English 106-Freshman Composition

Spring 2006

106-0803; 106-5803

2:30 P.M.

What if…?

Contact Information

Instructor: Neal Gill

Office: Heavilon Hall 413

Phone: 49-43761

E-mail: ngill@purdue.edu

Office Hours: M, T, W, Th 12:00 noon-1:30 P.M.

Course Syllabus Online: http://web.ics.purdue.edu/~wgilljr/106spr06a.htm

Required Texts and Materials: Books available at Von’s Books on Chauncey Hill; 315 W. State Street: Reading Packet at Copymat in Chauncey Hill Mall

The Norton Field Guide to Writing by Richard Bullock
Maus I by Art Speigelman
Ecotopia by James Callenbach
Reading Packet at Copymat
Two IBM formatted computer diskettes, one for storage and one for back-up
Spiral notebook for journal

Course Expectations:

Based on readings from speculative literature this course emphasizes critical thinking and writing at the college level. In addition, you will learn how to analyze texts, navigate the library, utilize various research techniques, incorporate information from differing sources into your own paper and document sources using MLA guidelines. We will practice these skills by examining how literature (in both print and visual formats) shapes our values and what it may show us about our understanding of ourselves. In order to accomplish the course goals you must come to each class prepared. This means coming to class on time as well as completing readings and homework as assigned. Active participation in class discussions is crucial.

Graded Writing Assignments and Activity:

One web authoring assignment: 150 points

Two 4 to 5 page critical papers with proposals: 100 points each

Three 2 to 3 page responses: 50 points each

Quizzes: 50 points

Blog: 50 points

Critical Bibliography: 100 points

Final 8 to 10 page critical paper with proposal: 200 points

Participation: 100 points

1000 points total

Grading Scale

Your points will be translated into percentages; your final grade will be calculated according to the following point scale:

1000-900	A
899-800	B
799-700	C
699-600	D
599-below	F

Although such instances are rare, I reserve the right to reward students who have shown dramatic progress with higher grades than the scale suggests. On the other hand, I will not give a student a lower grade if all projects are completed and absences do not exceed the maximum allowed.

Note about Incompletes: The mark of ‘I’ is inappropriate if, in the instructor’s judgment, it will be necessary for the student regularly to attend subsequent sessions of the class. I will give an Incomplete only in cases of extreme emergency.

Class Participation & Assignments: This is one of the most important components to the success of the course. All reading and outside assignments are to be completed prior to class. This means reading carefully and critically, bringing materials to class, and coming prepared to engage with the ideas and your class. Class investigations are participatory assignments that include critical and active discussions as well as in-class collaborative work.

Attendance: Attendance is welcomed, expected, and mandatory. To best utilize our time, come to class on time. You are considered absent if 1) you are more than 15 minutes late and/or 2) you are unprepared for class. There will be regular in-class work to check your attendance and preparation for class. You may miss four sessions without penalty. For every class absence after the first four, I will lower your final point total by 100 points. After four absences you must attend a conference with me to discuss whether you should continue in this course. Eight or more absences constitute automatic failure of the course. Three tardies count as one absence.

Writing Deadlines & Submissions: You are expected to submit assignments by the deadlines listed. All written work is due at the beginning of class unless otherwise noted. In order to be considered for a grade, all assignments are to be complete, of the minimum acceptable length, and must conform to MLA documentation and format (word-processed, Times New Roman type, 12 point legible font, double-spacing, with one inch margins). No out of class papers will be accepted if they are handwritten. Late assignments will only be accepted with the specific, prior agreement of the instructor. No exceptions!!!

Conferences & Contact: I am open to discussing matters pertaining to the course, readings, and your writing; please feel free to contact me via email or phone as well as in person. I hope you will also take advantage of my office hours and email.

Peer Editing Workshops: Students will be responsible for participating in in-class writing workshops where they can benefit from the constructive criticism of their fellow students. Attendance and participation in peer workshops is mandatory and workshopped drafts of all longer papers with peer comments must be submitted with the final draft.

Revisions: You may revise the first 4-5 page essay. I will return each assignment to you with comments, suggestions, and a grade. Works that are incomplete when originally turned in or papers not received by the deadline are not eligible for revision. Also, I will not accept revisions without your original graded project and all previous drafts. Revisions of the essays are due one week from the date they are returned in class.

To assist you in revising, please remember that revision is an active rethinking/reworking process. Papers which only correct surface errors are unacceptable, as are papers which don’t consider feedback. Revision is not a guarantee of a higher grade.

Portfolio: Please keep a folder with all written work for the course. Bring this folder with you when you attend conferences. Be sure you keep your copies of all written work with my original comments on them. Additionally, I strongly recommend you keep duplicate copies of your work in your Purdue H-drive, on floppy discs and on paper.

PLAGIARISM:

Academic Dishonesty

Cheating: All written work submitted for a grade in this course must be the product of your own composition. Ideas generated due to reading and group discussion may provide the inspiration for your work, but should not be the sole ideas represented. With collaborative projects, of course, ideas should be representative of the group’s work.

Plagiarism is the act of presenting as your own work another individual’s ideas, words, data, or research material. The concept applies equally to written, spoken, or electronic texts, published or unpublished. All ideas and quotations that you borrow from any source must be acknowledged: at a minimum, you should give the name of your author, the title of the text cited, and the page number(s) of the citation. The only exceptions to this requirement would involve what is familiar and commonly held (e.g. the fact that the earth is round). You should know that penalties for plagiarism are severe and can entail suspension from the University. Students are responsible for reading and understanding the University policy on Cheating and Plagiarism set forth by the Dean of Students at http://www.purdue.edu/odos/osrr/integrity.htm

CLASSROOM BEHAVIOR: Insults, slurs, or attacks of any kind will not be allowed in my class. Any student who engages in this type of behavior in the classroom will be permanently removed from the class. In other words, required to drop the course, in addition to other possible punishment given by Purdue. Please make sure cell phones and beepers are turned off during class. In order to have an effective teaching and learning environment we must practice both respect and tolerance, without question.

RESOURCE LINKS FOR HELP WITH COMPUTER QUESTIONS:

COURSE CONTENT ADVISORY

*Please note that since we will be reading and discussing literature that presents a wide range of human behaviour and language we may at times read scenes, situations or language which may be objectionable in certain situations. This, however, is a classroom and open discussion is essential. By not dropping this class your continued attendance will constitute agreement that you are not offended by such frank discussion.

Your Purdue Career Account information page (available at http://www.purdue.edu/CareerAccount)
PUCC Lab Information page (available at http://labinfo.cc.purdue.edu/)
Directory Services (available at http://directory.purdue.edu/)

MLA Guidelines:

http://owl.english.purdue.edu/

Additional Links:

Plagiarism:

http://www.purdue.edu/odos/publications.htm

Purdue University Library Education Modules

http://core.lib.purdue.edu/

Links to Website Analysis

http://www.library.cornell.edu/olinuris/ref/research/webeval.html

http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/TeachingLib/Guides/Internet/Evaluate.html

My Virtual Reference Desk

http://www.refdesk.com

Sample sites for analysis:

http://zapatopi.net/afdb.html

http://home.inreach.com/kumbach/velcro.html

http://www.improb.com/airchives/classical/cat/cat.html

http://www.bigredhair.com/boilerplate/

http://descy.50megs.com/descy/webcred/webcred/Fredericton.html

http://www.c-span.org/

http://www.msnbc.com/

http://www.cnn.com/

http://www.cia.gov/cia/ciakids/index.shtml

http://www.nationalenquirer.com/

http://www.cbs.com/latenight/lateshow/

http://www.sciam.com/

http://www.nytimes.com/

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/home/index.html

http://www.delafont.com/music_acts/ludacris.htm

http://www.janet-jackson.com/

http://www.williamgibsonbooks.com/index.asp

http://www.blogger.com/

Purdue Library training modules: Core

A few Webcomic sites:

Achewood – A mixture of housecats and stuffed animals sassin’ each other like nobody’s foolin’. Each week the Achewood team tackles sex, money, and the afterlife. Shenanigans. The writing is insanely funny, and Chris Onstad, the artist, has quite an ear for character voices. He even gives each character a regularly updated blog. The Achewood Empire is a thing to behold. Suggested: The “Ray’s Toilet Party” arc. Also “Cartilage Head.”
Scary Go Round – Take the teens from Scooby Doo and give them the ability to approximate human emotion and you’ve got Scary Go Round. The real treat in this comic is the dialogue (more sass-mouth), but artist John Allison’s ability to sustain fairly clever storylines over the course of many individual strips is pretty amazing as well. He recently switched from computer artwork to the hand-drawn variety. Suggested: Do yourself a favor and read the “Meddling” chapter. Right now. Go.
Perry Bible Fellowship – Nothing to do with bibles or fellowship. Quite demented. This is generally a 3-4 panel strip with a trick ending, where the trick is almost always bloody unspeakableness. Suggested: “Game System” and “Barb and Rudy.”
Toothpaste for Dinner – Poorly-drawn hilarity. Suggested: “My Dad Can Beat” and “Dogs Offer Many Services.”
Natalie Dee – Why is she so good? It is impossible for me to say. Everyday, without fail, Natalie Dee transforms my reality. That is all I have to say to you. Suggested: Everything. Make sure you click on the “ Dairyland” entries, too.

Class Blog link:

http://heavilon.blogspot.com

*link to this, click on "comments" and respond to the posting

A Few Flash comics

http://www.gprime.net

*click on "flash" and choose a comic

Course Calendar

Date	Readings (to be done by this date)	Activity
Week 1 Monday 1/9/06		Heavilon 108 Introduction; purpose; books
Tuesday 1/10/06		Heavilon 225 Parts of a story
Wednesday 1/11/06		Heavilon 108 In-class writing; Summary, Analysis, Interpretation
Thursday 1/12/06		Heavilon 223 Parts of a story
Friday 1/13/06		ENAD 130 Syllabus, e-mail, H-drive
Week 2 Monday 1/16	MARTIN LUTHER KING DAY	NO CLASSES
Tuesday 1/17	Norton 21-30
Wednesday 1/18	“Maus I”	Claims
Thursday 1/19	Norton 39-59	Thesis Sample thesis statement
Friday 1/20		Blogging
Week 3 Monday 1/23	Norton 51-58 “The Knot”	Response 1 Due Discussion Grading
Tuesday 1/24
Wednesday 1/25	“Ikaros”	Discussion
Thursday 1/26
Friday 1/27		Proposal due for 4 to 5 page argument
Week 4 Monday 1/30	Norton 81-106 “The Girl Who Was Plugged In”	Styles of Argument
Tuesday 1/31		Approaches to Argument
Wednesday 2/1	"Burning Chrome"	First Draft of Argument Due
Thursday 2/2		Pre-flight Checklist
Friday 2/3		4 to 5 page argument due ---Grading---
Week 5 Monday 2/6	Norton 313-328 “The Spiral”	Last day to add/drop
Tuesday 2/7
Wednesday 2/8	“A Very Old Man With Enormous Wings”
Thursday 2/9
Friday 2/10		Response 2 Due
Week 6 Monday 2/13	Ecotopia” 1-70
Tuesday 2/14
Wednesday 2/15	Movie	Proposal due for 4 to 5 page argument
Thursday 2/16
Friday 2/17	"Flies"	Response 3 Due
Week 7 Monday 2/20	“Ecotopia” 70-140 “The Babylon Lottery”
Tuesday 2/21
Wednesday 2/22	“The Lottery”	First Draft of Argument Due
Thursday 2/23
Friday 2/24		Website instruction, planning, practice;
Week 8 Monday 2/27	Norton 195-197 “Ecotopia” 140-212	4 to 5 page argument due
Tuesday 2/28
Wednesday 3/1	“An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge”
Thursday 3/2
Friday 3/3	“The Yellow Wallpaper”	Website practice
Week 9 Monday 3/6		Website presentations STON B006 Extra-Credit paper due
Tuesday 3/7		Website presentations STON B006
Wednesday 3/8		Website presentations BRNG B282
Thursday 3/9		Website presentations BRNG B282
Friday 3/10	Class Attendance Optional	Website presentations ENAD 130 Website URL due by 5:00 P.M. Guidelines
Week 10 Monday 3/13	Spring Break
Tuesday 3/14	Spring Break
Wednesday 3/15	Spring Break
Thursday 3/16	Spring Break
Friday 3/17	Spring Break
Week 11 Monday 3/20	Norton 160-163
Tuesday 3/21
Wednesday 3/22	Norton 340-350 “The Persistence of Vision”
Thursday 3/23
Friday 3/24		Proposal for Final Project Due Research procedures
Week 12 Monday 3/27	Norton 112-115 No Class	Conferences Sign-Up List
Tuesday 3/28	No Class	Conferences
Wednesday 3/29	No Class	Conferences
Thursday 3/30	No Class	Conferences
Friday 3/31	No Class	Conferences
Week 13 Monday 4/3	Norton 205-207	Libraries
Tuesday 4/4
Wednesday 4/5		Group Discussions
Thursday 4/6
Friday 4/7		Work on Bibliography
Week 14 Monday 4/10	Norton 354-369	Critical Bibliography due Instructions Example
Tuesday 4/11
Wednesday 4/12	Norton 370-374
Thursday 4/13
Friday 4/14	Norton 375-377	First Draft Due
Week 15 Monday 4/17	No Class Today	*Availability
Tuesday 4/18	Conferences as usual
Wednesday 4/19	No Class Today
Thursday 4/20	Conferences as usual
Friday 4/21		Second Draft Due
Week 16 Monday 4/24	No Class
Tuesday 4/25	No Conferences
Wednesday 4/26	No Class
Thursday 4/27	No Conferences	Final Project Grading Guidelines
Friday 4/28	No Class	Final project due by 5:00 P.M. in my office

Contact Information

Response 2 Due

Response 3 Due

Spring Break

Critical Bibliography due

First Draft Due

Second Draft Due

Week 16