English 110 Section Online: Writing I

Instructor: Kathryn Bennett Kathryn7@live.missouristate.edu Office: SICL 401: 417-836-4484 Office Hours: 3:15-4:30 on Tuesdays

Course Description
Critical reading and writing skills applicable to writing within and beyond the college community. Emphasis on composition processes, argumentation of diverse issues, and collaborative learning, such as peer review.

English 110 Goals

Writing as a Rhetorical Act: Rhetorical Situation: an examination of the forces that act upon a given discourse Genre and Discourse Community: an examination of the interrelationship between audience expectation and genre Rhetorical Analysis: work in the writing and analysis of arguments

Academic Discourse: What it Means to Write in Academia Academic Writing: an examination of the ways writing happens in academia Ethics: an examination of academic honesty Conventions: work in the editing of student-written documents including grammarmechanics-usage and documentation systems Sources: incorporating and evaluating scholarly and popular sources

Writing Processes: What it Means to Have a Process Processes: an introduction to various composing methods especially concerning invention and revision Reflection: an examination of student writing processes through reflective writing

Public Affairs: The Interaction Between Rhetoric and Public Affairs Ethics: writing ethical arguments Cultural Competence: working with rhetorical situations related to the universitys public affairs yearly theme

General Education Goals Linked to English 110: I.B.3: Skill in generating and evaluating observations and evidence I.C.1: Striving to be well-informed and open-minded I.C.3: Striving to achieve ones best with persistence and imagination I.C.5: Intellectual self-awareness: being conscious of ones own thinking process, including the cultural and social contexts of that thinking I.D.1: Writing and speaking with clarity and precision for diverse audiences I.D.2: Making use of computers and other technological tools II.C.3: Knowledge of individual physical, emotional, intellectual, social, historical, spatial, and cultural matrices into which the individual is born; and the influence of the unique set of experiences which the individual encounters

Course Materials
Required Texts:
Perspective. Ken Gillam, ed. Fountainhead Press, 2012. On the Documentation of Sources. Bogart & Sutliff. Moon City Press, 2010.

Recommended Text:
Signs: A Grammar Handbook. Allison D. Smith. Fountainhead Press, 2011. ISBN: 9781598712506

Other Supplies: A 2-pocket folder for the portfolio Computer access, word processing software, printer

Course Grades
Grade Breakdown
50% Online Portfolio 15% Forum Participation 10% Essay drafts 10% Peer Review 15% Critical Reading Blogs

Grading Scale:
A100-94 B+89-87 C+79-77 D+69-67 F59-0

A-93-90 B86-84 C76-74 D66-60

B-83-80 C-73-70

(Points rounded up from .5 to the nearest whole number)

Course Environment
English 110 is a highly participatory course. Much of the learning is collaborative. You will be expected to interact with each other, reading and commenting upon your fellow students writing, helping your classmates develop and express ideas. Individual writing and research, small group activity, critical reading, and discussion are at the center of English 110.

Course Work
This academic year all English 110 classes will be centered on the universitys theme of Inclusive Excellence. That is why we have chosen the book were using and why the assignments are as they are. We always try to write assignments and design the class so that students will be engaged by the material, that they can bring their experiences and perspectives to bear on the material.

Portfolio

The portfolio carries the greatest weight in your course grade. The portfolio is a collection of work youve done during the semester introduced by a reflective statement. You will include drafts of Project 4 and four of the shorter projects you have written over the course of the semester.

Projects

Most of the projects will go through the same process: you will write a 1 st draft that will be peer reviewed in class. From these comments you will revise the 1 st draft and turn this next draft in to the instructor. From there, you will revise again for the portfolio.

Blogs

Most of the reading blogs will cover a different reading from the syllabus; however, there are some blogs that cover different topics. In the reading blogs you are to effectively summarize the reading in about 100 words, then you are to follow the metacognitive or rhetorical heuristic in roughly 100 words. These will be posted to your own blog.

Essay Drafts Grade Breakdown

The instructor will assign advisory grades to drafts of each project. Drafts that are turned in on time and completed will earn completion points as listed above. Grading Key Symbols LD = Late Draft MD = Middle Draft ED = Early Draft Drafts Project 1 draft Project 2 draft Project 3 draft Project 4 drafts (at least 3) Project 5 draft Project 6 draft Total Grade Equivalent A to B+ range B to C range C- and below range Points 1 1 1 5 1 1 10

Grading Criteria
Late Draft A Late Draft is one that is close to being ready for inclusion in the portfolio. It will still need some work, but this work will not be as significant as work for a middle or early draft. Middle Draft A Middle Draft still needs a significant amount of work and is not quite as ready for the portfolio as a late draft. Issues such as organization, amount of research, and surface problems among others may be present. Early Draft An Early Draft will need a significant amount of work to prepare for the portfolio. It suggests an incomplete draft, a draft that doesnt meet the requirements of the assignment, or one that needs a change of direction. It could also suggest significant stylistic problems.

Online Portfolio Grade Breakdown

The portfolio grade is a semi-universal score. Students receive a single point value (from 1-50), but in considering the score, the instructor will weight his or her consideration based on the values below (i.e., Project 4 carries considerably more weight than the other projects). All changes between the draft you've turned in to the instructor (draft 2) and the portfolio draft (3rd draft) must be highlighted. This is a strict requirement of the portfolio. Projects Four of the five other* projects Project 4 drafts Project 4 Final Draft Total Points 5x4 5x2 20 50

*you choose one project not to submit to the portfolio

Other Considerations for the Portfolio An additional 5 points (one letter grade) will be deducted from the final grade if any of the drafts of Project 4 are missing. An additional 15 points will be deducted if there arent at least four projects, besides P4, in the portfolio. A 5-point deduction from the final grade will be assessed for each project not submitted to Turnitin.com.

Peer Review Grade Breakdown

10 Points Total 5 pts: Project 4 Peer Review (5 for excellent review, 3 for average review, 1 for poor review) 5pts: One point each for all other peer review

Reading Blogs Grade Breakdown

15 Points Total There are 15 journals and each is worth 1 point Points Scale 1 Point .....................................................................Excellent Work .70 Points ................................................................Fair Work 0 Points ..................................................................Brief/Incomplete/Failing Work

Late Work
Drafts are due on the assigned dates in the assigned order. There are penalties built into the essay draft grade for late work.

Forum Grade Breakdown

Forum participation constitutes over one letter grade of your total grade for the class. Students will receive a participation grade every week for forum activity. Two excellent posts will receive full credit for the week (+ ). Students who have fewer posts and are less engaged will receive average credit for the week ( ). Students who have no posts or unsatisfactory posts will receive little to no credit for the week ( - ). Points 13-15 11-12 9-10 7-8 5-6 0-5 Definition Excellent Good Average Poor Failing Failing Big Marks Received 13-15 + (no - allowable) 9-12 + (1 - allowable) 6-11 + or (1-2 - allowable) 4-7 + or fewer than 3 + or no + or

15 Points Possible In the case of a student receiving the adequate number of + but too many -, the grade will be at one lower category (e.g., a student receives + = 14 and - = 2. The student would receive 12 or 13 points in the Good category rather than 14 or 15 in the Excellent category.

Attendance Policy
Were onlinethere is no attendance policy! However, to succeed in this class, you will need to participate weekly.

Originality
It is assumed that all work will be original to the semester it is assigned and written for the English 110 class. Co-written projects as well as projects adapted from other classes will be assigned a failing grade. In some instances, depending on circumstances surrounding the project, the student may be referred for academic dishonesty.

Turnitin.com:

All students will use Turnitin.com. The second draft of each of the six projects must be submitted to Turnitin.

Academic Integrity and Dishonesty

Missouri State University is a community of scholars committed to developing educated persons who accept the responsibility to practice personal and academic integrity. You are responsible for knowing and following the universitys Student Academic Integrity Policies and Procedures, available at www.missouristate.edu/policy/academicintegritystudents.htm. You are also responsible for understanding and following any additional academic integrity policies specific to this class (as outlined by the instructor). Any student participating in any form of academic dishonesty will be subject to sanctions as described in this policy. If you are accused of violating this policy and are in the appeals process, you should continue participating in the class.

Statement of Nondiscrimination:
Missouri State University is an equal opportunity/affirmative action institution, and maintains a grievance procedure available to any person who believes he or she has been discriminated against. At all times, it is your right to address inquiries or concerns about possible discrimination to the Office for Equity and Diversity, Park Central Office Building, 117 Park Central Square, Suite 111, (417) 836-4252. Other types of concerns (i.e., concerns of an academic nature) should be discussed directly with your instructor and can also be brought to the attention of your instructor s Department Head. Please visit the OED website at www.missouristate.edu/equity/.

Disability Accommodation:
To request academic accommodations for a disability, contact the Director of the Disability Resource Center, Plaster Student Union, Suite 405, (417) 836-4192 or (417) 836-6792 (TTY), www.missouristate.edu/disability. Students are required to provide documentation of disability to the Disability Resource Center prior to receiving accommodations. The Disability Resource Center refers some types of accommodation requests to the Learning Diagnostic Clinic, which also provides diagnostic testing for learning and psychological disabilities. For information about testing, contact the Director of the Learning Diagnostic Clinic, (417) 836-4787, http://psychology.missouristate.edu/ldc.

Cell Phone Policy:

As a member of the learning community, each student has a responsibility to other students who are members of the community. When cell phones or pagers ring and students respond in class or leave class to respond, it disrupts the class. Therefore, the Office of the Provost prohibits the use by students of cell phones, pagers, PDAs, or similar communication devices during scheduled classes. All such devices must be turned off or put in a silent (vibrate) mode and ordinarily should not be taken out during class. Given the fact that these same communication devices are an integral part of the Universitys emergency notification system, an exception to this policy would occur when numerous devices activate simultaneously. When this occurs, students may consult their devices to determine if a university emergency exists. If that is not the case, the devices should be immediately returned to silent mode and put away. Other exceptions to this policy may be granted at the discretion of the instructor.

Dropping a Class:
It is your responsibility to understand the Universitys procedure for dropping a class. If you stop attending this class but do not follow proper procedure for dropping the class, you will receive a failing grade and will also be financially obligated to pay for the class. For information about dropping a class or withdrawing from the university, contact the Office of the Registrar at 836-5520.