College Writing I section 238 & 239 Fall 2005 Syllabus
Making Money, Spending Money:
Writing about What We Do and What We Buy

Dr. Bridget Marshall:  bridget_marshall@uml.edu

Office Hours:  Tues/Thurs 9:30 to 11:30 and most other days by appointment in O’ Leary 414

Required Texts: Perspectives on Contemporary Issues: Readings Across the Disciplines, Fourth Edition.  By Katherine Anne Ackley and Nickel and Dimed.  By Barbara Ehrenreich

This class operates on the idea that we are all writers.  While some of you may not particularly enjoy writing, it is still a very necessary part of your education.  Writing will not only help you get through school, but it will be immeasurably useful beyond school, in whatever profession you choose.  Keeping in mind the idea that you will all have many kinds of writing to do throughout your academic career and beyond, here are my goals for this class:

• Teach you a few of the basic forms of writing that you will use during your college career and beyond
• Show you how writing multiple drafts and collaboration with peers improves your writing
• Help you to edit your work so that it looks and sounds polished and professional
• Engage you in topics that will interest you and show you how to use writing as a way to develop, explore, and express your thinking on a subject

To meet these and other ends, there are six major essays for this class, each with multiple drafts.  This is a total of approximately 25 pages of writing with 250 words per page.  You will be required to share your drafts and final essays with peers in the class.  Rather than being assignments written for me, your teacher, these essays are an opportunity to express yourself and to think critically about a variety of topics.  Outlined below are the general topics/forms we’ll use for the essay assignments.

#1        Jobs: Personal Narrative and Analysis
#2        Advertisement Analysis: Engaging with a published advertisement
#3        Text-Wrestling:  Reading, discussing and responding to a written text
#4        Documented:  Open Topic, supplementing your knowledge with research
#5        Argument:  Choosing an issue and a side, making an argument
#6        Movie Review:  Reviewing a film from the Common Text film series

All of these Essays will involve multiple drafts, typically including an Exploratory Draft, a Mid-Process Draft, and a Concluding (Final) Revision.  In addition to these six essays, we will be doing a lot of other writing.  This includes in-class writing prompts (which may or may not develop into an essay), a journal, letters to each other and to me, and other sorts of smaller in-class writing assignments.  In other words, get your word-processor fired up, come to class with pens and paper, and be prepared to write!
Class Requirements:  Pay close attention to this section; it contains the very basic requirements for passing this class.

• Attendance is required.  This is not a correspondence course.  You can fail the course for not attending class, even if you do all the writing.  You are given two “Freebies.”  For every class beyond those two that you miss, your final grade for the class will be lowered one grade step.  (I.e., if you have a “B” for the class, but have missed 4 classes, you will receive a “C+” for your final grade.)  Also included in your attendance are your conferences with me.  There are several scheduled conferences that you MUST attend.  I usually cancel at least one class during conference week.  If you miss a conference without contacting me before you miss it, it counts as an absence.  You should also be prepared for your conference, bringing your journal and any work that is assigned for that week.
• Complete the six major essays, including multiple drafts and other writings associated with them.  Assignments are due at the beginning of class unless otherwise noted.  When you arrive in class, you should be ready to hand in a draft, or to work with it in a peer response group.  The process of “completing six major essays’ also includes revising them.  Revising is not an option; it is required.  The multiple draft process does not mean that you write a bad essay and then fix your typos; always write your best.  Substantial revision is part of your grade.  I will look at your drafts to see that you have expanded and refined your writing through the process.  In order for me to see this, you must save every draft.  When you turn in a final essay, you should also include all drafts, notes, peer response, etc. associated with that essay. 
• Also in the process of “completing the six major essays,” you will be required to share your writing and respond to the writing of your peers.  We do this to stress the point that you are not just writing for a teacher or for a grade; we are writing for a community of writers.  We will read our work aloud to each other and read each other’s papers.  Become comfortable with sharing your writing; this is a necessary step in improving your writing and becoming part of the academic community.
• Good classroom citizenship is required.  Good classroom citizenship goes beyond just “participation” in the sense of raising your hand a lot.  It includes sharing your thoughts and ACTIVELY LISTENING to the thoughts and comments of your peers.  Please be considerate of your classmates and make the classroom a space where everyone can speak their mind.  We will have both full-class discussions and small group work.  If you are not particularly comfortable speaking in the full-class discussion, be sure you are making up for it in the smaller group discussions.  Also, as a courtesy to everyone in the room, please turn off your cell phone before class begins.
• You are required to complete two small class-presentation assignments.  Everyone must provide at least one journal prompt and explain one grammar point on an assigned day.  Details of these assignments are explained in the handout “Class Participation Presentations.”
• Remember that it is your responsibility to keep track of things.  By “things,” I mean drafts of essays that have a tendency to get lost in computers or dorm rooms, assignments from class days that you missed, and class work that hasn’t been submitted.  I keep track of everything that is turned in.  If you are unsure if you have any late or outstanding assignments, you can certainly ask me; however, I will not chase you down begging you to turn something in.
• There is one course textbook, which includes all the readings for the course and a guide to research paper writing.  We will not use all of the essays of the anthology, but I encourage you to read beyond the assigned ones, especially if you are looking for topic ideas for your own papers.  The text provides sample student papers, professional writing from a variety of sources on a vast array of themes and ideas, as well as helpful advice on writing papers.  As you are completing the reading assignments, you should pay attention to matters of form and content.  These articles convey information, but it is also important that you notice how they achieve this.
• Keep a journal.  I expect you to write at least two pages (8 1/2 by 11-sized, or equivalent in smaller notebooks) each week.  We will be doing some of this writing in class, but you will probably need to do at least some of the journal-writing at home.  Bring your journal to class EVERY DAY.  We will have journal writing at some point during every class in order to help you meet the journal requirement.  I will check your journals to see that you are keeping up with them at each conference, however, I will not ever collect or keep your journal, or require you to share a journal entry with your peers.  Journals are a space for your private writing.  The purpose of the journal is to give you a space for private writing, and to help you make writing a habit.  While you may end up getting an essay idea from a journal entry, the journal is not a place for drafts of essays, or for your calculus homework.  Your journal should be a bound notebook of some sort (no loose-leaf, please) that you keep separate from your class notes.  Please have your journal by the third class meeting.
• One of our end-of-semester essay assignments is a film review of TWO movies being shown in the Common Texts Film Festival.  Over the course of the semester, you should attend (at least) two screenings, which will happen on Thursday nights, typically at 7 pm.  Bring your friends and meet students from across campus at these screenings, which will be followed by lively discussions.  Screenings are free and open to the public.
• In accordance with University policy and the ADA, I will provide accommodation for students with documented disabilities.  If you have a disability, please contact the Office of Disability Services: McGauvran 363, phone: (978) 934-4338 as soon as possible.  They will contact me regarding effective accommodations.  In order to speed up this process, you can also let me know in person or via e-mail.  This documentation is confidential.

Evaluation and Grading:  Grading writing is my least favorite aspect of the course, however, grades are necessary, not only to the University, but also in many cases in order to motivate students.  I don’t have a big secret formula for calculating grades.  Basically, everything you do counts in some way or other, and I record every check, every zero, and every grade.  Here is some general information about what is graded and how I tabulate a final grade:

• You will receive “checks” or “zeroes” for First, Mid-process, and Concluding Revisions, as well as for peer responses and other in-class or take-home work.  Occasionally, I record a “check plus” for a particularly outstanding effort on a draft or small assignment.  If you don’t have a draft on the day it is due, or your draft seems seriously lacking in effort, you will receive a zero for the assignment.
• For the final draft of each essay, I will complete an evaluation sheet that will detail the strengths and weaknesses of your paper on a grid.  Most essays will have a possible 50 points; longer or shorter assignments may vary in point value.  This final “number” will be recorded, but it is NOT the only indication of your grade; completing drafts, class work, and peer work is also included in the tabulation of your final grade.  Please keep in mind that every draft counts; your final grade for the course will include all checks, zeroes, and number grades.  
• Please keep in mind the attendance policy (already detailed in the “Requirements” section above).  Absenteeism is the leading cause of poor grades in College Writing.  Your final grade is reduced by a grade step (i.e., an A goes to an A-, an A- becomes a B+) for every absence beyond two (2).  Extensive, excessive, or habitual lateness can also be considered an absence.
• I do not accept papers via e-mail or on a disk.  Any paper that is due is due at the beginning of class.  You should arrive at the beginning of class with a printed copy of your paper. 
• If you miss class, you should send your assignment to class with a peer or leave it in my mailbox.  When you return to class, you are responsible for having the assignment due on that day, as well as any work you missed on previous days.  Consult the syllabus, contact a friend in the class, or send me an e-mail in order to find out what will be due on the day you return to class.  If you know in advance that you are going to miss class, I highly recommend that you let me know this so that you can keep up with the work.
• If you have a concern about an individual essay grade or a question about your standing in the class, I am quite happy to talk with you.  This type of conversation is best suited to an individual conference.  You can see me at your regular conference, drop by my office hours, or schedule an appointment at another time.
• A final word on the unpleasant part of grades, specifically the bad ones:  I hope that all my students will strive to do their best work in this course, but if you are determined to do only the minimal amount of work and get the minimum passing grade, you might want to know what the bottom line is.  This much is nonnegotiable: you are not eligible for a passing grade of D unless you have attended at least 11 of 14 weeks worth of classes, and completed 90% of the assignments.  I hope this is never a consideration or concern for any of you, but I did want to put it in writing.

Semester Schedule

Below you will find a preliminary outline for the semester.  Please note that what we’ll do in class is subject to change.  As a general rule, we will stick with the “what’s due for class” items.  If there are radical changes to the syllabus, I will issue a new one.  If you miss a class, you are still responsible for what was due on the day(s) you missed and on the day you return, so ALWAYS consult the syllabus (or a classmate, or me) if you have missed or will miss a class.
Please note that each day’s class will consist of two standard features.  These are 1) the five-to-ten minute free-writing (journal) session, with a prompt provided by one of your classmates, and 2) a five-minute grammar presentation by one of your classmates.  You will each sign up to do one of these during the semester.
A note on reading designations: Most reading page numbers refer to the pages in Perspectives on Contemporary Issues.  “N & D” refers to pages in Nickel & Dimed.  You should have read all of N & D over the summer, so pages listed here should be re-readings of the text.  A few assignments are still “TBA” – I will update this info as soon as possible.

About Academic Honesty

All University policies on plagiarism apply to all writing assignments in this course.  This means that if you plagiarize an assignment, you will receive an “F” for the course, and you are subject to other discipline (including expulsion from the University) at the discretion of the instructor and the University.  Here is the University’s definition of plagiarism, as found in the Academic Rules & Regulations, available online at http://www.uml.edu/admin/registrar/academicrules/academicdishonestycheatingandplagiarism.htm
Plagiarism is defined as:

• Direct quotation or word-for-word copying of all or part of the work of another without identification or acknowledgment of the quoted work
• Extensive use of acknowledged quotation from the work of others which is joined together by a few words or lines of one’s own text.
• An abbreviated restatement of someone else’s analysis or conclusion, however skillfully paraphrased, without acknowledgment that another person’s text has been the basis for the recapitulation.

Unintentional plagiarism is still plagiarism.  You must cite all sources that you use, including online sources.  Also, remember that “using” a source includes DIRECTLY QUOTING, PARAPHRASING, AND USING IDEAS from any source.  There is nothing wrong with “getting help” from other writers, just be sure to acknowledge it by using quotation marks or author/page citation appropriately.  Please take the time to give proper credit to the work of other authors.  It is a matter of respect – for yourself, for other authors, for your classmates, and for me.

I know that it is easy to find information and indeed whole papers on the internet.  You should know that it is also easy for me to find these sources.  If I suspect you’ve done this, I will take the time to find the source, and there is every likelihood you will be caught.  Please don’t waste your time or mine by plagiarizing a paper.  If you’re having difficulty with a writing assignment, please talk to me before the day it is due.

Some Advice:

Come to class prepared.  Bring the course reader every day.  Bring a draft – a printed, readable copy – on days when writing is due.  Admittedly, there is some kind of writing due most days. 

Because there is writing due most days, you need to work hard to keep up with it.  Sometimes student schedules lead one to take some time off with the expectation of getting back to it later.  This is a very bad idea for this course especially, since the multiple drafts, in-class peer response, and comments from me will happen on a pretty tight timeline.  I urge you now – at the beginning of the semester – to set aside regular (ideally, daily) time to read and write for this course.  Developing good study habits now will serve you well as we get to the busiest time of the semester, when you have longer papers due for me, not to mention the lab reports, exams, and other obligations to all of your courses.

Save everything you write for this class.  When I collect a paper, I expect you to turn in all drafts, short assignments, and peer response work associated with this essay.  Practice good organization and save everything.

Back up your computer files by saving to a disk, burning a CD, saving to the University network, or another safe and secure source.  You can even e-mail papers to yourself.  Whatever you do, keep your backups up to date.  Computers break, get stolen, get locked in cars and dorm rooms, and are otherwise unreliable.  You are responsible for backing up your system.  Please do it.