Welcome!
Welcome to our online ENG 102 course. Here is some general information about me, your instructor. My name is Lauren Yena, and the best way to reach me is via email at lyena@asu.edu. You may also leave phone messages for me with the ASU Composition Office at (480)965-3853, though these do not reach me as quickly as email, which I will be checking at least three days a week. I will also be holding office hours Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9-11am on the ASU campus in office LL 545D, and you are welcome to visit me then or schedule an appointment to discuss questions about the course and/or your work.
If this is the first online course you have taken, you probably have lots of questions. Here's a broad overview of how this course works. After reviewing this page, be sure to click on each of the subsequent links explaining our schedule, course description, policies, grading rubric, texts and websites (including chapter notes), etc. I hope these will provide a helpful start.
What to do First:
1)Check with our host, http://asuonline.asu.edu to be sure that your computing system meets the minimum technical requirements for this course.
2)Establish your ASURITE ID, which you will need to access our webboard. There are self-serve terminals on the first floor of the Computing Commons you may use to set up an ASURITE ID if you do not have one already. Contact Computer Accounts if you need further help with this. Then, be sure that you can sign on to our webboard with a user id and password. More specific directions for how to do this, and how to use webboard to post and reply to messages may be found under the "webboard" link.
3)Review all the components of the course listed here to get a sense of what we will be doing and how the course works.
Course Components:
Writing Assignments:
You will complete four major essays this semester. Specific directions and deadlines for these may be found under "assignments." We will approach these essays as a process in which you will generate ideas for original topics and post drafts to our webboard for peer review. So, as you compose, you will receive plenty of feedback from the rest of the class. Final drafts are also posted on the webboard. Each essay is worth 150 points, 15% of your total grade.
Final Reflection:
This final writing assignment asks you to critically reflect on your growth/change as a writer this semester. Specific directions for this project may be found under "assignments" as well. Reflections are worth 50 points, comprising 5% of your total course grade.
Discussion Questions on Readings:
There are currently eleven readings listed on our course schedule; they provide examples of the various types of arguments we will be composing. These readings are included to spark ideas for our own writing, and to give us persuasive techniques to analyze and critique. Discussions of these readings will be held on webboard and led by you, the students. By the end of the second week of the semester, you should choose a preferred reading and post the author's name under the webboard conference heading "discussion question preferences." Each of you will lead one reading conference, which means that you will be responsible for writing compelling questions to start the thread of discussion on that essay, and you should continue to participate in the dialogue and responses that follow. I will try to honor your preferences as much as possible and evenly distribute leaders across the readings (depending on class size, we will likely end up with 2-3 discussion leaders covering each reading). Here are some general ideas to consider while composing your discussion questions.
Evaluate the author's claim or thesis, and the key supporting reasons for that claim. Are they sufficient? Valid?
Note strengths and weaknesses of the essay: what techniques can we as a class learn or borrow from this author when writing our own arguments?
Cite general reactions to the essay--feel free to delve into issues raised by the reading, but do try to keep these reactions focused on analysis of the argumentative strategy, not the topic itself.
Rough Drafts and Peer Reviews:
You will need to post rough drafts of your essays to group conferences on the webboard. I'll place you into conference groups once our class rosters are finalized (after drop/add ends). These 4 drafts are worth 25 points each, collectively comprising 10% of your course grade. I scan these and assign points for completeness and effort, and though it is impossible for me to respond in writing to each of them, you are welcome to schedule an appointment to discuss an evolving draft with me. Because it is impossible for me to provide online feedback to all of you on drafts, peer review is a crucial element of our course. The four peer review sessions that you will complete are therefore also worth 25 points each, comprising 10% of your course grade. They are evaluated in much the same way drafts are. Some guidelines to follow when conducting peer review include:
Think of yourself as a friendly coach, not a judge out to "fix" what's wrong in your peers' essays
Move from broad issues (content/organization of ideas) to more specific ones (tone/word choice)
Treat commentary as though it is a conversation with the author; you are NOT expected to edit grammar or grade others' work. Your most valuable contribution to your peers' writing is that you are simply a sincere reading audience. Try to read these arguments as we read the published ones in our text; let the author know what is convincing or potentially alienating to you as a reader, let them know if you have been swayed by their writing, and if so, why.
Be specific. Comments such as "I liked your essay," for instance, are too vague to be really helpful. Try "your fourth paragraph is the most exciting moment in the argument for these reasons..." instead.
Be constructive. Direct your comments at the writing, not the author, and stay focused on positive possibilities and suggestions. Mention strengths as well as weak points.
Attendance and Participation
The remaining 10% of your grade depends on regular and constructive contributions to our webboard discussions and to peer conference groups. More detailed explanations of this may be found under "policies."