ENGLISH 106
Syllabus and Policy Statement
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ENGLISH 106 |
Syllabus and Policy Statement |
Rebecca Whitus Longster, Instructor
Office: Heavilon Hall 303c
Summer 2006
Phone: (home) 765-884-8225
Class meetings: MW11:00 & 3:00 Wabash National
E-mail: RebeccaL@purdue.edu
Office Hours: MW 10:30-11:00, 2:00-3:00, 6:00-6:30 and by appt.
Required texts:
Rosa & Eschholz . Models for Writers, Eighth Ed (ISBN: 0-312-40686-X)
Graff & Birkenstein. They Say, I Say (ISBN: 0-393-92409-2)
Strunk, William Jr. and E. B. White. The Elements of Style, Fourth Ed (ISBN:020530902X)
 1.
Come to class. |
2.
Keep up with reading assignments. |
| 3.
Turn work in on time. |
4.
Keep a copy of all work handed in. |
| 5.
Take an active and civil part in class discussion. |
6. Take notes.
|
| 7. Bring your books, pencils, & paper to class. |
8. Do not plagarize. |
| 9.
If you don't understand something--ASK. |
. |
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English 106 is the new designation for Freshman Composition, which replaces the old 101/102 sequence. This section, English 106y, is designed to expand upon the objectives of the standard 106 course to meet the unique needs of non-traditional students. 106y is intended to reacquaint you with the writing skills you have but may not have used in some time, as well as help you develop and exercise better critical reading, thinking, researching, and writing skills. English 106 is first and foremost a writing class, and most of our time in this class will be spent on reading and discussing the writing of others, and creating and improving our own.You will be asked to read the texts of this English 106 class with a critical eye, analyze and take notes on what you read, engage in thoughtful and productive discussion of the readings, take notes on those discussions, and ultimately to write to those issues and/or ideas in the texts or outside it that you find particularly interesting, engaging, or otherwise important.
I've chosen these textbooks and designed this syllabus and schedule specifically to expose you to various and perhaps new perspectives on how and what kind of writing "works," and why. We will be reading and analyzing several standard "modes" of writing, the tools and stratagies that make an essay or paper effective, and exploring the kind of power and influence writing can have.
It is my hope that, through reading critically and thinking deeply about what you've read and through discussing the several texts with myself and your classmates, such exposure to clear, engaging, and effective writing on multiple issues of interest will encourage you to read and observe and experience more widely beyond this class. Ultimately, I hope you come to approach what you read and observe and experience from a more critical and inquisitive perspective, that you will investigate your ideas more thoroughly, and, in so doing, find your own particular voice in your critical writing for this class and others. In the end, you should leave this class not only significantly more confident in your ability to write and communicate your ideas well, but also as a better and more active reader, observer, thinker, and writer.
You must be prepared to spend a great deal of time and energy on this class, particularly so because of its accelerated format. I have endeavored to spread the reading load out as evenly as possible so as not to over-whelm you. It is, however, extremely important that you keep up with the reading as it will form the basis of most of the discussion and exercises we do in class.
On the up side, I believe that you will be pleasantly surprised to find that the readings are thought-provoking, often compelling, and at times even fun. I believe, also, that what you learn and experience in this class will stand you in good stead not only as you learn and write for this class but also in the learning and writing you do beyond this class. The skills and strategies for successful and effective reading, writing, and researching that you learn here will be as portable as the textbooks themselves, and you will be able to carry them away with you and apply them to other, similar tasks in both your educational and professional careers.
Finally, in this class especially, you can play a major role in choosing the direction in which the discussion will go, the issues upon which you will focus, and the topics about which you will write--and, equally important (at least to me), you will have fun! (Honest.)
Welcome to the class.
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Regular attendance is required as class discussion will form a significant part of fulfilling the course objectives. Additionally, a significant part of your grade will be based upon participation--and if you don't attend, you can't participate. If you know in advance that you have to miss class, please let me know, and in the event of an emergency, get in touch with me as soon as you can. If you do miss a class, you are still responsible for the material covered and for getting any assignments due at the beginning that class to me as soon as possible.
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You are expected to produce high quality professional papers. Neatness, visual appeal, and mechanical and grammatical correctness do matter though they do not by themselves guarantee that a paper is well written. All papers should be typed or word processed using a letter quality printer and should have appropriate margins, spacing, pagination, etc. See the following for specific requirements:Late Work
Each of your final draft essays will have in the upper left-hand corner of the first page, single spaced:
--your name,
--English 106
--and the date.
(do not use a cover page)
You will then double space, center, and type in the title of the paper. Double space again and begin the text.
All papers (and drafts) are to be: --double spaced,
--in 12 point font
Each page will contain:
--1 inch margins all around.
--page number
--your name (a running header or footer is good for the last two).
Missed in-class exercises and quizzes cannot be made up. Papers and other assignments are due at the beginning of the designated class period unless otherwise announced. In an accellerated format class such as this one, late work rapidly becomes problematic for all involved, so please turn in all your work on time. Late work also receives a grade penalty, and I find it extremely distasteful to have to reduce your grade just because the assignment was late. On rare occasions I do grant a short extension, without penalty, if circumstances warrant it. If you need one, ASK.
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While I do not cancel class for individual conferences, I do encourage you to meet with me individually to discuss your progress, grades, etc. You may do so during the in-class work time I will set aside for you or by making an appointment with me outside class. If you have questions or need to contact me for any reason, your best bet is to send me e-mail as I check it daily and respond immediately if possible (When you send email, please remember to include your class # in the subject line.). Next best is to call me at home. If I'm not there, leave a detailed message and I'll return your call.GradingAgain, welcome to my class!
RebeccaImportant information specific to 106y ~
In accordance with program policy, the following definitions and objectives have been put into place:
Productive Classroom Learning Environment:
The best learning takes place in an environment where faculty and students exhibit trust and mutual respect.
Students promote trust by preparing honest and thoughtful work, and by expecting evaluation based on performance. Faculty promote trust by setting clear guidelines for assignments and evaluations, offeringhonest feedback, and by assigning bias-free grades.
Students show respect by being prepared and attending class on time, by paying attention, contributing to discussions, listening respectfully to others’ points of view, meeting deadlines, and by striving for their best performance. Faculty show respect by their timeliness and preparedness, by taking students seriously, and by valuing their goals and aspirations.In a productive learning environment, faculty and students work cooperatively, recognize and respect differences, model the values of character and citizenship, and become lifelong learners.
Evaluation of Learning
In addition to assignments, in-class participation, and exams, dailyassessments will be used to measure learning effectiveness. Each student should be prepared for a quiz over previous assignments at the start of each class and a review quiz at the end of class measuring understanding of material covered in lecture. Each of these assessments will be included as a part of a student's final grade and will be worth 5 points each for a possible total of 10 points per class session.These evaluations at the start and end of class are the equivalent of at least 1.5 normal exams and will not be less than 20% of the total possible points in the course syllabus. In addition, there are no make-ups, grading curves, or excused sessions for these quizzes.
Semester grades will be composed of the following:
Quizzes/Assessment responses (24) Homework (Annotated essays, etc.) Essay 1 Essay 2 Source Cards (Research Paper) Research Paper (Essay 3) Works Cited page (Research Paper) Peer Reviews Total points possible
90-100% = A 80-89% = B 70-79 = C 60-69 = D below 60 = F
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created by Rebecca Whitus Longster, Summer 2006
page last updated: 05.23.06
corrections and suggestions to:
RebeccaL@purdue.edu
link to 106 Schedule (http://web.ics.purdue.edu/~rebeccal/comp /106yS06/schedule.html)