English 111



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English 111 RB ~ College Composition (Fall 2010)

TR 4:10-5:25 PM ~ Bachelor Hall 264

Instructor: Mary Boscarino

Office Location: 311 Bachelor Hall

Office Hours: Tuesdays/Thursdays 2-4 PM and by appointment

E-mail: boscarma@muohio.edu

Course Schedule, Homework Assignments, and Class Materials: mauhau.

Required Texts/Materials

Miami University Department of English. College Composition at Miami. Vol. 63. Plymouth: Hayden McNeil,

2009-2010. Print.

Miami University Department of English. Writing and Place: Critical Spaces for Composing. 6th ed. Plymouth:

Hayden McNeil, 2010. Print.

paper notebook for taking notes on readings and class discussions

flash drive for easy storage of work (highly recommended)

Course Description and Goals

English 111 is a Miami Plan Foundation course whose goals focus on 1. critical thinking 2. understanding of contexts 3. engaging with other learners and 4. reflection leading to informed action. See College Composition at Miami pages 1-2 for a more detailed description.

Because this course takes place in a computer lab classroom, we can examine and utilize various types of digital texts. Each student’s computer will serve not only as a site for individual in-class writing but also for collaborative writing projects, online discussion, and sharing of ideas.

By the time you complete English 111, you should be able to:

- understand how context (social, cultural, physical etc.) directly affects communication

- identify rhetorical appeals in all types of writing, speech, and visual media

- recognize the audience(s) for whom you write

- understand how clarity, organization, and support are crucial to persuasive arguments

- evaluate the credibility and appropriateness of print and online sources

- research and utilize secondary sources efficiently

- revise your writing effectively

- use language and visuals academically, creatively, and purposefully

Assignments and Grading

~ Sequence I Conducting Field Research: Ethnographic Writing

4-6 page Ethnography of Place - Due September 21 (100 points)

~ Sequence II Framing and Writing an Analysis: Rhetorical Analysis

5-7 page Rhetorical Analysis - Due October 7 (100 points)

~ Sequence III Critical Thinking through Research and Argument: Public Discourse

6-8 page Researched Argument - Due November 2 (100 points)

~ Sequence IV Thinking Rhetorically: Design Your Own Project

Creative Project and 3-5 page Reflection Essay - Due November 18 (100 points)

~ Sequence V Reflecting on Your Writing: Reflection Essay

4-6 page Reflection Essay - Due December 14 (100 points)

~ Submitting and Reviewing Peers’ Drafts (25 points each x 3 = 75 points)

If you do not turn in a rough draft, you will receive 0 total points. Otherwise, the submitted draft earns 10 points unless I deem it to be too short (less than two pages) or lacking significant effort (no examples included, no idea for a thesis etc.) in which case it earns 5 points. The remaining 15 points reflect the quality of your feedback: 15 points for numerous comments, most of which provide constructive feedback and concrete suggestions for improvement; 10 points for a decent amount of comments, some of which are not helpful; 5 points for few comments, some of which are helpful but most are not; 0 points for hardly any comments and entirely unhelpful feedback.

~ Homework Assignments & In-class Writing (3 points each x 23 assignments = 69 points)

Followed assignment parameters; wrote clearly and in complete sentences; engaged with the material; willingness to think deeper into the topic

3 above satisfactory 2 satisfactory 1 below satisfactory 0 entirely unsatisfactory

~ Blackboard Discussion Board Posts (1 point each [credit/no credit] x 20 = 20 points)

You are required to post to the Discussion Board forums on Blackboard online at least 20

times throughout the semester. You must comment on at least five different forums using complete sentences, and you must have posted at least eight times before midterm. In-class writing, homework assignments, etc. do NOT count as part of the required 20 posts. If you do not post at least 20 times, you will receive 0 total points. If a post 1. is not in complete sentences 2. less than three sentences or 3. does not make a genuine effort to engage the topic and provide one’s insights thoughtfully and clearly, it will not earn a point. However, you may make up for 0 point posts by posting more than 20 times (in other words, I will count your best 20 posts).

~ Group Activities (2 points each x 6 = 12 points)

Attentive listening; active input; appropriate comments; participation in the collaborative writing; involved in presentation to class

2 (above)satisfactory 1 below satisfactory 0 entirely unsatisfactory

~ Class Participation (10 points)

Listening attentively to the instructor and classmates; participating in class discussions; comments provide evidence that you have completed the assigned reading

Ethnography of Place: 100 points

Rhetorical Analysis: 100 points

Public Discourse Research Paper: 100 points

Creative Project with Reflective Essay: 100 points

Reflection Essay: 100 points

Submitting and peer-reviewing drafts: 75 points

Homework and In-class Writing: 69 points

Blackboard Posts: 20 points

Group Activities: 12 points

Class Participation: 10 points

Total 686 points

There is a chance small assignments will be added, but as of now I plan on everything totaling 686 points. Either way, I will divide your total earned points by the total points possible to obtain your grade:

94-100% A 90-93% A- 87-89% B+ 84-86% B 80-83% B- 77-79% C+

74-76% C 70-73% C- 67-69% D+ 64-66% D 0-63% F

Policies

Attendance: Much of the learning in English 111 happens through “engaged learning” in class. Due to the interactive nature of the course—discussion, collaborative writing, group work, and responding to writing—it is essential that students are present and engaged in every class. I will allow four absences (two weeks of class). For every subsequent absence, your final grade will be reduced by a full letter.

Late Work: Each of the five major Sequence Papers must be handed in during class on the designated due date. If you know you will be absent on that day, please turn it in ahead of time. You are responsible for keeping different electronic copies of written work so you can recover work if your computer crashes. The essay will be reduced 5 points each day it is late including the due date (So -5 on due date - another 5 on next day etc.). Late homework assignments are not accepted and will receive 0 points. If you will be absent from class due to illness, you may e-mail the homework assignment to the instructor before class.

Respectful Language: Integral to English 111 is ongoing dialogue with peers. In order to keep such exchanges respectful, discriminatory language of any kind is unacceptable. Please be aware of the power of words to make others feel uncomfortable, hurt, or threatened.

Technology: In order to create an atmosphere free of distractions, cell phones must be turned off and put away out of sight. Computer usage must be relevant to class, so please no Facebooking, playing video games, checking e-mail, or browsing the internet. During certain class activities, such as a group presentation, I will require that computer monitors be turned off.

Plagiarism: The assumption in English 111 is that the writing you submit is your own original writing— that is, produced originally for this class. The expectation is that you will appropriately identify any portion of your work that is collaborative with others, or which is borrowed from others, or which is your own work from other contexts. In other words, you should credit others' contributions to your work. You should not claim as your own writing that is not your own, whether an entire report or a single sentence. To do so is considered plagiarism, a serious violation of academic integrity. Miami’s strict plagiarism policy is outlined on pages 33-35 of College Composition at Miami: “Plagiarism is the unacknowledged use of another person’s writing or of his or her words, ideas, or facts, and it is not acceptable in any university setting at any stage of the composing process. …You are plagiarizing when you use material written by you for another class and turn it in for your writing course without the permission of your instructor and substantial revising.”

Feel free to ask me any questions regarding citation. But, when in doubt…cite it!

Resources

The Purdue Online Writing Lab Learning Disabilities Services

14 Campus Avenue Building

513-529-8741



Student Counseling Service

195 Health Services Center Howe Writing Center

513-529-4634 133 King Library (first floor)

MTWRF 8-5 513-529-6100

Hours: MTWR 11-9; F 11-5; Sunday 1-9



The Howe Writing Center is staffed with writing consultants from many different academic areas. In a one-on-one meeting, a staff member will consult with you concerning any aspect of your work at any stage in the writing process. It is best to schedule an appointment ahead of time, but walk-ins are acceptable when consultants are available.

Note: This syllabus is subject to change. Any suggestions on how the course can be improved or how policies can be more effective are more than welcome!

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“Saying is not blowing breath, saying says something; the only trouble is that what it says is never fixed.”

~ Zhuangzi

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