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Syllabus
WSU Department Name
English
WSU Course Number & Listing
ENG EN1010: Introductory College Writing (3 Credit Hrs.)
High School: Weber High School
WSU Concurrent Adjunct Instructor: Mrs. Holly Leake
High School Course Name: English 1010
2012-2013
Concurrent Adjunct Instructor’s Office Hours
Planning periods 6; available before or after school and by appointment; available during E.O. on Thursdays
Concurrent Adjunct Instructor’s phone and email
801-476-3700; (email is better way to reach me; I have no phone in my classroom)
Prerequisite High School Courses if any
Qualifying test score and grade point average; senior student status
WSU Course Description:
This course may deal with material that may conflict with your core beliefs. It is my judgment that this material is relevant to the discipline I am teaching and has a reasonable relationship to my pedagogical goals. If you do not feel you can continue in this course, please drop it within the designated time from to avoid penalty. I am willing to make alternative assignments to the material in the syllabus.
Students will learn about and practice imaginative and expository writing. They will focus on the writing process, on the whole theme, paragraphs, and sentences, and on the interrelationship between reading and writing. Writing assignments will emphasize modes of organization including narration, description, and clarification, with content based in on the student’s personal experience, feelings, and critical thinking.
WSU Course Objectives:
Controlling Philosophy for English 1010:
Writing is not a course of study or a collection of facts to be memorized. Writing in a college setting deals with ideas the writer takes seriously enough to want to explore and support with good reasons. It is a question-and-answer process completed by both teacher and student. Your writing will be enhanced as you respond critically to the ideas of others and by writing about your own ideas in such a way that you try to earn the understanding and assent of your audience. Writing is the tool this institution uses to ensure and evaluate the independent learning you do here. This class requires you to read and think about broad issues and then write about them using a process to come up with the best possible paper.
Outcome goals
The overarching goal of composition is to provide our students with the necessary skills and understanding to enter the discourse communities of the university and larger society. This is accomplished best by creating a similar community within the classroom so our students can see how they can take part in the larger intellectual conversation. Students in English 1010 students should produce a minimum of 20 pages of revised, finished prose over the course of the semester.
Students exiting English 1010 with a C or better should be able to do the following:
Writing
· Compose sentences and paragraphs and essays that are grammatically correct and coherent
· Understand and use the pre-writing, drafting and revision process in composing written assignments
· Compose writing assignments with a clear thesis or point that has stasis
· Indicate quoted or paraphrased material properly (including citations)
· Understand differences in tone and voice in their own writing and be able to apply each appropriately to their writing assignments
· Use topic sentences and transitions effectively
· Produce writing that requires structure and organization
· Use a style manual to find answers to grammar or usage questions
· Use texts in combination to make arguments
Reading
· Read and understand texts of a variety of genres, styles and complexity
· Consider critically the texts and ideas presented in the course
· Understand that texts are structured in specific ways for specific reasons
· Identify connections between and among texts and their ideas
Critical Thinking
· Approach issues and ideas in an objective fashion
· Recognize contradictions and logical problems with issues and ideas
· Work with complex ideas without over-simplifying or treating them in a reductive manner
· Recognize a writer’s agenda
Research and Argumentation
· Use sources to make arguments without ceding their own voice
· Use library databases and other online resources
· Evaluate potential source material for credibility and usefulness
We will meet the above goal by the following:
· Help you to think, read, and write critically
· Help you master the basic skills of standard American English and use it appropriately for the rhetorical situation
· Help you discover ideas about issues that are significant to you and your community and to communicate these ideas in clear, logical, well- reasoned writing
· Help you to evaluate and incorporate other voices into your own writing
· Help you to come to the best possible conclusions from the available reasons
Academic Dishonesty:
Plagiarism is a form of academic dishonesty in which you represent someone else’s work or ideas as if they were your own. Don’t submit someone else’s work. You must give credit to other people’s research and opinions when you use them. Plagiarism is grounds for dismissal from the university.
WSU Required Textbook & Materials:
Writing Matters by Rebecca Moore Howard; available at the WSU bookstore
Weber Writes 2012; available at the WSU bookstore
WSU Course Requirements:
Students must be Seniors and must have taken either the English Accuplacer Test (and received a score of 90 or better on both the English and reading sections), or the ACT Test (and received a score of 17 or better on both the English and Reading Sections), or the SAT Test (and received a score of 340 or better on the critical reading and verbal or writing section depending on the version). The English Accuplacer test can be taken at either the WSU Ogden or Davis campus. Students can call the Ogden testing center at 626-3532, the Davis testing center at 395-3495, or go online to www.weber.edu/accuplacer for specific information and directions.
Attendance:
Attendance is crucial. You must have 90% attendance in order to get credit for Concurrent English 1010. For this semester, you may not miss more than FOUR classes for the entire semester or you will not earn college credit and may negatively impact your college GPA.
Peer Reviews:
All of your papers will be peer reviewed prior to turning them in. Receiving feedback and seeing what and how others are writing will give you additional insight into improving your papers.
Improving Writing workshops:
In class we will discuss and experiment with ways to make your writing stronger, such as abstractions, wordiness, punctuation, grammar, tone, audience, active verbs, and concrete nouns. Strong writing is more powerful than weak writing. These strategies will help you make your writing stronger and give you confidence in writing.
Class discussions:
You will read a number of professional essays and then discuss them as a class. You need to participate by having read the essays, developing questions or counterpoints to the essays. Quizzes can and will be given to make sure you have the reading done.
Late work policy:
Assignments are always due at the beginning of class. No late work will be accepted. If you miss class for a school-sponsored event, your work must be submitted ahead of time. Remember, failure to produce 20 pages of polished writing will result in an “F” for the course.
Essays: You will not receive credit for this course unless you have at least 20 pages of essays
-4 pages can come from personal writing
-12 + pages can come from argumentative and informative research with MLA or APA formatting. These papers need to be four pages or more.
-4 pages can come from responses to essays in the text along with additional sources.
Essay Options:
Narrative essay 5-6 pages
Expository research paper 7-8 pages
Argument/persuasion r.p. 7-8 pages
Revised in-class essays 4-5 pages
WSU Grading:
94 -100% = A 83 – 86% = B 73 – 76% = C 63 – 66% = D
90 – 93% = A- 80 – 82% = B- 70 – 72% = C- 60 – 62% = D-
87 – 89% = B+ 77 – 79% = C+ 67 – 69% = D+
Again, no matter what grade you earn, if you don’t have 20 pages of final essays, you will not receive credit for English 1010. You must earn a C or better in 1010 to take 2010.
Calendar of Course Content:
Week Lecture Topic Area Reading Assignment
Quarter One / Subject to change with new edition of text or other factors. Keep up with specific requirements at the blog site.Weeks 1 & 2 / Narrative essay draft and peer critique; revised draft and teacher evaluation; readings from Weber Writes 2012 and associated tasks; ongoing reading and vocabulary work—unit one; discussions; text presentations 1-6; chapters 1-9 Writing Matters. / Posted on blog / Posted on blog
Weeks 3 & 4 / Narrative essay revised draft and teacher evaluation; readings from Weber Writes 2012 and associated tasks; ongoing reading and vocabulary work—unit two; discussions; text presentations 7-12; chapters 10-21 in Writing Matters / Posted on blog / Posted on blog
Weeks 5 & 6 / Building towards expository paper; research techniques & library resources; MLA format; readings from Weber Writes 2012 and associated tasks; ongoing reading and vocabulary work—unit three; discussions; text presentations 13-18; chapters 28-34 in Writing Matters (skip chapters 22-27) / Posted on blog / Posted on blog
Weeks 7 & 8 / Expository essay draft and peer critique; readings from Weber Writes 2012 and associated tasks; ongoing reading and vocabulary work—unit four; discussions; text presentations 19-24; chapters 35-44 in Writing Matters / Posted on blog / Posted on blog
Weeks 9 & 10 / Expository essay final; readings from Weber Writes 2012 and associated tasks; ongoing reading and vocabulary work—unit five; units 1-5 assessment; discussions; text presentations 25 or make-up; review and assessment of work from Writing Matters. / Posted on blog / Posted on blog
Quarter Two / Subject to change with new edition of text or other factors. Keep up with specific requirements at the blog site.
Weeks 11 & 12 / Argument essay draft and peer critique; revised draft and teacher evaluation; readings from Weber Writes 2012 and associated tasks; ongoing reading and vocabulary work—unit six; discussions; text presentations 1-6; chapters 45-49 in Writing Matters / Posted on blog / Posted on blog
Weeks 13 & 14 / Argument essay revised draft and teacher evaluation; readings from Weber Writes 2012 and associated tasks; ongoing reading and vocabulary work—unit seven; discussions; text presentations 7-12; chapters 50-60 in Writing Matters. / Posted on blog / Posted on blog
Weeks 15 & 16 / Revised in-class essays review due—4-5 essays and annotated bibliographies; readings from Weber Writes 2012 and associated tasks; ongoing reading and vocabulary work—unit eight; discussions; text presentations 13-18; chapters 50-60 in Writing Matters. / Posted on blog / Posted on blog
Weeks 17 & 18 / Class debates—assignment, research, debates; ongoing reading and vocabulary work—unit nine; discussions; text presentations 19-24. Begin debate work. / Posted on blog / Posted on blog
Weeks 19 & 20 / Debates. Ongoing reading and vocabulary work—unit ten; units 6-10 assessment; text presentations 25 or make-up. Review for final exam and final exam based on Writing Matters and other course objectives. / Posted on blog / Posted on blog
WSU Course Evaluation:
As a concurrent student, you are given the privilege of evaluating this course. This is an anonymous evaluation which allows you an opportunity to express your opinions of the course and the instructor.
WSU Student Code of Conduct:
Download the WSU Student Code of Conduct at:
www.weber.edu/concurrent/students/CodeOfConduct.asp
Additional Items to lead to success in this course (especially on the high-school end):
Class Disruptions
Cell Phones, pagers, cameras, PDAs, video games, CD players, iPods and any other video or music players and all electronic devices are not permitted in class. These items will be confiscated and sent to the office; in addition, the incident will be noted in the discipline tracker, and the citizenship grade will be lowered to “N” for the first offense and “U” for any additional offenses in a term. Also note that hats, beanies, hoods and all “head gear” are not allowed at Weber High and will also be logged in the discipline tracker with the citizenship grade lowered if students fail to abide by this school policy.
Videos
On occasion we may be viewing film clips or media relevant to our study of effective argument. Some of the clips and movies may be rated PG-13 or unrated—but from cable-channel or Internet sources. These texts may contain themes or language that is mature. Because we are studying critical thinking in our modern world, we feel this study is important for a rising generation of people who must be equipped to analyze a variety of text sources. By signing the course disclosure statement, you indicate that you understand and authorize this study.
Absent Work
This applies only to absences excused by parental or school authority. Students have one class day for each day absent to make up missed work. So, if a student misses an assignment on Monday, she must get it no later than Wednesday and turn it in no later than Friday. Homework given prior to the excused absence is due upon the student’s return, and any scheduled tests will be given upon the student’s return. It is the student’s responsibility to check the blog site and know what he or she missed; in addition, students are STRONGLY ENCOURAGED to see me ahead of class to collect any materials not available on the blog site. Participation assessments missed cannot be made up; students will be given a 0 for these assignments. And essays due when a student is absent are due IMMEDIATELY upon student’s return to class. If a student has missed class and returns when an essay is due, the essay is still due that day. Exceptions must be made with the instructor in advance.
If students are truant, they will not be allowed to make up missed assignments, participation, tests, etc. relevant to the truancy and will receive a 0-TR (no credit) for this work. This includes essays.
Late Work
Assignments are always due at the beginning of class. No late work will be accepted. If you miss class for a school-sponsored event, your work must be submitted ahead of time. Remember, failure to produce 20 pages of polished writing will result in an “F” for the course.