Text Box: ENGL 102: Specialized Writing and Research Spring 2009 Syllabus

 

Instructor Information                                                   Office Hours: Spring 2009

Dr. Wendy Warren Austin                                                                             M and W  11:30- 1:00 

Centennial Hall 234                                                                                                    F   11:00-1:00

(814) 732-2257 (office); 724-255-6536 (c)

warren@edinboro.edu or wendywarrenaustin@hotmail.com (preferred)

http://users.edinboro.edu/warren        AIM Screen name: yrunotwriting

 

Course Description

This competency-based course is a practical study of the methodology of research with emphasis on library usage, research techniques, organizational principles, documentation, and manuscript form.  In this course, students develop the writing skills needed to prepare various specialized writing assignments including the fully documented library research paper, which is the major writing form of the course. 

 

Required Texts and Materials

·         The Longman Writer’s Companion, Chris S. Anson, Robert A. Schwegler, and Marcia F. Muth. 4th ed. New York: Pearson, 2008. (with My CompLab NEW with E-Book Student Access Code Card)  ($62 new from amazon.com).

 

·         Due Credit: Avoiding Plagiarism in a Remix Culture, Wendy Warren Austin. (more details in class)

 

·        3-ring binder to hold research materials, drafts, revisions, etc.

 

Course Goals

By the end of the semester, if you successfully complete this course, you should:

1.      Know the difference between fact and opinion, summarizing and paraphrasing, and a thesis and support;

2.      Apply sound critical thinking and information literacy skills to idea-gathering, source-evaluating, and essay development;

3.      Know various research methods and written formats common to many disciplines;

4.      Be able to employ rhetorical and structural devices such as punctuation, parallelism, transitions, pronoun references, and subordination (at the word, phrase, and clause level) to achieve coherence and unity between ideas within essays and research papers;

5.      Observe current and correct usage, grammar, and conventions of standard written edited English;

6.      Be able to use the library, especially the computerized databases, and the Internet effectively to research sources for ideas and support for researched essays

7.      Know how to evaluate print and electronic sources appropriately;

8.      Know how to cite print sources properly using currently acceptable scholarly documentation styles;

9.      Understand basic hypertext principles and apply them to a coherently-linked, thoughtfully-designed webtext; and;

10.  Be able to write a focused, organized, and well-supported research paper.

 

The 2nd goal for this course mentions information literacy, and according to the Association of College and Research Libraries, “an information literate individual is able to:

1) Determine the nature and extent of the information needed.

2) Access needed information effectively and efficiently.

3) Evaluate information and its sources critically and incorporate selected information into his or her knowledge base and value system.

4) Individually or as a member of a group, use information effectively to accomplish a specific purpose.

5) Understand many of the economic, legal, and social issues surrounding the use of information and access and use information ethically and legally.”

These five criteria, as well as the 10 goals mentioned above, will be used in assessing your work.

 

Assignments and Grading

You are required to complete five major graded assignments and a research log, which are shown in bold type:

  1. Research Proposal                                             50 pts.                       5%             3-4 pgs.
  2. Annotated bibliography (MLA style)             100 pts.                    10%             4-5 pgs.
  3. Research paper (MLA style)                                       200 pts.                    25%            8-10 pgs.
  4. Ethnographic Essay (APA style)                     100 pts.                    10%             5-7 pgs.
  5. Webtext project (MLA or APA style)             100 pts.                     10%          <8 nodes
  6. Research blog                                                       60 pts.                       6%
  7. Homework, shorter writing assignments (11)    200 pts                     20%   
  8. Attendance/Participation                                   190 pts                     19%

1000 pts.                     100%

Points for homework assignments will range from 10-50 points.  Usually homework will be announced in class and is due the next class period unless otherwise stated. If we do not use the homework in class that day and you do not have it with you to turn in, I will still accept it via email before 9 p.m. that same evening if you send it by attachment. However, you will get 1 pt. taken off for it being late. There are only  eight (8) homework assignments, not including the two times when you must bring your rough draft to class, or the individual conference with me regarding the research paper that counts as homework.

 

Classroom Procedures

I use a variety of teaching techniques, such as discussions, demonstrations, mini-lectures, small group tasks or projects, and in-class writings.  You will have some reading homework to do, either from the texts, on the web, or from Electronic Reserve. If  you are not prepared to work hard in this class, I suggest you drop it immediately.

 

Electronic Reserves

To get into Electronic Reserves, go to the Edinboro University main web page, then to Academics, then Baron-Forness Library, then Docutek, then Electronic Reserves, then English under Austin, and then type “waustin” as the password. When I assign readings available on Docutek, I want you to print them out and bring a copy with you to class when we discuss them.

 

Internet Access

Everyone has access to the Internet in this class simply by going to the library or any one of the computer labs on campus where we have Internet access for students. Most of you will have Internet access at your home or in your dorm room, but if you don’t—either permanently or temporarily, plan on spending a lot of time in the library or these labs. Therefore, since access to the Internet is available to all, I will not accept “I couldn’t get on the Internet” as an excuse for late homework or assignments.

 

Do’s and Don’t’s regarding Appropriate Classroom Behavior

Text Box: Do’s • Bring your books, a pen, and some paper to class every day. • Turn your cell phone ringer to “VIBRATE” or “SILENT” upon entering class. • Follow homework assignments correctly and type them all. • Take notes during mini-lectures and discussion. • Ask appropriate questions. • Be respectful of and civil to others and have a positive attitude. Don’t’s • Don’t use Instant Messenger or play computer games while in class. • Don’t get up in the middle of class and leave arbitrarily. (By now, you are old enough to know that you should use the bathroom before and after class, not during.) • Don’t talk to classmates when someone else is speaking. • Don’t use classroom time to do homework from other classes or conduct your personal business (i.e., receive pages, read email, surf the web, schedule for classes, etc.). • Don’t dominate group or class discussions. Conversely, don’t sit silently during every class period. I expect you all to conduct yourselves with maturity and to be prepared to learn something new every day. To that end, you must follow the rules for appropriate classroom behavior

 

Late Assignments

Text Box: Accepted Attachment Formats Word = .doc or .docx format WordPerfect = .wpd format OpenOffice Writer = .sxw format Works or = .wps format Also acceptable = .rtf format To prevent students from skipping class if they are not finished with an assignment when it is due, and to allow for the myriad technical glitches that can occur, I have a 24-hour grace period for the five major assignments. The grace period allows you to turn these in within 24 hours of the due date and time—either in the Plexiglas holder on my office door or by email attachment in Word, WordPerfect, or OpenOffice format. If you do not take advantage of the grace periods, the penalties for late graded assignments are a drop by 10% of its total point value for every class period that it is late, even one class period. That means after an assignment is late by three class periods (a week), you can only get a maximum of 70 pts. for a 100-pt. project.

 

Attendance Policy

If or when you must be absent, you must provide me with a legitimate reason for your absence and be ready to back it up, if necessary.  I prefer that you send me an email telling me why and clarifying the day/date you will be or were absent or give me a note with that same information (on an 8 ½ x 11” sheet of paper) the day you return from your absence(s).  I do not accept Ghering Health Center excuse slips as excuses; the email or large note is sufficient. If I have any doubt as to whether your reason was good enough to miss class, I will revert to the official University policy on absences as mentioned in the catalog. Most of the time, though, I think you will find me to be understanding, but I expect you to come to class every day. If you are in the 3-day a week class, you are allowed to miss 3 class periods before points are taken off  your total grade; if you are in the 2-day a week class, you are allowed to miss 2 class periods without penalty. With each unexcused absence beyond the number permitted, your final grade will be docked 50 points for every day thereafter.

 

Arriving Late to Class/Leaving Early

If you are more than 10 minutes late to class, your absence will be unexcused, just as students do with professors. However, I still want you to attend, even if you have to be so late. Just come in very quietly, and don’t disrupt the class. If you do disrupt the class, I’ll take off participation points. You will simply have to be careful about any other unexcused absences you may incur. If you have already hit your quota of unexcused absences, you will have 10 points taken off your total points in the semester. This also applies to wanting to “leave class early.” I will consider your absence unexcused if you leave more than 10 minutes before the end of class.

 

Makeup Work

If you have an excused absence, I will give you a new deadline for turning in work, at which point the same policies apply. It is up to you to see that you get all the materials you missed. When a student is absent, for two subsequent class periods, I keep the handouts you were supposed to get on those days in my class notebook. If you do not get needed handouts from me during that time, you will need to come by my office to pick up the needed handouts.

 

Plagiarism

In this class you will learn many things about plagiarism. Plagiarism is taking somebody else’s words and claiming them as your own. It is especially reprehensible if you do this deliberately, whether they were posted on the Internet, a source, or elsewhere. If you do, I will fail you for that assignment, for the whole course, and report you to the Office of Judicial Affairs so they can apply disciplinary measures. Plagiarizing unintentionally is often a different story, however. Students often do that because they paraphrase badly or don’t know how to quote properly. That’s what this course is for—to teach you how to paraphrase well and document it. So if you pass this course, that should mean you would know enough not to plagiarize accidentally. By the end of this course, you should all be experts on what plagiarism is and how to avoid it.

 

Support Services

If you have a learning disability, I expect to see documentation for it before I make any extra allowances for you, but I will do my best to accommodate you any way I can. If you have a physical disability, you need to let me know how I can best accommodate your needs as a student. Any student—with or without a disability—who needs extra help with writing, please visit me at my office or visit the Writing Center, housed in the library. The Writing Center’s hours are usually announced at the beginning of each semester. The Writing Center is not only available for people who seem to be struggling with their writing; the tutors there can serve as additional readers of your papers. Take advantage of this service since you are already paying for it anyway with your student fees.

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