The RSU Bulletin 2005-2006 describes English 1113 as "Required of all students. This course prepares students for college-level writing. Essay organization, development, and style, as well as critical thinking skills will be emphasized" (120). My fundamental aim is to help you improve your ability to read, think, and write critically. This course will develop your skill building effective analytical and argumentative essays. Whatever your present abilities, I guarantee this course will improve your writing and equip you with the essentials for more advanced college writing.
Texts and Materials
Making
Sense: A New Rhetorical Reader, 2nd edition, by Cheryl Glenn.
Guide
to College Writing, 6th edition, by Emily Dial-Driver.The
Thirty-Nine Steps, by John Buchan."Handouts"
from my website. Theme
folder with pockets or clasps to secure formal essays. Core Requirements
4
formal papers of 700-1200 words. Peer
response writings for formal papers. 2 in-class
essays. Corrections
of graded formal papers and in-class essays.Participation
in class discussion.Reading
quizzes and writing exercises. Quizzes
and exams on grammar, convention, diction, and mechanics.A
final exam. Policies
Attendance: Each class is important, so it is crucial that you be in class on time every day. I record attendance daily, and absences will affect your grade. For this course there are no distinctions between "excused" and "unexcused" absences. Students with more than five absences will receive an automatic F for the course—regardless of the reasons for any of the 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 assignments you happen to miss (i.e. any assignments other than reading quizzes), especially when you let me know about the absence missing class: feel free to call me at home or send email any time you know you will not be in class.
Late work: Late work will be 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.
Bare minimum course requirements: Regardless of your overall grade average, to be eligible to pass the course you must turn in all six 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 any cases of plagiarism or other academic dishonesty for review by the Assistant Vice President for Student Affairs. Penalties for plagiarism are severe, ranging from an F for the course to expulsion from the college. For a fuller definition of plagiarism, follow the "On Plagiarism" link on my website.
Course Methodology
Class discussion: Most class periods will involve open discussion of the readings with very little lecture. Your participation in discussion is mandatory. I will call on reticent or "quiet" students frequently, and class participation does factor into your semester grade.
Reading quizzes: unannounced quizzes testing your close attention to the readings.
Writing exercises: written assignments that will vary as need arises, usually no more than paragraph-length.
In-class essays are like essay exams, often on specific readings, but here your work is evaluated for structural, grammatical, and stylistic quality as well as content.
Formal essays: the guts of the course—formal essays present carefully structured and polished argumentation or analysis of issues arising from the readings and discussion. I will post detailed options and instructions for each essay on the web. You will turn in formal essays printed on paper in "hard copy" and also electronically, either as email attachments or on PC-compatible floppy disks.
Peer responses involve close reading of classmates' essays and written criticism and advice on how to improve them. I will provide handouts to help focus your criticism for each peer response.
Corrections: After I grade and hand back each formal 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 concepts in 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 variety of common problems in diction are described in Word Problems. The Quotes and Documentation handout presents basic conventions for citing and documenting sources according to MLA guidelines.
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 two departmental assessment tests and one essay based on specific readings from the end of the semester.
"Rewrites": You may rewrite and resubmit graded formal papers 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/Portfolios
You 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. 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
As you will
see, I believe in using the Internet as a teaching tool. 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 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 |
|
| Corrections |
|
| In-class essays |
6%
|
| Essay 1 |
|
| Essay 2 |
|
| Essay 3 |
|
| Essay 4 |
11%
|
| Final exam |
|
You should track your grades throughout the semester by keeping a "Scorecard." You can also track grades and see your cumulative average (overall course grade) by downloading and filling in the "grade calculator" for this class from my website. Feel free to see me any time throughout the semester to check your cumulative grade—I keep grades on computer spreadsheets that are updated weekly.
The Bottom Line: I hope every member of this class gets an A, and I will do everything 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. But I guarantee you have one of the most accessible instructors at Rogers State: ask for help outside of class, and I'll do my level best to deliver.