eng101

* Other reading materials will be handouts in class or available online (Blackboard or on class blog). To access online reading materials that are protected by copyright or not available on the Internet (via a link from the class blog), go to https://blackboard.gmu.com and enter your username and password.

* Be sure you have access to a good dictionary and thesaurus (either in print or online).

Course Goals

This course is designed to help you improve your abilities to read, write, and think at a college level. In English 101 you will develop strategies to help you use writing as a tool for exploring and reflecting on your own ideas, as well as for informing and persuading your readers. You will need to develop critical reading and research techniques and appropriate technologies to support your writing. English 101 emphasizes writing as a rhetorical process: you will explore beneficial ways to break a writing task into smaller steps such as generating and organizing ideas, investigating your topic, creating early drafts, seeking feedback, and revising. You will also improve your ability to adapt your writing to the needs of an audience, and your ability to revise and edit your own writing.

By the end of the semester you will:

Use processes of brainstorming, drafting, revising, and editing to compose original essays that generate and communicate personal and intellectual discoveries.
Develop a controlling idea, exploring it in depth with illustrative detail.
Use organizational strategies appropriate to audience and purpose.
Craft coherent, well-developed paragraphs and sentences free from distracting grammatical error.
Read and respond to student and published writing critically.
Respond to several published authors in the context of an essay, using MLA citation.
Select and analyze evidence, utilize effective and imaginative descriptive language, further develop your personal style of writing, and construct interpretive and evaluative arguments of increasing quality.

Course Requirements: Students should read texts exhaustively and thoroughly, marking key passages and generating points to be discussed in class. Students should attend all classes, contribute to discussions, and raise salient questions about the readings and/or points made in class and in the course blog. Occasionally, you may have projects (in and out of class) in which groups (two or three students) will undertake an assignment. In addition to three formal papers, you are also responsible for daily contributions to the class blog, as outlined below.

1. Blog Response & other Online Assignments: Each week, students will be required to post on an online class blog discussion forum. The assignments will vary; but each week, you will be expected to engage in conversations with one another, so that the blog truly becomes a place for collaborative dialogue about your writing process. Your blog and other online responses will count as 30% of your final grade. More information about what is expected is posted on the blog under “About Class Blog.” Please note that I will NOT grade late responses; but I will be dropping your lowest grade.

You will also complete occasional online exercises at a companion website for our book, A Writer’s Reference. In these assignments you will be thinking about the reading, preparing for class discussion, and practicing various writing and pre-writing techniques. These online exercises will be graded on a check-only basis—if you complete the work on time, you will receive full credit; if you don’t, you will receive no credit. You must, however, create an account in order for the results to be sent to me.

2. In-Class Participation: Though I will occasionally lecture, this is not a lecture course, but rather a course intended to encourage consistent and frequent dialogue (both written and oral) about the texts we are reading. I therefore will grade you on how well you actively participatein class discussions. In-class participation will count as 10% of your final grade. In class participation grade also includes in-class writing activities and assignments (whether announced or unannounced). Obviously, participation requires attendance, so if you miss too many classes or frequently come in late or leave early, your participation grade will be affected.

3. Essays: You will write three essays. Guidelines for each essay will be provided a few weeks before the first draft is due. Each paper should provide a critical argument. These essays should be thoughtful, reasoned analyses that demonstrate your ability to critically engage with whatever subject matter is chosen or assigned.

A few weeks prior to the due date, I will distribute a handout (or make available an online document) outlining the paper guidelines and submission standards. Each essay should be typed, double spaced with one-inch margins, and stapled. The final draft should be carefully edited and proofread. Below is a basic description of the three major essays you will write for this course.

Expository Essay: This paper will develop your descriptive, narrative and research skills, as well as offer you the chance to be creative and experiment with your writing (~2-3 pages).
Critical Reading Essay: This paper will require you to do a close reading of a text and develop and sustain an argument, supported by textual evidence and minimal research. Your writing for this project should display your best skills as you develop and support a complex, arguable thesis (~4-5 pages).
Synthesis Argument Essay: For this assignment, you will need to synthesize your own views, opinions, and argument in response to two or more texts. You will develop an original opinion or position on a subject and make an argument supported by your own evidence and reasoning, close analysis of the text, and use of at least three outside sources. (~6-8 pages).

Essay Format: For each essay, you should use the Modern Language Association (MLA) format. Each assignment should be typed, double-spaced, and in a reasonable 11 or 12-point font. Your name, our course number, Professor Scott, and the date should be on the first page (no separate title pages) in the upper left hand corner. Your last name and the page number should be on ensuing pages at the bottom right. All pages should be stapled or clipped together.

Peer Review and Drafts: All essays will be written in drafts and submitted for peer review in essay workshops. I will also provide feedback to you on the first two essay drafts, but only after you first consider peer review comments and note which you intend to integrate. I will go over requirements for the draft and peer reviews in class. The final grade of each essay is cumulative and considers the quality of work and progress made from draft to final, as well as your active participation during in-class peer review sessions and feedback provided to colleagues.

Late Paper Policy: Late assignments will be penalized an entire letter grade for each day (not class day, but actual day) that they are late. I do not accept late essays more than four days after the due date. Please note that blog response assignments cannot be made up; you will receive a zero for any such work that you miss.

4. Quizzes: I truly do not like giving quizzes, but if I become concerned that the assignments are not being done or class participation weans (potentially indicating unpreparedness), I reserve the right to give announced quizzes at any time. The grades for these quizzes will be averaged into the weekly response grades.

A note on plagiarism (see the English Department Statement on Plagiarism): GMU is governed by an honor code system, which is designed to punish the theft of others’ work and ideas. Plagiarism includes the unacknowledged use of someone else’s ideas, whether a literary critic, another student, or some piece from the Internet. Plagiarism is a very serious offense that carries severe consequences (i.e., course failure and/ or suspension from the University). If you are unsure as to whether you have plagiarized, consult me prior to submitting the essay or paper for a grade.

Grade Distribution: the following percentages will make up your overall grade.

Weekly Response Blog and Online Assignments / Quizzes: 30%

Participation: 10%

Expository Essay #1 Draft: 15% (5% for draft; 5% for peer comments; 5% for final)

Critical Reading Essay #2: 20% (5% for draft; 5% for peer comments; 10% for final)

Synthesis Argument Essay #3: 25% (10% for draft; 5% for peer comments; 10% for final)

Students must earn a grade of "C" or higher to complete the 101 requirement. Those with grades lower than a "C" will earn an "NC." A grade of "NC" reflects the philosophy that learning to write in an academic setting is a developmental process and that some students may require more time in this development. Since this grade does not appear on students' final transcripts or affect students' GPAs, students are not penalized for requiring additional time to meet the course requirements in 101. Because of this policy, grades of Incomplete are not given in English 101.

Midterm grades will be based on the work of the first seven weeks of the course. Use it to see if you need to make any adjustments necessary for success in the course.

Grading criteria (please click on link to read the details on how I will grade your essays):

Resources:

The University Writing Center is a free writing resource. Tutors are available to assist students at any level and at any stage of their writing process, thus EVERYONE can benefit from utilizing this service. Tutors will not proofread your writing, but they will help you to develop revision and editing strategies. The University Writing Center is located in Robinson A 114. For an appointment, call (703) 993-1200 or schedule online at http://writingcenter.gmu.edu. Also, consult the Writing Center website for more information about their services, as well as a variety of helpful online resources.

The Counseling Center offers an extensive academic skills program, with workshops on concentration, time management, exam preparation, etc., in addition to stress management, personal development, and individual counseling services. The Counseling Center main office is located in SUB 1, Room 364, 703-993-2380; for Learning Services, call 703-993-2999 or stop by SUB 1, Rom 354. For more information, see http://www.gmu.edu/departments/csdc/.

Course Guidelines:

Please be on time: class will begin promptly at 8:30 am.
Since the readings and assignments for each class will be posted (and updated) on the class blog, I expect you to check the class blog after each class (to see what’s due for the next class).
Please bring to each meeting the text(s) which contains the readings we’ll be discussing. Failing to bring these books/other readings demonstrates that you are unprepared for class and will be reflected in your class participation grade.
If you are unable to attend a class, please check the class blog for upcoming readings/assignments and another student for notes on the class you missed.
Be sure you keep up with what’s due when; I will not grade late blog responses at all, and late papers will be lowered a full letter grade for each day (not class day, but 24 hour day) they are late. Computer and/or printer problems are not valid excuses for submitting late work. If, for any reason, you cannot submit your weekly responses on the blog, type and bring to class when due. If you experience printing problems (other than no ink), you can email me your essays, as a Microsoft Word document; but I expect a follow up printed copy by the next class.
Be sure to disable electronic devices (cellular telephones, pagers, etc.) prior to entering the classroom to avoid disrupting discussions.

Students with Disabilities: Students with documented disabilities are legally entitled to certain accommodations in the classroom. Please contact me as soon as possible so that we may make sure your needs are met. The Disability Resource Center is located in Student Union Building 1, Room 222. Please visit the GMU Disability Resource Center website for more information.