FALL 2008

ENGLISH 1101-6 and 1101-08—Composition I: Families and Relationships

Instructor: Dr. Lisa Propst

Office: PAF 332

Office Phone: TBD

Office Hours: Mondays 1-2 PM, Tuesdays and Thursdays 3.30-6.30 PM, and by appointment                                   

E-mail: lpropst@westga.edu MyUWG and WebCT serve as the only legitimate modes of university correspondence.

URL: www.westga.edu/~lpropst

Course Description and Learning Outcomes
 

People tell stories all the time: through conversations, e-mails, books, actions, and gestures. This course centers on stories about families and relationships. It ranges across poetry, drama, fiction, and film from several periods and cultures. Throughout the semester, you will continually write and revise your work, edit your classmates’ writing, and discuss your reactions to the stories you encounter.

This is 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. General and specific learning outcomes are listed in the department website:

http://www.westga.edu/%7Eengdept/FirstYearWriting/ENGL1101and1102/English1101CourseDescrption.htm

COURSE MATERIALS, ASSIGNMENTS & GRADING

Required Texts: 

• Elaine Maimon, Janice Peritz, and Kathleen Yancey (eds.), A Writer's Resource: A Handbook for Writing and Research, 2^nd edition (Boston: McGraw Hill, 2007)

• Alice Munro, Away From Her (London: Vintage, 2007)

• Erin McGraw, The Good Life: Stories (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2004)

• Chinua Achebe, Things Fall Apart (New York: Anchor, 1994)

• Short readings which will be available online

          All texts are available at the UWG bookstore. 

Other Materials:

• A college-level dictionary

• A stapler

• Internet access, a UWG e-mail account, and a reliable printer

• A flash drive (i.e. memory stick) to save work for class

Assignments: 

• Three 1000-1200 word essays written outside of class. Each of these essays will make use of revising opportunities. Your last essay must incorporate secondary research. You can find details about the requirements of these essays at: http://www.westga.edu/~engdept/FirstYearWriting/ENGL1101and1102/OutOfClassWritingAssessment.htm

• Two sixty-minute in-class essays, one in week 7 and one during the final exam period. Details about the in-class essay and the grading scale are available at: http://www.westga.edu/~engdept/FirstYearWriting/ENGL1101and1102/InClassWritingAssessment.htm

• In-class writing exercises, quizzes, peer editing, and short homework assignments

Grading (revised):

All essays must be completed in order to pass this course. 

                  Essay 1                                                                                                         15%

                  Essay 2                                                                                                         25%

                  Essay 3                                                                                                         30%

                  In-Class Essay 1                                                                                             5%

In-Class Essay 2 ("Post-Test")                                                                        15%

In-class writing, quizzes, and short homework assignments                                5%

Class participation                                                                                            5%

Numerical grade equivalents:

Out-of-Class Essays: 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

In-Class Essays: 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%

Students must have a C or higher in ENGL 1101 to progress to ENGL 1102.

COURSEWORK POLICIES

The Writing Center:

I encourage you to visit The Writing Center at various points in the writing process. Regardless of writing skill level, one may always benefit from an intelligent discussion with knowledgeable peers. 

TLC 1201                    678-839-6513

Writing@westga.edu       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 through 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

Office Hours and E-mail:

I encourage you to meet with me during my office hours any time you have questions or would like to discuss the course. If you cannot make it to my office hours, set up an appointment to meet with me at another time. You are also welcome to drop by my office, outside of scheduled office hours, whenever I am there. I welcome e-mail correspondence. However, e-mail cannot replace an actual meeting. It is difficult to respond to your questions and needs solely through e-mail, especially if your questions are general. E-mail is most effective when you have specific questions that don’t require in-depth discussion.

The Regents’ Examination:

The Regents’ Examination is a two-part test of minimum-level reading and writing proficiency.  Students are required to take this examination during their first semester of coursework at UWG.  Students who wish to seek preparation for the exam beyond that provided by this course may visit the Writing Center or the Excel Center. For more information about the exam, please visit http://www.westga.edu/~lst/RegFAQ.htm. For general info: http://www.gsu.edu/rtp and for sample topics: http://www.gsu.edu/~wwwrtp/topics.htm

Plagiarism & Excessive Collaboration Policy (If a student violates this policy, he or she may receive an F for the assignment or an F for the course, at my discretion):

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” (below).

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/index.phpThe department of English has assembled the following resources to help prevent plagiarism: http://www.westga.edu/~engdept/Plagiarism/index.html

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.

Late Work:

I will deduct 1/3 of a letter grade (ex. from a B to a B-, or from a B- to a C+) for each day (not each class period) that an out-of-class essay is late. An essay is late if it is not submitted to me at the beginning of the class period. This means that a B level essay submitted up to 24 hours late will go from a B to a B-, a B level essay submitted between 24 and 48 hours late will go from a B to a C+, etc. I will not accept assignments more than one week past the deadline. If you find it necessary to miss class on a day that work is due, you should submit your work to me before the class period in order to avoid losing marks.  All assignments must be submitted in hard copy unless I specifically approve e-mail submission in advance. Extensions may be granted, at my discretion, only under exceptional circumstances (for example, medical emergencies) and should be arranged in advance. If you have a serious problem that will affect your ability to complete your work on time, talk to me about it as early as possible. Short homework assignments will not be accepted late.

Make-Up Work:

Missed in-class essays may be made up, at my discretion, under exceptional circumstances (for example, medical emergencies). If you miss a quiz or a short writing exercise because of lateness or absence, it cannot be made up.

Revision Policy:

You may revise and resubmit any out-of-class essay that earns a C- or lower, provided that you originally submitted your essay on time and that you participated fully in peer editing (i.e. you had a full-length essay on peer editing day, you peer edited someone's essay, and someone peer edited yours). Your revision is due one week after you receive your graded paper, and you should submit the original paper along with your revision. The revision will receive no higher than a C+. Some revisions may result in a lower grade. In this case, I will count the higher of the two grades. If you choose to revise and resubmit a paper, I encourage you to consult me AND the writing center during your revision process.

Format for All Papers:

All work should be typed and stapled, in 12-point Times New Roman font, with 1-inch margins, and should use MLA format.

Extra Credit and Previous Work Policy:

• There is no extra credit work in this course

• Work completed for another class will not be accepted for fulfilling the  requirements of this course.

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. You may print these necessary course documents, including the syllabus, on your home computer.

IMPORTANT DATES:

Due Dates:

Friday Sept. 19                                Out-of-Class Essay #1: Final Draft

Fri. Sept. 26                                     In-Class Essay #1

Fri. Oct. 24                                      Out-of-Class Essay #2: Final Draft

Mon. Nov. 24                                  Out-of-Class Essay #3: Final Draft

Final Exam Period                             In-Class Essay #2 ("Post-Test")

Holidays:

Mon. Sept. 1                                     No classes: Labor Day

Thurs.-Fri. Oct. 9-10                         No classes: Fall Break

Wed.-Fri Nov. 26-28                        No classes: Thanksgiving Holiday

CLASSROOM POLICIES

Attendance Requirements:

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 October 8, the student will receive a grade of W. If the withdrawal occurs after October 8, the student will receive a grade of WF.

Communication Policy:

The official communication method for this class will be through campus e-mail (MyUWG). You will be responsible for checking your MyUWG email, since I will be using that address to correspond with you. You should also look under “My Courses” on your MyUWG for relevant files, announcements and so on.

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. If you are sleeping during class, you may be counted as absent.

Participation:

Participation is essential to your success in this course. Five percent of your grade is based on it. Participation does not mean right answers or brilliant comments; it includes any productive contribution to class discussion. Making thoughtful comments on the class material, asking questions, and responding supportively to your classmates all count.

Special Needs:

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 State University of West Georgia.

COURSE CALENDAR

While this syllabus is carefully planned, I may occasionally change portions of it (for example, readings, assignments, and due dates). I will announce changes in class. You are responsible for periodically checking the online syllabus for modifications, particularly if you have been absent. Unless otherwise noted, all readings and assignments are due the day they are listed on the syllabus.