SYLLABUS: ENGLISH 108
COLLEGE
WRITING AND RESEARCH
Instructor: Meredith Katchen
Office: Eder Hall 232, suite P
Phone: 271-5815
E-mail: mkatchen@missouriwestern.edu
REQUIRED BOOKS
AND MATERIALS: For this
course you will need to immediately purchase the following:
* They Say/I Say, by Gerald Graff and Cathy Birkenstein
* One spiral notebook (approx. 70 pages) to serve as a journal
* One folder or notebook for keeping loose papers
You may think you
are lucky by having to buy only one slim book, but what you save in cash you
will expend many times over in effort. We will develop a class source list from
which reading and writing assignments will flow.
GENERAL COURSE
ORIENTATION: Research projects
for this class will have a theme: veterans returning to civilian life after
serving in the armed forces of the
BASIC COURSE
COMPONENTS: Be prepared
to use your journal daily for notes and responses to specific writing prompts. Journal
work will comprise 25% of your grade. You will need to complete two major
projects. One will be due near the mid-term break, and one will be due near the
end of the semester. Each project will consist of an assortment of short papers
and a major paper. Each project will be worth 30% of your grade. A public
presentation of a portion of one project at the end of the semester will be worth
15% of your grade.
GRADING: I like reading and responding to what students write, but I hate
grading. However, I am required to submit grades. I try to reward effort and
process as much as product. I tend to reserve failure for students who do not
do their work or who do their work with seeming lack of concern or respect.
Basically,
A = excellence in process and product
B = outstanding process or product
C = intense engagement with process or product, but so-so results
D = casual engagement, poor results
We will use a 1000
point grading system; therefore, A=900+ points, B=800 to 899 points, C=700 to
799 points, D=600 to 699 points. Each student will start the semester with zero
points; therefore, points will be earned by your efforts rather than lost by
your shortcomings. If the total of available points for the semester does not
reach 1000, grades will be calculated as a percent of total points such that
90+%=A, 80-89%=B, and so on.
ATTENDANCE: A student simply can not, I repeat: can NOT, succeed in this
class with less than very good attendance. Journals will be used daily, and
missing journal entries (which will earn zero points) will be taken as lack of
process and lack of engagement. Can you pass with poor attendance? Yes, it is
possible, but I don’t suggest you try. Rather, let me suggest this: If you are
not in this class with the intention of earning an A or B, C at the very least,
this class will be a bad fit for you. If you are not ready to be a diligent
student, please leave now. You will be doing a service to all of us – yourself,
your classmates, and me.
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 5. Thus, when you have 6 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 ˝ of an absence.
LATE WORK: Assigned work that is not submitted on
time may at first be penalized and finally refused.
REVISION OF
WRITTEN WORK: This course
will not provide much opportunity for revising completed work. However, this
course will provide opportunity for writing as a process, and the final
presentation will be drawn from already completed work.
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:
Each student should meet with me during office hours at least twice during the semester.
Noteworthy dates
9/3 No
class – Labor Day
10/12 No class
– Midterm Break
10/17 Project
1 tentative due date
10/19 No class
– I will be attending a conference
11/21 No class
– Thanksgiving Holiday
11/23 No class
– Thanksgiving Holiday
11/30 Project
2 tentative due date
12/7 Last
day of class