I need help in an online course

ENGL 1101: English Composition {08} Idaho State University

Summer 2014 Instructor: Dana Harker Email: [email protected] “Office” hours: M/Th 8:00-10:00 am via Google Hangout Textbook: A Writer’s Resource 4th Edition (ISBN 978-0-07-739-735-7) __________________________________________________________________________________________________

Welcome to English 1101. This course will sharpen your writing skills in preparation for English 1102 and the writing demands of the rest of your undergraduate work. The specific goal of this course is to make you comfortable with your writing ability by improving on the skills you already have while introducing you to the nuances of academic writing. By the end of the course you will have the tools to say something interesting and informed about almost any topic thus, allowing you to focus less on how to write and more on what to write.

The pace of reading and writing in this course will be very demanding. Because a large part of writing requires reading, you will be required to read and evaluate a number of texts. Don’t be scared. Reading is awesome. Each reading will be relatively short and will provide further examples of how authors are employing what we are working on in class. For example, an essay about a fierce infant in an office building will show us how description works. And a humorous introductory chapter by Kurt Vonnegut will help you write your own paper introductions. Learning Objectives--courtesy of ISU Department of English and Philosophy ENGL 1101 is a course “in which students read, analyze and write expository essays for a variety of purposes consistent with expectations for college-level writing in standard edited English” (ISU Undergraduate Catalog). It is designed to prepare students to succeed in ENGL 1102, which completes general education’s Goal 1, and to write across the disciplines in college work.

* Students will learn fundamental academic essay-writing skills, including consideration of audience and purpose, thesis development, unity and organization, support of claims through examples, and a variety of rhetorical strategies. *Students will also learn basic research and documentation methods. * Students will explore the writing process, including idea generating, drafting, revising, and editing.

*Students will learn conventions of standard written English. * Students will read, analyze, and evaluate a variety of peer and published texts as the basis for expanding academic literacy. * Students will engage effectively in collaborative activities, including peer editing groups and student-teacher conferences.

How This Will Work This is an asynchronous course meaning that you may log on and complete assignments at any time as long as they are completed and submitted by the due date. All assignments will be due at midnight on the date indicated on the syllabus. In addition, the weekly To-Do lists will be available no later than 9 pm on the Sunday before the week begins. For example, the to-do list for Week 2 will be available to view and begin no later than 9:00 pm on Sunday May 25. Please make note of all of the due dates for this course. You are responsible for following the schedule.

What You Can Expect From Me

Open Door and Email: I am here to help you. You can email me anytime and expect that I will be timely and

attentive with my responses. Unfortunately, this course does not have a face-to-face component and sometimes we need to chat at length about the course. If you need to "meet" with me outside of these hours, you can do so by appointment. My “office” hours appear on the top left hand corner of the first page of the syllabus.

Substantial Feedback: I will evaluate your work with fairness. In most cases your Discussion postings and Reading and Writing assignments will receive little to no feedback. However, your three formal essays and two text wrestles will be given significant attention. Feedback for those will be critical and thorough. I use the same rubric for each of the assignments, so you should have a pretty good idea about my expectations.

Respect without Judgment: Because the readings and the assignments for this course cover a wide variety of topics and will certainly elicit a variety of opinions, I will respect and value your opinion as it relates to class

discussions and assignments. It is important to me that you begin to develop strong opinions on whatever topics interest you and quite frankly, I am not too concerned with what those opinions are, as long as it does not encouraging harming anyone; I am mostly concerned with how those opinions are articulated.

What I Expect From You

Respect without Judgment: Just like you expect me to respectful of your opinions, I expect you to be respectful of those of your peers. This will become especially true when participating in the Discussion forums and when doing the Peer Review Workshops. You can be critical and insightful while not making your peer cry or want to hurt you (mostly). Just be nice to each other.

Don’t Be Lazy: My BIGGEST pet peeve is laziness. Please proofread your work. It is 2014 and even Siri can spell check. Use her! While I think you can safely rely on Siri to send your friend an error free text message about what kind of beer to buy you, be careful not to expect the same thing from Microsoft Word. Microsoft Word cannot interpret context, so it may replace a misspelled word with a correctly spelled word, but it may be the wrong word. Either ask Siri or READ through your writings before you hand them in.

Be Organized: I also expect you to pay close attention to deadlines. They are in place to keep you on track and to help me keep up with grading. Do not email me asking when something is due or email me after something is due and pretend you did not know about it. This first week includes a detailed schedule with due dates. They are non- negotiable and telling me that your grandma died will not change that. Plan ahead. Call grandma every day to make sure she is feeling okay and if you detect a hint of illness, get your assignments done...then visit her.

Note : All assignments wil l be handed in via Moodle . I suggest you get a computer account so you can access , submit , and print al l course materials from an on-campus computer . No exceptions wil l be given for individual internet connectivity issues . Revision: Handing in a perfect, polished essay on the first try is merely a fantasy. You are required to write and revise a rough draft for each of the three formal essays. Your final grade is based on three peer reviews per paper and the only way to evaluate a rough draft is to submit one of your own. Therefore, if you do not submit a rough draft, you may not participate in an evaluation. If you are not happy with a grade you receive on one of your formal essays, I will consider a grade change if you can write a 1 page argument articulating why I should give you a better grade. These arguments are due no later than one week after the paper has been graded and returned.

Late Work: Any formal essay turned in past the due date will lose a letter grade for each day that it is not turned in. Essay responses, evaluations, rough drafts and reading and writing assignments are due on the date and time specified by the syllabus and Moodle. These will not be accepted late; no exceptions. If they are not handed in when they are due, you will receive a zero.

Rough Draft Workshops: These workshops are designed to help you get a better feel for what your peers’ writing is like in relation to your own. They are also incorporated to prevent silly mistakes on final drafts from not proofreading. You have a required, built-in proofreader; take advantage of it. Also, you are not required to make any changes that your peers suggest. You alone are responsible for the final outcome in this course. If you do not submit a rough draft you will not be able to evaluate your peers’ work.

Quizzes Each reading will have a short 7-15 question quiz. Don't worry, I am not asking for anything unreasonable. I am just looking to make sure that you actually READ the work rather than glance at it, skip ahead to the reading and writing assignment and BS your way through. All questions, including the upcoming quiz to ensure you read all of the class policies, will be black and white. These quizzes are not entered into the grade book, but you will need at least a 70% (that's pretty low--you can do at least that) to move on to weekly assignments. Reading and Writing Assignments (r/w): These assignments serve three main purposes: 1) To help your grade recover from the largely weighted formal essays; 2) To allow you space to formulate ideas regarding the paper topics; 3) To help you practice writing. Each of the 5 r/w assignments will be in Moodle and most will be accompanied by a reading which will also be in Moodle either directly below or above the r/w assignment. These assignments are each worth 4% of your final grade. Full credit will be given to complete responses that are free from spelling errors. Any spelling error will result in an automatic 50% deduction of the grade. Moodle and Microsoft Word are excellent at spellchecking. Take the time to pay attention.

Your grade will be based on the following points 5 Reading and Writing Assignment 20% 3 Formal Essays 30% 3 Essay Responses 15% 3 Evaluations 15% 4 Discussions 20%

Meeting the Minimum: Assignment rubrics for this course assume that the student has at least met the minimum requirements for each assignment including Reading and Writing Assignments, Essay Responses, and Formal Essays. Work that does not meet the minimum requirements will be graded according to the rubric and may be subject to reasonable additional penalties. Discussions (D1-4) Conversations with your peers are a bit hard to come by in online course and discussing ideas with others is a key component to critical thinking and academic writing. Over the course of the semester you will engage in 4 different discussions with your peers. To ensure that you are actually engaging in a rich discussion, you will be assigned into groups of three--groups will change weekly. This forces you to go beyond the generic "hit the word count and move on" response. You might actually like it. Or at least not totally hate it. Once you have posted your original response, and your peers have posted their original responses, you are required to respond to each member of the groups initial post. You do not have to entirely disagree or agree with the posting, but you do have to engage in it and write a thoughtful, critical, academic response. Once you have completed your original response and response for each peer, you are required to make a final response on the comments on your original post. You do not need to post a reply for each comment on your post, but you need to address them both in one thoughtful critical and academic response.

Each member will be responsible for four postings: initial post; peer response 1; peer response 2; and a final reply. Each posting will be worth one point, thus each discussion is worth 4 points. The odds are pretty good that not all members will post everything and they may not even participate. If they choose not to, and you complete what you can, you will not be penalized.

**Please note that initial posts have a different due date than the final discussion post. Make note of these due dates on the calendar.

Internet Access and Moodle Help Your success in this course depends entirely on Internet access. I suggest that you have regular access to a strong connection. If you cannot guarantee that you will have consistent access to the internet, DO NOT TAKE AN ONLINE COURSE. It would be wise to begin each assignment as soon as possible to ensure yourself enough time to contact the Help Desk at (208) 282-HELP if you experience any technical difficulties. It is important to remember that I have very limited knowledge of computer science. I am an English teacher. Please contact the help desk, or do a simply web search to help diagnose and fix any problems you are having.

It also might be a good idea to begin the assignment in Microsoft Word and copy and paste the final into Moodle. Doing so will allow you to save the assignment and if you cannot submit, you can always email the assignment to me-- -as an absolute last resort. Make sure the email is sent before the assignment is due and you must include your section number. All reading and writing assignments and discussion forums will not allow you to upload a document. No exceptions or extensions wil l be given due to individual Internet i ssues . Plan accordingly.

Besides being able to figure out your own internet-related problems, you are required to have some basic knowledge of Moodle. In most cases, your enrollment in this course suggests that you are somewhat comfortable with Moodle. If you are not, make sure that you spend a few minutes/hours looking around until you get comfortable with it.

You will be able to access and use the email feature in Moodle. This course is set up so that all emails to me will go directly into my ISU email inbox. Rather than respond to your message in Moodle, I will reply directly to your email account. Please check your CSI email for a response rather than the Moodle email feature.

Plagiarism: Incorporating a source without proper acknowledgement is plagiarizing. It does not matter if you forget to cite it or you do not realize that you are using work that is not originally yours. In addition to using a source without proper acknowledgement, using a translator of any kind constitutes plagiarism. If you plagiarize, I reserve the right to fail you for the course and to report your dishonesty to the university. This may result in your expulsion. For additional information refer to the Student Handbook.

Writing Center: The Writing Center is a valuable asset to the university as a whole and will no doubt serve you well if you make at least one visit during the course of the semester. You can make an appointment online (http://www.isu.edu/success/writing/index.shtml) or you can call 282-7924 (Idaho Falls) or 282-3662 (Pocatello). Remember to bring the essay prompt and a draft of your paper to the appointment. Disabilities: If you have or think you have a disability that requires additional accommodations please contact the ADA Disabilities Resource Center at 282-3599 or Gravely Hall, Room 123. It is your responsibility to make arrangements for assistance.

List of Due Dates for all Assignments –Subject to change

Week 1 5/19-Syllabus access 5/25—r/w 1

Week 2 5/26-Discussion 1 Initial Post

6/1-Discussion 1 Replies and r/w 2

Week 3 6/3-Essay 1 Rough Draft {Ethnography} 6/6-Peer Evaluations 6/8-Essay 1 {Ethnography} Week 4 6/9-Discussion 2 Initial Post 6/15-Discussion 2 Replies and r/w 3 Week 5 6/17-Essay 2 Rough Draft {Explanatory Synthesis} 6/20-Peer Evaluations 6/22-Essay 2 {Explanatory Synthesis} Week 6 6/23-Discussion 3 Initial Post 6/29-Discussion 3 Replies and r/w 4 Week 7 6/30—Discussion 4 Initial Post 7/6—Discussion 4 Replies and r/w 5 Week 8 7/8—Essay 3 Rough {Mock Argument Synthesis} 7/9—Peer Evaluations 7/11—Essay 3 Final {Mock Argument Synthesis}

Grading Rubric For Major Essay Audience & Purpose (10 points) A+ 99/ A 95/ A- 91 Consistently purposeful style and tome (word choice, arrangement, & POV) imply clear audience and purpose B+ 89/ B 85/ B-81 Purposeful style and tone (word choice, arrangement, & POV) imply audience(s) and/or purpose C+ 79/ C 75/ C-71 Lapses in style and tone (word choice, arrangement, and POV); multiple audiences or purposes D+ 69/ D 65/ D- 61 Hints at style and tone (word choice, arrangement, and POV); self-emphasis F 50…. Random Style and tone (word choice, arrangement, & POV); no discernable audience Thesis (10 points) A+ 99/ A 95/ A- 91 Thesis makes a clear, arguable assertion that reveals critical and purposeful and organization B+ 89/ B 85/ B-81 Thesis makes a clear, arguable assertion, but may lack critical or purposeful content organization C+ 79/ C 75/ C-71 Thesis offers unnecessarily form-driven organization and lacks critical or purposeful content organization D+ 69/ D 65/ D- 61 Thesis is unclear; it cannot stand alone as a complete and independent though F 50 No thesis Paragraph Organization (10 points) A+ 99/ A 95/ A- 91 Organization is content and assertion driven while properly attending to applicable modes B+ 89/ B 85/ B-81 Organization is content or assertion driven while largely attending to applicable modes C+ 79/ C 75/ C-71 Organization is unnecessarily form-drive, forces transitional words, or has an isolated unclear paragraph D+ 69/ D 65/ D- 61 Organization is loose, with no clear driving force or multiple unclear paragraphs F 50 No sense or arbitrary sense of organization; no definitive paragraphs Support/Evidence (10 Points) A+ 99/ A 95/ A- 91 Invaluable evidence, properly integrated and documented from a credible source when required B+ 89/ B 85/ B-81 Strong evidence, properly integrated and documented from a credible source when required C+ 79/ C 75/ C-71 Appropriate evidence, properly integrated and documented from a credible source when required D+ 69/ D 65/ D- 61 Hypothetical, inappropriate, or inaccurate evidence; non-credible source; poor integration or documentation F 50 No evidence; evidence improperly integrated and documented Development of Connections (10 Points) A+ 99/ A 95/ A- 91 Discussion of support thoroughly interconnects with other paragraphs and thesis B+ 89/ B 85/ B-81 Discussion of support often interconnects with other paragraphs and thesis C+ 79/ C 75/ C-71 Discussion of support shows relevance to adjacent paragraphs and thesis D+ 69/ D 65/ D- 61 Minimal discussion of support; Interconnections between paragraphs and thesis unclear at times F 50 No intentional effort to relate supporting evidence or paragraph to thesis Introduction and Conclusion (10 Points) A+ 99/ A 95/ A- 91 Thoroughly developed introduction and conclusion interrelated and show idea maturation from start to finish B+ 89/ B 85/ B-81 Developed introduction and conclusion interrelated, but may not show idea maturation from start to finish C+ 79/ C 75/ C-71 Unexciting introduction and conclusion offer no clear interrelation D+ 69/ D 65/ D- 61 Minimally developed introduction and/or conclusion with no clear uniting rhetorical strategy or hook F 50 Either introduction or conclusion or both are absent Grammar and Spelling (20 points) A+ 99/ A 95/ A- 91 Few to no errors in grammar and spelling B+ 89/ B 85/ B-81 Isolated to occasional errors in grammar and spelling C+ 79/ C 75/ C-71 One trend (3 or more of the same error) in the essay D+ 69/ D 65/ D- 61 Two or more trends (3 or more of the same error) F 50 Little to no attention paid to grammar or spelling Mechanics and Punctuation (20 points) A+ 99/ A 95/ A- 91 Few to no errors in mechanics or punctuation B+ 89/ B 85/ B-81 Isolated to occasional errors in mechanics or punctuation C+ 79/ C 75/ C-71 One trend (3 or more of the same error) in the essay, or Punctuation/ errors in Works Cited D+ 69/ D 65/ D- 61 Two or more trends (3 or more of the same error) in the essay, or Content errors/Missing information in Works Cited F 50 Little to no attention paid to mechanics or punctuation or no Works Cited

Essay Response Marking Guide {6} commands attention because of its insightful development and mature style. It presents a cogent response to the text, elaborating that response with well-chosen examples and persuasive reasoning. The 6 paper shows that its writer can usually choose words aptly, use sophisticated sentences effectively, and observe the conventions of written English. {5} clearly competent It presents a thoughtful response to the text, elaborating that response with appropriate examples and sensible reasoning. A 5 paper typically has a less fluent and complex style than a 6, but does show that its writer can usually choose words accurately, vary sentences effectively, and observe the conventions of written English. {4} Satisfactory, sometimes marginally so. It presents an adequate response to the text, elaborating that response with sufficient examples and acceptable reasoning. Just as these examples and this reasoning will ordinarily be less developed than those in 5 papers, so will the 4 paper's style be less effective. Nevertheless, a 4 paper shows that its writer can usually choose words of sufficient precision, control sentences of reasonable variety, and observe the conventions of written English. {3} unsatisfactory in one or more of the following ways. It may respond to the text illogically; it may lack coherent structure or elaboration with examples; it may reflect an incomplete understanding of the text or the topic. Its prose is usually characterized by at least one of the following: frequently imprecise word choice; little sentence variety; occasional major errors in grammar and usage, or frequent minor errors. {2} shows serious weaknesses, ordinarily of several kinds. It frequently presents a simplistic, inappropriate, or incoherent response to the text, one that may suggest some significant misunderstanding of the text or the topic. Its prose is usually characterized by at least one of the following: simplistic or inaccurate word choice; monotonous or fragmented sentence structure; many repeated errors in grammar and usage. {1} suggests severe difficulties in reading and writing conventional English. It may disregard the topic's demands, or it may lack any appropriate pattern of structure or development. It may be inappropriately brief. It often has a pervasive pattern of errors in word choice, sentence structure, grammar, and usage.

Reading and Writing Marking Guide {4---Accomplished} Knowledge of Convention--In addition to meeting the requirements for a “3,” the writing is essentially error free in terms of mechanics. Models the style and format appropriate to the assignment Clarity and Coherence--In addition to meeting the requirements of a “3,” writing flows smoothly from one idea to another. The writer has taken pains to assist the reader in following the logic of ideas expressed Rhetorical Choices--In addition to meeting the requirements for a “3,” the writer’s decisions about focus organization, style/tone and content made reading a pleasurable experience. Writing could be used as a model of how to fulfill the assignment {3—Competent} Knowledge of convention --While there may be minor errors, the writing follows normal conventions of spelling and grammar throughout and has been carefully proofread. Appropriate conventions for style and format are used consistently throughout the writing. Demonstrates thoroughness and competence in documenting sources. Clarity and Coherence--sentences structured and words chosen to communicate ideas clearly. Sequencing of ideas within paragraphs and transitions between paragraphs make the writer’s points easy to follow. Rhetorical Choices--The writer made good decisions about focus, organization, style/tone, and content to communicate clearly and effectively. The purpose and focus of the writing are clear to the reader and the organization and content achieve the purpose well. Writing follows all requirements for the assignment. {2---Developing} Knowledge of convention --Frequent errors in spelling, grammar (such as subject/verb agreements and tense), sentence structure and/or other writing conventions distract the reader. Writing does not consistently follow appropriate style and/or format. Source documentation is incomplete. It may be unclear which references are direct quotes and which are paraphrased. Clarity and Coherence-- Sometimes structure and/or word choice sometimes interfere with clarity. Needs to improve sequencing of ideas within paragraphs and transitions between paragraphs to make the writing easy to follow. Rhetorical Choices--The writer’s decisions about focus, organization, style/tone, and/or content sometimes interfere with clear, effective communication. The purpose of the writing is not fully achieved. All requirements of the assignment may not be fulfilled. {1---Beginning} Knowledge of convention--Writing contains numerous errors in spelling, grammar, and/or sentence structure which interfere with comprehension. Style and/or format are inappropriate for the assignment. Fails to demonstrate thoroughness and competence in documentation. Clarity and Coherence --Sentence structure, word choice, lack of transitions, and/or sequencing of ideas make reading and understanding difficult. Rhetorical Choices--The writer’s decision about focus, organization, style/tone, and/or content interfere with communication. The purpose of the writing is not achieved. Requirements of the assignment have not been fulfilled.