SYLLABUS: ENGLISH 104

SYLLABUS: ENGLISH 104

COLLEGE WRITING AND RHETORIC

Instructor: Meredith Katchen

Office: Eder Hall 232, suite P

Phone: 271-5815

Office Hours: MWF 12:00 – 1:00, TTh 11:00 – 12:00

GENERAL COURSE ORIENTATION: There is not a single definition of rhetoric accepted by everyone. Nor is there universal agreement on how or even why to teach it. Nevertheless, study of rhetoric requires study of language, and it requires a student to practice using language purposefully. This course will help students 1) recognize and evaluate arguments, and 2) structure and control texts, particularly for academic audiences.

REQUIRED BOOKS AND MATERIALS: You will need to immediately purchase the following:

· They Say/I Say, by Graff and Birkenstein

· One spiral notebook, 40 to 70 pages, to serve as a journal

· One folder in which to keep handouts and loose papers

You may think you are lucky to have only one slim book to buy. However, what you save in cash you will expend in effort. Readings will include handouts and assigned websites.

BASIC COURSE COMPONENTS:

* Journals: Expect to use your journals each day for notes, exercises, and responses to prompts. Journals will be worth 30% of your grade.

* Essays: You will be assigned an assortment of papers to write, some informal and some formal. These will be worth 65% of your grade. Each assignment will have a specified point value and specific evaluation criteria.

* Final: A final assignment will be worth 5% of your grade.

ATTENDANCE: A student simply can not succeed in this class with less than very good attendance. Journals will be used daily, and missing journal entries will earn no points. Can you pass this class with poor attendance? That has happened, but only rarely and under extraordinary circumstances. Let me suggest this: if you are not in this class with the intention of earning an A or B, C at the least, please leave now. You will be doing a service to all of us – yourself, your classmates, and me. If you are not committed to being a diligent student, this class will be a very bad fit for you.

The official attendance policy for 100 level courses is as follows:

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 and 200 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 17, 2007 is 3. Thus, when you have 4 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.

Coming and Going: Late arrivals and early departures will, if chronic (more than once) be added together to total at least ½ of an absence.

LATE WORK: Assigned work that is not submitted on time may be penalized (in which case a penalty of one letter-grade will be assessed) or refused (in which case zero points will be earned). I reserve the right to grant extensions to diligent students.

REVISION OF WRITTEN WORK: Unlike English 100, this course will treat each paper you submit as a finished product. Revision of finished papers may be possible after we confer, but you would be wise to think of drafts submitted to me and to classmates as the appropriate texts for review and revision.

GRADING: We will use a 1000 point system. Each student will begin the semester with zero points. Students who accumulate 900 or more points will receive a grade of A, 800 to 899 points = B, 700 to 799 points = C, and 600 to 699 points = D. A grade of C or better is prerequisite for English 108. Students who earn fewer than 600 points will fail the course. In the event we do not reach 1000 points, grades will be calculated as a percent of actual points, in which case 90% or more equals A, 80% to 89% equals B, and so on.

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. If I suspect you have plagiarized, the burden of proof will be on you to recap your writing process and to demonstrate your command of your material.

DISABILITIES AND SPECIAL NEEDS

Any student who has a special need or disability that may affect his or her performance in this class should contact the MWSU Special Needs Coordinator for assistance. Also, let me know right away so that appropriate arrangements can be made to make sure your needs are met as quickly and completely as possible.

CIVILITY AND COOPERATION

Missouri Western requires all students to help us maintain good conditions for teaching and learning. All students will treat their classmates and teachers with civility and respect, both inside and outside the classroom. Students who violate this policy may, among other penalties, be counted absent and asked to leave. You should review your MWSU student handbook for further information.

CONFERENCES: I would like all students to plan on meeting with me during office hours at least twice during the semester.

A few noteworthy dates

Week 2 9/3 – 9/7 9/3 Labor Day holiday

Week 7 10/8 – 10/12 10/12 mid-term break

Week 13 11/19 – 11/23 11/20 (after 4pm) to 11/25 Thanksgiving

Week 15 12/3 – 12/7 classes end 12/7

Week 16 12/10 – 12/14 finals week