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composition 2: english 1102-L

Fall 2014 Tuesdays & Thursdays 8:00 am - 9:15 am
Classroom (Tuesdays): Newton 1111 Writing Studio (Thursdays): Newton 2213

course overview
English 1102 is a required core course that develops writing skills beyond the proficiency required
by ENGL1101, emphasizing interpretation and evaluation, and incorporating a variety of more
advanced research methods. Prerequisite(s): A minimum grade of C in ENGL1101 or equivalent.
The course is designed to build on the foundation for communicating you have been honing over the
years in school, at work, and throughout your communities. My main goal for this course is for you to
become more adept at interpreting the texts you encounter and create -- which means we will be
discussing, analyzing, and writing about your own writing in addition to the public writing we
examine. The work we do will help you develop your reading and writing habits, as well as your
critical thinking -- which is central to the work you will do throughout your academic career.
Our focus this semester is on how the language choices we make in writing shape our world.
Well begin by considering what some of the purposes of higher education are. Then, well examine
how language policies function within higher education. Next, youll conduct individual inquiry
projects to analyze the language used when writers discuss an issue that concerns your major. The
semester will culminate in you critically analyzing your own writing.
We will discuss, write, read, collaborate, write, revise, write, and write. We will pay careful attention
to the language writers use, the choices writers make, and their purposes for writing. We will share
our own writing and thinking to work together toward understanding relationships between language
and power, which can help us articulate our own theories and principles about writing and help us
become more successful communicators overall.
Youll find that the assignments this semester build on each other, and that our classes depend on your
thoughtful preparation and participation. By staying in this class, you agree to be an active member of
our community and to be open to approaches you may not have encountered before.
Note: Students must earn a C in English 1102 to fulfill the Regents Reading & Writing requirement.
The Board of Regents now requires that all students complete Area A of the core curriculum within
the first 30 hours of coursework. If a grade of C is not earned in these area courses, students are
required to retake in the immediate term following the unsuccessful attempt (W, D, F).

dr. jessica nastal-dema

Office: Newton 1119A, (912) 478-0149
Office hours: Tuesdays & Thursdays, 11:00 am - 1:30 pm; by appointment
Email: jnastaldema@georgiasouthern.edu
(I will respond within 24 hours during the week and 48 hours over weekends)

general requirements
In class, youll need to bring any assigned texts and materials to take notes. Youll also need regular
access to the Internet, a computer, a printer, and a stapler. Ill update our Folio site throughout the
semester and will email you announcements, so be sure to check your accounts daily.

attendance
You may miss four classes for any reason without penalty. Beyond that, you will receive a failing grade
for the course and will have to retake it in the spring. If you know ahead of time you will miss class,
contact me immediately so we can discuss your absences and assignments.
When you are absent, it is your responsibility to determine any work you miss. You are also held to all
deadlines; for example, if work is due the day you are absent, you must submit it on time. I recommend
you exchange contact information with at least two people to share notes and inform each other of the
work you may miss.
Note: Coming in late and leaving early is disruptive. Repeated instances will lower your final grade.

classroom decorum
Throughout the semester, it is likely you will encounter unfamiliar perspectives and positions you
disagree with. Please remember to treat each member of our class with respect. Offensive language -including (but not limited to) sexist, racist, homophobic -- will not be tolerated.
In this workshop-based course, your peers and I rely on your respectful and active participation. When
you are present, please be present: turn your phones on silent, use electronic devices only when
appropriate, sleep or use the restroom before or after class, pay attention when someone else is speaking,
and do not pack up your belongings before class ends. Any instance of this disruptive behavior will
result in an absence.
My goal is to help you succeed in this class and beyond. If you encounter problems that prevent you from
completing the work of this course or attending class, please contact me immediately. We can work
together to help you stay on track. Dont wait until the end of the semester to seek help!

conferences
You will be required to meet with me for individual and group conferences throughout the term. This will
provide you with an opportunity to receive in-depth feedback on your writing. In a group conference, you
will also provide detailed commentary to your peers. You must always come prepared with specific
questions or goals to get the most out of your conference (and I will help with this). Students often find
conferences to be one of the most rewarding aspects of First Year Writing courses.
Note: Missing a conference will be treated as two absences.

accommodations
It is university policy to provide, on a flexible and individualized basis, reasonable accommodations to
students who have disabilities. Please contact the Student Disability Resource Center if you have any
questions about a potential disability, and to discuss any accommodations you may need.
Once you have worked with the SDRC, they will provide you with a letter for your instructors to let us
know what accommodations you may need. Please be sure to submit this to me during the first week of
class (or as soon as you receive your SDRC letter). Please let me know if you have any questions.

grading policy
In the real world -- our personal and professional lives -- we are always learning without being graded
for it. When Im in a yoga class, for instance, I might wobble and lose my balance the first few times I try
a new pose. The instructor doesnt fail me; instead, she walks around to make sure our posture is ok (so
we dont hurt ourselves) or to offer modifications for more or less advanced participants. I can keep
trying (and falling over), and can get better at the pose the more I do it -- but I have to do it!
I think about learning and grading in a similar way for a writing class. Its important for us to have a
space to try out new ideas, to do a lot of practice, to get feedback on our attempts, and even to fail. But
its tough to experiment with a new concept and focus on what we need to do to earn a B. Its very easy
to become preoccupied with figuring out what the teacher wants instead of figuring out how to
communicate our ideas well. When this happens, writing becomes more like following a formula than
following our ideas, and we dont end up learning very much or communicating very successfully.
Your grade in our class will therefore be based on the work you complete and the effort you put
into it. If you attend class, complete each assignment, fulfill all its requirements, and do so thoughtfully,
your default grade is a B. If you miss class, submit late work, do not fulfill the assignment requirements,
are disruptive, etc., your grade will be lowered.
I hope this approach allows you to take risks in your writing, to make choices that are important to you,
to work hard. I believe it can help build our collaborative, trusting community of readers as we respond to
each others writing. Finally, I believe this approach can help you become both a better writer and a better
evaluator of your work -- skills youll need far beyond our classroom.

grading scale
Your grade is based on a
100-point scale:
A

90-100

80-89

70-79

60-69

0-59

earning points
You can earn up to 10 points for each of the following:
Homework

Source analyses

Presentations

Inquiry draft

Group conference

Inquiry final draft

You can earn up to 20 points for the following:

Language policy analysis

Critical analysis of your writing

assignments
For most of our work, we will use MLA or APA formatting. Your assignments should use 12 point Times
New Roman font, be double-spaced (no extra spaces between paragraphs), have 1 margins, and include
page numbers with your last name on the upper right of each page. Assignments should always either be
printed and stapled or submitted on Folio, unless otherwise noted. They should all include your name, our
class and section, my name, and the date at the upper left corner of the first page.
Its a good idea to keep a copy of everything you submit. Sites like Dropbox and Google Drive can be
great, because you save your work in the cloud -- you dont have to worry about computers crashing,
corrupt or lost flash drives, etc. Our class depends on your writing and your active participation, so each
assignment is typically due at the start of class. If we are using student writing in class, you may be asked
to submit your work earlier.
Note: Printing mishaps and busy computer labs are not justified reasons for you to submit late work.
Allow for extra time before class to print your work.
You may submit up to two assignments late to still be considered for a B; these must be submitted within
48 hours of their due date. If you miss the 48 hour deadline, you will receive a 0 on the assignment. Any
assignments not turned in at all will be considered ignored; one ignored assignment will result in an
automatic D, and two or more will result in an F in the class.

academic honesty
Plagiarism is a serious violation of academic integrity and professionalism, as well as the class dynamic,
and may result in failure of the course or expulsion from the University. You must always write your own
work and cite your sources. Whenever you have a question, contact me, refer to a writing handbook or the
Purdue OWL, or visit the Academic Success Center.
The way our assignments build on each other, the number of opportunities you have to receive feedback,
and our grading policy should alleviate some of the pressure students sometimes feel that may lead to
plagiarism. I am required to report any instance of plagiarism to the Department Chair of Writing and
Linguistics and to the Dean of Students.

writing center
Forest Drive Building, Room 1119 (912) 478-1413 http://class.georgiasouthern.edu/writing-center/
Most writers seek out help with their writing: they send something to a friend, family member, colleague,
anonymous reviewers, or an editor. Your peers and I will provide you with feedback throughout the
semester, but you might find yourself looking for more.
Dont forget that the University Writing Center is one of your most important resources as a student at
Georgia Southern. The tutors in the center will give you one-on-one help with any paper youre working
on for any class on campus, including this one. I strongly encourage you to take advantage of the
feedback and advice they can give you. Make an appointment online or feel free to just drop in.

course learning outcomes

Learning to write is a complex, individualized process, which takes place over time and with continued
practice. Therefore, the Department of Writing and Linguistics has adopted outcomes, which reflect an
understanding of how students actually learn to write better. These outcomes are a careful integration of
practice, research, and theory, and they describe what first-year students should have achieved by the end
of the two-course sequence.
The ability to write, which is fostered by the core composition courses, is essential for achieving
academic excellence. However, as students move beyond the two-course sequence, their abilities
diversify along disciplinary and professional lines; they move to new levels where demands for writing
expand, multiply, and diverge. Therefore, the University community should recognize that writing
education needs to continue throughout students college careers and build on these outcomes.
In addition to what they have learned in ENG 1101, at the completion of ENG 1102, students will:
Writer as Critical Thinker
Distinguish writings purpose and analyze its usefulness in academic, personal, and professional
contexts;
Assess how audience and purpose influence reading, writing, speaking, and thinking;
Engage texts critically, recognizing their various contexts and their influence on message; and
Analyze varied academic audiences and define conventions for communicating in a range of
academic communities.
Writer as Researcher
Conduct focused scholarly (primary and secondary) research, using a range of technologies,
which may include GALILEO (articles and databases), DISCOVER (books, media, articles, and
more), GIL-Catalogue, and the World-Wide Web;
Evaluate and synthesize various academic sources; and
Apply the conventions of multiple academic documentation styles, such as MLA, APA, and
Chicago, recognizing disciplinary differences.
Writer as Communicator
Apply effective personal writing processes, including invention, drafting, and critical revision
strategies;
Synthesize appropriately and accurately information incorporating the ideas of others;
Create texts in various genres, using a range of evidence to support claims; and
Recognize and use appropriately the conventions of standard written English.

using the outcomes

The writing we do, discussions we have, and assignments I create are all guided by these learning
outcomes -- which also influence each section of ENGL 1101 and ENGL 1102 at Georgia Southern
University. The Department of Writing and Linguistics faculty regularly meets to discuss how student
writing relates to the outcomes, and how we might revise the outcomes to improve the teaching and
learning on campus. We will, therefore, use these as a resource and as a source of inquiry in our class.

tentative schedule
we will discuss any changes to this schedule

TUESDAY

THURSDAY

WEEK ONE
introductions

8/19

Introductions. HW: syllabus;

history of US universities

8/21

Discuss purposes of higher ed.

HW: Learning as Freedom.

WEEK TWO
purposes of higher ed.

8/26

Discuss purposes of higher ed.

HW: Corrigan.

8/28

HW: Fish; Rose.

WEEK THREE
students & writing

9/2

HW: Outcomes Statements

9/4

HW: English Only material

WEEK FOUR
language policies

9/9

HW: SRTOL

9/11

HW: analysis draft

WEEK FIVE
language analysis due

9/16

HW: analysis

9/18

ANALYSIS DUE

WEEK SIX
research questions

9/23

DUE: list of possible questions to

investigate for inquiry project

9/25

HW: revised research question,

proposal.

WEEK SEVEN

9/30

CONFERENCES

10/2

CONFERENCES

WEEK EIGHT
gathering sources

10/7

MEET IN LIBRARY

10/9

DUE: list of sources

WEEK NINE
analyzing sources

10/14

DUE: academic analysis

10/16

DUE: popular analysis

WEEK TEN
analyzing sources

10/21

DUE: differing perspective

analysis

10/23

DUE: differing perspective analysis

WEEK ELEVEN
drafting

10/28

DUE: draft

10/30

DUE: draft

WEEK TWELVE

11/4

CONFERENCES

11/6

CONFERENCES

WEEK THIRTEEN
workshopping drafts

11/11

DUE: draft

11/13

DUE: draft

WEEK FOURTEEN
presentations

11/18

presentations

11/20

presentations

THANKSGIVING BREAK

11/25

NO CLASS

11/27

NO CLASS

WEEK FIFTEEN
inquiry project; evaluations

12/2

workshop

12/4

INQUIRY DUE

WEEK SIXTEEN
critical analysis due

12/9

NO CLASS

12/11

FINAL: 7:30-9:30 am