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ENGLISH 101, SECTION 10: COLLEGE WRITING 1
FALL 2012
Instructor:
Email:
Phone:
Office:
Office Hours:
Dr. Nancy Myers
nancymyers@uncg.edu
336-340-3974
MHRA 3328
Mondays and Wednesdays 10-11 am or by appointment
I. COURSE DESCRIPTION1
English 101 satisfies three of the six hours of the Reasoning and Discourse (GRD) requirement at
UNCG, which asserts that students “gain skills in intellectual discourse, including constructing
cogent arguments, locating, synthesizing and analyzing documents, and writing and speaking clearly,
coherently, and effectively”
(http://web.uncg.edu/reg/Bulletin/Current/UnivReq/GECDescription.aspx).
In addition, English 101 is designed to meet Learning Goal #1 (LG1) in the UNCG General
Education Program. This is the ability to “think critically, communicate effectively, and develop
appropriate fundamental skills in quantitative and information literacies.”
(http://web.uncg.edu/reg/Bulletin/Current/UnivReq/GECProgram.aspx)
The following are English 101 Student Learning Outcomes (SLOs), each of which corresponds to
both the GRD goals and to LG1:
English 101 Student Learning Outcomes (SLOs)
At the completion of this course, students will be able to:
1. Analyze the content and structure of complex texts (written, oral, and/or visual in nature);
2. Compose cogent, evidence-based, argumentative texts;
3. Identify and employ the rhetorical triangle, the canons, and the appeals in both formal and
informal discourse;
4. Summarize, quote, paraphrase, and synthesize source material in support of an argument;
5. Employ drafting, peer review, and revision techniques in order to improve content, style,
and structure of their own writing;
6. Appraise their own composing abilities and composing processes through critical reflection.
Unit Overviews
Unit 1: Processes of Writing, Rhetoric, Researching, and Technology (SLOs 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6,)
Across this first four weeks, we will learn about the upcoming semester and the course’s policies and
schedule as well as meet each other. The first unit focuses on the interrelationship between our
mental and physical processes and practices when writing, so we will be reading about how others
conceive of those processes and reflect on how we individually read, think, and write. We will
engage in analytical reading, writing, and communicating through face-to-face interaction and
through technology in order to conceive of, draft, and revise an argument paper. We will come to
understand rhetorical concepts and the means by which they operate in writing. We will review
paraphrasing, summarizing, and quoting sources and MLA citation practices. We will work through
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English 101 is one course with multiple sections. To ensure consistency across sections, the composition program and English 101
instructors have developed and instituted certain common policies and requirements. While these requirements allow the sections to
work toward the same student learning outcomes, they also encourage instructors to structure their sections according to their
particular areas of interest and expertise.
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the Blackboard instructional software and Google Docs and Google Sites so that each of you will
respond to others’ writings and receive multiple responses to your writing to aid your revisions.
Unit 2: Autobiography (SLOs 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6,)
Contrary to popular belief, autobiographical arguments are not just the "true" and "non-fictional"
accounts of an individual's life. Autobiographical arguments are actually much more complicated
than that, and they are used in many different ways in a variety of disparate texts to build ethos.
During this unit, we will learn about the anatomy of autobiographical arguments, the ways that
autobiography is constructed according to different rhetorical situations, and the work that these
arguments have on the message and audience. After examining a variety of texts and mediums, you
will create your own autobiographical argument.
Unit 3: Slang and Jargon (SLOs 1, 2, 4, 5, 6,)
In this unit, we will be learning about registers in the English language, in other words, why we
speak differently to different people in different contexts. For instance, you usually do not speak the
same way to your friends as you do when you are doing a job interview or speaking to your minister
or teacher. You may say the same thing, but you choose your words and phrasing differently. In
addition, you are studying for a specific degree in business, math, computer science, sports science,
biology, sociology, religion, teaching, nursing, etc. For each of those degrees and the professions that
you will work in after completing the degree, you have learned a specialized vocabulary and ways of
thinking. Each of those is a register, a type of jargon. An example of slang is the informal language
that you used in high school with your friends and that your parents did not understand until you
explained it to them. So in this unit we are going to learn more about both types of registers—slang
and jargon—and we will analyze and argue about them. The first week’s assignments and instruction
will help you discern how many registers you actually use and are in contact with; the second week,
we will all be doing an analysis of texting and the slang and jargon of social media; and in the last
weeks, you will be analyzing and arguing about a specific slang or jargon and write that up in the
form of a magazine article.
Unit 4: Your Portfolio (SLOs 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
The concluding unit, your Portfolio, asks you to analyze your writing styles and to experiment with,
revise, and reflect on your essays toward a more sophisticated and diverse syntax, to select and revise
the texts that you have written across the semester into a portfolio that demonstrates your writing
development and learning, and to reflect on your processes of reading, researching, thinking, and
writing in relation to the texts in the portfolio.
II. COURSE REQUIREMENTS
YOU HAVE ONE REQUIRED TEXT FOR THIS COURSE, RHETORICAL APPROACHES TO COLLEGE
WRITING (ISBN 978-0-7380-5304-2). YOU CAN PURCHASE THIS FROM THE UNCG BOOKSTORE
(HTTP://CAMPUSENTERPRISES.UNCG.EDU/BOOKSTORE/). ALL OTHER READINGS ARE
ATTACHED IN BLACKBOARD UNLESS TIED TO YOUR INDIVIDUAL RESEARCH.
ASSESSMENT
As described above, there are four units in this course that equal to 100% of your course grade.
Unit 1 on Processes
20 %
Unit 2 on Autobiography
20%
Unit 3 on Slang and Jargon
20%
Unit 4 on Style and Your Writing Portfolio 40%
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Each unit consists of 100 points with the following grading breakdown:
95-100 A
85-89 B+
70-74 C+
55-59 D+
44-0 F
90-94 A80-84 B
65-69 C
50-54 D
75-79 B60-64 C45-49 DEach unit’s 100 points break out as follows and includes both in-class and online environments:
Discussion postings and replies
20 points
Activities and exercises
20 points
Culminating project activities
20 points
(inventing approaches, giving and receiving response to drafts, revision, and reflecting piece)
Final written product of culminating project
40 points
All unit culminating written projects will be evaluated using the portfolio rubric (see Course
Documents in Blackboard).
Within each unit, you will do readings, Blackboard discussion boards, activities, and a
larger culminating project that you have drafted, revised, and reflected on. You must do and
submit all assignments to receive a course grade.
Each unit is divided into weeks and all work for is due by class time or for our writing
conferences unless otherwise stated. You may submit work early, and I suggest that you
submit it as you complete it because Blackboard can go “down” or be unavailable because
of occasional upgrades.
Late work will work will against your course grade. I will accept late work for the first 48
hours after the deadline. Anything submitted in that 48 hour window will be graded and will
lose half the points assigned. After that 48 hour window, the work still must be submitted
for a course grade, but it will receive no points or credit toward the 100 point unit total.
You will be submitting a final writing portfolio through Google.Sites (see Course
Documents in Blackboard for information on this). It must be in final form for grading no
later than 11:59 pm on Monday, 3 December 2012. Your print out of your online portfolio,
must be delivered to me no later than noon Tuesday, 4 December 2012 (Reading Day). In
addition, to receive your course grade, you must also do the departmental course evaluation.
All three requirements must be met for you to receive your course grade. Our last meeting
will be our final time on Monday, 10 December, 8-11 am in Curry 312.
Regular Assignments in Each Unit
Class Instruction and Student Participation
This is a regular and ongoing practice in building the learning and skills that support quality and
insightful thinking, reading, writing, listening, and speaking. Our class meetings not only provide
new learning and information, but also allow for questions and discussion of rhetorical strategies and
intellectual concepts related to language, writing, and genre.
PowerPoint Presentations
These offer essential instruction in the concepts and strategies of each unit. They are related to the
readings and to all of the other work you will do in the unit. In addition these presentations build
across the semester, meaning that the information will be needed from the point you learn about it
until the end of the semester, and I hope for your future writing and thinking.
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Readings
The readings for each unit are either from Rhetorical Approaches to College Writing or attached in
Blackboard in the unit and week that you need to read them. You can always work ahead. Many of
the readings are directly connected to the discussion boards and the activities.
Blackboard Discussion Boards
You will be engaging in Discussion Boards on Blackboard. This requires both an initial posting and
multiple responses (See Discussion Board directions in Course Documents). Specific prompts for
each Discussion Board assignment can be found in the unit and week that it is due.
Activities
You will be engaging in multiple activities that will be submitted directly through Blackboard.
Recognize that you will need time to do these in conjunction with the readings, our class meetings,
PowerPoints, and discussion boards. They will take time, so plan ahead so that you do not miss
deadlines.
Contact with the Instructor about the Culminating Writing Assignment
You will be asked to communicate on a regular basis with me through class time and writing
conferences and through email, phone, online through Google.docs, etc. You will also be asked to
do at least one writing conference with the UNCG Writing Center. These required contacts are
embedded in the unit instructions
Culminating Writing Assignment
Each unit concludes with you doing a research and writing project tied to the focus of the unit.
Before submitting this writing project for grading, every culminating assignment requires generating
ideas, drafting, revising, reflecting on the entire process, and getting response to each stage in order
to focus and revise effectively. These final writing projects may take several forms that are not only
text based but also include sound and image.
III. Policies
Academic Integrity
“Academic integrity is founded upon and encompasses the following five values: honesty, trust,
fairness, respect, and responsibility. Violations include, for example, cheating, plagiarism, misuse of
academic resources, falsification, and facilitating academic dishonesty. If knowledge is to be gained
and properly evaluated, it must be pursued under conditions free from dishonesty. Deceit and
misrepresentations are incompatible with the fundamental activity of this academic institution and
shall not be tolerated” (from UNCG's “Academic Integrity Policy”). To ensure that you understand
the university's policy on academic integrity, review the guidelines and list of violations at
<http://academicintegrity.uncg.edu>. I expect each student to abide by the Academic Integrity
Policy. If a student is found guilty of an academic integrity violation, he/she will earn an “F” for the
relevant assignment and could potentially fail the course.
Behavior and Language
In addition to academic integrity, the exchange of ideas in civil communication requires a respect for
others. Lewd, crude, sexist, and racist language and behavior is not excusable and will not be
tolerated. See policies on hazing, disruptive behavior, and various forms of discrimination at
<http://deanofstudents.uncg.edu/policy/>.
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Late Work
As stated above, late work will work against your course grade. I will accept late work for the first 48
hours after the deadline. Anything submitted in that 48 hour window will be graded and will lose
half the points assigned. After that 48 hour window, the work still must be submitted for a course
grade, but it will receive no points or credit toward the 100 point unit total.
Class Attendance
By UNCG Composition Program policy, students in MWF classes are allowed a maximum of three
absences without a grade penalty (see late work policy above for grade penalties). If you are
scheduled for a writing conference with me and miss it, that is an absence. In addition, program
policy dictates that if you miss six class sessions, you will fail the course. Attendance means being
physically and mentally present and ready to participate. If you do not have your assignments and
materials for class, you will be counted as absent.
Students are by state law allowed two excused absences due to religious holidays. These absences do
not count toward the total maximum allowed above. If you plan to miss class due to a religious
holiday, you must notify me at least 48 hours in advance of the absence.
End of Semester
As stated above, you will be submitting a final writing portfolio through Google.Sites (see Course
Documents in Blackboard for information on this). It must be in final form for grading no later than
11:59 pm on Monday, 3 December 2012. Your print out of your online portfolio, must be delivered
to me no later than noon Tuesday, 4 December 2012 (Reading Day). In addition, to receive your
course grade, you must also do the departmental course evaluation. All three requirements must be
met for you to receive your course grade. Our last meeting will be our final time on Monday, 10
December, 8-11 am in Curry 312.
Deliver your printed portfolio to Dr. Nancy Myers either in class on Monday, 3 December,
or to my mailbox in the Department of English, 3143 Moore Humanities.
Please understand that your course evaluation is handled through a third party, and I cannot
see it until I have posted grades for the entire class.
IV. Communications
The Writing Center
The purpose of the Writing Center (http://www.uncg.edu/eng/writingcenter/) is to enhance the
confidence and competence of student writers by providing free, individual assistance at any stage of
any writing project. Staff consultants are experienced writers and alert readers, prepared to offer
feedback and suggestions on drafts of papers, help students find answers to their questions about
writing, and provide one-on-one instruction as needed. You may schedule writing conferences either
by email (askthewc@uncg.edu) or phone (336.334.3125) as well as just walk in during their open
hours (see website link above). If you would like to use the Writing Center online facilities, please
understand that they are limited, so the consultants would appreciate it if you made an appointment
in advance. For the 2012 fall semester, the Writing Center opens on Tuesday, September 4, 2012 at 9
am.
The Digital Media Commons (DMC)
On 20 August 2012, the new Digital Media Commons (DMC) opens in the lower level of Jackson
Library. This is a great new resource for students as you engage with the Blackboard technology and
take on multimedia projects and assignments in this course. The DMC offers hands-on assistance,
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consults with students on digital projects, and offers access to the essential tools for creating digital
resources such as web pages, digital images, digital video, digital audio, PowerPoint presentations,
and more. The DMC provides expert staff from the University Libraries, digital literacy consultants
from the Undergraduate Studies' Multilteracy Centers Program, and graduate assistants from the
Media Studies and Library and Information Sciences departments.
Other Types of Support
Please see the Course Documents folder in Blackboard for additional resources tied to writing and
technology.
Accommodations
Students with documentation of special needs should arrange to consult with me about
accommodations as soon as possible. If you believe that you could benefit from such
accommodations, you must first register with the Office of Disability Services on campus. To be
clear, you must register with the Office of Disability before such accommodations can be made. The
office is located on the second floor of the Elliot University Center (EUC) in Suite 215. The office
may be reached by email at ods@uncg.edu.