ENG 370: Advanced Composition |
General
ScheduleAug. 20-24: PreparationAug. 27-Sept. 14: Research Sept. 17-Oct. 15: Drafting Oct. 19: UNC-CH field trip Oct. 22-Dec. 7: Revision Updated
October 19, 2001
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IntroductionNo matter what you want to do with your life, communication skills can help. Whether you plan to go to graduate school and pursue a career in academia, to start your own business, to go to Washington and turn this country around, or to raise happy and successful children, you will benefit from knowing how to find reliable information and how to convey it forcefully.Having written perhaps dozens of essays in other courses, you already can state a claim and support it with evidence. In this course, you will move beyond competence and develop a number of rare and valuable skills that will help you achieve your full potential as a researcher, writer, editor, designer, and speaker. Specifically, you will become familiar with a number of specialized sources for research, practice demanding but effective methods for writing drafts, learn ways to polish your writing so that it is more engaging and professional, and even develop additional skills in graphic and oral communication that will further enhance your ability to express yourself effectively. |
Resources |
ObjectivesLanguage: Success in college and the world beyond requires more than basic literacy. In this course, you will learn not only how to decipher language, but also how to analyze it for clues about purpose, audience, and agenda.Ideas: As you conduct your research, you also will have the opportunity to learn a great deal about a subject that interests you. Research: One of the most valuable skills you will learn in college is the ability to gather detailed, reliable information so that you can make informed decisions. In this course, you will further develop your skills in finding, evaluating, and using information. Communication: Knowledge confined to a single person's brain has limited use. It is through sharing this knowledge that humans make progress in medicine, science, politics, and every other human endeavor. In this course, you will explore every major component of effective rhetoric, from well-formed arguments and general organization down to precise, lively words and carefully placed commas. In addition, we will examine the fundamentals of graphic and oral communication. SuppliesStyle: Ten Lessons in Clarity and GraceHardback college dictionary RosterMark CanadaLoreen Bessire Crystal Craven Karen Dial Shakima Ellis Rennie Harrington InstructorProfessor Mark Canada118 Dial Building ETL Department UNC-Pembroke (910) 521-6431 mark.canada@uncp.edu www.uncp.edu/home/canada Office hours: M 12-3, TR 7-8 |
You are at the center of this course.
In addition to reading material in your text book, you will conduct research
and write essays, including a major research project. In short, what
you get out of this course depends on what you put into it. Of course,
you are not on your own. As your teacher, I have created a number
of resources designed to help you get the most out of your abilities.
Because we will be posting our work on online portfolios, you also will
have access to information produced by your classmates. Below are
some specific suggestions for how to get the most out of all of these resources.
SyllabusRead this syllabus carefully and highlight important points. In particular, make sure you understand the course objectives in the box at the left.Lesson PlansAt the beginning of each unit, read the lesson plan for that unit. Pay especially close attention to the unit objectives. Next, complete the reading assignments, jotting down notes as you come across concepts mentioned in the lesson plan. Before you come to class, skim the practice section of the lesson plan. After class, identify the activities that we did not do in class and use them to review the material covered in the unit. Finally, read the objectives again. If you have met those objectives, you are ready to move on to the next unit.Outside ResourcesFor further assistance learning the material and creating your research project, you may want to investigate some of the resources that accompany the lesson plans and reading assignments. Although I have tried to choose credible resources, you should not assume that everything you find is accurate. If you doubt something you see, please let me know, and I will try to clear up any confusion or correct any inaccuracies. Finally, I encourage you to visit Be Your Best, a Web site designed to help students improve their study skills.AssignmentsBefore you begin any assignment, read the instructions carefully and review the criteria on this syllabus. Do your best on the assignment. After you finish writing, revising, and proofreading, check your work against the instructions and criteria. When you are satisfied that you have followed the instructions and met the criteria, post your assignment before the deadline.ClassmatesThe roster in the box at the left features links to each student's online portfolio. Early in the semester, visit your classmates' portfolios to get to know them. Then revisit these portfolios and read your classmates' postings to study the various subjects we are covering in the course. Use the e-mail links on the portfolios to pose questions or offer suggestions. In class, use the group activities as opportunities to share and discuss ideas.InstructorWhenever you have a question about anything related to the course or composition in general, get in touch with me. You can visit me in Dial 118, call me at (910) 521-6431, or e-mail me at mark.canada@uncp.edu. I will do my best to respond to you promptly. If you post the drafts of your assignments on time, I will respond to them with a detailed evaluation. Use this evaluation to improve your future work.
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Assignments |
Basic RequirementsIndexLength: 100-200 wordsSources: 0 Draft Due: 5 p.m. Aug. 24 Final Due: 5 p.m. Nov. 16 Annotated BibliographyLength: 1,000 wordsSources: 10 Draft Due: 5 p.m. Sept. 14 Final Due: 5 p.m. Nov. 16 Background EssayLength: 1,000-1,500 wordsSources: 5 Draft Due: 5 p.m. Sept. 28 Final Due: 5 p.m. Nov. 16 Analytical ArticleLength: 3,000-4,000 wordsSources: 15 First Draft Due: 8 a.m. Oct. 29 Final Draft Due: Noon Dec. 7 PresentationLength: 20 minutesSources: 15 Due: Nov. 30-Dec. 3 |
The following assignments will provide each
of you with an opportunity to practice several types of communication that
you may use in the next stage of your life. I encourage you to choose
your subjects with the future in mind. For example, if you plan to
attend graduate school in English, you may want to conduct research on
an author who interests you, compiling an annotated bibliography of works
by and about this author and then writing a background essay that summarizes
the author's life and work. In your analysis, you might argue for
an interpretation of one of the author's works. Finally, your proposal
might be the cover letter you will send to the graduate schools where you
are applying. Students planning to enter the worlds of business,
politics, or law might focus their work on problems in these fields and
wind up with a proposal for solving one of these problems.
Whatever route you decide to take, each of you will post your drafts of each assignment on an online portfolio, where your classmates and I will be able to read and evaluate them. The final versions of all of the writing assignments are due on your online portfolio at 5 p.m. November 16, 2001. You can find the basic requirements for each assignment in the box at the left. Detailed descriptions appear below. IndexAs the "home page" for your online portfolio, the index will be the first thing that I and other visitors see when we visit it on the World Wide Web. It should include your name, your e-mail address, links to the other components of your portfolio, and a paragraph that describes your major, career aspirations, and perhaps other aspects of your professional life. You also may include a picture and links to other appropriate Web sites. Draft Due: 5 p.m. August 24, 2001. Final Due: 5 p.m. November 19, 2001.Annotated BibliographyChoose a subject that you would like to explore over the course of the semester. Using what you learn in our research unit, locate at least 10 relevant, thorough, timely, and credible sources that will provide you with extensive background on this subject, as well as some ideas of how to interpret it. Try to identify seminal texts that experts will recognize. As you study and take notes on each source, write an annotation of it. That is, in 100-200 words, summarize its content, identify its purpose, and evaluate its contribution to the field. Compile all of these annotations to produce an annotated bibliography on your subject. Each entry in this bibliography should consist of a citation that conforms to MLA style and an annotation in essay form. Draft Due: 5 p.m. September 14, 2001. Final Due: 5 p.m. November 19, 2001.Background EssayAs you are conducting research and compiling your annotated bibliography, you should accumulate extensive background on your subject. In this project, you will summarize this background material in an essay of 1,000-1,500 words. For example, you might identify important people and events, define relevant terms, describe central issues or trends, and identify topics of debate. This background essay should read like an entry in an encyclopedia. Draft Due: 5 p.m. September 21, 2001. Final Due: 5 p.m. November 19, 2001.Analytical ArticleBuilding on the work you did compiling your annotated bibliography and writing your background essay, develop an original claim about a specific topic within your subject. In an essay of 3,000-4,000 words, state and support this claim with abundant evidence drawn from at least 15 primary and secondary sources. This article should be the culmination of all of your previous work this semester and should be one of the best pieces of writing you have done anywhere, both in content and in form. Indeed, I encourage you to write it with the intention of submitting it for possible publication in a journal in your field. First Draft Due: 8 a.m. October 29, 2001. Final Draft Due: Noon December 7, 2001.PresentationIn a presentation of 20 minutes, you will present the argument you have made in your analytical article to your classmates and me. Rather than merely read your entire article, discuss your findings with us. You may want to use audio or visual aids. You should be prepared to respond to questions, comments, and suggestions for 10 minutes after your presentation. Due: Nov. 30-Dec. 3. |
Grades |
AA student who earns an A has excelled in both skills and knowledge. In content, clarity, style, and integrity, the student's work fully or almost fully meets course criteria. In short, the student has mastered the material and is likely to succeed in future challenges.BA student who earns a B has demonstrated many of the same qualities shown by the student who earns an A, but is deficient a few minor areas. The student has generally mastered the material and is likely to succeed in future challenges.CA student who earns a C has demonstrated some of the same qualities shown by the student who earns an A or a B. Although the work is adequate, it suffers from several minor deficiencies. Nevertheless, the work suggests that the student is competent and is ready to take on future challenges, though he or she may need to shore up some of these deficiencies to succeed.DA student who earns a D is deficient in at least one major area or many minor areas, but has demonstrated adequate knowledge and skills to merit a passing grade. The student who earns a D probably will struggle when confronting future challenges.FA student will earn an F for one of the following reasons:
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I will evaluate your online portfolio and presentation
twice: once during the course and once at its completion. Each time,
I will assign you a letter grade based on the quality of your work.
Your final grade in the course, however, will depend only on your final
portfolio and final presentation. Thus, even if you earn a D on the
first evaluation, you may revise your portfolio, use what you have learned
to improve on future work, and earn a better grade--perhaps even an A--in
the course. The purpose of this system is to give you an opportunity
to continue learning and improving over the duration of the course.
Each time I evaluate your work, I will use the criteria below.
ContentThe portfolio must contain all the assignments described on this syllabus. Each individual project in the portfolio should thoroughly and insightfully address its subject with accurate, credible, timely, and relevant information. Oral remarks made during the presentation, furthermore, should be accurate. Argumentative essays should state clear, substantive, contestable, and precise claims early and support these claims with appropriate evidence.ClarityEach written project in the portfolio, as well as oral remarks made during the presentation, should present information in a clear, logical fashion. In general, each paragraph in the written projects generally should begin with a precise topic sentence, followed by clear, well-organized sentences that support the topic sentence. Transitional words and phrases should effectively guide the audience through the information.StyleAll work should engage the audience with lively, concise writing or oral presentation and should generally lack lapses in tone, register, punctuation, mechanics, spelling, word choice, and grammar. Each project should effectively incorporate source material with proper use of attribution, paraphrases, and quotations. Longer projects should begin with engaging introductions and include satisfying conclusions. Both written and oral projects should be functional and attractive, conforming to all appropriate professional standards. In particular, all parenthetical citations and lists of works cited in the written projects should conform to MLA style.IntegrityEach project must be your own work. That is, except for properly cited quotations, every sentence and phrase must be in your own words. All interpretations, except for those properly cited, also must be your own. If you turn in someone else's work, use a source's exact words without placing these words in quotation marks, or use an interpretation you found in a source without giving credit to the source, you are guilty of plagiarism and may fail this course. You must be prepared to prove that you have done all your own work by showing me your sources and discussing the details of your project with me in conference. |
The following statements come from UNCP Disability Support Services:
"Any student with a documented disability needing academic adjustments is requested to speak directly to Disability Support Services and the instructor, as early in the semester (preferably within the first week) as possible. All discussion will remain confidential."
"This publication is available in alternative formats upon request. Please contact Mary Helen Walker, Disability Support Services, Career Services Center, Room 210, 521-6270."