English 102 Syllabus
College Composition and Research
Course Description
A continuation of EN 101, emphasizing longer and more impersonal and critical writing forms. Organizational skills are developed through the outline and summary units; analytical reading and critical thinking are stressed. A thorough use of library and online resources is required for the bibliography unit and the final research paper. General education credit.
Prerequisites: English 1
Credit Hours: 3
Textbook and Supplementary Materials
- They Say I Say With Readings (Edition 3E) by Graff, Birkenstein, and Durst (2015)
- A set of multi-colored highlighters
- A notebook and folder for daily work and assignments
Student Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion of this course the student will be able to:
- Demonstrate effective research and information literacy skills.
- Formulate a [manageable] research question.
- Access appropriate sources.
- Evaluate and analyze information for credibility and accuracy.
- Synthesize information from a variety of sources and apply the synthesis to complex situations and problems.
- Cite primary and secondary sources using appropriate documentation style (MLA).
Course Outline/Major Topics Studied
January 5-8: Introduction to Syllabus; Creation of research website framework
January 11-15: Introduction to They Say I Say (TSIS), Exercise 2
January 19-January 22: TSIS Chapters 1-3: “They Say”; Introductory Summary/Response Paragraphs
January 25-29: TSIS Chapters 4-7; “I Say” and TSIS Chapter 16: Is College the Best Option Response Paragraphs
February 1-5: TSIS Chapters 8-11: “Tying it all Together” and TSIS Chapters 17-20; Summary/Response Paper Due
February 8-12: TSIS Chapters 12-15 “In Specific Academic Contexts” and TSIS Chapters 17-20; Short Argumentative Paper Due
February 15-19: Open Educational Resources and Topic Journal for Research Paper Due
February 22-26: Open Educational Resources and Thesis Statement Due
February 29-March 4: Open Educational Resources and Library Work
March 7-11: Open Educational Resources and Preliminary Bibliography Due
March 14-17: Open Educational Resources, Outline Due
March 21-24: Open Educational Resources, rough draft work and Digital Notecards Due
March 29-April 1: Open Educational Resources, 1st three pages of Rough Draft Due
April 4-8: Open Educational Resources, Full Rough Draft Due
April 11-15: Author tag/quote sandwich work; Peer Revision
April 18-22: Author tag/quote sandwich work; Peer Revision
April 25-28: Final Draft Due; Website Revision
May 3-6: Website Due; Topic Presentations
May 9-11: Final Exam Week: Topic Presentations
Course Points
Points for each assignment based on a total of 1000 points:
Topic: 25 points
Thesis: 25 points
Preliminary Bibliography: 25 points
Preliminary Outline: 25 points
Digital Notecards: 30 points
Rough Draft: 150 points
Final Draft: 400 points
Presentation: 50 points
Misc. Papers & Assignments (during TSIS): 120 points
Research Website: 100 points
Attendance & Participation: 50 points
*There may be a slight variation in the misc. paper points and total points for the course.
Grading Scale
A 90-100%
B 80- 89%
C 70- 79%
D 60- 69%
F Below 60
Argumentative Research Paper
You will be expected to write an argumentative research paper of 8 pages and must utilize 8-10 sources. (I will cover what are acceptable sources for a college research paper; articles from a standard encyclopedia and/or Wikipedia.com, for example, are NOT acceptable.) You must use MLA style and create a Preliminary Bibliography and Works Cited page using EasyBib.
You MUST turn in a final draft to pass this class. You must also submit a rough draft as well as final draft that contain consistent citation/documentation. Failure to do so will result in an automatic 0 and I will not read the draft. Finally, the citation you provide in your paper must match the Works Cited you submit. Failure to do so could also result in a failing grade on the draft.
This paper must be analytical in nature and must be an ARGUMENT paper. The paper can NOT be a superficial report on a factual topic.
Emphasis in this course will be on the writing process. You will be asked to take a piece through this process: pre-writing/drafting, peer response, self-assessment, revision, editing, and selection of work to present to an audience. Peer response, instructor response, and self-assessment will assist you in revising your work. Emphasis is also placed on summary and summary/response writing as well as the use of author tags.
Manuscript Form
The following information should be single-spaced in the top left-hand corner of the first page for each assignment completed in this course:
Jane Doe (Name of student)
English 10201 (Course title)
Summary Response Essay (Assignment title)
Oct. 14, 2015 (Date completed)
All drafts of all assignments must be typed and double-spaced (with the exception of the single-spaced information at the top). Please use the default margins, font, and size (1 inch margins, Calibri, 11 point).
Late Work Policy
For full credit, work must be submitted at the beginning of class. If the work is submitted after class starts (at any point during class up to the end of class), the work will receive 50% credit. Any work submitted after class is over will result in a 0. If you are unable to attend class on the day something is due, you must send your work with someone or email it to me by the time class STARTS. Otherwise, the same rules apply. If the work arrives during the class period, the work will receive 50%. If it arrives after class is over, it will not receive credit. I will not respond to hand-written work (unless otherwise specified) or drafts that are turned in after the class period is over.
Housekeeping Items
- Each time you turn in a hard copy of your essay to me, you will also need to submit it to www.turnitin.com. I will be showing you how to do this the first week of class, so please pay close attention. You will also receive a handout explaining exactly how to do this. Just get in the habit of submitting the paper to Turnitin each time you print a draft for submission in class. Failure to submit a draft of an essay to Turnitin will result in 50% credit on the assignment. You will receive one “freebie” for the semester. This means that if you forget ONE time to submit a draft, I will still give you full credit. This only applies to Turnitin, and you only get ONE “freebie.”
- For papers that require documentation/citation, you must include parenthetical documentation as well as a Works Cited page. You must also provide me with the sources you used in the paper. If this is not done, I will not read the paper and you will receive a “0.”
- Also, any papers requiring research must be completed in MLA format, NOT APA format. Failure to comply will result in no points on all research components of the scoring guide.
- Please do NOT recycle a paper (or any portion of a paper) written in a previous or current class. You should be thinking of a fresh, original topic! A recycled paper will result in a “0.”
Dr. Jill Watkins
Email: jwatkins@chillicotheschools.org
Website: www.DrWatkinsCHS.com
Location: 2801 Hornet Road, Chillicothe, MO, United States
Phone: 660-646-0700
Twitter: @DrWatkinsCHS