In-class Writing and Homework

On your blogs, write about an event with which you were involved that required you to respond with some type of action (written or verbal).  Here are some things to consider when constructing your post:

• Identify what happened.
• Who was involved?
• How did you respond/what action to did you take?
• Was your response in writing or in person?
• What was your demeanor/tone?  How did you act?
• Did you consider your audience in the moment?
• How did your "audience" respond?
• Did you achieve your intended purpose?
  
• Looking back on the situation, is there anything you would have done differently?  Why or why not?

Your written assignment for this week is to write a response to the Good Thunder event that we attended during class.  I will have access to the archived session soon in case you wanted to listen to the reading again; please contact me via email if you're interested.  The assignment sheet for this paper is available under the Content section of D2L.

In-class Writing and Homework

On your blogs, you should have two posts for this week:

1. Notes on "Letter from a Birmingham Jail" by Martin Luther King Jr.
   
2. Sample passage from the MLK essay along with a summary of the passage

For this second post, make sure you transcribe (or copy & paste) a sizeable paragraph from the MLK essay.  After you have done this, accurately summarize the passage in one to two sentences.  Make sure to put the summary in YOUR OWN WORDS, while maintaining the integrity of the original text.

Your homework for next week (1/26/2012) is to read "A Modest Proposal" by Jonathan Swift and write a response to the essay in preparation for our class discussion.  You can locate the essay and assignment sheet under the Content section of D2L.  If you have any issues viewing the essay and/or assignment sheet, please contact me as soon as possible.

We will be meeting in our regularly schedule classroom (AH 331) next week (1/26/2012) prior to attending the Good Thunder Reading.

Who I Am

For your first informal writing assignment, you will address the prompt "Who I Am" in class, on your blogs.  What qualities make you who you are?  What are your interests, hobbies, goals, experiences, scholastic and career choices?  After you have brainstormed some ideas for this prompt, you will need to turn the free-writing exercise into an essay, which will be due at the beginning of class next Thursday (January 19th).

• 500 Words
• MLA Style (see page 523 in textbook)
• Typed; 12-point, Times New Roman font; double-spaced; proper heading and page numbers; no paragraph spacing; 1" margins on all sides

In addition to the printed assignment, you will need to also turn in an electronic copy via the D2L dropbox.  Questions?  Send me an email: daniel.dewolf@mnsu.edu

Also, remember to have read Martin Luther King Jr.'s "Letter from a Birmingham Jail" for next week, and be prepared to discuss it.

Course Schedule - Spring 2012

Week 1:          Thursday, January 12^th

Lesson/Discussion: Introductions, setup blogs, e-mailing your instructor, in-class writing.

Homework: Turn your first blog post into a short paper; read “Letter from a Birmingham Jail,” by Martin Luther King Jr.

Week 2:          Thursday, January 19^th

           

Lesson/Discussion: Reading Quiz; discuss MLK essay; identify rhetorical elements. In-class writing prompt.

Homework: Read “A Modest Proposal,” by Jonathan Swift and write a response paper.

Week 3:          Thursday, January 26^th

Lesson/Discussion: Turn in Swift response paper; discuss essay; attend Good Thunder Reading 7:30pm–9:00pm.

Homework: Write a response to the Good Thunder Reading.

Week 4:          Thursday, February 2^nd

Lesson/Discussion: Turn in reading response; watch a film and work on rhetorical analysis.

Homework: Write a response to the film, based on rhetorical ideas. 

Week 5:          Thursday, February 9^th

Lesson/Discussion: Turn in film response; discuss Summary/Response and Workshops.

Homework: Write a Summary/Response Paper on “Letter from a Birmingham Jail,” by Martin Luther King Jr.

Week 6:          Thursday, February 16^th

Summary/Response Paper Due

Lesson/Discussion:  Discuss elements of Personal Narrative; conduct in-class writing; Good Thunder Reading 7:30pm–9:00pm. 

Homework:  Write a response to Good Thunder Reading; Read “American Male, Age Ten,” by Susan Orlean and “The Boy,” by Diana Joseph.

Week 7:          Thursday, February 23^rd

Lesson/Discussion:  Turn in reading response; take reading Quiz; discuss essays.  In-class writing prompt.

Homework: Read “Black Hair,” by Gary Soto and “Me Talk Pretty One Day,” by David Sedaris.  Write a response to one of the assigned essays.

Week 8:          Thursday, March 1^st

Lesson/Discussion: Turn in response paper; discuss essays; personal narrative assignment sheet; discuss workshops/questions for consideration.

Homework:  Draft a personal narrative.

Week 9:          Thursday, March 8^th

*No Class—Spring Break

Week 10:        Thursday, March 15^th

Lesson/Discussion: Rough Draft of a Personal Narrative Due; Group Workshops.

Homework: Write the Final Draft of your Personal Narrative.

Week 11:        Thursday, March 22^nd

Final Draft of Personal Narrative Due

Lesson/Discussion: Begin argumentation unit; narrowing down a topic; constructing a thesis statement. Good Thunder Reading 7:30pm–9:00pm.

Homework: Write a response to the Good Thunder reading; choose a topic for research; compose a thesis statement; begin searching for sources.

Week 12:        Thursday, March 29^th

Lesson/Discussion: Turn in Good Thunder response; evaluating sources; logical fallacies; citing and referencing sources.

Homework: Reading assignment TBD

Week 13:        Thursday, April 5^th

Lesson/Discussion: Library Research; discuss reading assignment.

Homework: Write an annotated bibliography; continue researching your topics.

Week 14:        Thursday, April 12^th

Lesson/Discussion: Turn in Annotated Bibliography; conduct in-class research.  Good Thunder Reading 7:30pm–9:00pm.

Homework: Write a response to the Good Thunder reading. Reading assignment TBD.

Week 15:        Thursday, April 19^th

Lesson/Discussion:  Turn in Good Thunder reading response; discuss reading assignment; in-class research and writing.

Homework: Work on rough drafts of Argumentative Research Paper.

Week 16:        Thursday, April 26^th

Lesson/Discussion: Rough Draft of Argumentative Research Paper due; peer editing/workshops.

Homework: Write final draft of Research Paper.

Week 17:        Thursday, May 3^rd

FINALS WEEK

Final Draft of Argument Research Paper Due

Meeting in AH 331 from 6:00pm – 8:00pm

English Composition Syllabus

Spring 2012

Course: ENG 101–26 Composition

Course Meeting: 6:00pm–9:45pm Thursdays

Course Location: AH 331

Instructor: Daniel DeWolf

Office: AH 201K

Office Hours: 5:00pm–7:00pm W (e-office hours); 4:00pm–6:00pm H

Office Phone: 507-389-5540

Email: daniel.dewolf@mnsu.edu

Website: http://dewolfsyllabus.blogspot.com

Course Goals: To develop writers who use the English language effectively and who read and write critically. The course objective is to prepare students for the writing that they’ll be required to do throughout their college careers. By the end of the class, students will be able to do the following:

a) demonstrate and practice strategies for idea generation, audience analysis, organization of texts, drafting, evaluation of drafts, revision, and editing;


b) write papers of varying lengths that demonstrate effective explanation, analysis, and argumentation;


c) become experienced in computer-assisted writing and research;


d) locate and evaluate material, using PALS, the Internet, and other sources;


e) analyze and synthesize source material, making appropriate use of paraphrase, summary, quotation, and citation conventions;
demonstrating knowledge of proper source documentation;

f) employ syntax and usage appropriate to academic writing and the professional world.

Required Text: Rules for Writers (Seventh Edition) by Diana Hacker

ISBN-13: 978-0312647360 ISBN-10: 0312647360

Required Coursework/Grading:

Weekly Writing Responses 20%

Each week we will have a written assignment due. These assignments include reading responses, critiques, rough drafts of your formal essays, and Good Thunder reflection papers. I will provide you with detailed guidelines for each of these writing assignments prior to their due dates.

Essays 65%

Summary/Response Essay 20%

Personal Narrative Essay 20%

Argumentative Research Essay 25%

The majority of your grade will be determined by the quality of work you produce when composing three major essays: a Summary/Response, a Personal Narrative, and an Argumentative Research paper. Each essay will be generated from an in-class prompt. Students will engage in the three steps of writing: pre-writing, drafting, and revising. Rough drafts are to be posted to D2L for in-class, peer editing. The final draft of each essay will be submitted to D2L on the assigned due date and a hard copy will be required, as well. Essays will be graded on how well the students follow and apply the criteria for each essay outlined on the assignment sheets, which will be available to students on the day each essay is assigned.

Participation 15%

Students will be required to engage in free-writing (to be posted as a blog) during specified times, conduct peer reviews of essay drafts via D2L, and participate in class discussions based on the assigned reading. Failure to participate in any of these activities will result in the loss of some or all of a day’s participation points. During lectures, discussions, and presentations, you will be required to TURN OFF your computer monitors and pay attention. If you are caught using your computer or surfing the internet when you have been directed to turn off your monitor, you will not receive participation points for that day. Working on your computer during lectures, discussions, and presentations is distracting to everyone.

Attendance

While attendance doesn’t make up a portion of your final grade, failure to show up to class can have a negative impact on it. You cannot receive participation points if you aren’t in class. You are allowed one (1) absence without penalty. After the allotted one absence, you will receive a 10% deduction from your final grade for each absence thereafter. An absence is an absence: there are no distinctions between excused and unexcused absences. If you aren’t able to attend class, please refer to D2L or the syllabus blog for homework and missed assignments.

Grading Scale:

A = 100-90 B = 89-80 C =79-70 D = 69-60 F = 59-0

NOTE: the lowest PASSING grade a student can earn in English 101 is a C. If a student earns a grade lower than a C, he/she will have to repeat the course. This is a policy that has been set by the university.

Class Policies: Failure to turn in work at the beginning of class on its due date will result in a full letter grade deduction for that assignment. Writing done for this class is considered public text. Assignments are tentative and subject to change. 
Students who need to meet with the instructor and are unable to do so during scheduled office hours can make an appointment via email. Cell phone use in class is not permitted. Please silence or power off phones while in class. If an emergency arises, please exit the classroom quietly to take the call outside. Drinks and food are not allowed in the computer lab. You will be asked to discard or put away any food or drink you bring to class.

Academic Dishonesty: MSU has a zero tolerance policy regarding Academic Dishonesty. Students caught plagiarizing, cheating, or colluding will receive an automatic failing grade, and they will be required to retake the course. Academic Dishonesty—per MSU Policies and Procedures—is defined as follows:

Plagiarism – Submission of an academic assignment as one’s own work, which includes critical ideas or written narrative that are taken from another author without the proper citation. This does not apply only to direct quotes, but also to critical ideas that are paraphrased by the student. Plagiarism includes but is not limited to:

• submitting the work of others as your own

• submitting others’ work as your own with only minor changes

• submitting others’ work as your own without adequate footnotes,

quotations, and other reference forms

• multiple submission of the same work, written or oral, for more than one

course without both instructor’s permission, or making minor revisions

on work which has received credit and submitting it again as new work.

Cheating – Use of unauthorized material or assistance to help fulfill academic assignments. This material could include unauthorized copies of test materials, calculators, crib sheets, help from another student, etc.

Collusion – Assistance to another student or among students in committing the act of cheating or plagiarism.

Center for Academic Success: In addition to working with the instructor, students are encouraged to take advantage of the services offered by MSU’s Center for Academic Success located in the basement of Memorial Library (ML 116). These services include free tutoring sessions in nearly all subject areas, including composition. By appointment or walk-in, the Center is open to students Monday through Friday. MavCard required. Go to http://www.mnsu.edu/supersite/academics/success or call 507-389-1791.

Note for Students with Disabilities: From the Office of Disability Services: “MSU provides students with disabilities reasonable accommodation to participate in educational; programs, activities, or services. Students with disabilities requiring accommodation to participate in class activities or meet course requirements should first register with the Office of Disability Services, located in 0123 Memorial Library, telephone 389-2825, TDD 711 and then contact me as soon as possible.”