Holli Downs

Location Pioneer Hall Room #105

M-Th 10:10-12:10am

Texas Womans University

Summer 2 2014
ENG 1023 (section 01)
Composition II

*Contact Info:
Office: CFO 128

Office Hours: M-W 12:30-1:30pm and by

appointment

Email: hdowns@twu.edu
*COURSE DESCRIPTION

Course (Catalog) Description

ENG 1023. COMPOSITION II. THEORY AND PRACTICE OF WRITTEN AND ORAL EXPOSITION AND RESEARCH IN
TRADITIONAL AND ELECTRONIC ENVIRONMENTS; COMPOSING PERSUASIVE AND INVESTIGATIVE TEXTS BASED ON
RESEARCH. PREREQUISITE ENG 1013 OR ITS EQUIVALENT. THREE LECTURE HOURS A WEEK. CREDIT: THREE
HOURS.
STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES
INCLUDING COMMUNICATION CORE CURRICULUM EXEMPLARY EDUCATIONAL OBJECTIVES & FIRST-YEAR
COMPOSITION PROGRAM OUTCOMES

*REQUIRED COURSE MATERIALS

Axelrod, Rise B., and Charles R. Cooper. The St. Martins Guide to Writing. 9th ed. ISBN-13:978-0312-53612-1.
Booth, Wayne C., Gregory G. Colomb, and Joseph M. Williams. The Craft of Research. 3rd ed. ISBN13:978-0-226-06566-3 (This text is available online through the TWU library, so it does not
need to be purchased unless the student desires a hard copy).
Graff, Gerald, and Cathy Birkenstein. They Say/I Say: The Moves That Matter in Academic Writing. 2nd
ed. ISBN: 978-0-393-93361-1.
** The textbooks are required components of this class and the entire First-Year
Composition sequence. You cannot pass the classes without them. You must have the St.
Martins Guide by the second week of class to keep from falling too far behind. This is a
short semester and you cant afford to fall behind! You may purchase your textbook at the
TWU Bookstore, at KB Books (across from Lowry Hall), or Voertmans (on Hickory near
UNT).
You will also need access to the following:
flash drive, Pioneer network storage, or internet cloud service (i.e. Dropbox.com,
Google Docs, Icloud.com) for keeping copies of your drafts
internet access outside of class (for accessing Blackboard and other links I provide
for the class)
Pioneer Portal (for email purposes)
Blackboard (for supplemental handouts and materials)
*PAPERS AND FEEDBACK
Ill provide feedback on each of your essays about how to make your writing more effective, and
you will have the opportunity to revise assignments to represent your best work throughout the
semester. Your goal is to continually improve as a writer during the semester, and your revisions
should reflect that improvement at the end of the course. All of your work in this class must be
written by you specifically for this class. Recycling papers written for previous classes is cheating.
Do original work for all assignments. This is a short semester. You will have 48 hours from the time
you receive your grade to talk with me (after class is a-okay) and do a revision. This is a tight
schedule!
*COURSE REQUIREMENTS
Here is how your grade will be calculated:
Assignments/Activities
Major Assignments (70%)

Proposing a Solution (1,000 words, 20%). Write an essay proposing a solution

to a problem. Choose a problem faced by a community or group to which you
belong, and address the proposal to members of the group or outsiders who can
help solve the problem. (Key chapter: SMG 7)

Justifying an Evaluation (20%). Create a multimedia presentation on a

specific subject. Examine the subject closely and make a judgment about it.
(Key chapter: SMG 8)

Speculating about Causes: (1,500 words, 20%). Write an essay about an

important or intriguing phenomenon or trend, and speculate about why it
might have occurred. Demonstrate that the subject exists, and argue for the
plausibility of certain causes while anticipating your readers likely
objections to your argument as well as their preferred causes. (Key chapter:
SMG 9)

Portfolio: (10%). Create a multimedia presentation with selections of your

work from the semester and reflections on those selections.

Minor Assignments (30%)

Discussion Board (10%)
Peer reviews (10%)
Attendance/Participation (10%)
Attendance & Participation: For you to earn credit in this course, your attendance is required by
the FYC program and the university. NOTE: As TWU policy states, you may fail this course as a
result of excessive absences (i.e. missing more than TWO Days of class). You should consider,
however, that missing any number of class meetings could negatively impact your performance:
Missed tests, quizzes, exercises, peer reviews, in-class essays and the like cannot be made up.
If you must miss class, you should keep several points in mind:
Excused absences include only those absences for student illness, serious illness or
death in the students immediate family, official school activity, or recognized religious
holiday (TWU Student Handbook 143).
You must provide documentation of your absence to the Office of Student Life for
verification.
Absences do not exempt students from completing the required course work. (See Late
Assignments above.)
Excessive absences, even if documented, may result in a student failing the course
(TWU Student Handbook 144).
To be considered present for a class session, please come to class prepared, show up on
time and stay throughout the meeting, remain engaged in class activities, avoid
distracting others, receive items that are distributed during class, and submit any work
that is collected at the end of class. We have a short amount of time to get a lot done
make sure you not only show up to class but show up to class on time.
Excessive absence (missing two or more days of class) may result in failing this course.
Whenever you must miss class, pay me (and yourself!) the courtesy of keeping in contact,
preferably ahead of time and definitely before the next class meeting. You can...

leave a message and your contact number with the FYC secretary Wylijanna Cole @
940.898.2341 OR
preferred method of contact: e-mail me @ hdowns@twu.edu

Remember: If something comes up and you must miss class, please keep me informed. However,
please ask your classmates what you missed. (Im afraid I cannot repeat missed material for every

individual who is absent; there are too many absences and too few hours in the day to do so.) I
recommend making friends with one or two classmates and exchanging contact information.
* Final Exam Session
We are required to meet during the allotted final exam time. During this time, we will upload final
drafts of all essays and you will be given an in-class final response essay that will be worth 10% of
your grade.
Once I have assessed your performance, your final grade may be reduced for absences (see above).
*Essay and final grades will follow an A-F grading system. Letter grades can be interpreted
as follows: A-Excellent; B-Good; C-Average; D-Inferior (but passing); or F-Failure
IMPORTANT: All drafts of each assignment must be turned in to earn credit for the course.
Failure to turn in a draft may result in an F for a final grade. Handouts detailing individual
assignments are also considered part of this course syllabus.
*PROGRAM AND COURSE POLICIES
Syllabus Changes
This document is subject to change. The instructor may modify portions of this syllabus
(particularly the calendar of assignments) to adjust to issues in the classroom, learning needs of
students, availability of resources, changes in university or department policy, or other pedagogical
reasons. When changes occur they will be announced on the class Blackboard site and an amended
version of the syllabus will be made available on Blackboard for upload.
*Late assignments
If you do not have a rough draft during peer review sessions, you will be marked
absent for the day and your essay will be deducted a full letter grade on the final
draft. Remember: you only get two unexcused absences without automatic penalty and
essays take up a major part of the grades for this class.
*Email Correspondence
Instructors in the first-year composition program only reply to emails sent from TWU accounts.
Also, emails are written communication, and you should be aware of your audience. Craft a subject
line that reflects the main purpose of your message, use appropriate language, and sign your name
(first and last) as well as indicate your class by section, day, and time.

Technology Guidelines and Etiquette

As college adults, it is important that you learn to respect not only your instructor by also your
classmates. By constantly engaging in technological activities instead of actively participating in
class you not only disrespect me but you also disrespect and distract your classmates. This
negative behavior will also affect your participation grade and will be documented throughout the
semester.
Cell Phones: Please respect your classmates and me. Turn OFF your phone before coming
into class to avoid disruptions. Likewise, DO NOT read or send text messages. If your phone

becomes an issue, you may be asked to leave the room and may be counted absent.
IPods/MP3 Players: Please refrain from wearing ear buds or headphones during class
(whether or not the machine is on). If you do so, you may be asked to leave the room and
may be counted absent.
Computers/Printers/Internet: Please print all daily assignments and essays before class
begins and be ready to turn them in when you arrive. DO NOT rely on the classroom printer;
it may be low on toner or out of paper. (See late assignments, above.) If assignments are due
on Blackboard or Turnitin.com, they must be turned in electronically before class begins.
Please do not type on keyboards or use computers unless I instruct you to do so. When I
instruct you to use a computer, do not access websites unless they pertain to your
research/work in this class (i.e. do not access MySpace, Facebook, Yahoo, etc. unless
instructed to do so.) If you use the computer for activities unrelated to the class you are
taking, you may be asked to leave the room and may be counted absent.
Critical Thinking & Reading Discussions
You may be asked from time to time to respond semiformally to questions on Blackboard, most
likely in the Discussion Board forums. These questions will give you a chance to practice your
writing while thinking about assigned readings in the course or other materials we are discussing.
Taking these activities seriously can help you learn better: We learn more about what we read (and
what we think) if we have to write about it. Keep in mind, also, that some of the discussion postings
you write may become part of the revision/portfolio packet you submit at the end of the term.
When you respond to the questions, keep the following criteria in mind. A good response will

respond completely to the question;

respond to, amplify, complicate, or refute statements that other students have made;
reveal that youve carefully considered multiple perspectives on the issues youre
discussing;
anticipate objections that readers might raise against what youre saying;
be submitted on time (by whatever the deadline for the posting is);
be coherent and understandable by interested readers, although it might have usage,
spelling, or punctuation errors.

*Peer/Group Workshops
You will be responsible for obtaining in-class reviews from your peers and deciding how to address
their comments effectively in your drafts as you revise. Save the peer reviews you receive: You will
need to include them with the major assignments as you turn them in. I may ask you to write about
how you responded to the feedback you received. Also, you will be graded for your peer reviews so
its important that you take them seriously. When we get to that point, I will give you detailed
instructions and we will practice how to conduct peer reviews so you will know what you need to
do to earn a high grade.
*The Write Site
I encourage you to visit TWUs writing center The Write Site, which is located in CFO 129. The
Write Site is open Monday through Thursday from 9-5 pm and from 9-1 pm on Fridays. There are
evening hours in Blagg-Huey Library Sunday through Wednesday from 7-9:30 pm. Write Site
services are free to TWU students. At the Write Site you can schedule up to two hours of

appointments per week to work with a writing consultant, who can assist you with any phase of
the writing process. As you meet with a consultant, youll discover ways not only to improve the
assignment youre currently working on, but also realize how to improve as a writer. To make an
appointment, go online to www.twu.edu/writesite, call 940-898-2341 or visit CFO 131.
Sharing Writing/Ideas
You may have noticed we will share a great deal of our writing during this semester (both in small
groups and with the entire class). This sharing is intended to provide you with models of effective
writing, feedback to improve your writing, and give you experience offering feedback. It is
imperative we all respect this process and come to class prepared to share writing and comment
constructively.
*Manuscript Preparation
Major writing assignments must be printed from a digital file (double-spaced) in black ink using a
Times New Roman font (no larger or smaller than 12pt). Use MLA guidelines for spacing, margins,
heading, and page numbering. Print a hard copy of your work before closing the program youre
using. Always save your work on your hard drive and email it to yourself. You should also save
your work on a separate flash drive. (Computer labs are located in the following areas: MCL Mega
Lab (218), Technology Resource Center (MCL 221), Blagg-Huey Library (Lab), Student Center (Rm.
112), and University Housing (Guinn Commons).
*Additional University/Program Information

Academic Dishonesty Statement: Honesty in completing assignments is essential to the

mission of the university and to the development of the personal integrity of the
student. Cheating, plagiarism, or other kinds of academic dishonesty will not be
tolerated and will result in appropriate sanctions that may include failing an
assignment, failing the class, or being suspended or expelled. Suspected cases in this
course may be reported to Student Life. The specific disciplinary process for academic
dishonesty is found in the TWU Student Handbook. Tools to help you avoid plagiarism
are available through the TWU Libraries Quick Links under Research Help
(http://www.twu.edu/library/literacy/index.htm).

Turnitin Statement: In an effort to ensure the integrity of the academic process, Texas
Womans University vigorously affirms the importance of academic honesty as defined
by the Student Handbook. Therefore, in an effort to detect and prevent plagiarism,
faculty members at Texas Womans University may use a tool called Turnitin to
compare a students work with multiple sources. It then reports a percentage of
similarity and provides links to those specific sources. The tool itself does not
determine whether a paper has been plagiarized. Instead, that judgment must be made
by the individual faculty member.

Disability Support Policy Statement: If you think you will need reasonable
accommodations to meet the requirements of this course, you must register with the
office of Disability Support Services (CFO 106, 940-898-3835, dss@twu.edu ) in order to
obtain the required official notification of your accommodation needs. Please plan to
meet with me by appointment or during office hours to discuss approved
accommodations and how the course requirements and activities may impact your
ability to fully participate.

Dropping this Course (For freshmen enrolling fall 2007 or later): Students may drop a
course without penalty before the census day of each regular semester. However, after
the census date, freshmen enrolling fall 2007 or later (at TWU or any Texas public higher
education institution), are allowed only 6 unexcused drops during their undergraduate
academic careers. Drops after the census day will count toward the 6-drop limit unless
they are supported by timely, appropriate documentation and excused by the university
review process. Drop forms are available in the Registrars Office and require the
signature of the student, instructor, and academic advisor.