English 100B, Section 01, CRN 31057 – Fall 2007

Basic Academic Writing II
MWF 12:10 am to 1:00 pm  – Knutti 207

Instructor: Karen D. Austin, kaustin@shepherd.edu, Office: Knutti 114
Phone: (304) 876-5221, Office Hours:
See the secretary to make an appointment. Various times available.

 

Books: Austin, Michael. Reading the World and Hacker, Diana. A Writer’s Reference

Catalog Description for English 100B: Basic Academic Writing II (2 Credits)

The second of a two-semester course sequence, ENGL 100B is designed to enhance critical thinking, reading and writing skills as they support academic essay writing, particularly the argument essay.   The two semesters stretch the same material as ENGL 100 in order to give students more time to master the course objectives.  ENGL 100B emphasizes instruction on the criteria of evidence, style, sentence-level correctness, and MLA documentation.  An emphasis is placed on the reading and writing processes, particularly the stage of revision. Students will be required to attend 100 minutes a week of lecture and 50 minutes a week of tutoring.  ENGL 100A is a prerequisite to ENGL 100B. Completing both ENGL 100A and ENGL 100B serves as an alternate to ENGL 101, and as such serves as a prerequisite to ENGL 102, 103 or 104.

Assignments and Their Point Value: 900-1000 = A; 800-999=B; 700-799=C; 600-699=D

 

Weekly Quizzes

Wednesday Quizzes on Part 2 Chapters 8-13

10 x 20 = 200 points

Wed. Aug 29th

Paper on Hogarth Etchings

100 points

Wed. Aug 29th

In-class Essay on Hogarth

40 points

Wed. Sept 12th

Paper on Paz Essay

100 points

Wed. Sept 12th

In-class Essay on Paz

40 points

Wed. Sept 26th

Paper on Hardin Essay

100 points

Wed. Sept 26th

In-class Essay on Hardin

40 points

Wed. Oct 10th

Revisions of Hogarth and/or Paz Paper(s)

Increased Points

Wed. Oct 10th

2nd In-class Essay on Paz or Hardin, new Q.

40 points

Wed. Oct 31st

Paper on Ghandi Speech

100 points

Wed. Oct 31st

In-class Essay on Ghandi

40 points

Fri. Dec 7th

Portfolio – Due the last day of class

200 points

 

Portfolio Criteria for a 6 or high pass:  Essays have a clear, focused, arguable thesis. The essays have an introduction, body and conclusion that all support the thesis. Each paragraph has a distinct purpose in support of the thesis.  The thesis statement for each paper is supported with adequate evidence that is explained and connected to the thesis.  The critical thinking is insightful and takes a bit of a risk by moving beyond the instructor's lectures and well beyond the summarizing the assigned readings by synthesizing, analyzing, interpreting and/or applying the ideas.  The sentences show variety, emphasis, coherence and concision. The level of diction is high. The writer's voice shines through and is appropriate to the topic and audience. The technical control is error free or close to error free. The sources are documented according to MLA documentation style for both in-text citations and entries on the works cited page. The papers are in good condition with dark ink and crisp paper.

Portfolio Scores Convert to Class Points as Follows

   0 points for not turned in

 125 points for 3 + 4

  40 points for 1 + 1

 140 points for 4 + 4

  55 points for 1 + 2  

 155 points for 4 + 5

  70 points for 2 + 2 

 170 points for 5 + 5

  85 points for 2 + 3   

 185 points for 5 + 6

110 points for 3 + 3 

 200 points for 6 + 6

 

Note: From the experience of grading portfolios in May, the students with the lowest scores had the following problems: 1) the essay summarized the reading more than it responded to the reading 2) papers were too short 3) paragraphs were too short 4) not enough evidence from the text 5) unclear thesis 6) the title did not imply the thesis and 7) too many punctuation and typing errors. 

 

Most portfolios received between 125 and 140 points out of 200, with a notable percentage higher and much fewer scoring lower.

 

Class Policies: 

  • Plagiarism: If you turn in work that is not your own, you could face consequences, ranging from rewriting the paper, to failing the paper, to failing the class, to being referred to judicial action (possibly suspension or expulsion). The student handbook explains the university’s policies on plagiarism.

 

  • Late papers: Papers will lose points every class day that they are late. Late portfolios will not be accepted, so please turn them in on time.

 

  • Missed quizzes: If you miss class on Wednesday, the day of the quiz or in-class essay.

 

 

  • The areas include: thesis, coherence, intro/concl, reading, thinking, evidence, style, control, format and delivery, which are explained in detail on the url above.

 

  • Tutoring:  Students who see a tutor on a regular basis receive higher scores on their papers and on the portfolio.  Go to Knutti 114 and sign up to see a writing tutor.

 


Last Updated: June 4, 2007