RHETORIC I

Syllabus for G-EN110A

COURSE IDENTIFICATION
G-EN110A Mohler 204 8-8:50 MWF 3 credit hours

Fall 2013

Course Description
College Rhetoric I is a course intended to help students develop college-level skills in writing

INSTRUCTOR
Dr. Bruce Clary Office: Mohler 201 Hours: TBA Phone: 242-0530 claryb@mcpherson.edu

Course Objectives
Students who fully participate in the courses learning opportunities will Use writing as a tool for learning and discovering ideas. Apply critical and analytical thinking skills to claims and arguments. Comprehend, summarize, and paraphrase complex texts and arguments. Synthesize and incorporate the ideas and words of others into their own writing. Write clear sentences and interesting, well-organized paragraphs and essays. Listen carefully and contribute positively to discussions. Format papers and document sources according to Modern Language Association (MLA) guidelines.

COURSE WEB SITE

https://mcph.acck.edu/ICS

REQUIREMENTS MET
This course (or its equivalent) is required of all freshmen.

REQUIRED TEXTS
Cohen. 50 Essays. 3/e. Bedford/St Martins, 2011. Hacker. A Pocket Style Manual. 6/e. Bedford/ St. Martins, 2012.

General Education Student Learning Outcome

College Rhetoric I supports the following General Education SLO at McPherson College: Students will write with skill and express complex ideas with clarity.

Instructional Methods
Small group discussions of written, in-process drafts Class discussion of assigned readings Class activities with full-class participation expected Mini-workshops on conventions and style Individual conferences Brief lectures In-class writing Quizzes and exams, both online and in-class

I have a number of basic assumptions and biases underlying my teaching methods that you should also know about and understand:

G-EN110A College Rhetoric I

Syllabus: Fall 2013

Writing and speaking for school and work is more craft than art, more motivation and effort

than talent. This means, with motivation and effort, you can overcome most any writing handicap and become a competent, college-level writer.
Writing follows reading. You cannot write better than you read. Writing develops after close

reading. Becoming a better reader is a crucial part of becoming a better writer. ideas, make new connections, see new possibilities, find new answers.

Writing is discovery. The act of writing itself is one of the most effective ways to generate new Language is thinking. We dont really know what we think until we put ideas into words. Writing

(or, more often, rewriting) is a controlled way of saying; hence, writing is a highly disciplined form of thinking.
Writing is a process. But not a linear one. Brainstorming, collecting data, making connections,

drafting, editingall are complex activities that take place throughout the writing process.

Writers writeand rewrite. First, there is no alternative to putting words on paper or screen.

But most often, our first efforts use the wrong words to make the wrong meanings. (Thats OK. Thats how we get started.) Rewriting gives us a chance to get the right meanings in the right words, an opportunity to discover meaning and to clarify it while it is being discovered. Your greatest growth as a writer will take place when you revise and rewrite your work.

LMS on Bulldog Connect

We will make frequent use of eLearningthe learning management system (LMS) included on Bulldog Connect. You should already be familiar with how to login to Bulldog Connect, but if you need help, let me know or ask a friend.

Student Responsibilities
Attend every class meeting. Come prepared. Complete assignments before class and bring required texts and materials. Silence or turn off your phone. (However, occasionally, I will have activities in class that will make use of your phones.) Contribute to class discussions. You have something to teach as well as to learn in this class. Suspend judgment and examine all sides of issues. Be kind! Respect each other and our academic community. Abusive, insulting language is grounds for dismissal from class. Maintain your integrity! Dont cheat. Submit your own work. (See plagiarism policy.)

Course Evaluation and Grades

Your final grade in G-EN110A will be determined by your achievement in three areas: 1. Informal writing 2. Formal writing 3. Quizzes and exams In addition, penalties for poor class attendance may kick in after a third absence. See the attendance and participation policy on page 4. 1. Informal writing (25 percent). Informal writing assignments are prepared before class (sometimes posted or submitted via the class Moodle site) or are done in class to give you practice on a writing skill or to stimulate thinking about reading you have done.

G-EN110A College Rhetoric I

Syllabus: Fall 2013

Most informal writing assignments will be subject to a quick, simple 5-point evaluation standard: 5 pts. 4 pts. 3 pts. 2 pts. 1 pt. demonstrates adequate, thoughtful engagement with the assignment suggests adequate, thoughtful engagement with the assignment suggests less-than-adequate engagement or effort on the assignment demonstrates less-than-adequate response to the assignment assignment not submitted in class the day it is due

2. Formal writing (60 percent). You will submit formal essays of 3-4 pages and a fourth essay of 5-6 pages. One or more in-class (or possibly online) workshops will be scheduled for each essay. In general, grades on formal essays reflect the following standards. Rubrics will be distributed when the essays are assigned so that you will know the specific criteria on which the essays will be evaluated. A B C D demonstrates unusual freshman-level competence in the specific criteria evaluated demonstrates freshman-level competence in the specific criteria evaluated suggests freshman-level competence in the specific criteria evaluated suggests less than freshman-level competence in the specific criteria evaluated demonstrates less than freshman-level competence in the specific criteria evaluated

Papers that clearly do not meet college-level standards will be returned without a grade and must be revised and resubmitted. See the policy governing revision of formal papers in the Course Policies section. 4. Quizzes (15 percent). Quizzesboth announced and unannouncedwill be given in class to check your mastery of content covered in class and your comprehension and retention of reading assignments. Some of these quizzes may also be given online via Bulldog Connect. Quizzes missed due to an absence that was not previously arranged and online quizzes not completed by the deadline cannot be made up. (See Attendance and Participation Policy.) Thus, your final grade in EN110A will be determined as follows: Informal writing .............................................................................................................. 25% of final grade Formal writing ................................................................................................................. 60% of final grade Quizzes ................................................................................................................................ 15% of final grade Attendance/Participation .............................................. See Attendance and Participation Policy

Course Policies
Policy governing revision of papers. You may revise and resubmit an essay to improve its grade as long as you adhere to the following requirements: Meet all deadlines and come fully prepared for all workshops scheduled for the essay. Submit revisions in a folder within one week from the date the paper was returned. All grades are permanent after one week. Include in the folder all the previous versions of the paper that I read and marked, including any rubric or comments that I returned with it. Schedule a conference with me to explain your revision process and the changes you made to improve the paper.

Attendance and participation policy. You are allowed three absences without penalty. Beginning with the fourth absence, each additional absence deducts 5 percent from your final grade. To be

G-EN110A College Rhetoric I

Syllabus: Fall 2013

considered present in class, you must be alert, paying attention, and cooperating fully with whatever the class as a whole is doing. (Also, see the policy regarding workshop days.) Unless you have made arrangements with me prior to the missed class, I will not accept for credit any work that is late due to absence; neither can you make up in-class work missed due to absence. I adhere to this policy even in cases involving college activities such as athletics and field trips. An email from the athletic office or club sponsor does not constitute prior arrangement. An email or voicemail notifying me you will be absent does not constitute prior arrangement. Prior arrangements must be in person. Policy regarding workshop days. You are required to bring complete drafts that meet the full, assigned word count to all workshop days. If you come to class without a complete draft, you will be counted present but will receive a zero for draft (a daily work assignment) and be dismissed from class to work on your draft. Policy regarding late major assignments. The highest grade awarded for major assignments that are not submitted on time is a C. No late papers are accepted after December 2. Cell phone/digital device policy. Please turn off all cell phones, iPhones, iPads and other digital devices and put them away in your backpack before class begins. Repeat offenders may be dismissed from class. Plagiarism policy. Plagiarism is passing off other peoples ideas or words as your own, copying all or parts of someone elses work, having another person complete your assignment, or failing to document accurately the use of source material. Plagiarismwhether intentional or accidentalis subject to penalty. The minimum for intentional plagiarism is a zero on the assignment; the maximum is dismissal from the college. For more information, see the section on Academic Integrity on page ___ of the McPherson College Catalog, 2013-2014.

Concerning Disabilities
McPherson College is committed to providing all students with equal access to learning opportunities. Students who because of disability may require reasonable accommodation to meet course requirements should inform the instructor or access coordinator, Carole Barr (ext. 2506), as soon as possible.

Academic Services
The Royer Center for Academic Development (Miller Library, main level) is open to all students who need academic assistance in any class.

G-EN110A College Rhetoric I

Syllabus: Fall 2013

Schedule of Key Dates and Semester Events

The main content of the course is your writing, your ideas, your words. While I can anticipate some of the areas that will need attention, the specific needs of each class will be different, and I want the flexibility to address those needs. Thus, this schedule indicates due dates for major assignments and semester events only. A detailed syllabus supplement (like the one attached for Unit 1) will be provided for each unit. Check Bulldog Connect regularly for the most current information on assignments and due dates. UNIT 1 8/23-9/13 Basic Building Blocks: Words, Images, & Developing Details See attached supplement for details Due 9/9: Major Assignment 1: Autobiographical Collage 9/10-9/13 INDIVIDUAL CONFERENCESNo Class Meetings Clarifying Meaning and Sorting Ideas 9/18 ASSESSMENT DAYNo Class Meetings Due 9/30: Major Assignment #2: This I Believe 10/1-4 INDIVIDUAL CONFERENCESNo Class Meetings Summarizing and Paraphrasing Texts 10/10-11 FALL BREAKNo Class Due 10/21: Major Assignment #3: Selected Summaries Responding to a Single Text Due 11/8: Major Assignment #4: Responding to a Selected Essay Responding to Multiple Texts Due 11/25: Major Assignment #5: Comparison/Contrast of Two Selected Essays 11/27-30 THANKSGIVING BREAKNo Class 12/2-12/6 INDIVIDUAL CONFERENCESNo Class Meetings

UNIT 2 9/16-9/30

UNIT 3 10/7-10/21 UNIT 4 10/23-11/8 UNIT 5 11/11-12/6

Required Disclaimer
This syllabus is subject to modification. The instructor will communicate all substantial modifications both to the Chief Academic Officer and to students enrolled in the course, prior to enacting these modifications.