Syllabus

Writing is easy. All you do is stare at a blank sheet of paper until drops of blood form on your forehead.

Prof. Mary Wendt wendt@alma.edu Office: SAC 334 Phone: 463-7270 Office Hours: M - W 11:30 – 12:30 in SAC 334 Th 7:00 – 10:00 in the WC **__ REMEMBER: DURING THE SEMESTER, SAVE EVERYTHING!!! __**
 * __ Course Description __** : Please remember that you are **not** in this course because you don’t know how to write; you are in this course because you need additional help in order to write at //Alma College level//—there is a big difference. Think of this course as a real privilege, one that gives you the chance to make the most of your college learning experience, because you will be writing **//__a lot__//** as an Alma College student.

This course is designed to help you learn to read carefully, think critically, and write coherently. And you will do this mostly by writing. You will learn to think critically, have a solid thesis, organize well, support your ideas, and edit for error. We will be working with a variety of written forms for a variety of purposes and audiences. In English 100 you will build a solid foundation of writing skills to help you succeed in English 101 next term and in any academic course in which thoughtful and careful writing is a requirement.

To begin, I’d like you to start thinking about writing in what might be a new way: as part of a conversation. Just as we are always speaking in response to something, writing is the same: our words in response to something. Often we are responding to what we see and hear, sometimes to what we read, and sometimes to things in life we’ve thought about or subjects we’re studying. In any case, that writing is part of a conversation. It is our job as writers to join that conversation in ways that make sense, using words that others in the conversation will understand, bringing up ideas that will make them think, and always being considerate by explaining ourselves well, using clear language, and speaking on the same level. This “audience awareness” is a large part of writing, one we will be discussing further. From past experience, most students who take ENG 100 do not like to write. When it comes to this idea of conversation, they would much prefer to just say what it is they have to say in speech: it’s easier and quicker. However, as I’m sure you’re well aware, there are times when speaking simply isn’t an option: taking an essay test, writing a paper for a class, sending out a memo to your coworkers, emailing your friend, etc. Sometimes we just have to write. This semester I hope you will come to a level of comfort with your writing so that you begin to see that writing, when it comes to a way of joining in conversations, is often the better way: you can carefully select what you want to say and how you want to say it; you can edit out things that don’t sound just right; and you can take your time, think about what you want to say, and make it powerful. This is an art. This is rhetoric. A notebook or two, any size, **//just//** for this course for journaling (meaning don’t have notes in it from other classes). Make sure to have looseleaf paper or a spiral notebook in which the pages are perforated. I will not accept papers turned in with fringe on the edges. Please do not turn in a three-ring binder; if you use loose-leaf paper, please remove your journal entries from the binder and turn in them in a flat folder of some sort. A separate folder or binder to keep your work for the semester, including all your drafts, homework assignments, and in-class writings. At the end of the semester you will be creating a portfolio and writing an evaluation of your writing over the semester; keeping all your work is the only way to make this possible. The schedule tells you when presentations will be, and it is very important to come to class on these days. If, for good reason, you are unable to attend on the day of a presentation, you must let me know ahead of time and we can figure out a way for you to make up the work. (Coming to class is, obviously, the better option.) **//Without prior notice, however, you may NOT make up presentations.//** Journal 1 150 Journal 2 150 Presentations & Homework 50 Paper Portfolio 1 250 Paper Portfolio 2 250 In-Class Exam 1 50 In-Class Exam 2 50 Course Portfolio __50__ Total Points 1000 Points Letter Grade 4.0 Scale 93-100 A 4.0 88-92 A/B 3.5 83-87 B 3.0 78-82 B/C 2.5 73-77 C 2.0 68-72 C/D 1.5 63-67 D 1.0 58-62 D/E 0.5 || I use the course wiki for everything else (http://wendtenglish100f08.wikispaces.com). Here you will be able to see what work you have missed, know what is due the following class period, access and handouts you may have lost, and a host of other things. We will spend some time familiarizing ourselves with this wiki so you are comfortable using it. - I want you to get in the habit of using a greeting (i.e. Hi Prof. Wendt), using complete sentences, and ending with a salutation (i.e. Thank you for your time, Jason), when writing emails to those in authority - If you send an email at some ungodly hour, I may not read it until the next morning - I have commitments Mon. night till 9:00pm—during those hours you will not get a response - Sending me an email to let me know you will not be in class is fine; however, it DOES NOT MAKE THAT ABSENCE EXCUSED. - Please do not hesitate to email me about any concern, large or small. My job exists for your benefit and I will do all I can to help you.
 * __ Required Materials __** :
 * __ Journals __** : (300 pts.) We will be thinking about writing this semester in various ways, with an emphasis on being metacognitive; that is, on being aware of your thinking and your writing process. Because of the importance of these journals and the critical thinking I will be expecting in them, they are worth a very large portion of your grade. If you do not take these seriously, you will have difficulty doing well in this class. These should be in spiral notebooks with perforated pages for easy and professionally clean removal or on loose-leaf paper. When you turn in your journals, be sure to have them held together by some means: a large paperclip, a folder, etc. Typing your journals is also an option, but be sure to keep them saved continuously: do not save over the top of previous writing. When you turn in your journals, do NOT staple them all together. You will turn your journals in twice during the semester, once at midterms and once at finals. Each time your journals will be worth a total of 150 points. More details in a handout.
 * __ Presentations, Homework, Misc. __** : (50 pts.) There will be several presentations during the semester, plus a few miscellaneous homework assignments and other things for a total of 50 points. While this 5% of your grade may not seem like much, it is enough to make a B into a B/C, for example, if you don’t turn things in. It’s also enough to boost a sagging grade as well.
 * __ Papers __** : (500 pts.) We will have two units, each of which requires you to write only one major paper, done in parts that will be drafted, revised, edited, etc. Drafts will not be graded, but you will be given credit for turning them in on time, completed, etc. Just prior to midterm and again at finals you will be turning in all your drafts and the final draft as a sort of paper portfolio. Thus you will not only be graded on your finished product but on the progress you make over the unit as well. Each set of drafts is worth 250 points, which is 25% of your grade, and should be taken quite seriously. Remember, too, to save everything—every draft separately, without saving over the top of it—so that you can turn it all in. More details on these papers in handouts. LATE PAPERS WILL REDUCE YOUR PAPER GRADE BY 5% EVERY DAY IT IS LATE, INCLUDING NON-CLASS DAYS.
 * __ In-Class Writing Exams __** : (100 pts.) During midterm and again during finals time, you will be writing in-class exams. Each of these will be worth 50 points, or 5% of your grade. More details later.
 * __ Course Portfolio __** : (50 pts.) At the end of the course you will hand in a course portfolio (not to be confused with paper portfolios). You will include in it the finished draft of each paper plus one previous draft of each. For your portfolio, you will write a cover letter addressed to me, reflecting on and evaluating your growth as a writer this term. This portfolio will be graded by me then sent to the English Department.
 * __ Assignment Format __** : All papers will be word processed, 12 point font, Times New Roman, double spaced, with one inch margins. MLA format should always be used (more about this later). For all papers, in the __top left-hand corner__, put your name, my last name, course number, the date, and the assignment number.
 * __ Breakdown of Points __** :
 * GRADING SCALE
 * __ Grading __** : Although AC does not require that you achieve a specific grade for this course in order to move on to ENG 101, please be aware of this: ENG 101 is //significantly// more difficult than ENG 100. Whatever grade you receive in this course—assuming the same amount of effort—expect a grade lower in 101, which //does// require that you pass with a C or better. In other words, you will want to achieve no less than a B/C in this course.
 * __ Moodle and the Course Wiki: __** I use Moodle as a place for you to turn in your work electronically, which I require. When papers are due, you will submit them on Moodle by clicking on the “Drop Major Paper Here” link and following instructions. It is imperative that your papers be saved as .docs or .rtfs.
 * __ Plagiarism __**** : ** It is a crime, literally, to say you wrote something when you didn’t. Plagiarism means using someone else’s words and calling them yours. And you would be surprised how easy it is to plagiarize without realizing it. If you get something off the Internet or from a book, or write what someone else said, **//you must cite the source//**. It is also plagiarism if you take someone’s words and shuffle them around or change them a little and call them yours. **//Paraphrasing without citing the source is still plagiarism.//** We will work on this to avoid it. And you’ll want to avoid it, because **//plagiarism can result in an F on a paper, failing the course, or expulsion from school//**. (For details on AC’s academic integrity policy, see page 30 of the Academic Catalog). Plagiarism is a serious issue. Don’t do it.
 * __ Please Be Aware __** that this calendar does not reflect //every// reading assignment, due date, or writing assignment, but is an outline of the major activities for the semester—there will be additional work throughout the semester.
 * __ Late Work __** : For many reasons, it is important for you to turn your work in on time. If you won’t be able to come to class the day a Writing Assignment is due (not journals—you’re absent, no check), let me know and we’ll make arrangements for you to turn it in on time in another way. If there are extenuating circumstances, these should be communicated to me **//well in advance//**; it isn’t an extenuating circumstance, for example, if you put off the paper until the night before and then don’t get it done. **//For every day a paper is late, it will lose 5% of its total//**. And that means //every// day, not just every day we have class, Saturdays and Sundays included. For instance, if your paper got an 83 (B) but was due on a Friday and you didn’t turn it in until the following Monday, you would lose 5% per day (15%) of that B, or 13 points, making your paper then only worth 70—a C/D. It will make a huge difference.
 * __ Conferences __** : Conferencing can take one or more forms: you coming in to talk to me, group conferencing, or you going to the Writing Center. The Writing Center is located in the library. You may call or email me at any time to schedule an appointment. Some form of conferencing will be required at various times during the semester, and your grade will automatically be reduced 5% if you do not go when required. Some of you may be assigned personal tutors from the Writing Center to help ensure your success in ENG 100; I will let you know early on in the semester if you have a tutor, and a schedule will be worked out for you. In any case, it is important that you talk with others who can walk through a paper with you and really help you strengthen it. The more readers you have, the more successful your writing will be.
 * __ Attendance __** : It is **//__very__//** difficult to succeed in this course without regular attendance. So I’ll give you 3 freebees—you don’t need to tell me anything at all. Let me make this clear: illness is NOT an excused absence. I expect you all to have a day or two that you don’t feel well. The three freebees are for these sick days, so be sure not to use them right away or take them lightly. Because for every absence beyond three, I will lower your grade by one-half letter grade: e.g//.// If your course grade is a “B” and you have four total absences (3 freebees plus 1 more), your final grade will be reduced by one-half letter grade to a “B/C”; five absences would make it a “C”, etc.) Please contact me promptly if you are having problems and cannot attend class. If you know you will be absent on a particular day, please see me at least one week in advance to make arrangements. Only pre-arranged absences or issues discussed with me prior to the absence will be excused.
 * __ Contacting Me __** : I prefer to be contacted by email: I check my email regularly and will respond as soon as I possibly can. Please keep a few things in mind:
 * __ And Remember __** : You need to save everything and you need to turn in digital copies of all your major papers, so when you type up a paper, be sure—both in digital and hardcopy form—to **//__SAVE IT!!!__//**