Académique Documents
Professionnel Documents
Culture Documents
Section: 037
Time: 05:30PM - 06:55PM, Monday and Wednesday
Space: State Hall 0337
Instructor: Luke Thominet
E-mail: ez7398@wayne.edu
Office: 9306.3, 5057 Woodward (Maccabees Building)
Office Hours: M 4-5:30, W 4-5:30 and by appointment (please always
email me if you play to show up)
Course Placement for ENG 1020
Students are placed into ENG 1020 via ACT score (ACT English >21), the
English Qualifying Examination, or a passing grade in ENG 1010. Neither
instructors nor the Department of English will override placement.
General Education Designation for BC
With a grade of C or better, ENG 1020 fulfills the General Education Basic
Composition (BC) graduation requirement. Successful completion of Basic
Composition (BC) with a grade of C or better is a prerequisite to enrolling in
courses that fulfill the General Education IC (Intermediate Composition)
requirement for graduation (e.g., ENG 3010, 3050, Literature & Writing
courses).
English Department Course Description
Building upon students diverse skills, English 1020 prepares students for
reading, research, and writing in college classes. The main goals of the
course are
1. to teach students to consider the rhetorical situation for any piece of
writing;
2. to have students integrate reading, research, and writing in the
academic genres of analysis and argument; and
3. to teach students to develop analyses and arguments using research-
based content, effective organization, and appropriate expression and
mechanics, all while using a flexible writing process that incorporates
drafting, revising, editing, and documenting sources.
Learning Outcomes
Students who pass ENG 1020 will produce writing that demonstrates core
abilities in four key areas:
Writing
Write effectively for various rhetorical situations (considering elements
such as genre, context, discourse community, claims, evidence,
organization, style, rhetorical strategies, and persuasive effect), using
a flexible writing process and varied technologies.
Reading
Use analytical and critical strategies to read complex texts in a variety
of media, and to identify and evaluate elements of the rhetorical
situation (including those listed above).
Researching
Conduct research by finding and evaluating print, electronic, and other
sources; generate information and ideas from research; and
appropriately integrate material from sources.
Reflecting
Use reflection to make choices and changes in both the composing
process and products in this course and to explain how you will use
skills you have learned to approach unfamiliar writing tasks.
Texts
There is one required textbook for the course; additional readings will be
provided online or via e-mail or Blackboard. We'll begin reading The Wayne
Writer early in the course, so you will want to obtain a copy as soon as
possible.
Required: The Wayne Writer
I would also recommend that you have access to an excellent, college level
dictionary, as well as an MLA style guide.
Assignments
Students are required to write a minimum of 32 pages (8000 words) in ENG
1020 (including drafts and informal writing).
To pass this course, students must complete all major assignments including
a final portfolio and reflective argument assignment required by the WSU
Composition Program. This assignment is designed to prepare students to
transfer knowledge and skills from ENG 1020 to subsequent courses and
other writing contexts. It is based in research in psychology and writing
studies. This research shows that metacognition, or analysis of ones own
thinking processes, is key to helping people transfer knowledge and skills
from the context where they were initially learned to future contexts. To
help students prepare to draft the Reflective Argument, this course includes
reflective assignments designed to promote metacognition.
Project One Videogame Rhetorical Analysis (5-6 pages)
This project will function to introduce students to the foundational
academic genre of analysis. They will be required to select a video
game and break down how it works. Work leading up to this project
will include: readings in rhetoric and critical games studies, reviews of
sample game analyses, in class group analyses, and a rough draft
workshop.
Project Two Discourse Community/Scene Analysis and Genre
Critique Portfolio (8- 10 pages total)
This project will ask students to critique a particular genre used by the
gaming discourse community. In order to do this, students will first
produce a short discourse community analysis by researching the
community and/or interviewing members of the community. Using this
knowledge of audience, students will then turn to a single genre used
by the community and locate several examples of the genre. They will
then compose an argument on the success and failures of the genre
for the discourse community. Finally, students will also be asked to
create an example of the genre that represents how their proposed
improvements will function. Work leading up to this project will
include: readings in genre theory, reviews of sample genre critiques, in
class critiques of brief genres, a rough draft workshop, and a brief,
informal presentation of the revised genre example.
Project Three Stasis Argument (10-12 pages)
This project will ask students to produce an academic argument.
Ideally, this argument will be related to discourse community concerns
surrounding gaming and/or new media more generally that weve
returned to throughout the semester. Work leading up to this project
will include: readings on academic arguments, reviews of sample
stasis arguments, in class argument practice, and a rough draft
workshop.
Project Four Reflective Argument and Digital Revision (5-6
pages + digital component)
This project will help students to consider their work during the
semester as discussed above. In addition, students will be taking
project three and revising it into a multimodal digital text. The goal of
this revision is to carefully consider the many forms a text can take in
relation to our focus on videogames throughout the semester. Work
leading up to this project will include: readings on metacognition and
portfolio assessment, practice work with various digital media
authoring programs, and a rough draft workshop.
Blogging
Each student will be responsible for maintaining a blog that will include
lecture notes, reading responses, reflection and occasional assigned
topics for every class meeting.
Blog points:
15 materials are dated and thorough (1/2 page or more for most
normal posts); 90-100% of in-class
exercises/notes/freewriting/reflection are present
10 materials are present but lack substance; most in-class
exercises/notes/freewriting/reflection are present.
5 Blog is not exclusive to the class/entries are collected together but
lack order; materials lack substance; several in-class exercises are
missing.
0 No class blog.
Project Formats and Submission
You will be expected to follow MLA formatting guidelines for all of your major
projects. This will include:
Typed, double-spaced, 11- or 12-point type (Times New Roman or
similar), with one-inch margins, with no extra space between
paragraphs, submitted electronically through Blackboard, using
SafeAssign.
Word count must be listed on first page
Working drafts and final drafts will be also be posted on your portfolio
page (you will need to make an ungraded copy of each assignment for
this).
Please use MLA format for citations.
Revised material (including material from a previous assignment used
in a subsequent assignment): highlight all new and changed material
using MS-Words Track Changes feature to receive credit.)
Grading
Assignment Percent of Final Grade
Videogame Rhetorical Analysis 10%
Discourse Community Analysis and
Genre Critique Portfolio
15%
Stasis Argument 25%
Reflective Argument and Digital
Revision
20%
First 3 Unit Reflections 6%
Blog 15%
Participation (you have to actively
earn these points)
9%
Total 100%
WSU Grading Scale:
A 94-100%
A- 90-93%
B+ 87-89%
B 84-86%
B- 80-83%
C+ 77-79%
C 74-76% A grade of C or better fulfills the
C- 70-73% General Education IC requirement
D+ 67-69% and the prerequisite for General
D 64-66% Education WI courses.
D- 60-63%
F 59% or less
Attendance Policy
Class attendance is required, and attendance will be taken at each class
session. Arriving more than 20 minutes late will count as an absence.
Attendance, preparedness, and active participation count as 9% percent of
the final grade. However, final grades drop by half a mark for each absence
after three, and students will fail the course after five absences.
Class Size/English Department Attendance Policy/Adding ENG 1020
Enrollment in ENG 1020 is capped at 26 students. Students must attend one
of the first two class days to stay enrolled in the course. Students who do
not attend of the first two class meetings may be asked to drop to avoid a
failing grade.
Other Course Policies
To add the course, attend one of the first two class meetings and add
by Wednesday, January 8. Students will not be permitted to add the
course otherwise.
The last day to drop a course without having it appear on a students
academic record is Friday, January 17.
Students may withdraw from a course with instructor approval
between Friday, January 17 and Sunday, March 23. The university
does not permit withdrawals after this date.
Students will be asked to share writing and have copies for others in
class.
Students should ensure that all pagers, cell phones, watches,
headphones etc., wont make sound during class time. Its ok to make
a mistake. Its not ok to repeatedly and purposefully allow the class to
be disrupted.
I encourage students to search out information relevant to class during
class. However, browsing unrelated to the class (as well as other
media use - texting, IMing, etc.) will be grounds for expulsion from the
course.
Students must contact the instructor in advance if work cannot be
submitted by the due date. No comments will be provided for late
work. The instructor will determine specific grade reductions based on
timely prior notification, whether revised deadlines are met, and
similar factors. Late work will be accepted and graded only if a
new deadline is arranged with the instructor in advance.
If a student misses the first two class sessions, s/he will be asked to
drop the course to avoid a failing grade. Students may add the course
during the first week of classes but not after that.
A grade of Incomplete will be issued only if the student has attended
nearly all of the class sessions, submitted an Incomplete Contract
(using the English Departments recommended form) sign, and
obtained the instructors signature on it.
Additional resources include the Academic Success Center
http://www.success.wayne.edu and Counseling and Psychological
Services (CAPS) http://www.caps.wayne.edu.
Student Disability Services
If you have a documented disability that requires accommodations, you will
need to register with Student Disability Services(SDS) for coordination of
your academic accommodations. The Student Disability Services (SDS) office
is located at 1600 David Adamany Undergraduate Library in the Student
Academic Success Services department. SDS telephone number is 313-577-
1851 or 313-577-3365 (TDD only). Once you have your accommodations in
place, I will be glad to meet with you privately during my office hours to
discuss your special needs. Student Disability Services mission is to assist
the university in creating an accessible community where students with
disabilities have an equal opportunity to fully participate in their educational
experience at Wayne State University.
Please be aware that a delay in getting SDS accommodation letters for the
current semester may hinder the availability or facilitation of those
accommodations in a timely manner. Therefore, it is in your best interest to
get your accommodation letters as early in the semester as possible.
WSU Writing Center
The Writing Center (2nd floor, UGL) provides individual tutoring
consultations free of charge for graduate and undergraduate students at
WSU. Undergraduate students in general education courses, including
composition courses, receive priority for tutoring appointments. The Writing
Center serves as a resource for writers, providing tutoring sessions on the
range of activities in the writing process considering the audience,
analyzing the assignment or genre, brainstorming, researching, writing
drafts, revising, editing, and preparing documentation. The Writing Center is
not an editing or proofreading service; rather, tutors work collaboratively
with students to support them in developing relevant skills and knowledge,
from developing an idea to editing for grammar and mechanics. To make a
face-to-face or online appointment, consult the Writing Center website:
http://www.clas.wayne.edu/writing/
For more information about the Writing Center, please contact the Director,
Jule Wallis (phone: 313-577-2544; email: au1145@wayne.edu).
Plagiarism Policy
Plagiarism is the act of copying work from books, articles, and websites
without citing and documenting the source. Plagiarism includes copying
language, texts, and visuals without citation (e.g., cutting and pasting from
websites). Plagiarism also includes submitting papers (or sections of
papers) that were written by another person, including another student, or
downloaded from the Internet. Plagiarism is a serious academic offense. It
may result in an F for the assignment or an F for the course. Instructors
are required to report all cases of plagiarism to the English Department.
Information on plagiarism procedures is available in the Department.
OWL
Also helpful: The Online Writing Lab (OWL) at Purdue University. This is an
excellent writing resource on a number of helpful topics, from issues of
content and style to citation help. http://owl.english.purdue.edu