Syllabus

English105

Instructor: Daniel Lupton

Fall 2012

Office: Greenlaw Hall 307

Office Hours 

Tuesday/Thursday: 12:30-1:30PM

Email 

dlupton@email.unc.edu

Course Description

The goal of English 105 is to introduce students to the conventions of specific types of written academic discourse. Over the course of the semester each student will complete three units of study: one unit each on the natural sciences, the social sciences, and the humanities. However, unlike most English 105 courses, in this course students will create blogs that explore how the conventions of academic discourse interact with the conventions of more popular media.

Draft Workshops

Much of our class time in English 105 will be spent evaluating student writing in group-centered draft workshops. Your participation in these workshops is MANDATORY, and poor performance in them (i.e. failing to give helpful comments to your peers, consistently pulling the discussion off-topic) will adversely affect your grade for that unit.

Required Texts (Available in Student Stores)

Student Guide to English 105

How to Write Anything

In addition to the above texts, it is required that you bring your fully-charged laptop to every class meeting.

Attendance

More than one absence over the course of any given unit will adversely affect your grade for that unit and any student who accumulates more than five absences over the course of the semester will receive a failing grade. If you have extreme circumstances which require you to miss several classes (i.e. mononucleosis, the death of a close relative, etc.) please let me know as soon as possible so that there may be as little disruption to the operation of your group as possible. Please note that there is no distinction between excused and unexcused absences.

Assignments

You will produce three finished products for each of our 3 units: an argumentative essay in Unit 1, a podcast in Unit 2, and a VoiceThread video presentation in Unit 3. In addition to these larger assignments, each unit includes several feeder assignments that will either develop skills you will need or help you put together preliminary research for your unit assignment. At the end of each unit each student's work for their blog will be evaluated based on criteria we have developed in class. Blogs will be evaluated along with your participation in class and performance in workshops to determine your grade for the unit.

All blog posts should be formatted properly according to the conventions of published blogging.

Late posts are not only unprofessional, they are unfair to your fellow students who worked hard and turned their papers in on time. Posts are considered due by the end of class on the due date unless another time is specified by me. Late posts may or may not be accepted, but they will be strictly and severely penalized.

Even more unacceptable than late work is plagiarism. All instances of plagiarism will be prosecuted in the honor court to the fullest extent allowable by university policy. If you are thinking of plagiarizing, remember that it’s not difficult to tell your writing from a professional’s and I can probably find the original source as easily as you did. You will get far more from the course if you do the work yourself, and your grade will always be better if you work hard on a mediocre assignment than if you plagiarize an excellent one.

Grading

Three grades will be assigned in this course: one each for your cumulative work in each of the three units (including your blog post, feeder assignments, workshops, drafting, pre-writing, class participation, etc.).

Click here for a sample feedback sheet for Unit 1: https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B11JiXOw1yx0QnprU1Ayc0hLdnM

Writing assignments are evaluated based on evidence that you have fully digested and implemented the lessons covered in class. If you wish to receive an A in the course, the most important things you can do are 1. complete all assignments completely and on time and 2. pay attention during lectures and class discussions and deliberately work to integrate what you learn during the lessons into your writing. The students who follow these two instructions for the entire semester, without exception, do well in the course.

The Writing Center (http://www.unc.edu/depts/wcweb/)

Students are encouraged to visit the UNC Writing Center (located on the lower level of Phillips Annex). The tutors at the writing center will work with you one-on-one through problems or concerns about any stage of the writing process and can provide useful feedback between in-class draft workshops. Please note that the writing center tutors will not edit or proofread your papers.

Course Web Site

As a computer-intensive course, the internet will be an integral means of communication between yourself, your teacher and your group members. You are expected to check this course web site and the course calendar regularly. If you have trouble accessing the site please alert me as soon as possible, as many of our assignments will depend upon this technology.

Email Correspondence

If office hours are inconvenient students are encouraged to communicate with me via email with the caveat that I will respond at my convenience. I will not review drafts via email; if you are grappling with specific issues you may send a section of your post, but no more than two paragraphs at a time.

Plagiarism

Plagiarism is defined as the unattributed or unacknowledged use of another’s words or ideas and is a breach of the honor code. If I suspect you of a willful violation of the honor code, I will report you to the honor court. See your Student Guide for further information on plagiarism.