Course Information

ENG 1430.06 - Spring 2007
Time & Place: 7:50 - 10:30 AM, CAS 306 (TTh)
Professor: Dr. Charles Nelson
Office: CAS 226
Office hours: MW 12:30-2:00 & TTh 6:30-7:40 PM, and by appointment
Tel: (908) 737-0393

Course Description

ENG 1430 focuses on expository and persuasive writing for academic purposes. It emphasizes writing as a reflective and social process, writing across the curriculum, critical thinking, and the development of a personal intellectual perspective and style. It is a General Education requirement. ENG 1300 is a prerequisite for this course.

Course Goals

In this course, we will:

• Learn what is expected and considered acceptable, appropriate, and effective in written academic discourse in English.
• Learn and practice writing as a reflective process.
• Learn and practice writing as a social process.
• Learn about and practice different rhetorical modes, strategies, and patterns for academic writing across the curriculum.
• Develop critical thinking.
• Develop a personal intellectual perspective and style of writing.
• Learn and use the most powerful aids and tools for the writing process.
• Develop a personal perspective.
• Use reading, writing, and critical thinking as means of understanding oneÕs own culture and the cultures of others.
• Use the writing process as a means of social integration.
• Develop comfort with writing
• Pursue intellectual and/or academic sophistication.

We will also investigate the nature of writing, language, and persuasion. We will answer questions, such as

• How do people persuade one another?
• What sorts of assumptions do people make in their thinking and writing?
• Why do people disagree when they agree on the "facts"?

To answer these questions, we will

• read, critique, and summarize academic and non-academic articles on different issues;
• conduct research in the library and online;
• use our research and discussions to define and evaluate our issues; and
• use a variety of electronic tools including not only MS Word and Powerpoint but also weblogs, websites with syndicated feeds, wikis, Turnitin, and others.

Textbooks and Materials

For this class you will need:

• Graff, Gerald, and Cathy Birkenstein. They say / I say: The moves that matter in academic writing. New York: W.W. Norton & Co., 2006.
• Banks, Margot Harper, ed. Comment and Controversy in Today's World. Upper Saddle River: Pearson/AB Longman Custom Text, 2006.
• Anson, Chris M. and Robert A. Schwegler. The Longman Handbook for Writers and Readers. 4th ed. New York: Addison-Wesley/Longman, 2003.
• Optional: American Heritage College Dictionary Indexed. BDD, 1994.

Additional Required Materials

• An email address
• A blog account
• A news reader
• 2 disks or 1 USB flash drive. You are required to back up all of your work in this class and bring your storage device to EVERY class. Avoid U3 flash drives.
• MS Word & Powerpoint

Class Activities

Writing and reading assignments, class discussions, compositional coaching, written commentary, conferences, email correspondence, peer collaboration and review, interactive and other software, audio-visual presentations, lectures, web-site visits, tutorials, blogging, publishing, library and internet research, internet chat-room discussions, author circles, interventions, and competitions.

Expect to spend approximately 12-15 hours per week outside of class to complete all assignments.

Course Requirements

A portfolio of course work, a paper file, and an electronic file (plus back-up)
Participation in appropriate academic support
Keeping copies of all submitted papers and originals of all graded papers
Attendance
Completion of all course requirements and projects such as:

• 10% - Weblog
• 10% - Departmental essay exams
• 10% - Paper 1: Literature analysis
• 15% - Paper 2: Rhetorical analysis
• 15% - Paper 3: Language, writing, and literacy
• 18% - Paper 4: What should we do about this issue?
• 8% - Homework and classwork
• 8% - Oral presentation(s)
• 6% - Participation

Grading

The above percentages are general guidelines. To pass the course, you must have a passing average overall. In addition, because this is a course that expects you to achieve a certain level of writing ability, you must also have a passing average in major writing assignments, which are Papers 1, 2, 3, 4, and the final departmental essay exam.

If you are not satisfied with a grade on Papers 1-4, you can revise it and turn it in again. However, you must turn in together, the original, all feedback on the paper from me, and the revision, and revised areas must be highlighted. The revision must be substantial before I will re-grade it.

Writing assignments will be evaluated in relation to the following criteria:

• Focus - The writer constructs and follows a thesis statement appropriate in scope to an argument.
• Clarity - The meaning is consistently clear.
• Coherence - Logical organization, with points appropriately sequenced, is evident.
• Development - The writer develops his/her position on an issue in a series of well-constructed paragraphs supported by sufficient detail and explanation and developed through the appropriate use of multiple methods.
• Knowledge - The writer is persuasive and deals with various points of view objectively, giving thorough support for generalizations through use of sufficient and reliable data.
• Critical thinking - The writer has evaluated information from readings, experience, and other sources; has presented it in a logical and analytical way; and has identified the assumptions behind underlying ideas.
• Intellectual ambition - The writer thoroughly explores complex ideas.
• Expression - The language is fluent. Translation is not noted. Vocabulary and idioms are used appropriately.
• Grammar and usage - Sentence structure is appropriate and varied. Errors are infrequent and do not interfere with comprehension.
• Academic Conventions - Conventions of capitalization, punctuation, paragraphing, titles, quotations, and citations are excellent. Formatting is consistent.

Attendance. Punctuality, & Participation

Punctuality, attendance, and participation are important elements of being professional. Besides participating in class activities, such as editing, revising, and discussion sessions, there will be required out-of-class activities, such as interventions.

While in the computer classroom, computers must be used only for class-related activities, and cell phones must be turned off.

Homework is due before class begins. Class time cannot be used for doing homework unless given permission.

Late Work

Late assignments (not including responses to readings) will be accepted until April 16, 2007. However, assignments more than 1 week late will be lowered one letter/number grade, and assignments more than two weeks late will be lowered two letter/number grades. If you cannot attend class when an assignment is due, email it to me as an attachment in Microsoft Word before the class begins in which it is due. There is no makeup of in-class work.

Email requirements:

• Checking email daily is required.
• When emailing me, be sure to put your name at the bottom of your message. Sometimes students use friends' email addresses, and I can't tell who is emailing me.
• In the Subject line, always begin it with ENG 1430 and follow it with the subject of your message. For example, if you have a question about a reading like the "Mending Wall," the subject line might look like this: ENG 1430 - question on "Mending Wall." Or if you are turning in an assignment, for example Paper 2, the subject line would be: ENG 1430 - Paper 2.

Scholastic Honesty

Copying from a book or other material without giving credit to the author, copying other students' work, doing other students' assignments for them, or pretending in any way that someone else's work is yours is a serious unethical act. It will result in failure in the assignment and possible failure in the course. Extensive or repeated academic dishonesty can result in dismissal from the university. For complete guidelines on academic honesty, see the Kean University Policy on Academic Honesty on page 13 of The Guide (pdf).

We will be covering the use of sources in class. In general, I will ask you to provide me with photocopies or printouts of all sources you use. I will explain the procedures for presenting this material later in the course. If you have any questions about the use you are making of sources for your assignments, see me before you turn in the assignment. You should also use the originality report function at Turnitin.com before turning in an assignment.

Questions and Complaints

Bring any questions you have about grades or policies to me. With respect to grades, you must keep copies both of all papers that you turn in and also the graded originals once they are returned.

Students with disabilities

If you have a disability, let me know, so I can help arrange for appropriate assistance.

Spring 2007 Semester Schedule

• Classes begin (Jan 16)
• Last day to drop with 100% refund (Jan 22)
• Tutoring begins (Jan 29)
• Last day to drop with 75% refund (Jan 29)
• Last day to drop with 50% refund (Feb 5)
• Presidents' Day - State Holiday, No Classes (Feb 19)
• Spring Recess (Mar 12-16)
• Last day to withdraw with a "W" grade - no refund (Mar 20)
• Good Friday - No Classes (Apr 6)
• Tutoring ends (Apr 20)
• Term ends (May 7)