English 1101

Professor Jessica Anderson

1101-113 TR 12:30-1:45 Humanities 205

1101-137 TR 3:30-4:45 Pafford 308

E-mail: jessicaa@westga.edu

Website: www.westga.edu/~jessicaa

Office: Pafford 304

Hours: Tuesdays & Thursdays 10:00-12:30; and by appointment

Also, you can find me on facebook.com. I’m on a lot.

Course Description 

This is a composition course focusing on skills required for both effective writing for various rhetorical situations and critical reading of texts. Students must demonstrate competency in argumentation and strengthen writing through the use of multiple textual sources. We will look at symbols in short stories, novels, and film and examine the writing process.

General Course Description and Learning Outcomes

Required Texts and Materials 

***You should have texts read on the day that it appears on the syllabus***

Holbrook, Teri. The Mother Tongue. New York: Crimeline, 2001.

Alexie, Sherman. The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven. New York: Grove Press, 2005.

You will also need:

Reliable internet and printing access.

Reliable email access

Disk, USB drive, or other means to save your assignments and essays.

**You are responsible for keeping copies of all your work.**

Reading and Assignment Schedule appears on the calendar on my website.

Assignments

4000 words of graded writing.
No fewer than 3 out-of-class essay assignments that make use of revising opportunities.
A minimum of 2 in-class essays, one of which must be 60 minutes long and count for 15% of the overall course grade. One of the in-class essays may be given during the final exam period.

Grading

NOTE: You must earn a letter grade of C or better in order to go on to English 1102.

Usage Errors:

Grammatical and mechanical errors on graded writing projects will be penalized as follows:

First Critical-Writing Project   =  - 1/4 point for each error

Second Critical-Writing Project =  - 1/3 point for each error

All Subsequent Projects   =  - 1/2 point for each error

Penalties for Late Assignments:

Turned in late on due date   =  docked 1/3 of grade (e.g., B to B-)

One day after due date   = docked 2/3 of grade (e.g., B to C+)

More than one day after due date  = docked one grade (e.g., B to C)

More than one week after due date  =  docked two grades (e.g., B to D)

More than two weeks after due date  =  no credit 

Grading summary with the letter to numeric scale:

In-Class Essay: 4=95%; 4/3=92%; 3/4=88%; 3=85%; 3/2=82%; 2/3=78%; 2=75%; 2/1=72%; 1/2=68%; 1=65%; 1/0=62%; 0=50% (pending FYW Committee and English Dept. approval)

Out-of-Class Essay: A+=98%; A=95%; A-=92%; B+=88%; B=85%; B-=82%; C+=78%; C=75%; C-=72%; D+=68%; D=65%; D-=62%; F=50%

Make-up Work

I do not allow students to make-up any in-class assignments missed due to absences.  

Extra Credit 

I will give extra credit opportunities. These will be discussed in class as they come up.

Attendance Policy

Students will be administratively withdrawn from class based on the following attendance policy: For classes that meet three times a week, a student is allowed four absences. Upon the fifth absence, the student will be withdrawn. For classes that meet twice a week, a student is allowed three absences. Upon the fourth absence, the student will be withdrawn. Be aware that no distinction exists between excused and unexcused absences. If the withdrawal occurs prior to March 2, the student will receive a grade of W. If the withdrawal occurs after October 8, the student will receive a grade of WF. (FYW Department Policy)

If you are tardy to class, you will miss the graded assignment that occurs during the first ten minutes of class, because I do not like to repeat myself. If you miss this assignment, you will receive a 0.  

Disruptive Behavior Policy 

Students may be dismissed from any class meeting at which they exhibit behavior that disrupts the learning environment of others. Such behavior includes – but is not limited to – arriving late for class, allowing cell phones to ring, speaking disrespectfully to the instructor and/or to other students, checking email or surfing the web, and using personal audio or visual devices. Each dismissal of this kind will count as an absence and will be applied toward the attendance policy above. (Department Policy)

**Students receive an absence if I hear a cell phone or witness text massaging. Students will receive a dirty look if I see your cell phone at all.

Department Paperless Policy

As of Fall 2006, the English Department implemented a “paperless” policy in its classrooms. Therefore, all materials (handouts, assignment sheets, notes, etc.) will be made available online. Students may print these necessary course documents, including the syllabus, on their home computers.

The Writing Center

The role of the Writing Center is to offer consultation in which tutors question, respond to, offer choices, and encourage revision in student essays. Tutors do not evaluate or prescribe solutions to problematic areas in student essays, and tutors are specifically trained to avoid appropriating the student's work. For more information, visit the Writing Center online at http://www.westga.edu/~writing. 

Plagiarism and Academic Dishonesty

The Department of English and Philosophy defines plagiarism as taking personal credit for the words and ideas of others as they are presented in electronic, print, and verbal sources. The Department expects that students will accurately credit sources in all assignments. An equally dishonest practice is fabricating sources or facts; it is another form of misrepresenting the truth. Plagiarism is grounds for failing the course.

See also, excessive collaboration.   

The University policies for handling Academic Dishonesty are found in the following documents:

The Faculty Handbook, sections 207 and 208.0401  
http://www.westga.edu/~vpaa/handrev/

Student Uncatalog: "Rights and Responsibilities"; Appendix J.  
http://www.westga.edu/handbook/  

Excessive Collaboration

By the end of the term in both ENGL 1101 and 1102, students should demonstrate the ability to produce independent writing (writing without collaborative assistance of peers, writing tutors, or professionals in the field) that shows an acceptable level of competence. Although classroom activities and out-of-class assignments may highlight collaborative learning and collaborative research, excessive collaboration (collaboration that results in the loss of a student's voice/style and original claims to course-related work) is considered another form of academic dishonesty and therefore will not be permitted. 

Plagiarism will not be tolerated. Any student caught plagiarizing on any assignment will automatically fail the course and be reported to the Office of the Vice President for Academic Affairs.

The Role of the Writing Center

The role of the Writing Center is to offer consultation in which tutors question, respond to, offer choices, and encourage revision in student essays. Tutors do not evaluate or prescribe solutions to problematic areas in student essays, and tutors are specifically trained to avoid appropriating the student's work. For more information, visit the Writing Center online at http://www.westga.edu/~writing. 

Writing Center Statement

Location: TLC 1201    Phone: 678-839-6513

Email: Writing@westga.edu  

Web: www.westga.edu/~writing

The University Writing Center works with students and other members of the UWG community to improve writing skills.

What We Do:

            Discuss ideas, read drafts, and work though revisions of essays; we do not proofread

            Regents’ Test Preparation (both the reading and essay sections)

            Creative Writing Consultations

            MLA, APA, Chicago/Turabian, and other citation formats

Policies:

Please make appointments in advance. We accept walk-ins, but we cannot guarantee that a tutor will be available.

If you cannot keep your appointment, you must call or email us 24 hours in advance to cancel. If you do not notify us 24 hours in advance, you will be counted as a No Show.

Please arrive at your appointment on time. If you are 10 minutes late or more, you will be counted as a No Show and will not be able to have your appointment.

If you have 3 No Shows in one semester, you will not be able to have any more appointments for that semester.

Hours:

Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday 10:00am-7:00pm

Thursday 10:00am-3:00pm

Friday 10:00am-12:00pm