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English 1101 English Composition I

Course Format
Online hybrid, which means we meet online only on Mondays. Wednesdays are your self work days.

My WebEx Room for Class Meetings
https://gsumeetings.webex.com/meet/bgu

Course Texts

Lopez, Elizabeth Sanders, Andrea Jurjević, and Megan E. Malone. Guide to First-Year Writing for English 1101. Top Hat Ed, Fountainhead, 2020. ISBN 987-1-64485-268-2.

To access the course text, you need to subscribe to Top Hat. Click on the following link: https://app.tophat.com/e/766835, and you’ll be guided through the process of subscription.

Course Goals
English 1101, English Composition I, is designed to increase your ability to construct written prose of various kinds. It focuses on methods of organization, analysis, research skills, and the production of short expository essays.

By the end of the course, you are expected to be able to

• Engage in writing as a process, including various invention heuristics (brainstorming, for example), gathering evidence, considering audience, drafting, revising, editing, and proofreading,
• Engage in the collaborative, social aspects of writing, and use writing as a tool for learning,
• Use language to explore and analyze contemporary multicultural, global, and international questions,
• Demonstrate how to use writing aids, such as handbooks, dictionaries, online aids, and tutors,
• Gather, summarize, synthesize, and explain information from various sources,
• Use grammatical, stylistic, and mechanical formats and conventions appropriate for a variety of audiences,
• Critique your own and others’ work in written and oral formats,
• Produce coherent, organized, readable prose for a variety of rhetorical situations, and
• Reflect on what contributed to your writing process and evaluate your own work.

Attendance Policy
Your attendance is mandatory for the online meetings. Any unexcused absence or excessive excused absences will result in a penalty of 30 points (3% of your final grade) for each absence. An accumulation of 5 absences will automatically result in an F for the final grade.

Students who want to do well in this course will attend class following the class attendance policy. You will need an excused absence due to illness. GSU has a new process for students seeking excused absences through the Dean of Students Office. Please submit documentation to https://deanofstudents.gsu.edu/student-assistance/professor-absence-notification/. I will then be notified by the Dean of Students of any excused absences.

Plagiarism
No plagiarism is to be tolerated in this class. Any plagiarism, as defined by GSU’s Policy on Academic Honesty, will result in a grade of F at least for the assignment (and most likely an F for the entire course at the instructor’s discretion). In addition, all university policies related to academic honesty will apply.

Sharing Instructor-Generated Materials
The selling, sharing, publishing, presenting, or distributing of instructor-prepared course lecture notes, videos, audio recordings, or any other instructor-produced materials from any course for any commercial purpose is strictly prohibited unless explicit written permission is granted in advance by the course instructor. This includes posting any materials on websites such as Chegg, Course Hero, OneClass, Stuvia, StuDocu and other similar sites. Unauthorized sale or commercial distribution of such material is a violation of the instructor’s intellectual property and the privacy rights of students attending the class and is prohibited.

Diversity, Inclusivity, and Respect
In this class, we commit to supporting diversity and inclusion. We strive to construct a safe and inclusive environment by respecting each other’s dignity and privacy. We honor each class member’s experiences, beliefs, perspectives, and backgrounds, regardless of race, religion, language, immigration status, sexual orientation, gender identification, ability status, socio-economic status, national identity, or any other identity markers.

Our class meetings and on-line discussions are meant to provide safe spaces for free inquiry and open exchange of ideas. Difficult issues may be confronted, and controversial ideas exchanged. While at times it is appropriate to share our beliefs and opinions, we are committed to basing those beliefs on evidence-based thinking. We agree to act and communicate respectfully toward one another, both directly and indirectly, both inside and outside the boundaries of the class. All members of the class contribute to a caring, inclusive learning environment that promotes empathetic listening, encourages productive participation and sharing, and engenders growth among us all. As a classroom community, we share those values.

If you ever have any concerns about the (virtual) classroom climate, please let me know. Your suggestions about how to reinforce the values of diversity and inclusion are encouraged and appreciated. I hope that we will continuously reflect upon our class processes so that we can build an inclusive intellectual community where all feel valued and supported in our learning.

Writing Studio
The Writing Studio, located on the 24th floor of 25 Park Place, offers free consulting service for your writing needs, whether you have issues with coming up with ideas for a topic, developing your argument, organizing your essay, editing, or grammar and mechanics. The Writing Studio’s mission is to support you in your writing for our course and beyond, as noted below,

“…to enhance undergraduate and graduate student writing by encouraging all writers to participate in regular conversation about the writing process and their academic work. We believe that talking about ideas and the art of writing with knowledgeable readers creates the ideal learning environment for practicing personal expression, persuasion, and critical thinking, all of which are vital to succeeding in the arts of academic and professional writing and communication. We support a community where writers, readers, and teachers all learn from each other, by responding to each other’s’ texts with engaged conversation.”

This service is free and a valuable resource for all writers, and I strongly encourage you to take advantage of this space. Please note, that you will need to make an appointment for tutoring at www.writingstudio.gsu.edu. Appointments during the term will be held online.

Projects and Assignments
The course work consists of reading assignments, in-class exercises, and individual (sometimes group) essays. The total possible points are 1000.

1. Grammar Presentation (200 points)
2. Narrative Essay (200 points)
3. Expository/Analytical Essay (200 points)
4. Persuasive/Argumentative Essay (400 points)

For a detailed description of these projects, please see the Projects page.

Important Information about Assignments
A passing grade for all the assignments is a prerequisite to, but not a guarantee for, passing the course. Observe the following rules closely:

• You must complete all the major assignments. If you miss any of the major assignments, you will automatically fail the class.
• Your essays should be presentable. If you turn in poorly proofread documents, they will be returned to you for correction before they are graded.
• If you miss a class, it is your responsibility to find out the assignments you missed. An excused absence will not get you off the hook for a tardy assignment.
• A Special Note: Submit your work on time. Late assignments are generally NOT accepted unless for extenuating circumstances. Work is considered late after class begins on the due date, unless noted otherwise. In cases where late work is accepted, there is a 10% grade reduction for each day your assignment is late.
• All projects must be submitted electronically via email unless you’re instructed otherwise.

Important Information about Assignments
Since the grading of writing cannot be reduced to simple quantitative measures, I will grade your writing on a holistic basis. Each assignment will have specific grading criteria, which I will explain in class.

Grade Conversion
Your points are converted to grades as follows:

Read Me
The “Read Me” page contains some important information about contact information, email etiquette, portfolio, and some general classroom etiquette. For example, you’ll want to know what subject line to use when emailing me, what the most effective means of communication with me, etc. Therefore, make sure you read that page! The link is available in the vertical menu on the left.