English 1213(Honors):
Composition II
Section 888
MWF
Spring 2008
TL 303
Professor: Laura Gray, Ph.D. Phone:
Office: BH 204C Email:
lgray@rsu.edu
Faculty Website: http://www.rsu.edu/faculty/LGray/
Office Hours: (appointments encouraged)
Monday,
Wednesday, Friday
9-11
Tuesday
9-1
Course Introduction
The second semester
of college writing builds on the foundation started in Comp I, reinforcing the
skills necessary for successful academic writing. Analytical and argumentative
reading, writing, and research are emphasized. This course will help students:
1.
Build
on the writing skills gained in English 1113.
2.
Sharpen
the ability to read critically, to think critically, and to express opinions in
writing about subjects that are still at issue.
3.
Understand
the importance of argument as it functions in a democratic society and join in
academic discourse by reading and responding to others’ ideas on contemporary
issues.
4.
Understand
and implement the rhetorical process as it applies to critical reading,
writing, and research.
5.
Improve
research skills especially as they apply to academic writing.
6.
Read
and analyze literature.
7.
Produce
a Writing Portfolio.
Required
Texts:
·
Dial-Driver, Emily. Guide
to College Writing.
·
McQuade, Donald, and Robert Atwan. The Writer’s Presence: A Pool of
·
Shelley, Mary. Frankenstein.
Longman, 2003.
·
Renault, Mary. The
Last of Wine. Vintage Books, 1975.
·
Lewis, C.S. Till
We Have Faces. Harvest, 1957.
File
folders to submit major papers
RSU
student email account
At
least one computer disk dedicated to Comp II
Notebook
Blue
Books (2)
Portfolio
To be a good
writer, one first must be a good reader and critical thinker. We will read a
wide variety of writings, and I will expect students to demonstrate deep and
critical understanding of the writers’ purposes and rhetorical strategies. In
turn students should be able to think more deeply and critically about their
own writing, thus becoming better thinkers and writers in the process. This
course consists of lectures, class discussions, in-class writing and reviewing
sessions, and group work. Students will also read and write outside of class.
To highlight the writing process, the greater part of the semester grade will
be based on the successful execution of this writing process as demonstrated in
prewriting, essay drafts, revisions, and reflective writings as well
contributions to the writing process of the class. Students are also expected
to meet with me throughout the
semester to discuss their progress as writers. Finally, each student will
submit a Portfolio in which they highlight their writing process and
demonstrate their progress as academic writers.
Final Grades will be based on the
following:
Process
(20% of total semester grade)
Product—The Portfolio (50% of total semester grade)
Exams
(30% of total semester grade)
Total Course Points
90%-100% = A
80%-89.9% = B
70%-79.9% = C
60%-69.9% = D
0%-59.9%
= F
Attendance Policy
Class
attendance and participation are crucial to individual student success as well
as to the success of the class as a whole. Students missing 4 or more classes
will have their final course grade lowered accordingly. On the rare occasion
that you must miss class, you are responsible for obtaining, from a reliable
classmate, any information covered in your absence. You are expected to
return to class fully prepared to participate.
Daily
work, responsive writings, peer reviews, and rhetorical précis are in-class
projects and cannot be made up for any reason. If you miss class, or are late,
you will receive a zero for the missed activity.
The following
applies to rhetorical précis and summaries:
Each assigned
summary or précis is due, typed, at the beginning of the class period
in which the essay/article will be discussed. These due dates are outlined in
the Schedule and confirmed in class. No late précis or summary will be
accepted. Please make sure that you have typed and printed out your
précis by the beginning of the class period.
Should a student be
absent from class on the day a précis is due, she or he may turn in the précis prior
to class discussion either in person or via email. If the email reaches me
after I have left for class, I will not accept the assignment.
Late Papers
In this
class, papers will be graded by Portfolio. Part of this Portfolio method is the
use of paper conferencing and grading. You must have your paper completed by
the scheduled due date and/or conference time. If you miss this time, I will
deduct a letter grade from the final
paper. You will then have to schedule another conference time, at my
convenience, to receive your grade and feedback for the final submission of the
paper.
Student Conduct
I encourage free
and open exchange of ideas and opinions in this class. To ensure that each
student has this opportunity, each of us must respect every student’s right to
meaningfully contribute to the current discussions at hand. No overtly hostile,
sexist, racist, or other xenophobic language or behavior will be tolerated.
Learning
is a collaborative process. Each student has an
important and unique role in this class and should be prepared to contribute
fully throughout the semester. Arriving late, leaving early, sleeping in class,
talking out of turn, or other disruptive behavior
interferes with the learning experience of every student and, therefore, will
not be tolerated.
It is disruptive and rude for cell phones (including text messaging!) and
portable music devices to be used during class—turn them off and put them away
during class time.
Cheating and Personal Misrepresentation and Proxy
Taking another person's place in an exam, placement
test, or other academic activity, either before or after enrollment; having
another person participate in an academic evaluation activity or evaluation in
place of oneself all constitute cheating and violate the Student Code of
Conduct.
Students should see and adhere to the RSU Code of
Conduct, printed in Student Code of
Responsibility and Conduct and online. See Title 12.
Plagiarism
Plagiarism is the representation of the
words or ideas of another as one’s own, including: direct quotation without
both attribution and indication that the material is being directly quoted,
e.g. quotation marks; paraphrase without attribution; paraphrase with or
without attribution where the wording of the original remains substantially
intact and is represented as the author’s own; expression in one’s own words,
but without attribution, of ideas, arguments, lines of reasoning, facts,
processes, or other products of the intellect where such material is learned
from the work of another and is not part of the general fund of common
knowledge.
Contacting the Professor
My communication information is posted at the top
of the syllabus. When sending an email, please include your name, class, and
question in the subject line. All emails should be sent from your RSU student
email account and signed with your full name. Otherwise, I cannot guarantee
that your email will receive appropriate attention. I will make every effort to
respond to emails within 48 hours. Emails received after
Each student is assigned an
official University email account upon initial enrollment. The account will
remain active while the student is enrolled at
Students needing more information about
Student Disability Services should contact the office of Student Development at
Computers
for student use are available in the Stratton Taylor Library, Heath Sciences
246, and Student Support Services.
The schedule and procedures in this course are
subject to change in the event of extenuating circumstances.
RSU English and Humanities Department
Definition of Plagiarism
The RSU Student Code defines plagiarism as “presenting
the work of another as one’s own (i.e., without proper acknowledgment of the
source or sources), or submitting material that is not entirely one’s own work
without attributing the unoriginal portions to their correct sources. The sole
exception to the requirement of acknowledging sources occurs when ideas or
information are common knowledge” (see Title 12 in the Student Code, available
online at www.rsu.edu/scode).
Integrating the words and ideas of others into your
own work is an important feature of academic expression. But plagiarism occurs whenever we incorporate
the intellectual property of others into our own work without proper acknowledgement
of whose words, ideas, or other original material we are bringing into our
work, either with quotation marks and direct mention of the source or through
other means of clear and precise acknowledgement.
Plagiarism can of course be a purely intentional
attempt at deceit, but whether or not there is conscious intent to deceive,
plagiarism occurs any time you do not
give proper acknowledgement of others’ contributions to your work. Ignorance of the responsibility of acknowledging
sources is not a legitimate defense against a charge of plagiarism, any more
than not knowing the speed limit on a given road makes a person stopped for
speeding less at fault. Since the
consequences of being charged with plagiarism are serious, the English and
Humanities Department has adopted the following definition of plagiarism to
ensure your more precise understanding of what constitutes plagiarism,
intentional or unintentional.
1. It is plagiarism to copy another’s words
directly and present them as your own without quotation marks and direct
indication of whose words you are copying.
All significant phrases, clauses, and passages copied from another
source require quotation marks and proper acknowledgement, down to the page number(s)
of printed texts.*
Source material from the “Notice” to Mark Twain’s Adventures of Huckleberry Finn: “Persons
attempting to find a motive in this narrative will be prosecuted; persons
attempting to find a moral in it will be banished; persons attempting to find a
plot in it will be shot.”
Plagiarized: Surely it is an exaggeration to say that
persons attempting to find a moral in
Huckleberry Finn will be banished
and persons attempting to find a plot in
it will be shot.
Proper acknowledgement of source: Perhaps the
author is exaggerating when he says that “persons attempting to find a moral”
in his novel “will be banished” and “persons attempting to find a plot in it
will be shot” (Twain 3).
Note that even brief
clauses and phrases copied from source material require quotation marks. Also
note that acknowledging the source without putting the quoted words in
quotation marks is still plagiarism: put all
quoted words in quotation marks.
2. It is
plagiarism to paraphrase another writer’s work by altering some words but
communicating the same essential point(s) made by the original author without
proper acknowledgment. Though quotation
marks are not needed with paraphrasing, you must still acknowledge the original
source directly.
Source material from Adolph
Hitler, by John Tolland: “Ignored by the West, the
Plagiarized: When Western nations continued to shun
the
Proper acknowledgement of source: In Adolph Hitler, John Tolland notes that
when Western nations continued to shun the
3. Plagiarism includes
presenting someone else’s ideas or factual discoveries as your own. If you follow another person’s general
outline or approach to a topic, presenting another’s original thinking or
specific conclusions as your own, you must cite the source even if your work is
in your own words entirely. When you
present another’s statistics, definitions, or statements of fact in your own
work, you must also cite the source.
Example 1: Say that you read Paul Goodman’s “A Proposal to Abolish
Grading,” in which he claims that an emphasis on grades results in students’
caring more about grades than learning subject matter, causing them to have a
bad attitude when their grades are low and sometimes even leading them to
cheating. In order to make these same
essential points in your own work without plagiarizing—even if your development
of these ideas differs markedly from Goodman’s in examples and order of
presentation—you must still acknowledge Goodman as the basis for your approach
to the topic.
Plagiarized: Abolishing grades at the college level
would allow students to focus on subject matter instead of grades, it would
prevent students from getting a bad attitude towards a class when they receive
low grades, and it would virtually eliminate the temptation to cheat or
plagiarize.
Proper acknowledgement of source: As Paul Goodman
argues in “A Proposal to Abolish Grading,” doing away with grades would allow
students to focus on subject matter instead of grades, it would prevent
students from getting a bad attitude towards a class when they receive low
grades, and it would virtually eliminate the temptation to cheat or plagiarize.
Example 2: If you found a source indicating that Americans consume
more beer on Friday than on any other day of the week, to make this claim in
your work you must cite the source to avoid plagiarism. If the source indicated that American
beer-drinking on Fridays accounts for 21% of the whole week’s total
consumption, mentioning this statistic, or even approximating it, requires acknowledgement
of the source.
Plagiarized: Americans consume more beer on Fridays
than on any other day of the week.
Proper acknowledgement of source: Americans
consume more beer on Fridays than on any other day of the week (Cox 31).
Plagiarized: Beer consumption on Fridays
accounts for more than 20% of total
Proper acknowledgement of source: Beer
consumption on Fridays accounts for more than 20% of total
4. Plagiarism includes
allowing someone else to prepare work that you present as your own.
Allowing a friend, parent, tutor, or
anyone else to compose any portion of work you present as your own is
plagiarism. Note that plagiarism
includes copying, downloading, or purchasing an essay or any other material in part
or in whole via the Internet. Note also
that plagiarism includes using online “translator programs” in foreign language
classes.
5. Plagiarism applies
in other media besides traditional written texts, including, but not limited
to, oral presentations, graphs, charts, diagrams, artwork, video and audio
compositions, and other electronic media such as web pages, PowerPoint
presentations, and postings to online discussions.
Conclusion:
·
If you are uncertain about any portion or aspect of this definition of
plagiarism, ask your instructor to clarify or explain immediately. If at any point later in the semester you
have questions about potential plagiarism issues, talk to your instructor about
them before submitting the work in question.
·
Students who plagiarize often feel pressured into submitting
plagiarized work because they have either struggled with the assignment or
waited until the last minute to get the work under way. You will always be better served discussing
your situation with your instructor, however grim it seems, rather than
submitting any work that is not entirely your own.
*The
examples of proper acknowledgement of sources above follow the MLA (Modern
Language Association) conventions for in-text parenthetical citation used in
English classes and many other courses in the humanities. The parenthetical references point the reader
to a list of “Works Cited” at the end of an essay. Other courses and disciplines may follow
different conventions, such as footnotes, endnotes, or a variety of other
methods of documentation (
Course and section:___________________________
I understand and accept the following definition of plagiarism:
1. It is plagiarism to copy another’s words directly and
present them as your own without quotation marks and direct indication of whose
words you are copying. All significant
phrases, clauses, and passages copied from another source require quotation
marks and proper acknowledgement, down to the page number(s) of printed texts.
2.
It is plagiarism to paraphrase another writer’s work by altering some words but
communicating the same essential point(s) made by the original author without
proper acknowledgment. Though quotation
marks are not needed with paraphrasing, you must still acknowledge the original
source directly.
3.
Plagiarism includes presenting someone else’s ideas or factual discoveries as
your own. If you follow another person’s
general outline or approach to a topic, presenting another’s original thinking
or specific conclusions as your own, you must cite the source even if your work
is in your own words entirely. When you
present another’s statistics, definitions, or statements of fact in your own
work, you must also cite the source.
4.
Plagiarism includes allowing someone else to prepare work that you present as
your own.
5.
Plagiarism applies in other media besides traditional written texts, including,
but not limited to, oral presentations, graphs, charts, diagrams, artwork,
video and audio compositions, and other electronic media such as web pages,
PowerPoint presentations, and postings to online discussions.
My signature below indicates that I have
read and do understand and accept the “RSU English and Humanities Definition of
Plagiarism,” which contains examples and explanation of the various types of
plagiarism listed above.
Print your name
here: Sign
your name here:
__________________________________
_________________________________
Schedule
Below
is the Master schedule for this class. This schedule provides an overview of
the assigned readings from our texts and the due dates of major papers. I may
also provide supplemental readings, not listed below, as deemed beneficial to
the class. Specific details for each paper and assignment will be given
separately throughout the term. This schedule may change as necessary to
benefit the class. It is the student’s responsibility to stay apprised of any
changes. Students should be prepared, on any day, to write an in-class essay or
response, or turn in their journals.
Paper
I: Personal Essay (The Autobiography)
Week
1 (Jan 14-18)
Introduction
to Course
Assessment
Students
prepare for class:
“Homeboy”
“The Joy of Reading and Writing: Superman
and Me”
“Salvation” —Summary/Evaluation Due for
this reading
Week
2 (Jan 21-25)
Students
prepare for class:
“What’s Your Name, Girl?”
“Learning to Read and Write”
“Me Talk Pretty One Day”
*Paper
I Due (The Autobiography)
Paper
II: Critical Response I (Till We Have Faces)
Week
3 (Jan 28-Feb 1)
Introduction
to Mythology
Handouts
Summary/Response
Due
Week
4 (Feb 4-8)
*Paper
II Due (Critical Response I)
Paper
Week
5 (Feb 11-15)
Introduction
to Classical Rhetoric and Argument
Students
prepare for class:
“The Declaration of Independence”
—Précis/Response Due for this Reading
“I Have a Dream”
Week
6 (Feb 18-22)
Student
prepare for class:
“And Ain’t I a Woman?”
“A Modest Proposal”—Précis/Response Due for
this Reading
Proposals Due for Classical Argument
Week
7 (Feb 25-29)
Continue
work with argumentative paper
Week
8 (Mar 3-7)
Rhetorical
Précis/Response Due
Midterm
Exam
Continue
work with argument
Week
9 (Mar 10-14)
Continue
work with argument
Week
10 (Mar 17-21)
Spring
Break
Week
11 (Mar 24-28)
*Paper
Paper
IV: Critical Response II (Frankenstein)
Week
12 (March 31-Apr 4)
Introduction to reading and writing about literature. Selections
announced in class.
Week
13 (Apr 7-11)
Milton
and others
Classical
Myth
Last
Day to Withdraw with “W”
Week
14 (Apr 14-18)
Paper
IV Due (Critical Response II)
Frankenstein
Week
15 (Apr 21-25)
Frankenstein
Final
Portfolio Prep
Week
16 (Apr 28-May 2)
Reflection
and Portfolio
Week
17 (May 5-9)
Final
Portfolios Due
Final
Exam Period
Final Exam, Wednesday,