La Sierra University Department of English and Communication Syllabus for ENGL 113-1: College Writing Spring Quarter, 2013

Mon, Tues, Thurs 9:00-9:50 am Instructor: Office Location: Office Hours: Contact Information: E-mail Miss Romero South Hall 120 Mon 10-10:50 am, Tues 10-10:50 & Thurs 10-10:50 am (Also by appointment) nataliemromero@gmail.com

Prerequisite: ENGL 112 (or its equivalent from a different education institution) with a grade level of C or higher. Course Description: English 113 emphasizes the development and use of critical thinking, reading, writing, and research skills essential for creating college-level papers. The course emphasizes writing argumentative, critical, and research-based papers. ENGL 113 is the third-subject course in the three-subject sequence of Freshman English, a general education requirement for students seeking a bachelors or associate degree. It is a prerequisite for courses numbered above 200 in the English Department. Course Goal: To help students become competent, confident writers and critical thinkers. Student Learning Outcomes: Students in English 113 will Read and analyze essays critically, evaluating ideas, evidence, logic, and sources Identify and make rhetorical choices that shape writing for a variety of purposes and audiences Refine their research skills, showing ability to locate both print and electronic resources to support and develop their ideas Interpret research and scholarly materials toward constructing a well-documented research paper Write a substantial, documented research paper supporting a clear thesis and demonstrating responsible use of evidence and sources

 Learn the importance of citing research sources using acceptable citation conventions Read and respond to peers writing as a part of the writing community Demonstrate their ability to present ideas effectively in an oral presentation Text: Maimon, Elaine, Janice Peritz, and Kathleen Blake Yancey. A Writers Resource: A Handbook for Writing and Research, 4th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2012. Bullock, Richard, Maureen Daly Goggin, and Francine Wienberg. The Norton Field Guide to Writing with Readings and Handbook, 2nd ed. New York: Norton, 2010. Please note: Students are expected to have their textbooks by the second day of class. You are responsible for missing any reading assignments. Course Requirements: ~Attendance Attendance at all sessions is expected. An absence or tardiness will be excused for illness or personal emergency only. Do not schedule dental, doctor, work, or interview appointments that interfere with your class sessions. In addition, coming to class to turn in work and then leaving (unless you are visibly ill and you talk with the instructor) results in an unexcused absence. Regulations in the university bulletin state that absence from 20% of the scheduled class periods is sufficient cause for failure in the course. The English and Communication Department adheres to this policy. Quizzes cannot be made up. Three tardies equal an absence. Each student has 10 points for attendance/participation at the beginning of each class periodan tardy results in the loss of 5 points. An absence results in the loss of all 10 points. If you are absent for illness or personal emergencies (excused absence), you may ask the instructor to let you make up or turn in work. Any assignments due on the day of illness must still be submitted on time via email unless other arrangements are made with the instructor. In this course, excused absences count the same as absences when it comes to the 20% minimum policy. Contact information is provided at the beginning of this syllabus. You are responsible for information you missed during your absence. Check with a classmate for class notes, changes in assignments, special announcements, etc. Absence during the final exam results in automatic failure of the course. Exceptions to the final exam are only handled through the Deans office (x 2211) for reasons of family emergency, illness, or having 3 exams scheduled on the same day.

To clarify: ~Students cannot miss more than 6 class periods (20 %). Missing more than 6 will result in failure of the course. ~Three tardies equal one absence. ~If you have an excused absence, the absence itself still counts against you in regards to the amount of class time missed. HOWEVER, you may still turn in your work late if you have made arrangements with the instructor. ~If you have an unexcused absence, you cannot turn in any late work. ~Class Participation Because writing effectively is done in a community of writers, it is important that you complete assignments on time and participate in class discussions about the writing and reading we are doing. Your active participation is one component of satisfactorily completing the course. Please note: No cell phones, iPods, iPads, or other electronic devices are allowed in class. Laptops are the exception on Free-Write Thursdays. Please have these devices put away during class time, and have your phones on silent. If you are expecting an important call, please step outside to answer it. Disrupting my classroom by answering your phone is not only extremely rude, but it will result in you losing participation points. Too many interruptions can result in you losing all participation points for the day, which is the same as being marked absent. Any electronic device may be confiscated if it is brought out during tests or if it disrupts the learning environment in any way. ~Syllabus Contract/Pledge of Academic Integrity Each student will be asked to sign two forms this quarter. By signing the first form, the student asserts that he or she has read and understood the syllabus and calendar, and is aware that if caught plagiarizing, there will be corresponding consequences. By signing the second form, the student asserts that the writing for the quarter is his or her own work, created exclusively during and for English 113. Assignments: ~In-class Writing You will write in class, everything from brainstorming to reading responses to assessing your research progress. On Free-Write Thursdays, you will be asked to bring in your laptop to complete your free-write assignments, and to take the weekly quiz.

~Grammar/Usage/Style Effective writing requires good grammar, sentence structure, conventional punctuation and usage, good word choice, and style. This quarter we will work on several areas that are troublesome for writers as well as refine style of writing. ~Formal Writing The primary writing assignment for the quarter will be a documented research paper of 8-10 pages. Each student will submit four rough drafts (each is worth 50 points), with the fifth and final draft being the completed research paper (worth 100 points). As the focus of the class is the progression of research and how papers change from draft to draft, you must turn in all four rough drafts in order to receive credit for the final, completed essay. Rough Draft 1Two pages, in which the student acknowledges their topic, states their thesis, etc. Rough Draft 2Four pages, in which the student expands on their first draft, beginning to fully explore their topic/problem. Rough Draft 3Six pages. The paper should be nearly complete, with lots of research done. The student will be well versed in their topic at this point. Rough Draft 4Eight pages. Last stage before polishing up for final draft. Final DraftEight to ten pages, polished. The draft is now complete. ~Oral Presentation Students will present their research papers during the last week of the quarter to share their work and to practice their oral presentation skills. ~Source Notebook As part of the research project, you will create a research or source notebook. In it you will keep photocopies of all sources used in your research paper: articles, book chapters or pages, Web pages, etc. with all passages used for quotes and paraphrases circled and highlighted. Sources will be organized alphabetically, labeled, and tabbed for easy reference. In addition, before each source, you will include that sources bibliographic information in MLA or APA format. This source notebook will be checked in a peer evaluation and will be turned in with your final paper. The documented research paper will not be accepted without an organized source notebook turned in with it.

~Writing Conferences During the course, you will meet with the instructor to conference on your writing. All conferences are mandatory. Missing these conferences is the same as not turning in your drafts, and you will lose all available points for that day/assignment. ~Peer Response Workshops All students will be participating in peer response groups. You will need to have your drafts complete and ready for response as well as provide thoughtful, thorough response to your peers on their writing. Guidelines for peer response will be provided in class. ~Quizzes and Exams We will have weekly quizzes covering the reading assignments. These are online, and will be completed at the beginning of class. There will be a mid-term and final examination for this course, both based on what weve done or discussed in class, research skills, documentation of sources, our research writing text, etc.

Course Policies: Assignments are due at the beginning of each class when they are called for. Assignments that come in after they have been called for will receive an automatic 20% reduction in grade. No papers will be accepted after 5:00 p.m. on the date they are due, and in-class assignments, quizzes, and tests that are missed due to an unexcused absence or tardiness cannot be made up. Assignments that are not posted on turnitin.com prior to the beginning of class on the day they are due (that is, prior t0 9 am) will receive a 10% reduction in grade. If an assignment is never posted, it will not be accepted, regardless of the paper copy turned in during class time. I will not read your paper draft unless you have submitted to turnitin.com. The final draft will not be accepted unless the previous four drafts have been provided both on paper and online. When working in groups, you will treat your classmates respectfully, remembering both your classroom environment and that fact that you are adults. Each member of a group is responsible for his or her own work and grade, and is expected to participate the same as other group members. Loudness and rudeness are not acceptable behaviors for my classroom, or anyone elses. Interruptions of any kind will lower your participation grade. Plagiarism is the borrowing of other peoples ideas, words, or writing and representing them as your own. Plagiarism is unacceptable and treated very

seriously in this class. A plagiarized paper usually carries the penalty of automatic failure for the course. In addition, the College of Arts and Sciences requires the instructor to report the plagiarism occurrence in writing to the dean, and the instance goes into your academic file. Students with Disabilities: La Sierra University complies with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. Any student with a documented disability (physical, learning, or psychological) needing academic accommodations should contact the Learning Support and Testing Center (LSTC) as early in the quarter as possible. All discussions will remain confidential. Please contact the LSTC (785-2452) for additional information. You will receive a letter that documents your disability and explains how your needs can be accommodated. Give this letter to your instructors within the first two weeks of the term. Turnitin.com As noted in the course policies, we use www.turnitin.com in this class. Its primary purpose is not to get you in troubleit is a learning tool that can help you see where you may be struggling with unintentional plagiarism, faulty paraphrasing, or missing citations. In addition, it will show the instructor if you have copied or stolen another students paper, or if you are presenting anothers opinions without proper credit. If you havent already created an account with turnitin for another class, please do so as soon as possible. Once you have an account, you can enroll in a class, and there you will submit both rough and final drafts. Here is the information needed to enroll in ENGL 113-1. Class ID: 6306084 Password: research

Class Blog We utilize a class blog, where your prompts for free-writes will be found every Thursday. It is also used for the quiz schedule, extra announcements, paper examples, etc. Please bookmark this address on your computer: http://collegewriting-research.blogspot.com/.

Grading: Because this course is conducted in a workshop format, for the most part, many of the assignments will not necessarily be graded or assessed for points. However, your cooperation in turning in assignments is noted and you will receive credit in the form of a participation grade. The research assignment will come in stages, and, thus, you will have the opportunity for significant revision at each stage. The course grade is based on the degree to which a student satisfies the following requirements: attendance at and active participation in all class sessions completing all writing assignments on time and at an acceptable level attending writing conferences participating in peer response workshops and scheduled presentations quizzes, mid-term, and final exams Final grades are composed of the following sections: Participation*: Formal writing: Quizzes, midterm, and final: Source Notebook: 10% 60% 10% 5%

Drafts/peer response workshops/writing conference: 15%

* This includes attendance, grammar/usage exercises, freewrites in class, discussion, etc.

Grading standards: A AB+ B BC+ 93-100% 90-92 87-89 83-86 80-82 77-79 C CD+ D F 73-76 70-72 66-69 60-65 59% and below

ENGL 113-1 Syllabus Contract Miss Romero Spring 2013 This contract signifies that I, the student, have read and understood the syllabus provided by the instructor. By initialing and signing this contract, I am agreeing to the following points: _______ I understand that I will be expected to conduct research in the library, work on organization, flow, diction, sentence structure, and standard grammar and usage skills, and complete an 8-10 page research paper. _______ _______ As this class is a prerequisite for many other class, I must earn a grade of C or better in ENGL 113. I have reviewed the course requirements (attendance, participation, various drafts, source notebook, writing conferences, peer response workshops, presentation, etc.). _______ _______ I will adhere to the course policies and all academic standards. The instructor explained the Academic Integrity Committee Working Procedures to the class, and I understand that for all four violations there are corresponding consequences. _______ I am aware that the instructor has provided her contact information and office hours, and is available in case of questions or concerns.

Name (Print) ______________________ LSU ID # ____________________ Signature_________________________ Date________________________