Syllabus

ENC 1101—Composition I Fall 2009

Professor: Caryn Keshner Register T-Th 9:25-10:40
Email: carynregister@sjrcc.edu OR T-Th 10:50-12:05
carynkesh@yahoo.com from your non-sjrcc email address T-Th 12:15-1:30
Class Website: www.sjrcccomp1.blogspot.com
Phone: (904) 806-2191
Office Hours: By Appointment

Course Description: The purpose of the course is to improve basic writing skills and provide a strong foundation for future college writing assignments. The main areas of emphasis will be basic grammar review and sentence construction, combined with a study of writing as a process that moves from invention, to the composing of rough drafts, to revision, and finally to the preparation of final drafts. The course is a sequential study of four composition styles: description, narration, exposition, and argument/persuasion.

My Take: The aim of this course is to raise your writing to the academic level by using the tools of rhetoric. Rhetoric is the art of persuasion or argumentation. Rhetorical techniques can be used to teach, to explain, to create ideas, to incite desire, to alter belief, to deceive, to inspire, to sell, to change the course of the environment and the course of human events. Think of the power of John Kerry’s voice in speaking out against the Vietnam War as a young vet, of Rudy Giuliani’s words to New York City and the rest of the nation after the World Trade Center fell, of Martin Luther King Jr. exhorting Americans of all races to face their racial divide, of Barack Obama’s speech in Germany, beginning to earn respect back for the nation from the rest of the world. Think of the seduction of a music video, think of the brand loyalty we have, think of impulsive words said in anger that can’t be taken back. To opt out of the rhetorical world is to opt out of the power of human interaction. By continuing your education, you’re choosing not to opt out. You’re choosing to learn the infinite possibilities within the basic skills of reading, writing, and thinking. This class is designed to strengthen your basic writing and reading skills into analytical skills and to advance the complexity of your thinking. In reading literature and academic conversations, your goal, by the end of this class, will be to find your own voice in these conversations and use rhetorical skill to articulate a position clearly and maturely. This, of course, requires consistent effort and hard work—small price for full access to the world around you.

Texts: The Bedford Handbook for Writers – BH on calendar – Bring to class every day!
The Longman Writer – LW on calendar – (assignments listed on calendar by 1st page and author’s name)

Attendance: Regular, on-time attendance is required. If you should miss class, you will often miss important in-class assignments that are not repeatable. It is your responsibility to secure any and all other assignments when you are absent and turn in work on the day it is due. If you miss more than one week of classes (2 T-Th 75 min. classes) you will be dropped from the class or your final grade will be lowered. After 3 absences, you will see a decline in your final grade for the course for every subsequent absence. You simply cannot have attended this course if you have been absent for more than a week. You may be marked absent for not having assignments done and for not bringing required work, books, or other course materials to class. If you do miss class, call or email a classmate to find out what you missed-- do not ask me. Habitual lateness can be added together to equal absences. If you do come late, enter quietly and prepared. If possible, I will try to help catch you up as soon as possible. Absences totaling 6 hours/2 weeks may result in failing the course. It is your responsibility to drop the class when you stop coming. Protect your GPA.
Remember, writing excellent papers and participating in class doesn’t mean you should feel free to stretch the attendance policy. Conversely, if you haven’t done the reading for some reason, don’t skip; rather come to class, be alert, and learn what you missed in the reading.
It’s quite simple: plan to come to class every time we meet.

Classroom Demeanor: You MUST be dedicated to this course. You absolutely must be here: awake and prepared, and you have to want to learn.
You have to want to learn.
In fact, you will be graded on how much you want to learn, for part of your participation grade goes toward your classroom attitude, and your classroom attitude is measured not only by what you do when you raise your hand to contribute, but also by what you are doing when you aren’t contributing. The classroom is a social space—that means everything you do has an impact beyond yourself and contributes to the whole atmosphere, no matter how small you think it is. What you think concerns only you, doesn’t. It concerns us all. One person can poison the entire atmosphere. So, obviously, the rules of our classroom etiquette include what has already been mentioned and more: there will be no slouching, no sleeping, no putting heads down, no rolling eyes, no tsking with your tongues, no complaining, and no whining. All electronics must be turned off and put away.
When class begins, you should have the day’s reading assignment, paper for notes, pens, and whatever you will need for class: ready to go. And you will do everything I tell you to do, whether you understand why you are doing it or not. I will always try to help you understand the reasons for what we do in class. What you will find is that I am open to virtually any comment or contribution or suggestion that any student has regarding the material or class assignments, but only when it is offered thoughtfully, maturely, and respectfully.
I foster a friendly environment in my classroom. I expect everyone to behave in a civil manner and respect all differences whether of opinion, ethnicity, religion, or gender. Rudeness, intolerance, and disrespect are not acceptable. Be nice to one another.

Late Work: Any essay turned in late will lose one letter grade per calendar day late. Also, I will not accept late essays for revisions; whatever grade you get, you get.

Revisions: Essays may be rewritten; in fact, I want you to revise as many times as you want. You are in control of your own destiny in this class. Your essay grades can improve with each revision. Revision is the key to improving your writing; however, late work may not be revised. Also, no rewrites will be accepted if other work is still owed. No rewrites will be accepted from anyone who has exceeded 2 absences.

Note: All assignments must be completed to receive a course grade; not doing them and receiving an F/zero for just that portion of the course grade is not an option. All assignments are course requirements.

Participation: You are expected to share your ideas and questions with the class generously and freely. You are expected to respond thoughtfully and spontaneously to others’ thoughts and to class material. You are expected to follow the line of thought and add to it. Education is flawed in giving you the sense that your education is a private affair driven by your personal goals and achievements. The classroom is a community and education is a public event. You are not here simply to get your grade; you are also here to help make this a good class. You have a significant role in the successful operation of the community, and you have an ethical responsibility to the quality of education in our classroom, our college, and our country.

Plagiarism Policy: Academic honesty is of utmost importance in a writing class. Plagiarism is a non-writing behavior. If it is discovered you have plagiarized any of your writing assignments, you will automatically fail the course. ALL WORK MUST BE YOUR OWN!

Course Business:
All papers must be typed as per “Guidelines” handout.
Withdrawal from the course is your responsibility. If you stop coming and do not withdraw, you will receive an F.
Dates on syllabus denote when material should be actively read and completed, not when the material is assigned, and only 1st p. of reading is listed.
If you have any questions regarding this syllabus, please ask. Ignorance is not an excuse.
If you have questions about markings on your papers, I am probably the only one who can answer them. Please feel free to ask me. I want you to succeed in this class.
Should you find you need additional assistance, make an appointment with me.
Check your email and regularly for any announcements concerning any additional requirements or modifications in due dates. If you have any questions about due dates, please don’t hesitate to ask me.

Note:
A word of caution – all work you do on your own pc or on any pc you use here on campus should be backed up in at least two places so that we might avoid any potential for lost work. In this way we should avoid the new version of "The dog ate my homework."

Grade Sheet:
Please fill this out throughout the semester and keep track of your grade!
· 4 Paragraphs _____/100
· 4 Essays _____/500
· Grammar & Essay Exams (no make-ups) _____/50
· Reading Quizzes (no make-ups) _____/50
· Final Grammar Exam _____/100
· Final Essay Exam _____/100
· Self-Reflection Letter/Participation _____/100

YOUR TOTAL: _____/1000 = __________ (your grade)
A: 90-100; B: 80-90; C: 70-79; D 60-69; F: Below 60

I genuinely want you to do well in the course and continue making progress toward your degree. If there is anything I can do to assist you, or if you feel that there is some issue affecting your performance, please contact me.