English 1013: English Composition I, Summer 2012
Instructor: Dr. Phillip Howerton. Office: M154G.
Office Hours: Monday-Friday 12:00-2:00.
Office Phone: 870-391-3107. E-mail Address: phowerton@northark.edu
Catalog Course Description
“Students read and discuss professional essays and then write clear, concise, well-developed
essays of their own based upon reading and discussion. Instruction guides the student through the
preparation and writing of a series of essays as well as a research paper following the MLA
format for research papers" (North Arkansas College Catalog).
Prerequisites for the Course
As mandated by the Arkansas General Assembly, students are placed in the course if they have
completed CP 0903 with a minimum grade of C or scored a minimum of 19 on the ACT or 75 on
the Compass placement test.
Audience, Rationale, and Anticipated Outcomes for the Course
English 1013 is designed to prepare students with the critical thinking, reading, and writing skills
necessary for success in other college courses and in their personal and professional life beyond
college. The course addresses a wide range of ideas, values, and issues in different academic
disciplines as presented by a variety of writers from different cultures and ethnic groups; it
requires reading, writing with a computer, discussion, and collaboration; and it offers a model for
college reading and a process for college writing. Therefore, it specifically addresses five of the
six General Education Learning Outcomes listed in the North Arkansas College Catalog as part
of North Arkansas College’s Philosophy of General Education.
Next Course in Sequence
English 1023 (English Composition II)
Course Objectives
When students have completed English 1013, they will be able to:
 Write unified, logical, coherent, and complete essays
o assessed by five-paragraph essays
 Analyze professional essays
o assessed by five-paragraph essays
 Paraphrase and summarize others’ ideas
o assessed by quiz, five-paragraph essays, and research paper
 Use correct mechanics and grammar
o assessed by quizzes, five-paragraph essays, and research paper
 Collect and organize evidence from many types of sources to support a thesis
o assessed by research paper
 Write a unified, coherent research paper, using MLA style correctly
o assessed by research paper
 Integrate original ideas with those of others
o assessed by quiz, five-paragraph essays, and research paper
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Required Textbooks
Hacker, Diana. Rules for Writers.
Jacobus, Lee A. A World of Ideas.
Course Requirements
You will complete quizzes covering the basics of writing, attend conferences with the instructor,
participate in classroom activities, write summaries and outlines, and write four five-paragraph
essays and a research paper. The essays and the research paper will require students to use and
document external sources correctly, integrating those sources into their own arguments.
Grades
This is a writing course, so the majority of points earned will be from writing. Record each grade
as I return your work to you, and you will always know your exact grade in this course.
Summary/Critique: ____/100
Quiz: ____/50
Explanatory Synthesis: ____/100
Quiz: ____/50
Annotated Bibliography: ____/100
Outline: ____/50
Argumentative Analysis: ____/100
Quiz: ____/50
Revision of Argumentative Analysis: ____/100
Quiz: ____/50
In-Class Activities: ____/100
Final Essay: ____/100
Conference: ____/25
Conference: ____/25
Total: 1000
Essays
All essays must be word processed in Times New Roman 12-point font and double spaced. All
essays must be formatted according to the MLA style explained in chapter 55 of Rules for
Writers. A prompt will be provided for each assignment.
Conferences
You are required to schedule two conferences with the instructor during the semester. A sign-in
sheet will be circulated.
Quizzes
Four in-class quizzes will be administered. The first quiz will test your competence using the
grammar and punctuation studied up to that point in the semester. The second quiz will test your
ability to engage and document sources. The third quiz will test your competence using the
grammar and punctuation studied up to that point in the semester. The fourth quiz will test your
ability to construct an introduction and body paragraph.
Final Essay
In order to enhance the consistency between all Composition I courses, all students enrolled in
Composition I will be given the same final assignment. This final assignment will be a five2
paragraph argument responding to Francis Fukuyama’s “Genetic Engineering” on pages 667682.
In-Class Activities
You will participate in a variety of in-class activities, such as self-review, peer review, group
work, summary and paraphrase exercises, editing, and general workshopping. Points are awarded
for being present and active; under no circumstances can these points be “made up.”
Return of Graded Work
I will always return graded papers before the next assignment is submitted. Do not expect to
receive a graded paper the class meeting after you submit it. Your paper is not a lottery ticket, so
do not ask me to treat it as such.
Letter Grades
90-100% A
80-89% B
70-79% C
60-69% D
Textbook: Rules for Writers
Most everything you need to know to become a successful and powerful writer is in this
handbook. We will review most of this material, and you should use the handbook to help you
edit your papers. The four quizzes will be based upon assigned readings from this book.
Textbook: A World of Ideas
“The selections in this book demand a careful and attentive reading. The authors, whose works
have changed the way we view our world, our institutions, and ourselves, make every effort to
communicate their views with clarity and style. But their views are complex and subtle, and we
must train ourselves to read them sensitively, responsively, and critically. Critical reading is
basic for approaching the essays in this book. Indeed, it is fundamental for approaching any
reading material that deserves serious attention” (Jacobus 1).
Submission Policies
Late work will not be accepted and will be given a grade of zero. You must submit all major
assignments in order to earn any grade other than an F for the semester. Being absent does not
grant you the right to turn an assignment in late.
Attendance
When you have achieved your fifth absence (25% of the course!), you will be assigned a grade of
“F” for this course.
Tardiness
Arriving to class fifteen minutes late equals an absence. Three late arrivals of less than fifteen
minutes each equal an absence. Habitual tardiness is distracting, disrespectful, infantile, and
egocentric.
Electronic Toy Policy
Turn off and put away all electronic toys before class or be counted absent. In other words, if you
distract me with your electronic habit, you will be counted absent.
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Extracurricular Activities
Students involved in extra-curricular activities are not exempt from the policies stated above.
Absences accrued due to required attendance of college-sanctioned events will not be
automatically counted toward the total of classes missed. However, these students are required to
schedule a conference with the instructor within a maximum of one week following the class
period missed to discuss the material that was delivered on the date they were absent. Any
student who does not attend these required conferences will be counted absent and will not be
allowed to make up the work missed. Participation in these activities temporarily excuses the
student from attending class, but it never excuses the student from responsibility.
Athletics
How well a student performs on the field or court will have no impact upon how writing is
assessed in this course. The standings of a student’s team in regional or national polls will have
no impact upon how grades are earned and calculated in this course.
Syllabus Change
The instructor reserves the right to change the syllabus during the semester and will announce
any changes during class.
Incomplete Grades
I will not assign a grade of Incomplete (“I”) unless the student has completed approximately
80% of the course but has not been able, because of illness or other reasons beyond his or her
control, to finish the work assigned in the course. The student must contact the instructor to
request an Incomplete (“I”) and make arrangements for completing the course. The instructor
determines the requirements for making the “I.” An incomplete grade not made up within one
semester automatically becomes an “F” unless the instructor notifies the Registrar’s Office in
writing of a later date.
Academic Dishonesty
Academic fraud and dishonesty are defined in the North Arkansas College Student Handbook.
Any instructor who suspects that cheating or plagiarism has occurred will act in accordance with
the guidelines contained in the Student Handbook. My standard policy is to award a zero to any
paper containing plagiarism and not to allow the student to revise the work for a grade.
ADA Statement
North Arkansas College complies with Section 504 of the rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the
Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. Students with disabilities who need special
accommodations should make their requests in the following way: (1) talk to the instructor after
class or during office hours about their disability or special need related to classroom work,
and/or (2) contact Student Support Services.
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Grading System and General Rubric
The rules governing the each low order concern (LOC), such as errors in mechanics, grammar,
and punctuation, are objective; therefore, the grading of such errors is objective: in paper one,
each such sentence-level error will cost one point; in subsequent papers these errors will cost two
points.
Though more complex than LOCs, high order concerns (HOCs), such as purpose, organization,
clarity, coherence, unity, tone, and development, can also be evaluated objectively by a critical
reader. Such errors destroy the effectiveness of a paper, so these errors have a great impact upon
the grade assigned.
If you believe that I am grading your work unfairly, please schedule a conference with me and
explain, using argument, evidence, and analysis, how your writing fulfills the guidelines of a
higher letter grade.
Attributes of an A paper:
1. Impressive, specific, engaging, and challenging introduction and thesis.
2. Impressive, specific, engaging, and challenging topic sentences that support the thesis.
3. Thesis statement and topic sentences directly, deliberately, and critically answer prompt.
4. Substantial, original, thoughtful, surprising, and challenging support.
5. Sophisticated transitions.
6. Complex synthesis of source material and student’s critical viewpoints.
7. Well-crafted body paragraphs that demonstrate unity, coherence, and development.
8. Masterful sentence structure and sentence variety.
9. Precise word choice.
10. Correct documentation.
11. Virtually no errors in grammar, punctuation, and mechanics.
Attributes of a C paper:
1. Functional introduction and thesis.
2. Functional topic sentences that support the thesis.
3. Basic and obvious support.
4. Thesis and topic sentence indirectly answer prompt.
5. Mechanical transitions.
6. Simple synthesis of source material and student’s viewpoint.
7. Serviceable body paragraphs that are somewhat unified, generally coherent, and offer
some development.
8. Basic sentence structure with little sentence variety.
9. Little attention to word choice.
10. Inaccurate or incomplete documentation.
11. A distracting number of errors in grammar, punctuation, and mechanics.
Tentative Schedule
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M/5/21: Introduce course. Introduce writing process. Introduce summary/critique.
Homework: Read chapters 1-4 of RW, Read Galbraith.
T/5/22: Discuss Galbraith. Discuss commas. Discuss summary/critique.
Homework: Read chapter 32 of RW,
W/5/23: Discuss Galbraith. Workshop student writing.
R/5/24: Summary/Critique Due.
Discuss explanatory synthesis.
Homework: Read chapters 22-24, 62 of RW. Read Carnegie.
F/5/25: Discuss Carnegie.
Discuss pronouns.
M/5/28: No class, Memorial Day
T/5/29: Grammar and Punctuation Quiz.
Workshop student writing.
Homework: Read chapters 34-35 of RW.
W/5/30: Workshop student writing. Discuss handbook.
Homework: Read chapters 36-39 of RW.
R/5/31: Explanatory Synthesis Due.
Introduce research paper.
Homework: Read chapters 19-21 of RW.
F/6/1: Discuss careers. Homework: Read chapters 8-11 of RW.
M/6/4: Homework: Read chapters 12-14 of RW.
Introduce Annotated Bibliography.
T/6/5: Discuss sources. Homework: Read chapters 52-54 of RW, Read Reich.
W/6/6: Sources and Documentation Quiz.
Discuss Reich.
Discuss research and chapter 55 of RW.
Homework: Read chapters 15-18 of RW.
R/6/7: Annotated Bibliography Due.
Discuss careers. Workshop bibliographies. Discuss outlining.
F/6/8: Grammar and Punctuation Quiz.
Workshop outlines.
M/6/11: Outline due.
Workshop thesis and topic sentences.
T/6/12: Workshop body paragraphs.
W/6/13: Workshop body paragraphs.
R/6/14: Argumentative Analysis Due.
Introduce final essay.
F/6/15: Discuss Fukuyama.
M/6/18: Discuss Fukuyama.
T/6/19: Final Essay Due.
W/6/20: Writing Quiz.
R/6/21: Revision of Argumentative Analysis Due.
F/6/22: Grades are due.
Essay Assignment 1: Summary/Critique
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Write a summary/critique of “The Position of Poverty” by John Kenneth Galbraith (405-414)
When you summarize, your task is to express the author’s main ideas more briefly than they
appear in the original text. When you critique, your task is to evaluate the validity of the author’s
arguments and to explain why you agree or disagree with two or three of the author’s main
points. Avoid the use of first person throughout.
Your essay must be five paragraphs and be a total of at least 1000 words. The task of each
paragraph is explained below.
Introduction
The introduction should range between 50-150 words, should introduce the author and title of the
essay, introduce the author’s main point, and should state your thesis. (See pages 21-25 of Rules
for Writers for advice about the construction of an introduction and thesis.) Your thesis should
introduce your critique of the essay.
Three Body Paragraphs
Body paragraph one should provide a summary of the essay. Body paragraph two should provide
your assessment of the essay. Body paragraph three should provide your response to the essay.
Each body paragraph should range between 175-250 words.
Body Paragraph One: Summary
This paragraph should provide a summary or paraphrase of the author’s thesis and should
summarize the author’s lines of thinking that support that thesis. Leave out most of the small
details. Direct quotation should be used very sparingly.
Body Paragraph Two: Critique (Assessment Section)
This paragraph should evaluate the effectiveness of the various aspects of the essay. Answer at
least four of the following questions in this paragraph:
1. Is the information accurate?
2. Is the information significant?
3. Has the author interpreted the information fairly?
4. Has the author defined terms carefully?
5. Has the author cited representative information?
6. Has the author used emotionally loaded terms?
7. Has the author argued logically? (See chapter 48 of Rules for Writers.)
Body Paragraph Three: Critique (Response Section)
This paragraph should express how and why you agree or disagree with the author’s central
argument. This paragraph must deliver critical positions, not personal opinions. Avoid the use of
“I,” and avoid launching into personal opinion. For example, instead of writing, “I disagree with
Galbraith because I think the poor should all have to either work or starve,” provide a more
mature and critical position by stating something such as, “Galbraith may fail to convince many
readers because he does not discuss ways to make the poor responsible for their welfare once
they have received adequate support.” Provide fair and balanced argument, evidence from the
text, and analysis and critical discussion.
Conclusion
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Your conclusion should indicate that your essay fulfilled the promise that you stated in your
thesis. Moreover, your conclusion should not merely repeat the main points you have made; it
should remind readers of those main points and then suggest why your essay—your thoughts—
have value. (See pages 26-27 of Rules for Writers for advice about constructing a conclusion.)
Citation Style
Follow the MLA style when formatting your paper and when citing in text and at the end of
text—see chapter 55 of Rules for Writers. Provide a works cited page. A sample paper
demonstrating the format of MLA papers begins on page 467 of Rules for Writers.
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