Academic Profile

Sample Essays

The Guide to College Writing includes essays in an appendix. Each of these essays is the equivalent of an “A” or “A-“ essay.

Department of Communications and Fine Arts Policy on Plagiarism

                Plagiarism is a form of academic dishonesty.  Plagiarism is representing someone else's ideas or work as your own.  To avoid plagiarism, when you use someone else's data, arguments, designs, words, ideas, project, etc., you must make it clear that the work originated with someone else by citing the source. Please review the Student Code of Responsibilities and Conduct published by Rogers State University for a full discussion of “Code of Academic Conduct” and plagiarism penalties.  The RSU web site has links to the “Code.” Students found plagiarizing are subject to penalties.

Americans with Disabilities Act

Rogers State University is committed to providing students with disabilities equal access to educational programs and services.  Before any educational accommodation can be provided, any student who has a disability that he or she believes will require some form of accommodation must do the following:  1) inform the professor of each class of such need; and 2) register for services to determine eligibility for assistance with the Office of Student Affairs, located in the Student Union. Students needing more information about Student Disability Services should contact: Jan Smith-Clayton, Director of Student Development, Office of Student Affairs, Rogers State University, 918-343-7579.

Computer Writing Labs

                Computers for student use are available in the UPA, Stratton Taylor Library, and Student Support Services. Computers are available for class use in BH 207.

Closure Statement

The schedule and procedures in this course are subject to change in the event of extenuating circumstances.

Teaching Methods and Evaluation

This course will consist mainly of lectures, class discussion, classroom workshops, and small group work. The final grades students EARN in this class will be based on their performances on work completed in class, five short essays (Reading Responses), four formal essays, mid-term and final exams (both of which will include an essay question). The common syllabus includes detailed information on evaluation tools.

Grade Composition

The grade students earn in this course will be based on the following:

Essay #1………………………………………………………………….10%

Essay #2………………………………………………………………….10%

Essay #3 …………………………………………………………………10%

Essay #4 (Research Essay)…………………………………………..20%

5 Reading Responses…………...…………………………………….20%

Participation/Attendance/Professionalism………………………...5%

Mid-Term Exam………………………………………………………..10%

Final Exam………………………………………………………………15%

                                                                               100%

Additionally, because much of the important work of this course will occur during class meetings, regular attendance and active participation in class discussions and workshops will be expected. ALL 4 MAJOR PAPERS MUST BE TURNED IN TO PASS ENGLISH 1113.

Daily Assignments

Daily work will consist of reading, group discussions, group projects, in-class writing, and a variety of other activities. Most daily assignments will be announced in class. Many of the assignments  listed on the syllabus will be modified in small (or large) ways. You are responsible for gathering this information. If you miss class, do not ask me to repeat announcements or assignments. Collect phone numbers and/email addresses of other students (Class Buddies) and ask them for the information should you be absent on a particular day. Missed daily assignments cannot be made up UNLESS you make prior arrangements with me. Contact me via email or during office hours if you absolutely cannot make it to class. Some assignments are, however, ‘unmakeupable’. Such assignments include discussions, group work, in-class writing, and various other in-class activities.

Writing Assignments

On the syllabus, you will notice that writing assignments are almost daily. These assignments are short (1-2 pages typed) writings designed to aid in your interpretation of the assigned texts or to help you with your major essay assignments. Writing assignments may consist of text summaries, textual analysis, reading responses, discussion questions, short research assignments, essay proposals, or other writing assignments that you will design yourselves. I will announce and explain the parameters or each writing assignment the class period before it is due. I will sometimes give handouts if the assignment requires very specific components. Most of the time, however, I will spend 5-10 minutes at the end of class giving you the required information. After the first few classes, you will understand what these assignments will entail. Writing assignments are always due on the day listed on the syllabus. You may NOT turn an assignment in late, but you may turn an assignment in early if you are going to be absent on a day when the assignment is due. If you miss the class period in which the writing assignment is explained, contact one of your classmates to get the assignment.

Major Essays

All major essays (there are four) must be typed and double-spaced. I will give you a word count or page number guidelines for each essay. Major essays MUST be turned in during class time (unless otherwise announced) in a pocket folder with all prewriting, drafts, peer responses and photocopies of all research materials (except when taken from one of your course texts). Essays not including these materials will not be graded. You may submit your paper with the appropriate materials at a 5% grade penalty. Students must complete all drafts and final copies of the four major essays in order to pass the course.

Drafts

You will receive considerable feedback from your peers and from me throughout the drafting process of each major essay. For the major essays, you will be asked to write at least two drafts prior to the final draft you submit for a grade. In order to take advantage of the feedback you will receive throughout this process, each draft you write should represent your best possible effort. Drafts should always be typed and are due during the class on the days listed on the syllabus. Draft length should be comparable to the actual length of the final essay. Failure to bring in a complete draft on the appropriate day will result in a 5% decrease on the final essay. I do not expect that your first or second, or ever third drafts will be perfect, but I do expect that your essay will have undergone considerable revision. In other words, it is not acceptable to turn in a final draft you have not spent time revising.

Late Policy

Late essays and late writing assignments will incur a 5% grade reduction per day it is late (including weekends). After five days, late essays and responses will not be accepted. Please note that you must complete all major essay assignments to pass the course; therefore, a paper more than five days late results in course failure. Do not take this policy lightly. Please contact me prior to the appropriate due date if you feel you will have problems submitting a particular assignment on time.

Participation and Attendance

This class is a workshop course. Our class meetings will consist of prepared and impromptu group activities, considerable in-class writing, discussions, and various other group and individual activities. Missing class means that you will miss much of the writing process. As a result, students who miss class will find themselves at a real disadvantage. Furthermore, missing in-class activities will result in a reduced grade at the end of the semester.

In addition to attending class, I expect that all of you will participate with professionalism. While workshop courses tend to be informal (and sometimes even fun), I do expect that everyone will behave in an appropriate manner. Please be respectful of fellow students. I also expect a reasonable amount of effort. If you absolutely hate participating in this course or find that you cannot participate appropriately drop the course immediately. It is important for all of us that everyone put forth a 100% effort.

Cell Phones

If you must bring a cell phone to class, please ensure that it is turned off for the duration of the class.

Course Content Disclosure

Our approach to all that we see, read, or discuss will center on its instructive or intellectual potential. Since film and literature, like other arts, has the power to amuse, challenge, and offend, you may be disturbed at various times during the semester by the films we watch. Those students who wish to ensure against exposure to or discussion of such materials should enroll in another course.

My 1113 Class Buddy List

Whenever  I am absent (which is almost never), I will contact one of my “Class Buddies” to get the information I missed.

Name ________________________________________         Phone Number___________________________________

Name ________________________________________         Phone Number___________________________________

Name ________________________________________         Phone Number___________________________________

Name ________________________________________         Phone Number___________________________________

Name ________________________________________         Phone Number___________________________________

Name ________________________________________         Phone Number___________________________________

An Open Letter to Students

     Attending college is analogous to being employed. Success on the job is achieved only with hard work and effort. This is also true of college.

      Your employer expects you to be on the job every day, on time, and prepared to work. You are allowed only a specific number of sick days each year after which your pay is “docked.” This is also true in composition classes. Regular and prompt attendance is essential.

     Meetings are an essential part of the workplace culture, and everyone is expected to attend regularly and to contribute to the discussion. If you miss an excessive number of meetings and/or do not share information, your employment success is in jeopardy. The same holds true for this class. You are not only expected to attend all of our “meetings,” but you are expected to contribute to the discussion. This requires that you come to each class prepared to discuss the assigned material. Failure to do so will put your success in jeopardy.

      Your employer requires you to submit all reports on time. Failure to do so will endanger your employer’s business and your success. The same is true for this class. All “reports” (papers, etc.) are due at the scheduled time (see syllabus). If, for a justified reason, you will not be able to meet the time schedule, you must notify me, just as you would contact your employer if you needed an extension. However, as in the workplace, such extensions do not come without a cost. Extensions result in a decrease in your “salary” (grade).

     Performance reviews occur periodically in the workplace, and your employer determines the degree of your success during these reviews. Such is the case in this class. The “performance reviews” for this class are papers and other assignments. These reviews require you to show not only your knowledge of the material, but also your ability to use this knowledge. Your “pay” (grade) depends on the quality of your performance.

      If you attend class regularly, participate in class discussions, and submit all materials, well prepared and in a timely fashion, you have the potential to excel in this class. I am looking forward to working with you and to learning with you. I am always available if you need assistance.

adapted, with permission, from Bremer, Joyce C. “The Responsible Student.” Innovation Abstracts 20.17 (4 Sep. 1998): 1.

Name:     ___________________________

Date:       ___________________________

Student Contract for Composition I

Initial each statement and turn this contract in. This contract must be on file for you to attend the class.

_____    I have read and understood the guidelines and requirements in the syllabus.

_____    I understand that this class is for three hours college credit; this implies three hours of class

meeting.

_____    I understand that each hour of college credit usually requires two or more hours per week study

time outside of class.

_____   I understand what plagiarism is, and I understand that strict penalties will incur if I plagiarize material.

_____   I understand that peer critiquing may be required in this class; this means that any work I do for this class may be subject to peer review by my classmates.

_____    I understand that attendance is required.

_____    I understand literary selections for this class may contain controversial or “offensive” material; this

is the nature of some academic works.

                                                                                                                                _____________________________           

(signature)

RSU Communications and Fine Arts 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 Communications and Fine Arts 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 Soviet Union once more looked to Germany.  Early in 1939 it accepted a Hitler overture to discuss a new trade treaty by inviting one of Ribbentrop’s aides to Moscow; and a few days later Stalin gave credence to a sensational story in the London News Chronicle that he was signing a non-aggression pact with the Nazis” (721).

Plagiarized: When Western nations continued to shun the Soviet Union, the Russians drew closer to Germany, meeting with a senior Nazi official in Moscow to arrange a trade agreement in early 1939.  Shortly after, Stalin admitted his intent to sign a pact of non-aggression with Germany.

Proper acknowledgement of source: In Adolph Hitler, John Tolland notes that when Western nations continued to shun the Soviet Union, the Russians drew closer to Germany, meeting with a senior Nazi official in Moscow to arrange a trade agreement in early 1939.  Shortly after, Stalin admitted his intent to sign a pact of non-aggression with Germany (721).

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 U.S. consumption throughout the week.
Proper acknowledgement of source: Beer consumption on Fridays accounts for more than 20% of total U.S. consumption throughout the week (Cox 31).

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 (APA, Chicago Style, etc.).

Composition I: English 1113

Sections 004 / 009 / 017

Fall 2005

Office BH 102A

Phone (918) 343-7588

Email natwhardy@hotmail.com

Office Hours: M 8:00-11:30 / T 11:00-12:30 / W 8:00-11:30/ TH 11:00-12:30

or by appointment

 

Course Outline

Subject to Additions and/or Corrections

Week 1_______________________________________________________________________

8/18 Introduction to Course; World’s Easiest In-Class Quiz

8/23 Grammar Test, Assessment Test (please bring pencils!); Learning Writing GCW 1-10

8/25 Diagnostic Essay In-Class; The College Essay GCW 11-19; Reading Response Guidelines (handout); “Reader Response Form” GCW 271-272; Summarizing and Paraphrasing

8/30 “Writing Process Organization” GCW 20-29; “Critical Thinking and Reading” TCW 5-22; Britt, “Neat People vs. Sloppy People MS 378-382; Banjo, “Personalizing Your College Education MS 602-605; “Personal Narrative” TCW 135-149; Narrative Essay 1 Assigned

9/1 Soto “Black Hair” MS 190-198; Malcolm X “Prison Studies” 151-156; Sedaris “Me Talk Pretty One Day” MS157-163; Narration Essay GCW 28-29

9/6 Draft 1 of Essay 1 Due (Bring 3 copies of your paper for Peer Review); “Description “ GCW 31-33; “False Assumptions Exercise” (handout)

9/8 Final Draft of Essay 1 Due (Submit Paper in Pocket Folder with all prewriting, peer reviewed drafts, etc); Self-Evaluation; Response to Literature; GCW 109-132; Reich “Why the Rich are Getting Richer” MS 287-95

9/13 Brady “I Want a Wife” MS 591-595; Theroux, “Being a Man” MS 596-601; Argument MS 631-653; “Strategies for Argumentation and Persuasion” TCW 253-268; Thesis Statements; Plagiarism; Reading Response 1 Due

9/15 College Athletics; “How the Playing Field is Encroaching on the Admissions Office” MS 654-660; “Assessing a Study of College Athletes” MS 661-664; “Athletics Provide Positive Influence” MS 665-668; “Why Not a Football Degree” MS 669-673; Athletic Controversies; “Savage Country: American Indian Mascots in Oklahoma High School Football” (Video); Reading Response 2 Due

9/20 Definition GCW 35-37;Foster “The Disease is Adolescence 538-550; Plotz, “The American Teenager” MS 622-626; Essay 2 Assigned; Reading Response 3 Due

9/22, Rangel “Bring Back the Draft” MS 709-712; Moskos and Glastris “Now Do You Believe We Need a Draft?” MS 713-721; Oi “The Virtue of an All-Volunteer Force” MS 722-727; “Koerth “Women in the Draft Necessary Part of Quest to End Discrimination” 728-731; Reading Response 4 Due

9/27 Comparison/Contrast GCW 40-46; Process GCW 35-37; Kerr “On Eating Meat” MS 674-682; Green “Living in Harmony With Vegetarians” MS 683-686; Fraser “Why I Stopped Being a Vegetarian” MS 687-691; Pollan “An Animal’s Place” 692-705; The Post House “Horrifying Vegetarians Since 1980” MS 706-708; Reading Response 5 Due

9/29 Comparison/Contrast MS 351-370; Tannen “Cross Talk” MS 371-377; Costas “Ali and Jordan” MS 383-387; Catton “Grant and Lee: A Study in Contrasts” 393-398; Barry “Guys vs. Men” MS 399-407; Hurston “How it Feels to Be Colored Me” MS 413-419

10/4 Earle, “A Death in Texas” MS 637-46; Mencken “The Penalty of Death” MS 762-767; Essay 2 Draft 1 Due for Peer Review (3 copies)

10/6 Mechanics GCW 155-180; Logical Fallacies; Avoiding Logical Fallacies MS 647-653; A Polite Reminder: Read The Thirty-Nine Steps  before Tuesday’s class and be prepared to discuss!; Essay 2 Final Draft  Due

10/11 The Thirty-Nine Steps; Writing in Response to Literature GCW 120-142

10/13 The Thirty-Nine Steps

10/18 Mid-Term Exam In-Class Essay on The Thirty-Nine Steps

10/20 Fall Break – No Classes

10/25 Library Tour (Do not miss! Essay 3 will be assigned at this time and you will need to be present to complete the essay); Meet in Room 207 Stratton-Taylor Library; Library Discovery GCW 159-167

10/27 MLA Guidelines GCW 98-104; Research Strategies

11/1 Essay 3 Draft 1 Due for Peer Review (3 copies)

11/3 Essay 3 Final Draft Due; Research and Structure; Writing Process Organization GCW 13-62

11/8 Research Paper (4) assigned; “Media Ethics: What is “’Fair and Balanced’?”

11/10 Research Paper GCW 87-117; In-Class Work on Research Paper

11/15 Ericsson “The Ways We Lie” MS 319-327; Zinsser “College Pressures” MS 292-300; In-Class Work on Research Paper

11/17 Using and Documenting Sources MS 769-793

11/22 Draft 1 of Research Paper due for Peer Review (3 copies)

11/24 Thanksgiving Holiday – No Classes

11/29 Draft 2 of Research Paper due for Peer Review (3 copies)

12/1 Draft 3 of Research Paper due for Peer Review (3 copies)

12/6 Final Draft of Research Paper due; Self-Evaluation ;Grammar Review;

12/8 Course Wrap Up; Writing In-Class Essays; Punctuation/Mechanics Review

12/12-16 Finals Week

Final Exam Schedule

Section 017 Thursday, December 15 @ 12:30 PM – 2:30 PM

Section 009 Tuesday, December 13 @ 2:30 PM – 4:30 PM

Section 002 Thursday, December 15 @ 3:00 PM – 5:00 PM

Abbreviations Key

MS = Making Sense

GCW = Guide to College Writing

TCW = The College Writer