Instructor: Ashley Mack-Jackson Ofce: RB247 Email: almackjackso@bsu.edu Ofce Hours: 9:30AM-10:30AM Tuesday and Thursday or by appointment.
Required Texts Everything's an Argument 6th Ed. Andrea Lunsford, John Ruszkiewicz, & Keith Walters (Eds.) BallPoint Vol. 1- Available from BSU at http://ballpointv1.wordpress.com/ Other texts available online or via Blackboard
Course Description ENG 103 (Rhetoric and Writing) introduces and develops understanding of principles of rhetoric; basic research methods; elements, strategies, and conventions of persuasion used in constructing written and multi-modal texts. Prerequisite: appropriate placement. Not open to students who have credit in ENG 101 or 102.
Course Goals Understand that persuasionboth visual and verbalis integral to reading and composing Understand how persuasive visual and verbal texts are composed for different audiences and different purposes Develop effective strategies of invention, drafting, and revision for different rhetorical situations and individual composing styles Compose texts in various media using solid logic, claims, evidence, creativity, and audience awareness Integrate primary and secondary research as appropriate to the rhetorical situation Develop strategies for becoming more critical and careful readers of both their own and others texts Demonstrate a professional attitude towards their writing by focusing on the need for appropriate format, syntax, punctuation, and spelling Take responsibility for their own progress Develop the ability to work well with others on composing tasks
Important Course Policies Attendance Attendance is essential for learning in this writing class. Because we'll be relying on class discussions and feedback for developing writing projects, I will take attendance daily and deduct your nal grade for absences or excessive lateness. If you arrive more than halfway through the class, it counts as an Important Course, Writing Program, & University Policies & Resources General Course Information absence. If you come to class late, you must stay after class to remind me to change your attendance status.
All excused absences (i.e. university approved absences as listed in the Ball State Code of Student Rights and Responsibilities) require documentation within one month of the absence or one week before the end of the semesterwhichever comes rst.
In this class, the rst, second, and third absences will not negatively impact your grade. However, the following policy applies for more than three absences: your nal grade will be lowered ve percentage points (50 of the 1000 class points) per absence for the fourth through sixth absences. You will fail the course if you are absent more than six times, no matter what grade you have from coursework. You should reserve the rst three absences for emergencies, illness, other appointments etc.
Participation You need to come to class with articles and chapters read and with your assignments completed. Bring all reading and writing material to class. Once class starts, everybody needs to be fully present and participate. This means cell phones and any material not directly related to the activity (i.e. ear buds, Facebook, and Twitter, etc.) need to be put away. Do not sleep. Do not talk while Im talking to the class. Stay on task during in-class activities. If you adhere to the attendance policy, come to class prepared, and actively participate in in-class activities you will receive full participation credit.
Late Work Assignments are due before class (i.e. 10:59AM) via Blackboard. I dont accept late work. I understand that we all face emergencies from time to time. If an emergency (e.g. personal hospitalization, death in the family etc.) arises contact me ASAP, and we will talk. Also, if you come to a peer workshop without a nished draft, you cannot participate in class. Therefore, you will be counted absent, plus ve percentage points will be deducted from the nal grade on your writing project.
Classroom Behavior If you come to class unprepared, disrupt class, and/or attempt to waste class time, consequences may include verbal or written warnings, dismissal from class with a recorded absence and contact of the department director and the Ofce of Student Rights and Responsibilities. If you are dismissed from class, you cannot return to class until you meet with me to come to an agreement about future classroom behavior.
Writing Program Policies & Resources Writing Program Guidelines for Student Evaluation To insure consistency in assigning grades to student writing, Writing Program courses follow the same guidelines for writing student evaluation. Please familiarize yourself with these guidelines, which can be found on the BSU English department Writing Program website. Feel free to ask me any questions regarding evaluation and grading at any point in the semester.
Writing Center You are encouraged to take advantage of the Writing Center. The Writing Center offers free one- to-one feedback on all of your writing projects for all of your classes. The Writing Center is located in RB 291. Hours are 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Thursday; 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Friday; closed Saturday and Sunday. The Writing Center is closed during university holidays, semester breaks, the rst week of the semester, and nals week.
You may drop by or make an appointment at http://ballstate.mywconline.com/
University Policies & Resources Academic Honesty Using someone else's ideas or words as your own on any assignment is plagiarism even if you include the authors names with the work. It is a violation of the Code of Student Rights and Responsibilities as dened in the student handbook (or at www.bsu.edu/sa/dean/stucode/) and will be treated as such. If you are concerned about inadvertently violating this policy, please see me before completing the assignment.
Special Needs If you need course adaptations or accommodations because of a disability, please contact me as soon as possible. Ball State's Disabled Student Development ofce coordinates services for students with disabilities; documentation of a disability needs to be on le in that ofce before any accommodations can be provided. Disabled Student Development can be contacted at 765-285-5293 or dsd@bsu.edu. If you have emergency medical information to share with me, or if you need special arrangements please make an appointment with me as soon as possible. My ofce location and hours are Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9:30-10:30AM in RB 247 or by appointment.
Counseling Center Every year, hundreds of students, faculty, and staff members use the services of the Counseling Center. This comprehensive services office provides free and confidential psychological and career resources to students. The primary mission of the agency is to assist you in reaching your educational goals, as well as to improve your quality of life. The staff is diverse, professional, warm, and receptive to students who seek services. To make your first appointment with the Counseling Center, call our office at (765) 285- 1736 or stop in to Lucina Hall, Room 320. For after-hours crisis or emergency assistance, call the Counseling Center at 765-747-7330; or call 1-800-273-TALK (8255) or 765-288-HELP (4357).
Non-Discrimination Statement Ball State University is committed to fostering and promoting a healthy learning community. All students in this class will be treated with respect, tolerance, and equality regardless of race, religion, ethnicity, national origin, disability, sexual orientation, gender, age, or economic status. If for any reason you feel discriminated against in the classroom based on these differences, contact the me or the department chair. The Ofce of University Compliance or the Ofce of Student Rights and Community Standards may be contacted if youre not satised with the results of meeting with me or department chair. The Ball State University community believes in the strength of diversity and recognizes the importance of appreciating equality.
SPECIAL NOTE: To fulll the University's Core Curriculum requirement in Writing Program courses, students must earn a minimum grade of C to pass; a grade of C- is not considered acceptable. Writing Program courses may be repeated as many times as necessary to meet the requirement but:
The rst and all other grades will show up on the transcript. All grades except the rst will be used to compute the GPA. A grade of W will not replace a previous grade. Course credit hours apply only once to graduation requirements. The deadline for withdrawing from a course (on your own, for any reason) this semester is: Wednesday, October 22, 2014
Course Assignments & Grade Distribution
Course Assignments Writing Project 1 (150 points): Story Slam For this assignment you will write and perform an approximately 3 minute, 750 word story about an assigned theme. You can interpret and adapt the story however youd like; it can be funny, sad, happy, serious, etc. However, the story must be 100% true. For this assignment you will tell a complete story this should have a beginning, middle and end. While you will write the story first, during your presentation you will not read directly off a sheet of paper. Please use your notes or write your story on index cards. For examples visit: http://themoth.org/stories.
Writing Project 2 (150 points): Persuasive Narrative For this assignment, you will be asked to articulate a moment that had a lasting impact on the way you perceive the world. You should be able to convince your audience not only of the events significance, but also its influence on your value system and way of life. In other words, this assignment is asking you to focus on the rhetorical situations of ethos, pathos, and logos: can you convince your reader of this events importance by establishing your authorial credibility, awareness of emotional impact, and logical explication?
Writing Project 3 (200 points): Observation Essay (Analysis of Visual Rhetoric) For this assignment, you will actively analyze visual rhetoric. Choosing one or more powerful pieces of visual rhetoric, you will write a 750-1000 word essay that analyzes the rhetorical strategies and appeals used to create persuasive meaning.
Writing Project 4 (250 points): Multimodal Writing Project and Presentation A multimodal composition is one that uses more than one modality to achieve its intended purpose. The modalities are visual, audio, gestural, spatial, or linguistic means of creating meaning (Selfe, 195). This assignment will give you the opportunity to create a persuasive composition using two or more of these modes.
The Modes (From Kettering College Writing Center) Visual typeface, lines, shapes, background, color, transitions, quality of images, visual coherence, repetition, contrast
Audio intonation of spoken text, sound effects, ambient noise, music, volume, silence, transitions from different audio clips
Gestural facial expressions, gestures, body language
Spatial line spacing, navigation, transitions, size of page, size of photos, proximity of photos and other elements to each other, line length, visual salience, white space, visual organization, alignment
Linguistic written text or spoken words/narration, word choice, delivery, organization of ideas
When composing a multimodal project, you'll want to carefully consider the choices you make related to the different features listed above.
Short Written Assignments (150 points): Throughout the semester, you will complete and turn in informal writing assignments. These assignments will be graded on a pass/fail basis and cant be made up (i.e. if you miss class on the day we do an in-class writing assignment you will receive a zero (0) for that assignment).
Attendance and Participation (100 points): Come to class prepared each day and participate in all in-class activities, and you will receive full participation credit. Absences will adversely impact your final participation grade. Your nal grade will be lowered ve percentage points (50 of the 1000 class points) per absence for the fourth through sixth absences.
Grade Ranges 920 to 1000 = A 895 to 919 = A- 875 to 894 = B+ 825 to 874 = B 795 to 824 = B- 775 to 794 = C+ 725 to 774 = C 695 to 724 = C- 675 to 694 = D+ 625 to 674 = D 595 to 624 = D- 0 to 594 points = F