Syllabus for ENG 111 Composition and Rhetoric

Fall 2014 with Danielle Roach

Section MF (MW 10:00-11:20 in 111 Johnston)
Section MH (MW 11:30-12:50 in 201 Johnston)

Email address: danielleroneyroach@gmail.com
Office: Johnston Hall (TBA) Office hours: MW 9:15-10:00 and by appointment

Course description (from MU website):
ENG 111 is a writing course focused on principles and practices of rhetoric and composition
useful for producing writing that is effective for its purpose, audience, and context. ENG 111
focuses especially on helping students learn and apply rhetorical knowledge, methods, and
strategies; analyze and construct arguments using rhetorical inquiry; understand, refine, and
improve their composing practices; and develop the intellectual and analytical skills necessary to
produce effective writing at the college level. The course emphasizes rhetorical invention:
planning, analysis, research, and development of ideas for a particular academic or public
audience. It also teaches principles of effective organization and style and strategies for revision,
editing, and proofreading. A key purpose of the course is to teach students to deliver writing in
a variety of contexts, including digitally networked environments.

ENG 111 will be centered on five major writing inquiries:
1. Self Inquiry/Initial Reflection > results in a shorter warm-up paper analyzing and
reflecting on your rhetorical practices in a particular context
2. Textual Inquiry/Rhetorical Analysis > using rhetorical analysis as a method to
analyze a public argument
3. Issue Inquiry/Public Issue Argument > researching and making a rhetorical
argument about a public issue
4. Media Inquiry/Remediation > understanding how the medium affects the message
by remediating a previous piece of writing (by changing the medium using digital
media and perhaps multi-modality) to present your work to a new audience
5. E-Portfolio Inquiry/Final Reflection > reflecting on your writing and rhetoric
through analysis of your coursework collected in an e-portfolio

Each inquiry is comprised of a number of components, including class activities, shorter writing
assignments, drafts, peer responses, proposals, research notes, Writers Letter, and a major
final paper (or the equivalent) for each inquiry. The major final paper for each inquiry will vary
in length. Inquiry #1 will result in a shorter paper (~2-4 pages). The other inquiries will result in
longer papers (~4-7 pages or the equivalent). At least two of the papers will require that you
integrate secondary sources of research. Each of these major projects will require an
accompanying Writers Letter that asks you to explain your purpose and audience for each
assignment; to explain your rhetorical choices and strategies; to reflect on your writing process;
to describe what you did in revision, etc. The major assignment for Inquiry #5, the e-portfolio
project, is actually an extended Writers Letter asking you to collect, analyze, and reflect on
your writing and rhetoric through the entire semester.
Required materials:
Everythings an Argument, 6
th
edition (Lunsford)
Reliable internet access
Points for this course will be distributed as follows:
20% classwork and conferences
10% online discussion boards
10% in-class presentation of your media inquiry project
60% for the final portfolio
Classwork and conferences:
A lot of what we will do in this class to get ready for the major assignments will happen during
class: things like workshops, group activities, quizzes, etc. All of these things have something to
add to the essays in their respective unit, so I expect you to come to class prepared to
participate in and contribute to the activities we do during class.
I will also conference with you during each unit, either in class in groups or outside of class
individually. These conferences are required, and I will not accept the submission of essays in
your final portfolio that I have not seen at least once in a conference. This helps me stay familiar
with your work, and it helps you get valuable feedback that you can use to shape your essays
before they are graded in the portfolio.
Online discussion boards:
Argument and academic discourse are, above all, about conversation, and learning to do
argument well is as much about listening as it is about responding. To practice the back-and-
forth of good argument, I will periodically posts questions or prompts on the Niikha discussion
board, and I will ask you to post a response as well as some replies to your peers responses.
Internet discussion boards can be ugly places, but they also have the potential to facilitate
thoughtful exchanges of ideas, and that is what well aim for in this setting.
In-class presentation:
Unit 4 will be a remediation of your Unit 3 Issues Inquiry paper. We will talk more about ideas
for different media that you can use for this (video, posters, ad campaigns, games, songs, etc.),
but once youve remixed your issues essay, I will ask that you prepare a brief presentation to
the class about your issue and why you chose to remediate it in a particular manner. The
presentation will be for 10% of your grade, and the project itself will become a part of your
final portfolio.
Final portfolio:
The final portfolio will contain all five major unit inquiry essays. The first four projects (three
essays and your remediation from Unit 4) will be collected and submitted with the fifth paper,
the Portfolio Inquiry essay, serving as the cover essay for the rest of the materials. We will be
creating electronic portfolios through Niikha, and more information about the logistics of that
will come later. For now, save everything you write and back it up someplace safe so that you
have all your invention materials and drafts in one place at the end of the term. This will make
your life (and mine) much easier when it comes time to compile the portfolio.
Attendance is required and will impact your grade; something is due almost every day, so its in your
best interest to show up and do the work.
Late work will only be accepted in the case of documented absences or if you have arranged with me
in advance. Late work will not be accepted if prior arrangements have not been made. If you
must miss class, please email me beforehand; I am much more likely to be willing to work with
you if you communicate with me.
Organization and formatting:
All essays in the portfolios should be formatted in MLA style in Microsoft Word. Because we
will have so many various projects in this class, it is essential that you decide in the very
beginning on a system for organizing your files. All work will be submitted electronically, and
copies of all major assignments will be compiled in the final portfolio, so you will need to be
sure that you have saved your files in such a way that you are able to locate everything at the
end of the term.
Clearly name all files beginning with your last name, and make sure that its clear whats
what. Be sure also to Save As when you start a new draft. For example, the file names for a
series of drafts might look like this:
Smith J analysis invention
Smith J analysis draft 1
Smith J analysis draft 2 with peer comments
Smith J analysis draft 3 ready for editing
Smith J analysis final draft
Academic Integrity:
From the Miami University Office of Academic Integrity:
Academic dishonesty is defined as any activity that compromises the academic integrity
of the institution or subverts the educational process. Students are expected to behave
honestly in their learning and in their behavior outside the classroom. Cheating,
plagiarism, and other forms of academic dishonesty undermine the value of a Miami
education for everyone, and especially for the person who cheats.
The following actions are just a few examples of academic dishonesty:
Conduct with respect to and during a quiz, examination, or similar evaluation
o Possessing, referring to, or employing open textbooks or notes or
other devices not authorized by the instructor.
o Looking at or using information from another person's paper.
o Using a copy of any unauthorized materials intended to be used in the
preparation of a quiz or examination.
o Taking a quiz or examination in the place of another person.
o Utilizing another person to take a quiz or examination in place of
oneself.
o Changing material on a graded examination and then requesting a re-
grading of the examination.

Written and other assignments
o Submitting an assignment purporting to be the student's original work
that has been wholly or partly created by another person.
o Presenting as one's own the work, ideas, representations, or words of
another person without customary and proper acknowledgment of
sources.
o Knowingly permitting one's work to be submitted by another person
as if it were the submitter's original work.
o Submitting the identical or substantially the same assignment to fulfill
the requirements for two or more courses without the approval of the
instructors involved, or submitting the identical or substantially the
same assignment from a previously completed course to fulfill
requirements for another course without the approval of the
instructor of the later course.
o Violating procedures prescribed to protect the integrity of the
assignment.

For a complete discussion of Miamis policies surrounding penalties for academic dishonesty,
visit the universitys web site at http://www.miamioh.edu/integrity/undergraduates/index.html.

Course schedule overview:
Weeks 1-3: Self Inquiry (Initial Reflection)
Weeks 4-6: Textual Inquiry (Rhetorical Analysis)
Weeks 7-11: Issues Inquiry (Public Issue Argument)
Weeks 12-13: Media Inquiry (Remediation)
Weeks 14-15: Portfolio Inquiry (Final Reflection)
Week 16 (Finals Week): Final Portfolio due