eTROY
ENG 1102
Composition and Modern English II: Writing Arguments about Literature
SYLLABUS
TERM 3: January 4-March 6, 2016
For course syllabus posted prior to the beginning of the term, the instructor reserves the right to make minor
changes prior to or during the term. The instructor will notify students, via e-mail or Blackboard announcement,
when changes are made in the requirements and/or grading of the course.
INSTRUCTOR INFORMATION
Dr. John R. Willey
jwilley@troy.edu
850-910-5676
INSTRUCTOR EDUCATION
PhD English, Florida State University
MA English, University of West Florida
MED Administration, University of West Florida
BA English, University of Florida
TEXTBOOKS AND/OR OTHER MATERIALS NEEDED
1. Kennedy, X. J., and Dana Gioia, eds. Backpack Literature. 4th ed. New York:
Pearson/Longman, 2012.
ISBN-10 1-256-41264-3
ISBN-13 978-1-256-41264-9
2. Hacker, Diana, and Nancy Sommers. A Writer’s Reference (with Exercises). 7th ed.
Boston, MA: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2011.
10 digit ISBN:
0-312-60147-6
13 digit ISBN:
978-0-312-60147-8
There is very important news from the textbook corner of eTROY/Global Campus. Beginning in
Term 1 2015, we will start using Barnes and Nobles as our textbook provider for the course
delivered through eTROY and the Global Campus sites within the U.S.
Students will no longer need a book voucher to access their financial aid to pay for books. The
deduction from their financial aid will take place behind the scenes with no extra steps by the
student. Students will use a different website to order their book, http://troy.bncollege.com.
We will not have The Blackboard Store that we began using in Term 1 of 2014. Students will
see links to the B&N bookstore in Blackboard and Trojan Web Express. Through this
website, students will also be able to purchase Trojan apparel, supplies and gifts. Another benefit
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will be for those students who take classes on one of the Alabama campuses and online. This will
allow them to purchase their books from the same bookstore/website.
LATE REGISTRATION
Students who register during the first week of the term, during late registration, will already be
one week behind. Students who fall into this category are expected to catch up with all of Week
#1 and Week #2's work by the end of Week #2. No exceptions, since two weeks constitutes a
significant percentage of the term's lessons. Students who do not feel they can meet this deadline
should not enroll in the class. If they have registered, they should see their registrar, academic
adviser, GoArmyEd or Military Education officer to discuss their options. Also note that late
registration may mean you do not receive your book in time to make up the work you missed in
Week #1.
I will work personal with any and every student who registers late for the course to make sure
that he or she is able to catch up as soon as possible and meet all needs for the course.
ELECTRONIC OFFICE HOURS
10:00 to 11:59 CST M-F
Saturdays and Sundays 7:00 to 11:59 CST
(However, I check daily at random times EVERY DAY to be certain not to miss any messages.)
Troy instructors are required to respond to student messages within 24 to 48 hours.
PREREQUISITES
Students must earn at least a C in English 1101, Composition and Modern English I, to enroll in
this course.
STUDENT EXPECTATION STATEMENT
•
Students are expected to participate in the course via email exchanges (or other
communication) with the instructor, by reading the assigned readings, submitting
comments to the discussion forums, submitting assignments, and completing essays by
the assigned due date.
•
Students are expected to check their email daily and to log in and check the course
announcements at least every 48 hours.
•
Students need to post both original comments and also respond to their classmates at least
twice during the week (see schedule below for parameters and course requirements below
for guidelines).
•
Plagiarism is considered using another person’s words or ideas as your own without
giving proper credit to the source or using proper punctuation and will not be tolerated in
this course. If a student is found committing this act, it is grounds for failure on the
assignment or for the course.
CATALOG DESCRIPTION
Text-based analyses and application of principles and tools of research in writing short research
papers. A grade of C or better is required for credit. Must be taken within first 30 hours of
enrollment. Prerequisite: ENG 1101 or equivalent.
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PURPOSE (COURSE OBJECTIVES)
English 1102 continues the study of the writing skills you began learning in English 1101, but
this course will place more emphasis on library research, literature, and argumentation. In this
course, we will practice organizing arguments, developing well-supported paragraphs, and
incorporating logical and critical thought into a series of essays that demonstrate a minimum of
mechanical problems. We will analyze a variety of rhetorical modes; practice multiple
approaches to prewriting and revision; learn to spot and correct syntax, usage, and vocabulary
errors; and incorporate computer technology as a learning tool.
STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES
•
COURSE
STUDENT LEARNING
OBJECTIVE
OUTCOMES
1. Develop analytical Identify the basic features of
thinking and critical
literature, including but not
reading skills.
limited to theme, structure,
symbolism, imagery,
metaphor, motif
2. Demonstrate
proficiency with
writing in a formal
context to include six
original extended and
revised compositions
Self-knowledge of writing
proficiency and propensity
for certain mistakes;
commitment to word choice
and tone
--demonstrates a command
of precise language and
enhanced vocabulary
--demonstrates the ability to
critique one’s own work and
the work of peers
Demonstrate proficiency
with basic genres of
literature (fiction, drama,
poetry)
ACTIVITIES
ASSESSMENTS
Videos and lectures Discussion board
posts (rubric)
Discussion board
--online exercises
dialogue with
fellow students
--graphic/advance
organizer (rubric)
--MyWritingLab
activities/A
Writer’s Reference
activities
--writing analysis
Practice tests for
word choice
Major assigned
essay rubrics
Journaling for selfcritique
--MyWritingLab
activities/A
Writer’s Reference
activities
Self and peer
editing/review
Peer review rubric
DQ discussion of
assigned readings
for each mode
DQ rubric
Discussion board
Quiz for
Recognize and avoid clichés
3. Develop an
Demonstrate appropriate
tone and knowledge of
audience
Demonstrate ability to
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appreciation
for and ease
with essay
structure and
paragraph
development,
including
thesis
statement,
topic
sentences,
transitions,
introductions
and
conclusions.
identify and to express ideas
using essay parts, including
thesis statement, topic
sentence, transitions,
introductions and
conclusions
--uses appropriate
conventions of structure and
format for the situation/style
-- demonstrates selfawareness of one’s own
writing style across multiple
drafts
--demonstrates the ability to
pre-write, draft, revise, edit,
etc.
analysis of
assigned readings
Drafting assigned
essays
identifying thesis
and other essay
parts
--journal rubric
Discussion of
--rubric for self
assigned rubrics for and peer reviews
each essay
--online exercises
--reflective journal
--self and peer
editing/review
-- MyWritingLab
activities/A
Writer’s Reference
activities
4.Demonstrate
use of
evidence
through
research to
support
literary
analysis
Develop
research and
citation skills
5. Demonstrate an
awareness of
proficiency and
propensity for certain
grammar and
punctuation mistakes
Develop an ability to
incorporate credible
outside sources using
quotations and
paraphrasing and
documenting sources
using proper citation
format, especially
MLA
Employ proper usage (in
accordance with standard
American English) of
grammar, spelling and
punctuation
Citation exercises
Quizzes
Self-analysis
through journaling
-- journal rubric
DQ responses
DQ posts (rubric)
Grammar quizzes
Major research
paper
Diagnostic
Self-assessment of
DQ posts through
journaling
Self-guided use of
quizzes
Exit Exam
RESEARCH COMPONENT
Students will be required to do research for their essays written in this class. Each essay should
cite from outside sources to help support the arguments made in the paper. Students should be
familiar with the Troy University Library’s databases.
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eTROY COURSES AT TROY UNIVERSITY
All eTROY courses at Troy University utilize Blackboard Learning System. In every eTROY
course, students should read all information presented in the Blackboard course site and should
periodically check for updates—at least every 48 hours.
TROY E-MAIL
All students were required to obtain and use the TROY e-mail address that is automatically
assigned to them as TROY students. All official correspondence (including bills, statements, emails from instructors and grades, etc.) will be sent ONLY to the troy.edu (@troy.edu) address.
• All students are responsible for ensuring that the correct e-mail address is listed in
Blackboard by the beginning of Week #1. E-mail is the only way the instructor can, at
least initially, communicate with you. It is your responsibility to make sure a valid e-mail
address is provided. Failure on your part to do so can result in your missing important
information that could affect your grade.
Your troy.edu e-mail address is the same as your Web Express user ID following by @troy.edu.
Students are responsible for the information that is sent to their TROY e-mail account. You can
get to your e-mail account by logging onto the course and clicking “E-mail Login”. You will be
able to forward your TROY e-mail to your eArmy e-mail account. You must first access your
TROY e-mail account through the TROY e-mail link found on the Web site. After you log in to
your TROY e-mail account, click on “options” on the left hand side of the page. Then click on
“forwarding.” This will enable you to set up the e-mail address to which you will forward your
e-mail.
THREE USEFUL WEB SITES FOR THIS COURSE
See the “Helpful Resources” section in Blackboard.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS
During this course, students must complete the following assignments (see Method of Evaluation
below to see how these relate to the student learning outcomes for the course):
•
•
Six essays
Weekly discussion board entries
ATTENDANCE POLICY
In addition to interaction via Blackboard and e-mail contact, students are required to contact the
instructor via e-mail or telephone by the first day of the term for an initial briefing. Although
physical class meetings are not part of this course, participation in all interactive, learning
activities is required.
MAKE-UP WORK POLICY
Missing any part of this schedule may prevent completion of the course. If you foresee difficulty
of any type (e.g., an illness, employment change, etc.) which may prevent completion of this
course, notify the instructor as soon as possible. Failure to do so will result in failure for an
assignment and/or failure of the course. (See “Attendance” Policy.) If I have not heard from you
by the deadline dates for assignments, exams, or forums, no make-up work will be allowed
(unless extraordinary circumstances exist, such as hospitalization). Requests for extensions must
be made in advance and accompanied by appropriate written documentation. “Computer
problems” is not an acceptable excuse.
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INCOMPLETE GRADE POLICY
Missing any part of the Course Schedule may prevent completion of the course. If circumstances
will prevent the student from completing the course by the end of the term, the student should
complete a request for an incomplete grade. Note: A grade of incomplete or “INC” is not
automatically assigned to students, but rather must be requested by the student by submitting a
Petition for and Work to Remove an Incomplete Grade Form. Requests for an incomplete grade
must be made on or before the date of the final assignment or test of the term. The form will not
be available after the last day of the term. A grade of “INC” does not replace an “F” and will not
be awarded for excessive absences. An “INC” will only be awarded to student presenting a valid
case for the inability to complete coursework by the conclusion of the term. It is ultimately the
instructor’s decision to grant or deny a request for an incomplete grade, subject to the policy
rules below. Policy/Rules for granting an Incomplete (INC). An incomplete cannot be issued
without a request from the student. To qualify for an incomplete, the student must:
• Have completed over 50% of the course material and have a documented reason for
requesting incomplete (50% means all assignments/exams up to and including the midterm point, test, and/or assignments.)
• Be passing the course at the time of their request.
If both of the above criteria are not met an incomplete cannot be granted.
An INC is not a substitute for an “F”. If a student has earned an “F” by not submitting all the
work or by receiving an overall “F” average, then the “F” stands.
METHOD OF INSTRUCTION
This is an eTROY class. It is not a “correspondence course” in which a student may work at
his/her own pace. Each week there will be assignments, on-line discussions, and/or exams with
due dates. Refer to the schedule at the end of this syllabus for more information.
METHOD OF EVALUATION
Essay # 1 (Literacy Narrative)
10%
Essay # 2 (Fiction)
Essay # 3 (Drama)
Essay # 4 (Poetry)
Essay # 5 (Annotated Bibliography)
Essay # 6 (Research paper)
Discussion Board Posts
Journal
Grammar Quizzes
15%
15%
15%
10%
20%
5%
5%
5%
Minimum Length: 500 words
Minimum Length: 750 words
Minimum Length: 750 words
Minimum Length: 1,000 words
Minimum Length: 1,000 words
Minimum Length: 1,500 words
ASSIGNMENT OF GRADES
All grades will be posted in the student grade book in Blackboard and will be assigned according
to the following scale:
A
B
C
D
F
Postings:
90 – 100%
80 – 89%
70 – 79%
60 – 69%
00 – 59%
Grades will be posted in Blackboard in the Grade Center.
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FA:
“FA” indicates the student failed due to attendance. This grade will be given to any
student who disappears from the course for three or more weeks. See the Attendance
section of this syllabus for additional information.
SUBMITTING ASSIGNMENTS
Essay assignments will be submitted to both the “Assignments” page on Blackboard and to
Turnitin.com (a plagiarism evaluation website). Failure to post a final copy of your essay to
BOTH places means you will receive a zero on the assignment.
Assignments must be typed, in 12pt. font (preferably Times New Roman or something
equivalent), double-spaced, and in MS Word format (you may also post assignments in .rtf—
Rich Text Format—if you’re using another program as that is accessible by Word). The
assignments must be turned in to both the “Assignments” section of Blackboard and to
Turnitin.com by midnight on the due date listed on the syllabus. Do not email papers to the
instructor.
In order to access the course page on Turnitin.com to post your final essay drafts, you will need
to create an account (if you’ve used Turnitin.com through a Troy course before, you will be able
to use your previous log-in and password—I’ll clarify those instructions below). Go to “External
Links” on Blackboard and click on the one for Turnitin.com. In the top right corner, under the
typical log-in boxes, you will see a link to “Create Account.” Click on that, choose “student”
from the next screen, and then enter the appropriate information in to the boxes on the following
page.
If you already have a Turnitin.com log-in from a previous course, you can use the same
information and just go to the “Enroll in a Class” tab once you are logged in to the website.
Enter the course ID number and password listed above and you should have no trouble enrolling
in the course.
To submit your final essays then, you will upload them to both the “Assignments” page on
Blackboard under the appropriate assignment listing and also upload them under the correct
assignment on Turnitin.com. Be sure to click through both the upload and confirm pages once
you have submitted your paper to Turnitin. You should be able to view the file once it is
uploaded to confirm it is up there and accurate and you will also have access to your originality
report so that you can see the same information I do in regards to any potential plagiarism in
your paper.
EXAMINATION SCHEDULE & INSTRUCTIONS
This course is a writing course, so no full-scale exams will be given. However, students will
need to complete minor exams (such as the exam on MLA format) as posted in Blackboard.
Additionally, students will write timed essays four times during the term. Refer to the schedule at
the end of the syllabus for the due dates. Students may use their textbooks and any additional
material to complete the timed essays, which will last one hour. The timed essays are located
either in the “Assessments” section of the Blackboard site. Points will be deducted if the student
overruns the time limit for the timed essays.
INTERNET ACCESS
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

This is an on-line class. Students must have access to a working computer and access to the
internet. Students can use the TROY computer lab, a public library, etc., to ensure they have
access.
“Not having a computer” or “computer crashes” are not acceptable excuses for late work.
Have a backup plan in place in case you have computer problems.
COURSE SCHEDULE
Week #1:
To Read:
To Write:
Week #2
To Read:
To Write:
Week #3
To Read:
“Everyday Use” (text, p. 69ff)
Grammar Diagnostic
Write and submit Essay #1 (found under “Assignments” on Blackboard):
This is the “Literacy Narrative”
Instructor’s due date is the next Monday after the assignment is given, always to
include a full weekend for writing.
Instructor: discussion board assignments: Characterization is the process that
every author uses to create their characters. Every author since writing began has
their characters DO something, SAY something, or perhaps has another character
SAY SOMETHING ABOUT the character, but these are the only effective ways
to “characterize” one of their creations. In “Everyday Use” Dee is characterized
by the things she says, by the things that she does, and in some few cases by what
those closest to her say about her. This week post one or more of these things that
characterize Dee for us as we read, and then respond to at least one other student
post. Discussions are graded activities.
“A Good Man Is Hard to Find” (text, p. 352ff)
Work on Essay #2 (Fiction)
Instructor’s exact due date: as always
Instructor: discussion board assignments: Do not read over this story quickly. This
is one story that must be considered as you read. After reading the story answer
one or more of these questions, and then respond to a minimum of one other
student post: Who is the villain in the story? Who is the one religious person in
the story? Did the Misfit kill his father? When does the Misfit make up his mind
to kill the family? Why does he call himself the Misfit? What does the Misfit
mean when he says “She would of been a good woman if it had been someone
there to shoot her every minute of her life?”
A Doll’s House (text, p. 880ff)
Submit Essay #2 (Fiction) (found under “Assignments” on Blackboard)
Instructor’s exact due date: as always
Instructor: discussion board assignments: Can today’s reader
identify with any elements of the play even though the play is well over
one hundred years old? What things are still important today? Does
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anyone change in the play? Who? How? When can you tell? From reading
the play today can we understand that it was banned in England? Why was
it banned? What is the importance of the title? Is the play still capable of
shocking audiences today? If so, how?
Week #4
To Read:
To Write:
Read “My Pappa’s Waltz” and “Those Winter Sundays” (text, pp. 393 and 382)
Submit Essay #3 (Drama) (found under “Assignments” on Blackboard)
Instructor’s exact due date: as always
Instructor: discussion board assignments: After reading the two
assigned poems this week, compare and contrast them. How are they
similar, how many ways? Are they different? If so, how? Are the
Narrators’ memories the same? Are there key words in each poem that
might help or hinder a reader’s understanding? What does the last stanza
of “Those Winter Sundays” mean? After you make your post for the week,
please answer a minimum of one post by another student.
Week #5
To Read:
Read “Not Waving but Drowning” (p. 458). “We Real Cool (p. 500), and
“Harlem” (p. 617). There is a very good reading of “Not Waving but Drowning”
on Youtube that would be worth your while to examine. There is also on Youtube
Brooks herself with Morgan Freeman reading “We Real Cool,” another genuine
pleasure to experience.
Instructor’s exact due date: as always
Instructor: discussion board assignments: These poems are very
different. Which one did you like the best, why? What is “Not Waving”
about? If you watched the Youtube reading, did that help? What is the
attitude that Brooks is writing about in “We Real Cool”? Can you find that
attitude today? Are there words in Brooks’ poem that might have to be
looked up? “Harlem” has always been a very popular poem. What is the
mood conveyed by the poem? Do words or images help create the mood?
Are the similes vivid? Do they communicate ideas or images or both?
Week #6
To Read:
Read Sylvia Plath’s “Daddy” and “Mirror” (please go to Youtube and you will
find Plath herself reading her poem “Daddy,” and while there please listen to “Mirror” by
oliviam16, another Plath poem. Once you have finished reading and listening to these two
poems, post your discussions for the week.
To Write:
Submit Essay #4 (Poetry) (found under “Assignments” on Blackboard)
Instructor’s exact due date: as always
Instructor: discussion board assignments: How different is the
experience of reading “Daddy” as opposed to hearing Plath read the
poem? In the poem “Mirror,” how different is it having the mirror as the
poem’s narrator? Does that type of narration work for you? What is good
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about either of the poems? What do you not like about either? How does
Plath use the imagery of Nazi Germany in her poem? Why does she
cultivate that imagery? What does she mean when she says “If I have
killed one man, I have killed two”? Does she love or hate her father? How
is the poem “Mirror” about change? What changes? If you have anything
else to add or question, please make your post and then follow up with at
least one comment on another student’s post.
Week #7
To Read:
To Write:
Read Tim O’Brien’s “The Things They Carried” (p. 337ff)
Instructor: discussion board assignments: Most students like the story. What is
the importance of the title? How does the story move from the literal things the men carry
to the more intangible? Which is heavier? Who carries the most? Does Lt. Cross’s name
have any extra importance? Does Lt. Cross think he will go back home and marry the
author of his letters? How is the girl like the pebble? What does the pebble represent?
What does the girl represent? What do all the men think about? Lt. Cross is about 25 in
the story—fifty years later will he still carry these experiences, his men, Lavender? What
frustrates the one solder about his letter concerning his dead friend? These men were in
Viet Nam—might the story still apply to Iraq or Afghanistan?
Week #8
To Read:
Read “The Judge’s Wife” by Isabel Allende, and once you have finished, address
this week’s discussion board.
To Write:
Week 9
To Read:
Submit Essay #5 (Annotated Bibliography)
Work on Essay #6 (found under “Assignments” on Blackboard)
Instructor’s exact due date: as always
Instructor: discussion board assignments: Who is the main
character? Why not a name in the title? What is the story about? Is it
about an outlaw? a judge? There is much irony in the story—communicate
one or more examples. What is ironic when Casilda looked into the cave
“to be certain it wasn’t the den of some wild animal”? How “bad” is
Nicholas Vidal? Who wins the encounter between Casilda and Nicholas?
The final reading for the course is the Robert Frost poem “Out, Out—“ (p. 385).
To Write:
Submit Essay # 6 (Research Paper)
Grammar Exit Exam
Instructor’s exact due date: as always
Instructor: discussion board assignments: Frost took his title from Act V, scene v
of Macbeth—what prompted him to select those words? What is the poem about? Why
does the boy die? He does not bleed to death. There is not time for infection to take his
life. The doctor does not kill him with ether. What are we led to believe contributes to his
death? Some readers are disturbed by the last lines: “And they, since they / Were not the
one dead, turned to their affairs.” How do you take the ending of the poem? Is it
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disturbing to you? Why? Does the Shakespeare quotation bring anything to Frost’s
poem? Please post to another student’s comments as soon as you have posted yours.
STUDENT/FACULTY INTERACTION
Interaction will take place via e-mail, telephone, discussion board forums, comments on written
assignments and office visits (if needed and possible).
• The student will participate in this course by following the guidelines of this syllabus and any
additional information provided by the instructor, the eTROY center at Troy University, or Troy
University itself.
• The student is expected to remain in regular contact with the instructor and class via e-mail or
other communications means, by participating in the discussion forums, submitting assignments
and taking exams, all in a timely fashion.
• TROY requires instructors to respond to students’ e-mail within 24 hours Mon-Thur, and 48
hours Fri-Sun.
TECHNOLOGY REQUIREMENTS
Students must have:
• A reliable working computer that runs Windows 7 or 8 or MAC OS 10.
• A TROY e-mail account that you can access on a regular basis (see "TROY e-mail" above)
• E-mail software capable of sending and receiving attached files.
• Access to the Internet with a 56.6 kb modem or better. (High speed connection such as cable or
DSL preferred)
• A personal computer capable of running Netscape Navigator or above, Internet Explorer or
above or current versions of Firefox or Mozilla. Students who use older browser versions will
have compatibility problems with Blackboard.
• Microsoft WORD software. (I cannot grade anything I cannot open! This means NO MSWorks, NO WordPad, NO WordPerfect) USE MS WORD
• Virus protection software, installed and active, to prevent the spread of viruses via the Internet
and e-mail. It should be continually updated! Virus protection is provided to all Troy students
free of charge. Click on the following link https://it.troy.edu/downloads/virussoftware.htm and
then supply your e-mail username and password to download the virus software.
TECHNICAL SUPPORT CENTER
If you experience technical problems, you should contact the Blackboard Online Support Center.
If you can log onto the course simply look at the top of the page. You will see an icon entitled,
“Need Help?” If you click on this icon, you will see the information below.
For assistance with Blackboard, Wimba, Remote Proctor, and other online tools, please go to
http://helpdesk.troy.edu and submit a ticket. The Educational Technology team is available 8:00
a.m. to 8:00 p.m. seven days a week to support your technical needs. For instructions on
submitting a ticket, please click here.
NON-HARASSMENT, HOSTILE WORK/CLASS ENVIRONMENT
Troy University expects students to treat fellow students, their instructors, other TROY faculty,
and staff as adults and with respect. No form of “hostile environment” or “harassment” will be
tolerated by any student or employee.
ADAPTIVE NEEDS (ADA)
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Troy University recognizes the importance of equal access for all students. In accordance with
the Americans with Disabilities Act and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the
University and its Adaptive Needs Program seeks to ensure that admission, academic programs,
support services, student activities, and campus facilities are accessible to and usable by students
who document a qualifying disability with the University.
Reasonable accommodations are available to students who:
• are otherwise qualified for admission to the University
• identify themselves to appropriate University personnel
• provide acceptable and qualifying documentation to the University.
Each student must provide recent documentation of his or her disability in order to participate in
the Adaptive Needs Program. Please visit the Adaptive Needs Website @
http://www.troy.edu/ecampus/studentservices/adaptiveneeds.htm to complete the necessary
procedure and forms. This should be accomplished before the beginning of class.
HONESTY AND PLAGIARISM
The awarding of a university degree attests that an individual has demonstrated mastery of a
significant body of knowledge and skills of substantive value to society. Any type of dishonesty
in securing those credentials therefore invites serious sanctions, up to and including suspension
and expulsion (see Standard of Conduct in each TROY Catalog). Examples of dishonesty include
actual or attempted cheating, plagiarism*, or knowingly furnishing false information to any
university employee.
*Plagiarism is defined as submitting anything for credit in one course that has already been
submitted for credit in another course, or copying any part of someone else’s intellectual work –
their ideas and/or words – published or unpublished, including that of other students, and
portraying it as one’s own. Proper quoting, using strict APA formatting, is required, as described
by the instructor. All students are required to read the material presented at:
http://troy.troy.edu/writingcenter/research.html
• Students must properly cite any quoted material. No term paper, business plan, term project,
case analysis, or assignment may have more than 20% of its content quoted from another
source. Students who need assistance in learning to paraphrase should ask the instructor for
guidance and consult the links at the Troy Writing Center.
• This university employs plagiarism-detection software, through which all written student
assignments are processed for comparison with material published in traditional sources (books,
journals, magazines), on the internet (to include essays for sale), and papers turned in by students
in the same and other classes in this and all previous terms. The penalty for plagiarism may range
from zero credit on the assignment, to zero in the course, to expulsion from the university with
appropriate notation in the student’s permanent file.
LIBRARY SUPPORT
The Libraries of Troy University provide access to materials and services that support the
academic programs. The address of the TROY Global Campus Library Web site, which is for all
Global Campus and eTROY students, is http://uclibrary.troy.edu. This site provides access to the
Library's Catalog and Databases, as well as to links to all Campus libraries and to online or
telephone assistance by Troy Library staff. Additionally, the Library can also be accessed by
choosing the "Library" link from the University's home page, http://www.troy.edu.
FACULTY EVALUATION
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In the eighth week of each term, students will be notified of the requirement to fill out a course
evaluation form. These evaluations are completely anonymous and are on-line. Further
information will be posted in the Announcements section in Blackboard.
HOW TO LEARN ONLINE
Troy University eTROY is designed to serve any student, anywhere in the world, who has access
to the Internet. All eTROY courses are delivered through the Learning System. Blackboard helps
to better simulate the traditional classroom experience with features such as Virtual Chat,
Discussion Boards, and other presentation and organizational forums.
In order to be successful, you should be organized and well motivated. You should make sure
you log in to our course on Blackboard several times each week. Check all “announcements” that
have been posted. Start early in the week to complete the weekly assignment. You should also go
to the Discussion Board early in the week and view the topic and question/s for the group
discussion exercise. Make your “initial” posting and participate in the discussion. Begin
reviewing for the exams early in the term. Do not wait until the last minute and “cram” for these
exams. You should review the material frequently, so you will be prepared to take the exams.
eTROY CONTACT
Whether you’re experienced at taking online courses or new to distance learning, we’re here to
help you succeed in your online education. If you have general questions about eTROY
programs, courses, policies, services or other university-wide topics, please visit the eTROY web
site @ http://www.troy.edu/etroy; call 1-800-414-5756, or ASK TROY.
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Essay #1: Literacy Narrative
In a minimum of 750 words, write a short literacy narrative about yourself. Literacy narratives
can often have slightly different focuses, so you have a small amount of room for creativity, but
they primarily deal with detailing a person’s path to reading and writing (education and
experiences as a reader) and/or the impact that reading and writing has on their lives. Keep in
mind that the focus here is on “literacy” (the act of reading and/or writing) and not as much on
“literature” (which we’ll be talking about in class). Your literacy narrative can involve your
experiences with various “great” books, but it will more likely encompass your experiences with
a variety of texts, from internet reading, to newspapers, to comic books, to whatever you tend to
read or even write in your spare time.
The organization of your paper will depend on the focus you want the essay to take. If you are
writing about your experience becoming literate (learning to read and write), you will probably
take a narrative approach, detailing your first experiences in school or your first memories of
books or the first time reading or writing seemed to make a big impact on your life. In writing
from this perspective, you will want a clear introduction that establishes the story you plan on
telling, strong transitions and paragraphs (probably chronologically organized) that put that
overall story together, and a conclusion that goes beyond simple summary to address the large
context of what you’ve just written about. What ultimate impact did those early experiences
have on the reader/writer you are today?
If you focus more on particular texts or experiences of reading and writing and how they have
impacted your life, you would structure your essay in a more subject-by-subject fashion. Your
introduction would establish that you are writing about significant moments where literacy or
particular texts impacted your life and give a sense of why those moments or texts are important.
Your body paragraphs would be organized around each of those texts or moments, explaining
what they were and narrating why they mattered. In this structure, your conclusion would again
go beyond simple summary to put the discussion in a larger context. Have those particular
moments or texts changed the way you read or address writing now? How might those
experiences be similar to or different from those of other individuals?
Regardless of how you organize the paper, the final draft of your paper needs to be typed, double
spaced, and in 12 point font with one inch margins. Your name, the instructor’s name, the
course number, and date need to be in the upper left hand corner of the first page. Your last
name and the page number should appear in the upper right hand corner of each page
(technically it’s optional on the first page, but should definitely be on additional pages). See
page 488 in A Writer’s Reference for an example.
Your final essay draft must be submitted online via the “Assignments” option on the course
Blackboard shell. (You can submit early if you choose; just keep in mind that once you submit,
that submission will be final)
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