SYLLABUS: ENGLISH 104
COLLEGE WRITING AND RHETORIC
Sections 8 and 15
Instructor: Meredith Katchen
Office: Eder Hall 232, suite P
Phone: 271-5815
E-mail: mkatchen@missouriwestern.edu
Office Hours: MWF: 11:00-11:30, 1:00-1:30;
TR: 8:45-9:15, 12:30-1:00
REQUIRED BOOKS
AND MATERIALS: You will
need to purchase the following:
·
One
spiral notebook, 40 to 70 pages, to serve as a journal
·
One folder
in which to keep handouts and loose papers
·
Photocopies
of written work, as needed
You may think you
are lucky to have no books to buy. However, what you save in cash you will
expend in effort.
GENERAL COURSE
ORIENTATION: There is not
a single definition of rhetoric accepted by everyone. Nor is there universal agreement
on how or even why to teach it. Nevertheless, a union of writing and rhetoric requires
that a student practice using language persuasively. To that end, it is useful
to consider some ways by which language may or may not be persuasive. This
course will help students recognize,
analyze, and practice persuasion. There will be ample opportunity for the class
to share and rethink ideas.
BASIC COURSE
COMPONENTS:
* Journals: Expect to use your journal each day for notes,
exercises, and responses to prompts. Journals will be worth about 30% of your
grade.
* Essays: Expect to write at least ten short papers, just a
few pages each. These will be worth about 60% of your grade. Each assignment
will have a specified point value and specific evaluation criteria that will
become more stringent as the semester progresses.
* Final: A final assignment will
be worth 10% of your grade.
ATTENDANCE: A student simply can not succeed in this
class with less than very good attendance. Absence is its own penalty. Absence
causes a student to miss or misunderstand assignments. Absence will also cause
you to miss journal entries, and missing journal entries will earn no points. Can
you pass this class with poor attendance? That has happened, but only rarely
and under extraordinary circumstances. Let me suggest this: if you are not in
this class with the intention of earning a good grade, please leave now. You
will be doing a service to all of us – yourself, your classmates, and me. If
you are not committed to being a diligent student, this class will be a very
bad fit for you.
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 15, 2008 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.
Coming and
Going: Late arrivals and
early departures will, if chronic (more than once) be added together to total
at least ½ of an absence.
LATE WORK: Assigned work that is not submitted on
time may be penalized (in which case a penalty of one letter-grade will be
assessed) or refused (in which case zero points will be earned). I reserve the
right to grant extensions to diligent students who discuss with me, in advance,
their need for an extension.
REVISION OF
WRITTEN WORK: Unlike
English 100, this course will treat each paper you submit as a finished
product. Revision of finished papers may
be possible after we confer, but you would be wise to think of drafts submitted
to me and to classmates as texts ready for evaluation.
GRADING: We will use a 1000 point system. Each
student will begin the semester with zero points. Students who accumulate 900
or more points will receive a grade of A, 800 to 899 points = B, 700 to 799
points = C, and 600 to 699 points = D. A
grade of C or better is prerequisite for English 108. Students who earn
fewer than 600 points will fail the course. In the event we do not reach 1000 assigned
points, grades will be calculated as a percent of actual points available, in
which case 90% or more equals A, 80% to 89% equals B,
and so on.
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: I would like to invite all students to meet with me at least twice during the semester.