Download - CREW II Syllabus Spring 2014

8/13/2019 CREW II Syllabus Spring 2014

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What is Com osition? Writing is a skill that you’ll

need the rest of your life. Therewill be no escaping it—sendingemails, texts, writing essayexams, memos, and more. In thiscourse, we will write, write, andrewrite. The major difference inthis course is in terms of what wewill write. As a student, you willexperience how to discovertopics of writing that aremeaningful to you. You will learnhow to make an assigned topic

your own.Through learning about the

writing process, through multipledrafts, conferences, and readingsof your work, you will learn tothink deeply about your ownwriting. You will discover the

inherent power that you, as awriter, posses and learn how toharness it to improve yourwriting.

In this class, you are expectedto bring your writing to a levelthat is polished and publishable.To do this, you will share yourwriting with the community ofwriters in this class. You will alsoreceive and give thoughtfulcritiques about your own work as

well as that of your classmateThrough this, You will learn tknow the difference betweer e v i s i o n , e d i t i n g , a n dproofreading.

Let’s not forget reading—skill that creates better writersYou will learn to read criticallyThis will help you become more thoughtful, deeper readeof your own work. You wicombine all of this knowledgwith your own experience anconnect it to the wider worldThis is all to help you prepare fothe personal and academiwriting you will do throughoucollege and your own life.

Through it all, you will leavthis class a better writer.

ENGLISH 112

S E C T I O N S 0 1 [ M O N / W

E D ] A N D 0 5 1 [ W E D / F R I ] S

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ri ca ea i gin thissyllabus>>>

What is

Composition?

GradeBreakdown

WritingResources

Nitty-Gritty

Details

Course Calendar

While there is a great deal of writing; you, as author, will be in full control of the

topics and process .

In this class, we’ll learn to write. More importantly, we’ll learn how to present information to people.This is an important skill no matter what your job is. In fact, it’s an important life skill.

questions? concerns? contact me

here: >>>

email:

[email protected]

phone/text: 715.937.0507

office/office hours: TBA

Course Website: We’ll use

Canvas LMS. Find it under

“Current Students.”

An Overview of the Course, Expectations, Assignments, and Objectives

Your Instructor:

Brett Sigurdson

Textbook: The Curious

Writer: Concise Fourth

Edition, by Bruce

Ballenger.

ISBN:0205876641

Champlain College

xp itor ri i

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Everything that youneed to succeed in thiscourse

AttendanceAs a student in this class, you areexpected to contribute to your fellow

students’ edification and growth. Assuch, a certain level of decorum must bemaintained so that we may all benefitfrom each other’s experiences, opinions,

and perspectives. To that end, repeated absences will

negatively affect your grade. You maymiss a maximum of six class periods.More than six absences will lead toautomatic failure. Keep in mind, I donot distinguish between excused andunexcused absences. However, if anemergency will keep you from attendingclass for multiple days, please reach outto me and let me know.

Should you ever miss class, needmore information, or need a workshoppartner, please reach out to someone inclass for help.

Class ParticipationAs the course progresses, you will findthat writing—though ostensibly themost important facet of this course— may actually be only a small portion ofwhat we approach during our classsessions. It is my hope that through

collectively sharing ideas, views, andknowledge each of us will come to abetter understanding of our owncapacities—not just as writers, but asstudents and world citizens. Please show

up for class ready to talk and discuss.Part of your grade will depend on yourparticipation in class, which I will notefor grade purposes during each session.Each time you share something in classI will note it. Your final participationgrade will be determined in points as apercentage of your sharing throughoutthe semester.

Writing NotebookPlease bring a notebook solely for fast-writing assignments beginning thesecond day of class and continuing untilthe end of the semester. Your notebookwill be the place where you explore yourideas, doodle, react to writing prompts,and hopefully plant the seeds of ideasfor future writing projects. The type ofnotebook that you provide is of littlesignificance. What matters is that you’recomfortable writing in it and that youuse it only for this class.

I will require you to turn in yourwriting notebooks an unspecifiednumber of times at least twicethroughout the semester, somethingwhich will count towards your overallgrade. Note: I have a strict deadline fornotebooks. If I leave campus without yourwriting notebook, you will not receive points forthe assignment.

CanvasPlease check Canvas daily. There youwill find information on the class,

including digital copies of al lassignments, your grades, links toimportant websites, and postingsconcerning class discussions and topicsof interest to you.

You will also be required to participatin occasional discussions throughCanvas, each of which will be worth 2points.

Final PortfolioWriting is a process. You’re not going tsharpen your ability to write by gettin

one shot at it. Therefore, you will bencouraged to improve the assignmentthat you submit throughout the semesteuntil the last week of the course. On thfinal day of classes, you’ll submit to ma portfolio of all the semester’assignments, edited and sculpted to hope) perfection.

Here’s how it will work: after yosubmit an assignment to me, I’respond with comments and a grade—the grade you would receive if yodidn’t do any more work on it. If you’rsatisfied with your work and the grade

then you can leave it.However, if you feel that you can d

better, continue to work on the papethroughout the semester throughrevision, visiting with the WritinCenter, and meeting with me. At thend of the semester, you’ll submit youwork to me in a portfolio with a coveletter. The work that you submit shoulbe your very best. The portfolio wistand as the bulk of your grade for thclass.

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“You’re a Genius all the

time”

Jack Kerouac

In addition to skills and knowledge,

Champlain College aims to teach

students appropriate Ethical and

Professional Standards of Conduct.

The Academic Honesty Policy

exists to inform students and

Faculty of their obligations in

upholding the highest standards of

professional and ethical integrity.

All student work is subject to the

A c a d e m i c H o n e s t y P o l i c y .

Professional and Academic practice

provides guidance about how to

properly cite, reference, and attribute the

intellectual property of others. Any

attempt to deceive a faculty member or to

help another student to do so will be

considered a violation of this standard.

The penalty for plagiarism in this course

may include, but is not limited to, failure of

English 112. For questions or concerns, I

encourage you to consult a reputable

source, the Writing Center, or me.

AcademicIntegrity

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Everything that youneed to succeed in thiscourse

Late WorkWriting is about making choices and thisis something that will be reflected in myclassroom. All assignments are absolutelydue on the specified date. However, I willallow you to turn in an assignment up toseven days past the due date withoutpenalty to your grade. If you choose todo this, I will not provide any feedbackfor your paper, something that mayhinder any revision attempts. You mustlet me know, in writing—through eitheran email or a note submitted in class—atleast 24 hours before the assignment isdue that you will submit your assignmentunder these conditions.

Otherwise, if you do not notify meof your decision to take the extra week, I

will not accept late work.

Note: This policy only pertains to the major papers of this course and NOT to group postings, your Writing Notebook, or any other recurringassignments.

Finally, let’s face it: technology

breaks. servers go down, transfers timeout, files become corrupt. The list goeson and on. These are not consideredemergencies. They are part of thenormal production process. An issue youmay have with technology is no excuse

for late work. You need to protect yourself by managing your time andbacking up your work.

Other Graded WorkThere will be a number of smallassignments throughout the semester.They will be worth 25 points each andwill mostly consist of discussion posts andresponses on our class Facebook page.. In

total, we’ll have at least 700 points.You’ll notice I haven’t marked thedue dates of these assignments on thecourse schedule. I’ve done so to keep youon your toes. Though you will certainlyhave ample time to complete eachassignment, you must be involved in classin order to be on task.

Students RequiringAccommodations

If you believe that you requireaccommodations in this class, pleasecontact Counseling and AccommodationServices as soon as possible. You will beable to schedule a meeting with DeniseMyers and have your documentationreviewed. During that meeting, Denisewill provide you with letters for yourfaculty, which will detail your neededaccommodations. It is the student'sresponsibility to seek and secureaccommodations prior to the start of atest or project.

Contact: Denise Myers, Counselingand Accommodation Services, via phone( 8 0 2 . 8 6 5 . 5 4 8 4 ) o r e m a i l

([email protected]). Her office islocated in Skiff Hall, room 100.

Class PhilosophiesThis is not a difficult class, though it’s noteasy either. The most successful studentin my courses aren’t necessarily the bestwriters; rather, the most successfustudents simply do the work. To succeedin this class, you simply need to show up

do each assignment, push yourself tocreate your best work, and revise, reviserevise. While the quality of your worktakes precedence over anything else interms of your grade, the abovementioned things will lead to qualitywork.

Here are some other things to keepin mind:

1. No matter what, you each havesomething to gain from this class. Iexpect everyone to push themselves.2. If you tell me before, it’s anexplanation. If you tell me after, it’

an excuse.3. At an y po i n t dur i n g t h esemester, I will be happy to respondto questions or concerns regardingthis course. Please feel free to visime during my office hours or tomake an appointment.4. I reserve the right to changeassignments, due dates, etc. on thesyllabus. However, I will attempt toprovide you with any pertinentchanges at minimum a week beforesaid change is going to occur.5. You have a number of ways to

contact me. I expect you to workwith me if you are having problemwith your work or the course. Pleasedon’t wait until the end-of-courseevaluations to share your issues orstruggles with this class.

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WORKSHOPSOne of the most important aspects of this course is

learning that writing isn’t just about you—it’s really about the

reader. The best way to find out if your paper is successful is to

get feedback from other people. To that end, we’ll spend a

number of class sessions doing workshops throughout the

semester.Though you’ll participate in a few kinds of workshops,

you’ll always do the same three things:

1. Read and respond to line-level things such as

misspellings, inconsistencies, etc.

2. Write a few sentences about at least one thing that is

working at the end. Write a few sentences about one thing

that could be better.

3. Go over feedback with partner. Ask writer if he/she

has questions.

We will spend one class period during week three going

through how to workshop effectively.While many of you may be

against letting peers read your work, this is a required part of

my class and one that you’ll soon come to see has enormous

value to you.

Each workshop will be worth 10 points. If you miss a

workshop due to absence, you can still get the points by finding

a partner with whom to exchange papers. You must read a

paper as well as exchange your own. Each partner must verify

he or she workshopped in order to get the points.

If you don’t have a paper to share, don’t come to class. Usethe time to work on your paper.

I expect you to take workshops seriously. They aren’t a

time to talk or do work for other classes. In order to realize the

true value of workshops, you’ve got to come prepared each

time ready to talk about your revised work

Ultimately, it’s up to you to take advantage of the

workshop experience. You must come to class ready to get good

feedback and offer it to your partner. Simply participating in

workshops doesn’t guarantee your paper will improve. You’ve

got to be an active participant in the workshop process. Ask

questions. Listen. Ask more questions. Do this until there are

no more questions

I'm not a very good writer, but

I'm an excellent rewriter. ~James Michener

Writing—the art of applying the

seat of the pants to the seat of the

chair.

~Mary Heaton Vorse

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Writing Center

MIC 218

course calendar...

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Week One [1/6–1/10]

M/W: Bring Writing Notebook,

Buy Textbook

W/F: Read Chapter 1, pgs. 3–37,

Read Syllabus

Week Two [1/13–1/17]

M/W: My Life Sounds Like This,

W/F: Ch. 3, 69–91

Week Three [1/20–1/24]

M/W: Ch. 3, 92-101

W/F: Read: Ch. 10, pgs. 371–377,

Skill 10.11, 10.19–10.21

Week Four [1/27–1/31]

M/W: Workshop

W/F: Workshop; My Life Sounds

Like This Due

Week Five [2/3–2/7]

M/W: Exploratory Essay; Ch. 2,

pgs. 40–55

W/F: Ch. 2, 55-67

Week Six [2/10–2/14]

M/W: Ch. 8, pgs. 259–275

W/F: Library Research Day

Week Seven [2/17–2/21]

M/W: Ch. 8,pgs. 276–290

W/F: Library Day

Week Eight [2/24–2/28]

M/W: Workshop

W/F: Workshop; Exploratory

Essay Due

Spring Break [3/3–3/7]

Week Nine [3/10–3/14]

M/W: Ch. 5, pgs. 137–157

Annotated Bibliography/

Proposal

W/F: Ch. 9, pgs. 293–300

Week Ten [3/17–3/21]

M/W: Ch. 5, 159–169

W/F: Library Day

Week Eleven [3/24–3/28]

M/W: Annotated Bibliography/

Proposal Due; Summary/Strong

Response

W/F: Ch. 6, 171–184

Week Twelve [3/31–4/4]

M/W: Research Day

W/F: Ch.6, 194–216

Week Thirteen [4/7–4/11]

M/W: Workshop W/F: Workshop

Week Fourteen [4/14–4/18]

M/W: Workshop; Research Paper

Due

W/F: Grammar/Portfolio

Workshop

Week Fifteen [4/21–4/25]

M: Portfolio Workshop

Final Portfolio Due Thursday,

April, 24

This is a broad overview of this course’s trajectory. This will most likely evolve

and change as we progress and figure out where we need to spend more or less time.

Homework will be given each day in class and on the class blog. You should read

each chapter before the day it is listed on the schedule.

Though the plethora of portable de(laptops, tablets, smart phones, etc.) availabus can make our lives easier and enjoyable, they are of limited application classroom.

I have no patience for cell phones iclassroom.This is disrespectful to me andclassmates. If I see you using a cell phonuse other than recording homework oappointment, you will be given an absen

you must text or call someone during simply let me know and step outsideclassroom.

several words on...

The Writing Center offers one-onconsultations with peer tutors who astudents with writing assignments of

type. Consultants will help you developstructure your ideas and thing through

you’re trying to say. Please note, they wi

dictate content, edit, proofread, or co-austudent papers, and they won’t predickind of grade you might earn onassignment might earn.

You can find all kinds of heresources in the Writing Center on a wa

basis. For a one-on-one consultation tutors, you should make an appointmenget further information on all that

Writing Center offers, visit its website. The Writing Center is located on

second floor of Miller InformaCommons, room 228, and is open Mo

through Thursday from 11 a.m.–4 p.mFriday from 11 a.m.–2 p.m.

Champlain College is taking precautionary measures to ensure that this class can continue in a"virtual environment" even during an extended emergency such as severe weather, contagious disease,

physical infrastructure failure, campus closure, or similar incident. This course will continue eitheronline through a college-provided learning management system (Canvas), or through some other

process unless cancelled. In the event of such an emergency, students are expected to continue instructor-designated class

activities, as directed by the instructor. Due to the nature of the "virtual environment" learning activitiesmay differ slightly from the on-campus course. In order for this emergency preparedness plan to beeffective, you are asked to ensure that you will have a computer and internet access at the location in

which you will reside during an extended campus closure, prepare yourself with the basic skills of logging into Canvas via the dashboard, finding your course(s) and entering them, and participate in a"warm up" online activity in the "virtual environment" when directed to do so by your instructor.

Business Continuity

technology

! Focus on a purpose

! Respond to the needs of

different audiences

! Respond appropriately to

different kinds of rhetorical

situations

! Use conventions of format an

structure appropriate to the

rhetorical situation

! Adopt appropriate voice, ton

and level of formality

! Understand how genres shap

reading and writing

! Write in several genres

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Submitting Assignments E N G L I S H 1

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Helpful Words >>> “A good writer is basically a story-teller, not a scholar

or a redeemer of mankind.”

—Isaac Bashevis Singer

“Proper words in proper places, make the true

definition of a style.”

—Jonathan Swift

Major Assignments

>>>>>

Paper Two: Exploratory Research Paper. This isn’t the typical

research paper. You’ll write a first-person narrative of your research

process. What did you discover? How did your understanding of the

topic change as you encountered new sources? To explain all of this,

you’ll consider various organizational strategies for moving from one

source or grouping to another. The paper will lead to a tentative,

considered thesis or claim based on all the evidence you’ve examined

and carefully demonstrate the complexity of the research issue. 100

Points

Paper Three: Proposal/Annotated Bibliography. In the proposalpart of this two-part paper, you’ll explain a research question that

you’re interested in and offer a plan for researching it. After completing

some research, you’ll create an annotated bibliography, which will

summarize and discuss the sources that you’ll use for your final paper.

50 Points

Paper Four :Summary/Strong Response. You’ll be introduced to

strategies for reading and summarizing difficult material and

responding to it as a way to enter the scholarly conversation. You’ll

learn standard research methods as you prepare this paper, and you’ll

be encouraged to explore academic arguments in areas of your own

personal or professional interest. 100 Points

Final Portfolio: This isn’t so much an assignment as a second

chance for you to improve upon all of the assignments above—both in

terms of quality and in terms of your overall grade. For more on how

the portfolio will work, turn to page two of the syllabus.

Paper One: My Life Sounds Like This. We’ll

start with something fun, something to give you a

different perspective on your favorite music, your

life, and writing. 100 points.

You will submit all assignments to me via Canvas, where I will grade themand return them to you via the samemanner with feedback and a rubric.

If you’re unsure how this works,don’t worry—check out the video onour Canvas course page. We’ll goover it in class, too.

IMPORTANT: As I teach

two classes, I tak e in anumber of papers each

semester, and it’s often difficult to keep

them organized. To ease the burden

on me, please save each of your

papers like this: “StudentName

Course PaperTopic .doc.” Anexample:

JoeStudentEnglish2010PlaceEssay.doc

I will detract points if I receive files

that are not saved in this manner.

>>>>

Grade Scale

! 100=A+

93–99=A

90–92=A-

87–89=B+

83–86=B

80–82=B-

77–79=C+

73–76=C

70–72=C-

63–69=D

0–59=F

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