Course description:

This course builds on and consolidates writing competencies developed in ENG110 (rhetoric, usage, sentences, paragraphs, and essays) and reading (analysis, research) to prepare you for non-fiction writing likely to be encountered in academic contexts, most immediately upper-division courses.       

To sharpen your abilities to summarize, analyze, and critique readings and arguments using rhetorical techniques;
•           To develop your skill in writing organized, coherent, and fully developed essays, and in recognition of other writers’ organizational strategies;
•           To improve your proficiency in usage, grammar, and sentence and paragraph development, and your editing;
•           To increase your understanding of the research process including the use of library and Internet resources, and of the documentation process (APA);
•           To apply the above in the context of a shared, significant, and controversial topic area (the Internet)

Textbooks:

Holdstein, D. H., & Aquiline, D. (2020). Who Says? The Writer’s Research (3rd ed.). New York: Oxford U. Press. (ISBN: 978-0-19-752549-4) (H&A in Schedule)

Several topical readings either as handouts or online.
A college dictionary is recommended.

Also recommended are:

Keith, W. M.,  & Lundberg, C. O. (2008). The Essential Guide to Rhetoric. Boston:Bedford/St. Martin’s. (ISBN 0-312-47239-0) (This is a text from ENG110.) (K&L in Schedule)

Bullock, R., Brody, M., & Weinberg, F. (2017). The Little Seagull Handbook. (3rd ed.). New York: W.W. Norton. (ISBN 978-039-360263-0)

You will complete two short analyses (2-3 pages each), a research journal compiled throughout the semester, a group source assignment , and components that will lead to a 9-page research paper on a topic related to our shared subject area: the Internet. You will also complete shorter written “homework” assignments such as an analysis of a scientific paper (2-3 pages), one in-class writing assignment, and give a report on your term paper.

The components for the term paper will include: a topic assignment, a research proposal/initial bibliography, an annotated bibliography, optional outline and first draft, and the oral presentation.

Additional items as assigned will be grouped in the “homework” category.

Given the COVID-19 outbreak, we will via Zoom. The schedule and all course work are subject to change as conditions require. Please consult the Canvas page for additional resources such as screencast videos of the Zoom sessions under Modules->Zoom recordings.

This is not a lecture course, and I expect you to participate in class. Attendance, alertness, and contribution to discussion can affect your participation grade. So do interaction within writing groups, preparation for your conferences, and your oral report. Keep backups of all assignments.

Whether you are at the top of your class or not doing as well as you would like, the ARC Center for Academic Achievement in Suite 409 of the Lawrence Building can help you. The Center offers day, evening, and weekend hours. Most appointments are scheduled through the Starfish system on the mylasalle portal. Students are advised to go to academicsupport.lasalle.edu for additional information and resources.

Writing Tutors assist students from all disciplines and at all stages of the writing process. Tutors provide feedback on organization, clarity, citing and referencing sources, and work with students to enhance their ability to proofread and edit their papers. Schedule an online writing tutoring appointment through Starfish in the Portal. After you schedule an appointment, your tutor will email you a Zoom link to your live session and you will need to respond to this email with a copy of your paper prior to the time of your appointment. Online writing workshops on a variety of topics will also be held this semester; students will be emailed details. For more information about Writing Tutoring, contact Jake Alspaugh alspaugh@lasalle.edu).

Any course in college includes elements of professional behavior. Just as if you were “on the job,” I expect you to attend class. Roll will be taken in class and Zoom meetings. For any absence to be excused you must contact me beforehand and provide documentation of your excuse or have a friend do so if you are unable. Given normal extenuating circumstances, you will be allowed two unexcused class absences. Further unexcused absences, or excessive excused absences may lower your final grade. If there are other extenuating circumstances related to travel to campus, please let me now in advance via email or through a Canvas message.

Assignments missed due to excused absences can be made up, but those missed due to unexcused absences will receive a late penalty and may not be accepted. Late papers will be accepted and given up to a 10 percent penalty if received within two working days (weekdays); the penalty may increase up to 20 percent if received in the next four working days. Generally, assignments will not be accepted after they have been returned to the class. Assignment submisssions should be via Canvas, with email to the instructor as a backup method.
Adjustments to this document are to be allowed for, if not expected.

You are responsible for following the University’s and this class’s policies on submission of original work and acknowledgement of direct quotations or paraphrases from others’ writings. Plagiarism “consists of passing off the ideas, opinions, facts, words—in short, the intellectual work—of another as your own” (Prentice Hall Handbook for Writers). Plagiarized work may result in a grade of “F” for the paper, or for the course.

The Academic Integrity Policy, the American Disability Act of 1990, and the Student Guide to Rights and Responsibilities are posted in the Canvas course Help Menu.

Essay 1 (analysis)....................... 5%
Essay 2 (synthesis) .................... 5%
In-class writing, homework..........20%
Group source assignment ............ 5%
Annotated bibliography 1............ 10%
Annotated bibliography 2 ............. 5%
Essay 3 (term paper)...................25%
Research journal ........................10%
Oral report ..................................5%
Participation...............................10%