English 2010: College Writing
Stephen D. Gibson
LA 114 G (12:00-1:00 & by appointment), 863-6287, stephen(dot)gibson(at)uvu(dot)edu
Required Texts and Materials
Ramage, John D. and John C. Bean. The Allyn and Bacon Guide to Writing. 6th Brief ed. Needham Heights: Allyn and Bacon, 2012.
An attended to UVlink email account and a way to take notes
Access to MetaphorByMetaphor.com
Access to Canvas
Course Prerequisites: Completion of English 1010 with a grade of C- or better. (Given these prerequisites, you should argue using thesis statements, points and particulars, and document your work using the Modern Language Association method of documentation.)
Course Description: “Explores interfaces between the personal and the public and invokes problems for exploration. Emphasizes the production of well-reasoned and carefully researched written arguments that embody the spirit of inquiry, explore and interrogate multiple perspectives, and negotiate meanings across a diverse array of positions. Three major research projects (with at least one mandatory, graded revision), annotated bibliography, oral presentations, portfolios, journals, in-class writing, and collaboration.”
– Utah Valley University Catalog
Course Objectives: This course is designed to prepare students for writing projects in academia and other workplaces. Together we will strive to refine critical thinking, research, reading, writing, and argument skills. The class helps students contribute to the academic and cultural conversations around them.
Academic Honesty: “Plagiarism, or the use of others’ words or ideas without proper attribution, is an impediment to your education and to the educational mission of Utah Valley University. Under the policy of the English and Literature Department of UVU, work that has been plagiarized must receive a failing grade. A distinction is made between unintentionally plagiarized work, which must be corrected in order to be considered for a passing grade, and intentional plagiarism, which will be forwarded to the Office of the Dean of Student Life as a disciplinary matter in accordance with UVU’s statement on Student Rights and Responsibilities. Evidence of intentional plagiarism will cause you to fail this course. Please read the department’s full statement on plagiarism, and speak to your instructor if you have any questions about avoiding plagiarism.”
–Utah Valley University English and Literature Department Homepage
Late Paper Policy: If for some good reason you won’t be able to turn something in, contact me (preferably in advance). You’ll be able to develop the habit of meeting deadlines by bringing hard copies of papers and rough drafts to class at the beginning of class on their due dates. In order to discourage procrastination, I’ll take ten points away from the total points earned each day (not class period) a paper is late. For example, a paper due on Friday but not turned in until Monday would have thirty points deducted from the total points it earns. A paper is turned in on the day when I feel I have personally received it, when I can hold a hard copy in my hands, not when it is left in my box, office, or in the English department. I do not usually grade papers emailed or faxed to me, and I encourage you to always make and keep a copy of all the work you turn in. You can, of course, turn things in early.
Assignments: Students will write in class almost each time the class meets. This writing will usually be collected and graded. Grades given in-class writing assignments include a zero (not completed), a three (completed poorly), and a five (successfully completed). By the end of the semester, the total value of these assignments will equal approximately one hundred points. In-class writing may serve as material from which the major assignments of the course will be composed and may motivate the completion of reading assignments. My record of completed in-class writing exercises serves as the record of your attendance, punctuality, and participation. In-class writing exercises can’t be made up.
The four writing projects required in the class are each worth one hundred points. Watch the attached schedule for due dates; read the pages assigned from the textbook, attend class, and ask questions for help completing these projects. Rough drafts are a required part of each essay and not including them will have a negative effect on your grade. Rather than line-editing your papers as I grade them, I’ll mark sentences with problems with a check in the margin.
I may allow the revision of essay assignments turned in on time that earn less than 85% of the total points possible. Mandatory meetings with me are required for you to take advantage of this revision option. I will not grade revised papers that are not the result of meetings with me. In order for the grade to improve, the revision must be substantial as I define that term. Substantial revision includes changes at both the sentence and global level. Revisions that are not substantial may receive worse grades than the original. A due date for the revised assignment will be determined together with each student, but the deadline for any and all revisions will be one week before the last class meeting. The last essay, because its due date is so close to the end of the semester, can’t be revised.
This semester, students are responsible for their own paper topics. Essays should follow the conventions of academic prose, which include addressing opposing views fairly and civilly. Students should be wary of writing about topics they cannot address in a civil way.
The final exam for the class takes the form of a simple portfolio. The portfolio consists of the opening and closing comprehensive self-reflective essays. It is your responsibility to keep your opening essay until you can turn it in at the final with the closing essay.
The writing assignments are worth a total of four hundred points, the in-class writing is worth about one hundred points, and the final exam will be worth twenty-five points. Five hundred and twenty-five points are possible in the course. Earning more than 93% of the total points possible in the class will result in an “A” grade, 90%-92.9% an A-, 86%-89.9% a “B+,” and so on. As the UVU Catalog indicates, “The letter grade ‘A’ is an honor grade indicating superior achievement; ‘B’ is a grade indicating commendable mastery; ‘C’ indicates satisfactory mastery and is considered an average grade; ‘D’ indicates substandard progress and insufficient evidence of ability to succeed in sequential courses; ‘E’ (failing) indicates inadequate mastery of pertinent skills or repeated absences from class.”
In order to protect their privacy, students must come to see me privately in my office if they wish to discuss a grade on an assignment or for the course. It is your responsibility to periodically check your grades on Canvas.
Students with Disabilities: If you have any disability that may impair your ability to successfully complete this course, please contact the Accessibility Services Department (room WB145). Academic accommodations are granted for all students who have qualified disabilities. Services are coordinated with the student and instructor by the Accessibility Services Department.
Fees: All students in English 1010, 2010, and 2020 classes are assessed a $1.00 photocopying fee upon registration. These fees enable professors to provide instructional handouts (in addition to syllabus and tests) throughout the semester.
Upon registration for this course, students are charged a $13.00 fee which helps defray the extra expenses of a computer class room, including equipment maintenance, account services, and printing supplies.
Tentative Schedule
Reading should be completed before class on the dates listed below. Come to class ready to ask questions about and discuss your reading of the pages listed. I may bring additional material.
Jan 9 Introduce the course, students, instructor; prepare for the opening reflection essay
Jan 11 Opening reflection essay 630-631
Jan 16 Martin Luther King Day
Jan 18 Generating and exploring ideas 354, Writers pose questions (and face ill-formed problems) 11-14, Wallowing in complexity 26-34, the Believing and Doubting Game 49-50
Jan 23 Annotated bibliography and the critical preface 164-167, Use purposeful strategies for searching libraries, databases, and Web sites 528-535
Jan 25 Rhetoric 16-24, 51-58, the U.R. Riddle Game 54-55, Reading sources rhetorically and taking purposeful notes 536-546
Jan 30 Understanding summary writing 99-104
Feb 1 Example annotated bibliography 174-176, Understanding how parenthetical citations work 574-579, MLA works cited page models 579-587, Example MLA style essay 590-598, Library research
Feb 6 Annotated bibliography due to peers
Feb 8 Annotated bibliography due, Classical argument introduction and using evidence effectively 331-343
Feb 13 Classical argument 353-357, Strong thesis statements 37-42
Feb 15 Incorporating sources into your own writing 553-565, Addressing objections and counter arguments, fallacies 343-352
Feb 20 President’s Day Holiday
Feb 21 Arguing your own thesis in response to a research question 518-522, Evaluating and incorporating sources into your own writing 553-565
Feb 22 Understanding why experts use multiple drafts 437-444, Classical argument essay examples 359-377
Feb 27 Classical argument essays due to peers
Feb 29 Classical argument essay examples continued
Mar 5 Classical argument essays due to peers
Mar 7 Classical arguments due, Annotated bibliography and the critical preface 164-167
Mar 12 Spring Break
Mar 14 Spring Break
Mar 19 Rhetoric 16-24, 51-58
Mar 21 Understanding summary writing 99-104, Library research
Mar 26 Annotated bibliography due to peers
Mar 28 Annotated bibliography due, Proposing a solution 401-404
Apr 2 Arguing for a solution 404-410
Apr 4 Audience 19-21, 452-455
Apr 9 Example essays 423-433
Apr 11 Proposing a solution essay due to peers
Apr 16 Proposing a solution essay due to peers
Apr 18 Proposing a solution essay due
Final: Wednesday, 25 Apr, 1:00-2:50
