BASIC WRITING
ENG 108-07 -- FALL 1997
Last Update: August 28, 1997
Instructor: Richard Varron
Phone: 595-3307
Section: ENG108-07
Time: WF 8:00-9:15
Room: W: Y 125 (Atrium Writing Lab)
Mailbox: Atrium
F: Y 114 (Atrium Lab)
Office Hours: TR 3:30-5:00 WRITING CENTER (Y 128) [Other
times by appointment]
Office: Information Systems (College Hall 220) [M-F 6:30am-3:00pm]
E-Mail:
rich@wpc.wpunj.edu
E-Mail for Papers: varronr@gw.wpunj.edu
Class Homepage: ENG108-07
Homepage
Forums:
ENG108-07
FORUMS CONFERENCE
OUTLINE OF SYLLABUS
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Deadlines to Drop Course
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Texts
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Class Policies
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E-Mail, Forums, Listservers and Other Electronic Media
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Reading and Writing Assignments
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Grading
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General Guidelines For Typing Papers
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Plagiarism
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Academic
Integrity Policy
Deadlines to Drop Course
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9/10/97 100% refund
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10/8/97 50% refund
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10/22/97 last day to drop class
Texts: Connections: A Multicultural Reader for
Writers, Judith Stanford, 1997.
Other Readings will be from the Internet.
A Writer's Reference, Diana Hacker, 3rd ed,1995.
Class Policies
The goal in this course is to explore different modes of writing
that you will need to master in order to enhance your success in college
as well as develop links between writing and other academic areas such
as History, Science, Sociology, Philosophy, Geography, Politics and Statistics.
| In order to pass this course, you must pass
all assignments, attend and participate in class and pass the Basic Skills
Post Test. |
In order to make it easier for you to revise your papers frequently, both
in this course as well as your other courses, you will be expected to learn
to use a word processing program. Drafts of your papers must be handed
in at the time your papers are handed in. PAPERS MUST BE TYPED
TO BE GRADED.
ATTENDANCE:
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Since you will be working in small groups and critiquing each other's papers,
on time attendance and participation is mandatory. Each
absence lowers your final grade by 10% per absence. 2
lateness (10 or more minutes) will count as an absence. 3 or more
absences will result in a grade of "N" (NON-PASSING) at the discretion
of the instructor. If you are absent 3 or more time, you will be required
to discuss your status in the class with the instructor. Your computer
disks, textbook, journal and writing assignments are
an integral part of your attendance and class participation. You are expected
to bring these to every class. If you are not prepared for class, you will
be marked absent for the day. Game playing, non-class related discussions
or other disruptive behavior will result in loss of class participation
grade (an absence) for that day.
GRADING:
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There will be 6 formal, TYPED papers to be handed in. Late
papers will not be accepted and may result in a grade of "N", NON-PASSING
for the course. (Extensions will be granted if more time
is needed to improve a paper; however, a completed draft must be handed
in or E-mailed at the time the assignment is due. If a paper it to be late,
it is YOUR obligation to contact me in a timely manner and request an extension.)
Plagiarism, Collusion, and/or Cheating will result in an "N" (NON-PASSING)
for the assignment and/or the course. Returned papers may be revised
once. At the end of the semester, you will be required to
hand in your essays along with any revisions you have done.
GRADES
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P - Passing.
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N - Non-passing.
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A grade of "N" does not count in your GPA.
|
E-JOURNAL:
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As part of this course, you will be required to participate in an electronic
journal. At least once a week, you will submit your reactions in the class
FORUM on essays we read in class, papers from other students or reactions
to other events that your would like to share. The information in FORUMS
is available to all in the class. If you want to address one or more people
individually, you can also send them an E-mail message. This method of
responding will allow you to share your ideas with other in a written form
and give you a chance to get feedback to your comments and questions. E-mail
is available from almost any campus computer open to students.
If there are extenuating circumstances for absences or late papers,
the reason should be submitted in a well written formal E-mail message
as soon as is feasible. Requests for extensions on papers should be
made via E-mail prior to the due date outlining the reasons for the extension
and including what work has been done thus far. In addition to writing
practice, this will provide you with the communications skills needed in
today's business world by having you present your concerns and requests
in writing. As in any business situation, how you state your case will
have an effect on whether or not your request will be granted. As in business,
there will be times when you need to call because of time constraints and
then follow-up in writing. Verbal request must be followed up in writing.
If there are any problems with getting an assignment done or any other
complications during the semester, feel free to either see me before class
or call me.
E-MAIL, FORUMS AND OTHER ELECTRONIC MEDIA
FORUMS
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The class will be using a product called FORUMS. This product allows
you to use a net browser such as NETSCAPE or INTERNET EXPLORER to read
and post messages to various class forums. A forum is an organized
discussion on a specific topic within a conference. Within a forum, there
are various threads or subtopics. It will be possible to organize
a forum on a particular paper, a specific problem anything else related
to class. It should also be possible to post your papers for others to
review. As a general rule, the FORUMS are not restricted to members of
the class.
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Other sources of information: On NETSCAPE / WWW, WPUNJ has a home page
at /. It has information on
E-mail, campus events and much more such as other listservers that maybe
of interest to you either for this course or other courses that you are
taking.
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What is the purpose of using E-mail in a Writing course? The first goal
is to get people to discuss writing outside of a formal class setting.
This will help you to get questions answered either by me or one of your
classmates rather than having to wait until the next class. Instead of
the traditional journal, you as a class are writing a journal. This allows
you to work as part of a group even when you are not physically together.
Second, though the use of electronic searching, you may be able to find
more recent information or find information quicker. You will also be able
to discuss questions you might have with students at other colleges. Third,
it is a way for me to get feedback and to offer suggestions. It also gives
me a chance to answer questions that come up in class or add something.
Lastly, I work in College Hall as a programmer in the Office of Information
Systems / Planning, Research and Evaluation. It is a long trip; with E-mail,
I can answer questions whether I am in my office, on campus or home. At
the same time, if you are someplace where you have INTERNET access (such
as an off campus library), you can do the same.
Reading and Writing Assignments
| Specific Reading and Writing Assignments will be posted on FORUMS.
It is your obligation to check FORUMS for assignments and/or changes in
assignments. |
Some Areas for Reading and Writing from the Textbook:
Readings of Writing From the Text:
Partial list of some writers in the textbook:
GRADING
GRADING
Electronic Journals 10% Exams/Tests 20%
Class Participation 10% Papers 60%
Papers for which earlier drafts/
outlines / notes are not available may be rejected for grading. |
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GRADES
PASSING
P - Passing
Few if
any mechanical mistakes on papers
Well organized
papers
Work done
on time
All work
done to acceptable standards
NON-PASSING
RD (non-passing
grade) Paper needs to be revised and developed.
RM (non-passing
grade) Paper needs to be revised and have mechanical mistakes corrected.
RR (non-passing
grade) Paper should be rethought out from scratch. N All work handed
in,
but not satisfactory to pass course.
N (non-passing
grade) Work completed, but below passing standards.
.
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The reason I require drafts to be available is that in the past students
have had others write their papers for them or make substantial corrections.
I want to be able to see what you are going at each stage of the writing
process.
As I said on the first page, if you run into any kind of problems, please
let me know and we can sit down and go over them. While I will generally
go by the guidelines in the syllabus, I will look at individual problems
on a case by case basis. The fact that I give one person some latitude
does not mean anyone else is entitled to it since each person's situation
is unique.
General Guidelines For Typed Papers
Before handing in your work, make sure you proofread your papers and spellcheck
them.
Your last name should be in the top right hand corner along with the
page number (except for the first page). There should be a one inch margin
on all sides. The cover sheet should have the title in the middle of the
page and your name, course/section, instructor's name and date in the lower
right hand column.
Papers should be double spaced. There should be no additional space
between paragraphs. The title of your paper should not be underlined or
put in quotes; however, if it contains a book or poem, these should be
quoted or underlined as required. Text references generally have the form
of (author pages) or (author lines) in the case of poetry [or just (pages)
or (lines) if the work is mentioned in the paragraph]. It is not necessary
to include the course text in your work cited for this class, but you are
required to site quotes and paraphrases that you use in your papers.
While assignments may vary, your papers should contain citations from
the texts to support your arguments. Papers which lack citations
are usually not specific enough while papers with too many (or long) quotes/citations
without adequate explanation do not allow you to express your own views.
Make sure that quotes relate to the points that you are making
If you are not sure of what a quote means, leave it out; don't expect your
reader to understand something that you are not clear about.
READ CAREFULLY
| Plagiarism is trying to pass off someone else's work
as your own without proper citation. This includes not only paraphrasing
material from outside sources without citation but also includes
using words and phrases from your sources without using quotation
marks in your paper, even with citations. It includes taking ideas
from sources without attribution (including a classmate's paper).
It also includes copying from your source by changing a few words here
and there. Either put what you want to say in your own words or use direct
quotes. In all respects, your paper should be your own voice except where
you have indicated that you have incorporated ideas from others. Remember,
it is not improper to use outside sources-- in fact it is frequently a
good idea to do so-- as long as you clearly indicate what are your ideas
and what are the ideas of others.
If you work with a classmate on a paper, put both your names on both
papers to indicate the collaboration. If only part of the
paper was worked on jointly, then cite those parts. Not only is this the
correct thing to do, but it avoids the problem of who was/were the original
writer(s) when, by sharing ideas, you come up with a paper that is similar
to someone else's. In any event, both papers should be distinct with each
writer contributing his or her own ideas. (i.e.. if two people are working
on an assignment, the ideas may be similar, but the papers should be written
by each person.) Papers which are in whole or substantially identical will
both receive an "F" since they are plagiarized unless there is proper citations.
If you are unsure about what constitutes plagiarism or what you
need to avoid it, make sure you ask or put a note on your paper.
Why is plagiarism frowned upon? The reason is that you are submitting
work that was done by others and handing it in to be graded as you own
work. In addition, it is not fair to the people that do their own work.
The minimum penalty is an F on the paper. Subsequent violations may result
in an "F" for the course. (See Student Handbook for College policy.) |
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