This 3 sentence summary provides the essential information from the English 101 syllabus document: The document is the syllabus for English 101 being taught in the spring 2020 semester by instructor Johanna Tollefson. It outlines the course goals, learning outcomes, required textbook, policies on attendance, late work, plagiarism, and campus resources available to students. The course focuses on developing skills in critical reading, writing, revising, and incorporating sources to meet college-level writing expectations.

1. ENGL 101 Syllabus Spring 2020 pg. 1
SYLLABUS ENGLISH 101-03 SPRING 2020
WRITING AND RHETORIC I
Instructor: Johanna Tollefson
Email: jtollefson@uidaho.edu
Office: Brink Hall 101
Phone: 208-885-6156 (leave a voicemail with your name and my name; do not text this number)
Office Hours: Tuesday 1pm-3:30pm, or by appointment
Course time & place: MWF, 12:30-1:20, TLC Building 139
COURSE GOALS & LEARNING OUTCOMES
English 101 is an introductory composition course that focuses on strategies for critical reading, generating ideas for
writing, planning and organizing material, and for revising and editing. The course prepares you for the demands of
college reading and writing. We will focus on reading critically, writing with a main idea, and properly incorporating source
material into your writing. This course addresses the Written Communication competencies as outlined by the Idaho State
Board of Education Governing Policies and Procedures, Section III. Postsecondary Affairs, Subsection N. Statewide General
Education (https://boardofed.idaho.gov/board-policies-rules/board-policies/higher-education-affairs-section-iii/iii-n-
general-education/).
By the end of the course, you should be able to...
1. Demonstrate reading comprehension.
• Explain the main point of college-level and professional arguments.
2. Demonstrate awareness of rhetorical strategies in the writing produced by others.
• Identify and describe the rhetorical strategies rhetors use to present ideas related to their intended purposes,
audiences, and rhetorical situations.
3. Demonstrate your understanding that writing is a process.
• Engage in a recursive writing process that includes repeated invention, rereading and focused revision and
editing over a span of time.
• Apply different pre-writing and invention strategies to generate ideas and develop arguments.
• Apply different revision strategies to create ideas that appeal to intended purposes, audiences, and rhetorical
situations.
• Apply different proofreading strategies to produce writing that maintains the conventions of Standard Edited
English.
• Give and receive constructive feedback from peers.
4. Compose prose that meets college-level expectations for academic essays.
• Compose a focused claim supported with logical and clear reasons and evidence.
• Apply current MLA citation rules in situations like paraphrasing, summarizing, citing and documenting
borrowed material.
• Use electronic environments to complete the composing process.
REQUIRED TEXTBOOK
Nicotra, Jodie. Becoming Rhetorical. ISBN 1-305-95677-X.

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COURSE WEBSITE
All work will be submitted through the course BbLearn site unless otherwise stated. All assignment sheets and other
course materials will also be posted on the BbLearn site. Log on into BbLearn (http://bblearn.uidaho.edu) using your
University of Idaho NetID and password, and locate English 101.
COURSE POLICIES
ATTENDANCE. Attendance in English 101 is mandatory. Being present in class is the key to success in the course.
Compiling more than six unexcused absences is grounds for failure of the course. An excused absence is an official note
specifying the days and reasons you were required to miss class. Excused absences must be in writing from an official such
as a doctor or a university instructor or administrator (in the event of athletic events or field trips). You are responsible for
making up work you miss due to absences.
Attendance means being physically present, awake, coherent, and fully prepared for class, with the day’s assignments
completed. If you do not meet all of these conditions, you can be marked absent for the day.
CLASSROOM CITIZENSHIP. This BbLearn course 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. Inappropriate behavior in our course may result in expulsion from a class, contact from the Dean of
Students, a loss of points, and/or possible failure of the entire course.
TECHNOLOGY. This is a device driven world, so I expect you to use your tools as such. If they become a distraction, I will
ask you to put them away. A huge pet peeve of mine is doing other homework while in class. If you can do homework and
participate at the same time, make sure it’s homework for this class.
REQUIRED TECHNOLOGY. You must have word processing software that allows you to save (and open) documents as
.doc, .docx, or .pdf files. Feedback will be given using BbLearn’s inline grading software (New Box View), and documents
submitted in other file formats make providing feedback on your work difficult, inefficient, and sometimes impossible. As
a full-time University of Idaho student, you can download Microsoft software at no cost. More information is available in
the ITS Tech Support Portal: https://support.uidaho.edu/TDClient/KB/ArticleDet?ID=84.
EMAIL ETIQUETTE. I welcome your emails and questions – if you have questions about the course, your work, due dates,
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 AM-5
PM).
DEADLINES. The due dates for all assignments are posted under the appropriate Unit on the course BbLearn site. Late
work will not be accepted without prior arrangement.
To request an extension on any assignment in Units 1-4, please email me. If no request is submitted, points will be
deducted from the final grade on the assignment. Work not submitted will earn a zero. All essays and the final portfolio
must be submitted to pass this class. No extensions will be granted during Unit 5: the final portfolio.
ORIGINAL WRITING. All work for this class must be written for this section of English 101. Reusing an assignment you
completed in a previous semester, for a different class, or back in high school, constitutes academic dishonesty.

3. ENGL 101 Syllabus Spring 2020 pg. 3
ACADEMIC DISHONESTY. Academic dishonesty, including inappropriate collaboration, will not be tolerated in this course.
There are severe sanctions for cheating, plagiarizing, and any other form of dishonesty to include suspension or expulsion
from the UI. Please read the document labeled “Statement on Plagiarism” on our BbLearn site for more information on
plagiarism.
THE PUBLIC NATURE OF CLASS WRITING AND DISCUSSION. Please consider every piece of writing you do for this class to
be “public property.” Part of becoming a good writer is learning to appreciate the ideas and criticisms of others, and in
this course our purpose is to come together as a writing community. Remember that you will often be expected to share
your writing with others, so avoid writing about things that you may not be prepared to subject to public scrutiny, or
things that you feel so strongly about that you are unwilling to listen to perspectives other than your own. This does not
mean that you are not entitled to an opinion, but that you adopt positions responsibly, contemplating the possible effect
on others.
CAMPUS RESOURCES
CENTER FOR DISABILITY ACCESS AND RESOURCES REASONABLE ACCOMMODATIONS STATEMENT
Reasonable accommodations are available for students who have documented temporary or permanent disabilities.
All accommodations must be approved through the Center for Disability Access and Resources located in the Bruce M.
Pitman Center, Suite 127 in order to notify your instructor(s) as soon as possible regarding accommodation(s) needed
for the course.
Center for Disability Access and Resources
Phone: 208-885-6307
Email: cdar@uidaho.edu
Web: http://www.uidaho.edu/current-students/cdar
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 (208-885-6757), the UI Counseling & Testing Center’s
confidential services (208-885-6716), or the UI Office of Human Rights, Access, & Inclusion (208-885-4285).
WRITING CENTER
The Writing Center, located on the third floor of the Idaho Commons in room 323, is dedicated to providing one-on-one
assistance to student writers and other members of the campus community. Writers come to the center for help at
various stages of their writing process, from brainstorming to revision of drafted papers. Writing tutors assist with any
kind of writing, from research papers to personal statements for applications. The Writing Center also offers online
tutoring to distance students who are unable to visit in person. To make an appointment visit
www.uidaho.edu/class/writing-center.
TUTORING AND COLLEGE SUCCESS (TCS)
TCS offers three distinct services dedicated to student success: tutoring, SI–PASS, and Academic Coaching. Vandal
Tutoring provides drop-in style tutoring in person at the Library or online through uidaho.edu/tutoringonline at no cost to

4. ENGL 101 Syllabus Spring 2020 pg. 4
undergraduates. SI-PASS provides peer assisted study sessions for difficult courses. You can find the schedule of currently
supported courses at uidaho.edu/si. Academic Coaching offers students an opportunity to work with a coach, one on one,
to improve their academic skills such as: effective studying, test taking, time management, and note taking. Visit
uidaho.edu/academic-coaching to schedule an appointment.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS
UNIT WRITING PROJECTS. There will be four units focused on rhetoric, plus a final portfolio unit that consists of original
work you’ve written during the course.
• Unit 1: What is rhetoric?
• Unit 2: Reading rhetorically and responding to an argument
• Unit 3: Using rhetoric to analyze a written argument
• Unit 4: Using rhetoric to analyze a visual argument
• Unit 5: Persuasive portfolio
PREP WORK. There will be shorter (what we call “invention” or “prep work”) assignments due regularly. These
assignments are specifically designed to help you generate material to write the major assignments. In addition, for each
major assignment, you will also be asked to read and comment on the papers of other students.
FINAL PORTFOLIO. The Persuasive Portfolio will exhibit your best work done during the semester as evidence of your
readiness to advance into the challenges of English 102, Writing and Rhetoric II. The Final Portfolio is due on Friday, 5/1
at 12 pm (noon), and must contain the following three items:
1. A Persuasive Letter.
2. A revised, polished draft of a summary/response essay.
3. A revised, polished draft of an analysis essay.
Instructions for the Final Portfolio are available on the BbLearn site. Your final portfolio will be evaluated by faculty in the
English department. They will assign a rating of Pass (P) or Not Ready/No Pass (N). If you fail to complete a Final
Portfolio, you will receive a grade of F in the course, which will have a serious effect on your GPA. In order to pass English
101, you must earn a rating of Pass (P) on your final portfolio.
GRADING
This is a pass/fail course, meaning that the only passing grade is a P. Non-passing grades are an N (for Not Yet) or F (for
Failure). Individual assignments during the term will be graded on a points system.
You will receive scores on all four of your first drafts, finished drafts, and prep work assignments. All of these scores will
be posted on BbLearn under the MY GRADES link. In the last weeks of the term, you will prepare your final portfolio,
which will be evaluated by two different instructors in the English department.
YOUR FINAL GRADE IN THE COURSE: Your final grade is comprised of two parts—a grade from your course instructor
(me) and the evaluation of your final portfolio (assessed by faculty in the English department).
In order to earn a Pass (P) in English 101:
1. You must earn at least 70% of the overall points available in units one-four.
2. You must earn a Pass (P) on the portfolio. You will submit a final portfolio that represents your best work in
English 101 as evidence of your readiness to move into English 102. A rating of Pass on your final portfolio means

5. ENGL 101 Syllabus Spring 2020 pg. 5
that your writing meets or exceeds the expectations of English 101 (see the objectives on page one for more
information). English department faculty will evaluate your final portfolio, assigning grades of either Pass (P) or
Not Ready/No Pass (N).
Your final grade in the course will be determined in the following manner:
Course Grade from Units 1-4 Portfolio Reader 1 Grade Portfolio Reader 2 Grade Final Course Grade
70% or higher P P P
70% or higher P N P
70% or higher N P P
70% or higher N N N
69% or lower P P N
69% or lower P N N
69% or lower N P N
70% or higher No Portfolio No Portfolio F
F (missing too many classes, missing
final drafts of any essays in units 1-
4, missing the majority of prep-work
and/or rough drafts, etc.)
P P F
In other words, you must earn a Pass on your portfolio in addition to the work you did during the semester in order to
pass English 101. It is possible to do passing work during the term but not produce a passing portfolio. In such a case, you
will earn an N (Not Ready/No Pass) in the course, and you will have to retake the entire course. For this reason, it is very
important to take the final portfolio seriously.
If you fail to submit any finished/final drafts, you will earn an F in the course.
DESCRIPTION OF THE POSSIBLE GRADES FOR THIS COURSE:
P Stands for Pass. A P has no effect on your GPA, but you earn three credits toward the 120 you need to
graduate. You must earn at least 70% of the overall points and pass your final portfolio to earn this grade.
N Stands for No Credit. It also means “Not Ready for English 102.” A grade of N has no effect on your GPA,
but it does mean that you need to take the course again.
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 on your prep work and drafts, you will automatically earn an
F. An F is assigned to students who fail to submit the required work.
I Stands for Incomplete. Under very unusual circumstances you could be assigned an Incomplete in the
course if an emergency, accident, illness or death occurs within the last two weeks of the semester that
make it impossible for you to complete the course. In such a case, we will arrange a reasonable contract
that stipulates the timeframe in which you will complete the requirements of the course.