ENG 1020 Sample Syllabus

Course Placement for ENG 1020

Students are placed into ENG 1020 via ACT score (ACT English >21), the English Qualifying Examination, or a passing grade in ENG 1010. Neither instructors nor the Department of English will override placement.

General Education Designation for BC

With a grade of C or better, ENG 1020 fulfills the General Education Basic Composition (BC) graduation requirement. Successful completion of Basic Composition (BC) with a grade of C or better is a prerequisite to enrolling in courses that fulfill the General Education IC (Intermediate Composition) requirement for graduation (e.g., ENG 3010, 3050, Literature & Writing courses).

English Department Course Description

Building upon students’ diverse skills, English 1020 prepares students for reading, research, and writing in college classes. The main goals of the course are

1.        to teach students to consider the rhetorical situation for any piece of writing;

2.        to have students integrate reading, research, and writing in the academic genres of analysis and argument; and

3.        to teach students to develop analyses and arguments using research-based content, effective organization, and appropriate expression and mechanics, all while using a flexible writing process that incorporates drafting, revising, editing, and documenting sources.

Learning Outcomes

Students who pass ENG 1020 will produce writing that demonstrates core abilities in four key areas:

Writing

Write effectively for various rhetorical situations (considering elements such as genre, context, discourse community, claims, evidence, organization, style, rhetorical strategies, and persuasive effect), using a flexible writing process and varied technologies.

Reading

Use analytical and critical strategies to read complex texts in a variety of media, and to identify and evaluate elements of the rhetorical situation (including those listed above).

Researching

Conduct research by finding and evaluating print, electronic, and other sources; generate information and ideas from research; and appropriately integrate material from sources.

Reflecting

Use reflection to make choices and changes in both the composing process and products in this course and to explain how you will use skills you have learned to approach unfamiliar writing tasks.

Required Texts

Devitt, et al. The Wayne Writer. Custom ed. New York: Pearson, 2013. Print, eText available. ISBN: 1269416456.

Graff, Gerald, and Cathy Birkenstein. They Say/I Say: The Moves That Matter in Academic Writing. 3rd ed. New York: W. W. Norton, 2014. Print. ISBN – 978-0-393-93584-4.

Recommended Text

Ruszkiewicz, John, Daniel Seward, Christy Friend, and Maxine Hairston. The Scott, Foresman Writer. 5th ed. Boston: Longman, 2011. Print. ISBN-10:  0321873432 (bundled w/ MyCompLab card) ISBN-13: 9780321873439

Assignments

Assignment and Page Requirements

Students are required to write a minimum of 32 pages (8000 words) in ENG 1020 (including drafts and informal writing).

Literacy Autobiography (3 pages)

In this assignment, you will describe the role that writing plays within your discourse community and the way that you have used writing to accomplish a goal within that community.

Rhetorical Analysis (6 pages)

Using an article of your choice from a curated list, you will analyze and describe the rhetorical tools used by the writer in order to accomplish his/her goal.

Genre Analysis (8 pages)

Using a set of related sources, you will analyze the generic structures of the sources and the ways in which the sources use/ignore/avoid those structures.

Argument Essay (10 pages)

In this paper, you will engage in a conversation about a local issue pertaining to Detroit, Wayne State University, or Michigan.

Reflection Journals (1 page each, 6 total)

These short reflections are designed to give you a chance to think (and write!) about what you’ve learned and ways you can use those skills in other classes.

Conferences

At times throughout the semester, class will be cancelled so that the instructor can meet and speak in a one-on-one setting with students.  These conferences are required.

In-class work

Students will often write in class and engage in group work.  Active participation in these assignments is required and graded.

Reflective Argument and Portfolio (6 pages for the argument, minimum, no page requirement for the portfolio)

To pass this course, students must complete a final portfolio and reflective argument assignment required by the WSU Composition Program. This assignment is designed to prepare students to transfer knowledge and skills from ENG 1020 to subsequent courses and other writing contexts. It is based in research in psychology and writing studies. This research shows that metacognition, or analysis of one’s own thinking processes, is key to helping people transfer knowledge and skills from the context where they were initially learned to future contexts. To help students prepare to draft the Reflective Argument, this course includes reflective assignments designed to promote metacognition.

Grading

Literacy Autobiography                                                                         5%

(10% of total grade for submitting complete

versions of required steps on time)

Rhetorical Analysis                                                                                10%

Genre Analysis                                                                                       15%

(10% of total grade for submitting complete

versions of required steps on time)

Argument Essay                                                                                    20%

(10% of total grade for submitting complete

versions of required steps on time)

Reflective Argument and Portfolio                                                      20%

Reflection Journals                                                                                18%

(3% each)

In-Class Presentations, Writing, and                                                      9%

Preparation (full credit requires

that you show thorough preparation

and focused participation in all

required activities, with no more

than three exceptions, including absences)

Required Conferences                                                                               3%

(1% each; full credit requires that you arrive

fully prepared and on time and that you

show focused participation)

Total                                                                                                      100%

WSU Grading Scale:

A             94-100%

A-            90-93%

B+          87-89%

B             84-86%

B-            80-83%

C+          77-79%

C             74-76%                   A grade of C or better fulfills the

C-            70-73%                   General Education IC requirement

D+          67-69%                   and the prerequisite for General

D             64-66%                   Education WI courses.

D-           60-63%

F              59% or less

Attendance Policy

Class attendance is required, and attendance will be taken at each class session. Arriving more than 15 minutes late will count as an absence. Attendance, preparedness, and active participation count as X percent of the final grade. However, final grades drop by half a mark for each absence after four, and students will fail the course after six absences.

Class Size/English Department Attendance Policy/Adding ENG 1020

Enrollment in ENG 1020 is capped at 26 students. Students must attend one of the first two class days to stay enrolled in the course. Students who do not attend of the first two class meetings may be asked to drop to avoid a failing grade.

Other Course Policies

To add the course, attend one of the first two class meetings and add by January 26.  Students will not be permitted to add the course otherwise. Students wishing to drop the class, and receive a full refund of their tuition, must drop it by January 26. The last day to drop a course without having it appear on a student’s academic record is February 8. Students may withdraw from a course with instructor approval between February 9 and March 29.  The university does not permit withdrawals after this date.

• Students will be asked to share writing and make photocopies for others in class.
• Students should ensure that all pagers, cell phones, watches, etc., won’t sound during class time. Students should not take or make calls, text message, or otherwise use electronic devices during class, except to access course-related materials.
• Students must contact the instructor in advance if work cannot be submitted by the due date. No comments will be provided for late work.  The instructor will determine specific grade reductions based on timely prior notification, whether revised deadlines are met, and similar factors.  Late work will be accepted and graded only if a new deadline is arranged with the instructor in advance.
• If a student misses the first two class sessions, s/he will be asked to drop the course to avoid a failing grade. Students may add the course during the first week of classes but not after that.
• With a grade of C or better, this course satisfies the general education requirement for intermediate composition (IC).  To meet university criteria for fulfilling this requirement, the course includes writing assignments totaling at least 32 pages (8000 or more words).  There is no final exam.
• A grade of Incomplete will be issued only if the student has attended nearly all of the class sessions, submitted an Incomplete Contract (using the English Department’s recommended form) sign, and obtained the instructor’s signature on it.
• Students who may need an accommodation based on the impact of a disability should contact the instructor privately to discuss specific needs.  Additionally, the Student Disabilities Services Office coordinates reasonable accommodations for students with documented disabilities.  The office is located in 1600 David Adamany Undergraduate Library, phone:  313-577-1851/577-3335 (TTD).  http://studentdisability.wayne.edu
• Additional resources include the Academic Success Center http://www.success.wayne.edu and Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) http://www.caps.wayne.edu.

Project Formats and Submission

• Typed, double-spaced, 11- or 12-point type, with one-inch margins, submitted electronically through Blackboard, using SafeAssign.
• Please use MLA format for citations.
• Revised material (including material from a previous assignment used in a subsequent assignment): highlight all new and changed material using MS-Word’s Track Changes feature to receive credit.)

The WRT Zone

The WRT Zone (2nd floor, UGL) provides individual tutoring consultations free of charge for graduate and undergraduate students at WSU. Undergraduate students in general education courses, including composition courses, receive priority for tutoring appointments. The WRT Zone serves as a resource for writers, providing tutoring sessions on the range of activities in the writing process – considering the audience, analyzing the assignment or genre, brainstorming, researching, writing drafts, revising, editing, and preparing documentation. The WRT Zone is not an editing or proofreading service; rather, tutors work collaboratively with students to support them in developing relevant skills and knowledge, from developing an idea to editing for grammar and mechanics. To make a face-to-face or online appointment, consult the WRT Zone website: http://www.clas.wayne.edu/writing/

For more information about the WRT Zone, please contact the Director, Jule Wallis (phone: 313-577-2544; email: au1145@wayne.edu).

Plagiarism Policy

Plagiarism is the act of copying work from books, articles, and websites without citing and documenting the source. Plagiarism includes copying language, texts, and visuals without citation (e.g., cutting and pasting from websites). Plagiarism also includes submitting papers (or sections of papers) that were written by another person, including another student, or downloaded from the Internet. Plagiarism is a serious academic offense. It may result in an F for the assignment or an F for the course. Instructors are required to report all cases of plagiarism to the English Department. Information on plagiarism procedures is available in the Department.

Calendar

All assignments and readings are due to be completed before class on the date listed in the calendar, below.  Additional readings may be added at the instructor’s discretion, and deadlines may be altered to meet the needs of the course.  The scheduled class cancellations may also change.  It is the student’s responsibility to maintain an accurate calendar.

Week 1

·         1-12:  Introductions

·         1-14:  The Syllabus

·         1-16:  The Wayne Writer, pages xi-xviii and xxi-xxiv

Week 2

·         1-19:  No Classes, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day 

·         1-21:  The Wayne Writer, pages xxxi-xl and lxv-lxxiv

·         1-23:  Literacy Autobiography Assigned, They Say / I Say pages 163-166

Week 3

·         1-26:  In-class work on literacy autobiography

·         1-28:  Wayne Writer pages 3-23

·         1-30:  Literacy Autobiography due, Wayne Writer pages 23-47

Week 4

·         2-2:  Rhetorical Analysis assigned, First Reflective Journal due

·         2-4:  Analysis Readings, TBA (on Blackboard)

·         2-6:  Having Your Say, Chapter 2 (on Blackboard)

Week 5

·         2-9:  Having Your Say, Chapter 3 (on Blackboard)

·         2-11:  Wayne Writer pages 121-139

·         2-13:  They Say / I Say pages 139-159, in-class writing

Week 6

·         2-16:  Rhetorical analysis draft due, peer revision

·         2-18:  Class cancelled; individual appointments scheduled

·         2-20:  Rhetorical Analysis due; Genre Analysis assigned

Week 7

·         2-23:  Wayne Writer pages 48-64, Second Reflective Journal due

·         2-25:  Wayne Writer pages 64-97

·         2-27:  They Say / I Say pages 19-42

Week 8

·         3-2:  They Say / I Say pages 42-51, Third Reflective Journal due

·         3-4:  in-class writing

·         3-6:  Genre Analysis Draft Due, peer revision

Week 9

·         3-9:  class cancelled, individual appointments scheduled

·         3-11:  Genre Analysis Due, Argument Essay Assigned

·         3-13:  Wayne Writer pages 133-159, Fourth Reflective Journal due

Week 10

·         3-16:  No Classes, Spring Break

·         3-18:  No Classes, Spring Break

·         3-20:  No Classes, Spring Break

Week 11

·         3-23:  Wayne Writer pages 160-194, They Say / I Say pages 55-77

·         3-25:  Wayne Writer pages 194-214, They Say / I Say pages 78-101

·         3-27:  Wayne Writer pages 100-120, They Say / I Say pages 173-183

Week 12

·         3-30:  They Say / I Say pages 105-120, Fifth Reflective Journal due

·         4-1:  They Say / I Say pages 121-138

·         4-3:  class cancelled, individual appointments

Week 13

·         4-6:  Draft due, peer revision

·         4-8:  in-class writing day

·         4-10:  Argument Paper due, Reflective Argument and Portfolio Assigned

Week 14

·         4-13:  They Say / I Say pages 167-172

·         4-15: They Say / I Say pages  184-201

·         4-17: They Say / I Say pages  202-220

Week 15

·         4-20:  They Say / I Say pages 202-238, Sixth Reflective Journal due

·         4-22:  Reflective Argument rough draft due, peer revision

·         4-24:  In-class writing day

Week 16

·         4-27: Last Day, Reflective Argument and Portfolio Due, evaluations