WRTG1310+Syllabus


 * Syllabus for WRTG 1310**  **Introduction to College Writing, Fall 2012**

CRN 10691 8-8:50 MWF Thompson 203 CRN 10774 9- 9:50 MWF Thompson 210 CRN 10899 11-11:50 MWF Thompson 203 CRN 11237 10:50-12:05 TR Thompson 101
 * Class Sections:**

@Deb Moore Office: Thompson 335 Hours: MWF 10-11, TR 9:00-10:50 //and by appointment// email: dmoore@uca.edu (best way) Phone: 501-450-5855 (be prepared to leave a voice mail message)
 * Instructor:**

Part of the general education program and required of all students during the first semester they are eligible to enroll. This course introduces students to the writing process, focusing on audience, invention, and arrangement, and will be conducted as a workshop. Prerequisite: ACT score of 19 or higher or completion of UNIV 1300 with a grade of C or higher. (UCA Bulletin)
 * Course Description:**

RHETORICAL KNOWLEDGE (1) Understand writing as a purposeful activity (2) Understand and use personal experience appropriate to the rhetorical situation (3) Recognize and respond to the needs of academic, professional, and other educated audiences (4) Recognize and respond appropriately to different kinds of rhetorical situations (5) Understand and use conventions of format and structure appropriate to the rhetorical situation (6) Acknowledge and adopt appropriate voice, tone, and level of formality (7) Understand how occasion, purpose, and audience shape reading and writing (8) Demonstrate a knowledge of the various strategies for engaging in academic conversations, drawing on personal experiences and other sources (9) Understand writing as a knowledge-creating activity.
 * Course Objectives (what you will learn):**

CRITICAL THINKING, READING, AND WRITING: (1) Use writing and reading for inquiry, learning, thinking, and communicating (2) Engage in an ongoing conversation with the ideas of others (3) Use language to accomplish goals (4) Find, evaluate, analyze, and synthesize appropriate sources.

PROCESSES: (1) Compose multiple drafts to create and complete a successful text (2) Develop flexible strategies for generating, revising, editing, and proof-reading (3) Engage in writing as an open process that permits writers to use later invention and re-thinking to revise their work (4) Employ the collaborative and social aspects of writing processes (5) Critique their own and others' works (6) Write a well-organized essay that offers a clear thesis and effectively supports and develops that thesis (7) Compose in a variety of types of discourse, from narrative to analytical to persuasive.

CONVENTIONS: (1) Demonstrate a knowledge of common patterns of organization appropriate to different occasions, purposes, and audiences, such as chronological and climactic order (2) Demonstrate a knowledge of discourse conventions ranging from structure and paragraphing to tone and mechanics (3) Demonstrate control of such surface features as grammar, punctuation, and spelling (4) Demonstrate an understanding of basic principles for integrating source materials into their writing, including (5) Demonstrate knowledge of common strategies of development, such as exemplification and elaboration.
 * the ability to use quotations and paraphrases without violating principles of fair usage and
 * the ability to provide in-text documentation and MLA or APA bibliographic entries

(1) Axelrod, Rise B. and Charles R. Cooper, The St. Martin's Guide to Writing, Short. 9h ed. Boston: Bedford, 2010. (ISBN 978-0312536138) (2) Kirszner, Laurie G. and Stephen R. Mandell, The Pocket Wadsworth Handbook, 5th ed. Boston: Cengage, 2012 (ISBN: 9780495912958) (3) Any college-level dictionary (4) Class Wiki: wrtg1310.wikispaces.com
 * Texts:**

(1) Access to a computer and printer (2) A wire-bound notebook or soft sided journal (this will be your Process Notebook)
 * Course Materials:**

PROCESS WRITING You are responsible for the material covered in the assigned readings on the day that reading is due. In addition, you will be asked to write a response to the reading in your Process Notebook. Quizzes on readings may also be administered. These are administered at the beginning of class and cannot be made up if you are tardy or absent.
 * General Requirements:**

You will do two types of writing in this class. The first of these are Process Writing assignments, which are informal tasks such as journaling, freewriting, pre-writing, quizzes, and response sheets. These may be handwritten and are kept in the notebook you’ve been asked to purchase for this purpose. Process Notebook entries will be checked periodically throughout the semester, and certain ones will be included in the end-of-the-year portfolio (see the next section). Keep your process writing up-to-date; assignments will be checked without advance notice. Bring your Process Notebook with you to class every day; you must have it with you to earn the points. You cannot make the points by bringing your Process Notebook to the next class.

FORMAL WRITING Essays and Final Portfolio assignments are Formal Writing tasks, and must be typed in MLA format. If your major requires APA or other format, please let me know so that you may submit work in that format instead.

Formal assignments will be uploaded to the class wiki. You will occasionally be asked to print a paper for peer review, but for the most part, our class is as close to paperless as I can make it.

OTHER CONCERNS You will receive a hard copy of the syllabus and the course outline, but all other handouts will be posted on the class Wiki. It is your responsibility to be sure that you can access the Wiki.

This is a workshop class, so you will need your tools every day. Please bring the hard copy of your syllabus and course outline, your process writing notebook, textbook, and handbook with you to every class. You may want to bring your laptop or tablet, if you have one.

Please come by my office to visit with me for 15 minutes or so at some point during the semester.

//__I really truly do not accept assignments via email.__//

Coursework consists of Process Writing as assigned, 3 Formal Essays, and a Final Portfolio.
 * Coursework:**

PROCESS WRITING (journaling, freewriting, pre-writing, quizzes, and reading response sheets) is worth 30% of the total grade for this course.

MAJOR ASSIGNMENTS: Students must submit all major assignments and associated drafts in order to have the opportunity to pass the course.

All essays will undergo in-class peer review. Missing class on peer review day, failure to have a paper prepared for peer review, or failure to perform an assigned peer review will result in an automatic one letter grade deduction for the final grade of the paper. In addition, people are fairly quick to pick up on who can't be counted on to do his or her part. Drop the ball a couple times, and no one will want to trade peer reviews with you. If you have already proven yourself to be undependable, I won't force them to.

A Writing Center tutoring session is required for each major assignment. Schedule your appointments BEFORE the final draft is due. There are a limited number of appointment slots, so make your appointments early. THE WRITING CENTER WILL CANCEL YOUR REMAINING APPOINTMENTS IF YOU ARE A NO-SHOW WHO DIDN’T CANCEL.

__@The Profile Essay__: You will write an essay about an intriguing person, place, or activity in your community. This essay is worth 20% of the total grade. The final revision of this paper is due October 8 for MWF classes and October 9 for TR classes.

There is no midterm exam. Students will typically receive a grade of X at midterm.

__@The Concept Essay__: You will write an essay explaining a concept. This essay is worth 20% of the total grade. The final revision of this paper is due on November 5.

__@The Solution Essay__: You will write an essay proposing a solution. This essay is 20% of the total grade. The final revision of this paper is due December 3 for MWF classes and on December 4 for TR classes.

There is no final exam.

__@The Final Portfolio__: The portfolio is a collection of the writing assignments from the semester and will include reflective introductions to each and a further, substantial revision of one of the assigned essays, as well as selections from the process writing. It is worth 10% of the total grade, and is due on the date scheduled for your final exam.

Regular classes do not meet during exam week. Instead, each class meets (at its usual location) on a date and time assigned by the Registrar. This schedule can be found on the UCA Registrar page. Assigned dates for this class are:

CRN 10691 8am Monday, December 10 CRN 10774 2pm Monday, December 10 CRN 10899 2pm Wednesday, December 12 CRN 11237 11am Tuesday, December 11

Grading: 90-100 A 80-89 B 70-79 C 60-69 D 59 and below F
 * Assessment Methods:**

Assignments are due at the beginning of class. Late assignments are accepted only by prior arrangement and will automatically receive a whole letter grade reduction per calendar day. In addition, I may request that a late essay be accompanied by a 500-word explanation, which will be graded for grammar and punctuation.

Essays will be graded using the following standards, bearing in mind that other factors—such as failure to follow instructions or formatting guidelines, lack of peer review, or missing due dates—may also affect your grade:

//A/Excellent:// Shows originality of thought in stating and developing a central controlling idea. Its ideas are clear, logical, and thought-provoking; it contains all the positive qualities of good writing listed below:


 * 1) Concentration on a main purpose, with thorough development and firm support of evidence using concrete detail and specific examples.
 * 2) Careful construction and organization.
 * 3) Careful choice of effective words and phrases.

//B/Superior:// Has a clearly stated central purpose, logically and adequately developed. Its ideas are clear because it contains some of the qualities of good writing described under A above. It is relatively free of errors in the use of English. Although indicating technical competence, the B paper lacks the originality of thought and style which characterizes the A essay.

//C/Average:// Has a central idea stated and organized clearly enough to convey its purpose to the reader; it avoids serious errors in the use of English. It may, in fact, have few correction marks on it, but it lacks adequate and strong use of supporting details as well as the vigor of thought and expression which would entitle it to an above-average rating.

//D/Unsatisfactory:// Indicates below-average achievement in expressing ideas correctly and effectively. Most D papers fail to present a clear central idea and or to develop it adequately. Typically, they will contain numerous serious errors in the use of English. With a clearly stated central idea, fuller development, and more careful proofreading, many D papers might be worth at least a C grade.

//F/Failing:// Is the result of poor writing, which usually includes one or more of the following problems:
 * 1) Failure to state and develop a thesis or to use some equivalent organization appropriate to the topic;
 * 2) A lack of unity, coherence, and development within the individual paragraphs or the paper as a whole;
 * 3) A mass of vague generalizations that essentially restate the thesis without offering specific details as support;
 * 4) Little or no relation to the assignment;
 * 5) Inadequate length;
 * 6) Frequent misspelling of words;
 * 7) Sentence-structure errors (fragments/run-ons);
 * 8) Lack of agreement between subject and verb or pronoun and antecedent;
 * 9) Lack of clear pronoun-antecedent reference;
 * 10) Verb form errors (including tense, voice, and mood).

Papers that are plagiarized, in whole or in part, will earn a failing grade.

Punctual class attendance is mandatory. In-class peer review constitutes a portion of your grade and cannot be made up if missed. In addition, we will be spending class time examining examples of, planning for, and drafting each of the major assignments. Occasionally, I will devote a class meeting to your research and we will meet in the library. Your attendance on those days is also required. These dates will be announced in class and I will remind you during the previous class meeting, however, you are responsible for knowing where you are supposed to be.
 * Attendance:**

In the event of //unavoidable// absence, you are responsible for finding out what was missed b__efore__ returning to class. Do this by checking the class Wiki AND contacting another class member.


 * Students who miss more than two weeks' worth of classes--i.e., six class meetings in a MWF course, four meetings in a TR course, or two classes of a one night a week course--and/or miss a week's worth of classes consecutively without contacting the instructor may be dropped from the course. Students who are dropped for non-attendance will be assigned a WF, WP, or W grade as appropriate. **

Three late arrivals or early departures may be counted as one absence**.**

I call roll every day. If you arrive to class late, I may have already counted you as absent. You should get with me after class is over to make sure that you get credit for having been in class.

The standard rules of etiquette apply. Please set your cell phone to silent or vibrate before class begins and do not engage in text messaging during class time. Keep private exchanges with your neighbors minimal, and do not sleep in class. Students who exhibit disruptive behavior—that is, any behavior that interferes with the instructor's ability to conduct the class and foster student learning, or who exhibit behavior so outrageous as to severely impede the conduct of a class—may be dropped by the instructor. Students who are dropped for disruptive behavior will be assigned a WF grade.
 * Class Etiquette:**


 * UCA Policies:**


 * **Disability Policy.** The University of Central Arkansas adheres to the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act. If you need an accommodation under this act due to a disability, contact the UCA Office of Disability Services at 450-3613.
 * **Harassment Policy.** Harassment by any faculty member, staff member, or student is a violation of both law and University policy and will not be tolerated. Please read the appropriate pages of your Student Handbook for the policies, definition, and procedures concerning harassment. If you have questions or concerns, please contact me or the chair of the department. Individuals who believe they have been subjected to harassment should report the incident promptly to their academic dean or to a departmental chair or directly to the university’s Affirmative Action officer, legal counsel or assistant vice president for human resources.
 * **Academic Integrity Statement.** The University of Central Arkansas affirms its commitment to academic integrity and expects all members of the university community to accept shared responsibility for maintaining academic integrity. Students in this course are subject to the provisions of the university's Academic Integrity Policy, approved by the Board of Trustees as Board Policy No. 709 on February 10, 2010, and published in the Student Handbook. Penalties for academic misconduct in this course may include a failing grade on an assignment, a failing grade in the course, or any other course-related sanction the instructor determines to be appropriate. Continued enrollment in this course affirms a student's acceptance of this university policy.
 * **Writing Department Plagiarism Policy.** If a student in a Writing Department course turns in a paper that includes an extended passage that has been a.) written for him or her by someone else for pay or as a favor or b.) copied from a print or electronic source written by another author, even if some of the words have been changed, that student will immediately be dropped from the course, receiving a WF grade. In addition, notification will be sent from the Writing Department office to the Office of the Provost documenting the student's academic misconduct. This documentation will be retained permanently at the Office of the Provost. //We will be discussing plagiarism in class to be sure you understand what it is and how to avoid it//.
 * **Evaluations**: Student evaluations of a course and its professor are a crucial element in helping faculty achieve excellence in the classroom and the institution in demonstrating that students are gaining knowledge. Students may evaluate courses they are taking starting on the Monday of the twelfth week of instruction (Monday, November 12) through the end of finals week by logging in to myUCA and clicking on the Evals button on the top right.
 * **Special Problems**//.// If, during any point of the semester, you find that personal problems are keeping you from completing your course work, you may find it beneficial to visit the counseling center. All students are entitled to free, confidential, professional counseling. Please contact the University Counseling Center at 450-3138. They are located in the Student Health Center, suite 327.
 * **Other Policies.** You should familiarize yourself with all academic policies in your Student Handbook.

The syllabus and course outline are subject to change. Changes, if any, will be announced in class and on the course Wiki. You are responsible for keeping abreast of such changes. .
 * The Fine Print:**

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