1. Advanced Strategies in Rhetoric and Research
English 1900-23 – Fall 2015 1
Seth Strickland
stricklands@slu.edu
Office: 209 Adorjan Hall
Office Hours: TBD
Course Description and Objectives:
As you may have noticed, this class is titled ‘strategies in rhetoric and research’
which accurately implies that we will be concerning ourselves closely with both
rhetoric and research. Before we can have strategies at all, let alone advanced
strategies, we’ll need to find out what rhetoric and research are, what they
involve, and how they are used in a variety of contexts. With this in mind, you
will work in several media, several formats of those media, and choosing the best
presentation for the rhetorical task at hand. What will this look like? You’ll be
blogging, writing, perhaps vlogging, and speaking, all before audiences and all
focusing around a single area of concern.
Upon successful completion of this course, you will be able to
demonstrate:
➢ The ability to analyze a rhetorical situation (audience, context,
goal, etc.) and respond productively.
➢ The ability to explain and defend the decisions made while
composing.
➢ A familiarity with a number of different composition methods
including oral presentations, video production, and—of course—
written papers.
➢ An understanding of a basic research methods, library and
otherwise.
The goal of this class, briefly, is that you all take steps toward becoming eloquent
human beings.
Required Course Texts and Materials
2. 2
Wysocki, Anne Frances and Dennis A. Lynch. Compose Design Advocate.
Second Edition. Upper Saddle River: Pearson, 2013.
Bullock, Richard, and Francine Weinberg. The Little Seagull Handbook.
New York: Norton, 2011.
Ground Rules
Because you are now in college, I expect you to act responsibly. I, however, do
not expect that you are perfect, but rather that you work hard and give this class
your best effort. If you are having difficulty with anything in this class, I
encourage you to email me or find me during office hours. However, I suggest
that you consult this syllabus and your classmates before you come to me about
assignment requirements, due dates, or other ordinary matters.
If you contact me by email, I ask that you use proper formal email format.
I will discuss this in class if need be. I reserve the right to take 24 hours to
respond to your emails during the week and 48 over the weekend.
Here is a chance to get to know who two of your classmates are:
Classmate #1
Name:
_______________________________________________________________
Email/phone number: ______________________________________________
Classmate #2
Name:
_______________________________________________________________
Email/phone number: ______________________________________________
These people are the people you should ask questions about this class
before you ask me.
Academic Integrity and Honesty
3. 3
The University is a community of learning, whose effectiveness requires an
environment of mutual trust and integrity. Academic integrity is violated by any
dishonesty such as soliciting, receiving, or providing any unauthorized assistance
in the completion of work submitted toward academic credit. While not all forms
of academic dishonesty can be listed here, examples include copying from another
student, copying from a book or class notes during a closed book exam,
submitting materials authored by or revised by another person as the student’s
own work, copying a passage or text directly from a published source without
appropriately citing or recognizing that source, taking a test or doing an
assignment or other academic work for another student, securing or supplying in
advance a copy of an examination without the knowledge or consent of the
instructor, and colluding with another student or students to engage in academic
dishonesty. Any clear violation of academic integrity will be met with appropriate
sanctions. Possible sanctions for violation of academic integrity may include, but
are not limited to, assignment of a failing grade in a course, disciplinary
probation, suspension, and dismissal from the University. Students should review
the College of Arts and Sciences policy on Academic Honesty, which can be
accessed on-line at http://www.slu.edu/colleges/AS/ under “Quicklinks for
Students” or in hard copy form in the Arts and Sciences Policy Binder in each
departmental or College office.
Conferences
Come to my office hours to discuss any concern about any aspect of this class. I
want to help you; I want you to do well. You must come to my office hours once
during the course of the semester to discuss something class-related. I obviously
encourage you to come more often than that.
Attendance
You may miss three classes without penalty. After that, your participation grade
will drop by 10% for each absence (so, if you would have earned a 93% in class
participation but have missed four classes, you will earn an 83%). Five unexcused
absences will result in a failure through absence (AF). I will not notify you when
4. 4
you are approaching an AF; you are responsible for tracking your own attendance.
I will of course let you know where you stand upon request. I further reserve the
right to notify your advisor when you have missed three classes.
Excused absences do not count toward your absence total. These include
religious holidays, health emergencies, jury duty, etc. You must notify me at least
one class period in advance of any predictable absences and must provide a
doctor’s note, jury-duty letter, or some such indication.
If you arrive late to class, I will count you tardy, and every three tardy
arrivals will count as one unexcused absence. Please arrive on time to show
respect to your classmates and to me.
Should you miss class for any reason, you are responsible for finding out
what you have missed. Please speak to your classmates about this.
Any texting, personal emails, personal use of social media, or work for
other classes will result in an unexcused absence for the day.
Participation
Participation is very important to this class. Your contributions in the classroom
and on the blog are the substance of the class. Though I have mandated a number
of blog posts and comments, I do not mandate number of comments in class. I
want to hear what you have to say, and some projects require your input. I’d love
to hear what you have to say.
Concerns?
If you feel you may not be able to meet the requirements of this class, please
come see me at the beginning of the semester to discuss your concerns.
Assignments
If you have questions or concerns about an assignment, please 1) read through the
prompt again, 2) consult the syllabus, 3) check with a classmate. Only after
checking at all of these levels should you 4) contact me.
5. 5
Assignments are due at class time unless specified otherwise. You may
turn in one assignment up to 24 hours late without penalty, no questions asked.
Beyond that, you must turn in all assignments on time. I do not accept late
assignments.
Submit all written assignments not on the blog to the shared Google Drive
with the format Lastname_Assignment_Date. Any assignments not submitted in
this way will not be accepted.
University Writing Services (UWS)
It is required that you visit UWS twice, once for each half of the semester. I
highly suggest that you go in early in the writing process, perhaps even before
words have hit the page for at least one of these visits. Each visit is worth a quiz
grade since the use of such services is one of those ‘advanced strategies’ we will
discuss throughout the semester. You may not make an appointment with me for
work from this class, though you can come to my office hours to consult with me
on a paper. Remember that UWS is not evaluative in any way. You may earn the
only extra credit possible in this class in this way:
In addition to the required UWS visits, if your grade is, at the end of the
semester,
A - 0 additional points
B - 1 additional point (3 visits required for bonus)
C - 2 additional points (4 visits required for bonus)
D - up to a C- (5 visits required for bonus)
F - up to a D- (8 visits required for bonus)
For more information on UWS, call 314-977-3484 or visit the University Writing
Services website.
You can also ask me about it since I work there.
Academic Integrity Syllabus Statement
6. 6
Academic integrity is honest, truthful and responsible conduct in all academic
endeavors. The mission of Saint Louis University is "the pursuit of truth for the
greater glory of God and for the service of humanity." Accordingly, all acts of
falsehood demean and compromise the corporate endeavors of teaching, research,
health care, and community service via which SLU embodies its mission. The
University strives to prepare students for lives of personal and professional
integrity, and therefore regards all breaches of academic integrity as matters of
serious concern.
The governing University-level Academic Integrity Policy was adopted in
Spring 2015, and can be accessed on the Provost's Office website at:
http://www.slu.edu/Documents/provost/academic_affairs/University-
wide%20Academic%20Integrity%20Policy%20FINAL%20%206-26-15.pdf.
Additionally, each SLU College, School, and Center has adopted its own
academic integrity policies, available on their respective websites. All SLU
students are expected to know and abide by these policies, which detail
definitions of violations, processes for reporting violations, sanctions, and
appeals.
Please direct questions about any facet of academic integrity to your
faculty, the chair of the department of your academic program, or the
Dean/Director of the College, School or Center in which your program is housed.
Specific College of Arts and Sciences Academic Honesty Policies and
Procedures may be found at: http://www.slu.edu/x12657.xml
Title IX
Saint Louis University and its faculty are committed to supporting our students
and seeking an environment that is free of bias, discrimination, and harassment. If
you have encountered any form of sexual misconduct (e.g. sexual assault, sexual
harassment, stalking, domestic or dating violence), we encourage you to report
this to the University. If you speak with a faculty member about an incident of
misconduct, that faculty member must notify SLU's Title IX coordinator, Anna R.
Kratky (DuBourg Hall, room 36; akratky@slu.edu; 314-977-3886) and share the
basic fact of your experience with her. The Title IX coordinator will then be
7. 7
available to assist you in understanding all of your options and in connecting you
with all possible resources on and off campus.
If you wish to speak with a confidential source, you may contact the
counselors at the University Counseling Center at 314-977-TALK. To view SLU's
sexual misconduct policy and for resources, please visit the following web
address:
http://www.slu.edu/general-counsel-home/office-of-institutional-equity-
and-diversity/sexual-misconduct-policy www.slu.edu/here4you .
Student Success Center
In recognition that people learn in a variety of ways and that learning is
influenced by multiple factors (e.g., prior experience, study skills, learning
disability), resources to support student success are available on campus. The
Student Success Center, a one-stop shop, which assists students with academic
and career related services, is located in the Busch Student Center (Suite, 331)
and the School of Nursing (Suite, 114). Students who think they might benefit
from these resources can find out more about:
Course-level support (e.g., faculty member, departmental resources, etc.)
by asking your course instructor.
University-level support (e.g., tutoring services, university writing
services, disability services, academic coaching, career services, and/or facets of
curriculum planning) by visiting the Student Success Center or by going to
www.slu.edu/success.
Disability Services - Academic Accommodations
Students with a documented disability who wish to request academic
accommodations are encouraged to contact Disability Services to discuss
accommodation requests and eligibility requirements. Please contact Disability
Services, located within the Student Success Center, at
Disability_services@slu.edu or314.977.3484 to schedule an appointment.
Confidentiality will be observed in all inquiries. Once approved, information
about academic accommodations will be shared with course instructors via email
from Disability Services and viewed within Banner via the instructor's course
roster.
8. 8
Office of the University Registrar:
https://sites.google.com/a/slu.edu/registrar_resources/grades/scale
Grading Scale
A 4.00 C+ 2.30
A- 3.70 C 2.00
B+ 3.30 C- 1.70
B 3.00 D 1.00
B- 2.70 F 0.00
Quizzes & In-class Writing
I will give random reading quizzes throughout the semester. I will use them not
only to allow you to show me that you have read the assigned chapter but also to
call attention to aspects of the reading I find important and would like you to
notice, too.
I will also occasionally assign small, in-class assignments either for you
all to practice things we have discussed in class or for you to keep your writing
skills sharp.
Assessment
I will grade the major assignments on the College of Arts and Sciences scale. I
reserve the right to assess minor assignments with Pass/Fail. I will, because I am
benevolent, drop your lowest quiz grade. The grades in this class are not scaled or
curved. It is therefore possible for all of you to get A’s in this class or for all of
you to fail.
Grade Breakdown
Quizzes: 25%
9. 9
Blog: 25%
Major Assignments: 50% (all major assignments are averaged together)
If you’re ever concerned about your grade, please come talk to me as early
as possible.
Blog
You must write a post of 250 words or more (no maximum) once per week and
comment twice per week on a post which is not your own. Your comment must
contribute positively to the conversation or raise a point/ask a question/challenge
an assumption which begins a conversation.
Arguments are quite acceptable on the blog, however, I firmly encourage
you all to use courteous language, especially when you disagree with one another.
Your blog posts must contribute or augment class discussion. Any posts I
deem unrelated to the class will not be counted toward your total. You may,
especially at the beginning of the class, check a post with me for relevancy.
You are also required to tag your posts with your first and last name if you
do not, I will not be able to count it toward your total number of posts.
Initial Schedule (subject to change):
Week 1
Reading: Movie Accents piece, Chapter 1-2 in TSIS
Blog about high school experience & concerns about the class
Week 2
Reading: TSIS 3-4
brainstorm things you care about
5-source annotated bibliography due Friday
short presentation and blog post about your place in the field
Week 3
Reading: TSIS 5-6
Proposal due Friday
Week 4
Reading: TSIS 7-8
Rhetorical Analysis
10. 10
Week 5
Reading: TSIS 9-10
Short Paper 1 due
5-paragraph essay
Peer edit
Week 6
Reading: TSIS 11-12
Annotated bibliography 10-source
Proposal
Peer review
Week 7
Reading: TSIS 13-14
Short paper 2 due
Friday -- peer review
TED talk on formula & innovation
Week 8
Reading: TSIS 15-17
speech
Week 9
Outline of major paper & draft
Week 10
Outline ii
Week 11
Draft ii
Week 12
Final paper due
Week 13
Begin multimedia project
Peer review
Week 14
Present Multimedia Project
Week 15
Discuss & present powerpoints
Week 16
Toasts and Speeches
