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Unit
1:
Unit 2:
- Analyzing a toy or game (200 pts)
- Toys-r-us (Make a children’s book) (200
pts)
Other Assignments:
- Daily/group work (10 @ 10 = 100 pts)
- Quizzes (10 @ 10 = 100 pts)
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Purpose
of the Course:
English 120 is a writing course whose purpose is to provide you
with opportunities to practice writing, refining, and revising arguments
with the input of your instructor (me) and your peers (classmates).
This section of 120 invites you to explore and critique how the
media and popular culture shape and impact our perceptions of the
world. This is a cooperative learning class, which means the class
requires teamwork and hands-on learning. This means you need to
take responsibility for your learning by being self-motivated, self-directed,
and a good team player to succeed in this class.
Course
Objectives:
In completing this course you will be required to:
- practice writing argumentative texts and evaluating arguments
in published texts.
- developing primary evidence through hands-on activities.
- evaluate sources—both in on-line and in print—in order
to understand their political positions as well as their appropriateness
for your specific purposes.
- begin reading, writing, and thinking critically and constructively
about the role of writing instruction in education in our university.
- design rhetorically appropriate academic documents.
- deliver rehearsed, rhetorically appropriate oral presentations.
Texts,
Materials, and Expenses:
REQUIRED TEXTS:
- a fashion magazine
- Adbusters (available at the book store)
OTHER EXPENSES:
- You will need to provide a variety of media for storing digital
data: probably zip disks, but you’ll need to decide what
you are most comfortable with.
- You will need 2-3 disposable cameras or 2-3 rolls of film and
a regular camera. (And you’ll need to get your photos developed.)
- Depending upon your projects, you may need CDs, tapes, etc.
for capturing sound.
- Materials for making a book (papers, art supplies, etc.)
Assignments
and Grading:
All projects will be graded on a point scale—910-1000= A; 810-909=
B; 700-809=C; 600-699=D; below 590=F. Keep track of your points
and you will know how you are doing in the class.
Grading:
- A means truly excellent work—exceeding expectations in
all areas
- B means very strong work that exceeds expectations in several
areas
- C means work that adequately completes the assignment
- D reflects work that does not adequately meet the assignment
in one or more areas
- F means you did not turn in work
All assignment packets include explicit criteria and grading rubrics
for individual projects.
Revision:
Any individual, graded assignment may be revised. The highest grade
you receive on the assignment will be your grade (no averaging,
etc.) However, don’t waste my time (or yours) by simply correcting
editing errors—a revision means serious rethinking of the project
in terms of significant further development, reorganization, and/or
large-scale sentence-level revision. If you choose to revise an
assignment, you must turn your revision in with the original paper
and a one-page memo describing for me the changes you made and explaining
why you feel those changes significantly improve your document.
Format
for written assignments:
Projects must easily readable: typed, in a 12pt. font, with at least
1" margins. Put your name on the first page and number pages.
That’s really all. I require that you always print a copy of
your projects for your records. Never hand in your only copy of
an assignment. In addition, have a copy in your computer file and
have a copy on a backup disk. Back-up your work often—these
projects require too much time to risk losing them!
Attendance:
Because I will try to make this class interesting and engaging,
I have little tolerance for students who don't come to class. If
you have something else to do when this class meets, drop this class
and take it at a time that works better for you or from someone
who doesn't care whether you’re here or not. It's simply disruptive
for the students who want an education to have uninterested, uncommitted
students dropping in and out of class needing to be continually
brought up to date. Ditto for being late. I take attendance and
relay important information in the first five minutes. Be there
when class starts.
In addition, so much of what we do in this class is collaborative
that people are counting on you to be here, to be prepared during
class. I am not interested in why you are unable to be here. Be
sure, however, to let members of your group know if you will not
be in class, and arrange to get them any information they may need.
In the case of serious illness or family problems, contact your
advisor who will help you obtain excuses for all your classes. Official
university business is ALWAYS excused. Just be sure to bring me
your letters. After missing two classes in a row or four classes,
(total), you will be asked to drop the class. But any absence will
hurt your grade.
Due Dates:
Because I advocate a process approach to designing rhetorically
appropriate documents, I expect you to rethink and revise documents
throughout the semester. Therefore, I can be flexible on the due
dates for major assignments. The projects are large, though, and
I don't want you to be scrambling to complete all of them during
finals week, so I've included some due dates on the assignment sheets
to help you plan your time. However, the small assignments are designed
to help us (you and I) evaluate your progress on the major assignments;
therefore, I'll want at least drafts of them by the due dates on
the assignment sheets. Quizzes and group work cannot be made up.
Please turn in projects in class or during office hours, and not
into my mailbox, or under my door, or anyplace else where they might
be misplaced.
All work is due on the last regular day of class. No work or revisions
will be accepted after that time (into finals week) except under
extraordinary circumstances.
Plagiarism:
I assume all the work you turn in will be your own. This doesn't
mean that I do not encourage you to collaborate with others in this
class, or get input or feedback from other class members or outside
sources. But the work you turn in must be yours and must cite secondary
sources in a manner consistent with NDSU University Senate policy,
Section 335: Code
of Academic Responsibility and Conduct. If you are having difficulty
citing sources, please talk to me as you turn in a paper, so I can
provide specific feedback.
Special
Needs:
If you have any disabilities or special needs, or need special accommodations
in this course, please share your concerns or requests with me as
soon as possible.
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Calendar
(This is the link you follow to find the daily activities of the
class—what we have been doing, if you missed class, and what's
coming up: calendar. Here's the
calendar for the second part of the semester: calendar 2.)
Class list
(This is the link you follow when you want
or need to contact classmates: class list.)
Useful
links:
Scholarly
journals vs. Popular magazines
Power
Searching
Search
Engine Math
NDSU Library website
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