THE ART OF RHETORIC

F I R S T - Y E A R C O M P O S I T I O NUniversity of South Florida

fyc.usf .edu

F i r s t - Ye a r C o m p o s i t i o n P r o g r a m • D e p a r t m e n t o f E n g l i s h • p h : 8 1 3 . 9 7 4 . 2 4 2 1 • e n g l i s h . u s f . e d u

INSTRUCTOR

Daniel Richards, PhD Candidate

OFFICE

Office: CPR 305

OFFICE HOURS

T&R 11:00am-12:15pm

EMAIL

drichar3@mail.usf.edu

COURSE

ENC 1102: Composition II

SECTION

008

DAYS AND TIME

T&R 12:30pm-4:00pm

PLACE

CIS 1027

TEXTBOOK

Rhetoric Matters: Language and Argument in Context. 2e.

Ed. Cassie Childs

Course Description

The main ideas structuring this course

Put simply this course is about rhetoric. Rhetoric has meant many things to many different peo-ple throughout the history of language and philosophy. Aristotle, really the father of Western philosophy, defined rhetoric as the available means of persuasion. This is where we get our no-tion of rhetoric as the art of persuasion. In this class you will learn that rhetoric is much more than just persuasion. Rhetoric is in the everyday language we use; rhetoric influences what we believe about reality and the world; rhetoric has a fundamental impact on the way the world works. This course will encourage you to expand your definition of argument. You will need to widen your scope to believe in the notion that every word we say, every action we make, every belief we hold dear is indeed an argument -- an argument of the way we think reality exists.

How we are going to learn them

This course is founded upon the assumption that the best writing stems from an invested writer, a writer who cares about the subject matter, who can relate to what is being said, and who enjoys the process. With this in mind, the projects constituting this course are aimed at merging personal expe-rience; narrative; style; rhetoric; material reality; and social issues.

Project I introduces students to the conventions of rhetoric.

Project II drives home the importance of choice in writing.

Project III affords the opportunity to craft narratives.

What your responsibilities are

Attendance is a must. Given the condensed nature of the course, made even more so by an elongated break in the middle of the schedule, there will be no class time devoted to “filler activities”; that is, every minute in class will be devoted to making sure that students will be successfully equipped to

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Project 1: Writing is Situational

Project 2: Mixtape Project

Project 3: Object Narrative

complete major projects and minor assignments. Summer courses require a level of commitment on behalf of the students that is higher than your typical Fall or Spring semester course. I expect nothing less.

Further, I expect all students to shed away a substantial amount of preconceived notions about writing. Writing is not formulaic. It cannot be taught in one or two semesters. Strong writers are creative, have considerable hours of practice under their belt, and have a keen eye and ear for the “situation at hand”: the context, people, motives, and consequences involved in any given moment.

Finally, I expect all students to carry themselves in class with a high degree of respect for their peers, the course content, and the instructor. This expectation applies not only to in-class discus-sion but also electronic communication (read: email).

Grade Breakdown

Project I: 30% | Project II: 30% | Project III: 30% | Class Participation: 10%

This course is not designed for the mathematically-inclined. I don’t want this course to get lost in the details -- it’s just too short. This is not to say that there won’t be homework assignments or drafts of projects due. It is to say that they won’t be graded. Numbers don’t have to be at-tached to homework and drafts to make them important. Not submitting drafts for feedback or not completing the required reading will eventually catch up to students looking to do well in this course. Writing is a process, and all of the smaller steps leading up to the final draft submis-sion are undoubtedly important and do impact the grade.

If students do not participate in class, and the three and a half hours twice a week are occupied by my voice and intermittent silence, then it’s going to be a long, brutal summer. To avoid this, one quarter of your final grade is devoted to class participation. Here is a list of qualities em-bodied by a student who typically receives high marks in class participation:

• Awake

• Attentive

• Informed about the readings

• Raises hand

• Respectful

• Contributes to discussions in meaningful and substantial ways

• Present and on-time

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PoliciesA) Check your email everyday

Much can change in a day’s time. While I do my best to ensure that all activities, due dates, and readings are relatively set in stone at the beginning of the semester, this is not always the case. It is im-perative that you check your USF email every day during the week -- I cannot hold you accountable for checking your email on the weekend.

B) Attendance

Attendance is of the utmost importance. This is not a lecture class; class meetings will be spent engaged in activities that will directly and immediately ad-dress your needs as a writer. As a student in this course, you can be absent once and late twice with-out penalty. After that, your grade will be affected: one-third of a letter grade for each absence (with two lates equalling one absence). Excusable ab-sences may include the following, but only with advanced notice and/or letters of documentation: jury duty; military duty; religious days; medical conditions; and USF Athletics participation. Note: Unexcused absences on any day that a major pro-ject is due will result in one whole grade off per class day the paper is late. Missing a scheduled conference with your instructor will be treated the same as any other absence.

C) Mutual respect

Respect the person talking whether it is a fellow student or the instructor. Good teaching and dis-cussions can only take place while one person is talking.

D) Missed work

All assignments must be completed on time. Your instructor will not accept late in-class assignments or late out-of-class homework assignments. Your instructor may accept late major projects (for a list of Major Writing Projects, see above); however, late projects will be penalized. For each class day the project is late (for up to a limit of 5 days), one whole letter grade will be deducted.

E) Technology requirement

From web-based assignments and material to e-mail and Blackboard, ENC 1102 requires consistent access to the Internet, word processing, and a printer. Not having access to a computer will be not be an acceptable excuse for not having checked the syllabus for homework, not having checked your USF email address for class announcements, or not having made the required deadlines.

F) Paper archival

You should keep all of your drafts, including any teacher commentary of your work, until you have received your final grade for the course. If you have questions regarding the grade for an English Com-position class, you will be asked to produce all the written work completed during the semester.

G) My Reviewers Essay Database

Each and every draft and final copy of the projects must be uploaded to the My Reviewers tool, accessi-ble by going to myreviewers.usf.edu or clicking on the “My Reviewers” tab on the main FYC site, fyc.usf.edu.

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H) Grade grievance policy

The English Department, like other departments at USF, follows USF’s Grievance Procedures: http://www.ugs.usf.edu/catalogs/catdl.htm. Ac-cordingly, please note that USF only changes grades when the review process determines that an incorrect grade has been assigned: The term “incor-rect” means the assigned grade was based on some-thing other than performance in the course, [sic] or that the assignment of the grade was not consistent with the criteria for awarding of grades as de-scribed in the course syllabus or other materials distributed to the student. In the case of all other academic grievances [sic] the University reserves the right to determine the final outcome based on the procedures detailed herein. In other words, you may disagree with an instructor’s grade on an as-signment, yet this disagreement does not constitute sufficient evidence to warrant a change of grade. However, if an instructor made a mathematical er-ror or based your grade on something other than his/her assessment of your performance in a course, then a grade change could be warranted. A student interested in disputing a grade needs to carefully review the student Academic Grievance Procedure outlined at http://www.ugs.usf.edu/ catalogs/0910/cattoc.htm. He/she should first meet with his/her instructor, as mentioned in the grievance procedure. Should a student wish to pro-ceed with a grade grievance after the teacher meet-ing, he/she should contact Dr. Dianne Donnelly, Associate Director of First-Year Composition for a grade grievance conference. Students may then file a notification letter within three weeks of the trig-gering incident to Dr. Donnelly, Department of English, CPR 107, 4202 E. Fowler Avenue, Tampa, FL 33620. Be sure to specify precisely why you be-

lieve the grade needs to be changed based on USF’s Academic Grievance Procedure.

I) Disability accommodations

Any student with a disability should be encour-aged to meet with the instructor privately during the first week of class to discuss accommodations (see Student Responsibilities: http://www.sds. usf.edu/Students.asp). Each student must bring a current Memorandum of Accommodations from the Office of Student Disability Services that is prereq-uisite for receiving accommodations. Accommo-dated examinations through the Office of Student Disability Services require a two-week notice. All course documents are available in alternate format if requested in the student’s Memorandum of Ac-commodations (see faculty responsibilities: http:// www.sds.usf. edu/faculty.asp).

J) Writing Center

USF's Writing Center (http://guides.lib. usf.edu/writing) offers assistance to any student who wants to improve his or her writing skills. Rather than offering editing assistance, during a session in the Writing Center consultants and students work together to enhance the organization, development, grammar, and style of any type of writing across the disciplines. Students are encouraged to visit the Writing Center at any stage during the writing process, from brainstorming and pre-writing to final polishing.

The USF Writing Center is conveniently located in the Library Learning Commons. Walk-ins are welcome dependent on availability, but students are encouraged to make an appointment by visiting the Writing Center during office hours or setting up an appointment online. The phone number is 813-974-8293.

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K) Emergency plans

In the event of an emergency, it may be necessary for USF to suspend normal operations.  During this time, USF may opt to continue delivery of instruction through methods that include but are not limited to: Blackboard, Elluminate, Skype, and email messaging and/or an alternate schedule. It’s the responsibility of the student to monitor Blackboard site for each class for course specific communication, and the main USF, College, and department websites, emails, and MoBull messages for important general information.

L) Important Campus Resources

Plagiarism Information:  http://fyc.usf.edu/Policies/Plagiarism%20Main.aspx \Students with Disabilities Responsibilities: http://www.asasd.usf.edu/USF Counseling Center:  http://usfweb2.usf.edu/counsel/USF Advocacy Program: http://www.sa.usf.edu/ADVOCACY/page.asp?id=72Student page at the FYC Web site: http://fyc.usf.edu/SitePages/Students.aspx

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