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Syllabus for English Composition II
In order to insure consistent student outcomes in this
course, this common syllabus is distributed to each student taking Composition
II.
Course Description : A
continuation of the writing experiences begun in Composition I, with emphasis on
research, including documentation and evaluation of sources.
Students completing this course will exhibit
competency—through testing, course work, portfolio, student/faculty
interaction, and/or other appropriate measures—in written communications
skills, reasoning skills, and critical thinking skills.
Three hours credit
Course Prerequisites: ENGL 1113, grade of
"D" or above
Textbooks and Resources
Guide to College Writing. Dallas: McGraw-Hill, 2002.
McQuade, Donald, and Robert Atwan, ed. The Writer’s
Presence: A Pool of Readings. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2000.
Shelly, Mary. Frankenstein. Bedford.
Library Materials
Materials relating to this course, including the textbooks, are on reserve
in RSU Library.
Learning Objectives
In accordance with the Rogers State University mission and the mission of the
Department of Communications and Fine Arts, Composition II leads to the
following outcomes:
- Composition II is required for those students aspiring to baccalaureate
degrees, associate degrees, and some certificate and associate of applied
science programs.
- Composition II is designed to build and display effective communication
skills and creative and critical thinking in an atmosphere of academic
freedom which encourages interaction in a positive academic climate.
- This course is designed to create opportunities for cultural,
intellectual, and personal enrichment for students.
The student should be able to demonstrate ability to--
- write a well-developed, well-supported 600-1500 word essay, using formal
essay structure, with minimum of grammatical and mechanical errors;
- write a well-developed, well-supported 600-1500 word documented essay,
using five or more sources, using a standard form of documentation, such
as MLA;
- evaluate and use library sources, including on-line data bases,
Internet, etc., for research essays;
- summarize and evaluate multi-disciplinary essays chosen from four of the
following areas: social science, natural science, film, pop culture, and
literature;
- use the writing process: pre-writing, planning, organizing, drafting,
revising, editing;
- write a well-developed and supported answer to an essay test question;
- write a supported, logical short essay in 50 minutes (ACT/SAT style).
Assessment Tools
By the end of the semester students will have
|
Assessment Tool |
Student Outcome Measured |
Objective Measured |
|
(initial) completed pre-tests on essay structure and
writing |
|
|
|
(exit) completed post-tests on essay structure |
2 |
1, 2, 5 |
|
written formal essays, using multi-disciplinary and/or
literary works as supporting evidence, each essay reflecting the writing
process |
1, 2, 3 |
1, 5 |
|
written research essay(s), each essay reflecting the writing process |
1, 2, 3 |
2, 3, 5 |
|
written answer(s) to essay test question(s) |
1 |
6 |
|
written 50-minute essays |
1 |
7 |
|
summarized professional essay selections |
1, 2, 3 |
3, 4 |
|
evaluated professional essay selections |
1, 2, 3 |
3, 4 |
Initial Assessment: Composition
II students will take an assessment of rhetorical and documentation skills and
produce a writing sample. If the student has not completed assessment by the end
of the second week of classes, then the student will be subject to a grade
penalty.
Students who miss the assessment test given in class may
schedule a make-up test with Shelly Borgstrom (BH 205A) but must still complete
all assessment prior to the end of the second week of class.
Initial assessment tests will not be part of student semester
grades.
Mid-Level (Class Assessment): Students will be assessed
on their knowledge of the writing process, on their ability to write formal
essays, formal 50-minute essays, essay test question answers, documented essays,
summaries, and evaluations.
Exit Assessment: Composition II students will take an
exit assessment of rhetorical and documentation skills. Post-tests should be
considered as part of the semester grade.
Standards of Achievement
All student work will be held to the
following academic criteria:
Accuracy of information
Organization and clarity of thoughts
Depth of critical thinking and observation
Satisfaction of defined requirements (deadlines, etc.)
Acceptable writing mechanics
Fidelity of work (no plagiarism, cheating, etc.)
Evidence of creative or innovative thinking
Effective cooperative learning
Grading Scale and Academic Profiles
The Communications and Fine Arts Division has adopted a
standard grading scale:
90-100% A
80-89% B
70-79% C
60-69% D
59% and below F
Academic Profile
| |
Descriptor |
Description |
|
A |
Excellent |
Students receiving an "A" can be considered
to have exhibited extraordinary effort in class and scholarship exceeding
the expectations of the instructor and to have exhibited most or all of
the following: to have attended regularly and on time (missed fewer than
the equivalent of one week of class meetings); to have participated fully
in peer evaluations and in class discussion, revealing personal initiative
in both; to have used well-supported and well-structured logical arguments
in essay writing; to have revealed a grasp of mechanics that prevents
errors; to have revealed depth of critical thought and observation; to
have exhibited timeliness in turning in assignments; to have revealed
strong interest in intellectual, cultural, and personal growth by reading
and discussing assigned material; to have shown consistent improvement in
academics. |
|
B |
Above Average |
Students receiving a "B" can be considered to
have exhibited above-average effort in class, revealing noticeable
improvement in academics, and showing accurate and complete scholarship.
The student will have exhibited most or all of the following: have
attended regularly (not missed more than the equivalent of one week of
class meetings) and on time; have participated honestly and solidly in
peer evaluations and in class discussion; have used supported and
structured logical arguments in essay writing; have revealed a grasp of
mechanics that prevents many errors; have revealed critical thought and
observation; have exhibited a moderate grasp of timeliness in turning in
assignments; have revealed interest in intellectual, cultural, and
personal growth by reading and discussing assigned material. |
|
C |
Average |
Students receiving a "C" can be considered to
have exhibited average effort in class, performing satisfactorily but not
above average, with some self-direction, and have shown signs of academic
progress, meeting assignment parameters accurately. The student will have
exhibited most or all of the following: attended regularly (not missed
more than the equivalent of one week of class meetings) and on time;
participated willingly in peer evaluations and in class discussion; have
used supported and structured arguments in essay writing; have revealed an
average grasp of mechanics that prevents most errors; have revealed
average critical thought and observation; have exhibited a moderate grasp
of timeliness in turning in assignments; have revealed average interest in
intellectual, cultural, and personal growth by reading and discussing
assigned material. |
|
D |
Below Average |
Students receiving a "D" can be considered to
have exhibited some effort in class, but not enough to show fully
engagement with the subject and with the course material, showing little
or no initiative and academic improvement, and not meeting the scholarship
requirements of assignments. The student will have exhibited most or all
of the following: have participated somewhat in peer evaluations and in
class discussion; have attended somewhat regularly (missed more than the
equivalent of one week and less than the equivalent of two weeks) and
usually on time; have used some structured and supported arguments in
essay writing; have revealed a sub-standard grasp of mechanics that
prevents only some errors; have revealed below average critical thought
and observation; have exhibited some grasp of timeliness in turning in
assignments; have revealed below average interest in intellectual,
cultural, and personal growth by reading and discussing assigned material;
have not met the scholarship requirements of assignments; have not shown
initiative; have not revealed academic improvement. |
|
F |
Unsatisfactory |
Students receiving an "F" can be considered
to have exhibited little or no desire to pass the course. This will
usually involve poor participation and attendance (missed more than the
equivalent of two weeks of class meetings) and little or no effort to
attempt improvement as well as scholarship deficiencies and lack of effort
to complete assignments. |
Academic Criteria [Composition Rubric]
CONTENT (0-25 points)
Excellent 25 points no improvement necessary
to topic; creative
Very Good 24, 23 writer's own truth, original perception; narrow enough to be
clearly and completely developed by specifics; appropriate to audience/purpose;
substantive; thorough development of thesis; relevant
Good 22, 21 has many of characteristics of truth/perception/appropriateness,
development, relevance, but lacks thoroughness, freshness, creativity
Average 20, 19 some perception of subject; adequate range; limited
development; mostly relevant to topic--lacks detail; reasonably well-developed,
but lacking completeness; good content, but lacking organization
Fair-Poor 18, 17, 16 limited perception of topic; little substance; little
development
Very Poor 15-11 little perception of the subject; non-substantive; not
pertinent to subject; not enough to evaluate
ORGANIZATION (0-15)
Excellent 15 no improvement necessary
Very Good 14, 13 fluent expression; ideas clearly slated/supported; succinct;
well-organized; logical sequencing; cohesive
Good-Average 12, 11 organized but predictable; obvious/mechanical
organization; occasional blurring of purpose
Fair 10 focus blurred; poor beginning/ending; weak movement, repetition,
paragraphing, proportion; lacking transitions
Poor 9, 8 ideas confused/rambling; lacks logic/sequence; not focused/no main
point
Very Poor 7, 6 doesn't communicate; no organization; too little to evaluate
VOICE, TONE, DICTION (0-15)
Excellent 15 no improvement necessary
Very Good 14, 13 sophisticated range; precise word choice/usage; word form
mastery; appropriate tone; effective figurative language
Good-Average 12, 11 adequate range; somewhat vague; occasional errors of word
form, choice, use; clichés; slang; redundancies; little or no figurative
language
Very Poor 8, 7 meaning confused or obscured; inappropriate use of language
SENTENCE STRUCTURE (0-15)
Excellent 15 no improvement necessary
Very Good 15, 14 sentence variety; mastery of compound-complex
structure/tense/ parallelism/agreement/number/word
function/pronouns/prepositions
Good-Average 13, 12, 11 undistinguished; generally unified/correctly
constructed--few slips in unity or clarity, some dull sentences; generally
lacking in positive qualities
Fair/Poor 10, 9 occasional lack of unity/ clarity; sentences noticeably thin
and immature, repetitious patterns, wordy structures
Poor 8, 7 marked lack of unity or clarity
Very Poor 6, 5 communication seriously impeded by lack of unity/clarity
PUNCTUATION (10-0) One point deduction for each error
USAGE, MECHANICS (10-0) One point deduction for each error
SPELLING/READABILITY (10-0) One point deduction for each error:
Manuscript form, carelessness, excessive errors also affect this area.
NOTE: DOCUMENTED PAPERS
(papers assigned which should be documented) may lose additional points if
incorrectly documented. For example, a paper might lose 10-20 points if it lacks
correct Works Cited format and 10-20 points if it lacks internal, parenthetical
documentation, etc.
NOTE: This sheet is designed for basic
grading. Certain sections may receive more emphasis and therefore more points
based on the information for the assignment.
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.
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. A link to the "Code" is on the RSU web site.
Rogers State University ADA Statement
If you have special physical, psychiatric, or learning
disabilities, please let me know immediately so that your learning needs may be
appropriately met. You will need to provide documentation to the office of
Student Relations, Prep. Hall 110.
Computer Writing Labs
Computers are available in the UPA, Thunderbird Library, and
Student Support Services. Computers are available for class use in BH 205.
Closure Statement
The schedule and procedures in this course are subject to change in the event
of extenuating circumstances.
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.
Good luck! Good writing!
adapted, with permission, from Bremer, Joyce C.
"The Responsible Student." Innovation Abstracts 20.17
(4 Sep. 1998): 1.
"
Name: ___________________________
Date: ___________________________
Student Contract for Composition II
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 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)
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