ENGLISH 111 Fayette, Main Campus Spring 2019
Section D, MWF 2:00-2:50, meets in Classic 100
Instructor: Bob Boon
Email: rboon@centralmethodist.edu Office: CU 425 Hours: MWF 9:00-9:50
CMU MISSION STATEMENT: Central Methodist University prepares students to make a difference in the world by emphasizing academic and professional excellence, ethical leadership, and social responsibility.
COURSE DESCRIPTION (PREREQUISITES AND COREQUISITES):
EN111 focuses on techniques of topic development, drafting, and revision to help students write clear, concise sentences, paragraphs, and essays. EN111 is also the study of grammar, syntax, and diction and their relationship to effective writing. Required of all freshmen who score 19 and below on their ACT English subscore.
TEXTBOOKS:
Can I Use I? Catherine Prendergast, Out of Pocket Press (March 18, 2015),
ISBN-13: 978-0986145711
The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History. Elizabeth Kolbert. Picador (2015).
ISBN: 9781250062185
Oryx and Crake. Margaret Atwood. Anchor (2004).
ISBN 9780385721677
COURSE OUTCOMES: In the course of EN111, students will...
Continue practicing and applying the lessons from EN110 within the conventions of
academic research and writing.
Articulate a purpose for research and their positions relative to the positions of others.
Find and evaluate research sources.
Summarize, contextualize, and synthesize information.
Document sources honestly and within appropriate conventions.
Create complex sentences that are stylistically and tonally varied.
DESCRIPTION OF MAJOR ASSIGNMENTS
Notice that all of these assignments involve several steps along the way. This will always include various brainstorming/invention activities, such as freewriting, so you will need to bring something to write with/on to every class. We will almost always work through stages of writing through group activities. When we do peer review, you will need to bring multiple copies of your work. We will decide how many copies depending on class/group sizes.
For this section of 111, we will focus on semester-long topic, the impact of humans on the earth. We could use several terms for this, the most current being the Anthropocene. But this also contains the issues of global warming, species extinction and its causes, our effects on land and water, and less tangible, our ways of thinking about our place in the world, our relation to nature, science, and so on. We will read one non-fiction book, The Sixth Extinction, to learn basic information, and then go into one novel, Oryx and Crake, that extrapolates one future we may (hopefully not!) reach.
Plagiarism exercise: Please go to this website, http://www.lib.usm.edu/plagiarism_tutorial/, which contains a plagiarism tutorial. Work through the exercises, and take the test at the very end. Print that result for me, sign it, and turn it in.
What I Know and How I Know It: In this paper, each of you should sketch out your initial ideas about our main class topics, the Anthropocene and global warming. (We will read the Prologue of The Sixth Extinction as a way to focus this.) This is not a research activity. Instead, this essay will let you establish and share what you know and believe coming in to this class. There is no one set form for this essay, but you should try to identify major ideas, where you learned these, when possible, and perhaps talk about what you feel are major controversies or interesting contentions. The purpose here is to sketch out how you know or why you don’t know much about this issue. 3-4 pages, typed, double-spaced.
Summary: This short exercise will help us practice the skill of summarizing, working from a designated text, to a short summary paragraph. ½ to 1 page, typed, double-spaced.
Rhetorical Analysis: For this exercise, we will examine a section of The Sixth Extinction in terms of rhetorical categories. 1-2 pages, typed, double-spaced.
Response papers: These are short, informal papers, meant to let you explore ideas from our readings and films (I’ll point out specific material to respond to for each one). These are explicitly not to be summaries or simple overviews. This is a space for you to try out new ideas, explore, consider, pull things together, have a viewpoint. 2 pages each, typed, double-spaced.
Film project/presentation: This is a group project. I’ll supply you with a list of film choices, and ask each group to view and discussion its chosen film, in terms of what we learn about place and how people adapt to places from the film. Each group should then present an overview of the film and the group’s ideas about it to the class. If possible, show a very brief film clip to the class to illustrate key points. Do write, individually, a one-page paper to turn in to me, giving your key ideas, or disagreements with the group’s conclusions. This one page is due with the presentation.
Group Project on The Sixth Extinction chapters: We will use Chapters 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10 in The Sixth Extinction for this project. Each group should share and explain the key ideas in its given chapter, but also go further—help make the information lively and interesting. Do use various visuals, which might include short film clips. Do turn in to me a formal list of sources in MLA style, with the name of the contributor of each source in [ ] at the end of the citation. Aim for a 17-20 minute presentation.
Assessment Essay: This essay is assigned by the English Department, to all sections of 111, 120, 305 and 306. Its intent is to measure how successful our writing classes are. This essay will involve writing a research paper on the assigned topic. I will post the more extensive essay prompts in the Assignment section of myCMU.
Final Essay: This last essay should provide an evaluation of and reflection on what you have learned and considered throughout this course, in relation to our two main texts, including materials from films and discussions. 4 pages, plus Works Cited.
N. b., Paper format: all papers should be typed, double-spaced, in 12-point font, and stapled. I prefer Times New Roman. Page lengths: when a paper assignment asks, for example, for 2 pages, that means two full pages; a partial second page will not get full credit. Yes, go find a stapler!
GRADING
Assessment of Student Learning:
Your final grade in the class will be largely determined from these activities:
What I Know…
peer draft/process 6
final draft 15
Summary 6
Rhetorical Analysis 6
Responses 45 (3 x 15)
Film Project 15
Group Project on Sixth Extinction 15
Assessment Essay
peer draft/process 6
final draft 10
Final Essay
peer draft/process 6
final draft 20
Writing Studio 12 (3 x 4 sessions)
In-class writing/activities, as time permits. Points open-ended
Grading Scale:
100%-90% = A
89%-80% = B
79%-70% = C
69%-60% = D
59% or below = F
STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES POLICY: “Central Methodist University does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, or federally defined disability/state defined handicap ("disability"). This includes but is not limited to recruitment and admission of students, educational programs, services, activities, financial aid, and scholarship programs. The University complies with all federal and state non-discrimination requirements.”
The procedures, described in the university’s catalog, are intended to guide and assist faculty, staff, and students in complying with this policy and in determining reasonable accommodations to be made for the federally defined disability claimed. All materials and information regarding disabilities will be governed by the University’s normal policies regarding privacy.
To request reasonable accommodations for a disability, students must fill out and submit the application and information forms and provide professional documentation of the disability (These forms can be found at http://www.centralmethodist.edu/academics/learning-teaching/disability-accommodations.php). The information must be received by the staff of the Center for Learning and Teaching before reasonable accommodations are provided. Please see the website for the Center for Learning and Teaching for more information (http://www.centralmethodist.edu/academics/learning-teaching/ )
ACADEMIC CONDUCT: Any student found guilty of academic misconduct on any assignment, quiz or exam in this class will earn a zero for that assignment, quiz or exam. Furthermore, that student will come under the auspices of the Academic Conduct Policy of CMU. It is the student's responsibility to review and understand the CMU Academic Conduct Policy. Plagiarism falls under this code. I have no sense of humor nor forgiveness for any plagiarism. At best, plagiarized work will receive a zero and be formally reported to the Provost. Plagiarized work cannot be done over. Severe or repeated episodes of plagiarism will likely guarantee an F in the course.
CLASS CONDUCT: In class, we need to be alert to being civil and courteous to others. Partly this means being prepared for the day’s work; partly this means staying reasonably focused on our activities. So, you shouldn’t be on Facebook or Snapchat or Twitter or whatever other social media, not even texting, during class. No earplugs. Do use your iPad, but if you abuse the privilege, you may be asked to leave class and not return until we meet with your advisor. Film etiquette—no electronics out at all!
Do be civil—we will discuss a number of controversial issues. You certainly don’t have to agree with everyone, or with me, but we do need to discuss issues, to argue productively, not insult or name-call. But you know these things.
ATTENDANCE: Regular attendance is not only expected, but is vital to academic success. We will have activities every class that add to the overall learning experience. In general, except for official school activities, I do not excuse any absences. However, please let me know if there are exceptional circumstances.
Like every teacher, I expect everyone to be in class each day and to arrive on time. And because this class depends on your active participation, it’s especially important that you be here to contribute. Of course, I understand that sometimes the circumstances of life may cause you to miss class (and maybe even to be a little late once or twice, but surely not every day). If you miss more than eight classes, however, your chances of getting at least a D will be in jeopardy, and so I reserve the right to drop you from the class, lower your final grade, at my discretion, or fail you in the course. In general, except for official school activities, I do not excuse any absences. However, please let me know if there are exceptional circumstances.
Tardiness: If you are late to class, you may be marked tardy. For every 2 tardy marks, I’ll deduct 1 point from your final course grade.
ANNOUNCEMENTS: I tend to make frequent use of the Announcements in myCMU. You are responsible for information and course materials in the Announcements.
WRITING STUDIO: All on-campus sections of EN111 have a writing studio component, though this has changed this year. Here is the update:
Writing Studio will be a little different this year. The changes are as follows:
Instead of requiring students in EN110/EN111 to attend writing studio weekly, all students are required to attend at least two writing studio sessions before March 11, and two more before May 3. Writing Studio will continue to be held weekly (starting in week 2), but there will be fewer writing studio times per week.
Students can sign up for writing studio times with our new scheduling system: centralmethodist.mywconline.com. There will also be an icon on their iPad home screens that will take them to the scheduler.
I’ve assigned 12 points for this activity, spread over the semester, three points for each of the 4 required sessions.
MAKE-UP AND LATE WORK: We have a fairly tight schedule, and so a caution—late work will put you at many disadvantages throughout the course, not only in terms of grades. Not being prepared is more than a little rude to the group and class members who depend on your active contribution. So, I do reserve the right to penalize or refuse entirely any late work throughout the semester. Do not email papers without asking me first.
WRITING CENTER: Please take advantage of the Center throughout the semester. This extra attention to your writing can make a significant difference in what you learn about writing. Schedule appointments here: http://www.centralmethodist.edu/academics/english/writingcenter.php
COURSE SCHEDULE: This schedule is subject to change or modification, though hopefully we will stay close to this outline. Readings should be done prior to class. When we are reading a section of Can I Use I? or The Sixth Extinction, or Oryx and Crake, please bring your book to that class. Outside readings will be given as copies in class, or as web links. Notice that I haven’t included the grammar chapters on the schedule. We will address grammar, depending on general class needs.
Week 1 (January 14-18)
Snow Day!
Course introduction / writing sample
The technique of freewriting—Can I Use I?, pp. 50-54 // assign What I Know
Explore ideas for the first essay / The Sixth Extinction, Prologue
Week 2 (January 21-25)
MLK Day
Can I Use I?, pp. 12-15 and 69-72 // Explore structure for the first essay
Peer review of What I Know // talk about Summary
Week 3 (January 28-February 1)
What I Know… due
The Sixth Extinction, Chapter 1
W. Champs Day
The Sixth Extinction, Chapter 2 // practice summary
Week 4 (February 4-8)
Summary due
The Sixth Extinction, Chapter 3 // Assign first Response paper
The Sixth Extinction, Chapter 4
Week 5 (February 11-15)
Response 1 due // on rhetorical analysis
“The Last Passenger Pigeon” (pdf, in Announcements)
Film: An Inconvenient Truth
Week 6 (February 18-22)
Continue An Inconvenient Truth // Rhetorical analysis due
Finish An Inconvenient Truth
The Sixth Extinction, Chapter 5
Set up Group presentations on Sixth Extinction chapters
Week 7 (February 25-March 1)
More on MLA Documentation // Begin Oryx and Crake
Oryx and Crake
The Sixth Extinction, Chapters 11-12
Week 8 (March 4-8)
Response 2 due
The Sixth Extinction, Chapter 13 // Oryx and Crake
Group presentations on Sixth Extinction chapters
Week 9 (March 11-15)
Group presentations on Sixth Extinction chapters
Group presentations on Sixth Extinction chapters / Oryx and Crake
Set up film projects / Film: Merchants of Doubt (96 min.)
Week 10 (March 18-22)
Film: Merchants of Doubt
Film: Merchants of Doubt
To be arranged…
Spring Break
Week 11 (April 1-5)
Assign Assessment Essay // Oryx and Crake
W. and F. No class—I’ll be at the AAG Convention
Week 12 (April 8-12)
Film project presentations
Film project presentations
Oryx and Crake
Week 13 (April 15-19)
Peer review of Assessment Essay.
Finish Oryx and Crake // Film: Gattaca (106 min.)
Good Friday
Week 14 (April 22-26)
Assessment Essay due
Film: Gattaca
Film: Gattaca
Response 3 due
Week 15 (April 29-May 3)
Peer review
To be arranged…
Final essay due