Course Syllabus

English 102 / Summer 2007
Liberal Arts Building 105
TR 10:20 -12:30


Instructor: Ryan Davidson
Email: ryan.davidson@usm.edu
Phone: (602) 391-7442
Office: 336 Liberal Arts Building
Office Hours: TR 12:30 - 1:15 and by appointment


COURSE DESCRIPTION

English 102 focuses on research and argument—the basic components of academic writing. Building upon what you learned about writing in English 101, English 102 will help you develop critical thinking skills, construct strong persuasive arguments, and find and effectively utilize sources to support and verify your written claims.


REQUIRED TEXT

• Writing Arguments, Custom Edition for USM, by Ramage, Bean & Johnson

COURSE POLICIES

Attendance: Attendance is vital to success in this course. There will be an attendance signup sheet distributed during class every day. You are responsible for signing in every day you are present for class. You are allowed three unexcused absences. Upon the fourth unexcused absence your final grade will drop 10%. (You will no longer be able to make an A in the course). A fifth absence will mean you fail the course. All absences will be considered unexcused unless I have been notified on or before the date of absence and received proper documentation.

Cell phones and laptops: Cell phones must be turned off and put away before class begins. Do not send or read text messages in class. Anyone caught using their phone during class will be counted absent for that day and their overall participation grade will be adversely affected.

Plagiarism: The instructor will investigate all instances of suspected plagiarism. Anyone found to have intentionally plagiarized material will immediately FAIL the course and be referred to the proper university officials for reprimands, suspensions, and/or expulsions. If you have questions about proper citation and documentation of any sources you are using, please see me.

Midterm Grades: Freshmen will receive a midterm grade report. A grade of “C” on this report means your work has been satisfactory; a “D” means unsatisfactory work and an “F” means you have missed too many and are in danger of failing the course. Please note that a “C” on your midterm grade report does not necessarily mean that your final course grade will be a “C.”

COURSE REQUIREMENTS

Grade Distribution: In order to receive credit for the course, ALL of the following must be completed. Failure to complete any one assignment will result in failure of the course. There will be NO FINAL in this course.

Essay 1 20%
Essay 2 20%
Essay 3 25%
Writer’s Blog 15%
Homework 10%
Participation 10%

Writer’s Blog: Every student is required to start and maintain a blog. If you already have a blog or personal website you may use it for the requirements of this assignment, although you may choose to create a new site. Visit http://www.blogger.com or http://www.xanga.com for a few free options. You will be required to write a least one entry per week. There will be specific entries assigned in class throughout the semester and you should make every effort to make your blog as full and creative as possible. All student blogs will have links posted at http://ryandavidson102h006.blogspot.com/

Participation: All students are expected to participate fully in class. Your participation grade consists of not only involvement in classroom discussion and activities but will take into account attendance, in-class writings, and other related activities. If you are unsure about your participation grade during the semester please contact me directly.

Paper Format: All papers and assignments must be typed, double-spaced, 12 point, Times New Roman, with one-inch margins. Any papers, which deliberately manipulate any of these stipulations in order to gain length will be docked a minimum of a full letter grade. All papers should include a properly formatted works cited page in MLA style along with proper in-text citations. E-mailed assignments will not be accepted.

Paper Proposals and Progress Reports: You will submit a paper proposal and a progress report for every essay assignment of the semester. A finished paper will not be accepted without completion of these two tasks.

Turnitin.com: All papers must be turned in to turnitin.com by no later than midnight on the date which the paper is due. You must first create your own user profile (if you have not done so already for a previous course) and then may enroll in this course. The class id for this course is: 1904659 and the password is: southernmiss

Late Work: Students are allowed ONE opportunity during the semester to turn in an assignment late. ONE assignment may be turned in, up to one week after the original due date, without loss of credit. After this opportunity any work turned in late will begin with the lowest grade of the assignments turned in on time by your classmates. Hence if the lowest grade in the class were a C, the highest grade an absolutely perfect paper could receive would be a C. Handing in more than one late paper will drastically reduce your chances of receiving a satisfactory grade in the course. The late paper opportunity may not be used for the final paper.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

The Writing Lab: USM’s Writing Lab is located in LAB 218. Writing consultants in the lab can help you develop ideas for your papers, articulate your thesis, organize your material, and hone your grammar skills. I strongly encourage you to take advantage of the writing lab’s free services. You can schedule an appointment by calling (601) 266-4821.

Accommodation for Students With Special Needs: If a student has a disability that
Qualifies under the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) and requires accommodations, he/she should contact the Office for Disability Accommodations (ODA) for information on appropriate policies and procedures. Disabilities covered by ADA may include learning, psychiatric, physical disabilities, or chronic health disorders. Students can contact ODA if they are not certain whether a medical condition/disability qualifies. Mailing address: 118 College Dr. #8586, Hattiesburg, MS 39406-0001; Telephone: 601-266-5024; TTY: 601-266-6837; FAX: 601-266-6035


This Course is Part of the General Education Curriculum of the University

At the successful completion of this course, you will have demonstrated the ability to:

• develop and focus on one topic in speaking and writing assignments and present ideas in an organized, logical, and coherent form
• use Standard English grammar, punctuation, spelling, and usage
• connect ideas in a coherent essay
• connect course content to other disciplines and/or to real world situations
• write an analytical essay
• find and use (and cite) relevant sources
• analyze the components of an argument