Minnesota State University
Spring 2013
Course: ENG 101–30 Composition
Course Meeting: 2:00pm–3:45pm Tuesdays
and Thursdays
Course Location: AH 327
Instructor: Daniel DeWolf
Office: AH 201K
Office Hours: 1:00pm–2:00pm T; 1:00pm–2:00pm
H (e-hours)
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
Texts: The Little Seagull
Handbook by
Richard Bullock and Francine Weinberg
ISBN-10:
0393911519
ISBN-13:
978-0393911510
Everyone’s an Author by Andrea Lunsford,
et al.
ISBN-10:
0393932117
ISBN-13:
978-0393932119
Required Coursework/Grading:
Weekly
Writing Responses 20%
Each
week we will have a written assignment due. These assignments include reading
responses, critiques, and rough drafts of your formal essays. I will provide
you with detailed guidelines for each of these writing assignments prior to
their due dates.
Essays 55%
Summary/Response
Essay 15%
Personal
Narrative Essay 15%
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 25%
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 two (2) absences without penalty. After
the allotted two absences, you will receive a 5% 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. 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. Writing done for this class is considered public text. Assignments
are tentative and subject to change.
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.”
