First-Year Writing II: Rhetorical Analysis and Argument Spring 2011 Course Policy Sheet

Section 154 TR 5:00-6:15 pm MCLND 126

Instructor: Londie Martin Email: londiem@email.arizona.edu Phone: (520) 626-4875 Office: Computer Center 236, Pod i3 Office Hours: Tue & Thu 6:15-6:45 pm & by appointment Mailbox: Modern Languages 445 (remember to sign the ledger before leaving your work in the designated basket)

Required Textbooks
Hacker, Diana. Rules for Writers. 6th ed. 2009 MLA Update. Boston, MA: Bedford/St. Martins, 2009. Print. Jurez, Marissa M. , Jacob Witt, and Jennifer Haley-Brown, eds. A Students Guide to First-Year Writing. 31st ed. Plymouth, MI: Hayden-McNeil, 2010. Print. Minnix, Christopher and Carol Nowotny-Young, eds. Writing Public Lives: From Personal Interests to Public Rhetoric. 2nd ed. Plymouth, MI: Hayden McNeil, 2011. Print.

Other Required Materials

Internet/D2L/Email access for communicating & accessing readings Paper, pen and/or laptop for daily in-class writing Photocopies of your work as needed for peer response

First-Year Writing II Course Description

Building on the close reading, focused research, and reflective writing done in First-Year Writing II, this course emphasizes the skills of rhetorical analysis, research, persuasion, reflection, and revision. It is designed to help students learn to write for varied audiences and situations, find and evaluate sources, and make critically aware decisions about how best to achieve their purposes at the university and beyond. The immediate goal of this course is to prepare students for further research and writing in their future fields of academic work.

Written Assignments
In the first unit of the course, you will read and respond to various essays, learning about various types of rhetorical analysis, and choose one type to use to develop a rhetorical analysis essay. In the second unit, you will do both library and field research on an issue of your choice within an area of academic, cultural, or personal interest, which will culminate in an analysis of the issue, called a controversy analysis. In the third unit, you will then use this research to support an argument of public interest, called a public argument. Finally, in the fourth unit, you will revise your public argument for a different rhetorical situation and write an analysis of your revision process. In addition to these larger pieces of writing, you will write various short assignments, reading responses, research evaluations, and peer reviews as part of your work on the larger writing assignment in each unit. Many of these smaller assignments will not be graded but must be submitted in order to receive full credit for the larger assignment.

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Composition Course Policies Statement

Approved by WriPAC on 11/01/09 A Students Guide to First-Year Writing
All first-year composition students are required to purchase the Students Guide. The Guide addresses the matters outlined below. Also see the Writing Program web page: http://english.arizona.edu/index_site.php?id=37.

Introduction to Research
All First-Year Composition Students are required to do documented research. For more on research, see also the Main Library web page.

Attendance
Attendance is mandatory. Composition courses are workshop classes that include in-class writing, peer group work, and conferences. Therefore, students should not be late and should not miss classes. It is the students responsibility to make up any class work missed as a result of tardiness or absence (with penalty). Students who miss more than two classes of a TR course may be dropped within the first 8 weeks with a W. Each absence above the allowed number (2) will result in a one percent deduction from a students final grade if that student remains in the course. Students may fail during the second half of the semester for excessive absences. All holidays or special events observed by organized religions will be honored for those students who show affiliation with that particular religion. Note that a deans note justifies absences for UA functions but must be presented to me. Doctors appointments do not count as excused absences, so use your absences wisely. If you have a legitimate conflict or an extreme emergency, please discuss it with me.

Requirements for Writing Assignments

In-class and out-of-class writing will be assigned throughout the course. Students not in class when writing is assigned are still responsible for completion of the assignment when due. Late work will not be accepted without penalty unless students make arrangements for an extension before the due date. Major assignments will be penalized one letter grade (e.g., from B to C) for each class period they are late. Short assignments will receive half credit (50%) if they are turned in one class period late; short assignments will not be accepted if they are more than one class period late (unless you have made prior arrangements with me). You are required to keep hard copies of all drafts and assignments to file a grade appeal after the end of the semester (see Guide Appendix A) or in case an assignment is misplaced and you are asked to resubmit it. Drafts must be turned in with all essays. Drafts should show significant changes in purpose, audience, organization, or evidence. I will not evaluate a major assignment (an essay) or assign credit for it without first seeing the required drafts. Final copies should be typed and double-spaced with numbered pages and a title. In the interest of minimizing unnecessary consumer waste, you may use scratch or scrap paper when you print rough drafts and short assignmentsso long as your work is legible! I also encourage you to use both sides of the paper when printing final drafts. Unless otherwise noted, I will not accept assignments electronically. You may not assume that you have met a deadline by sending work in electronic form without permission.

Course Content
If any of the course materials, subject matter, or requirements in this course contain materials that are offensive to you, please speak to me. Usually, the resolution will be to drop the course promptly. Page 2 of 4

Conferences
I will schedule individual or small group conferences at least once this semester. Students should come to conferences prepared to discuss their work. A missed conference counts as an absence.

Grades
The Students Guide explains grading policies, methods of responding to drafts and final copies, and the standards of assessment of the Writing Program. My comments will consider the following aspects of writing in the context of a particular assignment: purpose, audience, content, expression, organization, development, mechanics, and maturity of thought. Students cannot receive a passing grade in first-year composition unless they have submitted drafts and final versions for all major assignments and the final exam. Incompletes are awarded in case of extreme emergency if and only if 70% of the course work has been completed at the semesters end.

Academic Dishonesty and Plagiarism

All UA students are responsible for upholding the Code of Academic Integrity, available through the office of the Dean of Students and online at http://deanofstudents.arizona.edu/codeofacademicintegrity. Read the summary in the Students Guide. Submitting an item of academic work that has previously been submitted without fair citation of the original work or authorization by the faculty member supervising the work is prohibited by the Student Code of Conduct.

Class Conduct
All UA students are responsible for upholding the Student Code of Conduct, which can be read online at http://deanofstudents.arizona.edu/studentcodeofconduct.

Students with Disabilities

If you anticipate accessibility issues related to the format or requirements of the course, please meet with me to discuss ways to ensure your full participation. If you determine that formal, disability-related accommodations are necessary, it is very important that you be registered with Disability Resources (621-3268; uadrc@email.arizona.edu) and that you notify me of your eligibility for reasonable accommodations so that you and I can coordinate them.

Syllabus
I will distribute a course syllabus during the first week of class, and I will review the course syllabus and policies with students. Students should talk with the me if they anticipate a need for alternative assignments or readings.

The Writing Center

The Writing Center is a free resource for UA undergraduate and graduate students as well as faculty and staff. At the Writing Center, a trained peer consultant will work individually with you on anything youre writing (in or out of class), at any point in the writing process from brainstorming to editing. Appointments are recommended, but not required. For more information or to make an appointment, call 626-0530, drop by the office in the east lobby of the Nugent Building, or visit http://www.studentaffairs.arizona.edu/thinktank/services/writing.

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Major Assignments
The table below lists all course assignments and their point values. Required assignments that carry no point values must be completed in order for you to receive full credit for the unit and the course. To receive an A in this course, you must accumulate at least 90%; for a B, 80%; for a C, 70%; and for a D, 60%. Please turn in all assignments, even if you believe they are poorly done. Unit 1: Personal/Analytical Writing Exploring identity, culture, and community through rhetorical analysis Unit 2: Localizing Controversies & Research Exploring a controversy and its local connections/implications and participating in ethical, critical research Unit 3: Argument, Community & Zines Locating ourselves within a controversy and publishing a multimodal, multigenre, and collaborative zine Unit 4: Critical Reflection & Remix Due 1st day of finals; remix your public argument and reflect on the process.

Essay #1: Rhetorical Analysis

020%

Annotated Bibliography Essay #2: Controversy Analysis

3% 25%

Essay #3: Public Argument Zine Project (group work required)

20%

Essay #4: Public Argument Remix & Reflection

20%

Short Assignments In-class writing, journals, quizzes, and short homework assignments Library Research Modules A series of six online modules to be completed during Unit 2

2%

10%

Class Etiquette
Respect. For me, for your fellow classmates, for yourselves, for the classroom spaces in which we will learn together. This respect should extend to the language we use, the courtesy we honor during class discussions, and the open minds we embrace during times of difficult conversation. Respect for our learning space also extends to texting: dont do it!

A Note about Technology and Media

Each of the major assignments for this course will ask you to think broadly about composition by working with various forms of media. Familiarity with digital photography, video recording, image editing, or web publishing, however, is not a prerequisite; we will explore these technologies together. Still, you should familiarize yourself with a few campus resources that are available to all students:
U of A Library Laptop Loan Service: http://www.library.arizona.edu/services/borrowing/Laptops.html OSCR Multimedia Learning Lab: http://www.oscr.arizona.edu/locations/mll Colonia de la Paz Computer Lab: http://www.oscr.arizona.edu/locations/lapaz Gear-to-Go Equipment Checkout: http://www.oscr.arizona.edu/gear

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