Students will complete five writing assignments in Honors Composition. At least one of these assignments will be a research paper involving library and on-line research. Final drafts of papers will be word processed. Students will keep complete portfolios of all writing done in the course.

Honors composition classes will be addressing the Objectives and Means for ENG 104 and for ENG 108 in this accelerated course. Upon successful completion of ENG 112, students fulfill the college's General Studies composition requirement. For more information on the institutional and state goals and competencies, see the English Department web site for general studies courses at  http://www.missouriwestern.edu/eflj/. 

Required Materials:

• Maner, Martin. The Research Process. 2nd ed. London: Mayfield, 2000.
• Walters, Keith and Michal Brody, eds. What's Language Got to Do with It? New York: Norton, 2005.
• A notebook of paper exclusively devoted to keeping a research journal.
• An up-to-date unabridged college dictionary.
• A college handbook (guide to style, grammar and usage).
• Disks/Flash drives for revising, saving, and backing up your work.
• A binder notebook with dividers and plastic page sleeves in which to submit major projects.
• Photocopies of your work and secondary sources.
• Stamina and good humor.

Instructor's Attendance Policy:

Regular attendance is an essential part of the student's educational experience and a requirement for an adequate evaluation of student academic progress. For this and other reasons, attendance is mandatory. If you have more than two unexcused absences during the semester, your final grade will be seriously affected. Indeed, excessive absences will result in failure of the course. Chronic lateness and/or leaving early will count toward absences. Excused absences involve acting as an official representative of the university after prior notification from the faculty/staff supervisor of the event. At the instructor's discretion, an absence will be excused in the case of a documented and unforeseen emergency. All other absences will be deemed unexcused.

You are responsible for material covered or assignments given during your absence, so ask another student to inform you of what happened while you were gone. If I should be unable to meet class, you will be notified by the secretary, a fellow instructor, or by an officially stamped and dated note on the classroom door.

Institutional Attendance Policy:

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 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.

Policy on Late Work:

All out of class assignments are due at the beginning of the hour on the due date. Learning is a cumulative process, and each assignment is designed to build on the previous one. As late work disrupts this important aspect of the learning process, late work will not be accepted without prior notification and approval. When reasonably possible, however, missed assignments will be accepted after the due date in the case of an excused absence (see above).

Preparation and Participation:

You are required to make significant contributions to class in the form of preparation and participation. Preparation includes completing the readings and daily assignments, as well as bringing your assignments, textbook, and other materials with you on the appropriate days. If you come unprepared, you will receive a zero for any work due that day.

Participation includes the help you give to fellow writers and the contributions you make to class discussion. Active and insightful contributions to class discussion are therefore not "extra credit." Like the written assignments, your tactful and substantive comments are part of the minimal requirements for successful completion of the course. If you are a naturally quiet person, force yourself to be more vocal; do not assume that if I do not call on you that you need not participate, as it is your responsibility to voice your observations at appropriate and relevant times. Conversely, if you are a naturally talkative person, you may have to restrain yourself so that everyone has the opportunity to contribute. Since you obviously cannot make up for discussions from which you were absent, attendance is again critical.

Why is discussion so important? Because live classroom discussion:

• gives me an additional indication of how closely and thoughtfully you have read, enabling me to evaluate your knowledge and abilities more fairly and accurately.
• helps you think in terms of the subject matter by giving you practice in thinking.
• helps you learn to evaluate the logic of and evidence for your own and others' positions.
• helps you learn what counts as evidence and how to evaluate knowledge claims.
• helps you understand how knowledge is arrived at in the discipline.
• gives you practice arguing with others respectfully and professionally.
• gives you opportunities to formulate applications of principles.
• helps you construct knowledge you can recall and apply when needed.
• gives you prompt feedback on difficult or confusing issues and material.
• increases your retention of material through explaining, summarizing, and questioning.
• stimulates new ideas, approaches, questions, reading and research.

Student Conduct:

As a condition to remaining at MWSU, the college expects all students to conduct themselves so as to maintain an effective environment for learning, to act responsibly in accordance with good taste, and to respect fully the rights of others. Behavior that disrupts the classroom environment or interferes with other students' learning will result in dismissal from the classroom. Passionate and forceful language are sometimes appropriate, intolerance and dogmatism are not.

Assignments and Requirements:

For English 112, you will complete five major projects. These are the Overview Paper, Prospectus One (which will lead to Persuasive Paper One), Persuasive Paper One, Prospectus Two (which will lead to Persuasive Paper Two) and Persuasive Paper Two. Each of these projects is described in detail on a separate handout.

All out of class written assignments for this course must be word processed unless otherwise specified. Non-word processed submissions will be returned with no credit. Assignments should follow MLA format, using no larger than twelve point type and one inch margins. Generally, pages should be stapled together before you come to class (do not use paper clips and do not fold down the corners of papers). Do not throw away any work you do for this class, from notes to drafts to final papers, and keep back-up copies of all papers you turn in to me.

Grading:

The standards for college English classes are higher than those used in high schools. All the guidelines and standards for classes at MWSU are similar to those used by other colleges and universities throughout the country. You, as a serious student, will appreciate the fact that we hold high standards for your work. Your grade will be determined by the quality of your daily work, short writings, and exams, as well as by your preparation and participation. Assignments will be evaluated according to how well they meet the requirements outlined in the assignment descriptions and the following general scale.

A = Superior
B = Above Average
C = Average
D = Minimum = passing below average
F = Failing

Each of the five major projects for this course constitute 20% of your final grade. Points for shorter, daily writings are incorporated into the major project which they precede.

Instructor's Policy on Academic Honesty:

Plagiarism is a most serious offense and, therefore, will incur harsh punishment. Don't think you won't get caught; writing style is distinctive and verifiable. It is the student's responsibility to prove to the instructor's satisfaction that all work is their own. Work with evidence of plagiarism or other academic dishonesty, intentional or not, will receive a zero. Any breach of academic honesty may also directly result in failure of the course.

Institutional Policy on Academic Honesty 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

Disabilities:

Any student who has a disability that prevents the fullest expression of abilities should contact me immediately so that we can discuss class requirements.

General:

This syllabus is of a contractual nature, and by remaining in the course you acknowledge your acceptance of its stipulations in their entirety. If the goals, policies, procedures, standards, expectations, or obligations are unclear, then you should speak with me immediately. If they are clear but unacceptable to you, then you should drop the course.

If you choose to remain in the course, be sure to keep a copy of this syllabus with you and to refer to it regularly. Policies are enforced without exception to ensure uniformity and predictability, to avoid confusion and anxiety, and to facilitate fairness and objectivity for all students. In the interest of efficiency, however, I reserve the right to make necessary alterations to this syllabus and to make announced changes in daily plans. Any announcements made in class automatically supersede this syllabus. It is your responsibility to find out about announced changes.

Final Thoughts:

As with all college-level courses, a steady devotion to duty is expected; thus, however much work will be done in class, you must set aside an appropriate amount of time each day to working on your assignments, including time in the library and computer lab. Anticipate occasional glitches, both personal and technical, and be sure to allow extra time in your schedule to handle unanticipated problems. Back up disk and hard copies should be made at the end of each work session.

For further explanations, comments, and advice, I am available during office hours. For additional help outside of class, I strongly recommend the Center for Academic Support.

I genuinely want you to succeed in this class and at MWSU generally. I therefore urge you to keep in mind that what you gain from this course, and your from your education generally, is proportional to the amount of productive time and careful attention you devote to it. In the words of Abigail Adams (1744-1818), "Learning is not attained by chance, it must be sought for with ardor and attended to with diligence."

Course Outline:
This outline shows major readings and assignments, but additional readings and assignments will be given in class throughout the semester.

8/29    Introduction
31    Maner Ch. 1-2: Nature of Research Writing, Finding/Narrowing Topic; Tannen p.13, Ana p. 25

9/5    Maner Ch. 3: Generating an Argument; Kakutani p. 59, Orwell, p. 114
7    Maner Ch. 4-5: Finding Sources, Writing a Plan; Baron p. 136, Lee p. 152

12    Maner Ch. 6: Gathering Information; Winchester p. 72
14    Maner Ch. 7 (153-192): MLA Format; Punctuation p. 97-107, Rosenthal p. 128

19    Overview Paper Due; Maner Ch. 9: Writing the Rough Draft; Lutz "Doubts" and "With These Words"
21    Maner Ch. 10-11: Revising, Editing; Kors "Betrayal of Liberty," Fish "There's No Such Thing"

26    Farhi "Oh, the Profanity!," BBC "Is Bad Language Unacceptable on TV?"
28    Shin p. 181, Agosin p. 201  

10/3    Marquez p. 207, Zentella p. 213
5    Tan p. 243, Cao p. 249, Ourng p. 257, Abrahms/Balas/Bird p. 266-271

10    Prospectus One Due; Rickford p. 278, Troutt p. 289, Erard p. 294
12    Baugh p. 302, Jordan p. 314

17    Willer p. 336, Eckert p. 347
19    McGrath p. 371, McWhorter p. 376

24    Critique Day for Persuasive Paper One (Bring 3 copies)
26    Lunsford/Hairston/APA p. 384-391, Quindlen p. 50

31    Persuasive Paper One Due
11/2    Padden p. 396, Moore p. 409

7    Solomon p. 416
9    Independent Research and Writing

14    Miller p. 470, Baron p. 477, Nunberg p. 482
16    Crystal p. 504, Duff-Brown p. 516, Tharoor p. 526

21    Prospectus Two Due;
23    Thanksgiving

28    Drafting
30    Critique Day for Persuasive Paper Two (Bring 3 copies)

12/5    Revising/Editing
7    Persuasive Paper Two Due

12/12    8:30-10:20 Final Exam for section 01
12/14    8:30-10:20 Final Exam for section 02