12
English 15 – Rhetoric and Composition
Fall 2007 – MWF
Instructor: Dr. Sharon Gallagher
Office: 145 Kochel
Office Hours: ______and by appointment
Office Telephone: 898-6404 (checked MWF during office hours)
Email address: smg16 (checked MWF during office hours)
COURSE PREREQUISITES:
“Satisfactory performance on the English proficiency examination or successful completion of ENGL 004. Students who do not meet the prerequisite will be asked to drop the course to allow room for those students who do” (H&SS Policies and Program Requirements for Composition par. 13).
REQUIRED MATERIALS:
Coleman, Bob, et. al. Making Sense Essays on Art, Science, and Culture. 2nd ed. Boston:
Houghton Mifflin, 2006.
MLA Handbook. 6th edition.
4 pocket folders for handing in assignments
reliable method of saving and recalling written work in and outside of class
regular access to ANGEL
1 three ring binder to organize course materials
COURSE OBJECTIVES:
The purpose of this course is to build upon the reading, writing, and critical thinking skills that you currently possess in order to adapt and develop them in the college undergraduate setting. This means everyone enters this course as college writers-in-training. To become a successful college student and writer, you will need to master the following:
1. Demonstrate proper classroom etiquette.
2. Read, write, and follow directions.
3. Read, analyze, and respond intelligently to challenging writings.
4. Develop an individual argumentative research project.
5. Research and analyze sources for the project.
6. Write the project following the guidelines for the assignment.
7. Work efficiently and seriously within groups.
8. Utilize all support services available to you (ex. ANGEL, tutors at Learning Resource Center, library services, instructor’s office hours, etc).
9. Plan assignments to allow sufficient time for reading, writing, and researching to avoid procrastination.
10. Meet all deadlines.
11. Become effective revisers and editors--and understand the difference between the two.
12. Appreciate the English language, learn how it will be an essential part of any chosen major, and, perhaps even enjoy English.
ATTITUDE, ATTENDANCE, PARTICIPATION, & PUNCTUALITY:
Attitude, attendance, participation, and punctuality form an essential part of classroom etiquette. View your time in my classroom as preparation for the professional atmosphere that you anticipate joining in the near future. For the next few months, this is your job. In order to do your best at your new job, you’ll need to be open to not only learning and succeeding but also what you may consider “failing” (ex. a grade on a paper that you feel should be higher because you worked hard). Allow those moments to challenge you to work even harder rather then let them defeat you by prompting you to say, and perhaps believe, “Oh, I’ll never get an A in this class so I may as well just give up!” If you stop trying after the first disappointment, then you will not learn anything from this course.
With that said (and it will not be the only time), allow me to stress a few important aspects of writing. It is an activity that is rarely done in isolation; everyone has something to contribute as well as learn. Thus, writing is also something that is never “complete”—successfully meeting a deadline does not mean that you handed in an “A” paper. In this course, we will spend a great deal of time reading and discussing the text and each other’s writings to assist in the revision process. It is extremely important to your own success as a writer to be receptive to making changes within your work that extend beyond mere editing. Due to this highly interactive format and the high expectations that I have of you, attendance, participation, and punctuality are required.
Attendance will be taken every day starting the second week of class. If you miss class for any reason, it is your responsibility to notify me and determine what assignments you have missed. Your attendance/participation/punctuality will be graded as follows: A = perfect attendance, punctuality, and preparation; A- = 1 absence/punctuality /preparation; B+ = 2 absences/ punctuality/preparation; C+ = 3 absences/punctuality /preparation; D = 4 absences/ punctuality /preparation; F = 5 or more absence/ punctuality/ preparation.
Understand that an absence directly affects other evaluated areas of your class performance, or, to be direct, you could easily fail this course if you miss too many classes, are late frequently, and/or often arrive unprepared. In addition to this, you will need to note the following:
1. It is my standard policy not to pursue a student and his/her reason for an absence. It is your responsibility to talk to me about an absence, not vice versa. Unless otherwise discussed, all absences “count”. This includes doctor’s appointments, weddings, court appearances, unexpected incarceration, leaving early or returning late for breaks, hangovers, breaking up with your significant other, your alarm didn’t go off, your cat hid your car keys, etc. Use your absences wisely.
2. If you are involved in a university sanctioned activity that would cause you to miss class, you are required to inform me at least a week prior to the absence and make arrangements to turn in any assignments before your absence. If the activity would cause you to miss more than 3 classes, please come talk to me immediately.
3. Keep track of the days you have missed and were also late because I will not inform you of your attendance status.
4. Absences do not alter other due dates or other stated policies.
5. Always check ANGEL and your syllabus when you are absent to remain updated with the course.
6. I reserve the right to deal with student absences on a case by case basis—which is another good reason why you should check in with me if you’re absent.
Punctuality directly relates to attendance. Habitual lateness implies that you do not take the course seriously enough to make an effort to be on time. If you are someone who is always a few minutes behind then I suggest you set your watch and clocks ahead so you avoid coming into class late. I take attendance at the beginning of every class. If you are not here, you are marked absent. If you arrive a few minutes late, I may remember to amend your attendance record but don’t rely on my memory (politely ask me after class if I marked you absent and request that it be amended if I did). Anyone arriving 10 or more minutes late will be marked absent and it will not be amended. Anyone who is habitually late or regularly leaves while class is in session will be marked absent.
Participation and preparation go hand in hand with attendance and punctuality—after all, it is extremely difficult to participate if you are not here. We discuss essays, hand in drafts, write journals, work in groups, etc. during the course of this class. A student should be ready to engage in all classroom activities by possessing the text and assignments necessary for the day’s work. A student should also regularly try to contribute to large and small group discussions in a productive manner.
Another element of participation involves work outside of class. If you have a question regarding an assignment or a grade received on the assignment, please, it is to your benefit to see me as soon as possible during office hours or make an appointment so that you may ask your question. However, please avoid asking questions at injudicious times and places; it benefits no one, especially you. I cannot read your mind, so, if you do not make an effort to talk to me then I assume you understand assignments, readings, revision suggestions, and, most especially, can read my handwriting.
The Learning Resource Center is also an excellent resource for work completed outside of class time. I strongly encourage you to utilize this wonderful service. It is located in the library (Kochel Building) on the second floor in Room 203 and offers tutoring in a variety of subjects, including writing. Although they accept walk-ins, I would advise making an appointment. When you meet with your tutor, bring the assignment sheet, a draft of your writing, and specific questions. Keep in mind that tutors are not miracle workers, especially in cases where the writing is left to the last minute and/or a writer asks a tutor to fix everything. The best way to work with a tutor is to arrive prepared and make a follow-up appointment before leaving. Also, find a tutor whom you best communicate with and consistently make appointments with him or her.
A final note on participation, sleeping during class is not considered participating. Neither is doing any other work aside from English 15 during class time. Sleeping in class will earn you half an absence; completing work unrelated to class will also earn you half an absence. Your best prevention against both is to plan your social and academic activities from the outset so you are not regularly staying up late or finishing assignments at the last minute. As you can see, merely showing up for class will not guarantee you an “A” for participation.
Cell phones will be turned off before you walk into class and kept out of sight in your bag for the duration of class. Ringing cell phones and people who check and/or answer them during class are rude. The same applies to text messages during class. If I have to remind you personally of this more than once, you will be leaving class.
If for some reason you are expecting an urgent call that cannot wait for the 75 minutes that class is in session, place your phone on vibrate. If the call arrives during class time, leave the room as unobtrusively as possible and answer the call in the hallway.
***If there are any circumstances that would make it difficult for you to meet these requirements, you need to talk to me immediately. During our discussion, we will decide what the best course of action for you would be but any situation that causes significant absences may require you to reconsider taking this course at this time.
WRITING REQUIREMENTS:
Generally speaking, you will write a lot in this class—because, after all, it is a writing course. Each assignment will have its own set of instructions but all will adhere to the following requirements unless otherwise specified by me:
Policies
1. All work handed in to me for review or for grading must be typed or word processed on white paper with black ink—no exceptions. Otherwise, points will be deducted.
2. Students must hand in all required essays to be considered for at least a “D” in this course.
3. DO NOT email me work unless I have specifically asked you to do so or given permission. Otherwise, I will delete it and you will earn a 0.
4. The Late Paper Option. I do not accept late essays; however, I do understand that there are some circumstances that are not under your control. Therefore, I will allow one late essay during the semester (Essay #1, #2, or #3,—NOT #4). If a student needs to use the Late Paper Option, then all that needs to be done is to turn the essay in during the class following the one where the paper was due. In other words, if Essay #2 was due Monday during a 1PM class, then the student may turn it in Wednesday up to 1PM. The Late Paper Option may only be used once and must be handed in according to the above criteria. After the first late paper, no other late work will be accepted unless you have discussed the matter with me.
5. If you choose to hand in a late paper outside of class, please put it in my faculty mailbox in the Humanities Office in the Kochel building. Politely ask one of the administrative assistants to date, time, and initial the folder before putting it into my mailbox. If you forget to do this, then the date and time that I find the work in my mailbox is when I consider it to be received.
6. Do not slide work under my office door, attach it to my office bulletin board, tape it to my door, hand it to me in the parking lot, etc. If you do, you will not receive any credit for it.
7. All graded work must meet the minimum page requirements specified in the essay and journal assignments. If the assignment states “4 pages” then the student needs to hand in 4 full pages (following proper format)—3 ¾ is not 4. I am quite serious about meeting minimum page length; any paper that does not meet minimum page requirements will automatically be penalized one grade. For example, if your paper earned a C+ but did not meet minimum page requirements, then the final grade on the paper would be a C.
8. Arrive on time and prepared for all scheduled computer lab and library days.
9. You will make and keep an appointment with an LRC tutor during the course of the semester for one of your essays. This will fulfill the requirement for J#13. Make and keep your appointment early since waiting until the last minute will not guarantee you a consultation time.
10. Keep all graded work to check against ANGEL gradebook. If there is a discrepancy, notify me immediately via email.
Format
1. Thesis statements must be underlined in all essays submitted for a grade.
2. All margins—top, bottom, right, and left—will be 1”; print will be 12 point Courier; papers will be completely double spaced and left-justified (full justification is NOT acceptable), new paragraphs will use the <tab> key once to begin them, and the header and page number will be ½” from the top, right-hand corner of each page. Inability to follow this format will result in a lower grade on any submitted assignment.