Wikipedia:United States Education Program/Courses/Composition I (Dr. Lynn Hamilton)

ENGL 1101 - Composition I

CRN: 81215 AND 81217

Term: Fall 2011

3 credit hours

Georgia Southern University

College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences

Department of Writing and Linguistics

Professor: Dr. Lynn Hamilton

Office: Newton 3305 E

Office hours: MW12:10-1:20; 2:15-4 PM; Friday 12:10-1:20

Office phone: 478-5936 (No voice mail)

Email: lynnhamilton@georgiasouthern.edu

Course Description: Composition I is a course focusing on skills required for effective writing in a variety of contexts, with emphasis on exposition, analysis, and argumentation, and also including introductory use of a variety of research skills. Course Goals and Standards: Students in ENGL 1101 will focus on using writing and reading for inquiry, learning, thinking, and communicating through extensive reading and writing practice. They will learn the processes writers use and incorporate those processes in their own writing. More specifically, students will learn to:

•Focus on a purpose •Use conventions of format and structure appropriate to various situations •Understand a writing assignment as a series of tasks, including finding, evaluating, analyzing, and synthesizing appropriate sources •Use a variety of technologies in the writing process •Develop flexible strategies for generating, revising, editing, and proofreading •Demonstrate the competent use of syntax, grammar, punctuation, and spelling

Required texts: "Responding, Really Responding to the Writing of Other Students" by Richard Straub. (On-line version linked to your Georgia View page.) Students will also be assigned writing models posted to Georgia View which will include, but not necessarily be limited to, featured articles on Wikipedia, how-to pages on Wikipedia, “A Scholar Under Siege” (Wikipedia.org), letters to the editor from the New York Times, Christian Science Monitor, and local (southern Georgia) media. Please consult your Georgia View account for a more specific reading agenda as the semester progresses. Basis of evaluation: You will be asked to successfully complete the following projects. Failure to complete any of these projects is grounds for failing the course.

• •Five good-faith edits on Wikipedia, worth 5% of your grade.

•Rhetorical analysis, worth 10% of your grade. •An original article written for and posted on Wikipedia.org. This project should be 500-1000 words in length and is worth 10% of your grade. This assignment will be graded on its merits as a piece of writing and on its conformance with Wikipedia.org standards, especially the identification of a notable topic, achievement of neutrality in tone and word choice, appropriate documentation of all important claims, appropriate creation of a source list, and writing which is free of copyright violations. Please note that articles which are removed from Wikipedia for copyright violations will receive a zero. •On-line profile, worth 8% of your grade. •A 10-minute oral presentation (preferably a powerpoint presentation), worth 10% of your grade, based on your Wikipedia article. •An argumentative paper, framed as a letter to the editor. This project should be 200-500 words in length. It will be worth 20%of your grade . •A quiz on "Responding to the Writing of Other Students" by Richard Straub, worth altogether 5% of your grade. • A peer review, worth altogether 10% of your grade. •A 1000-1500 word final draft of your Wikipedia article, due during your final exam period. It will be worth 10% of your grade. •Mini-quiz on syllabus, worth 2% •Test on the writing process, worth 10% of your grade.

Final exam for this course: Wednesday, December 14, 5:30-7:30 PM for class meeting at 4 PM and Monday, December 12 5:30-7:30 for class meeting at 5:30 PM.

Last Day to withdraw without academic Penalty: October 17, 2011. Students who are in default of one or more assignments before this date will receive an unsatisfactory (U) midterm report and are hereby advised to drop the course in a timely manner. Exceptions will be made only for students who are absent on college business and can document such.

Late papers: Major papers are all submitted via Georgia View which is programmed to accept only papers that are submitted on time or just a little late. The due date, including the exact hour and minute the paper is due, are all indicated on the assignment. You cannot turn in an assignment weeks after it is due because Georgia View will not allow you to submit it, and you will not get credit for that project.

Evaluation of writing: Papers will be graded on the basis of accuracy, use of interesting and relevant detail, clarity, accurate word choice, logical organization, and vitality. Correct grammar, spelling, and punctuation will be rewarded, but students need to understand that there are many other values that give a paper merit. In the end, there is no substitute for having something really interesting to say.

Recommended website on matters of grammar and usage: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/ This website is loaded with useful exercises that show you how to reconcile your nouns and verbs and where to place a comma. Almost every conceivable question about how to use the English language can be answered here.

Inter-library loan: It doesn't matter if Henderson Library owns the book or not - you request the book via your ILLiad account and the library will get the book (from wherever) and mail it to you. For articles, if we don't have an online subscription, we'll supply from our print collection or get it from another library. Articles are usually delivered to you electronically via your ILLiad account. If you haven't completed your one-time-registration for an ILLiad account, go to this link: http://webill.lib.georgiasouthern.edu/illiad/FirstTime.html

Revision of papers: GSU’s Writing and Linguistics Department emphasizes revision and drafting. Students should routinely read their own work before handing it in and make revisions as needed. When multiple drafts of the same project are handed in for credit, the expectation is that later drafts will be substantially better, not just different, from earlier drafts. Fixing comma splices and misspellings is only the beginning of revision, and students who limit their revisions to fixing obvious errors that were identified by their professor should not expect to see a better grade on a revision. While your professor will make every effort to suggest improvements, there is, in the end, no substitute for being your own most honest critic. Writing Center: GSU sponsors a Writing Center in the Forest Drive Building 1119 where you can work with a tutor on any writing you are doing at any stage in the writing process. This service is free, and I strongly recommend it to all students.

Attendance policy: Please do not miss class unnecessarily. More than six absences will result in failure of the course. More than four absences will result in a zero for class participation. Each lab counts as a class period. Students who are habitually (habitually is more than twice) late will be marked absent when late. Leaving class early or sleeping in class counts as a full absence. What to do if your professor is not here: Your professor makes every effort to be punctually in attendance every class period. If she is not in class within five minutes of the time class is supposed to begin, please check your Georgia View header and announcement tool and email to see if that class has been canceled. Students are notified of canceled classes ONLY through Georgia View.

Paperless class: This is a paperless class, meaning we use little or no paper in an effort to conserve valuable natural resources. To that end, most or all of your assignments must be submitted electronically, via Georgia View. Please learn to use Georgia View and submit assignments as instructed. Most assignments should be PASTED into the assignment area, having first enabled html by clicking on the "enable html" button.

Most problems students have with Georgia View are user-generated errors. This is a list of the most common errors that cost time and often result in poor grades: 1. Not clicking on "submit" after pasting or attaching an assignment. If you have submitted your assignment successfully, you will see a yellow message that says you have submitted the assignment. Another way to check that your work has been submitted is to go back to into the assignment where a copy of the paper has been saved. As you are learning Georgia View, it is important to use these methods of ensuring that your papers have been submitted as you intended. 2. Clicking on "don't run" when opening Georgia View. If the program isn't running appropriately, you have probably clicked on "don't run." You should try turning your computer off, then turning it back on, then logging into Georgia View again. Look for dialog boxes that ask if you want to "run" and "trust" the program. Click on run and trust. 3. Thinking Georgia View will work just as well on your laptop. Georgia View works a lot better on campus, using campus computers. If you like to write on your laptop, no problem. Write away, then email a copy of the paper to yourself, then upload it to Georgia View using a computer in a classroom, lab, or the library. 4. Writing papers IN Georgia View. While we all love Georgia View because it makes it impossible for professors to lose your papers, you should know that it is not the most stable program and, if you write directly into Georgia View, you should be prepared to lose your work and start over. Instead, write papers first in Microsoft Word or some other reliable word processing program, then copy and paste them into Georgia View.

Academic honesty: Using another person’s exact words or unique interpretations without giving credit is a form of theft and can result in severe penalties for students who violate the university’s standards of academic honesty. It is unfair to the writer whose words or ideas are stolen and to students who struggle to do their own work. If in doubt, document. You can assume something is common knowledge only if:

1) it is entirely a matter of fact, not opinion AND

2) you find perfect agreement on that fact in two or more reputable sources and no sources that disagree. Please note that these rules apply just as much to resources located on the internet as they do to words found in books. Please be aware that it is extremely easy to identify writing that has been downloaded off the internet. (I, too, know how to google.) You are also not authorized to collaborate on any project in this course. For more information on GSU’s policies on plagiarism and academic honesty, please refer to the Academic Honesty Honor Code as published in section 3 of the Georgia Southern University Student Conduct Code . Disruptive behavior: Students should take care not to engage in behaviors that are disruptive. That means cell phones and play stations should be turned off and kept out of sight at all times. Students should not engage in private conversations, however quietly conducted, during lectures or during class discussions. Well intentioned students will often try to help out a fellow student who missed course content because he was late to class or previously absent. Please note that long conversations aimed at helping such a student catch up to what he’s missed are extremely disruptive. If a fellow student asks for such help during class time, the appropriate response is “I’ll help you after class” or “Ask Dr. Hamilton.” Please note that if your professor finds it difficult to follow a class discussion or to hear students who are legitimately contributing to discussion because of your conversation, then your behavior is extremely disruptive. Students should under no circumstances make any loud comments that are not serious and constructive contributions to class discussion. Classroom courtesy should at all times extend to your fellow student and not just to your professor. If another student asks you to desist from a behavior he/she finds disruptive, please take reasonable steps to accommodate the needs of that student. Please note that checking your cell phone during another student’s oral presentation is especially distressing to your professor. Cell Phones: Cell phones should be turned off and kept out of sight at all times during this class. Each violation of this policy will incur one absence for the student in violation. Students will not be served any further warning concerning cell phone rudeness. Email etiquette: It is inappropriate for students who have missed many classes, blown off their reading assignments, and failed to hand in writing assignments and tests punctually to inundate their professors with email during finals week. If you believe you will care about your grade during finals week, please make some effort on its behalf PRIOR to finals week. Disability Accommodation Statement: This class complies with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Students with disabilities needing academic accommodations must:

• Register with and provide documentation to the Student Disability Resource Center (SDRC): and,

• Provide a letter to the instructor from the SDRC indicating what your need may be for academic accommodation. This should be done within the first week of class. Students with these particular needs should contact the Student Disability Resource Center