As described in the MSC Catalog, English 1101 is "a composition course focusing on skills required for effective writing in a variety of contexts, with emphasis on exposition, analysis, and argumentation, and also including introductory use of a variety of research skills."
My fundamental aim is to help you improve your ability to read and think critically and to write effective essays. This course will develop your skill building effective analytical and argumentative essays so that by semester's end, and hopefully much sooner, you will be crafting well-structured compositions that are unified, developed, coherent, and fundamentally sound both in substance and in grammar and mechanics. Whatever your present abilities, I promise this course will improve your writing and equip you with the essentials for more advanced college writing.
Prerequisites
None, unless you have been required to complete English 98 or English 99, Fundamentals of English, in which case a final grade of "D" or better in that course is mandatory before taking English 1101.Texts and Materials
The
Little, Brown Reader, 11th edition, by Marcia Stubbs, Sylvan Barnet,
& William Cain.Criterion card."Handouts"
from my website (www.chipspage.com). Theme
folder with pockets or clasps to secure formal papers.Policies
Attendance: Each class is important, so it is crucial that you be in class on time every day. I record attendance, and absences do affect your grade. Students with more than four absences cannot pass the class, regardless of the reasons for any of the absences—I make no distinction between "excused" and "unexcused" absences. I understand that "stuff happens," and not every student will be able to attend every class meeting. I will try to work with you on any major work you happen to miss (assignments other than reading quizzes), especially when you let me know about the absence missing class: feel free to call me at home or email anytime you must miss class.
Late work: Late work is penalized one letter grade for each class day the assignment is late. Work turned in more than three class days late will receive no higher grade than F, and I accept no work more than two weeks late.
Bare minimum course requirements: Regardless of your overall grade average, to be eligible to pass the course you must turn in all seven essays (four papers and three in-class essays) and all sets of essay corrections. The final exam is also mandatory.
Plagiarism: Except for assignments expressly calling for collaborative effort, all written work must be your own. Any unacknowledged borrowing from the writings of others will be considered plagiarism, a serious breach of academic integrity. I will submit cases of plagiarism or other academic dishonesty for review by the Dean of Students. The penalty for plagiarism in this class is an "F" for the entire course, not just the assignment in question. For more on plagiarism, follow the "On Plagiarism" link on my website.
MSC Academic Misconduct Statement: "As a Macon State College student and as a student in this class, you are responsible for reading, understanding, and abiding by the MSC Student Code of Conduct. The Student Code of Conduct is included in the MSC Student Handbook and is available online at http://www.maconstate.edu/studentlife/docs/studenthandbook.pdf."
MSC Policy on Disability Accommodations: Students seeking academic accommodations for a special need must contact the MSC Counseling Center (471-2985) located in the Learning Support Building, Room 110, on the Macon campus.
"Technical Policy" (re: plagiarism detection): "a plagiarism prevention service may be used in evaluation of written work submitted for this course. If directed by the instructor, students are expected to submit or have their assignments submitted through the service in order to meet requirements for this course. The papers may be retained by the service for the sole purpose of checking for plagiarized content in future student submissions."Criterion Statement: "Each of you will submit, in class, at least two online essays through Criterion. These essays will receive an immediate 'score' of between 1 and 6. You should know that these 'scores' will not be factored into your class grades. . . . Cards that give you access to this site are purchased at the bookstore with your textbook(s). It is the responsibility of the individual student to purchase these cards."
Course Methodology
Class discussion: Most class periods will involve open discussion of the readings with little lecture, so your participation in discussion is essential. I will call on reticent or "quiet" students, and class participation does factor into your semester grade.
Reading quizzes: unannounced quizzes testing your close attention to the readings.
Writing exercises: written assignments, usually brief and sometimes collaborative, that vary as need arises.
In-class essays are like essay exams, but here your work is evaluated for structural, grammatical, and stylistic quality as well as content. Two of this semester's three in-class writings will be completed using the Criterion online evaluation system: these two essays will be "scored," but the scores do not factor into your semester grade.
Formal papers: the guts of the course—formal papers present carefully structured and polished argumentation or analysis of issues arising from the readings and discussion. I will post detailed options and instructions for all four papers on the web. You will turn in formal papers printed on paper in "hard copy" and also electronically as email attachments.
Peer responses involve close reading of classmates' essays and guided written criticism and advice on how to improve them.
Corrections: After I grade and hand back each essay, you will 1) identify and record all marked errors on corrections worksheets, and 2) hand in corrected drafts with all changes indicated in bold type or underlined or highlighted. For specifics, see corrections instructions.
Grammar and mechanics quizzes and exams: on basic matters of grammar, convention, diction, and mechanics following discussion of my "Golden Rules," "Nuggets," "Word Problems," and "Quotes and Documentation" web pages. Golden Rules are important rules of grammar and style. The Nuggets cover a variety of conventions and problems, especially in the handling of quotations. A number of common problems in diction are described in Word Problems. The Quotes and Documentation page presents basic conventions in MLA-style citation and documentation of sources.
Conferences: Conferences are not mandatory, but I strongly recommend them at any stage of the essay-writing process—exploring topics, drafting, revising, editing, or rewriting. My typical aim in conferences is to head off potential problems in your papers and to offer helpful, critical response to your work before you submit it for grading.
Final exam: The exam will consist of one or two essays on specific readings from the end of the semester.
Paper "rewrites": You may rewrite and resubmit graded formal papers (the four out-of-class essays) for re-grading. Rewrite grades replace original grades completely. Note that rewriting involves far more substantial revision than correcting grammatical errors: rewrites should also address larger problems in focus, structure, content, and style. The starting point for revision is my typed comments on your graded papers; rewrites should also address comments and questions written in the margins of the original graded papers.
Folders/PortfoliosYou will keep all drafts of all four formal papers, including corrections, in one "formal paper folder"—all drafts of each essay should remain in this folder throughout the semester. By departmental policy, I will keep these folders for a full semester following your completion of this course, at which time I'll be happy to return folders to students who request them. It's a good idea to collect all handouts, quizzes, and exercises as a sort of "evolving textbook" in a second folder or notebook.
Cyber-Note
Most handouts and all out-of-class assignments will be posted on my website rather than being distributed as "hard copy" in class—you are responsible for printing and reading these web-page "handouts" before we discuss them in class. Most handouts are indicated as linked pages on the online schedule of readings and assignments. I may occasionally contact you through email also, and I encourage you to email me with questions on any course matters large or small.
Final grade breakdown
| Class participation |
|
| Reading quizzes |
|
| Golden rules exam |
|
| Nuggets exam |
|
| Quotes and documentation exam |
|
| Word problems quiz |
|
| Peer responses |
|
| Writing exercises |
|
| In-class essay 2 |
3% |
| Paper proposals | 4% |
| Paper 1 |
|
| Paper 2 |
|
| Paper 3 |
|
| Paper 4 |
11% |
| Corrections |
8% |
| Final exam |
|
Humanities Department "D" average stipulation: If you have a "D" average on the major assignments, no participation or daily grade average (reading quizzes, e.g.) can bring the overall average up to a C.
You should track your grades over the semester by keeping a "Scorecard." You can also track grades and find your cumulative average (overall course grade) by downloading and filling in the "grade calculator" for this class from my website. Feel free to email me any time throughout the semester to check your cumulative grade.
A
note on note-taking: Although this course involves little lecture and we do not have unit tests on the
readings and discussions, you will have a much easier time writing effective
papers—papers that receive higher grades—if you
take notes during every class period. "A" students typically take extensive notes. Even in discussions where your classmates
do more "discussing" than the professor, you should
take notes on any significant points made by anyone in the discussion.
You would also do well to underline, highlight, or otherwise make note
of all passages from the readings that we take special notice of in class.
The Bottom Line: I hope every member of this class gets an A, and I will do all I can to make this happen. Don't get me wrong—the standards for "A" work are high, and I make no exceptions in course policies on absences, missed assignments, plagiarism, or late work. The number-one key to succeeding in this class is that you take responsibility for your own success, meaning that you attend to all assignments with your most careful and earnest diligence, that you respond positively to any setbacks and heed my feedback on all assignments, and that you seek my help as much and as often as you need it. I guarantee you have one of the most accessible professors at Macon State: ask for help outside of class, and I'll do my level best to deliver.
Addenda to the syllabus: