Syllabus

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Syllabus, Spring 2017
Instructor: Caitlyn Curran
Office Location: Brink 113
Email: ccurran@uidaho.edu
Course Time: M/W/F 2:30 – 3:20 p.m.
Office Hours: TBA
“Every time a student sits down to write for us, (s)he has to invent the university for
the occasion—invent the university, that is, or a branch of it, like history or
anthropology or economics or English. The student has to learn to speak as we do, to
try on the peculiar ways of knowing, selecting, evaluating, reporting, concluding, and
arguing that define the discourse of our community.” – David Bartholomae, “Inventing
the University”
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 future college courses and in
many professional settings. Sometimes this kind of writing is called transactional writing; it
is used to transact something: to persuade and inform a reasonably well-educated
audience, conduct business, evaluate, review, or explain a complex process, procedure, or
event. By writing in different genres, I hope to allow you to “invent the university” by using
your own unique thoughts and talents.
This course is designed, first and foremost, to make you an effective writer across the
disciplines, throughout your academic career, and beyond the university. My goal is to help
you communicate effectively, regardless of your background, interests, or academic goals.
By the end of the course, a successful student should be able to:
1. Accurately assess and effectively respond to a wide variety of audiences and
rhetorical situations.
2. Comprehend college-level and professional prose and analyze how authors present
their ideas in view of their probable purposes, audiences, and occasions.
3. 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).
4. Focus on, articulate, and sustain a purpose that meets the needs of specific writing
situations.
5. Explicitly articulate why they are writing, who they are writing for, and what they
are saying.
6. Write critical analyses and syntheses of college-level and professional prose.
7. Be able to make the connection between questions and problems in your life both
within and outside of college.
8. Gather and evaluate information and use it for a rhetorical purpose in writing a
research paper.

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9. Attend to and productively incorporate a variety of perspectives.
10. Develop flexible strategies for generating, revising, editing, and proofreading.
11. Understand writing as an open process that permits writers to use later invention
and re-thinking to revise their work.
12. Give and receive constructive feedback from peers.
13. Use conventions of format and structure appropriate to the rhetorical situation and
practice appropriate means of documenting their work.
14. 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.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS
Writing Assignments. The bulk of your graded work in this course will consist of four
writing assignments: a personal narrative, an annotated bibliography, a research paper,
and a public remediation of your research. For more details on any of these assignments,
including instructions, grading criteria, and helpful hints, see the appropriate files on the
course Blackboard site.
Personal Narrative First Draft : DUE Monday 1/23 as a hard copy handed in to me at the
start of class as well as posted to BBlearn before the class session
Personal Narrative Final Draft: DUE Friday 2/03 posted to BBlearn by midnight
Annotated Bibliography First Draft: DUE Wednesday 2/22 posted to BBlearn by midnight
Annotated Bibliography Final Draft: DUE Friday 3/03 posted to BBlearn by midnight
Research Paper First Draft: DUE Friday 3/24 as a hard copy handed in to me at the start of
class as well as posted to BBlearn before the class session
Research Paper Final Draft: DUE Friday 4/07 posted to BBlearn by midnight
Letter to the Editor First Draft: DUE Friday 04/21 posted to BBlearn by midnight
Letter to the Editor Final Draft: DUE Friday 05/05 posted to BBlearn by midnight
Please note that each assignment has a firm due date. I cannot accept late work without
prior arrangements. I encourage you to consult with me if this is ever a concern.
Attendance. You are expected to attend every class period, unless you have made previous
arrangements with me. I reserve the right to administer a failing grade in instances of
seven or more absences. If you are sick, please email me as soon as possible prior to class
time.
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

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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 and Testing Center’s
confidential services (885-6716), or the UI Office of Human Rights, Access & Inclusion
(885-4285).
Classroom citizenship. The classroom is a learning community. Be respectful of your fellow
students and your instructor. If you have a problem with anything in the course, speak to
me about it privately after class or meet me during my office hours. Disruptive behavior
during class may result in expulsion from a class meeting or the entire course.
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.
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)
TEXTBOOK
-John Ramage et al, The Allyn & Bacon Guide to Writing (7th edition). (Please feel
free to borrow this book or buy it used—we won’t use the online extras.)
-Various other readings, accessible via the course Blackboard site as PDFs.
GRADING
Your grade in this course will be a combination of writing assignments and daily
assignments. Writing assignments will be graded based on rubrics, which are included on
assignment instructions posted to the course Blackboard site. Daily assignments are
graded as participation points, with a full score reflecting work that fully responds to the
assigned task and is turned in before midnight on the day that it is assigned.
Final grades will be based on a 1000-point scale. A final grade of A will represent at least
900 earned points. A final grade of B will represent at least 800 earned points, and so on.
Points are distributed as outlined below:

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-Prep works for Essay 1 (50 points)
-Personal Narrative 1st Draft (50 points)
-Personal Narrative (100 points)
-Prep works for Essay 2 (50 points)
-Annotated Bibliography 1st Draft (50 points)
-Annotated Bibliography (100 points)
-Prep works for Essay 3 (50 points)
-Research Paper 1st Draft (50 points)
-Research Paper (100 points)
-Prep works for Essay 4 (50 points)
-Letter to the Editor Remediation 1st Draft (50 points)
-Letter to the Editor Remediation (100 points)
-Participation (200 points~50 points per unit)
If you withdraw from this course on or before January 25, 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 the first three are passing grades.
A
Represents achievement that is outstanding or superior relative to the level necessary
to meet the requirements of the course. (900-1000 earned points)
B
Represents achievement that is significantly above the level necessary to meet the
requirements of the course. (800-899 earned points)
C
Represents achievement that meets the basic requirements in every respect. It
signifies that the work is average and deserves a passing grade, but does not excel.
(700-799 earned points)
W
Stands for Withdrawal. This is the grade you will receive if you withdraw from the
course after January 25th but on or before March 31st. A W has no effect on your GPA,
but you can have only 20 W credits during your time as an undergraduate at UI. After
Friday, October 30 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
(699 or fewer earned points) 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.
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.

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POLICY ON PLAGIARISM IN ENGLISH 102
I assume that you will be honest in submitting work that is your own. You must be aware,
however, that if a paper involves plagiarism of any kind, I am empowered by Regulation 0-2
of the general catalog to assign a grade of F for the course. In most cases of plagiarism, I will
also make a complaint to the Dean of Students Office, which can result in suspension or
expulsion from the university.
I am aware, however, that many students struggle to properly accredit the work of others
within papers, and I recognize two basic kinds of plagiarism, as outlined with the Modern
Language Association of America:
1. Malicious or intentional plagiarism. This is the most serious kind of academic theft. It
involves using someone else’s work as your own without citing the source, including
direct copying, rephrasing, and summarizing, submitting someone else’s paper as
your own, or submitting your own work from a different semester or different
course. It also involves taking someone else’s idea and putting it in different words.
Even if several different sources were copied, it is still plagiarism.
2. “Plagia-phrasing” or mosaic plagiarism. Not indicating directly quoted passages or
ideas even while citing the work as a general source.
If a paper involves plagiarism of the second kind, I will ask you to rewrite the paper using
correct forms of documentation. However, if you persist in committing this kind of
plagiarism, you could be subjected to a more severe penalty of the type described above.
DISABILITY SUPPORT SERVICES
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.
209.885.6307
email at dss@uidaho.edu
website at www.access.uidaho.edu

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MWF Schedule English 102 Spring 2017
UNIT 1: Personal Narrative
DATE MONDAY WEDNESDAY FRIDAY
WEEK 1
1/11-
1/13
No Class Intro to syllabus and Essay 1 Readings due: 125-131 in
Allyn+Bacon
PRINT OUT SYLLABUS
In class prep work -10 points
WEEK 2
1/16-
1/20
No Class
Happy Birthday Martin Luther
King Jr.!
Readings due: 137-138 in A+B
Writing due: answer questions on
138 to discuss in class and turn in.
– 10 points
Readings due: 26-29 in A+B
Writing due: create an idea
map to turn in -20 points
Bring Hard Copy of 1st Draft for
Peer Review
WEEK 3
1/23-
1/27
Readings Due: 475-486 A+B
1st Draft Due before class on
BBlearn
BRING HARD COPY to class for
me to grade & comment
CONFERENCES CONFERENCES
WEEK 4
1/30-
2/03
CONFERENCES Bring laptops for in class
revision/work day
Bring Hard Copies for Peer
Review 2
Essay 1 FINAL DRAFT due on
BBlearn by Midnight
UNIT 2: Annotated Bibliography
DATE MONDAY WEDNESDAY FRIDAY
WEEK 5
2/06-2/10
Intro to Annotated
Bibliography
Readings Due: 155-158 &
508-512 in A+B
Readings due: 514-525 in A+B
& What Makes a Good Research
Question?https://twp.duke.edu
/uploads/media_items/research
-questions.original.pdf
Brainstorm questions at home
and write down 5. Discuss in
class and present one-15 points
Project proposal due on BBlearn
– 25 points
Readings Due: 159-163 & 405-
414 A+B.
Done in class: answer questions
on 513 and turn in for 10 points.
WEEK 6
2/13-2/17
LIBRARY WEEK LIBRARY WEEK LIBRARY WEEK

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WEEK 7
2/20-2/24
No Class BRING HARD COPY of 1st draft for
Peer Review/Discussion
First draft DUE on BBlearn by
midnight
Readings Due: 526-542
WEEK 8
2/27-3/03
Conferences Conferences Final Draft due on BBlearn by
midnight
UNIT 3: Research Assignment
DATE MONDAY WEDNESDAY FRIDAY
WEEK 9
3/06-3/10
Readings Due: 191-197 &
286-290 A+B
Intro to research essay +
synthesis/problem question.
Readings Due: 384-393 A+B
Writing Due: Create essay outline
and turn in for 25 points
Readings due: 432-444 A+B
Writing Due: Come up with
title & idea map to turn in for
25 points
3/13-3/17 SPRING BREAK – Have Fun!
WEEK 10
3/20-3/24
Welcome back! Bring laptops
for an in-class work day.
Bring Hard Copy of 1st Draft for
Peer Review
First Draft of Research Essay
Hard Copy & BB learn BY
CLASS PERIOD
WEEK 11
3/27-31
Conferences Conferences Conferences
WEEK 12
4/03-4/07
Readings Due: 543-560 Readings Due: 561-576
Bring Laptops for in class work
day.
Final Draft of Research
Essay Due posted to BBlearn
by midnight
UNIT 4: Public Remediation (Letter to the Editor)
DATE MONDAY WEDNESDAY FRIDAY
WEEK 13
4/10-4/14
Readings due: 310-316 A+B Readings Due: 316-325 A+B Readings due: 15 & 325-335
A+B
WEEK 14
4/17-4/21
DUE: Find and print out article
to respond to for 25 points
DUE: Write detailed outline for
25 points
Bring Hard Copy for Peer
Review First draft DUE on
BBLearn by midnight
WEEK 15
4/24-4/28
Conferences Conferences Conferences
WEEK 16
5/01-5/05
Readings Due: 92-98 A+B Bring laptops for in class work day Final Draft Due by Midnight in
BBlearn