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English 1213: Principles of Composition II Spring 2011

Course Theme: Technology, Society and the Social Communications Revolution Instructor: Michael Rifenburg Email: rifenburg@ou.edu Office: 312 Gittinger Hall Office Hours: 10.00-11.30am WF Meeting Days/Times/Places ENG 1213.088 TR 9.00 a.m.-10.15 p.m. ENG 1213.072 TR 10.30 a.m. 11.45 a.m. Required Materials Messenger, Gooch, Seyler, eds. Argument! America in the Age of Obama. Daily access to a computer with Internet access

General Information and Policies: Objectives

The course builds on English 1113 and continues to develop students abilities in invention, drafting, and revising through the practice of writing. 1213 focuses on various types of argumentation and develops, through the Toulmin strategy of argumentation, a vocabulary which allows students to interact with one another through all stages of the writing processes, from the initial generation of ideas to revisions of completed essays. Students are expected to research and develop positions on arguable topics which are revised through peer interaction before reaching the instructor. Along with developing persuasive writing skills, the course emphasizes formal research methods, documentation techniques, and quotation/paraphrase management skills. Specifically, per the course theme, we will read and write on the subjects of History and Technology; Social Communications Technologies and Ethics; and Technology and The Future.

Assignments and Grading

Two mini-essays (approximately 3 pages) and three full-length literacy tasks are required. Additionally, I will assign brief writing responses in connection to our reading as well as asking you to present on material at various points throughout the semester. Finally, throughout the semester you will be working in groups on a collaborative annotated

Rifenburg

English 1213 Policy Statement Spring 2011

2 bibliography. Borderline grades will be raised only for those who have been active and informed participants in class discussions. Final grades will be calculated according to the percentages below. Notice that equal weight is not given to each paper. Mini-essay #1: 4% of final grade Mini-essay #2: 8% of final grade Literacy Task #1: 18% of final grade Literacy Task #2: 25% of final grade Literacy Task #3: 25% of final grade In-class writing assignment: 10% of final grade Collaborative Annotated Bib. 10% of final grade In order for you to read my comments, grades will not be discussed until 24 hours after the grade is given. Departmental policy mandates that students are required to turn in all graded work at the end of the semester. Save all graded major papers! Per Department rules, all graded work will be turned in at the end of the semester.

Definition of Letter Grades for Final Semester Grade:

A B C D F 89.579.569.559.50100 89.4 79.4 69.4 59.4

Keep in mind some majors require a C or higher in order to have fulfilled the course requirement.

Submission of Work
Unless specified, I ask that all graded work be typed and submitted to the D2L dropbox. The campus maintains many computer labs if access to a computer is an issue. Please follow the MLA format guidelines below: Times New Roman or Arial 12 point font (not bolded or italicized) Printed on standard 81/2 x 11 white paper Double-spaced No extra spaces between paragraphs (if you run Word 07, this can be touchy) 1 standard margins all around Your last name and page number on each page after the firstupper right hand corner No title pages Titles should be centered. No need to bold, underline, or italicize them On the first page in the upper left have:

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English 1213 Policy Statement Spring 2011

3 Your name My name Course Date

Finally, I will not accept papers via email or on disk, unless permission has been given.

D2L
Unless specified, I ask that you submit your 2 mini-essays and your 3 literacy tasks to the appropriate D2L dropbox. I will grade your papers using the track changes function on Microsoft Word and then re-upload your file with the grade. When submitting your paper, be sure to save your paper as one of the following: .DOC, .DOCX, or .RTF.

Reading Responses
For some of the reading assigned for our class, I will ask students to perform a reading response. The reading responses will be turned in at the beginning of class on the day that the reading is due, will be graded, and then returned. Reading responses will receive a grade of 0 (not acceptable), 1 (somewhat acceptable), or 2 (acceptable). Unless specifically assigned, these responses are not a summary, but an informed response. Each response should be ONE PAGE MINIMUM, typed, double-spaced. While I understand that it may be difficult to write a whole page on some of the articles we will read in class, these reading responses are very helpful for class discussion. We will be using these responses to help springboard class discussions. Additionally, students may choose to use one of our readings in one of the major papers, so thinking about the readings ahead of time may be helpful! Keep in mind that I will not accept late responses without a legitimate excuse, nor will I accept responses over e-mail unless prior arrangements have been made.

Attendance

Students are allowed three (3) unexcused absences per semester in a course that meets three times a week, or two (2) in a course that meets twice a week. The penalties for missing more than that are: Penalties for Unexcused Absences 2x/week Course 3x/week Course Penalty 3 4 1 letter grade 5 7 2 letter grades 7 10 Automatic F Three (3) unexcused tardies= 1 unexcused absence

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English 1213 Policy Statement Spring 2011

4 It is the policy of the University to excuse absences of students that result from religious observances, Provost-approved activities, and legally required absences (such as military service and jury duty) and to provide without penalty for the rescheduling of examinations and additional required coursework. (Faculty Handbook) Student Athletes and others engaged in Provost-approved activities must notify the Student Athletes and others engaged in Provost-approved activities must notify the instructor of the reason for the absence ahead of time, and arrange to complete all coursework in a timely fashion.

Make-up Work
Students are held responsible for all material covered during any absence. I accept late major papers, but they will be penalized. Late papers will lose a full letter grade for each day the paper is late. A paper turned in one day late will be marked down one letter grade. A paper turned in two days late will be marked down two letter grades. After two days a paper will not be accepted and will receive an automatic F. Please note: one day means one day, NOT one class day. I have attached a schedule to this syllabus informing you of the due dates for all major papers; therefore, plan ahead if necessary. I am more lenient on reading responses. If your absence is excused, any work from the missed class will be due the first day you return to class. If the absence is unexcused, work must be turned in the day its due

Revision
Papers are never finished; we just run out of time. With this in mind, the option of revising one of the three literacy tasks is available. Note that this is optional and not required. Also, to be able to revise a paper, you have to turn on in originally. In other words, please dont think that if you forget to turn a paper in, you can revise it later. If you decide to revise one of your writing projects for a higher grade, you should read the assessment comments and rethink your approach to the assignment. Think of revising as rewriting. We are going for fundamental changes to paper and not simply moving commas around. Your revision grade will replace the original grade. In order to be eligible for revision, complete these three steps: Meet with me to talk about my comments and for assistance in improving the original draft Compose a revision plan where you clearly outline the necessary changes and how you plan to accomplish them Turn in the original draft with my comments, your revision plan, and the revised draft. Make sure your name is on everything. I ask for a hardcopy of the revision plan, the original draft and the revised draft. Revised drafts are due the day of the final.
Rifenburg English 1213 Policy Statement Spring 2011

Important Dates
Spring Break: March 12-20 Final Day of Classes: May 6 Final Exams: Eng 1213.088: May 10, 8.00 a.m. 10.00 a.m. Eng 1213.072: May 13, 8.00 a.m. 10.00 a.m.

Writing Center
Most universities, ours included, have a writing center designed to help students better their writing skills. The writing center here at OU is a resource I encourage you to use. It is completely free and the consultants are there to help with any point in the writing process (brainstorming, drafting, editing). Consulates are also available via email and will read and comment on a draft emailed to them. They are located in Wagner Hall. Students can make an appointment (online or by phone) or can drop in whenever they are open. Website: www.ou.edu/writingcenter.

Academic Integrity
The Provosts website (http://www.ou.edu/provost/integrity/) provides the definitions of academic integrity, plagiarism, collusion, and cheating that are used by all instructors, in all courses at the University of Oklahoma. Each student is individually responsible for accessing, reading, and understanding these definitions, and for conducting him- or herself in accordance with the highest standards of academic integrity. Any concepts you do not fully understand need to be cleared up with your instructor before you submit any work for a grade. The most common violation of academic integrity in First-Year Composition courses is plagiarism, which the Provost has defined as: 1. Copying words and presenting them as your own writing. 2. Copying words (even if you give the source) without indicating that they are a direct quotation by enclosing them in quotation marks. 3. Copying words and then changing them slightly or substituting synonyms (even if you give the source). 4. Presenting someone elses ideas as your own, even if you change the wording. It is also a violation of academic integrity to submit the same work for more than one course, unless you have the express permission of both instructors. Violations of academic integrity carry penalties up to and including expulsion from the university.

Accommodations under the ADA

Any student in this course who has a disability that may prevent him/her from demonstrating his/her abilities should contact the Disability Resource Center as soon as possible (drc@ou.edu or 325-3852). The DRC will let the instructor know what accommodations are necessary to ensure full participation and facilitate your educational opportunity.

Rifenburg

English 1213 Policy Statement Spring 2011

Meeting for Final Examinations

All First-Year Composition courses must meet for their final examination periods. Retention of Graded Papers The English Department requires instructors to collect all graded major writing assignments by the end of each semester, and keep them until the grade challenge period for that semester has passed. Release Statement The policy statement and syllabus are open to change upon the instructors discretion. Finally, continued enrollment in this class signals agreement to the policy statement.

Rifenburg

English 1213 Policy Statement Spring 2011