ENGL 15: RHETORIC AND COMPOSITION
Spring 2021 Syllabus
Blended format
Penn State University, Abington College
See electronic copy here: https://sites.google.com/view/engl15sp21/home
WELCOME TO MY COURSE!
I am excited to meet all of you and learn from one another. This course is part of AIMSS (Academic
Integration for Multilingual Student Success) and designed specifically for
multilingual/international students. ENGL 15 is a three-credit course and will be delivered in a
blended format. A blended format means a combination of synchronous meetings which will be through
Zoom on Mondays and Wednesdays and asynchronously on Friday where you will do an independent
work outside class.
COURSE & INSTRUCTOR INFORMATION
Zoom Meetings: Mon &
Wed
401: 9:05 AM – 9:55 AM
402: 10:10 AM – 11:00 AM
403: 11:15 AM – 12:05 PM
404: 1:25 PM – 2:15 PM
Ways to Contact Me
Email me through Canvas Inbox (not
Outlook) so I know your section.
Drop in: F: 9 – 10:30 AM
Student Hours: M/W: 12:15-1:15 PM;
F: 1-3 PM (Email me through Canvas
Inbox to make an appointment)
Other times: By appointment
Zoom Link for meeting with me:
https://psu.zoom.us/j/6925462353
Assignments Deadlines
Generally, deadlines for homework (HW) will
be M, W, and F at 11:59 PM. Allocate 1-2 hrs
to do HW due M and/or W and 2-3 hrs for
HW and asynchronous activities due F.
For more detailed assignment deadline, you can
check the weekly schedule HERE.
Meet the Instructor
My name is Nugrahenny T. Zacharias and you can call me Dr. Henny or Prof. Henny. I am excited to
meet you all. I am also a multilingual writer and English is not my first language even though it is know
my dominant one. Like many other students, I used to hate writing in English because it was not fun and
taxing. Although this class might not magically change your attitude toward writing, hopefully by the end
of the class you can learn strategies to make writing in English less challenging for you. Please take 3
min of your time to view my video introduction HERE uploaded on youtube.
WHAT IS THE COURSE ABOUT?
What is in a name? For Shakespeare, "a rose by any other name would smell as sweet." But is it really? I
am sure many multilingual students would disagree. In fact, for many international students studying in
the US, changing their names into mainstream English names is a natural way to quickly be assimilated
into the community. But is it the only way? What is the benefits of changing one's name to resembles
people in the US? What will be lost in the process? These are some of the questions that we will be
explored in the course through the common theme "Multilingual Students and Naming". This topic
might seem simple but we are going to learn how the writing tool you will learn in this class help you to
see the topic in a more academic way. I do understand that some of you might have different interests
which I would like to accommodate. If you are one of those students let me know early on, so I can
work individually with you.
Since this is essentially a writing (composition) class, we are going to learn how the writing process and
tools help us to form an argument based on Toulmin model of argument to persuasively express a more
informed and well-researched claim. We are also going to learn the language to frame the claim and
evidence to appeal to particular target audiences. SQ2: What is the topic you need to write about in the
course? You will also learn how to express one's idea into a different platform and the different tools
available in facilitating such process.
The course aims at the following learning outcomes:
▪ Students will develop rhetorical knowledge.
▪ Students will develop critical thinking skills.
▪ Students will develop their composing processes and engage with resources that support those
processes.
▪ Students will develop knowledge of communication conventions in multiple genres for different
discourse communities.
COURSE MATERIALS & TECHNOLOGY
There will be no course book for the course. I have developed my own materials that include my own
original materials and curated content shared by other scholars. All materials will be shared through
Canvas. To have access to the course material, prepare the following:
▪ Download the latest version of Zoom for our scheduled synchronous meetings
▪ Have access to google products (youtube, google doc, etc.) and Office 365 since many materials
will be shared through these two tools.
▪ Technical assistance at Abington: abit@psu.edu
COURSE POLICY AND EXPECTATION
What does a credit hour in college mean?
In college, one credit hour means: 50 minutes and it can be broken down into: 1 credit hour for class time
(meeting with the instructor) and 2 credit hours doing outside work related to the course such as readings,
completing homework, doing writing assignments, etc.
ENGL 15 is three-credit hours which means you need to allocate approximately 9 hours for the course.
In a blended format, this means you will spend 2 hours of Zoom class time and 7 hours completing
work outside class time. Since we do not have a Zoom meeting on Friday, naturally there will be more
outside work due on that day but I will spread the work throughout the week so you won't be
overwhelmed and help manage time better. SQ3: How many hours per week you need to allocate to do
HW (outside the Zoom meeting) for the course?
Zoom Meetings
•
You are expected to attend all Zoom meetings. Succeeding in an online class
require regular attendance and engagement in the course. This is difficult to
achieve if you keep on missing the zoom meetings.
•
Attend Zoom meetings on time. Each Zoom meeting is only for 50 minutes and we
only have two zoom meeting. That is quite limited. So, we will start on time ((NOT
5 minutes after) with important announcement. So, if you are late, you will miss it.
If you know ahead of time that you will be late, let me know by email.
What do I do if I miss a Zoom class meeting?
Generally, you should avoid missing class since you might miss important discussion and/or pair-/group
activities during the Zoom meeting. An absence is never an excuse to miss a deadline or fall behind on
HW and/or especially, project deadlines. Here is what you need to know when missing a Zoom meeting:
▪ When missing a class, it is your responsibility to still keep up to date with what happens during
the meeting as well as with assignments. Look at Canvas so you know what activity you miss
AND watch the class recordings on Zoom>Class Recordings.
▪ When you miss a Zoom meeting, you will lose the Engagement activity assigned during the
meeting which is worth 0.25% for each meeting.
You have 3 excused absences throughout the class. To be excused for absences. you need to email me
at least 24 hours before the class and wait for my approval. SQ4: What should I do if I need to miss a
class but I do not want the absent to affect my grade? Don't assume I will give consent for your
absence just because you have emailed me.
What happen if I submit assignments late?
Other than Engagement activities assigned during a Zoom meeting, for each late assignment you will be
deducted 10% of each late day. If you don't want me to get the penalty, email me (through Canvas
Inbox) BEFORE the deadline and give me a good reason why you will submit the assignment late. SQ5:
True or False, when you miss a Zoom meeting, you can resubmit the assignment with 10% deduction of
each late day.
ASSESSMENTS
All the projects, class participation activities, and homework in this class are connected to help you think
ahead of the projects. The different types of assignments help you to begin the project early, experiment
with a variety of writing strategy (e.g. brainstorming, using cohesive devices, integrating feedback,
etc.), and engage critically with reading input and others' feedback, in this case, your peers and the
instructor. Together the assignments in this course are designed to be a critical multilingual writer.
We are going to write about a common Everyday theme: "Multilingual Students and Re-naming
Practices" which based on the social phenomenon of changing names among multilingual/international
students when studying/relocating from one's birth country. This theme is chosen to show how writing
can help you to re-evaluate things you have taken for granted in the everyday. IF you happen to have
another Everyday topic you are interested in, meet with me early on so together we can decide if you can
continue working on your self-chosen topic. The following is the assessment for the course:
1. Project 1: Autoethnographic Essay (30%)
In this project, you are going to write a somewhat academic essay for the student newspaper where
you are going to use your personal experience as evidence for your claim.
2. Project 2: Video Argument (30%)
In Project 2, you are going to remediate the essay you wrote in Project 1 into a short video of 2-3
minutes and then, reflect on the composing you went through.
3. Reflective Writing (15%)
Reflective Mini Writing is a short writing aims to help you look back (reflect) a writing process or
think ahead or free-write parts of the projects.
4. Quizzes (10%)
Throughout the course there will be two types of quizzes: Reading quizzes and prompt quizzes. The
purpose of both types of quizzes is to help you understand which part of the reading and quizzes are
important to complete the project.
5. Participation (15%)
You will get a full class participation grade when you:
1. Do and submit homework (HW) and asynchronous assignments on time. These
assignments will be graded based on promptness and meeting the requirement. The
grade will range from 0.25%-0.75%. Late submitting participation assignment will be
given zero.
2. Do Engagement activities assigned during synchronous (Zoom) meeting. During each
zoom meeting, there will be an engagement activities which worth 0.25%. If you are absent
and/or late when these Engagement activities are assigned, you will not receive a grade for this.
3. Visibly engage in the course which includes:
o During Zoom meetings: turn-on camera, unmute microphone to (voluntarily) answer
questions, answers questions in the Chat, answering peer questions, arrive on-time, etc.
o During asynchronous meetings: attending drop-in office hours, arrive conferencing on
time, emailing me to ask about assignments, feedback, etc.
Remember, you will not receive the full participation grade even though you are always present. If your
participation grade is low, email Prof. Henny or attend the drop in office hours to discuss ways to
increase your participation grade. Late submission for participation assignment will be given zero.
NOTES ON GRADING:
No resubmission for Project Assignments. There will be no resubmission of assignments once
you have submitted a final draft for Project-related assignments. However, there will be
opportunities for you to revise your writing as well as to earn bonus points throughout the course.
I put great thought and care into assigning final grades, so if you’d like me to reconsider your
final grade for the course, you should have proof that I’ve made a mathematical miscalculation. I
will not reconsider final course grades for any other reason.
Grading Scale
A : 94-100 %
A- : 90-93.9 %
B : 84 - 86.9
B- : 80 - 83.9
C :70 – 76.9
D : 60 – 69.9
B+: 87 – 89.9
C+ : 77 – 79.9
F : 59.9 or below
UNIVERSITIES RESOURCES, ACCOMODATION, AND POLICIES
Academic Integrity Statement
Academic integrity is the pursuit of scholarly activity in an open, honest and responsible manner.
Academic integrity is a basic guiding principle for all academic activity at The Pennsylvania State
University, and all members of the University community are expected to act in accordance with this
principle. Consistent with this expectation, the University’s Code of Conduct states that all students
should act with personal integrity, respect other students’ dignity, rights and property, and help create and
maintain an environment in which all can succeed through the fruits of their efforts. Academic integrity
includes a commitment by all members of the University community not to engage in or tolerate acts of
falsification, misrepresentation or deception. Such acts of dishonesty violate the fundamental ethical
principles of the University community and compromise the worth of work completed by others.
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Many students at Penn State face personal challenges or have psychological needs that may interfere with
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Please contact our campus psychologist Dr. Karen Gould, 215-881-7577, ksg17@psu.edu, or stop by the
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The Center for Student Achievement, located in 315 Sutherland Hall, is a resource designed to assist
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meet with students through appointments or walk-in format. Scheduling tutoring appointments in
advance is strongly encouraged. Appointments can be scheduled
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applied to offenses against other protected categories such as race, national origin, etc.
Sexual harassment of faculty, staff or students is prohibited and will not be tolerated. It is the policy of the
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The University is committed to preventing and eliminating sexual harassment of faculty, staff, and
students through education and by encouraging faculty, staff, and students to report any concerns or
complaints about sexual harassment. Prompt corrective measures will be taken to stop sexual harassment
whenever and wherever it occurs. See Policy AD-85 - Discrimination, Harassment, Sexual Harassment
and Related Inappropriate Conduct.
Please contact our sexual harassment liaison: Michele Scott, RN, BSN, Campus Nurse, 103 Lares, 215881-7350, mus959@psu.edu. You may also seek out the campus psychologist (Dr. Karen Gould, 215881-7577, ksg17@psu.edu); or stop by the Wellness Center in 103 Lares any time. You can call PSU's
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If this is a Title IX issue, please contact Penn State Abington’s Title IX Resource Person for more
Information: Gina D’Amato-Kaufman, Director of Student Affairs, 106 Sutherland Building,
gxd22@psu.edu, (215) 881-7391.