English 109: College Composition For International Students

Fall 2009

Instructor: Lance Cummings

Office: Bachelor Hall 268
Office Hours: T,R 2:00-3:00pm
Email: cumminle@muohio.edu

The largest library in disorder is not so useful as a smaller but orderly

one; in the same way the greatest amount of knowledge, if it has not
been worked out in one’s own mind, is of less value than a much smaller
amount that has been fully considered. For it is only when you combine
what you know from all sides, and compare one truth with another, that
you completely realize your own knowledge and gets it into your power.
You can only think over what you know, therefore you should learn
something; but you can only know what you have thought about.

(Arthur Schopenhauer, “Thinking for Oneself.”)

Course Description: This 4-credit course is an adaptation of ENG 111 for

international students at Miami University. This course prepares students for ENG
112, and it satisfies part of the Miami Plan requirement for six hours of composition
and literature. The MP goals of critical thinking, understanding of contexts,
engaging with other learners, and reflection leading to informed action are
centrally entwined with course goals and structure. Students practice critical
thinking as they learn to evaluate arguments and to locate and organize evidence
to support their own written arguments. They learn to understand contexts by
studying the rhetorical situation out of which a text arises. They engage with other
learners and share different points of view in small group work, class discussion
and peer workshopping. Reflection is a key component of each sequence and the
final project.

Course Objectives: By the end of ENG 109, you should be able to effectively
engage academia and culture through research and language. You should be able
to understand and integrate a variety of multi-modal approaches to knowledge,
enabling you to successfully read texts, conduct effective research, and write
essays in college. You should be able to identify and analyze important information
and ideas in source material and discuss your reactions to or opinions about what
you have read, and demonstrate effective argumentation/persuasion and critical
thinking skills. Ultimately this class is here to help you develop an
awareness of the available means to help you in future courses with your
writing and thinking.

Critical Reading Skills: Each student will:

 • Read and comprehend a variety of materials expected at the college freshman level.
• Research, evaluate, and integrate a variety of multi-modal sources into your
own thoughts through writing.
• Explore different modes of research and inquiry by engaging American
culture at Miami University.
• Learn critical thinking skills that can be applied throughout your University
career and beyond.

Composing Skills: By the end of the first year, composition students should be
able to:

• Develop an awareness of how organization, grammar, and mechanics fit into

rhetorical contexts, specifically in academia and American culture.
• To use common Western academic heuristics to explore and create ideas, for
example comparison and contrast, definition, classification, argument and
analysis.
• Develop flexible strategies for inventing, researching, drafting, getting
feedback on, revising, and editing their writing.
• Analyze their own and others’ writing effectively.
• Collaborate with others to develop writing projects.
• Recognize the purpose of assigned writing and discover their own aims in
writing.
• Choose appropriate conventions of form, structure, voice, tone, and diction
and appropriate technologies that assure accessibility to a range of
audiences.
• Find, evaluate, analyze and synthesize appropriate primary and secondary
sources.
• Integrate others’ ideas in developing an argumentative thesis.
• Practice appropriate and ethical ways of documenting sources.

Rhetorical Knowledge: By the end of the first year, composition students should
understand:

• How particular audiences, genres, and technologies shape reading and

writing.
• How multi-modal elements of texts (images, sound, design) can have
rhetorical effects.
• How to choose, critique, and experiment with multi-modal elements, genre,
or a mix of genres for a rhetorical purpose.
• How to use writing and reading for inquiry, learning, thinking, and
communicating.
• How rhetorical, collaborative, social, and technological aspects of writing
processes and products overlap.
 • How language carries the power to shape perceptions and construct
knowledge.

Methods:

Critical Reading: One of the best ways to develop writing is to critically read
texts from peers, professionals, and scholars. This is why we will be reading
profusely in this class, but rather than focusing merely on content, we will be
focusing on how texts are constructed rhetorically. As you learn to observe
constructive techniques in others writing, you will be able to tranfer those into
your own writing. Consequently, you will be reading professional texts to
practice evaluative skills and observe strategies for writing in various contexts.
In addition, you will be reading peer papers, making observations,
interpretations, and evaluations, generating insights on peer papers
highlighting strengths and weaknesses and possibilities for change (comments
which will be specific, measurable, and actionable). You will also be learning to
approach writing problems from multiple directions through the use of peer
evaluations, writer’s memos, and blogs.

Thoughtful Writing: In this class, you will be required to write clearly and
persuasively in various rhetorical contexts. This will require you to develop an
order and logic in the presentation of the essay that is appropriate to different
rhetorical modes in American acadmic writing, including argumentation,
analysis, and an essay test mode. You will also need to revise consistently to
develop ideas and achieve the quality expected of completed writing. Not only
does this mean following the standards of written English, but also being able to
shape content in new ways throughout the semester.

Thorough Research: Throughout the semester, you will be required to apply

methods of inquiry to the process of writing. You will be collecting, analyzing,
and critically evaluating information to produce writing with appropriate
documentation, but also you will learn to narrow your purpose and topic to
assist filtering information. In the end, you will need to synthesize research with
original ideas and arguments. In addition you will learn to apply methods of
inquiry to the writing process itself, for example aengaging in prewriting
activities and applying strategies for the composing process.

Self-Reflection: All good writers and scholars must continuely reflect on their
own work. You will be doing this continuely with blogs, writer’s reflections, self-
evaluations, and dialogues with your peers and myself. Being able to self-reflect
will help bring knowledge into direct application through conscious thought.

Required Textbooks/Materials:
-College Composition at Miami, Vol. 60. Oxford: Miami University Department of English,
2007.
 -Writing and Place: Critical Spaces for Composing. 5th Ed. Oxford: Miami University
Department of English, 2007.

Optional:
-Lunsford, Andrea. The Everyday Writer. 3rd Ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2005.

Assignments:
This course is comprised of six major projects, all which must be completed to pass the course. Our
goal will be to explore your own experience of American culture through observation, research, and
dialogue. Each sequence will draw us further into this process.

Sequence I: Literacy Narrative, Exploring the Writing Process through Story

Sequence II: Ethnography, Integrating Primary Source Material with Description

and Information

Sequence III: Rhetorical Analysis, Analyzing “Texts” through Evaluation

Sequence IV: Annotated Bibliography, Exploring Issues of Place through Research

Sequence V: Public Discourse, Integrating Thoughts and Research in a Public Forum

through Argumentation

Sequence VI: Reflection and Portfolio

Drafting Process:
As we will explore in the first sequence, writing is a process not an event. Though
everyone’s process will vary, the framework of each of the sequences will be as
follows. Part of your evaluation for this course will how well you engage and reflect
on this process, not just the end product:

1. Rough Draft (10 Points Each) – This will be a complete draft to be

workshopped in class. This will neither be graded nor handed in to me,
though we will all work together to develop some constructive comments.
You will receive full points for coming to class on time with your draft. If you
miss class, you can receive some of the points back by visiting the writing
center.
2. Polished Draft (10 Points Each) – Proceeding the rough draft, you will
make significant revisions in response to our work in class and other
comments you might have received. This draft will be handed in on
Blackboard with Turnitin.com, and we will conference most of these revisions
one-on-one or in group conferences. You will receive full points for handing
in complete with a Writer’s Reflection and participating in the conference.
 3. Revision (30 Points Each): Drafts will be handed in after further revision
for a grade. Points will be awarded according to a well-defined rubric
discussed in class. Further revision is expected for the Portfolio.
These grades have only a small impact on your overall grade; our main goal
being to give you an idea how you might be evaluated by an American
professor.
4. Portfolio (500 Points): The final portfolio will be a collection of your best
work from the entire semester. I will provide you with more specific details,
including the grading rubric I will use to evaluate the portfolios, later in the
semester.

Particpation:

The University in America functions very much on the principle of collaboration,

particularly in the area of writing. Scholars are consistently dialoguing,
commenting, and engaging each other through text, conversation, and in on-line
forums. In order to do well in this class, you must do more than just show up for
class; you will be required to engage with your peers and myself in various ways.
Your performance in this area will be graded in each sequence. You will be given
many opportunities to improve in this area and discuss with me strategies to
succeed for this class and in the future.

Course Grade Breakdown:

Portfolio = 500 points

Drafting Process (described above) = 300 points
Participation (graded each sequence) = 100
points
Research/Reflection Blog (5 points each) = 100 points

Please note that course work has an effect on the grade, but the bulk of your grade
will be given at the end of the semester with the portfolio. Our over-arching
practical goal is that you will be able to produce at least C quality work for ENG
112 (though we will obviously be working to get above this minimium). We will be
talking about our writing in conferences, journals, peer-critiques, and evaluative
comments, providing you with many ideas and opportunities for significant
revision. You are encouraged to continue working on your papers and are welcome
to make an appointment with me at any time. The writing center is also available.

Please keep all work pertaining to your paper and writing process, no matter how
insignificant. You will be required to talk about and demonstrate your writing
process with each assignment.
 Percentage Points out of 1000
A+ 98-1000 1000-980
A 94-97 970-940
A- 90-93 930-900
B+ 89-87 890-870
B 86-84 860-840
B- 83-80 830-800
C+ 79-77 790-770
C 76-74 760-740
C- 73-70 730-700
D+ 69-67 690-670
D 66-64 660-640
D- 63-60 630-600
F 59-0 590-0

General Grading Guidelines:

An A will mean that all the basic requirements have been accomplished in an excellent way, including
blog, class attendence, and drafts. This will also mean that you have demonstrated excellent
reading and writing skills in the sequences and portfolio, contributing in a unique and original
way to the class.

A B will mean that you have met most of the basic requirements in an excellent way, including journals,
class attendence, and drafts. This will also mean that you have demonstrated excellent reading
and writing skills in the sequences and portfolios.

A C will mean that you have met most of the basic requirements in a sufficient way. This will also mean
that you have demonstrated adequate reading and writing skills in the sequences and portfolio.

A D will mean that you have not met several of the basic requirements in a sufficient way, but you have
demonstrated some adequate reading and writing skills that you will need to develop further in
future classes.

An F will mean that there are several gaps in the gradebook, and you have not demonstrated any
adequate skills. You will likely need to take this class over to succeed in future courses.

Miscellaneous:
 Students are responsible for all information within the course materials and class meetings.
Assignments must be completed as scheduled in spite of absences/ cancellations. Have at least two
classmates you can contact in the case of absence. Assignments will also be posted on Blackboard.
 No late projects, assignments or quizzes will be accepted without prior consent of the instructor.
 If you can not attend class on the due date, here are some options:
 • Hand it in the class before.
• Email it to me as a Word attachment before class.
• Deliver it to my mailbox in the English department before class. Have the
secretary date it.
 Final projects are due at the beginning of class and must include all parts to receive a grade.
 Excused abscences for relgious holidays or sports events must be approved two weeks in advance.
 Missing 25% of class can result in an automatic withdrawal from the course or an F.
 All assignments must have all required parts as described by the
assignment sheet. I will not read incomplete assignments.

Academic Honesty Statement:

Miami University is committed to academic integrity in all its practices. The faculty value intellectual
integrity and a high standard of academic conduct. Activities that violate academic integrity undermine
the quality and diminish the value of educational achievement. Cheating on papers, tests or other
academic works is a violation of Miami University rules. No student shall engage in behavior that, in
the judgment of the instructor of the class, may be construed as cheating. This may include, but is not
limited to, plagiarism or other forms of academic dishonesty such as the acquisition without permission
of tests or other academic materials and/or distribution of these materials and other academic work. This
includes students who aid and abet as well as those who attempt such behavior. Miami’s strict plagiarism
policy is outlined on pages 176-78 of College Composition at Miami.

ADA Statement:
Miami University seeks to provide effective services and accommodations for qualified individuals with
documented disabilities. If you will require assistance during an emergency evacuation, notify your
instructor immediately. Look for evacuation procedures posted in your classrooms. You can also get
additional information and support from the Office of Learning Disabilities Services (513-529-8741) or
The Office of Disability Resources (513- 529-1541).

Writing Center:
A new Howe Writing Center has opened on the first floor of the King Library. The new writing center
will provide an excellent place for you to receive one-on-one help with your writing, and I would
strongly encourage you to take your paper drafts to the writing center at various stages in the writing
process. Every writer needs a reader; this is an invaluable resource for all levels of writing. For specific
information about the Howe, or to schedule an appointment, visit their website:
http://www.units.muohio.edu/writingcenter/.

Counseling:
Adjusting to college life, while exciting and fun, can also be very challenging at times. If you feel
yourself struggling or you would just like someone to talk to, don’t hesitate to ask for help. Miami’s
Student Counseling Service offers each student six free sessions. Seeking help when you need it is a sign
of personal strength. The Student Counseling Service is located in the Health Services Center and
provides a range of counseling services. For more information, call 513-529-4634.

Dropping/Withdrawing:
Dropping and withdrawing from a course are separate formal administrative procedures—merely
ceasing to attend class is not the same as dropping or withdrawing from a course. Before choosing either
option, a student should meet with his/her instructor and advisor. For more information, see the Student
Handbook section on "Registration Procedures"
(http://www.miami.muohio.edu/documents_and_policies/handbook/academic_regul
ations/acadre
gspii.cfm)