Missouri Western State University, Division of Liberal Arts and Sciences
Department of English, Foreign
Languages, and Journalism
Class: 3-3:50 MWF Murphy Hall 105
Writer’s Workshop: 2-2:50 MW
Teacher: Dr. Stacia
Bensyl
Office: 222I Eder Hall
Phone: 271-5936
Office
Hours: 2-3 MW, 9:30-11:30 TR, and
by appointment
E-mail: bensyl@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, for the entire semester, you will
receive an F in the class. There are
no excused absences, exceptions or “makeups” for this
attendance requirement. Furthermore,
the maximum number of absences allowed before the
midterm report, October 16, 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.
If you miss a class session, you are responsible for all
material covered and assignments given during your absence. All out-of-class assignments are due at the
beginning of the class period. No late
assignments will be accepted. No
exceptions. No kidding.
Required
Texts and Course Materials:
Introduction to College Writing – ENG 100, McGraw-Hill, 2008 (Fourth Edition)
and A Troubleshooting Guide for Writers, McGraw-Hill, 2008
(Writer’s
Workshop book is included in textbook)
Computer disks/jump drives
Photocopies for group work as
requested
Course
Goals and Class Assignments:
Reading
Goals:
At the
completion of ENG 100 students should be able to
·
Read actively for
greater understanding;
·
Use reading to
improve their writing by drawing ideas and information from written material;
·
Use texts to
understand their own and others’ experiences;
·
Read writing
assignments effectively as a guide to creating better papers;
·
Recognize good
writing by actively reading good prose.
Writing
Goals:
At the
completion of ENG 100 students should be able to
·
Move easily from
writing for self-expression to writing for readers;
·
Write at greater
length more easily, more quickly, and more usefully;
·
Structure their
writing to fit the assignment, purpose, and audience;
·
Develop their
ideas and concepts with specific details, examples, and explanations;
·
Craft more
effective and polished sentences and paragraphs;
·
Use effective
planning, invention, revision, and editing to complete successful writing
tasks.
General
Studies Goals:
In ENG 100
students should improve their ability to
·
Think critically
and reason analytically;
·
Write and speak
clearly and effectively;
·
Gain a greater
awareness of the present through an understanding of other cultures and times;
·
Understand and
appreciate moral values and ethical choices;
·
Understand and
enjoy aesthetic experiences and share in related creative activities.
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. This handbook is available online at http://missouriwestern.edu/handbook/index.pdf.
I absolutely will not tolerate your being discourteous or
disrespectful to the student assistants in Writers’ Workshop. Don’t be surprised if I pop my head in the
door sometimes to see how the workshop is going.
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.
You will complete four major writing tasks that will be graded by your
teacher. A student who does not turn in
complete responses to all four tasks will not pass the course even if the
grades achieved in the other writing tasks are satisfactory. You need a C or higher to pass ENG 100 and
enter ENG 104. The components of your
grade in the course are:
Frequent,
often unannounced, quizzes (10%)
Four
“mini-portfolios,” one per unit, which will include all your in class work,
your rough draft, your peer reviews, and your final draft for that task paper
(20% each)
A final
exam, given on December 11 from 2:00-3:50 in this classroom (10%)
The grading
scale is as follows:
100-90% = A
80-89% = B
70-79% = C
60-69% = D
59-0% = F
Late Work Policy and Classroom
Conduct:
As I stated above, I will not accept
late work. Your portfolios are due on
their due dates. Period. You cannot make up peer reviews. If you have missed an in class assignment and
want to include it in your portfolio it is your responsibility to get the
assignment from me well before the rough draft of the task paper is due. Each assignment builds on the one before and
prepares you for writing your rough draft.
I also will not give make up quizzes.
If you miss a quiz, I will simply double the score on the next quiz you
take.
You may not text or surf the net
on your new iphone in my class. You must turn off your phone or set it to
silent. Do not come to my class thinking
you can listen to your ipod, either. We need to be paying attention to one another. We will be spending a significant amount of
time in classroom discussion. I expect
all our interactions to be civil. The
rules that apply to Writer’s Workshops (below) also apply to this classroom, as
noted. Students who violate these
policies will be asked to leave and will be given an absence for the day.
Writer’s Workshop:
Throughout the course of the semester, you will attend the
once-a-week, small group Writer’s Workshops (listed as “labs” in the class
schedule). 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. You
must ensure that you have the right materials in the right place. Your teacher may also consider you Writer's
Workshop participation as part of your grade.
If you miss four Writer’s
Workshops, you will fail ENG 100. You
can make-up an absence, but you must attend the make-up session on Friday of
the week you missed. You can only attend
the make-up session three times throughout the entire semester. If you wish to appeal your failure due to
absences, you must be able to provide valid documentation for ALL absences and
you must have an A or B grade in ENG 100 at the time (see Appeal Procedure in
textbook). In addition to not showing up
for workshop, you can also be counted absent for the following reasons (these
situations also apply to class as well):
-arriving very late; tardies
will be added up for an absence
-not having required materials (textbook,
draft of paper, portfolio, etc.)
-not participating/not paying attention to
the SA and the lesson
-sleeping
-unacceptable behavior that impedes
others’ learning such as being disruptive, showing disrespect to your SA and/or
peers, using foul language, using a cell phone or other electronic devices,
working on other coursework
Due Dates
for Formal Writing Assignments:
Task One: Friday, September 18
Task Two: Wednesday, October 7
Task Three: Friday, November 6
Task Four: Wednesday, December 2
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 coordinator (Michael Ritter) for
possible certification of special needs and expert recommendations for
assistance. You should also contact your
teacher personally as soon as possible so that the two of you can discuss class
requirements.
Academic
Honesty Policy:
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. If
your teacher finds evidence of cheating or plagiarism, you have the burden of
showing that the paper has in fact been written by you. You should keep thorough evidence of your
writing processes for all papers so that you can meet this burden of proof. 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 Student Handbook for specific activities identified as
violations of this policy and the student due process procedure. This handbook is also available online at http://missouriwetsern.edu/handbook/index.pdf.