moraine valley community college course syllabusordover/engl102/_engl102/online...ect, which will be...

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Michael S. McGuire [email protected] 708.974.5770 Moraine Valley Community College Course Syllabus August 2004 Communications 101 COM 101-021 Fall Semester I. Faculty Information A. Mike McGuire B. Office: D115 C. Hours: MW 1:00 – 1:50 pm | TR 2:00 – 2:50 pm D. Mailbox Location: D108 E. Office Phone: 708-974-5770 F. e-Mail: [email protected] G. Web Page: writing101.net H. AIM: writing101net II. Course Identification A. Credit hours: 3 semester hours B. Total contact hours: 3 | Lecture: 3 | Lab: 0 C. Course meets: TR 9:30 – 10:45 am | Room A232 D. Prerequisite: grade of “C” or better in COM 090 or appropriate score on placement test E. Corequisite: none F. Catalogue description: Designed to teach clear and effective expository prose, with emphasis on organiza- tion, clarity, and coherence. Learn to adapt style to various readers and use research to clarify explanations and support arguments. III. Textbooks/Reading Lists/Materials A. Required: Bartholomae, David and Anthony Petrosky. Ways of Reading Words and Images. Boston: St. Martins, 2003. Ruazkiewicz, John et al. Scott Foresman SF Writer. 3rd ed. Upper Saddle, NJ: Pearson, 2005. B. Optional: none C. Supplies: notebook, pens, etc. (the standard student stuff) sturdy folder with pockets to hold your work and everything I hand out in class binder/photo album/scapbook or some other kind of bound book that you can put stuff in cheap disposable camera (if you don’t have a regular camera of your own) stapler, as no loose sheets will be accepted (I don’t care if you actually own a stapler; just never turn loose sheets into me and never ask me if I have a stapler with me in class because I won’t.) 3.5’’ formatted floppy diskettes (you must save electronic copies of all your work) D. Supplementary materials: photocopied handouts (I will ask that you make two additional copies of each paper you turn in.) IV. Course Goals Refer to the Course End Competencies. V. Course End Competencies 1. To demonstrate that students have developed skill in writing for college, upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to: 1.1 analyze writing situations (take into account audience, purpose, content, form, and style); 1.2 generate ideas using a variety of prewriting techniques

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Page 1: Moraine Valley Community College Course Syllabusordover/ENGL102/_ENGL102/Online...ect, which will be submitted in a final portfolio. Your final grade will be evaluated through the

Michael S. McGuire [email protected] 708.974.5770

Moraine Valley Community College Course SyllabusAugust 2004Communications 101COM 101-021Fall Semester

I. Faculty InformationA. Mike McGuireB. Office: D115C. Hours: MW 1:00 – 1:50 pm | TR 2:00 – 2:50 pmD. Mailbox Location: D108E. Office Phone: 708-974-5770F. e-Mail: [email protected]. Web Page: writing101.netH. AIM: writing101net

II. Course IdentificationA. Credit hours: 3 semester hoursB. Total contact hours: 3 | Lecture: 3 | Lab: 0C. Course meets: TR 9:30 – 10:45 am | Room A232D. Prerequisite: grade of “C” or better in COM 090 or appropriate score on placement testE. Corequisite: noneF. Catalogue description: Designed to teach clear and effective expository prose, with emphasis on organiza-

tion, clarity, and coherence. Learn to adapt style to various readers and use research to clarify explanations and support arguments.

III. Textbooks/Reading Lists/MaterialsA. Required:

• Bartholomae, David and Anthony Petrosky. Ways of Reading Words and Images. Boston: St. Martins, 2003.• Ruazkiewicz, John et al. Scott Foresman SF Writer. 3rd ed. Upper Saddle, NJ: Pearson, 2005.

B. Optional: noneC. Supplies:

• notebook, pens, etc. (the standard student stuff)• sturdy folder with pockets to hold your work and everything I hand out in class• binder/photo album/scapbook or some other kind of bound book that you can put stuff in• cheap disposable camera (if you don’t have a regular camera of your own)• stapler, as no loose sheets will be accepted (I don’t care if you actually own a stapler; just never turn loose

sheets into me and never ask me if I have a stapler with me in class because I won’t.)• 3.5’’ formatted floppy diskettes (you must save electronic copies of all your work)

D. Supplementary materials: photocopied handouts (I will ask that you make two additional copies of each paper you turn in.)

IV. Course GoalsRefer to the Course End Competencies.

V. Course End Competencies

1. To demonstrate that students have developed skill in writing for college, upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to:1.1 analyze writing situations (take into account audience, purpose, content, form, and style);1.2 generate ideas using a variety of prewriting techniques

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Communications 101 Syllabus Fall 2004Page 2 of 13

1.3 decide upon an effective method of organizing and developing material for a particular writing situa-tion;

1.4 develop unified, coherent and complete paragraphs with specific and concrete details1.5 formulate thesis statements that are interesting and significant1.6 create engaging introductions and meaningful conclusions1.7 construct logical “bridges” between ideas at the paragraph and sentence level;1.8 revise drafts at the idea level;1.9 edit drafts at the sentence and word levels;1.10 assess feedback from peers and instructors; design revision plans in response to feedback

2. Demonstrate that students have developed skill in critically evaluating the writing of others, both student and professional; upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to:2.1 identify the thesis, its support, and its development in the work of another writer;2.2 describe the audience, occasion, and purpose in a piece of writing;2.3 evaluate the effectiveness of structure, content, and style of an essay; justify recommendations for

improvement if needed;2.4 identify and correct weaknesses in grammar, usage, and mechanics that interfere with communication.

3. To demonstrate that students have developed research skills, upon successful completion of this course students will be able to:3.1 locate information in the library using the Public Access Catalogue (PAC), a variety of computerized

and printed indexes, and other research tools;3.2 evaluate the effectiveness of researched information as support for the thesis of an expository or

argumentative essay;3.3 assess the credibility and relevance of sources;3.4 paraphrase, summarize, and quote others’ words and ideas accurately;3.5 integrate others’ words and ideas coherently into your own writing;3.6 document others’ words and ideas using the MLA format.

VI. Classroom Policies and Procedures

A. General Information: The General Information Sheet contains standard institutional policies, procedures, and key dates. The sheet is attached at the end of this syllabus.

B. Withdraw Policy: A student who does not withdraw officially from a course may receive a grade of “F,” depending on course progress or course attendance, which will become a part of the students permanent record. The official final withdraw date for this course is listed on the attached General Information Sheet.

C. Final Exams: Dates and other information regarding final exams is found on the Final Examination Sched-ule, which is attached at the end of the syllabus

D. Attendance Policy: Students are expected to promptly attend, thoroughly prepare for, and actively partici-pate in class meetings. If you are absent, you are not taking the course and I will ask you to withdraw or give you a failing grade.

E. Academic Responsibility. Good academic work must be based on honesty. Students who are guilty of an act of academic dishonesty such as plagiarism or cheating will fail the assignment. A student is guilty of plagiarism, intentional or not, if he or she copies material from any source without identifying and acknowl-edging it. Plagiarism constitutes a major violation of the rules and conventions of academic writing; it will at the very least result in failure for the assignment and will quite likely result in failure for the coursethe very least result in failure for the assignment and will quite likely result in failure for the course.

A Few Additional Notes on Plagiarism. One commits plagiarism whenever one submits a paper they have not actually written, or when the individual presents information that comes from a source without crediting it with both a in-text citation and a works-cited page entry at the end of the paper. Specifically, plagiarism occurs under the following five conditions:

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Communications 101 Syllabus Fall 2004Page 3 of 13

• When a paper written by someone else is purchased, borrowed or stolen and is submitted as the writer’s work.

• When someone else is hired to write an assignment and then this purchased work is claimed as the writer’s.

• When someone else write’s the paper for no pay, and then the work is claimed as the writer’s.• When a writer copies specific words, sentences, paragraphs, and/or graphics, pieces them together with-

out crediting the actual sources, and then submits this cut-and-paste exercise as a “researched” paper.• When the writer commits any of the shoddy documentation errors the umbrella term plagiarism is com-

monly considered to cover: uncredited factual detail, uncredited graphic aids, inadequate paraphrase, in-correct quotation technique, incorrect or improperly documented source, misrepresented or manipulated source.

I have a zero tolerance policy on plagiarism.I have a zero tolerance policy on plagiarism. If you wish to avoid the severe penalties associated with plagia-rism, you must properly handle and document any information that you quote, paraphrase, or summarize.

As your instructor, I also reserve the right to request that you present to me all source material that you’ve used for a given paper. Upon such request, if you fail to clearly present to me all source material by the next class meeting so that I can readily evaluate your handling and documentation of it, you may receive an F for the assignment. So, document your sources meticulously and be prepared to present them clearly for evalua-tion if asked.

Having said all that about the dangers and consequences of plagiarism, you are a student in a and part of what you will learn in this class is how to properly use and document sources. So, if you have any concerns about your use of sources, ASK me right away. I am here to help. Ignorance is no excuse. If you don’t ask, you have only yourself to blame.

F. Code of Conduct: Each student is responsible for adhering to the Code of Student Conduct as stated in the college catalog.

G. Testing Center Requirements: See attached General Information Sheet.

H. Cell Phone/Pager Policy: Telephones and pagers may not be used and must be silenced during class. Any students who fail to adhere to this policy will be asked to leave the class. The college policy regarding cell phones and pagers is included in the attached General Information Sheet.

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Communications 101 Syllabus Fall 2004Page 4 of 13

VII. Evaluation Criteria

A. Breakdown of Course Requirements

The assignments in this course are grouped into weighted categories based on the type and difficulty of the assignment. The categories include the following: minor/formative work, portfolio project work, research project work, a final exam, and participation. Each category is weighted accordingly to make up your final grade for the course as illustrated in Figure 1.

FIG. 1: DISTRIBUTION OF TOTAL GRADE

Minor/Formative Work. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10%

Portfolio Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40%

Research Project* . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30%

Final Exam . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15%

Participation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5%

TOTAL GRADE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100%

* Note: the research project is a state requirement for this course. You cannot successfully complete this course without successfully completing the research project.

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Communications 101 Syllabus Fall 2004Page 5 of 13

B. Final Grade Determination*

I expect active participation in classroom discussion and activities based on the assigned reading and writing. Over the courses of this semester you will complete a number of writing assignments, both in-class and out-of-class. You will complete a number of essays, which build upon one another and will be part of a larger portfolio project. You will also complete a number of assignments in preparation of a research proj-ect, which will be submitted in a final portfolio. Your final grade will be evaluated through the combination of all course work completed.

So, how do I grade? Well, every graded assignment in this course will receive a letter grade. Each letter cor-responds to a numerical score on a 4-point scale as illustrated in Figure 2. I then place each score into the appropriate category for the type of grade (See Figure 1). I average the scores for each category, multiply them by their corresponding “weight,” and then total them to arrive at your final “grade point average” for the course. I assign a letter grade based on your final numerical score. Figure 3 illustrates the course cutoff points for the final letter grades.

CourseGrade Point Average Final Letter Grade

3.50 of greater A

2.50 or greater B

1.50 or greater C

1.00 or greater D

less than 1.00 FFIG. 3: COURSE GRADES

Individual Assignment Grade Point Value

A 4.00

A- 3.75

B+ 3.25

B 3.00

B- 2.75

C+ 2.25

C 2.00

C- 1.75

D 1.00

F 0.00FIG. 2: GRADE POINTS FOR ASSIGNMENTS

Confused? Don’t be. It’s not as confusing as it may sound. In fact, I encourage you to keep track of your own grade throughout the semester. You can use the worksheet on the following page to easily calculate your grade at any time. Alternatively, you can request your current grade from me at any point throughout the semester. This may require you to schedule an appointment to discuss your progress in the course.

* NOTE: Your final grade for the course will be adversely affected by unexcused absences and late arrivals to class meetings. See the participation, attendance, and punctuality policy for specific information.

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Communications 101 Syllabus Fall 2004Page 6 of 13

C. Grade Calculation Worksheet

You can calculate your own grade at any time by using the worksheet below. Just keep track of your grades in the table on the right, then average the grades for each category, multiply by the “weight” (the percent), and then total the resulting products. This will give you your cumulative “grade point average” for this course, which corresponds to a letter grade.

Minor/Formative Work Score

Portfolio Project Work Score

Quizzes/Exams Score

Research Project Score

Participation Score

averagex 10% =

averagex 40% =

averagex 15% =

averagex 30% =

x 5% =

+

+

+

+

FINAL GRADE

Final Numerical Grade Final Letter Grade

3.50 of greater A

2.50 or greater B

1.50 or greater C

1.00 or greater D

less than 1.00 F

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Communications 101 Syllabus Fall 2004Page 7 of 13

D. Formative Grades and What They Mean

I have learned that the essential work of any writing course is revision. There is more to writing than first thoughts, first drafts, and first pages. A writer learns most by returning to his or her work to see what it does and doesn’t do, by taking time with a project and seeing where it might lead. This class is a place where you will practice writing, but it is also a place where the writing is expected to change. You will be writing regularly, but I will also be asking you to revise—to step outside your writing, to see what it might represent (not just what it says), and to make changes. I will teach you how to read your own writing, how to pay close attention to what you have written, and I will teach you how to make this critical attention part of the cycle of production, part of your work as a writer.

The course will be organized so that you will work a single essay through several drafts; each essay will be a part of a larger project—a portfolio. When I assess your writing, I will be looking primarily at the progress from draft to draft. With early drafts, I will write you comments and we will discuss your work in class, in peer review sessions, and in one-to-one conferences, but I will not give you a letter grade (i.e., a summa-tive grade) on this early work. Instead, I will give you a formative grade in the form of “+” or “ü” or “–”. Figure 4 below explains the meanings of these formative grades. I may, and will upon request, inform you of what summative grade the essay would receive if I were to grade it in its current state.

Formative Grade(for Drafts) Numerical Equivalent Explanation

+ 4.00

The draft is submitted on schedule and is complete—with beginning, middle, and end—and is not just a rough start or a listing of preliminary thoughts. It has evidence of being a good-faith effort to make a full first pass at the entire assignment. It is a full draft that can be carried into the revision process.

ü 2.00

This draft is submitted on schedule, but may seem partial in its attempt to be complete. It may seem like just a beginning, while lacking the middle and the end. It falls significantly short of the recommended page length for the assignment. Overall, it gives the impression of having been conceived and written in haste.

– 1.00

This draft may have been submitted late and is clearly incomplete. It is significantly short of the recommended page length and resembles prewriting more than drafted prose. There is little evidence that this draft was approached with any reasonable degree of care, attention, or serious thought.

FIG. 4: FORMATIVE GRADES AND WHAT THEY MEAN

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Communications 101 Syllabus Fall 2004Page 8 of 13

E. Summative (Letter) Grades and What They Mean

As described above, you will not receive letter grades on early drafts of the essays you write in this course. At midterm, however, I will ask that you submit a portfolio of the essays you’ve been developing during the course. When I receive your portfolio, I will assess your work and give summative, or letter, grades. I will as-sess both the essays as individual works and the entire portfolio as a body of related work. Before you turn in the portfolio, I will give you more information about how it will be graded.

So, you may be wondering what do you have to do to get an A on a paper. It’s no mystery. First of all, the Departmental Grading Standard (attached) must be applied to your work to determine a baseline grade. This standard emphasizes basic mechanics of writing to ensure that you learn to avoid embarrassing and notice-able mechanical errors in your writing. If a reader is stopped by the number of mechanical errors in your writing, he or she will never get to your ideas, no matter how good they are. So, first, I must apply this stan-dard. After the baseline grade is determined from this standard, I assess the paper for higher order concerns. To do this, I generally use the holistic grading rubric in Figure 5 below. This will give you some idea of what each letter grade means for the papers that you write in this course.

Grade Explanation

A An “A” paper is a superior paper that not only addresses the assignment carefully and thoughtfully, but also goes beyond it to say something original. It is also marked by excellent stylistic choices: the introduction is engaging, the transitions are artful, the sentence structures are varied and mature, the diction is appropriate and highly specific, and the tone appropriately addresses the audience. MLA format is followed accurately. Overall, by using college-level writing and critical thinking skills, the “A” paper imparts a feeling of wholeness and leaves the reader feeling thoroughly satisfied.

B A “B” paper is a good paper that addresses the assignment carefully and thoughtfully. It is significantly more than competent, almost free of mechanical errors, gives the reader substantial information both in quality and interest, and uses satisfactory MLA format when needed. College-level writing and thinking will be evident; specific points are appropriately arranged, well-developed, and unified around a clear thesis. The paper may contain a few minor mechanical errors or awkward spots. In addition, the “B” paper may meet the following criteria: active opening, developed conclusion that closes the paper thematically by relating to the opening, smooth paragraph transitions, or varied sentence patterns. Overall, the “B” paper exceeds the minimum paper requirements.

C A “C” paper is a satisfactory paper that addresses the assignment acceptably. It is generally competent, readable despite mechanical errors, has reasonable organization and development, uses a thesis statement effectively, and uses MLA format when needed. This paper may contain minor errors in style, tone, mechanics, or organization; or, this paper may be a “B” paper except for a major flaw. In addition, the “C” paper may have the following shortcomings: bland opening paragraph, perfunctory wrap-up for a conclusion, missing or sloppy paragraph transitions, or monotonous sentence patterns. Overall, the “C” paper does an average job at meeting the assignment criteria.

D A “D” paper is a below-average paper that rudimentarily addresses the assignment. The paper’s organization may be neither clear nor effective, while sentences may be awkward, ambiguous, and marred by many mechanical errors. Evidence of careful proofreading cannot be found, and although MLA may have been attempted, the format is not acceptable. Overall, the “D” paper lacks a thesis statement, and it gives the impression of having been conceived and written in haste.

F An “F” paper is an unacceptable paper on the grounds that its treatment of the subject is superficial, it lacks discernible organization, and its prose is garbled and hampered by major stylistic problems. This paper may be confusing or characterized by unacceptable organization, mechanical errors, factual errors, or overall treatment of the assignment. No attempt at MLA format has been made. Overall, the “F” paper falls far short of what is acceptable college writing.

FIG. 5: SUMMATIVE GRADES AND WHAT THEY MEAN

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Communications 101 Syllabus Fall 2004Page 9 of 13

F. Late Assignment Policy: Assignments are due at the beginning of class. All written work must be com-pleted on schedule. Because you will be writing every week, and because one week’s work will lead to the next assignment, you cannot afford to fall behind. I will not accept work that is late. If you are not doing the writing, you are not taking the course and I will ask you to withdraw or give you a failing grade.

G. Participation: Discussion and active in-class participation will be crucial for effective class dynamics and the learning process. Attendance is required. Unexcused and/or excessive absences will have a negative impact on your grade and may result in failure of the course. If you are absent, you are not taking the course and I will ask you to withdraw or give you a failing grade. Because in-class work cannot be made up, it is important that you attend class. Students will be held responsible for all class lectures, assignments, and discussions missed because of absence. All students must be present for the library orientation, student-in-structor conferences, peer review workshops, and in-class exams. Only documented illness or a death in the family will constitute an excused absence, and the instructor must be notified on or before the day class is missed.

H. Conferences: You are required to meet with me at least two times by appointment during the semester to discuss your writing and your progress in the course. You are invited and encouraged to meet with me as often as you’d like, but at least two meetings are required, must be arranged by appointment, and will form part of your participation grade which is averaged into your final grade for the course.

VIII. The Instructor’s Description of this CourseThe subject of this course is writing. Writing, as I think of it, is an action, an event, a performance. It is a way of asserting one’s presence but, paradoxically, in a language that makes the writer disappear. No matter what you write, the writing is not yours; it’s part of a larger text, one with many authors, begun long ago. And its end is outside your control. In spite of what you think you are saying, your text will become what others make of it, what they said you said.

One of my goals in this course is to arrange your work to highlight your relationship (as a writer) to the past and to the words and images, that is, the representations, of others (to history and culture). This is the reason for the assigned readings, and this is the primary role reading will play in this writing course. You will be asked to read a series of texts and then to work on revealing those texts through writing. When I refer to “text,” I don’t only mean the writing of others, but I am also referring to anything that contains meaning. In this course, you will work a great deal with the writing of others, but you will also read, interpret, and work with images as texts. Furthermore, you will learn to read and interpret cultural texts of many kinds, such as art, music, ritual behavior, language, space, objects, and so forth. All of these “texts” contain meaning that can be analyzed and interpreted—meaning that can be revealed through critical reading and writing.

In this course, I want to foreground the ways in which your writing takes place in relation to the writing of others. My goal, as your teacher, will be to make that relationship interesting, surprising, and productive. These meetings between the past and the present—amongst words, images, culture, and ideas—to my mind represent the basic scene of instruction; they are the work places, the laboratories, the arenas of what is often called a “liberal” education. It is there, on the page, that the key work of a student is done and not in some private, internal mental space. This is why a writing course is fundamental to undergraduate education.

This course is designed to prepare you for your academic career by helping you develop not only your command of standard written English but also the critical thinking skills you need to succeed in college and to have a more enriched life. Together we will explore the writing and reading process. As you become more familiar with these activities as recursive processes, you will learn practical strategies for reading and writing that you can apply throughout your academic and professional careers. At the same time, you will find yourself thinking more critically about what you read and write. Your goal for this course should be to improve your skills in writing while at the same time to become a more discerning reader of and a more forceful writer about the world around you.

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Communications 101 Syllabus Fall 2004Page 10 of 13

IX. Tentative Course ScheduleThe instructor reserves the right to change this schedule as needed. Changes will be announced in class. You are responsible for noting any changes. Unless otherwise noted, the page numbers on the schedule below refer to Bartholomae and Petrosky’s Ways of Reading Words and Images.

READINGS: Coles, Langue and Taylor, Agee and Evans, Said and Mohr (Sequence Two: Fact and Fiction, modified)

Possible Class Topics/Activities Assignments and Due Dates

Wee

k 1

August 24 • Orientation/first day stuff/breaking the ice and finding where to begin

• Setup of writing groups

Assign: Introduction by Way of Word and Image

August 26 • Overview of the reading and writing process; strategies for reading and writing (focus on prewriting)

• Remember: audience and purpose

Have read: Robert Coles (210 – 54)Due: Introduction by Way of Word and ImageAssign: Human Actuality Essay (433)

Wee

k 2

August 31 • Draft discussion/peer workshop• Discussion of Coles and questions for a

second reading

Have re-read: Robert Coles (210 – 54)Due: draft of Human Actuality Essay Assign: revision of Human Actuality Essay

September 2 • Look and then look again: a seminar on revision strategies

Have read: SF Writer, “Working as a SF Writer, “Working as a SF WriterWriter” (Part 1, pages 1– 54)

Wee

k 3

September 7 • Seminar on critical thinking, reading, and writing

Have read: Dorthea Lange and Paul S. Taylor (287 – 325)Due: revision of Human Actuality Essay Assign: Essay on Proportions and Relations; Sharpmness and Focus (434)

September 9 • Introduction to argument• The artistic proofs: logos, ethos, pathos

Have re-read: Dorthea Lange and Paul S. Taylor (287 – 325)

Wee

k 4

September 14 • Draft discussion/peer workshop• Discussion of Lange and Taylor and

questions for a second reading

Due: draft of Essay on Proportions and Relations; Sharpmness and Focus (434)Assign: revision of Essay on Proportions and Relations; Sharpmness and Focus

September 16 • More on logos: syllogism, enthymeme, and logical fallacy

• Persuasive language• Writing thesis statements and building

support

Have read: SF Writer, “Writing Arguments” SF Writer, “Writing Arguments” SF Writer(Part 4, pages 167 – 217)

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Communications 101 Syllabus Fall 2004Page 11 of 13

Possible Class Topics/Activities Assignments and Due Dates

Wee

k 5

September 21 • Matters of “correctness,” style, and choice in writing

Have read: Agee and Evans (19 – 142)Due: revision of Essay on Proportions and Relations; Sharpmness and FocusAssign: Essay on The Importance of the Reader’s Eye (435)

September 23 • Discussion/conferences• Topics as needed• A look at your commonplace books and

the rhetoric of grammar

Wee

k 6

September 28 • Draft discussion/peer workshop Have read: SF Writer (Ch 33, 34, 35)SF Writer (Ch 33, 34, 35)SF WriterDue: draft of Essay on The Importance of the Reader’s EyeAssign: revision of Essay on The Importance of the Reader’s Eye

September 30 • Discussion of Agee and Evans and ques-tions for a second reading

Have re-read: Agee and Evans (19 – 142)

Wee

k 7

October 5 • Discovering the secrets of style Have read: Said and Mohr (375 – 417)Due: revision of Essay on The Importance of the Reader’s EyeAssign: Essay on Style and Convention (437)

October 7 • Begin discussion of Said and Mohr• Draw from your commonplace books

Wee

k 8

October 12 • Draft discussion/peer workshop Due: draft of Essay on Style and ConventionAssign: revision of Essay on Style and Convention; ethnographic documentary project proposal (due 11/6)

October 14 • Discussion of Said and Mohr and ques-tions for a second reading

Have re-read: Said and Mohr (375 – 417)

Wee

k 9

October 19 STAFF DEVELOPMENT DAY—NO CLASSES

October 21 • Editing and the rhetoric of grammar• Pulling together the Fact and Fiction

Portfolio

Due: revision of Essay on Style and ConventionAssign: Fact and Fiction (?) Portfolio Project

Page 12: Moraine Valley Community College Course Syllabusordover/ENGL102/_ENGL102/Online...ect, which will be submitted in a final portfolio. Your final grade will be evaluated through the

Michael S. McGuire [email protected] 708.974.5770

Communications 101 Syllabus Fall 2004Page 12 of 13

Possible Class Topics/Activities Assignments and Due Dates

Wee

k 10

October 26 • Reflecting on the documentary tradition as representation

• Begin discussion of ethnographic docu-mentary project

October 28 • Defining culture, fieldwork, and ethnog-raphy

Due: Fact and Fiction (?) Portfolio ProjectAssign: making the ordinary extraordinary

Wee

k 11

November 2 • Perspectives: stepping in and stepping out• Posing questions• Negotiating the ethics of entry (moving

from the outside in, permissions, courte-sies and correspondence)

Due: making the ordinary extraordinaryAssign: letter of introduction/explanation

November 4 • Exploratory writing• Field notes: capturing, details, analysis,

questioning, and reflection

Due: ethnographic documentary project proposal; letter of introduction/explanationAssign: sample of fieldnotes

Wee

k 12

November 9 • Reading the field• Reading cultures as text

and texts as culture• Position

November 11 • Reading material culture(cultural artifacts)

Assign: bring in sample of cultural artifacts

Wee

k 13

November 16 • 10-minute presentations/show-n-tell• Peer feedback

Due: sample of early fieldnotes and cultural artifacts for presentation/show-n-tell

November 18 • Documenting published and unpublished sources

• Archival research (library, electronic, public/personal archives)

Have read: SF Writer, “Research” (Part 5, SF Writer, “Research” (Part 5, SF Writerpages 219 – 277)

Wee

k 14

November 23 • Library orientation Have read: SF Writer, “MLA SF Writer, “MLA SF WriterDocumentation” (Ch 26)Assign: short list of possible secondary sources (annotated bibliography)

November 25 THANKSGIVING BREAK—NO CLASS

Wee

k 15

November 30 • Observing space Have read: TBD

December 2 • Listening to language• Documenting interviews

Have read: TBDDue: short list of possible secondary sources (annotated bibliography)Assign: second sample field notes (on space and language)

site visit 2 done

site visit 3 done

site visit 1 done

first site visit?

Page 13: Moraine Valley Community College Course Syllabusordover/ENGL102/_ENGL102/Online...ect, which will be submitted in a final portfolio. Your final grade will be evaluated through the

Michael S. McGuire [email protected] 708.974.5770

Communications 101 Syllabus Fall 2004Page 13 of 13

Possible Class Topics/Activities Assignments and Due Dates

Wee

k 16

December 7 • Writing and designing the ethnographic documentary

• Mopping up: proofreading/editing strategies

• In-class writing/designing/conferencing/sharing of projects

Due: second sample of fieldnotes(on space and language)

December 9 • Review/Prep for Final• Grace under pressure: strategies for writ-

ing quickly and precisely

Due: final ethnographic documentary project portfolio

FINAL EXAMRefer to the attached Schedule of Final Exams.