Jim Neal
Division of Liberal
Arts and Sciences
Department of
English/Foreign Languages/Journalism
Syllabus
Course:
Murphy Hall 104
Semester/Year: spring 2008
Office and Phone: SSC 222T; 271-4239 My e-mail address is
neal13@kc.rr.com
Office Hours: I have no office hours, but I would be happy
to meet with you
before or after
class.
Text: The Bedford Guide by
Kennedy, Kennedy, and Muth (eighth ed.)
I would also suggest that you check
out my English I notes at nealz.tripod.com
ENG 104 Goals/Objectives and Means
See
http://www.mwsc.edu/~engdept/eng104.html and
http://www2.mwsc.edu/eflj/eng104.html#Institutional
Before any grade
appeal will be processed for a student in ENG 100, 104, or 108, the complete
portfolio of writings will have to be submitted to the Department Review
Committee.
Grading
Formula: All
students are required to submit all work within the assigned specifications and
on time and to come to class prepared.
Attitude, effort, and attendance are a must. Students must complete all assigned papers to
pass the course. The students’ grade
will be based upon the scores received on the assigned papers, the final exam,
and bonus and penalty points. The
following grading scale will be used in this class: 0 - 59% = F, 60 - 69% = D, 70 - 79% = C, 80 -
89% = B, and 90 -100%= A.
The papers will be graded holistically and
receive a letter grade of A for excellent, B for above average, C for average,
D for below average, and F for unsatisfactory.
This grade will then be translated into a percentile reflecting the
grading scale in the previous paragraph.
The percentile grade will be recorded.
The criteria I will use to arrive at this grade are unity, support,
coherence, sentence skills, and following directions. Students must avoid these serious errors, any
single instance of which has the potential of lowering a grade one letter: ruptures in paragraph unity, choppiness,
sentence fragments, fused sentences, verb ruptures (time and number unity),
pronoun ruptures (in unity, ambiguous antecedent, use of improper case),
misplaced modifiers, comma splices, faulty or mixed constructions, and rambling
sentences (more than two independent clauses joined by a repeated
conjunction). Students should also avoid
these minor errors: spelling, typing, or
capitalization errors; abbreviations; use of low or improper diction, such as
"you," “just,” “get,” “got,” or "a lot"; omitted or
repeated words; use of the adjective rather than the adverbial case, or vise
versa, such as "secondly," "more importantly," or
"hopefully"; ending sentences with prepositions; split infinitives;
parentheses; use of double prepositions or double negatives; faulty parallelism
or faulty coordination; one-sentence paragraphs; ending a list with a
non-specific term or etc.; or punctuation errors. I do not grade on style; opinion; or topic,
unless it falls outside the perimeters of the assignment. Assigned papers will be considered late at
the end of the class period on which they are due regardless of things like
computer problems. Late papers will be
penalized ten percentage points for each class session they are late, though I
will not accept papers that are more than three weeks late, meaning the student
will not pass the course. Penalty points
may not be made up. Papers may be
rewritten to improve the grade as many times as the student wishes until the
end of the peer tutorial period for that particular paper. Once the papers are handed in for grading,
failing papers may be rewritten once, though the revised grade will not exceed
60%; however, if the paper is very good except for one problem area, I might,
at my discretion, allow a student to correct it and split the difference.
Rewrites of papers 1-4 must be accompanied by the graded copy and submitted to
the instructor within three weeks of the paper's original due date; rewrites of
papers 5 and 6 are due by the end of the
final exam. Students who simply omit a problem
indicated on a graded paper will still be charged for the error on the
rewrite. Rewrites that are not rewritten
will be recorded as 20%. I claim at
least a week to grade papers.
At the conclusion of the term, I will
figure a percentage, which will break down as follows: papers 90% (papers 5 and 6 count as two
papers each) and the final exam 5%. To
this average I will add up to five percentage points for perfect attendance,
consistent and constructive class participation, effort, and courtesy. I will subtract up to five percentage points
from the averages of those students who have come to class ill-prepared or
displayed rude or inconsiderate behavior such as talking other than when called
upon, eating, drinking, smoking, eye rolling, desk diving, yawning or sighing
loudly and blatantly, winking, blinking, nodding, sitting with feet propped up
on chairs or desks, note passing, or sleeping.
Tobacco chewing is not allowed. Students who engage in any of these activities
will receive two verbal warnings before being required to move to seating
assigned by the instructor and/or meet with the dean. Rudeness toward the instructor or fellow
students will not be tolerated. These
points will be awarded or deducted entirely at the instructor's personal discretion. Cell phones and electronic devices must be
turned off, and children are not allowed in the classroom.
Objectionable material: This class will contain frank and open
discussions of gender, sexuality, race, and ethnicity. There is a possibility that religion,
politics, drugs, and alcohol may pop up as well. The class discussions may include words that
some consider profane. Occasionally, the
instructor might, at his personal discretion, crossdress and/or interject humor
as an attempt to enliven the discussion and render the experience more
palatable.
Western
Attendance Policy for All 100 and 200 Level Courses
In order to improve student learning and retention
as well as to achieve compliance with federal financial aid policies, Western
has implemented a mandatory attendance policy for students in all 100-level
courses beginning Fall Semester 2006 and all 100- and 200-level courses
beginning Fall Semester 2007.
Instructors are required to monitor and track student attendance. 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. Any additional excused absences are at the
complete discretion of the instructor.
Maximum allowed unexcused absences
accrued before the reporting of midterm grades, March 19, are:
Class meetings/week Maximum unexcused absences
|
1 |
1 |
|
2 |
3 |
|
3 |
5 |
|
4 |
7 |
|
5 |
9 |
When a student exceeds the maximum number of unexcused absences, instructors must
report the student to the Registrar’s Office, who will administratively
withdraw the student from the course and notify the Financial Aid Office to
reduce financial aid as appropriate.
From the midterm to the end of the course, faculty will assign grades
according to their grading policies with regard to absences and record an FA
when a student fails due to absences.
Students experiencing illness or other
serious personal problems will be allowed up to three additional excused
absences. Whether these absences are
deemed excused will be left to the discretion of the instructor.
All other absences will be deemed
unexcused. The maximum number of
unexcused absences allowed for this class before the midterm report, March 19 is
three. 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. Students who are experiencing difficulty with
attendance should check with me as soon as possible. Students entering class late or leaving class
early will be considered tardy, and three tardies will count as an
absence. Students missing more than
twenty-five minutes of class will be considered absent. Students absent for any reason will bear the
responsibility for obtaining lecture notes from fellow students. An excused absence does not exempt the
student from doing the work or from the absence penalty. Students who sleep or appear to sleep or
engage in activities other than those being conducted by the instructor during
class will be considered absent.
Academic Honesty: Since honesty in the classroom
is required, cheating, plagiarism, or knowingly furnishing false information to
the college constitutes a violation. I
will not accept papers which are substantially similar to those of other
students or the sample papers. I will
accept only original work.
Portfolios: Students must maintain a portfolio of graded
papers to verify assignments completed or dispute a grade. This must be turned in one week before the
final exam, and it will be returned on the day of the final. Course grades will not be issued until the
portfolio is handed in.
Students with Disabilities: Any student in this course who has a
disability that prevents the fullest expression of abilities should contact me
as soon as possible so that we can discuss class requirements.
Specifications
for Papers in ENG 104
I don’t want folders, outlines, or
title pages. All papers must be
word-processed, laser-printed, and stapled in the upper left-hand corner. There must be a one-inch margin on all four
sides of the page. Click off the “widow
and orphan control” to make a consistent one-inch margin at the bottom of the
page. All papers must be
double-spaced. All papers must have the
student's name, the assignment number, and the current date in the upper
left-hand corner. All pages must have a header which contains the student’s
last name and the page number in the upper right-hand corner, one-half inch
from the top of the page. All papers
must have a title, which must be centered from left to right. The first and last words in the title must be
capitalized, as must all the major words.
Articles ("a," "an," and "the"), coordinating
conjunctions ("and," "or," "nor,"
"for," "so," "yet," and "but"), and
prepositions may be presented in low case unless they are the first or last
word. One may play it safe and simply
capitalize the first letter of all the words, but the title must not be
presented in all capital letters. The
title must not be underlined unless it contains a title; placed within quotes
unless it is a quote or contains a quote; or followed by punctuation unless it
is a question or an exclamation. All
paragraphs must be indented one-half inch. One space between words and
following a period is the current MLA style; however, two spaces following a
period are acceptable. Left justify your
papers. Do not right justify. Use a 12-point Bookman or a 14-point Times New
Roman font. All papers must contain a minimum of 600 words
of text, excluding documentation, name, date, assignment number, and
title. No paper may contain more than
150 words of quotes. Short papers will
be penalized one percentage point per word.
Penalty points may not be made up. All papers must cover different
topics. Do not fight your topics. Strive for a smooth, even flow by avoiding a
series of simple declarative statements.
Replace forms of the verbs "to be" and "to have"
with more colorful, active verbs whenever possible. Do not abbreviate. Any paper which has a proof summary in the
conclusion will be penalized a letter grade.
Please remember that this is not a creative writing class, nor are we
involved in a search for truth. Think of
these assignments as drills designed to develop a specific skill area.
The Papers
These are subject to
change!
All papers may be made up or contain fictional information. I never assume that what students write
actually happened or reflects their personal opinions. The students may be as creative or frivolous
as they wish, as long as they satisfy all aspects of the assignment. Feel free to add Richard Simmons, Elvis's ghost,
and/or flying saucers. These papers can
be fun.
All papers
will evolve through the following steps:
a group discussion of the assigned readings and the assignment itself,
peer tutorials, and grading by the instructor.
These are the sources of help:
the learning center, the computer center, the textbook, fellow students,
and family and friends. Still, you are
the one who receives the grade, and therefore you are responsible for your
paper. Not all advice is good advice.
Also, I will be happy to assist students on their papers through, but not
after, the peer tutorial class period. There is plenty of time to ask questions
in class and plenty of time between when the paper is assigned and when it’s
due. Also, you may ask specific
questions about outlines or drafts of your papers, though I WON’T PROOFREAD them.
Students who wish to achieve a grade of B or higher may do so by
selecting a topic and preparing a rough outline and then showing me the outline
as soon as possible. The student should
show me the paper at each stage of the composition process, having a complete
paper, one which is ready to be handed in, no later than the day of the peer
tutorial. Students who wish to achieve a
grade of C or lower may do so by handing me a “midnight special,” one I see for
the first time when it’s handed in for grading.
Paper #1:
"Writing from Observation" is an exercise in the use
of sensory imagery, specifics, and detail, which is not only the mark of a good
writer but also of intelligence. You may
use time order, but do not tell a story—it will not fulfill the
assignment. Avoid verb shifts, dangling
participles, and the word "you."
Punctuate your coordinate adjectives correctly. I would recommend present tense. Pretend you are a camera which can hear,
taste, touch, and smell as well as see. Show—do
not tell. Introductions and conclusions are
optional. Check with me on each use of
"lie" and "lay" and "sit" and
"set." Periods and commas always precede the closed quote. Avoid choppiness by combining sentences,
varying sentence structure, and adding more information to your sentences. Watch out for "further" and
"farther" and use the superlative correctly.
Paper #2: "Writing from Recall" is a
description of a dramatic moment in your life.
I want an abundance of sensory imagery, specifics, and detail, just as
in paper #1. Use time order and watch
for verb shifts. I would recommend past
tense. Don’t use past perfect when you mean simple past. If you wish, you may jump right into the
action, but if there is information the reader needs to know to appreciate the
significance of the event, then that information should be presented in one or
more introductory paragraphs. The
incident itself must occupy at least two-thirds of the paper. Do not jump around in the action. Focus on at least one but no more than three
significant moments and describe in detail your sensory impressions and feelings.
Again, do not merely tell me
what happened, show me. When you have described the incident in
sufficient detail, then present in a concluding paragraph or two how you feel
about the event as you look back on it now.
How did it change you? What
insights did you gain? How does this
memory make you feel?
Paper #3: "Analyzing" can be approached in
one of two ways. In the first, you
explain a process. Use present tense,
because you are describing a process in general rather than a specific
incident. Do not tell a story—it will
not fulfill the assignment. You may give
background information in an introductory paragraph if you wish, or you may
simply state your thesis and begin explaining your process. Remember that your title cannot serve as your
thesis. It is conceivable that your
paper could be one long paragraph if your steps cannot be developed. Your process must contain at least one
time-significant step. You may not use
recipes, the word "you," or the imperative case (the "you
understood" subject). Five points
will be deducted for each use of "you" or the imperative case. Instead of using "you," say
"I" or describe the group of people you are talking about, such as
"carpenters" or
"bricklayers." You may
invent a fictitious person to be the vehicle for your thesis, or you may use
"one." When you have finished
your text, use the search function to make certain you have not used
"you," "will," or ", then." Watch out for pronoun
ruptures and the "then" comma splice!
The second approach is one in which you simply break something down into
its component parts and describe them.
In this approach, you must have a two-sentence introduction. In the first sentence, you announce the
criteria you are dividing the topic into (there must be at least three), and
then in the second sentence, the criteria are listed. These are the things I look for in the proof
paragraphs: 1, the proof paragraphs are developed in the order the criteria
were listed in the proof summary; 2, the paragraphs are introduced by clear
transitional expressions; 3, the proof paragraphs are controlled by strong
topic sentences that match the proof summary; 4, the proof paragraphs are
developed with specifics and details; and 5, the proof paragraphs are
unified. Conclude with a two-sentence
paragraph, the first sentence of which contains a transitional expression and a
re-affirmation of the thesis, and the second sentence of which is an editorial
comment. Ten points will be deducted
from papers containing a proof summary in the conclusion. If you chose to review a movie, book, or
short story, do not retell the plot.
The next three papers must be
documented in accordance with current MLA style as specified on pages 686-719
in The Bedford Guide.
These papers must contain a minimum of four parenthetical cites from a minimum of two works cited entries. Of these, one must be a book-length entry
other than a reference work or computer-accessed source, and the other must be
a periodical entry other than a computer-accessed source. Your own words must make up at least
three-fourths of the text. Introduce all
quotes and paraphrases and identify your sources. Some of you will be tempted to respond to
these assignments by turning in papers written for another class, perhaps
written by someone else. This temptation
must be resisted! Don't do it! It will not work!
Paper #4:
"Writing from
Papers number five and six are, in
effect, take-home comprehensive final exams and will therefore count as two
papers each. Papers number five and six
must deal with issues of regional, national, or international consequence. All papers in this course must cover
different topics. Papers five and six
may contain a prefatory section that will create interest, dispel a negative
prejudice, tell a story, educate the reader, or establish the writer's
credibility. This section is optional,
but if it is included, it is considered a part of the regular text and
therefore will follow the title.
Paper #5: "Causes or Effects" will be presented in the "standard
format," which must include a two-sentence introduction, a minimum of
three proof points, and a conclusion in the manner described for option number
two of paper 3.. The first sentence in
the introduction must be the thesis. It
must clearly show a cause and effect relationship, and it must be followed by a
proof summary. Your thesis must be, in
effect, "There are many reasons why ___________." Your proof summary must be, in effect,
"Three of these reasons are ________, __________, and ________." Or your thesis may be, in effect, "There
have been many consequences of _________."
Your proof summary would be, in effect, "Three of these
consequences are ________, ________, and __________." Your thesis cannot be an opinion; in other
words, you cannot say "this, this, and this are the reasons I feel this
way."
Paper #6: "Proposing a Solution" must be
presented in the same format as paper #5.
The thesis must be either "We should do this" or "We
should not do this." If the thesis
is the former, then the proof points may explain why we should do this or how
we should go about doing this, but you may not combine whys with hows, and
your paper must not be a process paper.
If the thesis is "We should not do this," then the proof
points can only explain why you feel as you do.
Course Outline for ENG 104
This is subject to change!
All readings are assigned as of the
beginning of the course. Students will
be responsible for assigned readings any time after the class period when the
readings are assigned. A finished draft,
one which could theoretically be handed in, is due on the day of the peer
tutorial.
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Weeks
1-4: "The Honeymoon":
Everyone likes everyone else; school is new, fun, and interesting.
Everyone should try it. We’re lucky to
be here. |
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Week1 |
1/15 |
1 |
We become acquainted, handouts distributed and explained |
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1/17 |
2 |
basic writing concepts reviewed, drop period, last day to change from audit to credit |
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2 |
1/22 |
3 |
basic writing concepts reviewed |
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1/24 |
4 |
paper
#1 assigned, read pp. 73-77 |
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3 |
1/29 |
5 |
assignment
reviewed, readings covered |
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1/31 |
6 |
assignment
reviewed, readings covered |
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4 |
2/5 |
7 |
peer tutorials |
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2/7 |
8 |
paper
#1 due, paper #2 assigned, read pp. 56-61 |
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5 |
2/12 |
9 |
assignment
reviewed, readings covered |
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2/14 |
10 |
assignment
reviewed, readings covered |
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Week 6: "The Days of Rage": You’ve just received your first paper
back. You hate me. You say bad things to and about me. You glare at me and mutter in class. I
don’t seem to realize that you may not be as fascinated by this boring,
stupid subject as I am. I don’t
realize that you have other classes and other interests and that you have to
work to pay your bills. You fabricate a Voodoo fetish doll in my likeness and
stick pins into it while burning a black candle and chanting a litany of all
the terrible things you hope will happen to me, most of which already have. |
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6 |
2/19 |
11 |
peer tutorials |
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2/21 |
12 |
paper
#2 due, paper #3 assigned, read pp. 441-72 |
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Weeks 7 and 8: "The Doldrums": You
lapse into a mute apathy. You no
longer hate me, and we’re minimally friends again, though not as we were
during "The Honeymoon." |
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7 |
2/26 |
13 |
assignment reviewed, readings covered |
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2/28 |
14 |
last day rewrites for paper #1 are accepted |
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8 |
3/ 4 |
15 |
peer tutorials |
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3/6 |
16 |
paper
#3 due, paper #4 assigned, read pp. 201-08 and 686-719 |
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Weeks
9-12: "The Black Hole": You
hate school. You’re sick and tired of
the teachers, the assignments, going to class, studying—the whole thing. Your relationships and health are
suffering. You’ve lost your sense of
humor. You’re behind on your bills,
and your car needs work, but you can’t afford to have it fixed. The attendance policy is catching up with
some of your fellow students, and they are dropping like flies. Some of your classmates have appealed my
grading criteria and attendance
policies but have lost, and now they’re considering hiring a lawyer. You would rather fail—let’s be honest,
you’d rather die—than have to write another paper or sit through another
boring lecture. That job at McDonalds
doesn’t sound so bad any more, and in some moments it is downright
appealing. All is darkness. No end is in sight. You’ve gone into the “ultraglide” mode. The clutch is in, and you’re coasting. This will basically continue until the end
of the term. |
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9 |
3/18 |
17 |
assignment reviewed, readings
covered |
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3/20 |
18 |
documentation lecture, last day
rewrites for paper #2 will be accepted |
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10 |
3/25 |
19 |
peer tutorials |
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3/27 |
20 |
paper #4 due, paper #5 assigned, read pp. 122-29 |
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3/28
(no class) |
This
is the last day to change from credit to audit. If you are failing the course, I would advise
you to change to audit. |
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11 |
4/1 |
21 |
assignment reviewed, readings
covered |
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4/3 |
22 |
last day rewrites for paper #3 will be
accepted |
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12 |
4/8 |
23 |
peer
tutorials |
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4/10 |
24 |
paper
#5 due, paper #6 assigned, read pp. 140-146 |
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Weeks
13-16: "There’s Light at the End of the Tunnel!!": All those people who were complaining are
gone. Summer vacation is just around
the corner! Finals are only a couple
weeks away, and I’ll be done! Can I
make it? Are you kidding me? Are bears Buddhists? Heck yes I can make it! |
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13 |
4/15 |
25 |
assignment
reviewed, readings covered |
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4/17 |
26 |
peer
tutorials |
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14 |
4/22 |
27 |
paper #6 due |
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4/24 |
28 |
review for final exam, portfolios due, grades verified |
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15 |
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