ENGL 1020: RESEARCH AND ARGUMENTATIVE WRITING
SECTION 035
SECTION 046
SECTION 053
MONDAY, WEDNESDAY AND FRIDAY 11:30-12:25
MONDAY, WEDNESDAY AND FRIDAY 12:40-1:35
MONDAY, WEDNESDAY AND FRIDAY 1:50-2:45
SPRING 2013
PECK HALL 327
PECK HALL 300
PECK HALL 304B
INSTRUCTOR
RYAN REED
OFFICE: Alumni Memorial Gym (AMG) Room 106
PHONE: 898-5379
EMAIL: Ryan.Reed@mtsu.edu
SPRING OFFICE HOURS: MWF 8-11am, M and W 3-4pm or By Appointment
COURSE OVERVIEW
Course Description and Goals: English 1020 is the second in the series of writing courses required of each MTSU student.
This course concentrates on helping students understand, analyze and build effective argumentative essays, and involves
active critical, analytical and synthetic thinking. Students will gain competency in expressing their ideas through written
assignments, drawing content from both primary and secondary sources, and in so doing, students will learn how to
appropriately document multiple sources in their writing. In this class, we will focus both upon the paper assignments and the
process used to generate those assignments, thereby improving your understanding of how to craft an effective college-level
essay. Time will also be spent in workshops which will help you find strategies to improve content, organization, word-choice
and mechanics. We will be treating revision and editing as two separate processes and using peer review workshops for both
drafting and revision.
Required Texts:
Graff, Gerald, Cathy Birkenstein, and Russel Durst. They Say, I Say with Readings. 2nd Edition. W. W. Norton & Company, 2011.
ISBN: 978-0-393-91275-3
Howard, Rebecca and Amy Taggart. Research Matters at MTSU. McGraw-Hill, 2011. ISBN: 978-0-07-753676-3
Retain your copy of Research Matters at MTSU. It will prove useful throughout your academic career.
ASSIGNMENTS AND EVALUATION
Essays and Bibliography: Over the course of the semester, each student will compose three argumentative essays and
compile an annotated bibliography. Assignments must be submitted through email. All assignments must be submitted as a
single, attached Word document (.doc or .docx) or in Rich Text Format (.rtf). If the instructor is unable to open the
attachment because it is either in the wrong format or has been corrupted, a hard copy may be requested instead. All
assignments must conform to proper MLA formatting requirements. All major assignments must be received by the start
of class on the day that they are due.
Critical Reading Responses: In addition to the major written assignments, students will also be required to provide critical
responses to key reading (or viewing) assignments, as noted in the Weekly Schedule. The goal of these assignments will be to
help students further develop both their ability to read critically and their ability to situate their arguments as a response to
someone else’s ideas. While these responses will be considerably shorter than the major essays, they must still conform to
proper MLA formatting requirements. Critical Reading Responses will be submitted in exactly the same manner as the
essays.
Participation: Students are expected to be participants in all class activities. While the majority of the class time will be spent
discussing reading assignments or topics relating to essays, students may also be called upon to participate in a number of
activities which might include quizzes over the reading assignments, workshops to help develop ideas for essays,
presentations of articles or essays, librarian-led instruction, or on-demand writing.
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Assignments and Percentages:
 Essay One: Education and The American Dream
 Essay Two: Is Pop Culture Actually Good for You?
 Essay Three: Does it Matter Who Wins the Big Game?
 Annotated Bibliography
 Critical Reading Responses
 Participation
 Research Proposal
15%
25%
20%
15%
15%
5%
5%
Final Grade Scale: Semester grades will be assessed on a 100-point scale. Grades awarded are as follows:
A
100-92
B+
B
B-
91-89
88-85
84-82
C+
C
C-
81-79
78-75
74-72
F
71-0
Please note that while a grade of D may be awarded to individual assignments, a D is not a passing grade for English 1020.
Students who do not qualify for a passing grade at the end of the semester may be eligible for a grade of N. An N grade is not a
passing grade, but allows the student to retake the class without a penalty to his or her GPA. To qualify for an N, the student
must be taking ENGL1020 for the first time; additionally, the student must complete all assignments and have satisfactory
attendance.
COURSE POLICIES
Attendance: Students should be present at all class meetings. Being present requires more than simply occupying space in
the classroom; it requires students to actively participate in class discussion and activities. Each student is allowed five
absences without penalty. More than five absences will result in automatic failure of the course. University-sponsored
activities (for which you will be required to show documentation from your sponsor before the absence occurs) and activities
relating to active military service will be excused. Otherwise, no distinction is made between excused and unexcused
absences. I expect you to be on-time to class. Entering late creates a distraction for everyone. Students who are more than
five minutes late to class will be counted absent for the day.
Late Work: If a student is unable to meet the assigned deadline due to unforeseen circumstances (such as illness or a death in
the family) the student may ask for an extension. Extensions will be granted only at the discretion of the instructor. Students
must request an extension before an assignment is due. If an extension is granted, the essay will not be penalized for being
submitted late; otherwise, late work will be penalized. If an assignment is late but is submitted before the next class meeting,
it will receive an automatic letter grade deduction. Any assignment submitted after the next class meeting will automatically
receive a failing grade.
Class Decorum: While I fully encourage students to express their opinions, it is my expectation that they should do so with a
degree of respect and civility befitting a university setting. Incivility in any form will not be tolerated. Students are also
required to abide by the following rules:
 Be prepared for each class session, even after an absence. Be alert and ready to discuss the material assigned.
 All cell phones and should be silenced before entering the room. If you need to take an emergency call, excuse yourself
from the class and take the call outside. Students should also refrain from texting in class.
 Under normal circumstances, laptop computers are not allowed in class, but if you wish to take notes on your laptop,
please check with the instructor first.
 Students should not work on assignments for other courses during class.
Students who are engaging in activities clearly unrelated to class will be counted absent for the day. Such activities might
include sleeping in class, working on assignments for other classes, updating a Facebook profile, reading Sidelines, carrying on
lengthy personal conversations, or playing Skyrim.
Academic Integrity: Students are expected to produce their own work for this class. Unfortunately, there are instances
where students sometimes make mistakes. If you have questions or concerns about the use of sources, please do not hesitate
to ask me for help. The English Department, in agreement with the university, defines plagiarism as “the adoption or
reproduction of ideas, words, statements, images, or works of another person as one's own without proper acknowledgment.”
Instances of inadvertent plagiarism (improper paraphrasing or incomplete citations) will be viewed as “teachable moments.”
Deliberate and willful plagiarism (cutting and pasting text without citation, downloading essays, etc.) is a form of academic
misconduct. Students who engage in willful acts of academic dishonesty will face sanctions ranging from a mandatory rewrite
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of the assignment for reduced credit to failure of the course. In accordance with university policy, all instances of deliberate
academic dishonesty will be reported to Judicial Affairs. If it is determined that a student has engaged in academic
dishonesty, the student may face other sanctions imposed by the Office of Judicial Affairs including suspension or
expulsion.
OTHER IMPORTANT INFORMATION
University Writing Center: The UWC is now located in room 362 of Walker Library. In addition to providing students help
with their essays, the UWC’s website has many helpful tools for students (http://www.mtsu.edu/uwc/index.shtml). Students
will never be required to go to the writing center, but many who do see marked improvements in their grades. Appointments
are usually required, so contact the Writing Center at 904-8237 for an appointment.
Reasonable Accommodation for Students with Disabilities: ADA accommodation requests (temporary or permanent) are
determined only by Disabled Student Services. Students are responsible for contacting the Disabled Student Services Office at
615-898-2783 to obtain ADA accommodations and for providing the instructor with the Accommodation Letter from Disabled
Student Services".
Note for Students with Lottery Scholarships: Do you have a Lottery Scholarship? To retain Tennessee Education Lottery
Scholarship eligibility, you must earn a cumulative TELS GPA of 2.75 after 24 and 48 attempted hours and a cumulative TELS
GPA of 3.0 thereafter. You may qualify with a 2.75 cumulative GPA after 72 attempted hours (and subsequent semesters) if
you are enrolled full-time and maintain a semester GPA of at least 3.0. A grade of C, N, F, or I in this class may negatively
impact TELS eligibility. Dropping a class after 14 days may also impact eligibility; if you withdraw from this class and it results
in an enrollment status of less than full time, you may lose eligibility for your lottery scholarship. Lottery recipients are eligible
to receive the scholarship for a maximum of five years from the date of initial enrollment, or until a bachelor degree is earned.
For additional Lottery rules, please refer to your Lottery Statement of Understanding form, review lottery requirements on the
web, or contact the Financial Aid Office at 898-2830.
Inclement Weather: In the event of inclement weather, you should first check the MTSU homepage to see if classes have been
cancelled. You should also check your MTSU email account because there is a possibility that I might be forced to cancel class
even if MTSU is open. If MTSU has not been officially closed for the day and I have not emailed you, assume that classes will
meet.
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TENTATIVE SCHEDULE FOR THE SEMESTER
Note regarding Reading Assignments: All reading assignments should be read before the start of class on the day they are listed,
as the readings will be discussed in class that day. Students should arrive ready to discuss the assigned materials. Students
should always bring their textbooks to class on the days that reading assignments are to be discussed. TSIS refers to They Say,
I Say, while RMM refers to Research Matters at MTSU.
Week One: Introduction to the Course
F
1/18 Hand out and discuss the syllabus and course policies.
Week Two: Crash Course in Logic and Reasoning
M
1/21 MLK: Classes will not meet
W 1/23 Discussion: Logic and Reasoning
Syllabus Quiz
F
1/25 Discussion: Spotting and Avoiding the Most Common Errors in Reasoning
Read: RMM “Analyzing and Crafting Arguments” (001-018)
Week Three: Academic Writing as a Conversation
M 1/28
Read: TSIS Introduction and Chapters 1 (1-29)
Discussion: Your Voice Matters
Essay One Assigned
W 1/30* Read: TSIS Chapters 2-3 (30-51), “Are Colleges Worth the Price of Admission” (179-89)
Discussion: Effective Summary Is Not As Easy As It Looks
F
2/1
Read: TSIS Chapters 4 -6 (55-90)
Discussion: Entering the Conversation
*Please note January 30th is the last day to drop the class without a grade
Week Four: Education in Route to the American Dream
M
2/4 Read: TSIS Chapter 7 (92-101), “The New Liberal Arts” (190-6)
W 2/6 Read: TSIS “Two Years Are Better Than Four” (211-4), Review: RMM Chapter 21 (243-305)
Critical Reading Response Due
F
2/8 Read: TSIS “Are Too Many People Going to College” (222-42)
Discussion: The Cost of Higher Education
Week Five: Whatever Happened to the American Dream?
M
2/11 Read: TSIS Chapter 8 (105-20), “Hiding from Reality” (564-7), “Is the American Dream Over?” (568-70)
W 2/13 Read: TSIS “Income Inequality” (580-4)
View: “How Income Inequality Harms Societies” (Check Email for Link).
Critical Viewing Response Due
F
2/15 Read: TSIS “Up Against Wal-mart” (606-18), “Progressive Wal-mart. Really.” (620-3)
Week Six: Arguing Effectively / Into the Pop-Culture Fray
M
2/18 Writing Workshop: Entering the Conversation
W 2/20 Writing Workshop: You’re Entitled to Your Opinion
F
2/22 Read: TSIS Chapter 11 (141-4), “Is Pop Culture Actually Good for You?” (275-6)
Essay Two (Research Essay) Assigned
Annotated Bibliography Assigned
Essay One Due
Week Seven: Is Pop Culture Good for You?
M
2/25 Read: TSIS “Watching TV Makes You Smarter” (277-94), “Thinking Outside the Idiot Box” (295-8)
W 2/27 Read: TSIS “Family Guy and Feud” (299-311)
Critical Reading Response Due
F
3/1
Viewing: “I am Peter, Hear me Roar”
Discussion: The Animation Debate
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Week Eight: Is Pop Culture Good for You?
M
3/4 Viewing: “Dia de los Dangerous”
Discussion: Where Are Your Parents?
Research Proposal Due
W 3/6 Research Matters.
Class will meet at Walker Library for Librarian-led Instruction.
F
3/8 Read: RMM Chapters 5-7
Spring Break: March 11th-17th
Week Nine: Is Pop Culture Good for You?
M
3/18 Read: TSIS “Small Change” (312-28)
W 3/20 Read: TSIS “Reforming Egypt in 140 Characters?” (329-34)
F
3/22 Read: TSIS “2b or Not 2b?” (335-48)
Annotated Bibliography Due
Week Ten: Is Pop Culture Good for You?
M
3/25
Read: TSIS “Extra Lives” (349-62)
W 3/27
Read: “the Good, the Bad, and The Daily Show” (363-79)
Discussion: Satire in Pop Culture
F
3/29* Discussion: The Curious Case of the Onion
Rough Draft of Essay Two (Research Essay) Due
*Please note March 29th is the last day to withdraw from the class and receive a grade of W.
Week Eleven: Group Workshops
M
4/1 Group A Meets
W 4/3 Group B Meets
F
4/5 Group C Meets
Week Twelve: Does it Matter Who Wins the Big Game?
M
4/8
Read: TSIS “Why Does it Matter” (481-3), “Champion of the World” (484-8)
Essay Three Assigned
Final Draft of Essay Two (Research Essay) Due
W 4/10 Read: TSIS “Women Who Hit Very Hard” (512-23)
F
4/12 Read: TSIS “In Defense of Cheering” (524-8)
Week Thirteen: Does it Matter Who Wins the Big Game?
M
4/15 Read: TSIS “Why Sports Matter” (489-511)
Critical Reading Response Due
W 4/17 Read: TSIS “How I Learned to Love Football” (529-36)
F
4/19 Workshop: Revising a Graded Essay
Week Fourteen: Does it Matter Who Wins the Big Game?
M
4/22 Read: TSIS “Move over Boys” (537-44)
W 4/24 Read: “We, the Public” (545-52)
F
4/26 Read: “Cheating and CHEATING´(553-9)
Week Fifteen: End of Course
M
4/29 Workshop: Pulling It All Together
W 5/1
Essay Three Due
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