ENG 1113: ENGLISH COMPOSITION
CRN # 14990/14991
LAR 135
MWF 8:00-8:50 AM
FALL 2016
UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL OKLAHOMA
ENGLISH DEPARTMENT
COLLEGE OF LIBERAL ARTS
INSTRUCTOR INFORMATION
Professor Alisha Chambers
405-974-5668
LAR 118
[email protected]
MWF 12:00 am – 1:00 pm and by appointment
COURSE DESCRIPTION AND OBJECTIVES
CATALOGUE DESCRIPTION
This course provides instruction in college level writing, covering grammatical skills, rhetorical issues,
and cognitive abilities necessary to produce effective academic prose. The primary purpose of first-year
English is to produce writers of competent expository prose by providing an environment, which acts as
an initiation into the academic world.
PREREQUISITES
None
TRANSFORMATIVE LEARNING OUTCOMES
Transformative learning is a holistic process that places students at the center of their own active and
reflective learning experiences. All students at the University of Central Oklahoma will have
transformative learning experiences in six core areas: discipline knowledge; leadership; research;
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creative and scholarly activities; service learning and civic engagement; global and cultural
competencies; and health and wellness.
This course supports the following tenets of transformative learning:

Discipline Knowledge—students explore, discuss, and practice the techniques, conventions,
and processes that produce college-level writing.

Global and Cultural Competency—students read and write analytically about global and
cultural issues and direct writing to diverse audiences.

Problem Solving (Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activities)—students analyze complex
texts, produce creative and scholarly papers and presentations, conduct limited and
focused research, and document sources.

Service Learning and Civic Engagement—in service learning sections, students write about
a significant service learning experience; in other sections, students learn how the public
use of language has the potential to affect an audience and to effect a change in their
communities.

Health and Wellness—students read about, write about, and discuss those intellectual,
emotional, and spiritual issues that give human existence vitality and meaning.
COURSE OBJECTIVES
Upon completion of the course, successful students will be able to:
•
Balance claims and evidence within various pieces of writing, how to develop a complex central
controlling idea (or thesis), and how to analyze a range of texts and writing subjects.
•
Develop a sense of purpose when writing, how to deliver the significance or “so what?” of a
paper to readers, and how to aim writing at a various particular audiences.
•
Present ideas logically or in the order generally dictated by the genre of writing being
undertaken, how to organize writing into effective introductions, conclusions, and body
paragraphs, how to sequence individual sentences effectively within paragraphs, and how to
create smooth transitions between ideas and paragraphs.
•
Write with an engaging voice, how to use a variety of sentence structures effectively, how to
adjust word choice for various audiences, and how to use quotations and paraphrases
effectively.
•
Document sources properly and avoid plagiarism, how to follow the conventions of standard
written English.
•
Revise writing by working through multiple drafts of an assignment, how to be more aware of
one’s individual writing process, how to proofread and edit one’s own work as well as others’,
how to give and incorporate feedback into one’s writing.
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TEXTBOOKS/REFERENCE MATERIAL
You have no assigned book to buy. I will provide your course material.
Use Purdue Owl, MLA or APA for in-text citations and reference pages. Also refer to Purdue Owl’s
General Writing categories for the process, grammar and punctuation, and rhetoric.
OTHER SUPPLIES OR RESOURCES
-An extra folder to hand in portfolios.
-Paper and pen/pencil, daily.
COURSE OUTLINE, GRADING, AND PARTICIPATION REQUIREMENTS
COURSE OUTLINE
Please refer to attached sheet.
DATE AND TIME OF FINAL EXAM
There is no final exam. There WILL be a final portfolio due during the scheduled final exam time. (This
project can be turned in the last day of class if preferred.)
NAMES AND DESCRIPTIONS OF REQUIRED ASSIGNMENTS AND PERCENTAGES FOR EACH
ASSIGNMENT
Final Portfolio: 50%
Midterm Portfolio: 20%
Class Participation (participation in discussion, in-class writing, and quizzes): 15%
Journals/Homework: 10%
Drafts: 5%
GRADING SCALE
I will use the four-point scale to calculate final grades.
The word grades can be translated into the following numeric scores: Excellent = 4, Strong = 3, Fair = 2,
Weak = 0. We will use the following grading scale for portfolios and for the final course grade.
A=4.0-3.67
B=3.5-2.67
C=2.5-1.67
D=1.5-1.33
F ≤ 1.0
CLASS MANAGEMENT INFORMATION
ATTENDANCE POLICY
The First-Year Composition Program has a standard attendance policy for all courses in the program.
Upon the ninth absence in a MWF section, the student will fail the course. Absences due to a university
sponsored event or military service will not be counted towards these totals. Please note that tardiness
is rude; the consequence of three tardies is equal to one absence, and these can add up quickly.
LATE WORK POLICY
Late work will be penalized. I do NOT accept late work via email or any other electronic format. If you
email me your assignments to prove it is not late, you must still bring me a physical copy.
PLAGIARISM POLICY
Essentially, do no submit work that is not your own. I’d rather you hand me crappy work than
someone else’s. Plagiarism is a form of academic dishonesty in which a student presents the words
or ideas of another author in a way that intentionally misleads a reader to believe that the words
or ideas were the student’s. Instructors have numerous options for dealing with confirmed cases of
plagiarism, ranging from asking students to repeat an assignment to failure of the course and other
severe university sanctions. The procedures for dealing with confirmed cases of academic
dishonesty are located in the Student Code of Conduct, section IV.D.4.
TURNITIN.COM POLICY
UCO subscribes to the Turnitin.com plagiarism prevention service. Students agree that by taking this
course, all required assignments may be subject to submission for textual similarity review to
Turnitin.com for the detection of plagiarism. All submitted assignments will be included as source
documents in the Turnitin.com restricted access reference database for the purpose of detecting
plagiarism of such assignments. Use of the Turnitin.com service is subject to the Terms and Conditions
of Use posted on the Turnitin.com website. Turnitin.com is just one of various plagiarism prevention
tools and methods which may be utilized by your faculty instructor during the terms of the semesters.
TECHNOLOGY POLICY
Phones should be turned off before the start of class unless I say otherwise.
OTHER UCO POLICIES
UCO STUDENT INFORMATION SHEET AND SYLLABUS ATTACHMENT
Please refer to the following URL for more information regarding UCO policies.
http://www.uco.edu/academic-affairs/files/aa-forms/StudentInfoSheet.pdf
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ENG 1113 Fall 2016 Schedule (assignments and lessons are subject to change)
8/22
Read the Syllabus, Roll Cards, and Ice Breaker Activities.
Homework: Read Chapter One (p.2-9).
8/24
Chapter One: Critical Thinking and the Art of Questioning.
Assign paper one: Autoethnography Essay.
Homework: Using one-two sentences for each, address each bullet point in the paper for your
chosen group. You may have to do this with more than one group before you settle on the right
group for this paper.
8/26
MLA format, and brainstorming. Cutting the Clutter Presentation. Write your own obituary—
lesson on format and audience.
Homework: Read Chapter Three (p.38-46) and bring in polished obituary.
8/29
Due: Polished Obituary due in class.
Chapter Three: Writing and the Art of Questioning. Cutting the Clutter Practice.
Homework: Rough Draft of paper one due next class.
8/31
Due: Rough Draft of Paper One.
Peer Review.
Homework: Read Amy Tan’s “Mother Tongue” handout. Underline and highlight lines or
passages that affect you or stop you.
9/2
Amy Tan’s essay. Free write, Power of language, Interpret experiences.
Homework: Journal entry number one due next class (Sept. 7th).
9/5
Labor Day, No Classes
9/7
Due: Journal Entry One.
Watch Futurama’s “A Taste of Freedom.” Analyze characters.
9/9
Conferences, Thursday 9/8 and today, no class.
9/12
Example essays. (Teacher’s essay and student’s essay) Grading criteria.
Homework: Read Chapter Five (p. 88-91 and 100-103).
9/14
Watch Family Guy’s “I Am Peter, Hear Me Roar.”
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Sketch and draft a profile based off of the questions and criteria in chapter 5.
Homework: Evaluation draft due next class.
9/16
Due: Evaluation Draft of Paper One.
Introduce Ad Analysis Paper to the class. Rhetorical Criticism.
Burke’s Pentad. Analysis of Commercials.
9/19
“The Method.” Print ad analysis.
9/21
Practice Analysis of Commercials in class.
9/23
Practice Analysis of Commercials in class.
9/26
Create Group Ads.
9/28
No Class. Gender and Sexuality Conference.
9/30
Grammar and Rhetorical Fallacies.
Homework: Rough Draft Due next class.
10/3
Due: Rough Draft of Paper Two.
Peer Review.
10/5
Read example Ad Analysis Papers.
10/7
Sentence Combining.
10/10 Begin Persuaders.
Homework: Journal Entry Two due on Friday, Oct. 14th.
10/12 Conferences, Wednesday and Thursday 10/13.
10/14 Due: Journal Entry Two
Finish Persuaders. Discuss Branding.
10/17 Partner/Group Ad workshop
Homework: Evaluation Draft of Paper Two due next class.
10/19 Due: Evaluation Draft of Paper Two.
Introduce Paper Three. Teach Toulmin Basics.
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Homework: Read “An Introduction to Satire.”
10/21 Fall Break, No Classes.
10/24 Introduce Midterm with checklist.
Class Discussion on Satire.
10/26 Discuss Utopia and Conformity. Free write.
10/28 Play it Again Sam: Analysis vs. Summary.
Homework: Read “The Ones That Walk Away From Omelas.”
10/31 Class Discussion on “The Ones That Walk Away From Omelas.”
11/2
Watch South Park, “Cash for Gold.” Discuss.
Homework: Midterm due next class.
11/4
Due: Midterm due in class.
Watch Doctor Who, “Bad Wolf.”
Homework: Read “Harrison Bergeron.”
11/7
Class Discussion on “Bad Wolf” and “Harrison Bergeron.”
11/9
Toulmin Group Work.
11/11 Bring Your Computer. Free Day to write in class.
Homework: Rough Draft of Paper Three due next class.
11/14 Due: Rough Draft of Paper Three.
Peer Review in class.
11/16 Language and Word Choice.
11/18 Introduction x3. Grammar and Revision.
11/21 Fun Thanksgiving Surprise.
11/23 Thanksgiving Break, no classes.
11/25 Thanksgiving Break, no classes.
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11/28 Due: Evaluation Draft of Paper Three.
Begin Equilibrium.
11/30 Continue Equilibrium.
12/2
Finish Equilibrium. Discuss satirical and utopic elements and context.
12/5
Introduce Final Portfolio checklist. Revision in Class.
12/7
Revision in Class.
12/9
Revision in Class.
12/12-12/16 Finals Week
Final Portfolio Due Monday, December 12, 2016 between 8:00 am and Noon in my office, LAR 118.