Syllabus
Wr 123, Winter 2000
College Composition III: Research
CRN 25477, 12:00 MWF, 246 Gerlinger

Instructor: Dr. Susan Fagan

Winter Term Office Hours:
MWF 10:15 - 11:30 and by Appointment
Office: 529 PLC
Phone: 541-346-3978
Email: sfagan@oregon.uoregon.edu

Research is endlessly seductive; writing is hard work. --B. Tuchman

What You'll Find On This Page

Course Objective	Prerequisites
Required Texts	Other Required Supplies
Required Assignments	Writing Mechanics
Attendance	Grading
Accommodation

Course Objective

This course will help you develop skills in critical reading, critical thinking, and expository writing; it also includes an introduction to independent research. In class you will examine the writing of others, discuss the ideas presented in those selected writings and why they are successful (or why not), and explore your own and your classmates' ideas. For your papers, you will develop those ideas using additional relevant resources gathered during your own independent research. Wr 123 emphasizes argument as a means of responsible inquiry, expressing ideas and discovering reasons to support them, and developing those ideas and reasons in essay form to communicate effectively to a particular audience.

You must have completed Wr 121 or its equivalent to enroll in Wr 123.

Required Texts

Barnet & Bedau, Current Issues and Enduring Questions, 5th ed.
Lunsford & Connors, The Everyday Writer
Wr 123 Course Packet

Other Required Supplies

You will need a folder with pockets to hold your accumulated work.

Required Assignments

1. Two short papers, the first 2-3 pages in length, the other 4-5 pages, 20% each.
2. One longer paper, 8-10 pages in length, 40%.
3. Completion of assigned readings and participation in class discussion.*
4. Completion of various short writing assignments and exercises.*
5. A group oral presentation based on selected readings and an individual oral presentation based on the topic of your long paper.*
6. A writing portfolio with your collected/selected work and a reflective essay.

*These items comprise a participation component of the grade, 20%.

Writing Mechanics

1. All assignments should be typed or printed on 8 1/2 by 11" paper. Do not use ease-erase or onion-skin paper. Dot-matrix is acceptable if legible (i.e., use a clean, dark ribbon; readable print style; etc.).
2. Papers should be double spaced, with at least a one-inch margin on all sides. Do not use a cover or title sheet (one staple in the upper left hand corner will suffice). Place your name, date, and the assignment number in the upper right hand corner of the first page, and your name and the page number on each succeeding page.
3. Rough drafts and all working papers (i.e., brainstorming, outlines, etc.) must be submitted with the final copy of your work.
4. Keep a copy of your written work until your original is returned.

Attendance

This course is primarily a discussion and workshop course. What happens in class cannot be duplicated or summarized for you if you are not present. Therefore, attendance is required. More than three unexcused absences will reduce your final grade (by one full letter grade for each absence over 3). Six absences will result in an automatic failing grade. Being late to class three times will count as one absence.

In general, excused absences are given for illness if the student provides a doctor's note, or for a conflicting University obligation when the student provides a signed request by the appropriate University supervisor. "Double scheduling" of classes (such as weekend workshops) during class time is not considered reason for an excused absence.

Grading

1. Assignments must be completed by the beginning of the designated class period. This policy covers rough drafts, final drafts, reading, and preparation of topics for discussion. Your success depends on your participation; coming to class unprepared for the day's activities is like not attending at all. NOTE: Do not plan to print assignments in the computer classroom in the few minutes available before class begins. This time has proved to be not adequate and thus such printing is disruptive to your instructor and other students.
   
2. Late papers and/or papers without a rough draft will be accepted, read, and commented on, but will not be graded. However, a late paper with no grade is better than no paper at all, as a missing paper will be averaged into your final grade as a zero. Late papers can be revised for the portfolio, but cannot be revised and resubmitted to earn a higher grade (see #3 and 4 below).
   
3. Although only assignments receiving a grade lower than a C must be rewritten, students may revise and resubmit the first two papers for regrading if the following conditions have been met: (1) the rough draft was completed for the scheduled peer review session and the student participated in that session; (2) the assignment was turned in on time with the rough draft and peer review attached; (3) the student is in class and receives the paper with comments on the day the assignments are returned; (4) the student prepares a revision in time for a review conference with the instructor (usually during office hours); and (5) the student meets the revision due date (generally within one week--due dates will be announced in class).
   
4. Revising does not mean simply recopying the assignment to incorporate grammatical and spelling corrections, or merely responding to instructor comments, but rethinking, reorganizing, and rewriting the paper (see "Guidelines for Revision" in course packet). A higher grade on revised work, if earned, will be counted in your final grade, but will not replace the original grade. If you would like more than one week to complete a revision, you may revise work to place in your portfolio. Work revised for the portfolio will not be regraded as individual assignments, but will be reread and evaluated in the context of the portfolio. Time does not allow for revision of the third essay for a higher grade.
   
5. Form and content cannot be separated. A grammatically or mechanically perfect paper will not automatically receive an A grade, as content, style, and logic will also be considered. Neither can a grammatically flawed or unprofessionally prepared paper earn a top grade. In addition, your writing should improve; the level of work which receives an A at the beginning of the course might not be A-level work at the end of the term.
   
6. The final grade will be based primarily on the writing assignments and class participation, as outlined above. In addition, class attendance, participation, group and individual oral reports, and overall improvement in writing performance (based on an evaluation of the papers collected in your portfolio and your reflective essay) will be considered. Failure to turn in a portfolio will reduce your grade by one full point; turning in a hastily prepared or incomplete portfolio will reduce your grade by 1/2 point.
   
7. All work submitted in this course must be your own and written exclusively for this course. The use of sources (ideas, quotations, paraphrases) must be properly documented. If you use a professional typist to prepare your final copies, you must instruct the typist not to make any changes in or edit your work in any way. Please refer to your textbook, pp. 201-203, for a definition of plagiarism, how to avoid plagiarism, and information on proper documentation. For the consequences of academic dishonesty, please refer to the Code of Student Conduct in the Time Schedule of Classes. In cases where plagiarism has been clearly established, the award of an F for the final course grade is the standard practice of the Composition Program.

   Students who have any questions about what types of behavior constitute academic dishonesty should refer to information provided via the web site of the Office of Student Life. Also illuminating is a definition of plagiarism provided by the Academic Writing Program at Wake Forest University. J. L. McGrath at Paradise Valley CC provides an excellent explanation of how to quote sources correctly to avoid plagiarising. Please see your instructor if you have any questions about using sources.

   
   
8. No incompletes will be given in this course.

Accommodation

If you have a disability (physical or learning) which you think may affect your performance in this class, during the first week of the term please first contact the University's counselor for students with disabilities and then see me so we can discuss whatever accommodations may be necessary.

Last Updated 12/10/99