Calumet College of St. Joseph

SYLLABUS FOR RHETORIC 103A

Term: Fall 2005.3 (June 12, 2006-July 28, 2006)

Course Number: Rhetoric and Composition 103A

Instructor: Dr. Richard Damashek

Office: 522

Office Phone: 219-473-4273

Office Hours: by appointment

Instructor Background: After an extended career as a professor of literature, I developed an intense interest in teaching writing. At the same time, I discovered my strongest interest was in teaching students whose writing skills were not developed sufficiently to allow them to succeed in college. I have devoted my teaching career to helping them become successful, not only as writers but as college students. Part of my responsibility at the college is to direct the tutoring services through the Center for Academic Excellence.

Course Time: Variable

Course Description: English 103 is a competency-based writing course. The goal of the course is to help students produce lively and clear writing with a minimum of errors and to prepare them to succeed in the more advanced writing assignments of Rhetoric 104. Students’ writing competency will be measured near the end of the course with an in-class written essay that will be evaluated by a member of the English Department. If the student’s final essay does not meet the English Department standards, the student may need to take the course again to improve his/her writing abilities. The course employs the writing workshop method of developing quality writing through extensive writing practice, oral presentations and reading. Individual grammatical problems are addressed.

Prerequisites: NONE

Learning Outcomes/ Competencies:

Students in this course will:

· Demonstrate their communication skills

· Demonstrate a strong, clear voice in writing

· Demonstrate writing skills in coherent, well organized imaginative and thoughtful essays

· Identify the differences between personal and academic writing

· Employ technology as it relates to writing essays

Textbooks:

The Things They Carried

Writing Essentials, Rodrigues and Tuman

Other readings will be assigned throughout the semester.

Other Materials:

Students are required to bring to class a flash drive on which to save their writing assignments.

Learning Strategies: In-class writing, group work, collaborative learning, and teacher mentoring and instruction.

Assessments:

Final grades will be based on:

· Submission of all assigned essays, minimum of 4 pages each of acceptable writing (75%)*

· Quizzes (25%)

Competency Exam: In order to assess whether students have the writing skills required to pass Rhetoric 103, students will be required to pass a writing competency exam administered during the 10^th week of classes.

*Late papers and other written assignments will lose one full grade for each period they are late.

*The criteria for acceptable writing are found at the end of the syllabus. The end of course competency writing essay is evaluated according to the same criteria.

Class Policy for Assignments:

All assignments must be handed in on time. No more than one late paper (including revisions) will be accepted the last class period.

All papers will be/have:

a. typed

b. double-spaced

c. stapled

d. 12 point font in New Times Roman ONLY

e. one inch margins on all sides

f. a cover page with student’s name, paper form and date due and date turned in

g. an imaginative title on page one of the paper

h. a minimum of four pages per paper

Papers done in any other format will not be accepted.

Class Policy on Attendance:

In accordance with English program policy, any student missing more than NINE (9) hours of class will receive an F. These nine hours include both excused and unexcused absences, such as birthdays, sport events, illness, work, etc.

Grading Scale:

Letter grades will be assigned according to the student’s fulfilling the requirements listed above (See assessment and Class policy for Assignments, and Class policy on Attendance.)

Class Policy on Electronic Devices:

When you enter the classroom, turn off cell phones and beepers. It is disruptive to have them going off during class. If there is an important reason why you must have your phone or beeper turned on (e.g. illness at home, work situation), please inform me before class begins.

Student Responsibilities:

1) Problems in the Course: I expect students who are having difficulty for whatever reason (e. g. difficulty with writing, difficulty with reading, difficulty with the teacher) to let me know so that we might work together to correct the problem. If you don’t seek to resolve an issue, the burden of failure rests with you. I don’t want to be blamed at the end of the semester for your failure to address an issue. If I fail to address your issue, then that is my responsibility.

2) Attendance: I expect that all students will be present for all classes. Realistically, that is not always possible. As a courtesy, if circumstances prevent your attendance, you should notify me in advance either by phone or email. No matter what your educational background, life/work experiences, you have something to offer that will enrich our class. As your instructor, I not only encourage your participation, but also rely on it and you should demand it, not only of yourselves, but also of your classmates. Our class is only as good as we make it.

3) Reading Assignments: Students are expected to have read all assignments prior to the discussion of the material. Without that prior reading, class discussion will be very dull for you and for me. My teaching style depends on interaction with my students. I prefer the give and take of ideas to lecture. I learn more from such encounters and so will you.

4) Revisions of Papers: Revisions of papers are optional. If you choose to revise a paper, you must submit it within one week of its return to you. The grade for the paper will then be the average of the first and the second draft. Only one revision will be accepted.

Classroom Behavior:

Classroom decorum will be maintained at all times. Students have the right to study and learn in an environment conducive to those ends. Your instructor also has the right to engage in the teaching and learning process without hindrance because of the disruptive behavior of one or more students. The student is expected to treat the instructor and his/her fellow students with respect and courtesy at all times. This means giving your full attention. No private conversations, no catching up on homework assignments, no use of the computer for any purpose other than class assignments.

Open Door Policy

Since your learning is my primary concern, it is imperative that anything preventing you from learning be discussed. Please feel free to make an appointment with me or call me so that I can help you keep on track. Please remember that it is your responsibility to left me know that you need help and to seek it out.

Course Outline:

Writing Assignment and Quizzes Due Dates

Unit I First Essay—Reading Response	6/19
Unit II Comparison and Contrast	7/3
Cause and Effect	7/10
Competency Preparation	7/17

Unit III Persuasive	7/17
Competency	7/19
Competency Retake	7/24
Reading Assignments in The Things They Carried	Dates for Quizzes
1-85	6/17
86-161	7/3
162-246	7/10

Reading Assignments:

The Things They Carried, Writing Essentials and other handouts will be assigned. Students are expected to hand in all papers, required revisions, and do all the assigned readings.

Free Tutoring Services:

Tutoring assistance is free to all students of Calumet College of St. Joseph. Students who wish to excel in this class are urged to sign up to receive tutoring assistance for all their writing assignments. Call the Center for Academic Excellence (CAE), 473-4287, to make an appointment at. The Center has experienced and well-trained tutors in most subject areas to help students do their best work in their courses. Regular weekly tutoring sessions are likely to improve your grade.

Statement of Plagiarism:

Calumet College subscribes to an online plagiarism detection program that analyses student papers against the entire contents of the internet. In one semester, the program has already identified two students who used internet sources for their papers without proper documentation and submitted the writing as their own. Disciplinary action has been initiated against these students. If an instructor or other Calumet College of St. Joseph personnel find that a student has plagiarized or been involved in another form of academic dishonesty, the instructor or other personnel may elect to bring the matter up for judicial review. The maximum penalty for any form of academic dishonesty is dismissal from the College. The procedures for judicial review are listed under the section of CCSJ handbook that addresses student grievances (Academic Planner 2001/2002 p.27). ). Furthermore, any student found guilty of plagiarism, will receive a grade of F for this course.

Citation Guidelines:

Calumet College of St. Joseph adheres to citation guidelines as prescribed by the particular discipline (i.e., MLA, APA, and Chicago Manual of Style or Turabian.). All of these guidelines are available in the Calumet College of St. Joseph library or bookstore. These texts outline how to cite references from a variety of sources, including electronic media.

Withdrawal from Classes Policy:

After the last day for class changes has passed (see College calendar), students may withdraw from a course in which they are registered with permission from the faculty member conducting the course. After week 10, permission to withdraw will be granted only to students whose work is up to date. Students who are behind on their assignments will not be allowed to withdraw. Therefore, if you are behind on your work, and you want to withdraw, do so before the tenth week of classes. A written request detailing the reason(s) for the withdrawal must be filed with the Registrar. A written request for withdrawal must be received by the Registrar by the last day of classes prior to the final examination dates specified in the catalogue. Written requests may be mailed to the Registrar or faxed to the College fax number 219-473-4259. Students are to make note of the refund schedule when withdrawing from courses. The request is forwarded to the faculty member, who makes the final determination to accept or deny the request. If the request is honored, the student will receive notification of official withdrawal; if denied, the notification will indicate why the withdrawal is disallowed. Note: Degree Completion Division (DCD) students should consult the DCD Student Handbook for information on DCD withdrawals.

An official withdrawal is recorded as a "W" grade on the student's transcript. Dropping a course without written permission automatically incurs an "F" grade for the course (see Refund Schedule).

Writing Competencies

Upon completion of this course, a student should be able to write a clear, well organized essay.

The criteria for assessing your essays include the following:

1. A clear and thought-provoking thesis;

2. Assigned topic addressed in logical progression that supports the thesis;

3. Substantive material to support the thesis and main ideas;

4. Relevant introduction and conclusion;

5. Clear focus (no irrelevancies);

6. Appropriate use of paragraphing and transitions;

7. Diction (word choice) and sentence structure appropriate to the assignment;

8. Mastery of mechanics: grammar, punctuation and spelling.

Revision Marks

Marking	Explanation
( )	Check to see whether you need this word or words
O	Punctuation missing or word misspelled
	Word usage. Use a more appropriate word
?	Reconsider for sense. In other words, I don’t understand what you mean. A word missing.
[ ]	Sentence fragment. Look up in Hacker how to avoid writing fragments. Usually, fragments are parts of the sentence immediately preceding the fragment or immediately following.
O_____	Subject-verb agreement or pronoun agreement error. Consult Hacker for information about how to avoid such problems.
/	A slash through a capital letter indicates that you should use lower case.
¶	Start a new paragraph
^	This carrot indicates a word is missing

Excellent = full points

Very Good = 4/5 points

Satisfactory = 3/5

Needs Improvement = 2/5

Needs Serious Revision = 1/5

Student’s Name:

Paper Assignment:

Date Due:

Date Submitted:

# of pages:

Essay Evaluation Checklist

Rubric	Excellent	Very Good	Satisfactory	Needs improvement	Needs serious revision
Statement of Purpose or Thesis: statement or question you will discuss or prove (Max: 10 points)
Introduction (paper begins with opening paragraph that captures the reader’s interest Max: 10 points
Form/Content/Structure: a. Effective use of rhetorical form (compare/contrast, cause/effect, persuasive) (Max. 10 pts)
b. central ideas in essay stated (max. 10 pts.)
c. relevant supportive and substantive material (max. 10 pts.)
d. logical order of main points and supporting material (max. 10 pts)
e. appropriate transitions connecting paragraphs and paragraphs to thesis (10 pts)
Conclusion (max. 10 pts)
Style (max. 10 pts) word choice sentence structure
Mechanics (max. 10 pts.) Spelling Punctuation Grammar

Total Possible Points: 100

Points Required for Passing (D-): 60

Total Points:

Comments and Suggestions for Improvement: