Missouri
Western State College, Division of Liberal Arts and Sciences
Department
of English, Foreign Languages, and Journalism
English
112
Winter
2005
Cynthia Bartels
Office Hours: 8:30-9:30
and 12:30-2 TR and by appointment
SSC 222N
816-271-5812
Required Texts and supplies:
A Pocket Style Manual—D. Hacker (Bedford) or another
handbook if you already own one
The Presence of Others- 4th ed.- A. Lunsford and
J. Ruszkiewicz
Writing with Sources—B. Spatt ( Bedford/St. Martin’s)
Computer
disks for revising and saving all work.
4 manila
Folders
Thin notebook
with dividers and lots of paper
Reserve
material in library
We will use
our text in class; be sure to bring it daily. Please have all supplies by
the second week of class.
ENG 112 Course Objectives/Requirements
as Adopted by the EFLJ Department:
Students will complete five writing projects in ENG 112
Honors Composition and Rhetoric, an accelerated course which fulfills the
college’s six-hour General Studies composition requirement. At least one of the
ENG 112 writing projects will be a research paper involving library and on-line
research. Final drafts of papers will be word processed, and students will keep
complete portfolios of all writing done in the course. Before any grade appeal
will be processed for a student in ENG 100, 104, 108, or 112, the complete
portfolio of writings will have to be submitted to the Departmental Review
Committee.
SKILL AREAS
I. Communicating
To develop students’ effective use of the
English language and quantitative and other symbolic systems essential to their
success in school and in the world. Students should be able to read and listen
critically and to write and speak with thoughtfulness, clarity, coherence, and
persuasiveness.
A. Analyze and evaluate their own and
others’ speaking and writing.
B. Conceive of writing as a recursive process
that involves many strategies, including generating material, evaluating
sources when used, drafting, revising, and editing.
C. Make formal written and oral presentations
employing correct diction, syntax, usage, grammar, and mechanics.
D. Focus on a purpose (e.g., explaining,
problem solving, argument) and vary approaches to writing and speaking based on
that purpose.
E. Respond to the needs of different
audiences and choose words for appropriateness and effect.
II. Higher-Order Thinking
To develop students’ ability to distinguish
among opinions, facts, and inferences; to identify underlying or implicit
assumptions; to make informed judgments; and to solve problems by applying
evaluative standards.
A. Recognize the problematic elements of
presentations of information and argument.
B. Formulate questions for clarifying
issues and solving problems.
C. Use linguistic, mathematical or other
symbolic approaches to describe problems, identify alternative solutions, and
make reasoned choices among those solutions.
D. Analyze and synthesize information from a
variety of relevant sources and use the results to address complex situations
and problems.
E. Defend conclusions using relevant
evidence and reasoned argument.
F. Reflect on and evaluate their
critical-thinking processes.
III. Managing Information
To develop students’ abilities to locate,
organize, store, retrieve, evaluate, synthesize, and annotate information from
print, electronic, and other sources in preparation for solving problems and
making informed decisions.
Course Specifics
We will study three topics ( in your P0
text) during the course of the semester. Each topic will have specific
writing assignments and will ask you to practice different writing reading and
thinking skills.
Grading
We will complete five projects and a final
portfolio in this class. Each project contains several small assignments that
are just as important as the finished product. You need to be sure you get all
the work done and on time to do well on the projects. In addition you will keep
a reading journal. Grades will come from the following:
Journal: 50
pts.
Four
projects: (identity paper, analysis paper, Annotated bib, Final source based
paper) –50 pts. each
Participation
( includes workshops, small assignments, and feedback sheets)- 50 pts.
Final power
point/Oral presentation (project 5): 50 pts
Portfolio:
300 pts.
Note: Point
values are approximate.
Journal entry
assignments will be given over various readings. Although the entries
have due dates, I will not be collecting the journals each time. As long
as I have not collected the journals, you can make up any missed entries.
However, when I do collect them for review, they will be scored and you can no
longer make up any missed entries.
Students who
consistently complete all work in a timely and quality manner, who read
assignments, and who are prepared for class and participate regularly will earn
the highest grades.
Please Note: No one will pass this class without
completing all writing
assignments, regardless of what the student's point total would indicate.
If students are borderline between grades, other factors such as effort, class
participation, attendance, and attitude will be used to determine the final
grade.
Late Work: Be
sure to bring all work to class, in person, and on time. I cannot be
responsible for work that you do not hand me personally. For each class period
a project is late, I will subtract 10% from your potential grade. A paper more than a week late cannot receive
more than 50% of the points, yet students must write all papers in order to
pass the class. Small assignments, journal entries, or prewriting will not
be accepted late, with the exception of the journal entries as described above.
We have much
to cover in this class, it is basically 2 classes in one, so our time is very important. If something
should happen that prevents you from submitting your paper on time, you must
make arrangements with me before
the paper is due, not afterwards. Otherwise, I cannot offer you the opportunity to get the work
done and not get behind.
Extra Credit: There is no extra credit for this
class.
Attendance and Tardies: Each student is allowed three absences.
Excessive (more than 2) tardies or leaving early will count as an absence. Tardies are when you enter the class after I
have shut the door. For each of these allowed absences you do not use, you will
receive five extra points. However, after you use the allowed three absences, I
will deduct 5 points from your final grade for each absence or its equivalent.
If you accrue more than six absences, you will fail the course. If you must
miss, notify me in advance and be sure to have a buddy whom you can contact to
find out what we did in class. Do not expect me to rehash the class. Also,
please do not ask me if we “did
anything.” This question irritates me.
You should
note, however, that mere attendance does not mean you will pass the course. You
must perform adequately on the tasks required and show initiative in completing
the course requirements.
If I should
be unable to meet class, a secretary, fellow instructor, or a note on the
classroom door will notify you. Be sure to note any assignments due upon my
return.
Plagiarism: Plagiarism is claiming another’s words, writing structure, images, or
ideas as your own. Plagiarism and cheating
of any kind will not be tolerated and may result in your failing the assignment
or the course or being suspended or dismissed from the college. Please
note carefully the statement on plagiarism on the departmental website, found
at http://www2.mwsc.edu/eflj/plagiarism.html .
Classroom behavior: I expect
you to respect everyone in this class. Part of learning to read and write well
is exploring ideas. There will no doubt be people who have ideas different than
yours. One of our goals is to learn to understand and respect different ideas.
Remain open-minded; you may even change your own ideas. Understanding and
developing ideas is a natural outcome of the reading and writing, and therefore
of this class, and thus I consider this an accomplishment and evidence that you
are becoming an educated and mature reader and writer.
I also expect you to behave respectfully in
class. This means: do not interrupt, walk in front of anyone who is talking,
enter the room or a workshop late, or leave your seat or the room while class
is in session unless it is an emergency. It also means that you turn off cell
phones before you enter the classroom, and that they remain off until you have
exited the classroom.
Academic Support: The Center
for Academic Support, located in LRC 213,
offers you assistance with your reading or with papers at any stage of
the game. Contact the Center at 271-4624 or Coral Dawson, the
Writing Director, at 271-4531. I highly encourage you to use this free service
regardless of your abilities.