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Tuesday
Conference
HEAV 225
ENGL 10600707-58423
Wednesday
Classroom
HEAV 106
ENGL 10600-71658432
First-Year Composition
Writing Your Way Into Purdue
English 10600-716-58432
11:30 a.m. 12:20 p.m.
Spring 2015
Thursday
Conference
HEAV 225
ENGL 10600-70858424
Friday
Computer Lab
BRNG B274
ENGL 10600716-58432
Course Goals
Introductory Composition at Purdue is designed to help you:
build confidence in your abilities to create, interpret, and evaluate texts in all types of media
understand, evaluate, and organize your ideas
hone and expand critical thinking skills
understand what it means to write in different contexts for different audiences
develop, articulate, and support topics through a variety of research methods
become an effective writer who can respond credibly, accurately, and convincingly to a variety of
writing situations
Instructors Philosophy
My goal is that this course will enable you to consider your place in the Purdue University community
and to help you stake your claim as a writer with an individual voice. Because this is my first year at
Purdue as well as yours, I hope we can discover the campus together and learn how various student
communities interact within campus and within the greater West Lafayette area. Additionally, I strongly
believe that students learn best when they collaborate and develop ideas together, both inside and outside
of class. I hope to create as many opportunities for discussion as possible to allow you, the students, to
adapt your own interests and concerns to course materials.
Required Texts
Everyones an Author by Andrea Lunsford, Norton, 2013 (ISBN 978-0393932119)
They Say, I Say by Gerald Graff and Cathy Birkenstein, Norton, 2014 (ISBN 978-0393935844)
NOTE: Both textbooks can be purchased or rented for a reduced price as a package through
campus bookstores. It will likely be cheaper to buy them together at Purdue than separately
through websites such as Amazon.com.
Composing Yourself, 2014-2015 by Blackmon, Haynes, and Pinkert, Fountainhead Press, 2014.
NOTE: This text is available only in campus bookstores.
Performance of Macbeth. Tentatively scheduled for Friday, 2/20 at 7:30 p.m. Ticket price TBA.
Required Materials
You will be expected to bring your books to class every day, along with a writing utensil and paper for
taking notes. You must also have the following materials:
a binder, folder, or notebook in which you will keep your assembled coursework
something to write with each day
a supply of binder clips or large paper clips for turning in lengthy assignment packets
a flash drive or other storage device
Grade Breakdown
Email Assignment
Unit 1: Literacy Narrative
Unit 2: Review of Macbeth
Unit 3: Analysis of a Discourse Community
Unit 4: Public Service Announcement | Group Project
Quizzes | Homework Assignments | In-class writing
Blogs
Participation and Professional Behavior
Total Points for the Course
Points
50
120
130
200
200
100
100
100
1000
Review of Macbeth
Part of Writing Your Way Into Purdue is learning about different cultural events and activities on
campus and encountering texts in multiple forms of media. Your second paper will require you to see the
Purdue University Theater Departments production of Macbeth. The show runs from Friday, Feb. 20
Sunday, March 1. We will tentatively be attending the play as a class on Friday, Feb. 20 at 7:30 p.m.,
but this date is subject to change. If you are unable to attend the group date, you must see the play on
your own time. Tickets cost $12.50, but they offer group discounts if we go as a class. If this show is not
financially feasible for you, or if these dates all do not work in your schedule, please let me know by
February 6.
E-mail Etiquette
For this class, I expect you to check your e-mail daily for updates, reminders, or additional readings that
may be due. In any e-mail you send to me, I expect you to conduct yourself professionally. This means
including a subject line, greeting, short message with your question or an indication of your purpose, and
an appropriate closing. E-mails without subject lines or messages will not be read. Any attachment sent
must include your last name as part of the file name. Unidentified attachments will not be opened. When
you submit anything to me electronically, I understand Internet connection issues and other technical
difficulties may arise. I will respond to let you know I have received your e-mail. If you do not receive an
e-mail from me to confirm your submission, please resubmit your assignment to achieve full credit.
Technology Etiquette
I realize that cell phones, laptops, and tablets play a large role in the classroom environment, especially
with our own classes in the computer lab. That said, I have a zero-tolerance policy for cell phone use and
inappropriate Internet use during class time. I expect your phones to be on silent during class and your
headphones/music players to be put away at the start of class. If I notice excessive cell phone use or you
are not using the computer lab for class activities, you will receive one verbal warning and your
participation grade will be reduced. If your behavior continues to be disruptive or does not improve, you
will be counted absent from class that day.
Grading Scale
Rubrics will be provided for each assignment with a description of the quality of work expected for
particular grades. The following is a letter grade/point value scale you can use to track your grade
throughout the semester.
93-100 (A)
90-91 (A-)
87-89 (B+)
84-86 (B)
80-83 (B-)
77-79 (C+)
74-76 (C)
70-73 (C-)
67-69 (D+)
64-66 (D)
60-63 (D-)
Below 60 (F)
Descriptions of Grades
A to A- : You did what the assignment asked at a high quality level, and your work shows originality and
creativity. Work in this range shows all the qualities listed below for a B, but it also demonstrates that you
took extra steps to be original or creative in developing content, solving a problem, or developing a verbal
or visual style.
B+ to B-: You did what the assignment asked of you at a high quality level. Work in this range needs
little revision, is complete in content, is organized well, and shows special attention to style and/or visual
design.
C+ to C- : You did what the assignment asked of you. Work in this range tends to need some revision, but
it is complete in content and the organization is logical. The style, verbal and visual, is straightforward but
unremarkable.
D+ to D- : You did what the assignment asked at a low level of quality. Work in this range tends to need
significant revision. The content is often incomplete and the organization is hard to discern. Verbal and
visual style is often non-existent or chaotic.
F: Dont go here. I usually reserve the F for people who dont show up or dont do the work. If you give
an assignment an honest try, I doubt you would receive an F. If you feel you put in your best effort and
still received an F, you might consider dropping the class.
Attendance
You must attend class regularly. Much of what you may miss cannot be made up. In order to participate
in discussions, activities, peer reviews, and in other instruction activities, you must be present. I realize
that sometimes you have illnesses or circumstances beyond your control, so I am allowing you three
absences without attendance penalty. I expect you to let me know before class via e-mail when you are
going to be absent. I often schedule specific group activities, and I need to know how many students will
be participating.
If you miss more than three classes, your final grade will be lowered by half a letter grade. This
means if you have 4-5 absences, the highest grade you may obtain is "A-." If you have 6-8 absences, the
highest grade you may obtain is "B," and if you have 9-11 absences, the highest grade you may obtain is
"C." If you have 12 or more absences, the highest grade you may obtain is "F." Also, please be aware that
missing a conference counts toward your absences. Conferences will be held for a minimum of 10
minutes or a maximum of 25 minutes, so you should have no excuse for skipping conferences, except in
emergency situations.
Campus Emergencies
The website on Emergency Preparedness is at www.purdue.edu/ehps/emergency_preparedness/. Check
the course website and your e-mail for updates about class cancellations during inclement weather.
Class Schedule
This schedule is a general overview of the semester and is subject to change. All updates to the
schedule will be posted on the course website.
Week 1
Monday, 1/12
Topics to Cover
Syllabus
Wednesday,
1/14
Friday, 1/16
Tues/Thurs.
Week 2
Monday, 1/19
Wednesday,
1/21
Friday, 1/23
Assignments Due
Readings Due
E-mail assignment
Tues/Thurs.
Week 3
Monday, 1/26
Topics to Cover
Reading Quiz 2
Narrative as genre
Show, dont tell
Literacy Narrative as genre
Roadmap to Narrative writing
Assignments Due
Blog Post #2
Narrative techniques:
description and dialogue
Literacy Narrative
Draft 1 (due Sun.
Wednesday,
1/28
Friday, 1/30
Tues/Thurs.
Week 4
Monday, 2/2
Readings Due
Readings Due
Wednesday, 2/4
Ape ExerciseRevision
Friday, 2/6
Narrative Draft 2;
Blog Post #3
Tues/Thurs.
Week 5
Monday, 2/9
Wednesday,
2/11
Reading Quiz 3
Review as genre
Friday, 2/13
Evaluating Websites
Background info on Macbeth
Tues/Thurs.
Week 6
Monday, 2/16
Wednesday,
2/18
Friday, 2/20
Tues/Thurs.
Week 7
Assignments Due
Assignments Due
Blog Post #4
Assignments Due
Macbeth discussion
Wrap up review discussions
Wednesday,
2/25
Analysis techniques
Close Reading
Friday, 2/27
Reading Quiz 4
Quoting, Paraphrasing,
Summarizing
Plagiarism Game
Conferences HEAV 225:
Drafting
Topics to Cover
Blog Post #5
Monday, 3/2
Peer Review
Review Draft 2
Wednesday, 3/4
Joining academic
conversations:
Why should I listen to you?
Week 8
Friday, 3/6
Tues/Thurs.
Monday, 2/23
Tues/Thurs.
Review Draft 1
(e-mail)
Assignments Due
Readings Due
They Say, I Say Ch. 2
(pp. 30-41) and Ch. 4
(pp. 55-67)
EAA Ch. 9 (pp. 137-155);
Advertisements R Us by
Melissa Rubin (EAA 176181)
EAA Ch. 22-23 (pp. 388-406)
They Say, I Say Ch. 3
(pp. 42-51)
Due in conferences: Draft of
Review
Readings Due
Week 9
Topics to Cover
Monday, 3/9
Wednesday,
3/11
Definitions of discourse
communities
Friday, 3/13
Definitions of discourse
communities
Tues/Thurs.
Week 10
3/16 3/20
Week 11
Monday, 3/23
Wednesday,
3/25
Friday, 3/27
Tues/Thurs.
Week 12
Monday, 3/30
Week 13
Monday, 4/6
Assignments Due
Readings Due
Analysis Draft 1
(e-mail)
Analysis Draft 2
Peer Review
Readings Due
Assignments Due
Blog Post #7
Blog Post #6
Assignments Due
Assignments Due
Blog Post #8
Assignments Due
Analysis Final
Draft & Cover
Memo due
Annotated Bib.
due
Week 14
Monday, 4/13
Topics to Cover
Argument strategies and logical
fallacies
PSA Planning
Wednesday,
4/15
Friday, 4/17
Proposal writing
Tues/Thurs.
Week 15
Monday, 4/20
Wednesday,
4/22
Friday, 4/24
Tues/Thurs.
Week 16
Monday, 4/27
Wednesday,
4/29
Friday, 5/1
Tues/Thurs.
Assignments Due
PSA Team
Contract and
Planning
Questions
(due by midnight)
Readings Due
Assignments Due
Assignments Due
PSA Presentations
and Reflection
Due in conferences: N/A