Rogers State University

Department of Communications and Fine Arts

Syllabus Attachment for English Composition I

English 1113.019, MWF, 11:00-11:50 a.m.., 116 TL

Faculty: Dr. Sally Emmons-Featherston

Office: 204A Baird Hall

Hours:

I will post my office hours on my door during the first week of classes. You may see me before or after class, during my office hours, make an appointment, or call. If I am unavailable, please leave a message on my door or on my voice mail, and I will get back in touch with you as soon as I am able. I attend many meetings on campus and may have to alter from my schedule without notice. If this occurs I will leave a note on the door to inform you of any changes.

Office Phone: (918) 343-7976

E-mail: sallyemmons@rsu.edu

Fax: (918) 343-7899

Course Description

A study of composition, with emphasis on writing effective, short essays; writing effective sentences; paragraph development; and correct usage. 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: ACT score of 19 or equivalent OR grade of "C" or above in ENGL 1033 (Basic Writing)

Textbooks and Resources:

Buchan, John. The Thirty-Nine Steps. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1999.

Dial-Driver, Emily. A Guide to College Writing. Reno: BentTree Press, 2005.

Glenn, Cheryl. Making Sense: A New Rhetorical Reader. 2^nd ed. New York: Bedford, 2005.

VanderMey, et.al. The College Writer: A Guide to Thinking, Writing, and Researching. New York: Houghton Mifflin, 2004.

4 standard size (8 ½ x 11) file folders

2 blue books

Library Materials: Materials relating to this course, including the textbooks, are on reserve in the RSU Library.

Course Introduction

This course is designed to reinforce the writing skills that you acquired in Composition I, and will challenge you to develop these skills further. This course will introduce you to the styles of writing that you will be required to complete in many of your other university courses, and will identify specific strategies which you can use in composing this discourse. Important features of the styles of writing which we will explore include learning to summarize and document information accurately, analyzing information, and articulating a position persuasively. To produce writing with these characteristics, you will need to think and read critically as well as learn to use a range of composing strategies which you will commonly encounter in your other academic writing. These strategies include ways of inventing, drafting, revising and editing as you write, and will be important strategies in learning how to produce any written requirement, whether in another course or professionally. We will also spend time discussing the basics of literary analysis, including learning how to apply literary terms to a piece of literature, as well as how to interpret a literary work.

Teaching Methods and Evaluation Instruments

This course will consist of lectures, class discussions, revision sessions, and occasional group work. Your final grade in this class will be based upon an average of your daily work grade (this includes all work completed in class, revision exercises, and journal assignments), formal papers, exams, a creative project, a willingness to contribute to group work and participation to the course as a whole on a regular basis. Because this class depends so much upon class involvement, your attitude throughout the course is particularly important to me; as such, a positive approach to the class is a must in order to do well. At the end of the semester, I frequently re-assess borderline grades for individuals who work hard on improving their papers and who encourage a positive, friendly atmosphere in the class and demonstrate a strong work ethic.

Do not forget that the grade which you ultimately receive in this class is the grade which you have earned. If at any time during the semester you are concerned about your standing in the class, please come see me so that we can discuss it while there is still enough time remaining in the class for you to raise your grade. Do not wait until the last few weeks of the course to make an appointment with me to discuss your grade because there will not be enough time left to boost low grades at this point. It is your responsibility to earn the grade which you want/need to receive by completing the course requirements during the semester.

Grade Composition: Students will earn their final semester grade via the following:

NOTE: You need to keep track of your grades. Grades will not be posted. This is a violation of federal law, as is discussing your grade via e-mail, with someone else, or over the phone. If you want your final grade before grades are issued from the Registrar’s office, please furnish a stamped, self-addressed envelope to me.

Absences

Composition I includes some lecture elements, some discussion, and much practice work. Since many of the graded writing assignments will be done during class, attendance is MANDATORY. In addition, these exercises provide practice for the major assignments you will be doing.

It is your responsibility to be in class on time. If you are absent, it is your responsibility to find out what has happened in class and what is due. Absence is not an excuse for not having assignments or for not being aware of what is due or what is required. However, do not ask me to re-teach a class you have missed.

If you are late, you need to inform me after class that you came in. Otherwise, you might not receive credit for your presence. College rules allow students to be dropped from class for excessive absences. (However, it is your responsibility to withdraw officially from the class should you decide to do so.) If you are more than 10 minutes late, you will not receive credit for attendance. It is better to be late than to miss a complete class, but it is better not to be late.

Important considerations

· Come to class prepared, having read the material to be discussed, ready to discuss and participate, bringing appropriate supplies, such as texts, paper, pen, etc.

· If you have a paper due, come to class with your paper assembled and stapled for submission.

· Most assignments, including all essays and summaries, will be typed. Other assignments should be typed or written on the front of loose-leaf notebook paper in ink. (Spiral notebook paper is always unacceptable.)

· Please do not use ANY tobacco products in the classroom; do not wear hats or caps.

· Do not bring pagers or cell phones with audible notifications into the classroom.

· Failure to comply with these requests will be seen as denoting lack of respect for the class, the instructor, and your classmates.

In this class, you will complete several major writing assignments: a formal documented paragraph, an in-class essay exam, three to four essays, four formal summaries & reviews, midterm and final exams, an exam over Thirty-nine Steps, and a creative project. All essays will be typed. Creative topics which encourage your own experiences and observations will be encouraged. During the course of the semester you will also complete several short in-class and take home writing assignments.

All essays will be typed using the following MLA (Modern Language Association) requirements:

Submission of Work/Late Assignments/Rewrites

You will submit TWO copies of each of your writing assignments in a file folder. I will grade one of the copies and will return it to you with my comments, and will archive the additional copy in my office for the duration of the semester. Your folder will also include your pre-writing, rough drafts, revision work that is completed in class, and copies of any research materials that you have used to complete your assignment. You may turn in late papers, however, I will deduct 10% from your paper grade every day that it continues to be late. I will allow you one extension on a paper of your choice (extensions usually allow for an extra week to work on an assignment); due to time constraints, however, this will not apply to the last paper for the course. I will allow rewrites on any paper (up to the last two weeks of the semester). If the rewrite is acceptable (if you have made the corrections, followed the guidelines and suggestions for revision noted on the paper, and turned the paper in within one week) you will receive a 10% higher grade. Do not forget to submit the original, graded essay with your rewrite.

Papers that do not display a university level of written proficiency will not be accepted.

E-Mail Addresses

It is imperative that we have a means of communicating with each other outside of class. To this end, I require all students to establish an e-mail account where I (and others in the class) can reach you if the need should arise. Occasionally, I will send course e-mails to the entire class which will remind you of upcoming assignments and readings, will give advice on class assignments, will answer commonly asked questions, will announce extra credit opportunities, etc. Please check your e-mail several times a week so that you remain informed of all updates.

Extra Credit

I will occasionally offer extra credit assignments to those interested. Typically, extra credit opportunities will be given when a student attends a university sponsored activity or a community event, though other opportunities may arise. All extra credit assignments will include a short written assignment and must be submitted by the due date. Extra credit assignments are worth ten points each.

Academic Integrity

Rogers State University strongly prohibits plagiarism of any kind and severely punishes students who commit it. RSU’S official plagiarism statement is: “Plagiarism is representing someone else’s ideas or work as your own ideas or work. To avoid plagiarism when using someone else’s data, arguments, designs, words, ideas, projects, etc., you must make it clear that the work originated with someone else by citing the source.” Absolutely no academic dishonesty will be tolerated in this course. Please review the Student Code of Responsibilities and Conduct published by Rogers State University for a full discussion of “Code and Academic Conduct” and academic misconduct penalties. A link to the “Code” is on the RSU web site. Students found plagiarizing are subject to penalties.