English 108: College Writing and
Research
Fall 2009
Section 06: TTh
Section 11: TTh 11:00-12:20 Murphy 104
Section 16: T 6:30-9:20 Murphy 105
Instructor: Marcia Chapman
Office:
Phone: 816-271-4310
Office Hours:
E-mail: mchapman@missouriwestern.edu
Required Texts
Graff,
Gerald and Cathy Birkenstein. They Say/I Say.
Barnet, Sylvan and Hugo Bedau. Current Issues and Enduring Questions. 8th ed.
a non-fiction book of your choice selected from assigned lists (tba)
Suggested Texts
a writing handbook or style guide
Required Materials
jump drive/flash drive for saving all your work
binder or folder to save hard copies of all work that is handed in
Course Description
In this class, you will write three major assignments and several smaller assignments,
some of which will be done in class. We will emphasize critical thinking, active
reading, writing for a specific audience and purpose, and evaluating and organizing
information.
Grading
Major papers 40%
Short Writing Assignments 20%
Group Participation 20%
Final 20%
All out of class assignments are due at the beginning of class. In-class assignments
are due at the end of class. No late papers are accepted.
Grading scale: A=100-90%; B=89%-80%; C=79%-70%; D=69%-60%; F=59% and
below. Note:
You must complete and hand in all assignments and take the final
to pass this
class.
Class Policies
Late papers: none accepted
Attendance: 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. 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. In this case,
you will be expected to
arrange to hand your work in before your absence. All other absences are unexcused.
The maximum number of absences
allowed before the midterm report for this class is three. Thus,
when you have four, 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 are absent more than three times after midterm, your final
grade will be affected. We will be doing
lots of group work and in-class work, neither of which can be made up. If you are absent, you are responsible
for whatever assignments are given on that
day. Note: Being late to class is disruptive
and thoughtless and may result in your
being counted absent.
Participation: Since we will work in groups often and, therefore, other people are depending on you, you are expected to come to class prepared and willing to contribute.
Paper Work: All drafts and final papers for this class must be word-processed using 12-point Times New Roman. Double spacing is required. Save all of your work in more than one place. No excuses based on technology will be accepted! Also, keep all drafts, notes, lists, etc. for all of your work. Stay organized by grouping your papers by assignment in a binder or large folder.
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 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. 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://missouriwestern.edu/handbook/index.pdf.
Students with disabilities: Anyone who has a disability that prevents the fullest expression of his or her potential to succeed in this course must notify Michael Ritter, Special Needs Coordinator, for possible certification of special needs and expert recommendations for assistance. You should also contact me personally as soon as possible so that we can discuss class requirements.
Cell phones, laptops, MP3s, etc.: These are not allowed in our classroom. Turn your phones and music players off and put them away. If your attention is on them instead of class activities, you may be counted absent.
Civility and
Cooperation: