English 111-06: Expository Writing (Summer 2013) Monday - Thursday 7:30-8:45 Overcash 217 Instructor: Megan Keaton Email:

megan.keaton@cpcc.edu Philosophical Precepts: Curiosity as restless questioning, as movement toward the revelation of something hidden, as a question verbalized or not, as search for clarity, as a moment of attention, suggestion, and vigilance, constitutes an integral part of the phenomenon of being alive. ~Paulo Freire, Pedagogy of Freedom: Ethics, Democracy, and Civic Courage Any act of writing is primarily a social act that might take a variety of different forms, depending on audience and context, rather than as primarily a standard textual form. ~ University of North Carolina at Charlotte First Year Writing Faculty Handbook Course Description and Objectives: This course is the required first course in a series of two designed to develop the ability to produce clear expository prose. Emphasis is placed on the writing process including audience analysis, topic selection, thesis support and development, editing and revision. Upon completion, students should be able to produce unified, coherent, well-developed essays using standard written English. This course has been approved to satisfy the Comprehensive Articulation Agreement general education core requirement in English composition. Prerequisite: Approved placement examination scores (Computer Sentence Skills and Reading Comprehension), or a grade of C or better in ENG 090 and RED 090, or consent of Division Director (3 lecture hours-0 laboratory hours-3 credit hours). Instructor Goals for Students When you leave this course, I want you to: 1. Recognize audiences and purposes for writing and respond appropriately to identified contexts 2. Gain an understanding of who you are as a writer including your writing process and your writing beliefs 3. Utilize reader feedback to make thoughtful revisions 4. Understand how to effectively introduce, place and explain direct quotations from secondary sources Required Texts and Materials: Rosa, Alfred and Paul Eschholz. Models for Writers: Short Essays for Composition, 11th ed. Bedford, 2012. Lunsford, Andrea. Easy Writer, 4th ed. Bedford, 2010. ISBN: 9780312650315 You will have supplemental readings posted on Moodle as PDFs. You will be expected to bring these texts to class on the days they are due; you may either print them or bring them pre-loaded on an electronic device. You will be expected to print out and bring to class all handouts on Moodle. You will need to bring a daybook, a gluestick and a writing utensil to class each day.

Grading: There are a total of 1085 points you can earn this semester. For a detailed explanation of the point values of all assignments and activities, see the last page of the syllabus. The correlation between numerical point values and letter grades is as follows: Points 977-1085 868-976 760-867 651-759 0-650 Letter Grade A B C D* F

*You will not be able to take ENG 112 or ENG 113 with a grade below a C. How to get an A in this course (According to Instructor): Come to class. Miss no more than three sessions. Contribute in the construction of a collaborative and supportive class community; this includes speech, actions and body language. Speak at least once during every whole group discussion. Turn in all assignments by the deadlines. Maintain your blog throughout the semester. Daybook entry explanations should be thorough, thoughtful and fully explained. All process posts (drafts and reflections of assignments) should be completed. Take care to post reflections that are consistently thoughtful, specific, and self-aware. Complete all additional prompts on your blog. Be a thoughtful, engaged reader, writer, and student, as evinced by your written assignments and demeanor in class. Meet all assignment guidelines, requirements and objectives. Participate with your workshop group by showing your own work and listening to others, then providing thoughtful and constructive feedback. Maintain your daybook by thoughtfully responding to in-class assignments and writing prompts. Listen to and evaluate feedback you receive from classmates and me, then make thoughtful choices about revision. Attend all workshops. Stay in contact with me. Ask questions. Email drafts to me before at least a week before the deadline to receive extra feedback. Check my blog and Moodle often.

How to be successful in my course according to past students: Make sure you attend class! Megan uses class time wisely and you learn a lot every single class so make sure you attend so you can stay updated with all assignments and topics discussed. Follow directions carefully. Use creativity in all assignments. She doesnt hate you; she is trying to teach you. Participate in class discussions as much as you can. You will take a lot away from discussions and you can use the things you learned in your writing. Keep an open mind. Do all blog posts.

Check Megans blog as a daily guideline. You need to start assignments before the night before its due. Take what Megan says seriously. You must learn to write each individual piece as it has its own identity rather than following a set format. Learn to be open and be ready to expand how/what you write. Ask as many questions as possible! Take constructive criticism from workshop groups and Megan; allow room for improvement. Do your work on time. End of story. Be willing to communicate with others and Megan about what is going on in the class and how you are doing in the class. You need a good sense of time management. Megan does NOT accept late work so you must respect the deadlines to do well in her class! Get personal. All assignments are geared to make you think, grow, and take risks.

Attendance Policies: You are allowed three absences with no penalty. For each absence after these three, your final course grade will drop by one letter grade. If you miss any more than six classes, you will fail the course. Please note that I do not excuse absences. This means that even if you have a doctors note or tell me you will miss class, the absence will still be deducted from your three free absences. These three absences are available for emergencies, sicknesses and other expected or unexpected events. Please use them thoughtfully and judiciously. If you miss class for any reason, you are responsible for any missed announcements and assignments. If you miss more than fifteen minutes of class (by either coming in late or leaving early), you are counted as absent. If you miss less than fifteen minutes of class, you are counted as tardy. Three tardies will equal one absence. To avoid a tardy, your body not just your belongings needs to be in the classroom and prepared for class as soon as class begins. If you miss a class during which we are workshopping, you will receive a zero for that workshop.

10% Attendance Rule By department policy, if a student has not physically entered the classroom by the 10% date (May 23), he/she cannot attend the class after it. No exceptions! The 10% date for this course is May 23. Withdraw If you stop attending and do not intend to finish the course, please WITHDRAW officially by the 35% date of the term to ensure a W grade instead of an F. However, please contact me first if you plan on withdrawing from this course, so I can assist you in making the best decision regarding your academic career and standing. Many students simply withdraw from courses without considering the consequences. You may soon be trying to transfer and need to present a strong academic record. A pattern of course withdrawals can affect the way your transcript looks to other colleges. Withdrawing multiple times from the same class could affect whether you will be allowed to enroll again in the same class. I am here to help you. Let me know if you are having trouble with any of the concepts or projects in the course. I am expecting your success; therefore, I am here to help you reach that goal. The withdraw date for this course is June 7.

Stop Attendance If you miss four days concurrently (one week of class), you will be marked as Stopped Attending in the attendance system. This will affect any financial aid you are receiving. Course Policies: 1. Your syllabus (this very document!) and the daily syllabus will be incredibly useful tools for you in this class. You are expected to bring them with you to class each meeting. 2. Homework assignments, like drafts of papers and blog posts, are due at the beginning of the class period they are due. Late work is not accepted unless I give you an extension. If you need to turn a particular draft of a paper in late, you should discuss the need for such an extension with me prior to the deadline. I reserve the right to deduct points for late work. 3. You will receive instructor feedback on the second draft of your big assignments Definition Essay, Discourse Community Comparison and Research Essay. Your second draft needs to be turned into Moodle before class begins on the due date. If the second draft of a big assignment is not turned in on time and on Moodle, you will receive a zero for your first and second drafts of the assignment. Also, you will not receive instructor feedback on the second draft if it is not turned in on time and on Moodle. However, you are required to turn in your final draft of the assignment at the end of the semester. You will receive credit for your final draft. If the final draft of the assignment is not turned in at the end of the semester, you will not pass the class. 4. In this class, you will turn in and receive credit for assignments in a variety of ways, including bringing the work with you to class, submitting work via Moodle, and posting work to your blog. Please see the syllabus and/or ask me if you are unsure how an assignment should be turned in. 5. I have included a page minimum with all assignments. This is so you will push on your ideas and your thinking. If you have written and developed your thoughts effectively but have not met the page minimum, email me or come talk to me with the paper in hand and we will negotiate the requirement for your paper length. 6. Back up all of your work for this class. You will be frequently posting your work to your blog, which will help, but it is a good idea to keep copies of your work on Dropbox or a flash drive, as well as on your computers hard drive. I will not give extensions or exceptions for lost drafts. 7. You are responsible for ensuring that your blog posts are published and visible to readers. Occasionally, students will accidently save the post as a draft rather than publish it. Click the View Blog button every time you publish a post to ensure that the post actually published. I will not give extensions or exceptions for blog posts that are not published and, therefore, not turned in on time. 8. I will sometimes make changes to the daily calendar. I will announce these changes in class and update the online copy of this calendar. It is your responsibility to make a note of any such changes. 9. Discussion of grades may only take place in person. I cannot discuss grades via email. If you email me asking about grades, I will respond with only the following: I cannot discuss grades over email. 10. Professional behavior in class is required. This includes language use, treatment of fellow human beings, and class preparation. Behaviors like talking while others are talking and sleeping in class are not acceptable. I expect you to follow the Student Code of Conduct. If you have patterns of inappropriate behavior, you will be asked to leave to class. 11. Be thoughtful and judicious in your use of technology during class. You may use laptops, tablets, and even phones as needed for classwork, but volume should be set to silent and use of these technologies should not interfere with your participation in discussions and activities. A pattern of inappropriate technology use will affect your participation grade. 12. By staying in this class, you are agreeing to abide by the policies set forth in this syllabus.

Drafting and Revising

You are expected to do a minimum of three drafts of each big assignment (Definition Essay, Discourse Community Comparison and Research Essay). The first draft is the draft you will workshop with your workshop group. The second draft is the draft you will turn in on Moodle for instructor feedback. The third draft will be turned in at the end of the semester. You are expected to thoughtfully revise for the second and third drafts. Thoughtfully revising means to revise for content; changing, deleting or adding only few words and/or sentences does not count as thoughtful revision. Drafts without thoughtful revision will receive a zero.

Email Procedures When you email me, please include the purpose of the email in the subject line, an opening to your email (Dear Megan, Good morning, Hi, Megan, etc.) and a closing (your name). This will be expected in other academic and professional emails; as such, I want you to get into the habit of this now. If you do not follow this format, I will reply only with Please follow the email format. Provided your email is in the correct format, I will respond to your email within 48 hours if you email me on Monday-Thursday. If you email me on Friday-Sunday, I will email you by Monday evening. Please email me in a timely manner with questions about assignments. Check your email at least once every weekday. I will occasionally send important announcements or documents through email. Plagiarism: Be aware that the penalties for plagiarism are severe. Any student that has knowingly or unknowingly plagiarized will, at the very least, receive an F on that particular assignment. Self-plagiarism (reusing work you had written for another class) counts as plagiarism as well. Depending on the situation, a grade of F may also be awarded for the course. So please, if you are unsure about whether your citations (or lack-thereof) constitute plagiarism, let me know. If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to talk to me. Special Services Certifications: Students who have a documented disability or who think they may have a learning problem may contact the Office of Services for Students with Disabilities in Terrell 219 or may call 704.330.6556 or 704.330.6621. I will provide the necessary accommodation upon advice of that office. Observance of Religious Holidays: You are allowed two excused absences for observance of religious holidays. Assignments and Expectations PARTICIPATION You will receive full participation credit by: coming to class on time and staying for the entire time coming prepared to class with homework completed and necessary class items (textbooks, readings, handouts, syllabi, daybook and writing utensil) in hand contributing to whole group discussions, small group discussions and other class activities maintaining your blog staying attentive during class displaying a classroom-appropriate demeanor

BLOG Your blog will be an integral part of your learning, reflection and participation in this class. You will set up a blog on http://www.blogger.com. Once a week, you will post a daybook entry that demonstrates the most important idea you learned/thought about that week. Along with the entry, you will write at least one paragraph explaining the important concept you learned/thought about and why you picked that daybook entry. These posts will be due before class every Monday (beginning May 27). In addition, each time you write a draft for class, whether you bring it to class for workshopping or post it to Moodle for my feedback, you will also post that draft to your blog to document your process. When you post a second draft, you will write a reflection discussing the choices you have made and your next steps for that piece. After workshopping and receiving instructor comments, you will also post an explanation of the feedback you received and how you will use that critique to revise. The reflection questions will be provided for you during class and will be posted to Moodle. You may also be assigned additional prompts for your blog. WORKSHOP FEEDBACK AND PARTICIPATION: Throughout the semester, you will bring in drafts of your work for feedback from your peers. In addition to receiving participation credit for bringing in drafts that are completed and in hardcopy for your workshop group, you will also receive grades for the feedback you give to your peers. As such, if you miss a class session during which we are workshopping, you will receive a zero for that workshop.

DEFINITION ESSAY ASSIGNMENT DESCRIPTION In this essay, you will explain your definition of good academic writing. Some aspects you may choose to explore are: Brainstorming Drafting/revision/editing The writing process Writing style Organization/form/structure Knowing when a piece of writing should end Introduction and/or conclusion Audience/context/purpose Vocabulary/voice/writing style Thesis

This list is not complete. You are not required to write about everything on the above list and you may write about aspects that are not on the list. Whichever aspects you choose, however, must be fully explained. After reading your essay, the reader should have a clear understanding of how to write a good piece of academic writing. Along with explaining your definition of good academic writing, you need to defend your definition (explain why each aspect is part of good writing) and describe where you learned that idea or who taught you that idea. The organization of this essay is up to you. You might not be able to boil your definition into one or two sentences; as such, a thesis is not required. In this assignment, I will value: 1. Full and clear explanation of what good academic writing looks like. 2. Complete and persuasive defense of your definition of good academic writing.

3. Description of where you learned that each aspect constitutes good academic writing and/or who taught you that each aspect constitutes good academic writing 4. Thoughtful revision between drafts a. Drafts without thoughtful revision will receive a zero 5. Correct page length (a minimum of three double spaced pages) 6. Correct MLA format (header, heading, font, spacing and margins) 7. Use of academic conventions (You may use first person.)
You are expected to do a minimum of three drafts for this assignment. The first draft is the draft you will workshop with your workshop group. The second draft is the draft you will turn in on Moodle for instructor feedback. The final draft will be turned in at the end of the semester. Your second draft needs to be turned into Moodle before class begins on the due date. If the second draft of this assignment is not turned in on time and on Moodle, you will receive a zero for your first and second drafts. Also, you will not receive instructor feedback on the second draft if it is not turned in on time and on Moodle. However, you are required to turn in your final draft of this assignment, which will be graded. (In other words, even if you lose credit for the first and second drafts, you can earn credit for the final draft.) If the final draft of this assignment is not turned in at the end of the semester, you will not pass the class.

DISCOURSE COMMUNITY COMPARISON ASSIGNMENT DESCRIPTION

For this assignment, you will compare and contrast two of the discourse communities with which you are currently involved. These can be in school or out of school discourse communities. Some discourse communities may include in-school class communities, online communities like Facebook or Twitter, church communities, sports communities, family communities or any other communities with which you are involved. You may choose two communities that are similar (two school classes, for example). However, if you choose two communities that are similar, you must focus on the differences between the contexts of the communities and the forms/genres of writing. The communities you chose must use writing. Forms/genres may include papers, texts, notes, flyers, emails, lists, memos, etc. For each community, you will: 1. explain the context of the community, by describing the participants, the roles and the goals of the community along with any other important identifying information about the community. 2. describe the characteristics of one form/genre of writing used in the community. Depict how the writing is organized, the content that goes in the writing, the sentence structure, the vocabulary, and any other rules that must be followed to complete that form/genre of writing for the community. 3. articulate how the participants, roles and goals of the community dictate how/why the community writes. Refer back to specific characteristics of the form/genre of writing that you described. In this assignment, I will value: 1. Analysis of two discourse communities a. Papers that describe only one community will receive a zero. 2. Complete explanation of the context of each community a. Describe at least the participants, the roles and the goals of the community b. After reading this paper, a reader who is outside of the community should have a full understanding of the community. 3. Full description of only one form/genre of writing for each community a. After reading this paper, a reader who has not familiar with this form/genre should have a working knowledge of how to write that form/genre. 4. Insightful connections between the context of the community and the characteristics of the form/genre of writing in that community

5. Thoughtful revision between drafts a. Drafts without thoughtful revision will receive a zero. 6. Correct page length (a minimum of three double spaced pages) 7. Correct MLA format (header, heading, font, spacing and margins) 8. Use of academic conventions
You are expected to do a minimum of three drafts for this assignment. The first draft is the draft you will workshop with your workshop group. The second draft is the draft you will turn in on Moodle for instructor feedback. The final draft will be turned in at the end of the semester. Your second draft needs to be turned into Moodle before class begins on the due date. If the second draft of this assignment is not turned in on time and on Moodle, you will receive a zero for your first and second drafts. Also, you will not receive instructor feedback on the second draft if it is not turned in on time and on Moodle. However, you are required to turn in your final draft of this assignment, which will be graded. (In other words, even if you lose credit for the first and second drafts, you can earn credit for the final draft.) If the final draft of this assignment is not turned in at the end of the semester, you will not pass the class.

RESEARCH ESSAY ASSIGNMENT DESCRIPTION For this assignment, you will research either the causes or solutions of a problem. You may choose a community problem, global problem, national problem, educational problem or any other type of problem that interests you. This assignment is meant to help you begin learning how to incorporate research into a piece of writing. For this assignment, you will explain at least four causes or solutions stated by at least three secondary sources. This is not an argumentative essay. In other words, you are not forming an opinion and supporting it. If you want to state your own opinion, you must do so in the conclusion. Instead, this is an informative research essay; you are informing your reader of the causes or solutions of the problem you choose. In this assignment, I will value: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. Use of at least three credible secondary sources Description of at least four causes or solutions An introduction that utilizes Swales CARS model. Effective introduction, placement and explanation of direct quotations Successful paraphrasing of sources Correct MLA format (header, heading, font, spacing and margins) Correct MLA inline citations with direct quotations and paraphrasing of sources Correct MLA works cited page Thoughtful revision between drafts a. Drafts without thoughtful revision will receive a zero. 10. Correct page length (a minimum of three double spaced pages) 11. Use of academic conventions (First person may only be used in the introduction and conclusion.)
You are expected to do a minimum of three drafts for this assignment. The first draft is the draft you will workshop with your workshop group. The second draft is the draft you will turn in on Moodle for instructor feedback. The final draft will be turned in at the end of the semester. Your second draft needs to be turned into Moodle before class begins on the due date. If the second draft of this assignment is not turned in on time and on Moodle, you will receive a zero for your first and second drafts. Also, you will not receive instructor feedback on the second draft if it is not turned in on time and on Moodle. However, you are required to turn in your final draft of this assignment, which will be graded. (In other words, even if you

lose credit for the first and second drafts, you can earn credit for the final draft.) If the final draft of this assignment is not turned in at the end of the semester, you will not pass the class. PRESENTATION ASSIGNMENT DESCRIPTION At the end of the semester, you will give a 5-10 minute presentation about your experiences this semester. You can explain the different things you have learned, the way you interacted with the class, what you found valuable in this class, how you changed as a writer/student and/or what you discovered about your writing contexts. You will create a product to show your experiences this semester. You may not use PowerPoint or Prezi. This product can be a documentary, a music video, a rap, a scrapbook, a puppet show, a play, a drawing or another product that demonstrates your experiences and your personality. As a class, we will create a rubric for the presentations. Your presentation will be assessed by each of your classmates. I will then average together the grades given by your classmates. For this assignment, I will value: 1. Thoughtful explanation of what you experienced this semester. a. Go beyond simply talking about what you liked or didnt like about the course. 2. Evidence of completeness and preparation a. Your product and presentation should not seem like it was thrown together before class. 3. Creativity and display of personality in your product. PRESENTATION PARTICIPATION You will earn full credit for presentation participation by: coming to class with rubrics printed grading fairly and objectively o do not give a student a high grade solely because he/she is your friend o do not give a student a low grade solely because you do not like him/her listening respectfully attending all presentations days and staying for all presentations

FINAL REFLECTION ASSIGNMENT DESCRIPTION

The final reflection will provide you an opportunity to reflect on a particular thread that was affected throughout the course (your writer or student identity, your writing abilities or something specific you learned). This reflection begins simply by maintaining your blog throughout the semester. Your final reflection will be written as a single post on your blog. However, throughout the reflection, you should hyperlink the posts to which you are referring in your reflection. You will also use entries from your daybook as evidence of your thought and/or learning process. Effective reflections will show connections between the in and out of class activities as they affected the thread you choose; in other words, your final reflection should not be an explanation of distinct and individual parts. Your final reflection should be a minimum of three pages if it were written in Word. For this assignment, I will value: 1. An single thread explored and explained throughout the reflection 2. Thoughtful reflection

a. Tell me more than what you did or did not like. Tell me how and why assignments affected the thread you choose. 3. Working hyperlinks to the assignments, reflections and daybook entries that are mentioned in your final reflection 4. Correct page length (a minimum of three double spaced pages) Note that this reflection is worth twice as many points as the other big assignments. This is because the purpose of reflection is to synthesize your learning in order to be able to carry it with you to future classes. As this class is a gateway course and is preparing you to write throughout college and beyond, it is very important to understand your learning and apply it to future writing situations. You will write only two drafts (workshop and final draft) of the final reflection. If you would like instructor feedback, email me a copy at least one week before the due date. If the final reflection is not turned in on your blog and on time, you will not pass the class. FINAL DRAFTS OF BIG ASSIGNMENTS DEFINITION ESSAY, DISCOURSE COMMUNITY COMPARISON AND RESEARCH ESSAY You will embed your final drafts on your blog using Scribd. Follow these steps to embed your final drafts: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. Go to http://www.scribd.com. Create an account. Click on Upload. Select the file you want to upload. Fill in the Title and Description boxes. Make sure the box for Mark as Private is unchecked. Click Save and Continue. Copy the hyperlink by the work Embed. Go to Blogger. Create a new post. Click on the HTML button. Paste the embed hyperlink. Click Publish.

BREAKDOWN OF GRADES
Final Reflection Letter Connectivity among parts Thorough and thoughtful reflection Critique Reflections Reflection on workshop, self assessment and instructor comments for Definition Essay Reflection on workshop, self assessment and instructor comments for Discourse Community Comparison Reflection on workshop, self assessment and instructor comments for Research Essay Definition Essay 1st draft Post on Blog 1st draft Meet page requirement and bring hardcopies for workshop group 2nd draft Meet assignment guidelines, requirements and objectives Final draft Embed on Blog, meet assignment guidelines, requirements and objectives, show evidence of thoughtful revisions Discourse Comparison Essay 1st draft Post on Blog 1st draft Meet page requirement and bring hardcopies for workshop group 2nd draft Meet assignment guidelines, requirements and objectives Final draft Embed on Blog, meet assignment guidelines, requirements and objectives, show evidence of thoughtful revisions Research Essay 1st draft Post on Blog 1st draft Meet page requirement and bring hardcopies for workshop group 2nd draft Meet assignment guidelines, requirements and objectives Final draft Embed on Blog, meet assignment guidelines, requirements and objectives, show evidence of thoughtful revisions Presentation Presentation and product Participation for presentation Weekly Daybook Reflections on Blog Inclusion of Daybook Entry Thoughtful reflection Workshop Feedback and Participation Participation TOTAL POINTS 50 points 150 points

45 points (15 points per reflection) 45 points (15 points per reflection) 45 points (15 points per reflection)

15 points 15 points 30 points 40 points

15 points 15 points 30 points 40 points

15 points 15 points 30 points 40 points

100 points 60 points (15 points per day)

30 points (5 points each) 60 points (10 points each) 100 points (25 points each) 100 points 1085 POINTS

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------I have read, understand and agree to the entire syllabus for ENG 111-06 Summer 2013.

_________________________________________ Printed Name

__________________________________________ Signature Date