English 101.008: Composition Fall 2015: TR 9:00-10:15am, Robinson A 101 Instructor: Natalie Liounis Email: nliounis@gmu.edu Office: Robinson A 455 Office Hours: By online appt. only Required Text: Lunsford, Andrea. Easy Writer (EW). 5th ed. Boston and New York: Bedford/St. Martin’s Press, 2015. Print. Introduction: Welcome to English 101 at George Mason University! For some of you, this is your first year of college and, accordingly, your first year away from home. In English 101, I hope that you will find a community in which you feel comfortable to share your ideas and perspectives. I also hope that you will learn from your classmates and from your experiences writing this semester. Writing is such an important aspect of learning, and it is also an important aspect of life. Throughout college, you will be asked to write multiple assignments—from lab reports to reflections—and this class will be the foundation of your college writing abilities. Please do not take this course lightly. It is imperative that you learn to write well in order to succeed in college and in your future careers. I hope that you will come to see yourself as a writer—not necessarily as an author of books, but as someone who utilizes writing throughout the day. In reality, we are all writers. We text each other, we write Facebook statuses, we tweet, and we send emails. In each context, we use writing to achieve our desired purpose. The same is true for academic writing, and this class will teach you how to use writing—and rhetoric—to achieve your desired purposes in life. 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 to support your writing, and learn appropriate technologies to assist 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 or a situation, and your ability to revise and edit your own writing. General Education: ENGH 101 is part of the GMU General Education Program, which is designed to help students prepare for advanced work in their major field and for a lifetime of learning. For more information on the mission of the General Education Program, consult the University Catalog or visit http://provost.gmu.edu/gened/ Grade Breakdown: Please note that you must complete all major assignments to earn a “C” or higher. 15% Multi-Angle Personal Narrative (750-1000 words) Due: 9/17 20% Commercial Analysis and Argument (1000-1500 words) Due: 10/8 5% Research Proposal (500-750 words) Due: 11/3 5% Annotated Bibliography (6-8 sources) Due: 11/12 25% Researched Argument for Change, 1500+ words Due: 11/24 10% Writing Process Reflection & Presentation (500-750 words) Due: 12/8 & 12/10 10% Homework 10% Class Participation (including peer review) Essay Assignment Descriptions: Multi-Angle Personal Narrative (MAPN) The MAPN is a fun and refreshing way to start out a semester of writing. This assignment asks you to choose something significant from your life—an event, an identity, a choice, an experience, etc.—and write a descriptive story about it. However, there’s a catch: you must tell your story from different angles or perspectives. For example, you might choose to write about winning a state championship game by zooming in on different parts of that day (such as before the game, during the game, and after the game), or you could tell the story from your perspective, your coach’s perspective, and your teammate’s perspective. Along with telling a story through dialogue, scenes, and vivid language, though, you must include elements of reflection and analysis that show why this experience, etc., was life-changing. Commercial Analysis and Argument (CAA) The CAA is your chance to demonstrate your knowledge of rhetoric. Using 2-3 commercials from rival companies selling roughly the same items (e.g., Coke vs. Pepsi vs. Mountain Dew), you will first analyze each commercial based on purpose, audience, context, ethos, logos, pathos, and other rhetorical principles. After thoroughly analyzing each commercial, you will then form an argument for which commercial is selling its product better or best. We will talk about the different ways to organize this paper in class. Researched Argument for Change (RAC) The second half of this class will be devoted to research. For this unit, you will choose one research topic— validated by me—that is relevant to your life or major, and you will write an essay arguing for a specific change. Before you begin writing your essay, though, you will conduct preliminary research to produce a research proposal, and then you will conduct further research to produce a detailed annotated bibliography. When you finally begin drafting your essay, you should have a very specific audience in mind. Who has the power to produce the change you are arguing for? We will talk about research strategies and other details about this unit in class. Keep in mind that you may not write about generalized, overused topics such as paying student athletes, gay marriage, legalizing marijuana, gun control, abortion, bullying, etc. Writing Process Reflection and Presentation (WPRP) After turning in your RAC, our focus will shift to reflective writing for the last couple weeks of the semester. This small essay asks you to reflect on your experience with writing in ENGH 101. More specifically, this assignment is about exploring your writing process. What have you learned about your writing process this semester? What part of your process do you need to improve in the future? Use specific examples from your experience this semester to support what you are writing, and draw conclusions about how you will proceed as a writer from this point forward. After writing your reflection, you will informally present your writing process to the class with at least one visual big enough for the whole class to see at once. This could be a poster, a power point, a skit, or any other appropriate genre. This assignment is for you to learn about yourself, so feel free to be as creative, funny, or serious as you want! Essay Grading Criteria: A - An “A” level grade (90-100%) marks an essay that engages the reader in a provocative conversation. Even more than in a “B” essay, its author anticipates and responds to possible reader questions, uses a wide range of supporting evidence, structures arguments and analyses to create a fluid reading experience, provides unexpected insights, and/or uses language with care and facility. B - A “B” level grade (80-89%) highlights a strong example of college writing and thinking. In addition to meeting the “C” level requirements, such an essay goes further in some way(s): it demonstrates some insight into the “gray areas” of the topic, provides original or very thorough support that is tightly woven into the overall argument, reads smoothly at both the sentence and paragraph levels, and/or exhibits a personal “voice” or style. It has few sentence-level errors. C - A “C” level grade (70-79%) denotes average college-level writing and achievement. The essay is a competent response to the assignment: it meets, to some degree, all the assignment requirements, and demonstrates that the author has put significant time and effort into communicating his/her ideas to his/her targeted audience. It has a thesis, presents some support, and moves from point to point in an orderly fashion; sentence-level errors do not significantly prevent comprehension. Essays that do not meet these criteria will not earn a “C.” “D” and “F” level essays do not meet the basic expectations of the assignment. English 101 Grading Policy: Students in English 101 must earn a grade of C or higher to complete the 101 requirement; students whose grades are 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 affect students’ Grade Point Averages (GPA), students are not penalized for requiring additional time to meet the course requirements in ENGH101. Because of this policy, grades of Incomplete are not given in ENGH101. Revision Policy: You are required to revise AT LEAST ONE major essay this semester. Besides the one essay you are required to revise, you may also revise any additional essay for a new grade. Revisions must demonstrate substantial change to the focus, support, approach, and/or organization of the essay in addition to comprehensive error correction, or they will be returned with no grade change. Revisions must be submitted with all previous drafts and completed by the date listed on the course schedule. Midterm Grades: In English 101, students receive a midterm letter grade based on the work of the first seven weeks of the course. The purpose of this grade is to help students find out how well they are doing in the first half of the course in order to make any adjustments necessary for success in the course as a whole. The work in the second half of the semester may be weighted more heavily, so the midterm grade is not meant to predict the final course grade. Students may view their grade online as soon as it is recorded. Methods of Instruction: Most class meetings of English 101 will be interactive and will involve a significant amount of student discussion and writing. Students may be asked to work individually as well as collaboratively as they investigate issues, practice writing strategies and techniques, learn research and critical reading approaches, and review their own and their peers’ writing. Students who attend regularly and stay engaged in class activities, who keep up with all of the assignments, and who block off sufficient time each week for thoughtful drafting and revising usually succeed in this class. Submitting Class Assignments: Homework and major essays are due at the beginning of class on the due date. Unless otherwise noted, all assignments should be typed in double-spaced, 12 pt. Times New Roman or Cambria font and submitted via Blackboard. All assignments should be properly formatted according to MLA style. Late Work Policy: Late assignments are those arriving any time after the beginning of class on the due date. I will only accept late homework up to one class period after the original due date, and it will only receive partial credit. Major essays will lose 1/3 of a letter grade for each calendar day they are late, and these penalties cannot be changed through revision. Attendance/Participation Policy: Activities in each class meeting will be recorded and valued at 1-2 points per class, up to 50 points total (100%). (Note: Some “slack” is built into this calculation, so you can miss up to three class periods and still be eligible to earn 100% for this grade.) More-interactive classes such as peer review days may be valued more highly; students who are regular, energetic, thoughtful participants may earn additional credit. Students who miss a class are responsible for turning in any required work, but will not be able to “make up” the missed participation in order to earn that day’s point(s). If you are frequently late, you may lose class-participation points. However, in an emergency I would rather have you come late than not at all; if you get stuck in traffic but you can get here 20 minutes late, please try to come. You should also be actively present. This implies brain awareness as well as the basic courtesies of formal social gatherings. Students who are sleeping, reading the newspaper, carrying on private conversations, answering or texting on cell phones, or working on assignments for other classes (etc.) are not wholly, actively present and thus may lose class participation points for that day. If you are seriously unprepared for class or group work—having absolutely no draft for a draft workshop, for example—you may lose class participation points for that day. Any serious breach of good classroom conduct may cause you to lose all participation points. Office Hours and Email: Office hours are an excellent opportunity to talk one-on-one about your writing, ask questions, and get feedback on your work. Until further notice, I will be holding office hours by appointment only via Skype or Google Hangouts. You can also use the email address on this syllabus to ask quick questions or notify me of any urgent matters that need attention. I will typically respond within 24 hours during the week and within 48 hours over the weekend. I will not review papers or missed class periods via email; you must come to office hours. My office number is 703-993-1176, but please note that it does not have voicemail. Also, students must activate their Mason email account and check it regularly. For privacy reasons, all class-related emails will be sent only to students’ official GMU email addresses. Computers/Cell Phones: As we will be using computers nearly every day in class this semester, please bring to class your laptops or tablets with attached keyboards. If you do not have a laptop or tablet with an attached keyboard, you are welcome to rent a laptop from Technical Support in Robinson A118. You must pick up a laptop check-out card from me before class begins in order to get a laptop. All mobile phones should be silenced for the duration of the class period. If you must take a phone call due to an emergency, please quietly excuse yourself from the room. If you are expecting an important phone call, please let me know before class starts. The University Writing Center: Since you will be writing several papers in this course, you may want to visit the University Writing Center (http://writingcenter.gmu.edu), located in Robinson A114, for assistance. The Writing Center is one of the best resources you will find on campus. They have an outstanding website that offers a wealth of online resources for student writers. You can schedule a 45 minute appointment with a trained tutor to help with any phase of the writing process. You can even obtain assistance with papers by visiting the online writing center at http://writingcenter.gmu.edu/owl/index.html, but please plan ahead and allow yourself at least 2-3 days to receive a response. Use their website to make an appointment. Students with Disabilities: If you are a student with a disability and you need academic accommodations, please see me and contact the Office of Disability Services (ODS) at 703-993-2474. All academic accommodations must be arranged through the ODS. GMU Nondiscrimination Policy: George Mason University is committed to providing equal opportunity and an educational and work environment free from any discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, disability, veteran status, sexual orientation, or age. GMU shall adhere to all applicable state and federal equal opportunity/affirmative action statutes and regulations. Composition Statement on Plagiarism: Plagiarism means using the exact words, opinions, or factual information from another source without giving that source credit. Writers give credit through the use of accepted documentation styles, such as parenthetical citation, footnotes, or end notes; a simple listing of books, articles, and websites is not sufficient. This class will include direct instruction in strategies for handling sources as part of our curriculum. However, students in composition classes must also take responsibility for understanding and practicing the basic principles listed below. To avoid plagiarism, meet the expectations of a US Academic Audience, give their readers a chance to investigate the issue further, and make credible arguments, writers must put quotation marks around, and give an in-text citation for, any sentences or distinctive phrases (even very short, 2- or 3-word phrases) that writers copy directly from any outside source: a book, a textbook, an article, a website, a newspaper, a song, a baseball card, an interview, an encyclopedia, a CD, a movie, etc. completely rewrite—not just switch out a few words—any information they find in a separate source and wish to summarize or paraphrase for their readers, and also give an in-text citation for that paraphrased information give an in-text citation for any facts, statistics, or opinions which the writers learned from outside sources (or which they just happen to know) and which are not considered “common knowledge” in the target audience (this may require new research to locate a credible outside source to cite) give a new in-text citation for each element of information—that is, do not rely on a single citation at the end of a paragraph, because that is not usually sufficient to inform a reader clearly of how much of the paragraph comes from an outside source. Writers must also include a Works Cited or References list at the end of their essay, providing full bibliographic information for every source cited in their essay. While different disciplines may have slightly different citation styles, and different instructors may emphasize different levels of citation for different assignments, writers should always begin with these conservative practices unless they are expressly told otherwise. Writers who follow these steps carefully will almost certainly avoid plagiarism. If writers ever have questions about a citation practice, they should ask their instructor! Instructors in the Composition Program support the George Mason Honor Code, which requires them to report any suspected instances of plagiarism to the Honor Council. All judgments about plagiarism are made after careful review by the Honor Council, which may issue penalties ranging from grade-deductions, to course failure, to expulsion from GMU. Important Dates for Fall 2015: Last Day to Add a Course: Tuesday, September 8 Last Day to Drop a Course with No Tuition Penalty: Tuesday, September 8 Last Day to Drop a Course with a 33% Tuition Penalty: Tuesday, September 15 Final Drop Deadline with a 67% Tuition Penalty: Friday, October 2 Selective Withdrawal Period: Monday, October 5 – Friday, October 30 Important Final Revision Dates for Fall 2015: MAPN Final Revision Due Thursday, October 15 CAA Final Revision Due Thursday, November 5 RAC Final Revision Due Thursday, December 10 Course Schedule W E E K 1 W E E K 2 W E E K 3 W E E K 4 W E E K 5 W E E K (This schedule is subject to slight alteration based on the progress of the class.) 9/1 9/3 Agenda: Syllabus, Intro to Rhetoric, In-Class Agenda: Review of MAPN, In-Class Writing Writing Activity, Multi-Angle Personal Activity, Genre Discussion: Creative Nonfiction Narrative (MAPN) Overview Due today: One-page introduction of yourself, Homework: Introduce yourself to me; read and response to Lamott, Easy Writer reading. respond to Ann Lamott’s “Shitty First Drafts”; read Easy Writer (EW) pgs. 1-11, 14-21. Homework: Read and respond to David Sedaris’s “I’ll Eat What He’s Wearing.” 9/8 – Last day to add classes; last day to drop 9/10 Agenda: Discuss Reading, Voice, In-Class classes with no tuition penalty. Agenda: Discuss Reading, Descriptive Writing, Writing, Discuss Peer Review Dialogue, Audience, In-Class Writing Due today: Response to Sedaris. Due today: Response to Sedaris. Homework: Read and respond to Straub’s Homework: Read and respond to Sedaris’s “Big “Responding to Student Writers.” Read EW pages Boy.” 94-144. Have draft of MAPN ready for Tuesday. 9/15 – Last day to drop classes with a 33% 9/17 Agenda: Grammar, Reflective Writing, Revision, tuition penalty. Agenda: Discuss Reading, Peer Review In-Class Writing Due today: Rough draft of MAPN for Peer Review, response to Straub, EW reading. Due today: Multi-Angle Personal Narrative. Homework: Finish In-Class Writing, if necessary. Homework: Work on your MAPN, due Thursday. Bring EW on Thursday! 9/22 Agenda: History of Rhetoric, Commercial Analysis and Argument (CAA) Overview 9/24 Agenda: Discuss Readings, Visual Rhetoric, Analyzing Commercials Due today: In-Class Writing from Thursday. Due today: Response to readings. Homework: Read and respond to rhetoric readings; start thinking about your CAA. 9/29 Agenda: Discuss Readings, Analyzing Music Videos, In-Class Writing Homework: Read and respond to rhetoric readings; analyze at least one of your chosen commercials over the weekend. 10/1 Agenda: Thesis Statements, Organization, In-Class Writing Due today: Response to readings, at least one commercial analysis. Due today: Commercial analysis, if necessary. EW reading. Homework: If you haven’t already, analyze another commercial from your CAA. Read EW pgs. 21-27, 60-92. 10/6 Agenda: Peer Review, Continue Working Homework: Draft of CAA for Peer Review Tuesday. Read EW pgs. 35-44. 10/8 Agenda: Grammar, Reflective Writing, Revision, In-Class Writing Due today: Rough draft of CAA for Peer Review, EW reading. Due today: Commercial Analysis and Argument Homework: Work on CAA, due Thursday. Homework: Finish In-Class Writing, if necessary. 6 W E E K 10/13 – Columbus Day Observance, No Class 7 W E E K 8 W E E K 9 W E E K 1 0 W E E K 1 1 W E E K 1 2 W E E K 1 3 10/20 Agenda: Class Rant, Researched Argument for Change (RAC) Overview, Proposals, In-Class Writing 10/15 Agenda: The Writing Process Due today: In-Class Writing from Thursday, Final Draft of MAPN if choosing to revise. 10/22 Agenda: Library Visit: Finding and Evaluating Sources (Meeting in Gateway Library 228) Due today: EW reading. Homework: Think about research topics. Finish In-Class Writing if necessary. Read EW pgs. 5158. 10/27 Agenda: Librarian Visit: Information Cycle Group Activity, Avoiding Plagiarism Due today: EW reading. Homework: Research Proposal Draft for Peer Review. Review Easy Writer pgs. 35-44. 11/3 Agenda: Annotated Bibliographies, Summarizing, Paraphrasing, and Quoting, InClass Writing Due today: Research Proposal, EW reading. Homework: Start working on Annotated Bib. Read through EW’s MLA guidelines starting on pg. 208. 11/10 Agenda: Class canceled for individual conferences Homework: Start working on Research Proposal. Read Easy Writer pgs. 178-198. 10/29 Agenda: Peer Review Due today: Research Proposal Draft for Peer Review, EW review. Homework: Research Proposal. Read Easy Writer pgs. 146-160. 11/5 Agenda: Citations Competition, Conference SignUp Due today: EW reading, Final Draft of CAA if choosing to revise. Homework: Continue working on Annotated Bib; have four annotations done for Tuesday’s conferences. 11/12 Agenda: Thesis Statements, Organization Due today: Annotated Bib Due today: Four annotations for bibliography. Homework: Finish Annotated Bib. 11/17 Agenda: Discuss sample RACs’ strengths and weaknesses in groups; work on your RAC Due today: Comments on sample RACs. Homework: Draft of RAC for Peer Review. Read Easy Writer pgs. 198-206. 11/24 Agenda: Grammar, Reflective Writing, Revision, In-Class Writing Due today: Researched Argument for Change. Homework: Finish In-Class Writing, if necessary Homework: Read sample RACs and jot down observations; work on your RAC. 11/19 Agenda: Peer Review Due today: Draft of RAC for Peer Review, EW reading. Homework: Finish RAC, due Tuesday. 11/26 – No class – Happy Thanksgiving! Agenda: Eat lots of turkey! W E E K 1 4 W E E K 1 5 12/1 Agenda: Writing Process Reflection and Presentation (WPRP) Overview, Strategies for Revision, In-Class Writing 12/3 Agenda: Work Day for WPRP Due today: In-Class Writing from Tuesday, if necessary. Homework: WPRP—Presentations start Tuesday! Homework: Start working on WPRP—bring ideas with you Thursday for a class workshop. 12/8 Agenda: WPRP Presentations Due today: WPRP (for those going today). Due today: WPRP ideas! 12/10 – Last day of class! Agenda: WPRP Presentations, Party! Due today: WPRP, Final Draft of RAC if choosing to revise. Homework: WPRP (for those going Thursday). Homework: Have a great Christmas & New Year!