Foundations for College Writing

Composition 01103 Sections 1C and 3 Spring 2013

Instructor: Laura Mangini Location & Times: MW 2:30-3:45 (Room 416) / TR 1:45-2:30 (James 2113 T./2108 Th.) Website: www.manginifoundations.weebly.com Email: reynoldsl@rowan.edu Mailbox: Hawthorn Hall Writing Arts Office, Main Campus, Room 205 Office Hours: Hawthorn Hall 213

Course Description & Objectives:

In this writing-intensive course, you will learn how to compose college-quality essays that thoughtfully explore complex issues or respond to questions. Throughout this course, you will come to understand academic writing as a recursive process of reading, thinking, exploring/researching, drafting and revising, as well as gain an understanding of the ways in which your writing is shaped by audience, purpose and context. With assistance and feedback from your instructor and other readers, you will learn to utilize a writing process, by which you will revise your essays multiple times, working on your essays focus, organization, development of ideas, and grammar and mechanics. The result of your hard work in this course should be your increased ability to write sophisticated academic essays. At the end of the semester, your progress toward mastering the seven goals of this course will be assessed through a portfolio of representative work. This course will prepare you for College Composition I, as well as for your other college courses. Please note: students are placed in Foundations as a prerequisite to CCI/ICCI if their writing skills, according to Rowans placement criteria, are not at the level necessary for success in CCI/ICCI. Foundations credits do not count toward graduation.

Required Materials:

You must bring the following items to every class. There are no exceptions. A notebook/journal & pen. In addition to taking class notes, you will be keeping a journal throughout the semester in which you will reflect upon your writing process. It is required that you bring your journal to each class and turn it in periodically for review. You can either designate a section of your class notebook for journal entries or keep a separate notebook. A folder with pockets to store all drafts of all essaysyou will need to save all of the drafts of your work in this course for your writing portfolios. A flash drive to store and revise your essays. If you have a laptop computer, you are encouraged to bring it on workshop days only. Your grade will be affected if you do use class time to surf the internet, text, or be off-task.

Course Requirements: Assignments

Essays: There will be a total of four (4) class essay assignments during this course,
Guidelines for essay assignments:

including a source-based assignment that all students in Foundations must complete.

Foundations for College Writing Syllabus, Spring 2013

All essays must be completed and submitted to your instructor, revised based upon your instructors feedback at least once, and then re-submitted. All essays must be typed in regular 12-point font and be between 500-700 words in lengthapproximately three (3) typed pages. Each essay must appropriately cite at least one source using informal citation. It is important that you keep all drafts of your essays, to be able to show in your portfolios how your writing has evolved through revision.

Journals/Blogs: You will be required to keep a journal throughout this course in

which you will reflect upon your writing process and ability to meet the seven course goals. Classes that meet daily in a computer lab will keep an online blog in lieu of a journal. I will typically give you time at the end of each class to write a journal/blog entry or respond to a specific prompt. I will collect your journal periodically to read your entries and provide you with feedback. Please note, I will not announce when I will be collecting journals, so make sure you stay up-to-date with your entries!

Reflective Narratives: You will be required to submit reflective narratives with

both your midterm and final writing portfolio (see portfolios below). The writing journal/blog that you keep throughout the semester will be a meaningful and relevant part of the process of writing these letters.

Readings, Quizzes & Other Assignments: Critical reading and responding to

readings is a key component of this course. Therefore, it is vital that you complete all of the assigned readings listed on the attached course schedule so that you can participate in class discussions and write meaningful responses in your essays. In-class writing assignments will periodically be given to emphasize reading assignments and other important class material.

Portfolios
A writing portfolio is a collection of your best work in a course. Writing portfolios not only help to showcase your ability and growth as a writer, but also allow for a more accurate assessment of your work since writing cannot be adequately evaluated through the use of standard, multiple choice tests or even timed one-shot writing assignments. You will be required to submit both a mid-term and final writing portfolio this semester. You must submit a complete passing final portfolio to pass this course. Your midterm portfolio should include multiple drafts of a personal choice essay and a reflective narrative in which you discuss your writing process and how you have addressed the goals of this course. Your midterm portfolio will be double-read by professors in the First Year Writing Program and assessed as either midterm ready or not midterm ready. Following these evaluations, I will meet with each student one-onone to discuss mid-term grades. To be considered, your final writing portfolio must include the following: 1. Multiple drafts of one personal choice essay 2. Multiple drafts of one source-based essay 3. A reflective narrative Again, final portfolios will be read and evaluated by a panel of professors in the First Year Writing Program and graded as either Ready for iCCI, Ready for CCI, or Not Ready for iCCI. Students who do not submit a complete final portfolio or submit a final portfolio that is assessed as Not Ready for iCCI will be required to repeat Foundations.

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Course Requirements (continued): Classroom Attendance & Participation

Students are expected to attend every class. However, circumstances may arise that are beyond your control and result in a missed class. If you miss class, it is YOUR responsibility to find out what material you missedthis includes getting access to class notes and reading/writing assignments. You cannot pass this class if you miss more than the maximum number of permissible absences, this included unexcused AND excused absences. The maximum number of permissible absences for a 15-week course is as follows: Class meets: Maximum number of permissible absences: Two times per week Six (6) You will be permitted to make up missed work for excused absences only. These include: - religious observances - death of a family member or loved one - official University activities - severe inclement weather - illness For an absence to be considered excused, you must provide official or verifiable documentation. Remember that the total number of unexcused and excused absences must not exceed six (6) for this 15-week semester or you will have to withdrawal from the course. If you exceed the maximum absence limit, even for reasons that are excused, you must withdrawal from the course. Normally, you will receive a grade of WF (Withdrawal Failing) on your transcript, but the Dean of Students, in consultation with your instructor, may change this to a simple W. Is it also important that you arrive to class on time and stay until the class ends. Three (3) late arrivals or early departures will equal one (1) unexcused absence. A late arrival is considered arriving any more than ten (10) minutes after the scheduled starting time of class. An early departure is considered leaving any time before your instructor ends class. If you are more than thirty (30) minutes late to class, you will be marked absent. Finally, in addition to attending class and arriving on time, it is also required that you actively participate in classroom discussions and activities. Throughout this semester, you will come to learn that skillful academic writing is actually a result of a social process that includes discussion and feedback among yourself, your peers and your instructor. It is essential to your success in this course that you are an active participant in this learning community.

Grading:
Foundations is a pass/fail course. Your final course grade will either be S (Satisfactory; pass to iCCI/CCI) or U (unsatisfactory; no credit & you will need to repeat the course). Credits for Foundations do not count toward graduation. Essays will be graded R (revise) or P (ready for portfolio). Plusses and minuses may be added. Essays graded R should be revised and resubmitted to me within two weeks to allow time for further revisions. *Please note, a large focus of this course is on the writing processby which you will develop your writing through much revision. It is not unlikely to

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receive an R on an essay three or four times. Dont feel discouraged by this; instead take the opportunity to notice how much more developed your writing can become through revision. Again, remember that you must submit a passing final portfolio to pass this course. It is your responsibility as a student to keep track of your assignments and grades, but if you ever have any questions about your grades or are having difficulty with the work, please come talk to me early! I cannot offer assistance if you wait until the end of the semester to ask for help.

Academic Integrity Policy:

All students at Rowan are responsible for understanding what constitutes academic dishonesty and knowing all the procedures, rights and obligations involved in the Universitys Academic Integrity Policy. The complete policy can be found at www.rowan.edu/studentaffairs/infoguide/ Early in this semester we will discuss Rowans Academic Integrity Policy in depth, but until then you should basically know that academic dishonesty, in any form, will not be tolerated. Students who commit an act of academic dishonesty will be subject to disciplinary sanctions up to and including expulsion from the University. Academic dishonesty includes submitting a paper with plagiarized material, fabricating research, and representing someone elses work as your own. The Department of Writing Arts does not allow students to turn in the same writing assignment for more than one class. Students must receive express permission of their instructor to submit writing (or a substantial part of a written text) previously submitted in another class. Not doing so is considered academic dishonesty and, following the policies laid out by Rowan, may result in an F for that assignment and possibly an F for the course grade. The Department of Writing Arts makes a clear distinction between authorized assistance when students receive extra help with an assignmentand unauthorized assistancewhen students have someone else write a paper or sections of a paper for them. A tutor or a second reader may help you develop your ideas, better organize your thoughts, and locate grammar and mechanical errors, but should not do your writing for you. All of the writing that you submit in class must be your own work. Do not attempt to represent someone elses work as your own. Doing so will be considered a violation of Rowans Academic Integrity Policy and may result in an F for that assignment and possibly an F for the course grade.

Policy on the Recycling of Papers:

Policy on Authorized and Unauthorized Assistance:

The Writing Center:

The Writing Center supports students with one-on-one or small group writing consultations. Students can get help with all steps of the writing process: invention strategies, rough drafting, revising, grammar and editing. The Writing Center, located on the 4th floor of the library, is open M-TH, 12 -6 pm. Call (856) 256-4376 or email writingcenter@rowan.edu. Limited walk-in appointments are also available. To get the most out of your consultation, please do the following: o Bring the writing assignment instructions with you

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o o o

Have a clean copy of your draft Be prepared to work on big issues first (organization, thesis, paragraph focus) Make your appointment well before the due date to allow yourself time to revise

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