This document outlines the syllabus for an English 102 college writing course focusing on place and identity. The course will explore how environment shapes lives and events through diverse perspectives in assigned writing. Major assignments include blog posts, a personal narrative essay, an annotated bibliography, exploratory research essay, and op-ed essay. Students will develop skills like research, revision, and synthesizing sources. The syllabus details course goals, assignments, policies, grading scale and deadlines. Successful students will gain skills in areas like audience analysis, research, and incorporating feedback to improve writing.

1. ENGLISH 102
College Writing and Rhetoric
Syllabus
Spring 2019
Writing About Place & Identity
Instructor
Clare Shearer
Email – clares@uidaho.edu
Office – Brink 113
Office Hours
Wednesday 12:00 - 1:00 pm
Tuesday 2:00 - 3:00 pm

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COURSE GOALS & LEARNING OUTCOMES –
English 102 is an introductory composition course designed to improve your skills in analytical,
persuasive, rhetorical, and expository writing. This semester,we will explore writing techniques through
the lens of place: How does our environment shape both our lives and the events around us? How do we
write about such issues across contexts and audiences? We will engage with issues of place and identity
through a diverse selection of voices, perspectives, and approaches. You will be expected to write from
your own personal experience as well as engage in traditional research assignments, blog writing, op-eds,
and social media—exploring new contexts, genres,and audiences.
As we interrogate issues of place, we will work to develop various composition skills, including
freewriting, reflection, revision, synthesis, and research. We will then apply these skills to an array of
rhetorical situations, asking you to consider how effectively you are communicating the concepts and
ideas you are working with. How might your writing reach an audience, and what you would like the
audience to feel, think, or do? With a focus on our environment and how we are shaped by it, this course
will allow us to identify how place influences our lives and how we create and enact our own identities
and ideologies around it.
By the end ofthe 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.
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 materialcollected from electronic sources,including
scholarly library databases; other official databases (e.g.,federalgovernment databases); and informal
electronic networks and internet sources.

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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 23 – Last day to drop the course WITHOUT a grade of W.
March 29 – Last day to drop the course WITH a grade of W.
Class Deadlines
Each of the assignments in this course will have a deadline and it is your responsibility to speak with me
in advance of that deadline if you will be unable to submit your work on time. In the event that you do
submit your work late, I will take off five points per day for major assignments. Deductions to minor
assignments will be based on the circumstances.
Note on Extensions: I will only provide extensions in advance and in the case that you are facing
reasonable circumstances that will not allow for your work to be in on time. Life happens to all of us. But
you must demonstrate respect for my time (and for your classmates’ time). If you communicate with me
as soon as possible, I am happy to work with you to arrange an extension.
TEXTBOOK –
Becoming Rhetorical: Analyzing and Composing in a Multimedia World by Jodie Nicotra. Wadsworth
Publishing; 1 edition (January 1, 2018)
Outside Reading:You will be responsible for additional readings outside the textbook, all of which will
be available via BbLearn as PDF files or external links.
ATTENDANCE –
Attendance in English 102 is mandatory. Missing more than six (6) classes in a semester is grounds for
failing the course.In the case of illness or other circumstances, you must email me before class in order
to be excused for the day. If you miss more two or more class periods in a row, you are encouraged to
come see me during office hours to make up for your absences.
Being in attendance means being physically present,awake,headphones out, not on your phone, and fully
prepared for class, with the day’s assignments completed. If you do not meet all of these conditions, you
might be marked absent for the day. You are responsible for making up all of the work that you missed in
a reasonable timeframe.
COURSE ETIQUETTE –
Classroom citizenship. The classroom is a learning community. Any behavior that disrupts this
community will not be tolerated. This includes speaking to other students while the instructor is talking,

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obvious sleeping, passing notes, being rude or belligerent to the instructor or other students, etc. Please be
respectful of your fellow students and your instructor. If you have a problem with anything in the course,
you may speak to me about it privately after class or in my office hours.
Technology. Cell phones are a part of life, but they are not a part of the classroom. Texting and taking
calls is not permitted in class. Unless you have been given explicit permission to use your laptop or cell
phone in class for research or work purposes, all laptops should be shut.
Email etiquette. Feel free to email me any questions you might have about the course,your work,
meeting, etc. My address is clares@uidaho.edu and I’ll do my best to answer as soon as possible. Note:
Since this is a writing course,I ask that you please treat your emails as professional correspondence. This
means they should feature a greeting, complete sentences,and a sign-off with your name at the bottom.
OFFICE HOURS –
I encourage you to come visit me in my office. I’m happy to talk about our coursework, writing, or life in
general. My door will be open during my office hours (listed above), or you can email me to schedule a
meeting if you cannot make it during office hours for any reason.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS –
Writing Journal
In addition to large assignments, you will be required to keep (and bring to class) a Writing Journal.
Please select a designated notebook to serve as your Writing Journal and make sure to have it with you
during every class session. We will use these journals for in-class writing prompts, free writes,
brainstorms and drafting exercises. I also encourage you to use your journals for discussion prep, reading
notes, and any other ideas you may wish to get down on paper to help you with your preparation and
participation in the course.
Major Writing Projects
Unit 1:
● Reading Response Blogs:750 words each / published to BbLearn blog
● Personal Narrative Essay:4-5 pages / MLA formatting
Unit 2:
● Annotated Bibliography:Seven (7) sources / MLA formatting
● Exploratory Research Essay:7-8 pages / MLA formatting
Unit 3:
● Op-Ed Essay:4-5 pages / MLA formatting
Each of the major assignments in this course will build on one another. In Unit One, we will be reading
personal narrative essays about place which will inform and inspire your own personal narrative essay.
The blog posts for this unit will give you the chance to reflect on these narratives and how the writers use

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rhetorical techniques and place study in their own work. When you write your personal narrative essay,
then, you will be able to harness some of these techniques in your writing. Units Two and Three will
allow you to dive deep into research on a specific topic of place – perhaps the same you wrote about in
your personal narrative, perhaps another – and the issues that arise there. And, finally, in Unit Four you
will take this issue of place and write an op-ed that argues a solution to the problem you identified in that
place.
GRADING –
All assignments, major and minor, will receive a grade in BbLearn,which you can check in the My
Grades tab (on the left side). If you fail to submit a major assignment, you are at risk of failing the course.
Smaller assignments, like blog posts or journal entries, are meant to help you prepare for the larger
projects, so please take them seriously. Furthermore, these points will add up quickly, and will contribute
to your passing grade in the class. Please note that you cannot pass the course ifyou don’t do the
assignments.
Unit One
Personal Essay
8 Blog Posts:
25 points each
Total Points
Possible: 200
Rough Draft:
25 points
Final Draft:
100 points
Total Points
Possible: 125
Library Week
Research
Research Log:
30 points
Quiz #1:
10 points
Quiz #2:
10 points
Total Points
Possible: 50
Unit Two
Annotated
Bibliography
Rough Draft:
25 points
Final Draft:
100 points
Total Points
Possible: 125
Exploratory
Research Essay
Rough Draft:
25 Points
Final Draft:
100 points
Total Points
Possible: 125
Unit Three
Op-Ed Essay
Rough Draft:
25 Points
Final Draft:
100 points
Total Points
Possible: 125
Total 750 points

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If you withdraw from this course on or before January 23, 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 superiorrelative to the level necessary
to meet the requirements of the course.
B Represents achievement that is significantly above the level necessary to meet the
requirements of the course.
Grades ofA or B are honors grades. You must do something beyond the minimum required in
order to earn an A or B.
C Represents achievement that meets the basic requirements in every respect. It signifies
that the work is average,but nothing more.
W Stands for Withdrawal. This is the grade you will receive if you withdraw from the
course after September 1 but on or before October 27. 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 October 27 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.

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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 keeping with the spirit of academic integrity, I will assume at all times that you are doing honest,
original work. That being said, plagiarism is a serious matter. With this in mind, I feel that it is important
to explain the definition and consequences of plagiarism, intentional or otherwise.
There are two basic kinds of plagiarism:
1. Malicious or intentional. 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 severaldifferent sources were copied, it is still plagiarism.
2. “Plagia-phrasing” or mosaic plagiarism. This type of plagiarism refers to not indicating directly
quoted passages or ideas, even while citing the work as a general source.
The consequences of plagiarism:
If a paper involves plagiarism of the second kind, the instructor may ask you to rewrite the paper, using
correct forms of documentation. However,if you persist in committing this kind of plagiarism, even after
your instructor has explained it to you more than once, you could be subjected to a more severe penalty of
the type described below.
If a paper involves plagiarism of the first kind, the instructor is empowered by Regulation 0-2 of the
general catalog (see below) to assign a grade of F for the course,a penalty that may be imposed in
particularly serious cases. In most cases of plagiarism, the instructor will also make a complaint to the
Dean of Students Office, which is responsible for enforcing the regulations in the Student Code of
Conduct. So in addition to the academic penalty of receiving an F in the course,you may also be subject
to other disciplinary penalties, which can include suspension or expulsion. Although such severe penalties
are rarely imposed for first-time offenders, the Dean of Students Office maintains disciplinary records as
part of a student’s overall academic record.
Instructors may demonstrate that a paper involves plagiarism in two ways: by identifying the source
and/or by showing the discrepancy of style between previous papers and the paper in question.
A final word on plagiarism: when you need to take something from another person’s work—an idea, a
powerful statement,a set of facts,or an explanation—cite your source. Period.

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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).
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.
Phone: (208) 885-6307
Email: dss@uidaho.edu
Website: www.uidaho.edu/dss