English 101: College Writing

Course Syllabus

Course Philosophy and Goals

I have lots of goals for this course. Foremost, I want you to find the semester a useful one which helps you not only improve your writing skills, but also to produce a great deal of writing which has real value. So we'll spend the semester writing things which matter. We'll talk about how to use writing to effect social change, to preserve the past, and to plan for your future. We'll use writing to enhance your critical and creative thinking abilities. And we'll use writing to learn about each other and the world around us.

As the semester progresses, I'll ask you to write a lot, both on your own and with other people, since you can greatly improve your writing skills by observing other people's writing processes. We'll also study the writing around us, in books, on T.V., and on the radio.

In this course you'll also use a variety of technologies, such as e-mail and the Internet, to write and publish your work. To be a good writer in the coming century, you have to know how to use the latest tools. Since we all have different levels of technology skills, I'll spend plenty of time in class helping people with technical questions. By the end of the semester, I'll make sure everyone has become a proficient writing technology user (so if you are a novice right now, don't worry).

Finally, too many students have learned over the years to dislike English classes and reading and writing. I want to help you see the pleasures and benefits of writing and reading. So we'll focus on doing meaningful literacy activities in this class. In fact, I'll ask you to personally plan many of these, so you'll get a say in how you spend your time.

By the end of the semester, I hope you will:

• be a better writer
• understand more about how to write well
• have created lots of valuable writing
• done a lot of experimenting with your writing skills
• be a better team writer (a skill you'll need in the 21^st century workplace)
• enjoy writing (even though it is a lot of hard work)

Course Texts and Costs

• One of these two books:

• Boukreev, A., & DeWalt, G. W. (1997). The climb. Tragic ambitions on Everest. New York: St. Martin's Paperbacks.
• Krakauer, J. (1997). Into thin air. A personal account of the Mt. Everest disaster. New York: Doubleday.

• 3 1/2" disks--Several needed for doing class work.
• Xeroxing--Students must pay for copies of papers and drafts.
• Assorted handouts--Provided by the instructor.
• Hacker, Diana. A Writer’s Reference. Third Edition.--Recommended but not required.

Course Deadlines

This course schedule may be revised during the semester. Thus, paper deadlines announced in class have precedence over those found in this syllabus. To be fair to all students and to provide adequate grading time for the instructor, all students are required to meet the instructor’s announced paper deadlines. Work that is turned in late will be lowered by one letter grade. Overdue work will not receive credit if it is more than one class session late. Missed daily work may not be made up. Exceptions to these standards will only be made at the instructor’s discretion in extenuating circumstances. Having a computer problem is not a valid excuse for failing to turn your work in on time.

Course Grading

40% individual essays 93-100% A

20% collaborative essays 85-92% B

10% quizzes 70-84% C

10% daily work/participation 60-69% D

10% performance below 60% F

10% attendance

100% final grade

These are current estimations for the value of each part of the final grade. If the instructor feels that students' educational needs require changes in the course requirements, grading categories, or grading scale, the instructor will announce these changes during class and well in advance of final grade calculations, thereby allowing time for students to adjust their work plans as necessary.

Any student who fails to turn in one of the individual or collaborative essay assignments by the end of the semester will not receive a grade higher than a D for the course. Any student who fails to turn in two of the individual or collaborative essay assignments by the end of the semester will automatically receive a grade of F for the course.

Only work that has been assigned and graded by the Instructor of Record for this course (Dr. Gian Pagnucci) will be included in calculating a student's final course grade.

Course Work

• Students are expected to actively participate in all class activities. This means fully cooperating with other students, thoroughly completing class assignments, and regularly speaking during discussions.
• Always bring a computer disk to class.
• All course papers must be word processed unless otherwise noted.
• Microsoft (MS) Word for Windows is the primary software for the course. You are required to convert work done elsewhere so it is compatible with MS Word. Please avoid Brother Word Processors since they are usually not compatible with MS Word.
• A hard copy printout of all assignments must be turned in to the instructor when due unless otherwise indicated. So, make sure that you save and print all your e-mail, as well as all other written materials. You should also keep a hard copy of everything you do so that it can be considered when writing your final essay.

Course Rewrites

Revising is an essential part of the writing process, so for most essay assignments, if you are not satisfied with your grade, you may rewrite the paper. The rewrite option is not available for daily work or late papers. If your revision deserves a higher grade than you originally received, the new grade will replace the original one. In order for a rewrite to be acceptable, it must be turned in within one week of the original paper being returned to you. (For example, if you get the paper back on Wednesday, it must be turned in no later than the following Wednesday.) To get credit for a rewrite, you must turn in:

• the original paper
• the instructor’s response/grade sheet
• the revised paper
• a page which explains in detail why you have made particular changes

If any of these criteria are not met, the rewrite will be returned to you unread and ungraded.

Course Attendance

Class attendance is required. This is IUP policy; faithfully attending class is the only way students can successfully complete this or any course. Class members should view being a student as a job and should view regular class attendance as one of their job duties. As with any job, failure to show up for work reflects poorly on one’s performance. In the business world, employees who miss work too often are terminated. At the same time, exceptional circumstances, like family or medical emergencies, do sometimes arise, and employers understand this. For that reason, IUP policy permits 4 excused absences from class (4 hours of absence equaling the 4 credits of this course). To receive an excused absence, you must contact the professor in advance, by phone or e-mail, to explain why you must be absent. Even in cases of serious accidents (which hopefully will not happen), one of a person’s first responsibilities is to contact their employer as soon as possible.

This class, like any workplace, depends on your being present. Failing to give advance notice when you can’t attend work is inconsiderate and not only hurts your chances to learn, but also deprives your co-workers of your knowledge and abilities. More than 4 excused absences will negatively impact your grade as will all unexcused absences. In addition, every absence threatens to hurt your reputation as a good worker and your educational opportunities. Finally, any student who misses more than 40% of the class sessions will automatically receive an F for the course.

Tardiness is also not acceptable. Being late for work is considered bad form and is just as serious missing work. Therefore, tardiness will also negatively effect your attendance grade for this course. Every two times you are late will equate to one unexcused absence.

Please attend every class and be on time. Anything less than this threatens to hurt your reputation as a good worker and your educational opportunities.

Course Conferences

One key to success in any writing class is having regular conferences with your instructor about your papers. In fact, these meetings are so important that they’ve been built into all IUP English 101 classes. EN 101 has 3 weekly class meetings equaling 3 credits of the course and a 4^th credit reserved for conferencing time. To earn this part of the course credit, students are required to schedule at least 2 writing conferences with their instructor. These conferences will be around 15 minutes in length and will be scheduled during the semester when appropriate.

Course Misconduct

Students caught cheating, plagiarizing, or otherwise violating IUP policies will be disciplined accordingly, including potentially failing the course or being expelled from the university. For more information, please consult IUP’s "Academic Integrity Policy" published in The Source.

Back to Gian's Class

eDRAFT® is the current version of a project begun by Nicholas Mauriello and Gian Pagnucci in 1996. The project was originally called the College Writing Peer Response Project (Mauriello, 1996). Michael Williamson is also now a member of the partnership.

Copyright © 2000 by edraft.org (N. Mauriello, G. Pagnucci, and M. Williamson). All rights reserved.