English 102: Composition II
Spring 2006
Instructor: Dr. Holly Hassel
MWF 11-11:50, Room 191
Office Hours: MWF 1:00-1:50 and by appointment
Phone: 715-261-6265/email hhassel@uwc.edu
Course Goals and Objectives:
The work of English 102 will primarily be writing that presents information and ideas effectively, with attention to the essay and techniques of documentation. Students should master the following goals and skills by the end of the course:
Beyond these skills, I would be happy if you leave English 102 with an ability and desire to ask good questions and to find the answers to them. I hope that through our reading, writing, and research you will cultivate a confidence in your own writing abilities, a confidence you can then bring with you to future courses and writing tasks. I also hope you will develop a greater sense of intellectual curiosity—not just the ability to pose a research question but also the desire to pose it and the motivation to carry out the search for answers. Such habits of mind are not simply academic enterprises but habits that will serve you well throughout your life. Welcome to English 102! We’ll be working hard, but it will be worth it!
Materials
“I would not be hurried by any love of system, by any exaggeration of instincts, to underrate the Book. We all know, that, as the human body can be nourished on any food, though it were boiled grass and the broth of shoes, so the human mind can be fed by any knowledge.”
Ralph Waldo Emerson, “The American Scholar”
Course Requirements
Two Projects: 15% each (30% total): The primary, formal writing work of this course will take the form of two projects that you will plan and carry out individually. I will ask you to follow a specific rhetorical purpose, described in a project proposal and determined by you. The only limitations on these projects will be that each responds to the objectives for the course (see bulleted objectives above) and each project should be related to an idea raised by the text—what the text exposes, critiques, addresses, or narrates. For example, each project should draw upon outside investigation, research, and secondary sources. I will provide a handout with more detailed requirements as we begin work on our projects.
In-Class Essay Exams: 10% each: (20%) Each nonfiction book we read will be assessed through an in-class essay exam (midterm and finals week). Notes will be allowed, but books will not.
Two Annotated Bibliographies: 5% (10%)each: for each project, you will be required to collect, cite, and annotated a minimum of 7 sources and document them in a formal annotated bibliography. I will distribute a more detailed handout as we begin this assignment.
Two Documented Response Papers: 5% each (10% total): In response to each nonfiction text, you will write a guided response paper that will incorporate a quotation, paraphrase, and summary from each of the books. I will distribute a more detailed handout as we begin this assignment.
Two Project Proposals: 10% each (20% total) : a formal, two-page topic proposal for each major project. I will distribute a more detailed handout as we begin this assignment.
Citizenship (10%): Citizenship is something like participation but entails a bit more; it means being a good student: arriving to class on time and prepared; participating in large and small group discussions actively, attentively, and effectively; refraining from distracting or obnoxious behavior in class; bringing copies on workshop days, and consistently engaging and investing in the work of the course and in one’s own development as a writer, reader, and thinker. This letter grade will be assigned based on how active you have been in class (active meaning making an informed comment during discussions, being consistently prepared for the day’s activities, etc.). This portion of the grade also includes in-class and out of class writing and short homework assignments. A-level will indicate almost constant involvement, B-level will indicate solid, frequent involvement, and C-level will indicate minimal involvement. I will expect an active commitment toward learning from each and every student in the course; we will be working hard this semester, but it will be worth it! Excessive absences (more than 3, about one week of class) will be reflected in this grade.
D2L Activities: Students will be responsible for completing several writing, research, and grammar exercises on the course D2L site.
Policies and Procedures
Grades:
Grades are equal to the following percentages:
A+ 98-100
A 93-97
A- 90-92
B+ 87-89
B 83-86
B- 80-82
C+ 77-79
C 73-76
C- 70-72
D+ 67-69
D 63-66
D- 60-62
F 59 and below
I reserve the right to assign borderline grades as I deem appropriate.
A Note on Grades: An “A” grade is not a gift you get at the end of the semester for always coming to class and participating and completing your work on time. For that, you earn a “C.” Beyond that, your work must be more than average—it must be good to earn a “B” and excellent to earn an “A.” Please also remember that you are not your grades—you are a person, not a letter. Good people can get average grades and vice versa.
Attendance: Students should plan to attend every class meeting. Work done in class cannot be made up unless exigent circumstances present themselves (hospitalization, natural disaster, arrest) and you provide me with documentation of such an event. Since much of the learning we do in class will be collaborative—exercises, group work, revision and reading discussions—it is impossible to recreate the experience of being in class once one has been absent. Excessive absenteeism (anything more than three absences) will adversely affect your final citizenship grade.
Classroom Environment and Structure: You will find this a very participatory class; I expect students to be actively engaged in the work of the class everyday, prepared and ready to be vocal, active, and thinking.
Study Partners: Early in the semester, we will set up study partnerships. Your partner will be responsible for providing detailed notes and handouts for you if you are absent, but it is your responsibility to contact your partner if you are absent. He or she will just gather handouts and take notes for you. List the contact information below.
Partner Name ____________________ phone number __________________________
Backup Partner Name ______________ phone number __________________________
Academic Dishonesty: Plagiarism is a kind of academic dishonesty that involves the use of another person’s language/words or ideas without proper citation. If you use more than four words in a row from another source, you should put quotation marks around them. If you borrow an idea from a published source, you need to use parenthetical documentation to give proper credit to that source. Any quote, paraphrase, or indirect quote must be cited appropriately. The consequences of plagiarism are spelled out in the Student Rights and Regulations handbook. For the purposes of this course, deliberate misuse of language or ideas will result in, at the least, failure of the assignment or paper, and possibly failure of the course with referral of the student to a disciplinary committee for further action by the university.
Portfolio Style: A note on turning in your work: all the work for this course will be turned in portfolio style, which means that I will evaluate your project on both the final product and the writing process. In order to document this for me, you should save everything you write for the course. From the beginning stages of the project—brainstorming, free-writing, pre-writing, through drafting, revision, editing, and research—you should keep every bit of work that contributes to the final product and turn it in with the final draft. Moral of this paragraph: do not throw anything away for this course.
Policy on Late Work: Late work will be accepted with a one-grade deduction for each day late. Assignments are due on the date listed in the syllabus. Students will be granted one 24-hour grace period (see attached form). One major assignment may be turned in late without a grade deduction using this “coupon.”
Students with Disabilities: Students with disabilities that will in any way affect their work in this course should let me know so that I can work with you. Also, please contact an advisor in Student Services to make arrangements for any necessary special services.
ASSESSMENT: The UW Colleges-wide assessment program was established to enhance the quality and effectiveness of the curriculum, programs, and services of the institution. The institution-wide assessment activities focus on analytical, quantitative, communication and aesthetic skills because they are of primary importance in the general education of our students. This semester, some students in creative writing and literature courses will be assessed on aesthetic skills, specifically the ability to “engage with and critically reflect on a work of creative expression.” In addition, some students in composition courses will be assessed on analytic skills, specifically the ability to “interpret and synthesize information and ideas.”
Each department also conducts assessment activities that address discipline-specific learning goals. This year, the English Department is conducting a research project about how “peer review” is used and perceived by students. As a part of this project, students may be asked to fill out a survey or complete one or more assignments pertaining to peer review.
Writing Center: Our campus Writing Center offers one on one assistance for all academic writing. The Center is staffed with writing instructors and tutors willing to spend extended time with students. Please make the effort to visit the Center in Room 242 to make an appointment with one of the staff. You may also consider taking either English 099 or English 290. These two courses offer semester long tutoring in academic writing, are directed at the writing in existing courses, and can be taken for one, two, or three credits.
Policy Policy: Ideally, this syllabus would cover every contingency of every possibility that might arise in the course of the semester. Of course, reality dictates that will not be the case. Thus, I reserve the right to make changes to this syllabus as the need arises.
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Week One: Jan 23, 25, 27
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Week Two: Jan 30, Feb 1 and Feb 3 |
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Week Three: Feb 6, 8, 10 |
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Week Four: Feb 13, 15, 17 |
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Week Five: Feb 20, 22, 24 |
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Week Six: Feb 27, March 1, 3 |
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Week Seven: March 6, 8, 10 |
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Week Eight: March 13, 15, 17 Conferences this Week: Bring a draft of your paper to my office during your scheduled conference time |
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Week Nine: March 20, 22, 24 |
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Spring Break! |
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Week Ten: March 27, 29, 31 |
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Week Eleven: April 3, 5, 7 |
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Week Twelve: April 10, 12, 14 |
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Week Thirteen: April 17, 19, 21 |
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Week Fourteen: April 24, 26, 28 |
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Week Fifteen: May 1, 3, 5 |
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Week Sixteen: May 8, 10 |
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Final Exam Period |
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