English 200.01 Southern Connecticut State University Spring 2007
Dr. Will Hochman
203 392 5024
Engleman D Wing 276
hochmanw1@southernct.edu
http://www.southernct.edu/~hochman/willz.html
Welcome to English 200 Intermediate Composition: Finding Ourselves in Cyberspace. We will spend this term progressively exploring composing processes by thinking, reading, researching, and writing about the ways we learn to understand our use of computers, and the the ways we become who we are in cyberspace. The central focus of the course will be to improve our writing and researching abilities while also learning our way around cyberspace. We begin this course by understanding that writing is an individual process that requires hard work and honest involvement with our traditional and changing worlds of ideas, and that we all have something to teach each other about cyberspace. There are no experts that understand all things computer-related, but if we work together we can effectively advance our own expertise with traditional writing skill and evolving technologies..
We will use many web sites for this course but the most important one is:
http://www.southernct.edu/~hochman/willz.html
This is my home/teaching site, and the link to English 200 will be our class page.
You are encouraged to creatively and critically explore all learning possibilities as a writer. Most of your writing will involve your individual choices about aspects of cyberspace that most directly concern you. I believe that students learn to write well when they work hard on their essays because they care about what they are writing. We will use our course focus on cyberspace as a foundation for thinking that will become part of your writing. To begin this course, consider your own computing resources and those at SCSU (http://www.southernct.edu/departments/acc/facilities/sz003b.html). You will also do plenty of writing about your own writing processes and about your responses to assigned essays and the writing of other students. At all times you are welcome and encouraged to talk to me about your individual learning concerns. Hopefully, we can all get to know each other, respect each other, learn from each other, and appreciate our time together this term.
One of the most important contexts of learning is to create a class and effective writing community that provides effective ways for us to explore and articulate our knowledge and experience. One of the best ways to build our new learning space is to acknowledge that we can all learn from each other. Exploring cyberspace may indeed provide us with a greater need to collaborate, so consider yourselves pathfinders and early adapters of new SCSU learning space. We will be among the first English classes to blog and create web pages. If we teach each other well, we’ll create some good learning tracks for others to follow while enhancing our awareness and acumen as 21st Century writers.
Learning Goals
1) To develop ways to create interest, style, and power in our prose
2) To learn how to use computers and further our understanding of what academic discourse can do to help us explore our best ideas about cyberspace
3) To practice ways to fuse critical and creative thinking into "multigenre" essays that create hypertextual understanding about issues that most concern us in cyberspace
4) To practice research skills including planning, seeking and evaluating sources, drafting, synthesizing sources with our own ideas, presenting finished work, and practicing correct Modern Language Association (MLA) as a documentation style that shows readers how ideas are integrated into essays
In addition to addressing your individual learning objectives as powerfully as possible, we will achieve success with these four goals in a number of ways. We will read, re-read, and discuss essays, articles, stories, poems, and web sites. Along with exploring ideas about how computers affect our lives, we will also focus on improving our writing by critically reading and practicing some of William Zinsser’s practical literacy advice in On Writing Well. And finally, we will compose, research, revise, and revise again as needed to create a web page displaying each student's portfolio of three, researched essays, each students most useful writing links, and each students self presentation as part of a class web site. Given the quality of our resources, and the flexibility with writing challenges, there really are no limits to what we may learn and write for ourselves. Improving writing styles and increasing the power of our ideas and language use requires constant effort and enough self discipline to do the work of this course on a daily basis. As with all L-Courses, this one is writing intensive focused on the goal of helping you obtain and advance life-long writing skills.
Office Hours
All students are strongly encouraged to visit with me during office hours which will be MW: 3:30-4:30, TR: 4:30-6:00 & gladly by appointment.. All students are required to have at least two teacher-student conferences during the term, though many more are encouraged. One student-professor conference will be arranged during class, one student-professor conference will be arranged by you (when needed), and all students are encouraged to seek as much individual help during office hours and through email as needed.
Indivdual Concerns
Please inform me as soon as possible about any special learning needs or necessary classroom accommodations. As a student with a disability, you will receive accommodations in this class, and you should make an appointment (392 6828) with the Disability Resource Center located in EN C 105A to arrange for approved accommodations if you have not already done so. However, if you would like to speak with me informally about anything individual that needs our mutual attention, please see me immediately after class. All students are encouraged to contact me by email, phone, or office visit whenever you think you have an individual learning concern.
All writing students are also strongly encouraged to use tutoring resources in the Writing Center (392-6824) in Engleman 012. I will make every attempt to help you address your individual learning problems, but some writers need tutors and teachers. We are fortunate at SCSU to be able to offer excellent, free tutoring and I strongly encourage writers at all levels to use the help of intelligent readers.
You can find out more about SCSU computing resources by going to: http://www.southernct.edu/departments/acc/facilities/sz003b.html . SCSU not only provides you with great hardware and software, but you can get computer help easily almost anytime. However, if you are not clear about how to solve tech problems, I’ll try my best to help and advise.
Required for Class
Please buy a loose leaf binder to collect paper handouts, your research on your individual grammatical and mechanical writing problems, all required drafts of assignments, and all of your research notes for your essays, and print-outs of your online work. You are required to keep all class materials that you receive and generate. Please date each entry so you have a good record of your constant involvement in this class. I will collect your class materials near the end of the term to help me determine your grade for effort and improvement.
Please make sure you have a functioning MYSCSU email account. (If you prefer your own address, just go into your MYSCSU account and set it up to forward your mail to your own personal address if that is your preference.)
Please ensure that you have daily access to the Internet for email and assigned Internet links.
Please buy at least 2 disks to use in and out of class to back up all work. You must test your disks at home and in class so you can avoid disk-related problems while easily transporting and backing up all of your class work, and you can learn to use the disk space provided for you by SCSU.
On Writing Well by William Zinnser
Course Policies
Course policies begin with respecting our own and others’ ideas, and with reading and writing all assignments. It will be our policy to be writers and think about our individual writing, reading and researching processes. All questions are apropos. Students are expected to really think about important ideas within our topics by questioning readings critically and by thinking about creative ways to understand and express interesting ideas. Students must write all assignments to achieve a passing grade. Essays should be formatted as college-level work. Handing in all assignments (including drafts) on time will help us manage the course most effectively. Handing in more than two major writing assignments (idea structure or drafts) late will lower the final grade one plus or minus level and continue to lower the grade at that level for each additional late paper. Handing in more than three assignments late will lower you class participation grade one level. Essays (or drafts) will not be accepted more than one week after the due date without permission, though extensions can be negotiated when circumstances (in my judgment) are reasonable. Students are required to do, collect and keep all in-class and out-of-class writing, and students are required to back up their word processed writing on a separate disc. We will use computers and the Internet often in this class. If you are an inexperienced computer user, please immediately visit with our Student Technology Resource Center (Schwartz 003B).
It will be our class policy to try to get to know each member of the class and to try to have some fun! Also, all students are encouraged criticize classes (and the professor), and to suggest alternative readings and learning activities to improve our classes.
All drafts of essays should be formatted using these following six college writing guidelines because practicing use of these guidelines will help ensure that all of your college writing is presentable.
1) Essays are word processed. Students are strongly encouraged to find effective ways to use the computer labs at SCSU and to ask questions about how to use computer resources. Essays for web posting should be submitted in Microsoft Word.
2) Essays are double spaced and use 12-point font (Times or Times New Roman).
3) Paragraphs are not indented and separated with an extra line space between each paragraph.
4) All essay pages are numbered on paper and un-numbered when sent as files, use one-inch margins, and are stapled or clipped together when printed. When a file is sent, a good title that is easy for a reader to understand should be part of the file name.
5) Essays begin with the student’s name, the due date, the course number (with section) and the professor’s name separately spaced against the left-hand margin. The title of the essay should be centered and in bold on the first page below the heading. (All essays in this class must be titled.)
6) MLA citation style must be used to document sources. The class will review resources on using the MLA in your textsand online to ensure that sources are correctly documented according to Modern Language Association (MLA) style. Hanging indents are required on paper but not in cyberspace.
Description of Writing
Students will read short stories, essays, poems, and web pages and send their responses to our class cyberspace.
To begin each of the major writing projects, students will compose idea structures (plans) that include at least one paragraph of thesis thinking and introduction, one paragraph of concluding thinking, a detailed outline of the essay, and 5 potential sources listed in MLA style. Each of the idea structures will be 2-3 pages in length. Students will work in small workshop groups with each other and the professor to discuss research and writing possibilities begun in the idea structures.
To advance ideas, students will write research and complete drafts of each of the major essays that are more than 5 pages in length, that include several genres or media, and use more than 5 sources for each of the three essays. Students will workshop these drafts in small groups and the professor will provide in-class guidance and as much help as needed in class and during office hours.
To finish drafts, students will revise major essays that are more than 5 pages in length and include more than 8 sources in each the three essays. Students will do paired copy-editing and grading before handing in final drafts for close reading, commenting.
To present drafts in their final e-portfolios, Students will revise the major essays that are more than 5 pages in length and include more than 10 sources in each of the three essays.
To continuously improve writing processes, students will find and annotate helpful writing and research links.
To remain mindful of the complexities and delights of hypertext, students will write several short, creative texts about cyberspace that may become part of their essays.
To gain greater foci on writing processes, students will do reflective writing for each of the three essays and for their final portfolio.
Grades in the A range are earned by writers who show advanced expository, creative and analytical thinking in a coherent, well-researched, cohesive manner, as well as showing advanced consciousness and sophistication with their writing processes. These writers are typically trying to be creative and intelligent and they will use significant support and appropriate tones to achieve results readers find interesting and informative. Their texts will be relatively free of syntax problems, their texts’ meanings will not be obscured by grammatical and mechanical errors, and their use of sources will be wisely, honestly and correctly synthesized into their essays. Writers earning A’s will be the ones others want to listen to when the class discusses readings, as well as the ones who offer others helpful ideas with writing. These writers rarely if ever miss classes or deadlines.
Grades in the B range are earned by writers who achieve good success with most assignments. B range students are practicing expository, creative and analytical thinking in a generally coherent, well-researched and cohesive manner. B range writers are typically becoming more aware of writing processes and attempting to express complex ideas more carefully. Their work is often supported with the ideas of others and their finished texts will occasionally but not consistently exhibit problems with grammar, punctuation, syntax and documentation. Writers in the B range will regularly contribute to class discussion and complete assigned work in ways that exceed minimal, college-level expectations.
Grades in the C range are earned by writers who complete the course challenges in a satisfactory manner. Though doing the work, the C range writer is not as much engaged in the progressive writing and thinking growth of the class’s learning community as B or A writers. The grade of C reflects ongoing concerns with individual literacy challenges and is achieved by consistent work and attention to writing processes. Sometimes, students in the C range may write or do work in the A or B range, but not consistently.
Sometimes, but not often, students are close to doing satisfactory work and they may earn a grade in the D range by at least attempting to answer all writing and reading challenges and showing progress.
Failure to attend class regularly and failure to complete all writing and reading assignments will result in a grade of F.
Before handing in our first essay, students will discuss a grading rubric in class to better understand how our class’s essays will be valued. Your writing will receive careful scrutiny from peers and teacher, and those comments will help you to improve the writing for inclusion in your graded final portfolios. Working with online media (blogs, web pages, email, message board, chat, etc.) will achieve 15% of your grade. The three graded essays will achieve 30% (10% for each essay) of your grade. Your final portfolio of the three revised essays and your reflective writing and self-evaluation will achieve 30% of your grade, class participation will achieve 15% of your grade, and 10% of your grade will be based on effort and improvement. Grade approximations at any time in the term are available in conference upon request.
Since research is central in our class, we need to understand plagiarism. When students plagiarize, they intentionally use someone else’s words or ideas without documenting sources. Instead of stealing someone’s words or ideas, we will learn to use them more powerfully with documentation. Quoting an authority’s words or citing someone else’s ideas almost always strengthens our own thinking. Issues of plagiarism, when not intentionally trying to deceive readers, almost always result in better understanding about how to use sources. If there is any doubt about plagiarism, please discuss them with the professor or Writing Center tutors. Intentional plagiarists will not pass this class and may be expelled from the university because learning to be proud of the academic ways we present our research and our own thinking is what this course is all about. See the SCSU Student Handbook (pages 80-81) for our official statement on academic honesty.
Absences
Our class work will be centered on workshopping and helping each other understand the texts and ideas about cyberspace that we will experience together. Therefore our class contributions must be strongly valued. After three absences, ongoing, absences will lower the final grade one plus or minus per absence, and more than six absences will result in failure. If there are exceptional circumstances regarding absences, please inform the professor as soon as possible. All possible consideration and flexibility will be offered. If you know you will have to be absent, try to discuss the absence in advance. (See "What to do when absent" on our homepage.)
Class Plans (See "Plans" on our section of the homepage for links to each month's detailed plans)
The term will involve reading and discussing a variety of stories, poems, essays, and web sites. The purpose of our reading assignments will be to develop writing ideas about cyberspace. We will practice many forms of writing such as email, freewriting, creative writing, expository writing, blogging, criticism, research writing, rewriting, reflective writing, and web writing. Students will create idea structures, drafts, final drafts, and web portfolio drafts of their three major essays. Each stage of this process will include input from students and the professor to facilitate and improve your revision processes. If we work well together, it’s more than likely we will improve our abilities to participate in meaningful academic discourse while also improving our knowledge of cyberspace. In this class we will explore a variety of ways writers may compose, research and respond to texts, and we will create our own class web site to exhibit our final work. Plans are subject to change based on class needs, but in general we will adapt a rhythm of reading, writing and talking that will include peer collaboration, research, conferences, instruction about writing, practice with writing, careful responses to our ideas, and an evolving consciousness of our writing skills, resources, and individual interests.
There will be no midterm exam and the final exam will be a brief individual conference during our assigned time in the exam week so that we can discuss the results of your final portfolio. These plans are flexible and students are strongly encouraged to actively discuss class planning during all stages of the term. In fact, student contributions and changes to this syllabus are welcome and encouraged. You will receive detailed, day by day plans for each month (see September Plans on our website), and all readings will be supplied as handouts, web sites, and library reserves.
We will creatively compose our own, individual assignments and reflectively present them to our learning community. In the first week, the course will begin by thinking about some of our writing strengths and weaknesses, writing about our last experience with research, writing paired stories, and by thinking about our own responsibilities for our educational success. If you work hard to improve and care about your ideas, you will be successful in this class. I will support every one in this class equally and learn to respect your individuality, creativity, intelligence, and diligence.
Our first writing assignment (due Wednesday!) will be a letter to Will that will: 1) tell your reader about who you really are and what are some of the specific things (use url’s and web page titles) that interest you about cyberspace, 2) address the strengths and weaknesses you have as a writer, 3) recall key aspects from other writing classes, 4) respond to aspects of this syllabus, and 5) discuss any individual learning concerns in terms of both strengths and weaknesses. Your letter should be word-processed, signed, and exceed 2 pages—this work will provide me with a good writing sample and insights about you. Please do your best to compose interesting writing and keep in mind that we all need to continue improving ourselves as writers and life-long learners. Your letter responding to the course and syllabus, as well as presenting yourself as a writer should enable all of us to get to know each other and work more effectively with each other.