Missouri Western State University
College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
ENG
220-01 Introduction to Reading Texts
Class
meets 11 am TT Eder 223
Fall 2007
Instructor Information
Dr. Karen U. Fulton, Professor
Tel: 271-4317(work) 1-660-582-8830 (home)
E-mail: fulton@missouriwestern.edu
Office: Eder Hall 222-H
Office Hours: 1-3 Monday; 10-11 and 2-3 Tuesday; 10-11 Thursday; other times by appointment.
Final Examination
Tuesday, December 11, 11:30 am
Required Texts
Gardner,Janet E, Beverly Lawn, Jack Ridl, and Peter Schakel. Literature: A Portable Anthology.
Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2004.
Gibaldi, Joseph. MLA Handbook, 6th edition. New York: MLA, 2003.
Other Required Supplies
Access to word processor with spell-checker; all written work must be word-processed.
Access to Internet for postings on O/P-drive and research.
A 3-ring binder (spine no greater than
1/2") for submission of end of semester portfolio. This will be provided
to you at no cost by the instructor
English 220 objectives
English 220 fulfills Category IV of the General Studies requirements. All English 210 (and 220) sections provide practice in reading poetry, prose fiction, and drama. Objectives are listed on http://www.missouriwestern.edu/EFLJ/genstud.asp.
Upon completion of English 210 [or 220] a student should be able to:
1. Recognize the major characteristics of literary genres
2. Discuss literature, orally and in writing, with assurance
3. Appreciate literary works encountered
4. Understand the different ways in which literary theme may be treated in literature.
Means: To reach these goals, the student is expected to:
1. Read poetry, fiction, and drama
2. Investigate various methods of approaching and understanding literature
3. Write papers, including themes and essay examinations
4. Read a variety of literary works.
Attendance
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 classes and 200-level for Fall 2007.
Sanctioned absences are those in which the student is serving as a representative of the college. All non-sanctioned absences will be recorded. The maximum number of unexcused absences allowed for this class before the midterm report, October 18, 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.
The maximum number of non-sanctioned absence in this class is 6. If by the end of the semester you have accumulated 6 non-sanctioned absences you will fail the course. A record of 4 or 5 absence will put you in jeopardy of a lower grade in the course.
Academic Honesty Policy
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 for 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 2007-2008 Student Handbook and Calendar 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
Student Disability Policy
Students who have a disability that might prevent their maximum performance in the class should make this known to the instructor at the first class so that provisions may be made for any assistance needed.
Grading Policies
Mid-term grades
Since no grades are in place at mid-term, the mid-term grade will be a means of the instructor communicating with you your status in the class. If you receive anything other than the commonly agreed upon grade, you owe it to yourself to find out why. The University absence policy will affect the grades of those not attending class.
Final grade
The grade for this class will be determined on the basis of a portfolio. This portfolio will consist of at least three finished and revised pieces of writing (in addition to the self-reflective essay). One piece must have begun as a class assignment and be designated the class demonstration paper.
The final for this class Tuesday, December 11 at 11:30. Missing this class carries a heavy penalty—failure for the course.
Portfolio
During the first two weeks of class, more detailed portfolio specifications will be placed on the O/P drive and handed out. Previous portfolios will be brought to class. You will self-grade your own portfolio when you submit it. I will meet with you individually to grade the portfolio and we will audio-tape that conference. You then have the option of revising and resubmitting the portfolio.
You have only one opportunity to resubmit a portfolio.
Minimal Passing Standards for the
Course
In order to pass (grade of "D") the class, the student must complete all major written assignments; submit a self-graded portfolio on the due date; not have more than 6 absences for the semester; attend the scheduled portfolio conference; and participate in the final session.
Failure to complete any one of these results in failure for the course.
Learning Activities and Projects
Fastwriting (freewriting): Classes
will frequently begin with a short fastwriting in response to the literature
assigned for that day. Bruce Ballenger defines this technique as encouraging us
to think through writing rather than before writing.
"Basically you just write down whatever come into your head, not worrying
about whether you're being eloquent, grammatical, or even very smart." (Curious
Researcher 1).
Word Processing: In order to
facilitate publishing, all drafts of papers (including the summaries of the
oral reports) must be word-processed.
Deadline for written work: If the
work does not come in at the time assigned, it may not be returned to you until
the end of the semester. Credit will not be given until the instructor has
commented on the work.
Feedback Mode: Letter grades are
not given on the major writing assignments. Instead feedback is given by way of
a conference and a CD of that conference containing my spoken response to your
paper, written comments on your paper, and a rough ranking (by thirds) of your
paper in comparison to the other papers submitted on the assignment. These
indicators are not convertible to letter grades. I welcome conferences with
anyone who has questions about the paper, the tape, or how the paper might fit
into the final portfolio.
Minimal Standards for Projects: Any
project will be returned unread and with no credit if required materials are
not submitted and correct word-processing, formatting, and spell checking have
not been completed.
Calendar: This is a rough
estimation of what we will be working on at any given time. When we begin each section (as in the case of
Poetry), you will receive a much more detailed calendar of which texts we will
be reading.
August 27-September 27 Poetry, first paper due 10/2/7
October 2-October 25 Drama, second paper due 11/1/7
November 1-November 15 Portfolio
Portfolio due November 15, 2007
On November 20, we will not have class. I will be meeting with you each individually to grade your portfolio.
November 26-December 6 Fiction
December 6 is the last day to resubmit a portfolio.
Final session is Tuesday,
December 11 at 11:30 am