viewjan 12, 2014 · my preferred method of contact is email. i suggest that if you try to...

English 2989: Intermediate Composition BridgeFall 2012

Sections 037, 039, & 069University of Cincinnati Blue Ash College

SYLLABUS AND TENTATIVE COURSE SCHEDULE

PURPOSE OF THE COURSE SYLLABUS To convey the rules, regulations, policies, and procedures of the course to all parties; To stipulate, in a legally binding agreement, the roles of students and instructors in the course

HIGHLIGHTS TO FIND WITHIN Instructor/Course information Required Text and Materials, Technology Grading policy The B Contract Attendance policy Late work submission policy Academic integrity policy Course requirements and overview of assignments Explanation of how the course works University and College Services Tentative course calendar

HOW TO USE THIS DOCUMENTYou should read the syllabus in its entirety, marking the passages of importance to you, including the grading, attendance, and assignment policies. You should integrate the course calendar into your own personal/academic calendar so that you know what has been assigned and when it is due and can successfully manage your study and prep time for this course among your other responsibilities. You should prepare a list of questions regarding policies, procedures, and/or course construction to email to the instructor, ask in class, and/or post to the FAQ in the digital course location.

It is strongly recommended that you print out the course calendar and keep it by your desk or workstation so that you check it every day.

English 2989 (037), (039) & (069) Syllabus/18

INSTRUCTOR AND COURSE INFORMATION

Instructor: Dr. Sonja Andrus Office: 155C Muntz HallOffice Hours: MW 11:15-12:15, TR 11:00-12:00p & by special appointmentOffice Phone: (513) 936-7144Google Voice: (513) 273-7689Skype User Name: ProffyMommyGoogle Talk Name: ProffyMommyEmail Address: [email protected]

A Note on Contacting Me:My preferred method of contact is email. I suggest that if you try to contact me by phone, you call me at the Google Voice number. At this number, you can leave me a message, which Google will transcribe into text. I will receive a text message alerting me to your call, an email with the transcript of your message, and the voicemail itself.

When you send me an email, make sure that the subject line contains our course number and section, as well as a clear indication of the purpose of your email. I will email you a reply as soon as I read your email, even if I don’t have an answer to your question right away. So, if you don’t hear from me within two days, I may not have received your email and you should contact me again. If you are requesting that I contact you via phone, include your phone number and a few good times to reach you (remember that, as you are, I am very busy and might not be available at the one time you suggest, so offer me some ranges and some options).

DAYS/TIMES/PLACES/DELIVERY METHODSWe will meet face to face at the place and times listed below. In addition to our face-to-face meetings, we will work extensively online.

Section 037, MW 10:10a-11:05a, Muntz 208Section 039, MW 12:20a-1:15a, PAVC 150Section 069, MW 1:25p-12:20p, PAVC 150Blackboard: blackboard.uc.eduConnect: http://connect.mcgraw-hill.com

REQUIRED TEXTS AND MATERIALS‣ Research Matters 2nd edition with Writing Matters 1st edition in Connect 2.0 by

Rebecca Moore Howard and Amy Rupiper Taggart from McGraw-Hill. ISBN: 9780077670979. This book is available in the UCBA bookstore as a package; you can also purchase this online through a variety of vendors.

‣ NOTE: If you purchase a used copy of the Research Matters 2nd edition hard copy book (make sure it is the 2nd edition and not the first), you will NOT receive a code for Connect 2.0. You will have to visit Connect’s website and purchase access separately with a credit card.

‣ iClicker2—these are available at the UCBA bookstore. iClicker2


‣ This is an interactive classroom device available for purchase in the UCBA bookstore. You will need it each day in class.

‣ You can also download the webclicker for your smartphone (iPhone and Android). You’ll need to purchase a license first at https://webclicker.iclicker.com, then download the Web>Clicker app in the appropriate app store. (NOTE: Your response time to the activities will be slower, thus slowing down the classroom response in general, if you use webclicker instead of the actual handheld remote clicker.)

‣ You will need to bring a pen/pencil and paper to class with you each week.‣ We will be working on computers, so please also bring a USB flash drive with you which has copies of

your saved (drafts, notes, final copies, all of it) work.

REQUIRED TECHNOLOGYThough our class is meeting face to face, it is still important for you to have access to (and be comfortable using) the following technology:

Hardware requirements:‣ A recent computer (with enough RAM to run something like Facebook without stalling)‣ Recommended Display Resolution: 1024 X 768 or better

Software requirements:‣ Connect: OS: Windows XP or newer –or- Mac OS X Snow Leopard or newer‣ Connect: Browsers: Firefox 6 or newer; IE 8 or newer; Google Chrome 14; Safari 5‣ Connect: Plug-Ins: Flash 10 or newer; Java SE6 or newer; Quicktime 7.7 or newer‣ Course: Microsoft Office Suite (available from the UCBA bookstore for $10 with your student ID)

Skill requirements:‣ Microsoft Office Word proficiency‣ Microsoft Office PowerPoint proficiency‣ Email proficiency (read and send email)‣ Attachment proficiency (attach files to emails, upload and download attached files in web

environments)‣ WISIWIG editor (a word processing environment in an online space that mimics MS Word; no HTML

coding required) proficiency

If you need to update any of your software, or aren’t sure which you are using, please visit http://www.connectstudentsuccess.com and review the System Requirements. You can use their “Check My Computer” link to see if your browser is compatible with their system. Additional updates for the Connect required software can be found online through an easy Google search, or you can let me know what you need.)

RECOMMENDED COURSE MATERIALS‣ A Laptop computer or other smart device.

We’ll be creating many documents very quickly for the ARG and these items will help facilitate the process. It would be very helpful if some members of each group had access to these devices.

COURSE DESCRIPTIONOfficial Catalog Description


https://webclicker.iclicker.com/

This course emphasizes critical reading and writing, advanced research and argument skills, and rhetorical understanding of language as it is used in different discourse communities.

What does this mean?This course emphasizes critical reading, writing, and textual analysis with particular focus on argument and research-based writing. Upon successful completion of this course, students should be comfortable finding and analyzing sources to create source-based arguments in multiple genres and for multiple audiences, using electronic media to compose and publish their texts.

Pre-requisiteEnglish Composition

Method of InstructionLecture, Discussion, Workshop, Blackboard, Small-Group Activities, Individual Conferences

BREADTH OF KNOWLEDGE STATEMENTEnglish Composition 1001, 1902 and 2989/2089 fulfill the English Composition Breadth of Knowledge Requirement for the University of Cincinnati General Education program. It contributes to your developing competency in Effective Communication, Critical Thinking, and Information Literacy, which are three of the General Education Competencies for all baccalaureate programs at UC.

STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMESBuilding on skills developed in English Composition students successfully completing English 2989 should be able to do the following:

Rhetorical Knowledge produce clear, organized texts appropriate to situation, purpose, and audience

Critical Thinking, Reading, and Writing reflect on connections among ideas within the course and their own academic, personal, social, and

professional lives analyze, compare, and evaluate rhetorical strategies specific to a discourse community interpret, assess, and write within a variety of genres to understand how meaning is made,

communicated, and debated identify and distinguish among kinds of evidence used in a given discourse community locate, evaluate, and integrate source material appropriate to research inquiry

Knowledge of Processes write and revise drafts and integrate feedback using drafting, revising, and editing strategies

Knowledge of Conventions use conventions of format, organization, syntax, grammar, punctuation, and language appropriate to

specific writing situations recognize and use specified documentation and citation guidelines and styles

Composing in Electronic Environments use appropriate technologies to research and communicate findings

What does all this this mean?Below, you’ll find a list of the course learning outcomes categorized by learning outcome areas, as defined by the Council of Writing Program Administrators (a national organization of leaders of writing programs at universities


and colleges throughout the US). These restated outcomes may still not make great sense to you, as you are just beginning to learn about the nature of written discourse and higher education. There is also a brief explanation about how specific activities in this particular course will help you master these outcomes.

Rhetorical KnowledgeRhetorical knowledge refers to your understanding of core rhetorical principles and theories, or ideas. Among the most important for you in your undergraduate studies are these: audience, purpose, thesis, context, and the rhetorical appeals (ethos, pathos, logos, and sometimes kairos--which is the Greek term for context, approximately). In English 2089/2989, we are interested in examining these concepts in practice in a variety of discourse communities. A discourse community is a group of people connected by a shared interest that they communicate about with one another. That’s a complicated idea in some ways. Many discourse communities exist exclusively online, while others are physical groups. Each discourse community has its own expectations of behavior--you might know these as discussion guidelines and frameworks in some of the online discourse communities--and its own conventions (thus, you’ll need to learn some about what is expected in those conventions prior to being able to achieve your purpose with any great success). Additionally, when you enter a conversation, you must acknowledge the discussions that have come before you in the community, find a way to fit in with the stream of conversation. Demonstrating that you understand what the audience already knows, what questions they still have, and what you can add to their conversation at the point you’re entering is essential to success in English 2089/2989, as well as in the real world. Additionally, you need to show the reader that you understand their ways of talking about the issues (their jargon, their patterns of discourse, etc.), and their rules of behavior. Finally, you will have to craft your texts in such a way as to reach the audience (physically and psychologically). In this way, you will find much cross-over between your knowledge of rhetorical ideas and theories with composing processes and composing in digital environments, as well as critical thinking, reading, and writing.

We will be using the Alternate Reality Game (ARG) and theories about the connections between games and learning to explore many of these rhetorical concepts. By creating an ARG, you will learn to explore a variety of discourse communities and communicate as part of those communities. You will have the opportunity to demonstrate that you understand the rules and protocols governing a variety of discourses and craft texts that meet the needs of those communities. Your research for the course will serve as a further demonstration of your understanding of these principles.

Critical Thinking, Reading, and WritingCritical thinking is a term you’ll hear often in college--no doubt at this point in your college career, you’ve already heard it many times; however, you may not know what it means. And when we add in critical reading and critical writing, you may be even more confused. Critical thinking is a theoretical term used to describe a complex process of examining ideas and evidence, suspending your judgment or decision about the issue during the examination process, and considering multiple angles and perceptions surrounding the issue. Critical thinking involves using your logical discovery skills (induction and deduction), as well as employing careful reading and research skills. In this way, critical thinking is a part of the broad writing process. Critical reading is an extension of critical thinking, then. In this case, we want to see you read progressively more difficult texts as the term moves forward and carefully consider the views presented in the documents you’re examining. In other words, we want you to read with an open mind, examine positions and evidences from multiple angles, and reach a conclusion about your issue only after considering multiple perspectives and voices in the field. In this way, your reading and research process become more complex, more authentic. Finally, critical writing means showcasing the critical thinking and reading you have done. You must work hard to avoid over simplification of ideas and experiences from your research and reading. Additionally, you should find ways to express your process of working through ideas that do not obviously state such steps.

Many of the texts you read as you prepare to create ARG (and then analyze it after its completion) will challenge your critical thinking, reading, and writing skills. You will be asked to consider how the use of games (and Alternate Reality Games in particular) addresses issues relating to education and writing. Your research should reflect the complexity of the many layers of writing you do for the ARG and its many different audiences. Because you will


often be reading and writing in voices that are not your own, you will need to be able to take a step back and think about the big picture as well as the immediate situation. This larger thinking about what you’re doing is sometimes called meta-cognition, or thinking about how and why you think and act the way you do.

Knowledge of ProcessesIn previous English classes, you no doubt worked on pre-writing exercises, had rough drafts and peer reviews/peer editing sessions. So you are already aware that writing is a process, at least in terms of the idea of a polished finished product. In Composition Studies, we believe that writing is not a linear process that always includes the same steps in the same order for each person each time--it changes based upon your individual writing situation, and sometimes we have to repeat steps to achieve what we hoped to accomplish. In particular, you should start to see the writing process, especially the revision process, as an opportunity to think critically about your own writing as a text meant to be viewed publicly by a real audience, a chance to think about what your text aims to achieve and how it goes about doing it--how successfully it moves the reader to your intended response, and how to strengthen the text to that end.

In English 2089/2989, then, our aim is to see you using the writing process more rhetorically and reflectively--with greater purpose than as a set of required or assigned steps to complete the paper for full credit--and to be able to put into words the reasons you made certain choices along the way, from the planning and drafting stages all the way through to the final proofreading prior to submission/publication.

The creation and implementation of the ARG will involve creating texts for a variety of real audiences. Although the situation is fictional, you will be writing for students, the public (in this case Cincinnatians specifically), and professionals in a variety of fields, and in doing so you will need to think critically to determine what kind of writing will succeed in communicating with these different readers. You will need to use multiple technologies to achieve this goal, from working in a digital research environment to publishing your text electronically with an eye to the digital audience’s needs for that particular kind of text. You will also need to work collaboratively with others to revise texts and select from a variety of options what kinds of writing will work best in a given situation.

Knowledge of ConventionsConventions are expected rhetorical moves, expected genre protocols, expected style and formatting, and expected levels of performance related to mechanical and grammatical correctness. In other words, when we talk about the conventions of writing in a particular community, we’re talking about what the readers situated within that community are expecting of your document in a variety of ways. In many cases, students come to college already aware of these conventions. However, awareness and the ability to master them are not always the same thing. In English 2089/2989, you will be expected to produce documents that are error-free in their final versions; this means that you are expected to be aware of grammar and mechanics “rules,” as well as formatting and documentation guidelines for the discourse community in which you are writing. You are also expected to show that you can write for multiple audiences (not within the same text, mind you) and multiple purposes (again, not within the same text). You are also expected to demonstrate mastery of genres by writing fluent texts in a variety of genres (including but not limited to: blogs, essays, letters, researched arguments, etc.). A text that masters its conventions is stronger rhetorically, thus building the credibility (ethos) of the author(s). In this way, your knowledge of conventions works in tandem with knowledge of processes (proofreading) and knowledge of rhetorical ideas and theories.

The ARG will challenge your ability to do this in part by asking you to consider what constitutes “correct” conventions in different genres. Whether you are writing an essay, a public speech, or a Facebook status update, you will need to be able to show that you understand the rules that govern each of these kinds of writing and make conscious decisions about how you write them. (In other words, it isn’t enough to say that Facebook uses informal writing, and therefore it’s okay to make mistakes. You still need to recognize where the “mistakes” are, why those specific “mistakes” are okay in this genre, and consider what other ways you could write in that genre that might impact your audience differently.)

Composing in Electronic Environments


In the 21st century, most texts are shared electronically, most assignments are crafted electronically (even if submitted in hard copies), and most presentations are given in or with some form of digital “text.” Therefore, learning to plan, draft, and revise digital texts, from word processed essays to other more dynamic digital products, is an essential skill of the new educated workforce. In English 2089/2989, you must, at the very least, compose your documents via a word processing software program and use electronic research practices through the library and Internet. However, our goal is that you will begin to think about various software programs and media available to you for developing and presenting your work. Consider what each option makes available to you as a means of achieving your purpose for your target audience, as well as the constraints such media and/or software place on you. Consider, as well, software to improve your productivity and to stimulate or balance your reading, writing, and/or research processes. In many ways, composing in digital environments works in conjunction with your knowledge of processes, conventions, and rhetoric.

As part of creating the ARG, you will practice writing in a variety of digital environments and for digital audiences. You will be composing documents for distribution to the rest of the class online in Connect and Blackboard, and you will need to discuss and collaborate on those texts online as well. Depending on the decisions you make about how the ARG should proceed, you may need to write in electronic environments ranging from Tweets to online journals and magazines. Finally, you will need to produce an online portfolio of your research for the term.

HOW THIS COURSE WORKSEnglish 2089/2989 (Intermediate Composition) reinforces what students learn in English Composition, introduces higher-level learning about writing and reading, and focuses students’ attention on how meaning is made, understood, and communicated across and within discourse communities. The course emphasizes critical reading and writing, advanced research and argumentative skills, and rhetorical sensitivity to differences in academic, professional, and/or public writing.

In addition to the “academic” reading and writing you’ll be doing, we are also going to invite you to participate in an exciting new venture with us: an ARG, or alternate reality game.

The Alternate Reality GameBeginning the second week of the term, you will be helping to create an alternate reality game (ARG) for four sections of English 1001 students to play. An ARG is a game that presents players with a mystery to solve in a pretend, but realistic world. Think of this world as a realistic world created in a novel. There will be characters in this alternate reality whom you’ll create. Your characters will communicate with the players through various forms of communication. You’ll create puzzles for the players to solve and documents representing a wide range of disciplines and genres.

These puzzles and assignments will advance and shape the story of the game while giving you practice with skills that will help you master the learning outcomes of this course. It’s important to remember that while we are calling this a game, the skills you’ll be asked to use during the game’s creation are the skills you’ll need to become a better thinker and writer and to complete the more formal assignments.

You may be asking, “If I can learn to write by reading and discussing articles and writing essays, then why craft an alternate reality game in this course?”

The ARG provides a space for you to research how specific discourse communities use writing and to practice writing the genres specific to that discourse community. In addition to writing skills you’ll be practicing while playing the game, there will be puzzles in the ARG that will stretch your analytical and critical thinking skills.

And since you will be playing the game with a community of other players, you will also learn how to effectively collaborate with others.


The game play will begin in the fifth week of the term. It will occur in real time and last until the twelfth week of the term. You will have formal assignments that ask you to reflect and analyze on the skills you use while creating the ARG and work you create for the ARG can be used as evidence of the learning you did in this course for your ePortfolio.

COURSE REQUIREMENTS***Please note that ALL major assignments must be completed to receive credit for the course.

EPORTFOLIOYou will be developing an extensive portfolio of work this term that you will publish on your own website. We will spend a lot of time during the term talking about and developing the contents of your portfolio. It is possible that your final research project will serve as your whole ePortfolio; however, you might find it necessary to include work from earlier in the term. If this is the case, you must make sure to clearly link, explain, and introduce this work in the context of your ePortfolio.

FORMAL ASSIGNMENT: META-ASSIGNMENT 1For this paper, you've been given five puzzles generated by you and your classmates. Choose one you feel is particularly strong and one you feel could be stronger.

Analyze the strengths and weaknesses of both puzzles. Plan a revision or recreation of the weaker puzzle based upon what you learn, as well as what you are learning through your work and research throughout the course.

Draft an essay in which you offer the revision plan for the weaker puzzle, using the texts and research you've read in the course, as well as your analysis of both puzzles.

Checklist: essay is in MLA format overt analysis of a strong puzzle from the 5 samples provided overt analysis of a weak puzzle from the 5 samples provided a clear revision/recreation plan for the puzzle including strong, direct support from research and

analysis appropriate use of quoted or summarized material from chapter 10 of James Paul Gee's Good Video

Games + Good Learning appropriate use of quoted or summarized material from other research and reading you have

conducted for the course

FORMAL ASSIGNMENT: META-ASSIGNMENT 2 Throughout the term, you've been writing in multiple genres for multiple audiences, for multiple purposes, and, possibly, as multiple personas. For this paper, examine the role that genre and purpose play in getting your message across to a specific audience.

Select one or two items that your group has developed, that you have played a specific role in developing, of different genres. Analyze these documents/items for their genre characteristics and how well the documents perform their task of accomplishing your purpose for your designated audience.Compare and contrast (with analytical discussion) your documents with a similar document of note (one you find online or in a published document/text/book) for patterns of genre conventions and for purpose-accomplishment.


Use the course pack on genre (available in Blackboard) to support your analysis and discussion in this paper. Feel free to find additional resources, as well.

Checklist: Essay is in MLA format, at least 5 pages long (not including the reference page) Introduction to the essay contextualizes the discussion of the paper for a specific audience and

purpose Overt analysis of at least one item/document from your group-constructed documents (you must have

had a direct hand in developing the item) Overt comparison analysis (compare/contrast) between your document and a notable document you

have found of similar genre and purpose online. Direct reference to materials in the genre course pack (found in Blackboard) to support your

discussion of genre and analysis of documents/items, appropriately integrated into the paper.

FORMAL ASSIGNMENT: TERM PROJECTThroughout this course you will be exploring theories of learning involving games, literacies, and genres. For your term project, you will be doing research related to these topics, focusing on two discourse communities of interest to you, and building a website using WordPress to relate your findings to a specific audience of your own choosing. The form your website takes, whether it be a conventionally presented research document, or an artifact consisting of multiple pages with visual and interactive features, will be entirely up to you to determine. Your project should above all be well-researched, authoritative, and meet the needs of your specific audience.

As you worked through creating the Alternative Reality Game for this course, you learned that there are a variety of ways to define and understand discourse, and that most Discourses are bound by some kind of “rules.” Select two related communities (or a community complex enough to have sub-communities within it). For each community you analyze, consider what rules of language and behavior (in other words, social protocol) define the discourse community. What genres of texts are important to the community and why? What makes communication in this community successful? What makes membership in this community possible? Your focus should be on the ways this community understands and communicates its identity, and its discourse (or literacy) practices.

Some approaches you might consider (or “pages” you might include): analyses of primary and secondary source material, visual or textual archives of interesting documents with your annotations, different perspectives on the discourse community, different descriptions of the community for different kinds of audiences (for example, professional and public audiences), multi-media elements (like slides, videos, prezi/flow charts), side-by-side comparisons of discourse elements, a reading list for people interested in the discourses

RESEARCH STEPS FOR THE TERM PROJECTResearch BlogYour weekly blog will have prompts related to keeping track of your progress and reflecting on the work that you are doing for this project

Mini Annotated Bibliographies (Due Wednesdays Week 10, Week 13) Five academic or professional sources MLA format An annotation (paragraph) for each source that includes a summary in your own words, a brief

analysis of the source’s main idea, and an explanation of how the source relates to the other sources on your list


Project Plan (Due Sunday Week 11) Answers to the following questions (in essay form)

What groups/discourse communities are you interested in studying? Why are you interested in them? Are you a member of these groups? What are your biases or assumptions (positive and negative) about the groups? What do you know about the visual and textual literacy practices of the groups? What types of texts do these communities use? How is information conveyed or communicated within the communities?

An introduction that includes a working thesis for your project A description of what ideas you want to explore A description of what kinds (genres) of sources you will try to find Support from the sources you’ve read so far (in other words, quotations and paraphrases) Your updated bibliography

Website Draft (Due Sunday Week 13) All pages complete with visuals and text Style and format appropriate to each page and its audience A works cited page

Peer Reviews (Due Wednesday Week 14) A complete peer review sheet for each person in your group An overt analysis of each website reviewed You will need to make sure your website is accessible and easy-to-use for your reviewers!

Completed Website and Full Bibliography (Due Sunday Week 15)

Checklist for the term project: Overt analysis of two communities (or sub-communities) Overt identification of a specific audience and purpose Essay portions conclude with a summation of the writer’s analysis and explanation and a

contextualization of the essay in the larger conversation of literacy and discourse. All essay portions of the website conform to MLA Guidelines including properly formatted in-text

citations and a works cited page Works cited includes at least 20 annotated sources The website is generally free from errors in mechanics, grammar, usage, and sentence structure and is

carefully proofread The website must include visuals or other multi-media content, and each must be appropriately cited The website references both primary and secondary sources All web links work

WEEKLY BLOGYou will have weekly informal blogs to complete on Connect. These will be due by noon every Saturday of the term unless otherwise noted.

COURSE POLICIES

ATTENDANCE POLICYI can’t stress enough how important it is to come to every class period prepared for the day’s work. I know there may be days when you won’t be able to make it to class. You are allowed to miss one week’s worth of class time;


that is, you may miss up to two classes and remain compliant with the B contract. I respect your privacy; you don’t have to tell me why you’re missing class. You can miss these classes for any reason you wish to or have to. Since you only get the total of two absences, I recommend saving it for when it is necessary. The only excused absences are documented military service, religious holidays, and university-sponsored events.

It is very rude and distracting when you come late to class. If you are late to class, please be considerate. Come in quietly, sit as close to the door as you can and quietly get ready for class. If you come to class more than ten minutes late or leave class early more than ten minutes early, it will count as an absence.

You are responsible for any information you miss when you are not in class. Please do not email me and ask if you missed anything. Do not ask me in the hallway or before or after class if you missed anything. You will have missed something and I can’t recreate an entire class session in an email message or in a private lecture. The best thing to do is to make a friend in class that you can exchange notes with when one of you misses. If you still have questions after exchanging notes, then come see me in my office and we can make sure you’re clear on what you missed.

Missing class does not excuse you from a deadline. See the LATE WORK POLICY below.

LATE WORK POLICY Due to the nature of this course, late work is strongly discouraged. In many cases, your work is being submitted to your workgroup for consideration, peer review, or discussion. This work simply cannot be late. You must submit the work, even if it is not in a finished state. When the work is individually produced and submitted, you may request an extension, though an extension is not guaranteed. Your request must be submitted at least 24 hours prior to the assignment deadline, via email. You should include a short explanation of why you need the extension, how much time you feel you need, and if you need additional support to complete the project. Do not assume that submitting a request will result in an extension being granted. Continue to work on your project, and submit what you have by the deadline if you have not yet received a response.

Work submitted late without proper approval will not be graded/responded to, and you will have lost the B Contract.

GRADING POLICYThis course is bound by a unilateral B Contract. What this means is that all students start out with a contract to earn a B (or better) in the course by turning in all work on time, as assigned, and working hard throughout the course. There are ways to earn higher than a B, and ways to lose the guaranteed B and earn a lower grade. Please read the B Contract below very carefully so that you are fully aware of the course grading structure. A grade higher than a B can be earned only by fulfilling the B contract and demonstrating superior writing and effort throughout the entire term.

Should you lose your B Contract through non-compliance, your work will be graded for quality from the first day of class to the end of the term (in other words, your entire body of work from the course will be graded holistically once we have finished the course, just as it would be in any other portfolio-based course).

Returning Work:The majority of your feedback will be given to orally you in class as you work with your groups or in individual conferences. Written feedback will provided on the term project.

THE B CONTRACTIn this section of English 2989, you are guaranteed a final grade of B if you:


1. Attend class regularly and punctually. Accruing more than two class absences will break the contract.

2. Engage actively during class, and always use classroom time productively. I know we all have “off days,” but students should be thoroughly engaged in the activities of the class nearly every class meeting.

3. Be consistently prepared for class and individual conferences. It is imperative that you come to class and conferences prepared for the work at hand. For class, you should complete the required readings/activities that are listed on the course schedule or that are assigned during a previous class period. Students should also print and bring any required handouts, drafts, revisions, or research materials that are required for that day’s classroom activities. For conferences and progress checks, please print and bring any materials you need to show me to make our meeting productive.

4. Show respect for your peers, your professor, and the free academic exchange of ideas. This includes using respectful language, taking each others’ ideas seriously, and refraining from distracting behaviors, such as falling asleep, texting, or checking Facebook during class. Check that your cell phone is never on during class.

5. Meet the due dates and requirements for all major assignments. Requirements and due dates/times are listed on the course schedule and/or individual assignment sheets. Please note that some major assignments have multiple deadlines as the assignment progresses throughout the term.

6. Complete all low-stakes writing activities. You will complete many informal assignments throughout this term both in class and out of class.

7. Actively participate in all peer review activities and work faithfully with your group on collaborative tasks. For peer review, active participation includes diligently helping to make your peers’ papers stronger through your written critique and in-class review session.

8. Revise thoroughly and thoughtfully for your portfolio. Revision means substantially clarifying your ideas, reorganizing your argument, rethinking your claims, strengthening your evidence, deepening your research, adjusting your style, and/or re-imagining your relationship to your audience.

9. Copyedit and proofread all materials in your portfolio until they conform to the conventions of edited, revised English and conform to MLA guidelines. Portfolio drafts don’t have to be perfect, but you do have to demonstrate a mastery of sentence-level writing and the ability to present your work according to the academic formatting conventions of the humanities.

10. Submit a complete, fully revised ePortfolio that meets all outlined requirements by the due date and time.

Portions of this contract are based on the work of Jane Danielewicz, Peter Elbow, and Risa Applegarth.

Contract Purpose:The contract is designed to let students know exactly what is expected of them for the course. Most students want to earn better than a “C” in their classes (even knowing that “C” means average college student work). But most students don’t realize how much work is truly required in many classes, such as this one, to achieve that


grade. And writing is nebulous, particularly with a portfolio grading system. Many students get concerned that their grade is falling or lower than they want it to be. And it can be hard to determine what your grade is when so many elements are involved and so much is determined at the end of the term. While you can still earn a higher grade in the course for truly superior work, you are guaranteed a “B” if you merely complete all of the work stated in the contract. Remaining compliant with the contract is your key to a less stressful term.

The contract, then, ends all of the unsettling questions and squelches the idea that showing up for class and just turning in most of the work is worth an “A” in a college class. It’s not. And the contract makes it clear that you are working hard and that I, as the instructor, am aware of just how much work is set forth in this class (that finishing it all is well above average for most college students).

A Note on Second Chances:For the purposes of this course, this contract is binding. In the spirit of second chances, I am willing to provide a voucher that will give you a mulligan (a do-over, a get-out-of-jail-free card) and erase one (and only one) breach of contract for a limited set of infractions at my discretion. Each student can use the voucher only once. It is the student’s responsibility to know when an infraction has occurred. Please know that you are not guaranteed a second-chance just because you ask for one and that second chances for breaches that negatively affect your fellow students will rarely be granted.

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY POLICYThe work students do in this class will be subject to UC’s Student Code of Conduct. I will handle any violation of these regulations, including acts of plagiarism or cheating, according to the procedures put forward in the code.

How the Student Code of Conduct defines plagiarism:‣ Submitting another’s published or unpublished work in whole, in part or in paraphrase, as

one’s own without fully and properly crediting the author with footnotes, quotation marks, citations, or bibliographic references.

‣ Submitting as one’s own original work, material obtained from an individual, agency, or the Internet without reference to the person, agency or webpage as the source of the material.

‣ Submitting as one’s own original work material that has been produced through unacknowledged collaboration with others without release in writing from collaborators.

Plagiarism is a serious offense. If you plagiarize, even unintentionally, you risk failing the course (or worse). Please submit your own work. I am interested in your good thoughts. Cutting and pasting from Internet sources will not sharpen your thinking and writing skills. Make sure that you take good notes while researching to help you avoid “accidental” plagiarism. You must make sure you cite sources properly in the text and on a works-cited page at the end of the essay. You should have mastered MLA formatting and citation practices in your previous composition courses. If you need a refresher, you could check out the Purdue Online Writing Lab’s pages on MLA citations.

FILE FORMAT POLICYWriting assignments turned into Blackboard must be submitted as Microsoft Word Documents; that is, files must have a .doc or .docx file extension. Your peers will not be able to review writing assignments that are not in the Microsoft Word document format. UC students can buy the Microsoft Office Suite for around ten dollars from the UC bookstore.


SPECIAL NEEDS POLICYStudents with special needs must provide me with documentation through disability services.

INCLEMENT WEATHER POLICYShould the University close due to inclement weather, please check Blackboard for announcements and updates. We will continue with class through alternative methods of delivery.

IMPORTANT FINAL NOTEBy remaining enrolled in this section, you are agreeing to the requirements, grading standards, and policies of this course. In fairness to everyone, all parts of the syllabus apply equally to all students without exception. I may correct, revise, or amend this syllabus as needs of the entire class dictate.

COLLEGE AND UNIVERSITY SERVICESTHE OFFICE OF DISABILITY SERVICESThe University is committed to providing students with disabilities equal access to all university programs and facilities. If you have a disability requiring accommodations, please contact the Disability Services office. Location: Muntz Hall 112J. Telephone: (513) 792-8625.

WRITING & STUDY SKILLS CENTERLocated in 324 Muntz Hall, The Writing & Study Skills Center provides a number of free services to UCBA students. Academic tutors provide assistance to students in all disciplines including reading. They will help you to get started, organize, develop and revise your essays. They will also help you with editing, although they will not write, edit or proofread your papers for you. You can make 25- or 50-minute appointments through Starfish, and walk-ins are always welcome.

TENTATIVE COURSE SCHEDULE

This schedule is tentative. I will announce any changes on Blackboard announcement/email. You are responsible for keeping up with the changes.

Reading assignments are due for the first class meeting day of each week.

WEEK 1 Read Chapter 10 from Good Video Games + Good Learning by James Paul Gee View “Gaming Can Make a Better World” by Jane McGonigal Read “Alternate Reality Games” by Sean Stewart Complete Week 1 Blog in Connect by noon Saturday (9/1)

WEEK 2 Read “Alternate Reality Game: What Makes or Breaks Them?” by Muhammad Saleem. Complete Week 2 Blog in Connect by noon Saturday (9/8) University closed for Labor Day on Monday (9/3)


WEEK 3 ARG Week 1 Artifacts due uploaded to the voting discussion board in Blackboard by end of day Tuesday

(9/11) Voting on ARG Week 1 Artifacts due by end of day Thursday (9/13) Read “Why Do We Impossible Things?” by Lee Dye Read “Tutorial for Playing Alternate Reality Games” by the Collective Tutor Read Chapter 9 from Writing Matters in Connect Complete Week 3 Blog in Connect by noon Saturday (9/15) Last day to drop the course with no entry on academic record is Monday (9/10)


(9/18) Voting on ARG Week 2 Artifacts due by end of day Thursday (9/20) Read Chapter 4 from Good Video Games + Good Learning by James Paul Gee Complete Week 4 Blog in Connect by noon Saturday (9/22)


(9/25) Voting on ARG Week 3 Artifacts due by end of day Thursday (9/27) Read “The Call of Stories” by Paul Rogat Loeb Read Chapter 10 from Writing Matters in Connect Complete Week 5 Blog in Connect by noon Saturday (9/29)


(10/2) Voting on ARG Week 4 Artifacts due by end of day Thursday (10/4) Complete Week 6 Blog in Connect by noon Saturday (10/6) Formal Assignment: Meta Assignment 1 due by end of day Sunday (10/7)


(10/9) Voting on ARG Week 5 Artifacts due by end of day Thursday (10/11) Read “Rhetorical Genre Studies Approaches to Teaching Writing” by Anis Bawarshi and Mary Jo Reiff. Read “Critiquing and Changing Genres from Scenes of Writing” edited by Devitt, Reiff, and Bawarshi Complete Week 7 Blog in Connect by noon Saturday (10/13)


(10/16) Voting on ARG Week 6 Artifacts due by end of day Thursday (10/18) Complete Week 8 Blog in Connect by noon Saturday (10/20)



(10/23) Voting on ARG Week 7 Artifacts due by end of day Thursday (10/25) Complete Week 9 Blog in Connect by noon Saturday (10/27) Formal Assignment: Meta Assignment 2 due by Sunday (10/28) end of day Read Chapter 12 from Research Matters


(10/30) Voting on ARG Week 8 Artifacts due by end of day Thursday (11/1) Read “Literacy, Discourse, and Linguistics: Introduction” and “What is Literacy?” by James Paul Gee Read Chapter 5 from Research Matters Complete Week 10 Blog in Connect by noon Saturday (11/3) Mini Annotated Bibliography due in Connect by end of day Wednesday (10/31) Last day to withdraw from the course is Friday (10/2)

WEEK 11 Read “Banking Concept of Education” by Paulo Freire Read Chapter 11 from Writing Matters in Connect Complete Week 11 Blog in Connect by noon Saturday (11/10) Project Plan due in Connect by end of Day Sunday (11/11)

WEEK 12 Read “Intertextuality and the Discourse Community” by James E. Porter Complete Week 12 Blog in Connect by noon Saturday (11/17) University closed for Veterans Day on Monday (11/12)

WEEK 13 Mini Annotated Bibliography 2 due in Connect by end of day Wednesday (11/21) Website Draft due in WordPress by end of day Sunday (11/25)

WEEK 14 Complete Week 14 Blog in Connect by noon Saturday (12/1) Peer Review of Website due in WordPress by end of day Wednesday (11/28) University closed for Thanksgiving on Thursday and Friday (11/29 & 11/30)

WEEK 15 Complete Week 15 Blog in Connect by noon Saturday (12/8) Website and Full Bibliography due in WordPress by end of day Sunday (12/9)


SYLLABUS AND B CONTRACT SIGNATURE PAGE

Sign and return this agreement page to Dr. Andrus by the end of week 1. If you do not return the contract agreement page on time, you will lose the B Contract and will be graded solely on quality, holistically, from start to end of the term.

By signing below, the student indicates a close reading of the syllabus, an understanding of the course requirements for the B contract, and an acceptance of course policies and procedures.

Course: ENGL 2989

Term: Fall 2012

Instructor: Dr. Sonja Andrus

Student Name: ________________________________________________________

Signature: ____________________________________________________________

Date: ________________________________________________________________


AGREEMENT FOR USE OF EPORTFOLIO FOR RESEARCH AND PRESENTATION

I, ______________________________________________, hereby give permission for Dr. Sonja L Andrus, Dr. Robert P Murdock, and/or Dr. Kevin Oberlin to use my portfolio of work, submitted as an electronic portfolio (ePortfolio) in their research work, including presentations and/or publications. I understand that my work will be presented as I have created it without alterations by the researching parties. I understand that only my first name will be used to identify me as the creator of the ePortfolio and the works demonstrated within. I understand that my work may be analyzed or examined in the research presentation and/or publication work by the researchers.

I understand that I will not be compensated for my work, but that I will suffer no harm from the use of my work.

Print Name: _________________________________________________________________________

Course Name & Number: _______________________________ Section: ________________

Signature: __________________________________________ Date: __________________________
