New Common Syllabus 2010 – 2011 ENG 1020 Introductory College
Writing
Wayne State University Undergraduate Bulletin for ENG 1020
(BC) Cr. 4. Prereq: placement through ACT score or English Qualifying Examination, or a
passing grade in ENG 1010.
A course in reading, research, and writing for college classes.
Placement into ENG 1020
Students are placed into English 1020 by different means (see the ENG 1010-1020 Placement
Rules handout at http://testing.wayne.edu/EPR.pdf). Most students are placed via their ACT
scores: students with an ACT English score of 21 or above are placed into ENG 1020. Students
can also be placed into ENG 1020 via the English Qualifying Examination (see the EQE handout
at http://testing.wayne.edu/app/testinfo.cfm?eid=TEEQE). Students also may enroll in ENG
1020 if they have received an S grade in ENG 1010.
General Education BC Requirement and Prerequisite for IC This General
Education designation must appear on every ENG 1020 syllabus:
With a grade of C or better, ENG 1020 fulfills the General Education Basic Composition (BC)
graduation requirement. Successful completion of Basic Composition (BC) with a grade of C
or better is a prerequisite to enrolling in courses that fulfill the General Education IC
(Intermediate Composition) requirement for graduation (e.g., ENG 3010, 3050,
Literature&Writing courses).
More information on the General Education requirements is available from the
Undergraduate Programs office:
http://www.bulletins.wayne.edu/ubk-output/ubk%2009-11-wb-01-07.html
Class Size/English Department Attendance Policy/Adding ENG 1020
Enrollment in ENG 1020 is capped at 24 students. Instructors should not feel pressured to add
students over the limit. Instructors also should not feel pressured to add students or allow
enrolled students to join the class after the class has been in session more than two times. The
Department of English has a policy stating “Students who do not attend one of the first two class
sessions of an English course may be required to drop the course.” This policy appears on the
online Schedule of Courses, and it is displayed in the English Department. Place this policy on
your syllabus and enforce it in appropriate cases.
Balancing class size and student requests to add the course can be tricky at the beginning of the
semester because of attrition. Generally speaking, if an enrolled student does not attend the first
two class meetings, then that spot can be offered to a student who wishes to add, provided that
this student has attended one of the first two class sessions. The student who did not attend the
first two classes should be asked to drop.
Department of English Description
The following description must appear on every ENG 1020 syllabus:
Building upon students’ diverse skills, English 1020 prepares students for reading, research,
and writing in college classes. The main goals of the course are (1) to teach students to consider
the rhetorical situation for any piece of writing; (2) to have students integrate reading, research,
and writing in the academic genres of analysis and argument; and (3) to teach students to
develop analyses and arguments using research-based content, effective organization, and
appropriate expression and mechanics, all while using a flexible writing process that
incorporates drafting, revising, editing, and documenting sources.
To achieve these goals, the course places considerable emphasis upon the relationship between
reading and writing, the development and evaluation of information and ideas through
research, the genres of analysis and argumentation, and the use of multiple technologies for
research and writing.
ENG 1020 Learning Outcomes
Learning outcomes for all WSU composition courses encompass reading, research,
writing/revising, and technology. The ENG 1020 learning outcomes below are based on the
WPA Outcomes Statement for First-Year Composition:
http://wpacouncil.org/positions/outcomes.html
The following learning outcomes must appear on every ENG 1020 syllabus:
A passing grade in ENG 1020 indicates that students are able to:
 use analytical and critical strategies for reading complex texts with varied sources of
information, multiple perspectives, and complicated arguments
 identify and evaluate the structure of analysis and argument in a variety of texts and
media, including authors’ claims, evidence, appeals, organization, style, and persuasive
effect
 analyze the rhetorical situation for writing assignments, including audience, purpose,
and context
 conduct research by finding and evaluating print and electronic sources, generating
information and ideas from research, and integrating material from sources in analysis
and argument
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write using a flexible writing process that includes generating ideas, writing, revising,
providing/responding to feedback in multiple drafts, and editing for grammar,
mechanics, and style
write effectively in multiple analytical and argumentative genres, generating a clearly
defined topic and purpose/thesis, organizing and developing complex content and
reasoning, and using MLA style for citation and documentation
make productive use of a varied set of technologies for research and writing
Texts in ENG 1020
Required Textbooks in ENG 1020
Instructors in ENG 1020 are required to use *one* of the following textbooks:
Faigley, Lester, and Jack Selzer. Good Reasons: Researching and Writing Effective Arguments. 5th ed.
with 2009 MLA Guidelines. New York: Pearson Longman, 2009. Print.
or
th
Lunsford, Andrea, and John Ruskiewicz. Everything’s an Argument. 5 ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s,
2010. Print.
or
Ede, Lisa. The Academic Writer: A Brief Guide. 2nd ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2011. Print.
or
Faigley, Lester and Jack Selzer. A Little Argument. New York: Pearson Longman, 2010. Print.
All of these texts take a rhetorical approach to analysis and argumentation; they vary in terms of explicit
attention to reading and analyzing arguments, introducing the writing process, and covering different genres of
argument (e.g., definition, causal, evaluation, proposal).
Good Reasons includes a free one-year subscription for MyCompLab, an extensive composition website:
http://www.mycomplab.com
Everything’s an Argument has a free companion website:
http://bcs.bedfordstmartins.com/everythingsanargument5e/
The Academic Writer also has a free companion website:
http://bedfordstmartins.com/academicwriter
Recommended Text (optional)
There is one recommended text for use in ENG 1020:
Graff, Gerald, and Cathy Birkenstein. They Say/I Say: The Moves That Matter in Academic Writing.
nd
2 ed. New York: W. W. Norton, 2010. Print.
This brief volume looks at the higher-level conventions of academic discourse (e.g., introducing a
counterargument) at the sentence level, providing students with heuristic templates for academic writing.
Recommended Handbook (optional)
For consistency and cost, instructors are required to use the following handbook if they include a handbook
in their ENG 1020 text selections:
Ruszkiewicz, John, Daniel Seward, Christy Friend, and Maxine Hairston. The Scott, Foresman Writer.
th
5 ed. Boston: Longman, 2011. Print.
The Scott, Foresman Writer is the recommended handbook for all composition courses at WSU, and it
includes a free one-year subscription to MyCompLab, an extensive composition website. If students already
own a copy of the Scott Foresman Writer but their subscription has expired, they can purchase a new
subscription for a reasonable cost on the MyCompLab website:
http://www.mycomplab.com/
Desk Copies
Desk copies of all required or recommended texts are available in the Department of English.
Readings in ENG 1020
The New Common Syllabus is designed to require a composition textbook with the expectation that
instructors will choose their own required readings to reflect their goals, experience, interests, style,
and efforts toward student engagement. Instructors are free to use a course pack, a set of electronic
readings, anthologies/readers, popular press nonfiction books, or any combination of their choice.
Because ENG 1020 is a General Education course oriented toward academic writing across the
university, works of literature should not be the central focus of the course.
Ordering Texts
The WSU Barnes and Noble bookstore keeps the required and recommended texts for ENG 1020 in
stock. Instructors’ individual readings for the course must be ordered separately for each section at
Barnes and Noble.
Marwil’s stocks the required and recommended texts for ENG 1020, but prefers that instructors order
all of their books individually by section. To order at Marwil’s, *all* of the books – the required and
recommended textbook(s) and the instructor’s individual readings -- should be ordered separately for
each section. For Good Reasons and the Scott, Foresman Writer, please ask Marwil’s to order the
ISBN number that includes a subscription for MyCompLab.
Reading, Research, Writing/Revising, and Technology in ENG 1020
Reading
Students enter freshman composition courses at Wayne State with a wide range of reading
abilities. To develop analytical and critical strategies for reading, students should read
extensively in ENG 1020. Readings should be in a number of different genres, addressed to
multiple audiences (academic and public), and relevant to the focus on analysis and
argumentation in ENG 1020. Readings should be challenging, exposing students to the level and
sophistication of reading and research they will encounter in college classes. Students should
be taught specific strategies for reading analytically and critically. All three ENG 1020
textbooks include sections on reading and analyzing texts and arguments.
Research
Instructors cannot assume that all 1020 students will have written a source-based paper in high
school or community college. Even students who have conducted research previously will not
be familiar with the level of research and analysis/argumentation expected in college.
In ENG 1020, students should be explicitly taught research skills -- selecting a subject of
interest; narrowing it to a researchable topic; developing a research question; organizing and
conducting a search for relevant information in print and electronic sources; evaluating
information from sources, especially online sources; and constructing an analysis or argument
that integrates material from sources with the ideas of the writer. All three ENG 1020 textbooks
include chapters on conducting research.
Students also should be explicitly taught how to cite and document information from sources
using MLA style. All three ENG 1020 textbooks include chapters on citation and documentation
th
in MLA style. MLA updated its citation and documentation style in 2009, and Good Reasons (4
th
ed. with 2009 MLA Guidelines) and Everything’s an Argument(5 ed.) include the updated MLA
guidelines. The Academic Writer has not been published in a new edition, so it comes bundled
with the booklet Documenting Sources in MLA Style: 2009 Update. Please teach the updated
MLA style conventions in ENG 1020.
In choosing subjects, topics, and questions for their research, instructors should move
students away from the list of topics that characterizes research papers in high school writing
– the death penalty, abortion, legalizing marijuana, etc. Students often suggest these topics
for papers in ENG 1020 because they are familiar ones, but research and writing in college
courses require more complex topics and more sophisticated research questions. The sample
student essays in the textbooks can give students an idea of the level of complexity and
specificity appropriate for college writing. ENG 1020 students should use the WSU
Undergraduate Library website in their research. The Undergraduate Library offers a
wide variety of sites and services for undergraduates and for instructors, including Ask-aLibrarian, reference tools (e.g., for citation styles) and learning tools (e.g., for an assignment
planner). More information is available on the library website and the pages for Reference
Tools and Learning Tools:
http://www.lib.wayne.edu
http://guides.lib.wayne.edu/referencetools
http://www.lib.wayne.edu/services/instruction/learningtools.php
The library also has a YouTube channel, which provides short videos on how to search for books
and articles, how to evaluate websites, and how to recognize a scholarly article:
http://www.youtube.com/wsuinst
In addition, the library offers re:Search (formerly Searchpath), which is a set of selfdirected online instructional modules on library research:
http://www.lib.wayne.edu/services/instruction/searchpath/ Modules include
an introduction to the library (Starting Smart), choosing a topic, finding books using the catalog
and articles using indexes and data bases, researching on the internet, and avoiding plagiarism
by citing sources. Instructors can work re:Search into an assignment sequence: students can
complete one or more modules, take quizzes, and have the quiz results emailed to instructors.
Finally, the Undergraduate Library has extensive subject Guides for over 60 disciplines and
15 How to Guides for students:
http://www.lib.wayne.edu/resources/guides/
There is a specific and extensive Guide for English:
http://guides.lib.wayne.edu/content.php?hs=a&pid=62407 The tabs across the
top provide links to Articles, Books, and Web Resources. On the English Guide, there is a
special tab for ENG 1010/1020, with links to pages on finding books, background information,
and articles, with links to data bases such as Proquest and the Opposing Viewpoints Resource
Center.
Librarians are also available to students and to instructors by appointment. Our English
Department library liaison is Judith Arnold (ay4047@wayne.edu).
Plagiarism
Students in ENG 1020 should be taught how to avoid plagiarism, either deliberate or
inadvertent. All three ENG 1020 textbooks included sections on avoiding plagiarism.
Every ENG 1020 syllabus must include the instructor’s written plagiarism policy
(see the English Department Syllabus Checklist and Policy Information handouts that are
distributed at the beginning of each term). All cases of plagiarism *must* be discussed with
the Assistant to the Associate Chair in the English Department. A first case of plagiarism
typically does not result in departmental action beyond the instructor’s plagiarism policy, but
the Department does need to guard against serial plagiarism. A sample plagiarism policy is the
following:
Plagiarism is the act of copying work from books, articles, and websites without citing and
documenting the source. Plagiarism includes copying language, texts, and visuals without
citation (e.g., cutting and pasting from websites). Plagiarism also includes submitting
papers that were written by another student or downloaded from the internet. Plagiarism
is a serious academic offense: the minimum penalty for plagiarism is an F for the
assignment; the full penalty for plagiarism may result in an F for the course. All cases of
plagiarism in ENG 1020 will be reported to the Department of English. Information about
plagiarism procedures is available in the Department of English.
To prevent and detect plagiarism, instructors are strongly urged to review all major
assignments with SafeAssign on Blackboard. If you are not familiar with SafeAssign, please
sign up for an introductory training on Deterring and Detecting Plagiarism with SafeAssign at
the WSU OTL [Office for Teaching and Learning]:
http://www.otl.wayne.edu
The OTL will also schedule individual appointments for instructors to learn SafeAssign.
If you use SafeAssign, please incorporate the following into your plagiarism policy:
Major assignments in ENG 1020 will be submitted to SafeAssign on Blackboard. SafeAssign
includes in its data base papers previously written by WSU students as well as papers
plagiarized from print or internet sources. All papers submitted to SafeAssign become part of
the WSU database.
It would be helpful to students if the class syllabus includes links on avoiding plagiarism, such
ass the UGL’s re:Search module on plagiarism:
http://www.lib.wayne.edu/services/instruction/searchpath/mod6/04-plagiarism.html
If a student needs more help in writing without plagiarizing, an instructor may also
require a student to receive a tutorial on plagiarism in the Writing Center:
http://www.clas.wayne.edu/writing/
College and University policies on academic honesty can be found in the current
Undergraduate Bulletin. These policies are as follows:
Cheating and Plagiarism (College of Liberal Arts) The principle of honesty is recognized as
fundamental to a scholarly community. Students are expected to honor this principle and
instructors are expected to take appropriate action when instances of academic dishonesty
are discovered. An instructor, on discovering such an instance, may give a failing grade on the
assignment or for the course. The instructor has the responsibility of notifying the student of
the alleged violation and the action being taken. Both the student and the instructor are
entitled to academic due process in all such cases. Acts of dishonesty may lead to
suspension or exclusion. Information on procedures is available in the Office of the
Dean.
Student Academic Ethics (Wayne State University)
Academic Work: Academic work submitted by a student for credit is assumed to be of
his/her own creation, and if found not to be, will constitute cause for the student’s
dismissal.
Writing
Students in ENG 1020 should write extensively: a General Education requirement is that
students produce at least 32 or more double-spaced pages (8,000 words or more)
during the term. Students’ writing should move from a fairly straightforward thesis-support
paper to well-organized analysis or argument papers that take a complex position and
support it with focused and extended development based on research.
Instructors are free to decide how to allocate the ENG 1020 page/word requirements within
their individual sections (see Assignments in ENG 1020 below). The page/word count can
include (or not) drafts and revisions. ENG 1020 typically begins from 4-6 page papers and
builds to papers of 8-10 pages. On your syllabus, please list page numbers next to
assignments so that it is clear how the assignments add up to the requirement of 32 or
more double-spaced pages (8,000 or more words).
After taking ENG 1020, students should be prepared to write research-based papers for college
classes. To that end, all assignments in ENG 1020 should be research-based, and all papers
should require correct citation and documentation. Students in ENG 1020 should become aware
of the nature of academic discourse as based on investigation, information, ideas, evidence,
analysis, synthesis, and argumentation for all kinds of writing, not just the traditional “research
paper.” The sources used in the development of a paper could include a limited number of texts
for papers at the beginning of the term, and assignments should require a fully-researched topic
for papers in the middle or at the end of the course.
Students in ENG 1020 should use a writing process that involves generating ideas, drafting,
revising, editing, and proofreading, also learning how to provide substantive suggestions for
improving their own and others’ work. Please note that 1020 students may not be familiar
with peer collaboration and substantive revision; developing worksheets for peer review and
revision would be helpful for ENG 1020 students. Both Good Reasons and The Academic Writer
have chapters devoted to revision.
Students in ENG 1020 should be taught editing and proofreading skills, learning how to
identify and correct grammatical and mechanical errors in their own and others’ writing. If a
student has serious and persistent sentence-level problems, please require him/her to go to
the Writing Center for additional instruction.
By the end of ENG 1020, students should be able to write 8-10 page research-based papers
for college classes. These papers should be free of surface errors.
Revising
Instructors are strongly encouraged to incorporate revisions within assignment
sequences only. There should be no rewrites after the final grade has been awarded for
an assignment. Revising can take place in response to written feedback from the instructor, in
conferences, or in peer review groups. Revising within the context and process of an assignment
is teaching students valuable skills of providing and responding to feedback, which is an
essential part of the writing process. Rewriting solely for a grade is artificial revision, and it
risks grade inflation.
One best practice of writing instruction is to shift the place of commentary on papers in a twostep process: instructors can collect and comment on a student’s first or second draft, providing
feedback for revision, and then read and grade the final paper with minimal or no commentary
(this is not to suggest grading twice: it is to suggest writing comments on a student’s paper
once and then reading the final draft fairly quickly for a letter grade without commentary). This
process maximizes the value of instructor commentary and makes students responsible for
meaningful revision. It also avoids the unfortunate practice of students’ ignoring teacher
commentary on final drafts.
Technology
Most classrooms in State Hall and Old Main are equipped with media carts, including a
computer with Microsoft Office, projector, and DVD and audio players with speakers;
some classrooms are equipped with wireless internet access. To check the availability of
equipment and internet access for your classroom, consult the Media Services website:
http://www.lib.wayne.edu/services/media/rooms.php
The upgraded media carts in State Hall classrooms are now unlocked, and they are easy to use.
If you wish to use the computer in the cart, simply touch the screen to start and select “Room
Computer” to display the computer screen on the projector screen. A mouse and keyboard have
been installed in a sliding drawer in the front of the cabinet. A USB device can be used with the
computer by inserting it into the USB port near the touch screen or on the front side of the
computer in the cart. If you wish to use your own laptop, there are two connection cables
located to the left of the touch screen: a combined monitor/audio cable and an Ethernet cable
(for internet access). Each cart also has electrical outlets for plugging in laptops.
Some Old Main classrooms still use the older, locked media carts, and instructors must make
an appointment with Media Services to learn how to operate the equipment and receive the
combination for the lock. Call the Technology Resource Center (7-1980) to schedule your
training.
If you are in a classroom and need immediate assistance with technology, call Media
Services at 7-1980.
All sections of ENG 1020 should have and maintain a Blackboard site. Wayne State
students are familiar with Blackboard, and surveys indicate that they appreciate Blackboard
sites for their courses and use them actively (especially the Grade Center). If you are not
familiar with Blackboard, please sign up for one of the OTL’s several workshops on using
Blackboard (http://www.otl.wayne.edu).
If you use another technology to house your course (e.g., a wiki), please provide links to and
from the Blackboard site for the course. Please note that students who do not wish to post
assignments on an internet site for privacy reasons should be given an alternative means of
submitting assignments (e.g., Blackboard, which is WSU-sponsored and password protected).
Students in ENG 1020 should use a variety of technologies for researching and writing,
such as word processing, presentation software (e.g., PowerPoint), websites, data bases,
blogs, and wikis.
For students who do not have their own access to computers, the Undergraduate Library has
several hundred computer stations available for students, and there are other computer labs
on campus as well.
Teaching Methods in ENG 1020
ENG 1020 is a challenging course to teach because there is so much students need to learn
about reading, researching, and writing in college classes. Even students who are placed into
ENG 1020 by their ACT scores have much to learn.
Teaching ENG 1020 therefore requires a balance among traditional methods, such as
responding to readings in class discussions, and explicit instruction and practice in writing. ENG
1020 should not be taught primarily as a discussion class focused on readings; class discussion
should consistently refer and relate to the writing being done in the course. Every class period
should include substantial attention to student writing, whether in direct instruction,
individual practice, small group work, or other classroom activities.
Assignments in ENG 1020 ENG 1020 classes typically require 4-6 papers. Students in
ENG 1020 are required to write a minimum of three major papers in the genres of
analysis and argument: one must be an analysis paper, and two must be argument
papers. All three of these assignments must be research-based from multiple print and
electronic sources. All three ENG 1020 textbooks include chapters on various genres of
analysis and argument; many of these chapters include sample assignments.
As ENG 1020 is a General Education course oriented toward academic writing across the
university, these three required assignments should not be focused on literature.
For the required assignments, instructors *must* provide students with written
assignment sheets. Include your grading rubric on the assignment sheet (see Grading
Assignments below). An assignment sheet gives students a specific idea of the conventions for
analysis and argumentation in college writing. It also keeps students on track as they write and
revise. A written assignment sheet is also an immense help if students go to the library or the
Writing Center for assistance.
On your syllabus, please *list page numbers next to assignments* so that it is clear how
the required assignments are part of the class syllabus and how the assignments add up
to the General Education requirement of 32 or more double-spaced pages (8,000 words):
Example (from the GTA wiki syllabus)
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Project One
Project Two
Project Three
Project Four
Project Five
Responses
rhetorical analysis/ads
rhetorical analysis/book
definition argument
evaluation argument
proposal argument
10 reading responses
4-6 pages
4-6 pages
6-8 pages
6-8 pages
8-10 pages
10 pages
Grading in ENG 1020
Grading Assignments
In ENG 1020, final drafts of assignments are awarded grades from A to F. A grade of A
– C indicates that the paper has successfully met the requirements of the assignment. A grade of
C- or below indicates that the paper has not successfully met the requirements of the
assignment. Final grades on papers should reflect the quality of writing, not the amount of
effort expended.
For the required assignments – one research-based analysis and two research-based
argument papers -- instructors *must* use a rubric for grading. The rubric must be
included on the assignment sheet. Using rubrics for grading in ENG 1020 gives students the
evaluation criteria for a particular assignment as well as a specific idea of the standards for
college writing. Using rubrics helps instructors achieve consistency and efficiency in grading by
focusing on selected criteria that grow steadily more complex over the course of the term.
Rubrics also help combat grade inflation.
A grading rubric for ENG 1020 papers is attached; it was developed to reflect the learning
outcomes for the course. Instructors may revise the rubric as needed for individual
assignments.
Instructors may also develop their own rubrics for assignments. A rubric can be designed in
many forms, including a point system, a series of statements or questions, a checklist, etc. Some
instructors design assignment rubrics in collaboration with the students in the class.
Early Academic Assessment (EAA) Grades
Per WSU policy, instructors in all classes numbered below 3000 are required to submit Early
Academic Assessment grades through Pipeline:
http://reg.wayne.edu/faculty/eaa.php EAA grades do not become a
part of a student’s permanent academic record, but they provide a timely intervention for
struggling students who need help.
Students who receive an EAA grade of C- or below receive a letter referring them to university
services. There is good educational research to show that early warning and referrals can be
key to students’ success in college classes, and there is good institutional research at Wayne
State showing that students (and faculty) can be unaware of resources to help struggling
students (e.g., the Writing Center, the Academic Success Center, Counseling and Psychological
Services, etc.).
Instructors will receive emails and instructions from the EAA program early in the term.
Please file your EAA grades in advance of the deadline. The English Department reviews
compliance with the EAA program.
Grading Policies/Class Policies
(See the English Department Syllabus Checklist and Policy Information handouts
distributed by the Associate Chair’s office at the beginning of each term).
Instructors largely set their own grading policies for assignments in ENG 1020, including
expectations for papers (rubrics), format of papers, the policies and processes for drafts and
revisions, the policies on late papers and making up work, and the weight given to each
assignment in the final grade for the course.
Instructors also set their own class policies in ENG 1020, including attendance, adding and
dropping the course, and the use of I [Incomplete] and W [Withdrawal] grades.
Developing an attendance policy is somewhat tricky in ENG 1020. On the one hand, the
attendance policy cannot be too generous: for example, having 10% of the grade awarded
primarily on the basis of attendance, under the assumption that participation will follow once
students are in the class sessions, allows students to raise their grade by a whole letter not
based on writing (see Hints for Grading to the Guidelines below). On the other hand, the
attendance policy must not be excessively punitive yet have a significant effect in deterring
multiple absences: for example, students who skip 6 or more classes probably shouldn’t pass
the course with a C or better. The sample grading policy on the syllabus template attempts to
meet both of these demands: attendance is rewarded by a maximum of 5%, and excessive
absences are penalized 5% each:
Example
Class Attendance – class attendance is required, and attendance will be taken at each class
session. More than 20 minutes late will count as an absence. Attendance will figure in the final
grade as follows:
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0 classes missed
1 class missed
2 classes missed
3 classes missed
0 points penalized
1 point penalty
2 point penalty
3 point penalty
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4 classes missed
5 classes missed
4 point penalty
5 point penalty
The attached ENG 1020 syllabus template provides examples of grading policies and class
policies.
Final Grades
With the General Education C or better requirement and prerequisite now in place, instructors
must give careful thought to what it means for a student to pass or not pass ENG 1020. A
passing final grade of C or better in ENG 1020 indicates that the student has clearly achieved all
the learning outcomes of the course and is prepared to write successfully in a variety of courses
at the college level. A non-passing final grade of Cor below in ENG 1020 indicates that the
student has clearly not achieved the learning outcomes of the course and needs to repeat the
course in order to be prepared to write at the college level. Final grades should reflect the
evaluation of students’ writing abilities with respect to writing successfully in college courses,
not the amount of effort expended in ENG 1020.
The credibility of the Composition Program to make this judgment rests in part on consistency
of grading across all sections of ENG 1020. Although exceptional classes can happen, there are
some general grading guidelines that should be noted. The overall distribution of grades in ENG
1020 has historically been approximately 75% passing grades (A – C) and 25% non-passing
grades (C-, D, F, and withdrawals). Grades in individual sections should normally be in line
with this overall distribution. Grade distributions within individual sections will be reviewed
within the English Department.
It is important to note that not passing a student in ENG 1020 is not an absolute failure or a
ticket to dismissal from the University. It simply reflects the student’s need to repeat the course
in order to be prepared for successful college-level writing. There are repeating students in
most sections of ENG 1020 each term, and many of these repeaters pass ENG 1020 on the
second try. A small grading study of ENG 1020 students from Fall, 2008, and Fall, 2009, showed
that 45% of students who did not pass ENG 1020 the first time passed it when they repeated the
course.
The grading guidelines for ENG 1020 aim at a more standard grade distribution for a multisection course:
A
B
C+/C
C-/D/F/W
up to 20%
up to 30%
up to 30%
apprx. 25%
i.e., around 5 students in a class of 24
i.e., around 7 students in a class of 24
i.e., around 7 students in a class of 24
i.e., around 6 students in a class of 24
These guidelines suggest no more than a 50% distribution of As and Bs in a standard class.
Although exceptional classes can happen, grades in individual sections should normally be
in line with these guidelines. Grade distributions in individual sections will be reviewed
within the English Department.
Hints for grading to the guidelines:
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do not make attendance and participation worth 10% of a course grade: on a 100 point
scale, that allows non-writing to change an entire letter grade. Make attendance and
participation worth no more than 5% of the grade.
leverage students’ interest in grades: students in any class are often highly motivated by
grades (so make ‘em work).
make assignments challenging: if assignments are too easy, especially at the beginning of
the term, you may find yourself giving too many As and Bs that have the cumulative
effect of an inflated course grade.
make the later and longer papers the most heavily weighted assignments: by the time
students write their 6-10 page papers in the second half of the course, they will be
experienced writers in the context of the class, and they will be familiar with the level of
work required for an A, B, or C paper.
grade conservatively at the beginning of the course: this gives you room to use the entire
grading scale as the term goes on, especially for the later papers.
read through an entire set of papers before beginning to grade individual papers: you will
see the variation in the set and get an intuitive idea of how the range of grades – A, B,
C+/C, C-/D/F should consistently be applied.
grade with a rubric: rubrics help establish the focus and consistency of letter grading and
are now required for major assignments in ENG 1020.
do not allow rewrites after final grades on an assignment: incorporating revision within
the context and process of an assignment teaches students valuable skills of providing and
responding to feedback, which is an essential part of the writing process. Rewriting solely
for a grade is artificial revision, and it risks grade inflation.
Instructors, especially part-time faculty, are sometimes concerned about the relationship
between grading and SET scores on teaching evaluations. The English Department is aware
that students sometimes rate instructors in rigorous required courses lower than they may
deserve. In the Department, decisions about staffing are never made solely or primarily on
the basis of SET scores.
WSU Writing Center The following information about the Writing Center must
appear on every 1010 syllabus:
nd
The Writing Center (2 floor, UGL) provides individual tutoring consultations free of charge
for students at Wayne State University. Undergraduate students in General Education
courses, including composition courses, receive priority for tutoring appointments. The
Writing Center serves as a resource for writers, providing tutoring sessions on the range of
activities in the writing process – considering the audience, analyzing the assignment or
genre, brainstorming, researching, writing drafts, revising, editing, and preparing
documentation. The Writing Center is *not* an editing or
proofreading service; rather, students are guided as they engage collaboratively in the
process of academic writing, from developing an idea to editing for grammar and
mechanics. To make an appointment, consult the Writing Center website:
http://www.clas.wayne.edu/writing/
To submit material for online tutoring, consult the Writing Center HOOT website
(Hypertext One-on-One Tutoring):
http://www.clas.wayne.edu/unit-inner.asp?WebPageID=1330.
Instructors may require individual students to attend the Writing Center to receive tutoring on
a specific assignment, skill, or aspect of the writing process. Instructors may also require
individual students to attend the Writing Center to receive instruction in grammar and
mechanics. Instructors may *not* require entire classes to attend the Writing Center.
For more information about the Writing Center, please contact the Director, Jule Wallis
(phone: 7-2544; email: au1145@wayne.edu).
WSU Resources for Students
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Adamany Undergraduate Library http://www.lib.wayne.edu/info/maps/ugl.php
Student Disability Services http://studentdisability.wayne.edu/
Academic Success Center http://www.success.wayne.edu/
Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) http://www.caps.wayne.edu
The Academic Success Center, in particular, is a valuable resource for students: it offers
tutoring, study skills counseling, and a wide variety of workshops, including sessions on
reading, note-taking, study skills, and learning styles.
WSU Resources for Instructors
The Office for Teaching and Learning [OTL] offers an extensive schedule of workshops and
individual appointments for instructors, from introductions to Blackboard to videotaping and
analyzing teaching sessions. The OTL website also has a number of useful pages on WSU
policies, including Cheating and Plagiarism and Copyright. The OTL website also includes
material from the WSU Digital Humanities Collaboratory.
http://www.otl.wayne.edu
Instructor Emergencies
If you will miss a class session because of an emergency, please notify your students via
Blackboard email or text messaging. Please also notify the Department by calling or leaving a
message at the front desk – 313-577-2450 -- include your name, date, class information, and
reason for absence.
Required Elements of an ENG 1020 Syllabus The following elements are
required in an ENG 1020 syllabus:
 Department of English course description
 ENG 1020 learning outcomes
 required textbook (Good Reasons, Everything’s an Argument, or The Academic
Writer)
 32 or more double-spaced pages (8,000 or more words) of writing
 required assignments -- one research-based analysis paper, two research-based
argument papers (note: assignment sheets and rubrics are required for these
assignments)
 plagiarism policy
 WSU Writing Center information
Attached is a template for an ENG 1020 course syllabus with the required elements of the New
Common Syllabus incorporated. The template follows the English Department Syllabus
Checklist and Policy Information handouts, and examples of course requirements, grading
policies, and class policies are provided. The elements of the syllabus may be in any order and
contain any other information that the instructor chooses, but the required elements must be
present as described in this New Common Syllabus.
Required Submission of Syllabus to Department According to WSU policy, all
instructors are required to submit a copy of their ENG 1020 syllabus to the Department
of English (see the Syllabus Checklist). ENG 1020 syllabi will be reviewed within the English
Department to check for the required elements of the New Common Syllabus.
x Fall term deadline -- Friday, September 24
x Winter term deadline --Friday, February 4
x Spring/Summer term deadline -- Friday, June 10
ENG 1020 Grading Rubric
The "A" Paper:
1. The "A" paper has an excellent sense of the rhetorical situation. Its aim is clear and
consistent throughout the paper. It attends to the needs of its audience and the topic itself is
effectively narrowed and clearly defined.
2. The content is appropriately developed for the assignment and rhetorical situation. The
supporting details or evidence are convincingly presented. The reasoning is valid and shows
an awareness of the complexities of the subject. If secondary sources are used, they are
appropriately selected and cited.
3.
The organization demonstrates a clear and effective strategy. The introduction establishes
the writer's credibility and the conclusion effectively completes the essay: paragraphs are
coherent, developed, and show effective structural principles.
4. The expression is very clear, accessible, concrete. It displays ease with idiom and a broad
range of diction. It shows facility with a great variety of sentence options and the
punctuation and subordinate structures that these require. It has few errors, none of which
seriously undermines the effectiveness of the paper for educated readers.
The "B" Paper:
1. The "B" paper has a good sense of the rhetorical situation. It shows awareness of purpose
and focuses on a clearly defined topic.
2. The content is well developed and the reasoning usually valid and convincing. Evidence and
supporting details are adequate.
3. The organization is clear and easy to follow: the introduction and conclusion are effective,
and transitions within and between paragraphs are finessed reasonably well.
4. The paper has few errors, especially serious sentence errors. Sentences show some variety
in length, structure, and complexity. Punctuation, grammar, and spelling conform to the
conventions of edited Standard American English.
The "C" Paper:
1. The "C" paper has an adequate sense of the rhetorical situation. Its purpose is clear and it is
focused on an appropriate central idea. The topic may be unoriginal, but the assignment has
been followed, if not fulfilled.
2. The content is adequately developed. The major points are supported, and paragraphs are
appropriately divided, with enough specific details to make the ideas clear. The reasoning is
valid.
3. The organization is clear and fairly easy to follow. The introduction and conclusion are
adequate; transitions are mechanical but appropriate.
4. The expression is generally correct, although it shows little competence with sentence
variety (in length and structure) and emphasis. The paper is generally free of major
sentence and grammar errors and indicates mastery of most conventions of edited Standard
American English.
The "D" Paper:
1. The "D" paper has a limited sense of the rhetorical situation. Its purpose may not be clear, its
topic may not be interesting to or appropriate for its audience.
2. The content is inadequately developed. The evidence is insufficient, and supporting details
or examples are absent or irrelevant.
3. Organization is deficient. Introductions or conclusions are not clearly marked or functional.
Paragraphs are not coherently developed or linked to each other. The arrangement of
material within paragraphs may be confusing.
4. Expression demonstrates an awareness of a very limited range of stylistic options. It is
marred by numerous errors in grammar, spelling, and punctuation that detract from a
reader’s comprehension of the text.
The "F" Paper:
1. There is no sense of the rhetorical situation or of the objectives of the assignment as
described in the syllabus.
2. The content is insufficiently developed and does not go beyond the obvious. The reasoning
is deeply flawed.
3. The organization is very difficult to follow. Sentences may not be appropriately grouped into
paragraphs, or paragraphs may not be arranged logically. Transitions are not present or are
inappropriate.
4. The number and seriousness of errors—in grammar, spelling, punctuation, etc.—
significantly obstruct comprehension.