Department of English, Foreign Languages and Journalism MWSU, Division of Liberal Arts & Sciences Fall 2009 ENG 104 College Writing and Rhetoric 10:00 TR Murphy 206
Professor: Dr. Kaye Adkins Office: 222J Eder Office Hours:9:00-10:45 TR, 10:00-12:00 W, by appointment Email (my preferred method of communication): kadkins@missouriwestern.edu
Objectives: The course objectives are outlined on the EFLJ Department web page. These include:
Learning to write for different audiences and purposes
Learning to use active reading and critical thinking
Learning to use writing processes
Learning written conventions
In this course, I will place special emphasis on writing in an academic environment.
Required Textbooks and materials:
Rosenwasser and Stephen, Writing Analytically with Readings
A good college dictionary
Knowledge
of how to use the Missouri Western O and P drives to save paper, toner,
and ink. Whenever possible, save materials from the O drive to
your P drive or a flash drive. Save your papers to your P drive
so that you always have access to them on campus. You may also be asked
to use your public_html folder for some of your shorter assignments and
homework.
Plan to
pay for additional printing charges once your free campus copies are
used, or access to your own printer and supplies. Because this is
a writing class, you will be asked to print multiple copies of your
drafts, in addition to printing your regular assignments and class
materials.
Resources: Because
you will continue writing (for both personal and professional reasons),
it is a good idea to build a library of resources for writing.
Next time someone asks you what you’d like for your birthday, you
can tell them you’d like one of these books:
Lanham,
Revising Prose. Lanham has several books on creating clear,
readable writing, but this one is a guide for all kinds of writing.
Alred,
Oliu, and Brusaw. The Business Writer’s Handbook. No matter
what career you are entering, you will probably need to write memos,
letters, professional emails, and reports. This book is an
indispensable guide. Consider buying it when you start writing
letters to apply for scholarships, internships, or jobs.
A couple of good resources on line–You can find just about any used book (even rare ones) at www.alibris.com. While you are a student, you can get low-priced software and computer supplies at www.academicsuperstore.com.
Assignments:
In addition to reading assignments, informal writing assignments, and
style exercises, there will be five major writing assignments required.
You cannot pass the class without turning in all five of the major
assignments Out-of-class major assignments should be word processed or
typed. After each assignment (except the final exam) is returned,
students will complete a revision log. These will be used to develop
individual proofreading strategies. For each assignment, students
will collect a portfolio that includes at least one marked draft of
their paper and editing sheets from members of their workshop
groups. The final essay will be written in class during the
scheduled final exam time.
Workshops:
We will workshop each of the out-of-class major writing assignments at
least once. You should bring four copies of a complete draft of your
paper to class. (The more complete the draft, the more worthwhile
the feedback you will get. If your reviewers tell you something
you already know about your paper, that won’t help you improve
it.) During class, you will read each others’ papers and
comment on them, using the guide sheet that I give you. Then you
will return the marked drafts and review sheets to the writers.
These will be turned in with your final papers. If you do not
have a draft with you on a workshop day, you will be asked to leave
class, and you will be counted absent. Grading:
As the semester progresses, I will consider more elements of papers as
I grade them. By the end of the semester, a passing paper will:
clearly respond to the assignment
focus on one distinct idea (a thesis, hypothesis, or question)
have a coherent general structure
have paragraphs that have a clear internal structure and a use of specific details
have sentences whose grammar is acceptable as English
be relatively free of blatant errors in idiom, diction, spelling, and punctuation
Papers
with four spelling errors will lose one letter grade. I will
count typos as spelling errors. Papers turned in late will lose
one letter grade for each business day they are late. Grades will be weighted as follows:
Extra credit:
In my writing classes, there is one way to earn extra credit.
Visits to the Center for Academic Support to work on your papers will
earn points in the Portfolio grade.
Communication:
I welcome the opportunity to talk to students about reading or writing
assignments during my office hours. You don’t need an
appointment. If you can’t drop by during my office hours,
please make an appointment.
Email is the
official medium for communication at Missouri Western. You should
check your Missouri Western email account at least every other
day. This is how professors will contact you if they need to, and
it is how you will receive information about campus events, scholarship
and financial aid opportunities, and other important campus
information. Some departments have student listservs to announce
special events (like speakers or conference opportunities), scholarship
deadlines, and the like. When you send an email to a professor or
office on campus, you should send it from you Western email account, so
that we know it is campus business.
A note on email etiquette: When you write an email to a professor,
approach it as correspondence in a professional setting. This
means including an informative subject line (at the very least, the
course number), complete sentences, correct grammar, punctuation, and
spelling, a salutation, and a signature. If you are including an
attachment, you should tell the recipient what it is.
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, specifically sections of Community Expectations and Code of
Conduct and Procedures
for further information.
Absences:
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 16 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.
Students missing three class periods will have their semester grade
lowered one letter grade. If you miss class, check with your
classmates (especially your workshop members) to find out what short
assignments you missed. You can also find the Schedule of
Assignments on line (see below). If you must be absent for a
number of class sessions and you know in advance, please talk to me
about it; otherwise, talk to me when you return. I understand
that many of you have work and family responsibilities, but you should
make success in your college courses your priority. Your education is
your most important job, so you should arrange your schedule
accordingly.
Academic honesty:
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 2009-10 Student Handbook and Calendar 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>.
Papers that have been plagiarized will receive no credit, and the
student who submits such a paper will have to meet with me before any
other work will be accepted.
Disabilities:
Please let me know during the first week of class about any physical
handicap or learning disability if you need special help or
accommodation in order to do your best work.
Schedule of Assignments: Since I try to adapt each of my classes to the needs and interests of the students, the Schedule of Assignments for this class may change. If for some reason, class is canceled, check for the new schedule.