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FLE 101: Academic Writing and Research
A 4.0 Credit-Hour Course
Syllabus
Instructor: Dr. Lucjan M. Mordzak
Office:
418 Withers
Office:
M, T, H, 9:00-10:00 a.m. and by appointment.
Phone:
515-9301
E-mail:
Lmordza@ncsu.edu
COURSE DESCRIPTION
Intensive instruction in academic writing and research. Basic principles of rhetoric and
strategies for academic inquiry and argument. Instruction and practice in critical reading,
including the generative and responsible use of print and electronic sources for academic
research. Exploration of literate practices across a range of academic domains, laying the
foundation for further writing development in college. Continued attention to grammar
and conventions of standard written English.
Prerequisite: A grade of C- or better in FLE 100 or placement via the ESL department
guidelines.
Learning Objectives
Students will learn to:
1. Write effectively in specific situations, which may include various academic,
professional, or civic situations, and
2. Understand and respond appropriately to the critical elements that shape written
communication situations, such as audience, purpose, and genre, and
3. Demonstrate critical and evaluative thinking skills in locating, analyzing,
synthesizing, and using information in written communication.
.
Required Texts
Ward, Dean and Elizabeth Vander Lei. Real Texts: Reading and Writing Across the Disciplines.
Longman, 2012
Anson, Chris C., Robert A. Schwegler, and Marcia F. Muth. The Longman Concise Companion.
Pearson, 2007
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COURSE POLICIES
Policy on Attendance and Late Assignments
Because of the collaborative and cooperative nature of the first-year writing courses, class attendance is
crucial. In FLE 101, three unexcused absence will result in a loss of one semester final grade point, and
students who miss 8 or more 50-minute classes will earn a grade of F. That is, more than two weeks’
worth of absences will result in failure to meet this element of the General Education Requirement, and
you will need to repeat the course.
This policy does not distinguish between "excused" and "unexcused" absences, except in the case of
medical emergencies. All absences will count toward the total number, and this policy obtains from the
moment you are registered in the course. As is the case for all courses, students experiencing extended
medical or family emergencies during the semester should consult with the instructor about seeking a
medical drop.
The first two weeks of absences will be treated as excused absences, and you will be allowed to make up
all course work missed. Instructor will establish make-up assignments, standards for evaluation of such
assignments, and a reasonable period after the absence within which they must be turned in. If you fail to
turn in make-up assignments or if the make-up assignments are of insufficient quality, your grades will be
penalized. Because this policy includes all types of absences, those defined by the university as excused
do not have to be cleared with the instructor beforehand.
No matter what the cause of the absences, as a student you are responsible for finding out what material
was covered, getting notes, being prepared for class on the day you return, and turning in subsequent
assignments on time. Since due dates for major assignments are established at the beginning of the
semester, and since these projects are developed over a series of class periods, students are advised that
submitting these projects late may result in penalties.
Academic Integrity
Plagiarism is defined as copying the language, phrasing, structure, or specific ideas of others and
presenting any of these as one’s own original work; it includes buying papers, having someone else write
your papers, and improper citation and use of sources. When you present the words or ideas of another
(either published or unpublished) in your writing, you must fully acknowledge your sources. Plagiarism is
considered a violation of academic integrity whenever it occurs in written work, including drafts and
homework, as well as for formal and final papers.
The NCSU Policies, Regulations, and Rules on Student Discipline http://www.ncsu.edu/student_conduct/
set the standards for academic integrity at this university and in this course. Students are expected to
adhere to these standards. Plagiarism and other forms of academic dishonesty will be handled through the
university’s judicial system and may result in failure for the project or for the course. See the Office of
Student Conduct website for additional information about academic integrity:
http://www.ncsu.edu/student_conduct/academic_integrity/.
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CAMPUS RESOURCES
Writing and Speaking Tutorial Services
For help with any writing assignment, for any course, visit one of the free walk-in centers on
campus. Writing Tutors are available through the University Tutorial Center in Leazar Hall, and in other
locations on campus. For hours and further information, see http://www.ncsu.edu/tutorial_center/.
LOBOThe Library Online Basic Orientation tutorial can be found through D.H. Hill Library’s instruction
page: http://www.lib.ncsu.edu/lobo2/.
Ask a Librarian
Visit http://www.lib.ncsu.edu/researchassistance/ to learn how to reach the Reference Staff and D.H.Hill
Library.
Disability Services for Students
Reasonable accommodations will be made for students with verifiable disabilities. In order to take
advantage of available accommodations, students must register with Disability Services for Students at
1900 Student Health Center, Campus Box 7509, 515-7653,
http://www.ncsu.edu/dso/.
University Career Center
The University Career Center includes services exclusively for CHASS majors. Sara
Concini (serving last name initials A-H) and Woody Catoe (I-Z) are your career
development contacts. Appointments can be made online or you may call the center at
919-515-2396 for assistance. Check out the extensive web site at www.ncsu.edu/career.
Be sure to sign up for ePack to learn about internships, jobs, and career events and to use
the online appointment service. The center is located in 2100 Pullen Hall, with parking
available in the Dan Allen deck.
Course Evaluation
Evaluation website: https://classeval.ncsu.edu/
Student help desk: classeval@ncsu.edu
More information about ClassEval: http://www.ncsu.edu/UPA/classeval/
Online class evaluations will be available for students to complete during the last 2 weeks
of spring term:
Click on this link to find the dates
Students will receive an email message directing them to a website where they can login
using their Unity ID and complete evaluations. All evaluations are confidential;
instructors will not know how any one student responded to any question, and students
will not know the ratings for any instructors
ATTENDANCE
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Because of the collaborative and cooperative nature of the first-year writing courses, class attendance is
crucial. In FLE 101, three unexcused absence will result in a loss of one semester final grade point, and
students who miss 8 or more 50-minute classes will earn a grade of F. That is, more than two weeks’
worth of absences will result in failure to meet this element of the General Education Requirement, and
you will need to repeat the course.
This policy does not distinguish between "excused" and "unexcused" absences, except in
the case of medical emergencies. All absences will count toward the total number, and
this policy obtains from the moment you are registered in the course. As is the case for all
courses, students experiencing extended medical or family emergencies during the
semester should consult with the instructor about seeking a medical drop.
The first two weeks of absences will be treated as excused absences, and you will be
allowed to make up all course work missed. Instructor will establish make-up
assignments, standards for evaluation of such assignments, and a reasonable period after
the absence within which they must be turned in. If you fail to turn in make-up
assignments or if the make-up assignments are of insufficient quality, your grades will be
penalized. Because this policy includes all types of absences, those defined by the
university as excused do not have to be cleared with the instructor beforehand.
No matter what the cause of the absences, as a student you are responsible for finding out
what material was covered, getting notes, being prepared for class on the day you return,
and turning in subsequent assignments on time. Since due dates for major assignments
are established at the beginning of the semester, and since these projects are developed
over a series of class periods, students are advised that submitting these projects late may
result in penalties.
Late Arrivals: You will be counted absent if you come to class late unless you see me
after class to be marked present. This, too, is your responsibility. (Note, though, that if
you arrive more than 25 minutes late, you will be counted absent whether you see me
after class or not.) Although I understand that late arrival is occasionally
unavoidable, I consider habitual lateness disrespectful to me and to the other
members of the class. (You might also miss reading quizzes given at the beginning of
selected class meetings.)
GRADING
Although rough drafts of your projects will not be graded, they will be commented on in
writing, either by me, your peers, or both. Feedback on all drafts will concentrate
on: focus, development, organization, style, and grammar and mechanics, with specific
attention to how these matters pertain to the expectations of the various academic
discourse communities we will consider.
All students must make a C- in this course in order to receive credit toward
graduation. Your final grade for the course will be determined as follows:
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Project #1
Project #2
Project #3
Rhetorical Analysis of a Scientific Text (Sciences) 15%
Experience-Based Theory Critique (Social Sciences) 15%
Evaluative Comparison of Two Interpretations of a Creative Text
(Humanities) 15%
Project #4
Literature Review 15%
Midterm essay
15%
Final Exam essay
15%
Other Grades Class Participation (includes attendance, assigned grammar
exercises, peer-reviews, self-critiques, and LOBO) 10%
I will use the following grading scale and pluses and minuses on individual assignments
and on the final grade:
A+ 100-97 A 96-94 AB+ 89-87 B 86-84 BC+ 79-77 C 76-74 CD+ 69-67 D 66-64 DF 59 and below
93-90
83-80
73-70
63-60
CLASS PARTICIPATION
Class participation grades will be awarded as follows:
To earn a C-range participation grade, you must fulfill four basic requirements:
Arrive on time.
Be ready to discuss readings when called on.
Be prepared with the textbooks, reserve material, written homework, and/or memory
storage device in class.
Listen respectfully.
Engage actively and productively in group work, peer review, and other in-class
activities.
To earn a B-range participation grade, you must consistently fulfill requirements 1-5 and:
Volunteer questions or points of interest from readings to generate discussion.
Willingly offer ideas in class; make sure your contributions are topical and thoughtful.
To earn an A-range participation grade, you must consistently fulfill the above 7 criteria
and:
Show leadership in class discussion (break uncomfortable silences; respond to openended questions; challenge received opinion; ask difficult questions).
Respond to other students’ ideas (not just mine) by asking questions or building on their
points.
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You will receive a failing participation grade if you are excessively and/or frequently
tardy, you are unprepared for class, and/or you disrupt class work.
FORMATTING STANDARDS FOR HOMEWORK & PROJECTS
Unless otherwise specified, all written homework and all paper drafts submitted for inclass review or for a grade must be word-processed. In general, please observe the
following manuscript conventions when preparing materials for submission; note,
though, that for some assignments, we will vary this format.
1. Include the necessary identifying information (double-spaced) in the upper left-hand
corner of the first page:
Your Name
E-mail address
Course & Section #
Instructor’s Name
Project #
Date Submitted
2. Double space below the identifying information and center the title of your
paper. Your title should not be underlined, italicized, set in bold, placed in quotation
marks, or printed in all caps. Double space after the title and begin your text.
3. Using your word processor’s header function, put your last name and the page
number in the upper right-hand corner of all pages (MLA style) or all pages after the first
(APA style).
4. Double space your text and any bibliographic lists.
5. Maintain 1-inch margins all around (left, right, top, bottom). Be sure to check your
word processor’s default settings for page set-up to confirm that they are set for 1-inch
(and not 1.25-inch) margins.
6. Use 12 point Times New Roman or Arial font. NO OTHER FONTS OR POINT
SIZES ARE ACCEPTABLE.
When submitting final drafts, be prepared to include—if requested—all prewriting,
previous drafts, sources, self-critiques, and peer reviews
NOTE: An incorrectly formatted paper, or one without the required supporting materials,
will be returned to you for correction and/or completion and will be counted late.
CLASS COMPUTER DISK AND FILES OF GRADED DRAFTS
All work should be saved as Word documents. If you do not have Microsoft Word on the
computer you use outside of class, save documents as richtext (rtf) files so that they can
be read by the word-processing software we will use in class. (Works, for example, is
especially problematic.) Unfortunately, Macintosh files cannot be read by the machines
in our classroom, so if you have a Mac, you will need to save your work using another
computer (a number of computer labs on campus are available for student use). Consider
yourself warned: I expect your work to be saved appropriately and to be available for
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your access during class work; technology problems are not to be cited as excuses for
failure to observe these instructions.
Maintain a copy of your submissions on a portable memory storage device--such as a
memory/USB stick--for this class—just in case and for future reference. Also keep in a
paper file or other folder all graded drafts. These materials not only will serve as
resources for you in writing later papers, but also may be useful for both you and me
during any conferences you arrange. Be prepared: I may collect folders and/or disks
periodically or ask you to refer to them.
COURSE CALENDAR
Class Meeting Schedule:
FLE 101-001 meets on Mondays and Fridays in Withers 131. This is a computer class. On Tuesdays and
Thursdays FLE 101-001 meets in Harrelson 233.
On Tuesdays and Thursdays FLE 101-002 meets in Withers 131. This is a computer classroom. On
Mondays and Fridays FLE 101-002 meets in Harrelson 233.
Week 1
Course goals and policies
Diagnostic essay.
Reading and Writing rhetorically.
Read “Citing Sources and Avoiding Plagiarism,” in Real Texts, pages
437-441.
Week 2
Sept 2. Labor Day holiday.
Read Chapter 11 of Real Texts.
Basic principles of summarizing, paraphrasing and citing sources (LOBO).
Principles of documenting sources in APA style.
Week 3
Presentation and practicing of the IMRAD model of reporting
empirical research findings. In class: groups develop evaluation criteria for
Project 1. PROJECT 1 draft due.
Week 4
In-class peer review.
Drafts returned.
Week 5
PROJECT 1 final draft due.
Read Chapter 4 in Real Texts.
Forms of inquiry in the social sciences
Organizing and Writing the Social Science Paper.
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In class: groups examine relationships between research questions and
methods
Introduce PROJECT 2: Social Science.
Week 6
Read the assigned social science research article.
Due: plan summary and response to your article
Working with sources: Summarizing, paraphrasing, quoting
PROJECT 2 rough draft due
In class peer review
Week 7
Introduce PROJECT 3: Literature Review
Read assignment sheet for Project 3
Due: Choose your general topic for Project 3
Read Chapter 10 of Real Texts.
PROJECT 2 final draft due.
Week 8
Midterm exam essay.
October 10-11 Fall Break.
Week 9
Principles of MLA style of citation and argument
The language of citation and argument.
Week 10
In-class peer review: global issues
Drafts returned
PROJECT 3 rough draft due.
Week 11
PROJECT 3 final draft due.
Introduce PROJECT 4: Literature Review.
Topic and research plan for Project 4 due.
Week 12
Read: Jolliffe and Hart article in Real Texts, pages 15-26.
Read Chapter 2 in Real Texts.
Week 13
PROJECT 4 draft due
In-class peer review
Avoiding Plagiarism
Week 14
Writing in the Sciences and Technology.
Work on exercises
Review LOBO Module 5 on Evaluating Resources.
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Week 15
Read articles on pages 342-359 of Real Texts. Science paper annotated
source list due.
Thanksgiving holiday, November 27-19
Week 16
Source lists returned
Peer review of draft.
PROJECT 4 final draft due.
Final Exam Period: Final exam essay on Monday, December 16 for FLE 101-001, and
Monday, December 9 for FLE 101-002.