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English 1102: English Composition II – Spring 2023 |
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English 1102: English Composition II – Spring 2023 |
Dr. Chip Rogers |
Office: Arts and Letters (SOAL) 239 |
| Objectives The MGA Catalog describes English 1102 as "a composition course that develops writing skills beyond the level of proficiency required by ENGL 1101, that emphasizes interpretation and evaluation based on an introduction to fiction, drama, and poetry, and that incorporates a variety of more advanced research methods." My fundamental aim is to help you improve your ability to read and think critically and to write thoughtful and effective essays. This course will 1) develop your skill building effective analytical and argumentative essays, 2) improve the effective incorporation of secondary materials (i.e. research) into your writing, and 3) improve your competence in independent college-level research. Whatever your present abilities, this course will improve your reading and writing and equip you with the essentials for more advanced college writing. Required Texts and Materials  Kelly J. Mays, The Norton Introduction to Literature, Shorter 14th edition, eBook in D2L"Handouts"
from my website (www.chipspage.com).Policies Attendance: Each class is important, so it is crucial that you be in class on time every class. I record attendance, and absences do affect your grade. Students with more than four non-illness-related absences fail the class. Students who must miss class because of illness (COVID or otherwise) should notify me before the missed class meeting. I will try to work with you on any major assignments you happen to miss (assignments other than reading quizzes), especially when you notify me of the absence missing class: email me whenever you must miss class. Late work: Late work receives a letter-grade penalty for each class day (e.g. Monday or Wednesday) the assignment is late. Minimum course requirements: Regardless of your overall grade average, to be eligible to pass the course you must turn in all five essays (four papers and an in-class essay) and all sets of corrections and take the final exam. 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 Student Conduct Officer. The penalty for plagiarism in this class is an "F" for the entire course, not just the assignment in question. See the more specific definition of plagiarism in the English 1102 Syllabus Supplement; also see "On Plagiarism." Cell phones/personal electronics: The use of cell phones and other hand-held personal electronic devices is forbidden in the classroom. All such devices must be kept out of sight for the duration of class—off of desks and out of laps. I will count absent any student texting or viewing a personal electronic device, and if the problem persists I will ask students not abiding by this policy to leave the classroom.Course Components Class discussion: Most class periods involve open discussion of the reading assignments with little lecture, so your participation in discussion is essential. I will call on reticent or "quiet" students. To participate, obviously you must be present in class; to score higher than B- in participation you will need to contribute in discussion spontaneously and appropriately several times each class meeting. 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. At most they are paragraph-length. The Writing Matters test covers a variety of rules, conventions, and matters of mechanics outlined in several web pages from my website: the 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 spelling and diction are described in Word Problems; the Quotations page presents basic conventions in MLA-style citation and documentation of sources. Terminology test: a test assessing your mastery of literary terminology which we will cover early in the semester. The in-class essay is like an essay exam, but here your work is evaluated for structural, grammatical, and stylistic quality as well as content. 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. 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 hand in corrected drafts with all changes indicated in bold type. For specifics, see corrections instructions. Conferences: Conferences are not mandatory, but I 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 an in-class essay 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. The deadline for all rewrites is the date of the final exam.Final grade breakdown
Keeping up with grades: You should check your grades periodically in Brightspace (D2L). Let me know if you have concerns about your class average or grades on specific assignments before you consider withdrawing from the course. 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. For high achievers: Tutoring is available free of charge in the Writing Center and in Student Success Centers (SSC) on all campuses. The Macon campus Writing Center is in TEB 226 and the SSC is in the lower level of the Library building. To check the schedules for subjects tutored and tutor availability, visit the SSC website at http://www.mga.edu/student-success-center/. On the Macon campus you can book tutoring sessions by visiting mga.mywconline.com/. The SSC website also posts tutoring schedules for other centers across the five campuses, including the Writing Center (in Macon, TEB 226: 478-471-3542). All tutoring centers across the five campuses are free of charge. Other services at the SSC include online academic workshops and a robust website with resources for academic assistance. The centers also have computer workstations, free printing, and Internet access. 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 careful, 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 Middle Georgia State: ask for help outside of class, and I'll do my level best to deliver.
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