jetnet.jccmi.edu€¦ · Web viewEnglish 132-03 Writing Experience Syllabus. JCC North Campus, Room 105. Wednesdays 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. (05/01/2013 to 08/07/13) Instructor Facilitator:

English 132-03 Writing Experience Syllabus

JCC North Campus, Room 105Wednesdays 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. (05/01/2013 to 08/07/13)

Instructor Facilitator: Nancy LevantEmail: [email protected]

English Department: 796 - 8582Office hours: before or after class

Textbooks

Norton Field Guide to Writing with Readings. W.W. Norton & Co. ISBN 978-0-393-93381-9

They Say, I Say: The Moves That Matter in Academic Writing. Second Edition. Authors: Graffand Birkenstein. Publisher: W.W. Norton & Co. ISBN 978-0-393-93361-1

Mandatory Class Supplies

Flash drives (recommend having two)HighlightersPocket folders for handoutsLaptop computerPens, pencils, and notebooks for note taking

Course Description

As a continuation of the writing instruction and practice begun in ENG 131, English 132 emphasizes critical thinking, information gathering, researching, and forms of writing useful to academic, professional, and personal life. Identifying and translating critical thinking skills to the writing process, applying composition theories and rhetorical strategies in your writing, becoming proficient as an academic researcher, and engaging various elements of good writing, are the major goals that drive this course. You will achieve these goals collaboratively and individually, working as scholars, writers, and peer responders.

Course Design

This course is designed as a writer’s workshop, whereby you will be working on all assignments and projects in peer groups of four. You will work as a team, peer editing each other’s papers and drafts, acting as co-workers and supporters, and you will coordinate all projects, deadlines, and assignments as group partners. This is a highly interactive process, which mimics today’s workforce teams and joint missions, successes or failures. It is mandatory that you act as equal partners in all assigned work in order for all group members to succeed, and you are to report any team members who are not carrying their weight in the groups.

Instructor and Students Roles in Twenty-first Century Classrooms

The roles of students and instructors have changed in today’s higher education classrooms by what is known as the Adult Learning Theory (ALT) and Learning Centered Instruction (LCI). According to ALT and LCI, students are responsible for their learning, and former teacher/instructors are now responsible for facilitating the self-directed learning of students. My role is to provide you with the necessary information to accomplish the requirements of this course, but it is your job, as adults, to fulfill all requirements, meet all deadlines, and to use peer group members as support assistants in the successful completion of this work.

The primary reason for the changes in the roles of students and instructors is to ensure that the educational process mimics the new international workforce systems that are overtaking the former twentieth century employment models and methods. Most working people in the United States and globally will be working in teams vs. as individuals. Equally, you will be working with people from many countries. As such, you are being trained in today’s colleges and universities to learn and work in groups, to develop team leadership, consensus and delegation skills, to learn and develop multicultural sensitivity and skills, and to work independently of direct management, which includes teachers. This new methodology is far more respectful of adult learners and provides them with many advantages, particularly when enrolled in hybrid and online courses.

As the facilitator for this course, I provide you with the information you need to accomplish all course requirements, I assist groups or individuals as needed and serve as a course engineer and facilitator vs. a lecturing teacher. I will also inspire and motive you with fascinating topics for potential research. In a nutshell, you will work together in teams during every class session. This does not mean spending time on social networks, texting, or otherwise not accomplishing course work. You will be acting as adults and doing what is expected, just as if you were employed and on the job. As such, expect a lively and highly interactive class experience.

Though this educational methodology is new to most, it specifically takes into account the needs of adult students, their desire for independent and highly technological learning, their employment and family obligations, and also their life experiences and adult wisdom. LCI is a respectful approach to adult learners who do not need to be controlled or taught like children. However, LCI also mandates self-directed learning. You are responsible for the knowledge you acquire, for the time and effort put forth for studies and projects, and you are equally responsible for grades earned. The outstanding component to the LCI model is that you have a far larger support system than simply one instructor. You have a dedicated group of peer project partners, free tutoring through the JCC Center for Student Services, textbooks, the Internet, the JCC Library librarians and databases, and literally 40+ handouts specifically for English 132. That is a lot of support. You will also participate in the determination of grades through self-evaluation, group and course evaluations.

Success Requirements

To successfully complete this course: You must have an effective plan in your essays including a clearly identifiable thesis

statement for each essay. You must revise each assigned paper twice. You must demonstrate mastery of MLA conventions and formats. You must complete an Organizational Outline for every writing assignment as a means to

mastering academic writing strategies in your own work and to be able to recognize proper strategies in the work of your group members.

You must participate in all in-class writing assignments and meet all due dates and deadlines.

You must pass the portfolio component of this class with a 2.0 or better. Your writing must reflect college level syntax, vocabulary, and the mastery of Third

Person Voice. You must demonstrate through revisions and peer editing that grammar, sentence

construction and paragraph structures are improving throughout the course.

Performance Objectives

“The Board of Trustees has determined that all JCC graduates should develop or enhance certainessential skills while enrolled in college.” As such, ENG 132 assesses the following Associate Degree Outcome (ADOs):

Student use parts of the recursive process in writing, which may include pre-writing, drafting and revising, editing, and evaluating sources when writing (critical reading).

Students demonstrate awareness of purpose, style and tone in writings. Students demonstrate functional organization structure including examples and details. Students research and write for further understanding and additional knowledge. Students demonstrate the ability to properly document sources using MLA. Students attempt and practice correct grammar usage and sentence and paragraph

construction. Students attempt and practice writing that is clearly understood by the audience/reader(s). All students are tasked with group/team membership, and all students have individual

roles within the groups that are determined and assigned by the groups. All groups use consensus-based decision making and problem solving strategies for

coming to group conclusions. All group members are equally valued, heard, acknowledged and respected, and all group

members are equally supported and helped as needed. All group members may ask questions or contact members for additional help as needed.

Any group conflicts are to be resolved through open discussion, friendly compromise and by reaching consensus.

All group members will assess themselves, other group members and the group as a whole.

The Writer’s Workshop Expectations

The workshop format is a cooperative venture which I will facilitate and guide, but you and your work comprise the course. A workshop environment mandates active engagement. This is not a course based on lectures. You will learn the process of writing by the practice of process writing, which will require your full and complete participation. You will work on practice activities by collecting evidence, practicing organizational strategies, discussing and debating topics, and analyzing readings. You will work in groups and individually. Equally, it is expected that study outside of the classroom will encompass approximately six hours per week, studying, reading from the textbooks, and working on assignments individually. It will take such effort to produce an A-level portfolio by the end of the semester.

College Classroom Etiquette

Be considerate and respectful of each other. Maintain a positive learning attitude and be encouraging to your peers. Refrain from any activity or behavior that disrupts or impedes learning. Pay attention when I am addressing the entire group. Listen carefully to my directions. If something is unclear, ask questions. Turn off cell phones during the class session. Do not conduct private conversations

during class time. NO TEXTING. Do not engage in work for other classes or personal enrichment during class time. If you have a problem during a class, please let me know. Keep all handouts. Keep all revisions and drafts for the portfolios. If you must leave class early, do so discretely and quietly. Consult the JCC catalogue regarding withdrawal, audit, and incomplete policies. If surfing the net or otherwise not working on English 132 during class time, you will

receive an F grade for the class.

Academic Integrity

Academic honesty and integrity is expected by every student. JCC has an academic honesty policy, which must be adhered to in this and all other courses. Basically, you must do your own work. Plagiarism is submitting another’s work as your own. It is cheating or helping someone else to cheat. All instances of plagiarism will be reported to the Academic Dean for disciplinary action, which can include expulsion from the college and will result in a failing grade for this class. Plagiarism can also be, at times, of great detriment to your group if complicity is evident or reported.

End of Semester Online Course Evaluations

Toward the end of every semester, you will receive a course evaluation questionnaire, which allows you to make constructive comments for course improvement and to evaluate instructor effectiveness. These evaluations by students are taken very seriously, and your input is highly desired. You will receive course evaluations in your JCC email for every class. Every student is required to contribute to improving our courses and educators by carefully following the instructions on the course evaluations and promptly transmitting their results. You will not receive final grades until the course evaluations are completed and electronically submitted.

Students with Disabilities

Jackson Community College provides services to students with disabilities. JCC, in compliance with Federal regulations and in support of our efforts to enable students to maximize their talents and abilities, provides direct academic services for students with disabilities. Students with disabilities may request accommodations as provided within federal law.

Documentation and requests should be made to the Center for Student Success as early in the semester as possible to prevent delays in accommodation. Students may call 517-796-8415 for any special classroom needs, including interpreters, special testing arrangements, or any other needs-based services. Further information regarding policies and guidelines can also be found on the JCC website: http://www.jccmi.edu/success

Students with disabilities who believe that they may need accommodations in this class are encouraged to contact the office of Learning Support Services at 796-8415 as soon as possible to ensure that such accommodations are implemented in a timely fashion.

Resources for Writers

Center for Student Success Writing Center for help with papers – 796-8415 – Walker Hall, room 125

Writing Fellows (student help), Brent Walker Hall, room 107

OWL Purdue Web Site for MLA help – www.owl.english.purdue.edu/resources

English Departme nt – 796-8589

Student Ombudsman – 796-8477

http://www.arbor.edu/students-disabilities/academic-student-connections/index.aspx

Class Attendance

Participation in class discussions and in class activities is essential to success in English 132. Regular attendance is essential for an A grade. If, due to emergency circumstances, a class will be missed, notify me prior to class. Assignments due on an absence date are to be emailed to a group member, who will print the paper and bring it to class. If two consecutive class sessions are missed, I will begin the instructor initiated drop process. You cannot succeed in this class without regular and consistent attendance.

Papers

Four primary writing projects are assigned in ENG 132. Three papers will be six to eight pages in length, and the end-of-semester portfolio containing all papers, drafts, revisions, Organizational Outlines, and graded and corrected final papers should contain close to 100 pages of semester work. All final papers must be turned in for grading as per due dates, not left in my JCC mailbox and not emailed to me. All English 132 assignments must be word processed. No handwritten drafts or final papers are permitted.

Course Organization

English 132 is centered around four required papers and differing academic writing genres. They are:

1. Position/Personal Opinion Essay2. Argumentative Analysis Essay3. Argumentative Research Paper4. Completed Portfolio containing all pre-writing, Organization Outlines, drafts, revisions,

graded final papers, and corrected final papers plus a two-page Reflection Essay

Schedule of Due Dates for Assigned Papers, Portfolios, Reflective Essays, and Course Evaluations

Position/Personal Opinion Essay Draft – Week 3 Position/Personal Opinion Essay Final – Week 4 Argumentative Analysis Essay Draft – Week 7 Argumentative Analysis Essay Final – Week 8 Argumentative Research Paper Draft – Week 11 Argumentative Research Paper Final – Week 12 Group PowerPoint Presentations – Weeks 14 and 15 Completed Portfolios and From Start to Finish Reflective Essays – Week 14 Completed Course Evaluation Questionnaire – Week 15

Major Writing Assignments

1. Position on a Personal Opinion/Defense EssayPreliminary Drafts plus completed Organizational Outline: 40 points (due Week 3)Revisions/Final Paper: 100 points (due Week 4)

In a six page paper present the results of research on an opinion you hold on a socially relevant topic. Your purpose is to convince the reading audience, through the use and examples of scholarly/expert studies and opinions, that your opinion on your topic is valid. Your targeted readers are those uniformed but who would be interested in or benefit from your research. You must use six credible and scholarly sources, most of which from the JCC library databases. Your sources must be clearly and correctly documented in MLA format. You must also respectfully provide one scholarly opinion that is contrary to your opinion, using a concur-rebut methodology, and you must logically and rationally present information that will leave readers believing your opinion to be the most valid. You will be using your text book: Penguin Handbook and They Say /I Say and your group members to guide you in the writing process of this paper. You must read the text books to complete this assignment. It is imperative you have a strong thesis to make your opinion explicitly clear, and then you are to use your research sources to validate your opinion, which is your thesis.

2. Argumentative Analysis Writing: Analyzing two-sided ArgumentsPreliminary Drafts plus completed Organizational Outline: 40 points (due Week 7) Revisions/Final Paper: 100 points (due Week 8)

In this 6 page paper you will choose an arguable socially relevant topic, one in which there are clearly two decidedly differing trains of thought, and logically and unemotionally analyze findings by scholars and experts, research data and known/assumed social contexts. You will be using your text book: Penguin Handbook and They Say /I Say and your group members to guide you in the writing process of this paper. You must read the text books to complete this assignment. It is imperative you have a strong thesis to make clear the argument and social relevance of the chosen topic, and then you are to use your research to validate the thesis. This paper requires six scholarly/expert sources.

3. Argumentative Research Paper: Arguing for a CausePreliminary Drafts plus completed Organizational Outline: 40 Points (due Week 11)

Revisions/Final Paper: 100 Points (due Week 12)In a six page paper you will take a stand on a socially relevant topic. You will convince the audience/readers that the problem exists, is worthy of attention and change, and you will propose a possible solution to the problem in the form of a thesis statement. Your purpose is to persuade, challenge, and move your targeted readers, who may not be aware of the topic or problem, into action. They may also be those who disagree with your position as they may see no need for action or alarm. Your argument and proposal must be well-developed, and logically structured with plenty of details, examples and illustrations, all serving to help readers to understand your position and solution to the problem. You must address one or several opposing opinions in your research, and you must primarily use JCC’s databases for your research. Equally, you will address the limitations of your research and make known what further studies should be conducted on this topic. Use the textbooks They Say/I Say and the Penguin Handbook. Perfected MLA documentation is expected.

4. End-of-Semester Portfolio plus Two-Page Reflective EssayFinal Project: 100 Points (due Weeks 14 or 15)

The portfolio contains 1) completed outlines for each assigned paper, 2) all drafts and revisions for each assigned paper, 3) all graded and returned copies of each assigned paper, and 4) a clean copy of each assigned paper that has been fully corrected following grading. Each clean copy of corrected papers must have a cover page. Attached all assigned papers and their outlines and drafts together with clips. Equally, you will write a “From Start to Finish Reflective Essay”, two pages in length, reflecting upon your learning processes, your writing achievements, and your efforts, difficulties and accomplishments in this course. In this essay you will also give yourselves letter grades for 1) personal efforts throughout the course, 2) the completion of assigned readings, 3) personal writing improvement, and 4) personal understanding of academic and rhetorical writing.

Student Support Systems at JCC

Center for Student Success

JCC is committed to your success as a student and offers support to help you reach your academic goals. You, too, must be proactive on behalf of your success by taking advantage of the more than 50 tutors as well as the staff at the Center for Student Success (CSS), all of whom are waiting to help you as soon as the semester begins. This is FREE tutoring. Make an appointment or simply stop by the CSS. Drop-in schedules are available online and other times are available by appointment. You can also receive GPAW hours by accessing this free tutoring.

Social Workers

Christine Hall-Reed and Doug McComas are on campus regularly from 9:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m.for consultation. They are also available other times. If you need to speak with a Social Worker,just let me know.

Grading/Evaluation

Position Essay Draft 40 points

Position Essay Final 100 points

Argumentative Analysis Draft 40 points

Argumentative Analysis Essay Final 100 points

Argumentative Research Paper Draft + outline 40 points

Argumentative Research Paper Final 100 points

Group PowerPoint Presentation 100 points

Portfolio + From Start to Finish Reflective Essay 100 points

Mastery of MLA Formatting and Citing 50 points

Peer Reviewing, Reliability, and Effort 50 points

Class Participation 100 points

Group Work/Projects 100 points

In-class Debates 40 points

Attitude, Timely Communication, Intellectual Contribution __ 40 points

Total points possible: 1000 points

Grading Scale:

4.0 = 93-100% 3.5 = 88-92% 3.0 = 82-87% 2.5 = 76-81% 2.0 = 70-75% 1.5 = 64-69% = 57-63% 0.5 = 50-56%

Weekly Course Schedule

It is all but guaranteed that I will stray from weekly schedules. I play to the needs of students, not schedules or time frames. Tentatively, the course will play out as follows:

Week 1 Topics and Assignments

Introductions, all-class review of syllabus and course expectations followed by Q/A with instructor. Reading assignment of chapter(s) on MLA formatting, documenting and Works Cited. Review of the Research Formula, Thesis Formula and Organizational Outline handout. Class identifies socially relevant topics and brainstorms ideas for first paper, students decide on a topic and begin researching, planning, and pre-writing in class. Groups are determined and a group talent survey is conducted to determine key roles for all group members (researcher, scribe, MLA tutor, and group business coordinator). Over the weekend students research, select and print six scholarly/expert source documents/articles and bring them to both Week 2 classes. Read textbook sections on Position Essays and defending positions. Study MLA formats, citing and locate and print/copy all Works Cited models listed on handouts and in your books.


Week 2 begins with Q/A session with instructor and leads into a discussion of the Position/Defense Essay, its purpose, goal, audience, tone and method. All students make copies of their selected source documents and bring them to both classes. All students fill out the Organizational Outline for their essays in class and begin drafting the Works Cited page of the Position/Defense Essay. MLA tutors assist students with formatting sources, while students pay special attention to the model source formats locations in their books, on the OWL Perdue web site and on the MLA handouts provided on JetNet. Students write the first draft of their Position/Defense Essay over the weekend and bring completed drafts with completed Works Cited page to Week 3 class for peer review. This is a particularly important class. Students study the MLA chapter in their textbook and using their MLA handouts.


Students peer review the Position Essays using the Peer Review instructions handout on JetNet. Facilitator provides a brief overview of peer editing and also transitioning. Each essay will be peer reviewed by two group members, and students will then begin the process of updating their papers in class. Following updates, students will hand off papers to a group member who will then read aloud another member’s paper for an all-

Week 3 Assignments continued:

class critique. Final papers will be turned in for grading the second class of week 3 with mastered parenthetical citing and Works Cited page(s). Students will study Argumentation and Analysis chapters in their textbooks in preparation for week 4 classes.


Argumentation is discussed in terms of rhetorical/persuasive writing, academic tone and style, personal bias, and the use of facts, statistics, cases in point and expert testimony. Inductive and deductive reasoning is also addressed to examine logic and reasoning in thought and writing. Student groups participate in a multiculturalism exercise, examining personal biases, where and how such biases exist, and how to logically and reasonably address personal bias. This project also aids students with considerations in forthcoming multicultural workforce environments and with the sensitivity required for global contacts. Logical fallacies will be addressed, and students will study logical fallacies in terms of both personal bias and critical reading and thinking. Students will research “arguable” topics in groups, and they will individually select and publically present topics for the Argumentative Analysis Essay assignment. The class will critique the appropriateness of the topics for analysis and address recognized sides of the argument. The class will identify known fallacies in each arguable topic and make recommendations for research. Logical constructions and reasoning and inductive and deductive logic will be introduced, with particular attention to deductive logic. Week 5 students will bring to class six scholarly sources for consideration with at least one source in opposition to the student opinion. The opposing opinion must also be a scholar/expert in the chosen field. Week 5 students will complete their Organizational Outlines in class for the Argumentative Analysis Essay, write the introduction to the essay and will read aloud the introductions for an all-class critique on 1) an identifiable thesis statement, 2) a clearly arguable topic, and 3) to debate the logical reasoning and social relevancy of the selected topics. Students will study argumentative analysis in their textbooks and draft their Works Cited pages for week 5.


The Argumentative Analysis Works Cited drafts will be exchanged and peer reviewed by group members. Special attention will be paid to the order of information and the punctuation and italicized entries. Works Cited entries are very specific in requirements as all scholarly authors deserve proper and professional credit for their work. Once drafts have been reviewed, students will update their work in class. The documentary Food, Inc. will be shown in class, and week six a group project on micro vs. macro-topics and

Week 5 Topics and Assignments continued:

research skills using the documentary as background information will help students to understand and apply professional argumentation and analytical skills in terms of critical thinking, managing research topics, finding credible sources and outlining and documenting research finding, and also drawing logical and reasonable conclusions. Students read chapters on argumentative analysis, MLA and organizing research findings.

Weeks 6 Topics and Assignments

Students are assigned the draft copy of the Argumentative Analysis Essay, which is due in class for peer review week 7. This week students will complete the Organizational Outline in class and must have the completed Works Cited draft and all sources selected, printed and available as they complete the Organizational Outline. Students will also draft the Introductions of the Argumentative Analysis Essay in class and read their drafts aloud for an all-class critique. Students must demonstrate the proper format of their introductions and a clear and easily determined thesis statement. Students must also demonstrate the use of Third Person Voice and a highly professional and formal writing tone. Students will need the Professional Language Handout, Transitions, and the Organizational Outline for this class session. Following the all-class critiques, students will fill out a self-assessment survey to determine the helpfulness of the peer critiques. I will then facilitate a Q/A session so that students can address other issues related to the completion of their drafts, due in class week 7. Students read sections on the Body and Conclusions of academic papers and to refine parenthetical citations and their Works Cited page(s).


Students peer review the Argumentative Analysis Essays within their groups. Students need to have the Peer Reviewing Instructions handout. All draft essays are to be reviewed by two peer reviewers, and reviewers are to write directly on the draft essays. Students will then update their drafts according to the recommendations of their peers. I will then look at each draft and also make recommendations. The final copy of the Argumentative Analysis Essay will be turned in week 8 for grading. The drafts must be attached to the back of the final copy in order to receive credit/points for the draft. When graded essays are returned, students must then make all corrections to the final copy and reprint. Remember that all drafts and revisions, the Organizational Outline, the final graded paper AND the corrected final paper must be included in the portfolio at the end of the semester. Once peer reviewing and updates are made in class, discussions will begin on the Argumentative Research Essay and topics for consideration. Students will come to consensus on a currently socially relevant topic to debate in class, and the class will be divided into two groups, pro and con. Each student will 1) make assumptions


about their stance, and 2) present one evidentiary fact about their stance to the class. Once both pro and con teams have stated their assumptions and facts, I will act as devil’s advocate and question and argue with each team, who will then defend their arguments logically, professionally, rationally and without personal bias. At the end of the activity, several students from each team will be asked to determine the winning side of the argument based upon the strength of the assumptions and facts presented. The activity will then be rated by each team on a scale of one to five as to its value for 1) understanding assumptions in research, and 2) usefulness as a pro/con tool for essays. Students will read chapters on research papers, annotated bibliographies, and students will begin researching potential topics for the Argumentative Research paper for week 8. Students will turn in the Argumentative Analysis final paper for grading week 8.


Students turn in the Argumentative Analysis Essay with draft(s) attached for grading. The difference between research and analysis is discussed, with emphasis on scholarship in research, fact-finding, library databases, credible and current expert sources, the “science” of scholarly research, why it is performed, how it adds to bodies of existing knowledge, and how academic writing is fundamental to successful research both on a personal/student scale and adding to the body of global knowledge. The formality of “scientific” writing is address as is the global and common nature of academic writing and how and why such formality exists internationally. Groups will practice formal research writing with designated example topics. Each student in the group will write a formal introduction to a research paper. Each introduction will then be passed to other members of the group who will improve their peer partners’ writing. Once all introductions have been written and peer reviewed, each student will then read another student’s introduction to the class for a three-fold purpose: 1) Students will hear their introductions in the voice of another, and 2) to hear potential problematic or weak areas in the writing, and 3) students will determine the “arguability” of each topic and deduce one or two opposing arguments. The class will be asked to comment on each introduction, for its strongest area and weakest area. Students will select a topic for their Argumentation Research Paper and find and print a minimum of 12 sources for the week 9 class. Students will also bring one or two copies of the Organization Outline to the week 9 class. Students will read research essay sections, paying particular attention to organizing source information for research projects and remember that mastery of MLA formatting, parenthetical citations and Works Cited pages are expected for the research paper.


Students begin by taking a mid-term self- and course-assessment survey, rating their academic writing progress, changes in their understanding of academic writing from week 1 to week 9, from ENG 131 to ENG 132, and listing current area(s) of greatest struggle. Students will also meet one-on-one with the instructor for a mid-term conference and grades to date. Students will complete the Organizational Outline for the Argumentative Research Paper in class and will also write a draft introduction for the research paper, which will be minimally one to one and one-half pages in length and following the Thesis Formula format. For the week 10 class, students will draft the Works Cited pages and an annotated bibliography, and the drafts will be peer reviewed in class week 10, remembering that all MLA requirements (formatting, parenthetical citations and Works Cited pages and annotated bibliography) must be mastered for the Argumentative Research Paper. All MLA handouts provided on JetNet are expected to be utilized with the textbooks as supplementary instruction for the research project and for MLA.


Students are assigned the Argumentative Research Paper draft, due week 11 for peer review. Using the completed Organizational Outline and drafted Works Cited page, students will begin writing their research paper in class. They will work in groups for help with sentence construction, the delivery of highly professional language and tone, and to answer citing questions as needed. Students must bring and utilize the Professional Language handout. Students will pay particular attention to comma, semi-colon and colon usage, and they will utilize group members to ensure proper grammar and punctuation. Students will bring the Transitioning handout to class and pay special attention to all transitioning sentences and/or words and phrases. Transition strategies provide clarity for readers/audience and are critically important in connecting all sub-topics to the thesis and providing the logical flow of information. Draft research papers, Works Cited pages and an annotated bibliography are required for week 11 peer review.


The Argumentative Research Paper draft is peer reviewed in class, with each paper reviewed by two group members. Following peer reviews, students will update their research papers in class. Following updates, each student will read aloud another student’s introduction and conclusion. An all-class critique will ensue. Authors will address their papers following the readings, and they will verbally defend the validity and scholarship of their opposing argument(s) followed by a rebuttal. Students will evaluate


the draft introductions, conclusions, and the authors’ concurrence and rebuttal arguments using a Peer Project Evaluation form. The final copy of the Argumentative Research Paper with attached drafts/revisions and the Organizational Outline is due in class for grading week 12. Students will exchange email addresses and begin the process of selecting a topic for the final PowerPoint presentations, which will be an arguable topic, with two group members taking a “pro” stance and two members taking a “con” stance. Students will read chapters relating to presentations and PowerPoint.


Students turn in the final Argumentative Research Paper with drafts/revisions, the Organizational Outline, annotated bibliography and Works Cited pages for grading. Groups come to consensus on a current, socially relevant and arguable topic for their group presentations. Groups take a skills inventory of individual peer talents and delegate tasks, practices and due dates for completion of the final project. Project coordination, MLA expertise, graphic design, artistry in writing, PowerPoint expertise and the best oral communicators are examples of the type of skills necessary to create an outstanding group presentation. Each group member will be rated by their peers following completion of the presentation, and these ratings will factor in to the final presentation grades, which will be the same for each group member. The more effort each member puts forth, the higher the grade for everyone. It is absolutely necessary that I am made aware prior to group presentations of group member who do not carry their weight. Groups then research their topics in class, drafting a Works Cited page for their presentations as they select scholarly sources. Data used in PowerPoint presentations must be cited when summarized, paraphrased or quoted. Both side of an arguable topic must be sourced with scholars/experts in the field, and pro and con group members will be competing for the winning argument, which will be determined by class consensus. Graded Argumentative Research Papers will be returned week 13 and must be corrected for the portfolio, which is due in class for grading week 14.


Students will prepare the final PowerPoint presentations and incorporate sources. Each student will speak during the presentation, with the most adept public speakers closing the pro and con arguments. Student will practice the presentation in class and critically evaluate areas in need of improvement, strategizing all improvements. Professionalism, addressing and including the audience, total group inclusion and an extremely professional and artistic presentation are all required for an A grade. Presentations will begin week 14 and the portfolio is also due for grading week 14.

Week 14 Topics, Assignments and Portfolio Requirements

Group/PowerPoint presentations begin and the portfolio is turned in for grading. Portfolios must include all graded papers with drafts/revisions, all completed Organizational Outlines, all final graded papers, and all corrected (after grading) papers. Each group of papers must also have a cover page, which is professionally crafted (Times New Roman with 12 pt. font size, black ink). No wild or artsy cover pages, please, for academic papers. Each portfolio must also contain a two-page Reflective Essay.


Group/PowerPoint presentations continue. All students submit a completed course evaluation questionnaire and offer productive suggestions for course improvement. Final grades will be posted on JetNet no later than August 10, 2013.

Documents

jetnet.jccmi.edu€¦ · Web viewEnglish 132-03 Writing Experience Syllabus. JCC North Campus, Room 105. Wednesdays 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. (05/01/2013 to 08/07/13) Instructor Facilitator: