ENGL
150: WRITING AND RESEARCH (Fall 2003)
Syllabus
changes are in red.
**The university has cancelled classes on 18 and 19 September because
of hurricane Isabel--see below for syllabus changes.**
Instructor: Dr. Shawn Smith
Office: Grainger G06
Phone: 395-2797
E-Mail: smithsb[AT]longwood.edu (replace [AT] with @)
Web page: http://www.longwood.edu/staff/ssmith
Consult this page for a version of this syllabus that contains links to study and research resources.
You will also be able to access your grades and supplementary course materials via Blackboard.
Office hours: MWF 10:00-11:30 and by appointment.
Class meets: Section 17: 11:00-12:15 Tuesday and Thursday in Grainger 216.
Section 19: 12:30-1:45 Tuesday and Thursday in Grainger 216.
COURSE DESCRIPTION AND OBJECTIVES
Description: Writing and reading for a variety of academic purposes including in-depth research. Oral presentation required. English 150 is a Goal 2 course. GOAL 2: The ability to write and speak logically, clearly, precisely, and the ability, through accurate reading and listening, to acquire, organize, present, and document information and ideas.
Objectives: In this course, students will: understand and adapt to rhetorical and contextual differences in tasks involving writing, reading, speaking, and listening; engage in academic inquiry using and evaluating a variety of sources, incorporating and documenting source material appropriately, and avoiding plagiarism; develop flexible processes for engaging in academic writing; develop knowledge of conventions for different kinds of texts and demonstrate substantial control of the conventions of edited American English; reflect on and make judgments about their own texts and writing processes.
Please also read the Outcomes Statement for ENGL 150 at http://www.longwood.edu/staff/jburges/wac/outcms.html.
REQUIRED TEXTS
A World of Ideas: Essential Readings for College Writers, sixth edition. Edited by Lee Jacobus (Bedford). [Referred to below by page number.]
The Prentice Hall Reference Guide to Grammar and Usage, fifth edition. Muriel Harris. (Prentice Hall). [Referred to below by section number.]
The above handbook is bundled with a free dictionary and a free copy of the Prentice Hall Grammar Workbook.
Great Sonnets. Edited by Paul Negri (Dover).
Longwood University Style Manual
You should also have a good collegiate dictionary.
INTERNET RESOURCES
Bedford Books companion web site for Jacobus's World of Ideas
Journal of the History of Ideas at JSTOR.org (your computer must be connected to the Longwood University network to access this)
Purdue University's Online Writing Lab
COURSE REQUIREMENTS AND GRADING
Four short (3-4 pages) essays, 10% each (40% total). Paper #s 1-3 will address the following topics: government, the mind, and nature. Paper #5 is a paraphrase and analysis exercise that requires you to explicate a short poem. Go here for instructions. Papers that do not quote and cite verse properly will be returned for reformatting. Please include your e-mail address on your paper. See my handouts for information on writing about literature.
Paper #4: Research paper (7-8 pages), 20%.
[Other information on papers: Go here to learn about MLA format (but note that this style sheet is not comprehensive--you may need to consult the MLA Handbook on some formatting issues). See the Longwood University Style Manual for other formatting issues.]
Oral report, 10%.
Final exam, 20%.
Unannounced quizzes, grammar exercises, and class participation, 10%
POLICY MATTERS
Please arrive on time, and be prepared to
listen, think, and contribute. Please also turn off wireless phones,
pagers, headphones, and
other electronic devices that might disrupt class. Please treat other
students and your instructor in a civil and respectful manner. Note
that classroom disruption is a violation of Longwood University's honor
code.
The Longwood University attendance policy in the 2003-2004 Undergraduate
Catalog will be the attendance policy for this course. You will
receive an F on work missed because of unexcused absences. Your grade
will be lowered by one letter grade if you miss
10 percent of the scheduled class meeting times for unexcused absences.
You will receive an F if you miss a total (excused and
unexcused) of 25 percent of the scheduled class meeting times. If you
are absent, it is your responsibility to obtain notes from a
classmate (as well as announcements about syllabus changes or other
matters). Exams can be made up only under the most grave
circumstances, and with documentation from an MD or Longwood University
official. If you foresee a conflict, I expect you to discuss
it with me beforehand. Written assignments handed in late will lose one
letter grade for each class day late. Plagiarism, cheating,
and other forms of intellectual dishonesty will result in an F for the
course and referral to the Longwood University Judicial system. For
details on Longwood University's honor code and judicial system, direct
your web browser to:
http://www.longwood.edu/judicial.
Note: the syllabus may be changed at any time if necessary, though I'll try to give you as much advance notice as possible. Please check the web page regularly for updates.
CALENDAR
26 Aug: Course introduction. Lao-Tzu, Tao Te Ching 1. Introduction to first writing assignment: Government.
28 Aug: Lao-Tzu, selections from the Tao Te Ching
(Jacobus 19-33); the writing process (Harris
1a-2c). Respond to one of the selections from
Lao-Tzu in a brainstorming or freewriting
exercise that addresses the following
question: How do Lao-Tzu's ideas help to
illuminate (or complicate) our understanding
of a specific modern political or social
concern? Write out your response and be
prepared to share it with the class.
2 Sep: Niccolò Machiavelli, selections from The
Prince (Jacobus 35-51); using examples,
analysis. How would you compare
Machiavelli's political ideas to Lao-Tzu's? Are Machiavelli's examples
effective?
4 Sep: Arugument, revision (Harris 4a-4e).
9 Sep: Grammar review. Bring the Prentice Hall
Grammar Workbook to class. Kinds of
paragraphs (Harris 3a-3e).
11 Sep: Writing workshop; revision (Harris 2e-2f).
16 Sep: Paper #1 due. Introduction to second
writing assignment: the mind.
18 Sep: HURRICAN
ISABEL--CLASS CANCELLED.
23 Sep: Plato, "The Allegory of the
Cave" (Jacobus
313-325). Bring to class a one-page analysis
of a situation in which you thought you
understood something, but later had a
different understanding of it.
25 Sep: Sigmund Freud, "The
Interpretation of
Dreams" (Jacobus 327-338). Bring to class a
one-page analysis of one of your dreams that
either draws on or rejects Freud's principles.
30 Sep: Writing
workshop.
2 Oct: NO CLASS.
7 Oct: Paper #2 due. Introduction
to third writing
assignment: nature.
9 Oct: Francis Bacon "The Four
Idols" (Jacobus
417-433). Come to class prepared to discuss
a modern example of each of Bacon's idols.
14 Oct: Fall Break
16 Oct: Stephen Jay Gould, "Nonmoral
Nature"
(Jacobus 471-485).
21 Oct: Writing
workshop. Research strategies
(Harris
51-52).
23 Oct: Paper #3 due. Evaluating and responding to sources (Harris
53-59).
28 Oct: Mandatory individual conferences (class
cancelled--conferences will be held in my
office). Please
take advantage of your extra time this week to work on your research
paper.
30 Oct: Mandatory individual conferences (class
cancelled--conferences will be held in my
office). Please
take advantage of your extra time this week to work on your research
paper.
4 Nov: Bibliography and quotation (Harris 60).
6 Nov: Writing workshop.
11 Nov: Paper #4 (research paper) due.
Strategies
for writing about literature. Readings TBA.
13 Nov: Word choice, rhetorical figures.
18 Nov: Figurative language.
20 Nov: Writing workshop.
25 Nov: Paper #5 due. Oral presentations.
2 Dec: Oral presentations.
4 Dec: Oral presentations, and review for exam.
8 Dec: FINAL EXAM SECTION 19
(8:00-10:30)
10 Dec: FINAL EXAM SECTION 17 (3:00-5:30)