Standard SYLLABUS
Instructor:
Course title and number
Term (e.g., Fall 200X)
Meeting times and location:
English 104: Composition and Rhetoric
Fall 2013
XXXXXXXXXXXXX
Course Description and Prerequisites
English 104, Composition and Rhetoric, (3 credit hrs.), Introduces students to strategies for
academic inquiry; to analyzing and developing arguments; and to writing for a variety of audiences,
including—but not limited to—the academic community. During the semester, students will practice
critical thinking, reading, and writing skills; develop research skills-—identifying, finding, and evaluating
primary and secondary sources to use to support various points of view; and demonstrate a rhetorical
awareness of such matters as audience, purpose, style, and grammar. With emphasis on writing as a
process of development, English 104 recognizes writing as an activity for investigation, reflection, critical
thinking, and learning. The sequence of assignments gives students the opportunity to examine and
analyze how writers support claims and use persuasive appeals; the sequence also offers practice in
drafting, revising, and editing papers that support a thesis with relevant evidence assembled by the
student through research.
Student Learning Outcomes
Course Objective: Upon successful completion of ENGL104, students will be able to write persuasive
academic essays that reflect appropriate scholarly research, analytical reading, critical thinking, and the
mastery of Standard Written English.
Enabling Objectives
By the end of the course, students will be able to:
 Use research strategies to be informed about topics from a variety of perspectives and how to
evaluate the opinions they encounter.
 Apply documentation techniques to appropriately give credit to the ideas of others that they
incorporate into their own writing.
 Distinguish between common academic writing genres.
 Arrange and compose academic essays that conform to the formal document structure.
 Analyze rhetorical situations to understand how persuasive techniques, topics, audiences, and
contexts of use (where the communication occurs) impact successful writing.
 Critically analyze texts.
 Demonstrate mastery of Standard Written English by writing essays that are grammatically and
mechanically correct.
Instructor Information
[Insert name here]
Telephone number
Email address
Office hours
Office location
(XXX) XXX-XXXX
XXXXX@neo.tamu.edu
XXXXX
LAAH XXX
Textbook and Resource Material
By enrolling in this course, students accept responsibility for purchasing all the required textbooks and
materials. Failure to purchase them will not be accepted as an excuse for late, missing, or incomplete
assignments.

Bartholomae, David and Anthony Petrosky. Ways of Reading: An Anthology for Writers, 9th
Edition (Bedford-St. Martin’s, 2011).

Hacker, Diana and Nancy Sommers. A Writer’s Reference for Multimodal Projects, 7th
Edition (Bedford St. Martins, 2011)

Students are also required to have and regularly use their TAMU email accounts for the
online component of this course.

Additional required resources will be available on the course companion website (students
will receive an email sent to their TAMU email addresses during the first week of class with
the url and login key).

It is also students’ responsibility to retain all original print and/or electronic
submissions and records for the course, particularly all graded Writing Projects.
Grading Policies
Criteria for Grade Determination
Assessment Category
Inksheds, quizzes, other in-class assignments
Journal/Blog entries
Writing Project 1: Comparative Analysis Essay
Writing Project 2: Rhetorical Analysis Essay
Writing Project 3: Annotated List of Works Cited
Writing Project 4: Argumentative Research Essay
Total
Percentage of Grade
5%
10%
20%
20%
20%
25%
100%
Grading Scale: A (100-90); B (89-80); C (79-70); D (69-60); F (59-0)
Grades are earned—grades are not negotiable. A student’s final course grade will be based on his or
her work in the course. Students with grade concerns may see the instructor during office hours. They
may also meet with the Writing Programs Director, Dr. Christine Murray (chris_murray@tamu.edu), with
questions or concerns in regard to grades.
Writing Projects. There are two steps students must follow to submit major writing projects: First, they
must submit an electronic copy of each Writing Project to Turnitin.com (for more information on
Turnitin.com, see “Other Pertinent Course Information” below). Secondly, students must keep a copy in
their own records. If students do not keep a copy, they may be asked to re-write the entire assignment,
including all drafts, from start to finished project.
Written work -- including the major course-projects -- can be graded online or by traditional hand-paper
methods, depending on the instructor’s preferences. In any case, students will be able to see
instructor’s comments and encouragements in both methods, either via the web interface or in traditional
communication methods.
After the instructor returns a major project, students can take the opportunity to discuss it with the
instructor, once the student has had sufficient time to read and reflect on the instructor’s comments
(after a day has passed). To protect student privacy, university rules prohibit instructors from discussing
student grade issues via email. Students should make an appointment for a consultation or see their
instructor during regular office hours.
Format of Written Projects. All work must be typed on a computer and formatted according to MLA
referencing guidelines. A guide to MLA formatting style is available in A Writer’s Reference, the
composition handbook required for the course (see above). Additionally, lessons in how to use MLA
form and style are scheduled during Unit 1 of the course.
Late Assignments. Students are required to submit assignments according to the due dates. Late
submission of any assignment can result in a penalty of up to 10 percent of the grade. In that, the
student is responsible for presenting appropriate documentation to excuse late work. If the student
does not submit appropriate written documentation, points will be deducted for late submission (up to
10% of the total grade).
Peer Review Makeup. Writing classes function as communities who share learning; therefore, the entire
class’ experience depends variously upon the participation of each person. If students come to class on
peer workshop days without a completed draft, students will not be prepared to participate in peer review
and will not receive the benefit of peer editing, which is mandatory and difficult to make up outside of
class. If students miss in-class peer review, they must arrange for peer feedback with the peer group
members outside of class time. Also, students should note that it is unacceptable to submit peer
workshop feedback sheets that have been filled out by anyone not enrolled in that specific section of
English 104.
Grade of I (Incomplete). Students should not assume the availability of “Incomplete" grades in this
course. TAMU Student Rules provide strict guidelines for assigning a grade of I. Requests for
Incompletes should be addressed to Dr. Christine Murray, Writing Programs Director for the English
Department. According to the rules, all requested documentation is required to be submitted in order to
be considered for the grade of I. The student’s college advising office will also be contacted to verify the
reason for any request of the grade of incomplete(I). Requests for the I grade (Incomplete) can be
considered only if the student already carries a grade of C or higher; has a record of good attendance
prior to illness or emergencies; and has completed 60% of the work in the course.
Mid-Semester Grades. Grades reported at mid-semester will be based on Writing Project 1 and Writing
Project 2, as well as journals, inksheds, and other in-class assignments to date. In such a writing
course, this trajectory is not necessarily equivalent to 50% of the final grade in the course—all work is
ongoing and subject to assessment until the end of the course.
Appropriate Attribution. Any assignment that includes sources but fails to include clear and appropriate
attribution of those sources in the required MLA format risks a grade of zero (0) for that assignment, as
well as an F for the course. Students should read carefully the responsibilities of avoiding plagiarizing
so that their work does not fall into this all-too-common problematic.
Acknowledging Assistance. Peer-review drafts will include notations from your classmates; otherwise,
any handwritten notes on drafts must be in the writer’s individual writing, and all drafts and supporting
documents must be the student’s own writing—that is, only that student’s ideas and words. If students
work with a tutor, they should plan on discussing the writing, but let the tutor know that all writing must
be only that of the student. Cover memos submitted with each writing project will acknowledge the
assistance of anyone who contributed to that student’s paper—for example, members of their in-class
peer-review group. Any paper that shows evidence of assistance yet fails to acknowledge such
assistance will be considered in violation of the Aggie Honor Code and will be reported as a case of
scholastic dishonesty.
E-mail and Fax. Instructors will not discuss grades via e-mail and, unless otherwise specified, will not
accept assignments attached to e-mail messages. The English Department will not accept papers or
excuses for missing class faxed to or called in to instructors.
Attendance
It is the student’s responsibility to attend the section where officially registered. Neither purchase of
textbooks nor completion of assignments is a valid reason to continue attending an erroneous section of
the course. Because English 104 calls for daily practice in and outside of class, it is difficult to make up
work for extended absences. The Writing Programs Office (Dr. Chris Murray) stands firm on the
expectation that students attend class, complete and submit all assignments within the sequence
assigned by instructors and in accordance with the deadlines listed in the course syllabus or as changes
announced in class (in case of occasional variations in deadlines). Failure to attend the appropriate
section of the course and/or to turn work in on time will result in a grade of F: See TAMU Student Rule
7.
Authorized Absences
Students are responsible for providing evidence to substantiate "authorized absences," which are
defined in the TAMU Student Rules. Additionally, if a student knows in advance they will miss a class,
they are responsible for informing their instructor, who tracks attendance and enters the number of
absences on the final roster. Excessive unexcused absences (more than three in this course) will be
reported to the Writing Programs Office and the student’s college advising office, which will result in the
final course grade being lowered one letter grade. For excessive excused absences (three weeks or
more, fall and summer terms=five class meetings), the instructor will recommend that the student see
their academic advising office about the options outlined in TAMU Student Rule 7.6.
Students are expected to meet in class according to the times published in the current university
schedule of classes. To have credit for attendance, students who arrive in class after attendance is
checked (first five minutes) must provide appropriate evidence to substantiate their late arrival.
For injury or illness less than three days, students must submit “confirmation of visit to a health care
professional affirming date and time of visit.” (See TAMU Student Rule 7.1.6.2)
For injury or illness of three or more days, students must submit a “medical confirmation note from . . .
[the student’s] medical provider. The Student Health Center or an off-campus medical professional can
provide a medical confirmation note only if medical professionals are involved in the medical care of the
student. The medical confirmation note must contain the date and time of the illness and medical
professional’s confirmation of needed absence.” (See TAMU Student Rule 7.1.6.1)
Due Dates for Major Assignments
(NOTE: Exact due dates for Major Writing Assignments are available on the Moodle course website.)
Major Writing Assignment
Writing Project 1: Rhetorical Analysis Essay
Writing Project 2: Comparative Analysis Essay
Writing Project 3: Annotated Bibliography
Writing Project 4: Argumentative Research Essay
Week Due
Week 4
Week 7
Week 10
Week 14
Other Pertinent Course Information
Group Work. If group work is assigned outside of class, students should meet on University premises.
The Sterling C. Evans Library provides areas for group study. To make group work efficient and
productive, all members should exhibit professional behavior and remain on task—that is, everyone
should work on the project at hand.
Classroom Behavior. Disruptive classroom behavior is defined as anything that would interfere with "an
instructor's ability to conduct the class" or "the ability of other students to profit from the instructional
program." TAMU Student Rules explicitly prohibit disruptive classroom behavior (see Student Rule 21.2
and 24.3.12).
Moodle
This course has a companion website hosted on the English Department’s Moodle Learning
Management System. It is important that students access the Moodle page on a regular basis because it
will be the place where they will:
 See the class assignment calendar to keep up with reading and homework assignments.
 Download additional course materials, like handouts, reading materials and homework
assignments.
 Upload homework assignments for grading.
 Check grades using the online grade book.
 Check attendance using the online attendance tool.
 Access guided research materials for the final Writing Project.
By the first day of class, students will receive an email from their instructor via their TAMU email account
with instructions for accessing Moodle, an enrollment key that they will need to gain access to the
appropriate section’s website, and an assignment to complete. To access Moodle, students can:
 Open a web browser and go to http://moodle.english.tamu.edu/.
 Click on the link for the current semester.
 Enter netid and password.
 Click on the link for 104 Sections.
 Find their instructor’s name and section number and click the link.
Turnitin.com
Turnitin is an Internet-based service that allows students and instructors to check papers for plagiarism.
When a student submits a paper to Turnitin, the program checks it against online sources and a
database that includes books, journals, and online paper-selling services. Then the program sends the
instructor a report, highlighting any passages that appear in other sources. If students have done their
own work, the instructor will be the only person with access to their papers. Students maintain
intellectual property rights to their work.
Students can access Turnitin.com via the Moodle course page for their section. About a week prior to
each major writing assignment’s due date, a link will appear on Moodle that students can click on to
upload their papers. Turnitin recognizes most common word-processing program files, such as MS
Word. If students work according to the class schedule, they will have the opportunity to submit papers
to Turnitin before submitting them for a final grade, so this program can be used as a safety net. One of
the primary skills students will learn in this class is how to document research sources appropriately, and
Turnitin is primarily a tool to help them check their work. Scholastic honesty is important—extremely
important. If a student knows in advance that a paper demonstrates problems with the fair and
appropriate attribution of sources, the student must take the responsibility of addressing the situation
and learning how to acknowledge when borrowing the words and ideas of other writers; in other words,
students should tell the instructor about it BEFORE their paper is due, so that the instructor can help
them learn to correct the problem. If a student fails to do so, then Turnitin will alert the instructor that he
or she may have committed plagiarism, and that could lead to the paper receiving a zero, or the student
receiving an F in the course.
The University Writing Center
The University Writing Center (UWC) offers undergraduate students one-on-one help at any stage of the
writing process. Located on the second floor of the Sterling C. Evans Library (Suite 1.214) and on the
second floor of the West Campus Library, the UWC also offers online assistance and computer-based
lessons. Their Web page < http://writingcenter.tamu.edu> offers further details and hours of operation.
Handouts
The handouts used in this course are copyrighted. “Handouts" are all materials generated for this class,
which include but are not limited to exams, quizzes, syllabi, in-class materials, sample papers, and peer
critique sheets. Because these materials are copyrighted, students do not have the right to copy
handouts, unless the instructor expressly grants permission.
Electronic Devices
Students must turn off all cell phones and other disruptive electronic devices before class starts. If
computers are allowed during class, instruction will be given as such.
Evans Library
The English 104 Evans Learning and Outreach Librarian is Lea Susan Engle, Evans Library Annex,
Room 418 D.
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is a federal anti-discrimination statute that provides
comprehensive civil rights protection for persons with disabilities. Among other things, this legislation
requires that all students with disabilities be guaranteed a learning environment that provides for
reasonable accommodation of their disabilities. If a student believes he or she has a disability requiring
an accommodation, he or she may contact Disability Services, in Cain Hall, Room B118, call (979) 8451637, or visit http://disability.tamu.edu for additional information.
Academic Integrity
“An Aggie does not lie, cheat or steal, or tolerate those who do.”