College of Arts and Sciences
Department of English, Foreign Language, and Journalism
ENG104-10 College Writing and Rhetoric,
ENG104-13 College Writing and Rhetoric,
Dr. Stacia Bensyl, Eder Hall 222 I
Phone
271-5936
email—bensyl@mwsc.edu
Office hours:
Required Text:
Optional Text:
I cannot stress the importance of having a good
handbook. If you already have a
handbook from another class, that is fine.
Please bring your books to class every day.
Course Objectives:
The course objectives for
English 104 are outlined at http://www2.mwsc.edu/eflj/eng104.html#Institutional. I strongly recommend that students
review these course objectives in addition to my going over them the first day
of class.
Paper Topics:
Paper #1: Process Analysis
essay
Paper #2: Comparison/contrast
essay
Paper #3: Cause and Effect Analysis
essay
Paper #4: Argumentative essay
· Your four portfolios are each worth 20% of your
final grade.
NOTE: I will bring portfolios to class once to
hand them back.
If you're not in class to receive your portfolio, you need to come to my
office to pick it up.
Final Exam Period:
· You MUST attend the final exam period to pass
the class. It is college policy
that we meet during the final exam period.
I will hand back your fourth portfolio and give you your final grade at
that time. If you do not attend the
final exam meeting, you will fail the class.
In class writing/portfolio
policy:
You will write something in
class almost every day. I say
almost, because sometimes peer reviews or class discussion will take up all of
our class time. You cannot make up
the in class writings. Each day's
assignment must be dated.
Individual assignments will not be graded; instead, you will be graded on
your portfolio performance as a whole. You will receive instructions for each of
the four papers well in advance of their due dates. All rough drafts must be word-processed. Handwritten rough drafts will be docked
points. On portfolio due dates, I
will collect your completed portfolio.
You will receive an evaluation of the in class work in the portfolio, as
well as an evaluation of the process and final draft of your paper.
Attendance policy:
I don’t take daily
attendance. Quizzes cannot be made
up, so please do not ask to do so. Missed quizzes will count as a zero in my
grade book. Students who arrive
late will not be given the quiz.
Remember, there will be a quiz over each reading assignment.
Student Disability:
Students with disabilities
(impaired hearing, vision, reading disorders, etc.) should notify me in writing
of the disability before the end of the first week of class. In consultation with the Center for
Academic Support, I will work out a course of study for such
students.
Grading policy:
First off, you can't pass this
class without turning in all four of your portfolios and attending the final
exam meeting. The grading scale is
as follows:
100-90% =
A
80-89% = B
70-79% = C
60-69% = D
59-0% =
F
Remember, you must receive a
grade of "C" or above to enroll in English 108 next
semester.
Academic honesty policy:
I abide by all the regulations
outlines in the Missouri Western State University Catalog and Student
Handbook. I will not tolerate
plagiarism or claiming another’s work as your own. Please don’t cheat! If I find evidence of any academic
dishonesty, the student will receive an “F” in the course.
Late paper policy:
You may turn in one late portfolio. Your late portfolio cannot be the final portfolio. The late portfolio must be turned in the
class meeting after its original due date.
Rewrite Policy:
You may re-write papers in
portfolios #1and #2, for a better grade.
Due dates for re-writes will be announced in class when I hand back
papers. The grade you receive for
the re-write will be averaged with the grade you initially received for the
portfolio. I do not require
students to re-write. The process
is optional. I do require you,
however, to take the re-write process seriously. Simply making mechanical changes in the
paper is not re-writing--it's editing.
That should have been done initially.
Re-writes will be handed back to you at some point during the semester,
but I give precedence to current assignments. It is possible that a re-write might not
get back to you until the last week of class.
Class Assignment Schedule:
Please remember that this is a TENTATIVE schedule. We may need to adjust due dates or
assignment dates as the semester progresses. Most of the essays you will be
reading are on this schedule. I
will also be assigning “how to” or instructional readings from the text orally
in class. It’s important that you
note any additional reading assignments.
They are fair game for quizzes. The term "invention" refers to any
writing that we do which is "brainstorming" or "prewriting" for your final
paper, or
any writing which lets you practice techniques and methods of writing. Please come to class having read the
assignment for that day. Be
prepared to take a quiz over the assigned writing and to discuss your ideas in
class. Also, be prepared to write
in class every day.
Reading/Writing Assignments:
Aug. 29
Introduction and class standards
31
assignment TBA
Sep. 2
“How to Mark a Book” page 226
5
Labor Day—no class
7
“How to Say Nothing in 500 Words” page 233
9
“Anatomy of an Urban Legend” page 248
12
invention—Process Analysis essay
14
invention—Process Analysis essay
16
invention—Process Analysis essay
19
Rough draft of Essay #1 due for peer review
21
Portfolio #1 due/Introduction to Comparison/Contrast
essay
23
“Neat People vs. Sloppy People” page 293
26
“Mac or PC: There Is Simply No Comparison” page 299
28
“Crazy Horse and Custer as Young Warriors” page 306
30
“Sex, Lies, and Conversation” page 312
Oct.
3
invention—Comparison/Contrast essay
5
invention—Comparison/Contrast essay
7
invention—Comparison/Contrast essay
10
invention—Comparison/Contrast essay
12
Rough draft of Essay #2 due for peer review
14
no class
17
Portfolio #2 due/Introduction to Cause and Effect Analysis
essay
19
“How Boys Become Men” page 444
21
Bensyl at conference—no
class
24
“Tip Jars and the New Economy” page 450
26
“The Great Kern County Mouse War” page
456
28
“The Real Computer Virus” page 463
31
invention—Cause and Effect Analysis essay
Nov. 2
invention—Cause and Effect Analysis essay
4
invention—Cause and Effect Analysis essay
7
invention—Cause and Effect Analysis essay
9
invention— Cause and Effect Analysis essay
11
Rough draft of essay #3 due for peer review
14
Paper #3 due/Introduction to Argumentative
essay
16
“The Liberal Arts: A Practical View” page 492
18
“The Case for Short Words” page 513
21
“Simplicity” page 666
23
No class—Thanksgiving Break
25
No class—Thanksgiving Break
28
invention—Argumentative essay
30
invention—Argumentative essay
Dec. 2
invention—Argumentative essay
5
invention—Argumentative essay
7
Rough draft of essay #4 due for peer review
9
Portfolio #4 due
FINAL EXAM:
English 104-10 Friday, December 16,
English 104-13 Monday, December 12,