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English 101
First Year Composition
Arizona State University
Fall 2009
| Dr. Katherine Heenan |
Office Hours:T 3 - 4, W 10 -12, Th 9 – 10 & by appointment |
| E-mail: K.Heenan@asu.edu |
Line #73080 and #72929 |
| Phone: 5-8881 |
Office: LL 309B |
The mission of ASU’s Writing Programs is to introduce students to the importance of writing in the work of the university and to develop their critical reading, thinking and writing skills so that they can successfully participate in that work. Writing is intellectual work, and the demands of writing within the university community include the need:
- to synthesize and analyze multiple points of view;
- to articulate and support one's own position regarding various issues; and
- to adjust writing to multiple audiences, purposes, and conventions.
Students in our courses are expected to engage the ideas encountered in academic and serious public discourse, to develop complex ideas and arguments through serious consideration of different perspectives, and to connect their life experiences with ideas and information they encounter in classes.
English 101 is a course whose aim is to increase students' ability to develop ideas, to express ideas effectively, and to engage different literacies. The course gives special attention to expository and persuasive writing. Critical reading of articles, speeches, and other non-literary texts helps students to understand the rhetorical process, to analyze audience and its cultural contexts, and to foresee the audience's response. A substantial amount of writing is required, and these writing projects prepare students for the specific demands of writing in the university:
- using various strategies to write for a variety of audiences;
- expressing a working knowledge of key rhetorical features, such as audience, situation, and purpose;
- using conventions of format, structure, and language appropriate to the purpose of the written texts;
- engaging in a variety of research methods to study and explore the topics, including fieldwork as well as library and Internet research;
- writing and revising drafts and integrating feedback into their writing;
- responding to audiences by revising work based upon feedback (peer response, teacher conferences) from others; and
- employing a variety of organizational tactics.
| POLICY ON CLASS ATTENDANCE: |
Because writing classes are performance courses that depend upon student attendance for both the class and the student’s success, this policy is non-negotiable. All absences count equally, irrespective of the cause and students who exceed the allowed number of absences cannot pass the course and will fail with a grade of “E.”
Hybrid classes: In the case of hybrid course that meets twice a week, a student who misses more than four classes—either face-to-face, online, or a combination—will fail the course with a grade of E. In the case of hybrid course that meet three times a week, a student who misses more than six classes—either face-to-face, online, or a combination—will fail the course with a grade of E.
- Definition of attendance for hybrid class days: A student who fails to post an acceptable assignment to the class website during the assigned "window" of time will be counted absent for that class day
Beyond this policy, I expect students to make every effort to attend all meetings and to miss class only in rare and unavoidable circumstances. Should you arrive after I have called the roll, it is your responsibility to ensure that I correct the roll at class end.
- Note: Students who participate in university-sanctioned activities and/or who will be unable to meet the attendance requirements for a particular section should move to another section where their activity schedules will not interfere with their classroom obligations (students can freely switch sections during the first week of the semester). To accommodate students who participate in university-sanctioned activities, the Writing Programs Office offers sections of this course at various times of the day and week. We have asked advisors across campus to help students enroll in appropriate sections. If you think that this course may conflict with a university-sanctioned activity in which you are involved—athletics or the debate team or another—please see me immediately.
| ATTENDANCE: FIRST WEEK OF CLASSES |
According to university policy, students who are registered but do not attend any of the first week of classes may be dropped.
- Students enrolled in hybrid/online courses must make every reasonable attempt to attend class or contact the
instructor during the first week. After the first week those who do not show up either in person or by calling or e-mailing the instructor may be dropped.
If I need to cancel class because my car broke down, or if I am ill, etc., I will try to get someone to post a sign. I also will try to email you all, before class. However, if you come to class and I am not here by the time 15 minutes has elapsed (from when class is to start) , please assume that class is cancelled.
Grading for Writing Projects will follow English Department standards, which are based on content, organization, expression, and mechanics. To compute final course grades, the following values are assigned to the standard letter grades of A through E:
| A+ |
4.3 (only used internally at ASU) |
|
| A |
4.0 |
|
| A- |
3.7 |
|
| B+ |
3.3 |
|
| B |
3.0 |
|
| B- |
2.7 |
|
| C+ |
2.3 |
|
| C |
2.0 |
|
| D |
1.0 |
|
| E |
0.3 |
No paper = 0 |
At the end of each class period, I will award you credit for participation: a 3 or 4 if you were there the whole class period and contributed positively, a 1 or 2 if you showed up but didn't contribute positively, and a 0 if you were absent. A student who is chronically late to class, leaves early, or is not prepared to participate in the day's class work will not receive attendance and participation credit. At the end of each designated "virtual time" period, I will award you credit for participation: a 3 or 4 if you post an assignment and contributed positively, a 1 or 2 if you logon on but didn't contribute positively, and a 0 if you were absent. In addition to a 0, you will also be marked absent for that virtual class.
| Project 1: Rhetorical Analysis |
10% |
| Project 2: Visual Pop Culture |
15% |
| Project 3: Examining the Mashup |
20% |
| Project 4: Visual Research-Based Argument |
30% |
| Hybrid & In-Class Work |
15% |
| Participation |
10% |
I will provide detailed information about each project as it is assigned and will post an overview of the assignment sequence during the first week of classes, but here’s a brief description of each major project:
- Project One: Rhetorical analysis of a visual text that conveys an argument
- Project Two: Rhetorical analysis of a visual text from popular culture that conveys an argument.
- Project Three: Examination of mashup as a representation of text, image, and argument
- Project Four: Visual Research-Based Argument that considers the images that shape a debate, tell a certain history, or persuade an audience in a certain way.
| THE PUBLIC NATURE OF THE CLASS WRITING AND DISCUSSION: |
Please consider every piece of writing you do for this class to be "public property." 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 writing community. Remember that you will often be expected to share your writing with others, so avoid writing about things that you may not be prepared to subject to public scrutiny, or things 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 possible effect on others.
Arguments will happen in this class—frequently. At times our discussions may become heated. If (when) this occurs, I expect all of us to treat one another with courtesy and respect. Rhetorical theorist Janet Atwill reminds us that argument does not actually occur unless all parties treat one another with respect; if this condition is not present, something other than argument is going on—most likely competition, threats, or even coercion. These will not be tolerated in class.
Generally speaking, I expect all work to be turned in on time except in the most extreme circumstances. However, as a rule, I try not to penalize students for late work when something unexpected prevents completion of a particular assignment on time. However, I accept no unexcused late work. You must receive permission to turn in a late assignment without being penalized; if you fail to do so, your grade will be lowered 1 full letter grade for each day that assignment late.
Also note that I will never give permission to turn in an assignment late on the day it is due. So if you come across a problem, talk to me ahead of time. Also, you may not email me a copy of your paper unless prior permission from me has been received.
Late homework, activities and participation will not be accepted and cannot be “made-up. Because you must turn in all major writing projects to pass this course, you must turn in a paper even though it is late and will receive an E.
| All writing for this class must be written for this class |
To pass this class all major writing assignments must be completed, and note that all writing for this class must be written for this class. Reusing a paper you wrote for another class, or back in high school, constitutes academic dishonesty.
| KEEP COPIES OF ALL YOUR WORK |
A writer never gives her or his only copy of a text to anyone. Save both a hard copy and an electronic copy of each draft of each text you write for this course. This means you will need to form the habit of duplicating a document before making changes to the new version. Keep hard copies of your work for this course, along with any comments you receive on it, in a binder or folder. Save electronic copies of all drafts of all your writings on a usb drive or back-up disk, or learn how to post them to your personal space on the ASU servers. You will need these copies to complete your work for this course—since when you turn in a revised version of an essay, I will ask you to track and reflect on the changes you have made in moving from one draft to the next.
In the “Student Academic Integrity Policy” manual, ASU defines plagiarism as “using another's words, ideas, materials or work without properly acknowledging and documenting the source. Students are responsible for knowing the rules governing the use of another's work or materials and for acknowledging and documenting the source appropriately.” Academic dishonesty, including inappropriate collaboration, will not be tolerated. There are severe sanctions for cheating, plagiarizing and any other form of dishonesty. The University Academic Integrity policy is located at http://provost.asu.edu/academicintegrity.
Several times during the semester we may cancel classes so we can hold conferences. If you miss a conference, you will be counted absent for the same number of classes that were canceled in order to hold conferences. For instance, if we cancel class for two days to hold conferences and you miss your conference, that "counts" as two absences. In addition, you should try to visit with me in my office several times during the term to discuss your papers and your class performance. I also encourage you to visit your other professors during their office hours.
Most of our class time will be devoted to discussions and workshops, with an occasional lecture, announcements, and other in-class activities. Regardless of the class format, you are expected to be prepared, to listen, to contribute, and to participate in an appropriate fashion. Among other things, this means:
- no off-task use of your computer (e.g., no personal e-mail, Web surfing, Facebooking, Twittering or other computer based activities that are not specifically course related)
- computer monitors are to be turned off during class discussions, lectures, and announcements or when otherwise directed
- do not print files during class time unless otherwise directed
- personal communication devices (cell phones, beepers, and other devices) must be turned off for the entire class period. Unless you are part of an emergency on-call organization--Fire Department, Police Department, EMT, etc.), you should not and will not receive calls during class. Doing so will result in a 0 for the day's participation credit.
On days when a draft is due, you will be expected to have an accessible electronic copy available as well as a printed copy. Failing to do so affect your peer review grade and your attendance/participation
grade. Nevertheless, even if your draft is incomplete, it is better to come to class than to miss since missing too many classes could result in your failing the class. Moreover, if you come, you will earn some participation credit. We will also spend class time writing, and you should give your best effort to these writing activities since your participation grade will be affected by this work.
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 two to three hours outside of class for every hour in class. Writing classes frequently require more time from students than many other classes do. In addition, for many of you, this work will require the use of technologies that may be unfamiliar to you, so be sure to make time for that learning curve. All final projects must be published in the appropriate venue and done so on time.
Also, given the possibility of technological glitches and disasters, I strongly urge you to backup all your work. It could be disastrous for you gradewise if you cannot produce evidence of your work. All major projects must be completed in order to pass the course.
| Withdrawals: University deadlines: |
| Course Withdrawal Deadline |
Oct 30th (in person) Nov 1st (online) |
| DISABILITY RESOURCES FOR STUDENTS: |
ASU complies with all federal and state laws and regulations regarding discrimination, including the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA). If you have a disability and need a reasonable accommodation for equal access to education at ASU, please contact Disability Resources for Students at 480-965-1234. Please feel free to discuss the special accommodations with all of your teachers.
All of us struggle with our limits, and I sometimes suspect that no one is more conscious of that than students in writing requirement courses. Keep in mind, as you set your priorities, that I am very moved by students who visibly struggle with their limits.
I encourage you to also see me during office hours, e-mail me, or make an appointment anytime 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 and discussing their writing projects and/or classroom concerns.
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,' i.e., not-yet-crises, and downright testy with those who permit things to slide until a crisis is unavoidable.
If anything arises about which you want an opinion or advice other than mine, please contact the Writing Programs Associate Director at 480/965-3853 or see our Administrative Assistant in LL314.
And remember: You are accountable for all University, College, Departmental, and Writing Programs policies, whether you have read them or not! |
