College
of Liberal Arts and Sciences
English
104 Sections 10 and 13
Section
10 [CRN 10189] meets 11-11:50 MWF Eder 210
Section
13 [CRN 10194] meets at 12-12:50
Fall
2009
Instructor: Dr. Karen U. Fulton
Office: Eder Hall 222H
Email: fulton@missouriwestern.edu
Office phone: 816-271-4317
Office hours: 10-11 MWF, 2-3WT; other times by appointment
Required
Texts: Anderson, Chris and Lex Runciman. Open Questions.
A one-inch or larger three-ring
notebook with a supply of notebook paper (not spiral bound). It is important
that you bring this to class on
The
Course in Brief:
This course
asks you to become part of a community engaged in reading, discussing and
writing about how we make decisions that define us and that influence many
groups and communities to which we belong. This sounds abstract,
but the various readings and scenarios in Open Questions will offer many
particulars. You shall use these readings as material for frequent in-class
conversations and as the basis for a variety of writing assignments. And you
shall use these assignments as opportunities to more thoroughly understand many
of the writing aims and practices that you will adapt for use in courses later.
Grades:
Grades for
this course will be determined on three factors:
1. Course participation (10%) Three times
this semester you’ll be asked to rate your own participation according to
specific criteria, the form is posted on the O-drive (which we will go over
today). If I agree with your rating, I’ll record it as you’ve indicated. If I
disagree, I’ll ask you for more information. If you do not turn in an
evaluation within one week of the due date, I’ll make my own estimate of your participation.
2. Informal writes (20%) (which I will sometimes refer to as a process journal; it
means the same thing).You are required to complete 25 informal writes this
semester in order to receive a grade of C on this portion of the course. You
are encouraged to do more on your own.
In general, these are to be word-processed ½-1 page (definition and
example of a page are also on O-drive) paragraphs that capture some point of
your thinking about some aspect of this course. I will provide 25 prompts for you to begin from. They won’t be
read for grammar, punctuation, or spelling. They will be read according to what
they are saying or trying to say. I will collect specific Informal Writes a few
times during the semester, and on these, I’ll make some return comment and put
a check mark next to your name in the grade book.
At the end
of the semester, you will turn in all your informal writes to me for an overall
review. However, I will accept only one make-up for the last class day. In
short you cannot “save up” your informal writes for the end of the term. You
need to keep up with them and be prepared to hand in any one assigned at any
time. You may want to keep them in the binder which you bring to class.
Occasionally, I will assign an in-class informal write; obviously this will be
handwritten and not word-processed. You will word-process them for the final
collection.
If you miss
a class when an informal write has been collected, it is your responsibility to
email or hand me a word-processed copy no more than two class sessions later
than when it was done in order for it to receive credit. All informal writes
will be posted on the O drive in advance of when they are due (except for
in-class informal writes).
3. Formal writing assignments (60%)
You’ll be asked to complete several papers this term. Each will have its own
process which might have preliminary assignments. The papers are weighted more
heavily toward the end of the semester. Grades are given on a 100% scale, and
10% gradations. If at any time you have concerns about your progress or your
grade, you owe it to yourself to come to my office during office hours and
discuss this with me.
Here, in
brief are the formal assignments:
1. A portrait of you as a writer. This
portrait will be made up of pieces of individual writing which you will
generate in class, as Informal Writes, and writings you have done earlier. The
writer’s portrait may contain poems you have written, thoughts that you have
about the process, etc. (5 pages)
Due Date:
2. Thesis paper #1:
Description/Reflection Essay. Correct use of two sources from Open Questions.
(5-6 pages).
Due Date:
3. Thesis Paper #2: University as
Community of Truth. Correct use of two sources from Open Questions. (6
pages)
Due Date:
4. Thesis Paper #3: Final essay topic
to be decided by the class. Correct use of two sources from Open Questions (6-7
pages).
Due Date:
Final Examinations
Section
10 (
Section
13 (
Grading
Criteria:
For Class Participation, Journals, and for Formal Assignments are
available in the Fulton ENG 104 folder on the 0 drive.
Disability
Policy: It is the student’s responsibility to make the instructor
aware of any disability which may interfere with maximum learning. The
instructor will work to accommodate the student.
Attendance
Policy: More than 3 absences will result in the lowering of a
student’s grade; more than 6 will result in failure for the course. All missed
work must be made up by the student. Under University Policy, if you have 3
unexcused absences at midterm (an unexcused absence is one that does not
involve a University function), I must report you as FA. This will result in
you being dropped from the class and your financial aid being refigured. If you have more than 6 absences by the time
of the final, I must report you as FA.
Please see
the University catalog page 23 for this policy in 100 and 200 level courses.
Academic Honesty Policy: Last, but most
importantly, the University requires that you adhere to the Academic Honesty
Policy which is described in the Student Handbook. The University and
the Professor expect that any work turned in for grading will be the work of
the student. If violations to the Academic Honesty Policy occur, the minimum
consequence will be failure for the assignment. If the violation is
sufficiently grave or repeated, the student will fail the course and be reported
to the Provost. Two reports of Academic
Dishonesty to the Provost will result in the student being separated from the
University.