College Writing and Research

ENG 108 College Writing and Research
Department of English, Foreign Languages and Journalism
MWSC, Division of Liberal Arts & Sciences
Spring 2006

ENG 108-10 1:00MWF 106 Murphy
ENG 108-11 2:00 MWF 106 Murphy

Professor: Dr. Kaye Adkins
Office: 222J Eder (SS/C)
Office hours: 9:00-10:45 MWF and by appointment
Email (my preferred method of communication): kadkins@missouriwestern.edu; if you email me about class, please include "Eng 108" in the subject heading

Schedule of Assignments

Objectives: The course objectives are outlined on the EFLJ Department web page, <http://www.missouriwestern.edu/eflj/eng108.asp>. Please become familiar with these objectives.

Required Textbooks and materials:
Hacker, Rules for Writers
Spatt, Writing from Sources
Research notebook (9½"x6" 3-ring binder with four dividers)
A good college dictionary

Resources:
Because you will continue writing (for both personal and professional reasons), it is a good idea to build a library of resources for writing. Next time someone asks you what you'd like for your birthday, you can tell them you'd like one of these books:

Glenn, Word Pocket Guide. One of the excellent series of software guides from O'Reilly, this book will explain the basic features of Microsoft Word. It is useful for writing papers, letters, and reports. (In other words, buy it now!)
Lanham, Revising Prose. Lanham has several books on creating clear, readable writing, but this one is a guide for all kinds of writing.
Alred, Oliu, and Brusaw. The Business Writer's Handbook. No matter what career you are entering, you will probably need to write memos, letters, professional emails, and reports. This book is an indispensable guide. Consider buying it when you start writing letters to apply for scholarships, internships, or jobs.

A couple of good resources on line-You can find just about any used book (even rare ones) at www.alibris.com. While you are a student, you can use www.academicsuperstore.com as a source for software and computer peripherals.

About the course: English 108: College Writing and Research will help you learn to use sources in academic papers. You will learn to identify and evaluate arguments in texts, and to use the texts of other authors to support your own observations and claims. We will consider the following questions:

How do you effectively summarize a text?
How can you recognize and respond to an argument in a text using logic?
How can you use sources effectively to support your arguments?
What are primary and secondary sources?
What is the difference between paraphrase and quotation?
Why is the appropriate citation of the work of other authors important?

Assignments: In addition to reading assignments and brief writing exercises, five long writing assignments will be required. These longer assignments should be word processed or typed. As students work on their research papers, they will keep a research notebook. We will discuss the requirements for the notebook later in the semester. This should be turned in with the final research project. When each major paper is returned, students will be required to complete a revision sheet and to update their "error log." These logs will be used to develop individual proofreading strategies. There will also be a final exam. The longer assignments will be as follows:

Summary/analysis	In-class summary, revised as out of class analysis of an article in Spatt
Synthesis of texts	Synthesis, analysis, and evaluation of two sources from Spatt
Synthesis of primary sources	Synthesis of data gathered by class members
White Paper	Informative research paper
Position paper	Revision of White Paper as an argumentative paper
Research notebook	Record of your research process
Final exam (Research notebooks due)	Test of mastery of documentation formatting and correct/effective use of quotations

Grading: As the semester progresses, I will consider more elements of papers as I grade them. By the end of the semester, a passing paper will:

clearly respond to the assignment
focus on one distinct idea (a thesis, hypothesis, or question)
have a coherent general structure
integrate sources appropriately in a text
cite sources appropriately in a bibliography
have paragraphs that have a clear internal structure and a use of specific details
have sentences whose grammar is acceptable as English
be relatively free of blatant errors in idiom, diction, spelling, and punctuation.

Papers with four spelling errors will lose one letter grade. I will count typos as spelling errors. Papers turned in late, without an acceptable excuse, will lose one letter grade for each business day they are late.

Grades will be weighted as follows:

Summary/analysis

Synthesis of texts

Synthesis of primary sources

White Paper

Position Paper

10%

15%

20%

Research notebook

Final exam

Daily work/class particip/portfolio.

10%

15%

Absences: Students missing four class periods without a verified excuse will have their semester grade lowered. (Your daily work/class participation grade will be an "F".) Regular in-class work and homework (except major papers) may not be made up. If you must be absent and you know in advance, please talk to me about it and we will arrange for you to make up your work before you miss class; otherwise, talk to me when you return.

Academic honesty: "Since honesty in the classroom is required, cheating, plagiarism, or knowingly furnishing false information to the college constitutes a violation." Policy Guide II, B, C. In other words, the work you turn in should be your own. Papers that have been plagiarized will receive no credit, and the student who submits such a paper will have to meet with me before any other work will be accepted.

Disabilities: Please let me know during the first week of class about any physical handicap or learning disability if you need special help or accommodation in order to do your best work.

Disclaimer: I try to adapt each of my classes to the needs and interests of the students. This means that the Schedule of Assignments may change.