ENGLISH 1101
Composition I
Fall 2011
LXL: MW 12:30-1:45 Room: TLC 1111
Dr.
Katie Chaple
Office: TLC 1113-E
Phone: 678-839-4860
Use your CourseDen course email to contact me. I will only respond to email
through official channels, meaning your CourseDen course email address.
Web address: http://www.westga.edu/~kchaple
Office Hours:
Monday: 9:00-12:30; 5:00-5:30
Wednesday: 8:00-10:00
& by appointment
Writing Center Schedule:
Wednesday: 10:00-12:30 & 5:00-5:30
Course Description
This course is writing intensive, and its assignments include in-class responses, out-of-class responses (both to the assigned texts as well as to your peers’ rough drafts), in-class essays, out-of-class essays and rough drafts of those essays. You will write two timed essays in class, two out-of-class rough drafts, and three out-of-class essays. We will make use of CourseDen, and you will be posting each out-of-class rough draft to CourseDen for your peers to read and comment on. We will then workshop each essay in class. The topics for all essays will be based on assigned readings and our discussions of those readings. You will need access to a computer with an internet connection.
Catalogue Description
A composition course focusing on skills required for both effective writing for various rhetorical situations and critical reading of texts. In writing, students must demonstrate competency in argumentation, and writing that is strengthened by the use of multiple textual sources.
Students must earn a grade of “C” or better in ENGL 1101 in order to move on to ENGL 1102.
Required Texts
· Tim O’Brien The Things They Carried (shared text for English 1101)
Additional Required Reading, Online
General Learning Outcomes
· To read, understand, and interpret a broad range of written and visual texts from a variety of genres (including but not limited to nonfiction, fiction, poetry, drama, and film).
· To understand literary principles and use basic terms important to critical writing and reading.
· To develop skills in all the tools necessary for effective argumentation.
· To develop facility with the whole writing process from invention through revision.
· To understand and employ a variety of rhetorical modes and techniques of persuasion.
· To acquire reasonable mastery of conventions of college-level prose writing.
· To incorporate and document additional textual materials to strengthen and support argument.
Specific Learning
Outcomes
Critical Reading and Analysis
· Develop close reading skills through the analysis of textual passages.
· Identify in readings the main purpose, central arguments, and cultural contexts implied by the text in relationship to the course content.
· Learn to recognize recurring patterns of development and persuasion among course texts.
Writing Process and Rhetorical Objectives
· Develop an understanding of varied compositional strategies for both revised writing and in-class timed writing.
· Understand that the composing process is a continuous cycle of invention, drafting, and revising.
· Survey and practice some of the best-known techniques of invention.
· Practice techniques for analyzing specific audiences and adjusting one's style and presentation to those audiences.
· Understand the fundamentals of essay organization and logical argument.
· Understand persuasion as a fundamental exchange between reader and audience.
· Demonstrate the writing styles appropriate to academic audiences.
Minimal Competency Requirements
Essay Level
· Be able to recognize and generate competent thesis sentences.
· Write effective introductions and conclusions.
· Organize essays according to recognizable patterns.
· Be able to recognize and employ standard expository modes.
· Develop a logical argument advancing a particular explication or interpretation of a literary text.
Paragraph Level
· Be familiar with the various methods of developing paragraphs.
· Recognize and generate topic sentences where appropriate.
· Employ details and examples for concrete paragraph developments.
Sentence Level
· Write coherent sentences that conform to the grammar and usage conventions of Standard Edited English.
· Avoid short choppy sentences through variety of sentence structure and sentence combining abilities.
· Effect a clear style of expository prose by using parallelism, clearly placed modifiers, complete predicates, logic and other devices of clear style.
· Demonstrate the use of a vocabulary appropriate for freshman-level college discourse.
Documentation Style
· Use the MLA style for documenting sources.
Technological Objective
· Demonstrate the ability to use word processing and to find and evaluate electronic resources.
Assessment Activities
· 4000 words of graded writing.
· The class will require no fewer than three out-of-class essay assignments that make use of revising opportunities and are graded according to the Grading Rubric for out-of-class writing.
· A minimum of 2 in-class essays, one of which must be 60 minutes long and count for 15% of the overall course grade. See the Recommended Grading Scale for In-Class Essays.
· One of the in-class essays may be given during the final exam period.
TLC 1201 678-839-6513
Writing@westga.edu www.westga.edu/~writing
If you know that English is not your best subject, I recommend you visit The Writing Center. The Center is an excellent resource.
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 through revisions of essays; we do not proofread
· 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
Disability Pledge
I pledge to do my best to work with the University to provide all students with equal access to my classes and materials, regardless of special needs, temporary or permanent disability, special needs related to pregnancy, etc.
If you have any special learning needs, particularly (but not limited to) needs defined under the Americans with Disabilities Act, and require specific accommodations, please do not hesitate to make these known to me, either yourself or through Disability Services in 272 Parker Hall at (770) 839-6428.
Students with documented special needs may expect accommodation in relation to classroom accessibility, modification of testing, special test administration, etc. This is not only my personal commitment: it is your right, and it is the law!
For more information, please contact Disability Services at the University of West Georgia.
Course Policies
I expect your participation and your attention during class-time. I will expect you to be prepared: I will expect your assignments to be complete and ready to hand in, and I will expect you to have read that day’s assigned text(s). I also expect that you will be an active participant in your own education. If you don’t understand, ask. If you have difficulties with grammar, ask. We will figure out how to improve any aspect of writing that you have difficulty with. I have listed my office hours, office phone and email. Let me know how I can help.
Attendance Requirements
COME TO CLASS. BE ON TIME. The nature of this class requires that you attend.
****Students may be administratively withdrawn from class based on the following attendance policy: For classes that meet twice a week, a student is allowed three absences. Upon the fourth absence, the student may be withdrawn or fail the class. Be aware that no distinction exists between excused and unexcused absences.
If the withdrawal occurs prior to October 14, the student will receive a grade of W. If the withdrawal occurs after October 14, the student will receive a grade of WF. (FYW Department Policy)
Disruptive Behavior
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)
I expect civil and polite behavior. I do not mind limited food or drink, but do not show up with your hamburger and fries.
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.
Late Work
All work is due in class on the days listed below. Any essay turned in a day late (THE NEXT DAY, NOT THE NEXT CLASS MEETING) will result in a letter grade deduction. For every day that the paper is late, I will deduct another letter grade. **Assignments submitted late due to computer, printer, or computer lab “problems” will not be excused and will be penalized as indicated above.
**This policy only applies to essays. All other assignments are due as indicated. In other words, late work is not accepted.
**For Rough Drafts: If you do not turn in a rough draft by the day & time indicated, you will be awarded a zero for the assignment, and your paper will not go through the rough draft process. No exceptions.
Submission and Format of Essays and Out-of-class Work
All assignments must be in MLA format—typed, 12-point type, one-inch margins, and double spaced. Use Times New Roman font. If you do not follow correct formatting, your essay grade will suffer (a letter grade). You can find MLA guidelines in your handbook, A Writer’s Resource or online through my website under the link, “MLA Documentation.”
Rough drafts are due by the dates and times indicated below. You will be required to post your rough drafts on CourseDen. At the bottom of the CourseDen page there are help options if you have difficulties.
Essays are due at the beginning of class on the date due; do not email me your papers. You must attach a copy of your rough draft (with my comments) to your final paper when you submit it for a grade.
Because of the rough draft process, there are no revisions for final essays.
Plagiarism & Excessive Collaboration Policy
It is always disappointing to discover a student has plagiarized. If you have any questions regarding incorporating outside material, ask me. Ignorance will not be an excuse. Because of the way in which this class is organized, if you plagiarize it will be immediately apparent to me. Do not risk it. ***If you turn in plagiarized work in regards to any assignment, you will immediately fail the course. This policy also refers to a student turning in work/essays that you have written for any other class or professor.
Plagiarism & 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.
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.
***Any student found turning in plagiarized work for any assignment will automatically fail the course.
***You may not turn in an assignment for another professor for credit in this class.
Revision Policy
Due to the extensive rough draft policy, which allows for revision, there are no further revisions allowed after the final drafts are turned in.
Make-Up Work
The policies on late work above explain the policies on rough drafts and final essays. In terms of daily work or quizzes/in-class work, these assignments are due on their due dates, and no make-up work is allowed. I will drop the lowest two daily grades.
Extra Credit
I do not offer extra credit.
Grading Procedures:
In order to advance to English 1102, students must pass English 1101 with a grade of “C” or better. Any work completed for other classes will not be acceptable for credit in this course.
* The following chart will be used when calculating your numerical grade at the end of the semester with regard to letter grades received on in and out-of-class essays:
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%
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%
Daily Work/Participation 10%
Daily work includes in-class assignments—consisting of quizzes, exercises, group presentations and responses to your own and others’ work. Daily work also includes homework, which will consist of your responses to peers’ rough drafts and other assignments related to the construction of your essays. Your responses to rough drafts will be posted to CourseDen. Instructions and questions regarding responses will be posted through CourseDen assignments.
Your reading journal is also part of this daily work grade—you will be expected to keep a journal based on your reading (and viewing) of the texts for this class. These journals may be used in class for quizzes and the construction of drafts and answers to discussion questions.
Daily work may not be made up. If you are absent, you will receive a zero for that day’s in-class work. I will drop the lowest two daily grades.
In-class Essays 15%
There will be two in-class essays. They are listed on the calendar below. The topics will be in regards to the
material we have read and discussed during class.
Rough Drafts for Two Essays 10%
Each student will workshop the first two essays listed below. You will be required to post your drafts for the entire class on CourseDen. I ask all students to bring copies of his/her responses to those essays to class. You will receive grades on each of your rough drafts. Grades on these rough drafts will be based on completeness and your ability to follow directions and meet deadlines. Your final essay grade can go either up or down dependent on how carefully you revise. If you have questions about the advice you are given in class, ask me. In the rough draft, you must address the assigned topic. If you do not turn in your rough draft by the assigned deadline, you will be awarded a zero for that rough draft, and your essay will not go through the workshop process—there are no reprieves. You should post attached files, so that they maintain your formatting. See CourseDen File Attachments.
For CourseDen:
There is 24/7
assistance available, 365 days a year. Search here for FAQs and tutorials:
http://help8.view.usg.edu
or call 1-866-588-5293 toll-free. Our campus DE helpline is also avail M-F:
distance@westga.edu/
678-839-6248
Keep track of this URL:
http://westga.view.usg.edu
–you will need this URL if any of our related on-campus web sites or services
(like myUWG) go down. You may be able to access CourseDen directly, by having
this direct URL handy.
***You must complete all three essays in order to pass this class.
3 Essays: 65%
Percentage broken down as follows:
Essay 1 20%
Essay 2 20%
Essay 3 25%
**I do not offer extra credit.
Schedule of Events
Please Note: Reading and writing assignments are due at the beginning of class on the day for which they are listed. The following is a tentative daily schedule. Modifications may be needed as we proceed. I will advise of any deviations ahead of time and will provide detailed instructions for any assignments. You are responsible for keeping up with any changes and work missed due to absences.
M, 8/22 CourseDen, website, syllabus
W, 8/24 Signs & MLA formatting, sign up for groups
M, 8/29 The Things They Carried, Group 1 presents; journals for The Things They Carried due
W, 8/31 The Things They Carried, thesis statement due for essay 1
F, 9/2 Rough Draft 1 Due
M, 9/5 **Labor Day, no class
W, 9/7 Workshop Rough Drafts
M, 9/12 Workshop Rough Drafts
W, 9/14 Workshop Rough Drafts
M, 9/19 Workshop Rough Drafts
W, 9/21 Workshop Rough Drafts
9/21-9/22 Tim O’Brien visits UWG, times & events forthcoming. Attendance mandatory.
M, 9/26 Workshop Rough Drafts
W, 9/28 Workshop Rough Drafts
M, 10/3 **Essay 1 Due Atonement
W, 10/5 Atonement
M, 10/10 Atonement, Group 2 presents
W, 10/12 **In-class Essay 1
F, 10/14 Last day to withdraw with a “W”
M, 10/17 Atonement, thesis statement due for essay 2
W, 10/19 Atonement
F, 10/21 Rough Draft 2 Due
M, 10/24 Workshop Rough Drafts
W, 10/26 Workshop Rough Drafts
M, 10/31 Workshop Rough Drafts
W, 11/2 Workshop Rough Drafts
M, 11/7 Workshop Rough Drafts
W, 11/9 Workshop Rough Drafts
M, 11/14 **Essay 2 Due
W, 11/16 The World Made Straight, Groups 3 & 4 present
M-F 11/21-11/25 **Thanksgiving Break. No class.
M, 11/28 The World Made Straight thesis statement & outline with quotations/evidence for essay 3 due
**In-class essay 2
W, 11/30 The World Made Straight, rough draft for essay 3 due
W, 12/7 Examination scheduled: 11:00-1:00; **Essay 3 Due