Syllabus

 

Semester:                                           Fall 2006, Missouri Western State University

 

Course Title:                                      English 108-College Writing and Research

 

Credit Hours:                         3

 

Instructor:                                          Michael Lund

 

Course Location:                                Section 01, 9:30-10:50 TR, Murphy Hall 224

                                                                       

Office Location:                                 Eder Hall 222-M

 

Office Hours:                                      By Appointment

 

Telephone:                                          271-4316 (messages)

 

Required Textbooks:                         Eschholz, Rosa, and Clark, Language Awareness, Ninth Edition.

 

Additional Materials:                        You will need standard writing supplies daily, a spiral bound notebook for your journal, and a new 31/2 inch diskette for use in the computer lab. I also suggest you purchase a collegiate dictionary and a thesaurus.

 

Course Outcomes/Objectives:          The course outcomes and objectives are available online. Go to the EFLJ Website for details.

 

Course Requirements:                      You will write three response essays and one longer research paper for this course. In addition, you will keep a journal over the reading assignments from LA. Additional paper and journal specifics will be detailed shortly, so do not panic.

                                                            Daily writing assignments, quizzes and group exercises also carry value in determining the student’s overall grade.

 

Attendance Policy:                             In order to improve student learning as well as 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 before the midterm report, October 18 is three. Thus, when you have four unexcused absences you will be reported to the Registrar's office, who will automatically withdraw you from this class. The Financial Aid Office will reduce financial aid as appropriate. In addition, I expect you to arrive in class on time and with what ever is due that day; if you do not have the assigned draft, etc. you will be counted absent. I will never accept any assignment after the announced due date without substantial reason or documented emergency and always at my discretion. 

 

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 the student due process procedure. This handbook is also available online at: http://www.missouriwestern.edu/handbook/index.pdf

Accommodations for Disability:        Missouri Western State University complies with the Americans with Disabilities Act. If you need any accommodations due to a documented disability, please contact Missouri Western's Special needs Office at 271-4330. Also, please let me know as soon as possible so we can discuss course requirements.

 

 

Point Values and Overall Grading:   The point values are as follows:

 

                                                            Response Essay I:                                 100 points

                                                            Response Essay II:                               100 points

                                                            Response Essay III:                              100 points

                                                            Daily quizzes, etc. in class:                     200 points

                                                            Journal:                                                 100 points

                                                            Research Paper:                                   400 points

                                                                                                           

 

                                                            Total Possible Points:                          1000 points

 

I will use the following scale to determine your overall grade:

 

90-100 % (900-1000 points)                           A

80-89% (800-899 points)                                B

70-79% (700-799 points)                                C

60-69% (600-699 points)                                D

59% and below (599 points or below)              F


Tentative Class Schedule and Assignment Due Dates

 

                                         All Readings from LA Textbook

                                            Only Beginning Page Numbers are Listed; You are Responsible for the Entire Selection

                                                           

                                          Journal Entries Required when J Follows Assignment

 

8-29                 Overview of course, syllabus, course expectations, writing samples

8-31                 Review of essay format and required process               

9-5                   Introduction to the reading and writing process. Read: pp. 1-33

9-7                   Read: p. 37 J and 43 J

9-12                 Read: p. 48 J and 53 J

9-14                 Read: p. 73 J and.98 J

9-1                   9 Review

9-21                 Drafts Due, D.E.#1                  

9-26                 Final Drafts Due, D.E.#1                     

9-28                 Read: p. 138 J and 152 J

10-3                 Read: p. 172 J and 180 J

10-5                 Read: p. 217 J and 229 J

10-10               Review 

10-12               DraftsDue, D. E.#2

10-17               Final Drafts Due, D.E. #2                    

10-19               Read:p. 328 J and 351 J

10-24               Read:p. 363 J and 442 J

10-26               Read:p. 455 J and 566 J

10-31               Review

11-2                 Drafts Due, D.E.#3                  

11-7                 Final Drafts Due, D.E.#3                     

11-9                 Begin Research Project

11-14               TBA

11-16               TBA

11-21               TBA
11-28               TBA
11-30               Drafts Due, Research Project
12-5                 Revised Drafts Due, Research Project
12-7                 Final Drafts Due, Research Project                  

 

Finals Schedule

Sec. 01            Thursday, December 14, 8:30-10:20

 

                Journal Entries and Requirements

 

Students will complete a one full-page (minimum) hand written journal entry in his/her standard sized spiral notebook for each reading assignment designated by J on the Course Schedule. Entries must be legible and inclusive of:

Summary: A summary is a brief retelling in the student’s own words of what the selection was about, inclusive of the main idea/thesis and the method(s) used by the author in making his/her point.

Analysis: This is the breaking down of the selection into sectional divisions and making a personal judgement concerning the validity and/or success of the work. (A simple “I did not like/understand the reading” will not suffice: give specific reasons or examples for your evaluation.)