ENGLISH 1102: 31 – ENGLISH COMPOSITION II
SPRING 2015
Dr. Keith Perry
Phone: (706) 272-4409 / (800) 829-4436
E-mail: [email protected]
Webpage: www.daltonstate.edu/faculty/kperry
Office: Liberal Arts 214
Office Hours: Tu 11:00-12:15, 2:00-6:00;
Th 11:00-12:15, 2:30-4:00;
and by appointment
COURSE DESCRIPTION
As explained in the Dalton State College Catalog, English 1102 is a composition course that not
only allows you to further refine your writing skills but introduces you to the basics of fiction,
poetry, drama, and both library and Internet-based research. The primary objective of the course is
turning you into a more incisive thinker and a more efficient, more authoritative, and more
persuasive writer than you were upon completion of English 1101.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS
1. The primary requirements for this course are three 750-word critical essays—essays that present
your ideas, not mine, a literary critic’s, or anyone else’s—and a 1,000-word research paper. In
accordance with DSC policy, anyone who doesn’t complete the research paper—whatever
course average he or she may otherwise earn—will automatically receive an F for the semester.
2. Active participation in class discussion is also required. This is a course devoted not just to
writing but also to deliberation, to presenting and defending your ideas in front of a professor
and your peers. Also, since issues presented for class consideration will often be integrated into
writing assignments, it’s a good idea both to prepare for and to take part in all class discussions.
STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES
1. Students will determine forms of communication appropriate to particular audiences and
purposes; organize and communicate knowledge and ideas in a logical and purposeful way; and
use accepted patterns of grammar, punctuation, and sentence structure in written
communication (General Education Outcome).
2. Students will use technology and gather data to conduct research from various sources,
including electronic media, and demonstrate an understanding of plagiarism by acknowledging
and citing informational sources correctly (Critical Thinking).
3. Students will analyze, evaluate, and provide convincing reasons in support of conclusions and
arguments (Critical Thinking).
4. Students will demonstrate an ability to evaluate observations, inferences, or relationships in
works under investigation (Critical Thinking).
REQUIRED MATERIALS
The DSC Bookstore now charges $171 for the anthology I used to require for this course. Given that
price and the fact that most of the contents of that text are available elsewhere, I’m not going to
require that you buy it this semester. Forgoing the anthology will cost us access to ancillary
materials and more recent fiction, poetry, and drama, but we’re going to replace the former with
handouts and the latter with printouts of works from the public domain. I’ll e-mail you copies of the
shorter ones after we discuss them in class, but I’m going to e-mail you the longer ones before we
discuss them—and you’re going to need to print each and bring it to class on the day we discuss it.
Electronic copies on smart phones, tablets, or laptops won’t suffice; print hard copies, bring them to
class, and make sure you’re ready to read from them and, afterwards, participate in class discussion
about them.
COURSE POLICIES
1. You’re allowed four absences. There’s no such thing as an excused absence, no such thing as an
unexcused absence. There are absences and absences only, and upon the fifth, your final grade
drops a letter; upon the sixth, it drops another; upon the seventh, you fail the course, no
questions asked, no discussion necessary. No discussion on the subject should ever be
necessary. If you aren’t in class, I won’t ask why, and I don’t expect you to tell me why, either
in person or via e-mail. In short, unless it’s absolutely impossible, come to class: whether
you’re here or not, you’re responsible for all material covered, all work assigned, and all
assignments amended during each class meeting.
2. Each of the three critical essays requires your participation in one or more peer review sessions.
Specific instructions for each will follow, but anyone who doesn’t participate fully—whether
by not bringing a draft, bringing too early a draft, or responding with only the most perfunctory
comments—will automatically lose a letter grade on the essay at issue.
3. Essays are to be formatted according to current MLA standards (see http://owl.english.
purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/01/) and submitted electronically via Turnitin.com. The class ID
is 9268692; the enrollment password is ENGL1102. I’ll grade all essays electronically and post
them at Turnitin one week after their submission.
4. Submitting essays to Turnitin.com signifies your consent to their disclosure to a third party as
defined by the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974. For further information, see
me.
5. Regarding e-mail: don’t e-mail me through GeorgiaVIEW. I don’t check that account and
won’t accept responsibility for anything sent to it. I check Outlook e-mail only and, for the most
part, respond to it only when I’m on campus. I might respond at other times, but don’t expect it.
6. Late work will be accepted but will be penalized one letter grade per day. Penalties begin to
accrue at the end of class on the due date.
7. Plagiarism, the intentional or unintentional use of anyone else’s words OR IDEAS without
proper documentation, will not be tolerated: any essay flagged by Turnitin.com or that, upon
investigation, proves to be the work of anyone besides its ostensible author, will be assigned a
zero. Egregious cases will be referred to the DSC Student Conduct Board, which often assigns
additional sanctions, including suspension from school.
8. If the college closes because of inclement weather or other conditions, consult the course
schedule and complete all assigned readings. Then, check your e-mail for additional
assignments and due dates. If it’s not possible for me to email you additional assignments
because of a power outage, please write a summary of the assigned reading and bring it to the
next class. If conditions allow, I will e-mail you my notes for all missed class discussions and
answer by e-mail any questions they generate. Compensatory make-up days may be required if
the total number of days missed exceeds the equivalent of one week of class time.
9. Students with disabilities or special needs are encouraged to contact Disability Support Services
in Academic Resources. In order to make an appointment to obtain information on the process
for qualifying for accommodations, the student must contact the Coordinator of Disability
Support Services, Andrea Roberson, in the lower level of the Pope Student Center, at (706)
272-2524, or at [email protected].
10. “When students are engaged in officially approved Dalton State groups or activities that require
them to participate in events off campus during school days, they shall be treated similarly to
any faculty or staff member acting in that same capacity. Thus, just as faculty and staff have
excused absences from their regular work schedules, students shall be excused from class
without penalty if they are off campus representing Dalton State College in an approved,
official capacity during their regular class time. Examples include presenting a paper or
otherwise participating in a conference, attending a University System student affairs event,
participating in intercollegiate competition (athletic or academic), participating in an approved
field trip, etc. Just as faculty and staff members are required to submit Request to Travel forms
for approval, in order to be excused, the student needs to provide the following information to
the instructor prior to the date when he/she will be absent from class: notification of the event
(in the case of athletics, students should provide each instructor a schedule of away events at
the beginning of the semester or as soon as possible after the schedule is available); estimated
time of departure from and return to campus (for example, if a student has an away game in
the evening and will not be leaving campus until 3:00, he/she will not be excused from classes
prior to that time on that day; similarly if the event is in the morning and the student will be
returning to campus during the day, he/she is expected to attend any class scheduled after the
return trip); and contact information for the person or organization sponsoring/authorizing the
student’s participation in the event. The student shall be allowed to make up any work missed
during the time he/she is off campus representing DSC in an official capacity. He/she shall
discuss what will be missed with the instructor and make arrangements to make up any
assignments, tests, presentations, etc. scheduled on that date.”
11. “If a student receiving aid administered by the DSC Workforce Development Department
drops this class or completely withdraws from the College, the schedule adjustment form must
be taken to the Workforce Development Office first. The office is located in the Technical
Education Building, Room 223, and students can contact Scott McNabb at 706-272-2635 from
8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Fridays or at smcnabb@
daltonstate.edu. He can be reached Thursdays in the Georgia Department of Labor office.”
12. “Students wishing to withdraw from the course may do so without penalty until the mid-point
of the semester, and a grade of W will be assigned. After that point, withdrawal without penalty
is permitted only in cases of extreme hardship as determined by the Vice President for
Academic Affairs; otherwise a grade of WF will be issued. (Please note: at Dalton State
College, the Hardship Withdrawal process requires students to withdraw from all classes at the
College.) The proper form for dropping a course is the Schedule Adjustment Form, which can
be obtained at the Enrollment Services Office in Westcott Hall. The Schedule Adjustment Form
must be submitted to the Enrollment Services Office. Students who disappear, completing
neither the official withdrawal procedure nor the course work, will receive the grade of F. This
instructor will not withdraw students from the class. Withdrawal from any Dalton State
College class is a student responsibility. The last day to drop classes without penalty is March
23.”
13. “The proper form for withdrawing from all classes at the college after the official drop/add
period but before the published withdrawal date is the Schedule Adjustment Form. All
students must meet with a staff member at the Office of Academic Resources in the Pope
Student Center to initiate the withdrawal process. After meeting with the staff member,
students will then finalize the withdrawal process in the Enrollment Services Office.”
GRADE BREAKDOWN
Critical Essay I
Critical Essay II
Critical Essay III
Research Essay
Class Participation
10%
15%
20%
30%
25%
GRADE DESCRIPTION
A
B
C
D
F
Excellent
Good
Satisfactory
Passing
Failing
HOW TO EARN A C FOR CLASS PARTICIPATION
1. Before every class meeting, consult the syllabus to apprise yourself of current in-class and outof-class assignments.
2. Come to every class meeting, and come on time. DO NOT make a habit of coming in late.
Before you walk in the door, TURN OFF all electronic devices—laptops and tablets included—
and don’t turn them back on FOR ANY REASON until you leave at the end of class. If an outof-class situation requires constant monitoring, don’t come to class; such situations are one
reason I don’t require attendance. I’d much rather have you miss class than come to class so
distracted that you distract others.
3. During class discussion, pay attention; take notes. Don’t sleep, don’t read or work on
assignments for other classes, and don’t talk to those around you. If we’re working on an outline
or essay, do the same. Don’t sleep, don’t read or work on assignments for other classes, and
don’t talk to those around you.
HOW TO EARN AN A FOR CLASS PARTICIPATION
In addition to following all three suggestions above, contribute regularly, reasonably, and
respectfully to class discussion. Also, use all class time devoted to peer review as intended: read and
comment upon your classmates’ essays, asking questions when you have them, and if there’s time,
begin revising your essay according to their comments. Doing so requires more work of you, of
course, but it also tends to result in better essays than you would have otherwise written and,
consequently, higher grades than you would have otherwise earned.
EXTRA CREDIT OPPORTUNITIES
Publishing ten Roadkill entries in The Roadrunner
Publishing a letter to the editor (c. 250 words) in The Roadrunner
Publishing an article (c. 1,000 words) in The Roadrunner
Repeating the Derek Birdsell
1 point
2 points
5 points
10 points
Further credit may be offered as opportunities arise. All extra credit will be added to your final
course average: one extra credit point therefore carries the weight of an entire letter grade on the first
critical essay. No student, however, may receive more than 10 extra credit points per semester.
COURSE SCHEDULE
JANUARY
7
Introduction to Course
FEBRUARY
MARCH
APRIL
12
14
21
Writing about Literature: Abbey Road; “My Papa’s Waltz”
Writing about Literature
Writing about Literature
26
28
Critical Essay I Peer Review: Introductions
Critical Essay I Peer Review: Body Paragraphs
2
4
Critical Essay I Peer Review: Conclusions
“I heard a Fly buzz—when I died—”; “Because I could not stop for
Death—”; Critical Essay I Due
9
11
Oedipus Rex
Oedipus Rex
16
18
“Young Goodman Brown”
Critical Essay II Peer Review
23
25
“My mistress’ eyes are nothing like the sun”; “A Valediction: Forbidding
Mourning”; “To His Coy Mistress”
“Porphyria’s Lover”; “The Workbox”; “Hills Like White Elephants”
9
11
“The Story of an Hour”; “The Storm”; Critical Essay II Due
“The Chrysanthemums”
16
18
“Trifles”; “The Sandbox”
Critical Essay III Peer Review
23
25
How to Get What You Want from Those Who Don’t Want to Give It to
You
“The Lottery”; “My Last Duchess”; Critical Essay III Due
30
1
from the Wife of Bath’s “Prologue”
Critical Essay IV Peer Review
6
8
Introduction to Literary Research
The Responsible Use of Secondary Sources; Critical Essay IV Due
13
15
Research Paper Workshop (meet in Roberts Library Learning Commons)
Research Paper Workshop (meet in Roberts Library Learning Commons)
20
22
Research Paper Conferences
Research Paper Conferences
27
Research Paper Workshop
MAY
4
Research Paper Due (5:30 p.m.)
This syllabus may be modified as class needs dictate.