Basic Writing
RHT 102
Oakland University
Fall 2007
Special Lecturer: Ms. Suzanne Drapeau
Email: drapeau@oakland.edu
Office Hours: T/H 12-1.
Office: 306 Wilson Hall
Office Phone: (248) 370-2103
RCJ Dept. Office/Mailboxes: 317 WH
RCJ Department Phone: (248) 370-4120
RCJ Department Fax: (248) 370-4208
Section: 44244
Time: T/H 10-11:50
Location: 370 SFH
_______________________________
Course Description
Designed to prepare students for college-level writing, Rht 102 provides opportunities to develop confidence, competence, and fluency through practice in reading and writing processes. The course introduces reading and comprehension strategies, demonstrates paragraph and essay structures, and spotlights sentence and punctuation skills.
Required Books: The following title is required and available at Textbook Outlet.
Aaron, Jane. Little Brown Handbook.
We will select a trade text to read by mid semester.
Required Materials: Please keep the following supplies on hand daily.
1. A form of electronic storage for your writing and research.
2. 3M or other plastic tabs.
3. Mini tape recorder and tape.
Course Objectives
Upon completion of this course, students should be able to:
-develop critical and analytical reading skills;
-make a connection between reading and writing;
-listen analytically and evaluate ideas presented by others;
-communicate thoughts clearly and effectively in dicscussions, including asking questions at appropriate times;
-understand writing as a process;
-approach a writing task with appropriate writing strategies;
-develop confidence in their ability to accomplish a writing task;
-write complete sentences in the four basic sentence patterns (simple,
compound, complex, and compound-complex);
-develop editing skills (specific punctuation and grammar strategies);
-and appreciate the complex and personal effort involved in the craft of writing.
Showing posts with label syllabus. Show all posts
Showing posts with label syllabus. Show all posts
Friday, September 7, 2007
Summer 2007 Syllabus: assignments and course grade
Assigned Work
Assignments include, but are not limited to, scheduled reading and responses, style and punctuation work, peer editing, pen pal letters, planning for Alcott’s visit, revising, researching, and the like. Assigned readings should be complete prior to the beginning of scheduled class. Readings may be given from course texts, reserve readings, newspaper, and other media. The instructor reserves the right to add readings not listed in the itinerary, so make sure you keep good records of assignment updates.
Reading Workshop: On scheduled days, students will read and respond to an assigned essay for a Reading Workshop with small peer groups. In addition to his or her written response, each student should bring a list of five questions about the assigned reading to be addressed in class. If necessary, the instructors will schedule additional analysis time for specific pieces.
Drafts and Writing Workshops: Students will prepare typed drafts of assignments and be prepared to share their writing and offer feedback to classmates on Writing Workshop days.
Style Exercises: Students will be expected to complete assigned punctuation, sentence structure, paragraph structure, and other style related exercises and assignments.
Reading Quizzes: Quizzes will be given each Tuesday. Quizzes may be based on material covered in syllabus, readings, and lectures. Quizzes cannot be made-up. If a student misses a quiz, a zero will be assigned for that quiz.
Blogging: You will need to check my blog regularly and respond weekly to one of my posts. You will You will maintain an academic blog that will serve as both a filter-style blog about reading, writing, and researching as well as a research notebook for your final researched position paper. You will post no less than three times per weeks, and you are required to read/comment no less than one time per week on the course blog and your groups’ blogs. What this means: 1. Each week, you will find four texts online that discuss topics relevant to our studies (reading, writing, grammar, research, technology, blogging, privacy, etc.), link them, and write/post a response. 2. You will read my blog and reply one time per week 3. You will read several classmates’ blogs and reply in the comments no less than two times per week on each. Groups of 4-5 students will be created the first day of class.
Assignments graded on the 4.0 scale: (3) Summaries and (3) Essays. Assignment sheets defining process, strategy, format, and timetable will be posted on the course blog for each of the following written assignments:
Summary. Each student will summarize three (3) short selections, chosen from a list of assigned chapters or essays. Each student will complete a practice run and the class will discuss summarizing strategies and the characteristics of abstracts, the particular kind of summary we will write.
Essay #1. In this assignment, you will develop a 3-page “case study” of an effective teacher. Instead of developing a caricature, however, you will examine the life and work of a real person and teacher—a teacher who has had you in his/her classroom. Discuss a teacher you have worked with during your primary or secondary education. Include detailed description of her/his character traits, actions, and assignments as you believe are relevant to his/her success as a teacher. Ask yourself, why did s/he reach me? Compare this teacher to those who did not motivate you or who could not keep you awake, etc. Each trait or part of your definition must be developed with examples of this teacher in action. Recreate interactions between students and teacher. Remember, words like “good,” “effective,” “well-meaning,” and “bad,” are empty without examples of what they mean to you. Because language is not transparent—speakers and hearers often misunderstand our use of even “simple” words—examples of our labels in context are essential. The reader needs to be able to develop a portrait in his/her mind. Think, label, and show. Graded on 4.0 scale.
Essay #2. Collage is an art form you may already be familiar with in it visual form; collage in writing carries similar ideas into language. In this essay, you may be asked to describe your appearance, explain the purpose of your college education, create a personal literacy narrative, and connect other topics discussed during the semester. The content parameters and grade criteria will be discussed as a class. This essay has no specific assigned length, yet, other than to say, “It needs to be long enough to complete the job, at least seven paragraphs.” Graded on 4.0 scale.
Essay #3. Now that you have read and discussed a variety of assessments, criticisms and proposals, it is time for you to contribute your informed opinion to the discussion by sharing your definition of the purpose of college. This essay will be a source-based text between 4 and 5 pages, not including the Works Cited page. More will be determined as the semester progresses and the interests of your section emerge. Graded on 4.0 scale.
Community Service
Pen Pal Project: We will partner with the leadership of Alcott Elementary School in Pontiac and become pen pals with their students. We will share our academic careers, aspirations, etc., and offer the students encouragement in their work and lives. There may be a semester long connection with a single classroom, or Alcott administrators may choose to distribute the letters to all faculty for use in their classes. I reserve the right to remove any messages that are inappropriate or display more than one or two small errors in style/grammar. This project allows us the opportunity to work on writing issues such as audience, voice and tone. This is a fun and simple way to become involved in our community and encourage children in their early school years.
A Day at College for Alcott’s Fifth Grade: As a class, you will design and acquire all permissions for Alcott’s fifth graders to come to Oakland University to learn about college life. You will need to decide what they should see, invite leaders to participate, coordinate their schedule, and write the grant to pay for their bus ride. This is a way to practice writing with various audiences for various purposes. Your audiences will include University administrators and faculty committees, Alcott staff, and fifth graders.
Grading
RHT 102 is assessed credit on a S/U basis. A final grade of satisfactory/unsatisfactory will be based on the following distribution:
Reading quizzes 20%
Blog and in-class writing 30%
Essays/Summaries 50%
Your final grade must amount to a 2.0 or better to advance to RHT 150.
Assignments include, but are not limited to, scheduled reading and responses, style and punctuation work, peer editing, pen pal letters, planning for Alcott’s visit, revising, researching, and the like. Assigned readings should be complete prior to the beginning of scheduled class. Readings may be given from course texts, reserve readings, newspaper, and other media. The instructor reserves the right to add readings not listed in the itinerary, so make sure you keep good records of assignment updates.
Reading Workshop: On scheduled days, students will read and respond to an assigned essay for a Reading Workshop with small peer groups. In addition to his or her written response, each student should bring a list of five questions about the assigned reading to be addressed in class. If necessary, the instructors will schedule additional analysis time for specific pieces.
Drafts and Writing Workshops: Students will prepare typed drafts of assignments and be prepared to share their writing and offer feedback to classmates on Writing Workshop days.
Style Exercises: Students will be expected to complete assigned punctuation, sentence structure, paragraph structure, and other style related exercises and assignments.
Reading Quizzes: Quizzes will be given each Tuesday. Quizzes may be based on material covered in syllabus, readings, and lectures. Quizzes cannot be made-up. If a student misses a quiz, a zero will be assigned for that quiz.
Blogging: You will need to check my blog regularly and respond weekly to one of my posts. You will You will maintain an academic blog that will serve as both a filter-style blog about reading, writing, and researching as well as a research notebook for your final researched position paper. You will post no less than three times per weeks, and you are required to read/comment no less than one time per week on the course blog and your groups’ blogs. What this means: 1. Each week, you will find four texts online that discuss topics relevant to our studies (reading, writing, grammar, research, technology, blogging, privacy, etc.), link them, and write/post a response. 2. You will read my blog and reply one time per week 3. You will read several classmates’ blogs and reply in the comments no less than two times per week on each. Groups of 4-5 students will be created the first day of class.
Assignments graded on the 4.0 scale: (3) Summaries and (3) Essays. Assignment sheets defining process, strategy, format, and timetable will be posted on the course blog for each of the following written assignments:
Summary. Each student will summarize three (3) short selections, chosen from a list of assigned chapters or essays. Each student will complete a practice run and the class will discuss summarizing strategies and the characteristics of abstracts, the particular kind of summary we will write.
Essay #1. In this assignment, you will develop a 3-page “case study” of an effective teacher. Instead of developing a caricature, however, you will examine the life and work of a real person and teacher—a teacher who has had you in his/her classroom. Discuss a teacher you have worked with during your primary or secondary education. Include detailed description of her/his character traits, actions, and assignments as you believe are relevant to his/her success as a teacher. Ask yourself, why did s/he reach me? Compare this teacher to those who did not motivate you or who could not keep you awake, etc. Each trait or part of your definition must be developed with examples of this teacher in action. Recreate interactions between students and teacher. Remember, words like “good,” “effective,” “well-meaning,” and “bad,” are empty without examples of what they mean to you. Because language is not transparent—speakers and hearers often misunderstand our use of even “simple” words—examples of our labels in context are essential. The reader needs to be able to develop a portrait in his/her mind. Think, label, and show. Graded on 4.0 scale.
Essay #2. Collage is an art form you may already be familiar with in it visual form; collage in writing carries similar ideas into language. In this essay, you may be asked to describe your appearance, explain the purpose of your college education, create a personal literacy narrative, and connect other topics discussed during the semester. The content parameters and grade criteria will be discussed as a class. This essay has no specific assigned length, yet, other than to say, “It needs to be long enough to complete the job, at least seven paragraphs.” Graded on 4.0 scale.
Essay #3. Now that you have read and discussed a variety of assessments, criticisms and proposals, it is time for you to contribute your informed opinion to the discussion by sharing your definition of the purpose of college. This essay will be a source-based text between 4 and 5 pages, not including the Works Cited page. More will be determined as the semester progresses and the interests of your section emerge. Graded on 4.0 scale.
Community Service
Pen Pal Project: We will partner with the leadership of Alcott Elementary School in Pontiac and become pen pals with their students. We will share our academic careers, aspirations, etc., and offer the students encouragement in their work and lives. There may be a semester long connection with a single classroom, or Alcott administrators may choose to distribute the letters to all faculty for use in their classes. I reserve the right to remove any messages that are inappropriate or display more than one or two small errors in style/grammar. This project allows us the opportunity to work on writing issues such as audience, voice and tone. This is a fun and simple way to become involved in our community and encourage children in their early school years.
A Day at College for Alcott’s Fifth Grade: As a class, you will design and acquire all permissions for Alcott’s fifth graders to come to Oakland University to learn about college life. You will need to decide what they should see, invite leaders to participate, coordinate their schedule, and write the grant to pay for their bus ride. This is a way to practice writing with various audiences for various purposes. Your audiences will include University administrators and faculty committees, Alcott staff, and fifth graders.
Grading
RHT 102 is assessed credit on a S/U basis. A final grade of satisfactory/unsatisfactory will be based on the following distribution:
Reading quizzes 20%
Blog and in-class writing 30%
Essays/Summaries 50%
Your final grade must amount to a 2.0 or better to advance to RHT 150.
Course Policies and Professionalism
Policy on academic misconduct: Cheating, plagiarism or any other form of academic misconduct will be reported to the Academic Conduct Committee of the University Senate for review and may result in failure for the course, university probation, suspension from the university, expulsion or other penalties. The "Academic Conduct" section of the catalog explains your due process rights and responsibilities. See me if you have questions or doubt. (This statement is written by Dr. Alice Horning and approved by the University’s Academic Conduct Committee.)
Attendance: I will take attendance at ALL class sessions. While occasional planned decisions placing other activities at a higher priority than class are understood and at times supported, excessive absences are not permitted. Included in the definition of absence are consistent tardiness and/or more than one early departure from class. If you are not in class, regardless of the reason, you are marked absent. There is no such thing as an ‘excused absense.’ The equivalent of three weeks of absences will result in minus .5 on your final grade. More than three absences will result in failure of the course as detailed in Department policy. You will always have my compassion where appropriate, but compassion does not mean a different policy for you; you must follow the same policy every other student must follow. If you have perfect attendance, I will add .1 to your final grade.
Late Work: Assignments are due on the date specified. Even when absent, your assignments are still due. Early work is always accepted, and you may drop assignments in my department mailbox if you will not be in class. Or you may send an email to show the work is completed and bring a hard copy to the next class session. I will not be responsible for downloading and printing your homework and will only grade your work when I receive the hard copy. However, it is understood that “life happens,” so save your “Life Happens” coupon, which allows you one extra week to hand in the assignment, for cases of extreme illness or unforeseen emergencies.
Classroom Participation: Respect is critical to a positive learning environment, and I expect you to show respect for yourself, others, and the intellectual process. There is a University standard for classroom decorum, and I will not allow for any student to disrupt class sessions. An individual commitment to your own learning and the learning community as a whole is necessary to a positive learning environment. You are expected to be prepared, respectful, and willing to participate in each class session. You are encouraged to participate in all discussions and to ask questions in my classroom. It is understood that your level of participation will vary depending on topics and the size of discussion groups, which will vary from the entire class to small groups and pairs. If you have a question about lecture material, ask it at an appropriate time. Questions or comments about your individual academic standing or personal situation should be reserved for office hours, phone, email, and before or after class. Any student displaying inappropriate behaviors in class will be referred to the Dean of Students’ Office.
Cell Phones and Pagers have no place in a classroom and are not to be seen or heard during class unless there is a compelling reason to leave the device on. If there is a special circumstance, please tell me before class. In addition, the cell phone song and dance policy is officially in place: I hear your cell without warning, and you sing the song of my choice while dancing for the class. (I am especially partial to The Itsy Bitsy Spider right now.) Also, if you text message during class, then your phone will need to sit on my desk during the rest of the semester.
Tape Recorders are welcome under most circumstances. Please notify me as a courtesy and allow me to say no or stop the recording if group conversation and participation are negatively impacted.
Laptop Computers are also welcome. However, be aware of the distraction, or out right health risks, some folks may face from the flicker of the screen. I will say no to laptops if anyone in the classroom has health-related problems. (For example, some people are susceptible to seizures from the flicker, or the flicker can be especially distracting to a deaf classmate.) Again, courtesy for others and respect for the learning environment are paramount. Do sit in the back of the room near a power outlet in order to reduce distraction. And if you are found to be online, IMing, or engaged in some activity not directly related to the class topic, your computer will no longer be allowed in class.
Netiquette: Communication and continuity are important, and the course email and website are critical tools. When sending email, please note if you have a homework question in the subject line: Section, Homework Question. I respond to homework questions before addressing drafts and other topics. You should receive an email within 48 hours, usually sooner; if you do not receive a response within 48 hours, please resend your original message as I may not know you contacted me. Also, be sure you have a professional email address. If the email looks like a spam, I will delete it and never know you tried to contact me. If you would like me to review a paper via email, paste it into the email as I will not open attachments.
Finally, it is ALWAYS preferable for you to come to office hours or call during office hours with questions about assignments, etc. In the past, I have received emails that were sent during office hours, which is illogical when a student could call, have a conversation, and get an immediate answer. Please use office hours as they are intended, for you to speak with my in person or by phone.
Keep All Work
Keep all outlines, notes, quizzes, homework, and essays. If there is ever a question or concern about a grade, you will be expected to produce support for your claim. Furthermore, I encourage you to maintain a file system of course syllabi for future reference. If you ever choose to transfer to another college or pursue an advanced degree, easy access to your course history will be extremely helpful.
Attendance: I will take attendance at ALL class sessions. While occasional planned decisions placing other activities at a higher priority than class are understood and at times supported, excessive absences are not permitted. Included in the definition of absence are consistent tardiness and/or more than one early departure from class. If you are not in class, regardless of the reason, you are marked absent. There is no such thing as an ‘excused absense.’ The equivalent of three weeks of absences will result in minus .5 on your final grade. More than three absences will result in failure of the course as detailed in Department policy. You will always have my compassion where appropriate, but compassion does not mean a different policy for you; you must follow the same policy every other student must follow. If you have perfect attendance, I will add .1 to your final grade.
Late Work: Assignments are due on the date specified. Even when absent, your assignments are still due. Early work is always accepted, and you may drop assignments in my department mailbox if you will not be in class. Or you may send an email to show the work is completed and bring a hard copy to the next class session. I will not be responsible for downloading and printing your homework and will only grade your work when I receive the hard copy. However, it is understood that “life happens,” so save your “Life Happens” coupon, which allows you one extra week to hand in the assignment, for cases of extreme illness or unforeseen emergencies.
Classroom Participation: Respect is critical to a positive learning environment, and I expect you to show respect for yourself, others, and the intellectual process. There is a University standard for classroom decorum, and I will not allow for any student to disrupt class sessions. An individual commitment to your own learning and the learning community as a whole is necessary to a positive learning environment. You are expected to be prepared, respectful, and willing to participate in each class session. You are encouraged to participate in all discussions and to ask questions in my classroom. It is understood that your level of participation will vary depending on topics and the size of discussion groups, which will vary from the entire class to small groups and pairs. If you have a question about lecture material, ask it at an appropriate time. Questions or comments about your individual academic standing or personal situation should be reserved for office hours, phone, email, and before or after class. Any student displaying inappropriate behaviors in class will be referred to the Dean of Students’ Office.
Cell Phones and Pagers have no place in a classroom and are not to be seen or heard during class unless there is a compelling reason to leave the device on. If there is a special circumstance, please tell me before class. In addition, the cell phone song and dance policy is officially in place: I hear your cell without warning, and you sing the song of my choice while dancing for the class. (I am especially partial to The Itsy Bitsy Spider right now.) Also, if you text message during class, then your phone will need to sit on my desk during the rest of the semester.
Tape Recorders are welcome under most circumstances. Please notify me as a courtesy and allow me to say no or stop the recording if group conversation and participation are negatively impacted.
Laptop Computers are also welcome. However, be aware of the distraction, or out right health risks, some folks may face from the flicker of the screen. I will say no to laptops if anyone in the classroom has health-related problems. (For example, some people are susceptible to seizures from the flicker, or the flicker can be especially distracting to a deaf classmate.) Again, courtesy for others and respect for the learning environment are paramount. Do sit in the back of the room near a power outlet in order to reduce distraction. And if you are found to be online, IMing, or engaged in some activity not directly related to the class topic, your computer will no longer be allowed in class.
Netiquette: Communication and continuity are important, and the course email and website are critical tools. When sending email, please note if you have a homework question in the subject line: Section, Homework Question. I respond to homework questions before addressing drafts and other topics. You should receive an email within 48 hours, usually sooner; if you do not receive a response within 48 hours, please resend your original message as I may not know you contacted me. Also, be sure you have a professional email address. If the email looks like a spam, I will delete it and never know you tried to contact me. If you would like me to review a paper via email, paste it into the email as I will not open attachments.
Finally, it is ALWAYS preferable for you to come to office hours or call during office hours with questions about assignments, etc. In the past, I have received emails that were sent during office hours, which is illogical when a student could call, have a conversation, and get an immediate answer. Please use office hours as they are intended, for you to speak with my in person or by phone.
Keep All Work
Keep all outlines, notes, quizzes, homework, and essays. If there is ever a question or concern about a grade, you will be expected to produce support for your claim. Furthermore, I encourage you to maintain a file system of course syllabi for future reference. If you ever choose to transfer to another college or pursue an advanced degree, easy access to your course history will be extremely helpful.
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