English 1157: Freshman Composition 1

English 1157-020MWF 11.00-11.50LA 356Instructor: Karen F. Jensen

Contact informationOffice: LA 204Office hours: MW 10-10.30, Tu 11-11.30, and by appointment. Phone: 280-5420E-mail: kfjense1@uno.edu

Required Course Material

Allison, Jay and Dan Gediman, eds. This I Believe. Ballenger, Bruce. The Curious Writer. Custom Edition for UNO. A notebook to use for in-class writing and note-taking.

Course Description

All people who have learned to write are writers. The boy writing his first sentences in school, the young girl writing that she loves Alex on the restroom wall, and the college student struggling with his first history paper are all writers. Some people do not see themselves as writers because they feel inexperienced and unskilled, or because they do not write longer texts. Some college students do not consider themselves writers because they do not like to write; because they lack confidence in their writing; or because they are not satisfied with their performance in writing classes. One of the most important things I want you to know as you enter this class is that all of you are writers already. Furthermore, there are no “good” or “bad” writers in this classroom; only experienced and less experienced writers.

In this course, you will get the chance to read texts from a variety of genres, explore some distinct characteristics of each genre, and discover what exactly makes a text interesting, engaging, touching, or funny. Through critical reading and writing, class discussion, peer review, and classroom exercises, you will learn how you can transform your experience, your ideas, and your opinions into texts that are interesting, engaging, touching, or funny, too.

Writing is a process consisting of multiple steps, such as pre-writing, discussing with me and/or your fellow students, determining your audience and purpose, developing a focus, incorporating sources, writing and revising multiple drafts, editing, and proofreading. You will practice performing all of these steps, both inside and outside of the classroom. You will write six papers that will be formally assessed and graded. All of your papers should be thoughtful, interesting, and well-written.

By the end of the course, you will have developed a sense of the importance of not only other people's writing, but also your own. What you write and how you write it matter! You will have experienced that the ability to write is not something with which you are born, or something that you either have or not have. The ability to write effectively is developed through reading, writing, and verbally communicating with other people. The skills you develop will be a great asset to your future, both at home, in school, and at work.

Student Learning Objectives

After successfully completing this course, you should be able to:

Work through all of the steps in the writing process (pre-writing, writing, revision, editing, and proofreading).

Determine purpose and audience in your own and others' writing. Understand how purpose, audience, and context affect writing style, voice, and tone. Summarize, analyze, and evaluate texts and other forms of discourse in various genres. Apply appropriate rhetorical strategies for diverse writing situations. Demonstrate familiarity with and compose in different genres with a variety of purposes for a

variety of audiences. Perform research using library and non-library sources. Incorporate source material successfully into your text.

Assignments

You will write three short compositions (SC) and three long compositions (LC). The SCs are designed to help you prepare for the LCs, but they are graded separately. You will write two drafts of each paper. The first draft will receive written feedback; the final draft will receive both written feedback and a grade. The research paper is the exception; you will write three drafts in total. You have to turn in first and second drafts when they are due in order to receive comments and useful guidelines for revision. If you do not turn in a first/second draft on time, five points will be deducted from the grade of the final draft.

In addition to your papers, you will also be writing other types of assignments inside and outside of the classroom. These assignments can be free writing, brainstorming, group work, short texts, informal proposals, or peer review. These assignments are turned in, evaluated, and returned. If you miss one of these assignments or fail to meet the requirements (i.e. do not put any effort into it), one point will be deducted from the final grade of the paper we are working on at the time.

I require both an electronic copy and a hard copy of your papers. The electronic copy of your paper is due before class; the hard copy is due at the beginning of class. If you turn in the electronic copy, but not the hard copy (or vice versa), the paper will be counted as late.

Conferences and the Writing Center

I will schedule at least one mandatory paper conference during the semester. During the writing process, however, I encourage you to see me during my office hours or to make an appointment as often as you need and want. The easiest way to reach me is by e-mail; I check it every day. In order to be fair to the whole class, I cannot read and evaluate complete drafts from individual students before they are due. However, feel free to come see me about specific concerns, problems, or questions that you have.

If you want someone to read a complete draft before it is due, the tutors in the Writing Center are invaluable. I will require you to go to the Writing Center with your work three times during the semester (submitting a paper online does not count), and at least once before midterm. Whether you go there with your SC or your LC, your brainstorming sheet or your final draft, is up to you. If you do not fulfill this requirement, three points will be deducted from your final grade of the semester.

I encourage you to go to the Writing Center as much as possible and/or submit papers online. You can consult the tutors at any stage of the writing process, including the final draft stage.

Final Revision

At the end of the semester, you will have the option of revising either your first two SCs or one of your first two LCs for a better grade. The revised version of this paper is due on the day of our final exam. No late revised paper will be accepted under any circumstances. If you plan to do this, please come see me so we can talk about how you best can do this. You can also go to the Writing Center. Keep in mind that it is closed during finals week.

Grading

An “A” represents achievement that is outstanding relative to the level necessary to meet course requirements.

A “B” represents achievement that is significantly above the level necessary to meet course requirements.

A “C” represents achievement that meets the course requirements in every respect. A “D” represents achievement that is worthy of credit even though it fails to meet fully the course

requirements. An “F” represents achievement that fails to meet the course requirements to such a degree that it

is not worthy of credit.

Grade Breakdown

SC I - “This I Believe” 10%LC I - Personal Narrative 15%SC II – Analysis of Profile 10%LC II – Profile 20%SC III – Annotated Bibliography 15%LC III – Research Paper 30%

97-100 A+93-96 A90-92 A-87-89 B+83-86 B80-82 B-77-79 C+73-76 C70-72 C-67-69 D+63-65 D60-62 D-59 and below F

Attendance and Tardiness

Attendance is mandatory in this class, and I will take attendance every day. If you are absent when we are doing brainstorming, for example, you will miss the chance to get feedback on your brainstorming. You will also lose one point from the grade of the paper on which we are working at the time. If you are absent on a day when a draft or a paper is due, you will still have to turn it in electronically before class. The

next class period, you have to give me a hard copy. If you fail to turn in the electronic copy and/or the hard copy on time, the paper will be counted as late.

You are allowed to have five “free” absences. Keep in mind, however, that you risk losing points from your paper when you miss classroom writing activities. Remember that you are also responsible to find out what the homework assignment is for the next class period. After your five “free” absences, your final grade for the class will drop one letter grade for each additional absence.

Walking in five, ten, or fifteen minutes late is disruptive and disrespectful, both to me and to your fellow students. If you walk in after I have taken attendance, you have to let me know after class that you were present. If not, you will be counted as absent. This is your responsibility, not mine. Three “tardies” will equal one absence.

Late/Missing Papers

If you have to turn in a paper late, please let me know by e-mail and/or phone or in person beforehand. You can turn in one paper one class period late during the semester. Any additional late papers will receive a zero.

You have to turn in all the SCs and the LCs to pass the class. If you do not turn in final drafts of all of these six assignments, you will receive an F in the class.

Classroom Rules

You are expected to treat me and your fellow students with respect. Racist, sexist, or any other types of disrespectful or hateful comments or acts are unacceptable, and will be reported to the Office of Academic Affairs.

You are expected to be courteous during class discussions, peer review, and other group activities. No students should have to refrain from sharing their ideas and their texts because they are afraid of being ridiculed or harassed. Treat your classmates like you want them to treat you.

Please arrive on time and do not leave the classroom until the class period ends without my permission. If you have an emergency and have to leave earlier one time, please notify me beforehand.

Please turn off or silence cell phones, tablets, laptop computers, or any other electronic devices and put them in your backpack or bag. I do not want to see them on your desks. If I see you using an electronic device for things unrelated to the class, I will mark you as absent for that class. The only exception to this policy is if you have permission from the Office of Disability Services to use an electronic device. If you have an emergency and have to be accessible on your phone during class time, please notify me beforehand.

Feel free to drink water or other beverages in class. Eating during class time, however, is not allowed.

Moodle/UNO E-Mail

Every student should have access to Moodle and to a UNO e-mail account. Please check your UNO e-mail daily for updates and information about the class. Please use your UNO e-mail address when you e-mail me.

Accommodations for Students with Disabilities

Students who qualify for services will receive the academic modifications for which they are legally entitled. It is the responsibility of the student to register with the Office of Disability Services (UC 260) each semester and follow their procedures for obtaining assistance.

Dropping the course

If you stop attending class, please make sure to formally drop the course in the registrar’s office. If you stop attending class without dropping the course, you will receive a final grade of F.

Academic dishonesty

Any case of academic dishonesty, including but not limited to plagiarism or cheating, will be handled according to departmental and university regulations and may result in failure of this course. A plagiarized paper will result in a grade of zero for the assignment without opportunity for revision.