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English 101 Course Policies (Word version)
Fall 2002 Line # 05607
1:40 - 2:55, Mondays in CC 207, Wednesdays on

Instructor: Bruce H. Matsunaga
Office: LL 545b
Office Hours: W 1:00 - 3:00 PM & by appointment
Email: bhm@asu.edu
Phone: 965-3884

Course Objectives:
The mission of ASU's Writing Programs is to introduce you to the importance of writing in the university and to develop your critical reading, thinking, and writing skills so that you can successfully participate in the university. Writing is intellectual work, and the demands of writing within the university community can include the need:

• To synthesize and analyze multiple points of view;
• To integrate feedback from peers and the Instructor and responding to peer work with constructive criticism
• To articulate and support one's own position regarding various issues; and
• To adjust writing to multiple audiences, purposes, and conventions.

The Writing Programs Official Course Goals: http://www.asu.edu/english/writingprograms/teacherresources/wpgoals.htm

Outcomes:
You will engage with ideas encountered in academic and serious public discourse, develop complex ideas and arguments through serious consideration of different perspectives, and connect your life experiences with ideas and information you encounter in classes.

Required Texts & Supplies:

Reading Culture: Contexts for Critical Reading & Writing, Diana George & John Trimbur EasyWriter, Andrea Lunsford & Robert Connors The ASU Writing Programs Guide. Located at: http://www.asu.edu/english/writingprograms/teacherresources/wpguide/wpguide.htm Code of Conduct. Located at: http://www.asu.edu/aad/manuals/sta/sta104-01.html An ASURITE ID and an ASU Email account

Recommended: Floppy Disks, A college-level dictionary, a 3-Ring Binder or folder for keeping all work

Course Requirements:

Attendance and Participation:
This hybrid section allows you to become literate in technology as well as in writing. The course asks you to complete the same work as other classes, but has the added benefit of teaching you to communicate electronically with your teacher and classmates. This component is an integral part of your grade. Whether the class meets in the classroom or online you will be marked absent if you are not present. Technical difficulties will not be accepted as an excuse for absences on online course days. Each absence will negatively affect your grade, and if you miss more than 4 class meetings, you cannot pass this course regardless of the reason for your absence. This includes university-sanctioned activities. This is a Writing Programs policy and is non-negotiable.

• Attendance includes prompt arrival to class, participation in large and small groups, in-class writing, other class activities, as well as being fully prepared for class.
• You must be in class for the entire period, and you must be actively engaged in the work of the class.
• If you arrive late or leave early you will not receive full credit for the day.
• The computers in our classroom are provided for classwork only. Students using the classroom computers for personal business such as email, instant messaging, web surfing, or doing work for other classes will be marked absent for the day and asked to leave.
• If you don't have a working draft on the day it is due for in-class workshops you will be marked absent.

Our online Wednesday class meets on WebBoard. You will need to become familiar with this software very quickly so that you do not miss early assignments during the semester. This component is an integral part of your grade. Each missed assignment will result in an absence. Your virtual attendance and participation will be valuable to you for many reasons. You will be involved in computer-mediated discussions of your reading assignments, thereby enhancing your understanding of these readings. You will have the opportunity to work on drafts of your writing and get feedback the same day from your peers and instructor through online forums. Ultimately, regular attendance will help you to think about ideas as you’re writing. In short, "attendance" and participation are the only ways to acquire the tools and knowledge that you will need to pass this course.

Class Structure: We will spend most of our "virtual" class time in discussion and workshop. Occasionally, I will provide material to you through e-mail, WebBoard postings, or downloadable handouts. As much as possible, I try to structure the class as a "workshop" in which you work with other members of the class to respond and discuss the course reading, or get feedback on your papers in the various stages of composition and to provide them with feedback as well. In other words, I try to steer you toward relying on each other as much as possible as you work through the various stages of the reading and composing process. I view my role as a facilitator rather than as the central person through which all discussions and drafts must pass. By encouraging you to rely on each other rather than on me, I hope that you will develop a greater sense of audience awareness (writing for a more public audience).

Ground Rules for Online Discussions: The classroom—whether physical or virtual—should be a place where we all feel comfortable expressing positions on issues, even if those positions or issues are controversial. However, these spaces are not completely "free speech" zones; they involve state-owned facilities, and participants may be subject to state and federal discrimination and harassment laws. Even more important, classes are temporary communities that function best when their members exhibit consideration toward one another. In order to create a comfortable learning environment--and in order to receive credit for online discussions and online peer response activities--we should all follow the common-sense ground rules below:

• You should recognize that any position you state is open to rebuttal; in other words, you are free to have an opinion, but others are equally free to dispute it.
• You should be open to disconfirming evidence; that is, if someone presents a compelling counterargument to your own, you should concede it.
• You should be willing to assume and receive "devil’s advocacy." A devil’s advocate is a person who takes up a position she or he may not personally hold in order to introduce new perspectives to a discussion. Remember that you must work closely with the other members of the class for the remainder of the semester.
• Be careful with sarcasm, "jokes," stereotypes, or innuendo—especially online, since the lack of "paralinguistic" cues (verbal inflection, body language, facial expressions, etc.) can contribute to misunderstandings. The classroom—both physical and virtual—is no place for personal attacks or other forceful tactics. Indeed, such behavior may lead to your forced withdrawal from the class.
• Feedback and criticism on your peers' writing should be offered constructively and from a reader's perspective (ex: "As a reader, I think..."), rather than from the perspective of an opponent seeking debate/argument.
• Help your peers make their papers better through your feedback rather than cutting them down for their writing skills or for their ideas.
• Conflict is good. We are passionate; conflict shows that we care. Seek out and talk with those with whom you disagree as well as those with whom you agree. Seeking out people shows your respect for the person. Respect builds community.
• Use words that do not insult, inflame, or otherwise exacerbate what may already be a tense situation. Speak your mind, but remember that alienating people prevents persuasion, while being civil builds community.
• Focus on ideas, not people. Don't tell someone they're wrong; instead, explain why you disagree with their idea. Using reason builds community.

Format for All Evaluated Drafts/Submission Guidelines: All evaluated drafts will be word-processed in Microsoft Word and double-spaced with 1-inch margins on sides, top, and bottom. You will use 12-point Times New Roman.

The first page will have the following information in the upper left corner:

Your first and last name
English 101-Line #xxxxx
My name
Name of the assignment
Date

All essays must have original, interesting titles centered at the top of the first page.

• We will workshop invention work, source critiques, rough drafts, drafts, and polished drafts on WebBoard.
• Be sure you make a back-up copy of all drafts for your records. (I recommend printing out a copy for your records, since disk copies can become corrupt and disks have a way of getting left behind.)
• Also, if you have problems posting to WebBoard or post a corrupt or unreadable file, you will be responsible for reproducing the essay and it won’t qualify as having been turned in until it reaches me in a readable format. While I sympathize with technological snafus, "The Internet ate my homework" is not a viable excuse for not turning in your assignments.

If you are interesting in taking this class for Honors Credit, review this assignment and bring me the proper forms.

Course Work:

Preparation: You must come to each class prepared to write, to share your drafts with others, and to revise what you have already written. This means you must work steadily both in class and on your own. You should plan to spend three hours outside of class for every hour in class. Writing classes frequently require more time from students than many other outside classes do.

Assignments: All polished drafts of assignments must be computer printed and double-spaced. Drafts for workshops should also be typed. Put your name, my name, course title, date, and title on the first page.

Keeping all work: Keep all your writing for this course including in-class and out-of-class working notes, drafts, revisions, final drafts, reflections on your writing, workshop responses, and free writings. At the end of the semester you will review all your work to analyze and evaluate your progress. Keep at least one back-up disk. Computers at ASU regularly become infected with a virus and having one disk that you do not take to ASU could help with this problem. It could be disastrous for you gradewise if you cannot produce evidence of your work at semester's end.

Academic Honesty: To plagiarize is to present as your own any work that is not exclusively your own, and it violates the University policy on Academic Integrity: "Each student has an obligation to act with honesty and integrity, and to respect the rights of others in carrying out all academic assignments." It is the University's policy to severely penalize plagiarism of all, or a portion, of any assignment. See the Guide to Composition and the Student Academic Integrity policy for specific rules.

Since each writer's needs are unique, this course will provide lots of individual attention and feedback from me as well as from other students in class. I also encourage you to seek reactions to your ideas and drafts from people outside this class. In addition, I encourage you to make full use of the Writing Center located on the 3rd floor of this building and various places on campus. The Writing Center can help with getting started on a paper, reviewing and revising your own work, and particular individual problems with writing. The help is free.

Grade Distribution
Assignment 1 15%
Assignment 2 15%
Assignment 3 15%
Assignment 4 15%
Final Reflection Letter 5% (65% for polished writing)

Free writing & Homework 10%
Attendance & Participation 15%
Peer Review 10% (35% for process)

Final grades are available after the end of the semester at the Registrar's online site.

General Procedures:

Conferences / Office Hours / E-mail Availability: Even though this is a hybrid course, you will still find my office hours invaluable to you. If you’re a local student, we can conference about your writing face to face, and if you’re not a local student, we can conference about your writing using the chat capabilities of WebBoard. My office hours provide you with the best opportunity to get individual feedback from me on your essays. If my office hours are not convenient for you, I will make a good faith effort to make myself available for a conference with you outside of my office hours. Probably more helpful than receiving written comments on drafts, talking about writing often helps you to understand ways in which essays might be organized and developed and also often helps you to understand the assignments better.

Also, given the electronic medium that we are using for this course, many students wanting additional feedback on their drafts frequently ask if I'll look at their drafts in progress if they simply e-mail them to me. I refuse to do this for two reasons: (1) doing so largely undermines the peer response process, which is an important consideration in audience awareness; and (2) I don't like doing for one student what I'm unable to do for all students, and responding to all drafts in progress at the various stages of development would be impossible. Therefore, I can only respond to complete final drafts via e-mail, and I am available to conference with you on your writing in progress during my office hours if you want comments on a draft in progress.

Finally, while the Internet is always on and you can be on the Internet at any time, I am not constantly on the Internet and therefore cannot immediately respond to all of your e-mail messages. In fact, while I may be online at the time that you e-mail me and thus may be able to give you an immediate response, don't expect that level of immediacy all the time. Rather, my goal is to provide you with a response within 24 hours of receiving your message during the work week (M-F). Like you, I often have plans for the weekend and may not even check my e-mail, so I will try to reply by 5pm Monday to all e-mails received after noon on Friday

Late Papers:
I do not accept late assignments. We generally meet on the day polished drafts are due, if you are sick on the day an assignment is due, you can post your paper to WebBoard or bring official documentation (such as a complete doctor's note-a copy of your prescription is not enough) when you return. If this is an extended absence, you should phone or email me as soon as possible to discuss your return and submission of work. In-class work, journals, and homework may not be made up.

Revision Policy:
In a very real sense, you will be revising your work throughout the semester; therefore there are no revisions on polished drafts.

The Public Nature of Class Writing and Discussion:
Part of becoming a good writer is learning to appreciate the ideas and criticisms of others and in this course our purpose is to come together as a community of writers. Remember that you will often be expected to share your writing with others. Avoid writing about things that you may not be prepared to subject to public scrutiny or that you feel so strongly about that you are unwilling to listen to perspectives other than your own. This does not mean that you are not entitled to an opinion but that you adopt positions responsibly, contemplating the effects on others, that you take responsibility for your words and for engagement with the words of others.

Problem Solving:
I encourage you to see me during office hours, email me, or make an appointment if you wish to discuss issues connected with this class and/or your performance. Students frequently tell me that the most helpful feature of the class was coming to my office to discuss their writing projects. Please discuss concerns with me while we still have options. I tend to be generous with students who take the initiative to consult with me about concerns while they are still "situations" and "not yet crises," and less generous with those who permit things to slide until a crisis is unavoidable. If anything arises about which you want an opinion other than mine, please contact the Director of the Writing Programs, LLB 314, 965 3168.

Remember: You are responsible for all University, Departmental, and Writing Programs policies, whether you have read them or not.

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