P & P
SUMMER 2010
CRN 16980
Instructor: Steve Gooch
Email: sgooch@purdue.edu
Meeting Time: 11:30-1:20
Classrooms: Monday & Wednesday – HEAV 104/Friday – WTHR 212
Conferences: Tuesday HEAV 223 | Thursday HEAV 223
Office: HEAV 210
Office Hours: Monday 1:45-2:45, or by appointment
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ICAP Contact Information
Office: HEAV 302 Phone: 765-494-3730
Course Objectives:
This course is intended to help students improve their writing and overall communication process and prepare them for further writing in the university and beyond. Students should develop organizational skills, an ability to effectively use and cite supporting resources in their work, an ability to develop and revise both their own work and that of their peers, and a recognition of audience and context.
You will be expected to write both in and out of class, and turn in a total of 3 major assignments. Each major assignment will be accompanied by a short, 200-300 word reflection, discussing your writing process for this assignment, and how and what resources you used. Along with other in-class writing activity, you will be expected to draft and revise each assignment before it is due, and bring and discuss these revisions in both class and conferences. You will also be expected to participate actively in class discussions and peer reviews. Active and meaningful participation requires completion of all readings by the day they are to be discussed, including those given in addition to the required texts, including photocopies, PDFs or web sites. For your assignments, you will also be expected to do research, and provide a works cited page, where appropriate.
Required Texts:
They Say / I Say: The Moves That Matter in Academic Writing (Second Edition). Gerald Graff and Cathy Birkenstein. W. W. Norton & Company, 2009. ISBN: 978-0393933611
The Humble Essay. Roy K. Humble. Problem Child Press, 2008. ISBN: 978-0981818108
A.D.: New Orleans After the Deluge. Josh Neufeld. SMITH Magazine, 2007-8. http://www.smithmag.net/
The Pekar project. Harvey Pekar. SMITH Magazine, 2009-10. http://www.smithmag.net/
Grading:
Please Note:
Course requirements, deadlines and grading percentages are subject to changes that may be necessitated by a revised semester calendar, a major campus emergency, or other circumstances beyond the instructor’s control. Please check the Purdue home page, this website and/or email me in the event of such an occurrence.
Participation: 10%
This includes arriving at class and conferences on time and prepared, speaking in class, participating in discussions, group work, in-class assignments, and peer reviews. Please keep in mind that if you arrive for class without having done the reading or ancillary assignment for that day, the two hours will seem very long, and I will do my best to make sure they seem like an eternity. And you will lose participation points. So come to class prepared and ready to speak up.
Homework and Quizzes: 10%
This portion of the grade consists of ancillary assignments, quizzes, rough drafts, revisions, blog posts, and other work to be completed outside of class.
Projects:
Each Project assigned will consist of a Major Product and Accompanying Material. The Accompanying Material consists of smaller preliminary assignments that lead up to the Major Product. Both the Major Product and the Accompanying Material should be handed in, in a folder, on the due date listed.
Each Project is worth 20% of the total grade. The Major Paper accounts for 15%, and the Accompanying Material 5%. For specifics on each Project, please see the project page.
Project One: “Place”
Project Two: “People and Comics”
Project Three: “Proposal”
Portfolio: 20%
In place of a final exam, you will turn in heavily revised versions of your projects via a website or blog
These will be presented on the final day of class, and should present the original version of each project, the revised version, and reflections that discuss your revision process and the specific changes you made.
Note: For your records, keep all course materials, graded and ungraded, until the end of the course. Especially keep everything you write, including drafts.
Grade Criteria:
90-100 (A) The student completed the assignment at a very high level of quality, which reflects originality, creativity and research. Work in this range goes the extra mile to be well organized, complete, and original or creative in content, approach and style.
80-89 (B) The student completed the assignment at a high level of quality. Work in this range is complete, well organized and demonstrates both effective style and research. Minor revisions may be needed.
70-79 (C) The student completed the assignment in a complete and well organized manner. Work in this range may need revision and/or more depth. The style, verbal and visual, is clear and straightforward, but unremarkable.
60-69 (D) The student completed the assignment at a low level of quality, or did not complete the assignment, but shows some level of quality. Work in this range needs significant revision, is often missing content or lacking organization. Style is often chaotic.
0-59 (F) The student did not turn in the assignment, or made no or almost no effort to complete the assignment. This grade is usually reserved for those who don’t come to class/conferences, or don’t do the work. If you feel you gave an assignment your best effort and still received an F, you might consider dropping this class.
| Letter Grade | Percentage | Grade Point |
| A | 93-100% | 4.0 |
| A- | 90-92% | 3.7 |
| B+ | 87-89% | 3.3 |
| B | 83-86% | 3.0 |
| B- | 80-82% | 2.7 |
| C+ | 77-79% | 2.3 |
| C | 73-76% | 2.0 |
| C- | 70-72% | 1.7 |
| D+ | 67-69% | 1.3 |
| D | 63-66% | 1.0 |
Attendance and Tardiness:
In-class lectures, discussions, writings and exercises form the foundation for this course. Tardiness and frequent, unexcused absences are not acceptable and will have a negative effect on your class participation grade. Missing more than two (2) classes/conferences during the semester will make it extremely difficult to pass this course. If you miss a class or conference, you will be responsible for any in-class work missed, assignments due, and may lose points from your Participation grade. If you plan to miss a class or conference, be sure you tell me at least a week in advance. In case of an unexpected absence, email me as soon as possible, or call the department and let them know. After two absences, each additional absence will deduct 10% from your overall grade, in addition to points from your Participation grade. Each tardiness will count as half of an absence. Under exceptional circumstances, this policy may be altered with a written request by the student and official documentation at the discretion of the instructor.
Late Papers:
First off, I will not remind you to turn in late papers, nor will I chase them down from you.
Papers must be turned in on time. I will deduct one letter grade for each day the paper is late. I will not accept a paper more than 2 days after it is due.
For example:
Paper ‘X’ is due on Monday the 3rd at the beginning of class. If handed in after the start of class on Monday and by the start of class on Tuesday the 4th, the highest grade the paper can receive is an 89. Wednesday the 5th, 79. By Thursday the 6th, the paper will no longer be accepted, and you will receive a 0 for that assignment.
Professionalism in the Classroom:
You are expected to act professionally at all times. I will not tolerate harassing, threatening or belittling behavior in the classroom. While we may at times engage in spirited discussions, I ask that you keep it civil and respectfully listen to the views of everyone. All phones, iPods, etc., should be off and inside a bag when class starts. You shouldn’t be reading newspapers, books for other classes (or even last night’s readings for this class) during the class period. You will get one warning, and after that, be asked to leave the room. If a recurring problem develops, you may be asked to leave the class entirely or failed.
On technology days, or if you plan to use a computer to take notes, please remember that this is not a time to email, IM, or check your facebook page. You will have work to do and be expected to participate in class, and any distractions will negatively impact your Participation grade.
Academic Integrity and Plagiarism:
Plagiarism is using the work of another without proper acknowledgment. Students participating in plagiarism will fail the course, and be reported to the Dean of Students and the head of the Composition program.
Grammar and Spelling:
This is not a grammar class, but you are expected to know basic rules of grammar. You will be marked down for grammar and spelling mistakes in your papers. Being a “bad speller” or “bad at grammar” are not acceptable excuses. If you feel you need help with your grammar, please come see me during office hours or go to the Purdue Writing Lab for help.
Disabilities:
To be eligible for academic accommodations, students with disabilities must be registered with The Disability Resource Center in the Office of the Dean of Students before classroom accommodations can be provided. If you are eligible for academic accommodations because you have a documented disability that will impact your work in this class, please schedule an appointment with me as soon as possible to discuss your needs.
Final Notes:
This will be a challenging, and at times, difficult class. Keep in mind it is a real, four credit class. That said, please remember that I am here to help you during class, conferences, office hours, by appointment and over email. Please include ENGL 106 in the subject line of all emails, and don’t expect a response in less than 12 hours. Also remember to check your email and the blackboard site after each class for readings, and look frequently at the course website.
You can also seek writing help online at Purdue’s Online Writing Lab, and in person at the Writing Lab, HEAV 226, phone: 49-43723. For help with technology and software, you can make an appointment at the Digital Learning Collaboratory. For research, the Purdue Libraries are your best resource. You’ll probably be using the Hicks Undergraduate Library the most. Also, during the course of the semester you will be encouraged to find and take advantage of reputable sources on the internet.
