Updated Syllabus

1. English 102-09, College Writing and Rhetoric
ED 443 10:30-11:20 MWF
Joseph Perreault
Jperreault@uidaho.edu
Office: Brink 116
Office Hours: M(9:30-10:20), T(9:30-10:45), W(10:30-11:45) and by appointment
“I became interested in long-term trends because an invention has to make
sense in the world in which it is finished, not the world in which it is started.”
—Ray Kurzweil
COURSE DESCRIPTION:
Welcome to English 102. Over the course of this semester, we will be thinking and writing about
the ever more-rapidly shifting world of which we are a part. This will involve retrospection on
moments we became aware of a changing landscape. It will involve evaluation of our current
world. And we’ll spend most of our time developing strategies for educated prospection of
future trends in an area of interest or an area of possible future employment. In other words, in
this class, we’ll be thinking about ways to think about the world we’ll graduate into before it
materializes. We’ll begin to build strategies for positioning ourselves as competitive people in
emerging new fields and changing old ones.
COURSE GOALS AND LEARNING OUTCOMES:
English 102 is an introductory composition course, designed to improve your skills in
persuasive, expository writing, the sort you will be doing in other courses in college and in
many jobs. Sometimes this kind of writing is called transactional writing; it is used to transact
something—persuade and inform a reasonably well-educated audience, conduct business,
evaluate, review, or explain a complex process, procedure, or event.
By the end of the course, a successful student should be able to...
 Accurately assess and effectively respond to a wide variety of audiences and
rhetorical situations.
 Comprehend college-level and professional prose and analyze how authors
present their ideas in view of their probable purposes, audiences, and occasions.
 Present ideas as related to, but clearly distinguished from, the ideas of others
(including the ability to paraphrase, summarize, and correctly cite and document
borrowed material).
 Focus on, articulate, and sustain a purpose that meets the needs of specific writing
situations.

2.  Explicitly articulate why they are writing, who they are writing for, and what they
are saying.
 Write critical analyses and syntheses of college-level and professional prose.
 Be able to make the connection between questions and problems in your life both
within and outside of college.
 Gather and evaluate information and use it for a rhetorical purpose in writing a
research paper.
 Attend to and productively incorporate a variety of perspectives.
 Develop flexible strategies for generating, revising, editing, and proofreading.
 Understand writing as an open process that permits writers to use later invention
and re-thinking to revise their work.
 Give and receive constructive feedback from peers.
 Use conventions of format and structure appropriate to the rhetorical situation
and practice appropriate means of documenting their work.
 Locate, evaluate, organize, and use research material collected from electronic
sources, including scholarly library databases; other official databases (e.g., federal
government databases); and informal electronic networks and internet sources.
DEADLINES:
Administrative Deadlines
The university has certain deadlines of which you need to be aware if you want to drop the
course at some point during the term.
January 19th – Last day to add the course WITH a late fee.
January 25th – Last day to drop the course without a grade of W.
February 17th– Last day to drop the course with a grade of W.
Class Deadlines
TBA
*Deadlines are fixed, but I am more than willing to be flexible if you ask for an extension early.
This does not mean the night before it is due—at least 2 days’ notice.
TEXTBOOK (Provided)
 Jodie Nicotra, Becoming Rhetorical, Forthcoming
COURSE WEBSITE:
All assignments (save for in-class assignments) and drafts will be submitted through the course
BbLearn site. All assignment sheets and other course materials will also be posted in the
BbLearn site. Log on into BbLearn (http://bblearn.uidaho.edu) using your University of Idaho
NetID and password, and locate English 102.

3. OTHER READINGS (ON BBLEARN)
TBA
ATTENDANCE:
Attendance and participation in English 102 is expected and has direct effects on your
performance in the class. I expect you to be present and actively engaged in the class. I reserve
the right to mark you absent when you are not present or not actively engaged. Therefore, it
makes up a portion of your grade. You are allowed three unexcused absences without penalty
this semester, but you will not fail the course on the basis of absence alone. If you miss more
than three classes, it will begin to negatively affect your grade. Ten points will be deducted from
your overall grade for each absence after three unexcused misses. Late assignments will be
accepted and marked at the discretion of your instructor.
The course requires 6 writing projects and is based on a possible score of 1000 pts.
Reasonable accommodations will be made for extenuating circumstances, serious illnesses, and
proper notification of inability to adhere to class policy from Disability Support Services or the
office of the Dean of Students. Also, I may be flexible regarding reasons for excusing an absence
or a late assignment. If you have a prior commitment or other reason you cannot attend class or
turn in an assignment, email me. I will not, however, excuse an absence retroactively, which
means you must email me Before the time of the missed class or assignment. Ultimately it’s
about taking the work seriously and mutual respect between student and instructor.
Communication is key.
University of Idaho Classroom Learning Civility Clause:
In any environment in which people gather to learn, it is essential that all members feel as free
and safe as possible in their participation. To this end, it is expected that everyone in this course
will be treated with mutual respect and civility, with an understanding that all of us (students,
instructors, professors, guests, and teaching assistants) will be respectful and civil to one
another in discussion, in action, in teaching, and in learning.
Should you feel our classroom interactions do not reflect an environment of civility and respect,
you are encouraged to meet with your instructor during office hours to discuss your concern.
Additional resources for expression of concern or requesting support include the Dean of
Students office and staff (885-6757), the UI Counseling & Testing Center’s confidential services
(885-6716), or the UI Office of Human Rights, Access & Inclusion (885-4285).
Technology. All cell phones must be turned COMPLETELY OFF and put away. Unless you
have been given explicit permission to use your laptop in class, all laptops should be shut and
stowed.

4. Email etiquette. I welcome your emails and questions – if you have questions about the course,
your work, meeting times, etc., please contact me at the address listed above or on the BbLearn
home page. When you contact me, please treat it as a professional correspondence—your
message should have a greeting, be written in complete sentences, and signed with your name
at the bottom. Generally, you can expect a response during regular business hours (Monday-
Friday, 8-5 PM)
OFFICE HOURS:
My office hours and office number are listed above and on the BbLearn home page. I enjoy
talking to students outside of class, and welcome you to stop by to discuss your work, questions
about the course, etc.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS: 6 Writing Assignments.
Personal Essay: Identifying a moment of change. (100 pts.)
(1000—1500 words)
Annotated Bibliography: (200 pts.)
In conjunction with our library research, you will collect 10 sources and explain how you will
employ them in your research. (Minimum 150 words per source)
Research Essay: (250 pts.)
Develop an essay presenting the most important elements of your research and present a
convincing case for the position of a field, job, market, product, or commodity in 5-10 years’
time. (2500 words)
Video Podcast: (250 pts.)
You will reshape your research essay into a 5 minute video or slidecast that highlights the most
important elements of your work and the reasons you’ve come to the conclusions/predictions
you have.
Envisioning Your Future: (125 pts.)
Based on your vision of a shifting landscape, you will envision yourself and how you fit into
this landscape, whether it be an employee in a certain field, or a user of a new technology,
product, or service. (1000 words maximum)
Reflection: (75 pts.)
A retrospective look on the course, what you’ve learned, whether it has changed the way you
think about your education, and perhaps ways you’ll approach your thinking about these issues
in the future. (500 Words)

5. GRADING:
If you withdraw from this course on or before Friday, January 25th, nothing will appear on
your transcript. If you stay registered for the course after that date, you will receive one of the
following grades. Only an A, B, or C are passing grades.
A
Represents achievement superior relative to the level necessary to meet the requirements of
the course. (900-1000 points)
B
Represents achievement above the level necessary to meet the requirements of the
course. (800-899 points)
C
Represents achievement that meets the basic requirements in every respect. It signifies that the
work is average, but nothing more. (700-799 points)
W
Stands for Withdrawal. This is the grade you will receive if you withdraw from the course
after January 19th but on or before January 25th. A W has no effect on your GPA, but you
can have only 20 W credits during your time as an undergraduate at UI (about six courses).
After January 25th, you can no longer withdraw from the course.
N
Stands for No Credit. A grade of N has no effect on your GPA, but it does mean that you
need to take the course again. You will earn a grade of N if your grade is an N and you have
done all the work for the course. You also must have made a good faith effort to complete all
the assignments. Handing in just any piece of writing just to avoid getting an F will not
work.
F
Stands for Failure. A grade of F has a negative effect on your GPA. If you fail to hand in any
major writing assignment or do not make a good-faith effort to succeed at a major
assignment, you will automatically earn an F. If your average grade is an N but you did not
complete one of the major components of the course (one of the major papers of all of the
homework assignments or drafts), you will automatically earn an F in the course. There is
no reason for receiving an F in this course, unless you simply fail to submit the required
work. (500 points or below)
I
Stands for incomplete. Under very unusual circumstances you could be assigned an
Incomplete in the course if something happened to you within the last two weeks of the
semester that made it impossible to complete the course (a serious accident or illness that
left you hospitalized and very significant personal tragedy, etc.
POLICY ON PLAGIARISM IN ENGLISH 102:
At the University of Idaho, we assume you will do your own work and that you will work with
your instructor on improving writing that is your own. Plagiarism—using someone else’s ideas
or words as your own without proper attribution--is a serious matter.
The consequences of plagiarism:
If I find that you have plagiarized willfully, you will receive an F for the assignment, which
could result in a failing grade for the course.

6. When you need to use words or ideas from another person—whether an idea, a picture, a
powerful statement, a set of facts, or an explanation—cite your source!
Disability Support Services Reasonable Accommodations Statement:
Reasonable accommodations are available for students who have documented temporary
or permanent disabilities. All accommodations must be approved through Disability
Support Services located in the Idaho Commons Building, Room 306 in order to notify
your instructor(s) as soon as possible regarding accommodation(s) needed for the
course.
 885-6307
 email at <dss@uidaho.edu>
 website at www.access.uidaho.edu