Missouri Western State University, Division of Liberal Arts and Sciences

Department of English, Foreign Languages, and Journalism

English 100-Introduction to College Writing

 

Section 01: Lecture- MWF 8-8:50, Murphy Hall 104; Writer’s Workshop- M/W 9-9:50, Eder Hall 222 U/V

Section 04: Lecture- MWF 9-9:50, Murphy Hall 105; Writer’s Workshop- M/W 8-8:50, Eder Hall 222 U/V

Section 08: Lecture- MWF 11-11:50, Murphy Hall 105; Writer’s Workshop- M/W 1- 1:50, Eder Hall 222 U/V

Spring 2008

 

Instructor:            

Michael Lund

Office:   

Eder Hall 213

Phone:   

271-4310 (Messages)

Office Hours:

10-11 MWF and by appointment

E-mail:

lund@missouriwestern.edu

 

 

 

 

Attendance Policy

                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. This course has a very strict attendance policy in class as well as in Writer’s Workshops.  If you miss seven class periods or four Writer’s Workshops, you will receive an F in the class.  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: however, there are no other excused absences, exceptions or “makeups” for this attendance requirement. Furthermore, the maximum number of absences allowed before the midterm report, March 19, for this class is five. Thus, when you have six 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.

 

Student Responsibility

If you miss a class session, you always remain responsible for all information distributed, material covered, and assignments given during your absence. Also, if you are more than five minutes late for class, you will be given a tardy. Excessive tardiness will cost you participation points and may adversely affect your grade.

 

Civility and Cooperation

                Missouri Western requires all students to help us maintain good conditions for teaching and learning. All students will treat their classmates, teachers, and student assistants 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.

 

Required Texts and Course Materials

Introduction to College Writing, 3rd edition.

A Troubleshooting Guide for Writers, 4th edition.

3-1/2" floppy disks/CDs/etc.

cheap, simple folders for turning in portfolios

extra copies of your writing for group work as requested

 

Course Goals

                Detailed course objectives are available on the web site for English 100:

http://www2.mwsc.edu/eflj/eng100.html#Objectives.

In general you should improve your abilities in the following categories:

writing for different audiences and purposes

active reading and critical thinking

using writing processes effectively to produce valuable results

using written conventions more accurately

 

Class Assignments: General Grading Policy:

                Your grade will be determined on the basis of your progress as a writer, the writings you submit, and your class participation over the course of the semester.  The components of your grade in the course are:

 

Writing. You will complete four major writing tasks, each of which will be submitted along with a mini-portfolio of related material.  A student who does not turn in an adequate version of all four tasks will not pass the course, regardless of other points earned. Since all of these grades are based on portfolios, you need to keep everything that you produce as part of this class for the entire semester in order to earn the best possible grade. No late work will be accepted for this class without prior approval and substantial reason (i.e., documented emergency) and always at the instructor’s discretion.

 

Writer’s Workshop. Throughout the course of the semester, you will attend the weekly small group Writer’s Workshops. Some of your Writer’s Workshop materials may be used in class, and some of your class papers will be critiqued and proofread in Writer’s Workshops.  I will consider your Writer's Workshop participation as part of your class participation grade.

 

Quizzes and Homework. You will be given announced and unannounced quizzes throughout the semester, along with several homework assignments. If you miss a quiz, it cannot be made up for credit. Homework must be turned in when due to receive credit for the assignment.

 

Grading Requirements and Evaluations:

 

All graded materials will receive scores in points. The point scale will be converted to letter grades as follows (1000 points possible for course).

 

90-100     = A

80-90       = B

70-80       = C

60-70       = D

59-0       = F

These are the values for each course component:

 

 

Task One:             

Task Two:            

Task Three:

Task Four

Quizzes and Homework:

Participation:        

               

               

15%

15%

25%

15%

20%

10%

 

 

 

 

Participation

                I will keep daily ratings for participation, including but not nearly limited to your quiz grades. I will report your current standing along with all evaluations of finished Task Papers. I will also review your Writer's Workshop materials before mid-term and at the end of the semester to figure your final participation grade. The most important part of this grade is simply being in class for the entire class period. Next, you should aim to be completely ready to participate in class activities, such as by having adequate drafts for peer review. Finally, you should aim to add value to the class whenever there are class discussions and activities.

 

Final Portfolios

                The final portfolios of all four tasks will be evaluated for all the abilities described in the course objectives. Throughout the semester you will receive information and responses that help you understand these objectives and how they are evaluated to make up your grade. Each portfolio will contain a wide variety of formal and informal materials that will be defined more specifically later on in the semester. To get the best grade on the portfolios, you need to keep everything that you produce as part of this class for the entire semester.

 

Student Disability

                Any student in this course who has a disability that prevents the fullest expressions of abilities should contact Missouri Western's Special Needs Office at 271-4330 for possible certification of special needs and expert recommendations for assistance.  You should also contact the teacher personally as soon as possible so that the two of you can discuss class requirements.

 

 

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 other designated representative on the Academic Honesty Violation Report forms.

Please see the 2007-07 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   Remember, you always have the initial burden of demonstrating that a paper showing evidence of cheating or plagiarism is in fact your own original work. Therefore, always keep thorough evidence of your writing processes for all papers in this class.

 

Additional Information

                Whenever you are asked to bring anything, you should have with you a version that you would be willing to have marked up or handed in for review. Make an extra copy if you want a clean version for yourself. Homework may be hand-written if legible.

                Note: On draft due dates of essays, you must arrive with a clean, word-processed version that is equivalent to the minimum length of the assignment. If you do not have this ready at the beginning of class, you will be counted absent from that class session.

                Whenever you are assigned reading from the text, and I will announce these assignments and their due dates in class, it is to be read in its entirety, inclusive of any/all “Questions for Discussion” before the start of class on that given date. All reading assignments are in Introduction to College Writing and will be noted by page numbers and/or titles. Remember, I will also add additional homework to this schedule, and quizzes may be announced or unannounced and cannot be made up! It pays to come to class!

 

Tentative Course Schedule

 

1/14         Introductions. We will review class requirements and the standards and objectives.

1/16         Writing Sample essay.

1/18         We will get started on the Task One assignment.         

1/23         We will explore possible Task One topics and strategies.           

1/25         Task One continued.          

1/28         Task One continued.                          

1/30         Bring adequate prewriting for Task One                        

2/1           Bring a draft of Task One (at least 2 pages) for instructor review.

2/4           Problem solving session for Task One drafts.                                               

2/6           Bring full Task One drafts (at least 2 pages) for peer review session.

2/8           Bring full Task One drafts (at least 2 pages) for further revision.

2/11         Task One paper and portfolio due. We will get started on Task Two.

2/13         We will explore possible Task Two topics and strategies.

2/15         Task Two continued.

2/18         Task Two continued.                         

2/20         Bring adequate prewriting for Task Two.   

2/22         Bring  two copies of your Task Two drafts (at least 2 pages) for peer and instructor review.              .

2/25         Problem solving session for Task Two drafts.                               

2/27         Bring a copy of Task Two drafts (at least 3 pages) for additional peer review session.                        

2/29         TBA                      

3/3           Task Two paper and portfolio due. We will get started on Task Three.                                     .

3/5           We will explore possible Task Three topics and strategies.                        

3/7           Task Three continued.                       

3/17         Task Three continued.       

3/19         Task Three continued.                       

3/21         Assign reading summaries.               

3/24         Bring a draft of your reading summary for peer and instructor review.    

3/26         Bring a draft of your reading summary for additional peer review session.             

3/28         Reading summaries due.  

3/31         We will review "documentation" of sources.

4/2           Bring a draft of Task Three (at least 3 pages) for tone and voice work.

4/4           Bring a draft of Task Three (at least 3 pages) for sentence style work.

4/7           Bring a draft of Task Three(at least 3 pages) for word choice work.

4/9           Bring a draft of Task Three (at least 3 pages) for peer review session.

4/11         Task Three paper and portfolio due. We will get started on Task Four and sign up for conferences.

4/14         Conferences

4/16         Conferences

4/18         Conferences

4/21         Task Four continued.

4/23         Bring two copies of your Task Four drafts (at least 2 pages) for peer and instructor review.              

4/25         Bring a draft of Task Four (at least 2 pages) for additional peer review session.

4/28         Task Four paper and portfolio due.

 

Final Exam Schedule

Section 01- Wednesday, April 30, 8:30 -10:20

Section 04- Friday, May 2, 8:30 -10:20

Section 08- Friday, May 2, 11:30 - 1:20