Kutztown UniversityENG 022 Introduction to College Composition

Spring 2008

Professor: Dr. Kevin MahoneyOffice: LY 237Phone: 3-4337Office Hours:

Tues & Thurs: 3:00-4:00pmWednesday: 10:00am-12:00pm & 1:00-2:00pm

Email: mahoney@kutztown.eduWeb: http://eng022.blogspot.com/

Introduction:

The main purpose of ENG 022 is to give you an extra semester of practice with academic writing and to prepare you for the challenges of ENG 023 and other college writing. This course will introduce you to many aspects of writing that you will face in College Composition and in other writing situations in the university. Some of the most important tasks you will face include an introduction to critical thinking, analysis and synthesis of writers’ arguments, academic argumentation, and the basics of research skills. You will also be introduced to the idea that academic writing is a specialized form of writing—that is, it is a specific genre of writing. But as you will see, even “academic writing” is not simply one thing. Academic writing is varied and complex—no matter how insistent some teachers are when they say “there is only one way to write a research paper.” The fact is, there are many ways to write a research paper. What we will be doing is taking a look at academic conversations and some of the conventions of those conversations.

Course Objectives

Upon completion of this course, students will have an increased awareness of and competence in the following areas of writing:

A. The writing process. B. Their own strengths (and weaknesses) in academic discourse. C. The fundamentals of college writing: clarity of focus, development, organization. D. Composing and revising several sustained essays over the course of a semester. E. A variety of genres and requirements for writing within them. F. Critical reading and thinking; students will be expected to respond to and analyze short

arguments. G. Writing clear, grammatically correct prose. H. Introductory-level academic research skills.

Course Outcomes

Your writing processes are given emphasis in this course, so your texts and the revision of your texts will constitute the core focus. Upon successful completion of this course, you will be able to:

A. Revise drafts for content and organization. B. Complete numerous informal writing assignments including reading responses, critical

thinking responses, brainstorming exercises, individual and group in-class exercises, and journals.

C. Use rhetorical strategies to foreground your writing process skills. D. Use a range of strategies to revise your writing. E. Write an essay applying the conventions of Standard English and the rules of academic

prose. F. Recognize and be able to produce the following aspects of a college essay: thesis

statement; introduction; supporting paragraphs with adequate evidence to underwrite claims made; conclusion; logically arranged ideas; coherent paragraphs; grammatically correct sentences; and at least minimal ability with complex sentence structures.

G. Understand basic research techniques and goals. H. Identify and explain an author’s argument as well as to analyze rhetorical strategies. I. Use library databases for research.J. Cite sources using MLA format.K. Assess the credibility of sources.

Required Textbooks and Supplies:

Reading Culture, by Diana George and John TrimburThey Say, I Say, by Gerald Graff and Cathy Birkenstein

A notebook for class notesA folder to keep all of your writing, assignment sheets, and syllabus

You may also be asked to make several copies of your papers for in-class writing workshops.

Email account

Major Writing Assignments and Grading:

Paper #1: Literacy Narrative (2-3 pp.) [due 9/6] 10%Paper #2: Summarizing (2-3 pp.) [due 9/23] 10%Paper #3: Toulmin Argument (2-3 pp.) [due 10/25] 10%Paper #4: Community Research Proposal (2-3 pp.) [due 11/8] 10%Paper #5 Community Research (4-5 pp) [due 12/6] 30%Research Journal [due 12/6] 10%Final Portfolio with Reflective Essay [due 12/6] 10%

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Participation 10% 100%

Note on Grading:You will be graded on a plus/minus system on each paper. However, Kutztown University does not currently use a plus/minus grading system for calculating your GPA. While you may have heard that KU was supposed to implement a plus/minus grading system last semester, the administration has been unable to get its financial and management accounting program “SAP” to function properly. In other words, technological glitches have dictated that plus/minus grading will not be implemented until those problems are fixed. Despite the dictates of SAP, I use the plus/minus system throughout the semester to provide you with a better sense of your performance in the class. However, your final grade in this class will be a straight letter grade.

All papers (with the exception of blog postings—see below) must be word-processed or typed, double-spaced, stapled (not paper-clipped or folded), and follow MLA style guidelines. I will not accept papers that are not stapled.

For each paper you hand in you should include the following information in your header: o your name o course name and section numbero my nameo the assignment name/paper number (e.g. Paper #1)o the date you are handing in the papero a title

Save all your work! I can’t stress this point enough.

Late Papers and Email Copies: To receive full-credit you must hand in your papers in class on the due date. If you hand

in your paper late, you will be graded down for that paper. For each day your paper is late, you will be graded down by a third of a letter grade. In other words, an “A” becomes an “A-;” an “A-” becomes a “B+,” and so on. If you do not hand in a paper, you will receive a zero (0) for that assignment.

Emailing papers. If you cannot make it to class on the date a paper is due, or if you need to hand in a paper on a non-class day, you may email me your paper. To be accepted, you must send your paper as an attached Microsoft Word file. DO NOT copy your paper in the body of an email message, and DO NOT send your paper as a Microsoft Works file. Make sure your name is on your paper and you “sign” your email. Never send an email copy of your paper without a short message telling me what you are sending. Papers received by 5pm on the due date will not be marked late.

o YOU MUST PROVIDE ME WITH A HARD COPY OF YOUR PAPER THE NEXT CLASS PERIOD. I will not consider your paper handed in until I receive a hard copy from you in the format outlined above.

o The only purpose of emailing me the paper is to avoid any additional late penalties. I will not read your paper until you give me a hard copy.

Class Policies:

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It is crucial that you attend every class to do well. Unlike a lecture class, this course depends on active discussion and in-class work. In addition, I will frequently give short assignments in class that are not listed on the syllabus. If you need to be absent, it is your responsibility to find out what happened in class from another student.

If you are not in class when I hand out paper assignments you will need to go to the course website to download a copy of the assignment or come to my office to pick up a hard copy of the assignment. I WILL NOT carry extra copies of assignment sheets around with me. To download assignment sheets, go to the course blog at http://eng022.blogspot.com/.

If you are not in class when I hand back your papers, you must pick up your paper in my office, 237 Lytle Hall.

You should be prepared for each class. This includes completing all the reading and writing assignments due on that day. Reading is NOT optional. Active reading entails taking notes on the reading, reflecting on the reading, and coming to class prepared to have something to say about what you have read. If I notice that people are coming to class without reading, I will begin giving quizzes at the beginning of each class.

Turn off or set to silent all cell phones prior to class. Respect your classmates.

Special Note on Plagiarism and Academic Dishonesty:Plagiarism will not be tolerated in this class. Plagiarizing one of your papers or a significant portion of one of your papers will result in failure of the course. In addition to failing the course, I will notify the University of the violation. If you have not already, please review the University’s Academic Dishonesty policy at the following web address: http://www.kutztown.edu/admin/conduct/. The university subscribes to an anti-plagiarism service for checking student papers against material posted on the Internet—this includes websites that require payment to download papers.

Academic Dishonesty is defined in the student handbook, The Key, as follows:Definitions of Academic Dishonesty

Academic dishonesty involves any attempt to obtain academic credit or influence the grading process by means unauthorized by the course instructor. Academic dishonesty includes, but is not limited to the following situations and examples.

1. Providing or receiving unauthorized assistance in course work and lab work, or unauthorized assistance during examinations or quizzes.

2. Using unauthorized notes, materials, and devices during examinations or quizzes.3. Plagiarizing the work of others and presenting it as one’s own without properly

acknowledging the source or sources. At its worst extreme, plagiarism is exact copying, but it is also the inclusion of a paraphrased version of the opinions and work of others without giving credit. It is not limited to written materials. It includes the wrongful appropriation in whole or in part of someone else’s literary, artistic, musical, mechanical, or computer-based work.

4. Presenting material to fulfill course requirements that was researched or prepared by others (such as commercial services) without the knowledge of the instructor.

5. Falsifying or inventing data to be presented as part of an academic endeavor.

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6. Gaining unauthorized access to another person’s or the University’s computer system. Violations include tampering with or copying programs or data or access codes associated with coursework.

7. Possessing or arranging for someone else to possess course examination or quiz materials at any time without the consent of the instructor.

8. Altering or adding answers on exercises, exams, or quizzes after the work has been graded.

9. Making fraudulent statements, excuses, or claims to gain academic credit or influence testing or grading.

10. Taking examinations or quizzes for someone else or arranging to have someone take examinations or quizzes in place of the person registered for the course.

Special needs:

Any student who has a need for accommodation based on the impact of a disability should contact me privately to discuss the specific situation as soon as possible. Contact Disability Resources and Services at 610-683-4108 or in Stratton Administration Center 215 to coordinate reasonable accomodations for students with documented disabilities.

You can also visit Disability Resources and Services office on-line at:

http://www.kutztown.edu/admin/humandiversity/disabilityservices/

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From: Lazere, Donald. “Ground Rules for Polemicists: The Case of Lynne Cheney’s Truths.” College English 59 (1997): 661-685.

Polemics: “Heatedly partisan argumentation.”Polemicist: Someone who engages in polemics.

Below is a passage by Donald Lazere, a professor of English at Cal. Tech. He is arguing that there can be heated partisan debate that does not lapse into “invective” and undemocratic forms of argumentation. I think these “rules” provide a good framework for the kind of writing and analysis we will be doing in this class. [KM]

Ground Rules for Polemicists:1. Do unto your own as you do unto others. Apply the same standards to yourself and your

allies that you do to your opponents, in all of the following ways.2. Identify your own ideological viewpoint and how it might bias your arguments. Having done

so, show that you approach your opponents’ actions and writings with an open mind, not with malice aforethought. Concede the other side’s valid arguments—preferably toward the beginning of your critique, not tacked on grudgingly at the end or in inconspicuous subordinate clauses. Acknowledge points on which you agree at least partially and might be able to cooperate.

3. Summarize the other side’s case fully and fairly, in an account that they would accept, prior to refuting it. Present it through its most reputable spokespeople and strongest formulations (not through the most outlandish statements of its lunatic fringe), using direct quotes and footnoted sources, not your own undocumented paraphrases. Allow the most generous interpretation of their statements rather than putting the worst light on them; help them make their arguments stronger when possible.

4. When quoting selected phrases from the other side’s texts, accurately summarize the context and tone of the longer passages and full texts in which they appear.

5. When you are repeating a second-hand account of events, say so—do not leave the implication that you were there and are certain of its accuracy. Cite your source and take account of its author’s possible biases, especially if the author is your ally.

6. In any account that you use to illustrate the opponents’ misbehavior, grant that there may be another side to the story and take pains to find out what it is. If opponents claim they have been misrepresented, give them their say and the benefit of the doubt.

7. Be willing to acknowledge misconduct, errors, and fallacious arguments by your own allies, and try scrupulously to establish an accurate proportion and sense of reciprocity between them and those you criticize in your opponents. Do not play up the other side’s forms of power while denying or downplaying your own side’s.

8. Respond forthrightly to opponents’ criticisms of your own or your side’s previous arguments, without evading key points. Admit it when they make a criticism you cannot refute.

9. Do not substitute derision for reasoned argument and substantive evidence.

(Lazere 661-662).

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Course CalendarSpring 2008

Tue 1/15

Reading:

Assignment:

Thurs 1/17

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Assignment:

Tue 1/22

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Thurs 1/24

Reading:

Assignment:

Tue 1/29

Reading:

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Thurs 1/31

Reading:

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Assignment:

Tue 2/5

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Assignment:

Thurs 2/7

Reading:

Assignment:

Tue 2/12

Reading:

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Thurs 2/14

Reading:

Assignment:

Tue 2/19 NO TUESDAY CLASSES—FOLLOW MONDAY SCHEDULE

Thurs 2/21

Reading:

Assignment:

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Tue 2/25

Reading:

Assignment:

Thurs 2/27

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Tue 3/4

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Thurs 3/3/6

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Assignment:

SPRING BREAK!!!—3/8--3/16

Tue 3/18

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Thurs 3/20

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Tue 3/24

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Thurs 3/26

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Tue 4/1

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Thurs 4/3

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Tue 4/8

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Thurs 4/10

Reading:

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Assignment:

Tue 4/15

Reading:

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Thurs 4/17 NO CLASS—SPRING RECESS

Tue 4/22

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Thurs 4/24

Reading:

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Tue 4/29

Reading:

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Thur 5/1 LAST DAY OF CLASS

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Assignment:

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FINAL EXAM WEEK—5/5-5/10

HAVE A GREAT SUMMER!!

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Course Calendar *

Wed 8/28 Introductions and discussion of course

Fri 8/30 Literacy Narrative and Mapping Context of Literacy

Handout: Paper #1: Literacy Narrative

Tue 9/3Everything’s an Argument (EA), 3-19.Complete question #2 in your journal (p. 21).

Wed 9/4Bring two copies of draft of literacy narrative to class for discussion and workshopping.

Fri 9/6Paper #1 due.

Mon 9/9Return literacy narrative. Discuss revision strategies and specific writing issues from papers.

Wed 9/11Chapter 3 in EA, “Readers and Contexts Count,” 37-45. Complete question #2 in your journal (p. 45).

Fri 9/13Looking at readers and contexts. Discussion of hooks, Bernstein, and Anzaldúa articles from In Context (see ENG 001—ULTRA syllabus).

Handout: close reading and analysis.

Mon 9/16Using the handout from Friday, do a close analysis of hooks, Bernstein, or Anzaldúa.

Handout: Paper #2: Summarizing

Wed 9/18Read: In Context, Appendix, “Strategies for Writing and Reading in Context,” 657-660.

Fri 9/20Bring in two copies of draft for paper #2 to class.

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Mon 9/23Paper #2 due. In-class workshop on interview paper (see ENG 001—ULTRA syllabus). Bring two copies to class.

Wed 9/25EA, Chapter 8, “Structuring Arguments,” pp. 91-106. In-class handout and assignment based on Toulmin Argument.

Handout: Paper #3: Toulmin argument.

Fri 9/27Group Work on Toulmin argument.

Mon 9/30Analysis of claims, reason, warrants of ENG 001 readings

Wed 10/2Strategies for reading complex texts/reading texts complexly

Fri 10/4Workshop Paper #3 for ENG 001

Mon 10/7Posing questions, problems, areas of focus for revising Paper #3 for ENG 001

Wed 10/9Toulmin analysis of Paper #3 for ENG 001

Fri 10/11Unpacking your argument: evidence, conditions of rebuttal, and context

Wed 10/16Paper #3 (from ENG 001) Workshop for Revision

Fri 10/18Paper #3 (from ENG 001) Workshop for Revision

Mon 10/21Paper #3 (from ENG 001) Workshop for Revision

Wed 10/23In class conferencing: revision plan

Fri 10/25 Toulmin Argument/Revision Plan Paper Due

Network of relations in communities. Definition, evaluation, and causality.

Mon 10/28Read: EA, Chapter 9, “Arguments of Definition,” 109-121.

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Journal: Question #1, p. 127.

Discussion of generating research projectsHandout for Paper #4: Community Research

Wed 10/30Read: EA, Chapter 10, “Evaluations,” 135-146.Journal: Question #1, p. 152.

Fri 11/1Read: EA, Chapter 11, “Causal Arguments,” 161-172.Journal: Question #1, p. 178.

Handout: Paper #5: Proposal

Mon 11/4Read: EA, Chapter 18, “What Counts as Evidence,” 297-311.Journal: Looking for evidence for research paper.

Wed 11/6Read: EA, Chapter 22, “Assessing and Using Sources,” 334-341.Journal: Assessing Research

Forming Research Groups

Fri 11/8Paper Proposal Due

Generating research questions. Group work.

Mon 11/11Putting together your portfolio and reflective essay

Wed 11/13In-class workshopping of source material.

Fri 11/15 Workshop

Mon 11/18 Workshop

Wed 11/20 Workshop

Fri 11/22 Draft of Research Paper DueFinding your way into research.

Mon 11/25 Workshop: Revising for Final Draft

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Wed 11/27 Workshop

Mon 12/2 Strategies for final editing and documentation.

Wed 12/4 Workshop

Fri 12/6 Final papers, research journals, and portfolios due.

* This course calendar is subject to change if need be. I will discuss with you any proposed changes ahead of time when possible.

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