ENG 102 Composition II, Sections 01 and 02
Fall 2000
Katherine Holman - Library
115 - 735-4321
Email addresses: kholman@uwc.edu or kholman@cybrzn.com
Office Hours: MWF 11:00-12:00; TR
9:30-10:30 (Other times are available
by appointment.)
Meeting Time and Place: Section 01: TR 8:00-9:15 a.m. in L-101
Section 02: TR 10:50 a.m.-12:05 p.m. in L-101
Required Text: Rottenberg, Annette. The Structure of Argument. 3rd ed. Boston: Bedford, 2000.
Recommended Texts: a college level dictionary
of your choice; an English handbook of your choice, with a thorough section on
documentation of source materials. (In an effort to save you some dollars in
this era in which textbooks have grown increasingly expensive, I am not
requiring you to buy a specific dictionary or handbook. You may already have on hand one or both of
these reference books, or you may have discovered through the Internet ways you
can readily access them; if not, see me for some recommendations.)
Supplementary Materials
Currently on Library Reserve: both the Modern Language Association (MLA) and the
American Psychological Association (APA) style manuals; William Zinsser’s On
Writing Well; several English handbooks (You will be notified in class as
other materials are placed on library reserve.)
Recommended Internet
Resources: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/writers (an
excellent site with abundant resources); http://waukesha.uwc.edu/stud/owl/ (the UW
Colleges Online Writing Lab; you can mail an essay draft to this site to get a
response from a student writing tutor); http://www.powa.org/
(a source recommended at a conference I recently attended); www.bedfordstmartins.com/rottenberg
(the companion website to The Structure of Argument)
If
you know of or encounter other sites that might be useful to us this semester,
please share them with the class.
Tutorial Services: The university provides free tutorial services in English. I will notify you in class when and where
this year’s English tutor will be available.
Course Description: “A rhetoric course that focuses on writing which presents
information and ideas effectively, with attention to the essay and techniques
of documentation. Emphasis will be on
academic writing that is applicable across the curriculum. Prereq:
ENG 101 or exemption through sufficiently high placement test score” (UWC
Catalog 45). “Students will be
expected to write essays totaling at least 5500 words, a majority of which are
to be completed out of class” (UWC English Dept. Course Guidelines for ENG
102). 3 credits
Course Rationale: ENG 102 is the course required by the UW-Colleges to satisfy the writing proficiency for the associate degree. To meet this proficiency, you must earn a C or better in the course. The primary text I’ve chosen for the course this semester (Rottenberg) focuses on techniques of argumentation, research, and documentation; these are skills valued not only in academia but also in the world beyond the university. As we learn to analyze and evaluate the arguments of others and write arguments of our own, we become better able to participate in civilized debate, solve problems, and make decisions. As we engage in research, we are stimulated to add our own voices to the conversations of scholars. As we study documentation styles, we learn how to acknowledge our indebtedness to the scholars whose work has influenced our own. ENG 102 can be one of the most useful courses you will take at the university if you approach it in the right spirit. I am looking forward to studying and learning with you this semester.
Course Goals and Degree Proficiency Objectives: You will demonstrate through class activities and assignments significant progress toward the acquisition of the following proficiencies: the ability to write clearly, precisely, and in a well-organized manner; to analyze, synthesize, evaluate, and interpret information and ideas; to gather information from printed sources, electronic sources, and observation; to construct and support hypotheses and arguments; to integrate knowledge and experience to arrive at creative solutions; to read with comprehension and critical perception; to distinguish knowledge, values, beliefs, and opinions; to use and understand formal documentation of sources and to articulate accurately the strengths and weaknesses of your own work.
Course Procedures: You should expect to do lots of writing in this course. After all, it is the course that will enable you to demonstrate your writing proficiency. A typical class will include an analysis of assigned readings, often in small groups. You can also expect to do some informal writing in each class even though your major assignments will be completed outside of class. Because the class meets only twice a week, you will find that you have not only a reading assignment but also a written assignment due almost every day. Be sure to allow adequate time to prepare for each class session.
Course Policies: You are expected to attend all class sessions unless illness or emergency prohibits your attendance. If you must miss class, you should check with a classmate to determine what you missed and with me to secure any handouts that may have been distributed. Points will be deducted for assignments submitted past the due date, and I will not accept work submitted more than a week late except in extreme circumstances of illness or emergency. To stay on top of things in this course, which many UW-Marinette students have found an especially challenging one, it is essential that you come to class prepared each day.
Grading: Each of the following course requirements is assigned a point
value with a 1000-point total for the course.
Your grade will be determined by the percentage of points you earn.
Four 750-word essays @ 100 points
each . . . .
. . . . .
400 points
A 500-word research proposal .
. . . . .
. . . . .
. . 100 points
A 1750-word research paper .
. . . . .
. . . . .
. . 200 points
Daily work
(exercises/quizzes/drafts/minute papers)
. . . . .
.200 points
Final Examination (a 500-word self-assessment essay) . .
. . 100 points
Grading Scale
A 93-100
B 83-86 C
73-76 D 63-66
A-
90-92 B- 80-82
C- 70-72 D-
60-62
B+ 87-89 C+ 77-79 D+ 67-69 F 59 or below
9/5 Introductions; distribution of syllabus and guidelines for Essay 1: Defending a
Claim; in-class diagnostic essay (ENG 102: Expectations)
9/7 Read Chap. 1 “Understanding Argument” (3-24) and Chap. 9 “Writing an
Argumentative Paper” (337-57). Quiz 1 (3-23) (To prepare for the quiz, you might
want to outline the chapter; Rottenberg’s bolded headings will be a useful guide.)
Planning for our first class debate
9/12 Read Chap. 2 “Responding to Argument” (25-50). Find a brief article or editorial
on U. S. drug policies, photocopy it, and annotate and evaluate it using the
guidelines in Ex. 2 and Ex. 3 on pp. 48-49. Quiz 2 (25-48)
9/14 Read Chap. 3 “Claims” (51-105); decide on a topic for Essay 1 and write a brief
explanation
of why you chose it; view one or more of the websites noted on p. 104.
Class Debate 1: Which Remedy for Drug Addiction Promises Greater
Benefits
for Society—Legalization or Forced Treatment? Minute Paper 1
*Note: Minute Papers will be written in class, and guidelines will be provided.
9/19 Typed Draft of Essay 1 Due for Peer-review Workshop (To receive full credit
for the peer-review workshops, you must have ready a complete, typed draft. If you
have no draft ready or if you are absent on peer-review days without a legitimate
excuse, you will receive no credit for these assignments.)
9/21 Read Chap. 4 “Definition” (106-51); check out one or more of the websites listed on
p. 150. Quiz 3 (106-19)
*Note: Please bring a college-level dictionary to class today.
9/26 ESSAY 1 DUE; guidelines distributed for Essay 2: Defining a Term or Concept;
Class
Debate 2: Does the American Jury System
Deliver Justice? Minute Paper 2
9/28 Explore the campus library for at least an hour to become familiar with its resources.
Pay special attention to the reference section of the library, particularly to the variety
of dictionaries in our library’s holdings. (If necessary, ask the librarian for help.)
Take notes as you explore, and then do a freewriting detailing what you discovered.
Bring your freewriting to class for discussion. Choose your topic for Essay 2 (a
definition paper) and write a paragraph about why you chose it. (Chap. 4 contains
numerous suggestions for topics, but note that you are not limited to Rottenberg’s
suggestions.)
10/3 Typed Draft of Essay 2 Due for Peer-review
Workshop
Guidelines distributed for Essay 3: Evaluating a Source
10/5 Read Chap. 5 “Support” (152-98); go to the library and photocopy from a magazine
or journal (or print from Wilson or Ebsco on our library computers) an article that
makes a claim about any topic of interest to you, preferably a topic you might be
interested in exploring for your major research paper in this course. Bring a copy of
the article to class for a workshop on identifying and evaluating evidence.
Quiz 4 (152-74)? (We may not need this quiz; I’ll let you know.)
10/10 ESSAY 2 DUE Review one or more of the websites listed on pp. 196-97.
Class
Debate 3: Is Animal Research Necessary
to Save Human Lives? Minute
Paper 3
10/12 Write a brief note to me to let me know the topic you are considering for your
major research paper in the course. GUMP review; bring to class a list of the
questions you have about Grammar, Usage, Mechanics, and Punctuation
Special Announcement: Nov. 14 is the last date to withdraw from a class with a grade of “W.” If you plan to withdraw from this class, see me before this date.
10/17 Typed Draft of Essay 3 Due for Peer-review Workshop
Guidelines distributed for Essay 4: Analyzing Warrants in Advertisements
10/19 From Chap. 6 “Warrants” (read pp. 199-211; scan pp. 212-23; read pp. 224-36).
Review one
or more of the websites listed on pp. 236-37.
Quiz 5 (199-207)?
Class Debate 4: Should
We Fear the Cloning of Human Beings?
Minute Paper 4
10/24 ESSAY 3 DUE Preliminary discussion of the research paper and distribution of
guidelines for the Research Proposal and the Research Paper Process Papers
10/26 Scan Chap. 7 “Language and Thought” (239-82); mid-term course evaluation
10/31 ESSAY 4 DUE Scan Chap. 10 “Researching an Argumentative Paper (358-416).
Further discussion of the research paper process papers; evaluating topic choices
*Note: It is very important that you will have committed to a topic choice for your
research paper not later than this date.
11/2 Workshop on writing research proposals and drafting working thesis statements;
distribution of worksheet on MLA documentation
11/7 RESEARCH PROPOSAL AND WORKING THESIS DUE; workshop on
evaluating
proposals and working thesis statements
11/9 MLA WORKSHEET DUE; workshop on MLA documentation; discussion of the
working bibliography, which you should begin compiling right away if you have not
done so already
11/14 CLASS WILL MEET
IN THE LIBRARY TODAY TO CONTINUE
RESEARCH FOR COMPILING WORKING BIBLIOGRAPHIES.
11/16 WORKING BIBLIOGRAPHIES DUE; bring to class also at least one of the
sources you expect to use in your research paper for a workshop on notetaking;
review Chap. 10 and scan Chap. 8 “Induction, Deduction, and Logical Fallacies”
(283-333); pay special attention to pp. 302-11.
11/21 SAMPLE NOTECARDS DUE; workshop on revising your thesis and preparing
a preliminary outline (Bring all of your source materials to class.)
11/23 THANKSGIVING BREAK
11/28 RESEARCH PAPER
DRAFT DUE, INCLUDING REVISED THESIS AND
OUTLINE
In-class sign-up for individual conferences with me to review your draft; peer-review
workshop
11/30 NO CLASS -
RESEARCH PAPER CONFERENCES WITH ME ARE
REQUIRED
12/5 FINAL RESEARCH PAPER DUE; sharing research and a word about the UW-
Marinette Undergraduate Research and Performance Conference tentatively
scheduled
for May 15 next semester
12/7 Read Chap. 11
“Presenting an Argument Orally” (417-32).
Preparing for the final self-assessment essay
12/12 Read Appendix “Arguing about Literature” (482-512).
Looking ahead to other English courses
12/14 Course evaluation and further discussion of the final self-assessment essay
*Note: The final examination for ENG 102(01)—the 8:00-9:15 section—is tentatively scheduled for Tuesday, December 19, from 8:00-10:00 a.m.; for ENG 102(02)—the
10:50-12:05 section—the tentative schedule is Thursday, December 21, from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. If there are changes in the final examination schedule, you will be notified by the Office of Student Services. Be sure to check your mailboxes, but note also that I always post a copy of the “final” final examination schedule on the window of my office.
You may submit your final self-assessment essay early if you wish, but I will not accept it later than the time designated for your final exam in the course.