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Derek P. Royal Office: 131 Hall
of Literature Office Phone: ( |
Office Hours: TR 8:00 – 9:30, R 2:30 – 4:30, or by appointment |
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ENG 102 – Written Argument and Research
Spring 2005
Course Syllabus
Required Texts
Prerequisites
English 101 or advanced placement or CLEP.
Catalog Description
This course
provides students with advanced training in communication skills emphasizing
the writing and reading of argumentative prose and adapting writing to
alternate audiences. Students will write weekly, including such texts as
journals, reading response logs, summaries of argumentative texts,
argumentative papers, and longer papers integrating secondary research.
Activities include close reading of sample texts, both student and
professional. Some sections will emphasize special topics in both reading and
writing. Prerequisite:
Course Focus and Objectives
The subject focus of this section of ENG 102 will be the media and its
influence in our lives. All of your
research for this class—from the earliest source evaluation to your final
research paper—should reflect this topic.
Whatever issues you choose to investigate, you must approach them from a media-related perspective, so please keep
that in mind when brainstorming for a research topic.
Also, in order to complete ENG 102, the student must be able to
successfully master the following:
1)
write
essays, both in class and outside of class, that are both grammatically and
stylistically coherent
2)
edit own
writing to ensure correct usage and expression
3)
think
critically and develop skills in the construction of clear arguments
4)
analyze
various texts¾both professional and student-written¾carefully and thoroughly
5)
research
a variety of appropriate texts¾written, visual, Web-based¾and successfully incorporate those into your
own critical analysis
6)
demonstrate
the ability to communicate through peer response and classroom discussion
7)
integrate
technology into the process of research and composition
Attendance
Be here!
Much of your work will be done in class. Therefore, except in the most
extraordinary cases, you will be
required to attend all class sessions. If you know you have/will have an
excused absence from class, please see me about this as soon as you can. You still need to make up the work you may
have missed in class. And do arrive to class on time; tardiness can count as an
absence. Attendance and class participation will help determine your overall
course grade. More than three unexcused
absences can lower your course grade by at least one letter. Also, if you miss more than
Evaluation
The course grade is largely determined by performance on six major
exams (each one focusing on one of the texts we read) and a group presentation.
Grading Scale
A+=99, A=
D+=69, D=
The portions are weighted as follows:
Source evaluation exercise 1 10%
Source evaluation exercise 2 15%
Prospectus 15%
Annotated bibliography 20%
Outline 15%
Final research paper 25%
Except for legitimate excused absences, any paper turned in after the due date will result in a zero for the
assignment.
American Disabilities Act (
Students
requesting accommodations for disabilities must go through the Academic Support
Committee. For more information, please
contact the Director of Disability Resources & Services,
Plagiarism and Cheating
- Department policy: The
Department of Literature and Languages adheres to the university definition of
“plagiarism” by the Council of Writing Program Administrators that can be found
at http://www.ilstu.edu/~ddhesse/wpa/positions/WPAplagiarism.pdf:
Plagiarism occurs when a writer deliberately
uses someone else’s language, ideas, or other original (not common-knowledge)
material without acknowledging its source. […] Ethical writers make every
effort to acknowledge sources fully and appropriately in accordance with the
contexts and genres of their writing. A
student who attempts (even if clumsily) to identify and credit his or her
source, but who misuses a specific citation format or incorrectly uses
quotation marks or other forms of identifying material taken from other
sources, has not plagiarized. Instead,
such a student should be considered to have failed to cite and document sources
appropriately.
- Royal’s addendum: To intentionally plagiarize is to steal
another’s words or ideas as if they were your own. Any student who blatantly
plagiarizes (i.e., intentionally and directly lifting whole or partial material
from any electronic or printed material) will automatically fail the course and
should expect disciplinary action by the college.
Student Conduct and Responsibilities
- University policy: All students enrolled at the University
shall follow the tenets of common decency and acceptable behavior conducive to
a positive learning environment.
- Royal’s
addendum: In order for
everyone to get the most out of this course, classroom conduct is of the utmost
importance. Therefore, you will be
required to create and maintain a productive classroom environment with little
in the way of disruption. Your overall
grade could be put in jeopardy if you demonstrate inappropriate classroom
behaviors. This includes the habitual
disruption of the class through chit-chatting and talking out of turn, doing
outside work during our classroom time, and bringing in active electronic
devices (such as cell phones and pagers).
Every day you enter the class, please turn off your cell phones and
pagers.
Schedule
We will
divide our schedule according to the thematic sections found in the Beaty and Hunter collection. Along the way will
periodically read one of the novels or devote ourselves
to one of the films. (Please note the weeks
where assignments are due.)
Course Introduction
Library Tour
Perrin Readings: Chap. 4, “Learning about Your Library” pp. 28-34;
Chap. 5, “Learning to Use Online Catalogs and Periodical Databases” pp. 35-54.
Week 2: January 24 – 28
Perrin Readings: Chap. 1, “Moving from Subject to Topic: Where
Research Begins” pp. 1-11; Chap. 3, “Defining Research Goals and Evaluating
Sources” pp. 20-27.
Week 3: January 31 – February 4
Perrin Readings: Chap. 7, “Using the Internet and Other Electronic
Sources” pp. 64-76.
Week 4: February 7 – 11
Peer editing the “Source Evaluation 1”
assignment
Source Evaluation 1 Due
Week 5: February 14 – 18
Perrin Readings: Chap. 2, “Planning Thesis Statements and Stated
Objectives” pp. 12-19; Chap. 9, “Thinking Critically” pp. 96-109.
Week 6: February 21 – 25
Peer editing the “Source Evaluation 2”
assignment
Source Evaluation 2 Due
Week 7: February 28 – March 4
Perrin Readings: Chap. 8, “Evaluating Sources and Writing a Research
Proposal” pp. 77-95
Perrin Readings: Chap. 10, “Taking Notes from Sources” pp. 110-27.
Peer editing the Prospectus assignment
Prospectus Due
Week 9: March 14 – 18
SPRING BREAK
Week 10: March 21 – 25
Student Conferences – No Regular Class this Week
Week 11: March 28 – April 1
“Writing an Annotated Bibliography” (handout)
Learning the MLA Style
Perrin Readings: Chap. 14, “Using MLA Style When Appropriate” pp.
164-223.
Week 12: April 4 – 8
Peer editing the Annotated Bibliography
assignment
Annotated Bibliography Due
Week 13: April 11 – 15
Perrin Readings: Chap. 11, “Planning the Paper” pp. 128-38.
Week 14: April 18 – 22
Perrin Readings: Chap. 12, “Writing the Draft of the Paper” pp.
139-56.
Peer editing the Outline assignment
Outline Due
Week 15: April 25 – 29
Perrin Readings: Chap. 13, “Revising the Paper” pp. 157-63.
Peer editing the Final Research Paper
Week 16: May 2 – 6
Peer editing the Final Research Paper
Final Research Paper Due
Exam Week