Seaber 1
Advanced Expository Writing/ENG3100/UMSL
Syllabus/FALL 08
SEABER/AS27
Classroom: FA234
Email: rseaber@mineralarea.edu
Phone: 573-518-2242
Office Hours: MWF: 2:00 – 2:50 pm; T/Th: 1:00 – 1:50 pm
and by appointment
Website: http://www.mineralarea.edu/faculty/facultywebpages/rseaber/
Texts:
American Psychological Association. The Publication Manual of the American
Psychological Association. 5th ed.
Bloom, Lynn, Edward White, and Shane Borrowman. Inquiry: Questioning,
Reading, Writing, 2nd ed. Prentice Hall, 2003.
Other Materials: Jump drive (memory stick); Microsoft Word 2007; TURN-IT-IN; folder(s); three-ring
binder; 3 x 5 index cards (optional); and other appropriate materials, at your discretion, as needed for
organization of research materials.
Course Description: “3100 Advanced Expository Writing (3)
“ . . . This course further develops the experienced writer's style and analytical capabilities to the level of
sophistication necessary for upper-division writing assignments and for academic and professional
settings. The course includes complex readings, focuses on persuasion and argumentation, expands
upon students' research and documentation skills, and requires research in university libraries. This
course fulfills the university's requirement for a junior-level course in communicative skills. It may not be
taken on a satisfactory/unsatisfactory basis. The course counts toward the Certificate in Writing”
(<http://www.umsl.edu/bulletin/as/english_courses.html > 08/13/08).
Prerequisite: ENGL 1100 or equivalent (3-6 hours; MAC’s ENG1330 and ENG1340)
Course Objectives:
1. To cultivate students' competence and credibility as writers, researchers, and critical
thinkers.
2. To advance and fine-tune students’ writing skills in preparation for both career endeavors
and upper division coursework.
3. To reinforce writing as a recursive process consisting of prewriting, writing, and rewriting
(i.e. revision = re-vision; seeing it again from another perspective and rewriting accordingly).
Methods: Practical writing exercises, peer review, student-instructor conferences, lecture, discussion of
example essays, group activities, independent reading assignments, library and other research
assignments, quizzes, and other assignments as deemed necessary to facilitate learning of the course
objectives.
Seaber 2
Evaluation: I do not “give” grades; you earn your grades. That is, grades posted on students'
assignments and academic records reflect the grades they have earned through their accomplishments
in the course--trying and accomplishing are different beasts.
Overall grades will be computed based on an analysis of scores on completed essays, research paper,
annotated bibliography, quizzes, in-class assignments, and major exams. In addition, class attendance
and participation may be taken into consideration for determination of students' final grades.
Extra Credit: I do NOT grant extra credit— do not ask for it.
Major assignments: Four to five major essays, including a research paper, all with focus on critical
analysis and argument. The first essay assigned is worth 50 points. Each subsequent essay is worth 100
points. The Research Paper is worth 150 points. (NOTE: You will use APA format for all documentation
in this class.)
You will be assigned an Annotated Bibliography, which is worth 50 points.
Other assignments: Pop quizzes, in-class writing assignments and other assignments, in or out of class,
as deemed necessary along with your record of attendance and class participation constitute additional
portions of your grade. The percentage of these grades toward your overall grade varies depending on
the amount of class time available for these exercises during the semester.
The final exam is worth approximately 50 to 75 points. If given, the mid-term will also be worth
approximately 50 to 75 points. Other exams may be given. If so, their point values will be discussed
during the semester.
Grading Scale: 90 – 100 = A; 80 – 89 = B; 70 – 79 = C; 60 – 69 = D; Below 60 = F
Student Responsibilities:
* Students must come to class prepared. Bring pen, paper, jump drive, text(s), and completed
assignments. In addition, students should finish their reading assignments on time and should be ready
to take a quiz and/or discuss the readings due for any particular class period.
* Students must obtain an UMSL email address for use in this class. I may NOT respond to email that is
received from addressees other than UMSL addresses.
* Students should have all electronic devices turned off during each class period. Students allowing any
pagers, cell phones, etc. to disturb the class will be asked to leave.
• Students must maintain appropriate classroom behavior. (See “Policies”)
• Students are responsible for gathering notes, announcements, assignments, etc. that they have missed
while absent. The instructor’s website is the best source for obtaining current assignments.
Additionally, it is highly suggested that students exchange email addresses and/or phone numbers with
Seaber 3
at least one other class member in the event that the website cannot be accessed and the instructor
cannot be reached before the next class period. NOTE: I will NOT reiterate a lecture/lesson for you!
• Students must submit completed essays in a folder along with all required drafts and peer review
sheets, if applicable, for that particular essay. Required materials that should accompany each essay will
be announced prior to the final draft's due date.
• Students must submit completed assignments on the date due. All submissions must be typed—no
exceptions. Unless otherwise stated, all submissions must be turned in both to the instructor in person
in hard copy. Emailed or faxed submissions are not accepted unless prior approval is obtained or unless
an email submission is designated as a requirement of the particular assignment. Instructor is not
responsible for missing or “lost” assignments— always keep at least one copy of every assignment!
* Although they choose their own topics, students must obtain instructor approval of their essay and
research topics. Should a student be told his/her topic is not acceptable, he/she must choose another
topic and must still turn in his/her writing assignment on the due date. In other words, no time
extensions are granted because of a topic change.
• As Advanced Expository students, you are expected to have a working knowledge of the writing
process and a command of the English language. If you have weaknesses in these areas, you should visit
the Writing Lab in the MAC Library or the Writing Center at UMSL. My role as an Advanced Expository
instructor includes helping you with the invention and formulation of the content of your essays and
facilitating the development of those critical thinking skills necessary for good writing; my role is not
that of an editor. You need to turn in papers that have few, if any, grammatical and technical errors—
and, you need to thoroughly proofread your papers so that any errors are caught and corrected before
your assignments reach my hands. NUMEROUS GRAMMATICAL, USUAGE, SPELLING, MECHANICAL, ETC.
ERRORS MAY RESULT IN FAILURE OR A SIGNIFICANTLY LOWERED GRADE FOR ANY GIVEN ASSIGNMENT.
• Students are expected to revise their writing assignments prior to completion of the final draft. Keep
in mind that although revision may, and often does, include the correction of grammatical and technical
errors, it also involves much more than proofreading and editing. Revision means re-vision. In other
words, revision is the process of seeing your work in a new light and changing the content accordingly so
that your reader has a better understanding of the message you are attempting to convey.
MY RESPONSES TO YOUR WORK: When I respond to your writing, I will make comments both within the
margins and with a final end note. In addition, be aware that I may use my own set of markings for
editing purposes. Here are my major marks for your future reference:
X
Means I found an error in spelling, punctuation, grammar, usage, etc. You will find the “X” in the
margin of the line where the error occurs. Furthermore, two “Xs” mean I found two mistakes,
three “Xs” indicate three mistakes, etc.
[]
Brackets around a sentence or phrase indicate that either a major error has occurred, or that
you need to reword the sentence for clarity. Sometimes you will see “frag.” over the brackets.
Seaber 4
This abbreviation indicates that the words within the brackets constitute a sentence fragment in
lieu of a complete sentence.
||
Two parallel lines mean that you have violated either the rule of parallel structure or the rule of
agreement.
W/C
W/C means "word choice." The word you have used does not convey your meaning or does not
convey your meaning as well as it could. Choose another word.
A squiggly line next to a sentence or paragraph means I no idea what you're trying to say.
Revise!
POLICIES:
Late Work: Late work is not accepted without prior approval. Nevertheless, even with prior approval,
the late assignment will receive a score that is reduced by 10 percent. No assignment will be accepted
later than one week past the original due date. The research paper is a semester-long project that will
be due quite late in the class schedule—therefore, NO LATE RESEARCH PAPERS WILL BE ACCEPTED.
Rewrites: Adequate time and resources are provided for the revision process prior to the due date for
each essay. Moreover, being Advanced Expository students, you should have already mastered the
basics of essay writing. Therefore, NO writing assignments may be rewritten for a higher grade. Do not
ask.
Attendance Policy: Students are expected to attend class. Roll is taken at each class period. Students
who must miss class for any reason are still responsible for completing current assignments and should
email me or speak to me in person or by phone prior to the absence to let me know they will not be in
class. I will not recap or repeat my lectures for students who miss class--do not ask. Missing class not
only affects your grade indirectly (because you will lack a complete understanding of the class
materials), it also affects your grade and/or status directly as follows:
* Students may be dropped from the class after the 4th consecutive absence
* Students will be allowed only 4 absences for any reason--I do not differentiate
between "excused" and unexcused" absences. Upon the 5th absence, students' final
grades are lowered by one full letter grade--regardless of reason.
* Students are responsible for keeping track of the number of absences they
accumulate, meaning I will not remind or warn students that they will be dropped or
have their grades lowered.
NOTE: Although I reserve the right to do so, I do not routinely drop students because of excess absences.
It is ultimately the student’s responsibility to drop this course should he/she feel the necessity to do so or
should his/her absences warrant such action.
Seaber 5
Quizzes: Quizzes may be announced or unannounced. Quizzes cannot be made up. Quizzes are given at
the beginning of the class period and questions are not repeated for latecomers.
Plagiarism/Academic Honesty: In this class, plagiarism means the use of someone else's ideas or words,
directly or paraphrased, intentionally or unintentionally, without giving credit to/acknowledging the
original source. Any plagiarized work automatically receives a failing grade and may result in failure of
and dismissal from this class. Any other form of academic dishonesty (i.e., "cheating") will also result in
failure of the assignment and/or exam and may also result in failure of/removal from the course. You
will be asked to sign a pledge of honesty on all major assignments and exams. Be forewarned—I take
the issue of plagiarism quite seriously!
Appropriate Classroom Behavior: As college students, you are expected to behave as such. Should you
engage in behavior that is disruptive, you will be asked to leave the classroom for the remainder of the
class period, and your final grade may be penalized for such behavior. I deem the types of behavior that
are considered disruptive. That is, if I say any given behavior is inappropriate, it is.
Use of Internet/Computers: Do not use computers for any reason other than the assigned work of the
day in this course. Anyone found using the Internet or working on assignments during class, other than
those assignments in accordance with my instructions for a particular class period, will be asked to leave
for the remainder of that class period. Your dismissal from class under such circumstances will be
recorded as an absence and your grade may be penalized. Class participation, or lack thereof, as well as
class disruptions vs. attentiveness are factors of students' overall semester grades.
SPECIAL ACCOMODATIONS: Students with special needs as addressed by the Americans with Disabilities
Act should notify me so that appropriate accommodations can be arranged.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------FOR SCHEDULE--See the "current assignments" page of my website, the address of which is found on
the heading section of this syllabus. The web-posted information is the most up-to-date account of your
assignments. You may also refer to the hard copy of the schedule, which is attached. The hard copy,
however, is subject to change in accordance to the particular pace of any give class.