|
Rhetoric
1101: Writing to Inform, Convince, and
Persuade: Fall 2004
Instructor: Amy
D. Propen
E-mail: prope002@umn.edu
Office: 69 ClaOff
Office Phone: 612.624.4933
Office Hours: M: 9:30am-10:30
am, or by appointment
Section 1:
M, 8:30am-9:20am, ClaOff 17
WF, 8:30am-9:20am, ClaOff B26
Syllabus and course policies
Daily
schedule (In progress and subject to change at instructor's discretion):
|
|
Course description
This course introduces the writing process and the types of academic writing
you may be expected to complete in your college career such as research
papers, argumentative papers, and research proposals. This course is designed
to help you develop a clear thesis in a written paper and support that
thesis with appropriate sources. Time will be spent discussing rhetorical
elements in writing such as audience, purpose, and argumentative structure.
In addition, you will practice steps in the writing process such as invention,
research, organization, drafting, revision, and editing. Your assignments
will report, synthesize, and draw conclusions regarding the significance
of what you read. Assignments include 1) diagnostic essay; 2) rhetorical
analysis; 3) prospectus; 4) annotated bibliography; 5)
long
argument essay; 6) abstract. On Mondays we will meet in a computer classroom,
and on Wednesdays and Fridays, we will meet in a traditional classroom.
Back to top
|
|
Required
texts and materials
Ramage et al. Writing Arguments: A Rhetoric
with Readings (Sixth edition)
.
Diana Hacker. A Writer's Reference (Fifth
edition).
A UMN e-mail account.
Back to top
|
|
Participation
Since this course is a workshop class, you should always come to class
prepared and ready to contribute, and take an active role in class discussions
and workshops. Your participation in peer reviews is especially important,
both to you and your fellow students.
I will expect you to come to class with all texts and materials on a regular
basis, and be ready to discuss and summarize the readings. You'll each
be responsible for giving status reports to the class regarding your research,
and I'll also assign you sections of the text that you should be able
to summarize and discuss in class.
Back to top
|
|
Attendance
I will take attendance. Attendance is mandatory in this class. After three
absences (even with a medical excuse), I may recommend that you withdraw
from the class. If you are absent from class, it is your responsibility
to find out from other students what you missed that day. If you are more
than ten minutes late to class, I reserve the right to count your lateness
as half of an unexcused absence. Two half-unexcused absences equal one whole
unexcused absence.
Back to top
|
|
Assignment
deadlines
You must turn in or have all assignments ready at the start of class on
the day they are due. Late assignments will be penalized by one-third
of a letter grade for each class meeting that the assignment is late (that
is, a B will become a B-). "The computer ate my file" or "The printer
wouldn't print my paper" are no more legitimate excuses than "The dog
ate my homework." Such excuses will not be accepted.
I
will not accept any assignment more than one week past the due date (e.g.
if an assignment is due on a Thursday, I will not accept it after the
following Thursday).
However, you are required to complete
all assignments for your final portfolio regardless of whether or not
you receive credit for them.
Furthermore, because of the collaborative
nature of this course, it is essential that each student has drafts of
assignments on the days they are due. Remember, when you do not have a
draft ready on the day it is due - including bringing in the required
number of copies for peer review - you will not be able to participate
in peer review, which will affect your attendance, your credit for peer
commentary, and your grade for the assignment.
If you are going to miss a class on a day
when an assignment is due, turn in the assignment to me early or arrange
to have a classmate turn in your work at the beginning of the class period
it is due. In other words, make arrangements for your work to be in class
even if you can't be. If you are sick, please make every effort to get
the assignment in on time. If you cannot get your work in on time, bring
a signed doctor's note to me; otherwise, the regular late assignment policy
still applies. If you are absent from class, it is your responsibility
to find out from other class members what you missed that day and what
I have assigned for homework. You are responsible for the material covered
in class, as well as any changes to the syllabus and daily schedule.
Back to top
Students
with disabilities
If you are a student with a disability, you need
to register with the Office
of Disability Services right away, and bring
me an official letter from
the Office of Disability Services, with a detailed accommodation
plan. You need to do this within the first week of class. This information
will be kept confidential.
Back to top
|
|
Format
of assignments
All work must be typed or word-processed and printed with a readable printer.
Papers should have one-inch margins on all sides, and text between 10-
and 12- point type in a professional-looking font (no Courier or Courier
New). For you own protection, keep copies of all work on floppy disks,
hard disks, or flash drives, and on paper in case an assignment is lost.
You must staple the pages together if the assignment is more than one
page. Also, be sure your name and the page number appear on all pages
that you hand in to me.
Back to top
|
|
Grading
I rarely give incompletes.
If, by the 10th or 11th week of the course, you feel that you may not
be able to complete the course, please come see me. You may consider using
a discretionary
withdrawal. Written
assignments will be graded on focus, organization, originality, completeness
of discussion and of meeting assignment criteria, effective argument techniques
and support, evidence of careful proofreading, correct grammar and effective
sentence structure, among other criteria specific to each assignment.
I will calculate your final grade as follows:
Diagnostic
essay: 50 points
Rhetorical
analysis: 100 points
Prospectus: 100 points
Annotated bibliography: 150 points
Long argument essay: 250 points
Abstract (submitted with long argument
essay): 50 points
Class participation, attendance, and peer
reviews: 300 points
I will also calculate your final grade
based on the following University of Minnesota criteria:
| A |
100-95 |
Represents achievement
that is outstanding relative to the level necessary to meet course
requirements. |
| A- |
94-90 |
|
| B+ |
89-88 |
|
| B |
87-85 |
Represents achievement
that is significantly above the level necessary to meet course requirements |
| B- |
84-80 |
|
| C+ |
79-78 |
|
| C |
77-75 |
Represents achievement
that meets the course requirements in every respect. |
| C- |
74-70 |
|
| D+ |
69-68 |
|
| D |
67-60 |
Represents achievement
that is worthy of credit even though it fails to meet fully the
course requirements. |
| F |
59- |
Represents failure and
signifies that the work was either (1) completed but at a level
of achievement that is not worthy of credit or (2) was not completed
and there was no agreement between the instructor and the student
that the student would be awarded an I |
Back to top
|
|
Plagiarism
I encourage you to bounce ideas off each other, offer each other suggestions,
and seek other opinions about your work. When you use the citable work
of someone else, though, document your source. If you use someone else's
words or ideas without acknowledging the source, if you do not properly
quote someone else's words or images, or if you misleadingly submit work
you have completed in another context, then you have committed plagiarism,
a serious breach of academic and professional conduct.
If
you are caught plagiarizing, whether it be at the beginning, middle, or
end of the semester, you risk failing the course, and you will be reported
to the Office
for Student Academic Integrity. If you have questions about plagiarism
as you complete your assignments, ask me. We will also cover this in class.
See also: Center for Writing.
Back to top
Policy
for electronic source use
1. Students must provide printouts for any electronic sources they use.
2. Students must use proper citation format
(in-text and end list of references) for electronic sources, according
to the citation system appropriate for their discipline.
3. Students should be able to justify the
validity of the sources they use, by one or more of the following methods:
Corroboration from other traditional print
sources (journal articles, reports, etc.) of the ideas presented in the
electronic source.
Ability to offer full information about
where the source originated. Is it, for example, an on-line version of
a print source? Is it a partially finished draft of someone's work in
progress? Is it an e-mail? Is it an individual just looking for others
who share his or her ideas? This justification should include a description
of how the source's origin affects its validity.
Careful analysis of the reliability of
the sources cited within the text.
Verification of the author's reputation
or affiliation, or other publications by the author. If there is any doubt
as to the reliability of particular electronic source, the student should
confer with the teacher who will make the final decision about the source's
acceptability.
Back to top
|
|
Student contract
Please print this contract, sign it,
and return it to me at the next class meeting.
Back to top
|
|
Library Resources
UMN Library System
Julie Kelly: Librarian and Rhetoric
Department Liaison
Office Hours at the Rhetoric Department: 43COB, TBA
Office Phone at 83 Magrath Library: 612.624.4781
Magrath Reference Desk: 612.624.1212
Other
Resources at UMN
Online Writing Center (OWC)
Student Writing Center
Office of Disability Services
Office for Student Academic
Integrity
The Center for Writing
Academic and Distributed Computing
Services
Rhetoric Department
Back to top
|