WR 121 Syllabus - Fall 2003

WR 121 Syllabus - Fall 2003 CRN #40583, Tues.&Thurs. 11:00 - 12:15, Jefferson 101 CRN #40589, Tues.&Thurs. 2:00 - 3:15, Jefferson 101 Instructor: Cora Agatucci, Ph.D. & Professor of English, Humanities Dept., Central Oregon Community College
HOW TO CONTACT CORA: Office Location: Deschutes 14 Office Hours: TBA; also by appointment See Cora's current Schedule - URL: http://web.cocc.edu/cagatucci/schedule.htm Office Phone & Voicemail: (541) 383-7522 Cora's Mailbox (Humanities Dept. Office, Bend campus): Modoc 226 Electronic mail: cagatucci@cocc.edu (Humanities Dept) Fax: (541) 330-4396 [please address faxes to Cora Agatucci] Cora's Home Page: New URL: http://web.cocc.edu/cagatucci/index.html
WR 121 Home \| Syllabus \| Course Plan WR 121 Final Essay Exam Policy	McBeth © 2002, Jason Graham used with the artist's permission

WR 121 Course Requirements

REQUIRED TEXTBOOK for Cora's sections of WR 121:

(1) Muller, Gilbert H. The McGraw-Hill Reader: Issues Across the Disciplines.
8th ed. Boston: McGraw-Hill, 2003. [Available for purchase in COCC Bookstore]

OTHER REQUIRED Materials & Resources:

(2) At least three (3) college examination bluebooks. [Available for purchase in COCC Bookstore]

(3) Resources/capability to print or zerox multiple readable copies of selected writing assignments, as required.

(4) Resources/capability to wordprocess or type Final Drafts of graded writing assignments prepared outside class (as opposed to in-class essays to be written in bluebooks)

(5) Some online readings from the WR 121 Course Web will be assigned.

Basic computer skills will prove very helpful in WR 121 - esp. experience using word processing (to produce formal graded writing assignments) and the internet (to access the WR 121 Course web and some online readings). All currently registered COCC students are assigned a COCC Student E-Mail / Network Account - FREE! - which enables you to use COCC computers during open Computer Lab hours.
Learn more: Student Computing (General Information & Links):
New URL: http://web.cocc.edu/plab/
Student Computer Accounts:
New URL: http://web.cocc.edu/plab/computer_accounts/computer_acc.htm
Open Computer Lab Hours (Bend Campus: Pioneer Hall Rm. 200 & COCC Library Rm. 118) - New URL: http://web.cocc.edu/plab/hours/hours.htm

If you have any questions or need more information, you can also contact Computer Lab Coordinator:Telephone:(541) 383-7719 (or ext. 7719); E-mail: mmccullough@cocc.edu
or stop by the Computer Lab Office: Pioneer 200 - Room 200E.

Optional/Recommended:

--A writing handbook, like Hacker, Diana. A Pocket Style Manual. 3rd ed. Boston: Bedford-St. Martin's, 2000. NOTE: Hacker text is available in COCC Bookstore for purchase, but equivalent handbook or online resources like the following would do just as well:

Diana Hacker's web site is full of great resources for writers and researchers:
URL: http://www.dianahacker.com/
Hacker's Online Resources
URL: http://www.dianahacker.com/resources.htm
Hacker's A Pocket Style Manual Companion Website:
URL: http://www.dianahacker.com/pocket/
NEW: Additional Resources: Links Library
URL: http://www.dianahacker.com/pocket/links.html
NEW: Updated MLA Style Guide, 2003 (.pdf document requires Adobe Acrobat Reader):
URL: http://www.dianahacker.com/pdf/Hacker-DocSources.pdf
Hacker & Fister's Research & Documentation Online (Bedford-St. Martin's):
URL: http://www.dianahacker.com/resdoc/
Another way into Hacker's Research & Documentation Online:
URL: http://dianahacker.com/bedhandbook/subpages/documentation.html

--Recently published college dictionary & thesaurus.
--Inexpensive manila folder of some kind in which to submit bulky assignments (i.e. preliminary drafts, outlines, etc. with final drafts and optional revisions) can prove more secure than relying on a paper clip or trying to get a staple through multiple pages.
--COCC Writing Lab (drop-in tutoring) when you need extra help with writing assignments
for this or other classes. Onsite Writing Lab is located in the basement of the COCC Library. Writing Lab hours will be announced during Week #2 of the term. Tutoring is on a drop-in, first come first serve basis.

WR 121 Placement & Prerequisites

Students must meet one of the following prerequisites in order to enroll in Writing 121:

1. Achieve an ASSET Writing Placement TEST Score of 43 or higher;
OR
2. Complete WR .5257, WR 40, or WR 95 with a grade of "C" or higher; OR complete RD 99A and RD 99B with a grade of "C" or higher;
OR
3. Complete equivalent course(s) taken at a previous college with a grade of "C" or higher [coded on SOATEST, and documented with an official transcript from the previous college].

The above WR 121 Course Prerequisites are meant to ensure that enrolled students are adequately prepared to succeed in this course, by having already acquired these basic college entry-level competencies:

Ability to follow the conventions of standard written English—that is, to write well-formed sentences with generally correct grammar, usage, punctuation, spelling, and mechanics
Ability to write paragraphs and short essays that are organized by a single central idea and supported by specific development
Ability to communicate clearly and coherently in writing to specific audiences
Ability to think critically, read actively with understanding and analyze college level texts

WR 121 Prerequisites Override Policy

Students who do not meet one of the above prerequisites may be cleared to enroll in WR 121 only if they obtain the permission of the Writing 121 instructor or an approved designee (e.g. Humanities Dept. Composition Committee Chair) by meeting one of the following criteria:

1. Retake the ASSET Writing Placement test and earn a score of 43 or higher;
OR
2. Submit a single, college-level essay (or an essay equivalent such as a report) as a writing sample that is judged to demonstrate achievement of WR 40 and/or WR 95 exit competencies and readiness for successful entry into WR 121.

(Approved by the Humanities Dept. Composition Committee, 5/30/01)

Welcome to Writing 121!

Writing 121 is an introductory college-level writing course required by many COCC programs, certificates and associate’s degrees. WR 121 emphasizes effective college-level critical thinking, reading and writing skills--focusing on writing essays with a thesis, as well as summary and rhetorical analyses of selected readings. WR 121 implements rhetorical approaches to reading, thinking, and writing as conscious communication acts, providing instruction and practice in effective principles for communicating writers' purposes with their intended readers--skills needed for success in college, as well as civic and professional life.

WHAT WILL YOU LEARN IN WRITING 121?

WR 121 COURSE LEARNING OUTCOMES (or Objectives). Upon successful completion of WR 121 (with a grade of "C" or better), students will be able to:

*Outcome 1 Write essays that use a thesis to establish control over content; supply relevant and adequate supporting details drawn from observation, personal experience and/or responsive reading; employ the organizational strategies of effective beginnings, transitions, and endings; and conform to standard edited English.

*Outcome 2 Achieve outcome 1 under time constraints (prior to the final exam), while conforming to expectations of an assigned topic and of edited English appropriate for timed writing.

Outcome 3 Demonstrate the ability to use a variety of expository essay patterns, such as definition, classification, analysis, problem-solution, and comparison-contrast.

*Outcome 4 Employ one or more sources responsibly (without plagiarizing) in a summary or another writing assignment.

Outcome 5 Demonstrate, in an essay, a sustained style employing rhetorically effective tone, persona, diction, idiom, and syntax.

Outcome 6 Use critical reading and writing to analyze and synthesize ideas in an academic writing sample, identifying rhetorical patterns, major assertions, and supporting details.

Outcome 7 Complete appropriate written critical peer reviews of student essay drafts, including suggestions for revision and editing.

Outcome 8 Complete at least one (formal or informal) written review of the student's own writing strengths and weaknesses, including effective self-prescriptions for improvement.

Outcome 9 Demonstrate, monitor, and articulate the complete idiosyncratic process that the individual writer uses to complete an essay, including such steps as invention, thesis formation, organization, drafting, revising, editing, and proofreading

Outcome 10 Demonstrate an awareness of a variety of purposes and audiences.

Revised by Humanities Dept. Composition Committee, 1-28-02

WR 121 Course Grading
20%	Course Preparation/Participation Credits [PC] - "PC" points awarded based on thoughtful work completion skill-building assignments & participation in class activities (e.g. Exercises, Preliminary Drafts & required copies, participation in Writer's Workshops). Late/"Make-Up" of "PC" assignments/activities may be permitted by arrangement with Cora.
20%	2 Formal Academic Summaries & Rhetorical Analyses - letter graded. Revision Option will be offered if turned in on time. Late Summaries & Rhetorical Analyses will be penalized 1/2 letter grade.
20%	Essay #1 ("Out of Class") - letter graded. Revision Option will be offered if Preliminary & Final Drafts are turned in on time. Late out-of-class Essays will be penalized 1/2 letter grade.
40%	Essays #2, #3, & Final Exam Essay ( timed "In-Class" essays) - scored using Final Exam Essay evaluation criteria, and letter graded: 2 highest grades [ @ 20%] will be computed in determining final course grade, but see also WR 121 Final Exam Essay Policy. Late/"Make-Up" not allowed and no revision option on In-Class Essays. NOTE WELL: Passing score/grade on WR 121 Final Exam Essay is required to earn a passing grade in WR 121. See WR 121 Final Exam Essay Policy.

Plagiarism Policy & Manuscript Form

Plagiarism Policy: Plagiarism—intended or not—is a serious violation of academic honesty and legal intellectual property rights. Proper citations and documentation of any sources that you quote, paraphrase, and/or summarize in your writing are required whenever you borrow the words, facts, and/or ideas of others. NOTE WELL that even putting others’ ideas into your own words still means you are borrowing, and you need to give credit where credit is due.

To avoid plagiarism, source(s) must be cited and documented, both:

(a) at the point in your papers where the borrowing occurs (using parenthetical citations for most documentation styles), and

(b) in complete bibliographical entries for all sources cited, usually listed at the end of formal essays and research papers.

Quick and acceptable ways of citing your sources, using MLA style, in written assignments will be discussed further in class and/or in assignment direction handouts.

Plagiarism in any Wr 121 formal writing assignment is grounds for an "F" on that assignment.

Manuscript Form: With the exception of in-class essays, the Final Drafts of letter-graded writing assignments must:

be typed or word processed using a standard, readable font & point size;
be double spaced;
be printed on only one side of standard-sized (8 1/2" X 11") white paper;
have one-inch margins on all four sides of each printed page;
avoid plagiarism & cite sources (see above);
be carefully edited before submission for grading
be properly identified with standard MLA-style Heading and Running-Page Headers:

MLA-style Heading (see example below), placed on the first page in the upper left-hand corner (please do not prepare a separate title page) - Example:

Janet Mikulski (your name)
Wr 121, Prof. C. Agatucci (identify course & instructor)
Essay #1 - Final Draft (identify assignment)
2 October 2002 (identify date assignment is due)

MLA-style Running Page Header (see example below) placed in the
upper right-hand corner on subsequent pages - Example:

Mikulski 2
(your last name and the page number)

Students with Special Needs

Students with special needs who . . .

have documented disabilities requiring special accommodations,
have any emergency medical information that the instructor should know of,
and/or
require special arrangements in the event of an evacuation,

. . . should meet to discuss special needs as early as possible in the first week of the term, with:

the instructor of this course [see How to Contact Cora above], and
the COCC Disability Services Office, in BEC [Boyle Education Center], telephone (541) 383-7583, or ext. 7583.