Syllabus for ENG 108
College Writing and Research
Department
of English, Foreign Languages, and Journalism
College
of Liberal Arts and Sciences
English
108 -- College Writing and Research
Instructor: Rachael Green
Spring
2007
TTh
Office: Eder Hall 212 G
Office
Phone: 816-271-4318
Office
Hours: by appointment
Email:
rgreen5@missouriwestern.edu
Required
Texts:
• Everything’s an Argument. Lunsford,
Andrea A., John J. Ruszkiewicz. Bedford/St. Martin’s,
Required
Materials:
• Computer
disks or electronic storage device for revising and saving work.
• Notebook
for notes, class work, journal entries, etc.
• Folder(s)
to keep all writing and work.
• An active
Missouri Western email account and password.
Recommended
Materials:
• The Brief New Century
Handbook or any good writer's manual/handbook containing MLA style
• Handouts from Center for
Academic Support
• A good dictionary
• Computer Literacy
Course
Description:
To provide
practice with writing effective papers using field and document research.
Course
Goals:
By the end
of the semester you should be able to:
•
Effectively construct and defend a written argument.
• Conduct
appropriate field research and library research.
•
Accurately summarize, quote, and draw inferences from oral and written
material.
•
Synthesize personal perspectives with outside sources.
• Adequately
document sources using appropriate formal citation methodology.
• Complete
necessary revision, editing, and proofreading of papers.
Methods
of Instruction:
Methods of instruction include textbooks, lectures, class
discussions, group work, presentations, informal writing assignments and formal
writing assignments. Students will be
expected to participate in peer revision groups and in-class writing exercises.
Journals: You will
write (informal) journal entries/responses to most of your assigned
readings. Please refer to your
assignment schedule for journal entries.
These entries will be your explanations of and reactions to the
readings. Each journal entry will
consist of both summary and response/analysis and be, on average, one full
page. Entries can be hand-written or
word-processed and must be clearly labeled.
The collection dates will coincide with the collection dates of your
formal writing assignments/mini-portfolios; your journal entries will be a
component of your mini-portfolio. Journal
entries will be graded on content and will be part of your grade for the
portfolio and the course.
Peer Revision Groups:
Prior to submitting your formal writing assignments, you will be
required to participate in peer revision groups in which you will bring in
word-processed copies of your rough draft to share with your group and receive
feedback from your group in order to help you strengthen and revise your own
written work. This is a required
activity and will be part of your grade for the portfolio and the course. (Note:
During these sessions I will also evaluate drafts).
Policies:
Attendance and Class Preparation/Participation: In order to improve student
learning and to achieve compliance with federal financial aid policies, Western
has a mandatory attendance policy for all 100-level courses. A student will be given an excused absence
when acting as an official representative of the university, provided the
student gives prior written verification from the faculty/staff supervisor of
the event. A student will also be given
an excused absence if he or she can provide documentation and prove that the
absence was unavoidable. Please feel
free to speak to me about any extenuating circumstances. All other absences will be deemed unexcused. The maximum number of unexcused absences
allowed before the midterm report, March 16, for this class is three.
Thus, when you have four 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. More than three absences will affect your
final grade (grade lowered by 1% per class missed after the three).
Students are expected to attend every scheduled class
meeting and arrive on time. Arriving to
class late is disruptive. As a result,
chronic lateness will likely affect your final grade. Students are also expected to come prepared
to every class meeting and participate in class discussion for this is the only
way we can all share ideas, ask questions and learn.
Assigned
readings must be completed before the class meeting when the material will be
discussed.
All writing assignments are due at the beginning of the
class period on the due date. Each
student is allowed one late paper (and only one late paper) and this must be
discussed with the instructor. No other late papers will be accepted. If you submit more than one late paper,
you will fail the course. If you are
not in class on the due date you are still responsible for submitting your assignment
on time. Late journals and in-class
writing assignments will not be accepted.
Please note that you must complete all writing assignments
in order to pass this course. All drafts
and final papers for this course must be word-processed. It is important to save all work on disks, cds, or other electronic storage devices; keep back-ups of
all papers. Email all writing
assignments to yourself; excuses of lost papers will not be accepted. Use the following when submitting papers:
Formatting:
Revision: All formal, graded writing assignments can be
revised and resubmitted for a “new” grade.
You will have two weeks from the date the paper is returned in class to
revise and resubmit each paper. However,
you cannot revise other work. If you
miss the two-week deadline, you forfeit the right to revise that specific
paper. It is required that your
original, graded essay accompanies your revised essay, along with the grade
sheet and any peer revisions. Revision
is important because each paper covers important skills that you will need to
know for the next paper.
Grading Policy: Your
grade will be determined on the writings you submit, attendance, and a final
exam. Please note that smaller
assignments and class preparation/participation are very important and do
affect your grade. The components of
your grade in the course are:
Daily Reading & Writing: 30%
Formal Writings: 30%
Attendance & Participation: 20%
Final Exam: 20%
Students with Disabilities:
Anyone who has a disability that prevents the fullest expression of his
or her potential to succeed in this course must notify me as soon as possible
so that we can discuss class requirements and accommodations. You must also
contact Michael Ritter, Special Needs Coordinator, and submit all necessary
documentation to his office.
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 classroom activity. Cheating and plagiarism are not
acceptable. You will receive a grade of
F (0 points) for any paper/assignment/exam that shows evidence of cheating
and/or plagiarism. You have the burden
of proving that a paper/assignment/exam showing evidence of cheating and/or
plagiarism has been in fact written by you.
You should keep thorough evidence of your writing processes for all
papers so that you can meet this burden of proof. If you plagiarize a paper, you forfeit the
right to revise that paper; if you cheat on an exam, you will not be allowed to
retake the exam. Violations of academic
honesty will be reported to the Provost or the 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.
Common departmental requirements are listed online at
<http://www.missouriwestern.edu/eflj/eng108.asp>.
Miscellaneous:
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 Missouri
Western student handbook for further information.
Please feel free to come see me if you have any problems or questions. I believe communication is very important
between an instructor and her students and, as a result, I will make myself
available to you for any reason.
Class
Schedule
Tuesday 1/16 Syllabus,
class structure, personal goals – intended degree
Homework: Read
Chapter 1
Thursday 1/18
Homework: Read
Chapter 2
Tuesday 1/23 Chapter
2
Homework: Read
Chapter 3
Thursday 1/25 Reading;
Paper one: Rough Draft due
Homework: Read
Chapter 4
Tuesday 1/30 Reading
Homework: Read
Chapter 5
Thursday 2/1 Discuss
Prospectus one;
Homework: Read
Chapter 6
Tuesday 2/6 Reading
Thursday 2/8 Paper
one: Final due
Tuesday 2/13 Prospectus
one due
Thursday 2/15 Reading
Tuesday 2/20 Reading
Thursday 2/22 Paper
two: Rough Draft due
Tuesday 2/27
Thursday 3/1 Reading
Tuesday 3/6 Conferences
Thursday 3/8 Conferences
Spring
Break March 11-18; Mid-term
Tuesday 3/20 Reading
Thursday 3/22
Tuesday 3/27 Prospectus
two due; Paper two: Final due
Thursday 3/29
Tuesday 4/3
Thursday 4/5 Paper
three: Rough Draft due
Tuesday 4/10
Thursday 4/12
Tuesday 4/17 Conferences
Thursday 4/19 Conferences
Tuesday 4/24
Thursday 4/26 Paper
three: Final due; Evaluations; RESEARCH
PRESENTATIONS
Final Exam: Thursday, May
3,
"Language
is the most vivid and crucial key to identity:
It reveals the private identity, and connects one with, or divorces one
from, the larger, public, or communal identity."
-James
Baldwin
“Good writers are also good readers – of the works
of other writers and of their own notes and drafts. The habits they develop as readers of others
– for instance evaluating assumptions, scrutinizing arguments and perceiving
irony – empower them when they write, read and revise their own notes and drafts.”
-Marcia
Stubbs and Sylvan Barnett
“One thing that is always with the writer – no
matter how long he has written or how good he is – is the continuing process of
learning how to write.”
-Flannery
O’Connor