ENGLISH 108: COLLEGE WRITING AND RESEARCH
Fall 2005
Missouri Western State College
School of Liberal Arts and Sciences
Department of English, Foreign Languages, and
Journalism
Section 05: TTH, 9:30-10:50, JGM 108
Instructor: Valorie
Stokes
Office: Eder Hall, 212 E
Office Hours: 1:45-2:45 M; 11:15-12:15 TH, and by
appointment
Phone: 271-4312
E-mail: vstokes@missouriwestern.edu
ENG 108 College Writing and Research. Instruction
in researching and writing; emphasizes practice with writing effective papers
using field and document research
COURSE PHILOSOPHY
English 108 is about continuing your quest to be
critical readers and thoughtful writers. In addition, the course is designed to
help you become careful and critical researchers.
Weidenborner, Caruso and
Parks, Writing Research Papers: A Guide to the Process, 7th
ed. Boston, Bedford-St. Martin’s, 2005.
A three-ring binder
exclusively for English 108 work with sections for class notes, reading
response work, research journaling and reflecting
Folders for Process Work on
the major assignments
A couple of computer disks
Common departmental
requirements can be found online at: http://www.missouriwestern.edu/eflj/eng108.asp
You will complete four research
projects this semester. A student who
does not complete all projects
will not pass the course even if the grades achieved in other activities are
satisfactory.
The project assignments will include:
· Research Project #1: An
Annotated Bibliography
· Research Project #2: The Day
You Were Born: Putting Yourself in Historical Context
· Research Project #3: American Classics: Evaluating a Pop Culture
Icon
· Research Project #4: Research Paper – Persuasive in nature and
very likely focused on a social
Issue
You must use computer word
processing for all your writing for this course.
All assignments must be
submitted in person at the beginning of the class period on the date due.
Assigned readings must be completed before the class meeting when the material
will be covered and discussed.
All writing projects must be
submitted according to the format instructions given or they will not be
accepted.
Assignments that are not
submitted by deadline will not be accepted for grading unless I determine that
extenuating circumstances should allow you to do so. Such considerations will
be a rarity.
Course
Grade:
Points will be awarded for
all projects. At the end of the term, I will divide your points by the number
of possible points and award grades on the basis of the following percentages:
90-99% Course Grade A
80-89% Course Grade B
70-79% Course Grade C
60-69% Course Grade D
Below ^0% Course Grade F
I anticipate the following
number of possible points for the term:
Up to 125 possible points
for in-class discussions/activities and out-of-class reading responses and research
journaling/reflecting. Typically these items will be worth 5-15 points per
activity. No make-ups or late work will be accepted for these activities.
Writing Project #1 – 100
possible points
Writing Project #2 – 200
possible points
Writing Project #3 – 250
possible points
Writing Project #4 – 400
possible points
Final Exam – 150 possible points
Final Exam:
The Final
Exam for this class is scheduled for:
Thursday,
December 15, 8:30-10:20 a.m.
Academic
Honesty:
Why anyone would enroll in a course and then go to the
work of cheating or stealing in the guise of plagiarism is beyond me. If,
however, I determine that such instances have occurred, the first incident will
result in a failing grade, or 0-60% of the possible points on the assignment. The
second incident will result in a ailing grade for the course.
Attendance:
For
you to have a successful experience in this class, your attendance is
mandatory. My expectation is that you will be here on time and ready to
participate for every class meeting. While occasionally “things” come up that
make you run late, anyone not present when I take roll at the beginning of the
class will be marked absent. You will need to see me after class to talk to me
about any extenuating circumstances that might change the absence status. All
students will be allowed one of these post-class conferences to allow for rare
occasions and to eliminate the need for me to conference more than once with
chronic or repeat offenders. If you arrive more than 15 minutes late to class,
however, the absence will stand regardless of the reason for your tardiness.
Although
occasional illnesses or emergencies will cause students to miss class,
minimizing absences can only contribute to your success in this class.
Therefore, you are allowed two absences before your course grade will be
affected. Absences beyond that up to four in the TTH classes and five in MWF
classes will result in deduction on your final grade. More than those allowable
absences will fail you. Students who are in absence trouble by midterm should
withdraw to avoid the F on their transcript.
If
you miss a class session, you are responsible for all material covered and all
assignments given during that absence. Please remember that all out-of-class
assignments are due at the beginning of each class period and no late
assignments will be accepted unless you have prior permission from your
instructor.
Civility and Cooperation:
Missouri Western requires all
students to help us maintain good conditions for teaching and learning. All students will treat their classmates,
teachers, and student assistants with civility and respect, both inside and
outside the classroom. Students who
violate this policy may, among other penalties, be counted absent and asked to
leave. You should review your Missouri
Western student handbook for further information.
Student Disability:
Anyone who has a disability that
prevents the fullest expression of her or his potential to succeed in this
course must notify me in writing as soon as possible so we may discuss course
requirements, options, and accommodations.