Course Syllabus
Writing and Rhetoric I
1128-ENC1101VE1128-83913
GENERAL INFORMATION
Professor Information
Professor's Photo
Instructor:
Prof. Diane Mooney
Phone:
(305) 495-8765
Office Hours:
By appointment
 
Course Description and Purpose

ENC 1101 is the first in FIU's two-course writing sequence. The course teaches you to produce thoughtful texts for various rhetorical contexts and purposes (such as to inform, to reflect, to persuade, and to explore). Since effective texts are often the result of careful, critical thinking and multiple revisions, you will take assignments through a full writing process that includes prewriting and revisions.

ENC 1101 also focuses on critical, active reading--especially your reading of, and response to, your peers' writing. Toward the end of the course, you will be introduced to researched writing and begin to learn how to access information, evaluate sources, and incorporate others' ideas responsibly and purposefully into your text. (In ENC 1102, you will hone your researched writing skills.)

In addition to short writing assignments, you will write three major assignments that go through a full writing process, that are a minimum of 1000 to 2000 words in length, depending on the assignment instructions. You will be taking a timed essay exam at the end of the course as well.

Course Objectives

By the end of the course you will produce documents that do the following:

  • Indicate your ability to write in various genres such as peer review, prewriting, rhetorical/visual analysis, narrative, thesis-driven essays, and researched writing;
  • Respond to various rhetorical purposes and address the needs of various audiences;
  • Display genre-appropriate format, structure, and stylistic choices, understanding differences in open and closed form prose;
  • Develop an effective thesis and support it with reasons and evidence;
  • Exhibit appropriate syntax, grammar, punctuation, and spelling; and
  • Show your ability to choose effective sources for your rhetorical context and to document and incorporate sources according to academic conventions.

Through your formal and informal assignments, you will show you ability to develop and adapt an effective writing process for your context. Specifically, you will be able to do the following:

  • Generate relevant and timely paper topics that are appropriate for your chosen audience and the assignment;
  • Use prewriting activities to develop your ideas;
  • Use (and understand) research as a way to explore and develop ideas;
  • Revise your essays in response to reader feedback and understand the differences between revision and editing; and
  • Write effectively under pressure, understanding strategies for responding to timed-writings, a common form of university discourse.
Professor Biography

Education:

  • Masters of Fine Arts in Creative Writing, FIU 2008
  • Bachelor of Science in Social Studies, FSU

Publications:

  • LA Weekly, LA Times, Sun-Sentinel, Appalachee Quarterly, Tigertail, Florida English

Awards:

  • 2004 Academy of American Poets Christopher F. Kelly Award
IMPORTANT INFORMATION
Expectations of this Course

A writing course takes place in what we call an "active learning" classroom, because students can not learn to write effectively simply by reading an instructor's lecture. Learning to write well is about learning to be able to critically think about your rhetorical situation (What is it specifically I want to say? Who is my audience? What genre is appropriate?) and then individually making the best choices to persuade your reader. I have designed this course, and am available to you, to help guide you through the writing process--but to be successful in this course, you must actively pursue each goal. Therefore, in this class, you will be asked to be an active participant and will be evaluated partially on your level of participation--the effort given to your writing, the discussions, and your responses to classmates' writing.

All three major essays will have multiple drafts due for evaluation by your peers and myself before the final draft is composed. Both the early drafts, and your peer reviews, will be factored heavily into your final grade. In short, the strategy of first beginning and completing a major essay the night before it is due will not work here, and will result in failing the course. (Another goal of this course is to dispel the convenient myth that writers compose papers "best under pressure".)

This course is divided into "modules", and some modules are further divided into "lessons." Each module covers a particular topic, and each module will build on the previous. Each "lesson" is a subtopic within the module. The first module will be introductory, while the following will begin to focus on the three major essays you will write this semester: literacy narrative, informative, and argument, as well as a “writing under pressure” module to help you prepare for timed essay exams. Each major essay module will culminate in a final essay of at least three pages (the actual requirements for each will be posted on each individual set of instructions). While we will be covering many different aspects of writing, all work within each module will be "tailored" towards the completion of the final essay for that unit.

The workload will normally consist of:

  • Assigned readings from the text and web pages;
  • Small writing assignments (either reading response or reflection);
  • Active participation on the discussion board;
  • Peer reviews (commenting on another student's paper);
  • One timed essay exam;
  • First & second drafts for the three major essays corresponding with the three major units;
  • Final drafts for the essays.

FINAL PORTFOLIOS
The goal of this course is to accomplish the course outcomes listed above by the end of the semester, and therefore it is only fair to allow for a student's development over the course of the semester when calculating the final grade.

The two major essays may be revised and submitted with your argument paper for a higher grade at the end of the semester. YOU MAY NOT SUBMIT A REVISED ESSAY FOR THE FINAL PORTFOLIO IF A DRAFT FOR THE ESSAY HAD NOT ALREADY BEEN SUBMITTED AND RECEIVED MY COMMENTS DURING THE PROPER MODULE. Further instructions will be given during the semester.

Course Prerequisites

There are no prerequisites for this course.

Textbook
Textbook cover

The Allyn & Bacon Guide to Writing, (FIU Custom Edition) (Required)
Ramage, Bean, Johnson
Pearson, 4th Edition (2010)

ISBN 10: 0558790321
ISBN 13: 978-0558790325

You may purchase your textbook online at the FIU Bookstore.

Textbook cover

The Everyday Writer, (FIU Custom Edition) (Required)
Andrea A. Lunsford
Bedford/ St. Martin's

ISBN 13: 9781457609633

You may purchase your textbook online at the FIU Bookstore.

Additional Technical Requirements & Skills

IMPORTANT NOTE ON SUGGESTED EQUIPMENT: It is strongly advised that you have a webcam or access to a webcam for this class. We will have online conferences using Adobe Connect. While you will be able to participate in the conferences using chat, you will benefit more by participating with a webcam.

You are required to set up a Twitter account for use in this class. twitter.com. I will send important information via Twitter. We will also use Twitter as a discussion format.

For detailed information about the technical requirements, please click here.

Expectation Of This Course

This is an online course, meaning that most of the course work will be conducted online. Expectations for performance in an online course are the same as for a traditional course; in fact, online courses require a degree of self-motivation, self-discipline, and technology skills that can make them more demanding for some students. You should plan on spending at least 15 hours per week on this class. Log on at a minimum every other day so you don’t miss important announcements.

Students are expected to:

  • Review the Policies Page as it is important to the quality of your education
  • Introduce yourself to the class during the first week by posting a self introduction in the appropriate discussion forum under the Start Here folder
  • Take the practice quiz under the Start Here folder to ensure that your computer is compatible with Blackboard
  • Interact online with instructor/s and peers and keep up with all assignments
  • Review and follow the course calendar
Communicating With The Instructor
  • E-mail:  It is best to contact me via the Blackboard course email. I will respond within 24 hours, but normally much sooner.
  • Phone:  If you would like to speak by phone, please request by e-mail and we can set up a time to conference.
  • LiveChat:  I am available for a scheduled live chats on our website. Please email me to set up a time.
Policies

Please review the policies page as it contains essential information regarding guidelines relevant to all courses at FIU and additional information on the standards for acceptable netiquette important for online courses.

Accessibility And Accommodation

For detailed information about the specific limitations with the technologies used in this course, please click here.

For more information about Blackboard's Accessibility Commitment, click here.

For additional assistance please contact our Disability Resource Center.

COURSE DETAIL
Course Communication

Communication in this course will take place via messages

Messages are a private and secure text-based communication that occurs within a Course and among Course members. Users must log on to Blackboard to send/receive/read messages. The Messages tool is located on the left side Course Menu (Blackboard user interface). It is recommended that students check their messages routinely to ensure up-to-date communication. 

For more information on professional writing and technical communication click here.

Grading

KEEP IN MIND...YOU MUST RECEIVE A FINAL GRADE OF AT LEAST A "C" TO PASS ENC 1101 FRESHMAN COMPOSITION AND MOVE ON TO ENC 1102. A FINAL GRADE OF "C-" OR LOWER WILL RESULT IN ENC 1101 HAVING TO BE REPEATED.

Course Requirements Weight
Smaller Assignments/Participation 20%
Quizzes 10%
Timed Essay Exam 10%
3 Major Essays 60%
Literacy Narrative Essay 15%
Informative Essay 20%
Classical Argument Essay 25%
Total 100%

 

Letter
Grade
RAnge Letter
Grade
Range Letter
Grade
Range
A Above 93 B- 80 - 82 D+ 67 - 69
A- 90 - 92 C+ 77 - 79 D 63 - 66
B+ 87 - 89 C 73 - 76 D- 60 - 62
B 83 - 86 C- 70 - 72 F < 60


Each of the smaller assignments will be assigned a point value which will be averaged together as we proceed in the course.

Discussion Forums

Classroom discussion in the virtual world will take place in the discussion forums.  Discussion is key to this class, and mandatory.  As we will explore more as the class progresses, closed form writing is also, in essence, a discussion--the writer takes into consideration all views on a topic, formulates his or her own view, and then presents his or her view (with support) in the effort of persuading a reader to it.  As a result, good classroom discussion is good practice for critical thinking and closed-form writing.

The open discussion forum (General Forum) can be used for open class discussion about any issues students might be having with the class, whether it be a technical question, homework question, writing question, or anything.  Often I find that if one student has a question for me, many other students may have the same question and so I prefer the question be posted on the open discussion board so that all can see my response, or that another student may respond as well.  You can use the open discussion board to post questions to other students as well.  (Example question a student might post: Does anyone know how to add page numbers in MS WORD?)

Keep in mind that forum discussions are public, and care should be taken when determining what to post. If you need to send a private message to an instructor or student, please use email. Instructor will review discussion forums and reply to students as needed.

Discussion questions should be responded to by the first week of the module. You should go back to the discussion periodically during the module and respond to students who have responded to your post.

  • Please post a response that demonstrates engagement with the prompt. Use examples and supportive arguments when appropriate.
  • Your response should be at least 75 words.
  • Respond to at least two other students. Offer balanced replies. “I agree” is not a response. Think about their comments. How can you add to the conversation?  

Please see the rubric below for grading criteria.

Content
Unacceptable
--Posts information that is off-topic, incorrect, or irrelevant to discussion.
Acceptable
-- Posts adequate assignment with superficial thought and preparation; doesn’t address all aspects of the prompt.
Good
-- Posts well developed assignment that addresses all aspects of the prompt; lacks full development of concepts.
Excellent
-- Posts well developed assignment that fully addresses and develops all aspects of the prompt

Follow-Up Postings
Unacceptable
--Posts no follow-up responses to others.
Acceptable
-- Posts shallow contribution to discussion (e.g., agrees or disagrees); does not enrich discussion.
Good
-- Elaborates on an existing posting with further comment or observation.
Excellent
-- Demonstrates analysis of others’ posts; extends meaningful discussion by building on previous posts.

Style and Mechanics
Unacceptable
--Posts content that may contain multiple errors or may be inappropriate.
Acceptable
-- Good post but with some errors in clarity or mechanics.
Good
-- Good post but with minor clarity or mechanics errors.
Excellent
-- Clear, concise post free of grammatical or spelling errors.

Assignments & Submissions

Much of the written work for the course will be submitted using "Assignment drop box" located in the Course Menu. This link will take you directly to Turnitin.com. where you will upload your assignment. No login is necessary.

Turnitin.com is known widely as a plagiarism detection tool (it compares the paper's text to it's database to look for matches), but please don't be intimidated by this. Ninety five percent of the time these text matches indicate an issue with incorrect source citing, or some other writing issue. Since you will be writing multiple drafts, turnitin.com will catch any potential problems early in the process and will give us a chance to discuss them, and learn from them. Therefore, in this class, turnitin.com is more of a learning tool than a plagiarism detection mechanism.

Assignments should be posted to the appropriate dropbox. Assignment grades will be posted one week after the due date.

All assignments should be submitted in Microsoft Word. Do not submit an assignment to me in Wordperfect or any other format. NO ZIPPED FILES!!

All assignments should be submitted in the assignment drop box. Do not submit them elsewhere (via email or otherwise).

All assignments must be typed using one-inch margins, 12 point font in Times New Roman. All assignments should be double-spaced. There should be no extra space between paragraphs. In Microsoft Word under the “Paragraphs” in the tool bar, check “Don’t add space between paragraphs of the same style” box to eliminate extra space after paragraphs.

We will use MLA format for essays.

Peer Review

Peer Review will be a significant part of this course. Though at first an unpopular activity with some, all writers grow to appreciate, and often can't do without, the feedback of a reader on an early draft of a written work.  All early drafts of your major essays will be reviewed by at least one classmate.  ALL DRAFTS SUBMITTED TO THE ASSIGNMENT DROPBOX SHOULD MEET THE ASSIGNMENT'S REQUIRED WORD LENGTH.
In order for peer review to work successfully, each student must take responsibility and do his or her best in reviewing a classmate's paper; otherwise the author of the paper is not reaping the full benefit, often from no fault of his or her own.  In short, classmates will be relying on each other for assistance in creating a successful paper.

To help prevent any issues, each peer review is graded and factored into your final grade so failure to peer review a classmate’s paper will hurt your grade significantly.

Full instructions about how to perform a peer review on your assigned classmate's paper, and how you can access the comments on your own paper, are available in the second unit of the website.

Quizzes

Students should bear in mind that quizzes will offer them an opportunity to provide evidence of mastery of the material. Students are expected to demonstrate knowledge of the material.

  • There will be 8 quizzes throughout the semester
  • Quiz duration (30 minutes)
  • Quizzes will be available a week prior to the end of the section.
  • Students will be able to see the grade after the availability period of the quiz has ended
  • There are no make ups for students who do not turn in quizzes on time

In order to mitigate any issues with your computer and online assessments, it is very important that you take the "Online Learning Practice Quiz" from each computer you will be using to take your graded quizzes and exams. It is your responsibility to make sure your computer meets the minimum hardware requirements.

Course Policies

Late Papers: All assignments will be due by 11:59 PM on the due date assigned. Your goal should be to submit all assignments before the due date. However, sometimes life happens, and you may “forget” about a deadline. Therefore, major essays will be penalized one full letter grade for each day late.  FAILURE TO SUBMIT A MAJOR ESSAY OR TAKE THE TIMED ESSAY EXAM WILL RESULT IN FAILURE OF THE COURSE.

Smaller assignments submitted late will be assigned a zero without a valid medical excuse.  A valid medical excuse is one for which you can provide evidence that you were physically unable to accomplish the assignment because of a medical reason.

Also, if you have taken this course before but were unable to finish, please know that you should not submit any work you have submitted for a previous class--you will not receive credit.  All work must be originally composed for this class.

Keep in mind this policy is for first drafts as well--submitting an old essay for a first draft will result in a zero for that major essay.

Paper Format: Unless specified otherwise, all assignments must be typed, double spaced, Font: Times New Roman or Arial size 12.

Adobe Connect Pro Meeting

The Adobe Connect Pro Meeting is an online meeting room in which you can interact with your Professor and fellow students by sharing your computer, screens or files, chat, broadcast live audio and take part in other interactive online activities.

Meeting rooms and instructions for using Adobe Connect can be found under the Adobe Connect link in the course menu.

Requirements for using Adobe Connect Pro Meeting:

  • Disable any window pop-up blocker.
  • Adobe Flash Player is required to successfully run your Connect Pro meeting. You can test your computer to make sure that you are set up with all of the tools you will need to participate in the meeting.
  • Use of a combination headset and microphone  with USB connection is recommended to ensure quality sound and reduce technical difficulties. The Firefox browser seems to work best with Adobe Connect.

    Please click here for additional information on Adobe Connect (Tutorials & Help).
COURSE CALENDAR
Weekly Schedule
DUE DATE DETAILS
MODULE 1: INTRODUCTION
8/20/12 Classes Begin
8/24/12 Module 1, Lesson 1: Intro to an Online Course
8/28/12 Module 1, Lesson 2: Intro to College Writing / The Rhetorical Situation
8/31/12 Module 1, Lesson 3: The Writing Process
MODULE 2: THE LITERACY NARRATIVE
9/4/12 Module 2: Lesson 1: The Literacy Narrative
9/10/12 Module 2: Lesson 2: Elements of Narrative
9/14/12 Module 2: Lesson 3: Concrete Description
9/20/12 Module 2: Lesson 4: First Draft Due
9/24/12 Module 2: Lesson 5: Peer Review/Drafting
9/27/12 Module 2: Lesson 6: Final Draft Due
9/28/12 Module 2: Lesson 7: Reflection Essay Due
MODULE 3: THE INFORMATIVE ESSAY
10/2/12 Module 3: Lesson 1: The Informative Essay
10/5/12 Module 3: Lesson 2: Primary Research Strategies
10/10/12 Module 3: Lesson 3: Informative Essay Structure
10/16/12 Module 3: Lesson 4: First Draft Due
10/22/12 Module 3: Lesson 5: Peer Review/Drafting
10/25/12 Module 3: Lesson 6: Final Draft Due
10/26/12 Module 3: Lesson 7: Reflection Essay Due
MODULE 4: CLASSICAL ARGUMENT ESSAY
10/30/12 Module 4: Lesson 1: Classical Argument Essay
11/2/12 Module 4: Lesson 2: Secondary Research Strategies
11/8/12 Module 4: Lesson 3: Counterarguments & Warrants
11/13/12 Module 4: Lesson 4: First Draft Due
11/19/12 Module 4: Lesson 5: Peer Review/Drafting
11/26/12 Module 4: Lesson 6: Final Draft Due
11/27/12 Module 4: Lesson 7: Reflection Essay Due
MODULE 5: TIMED ESSAY EXAMINATION AND REVISIONS
11/30/12 Module 5. Lesson 1: Timed Essay Examinations
12/6/12 Module 5. Lesson 2: Timed Essay Exam
12/7/12 Revised Essays Due