Sample Syllabus
English 15: Rhetoric and Composition
Course Information
Policies
Course Calendar
Course Information
Section 002, Fall 2007
MWF 8:00-8:50 am
124 Sparks
Instructor: Rebecca Wilson Lundin
Office: 146 South Burrowes Building
Mailbox: 112 Burrowes Building
Texts
Required readings for this course:
o Making Sense: A New Rhetorical Reader (second edition) by Cheryl Glenn
o Penn Statements
o articles, library reserves, and websites to be printed as directed
Bring your reading to class each day.
Course Description
According to the PSU English Department, the goal of ENGL 015 is “to help you to become ‘critical citizens’ inside and outside the university, people who . . . have an awareness of how communities are created and influenced through language and other symbols.” The teachers of ENGL 015 approach this goal in various ways, but all include some basic familiarization with the art and use of rhetoric. To quote again from the department goals:
Rhetoric is the study of how language works and how to make it work well. All human beings are somewhat skilled in rhetoric, in more or less intuitive ways. But the difference between intuitive rhetoric and conscious, artful rhetoric is something like the difference between walking and dancing, or between tossing a ball around and playing an organized sport. Our goal, then, is to develop more conscious skill, especially in what broadly might be called "argument."
ENGL 015, then, is an introductory course in the conscious use of language for purposes of argument.As a first-level English course, ENGL 015 naturally takes writing as one of its venues for the study of rhetoric. Some of the specific composition goals of this course are:
o To help students overcome their writing anxiety,
o To present writing (and rhetoric) as a series of choices,
o To help students foster awareness of their strengths and weaknesses in writing,
o To introduce students to research and writing aids provided by the university,
o To encourage students to engage critically with texts, ideas, and literacies, o To introduce and correct issues of basic grammar and punctuation, and
o To aid students in giving their writing an active, interesting voice.
See also the composition program site.
Policies
Your grade in this class will be divided as follows:
60 % Formal Writing Assignments
20 % Journals
10 % Group Presentations
10 % Participation and Quizzes
For writing assignments, I follow the grading standards on the English Department website. These standards may be stricter than the grading standards you are accustomed to. Please read them carefully.
Formal Writing Assignments
The majority of your grade in this class will come from five formal assignments. Each assignment should be turned in on the day due along with a copy of the assignment proposal (when required) and the rough draft. The percentages of your final grade that come from these papers follow:
8 % Literacy Narrative
10 % Rebuttal
10 % Definition
12 % Visual Argument
20 % Evaluation/Proposal
All work must be handed in on time; I will subtract one full letter from your assignment grade for every day the final assignment is late, and one third of a grade if the rough draft or proposal is late or missing.
Journals
Most weeks I will assign short, less-formal response papers or journals. The goal of these journals is to encourage deep thinking and reflection on a certain topic or question. They are a venue for you to demonstrate that you are doing this sort of thinking and a space for you to practice skills for your formal papers. I ask that you post these papers to the class wiki where they will be readable by the class—some journals will require you to respond to the arguments in a classmate’s paper, and we will occasionally look at the journals during class. The journals will be graded by the same standards as the formal papers but on a scale of 10.
Presentations
Each student will give at least one discussion-leadership presentation in a group. Details on this assignment are attached.
Attendance
Attendance is extremely important for this course. I will be strict about attendance and tardiness. Every two tardies (defined as arriving at class after I begin) will count as an absence. As per college policy posted on the Liberal Arts website, a student who has excessive absences (whether or not some of them are excused) “may run the risk of receiving a failing grade or receiving a lower grade than the student might have secured had the student been in regular attendance.” Following this policy, I will lower your final grade for each day you are absent beyond the allowed two.
If at any point you must be absent for a legitimate reason (such as illness, family emergency, or religious observance) beyond your two allowed absences, you must notify me before class. You can do this by contacting Student and Family Services at 814-863-2020 or lionsupport@sa.psu.edu. They will inform me of your absence without revealing the nature of the situation. Contact a classmate or come to my office (please do not email me) to get notes for days you missed.
Participation
Active participation in class discussions is a necessity and a strong influence on your grade. I define active participation as sharing thoughts and ideas, responding to your classmates, and constantly following the conversation (which you cannot do if you are asleep).
Individual conferences are also an important factor of participation in this class. I expect students to come see me in my office at least once during the semester with questions, concerns, or a piece of writing for us to work on together. These conferences help me meet students’ individual concerns, and they help students understand my expectations and requirements.
Quizzes
I give reading quizzes frequently and randomly—more often if I find that students are not completing the required reading. These quizzes cannot be made up. They should be easy if you have been attending class and following the reading.
Academic Integrity
Unfortunately, plagiarism is a constant problem in college courses. Instructors sometimes choose to handle it on their own, as that avoids the paperwork and inconvenience of going through the official college process. This, however, does two things: it prevents the student from having her due process, and it puts the instructor at risk for disobeying college policy. As such, I do not settle plagiarism without official college process. The only exception to this is when a student approaches me before a paper is due with concern that part of her paper is plagiarized. (Obviously, this applies more often to concerns about unintentional plagiarism). In this situation, I am happy to help the student avoid plagiarism and its consequences.
I follow the University policy on plagiarism, and I suggest that you familiarize yourself with that policy. Also consider this explanation of some varieties of writing considered to be plagiarism. It is your responsibility to understand the definition of plagiarism and to avoid it.
NOTE: I do not allow “self-plagiarism,” that is, use of a paper you have already written instead of writing a new one. Do not turn in the same paper for more than one class.
Disability
I encourage people with disabilities to participate in this class. If you anticipate needing any accommodation or help with physical access, please contact me and the Office for Disability Services or the Disability Contact Liaison as soon as possible. ODSUP is located in 116 Bouke Building and can be reached at 863-1807.
Course Calendar
This is a summary of class plans and due dates for the course. It is flexible and will change throughout the semester.
Abbreviations: (MS = Making Sense, PS = Penn Statements, TBA = To be announced, J = Journal).
DAY |
DATE |
TOPIC |
READING/WRITING DUE |
|---|---|---|---|
| W | 9/6 | Introductions | -- |
| F | 9/8 | Intro to Rhetoric | -- |
| M | 9/11 | Literacy Narratives | "Music is My Bag," "Mother Tongue" |
| W | 9/13 | Paper Structure | Bird by Bird selection |
| F | 9/15 | Storytelling and Argument | Proposals; J #1 |
| M | 9/18 | Draft Workshop | Rough Draft Lit Narr |
| W | 9/20 | Intro to Argument | Final Draft Lit Narr |
| F | 9/22 | Argument cont'd | "Argument" MS |
| M | 9/25 | Ad Analysis | J #2 |
| W | 9/27 | Audience; Intro Rebuttal | "The Writer's Audience" |
| F | 9/29 | Rebuttal & Counterargument | "Casebook Athletics" |
| M | 10/2 | Library Visit | J #3 |
| W | 10/4 | Research, etc. | "Sources," Plagiarism Resources |
| F | 10/6 | NO CLASS | |
| M | 10/9 | Draft Workshop | Rough Draft Rebuttal |
| W | 10/11 | Rhetorical Definition | Final Draft Rebuttal |
| F | 10/13 | Definition cont'd | "Why I Want a Wife," "Being a Man" |
| M | 10/16 | Rhetorical Description | White Noise selection, "Description" |
| W | 10/18 | Punctuation and Grammar | Strunk and White |
| F | 10/20 | Cont'd | "Definition" |
| M | 10/23 | Draft Workshop | Rough Draft Definition, J #5 |
| W | 10/25 | Collaborative Editing | Sample Definitions |
| F | 10/27 | Remediation | Final Draft Definition |
| M | 10/30 | Intro to Visual Argument | TBA |
| W | 11/1 | Cont'd | "The Possibility and Actuality..." |
| F | 11/3 | Written vs. Visual | Understanding Comics Ch 2 |
| M | 11/6 | Evaluating Visuals | J #6 |
| W | 11/8 | Group Work Time | -- |
| F | 11/10 | Draft Workshop | Visual Argument Draft |
| M | 11/13 | Writing About Visuals | J #7 |
| W | 11/15 | Formatting as Visual | Screen selection |
| F | 11/17 | Humor/Irony/Satire | "My Amendment," "A Modest Proposal" |
| M | 11/20 | Reflections on Writing | Final Draft Visual |
| Thanksgiving Break | |||
| M | 11/27 | Evaluation | TBA |
| W | 11/29 | Proposal | J #8 |
| F | 12/1 | Assembling Arguments | "Letter from Birmingham Jail" |
| M | 12/4 | Practice Eval/Prop | J #9 |
| W | 12/6 | Final Editing | Sample Eval/Props |
| F | 12/8 | Draft Workshop | Rough Draft Eval/Prop |
| M | 12/11 | Style and Creativity | TBA |
| W | 12/13 | Final Reflections | Final Eval/Prop |
| F | 12/15 | Evaluations | J #10 |