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English 111 G/H Rhetoric
and Composition
Syllabus
Section _____
Meeting time __________________
Meeting Place _________________
Instructor ____________________
Office _______________________
Telephone # __________________
E-mail _______________________
Office hours __________________
Message/Voicemail 646-3931
Course objectives
Through a sequence of reading, writing,
and workshop exercises, you will:
- become familiar with the composing process
and learn to adjust it to accomplish various writing tasks,
- develop analytical reading and critical thinking
skills,
- develop expository and argumentative writing
skills,
- develop research skills, and
- use collaborative learning in various contexts.
Texts and materials
- Ramage, John D., and John C. Bean. Writing
Arguments: A Rhetoric with Readings (Brief Edition). Fourth
Edition. Boston: Allyn and Bacon, 1998. (Bookstore)
- NMSU English 111 text (Bookstore)
- A three-inch, three-ring binder with cover
pockets or an accordion file with pockets for submitting your
portfolio, as your instructor directs
- A manila folder
- A package of at least 12 3X5-inch index cards
- A floppy disk for storing essay files
Procedures and policies
This course is a reading and writing workshop.
Class time will be used to introduce reading and writing assignments
and discuss their goals and some strategies useful for completing
them. Essay assignments, reading assignments, prewriting assignments,
in-class writing exercises, collaborative learning activities,
draft workshops, and Writing Center referrals are all designed
to help you realize your potential as a writer and student.
You will be required to provide copies of
draft work for every member of your writing group during scheduled
workshops. When needed, you will be responsible for meeting with
your writing group outside of class. You will be expected to
have copies of reading materials for reference during class discussions
and in-class writing exercises.
Attendance, plagiarism, and other such issues will be handled
according to the Department of English Writing Program Policies.
All written work submitted for evaluation must have a professional
appearance. Submit computer-printed, double-spaced manuscripts
in 12-point font, on substantial paper. Poorly prepared work
will be returned unread with no credit assigned. Work on a word
processor in order to ease revising. PCs with word processors
are available at several locations on campus. Make sure to save
your files periodically when working on PCs and to make back-up
copies in case of floppy disk failure. Always be prepared to
provide your instructor an additional copy of every assignment
you submit.
Essays submitted for evaluation will be read, critiqued, and
marked
- S
(satisfactory, no additional work required),
- R
(revise based on commentary provided on essay and/or in a conference
addressing revision strategies; you must revise and resubmit
a version deemed satisfactory by the instructor within a specified
time period, generally before the next essay is due),
- or U (unsatisfactory; no opportunity to revise; receiving
a U
on an essay makes you ineligible to earn a satisfactory grade
in the course). Any essay marked R but
left unrevised by the deadline will receive a U.
Essay assignments
The reading and writing assignments
in this course will investigate relations between an individual’s
sense of self and identity and the influence of language and
culture on that self. We will also consider interactions between
individuals and communities and how language shapes power relations
in society. This is a course in rhetoric, so we will also consider
how to find and evaluate evidence and structure arguments for
various purposes and audiences. Much of your work will involve
your selecting an issue of personal and public policy interest,
researching it, and proposing specific actions for dealing with
that issue.
You will write five formal essays:
E1: A critique of self
Through reading we will explore the relationship between society
and the individual. In your essay, you will discuss how you have
been influenced by the forces you have identified. You will consider
whether and to what degree individuals have control over their
identities and values. Length: between three and five pages.
E2: Writing in a major
You will examine and report on the role writing plays in
your prospective major and in the career for which it prepares
you. The report will include information gathered from the NMSU
undergraduate catalog, from interviews with practitioners, professors,
advanced students in the major, and from analysis of professional
literature. Length: between three and five pages.
E3: Documented white paper
You will be working on essays 3 and 4 throughout much of
the semester. Early in the course you will choose a contemporary
problem or issue that you will study through the semester. You
will complete research of various kinds to define the problem/issue,
examine its origins, causes, and consequences, and critique various
approaches to dealing with the problem/issue. Through this research,
you will become authoritative concerning this problem/issue.
In the documented white paper, you will use this research to
structure an argument presenting your position on the problem/issue
and examining various approaches to dealing with the problem/issue.
This essay will run a minimum of 5 pages of text.
E4: Editorial
With the documented white paper as an argumentative foundation,
you will write a two-page editorial that targets a specific publication
(newspaper or journal) and presents a policy proposal with a
specific action plan.
E5: Reflective self-assessment
The purpose of the reflective self-assessment is for you
to review all the work you’ve done in the semester in order
to explain what you have learned about writing, reading, critical
thinking, and researching, how you learned it, and how you will
plan to use it in the future.
Essay schedule
You will receive detailed assignments
and schedules for the various essays during the semester. These
schedules will generally map out a two- to three-week sequence
of reading, writing, and workshop assignments. You can expect
to complete E1 and E2 in the first half of the semester. You
will also begin researching your problem/issue during this period.
E3 will be due around week 12. E4 will be due around week 13.
You will work on your portfolio during the last few weeks of
the course. Evaluation conferences are scheduled during final
exam week. See key dates provided below.
You will also complete several impromptu essay
exercises during the semester in order to give you practice for
the Common Essay. These impromptu essay exercises will generally
involve readings and materials already discussed in class.
Evaluation
You will receive periodic evaluations
concerning your progress in the course. If you are concerned
with the letter grade you are receiving in the course
at any time, consult your instructor, who will provide
you an advisory grade based on your performance to date.
In order to receive a passing grade (C) in ENGL 111
(and meet the University Writing and English Basic Skills requirements),
you must:
- attend and participate. A maximum of 10 points
will be awarded for attendance and participation (which includes
peer critiquing and contributing to class discussions), and for
completing writing assignments, such as grammar work, and in-
and out-of-class writing assignments. You will also complete
a series of Learning Logs (worth up to 10 points).
- receive satisfactory (S) evaluations
on all assigned essays, including the documented white paper
and the editorial, with any assigned revisions by the deadline
specified by the instructor, generally before the next essay
is due (10 points).
- submit, by the due date, a complete and satisfactory
portfolio containing clean copies of the documented white paper,
the editorial, and the reflective essay, as well as the work
your instructor specifies.
Common Essay
111G students must complete the ENGL
111G Common Essay (10 points). You will write the Common Essay
on an assigned topic under controlled conditions. The Common
Essay will be evaluated by two writing instructors other than
your instructor. Your essay will be evaluated against all the
others written by ENGL 111G students this semester and the general
standards for ENGL 111G. Your instructor will review the results
of the Common Essay with you. The Common Essay will not be returned
to you; the Department of English keeps these essays for program
evaluation. 111H instructors will distribute these 10 points
as they see fit.
Portfolio
ENGL 111 is a performance course.
Our goal is to give you instruction, practice, and feedback through
the semester, so you can use all your skills and abilities to
your best advantage at the end when your writing will be evaluated
and graded. Final letter grades in ENGL 111 depend on the quality
of the portfolio you submit at the end of the course. It will
represent 60% of your final grade.
60 points will be awarded as noted below (maximum
values noted; your scores will depend upon the quality of the
work):
- 25 points: documented white paper (E3)
- 15 points: editorial (E4)
- 20 points: a reflective self-assessment essay
(E5)
The portfolio culminates the semester’s
work and, in this respect, resembles a comprehensive final examination.
Strong performance through the course will not compensate for
poor or careless performance in the portfolio. Similarly, as
long as the requirements for earning a passing grade have been
met, strong performance in the portfolio can offset marginal
or inconsistent performance through the course. Consult the portfolio
instructions.
Evaluation scale
A = 90 percent or higher
B = 80-89 percent
C = 70-79 percent
D = 69-61 percent
F = 60 percent or lower
Key dates Fall 1998 Spring 1999
- Instruction begins 8/19 1/13
- Add period ends 8/28 1/22
- Labor Day: 9/7 MLK Day: 1/18
- Mid-term evaluation conferences 10/7-12 3/7-14
- Last day to drop with "W" 10/14
3/16
- Spring break: 3/29-4/2
- Common Essay 11/2-6 4/12-16
- CE Scoring for all 111 instructors 11/9 4/19
- Last day to W from the university 11/18 4/23
- Thanksgiving: 11/25-27
- Portfolios due by 12/2 by 5/5
- Evaluation conferences 12/7-11 5/10-14
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Copyright 1997 Department of English |
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New Mexico State University |
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Use only with permission |
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