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English 110: Blugold Seminar in Critical Reading and Writing (5 credits), Fall 2012 Section 5 (MWF 11:00-11:50, T 10:00-11:50)

Hibbard 212
Instructor: Email: O ce: O ce Phone: O ce Hours: Skype: Google Talk: Professor Michael J. Faris farismj@uwec.edu Hibbard 412 715.836.2161 Tues. 12:00-1:00, Wed. 10:00-10:50, Fri. 1:00-1:50 & by appt. michaeljfaris michaeljfaris

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Course Texts: e Blugold Guide: Blugold Seminar in Critical Reading and Writing. Custom ed. of Writing Matters: A Handbook for Writing and Research. Rebecca Moore Howard. Boston: McGraw-Hill, 2011. Print. ISBN: 978-0-07-770289-2. Rental. Jarvis, Je . Public Parts: How Sharing in the Digital Age Improves the Way We Work and Live. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2011. Print. ISBN: 978-1-4516-3600-0. E-book. ISBN: 978-1-4516-3637-6. Purchase. Various readings available on Lore.com. Course Description: Welcome to the Blugold Seminar in Critical Reading and Writing. is course is designed to ground rst-year students in the reading, writing, and rhetorical demands necessary for success in college and beyond. is class teaches students to be both critical readers of complex texts and critical writers of e ective texts. e key to critical reading and writing is rhetorical knowledge. Rhetoric is foundational for this course because it allows you, on the one hand, to understand how other peoples texts a ect readers and attempt persuasion, and on the other, to compose e ective and purposeful texts yourself. Rhetorical knowledge prepares you to participate in and respond to nearly any conceivable writing situation, whether it be another college course, certain professional demands, or personal needs. At its most basicbut most profoundlevel, writing is about making choices, and this course teaches you how to identify other writers choices and how to make your own across a variety of writing situations. Course eme (Digital Privacy): Each section of the Blugold Seminar focuses on a di erent theme, topic, or question. In this particular course, we will investigate digital privacy in order to explore the rhetorical dynamics of arguments around privacy in both popular and scholarly forums. In many ways, privacy functions as a rhetorical term: We argue about what privacy means, what is or should be private, how and why we should value privacy, what is an infringement on privacy, how we might protect privacy, what we should do if privacy is violated, and so forth. Developments over the last two decades in digital technologies have allowed for shifts in practices related to privacy online, including how Internet users share information with each other and services, how people monitor and track each other, how the government and corporations spy on individuals and groups, and more. We will read widely around issues of digital privacy including journal articles, books, blog posts, YouTube videos, opinion columns, documentaries, and movie reviewsin order to use this rich topic to better understand rhetoric and writing. General Policy Statement: Students are responsible for all materials, syllabus changes, and information presented in class. Absence is not an excuse for ignorance. Students are expected to check their UWEC email and Lore daily for announcements, assignments, etc. Students are also expected to notify the instructor prior to class if they will be absent. University Learning Outcomes: ENGL 110 is a course required by the University, and as such, it coheres with the goals of an Eau Claire education, which include E ective Communication: Students will e ectively write, read, speak, and listen in academic and social contexts. Creative and Critical inking: Students will develop and use critical thinking skills in academic and social contexts. Individual and Social Responsibility: Students will develop skills and values for ethical reasoning. Respect for Diversity Among People: Students will develop knowledge for living in a pluralistic society and a globally interdependent world. Integrative Learning: Students will synthesize and transfer learning to new, complex situations within and beyond campus.

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Course Goals: All Blugold Seminars are organized around the same goals. term and your success in the course. ese learning outcomes will be used in part to assess your progress this

Rhetorical Knowledge Students will be able to: Understand and use the concepts of purpose, audience and rhetorical situation in their writing; Understand and apply key rhetorical terms, including rhetorical situation, rhetor, exigence, audience, purpose, constraints, kairos, identi cation, situated ethos, invented ethos, pathos, logos, and visual rhetoric in their writing; Demonstrate rhetorical awareness pertaining to the conventions of Academic English by using appropriate tone, style, format and structure in their writing. Inquiry & Research Students will be able to: Demonstrate information literacy skills by nding and evaluating a variety of source materials; Demonstrate critical reading skills by summarizing, paraphrasing, analyzing, and synthesizing information from a variety of source materials in their writing; Formulate viable research questions, hypotheses, and conclusions; Understand the extent and nature of the sources needed to meet rhetorical goals within a speci c writing situation; Learn how to participate ethically and responsibly in the inquiry and research process. Writing Craft Students will be able to: Assess accurately the strengths and weaknesses of their own writing, and develop individual plans for revision and improvement; Understand and enact revision as substantive change; Identify and address higher-order concerns in their writing and others; Identify and address lower-order concerns in their writing and others. Digital Literacy Students will be able to: Use a variety of technology tools to collaborate, compose, and revise; Use a variety of digital and multimedia sources critically; Understand that images, sounds, and animationsin addition to wordsconstitute the building blocks of 21st century communication. Course Web Materials: In this course, we will be using the following web materials in order to share content, discuss ideas with each other online, and explore issues of privacy, digital technologies, and rhetoric: http://michaeljfaris.com/fall12/engl110 I will have all resources (including the syllabus, schedule, and assignment sheets) posted on this site. We will also be using this site to blog and share resources with each other during the second and third segments of the course. I will send you login information later in the term so that you can contribute content to the site. Lore Lore is a learning management system like D2L that incorporates features of social networking sites. We will be using this site to submit digital copies of your assignments, to share updates about the course, and to access readingsin addition to other possible activities. is site also houses a calendar and the syllabus. I will send you an invite to join the course on Lore. Twitter In order to explore privacy issues more in this course, we will be experimenting with Twitter during the second and third segments of this course. Bedford St. Martins E-Portfolio We will submit our nal electronic portfolios here at the end of the term. meaning we are part of a pilot study to test its usefulness. is site is in beta,

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Course Requirements and Grading: You will compose four major writing projects for this course, not including various other in- and out-of-class writing assignments. Each major project is the culminating work for each segment of the course, and several (perhaps all) will be linked together so that the work that you do for one project builds the foundation for the next. All assignments listed below must be completed in order to pass the course. Additionally, you must submit your nal electronic portfolio and participate in your sessions with the Center for Writing Excellence in order to pass this course (see below). Major projects will be graded on an A-F grading scale. Other, smaller projects will be graded on a pass/fail basis. Assignment sheets will be available on the course website. All assignments should be submitted as digital copies on Lore, and printed copies will be collected in class. You need to earn a grade of C or higher in this course in order to ful ll your English Competency requirement for graduation. A grade of C- or below will necessitate retaking the course. Segment One: Reading the Conversations 15% Rhetorical Prcis and Summaries (Initial Drafts) 5% Rhetorical Prcis and Summaries (Revisions) 5% Performance Assessment Essay 5% Segment Two: Understanding Perspective 25% Rhetorical Analysis Paper 10% Twitter/Blogging 10% Performance Assessment Essay 5% Segment ree: Cultivating Complexity 25% I-Search Essay 5% Exploring the Conversation Essay with Annotated Bibliography 15% Performance Assessment Essay 5% Segment Four: Joining the Conversation 25% Final Project with Rationale 15% Final Performance Assessment Essay 10% Participation 10% Final Portfolio: In order to successfully complete this course, you will be required to submit a nal portfolio at the end of the semester. If you do not submit your electronic portfolio on time, you will automatically fail this course. e portfolio will include the following: Initial Writing Sample Rhetorical Prcis and Summaries (Revised) Rhetorical Analysis Paper Exploring the Conversation Essay with Annotated Bibliography Final Project with Rationale Final Performance Assessment Essay Final Writing Sample Participation: Your class participation grade encompasses three important parts of the course: 1) in-class participation in daily activities; 2) collaboration with your peers; and 3) conferences with me outside of class. You will frequently collaborate with your classmates by reading and responding to their drafts. Each major writing project will require peer feedback organized around review questions pertinent to the assignment. Participation grades will be penalized for students who fail to take the task of peer review seriously.

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Conferences: See me when you have questions about an assignment, when you would like to try out some ideas before a document is due, or when you have questions about a comment. You should also see me to get help with particular writing problems, to resolve di erences about grades, or to suggest ways to improve the course. Please feel free to utilize my o ce hours or to set up an appointment at any time throughout the course. As part of your participation grade, four conferences with me will be required throughout the semester (one per segment). You should plan on meeting with me at least once during each segment of the course. Some of these will be scheduled (and a class period cancelled); others will require you scheduling an appointment with me. I also welcome video-conferencing or chatting online through programs like Skype or Google Talk. Late Policy: In this course, you must turn in your work on time. All projects are due at the beginning of class on the dates indicated on the syllabus. Assignments turned in late will be penalized one letter grade for each day of the course late unless you have made other arrangements with me in advance. Attendance: You are expected to attend class every day and to have your work with you. Regular attendance is required, because course instruction depends on your active participation. Two absences will probably not a ect your performance too much (unless you miss a rough draft sessiona major problem); but try to limit it to that. Instructors at UWEC are required to take attendance each class period. You are allowed two unexcused absences without penalty. Additional absences could a ect your participation grade, including earning an F for your participation grade if warranted. If you plan on missing a class, please email me beforehand. If you need to miss more than three consecutive class periods due to illness, injury, or another emergency, please contact the Dean of Students o ce at deanofstudents@uwec.edu or 715.836.5626. Please consult the Universitys policy on attendance at http://www.uwec.edu/DOS/policies/attendance.htm. Center for Writing Excellence: e Center for Writing Excellence provides peer tutoring sessions for students in all disciplines for all sorts of writing situations. Information on setting up appointments and other aspects of the CWE can be found at http://www.uwec.edu/Writing/. Beginning in week three of the semester, you will be required to have a weekly appointment with a tutor at the Center for Writing Excellence. is tutor will work with you (in groups of 3) on any of your reading or writing assignments for the course. You may also work on reading or writing assignments for your other courses during these appointments. ese weekly tutoring appointments constitute a fundamental requirement for participation in this course. No-shows will be treated like class absences: If you miss more than two appointments without a documented excuse, you will automatically fail this course. Accessibility and Accommodations: Any student who has a disability or is in need of any classroom accommodation should contact the Services for Students with Disabilities O ce, located in Old Library 2136, or call 715-836-4542. is o ce will treat any issue with complete con dentiality and will help put any necessary forms of assistance into place. If you anticipate needing any type of accommodation in this course or have questions about physical access, please speak with me as well. Academic Integrity: e University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire and I understand academic integrity as the pursuit of scholarly activity in an open, honest, and respectable manner. All students should act with personal integrity; respect other students dignity, rights and property; and help create and maintain an environment in which all can succeed through the fruits of their e orts. Academic misconduct will not be tolerated in this course. Academic misconduct includes, but is not limited to, cheating, plagiarizing, fabricating information or citations, facilitating acts of academic dishonesty by others, having unauthorized possession of examinations, submitting work of another person or work previously used without informing the instructor, or tampering with the academic work of other students. Students who are found to be dishonest will receive academic sanctions and will be reported to the Dean of Students o ce for academic sanctions and possible further disciplinary sanction. More information is available at http://www.uwec.edu/DOS/policies/academic/ch14student.htm. In this course, will be discussing how to ethically work with others ideas and language. It is important to note that talking over your ideas and getting comments on your writing from friends are NOT plagiarism. Taking someone elses published or unpublished words and calling them your own IS plagiarism. -4-

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Classroom Civility: You are expected to act professionally and with civility in the classroom. Behaviors that are disruptive to learning will not be tolerated and could result in individual conferences or meeting with the Dean of Students or Department Chair. It is important to maintain an academic and work environment free of discrimination, including harassment. I encourage you to be present and listen respectively and actively to me and to each other, to be charitable in your interpretations of others comments and readings, and to be open to exploring di erent possibilities or perspectives for an issue. Individual Technology in the Classroom: I understand that many of you will approach classroom content and discussion in a variety of ways. For many of you, this may include using mobile devices or laptops for taking notes, conducting on-the- y research during discussion, and accessing readings. If you choose to use a mobile device or laptop during class, monitor your own activity to make sure that the device is not a distraction and that it is enhancing your learning experiences. Make sure your phone is on silent (and if you have a laptop, that the sound is o ). If I suspect that you are using a laptop or other device for activities not related to the course or discussion at hand, I will ask for you to turn o the device or leave the class for that day. Email: Email is probably the easiest way to contact me. However, etiquette and courtesy in correspondence is importantthat is, be rhetorical and think about your audience. Because email is quick and easy, people often do not take the time to formulate emails that will e ectively communicate what is desired. When emailing me, please include a subject header with helpful information, an opening, and a closing (i.e., your name). is will help me know who has written me and what it is about. It is also helpful to email me from the same email address all term (preferably your UWEC email address, but others will do, as long as it is from a stable system like Gmail and you have a professional username). Please expect a reasonable turnaround time for replies. In turn, I will expect you to check your email daily (during the week). Grading Standards for Assignments: ese grading standards establish four major criteria for evaluation at each grade level: purpose, reasoning and content, organization, and expression. e A Essay: 1. e A essay ful lls the assignmentand does so in a fresh and mature manner, using purposeful language that leads to knowledge making. e essay e ectively meets the needs of the rhetorical situation in terms of establishing the writers stance, attention to audience, purpose for writing, and sensitivity to context. Furthermore, the writer demonstrates expertise in employing the artistic appeals of ethos, logos, and pathos appropriately. 2. e topic itself is clearly de ned, focused, and supported. e essay has a clear thesis that is supported with speci c (and appropriate) evidence, examples, and details. Any outside sources of information are used carefully and cited appropriately. e valid reasoning within the essay demonstrates good judgment and an awareness of the topics complexities. 3. e organizationchronological, spatial, or emphaticis appropriate for the purpose and subject of the essay. e introduction establishes a context, purpose, and audience for writing and contains a focused thesis statement. e following paragraphs are controlled by (explicit or implicit) topic sentences; they are well developed; and they progress logically from what precedes them. (If appropriate, headings and subheadings are used.) e conclusion moves beyond a mere restatement of the introduction, o ering implications for or the signi cance of the topic. 4. e prose is clear, readable, and sometimes memorable. It contains few surface errors, none of which seriously undermines the overall e ectiveness of the paper for educated readers. It demonstrates uency in stylistic ourishes (subordination, variation of sentence and paragraph lengths, interesting vocabulary). e B Essay: 1. e assignment has been followed and ful lled. e essay establishes the writers stance and demonstrates a clear sense of audience, purpose, and context. 2. e topic is fairly well de ned, focused, and supported. e thesis statement is adequate (but could be sharpened), especially for the quality of supporting evidence the writer has used. e reasoning and support are thorough and more than adequate. e writer demonstrates a thoughtful awareness of complexity and other points of view. 3. e B essay has an e ective introduction and conclusion. e order of information is logical, and the reader can follow it because of well-chosen transitions and (explicit or implicit) topic sentences. Paragraph divisions are logical, and the paragraphs use enough speci c detail to satisfy the reader. 4. e prose expression is clear and readable. Sentence structure is appropriate for educated readers, including the appropriate use of subordination, emphasis, varied sentences, and modi ers. Few sentence-level errors (comma splices, fragments, or fused sentences) appear. Vocabulary is precise and appropriate; punctuation, usage, and spelling conform to the conventions of Standardized American English discussed in class. -5-

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e C Essay: 1. e assignment has been followed, and the essay demonstrates a measure of response to the rhetorical situation, in so far as the essay demonstrates some sense of audience and purpose. 2. e topic is de ned only generally; the thesis statement is also general. e supporting evidence, gathered honestly and used responsibly, is, nevertheless, often obvious and easily accessible. e writer demonstrates little awareness of the topics complexity or other points of view; therefore, the C essay usually exhibits minor imperfections or inconsistencies in development, organization, and reasoning. 3. e organization is fairly clear. e reader could outline the presentation, despite the occasional lack of topic sentences. Paragraphs have adequate development and are divided appropriately. Transitions may be mechanical, but they foster coherence. 4. e expression is competent. Sentence structure is relatively simple, relying on simple and compound sentences. e paper is generally free of sentence-level errors; word choice is correct though limited. e essay contains errors in spelling, usage, and punctuation that reveal an unfamiliarity with the conventions of Standardized American English discussed in class. e D Essay: 1. e D essay attempts to follow the assignment, but demonstrates little awareness of the rhetorical situation in terms of the writers stance, audience, purpose, and context. For example, the essay might over- or under-estimate (or ignore) the audiences prior knowledge, assumptions, or beliefs. e writer may have little sense of purpose. 2. e essay may not have any thesis statement, or, at best, a awed one. Obvious evidence may be missing, and irrelevant evident may be present. Whatever the status of the evidence, it is inadequately interpreted and rests on an insu cient understanding of the rhetorical situation. Or it may rely too heavily on evidence from published sources without adding original analysis. 3. Organization is simply de cient: introductions or conclusions are not clearly marked or functional; paragraphs are neither coherently developed nor arranged; topic sentences are consistently missing, murky, or inappropriate; transitions are missing or awed. 4. e D essay may have numerous and consistent errors in spelling, usage, and punctuation that reveal unfamiliarity with the conventions of Standardized American English discussed in class (or a lack of careful proofreading). e F Essay: 1. e F essay is inappropriate in terms of the purpose of the assignment and the rhetorical situation. If the essay relates vaguely to the assignment, it has no clear purpose or direction. 2. e essay falls seriously short of the minimum length requirements; therefore, it is insu ciently developed and does not go beyond the obvious. 3. e F essay is plagued by more than one of the organizational de ciencies of a D essay. 4. Numerous and consistent errors of spelling, usage, and punctuation hinder communication. 5. It may be plagiarized: either it is someone elses essay, or this essay has used sources improperly and/or without documentation.

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