RHETORIC I

Syllabus for G-EN110A

COURSE IDENTIFICATION
G-EN110A Mohler 204 8:30-9:20 MWF 3 credit hours

Fall 2011

Course Description
CollegeRhetoricIisacourseintendedtohelpstudents(1)attain collegelevelskillsinwriting,speaking,informationliteracy,and computerliteracy;(2)examinetheirprocessofadjustmenttoanadult environmentandanewlearningsituation;and(3)findtheirvoicesas theyexaminethemselvesandtheirrelationstotheoutsideworld.

INSTRUCTOR
Dr. Bruce Clary Office: Mohler 201 Hours: 9:30-11 MWF Phone: 242-0530 [email protected]

Course Objectives
Students who fully participate in the courses learning opportunities will Usewritingasatoolforlearninganddiscoveringideas. Applycriticalandanalyticalthinkingskillstoclaimsand arguments. Comprehend,summarize,andparaphrasecomplextextsand arguments. Synthesizeandincorporatetheideasandwordsofothersinto theirownwriting. Writeclearsentencesandinteresting,wellorganizedparagraphs andessays. Listencarefullyandcontributepositivelytodiscussions. Effectivelydeliverformalandinformaloralpresentations. FormatpapersanddocumentsourcesaccordingtoModern LanguageAssociation(MLA)guidelines.

COURSE WEB SITE

http://elearning.mcpherson .edu

REQUIREMENTS MET
This course (or its equivalent) is required of all freshmen.

REQUIRED TEXTS
Graff & Birkenstein. They Say / I Say. 2nd ed. Norton, 2010. Hacker. A Pocket Style th Manual. 5 ed. Bedford/ St. Martins, 2009.

Instructional Methods
Smallgroupdiscussionsofwritten,inprocessdrafts Classdiscussionofassignedreadings Classactivitieswithfullclassparticipationexpected Miniworkshopsonconventionsandstyle Individualconferences Brieflectures Inclasswriting Quizzesandexams,bothonlineandinclass

Ihaveanumberofbasicassumptionsandbiasesunderlyingmy teachingmethodsthatyoushouldalsoknowaboutandunderstand:

GEN110ACollegeRhetoricI

Syllabus:Fall2011

Writingandspeakingforschoolandworkismorecraftthanart,moremotivationandeffort

thantalent.Thismeans,withmotivationandeffort,youcanovercomemostanywritinghandicap, mostanypublicspeakinginhibition,andbeacompetent,collegelevelwriterandspeaker.
Writingfollowsreading.Youcannotwritebetterthanyouread.Writingdevelopsafterclose

reading.Becomingabetterreaderisacrucialpartofbecomingabetterwriter. ideas,makenewconnections,seenewpossibilities,findnewanswers.

Writingisdiscovery.Theactofwritingitselfisoneofthemosteffectivewaystogeneratenew Languageisthinking.Wedontreallyknowwhatwethinkuntilweputideasintowords.Writing

(or,moreoften,rewriting)isacontrolledwayofsaying;hence,writingisahighlydisciplinedformof thinking.
Writingisaprocess.Butnotalinearone.Brainstorming,collectingdata,makingconnections,

drafting,editingallarecomplexactivitiesthattakeplacethroughoutthewritingprocess.

Writerswriteandrewrite.First,thereisnoalternativetoputtingwordsonpaperorscreen.

Butmostoften,ourfirsteffortsusethewrongwordstomakethewrongmeanings.(ThatsOK. Thatshowwegetstarted.)Rewritinggivesusachancetogettherightmeaningsintherightwords, anopportunitytodiscovermeaningandtoclarifyitwhileitisbeingdiscovered.Yourgreatest growthasawriterwilltakeplacewhenyoureviseandrewriteyourwork.

Class Moodle Site

WewillmakefrequentuseofMcPhersonCollegesonlinelearningmanagementsystem(knownas Moodle).OurclassMoodlesitewillprovideyouwithconvenientaccesstonearlyallcourse informationandmaterials.Inaddition,wewillsometimesuseourMoodlesiteforonlineactivities suchasquizzes,discussionboards,andsubmittingassignments. Youshouldhavereceivedinformationduringorientationaboutthedefaultusernameandpassword youuseforloggingintothecollegescomputerresources. HerestheshortversionofhowtogetontoourMoodlesite: OpenaWebbrowserandentertheURLelearning.mcpherson.edu. Click(Login)intheupperrighthandcornerofthepage. Thiswillopenuptwologinoptions.ClickCASusers. OntheCentralAuthorizationServicepage,enteryourusernameandpassword. TheMoodlelandingpagewilllistallthecoursesyouaretakingthataremakinguseof Moodle.YoushouldhaveatleastonecourseonyourMoodlelandingpage:CollegeRhetoric I:AFall2011.Clickingthatlinkwillgetyoutothehomepageforourcourse.

Student Responsibilities
Attendeveryclassmeeting. Comeprepared.Completeassignmentsbeforeclassandbringrequiredtextsandmaterials. Listenattentivelyandtakenotes. Contributetoclassdiscussions.Youhavesomethingtoteachaswellastolearninthisclass. Suspendjudgmentandexamineallsidesofissues. Bekind!Respecteachotherandouracademiccommunity.Abusive,insultinglanguageis groundsfordismissalfromclass. Maintainyourintegrity!Dontcheat.Submityourownwork.(Seeplagiarismpolicy.)

GEN110ACollegeRhetoricI

Syllabus:Fall2011

Course Evaluation and Grades

YourfinalgradeinGEN110Awillbedeterminedbyyourachievementinfourareas: 1. 2. 3. 4. Informalwriting Formalwriting Formalspeeches Quizzesandexams

Inaddition,penaltiesforpoorclassattendancemaykickinafterathirdabsence. 1. Informalwriting(15percent).Informalwritingassignmentsarepreparedbeforeclass (sometimespostedorsubmittedviatheclassMoodlesite)oraredoneinclasstogiveyoupractice onawritingskillortostimulatethinkingaboutreadingyouhavedone. Mostinformalwritingassignmentswillbesubjecttoaquick,simple5pointevaluationstandard: 5pts. 4pts. 3pts. 2pts. 1pt. demonstratesadequate,thoughtfulengagementwiththeassignment suggestsadequate,thoughtfulengagementwiththeassignment suggestslessthanadequateengagementoreffortontheassignment demonstrateslessthanadequateresponsetotheassignment assignmentnotsubmittedinclassthedayitisdue

2. Formalwriting(50percent).Youwillwritethreeformalessaysof34pagesandafourthessay of56pages.Oneormoreinclass(orpossiblyonline)workshopswillbescheduledforeachessay. Ingeneral,gradesonformalessaysreflectthefollowingstandards.Rubricswillbedistributed whentheessaysareassignedsothatyouwillknowthespecificcriteriaonwhichtheessayswillbe evaluated. A B C D demonstratesunusualfreshmanlevelcompetenceinthespecificcriteriaevaluated demonstratesfreshmanlevelcompetenceinthespecificcriteriaevaluated suggestsfreshmanlevelcompetenceinthespecificcriteriaevaluated suggestslessthanfreshmanlevelcompetenceinthespecificcriteriaevaluated demonstrateslessthanfreshmanlevelcompetenceinthespecificcriteriaevaluated

Papersthatclearlydonotmeetcollegelevelstandardswillbereturnedwithoutagradeandmustbe revisedandresubmitted.SeethepolicygoverningrevisionofformalpapersintheCoursePolicies section. 3.Formalspeaking(20percent).Youwilldelivertwoformalspeechesinthecourse.Rubricswill bedistributedwhenthespeechesareassignedsothatyouwillknowthecriteriaonwhichyouwill beevaluated. 4.Quizzes(15percent).Quizzesbothannouncedandunannouncedwillbegiveninclassto checkyourmasteryofcontentcoveredinclassandyourcomprehensionandretentionofreading assignments.SomeofthesequizzesmayalsobegivenonlineviathecourseMoodlesite.Quizzes missedduetoanabsencethatwasnotpreviouslyarrangedandonlinequizzesnotcompletedby thedeadlinecannotbemadeup.(SeeAttendanceandParticipationPolicy.) Thus,yourfinalgradeinEN110Awillbedeterminedasfollows: Informalwriting ..............................................................................................................15%offinalgrade Formalwriting .................................................................................................................50%offinalgrade Formalspeeches..............................................................................................................20%offinalgrade

GEN110ACollegeRhetoricI

Syllabus:Fall2011

Quizzes ................................................................................................................................15%offinalgrade Attendance/Participation .............................................. SeeAttendanceandParticipationPolicy

Course Policies
Policygoverningrevisionofpapers.Youmayreviseandresubmitanessaytoimproveitsgradeas longasyouslavishlyadheretothefollowingrequirements: Meetalldeadlinesandcomefullypreparedforallworkshopsscheduledfortheessay. Submitrevisionsinafolderwithinoneweekfromthedatethepaperwasreturned.All gradesarepermanentafteroneweek. Writeaonepagecovermemothatexplainsyourrevisionprocessandthechangesyou madetoimprovethepaper.Ifyoucannotwrite250300wordsaboutthechangesyoumade, andhowandwhyyoumadethem,thepaperhasnotbeenadequatelyrevised. IncludeinthefolderallthepreviousversionsofthepaperthatIreadandmarked,including anyrubricorcommentsthatIreturnedwithit. Includeaneditinglogdocumentingtherulesyoufollowedincorrectingerrorsof conventionandstyle.

Iamunyieldingonalloftheserequirementsandwillimmediatelyreturnrevisionsthatfailtomeet anyoneofthem. Attendanceandparticipationpolicy.Idonotdistinguishexcusedfromunexcusedabsences; makingsuchadistinctionputsmeinaroleIdonotcaretoplay.Ifyouarenotinclass,thenyouare absentitsthatsimple.Youareallowedthreeabsenceswithoutpenalty.Beginningwiththefourth absence,eachadditionalabsencededucts5percentfromyourfinalgrade.Tobeconsideredpresent inclass,youmustbealert,payingattention,andcooperatingfullywithwhatevertheclassasa wholeisdoing.(Also,seethepolicyregardingworkshopdays.) Ingeneral,Idonotacceptforcreditanyworkthatislateduetoabsence;neithercanyoumakeup workmissedduetoabsence.However,whenyouknowaheadoftimethatyoumustbeabsentfrom class(forathleticevents,fieldtrips,emergencytripshome,documentedillnesses,etc.),youmay arrangepriortotheanticipatedabsenceformakeupworkandcreditforassignments. Policyregardingworkshopdays.Youarerequiredtobringcompletedraftsthatmeetthefull, assignedwordcounttoallworkshopdays.Ifyoucometoclasswithoutacompletedraft,youwillbe countedpresent,butwillreceiveazeroforthedayandbedismissedfromclasstogoworkonyour draft.Absencesonworkshopdayscountastwoabsences. Policyregardingmissedspeeches.Yourabsenceonthedayyouarescheduledtodeliveraspeech willcountasadoubleabsence.Youcanmakeupmissedspeechesforhalfcreditunderoneoftwo conditions:(1)Enoughtimeremainsduringaclassdayalreadysetasideforspeechesforyouto completeyourspeechwithoutholdingyourclassmatesbeyondtheclasssregulardismissaltime; (2)Yougatheranaudienceofnofewerthan10peersatatimethatworkswithmyschedule.You cannotmakeupspeechesduringclasstimeondaysthatarenotalreadydesignatedforspeeches. Policyregardinglateformalpapers.Thehighestgradeawardedforformalessaysthatarenot submittedontimeisaC.NolatepapersareacceptedafterDecember2. Cellphone/digitaldevicepolicy.Pleaseturnoffallcellphones,iPhones,iPadsandotherdigital devicesandputthemawayinyourbackpackbeforeclassbegins.Repeatoffendersmaybe dismissedfromclass. Plagiarismpolicy.Plagiarismispassingoffotherpeoplesideasorwordsasyourown,copyingall orpartsofsomeoneelseswork,havinganotherpersoncompleteyourassignment,orfailingto

GEN110ACollegeRhetoricI

Syllabus:Fall2011

documentaccuratelytheuseofsourcematerial.Plagiarismwhetherintentionaloraccidentalis subjecttopenalty.Theminimumforintentionalplagiarismisazeroontheassignment;the maximumisdismissalfromthecollege.Formoreinformation,seethesectiononAcademic Integrityonpage18oftheMcPhersonCollegeCatalog,20112012.

Concerning Disabilities
McPhersonCollegeiscommittedtoprovidingallstudentswithequalaccesstolearning opportunities.Studentswhobecauseofdisabilitymayrequirereasonableaccommodationtomeet courserequirementsshouldinformtheinstructorandnotifyAccessCoordinator,CaroleBarr(ext. 2507),assoonaspossible.

Schedule of Key Dates and Semester Events

Whileitispossiblewithcontentcoursestoprovideadetailedscheduleoftopicsandassignmentsas partofthesyllabus,Iapproacharhetoriccoursedifferently.Themaincontentofthecourseisyour writing,yourideas,yourwords.WhileIcananticipatesomeoftheareasthatwillneedattention, thespecificneedsofeachclasswillbedifferent,andIwanttheflexibilitytoaddressthoseneeds. Thus,thisscheduleindicatesduedatesformajorassignmentsandsemestereventsonly.Adetailed syllabussupplement(liketheoneattachedfortheCoursePreliminaries)withwillbeprovidedfor eachunit.YoushouldcheckthecourseMoodlesiteregularlyforthemostcurrentinformation onassignmentsandduedates. UNIT1 8/299/5 UNIT2 9/79/26 UNIT3 9/2810/14 UNIT4 10/1411/4 CoursePreliminaries Seeattachedsupplementfordetails 9/2:Lastdaytodrop/add PersonalEssay Due9/23: FormalEssay#1:Personalessay Due9/2630: FormalSpeech#1:ThisIBelievespeeches RespondingtoaSingleSource Due10/14: FormalEssay#2:EssayRespondingtoaSingleSource IntegratingMultipleSources 10/24: FALLBREAKNOCLASS 11/2: ASSESSMENTMORNINGNOCLASS Due11/4: FormalEssay#3:EssayIntegratingMultipleSources TheResearchedPersuasiveEssay Due12/2: FormalEssay#4:ResearchedPersuasiveEssay Due12:59: FormalSpeech#2:PersuasiveSpeech

UNIT5 11/412/9

Rhetoric I
G-EN110-A Fall 2011

COURSE PRELIMINARIES
Overview Well use our first three class sessions to consider and practice (in very abbreviated fashion) our writing and speaking skills and to experience the workshop procedure that well use frequently throughout the semester. Daily Schedule
All readings and assignments are to be completed before class of the day indicated.

Month Aug

Date 31

Day W

Assignments Due
Write a first draft of a mini-essay (250 300 words). The Bring it to class this day formatted according to MLA manuscript format (Hacker, 33a). Write an essay describing your writing process: how you get started, how you go about getting ideas, what you like to write about, where you like to write, whether you prefer background music or quiet, whether you make lists or outlines or plunge right in, how many drafts you write, whether you write by hand or use a computer, how much correcting and revising you do, and so on. Think carefully about the way you write and describe it in as much detail as you can. Conclude your essay by explaining what you think you could do to improve your writing process and your writing products. Speaking Assignment. Deliver a 60-90 second self-introduction. Prepare as follows: Leap ahead in your imagination to your life 20 years from now. What do you hope to have accomplished? What position in society have you achieved by then? Now imagine that you have been asked, because of your accomplishments, to deliver a formal keynote address to a large audience. Decide what kind of event this would be and who would be in the audience. Your assignment is to imagine that you are the person who must introduce you to the audience before your speech. Prepare a 60-90 second introduction of yourself (no longer, please, or well run out of time) including all the usual formal introduction stuff: education, past experiences, current job title, professional memberships, notable publications and achievements. Such introductions are always flattering, so flower it up a bit and have fun. Criteria. See rubric on the back of this sheet. I will return your mini-essays. You will have the opportunity to meet with me one-toone to discuss revision strategies. Bring a revision of your mini-essay. Well get started on autobiographical collage assignment, but you may have opportunity to meet with me to see where I would view your work in relation to the general rubric for writing projects. (See back of syllabus.)

Feb

Feb. Feb.

11 14

F M

Rhetoric I
G-EN110-A Fall 2011

UNIT 2: THE PERSONAL ESSAY

Overview Thisunitintroducesyoutothegenreofthepersonalessayandculminatesintheproductionand readingofanessayexploringandexplainingapersonalbeliefofyours.Theessayassignedis modeledaftertheThisIBelieveprogram,originatedinthe1950sbyEdwardR.Murrowandrevived in2005byNationalPublicRadio. BringyourHackerPocketStyleManualwithyoutoclasseachday.Wewilloftenhavea510minute minilessononaconventionofStandardEnglish. TheMajorAssignments 1. Writea600750wordpersonalessaydescribinganideaorprincipleyoubelievein. Obviously,youcantgetallyoubelieveintosuchashortessay.Thatsnottheidea.Rather,this essayisawayforyoutoexploremoreintentionallyandtointroducetootherstosomevalue thatguidesyourattitudesorbehaviors.Thebeliefyouwriteaboutneednotbereligiousor philosophical.Infact,theessaywillbemuchbetterifyoufocusonaspecificvaluethatyou applyinapracticalway.ThesampleThisIBelieveessaysshouldhelpyougetagoodgraspof whatthisassignmentisencouragingyoutodo.Also,seetheattachedThisIBelieveEssay WritingInstructionsformoreguidance. ThefirstdraftofthisessayforwokshoponFriday,Sept.16.Therevised,polishedessay isdueMonday,Sept.26,afteryouhavediscusseditwithmeinanindividualconference. 2. Edittheoriginalessaydownto350500wordscriptforanaudioessay(asillustrated hundredsoftimesontheThisIBelievewebsite).Adraftofthisshorter,tightenedversionof essayisdueatthetimeofyourindividualconference,duringtheweekofSept.1923. YouwillreadthisversionofyouressaytotheclassduringtheweekofSept.2630.At 350500words,youraudioessayoughttotakeabout34minutestoread.Inaddition,Ihope youwillbewillingtorecordyouressay(butthisisnotrequired). DailySchedule
Allreadingsandassignmentsaretobecompletedbeforeclassofthedayindicated.

Month Date Day Topics,ActivitiesandAssignments Sept 7 W

Activity:Freewrite:WhatdoIbelieve? Topics:Whatarethedesiredqualitiesinthepersonalessay?Introduceunit assignments. Activities:ListentoanddiscussasampleThisIBelieveessay.

Sept

AssignmentDueToday:(1)Gotowww.thisibelieve.org/searchandsearchthe databaseforsubmissionsfromyourcityorstateorforessaysonathemeof interesttoyou.(2)Skimthroughtitlesandopeningparagraphsuntilyoufindthree essaysyoulike.(3)Iftherearerecordingsoftheessaysyouhavechosen,listento them.(4)Printoutthethreeessaysyouhavechosenandbringthemtoclass.Come preparedtodiscusstheoriginalwaysyourwritersrespondedtotheassignment. Youmaywanttopracticereadingthemaloud,asImayaskyoutoreadoneofthe essaystotheclass. AssignmentDueToday:Aonesentencebeliefstatementtoclass:Ibelieve _________________________________________________________________________________________. Activity:Workshopbaseduponpatternsfoundintheminiessays.

Sept

12

Sept Sept

14 16

W F

AssignmentDueToday:TBDbytheissuescoveredintheSept14workshop. AssignmentDueToday:Completedraft,typed,doublespacedof600750word thisIbelieveessay. Activity:Peerworkshop Activity:Individualconferences WorkYouAreRequiredtoEmailMeNoLaterThan12HoursBeforeYour Appointment:Yourrevisedessayof600750words. WorkYouAreRequiredtoBringwithYoutoYourConference:(1)Thedraftof thepaperyoubroughttotheSept16workshop.(2)Thewrittenfeedbackyou receivedfromtheSept16workshop.(3)Theedited350500wordversionofyour essaythatconstitutesthetextforyouraudioessay.

Sept

19

Sept Sept Sept Sept Sept

21 23 26 28 30

W F M W F

Activity:Individualconferences(cont) Activity:Individualconferences(cont) Activity:Firstsetof7audioessays Activity:Secondsetof7audioessays Activity:Thirdsetof7audioessays

Rhetoric I
G-EN110A Fall 2011

R ESEARCH U NIT S YLLABUS S UPPLEMENT

Assignments 1. Write a researched essay of 1,250-1,500 words (approximately 5-6 double-spaced pages, not counting Works Cited page). The essay should cite a minimum of six appropriate sources. 2. Deliver a formal speech of 5-7 minutes. Daily Schedule
All readings and assignments are to be completed before class of the day indicated. Bring your Hacker Pocket Style Manual to class each day.

Month
Nov Nov

Date
9 11

Day
W F

Assignments Due
Topics: (1) Introduction to the research process (2) Selecting a research topic and developing research questions Due: A paragraph that declares the research topic you have chosen and that briefly explains (1) what you already know about the topic and (2) what you want to find out, i.e., the question you want to answer. Topic: Research strategies and techniques Topics: (1) Research strategies and techniques (as needed) (2) Avoiding plagiarism: Paraphrasing and quoting sources Topic: Practicing MLA documentation, paraphrasing, and quoting Due: Documenting/paraphrasing/quoting worksheet Meet in Miller Library: One-to-one research conferences, Allton-Minihan1 Meet in Miller Library: One-to-one research conferences, Moore-Zike1 Topic: Preparing and practicing the formal speech Meet in Miller Library: Work day. Bruce will be available for one-to-one consultation. Due: Complete first draft of researched essay for workshop One-on-one conferences on researched essay. Make appointments at http://tungle.me/claryb. E-mail your revised essay no later than 24 hours in advance of your appointment or your appointment will be canceled. Speeches: One-third of class will deliver their 5-7 minute formal speech. Speeches: One-third of class will deliver their 5-7 minute formal speech. Speeches: One-third of class will deliver their 5-7 minute formal speech. Due: Final researched essay emailed to Bruce no later than 5 p.m. 8 a.m.: Final exam

Nov Nov Nov Nov Nov Nov Dec Dec

14 16 18 21 28 30 2 6-9

M W F M M W F T-F

Dec Dec Dec Dec Dec

1

5 7 9 12 15

M W F M Th

Re: Nov. 18 & 21: Everyone meets both days in Miller Library to research or write. One half of the class roster (as indicated above) will meet individually with each day to discuss and demonstrate satisfactory progress as follows: (1) a working bibliography (and/or printed copies) of at least 6-10 sources; (2) two 125-50 word summaries of two sources.