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Rhetoric
1152: Writing on Issues in Science and Technology:
Fall 2005
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:
MWF, 8:30am-9:20am, Magrath 8
Syllabus and course policies
Daily
schedule (In progress and subject to change at instructor's discretion):
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Course description
In general, this course is designed to explore issues of scientific writing.
We will explore the ethical, social, and political challenges that science
and technology create. You will gain: 1) familiarity with current issues
in science and technology; 2) practice in the strategies of critical analysis;
3) basic fluency in the conventions and philosophy of scientific discourse;
and 4) an understanding of the role of science in society. For non-science
majors, the goal is to gain competency in science as it pertains to socio-political
contexts, which you will face as a citizen. For science majors, the goal
is to increase your skill as a participant in these future debates.
More specifically, this course will emphasize
critical thinking and writing about scientific issues. We will engage
in discussion about issues of science and technology during which everyone
will have the opportunity to express their ideas in an open and respectful
forum. You will then be asked to practice writing formally and informally
about these issues. Assignments will vary from low stakes free-writing
to higher stakes article analyses, quizzes, and argument papers.
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Required
texts and materials
Taking Sides:
Clashing Views on Controversial Issues in Science, Technology, and Society.
Sixth Edition, 2005, Edited by Thomas Easton.
Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of
Human Societies, by Jared Diamond.
Additional readings available through the
course website and class handouts.
A UMN e-mail account.
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Required
work:
Papers
Four papers.
Rhet 1152W is a "writing intensive" course. Accordingly, writing
papers in response to the readings is central to the course. The type
of papers assigned are arguments: thesis papers in which you defend
your interpretation or position on an issue. Good argumentative papers
present a cogent viewpoint, developing it coherently and cohesively. You
must provide sufficient textual evidence in support of your position
and address counter interpretations. I encourage you to use additional
evidence from external sources, but you can find what you need within
the texts we read.
Specifically, Rhet 1152W requires you to write four papers. These are
relatively short papers (4-5 pages, double-spaced, one inch margins all
around). Class discussions will be invaluable toward exploring each issue
completely and for finding an incisive focus for your paper. You will
be required to develop these four short argument papers on issues chosen
from four of the six units covered throughout the semester.
Drafts and Re-writing.
The purpose of the University's "writing intensive" requirement
is to help you improve as a writer. Accordingly, you may re-write the
first short paper you turn in after it is returned in order to
improve your grade.
Papers with an excess of one grammatical error or stylistic flaw per page
may receive a substantially lower score, or may be returned ungraded.
Help with writing can be obtained from the Online Writing Center or the
Student Writing Center in Minneapolis. See links at the bottom of this
page.
More help.
In addition to the student writing resources available through the University,
we will discuss writing periodically throughout the semester, and you
are encouraged to drop into my office to discuss your papers with me.
I encourage you to work ahead and start on papers early to allow enough
time for revisions. It is a very rare individual who can produce a coherent
and cohesive argument in one draft.
Five pop quizzes
There will be six pop quizzes, and you may drop the lowest quiz grade
of the six. These will be unannounced quizzes designed to reward everyone
for reading for each class. There will be two questions (5 pts each) on
each quiz for which you will either receive full credit or zero credit.
No partial credit will be given. These quizzes may not be made up
for any reason. You are allowed to drop your worst quiz and I have built
in an additional 10 pts for a conference, which will more than compensate
for any absences.
Three scheduled quizzes
Typically, these quizzes will include both short answer questions based
on the content of the articles we read and a short essay based on the
issues discussed. These quizzes are really mini-tests that will assess
your knowledge of the course material and give you an opportunity to practice
writing essays in class.
Student-led discussions of Taking Sides issues
Just about every week, usually on Wednesdays or Fridays, we will explore
one of the issues from the Taking Sides text. During this time,
groups of two or three students will be responsible for leading a class
discussion and class activity on the issue. This is a fun and helpful
way to engage with these issues and I encourage you to think about creative
ideas for leading class discussion. We will also review the handout for
How to Lead a Class Discussion, which I will distribute in class.
Discussion/Participation
Two other important factors that influence your grade are class attendance
and participation in discussions. Class discussions will focus on the
pages and/or articles from the reading assigned for the day, typically
one of the issues from the text and/or additional articles TBA. Try to
come to class with some ideas to bring up about the issue being discussed.
If you do that, you are helping to make the class a fun and interesting
learning environment, which will in turn help make the course a success.
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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.
Note: Even though this is an early-morning class, you are still
responsible for setting your alarm clock accordingly, leaving enough time
for traffic, the campus connector, and so on.
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Assignment
deadlines
Papers: 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.
If you are going to miss a class on a day
when a paper is due, turn in the paper 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.
Scheduled Quizzes: If you anticipate having to miss class on a
day when a scheduled quiz is to be taken, you may ask to arrange to take
the quiz at another time; this request must be made at least one class
in advance. If you miss a quiz or exam because of illness or an emergency,
you may retake the quiz or exam on the next class day provided that
you have documentation proving that you were ill or that the emergency
occurred. Otherwise, missed quizzes may not be made up. Important
Note: Pop quizzes may not be made up for any reason.
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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.
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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.
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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:
4 Short Papers (4-5 pages) @125pts each:
50% (500pts)
Taking Sides Presentation: 10% (100pts)
5 Pop Quizzes @ 10pts each: 5% (50pts)
3 Scheduled Quizzes @ 50pts each: 15%
(150 pts)
Attendance: 10% (100pts)
Participation: 10% (100pts)
1 Conference: (+10pts) **Conferences
will be held during one week of the semester during which regular class
will not meet. You will receive 10 extra points for showing up to your
conference. You may not make up this conference after the fact for any
reason.
Total:
100% (1000pts)
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 |
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| B+ |
89-88 |
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| B |
87-85 |
Represents achievement
that is significantly above the level necessary to meet course requirements |
| B- |
84-80 |
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| C+ |
79-78 |
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| C |
77-75 |
Represents achievement
that meets the course requirements in every respect. |
| C- |
74-70 |
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| D+ |
69-68 |
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| 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 |
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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 will fail 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.
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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.
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Student contract
Please print this contract, sign it,
and return it to me at the next class meeting.
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Library Resources
UMN Library System
Julie Kelly: Librarian and Rhetoric
Department Liaison
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
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