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ENGL 106 – College Writing 2

English

The College of Liberal Arts

Revised 3 December 2007

TABLE OF CONTENTS

I. ENGL 106: AN OVERVIEW............................................................................................................ 2

1. Credit Hours............................................................................................................................ 2

2. Prerequisites............................................................................................................................ 2

3. Course Description................................................................................................................... 2

4. Role of ENGL 106 in the General Education Program............................................................... 2

5. General Education Learning Outcomes Addressed................................................................... 2

6. Course Objectives..................................................................................................................... 2

7. Instructional Strategies.......................................................................................................... 3

8. Methods of Assessment............................................................................................................. 3

9. Unit Descriptions...................................................................................................................... 3

10. Final Review of the Portfolio: Requirement........................................................................... 5

11. Required Textbooks................................................................................................................. 5

12. Grading................................................................................................................................... 6

13. Attendance and Late Work..................................................................................................... 7

14. Conferences and Group Work................................................................................................... 7

15. Honor Code............................................................................................................................. 7

16. Plagiarism and Fair Usage of Sources...................................................................................... 7

17. Students with Special Needs.................................................................................................... 7

II. FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ........................................................................................... 7

1. Am I eligible to take ENGL 106?................................................................................................ 7

2. Are all sections of ENGL 106 identical?...................................................................................

3. What types of writing are required in ENGL 106?...................................................................... 8

4. Will I be required to write a research paper?............................................................................ 8

5. How much writing is required in ENGL 106? .............................................................................

6. How much reading is required in ENGL 106?..............................................................................

7. Is a final exam required in ENGL 106?.......................................................................................

ENGLISH 106 PREREQUISITE FORM.............................................................................................. 9

The mission of the University of Findlay is to equip our students

for meaningful lives and productive careers.

I. ENGL 106: An Overview

1. Credit Hours—Students who earn a grade of C or higher or a grade of P in ENGL 106 will receive 3 credit hours that will count toward graduation.

2. Prerequisites—Reading competency or concurrent enrollment in ENGL 145; plus, one of the following: (1) earning a combined ACT English and Reading score of 50 or more, or earning an SAT Verbal score of 590 or more—note: in cases where multiple ACT and/or SAT scores conflict, placement is determined by the UF English faculty’s review of those multiple scores; (2) completing ENGL 104 or ENGL 105 (or receiving equivalent transfer credit); or earning a score of 3 or 4 on the AP English Language and Composition Exam.

3. Course Description—This course introduces students to writing processes and prose conventions common to many academic disciplines, and it provides opportunities for students to participate in one or more of the ongoing conversations in particular communities of writers. The course emphasizes analytic and persuasive writing based on critical reading of nonfiction prose. At least one system of formal documentation is covered.

4. Role of ENGL 106 in the General Education Program—ENGL 106 fulfills the University of Findlay’s writing competency requirement within the general education program (see III: B-1 under “Bachelor’s Degree Requirements” in the UF undergraduate catalog, p.50 or III: C-1 under “Associate of Arts Degree Requirements,” p.51). After completing ENGL 106, students pursuing a Bachelor’s degree will still need to take ENGL 202, 272, 302, 305, or 306 in order to complete the general-education writing requirement (see item g. on p. 48 or 49 in the UF undergraduate catalog). ENGL 106 is the prerequisite for these other writing courses.

5. General Education Learning Outcomes Addressed—ENGL 106 addresses Goal 3 and Goal 5 of the General Education program:

Goal 3: Students will acquire and practice skills for reading, writing, speaking, listening, abstract inquiry, critical thinking, logical reasoning, and using computers and related technology.

Goal 5: Throughout their general education experience, students will analyze and reflect upon the challenges of facing our global society as well as the importance of being a life-long learner and responsible citizen.

6. Course Objectives—ENGL 106 is intended to help you develop an array of skills and knowledge, including the following:

· The ability to use flexible composing processes that are well-suited to the types of writing produced by professionals in the academic community,

· The ability to revise your own writing in response to the feedback provided by readers,

· An understanding of how the rhetorical relationships among writer, audience, and message should influence your writing,

· The ability to use writing to sharpen your analytic and critical-thinking skills,

· The ability to summarize, paraphrase, and quote sources effectively,

· The ability to draw on readings and your own experiences in order to verify, critique, and extend the perspectives offered by other writers,

· The ability to construct reasonable and persuasive defenses of your positions when they are critiqued by advocates of other positions,

· The ability to construct a well-organized essay that contributes to an on-going discussion about a particular issue by clearly stating your position on the subject and then supporting and developing that position with reasonable arguments and examples, consideration of other points of view, and effective use of sources,

· The ability to analyze the writing conventions of particular discourse communities and to produce texts that conform to those conventions, including the conventions of fair usage of sources and formal documentation detailed in either the MLA or APA publication guides,

· The ability to edit your own writing to conform to the spelling, usage, punctuation, and style conventions of standard American English.

7. Instructional Strategies—All sections of ENGL 106 will include the following instructional strategies. Your particular section may include other strategies as well.

8. Methods of Assessment—All sections of ENGL 106 will use the following methods of assessment. Your particular section may include other methods as well.

· Attendance

· Homework assignments

· Participation

· Portfolio

· Essays and other forms of writing such as summaries, etc.

9. Unit Descriptions—The curriculum for ENGL 106 is divided into two units requiring a total of 4 to 6 major papers. NOTE: In the descriptions below, the lengths given for the units are rough estimates. Any of these units could be made as much as two weeks longer or two weeks shorter, depending on how many writing assignments are included in each of the units. Your instructor will provide more detailed information concerning the units for your section.

Unit One—INTRODUCTION TO ACADEMIC DISCOURSE: Weeks 1-7

Analyzing and Responding to Nonfiction Materials

A. Overview

This initial unit introduces you to the processes and conventions of academic writing. It asks that you enter into an academic conversation surrounding one or more particular issues or debates. “Entering into” this academic conversation involves (1) listening to other writers’ perspectives on an issue by reading, summarizing, and analyzing their essays, and (2) developing your own perspective and voice in response to such readings.

You will work primarily with nonfiction materials on assignments that develop your abilities in critical reading and analytic writing. The main purposes of this unit are (1) to acquaint you with a variety of positions concerning a topic (and in doing so to encourage you to develop your own position), and (2) to acquaint you with the discourse conventions—including fair-usage practices and documentation conventions—that are commonly observed by people writing on the topic (and in doing so to enable you to follow those conventions in your own writing). Since both of these goals require that you become familiar with a range of writings on a topic, the reading assignments will include multiple works that present different points of view concerning a topic. Some sections of ENGL 106 may include two or three topics instead of one, but in such cases multiple readings will be assigned for each topic.

While this first unit introduces you to conventions of academic writing, it also emphasizes assisting you in fully participating in academic conversations. It strives to assist you in developing your own voice in response to what others have written. Acknowledging the value of your own experience, it seeks to help you find ways to incorporate such experience into your writing as you participate in academic discourse. Therefore, your ENGL 106 instructor will have you keep a journal (where you can write about your own experiences in response to the readings); and/or have you write an essay that specifically focuses on your own experience in response to one or more readings; and/or show you ways to incorporate personal experience into your writing throughout the semester.

B. Required Assignments

i. Reading Assignments

At least four (and preferably more) reading assignments that address various positions and approaches to a topic of interest to a particular community.

ii. Writing Assignments

At least two assignments (with at least one being a major paper—either an analysis or synthesis of nonfiction). These assignments will allow you to analyze, synthesize, and evaluate ideas and arguments from your reading in this unit and to offer your own insights concerning the unit’s topic(s).

Unit Two—PERSUASION USING WRITTEN MATERIALS Weeks 8-15

A. Overview

This unit moves beyond analysis, synthesis, and evaluation of nonfiction as ends in themselves. Instead, you will use nonfiction materials—and your analysis of them—in papers intended to persuade readers. This unit may focus on a topic already considered in the previous unit, or it may require multiple readings concerning a new topic. You may be required to do some research to obtain information concerning the topic, but most of the necessary information should be available in the required readings. (Research is not a major element of ENGL 106, but this unit will stress techniques for effectively and honestly using sources, as well as for documenting sources using the current MLA or APA format.)

B. Required Assignments

i. Reading Assignments

At least two essays that offer different positions concerning a topic. If this unit does not build on a topic already covered in a previous unit, then more than two readings will be necessary.

ii. Writing Assignments

The requirements for this unit include at least one major paper: an essay of at least 1,300 words in which you offer your own position concerning an issue important to our society and/or a particular discipline and then support that position with good reasons backed with examples, quotations and paraphrases from sources, and other evidence. The essay must include formal MLA or APA documentation for all sources. See Section I, #9 for more details. THIS ASSIGNMENT IS REQUIRED OF ALL STUDENTS IN ALL SECTIONS OF ENGL 106. (However, each instructor will select the topic for his or her sections of the course.) The unit may also include additional major papers and/or minor assignments that allow you to explore the unit’s topic and/or your own experience in relation to the unit’s topic. This unit may also include an in-class essay.

10. Final Review of the Portfolio: Requirement—You will need to submit a semester portfolio to your instructor on or before the last class day prior to finals week. Your complete portfolio must contain at least the following items:

i. A copy of your final major paper for Unit 2 (including your rough drafts with the instructor's comments as well as the final version of the paper and copies of your sources),

ii. Copies of your other major assignments.

Your instructor will first review your portfolio prior to finals week and calculate your grade average on major paper assignments for your section. This calculation does not include participation, attendance, or minor assignments.

If your major paper average is an 84% or below, your portfolio will be reviewed by a committee of readers (other English 106 instructors) during finals week.

This portfolio of writing serves as an “exit exam.” In order to be eligible to receive a grade of C or higher (or a grade of P) for ENGL 106, your portfolio must receive an evaluation of “pass” from a committee of readers (other English 106 instructors) who will review your semester portfolio during finals week.

Students with an 85% major paper average or above are exempt from the committee portfolio review during finals week if ALL of the following conditions have also been met:

· The student has met all attendance requirements and has not missed any classes over the number allowed by the instructor and the English Department, AND

· The student has completed all prewriting, rough drafts, assignments required for EACH major paper which can include participation in peer review, AND

· The student has met all other course requirements determined by the instructor and the English Department, including all exit criteria for the semester portfolio.

All three conditions must be met to be exempt from committee portfolio review and to receive a B (85%) or higher in ENGL 106. Failure to meet any or all of the above conditions means your portfolio must be submitted to committee review during finals week in order to be eligible to receive a grade of C or higher (or a grade of P) for ENGL 106. In addition, your portfolio must receive an evaluation of “pass” from a committee of readers (other English 106 instructors) who will review your semester portfolio during finals week.

11. Required Textbooks

The UF English and Writing Program’s special edition of Keys for Writers. This handbook is also used for ENGL 106 and upper-level writing courses such as ENGL 202, 272, 302, 305, and 306, so plan on keeping it.
A college dictionary. (Your instructor might recommend or require a particular dictionary.)
Any other books that your instructor requires. (Your instructor will give you a list during the first week of classes.)

12. Grading—You will receive one of the following grades: A, A-, B+, B, B-, C+, C, P, NC, D or F. In order to pass ENGL 106, you must earn either a grade of C or higher or a grade of P. If you earn one of these grades, you will receive three credits and be eligible to take ENGL 202, 272, 302, 305, or 306.

For a precise grading breakdown for your section of ENGL 106, please refer to the syllabus for your specific section. The grading in all sections of ENGL 106, however, will follow the guidelines described below:

A. Distribution of Points

· Major Papers (Four to five papers totaling approximately 6,000 to 80-90 points

8,000 words or so of polished writing and worth 10-20 points each,

except for the Unit 2 “final” essay which will be worth 20-35 points).

Points are distributed as follows:

Unit 1 (1-3 major papers) 20-50 points

Unit 2 (1-3 major papers) 30-60 points*

*The Unit 2 “final” essay will be worth 20-35 points

· Minor Assignments (a total of about 1,500 to 3,000 words in journal 10-20 points

entries, impromptu in-class assignments, homework exercises,

letters and memos, quizzes, or other types of writing assignments).

Participation points factor into the minor assignments.

______________________________________________________________________

TOTAL 100 points

B. Grade Ranges

Passing Grades (Your instructor will provide you with a detailed scale for determining plus and minus grades.)

A, A- 100-90 points (with an acceptable portfolio)

B+, B, B- 89-80 points (with an acceptable portfolio)

C+, C 79-73 points (with an acceptable portfolio)

P 79-65 points (with an acceptable portfolio)—The “P” grade is only available to

international students who have lost points due to typical ESL errors.

Non-Passing Grades

NC Below 73 points or unacceptable portfolio (but the student has submitted all assignments

and has not incurred any penalty points for missed classes or late work).—NC stands for "no credit." This grade is earned by students who attend class regularly and complete all assignments but whose writing skills have not yet met the minimum level of writing competency required to pass ENGL 106. If you earn this grade you will not receive credit for ENGL 106; however, the NC grade will not damage your grade point average. Furthermore, the NC qualifies you for ENGL 107, an alternative version of ENGL 106. If you do earn an NC, you should register for either ENGL 106 or ENGL 107 the next semester.

D Same as NC: below 73 points or unacceptable portfolio (but the student has submitted all assignments and has not incurred any penalty points for missed classes or late work).—D is an alternative version of the NC grade. Students who earn an NC have the option of replacing this grade with a D. The NC is the best option in most cases because the NC doesn’t count against a student’s GPA. However, with an NC, a student receives no credit hours for the course. If the credit hours are important, the student who earns the NC can elect to have the D assigned instead. With a D, a student will receive 3 credit hours, but the D will affect the student’s GPA. IMPORTANT: Students who receive a D in ENGL 106 must still retake the course (or take ENGL 107, an alternative version of ENGL 106).

F Below 73 points or unacceptable portfolio (and the student has missed one or more assignments or has incurred penalty points for missed classes or late work).—F is an unsatisfactory grade. You will receive an F if you do not complete assignments, if you submit work late, or if you miss numerous classes. Your grade point average will suffer if you receive an F, and you will need to take ENGL 106 again next semester.

13. Attendance and Late Work—Each ENGL 106 instructor will establish policies concerning attendance and deadlines. If your instructor will impose penalties for missing classes, arriving late, failing to do assignments, or submitting work after deadlines, s/he will list those penalties in the specific syllabus for your section of this course.

14. Conferences and Group Work—Your instructor may ask you to attend individual conferences or small-group sessions in addition to your regular class sessions. These additional sessions will allow the instructor to provide specialized instruction to address problems and issues that might not be discussed in class. If you fail to attend a conference or group-work session, your instructor can deduct the same number of points as s/he would for a regular class absence.

15. Honor Code—Students in this course agree to abide by the university’s honor code: “I will not knowingly engage in any dishonorable behavior, cheat, steal, lie, or commit any act of plagiarism during my academic work, course, or endeavor. If I observe an act which I believe violates the University’s Honor Code, I may, in my discretion, report it to the appropriate personnel.”

16. Plagiarism and Fair Usage of Sources—Any student who turns in the work of another writer as his or her own work may receive an F in ENGL 106, or a “0” on the paper, or s/he may be allowed to rework the paper for a grade of F. Penalties for plagiarism will be assigned by the instructor after consultation with the writing director. In the case of severe or recurring plagiarism, an instructor can recommend a student's suspension from The University of Findlay.

17. Students with Special Needs—If you are a student with a disability, it is your responsibility to register with the Office of Disability Services and to notify your instructor at least one week prior to any needed service so that reasonable accommodations can be made.

II. Frequently Asked Questions

1. Am I eligible to take ENGL 106?—For details, see “Prerequisites” (Section I, #2).

2. Are all sections of ENGL 106 identical?—No, but they are all similar. All sections of ENGL 106 will require roughly the same amounts and types of writing and reading, but specific assignments will vary from one section to another. Your instructor will give you detailed information concerning the assignments for your section.

3. What types of writing are required in ENGL 106?—In ENGL 106 you will study writing processes and prose conventions that are common to many academic disciplines. The course emphasizes analytic and persuasive writing based on critical reading of nonfiction prose, and it includes coverage of at least one system of formal documentation.

4. Will I be required to write a research paper?—That depends on how you define "a research paper." You will need to use quotations and paraphrases to complete some of the writing assignments, so your instructor will introduce MLA or APA techniques for documenting numerous types of sources. Also, your instructor may require you to find several sources on your own. However, most of your quotations and paraphrases can be drawn from the assigned readings for this course, so you will not need to conduct extensive library research.

5. How much writing is required in ENGL 106?—Each section of ENGL 106 will require four to five major papers, and the polished final versions of these papers will total at least 6,000 words. In addition to the final drafts, you will need to prepare one or more rough drafts of most (if not all) of the major papers. In addition to the major papers, each section of ENGL 106 will include other writing assignments that total about 1,500 to 3,000 words. These assignments could include journal entries, in-class assignments, homework exercises, letters and memos, quizzes, and other types of work.

6. How much reading is required in ENGL 106?—Each section of ENGL 106 will require reading assignments that total between 200 and 600 pages (that is, the equivalent of no less than one and no more than three full-length books). The assignments may include essays from an anthology or from periodicals, full-length books, or a combination of essays and full-length books. Some poetry and fictional prose may be included in the readings, but the majority of the reading assignments will be nonfiction prose.

7. Is a final exam required in ENGL 106?—No, but you will need to pass the Final Review of your ENGL 106 portfolio which serves as an exit “exam.” All students in all sections are required to complete a portfolio of writing that includes a final essay that states your position on a particular issue important to our society and/or important to a particular discipline and that

· supports and develops your position with good reasons backed with examples and other evidence,

· shows an understanding of the on-going conversation about this particular issue (e.g., shows an awareness of relevant “facts” that are fairly well accepted, key questions that remain, various views and concerns that have been expressed, and so forth),

· contributes to this conversation by considering various perspectives offered by others and by responding to them by extending, developing, and/or refuting some of the things that others have said about this issue,

· incorporates quotations and paraphrases effectively and uses formal MLA or APA documentation.

See Section I, #10 for more details.

ENGLISH 106 PREREQUISITE FORM

STUDENT'S NAME (please print):

____________________________________________________________________________

Last Name First Name M.I. Student I.D. #

____________________________________________________________________________

Semester (e.g., Fall or Spring) Year (e.g., 2006) 106 Section # 106 Teacher's Name

READING REQUIREMENT

1. Please check one of the following:

I have completed the reading competency requirement by earning an ACT Reading score of 23 or higher or an SAT Verbal score of 540 or higher.

I have completed the reading competency requirement by passing the UF Reading exam given by Prof. Nondace Campbell. I passed the exam in .

semester & year

I have completed the reading competency requirement by passing ENGL 145, a reading course taught by Prof. Nondace Campbell. I passed the course in .

semester & year

I have not yet completed the reading competency requirement, but I am currently enrolled in ENGL 145 this semester. I am enrolled in section #: .

WRITING REQUIREMENT

2. Please check one of the following:

I received an ENGL 106 placement from the UF English faculty.

____ I am new to UF this year and received an ENGL 106 placement based on my ACT/SAT scores—either an ACT English and Reading combined score of 50 or higher, or an SAT Verbal score of 590 or higher. (Note: In cases where a student has multiple and conflicting ACT/SAT scores, placement is based on the UF English faculty’s review of those scores.)

____ I am a returning UF student. I placed into ENGL 106 by taking the UF writing placement exam. I took the exam in .

month / year

I completed ENGL 104 with a grade of C or higher.

List the following: Your grade ________

Your 104 teacher's name ________________

The semester and year that you completed 104 ________________

I completed ENGL 105 with a grade of C or higher.

List the following: Your grade ________

Your 105 teacher's name ________________

The semester and year that you completed 105 ________________

CONTINUED ON OTHER SIDE

I am an international student, and I qualify for ENGL 106 based upon my IELP Written Composition Score and my grade in ENIN 450 or 451.

I received a grade of C or higher for a writing course at another college, and The

University of Findlay has accepted the course as the equivalent of ENGL 104.

List the following: The college where you took the course ______________________

The course number___________________

The semester that you completed the course __________________

I received a score of 3 or 4 on the Advanced Placement English Language and

Composition Examination.

List the following: Your score ______

The month and year that you took the AP Exam _______________

I have written permission from Dr. Scott Payne, the UF Writing Director, to take ENGL 106. ATTACH A COPY OF THE WRITTEN PERMISSION.

Student's Statement: I attest that all of the information on this form is correct. I understand that I may be removed from this ENGL 106 class at any time during the semester if the information on this form is incorrect.

Student's Signature Date