exam; all rewrites must be accompanied by the graded copy. 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 85% (papers 3 and 4 count as two
papers each), pop-quizzes and in-class themes 5%, 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 April 2 will fail the course, regardless
of the reason for the absences.
Students whose total absences in the course exceed 8 absences after
April 2 will have their final grade averages lowered five percentage points per
absence. 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, except for pop quizzes and in-class
themes, which may not be made up in any case.
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 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 assignment, 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 |
1/ 20 |
We
become acquainted, syllabi distributed and explained (the riot act read)
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22 |
More of the same |
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2 |
27 |
More
of the same |
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29 |
Paper #1 assigned, standard format lecture |
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3 |
2/3 |
Research and
documentation |
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5 |
Research and
documentation |
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4 |
10 |
Research and
documentation |
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12 |
Peer toots |
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5 |
17 |
Paper #1 due, paper
#2 assigned, persuasive appeal lecture |
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19 |
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 |
24 |
Assignment reviewed |
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26 |
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 |
3/2 |
Assignment reviewed |
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4 |
Assignment
reviewed |
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8 |
9 |
Peer toots, last day
rewrites of paper #1 will be accepted |
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11 |
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 |
23 |
Ethical
appeal lecture |
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25 |
Assignment reviewed |
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10 |
30 |
Assignment reviewed |
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4/1 |
Peer toots |
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2 |
Last day for withdrawal without academic assessment. If you are failing the course, I would
advise you to withdraw |
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11 |
6 |
Paper #3 due, paper
#4 assigned, two-scenario appeal lecture |
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8 |
Last day rewrites of
paper #2 will be accepted |
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12 |
13 |
Figures of speech
lecture |
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15 |
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. Summer 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 |
20 |
Exotic
dancers and pizza buffet (actually, we’ll probably just review the
assignment) |
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22 |
Peer toots |
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14 |
27 |
Paper #4 due, last
day rewrites of paper #3 will be accepted |
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29 |
“writer’s tools” lecture |
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15 |
5/4 |
Review
for final exam, portfolio due |
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Reminder: students who do not complete all assigned papers will not pass
the course |
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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: Tuesday, May 11, 2004, from 8:30 to 10:20 a.m.