ENC 1101 COMPOSITION 1 SPRING 2009
Instructor: Professor Gary Ancheta
Office Hours and E-mail Response Times: Tuesday and Thursday 1PM to 2PM and 4PM to 5PM
Office Location: English TA Office
Course Description:
ENC 1101 helps prepare students for academic work by emphasizing expository writing, the basics of library research, and the conventions of academic discourse. Students employ a variety of voices (first, second, and/or third) appropriate for diverse rhetorical situations. Students learn to think rhetorically, to understand and employ a variety of writing strategies, to conduct research, and to interpret, critique, summarize, and paraphrase texts. Student writing is based on conversation, memory, experience, reasoning, research, and collaboration.
The overall theme for this course will be how our own communication technologies inform and reflect our identity. Students will examine the interface of communication technology (video game spaces, phones, the internet, television etc…) through the viewpoint of how others (like advertisers, designers, and culture) inspire, disgust, and persuade them to purchase their product . The conversation will be centered around how these diverse groups utilize communication technologies to unite or defy their communities, so if you do not have a reliable internet service or you do not wish to seriously talk about online communities, consider taking another ENC 1101class. As long as students contribute to class discussion, keep up with the readings, and conduct research, a student should do fine with this class.
Access to a computer:
Students will need an HCCFL account. Also, you must also use Microsoft Word or other compatible software to word-process documents. (or Open Office at http://www.openoffice.org/). All of your work should be saved as a .rtf file. If you have a laptop please consider bringing it to class because we will be using computers throughout the semester. In addition, I will require all of you to create a "Google Account" for the class so that you can save e-mails, access our blog, and save all your user documents in a very reliable format.
Additional readings
Students will either be online or PDFed on the website. Most readings will be on the assignment schedule or announced during class.
Manila Envelopes
Students will need manila envelopes for each of their projects. All of your drafts, outlines, and final projects will go in your envelopes and I will collect these envelopes after every project.
Major Projects and Assignments:
The major projects are designed to provide students practice in making appropriate rhetorical choices based on whether the writing context is informative (definitional writing), reflective (memoir, biography, blog), analytical (rhetorical analysis) or evaluative (compare/contrast paper).
Project 1: Memoir—15 % (Due May 20, 2009)
In this project, students will write a socially, culturally, historically, and/or economically informed memoir that involves your how you use or how you see technology in your life.
Project 2: Definition Essay—20% (Due June 3, 2009)
Students will write a “essay definition” of a term or technology phrase that they have researched. By visiting, researching, and thinking critically about this piece of technology, students will evaluate such concepts as culture, heritage, history, recreation, aesthetics, usability, nature and the environment, design, politics, economics, and diversity of how this piece of technology interacts with our understanding of real people and real environments.
Project 3: Compare/Contrast Technologies–20 % (Due June 17)
Students will write a rhetoric analysis of 2 technologies and identify common or intriguing rhetorical strategies. Specifically, consider the context, audience, purpose, and media invoked by the two communication technologies.
Project 4: Rhetorical Analysis—20% (Due June 24)
Students will analyze their work in an attempt to understand how their world is affected by technology. This final essay will be a culmination of your previous essays, drawing on the essays as a way to see how you use and see technology in your own life.
Homework/Blog Posts and In Class Quizzes – 15 % (Due During Paper Turn-In Dates)
Students will be required to blog their homework for this class and they will be required to comment on each other's blogs for credit in class. Students will also be required to take in-class essays, which will contain a fair amount of writing. The due dates for this homework and their blog posts will be scheduled when papers are due.
Group Work, Presentations, and Attendance—10% (Due during each class period)
Technology Requirement:
From web-based assignments and material to email, ENC 1101 requires consistent access to the Internet, word-processing, and a printer. Not having access to a computer will not be an acceptable excuse for not having checked the syllabus for homework, not having checked your email address for class announcements, or not having made the required online journal posts. Students are required to check the blog at least once to note any changes before class begins.
Attendance Policy:
Attendance is mandatory. This is not a lecture class. Class meetings will be spent engaged in activities that will directly and immediately address your needs as a writer.
It is impossible to "make-up" missed days.
Unexcused absences on any day that one of the three Writing Projects is due will result in one whole grade off per class day the paper is late.
Missing a scheduled conference with me will be treated the same as any other absence.
It is the student's responsibility to contact me regarding information about missed work. If a student must miss two or more consecutive classes, communication with me is vital.
Policy on Religious Observances:
Students who anticipate the necessity of being absent from class due to the observation of a major religious observance must provide notice of the date(s) to me, in writing, by the second class meeting.
Student Conduct Policy:
We strive to make the course as interesting as possible for everyone, and we welcome any constructive suggestions for improvement that are written in a respectful tone. Please observe common courtesies.. If any behaviors interfere with instruction, both on and offline, I will then follow policies regarding student conduct from the USF Handbook.
Disruption of Academic Process:
Disruption of academic process is defined as the act or words of a student in a classroom or teaching environment which in the reasonable estimation of a faculty member: (a) directs attention from the academic matters at hand, such as noisy distractions; persistent, disrespectful or abusive interruptions of lecture, exam or academic discussions, or (b) presents a danger to the health, safety or well being of the faculty member or students.
Punishments for disruption of academic process will depend on the seriousness of the disruption and will range from a private verbal reprimand to dismissal from class with a final grade of "W," if the student is passing the course, shown on the student record. If the student is not passing, a grade of "F" will be shown on the student record.
If we all work hard to treat each other respectfully, we will find ourselves in a wonderfully positive learning environment. You'll come away with a rich educational experience, and your teachers will be delighted to have had you as a student.
Disability Accommodations:
Any student with a disability should be encouraged to meet with the instructor privately during the first week of class to discuss accommodations.
Grading:
A+ (96-100) 4.00 | B+ (86-89) 3.33 | C+ (76-79) 2.33 | D+ (66-69) 1.33 |
A (93-95) 4.00 | B (83-85) 3.00 | C (73-75) 2.00 | D (63-65) 1.00 |
A- (90-92) 3.67 | B- (80-82) 2.67 | C- (70-72) 1.67 | D- (60-62) 0.67 |
A final grade of C- satisfies specified minimum requirements for Gordon Rule and Composition. Student exemptions for the writing portion of CLAST require a 2.5 combined GPA in Composition I & II.
Plagiarism and Late Work
Plagiarism includes the use of a quotation, that is, the exact words of a text (interview, lecture, periodical, book, or website) without quotation marks and documentation; the paraphrasing of ideas or passages from a text without documentation; the inclusion from a text of information not generally known to the general public without documentation; and the following of the structure or style of a secondary source without documentation. Plagiarism, without citing information, is an automatic failure for this class.
All assignments must be completed on time. I will not accept late in-class assignments or late out-of-class homework assignments. I will accept late Projects; however, late projects will be penalized. For each class day the project is late (for up to a limit of two weeks), one whole letter grade will be deducted.
Name_______________________________________________
Instructor_____________________
Course__________ Section______
Semester/Year: Fall, 2007
I have read and understood the syllabus for this course, including the following policies and requirements:
Required Texts/Tools
Major Projects and Activities
Course Technology Requirement
Attendance and Tardiness
Student Conduct
Disruption of Academic Process
Grading and Lateness
Plagiarism and Academic Honesty
Making Up Missed Work
In submitting this form, I acknowledge that my success in ENC 1101 or 1102 relies on my abiding by these policies. Furthermore, I attest that I am the author of all of the writing that I submit and post, online and offline.
Student Signature ________________________Date ________
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