English
104: College Writing and Rhetoric
Fall
2006
Missouri
Western State University
Division
of Liberal Arts and Sciences
Department
of English, Foreign Languages, and Journalism
Sections: 16 and 21
Instructor: Charlotte Grider
Office: Eder (SSC) 222-T
Phone: 271-4239
Office Hours: MWF 8:00-8:50, 10:00-11:00, 2:00-3:00; T/TH
by appointment
E-mail: cgrider@missouriwestern.edu
Feel free to stop by during my
office hours if you have a question or a concern. If you cannot stop by at those times, I would
be happy to schedule an appointment. You
may also e-mail me, and I will respond as quickly as possible (I check my
e-mail frequently.). You can also reach
me by phone during my office hours, or you can leave a message on my voicemail.
Required
Texts and Course Materials:
Bird by Bird, Anne Lamott
Elements of Style, Strunk
and White, Fourth Edition
Notebook for journal (bound
composition books preferred)
Loose-leaf paper for in-class
assignments (please, no spiral)
4 two-pocket folders (one for each major essay)
3 ½″ floppy disks or jump
drive
Photocopies for group work as
requested
Course
Work
Assignment Format
All drafts of all major assignments must be typed. The heading of each assignment (which will appear in the upper left-hand corner) should include your name, the course and section numbers, the date, and the assignment number. Drafts of major essays will only be accepted in a two-pocket folder with process materials (all previous drafts, responses, notes, and scribbles that show your writing and thinking processes). You will receive a handout with more detailed instructions.
Major Essays
You will complete four major essays and submit a course portfolio. If you do not turn in all four essays or do not submit a course portfolio, you will not pass the course, even if your grades for the other writing tasks are satisfactory. Note: The due dates listed below are subject to change.
Ÿ
Essay One:
Descriptive Narrative—DUE: week
four
Ÿ
Essay Two:
Reflective Narrative—DUE: week
eight
Ÿ
Essay Three:
Investigation or research—DUE: week eleven
Ÿ
Essay Four:
Re-thinking Your Writing—DUE:
week fourteen
Ÿ
Portfolio—DUE:
week fourteen
Portfolio
At the end of the semester, you will be required to submit a portfolio that includes all drafts of the four major essays, the feedback you received during peer review, and all of your process materials, as well as other selected assignments. Keep everything! You will be required to refer to these materials when you write your fourth essay. Failure to include them with your portfolio will affect your grade. You will receive more specific guidelines for portfolio submission later in the semester.
Center for Academic Support
If you want additional help with
your essay or with any aspect of composition, you can visit the CAS, which is
located in LRC 213 (x4524). Appointments
are encouraged, but, if you are unable to make an appointment, you can drop by,
and the tutors will try to accommodate your request. You can learn more about CAS services and/or
submit an essay online at http://www.missouriwestern.edu/cas/.
Ÿ
You need a C or higher to pass ENG 104 and to
enter ENG 108.
Ÿ
You must complete all four writing tasks in
order to pass the class.
Ÿ
The
final exam is mandatory. 104-16: Dec. 15 at 8:30 a.m.; 104-21:
Dec. 13 at 11:30.
Components of your grade:
--Portfolio (four major writing
tasks; completeness of portfolio, etc.)
75%
--Journal, homework, quizzes, in-class assignments, process materials, and final exam 20%
--Class participation (attendance
and contributions to class activities/discussion) 5%
All work in this class is subject to evaluation, including your participation in discussions. Most—but not all—assignments will be graded, and most will be graded according to a standard grading scale. Some work, however, may be graded as “credit” or “no credit,” which means that, if you make a reasonable effort, you will receive all of the possible points. Complete all reading assignments before class begins on the date for which they were assigned; be prepared for discussion and/or a quiz. Some assignments will be completed and submitted electronically.
Grading Scale:
A
90-100% D 60-69%
B 80-89% F 59% and below
C 70-79%
Please Note: Throughout the semester, you will write several drafts of each of your essays. I will return each draft with my comments and a rubric that shows whether your essay meets the assignment criteria. At that time, rather than a letter grade, your essays will earn an “E” (early draft), an “M” (middle draft), or an “L” (late draft). An “E” needs significant work; an “L” meets the assignment criteria. Letter grades will be assigned when you submit your portfolio at the end of the semester. Please see the “Drafts and Revision” handout for more information.
Late work: Some assignments will be accepted only on
their due dates and at the time I call for them (for example, quizzes or
writing assignments that provide the basis for or serve as a response to class
discussions). Late homework will be
subject to a penalty of 20% and should be submitted by the class period that
follows the assigned due date. If you
believe that there are extenuating circumstances that prevent you from
submitting the assignment at that time, you must contact me in advance. Each draft of a major essay is worth five to
ten points; a late draft will not receive any of those points. If you do not turn-in a draft within two
class periods of the due date, you will not be allowed to turn-in the final
draft, which will result in your automatic failure of the class.
Policies
Civility and Cooperation
Missouri Western requires all students to help 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 of the classroom. Students who violate this policy may be counted absent and asked to leave. You should review your Missouri Western student handbook for further information.
In order to improve student learning as well as to achieve
compliance with federal financial aid policies, Western has a mandatory
attendance policy for all 100-level courses:
You will be given an excused absence when acting as an
official representative of the university, provided you give prior written
verification from the faculty/staff supervisor of the event.
All other absences will be deemed unexcused. The maximum number of unexcused absences allowed for this class before the mid-term report, October 18, 2006, is five. Thus, when you have six unexcused absences, you will be reported to the Office of the Registrar, who will automatically withdraw you from this class. The Financial Aid Office will reduce financial aid as appropriate.
After the mid-term grade report, you will fail the class upon your eighth unexcused absence (starting from the date that you enrolled). Minutes of tardiness (and the number of minutes you leave class prior to dismissal), will be recorded and rounded up to the nearest five-minute mark. Your total minutes of tardiness will be rounded up to equal a whole missed class period as soon as they equal half of a class period. It is always in your best interest to attend class—even if you are very late. If you know of any circumstances that might make it difficult for you to adhere to the attendance policy, you should consult with your advisor and with me to review your options.
If you are not prepared for class and do not fully participate, you may be marked absent. Regular attendance and participation encourage you to be a serious college students who engages in critical thinking and discussion with peers and instructors. The discussions, lectures, and in-class activities are indispensable to your education.
Most in-class assignments cannot be “made up,” and your participation grade will be directly affected by absences, tardies, and early departures. If you absolutely must miss class, let me know in advance and make arrangements to meet with me so that we can discuss the material and the assignments that you will miss. This is particularly important if you are going to be absent on the due date for ANY draft of a major essay. If you must send an essay with another student or must leave it in my mailbox, keep copies of the folder’s contents; please do not leave papers anywhere except in my mailbox. If you are absent on the due date of the first draft of a major essay (when we do peer review), you must take your essay to the CAS to get feedback so that you can revise your essay by the draft two due date. If you are absent, your work is still due on the assigned date. If you turn it in at the next class meeting, it will be subject to a late penalty unless you have documentation that shows that your absence was due to urgent, necessary, and unavoidable circumstances. (See “late work” policy above.)
Student Disability
Any student with a disability
should contact Missouri Western’s special needs coordinator for certification
of special needs and expert recommendation for assistance. You should also contact me personally as soon
as possible so that we can discuss how I can facilitate your success.
Academic Honesty Policy and Due
Process
Academic honesty is required in all academic endeavors. Violations of academic honesty include any instance of plagiarism, cheating, seeking credit for another’s work, falsifying documents or academic records, or any other fraudulent activity. Violations of academic honesty may result in a failing grade on the assignment, failure in the course, or expulsion from the University. When a student’s grade has been affected, violations of academic honesty will be reported to the Provost or designated representative on the Academic Honesty Violation Report forms.
Please see the 2006-07 Student Handbook and Calendar on page 21 for specific activities identified as violations of this policy and for the student due process procedure. This handbook is also available online at http://www.missouriwestern.edu/handbook/index.pdf
If I find evidence of cheating or
plagiarism on an essay, you have the burden of showing that you have, in fact,
written the paper. You should keep thorough evidence of your writing processes
for all papers so that you can meet this burden of proof. You will receive a
grade of F for any paper showing sufficient evidence of cheating and/or
plagiarism. Depending upon the type of offense, other penalties may apply.