English 101.02, Research and Writing

Greenville College, Fall 2005
T/TH , 11:00 a.m. - 12:20 p.m., Library Computer Lab

Dr. Donna J. Hart
225 Hogue Hall
Phone: Office: 664-6805; Home: 664-3863
Office Hours: MWF, 2:30 - 4:30; No office hours on Tuesday or Thursday.
Email: donna.hart@greenville.edu

Textbooks:

Hacker, Diana. The Writer's Reference. 5th edition. Boston: Bedford St. Martin's, 2003. (ISBN: 0-312-41262-2)

LaGuardia, Delores, and Hans P. Guth . American Voices: Culture and Community. 5th edition. Boston: McGraw-Hill, 2005. (ISBN: 0-07-255600-6)

Any good dictionary and/or thesaurus.

Course Description:

This course builds on the student’s writing experiences from high school and from COR 101, thus assuming that the student has some acquaintance with the 5-paragraph essay and with the skills of summary and synthesis. We focus specifically on those skills that are necessary for successful research and argumentative writing in all the college disciplines. Therefore, we examine a variety of library databases for finding and evaluating books, periodicals, and online documents as sources of information for supporting a positional assertion. We discuss and practice critical reading skills, successful note-taking strategies, and clear organization and presentation of an argument from either the Toulmin or the Rogerian model. We write several papers of varying lengths and depending on an increasing number of informational sources. Moreover, we continue to develop skills in all stages of composing and revising, sentence styles, word choice, grammar, punctuation, and mechanics.

Course Objectives:

1. become closer, more critical readers and thinkers, recognizing central assertions by other persons, their secondary assertions, and the support which they offer to strengthen those assertions. (IO A1-A2, C8)
2. develop our writing ability through extensive writing practice that emphasizes writing as a process, and develop a better sense of what prewriting, writing, and rewriting techniques work best for each of us. (IO A2, C8)
3. understand the factors that help shape a writer’s choices about vocabulary, tone, style, and structure in several different rhetorical modes, but with our emphasis on research writing. (IO A2)
4. discuss and practice the strategies of paraphrasing, summarizing, and quoting of sources according to APA and MLA style. (IO A2)
5. discuss and practice the strategies of synthesizing, critiquing, arguing, etc., not only as a means to higher thinking skills, but also as methods to use in writing a variety of research papers. (IO A2)
6. develop skill in using--and evaluating the usefulness, i.e., reliability, of--library sources of various kinds (books, periodicals, online databases), particularly electronic messaging and other non-refereed Internet sources. (IO A1-A2, C8)
7. work to eliminate grammar, syntax, mechanical, and spelling errors. (IO A2, C8)
8. work to improve clarity, coherence, creativity, and correctness of our written discourse. (IO A2, C8)
9. understand cultural, linguistic, and ethnic diversity and determine ways that our arguments must respect and accommodate those differences. (IO A1, B3-B6, C7-C9)
10. understand that writing expectations differ within different disciplines. (IO A2)
11. understand the importance of technology in enabling our research. (IO A2)
12. understand the different expectations and requirements for clear communication in oral texts and compared to written texts. (IO A2)
13. understand and use non-print media, where appropriate, to support a position. These might include personal interviews, letters, television or movie sources, etc. (IO A2)

Assessment:

1. Objective 1 is assessed informally through class discussions of assigned readings. Formal assessment occurs with periodic reading quizzes that ask students to elicit thesis statement, supporting assertions, etc.
2. Objectives 2 and 3 are assessed through peer editing exercises, one-on-one teacher-student conferences, and teacher grading of student final papers that have gone through several stages of revision.
3. Objective 4 is assessed through class exercises in incorporating pieces of information from primary sources into student papers by each of these means.
4. Objective 5 is assessed through informal class discussion in which we compare and contrast or find other relationships between writers with a variety of positions on selected issues. It is more formally assessed through required synthesis and critique assignments, either in class or outside of class.
5. Objective 6 is assessed informally by the research librarian doing an exercise with a “bogus” website that looks official, but is defective. It is also assessed by students determining which electronic sources actually do provide them useful information for their research papers. In written texts, it is assessed by our discussion of how we recognize "liberal," "conservative," or "moderate" points of view; and perhaps how we determine whether the gender, age, ethnicity, social class, etc. of the writer affect his/her point of view.
6. Objectives 7 and 8 are assessed informally through peer editing exercises and one-on-one teacher-student conferences. Formally, they are assessed through teacher grading of final papers.
7. Objectives 9 and 10 are assessed through informal class discussion of assigned readings and of drafts of student papers.
8. Objective 11 is assessed by the degree to which students become comfortable in using computers for prewriting, writing, and rewriting and in accessing information which will help them support the assertions they make in their papers.
9. Objective 12 is assessed by class dialogue and oral support for student points of view.
10. Objective 13 is assessed by teacher grading of final papers.

Attendance, Late Papers, Plagiarism, Grading, and Study Expectations:

For my expectations regarding attendance, see attendance. For expectations regarding late papers, see late papers. For expectations regarding avoidance of plagiarism, see plagiarism. For an explanation of my grading system, see grading. For study expectations, see study expectations.

Tentative Daily Schedule:

Week One: September 1
(What you see listed by the T or R is what we will do in class that day.)
R - Introduction to the class, to my website, to Blackboard. Initial writing sample.

Week Two: September 6
T - Before you come to class, read Hacker, Sections C1, C2 and C3. We will do various computer exercises from the Hacker book. Lecture: What is an argument? How do we argue? Discuss the Toulmin Model of Argument.
R - Discuss LaGuardia, "No Rest for the Overachiever," p. 78. And read any 2 of the 3 articles posted for you on Blackboard. They will be part of our discussion.

Week Three: September 13
T - Before you come to class, read Hacker, C4. We will do some computer exercises. Discuss, LaGuardia, "Going to School in East LA," p. 81. Discuss it as an argument and talk about how to create an argument in response to it.
R - Create an argument in response to some aspect of the Rose essay. Save it to your N: drive, and post this to Blackboard's Digital Drop Box before 9:30 a.m. on Monday.

Week Four: September 20
T - Before you come to class, read Hacker, S1. Computer exercises. Discuss the two competing arguments in Hacker, the first at the website given on p. 43, and the second on pp. 44 - 46.
R - Discuss one or two or your papers from last week.

Week Five: September 27
T - Lecture: Ms. Sara Kopesky will talk to you about finding good books and periodicals for your research.
R - Lecture about APA documentation style. Lab: Compile an APA-style working bibliography of at least 10 sources. These will be your sources of "proof" for your 5 - 7-page argumentative research paper on some aspect of American education. Complete your bibliography, save it to your N: drive, and post it to the DDB by 3:30 p.m. on Friday.

Week Six: October 4
T - Lecture: Instructions in taking notes on computer. **Your assignment for this whole week is to be taking notes that will help you make a good argument in your research paper. These notes will be due to me, posted on DDB by 9:30 a.m. on Monday. Discuss LaGuardia, "Electronic Communication May Aid Social Interaction," p. 90, and "Black College in (White) America," p. 100.
R - Discuss LaGuardia, "Prayer Isn't Always Allowed," p. 112, and "My 60-Second Protest from the Hallway," p. 116. **Notes due on Monday.

Week Seven: October 11
T - Lecture: How to organize (outline) and write your paper. Lab: Writing the research paper.
R - Lab: Writing research paper. ***POST THE PAPER TO DDB BEFORE 9:30 a.m. ON MONDAY.

Week Eight: October 18
T - Before you come to class, read Hacker, S3, S4, S5, and S6. We'll do some discussion and computer exercises.
R - Discuss LaGuardia, "Manhattan Dispatch," p. 686; "Brooklyn Dispatch: Under the Bridge," p. 690; "America's Wealth Draws Hatred," p. 692; "Prime Target Is Women," p. 694; and "Babi Yar in Manhattan," p. 698.

Week Nine: October 25
T - Lecture: The Rogerian Model of Argument. And MLA style of documentation. How is it different from APA and why.
R - Before you come to class, read Hacker, W1 - W3. We'll do some computer exercises. Outside of class, compile an MLA-style working bibliography of at least 20 sources. These will be your sources of "proof" for your 8 - 10-page argumentative research paper on some aspect of terrorism. Complete your bibliography and post it to the DDB by 3:30 p.m. on Friday.

Week Ten: November 1
T - Before you come to class, read Hacker, G1 - G3. Do the assigned computer exercises on your own and post them to me. ***Your assignment for the next two weeks is to be taking notes, as per the model we used earlier, that will help you make a good argument in your research paper. These notes will be due to me, posted on DDB before 9:30 a.m. on Monday of Week 12. In class, we will discuss either a handout of a book chapter or an online article having to do with worldwide terrorism.
R - Before you come to class, read Hacker, G5 and G6. Do the assigned computer exercises on your own and post them to me. We'll discuss another chapter of article on the subject of terrorism. OR, We'll discuss portions of a couple of your first research papers.

Week Eleven: November 8
T - In-class writing in response to a reading about terrorism.
R - Lab. Read Hacker, P1 - P4, and P7-1. Complete all assigned computer exercises. **Don't forget to post your notes to me before 9:30 a.m. on Monday.

Week Twelve: November 15
T - You will tell me your tentative thesis statement. We'll talk again about organizing your argument and outlining. Begin your outline.
R - Lab. Complete a detailed outline of your final research paper and post it to me on DDB before you leave class.

Week Thirteen: November 22
T - Before you come to class, read Hacker, MLA2 and MLA3. We'll discuss how to avoid plagiarism and how to incorporate quotations into your paper.

***Thanksgiving Vacation begins on Tuesday night. No class rest of this week.

Week Fourteen: November 29
T - Lab: Writing the paper.
R - Lab: Continue writing your research paper.

Week Fifteen: December 6
T - Lab. Continue writing your research paper. ***We'll do some peer reading and editing this period.
R - Finish up your research paper. ***Post to DDB by the end of the scheduled exam time.

Week Sixteen: December 13--Exam Week.