ENG 1020 Syllabus

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fall 2014 eng-1020-writing-and-learning-spaces

Digital copy:

ENG 1020 Introduction to College Writing: Writing and Learning Spaces

 

Section Number: 050

Meeting Days/Times: TR, 11:45-1:10

Fall 2014

Classroom: 335 State Hall

Instructor Name:  Adrienne Jankens

Address: 9205.3 5057 Woodward

WSU email address: dx1044@wayne.edu

Office Hours (days/times): W 10 a.m. – 12 p.m.

 

Course Placement for ENG 1020

Students are placed into ENG 1020 via ACT score (ACT English >21), the English Qualifying Examination, or a passing grade in ENG 1010. Neither instructors nor the Department of English will override placement.

General Education Designation for BC

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).

English Department Course Description

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.

 

Additional Course Description

 

This section of ENG 1020 is focused on researching writing and learning spaces with an eye toward proposing redesigned composition classrooms spaces in State Hall 335 and 337. This is a collaborative course; students in ENG 1020 will work with students in an ENG 1010 course to develop the research and writing for these proposed designs. ENG 1020 students will work through primary research, rhetorical analysis, and the construction of proposal arguments, and will draw from and contribute to ENG 1010 students’ work on service learning, collaborative learning, and researching these spaces.

Learning Outcomes

Students who pass ENG 1020 will produce writing that demonstrates core abilities in four key areas:

Writing

Use key course concepts (genre, rhetoric, discourse community, metacognitive learning), a flexible writing process, and varied technologies to write effectively for various audiences.

Reading

Use analytical and critical strategies to read complex texts in a variety of media, and to identify and evaluate rhetorical elements, genre conventions, and discourse community features.

Researching

Conduct research by finding and evaluating print, electronic, and other sources; generate information and ideas from research; and appropriately integrate material from sources.

Reflecting

Use reflective writing to describe developing knowledge about writing and oneself as a writer and to reflect on the thought processes involved in planning, monitoring, and evaluating one’s composing process and resulting texts.

Required Text

Devitt, et al. The Wayne Writer. Custom ed. New York: Pearson, 2013. Print, eText available. ISBN: 1269416456.

Other readings will be made available on the course website or via Blackboard.

Assignments

Assignment and Page Requirements

Students are required to write a minimum of 32 pages (8000 words) in ENG 1020 (including drafts and informal writing).

Project 1: Investigating Writing and Learning Spaces (750-1500 words). Students will use ethnographic research methods (field notes, interviewing) to investigate writing and learning spaces. Utilizing the methods described by Emerson, Fretz, and Shaw (1999) and Merriam (), students will select and investigate significant writing and/or learning spaces to attend to environmental and functional details. They will work through several steps (taking field notes, coding, analyzing, developing themes) as they develop their investigations.

 Project 2: Analysis and Synthesis of Public Argument (2000-2500 words) . In this assignment, students will engage with a selection of perspectives on a public argument, and, through the composition of a dialogue engaging these several voices and their own, will practice constructing negotiated meaning, and will predict the rhetorical strategies they will find most useful and effective for their proposals. Additionally, students will reflect on how they will effectively engage in negotiation following presentations of the evaluations and proposals developed by both groups of students.

Project 3 (1500-2000 words): Students will construct proposals for the redesign of the classroom space, drawing from Projects 1 and 2 as well as from ENG 1010 students’ summary and response assignments and observational analyses. These researched arguments will be presented to stakeholders for feedback, and ENG 1010 and ENG 1020 students will negotiate final proposals for implementation in the computer classrooms being studied.

To pass this course, students must complete a final portfolio and reflective argument assignment (Project 4) required by the WSU Composition Program. This assignment is designed to prepare students to transfer knowledge and skills from ENG 1020 to subsequent courses and other writing contexts. It is based in research in psychology and writing studies. This research shows that metacognition, or analysis of one’s own thinking processes, is key to helping people transfer knowledge and skills from the context where they were initially learned to future contexts. To help students prepare to draft the Reflective Argument, this course includes reflective assignments designed to promote metacognition. The reflective argument essay is approximately 2000-2500 words long.

In addition to these projects, students will compose weekly posts as they develop ideas for writing. Posts and projects will be published on students’ blogs—these WordPress sites will allow students to easily share their work, to practice writing for a public audience, and to reflect on how they are developing a writerly, rhetorical identity in their college courses.

Assignment descriptions can be found on our course website: www.writingandlearningspaces.wordpress.com

Grading

In a college course, the syllabus often acts as a contract between instructor and student, stating that students will complete a certain amount of work, to a certain level of quality, to receive a particular grade. We will be using a contract grading system this semester. The following learning behaviors are intended to focus and support your efforts toward becoming a better writer:

1. attend class regularly—not missing more than four class sessions (after four absences, the course grade will be lowered one letter grade);
2. meet due dates and writing criteria for all major assignments;
3. participate in all in-class exercises and activities (i.e. ask questions, take notes, listen to and respond to others, etc.);
4. complete all post writing, with a “plus” or “check” on at least 8 of the 11 responses and reflections;
5. demonstrate reflective and responsible rhetorical choices in developing writing projects, class discussion, public forums, peer feedback, and collaborative writing;
6. attend conferences with the teacher to discuss drafts;
7. Maintain a portfolio with written evidence of
8. sustained effort and investment on each draft of all papers;
9. substantive revisions when the assignment is to revise—extending or changing the thinking or organization—not just editing or touching up;
10. copy-edited final revisions of main assignments that conform to the conventions of edited, revised English;

Completion of all assignments, full participation in all class activities, and demonstration of the behaviors listed above will result in a grade of “B” (“above average”).

Grades higher than B (B+, A-, A) may be achieved by producing writing of excellent quality. Your projects and portfolios will be your opportunity to demonstrate this. Rubrics for each assignment outline the qualities of “excellent” writing.

Grades lower than a B (B-, C+, C, C-, D, F) may result if students do not fulfill the terms of the contract (e.g. miss more than four classes, fail to complete some assignments, do not revise writing, fail to participate in peer review sessions, etc.). A “C” is a passing grade for the course.

Students will be provided with hard copies of the grade contract to sign and return during the first week of class, signifying their understanding of and agreement with these learning values. An annotated version of the grade contract is also available on the course website.

WSU Grading Scale:

A          94-100%

A-         90-93%

B+        87-89%

B          84-86%

B-         80-83%

C+        77-79%

C          74-76%              A grade of C or better fulfills the

C-         70-73%              General Education IC requirement

D+        67-69%              and the prerequisite for General

D          64-66%              Education WI courses.

D-         60-63%

F          59% or less

Post Grading

 You may earn one of the following scores on your reading responses and reflections:

A “check” denotes completion of the assignment with attention to all elements of content and with minimal error.

A “plus” denotes completion of the assignment with attention to all elements of content, minimal error, and especially insightful or well-written moments that demonstrate command of the material.

A “minus” denotes missing content components, significantly short responses, or distracting errors. A “minus” is a reminder to spend more time reading and responding to texts.

You need to earn a “check” or “plus” on 8 of the 11 post assignments to meet the grade contract. ALL posts must be completed, however, to fulfill the contract, though you may use a homework pass on one. (See below.)

“Homework Pass”

 College is a complex balancing act. You’ll be working through several courses, reading, writing, taking tests, attending lectures and labs, working other jobs, taking care of family, etc. You will get ONE homework pass that may be used on any of the posts EXCEPT for ALs. The only catch is that you must tell me before the assignment is due that you will be using your pass.

To do this, email me the following (you may copy and paste this and fill in the blank):

Dear Mrs. Jankens,

I will be using my homework pass on Post _____.

Thank you,

(Your name)

*Note, even in a very busy week, it is to your benefit to read the text in question, even if you do not complete the response. Happy homeworking.

Attendance Policy

You are expected to attend each class. Please contact me ahead of time if you will be absent from class so I can plan accordingly–an email will be sufficient. Assignments need to be turned in prior to the absence, and may be submitted on Blackboard. Work missed in class, including writing and peer response sessions, may not be made up. It is to your advantage to attend every class.

It is courteous to arrive on time to class. I will not repeat material missed if you are late, so it is a good idea to find a buddy in class who can fill you in on anything we did.

Partial absences count toward total absences (i.e. arriving 20 minutes late to class equals missing ¼ of class).

After four absences, your semester grade may be lowered one letter grade, per the grading contract (above). This grade deduction reflects missed class participation, discussion, etc.

Class Size/English Department Attendance Policy/Adding ENG 1020

Enrollment in ENG 1020 is capped at 26 students. Students must attend one of the first two class days to stay enrolled in the course. Students who do not attend one of the first two class meetings may be asked to drop to avoid a failing grade.

Other Course Policies

To add the course, attend one of the first two class meetings and add by Wednesday, September 3, 2014. Students will not be permitted to add the course otherwise. The last day to drop a course without having it appear on a student’s academic record is Wednesday, September 24, 2014. Students may withdraw from a course with instructor approval between Thursday, September 25 and Sunday, November 9, 2014.  The university does not permit withdrawals after this date.

• You will be asked to share writing and make photocopies for others in class.
• You should ensure that all pagers, cell phones, watches, etc., won’t sound during class time. You should not take or make calls, text message, or otherwise use electronic devices during class, except to access course-related materials.
• Late work is not accepted in this course. I have planned the schedule thoughtfully so that you will have enough time to complete assignments, and so that I have enough time to respond to your work. If you have concerns about completing an assignment on time, please talk to me as soon as possible, so that I can help you work through any issues you’re having with it.
• Please use computers for class work, not personal emailing, social networking, surfing for fun, playing games, etc.
• Be courteous regarding the classroom space. Clean up after yourself, and help leave the room better than we find it.
• Students who may need an accommodation based on the impact of a disability should contact the instructor privately to discuss specific needs.  Additionally, the Student Disabilities Services Office coordinates reasonable accommodations for students with documented disabilities.  The office is located in 1600 David Adamany Undergraduate Library, phone:  313-577-1851/577-3335 (TTD).  http://studentdisability.wayne.edu
• Additional resources include the Academic Success Center http://www.success.wayne.edu and Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) http://www.caps.wayne.edu.

Project Formats and Submission

• Projects should be typed, double-spaced, 11- or 12-point type, with one-inch margins, submitted electronically through Blackboard or posted on your blog (as assigned).
• Please use MLA format for citations.
• When submitting revised material (including material from a previous assignment used in a subsequent assignment): highlight all new and changed material using MS-Word’s Track Changes feature to receive credit.)

WSU Writing Center

The Writing Center (2nd floor, UGL) provides individual tutoring consultations free of charge for graduate and undergraduate students at WSU. 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, tutors work collaboratively with students to support them in developing relevant skills and knowledge, from developing an idea to editing for grammar and mechanics. To make a face-to-face or online appointment, consult the Writing Center website: http://www.clas.wayne.edu/writing/

For more information about the Writing Center, please contact the Director, Jule Wallis (phone: 313-577-2544; email: au1145@wayne.edu).

 

Plagiarism Policy

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 (or sections of papers) that were written by another person, including another student, or downloaded from the Internet. Plagiarism is a serious academic offense. It may result in an F for the assignment or an F for the course. Instructors are required to report all cases of plagiarism to the English Department. Information on plagiarism procedures is available in the Department.

 

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