ENC 1101:
Composition I
Instructor: Mrs. Erin Waddell
Section: 27
Meeting: Mon, Wed, Fri; 12:30-1:20 PM
Location: COMM 111
Office: CNH (Colbourn Hall) 304D
Office Hours: Mon & Wed 2:30-4:00
(and by appointment)
Email: ErinEWaddell@knights.ucf.edu
My Blog: http://mrswaddell.blogspot.com/
This course counts for three credit hours, and is a required course for all majors.
Required Texts:
Everyday Writer (4th Edition), by Andrea Lunsford
I Am a Writer in the World: Researching Personal and Academic Literacies, by Wardle and Downs
Course Objectives:
· To become a better critical thinker
· To understand rhetorical context and situation
· To read and study what is said about writing from noted writing scholars
· To understand what we are reading and how that contributes to conversations about writing
· To practice how to locate and evaluate outside sources
· To develop a writing process that incorporates revision strategies
· To gain confidence as a writer
· To develop transferrable writing skills which will empower you throughout your college career
My Expectations/Policies:
I expect you to commit to this class. I expect you to come in each day, prepared to participate in lively discussion of the day’s topic—which means completing homework assignments. (Without doing the readings, how could one add anything to the conversation?) I expect you to take writing assignments seriously, to work on them with dedication. (Maybe you don’t ALWAYS love brushing your teeth—but you do it because you want them to last a lifetime, right? Writing is no different.) I expect you to be respectful at all times to me and to your fellow classmates. We value your opinion in this class, but please be careful not to make any hurtful or otherwise offensive comments that could be considered disrespectful to other people in the room. I also have a few rules/class policies that I’d like to share:
· Please avoid being late. It disrupts the class and is disrespectful to me and your fellow classmates. If this is a repeated habit, three tardies equal one absence. Likewise, please make any necessary trips to the restroom before or after class. I understand that emergencies come up, but please be considerate of the rest of the class. Know that any coming and going from your seat or the classroom is disruptive to the flow of class.
· Cell phones and other electronic devices must be turned off and stowed away before class begins. Texting is absolutely NOT allowed.
· Please don’t bring your laptop into class unless I give permission for in class writing.
Attendance:
One of the easiest ways for you to prove your dedication to a class is to arrive to every class meeting on time, prepared, and ready to participate. I expect you to attend class, because our time together is essential to your understanding of the course material, and how you can apply it throughout your college career. Attendance is taken at each class meeting. Every absence after four may negatively affect your grade. Absences in excel of 25% may result in automatic failure of this class.
Plagiarism:
Plagiarism is using someone else’s words or ideas intentionally or unintentionally without giving the source the proper credit. Plagiarism, or cheating of any kind, is unacceptable academic behavior at UCF. If you are caught plagiarizing, I maintain the right to give you a zero on the assignment. You also risk failing the course. Just don’t do it!
Gordon Rule:
You must write a minimum of 6,000 words in Composition One and you must turn in all four major assignments in order to pass the course with a C- or higher.
Disability Statement:
UCF is committed to providing reasonable accommodations for all persons with disabilities. This syllabus is available in alternate formats upon request. Students with disabilities who need accommodations in this course must contact the professor at the beginning of the semester to discuss needed accommodations. No accommodations will be provided until the student has met with the professor to request accommodations. Students who need accommodations must be registered with Student Disability Services, Student Resource Center Room 132, phone (407) 823-2371.
Grading:
Grading Scale
A 180-200
B 160-179
C 140-159
D 0-139
NC (No credit)There are 200 points possible in this course. Your four “unit” assignments will represent ten points a piece, or forty points collectively.
40 pts Unit Papers One, Two, Three, and Four
30 pts Blog, In Class Writing/Activities, Participation
10 pts Peer Review
10 pts Final Portfolio Presentation
110 pts Final Portfolio
UCF is on a plus/minus grading scale.
Portfolio Grading:
I will use a portfolio grading method because this class emphasizes writing as a process. This means you will receive feedback on your four large assignments, along with some points that contribute to your final grade. Then, I expect you to revise your formal writing assignments multiple times before including them in your portfolio at the end of the semester. So, the focus during the semester should be revising with an eye toward putting a very good (and well developed) final “draft” of each assignment in your portfolio. There will also be informal assignments (both inside and outside of class), which I expect you to complete and you will also receive points for. However, I do not expect you to revise those shorter assignments. It is your responsibility to keep all writing that you do for this class. This portfolio counts for over half of your grade for this class. It is NOT a project that can be completed the last week of class. More information about the specifics of the portfolio will come in due time.
A Note about Revision:
There is an assumption among inexperienced writers that “good” writers sit down at the computer, wait a couple of minutes for the lightening of inspiration to strike, then pour out masterful lines of prose from their fingertips. Wrong. Good writing evolves from thinking, more thinking, then writing, then more writing. For this reason, I require a substantially different draft (along with copies of each revision) with each of your four unit assignments to be included in your final portfolio.
Blog:
For this course, I will need you to start a blog to serve as an online journal of reflections about the texts we read. Sometimes I will give you prompts to write about in your blog, and others I will simply ask you to reflect. Either way, I will be looking to see an entry on your blog about each and every text we read this semester. Although I will not be looking at the time you post your comment, I will check the blogs every week for completion.
Late Work:
I do not accept late work. Assignments are due at the beginning of class on the due date.
Special Considerations:
If for any reason you have a family emergency or any unforeseen happenings during this course, contact me immediately, and I will do what I can to accommodate your situation. Notifying me of a situation or problem two or three classes after the fact prevents me from making alternative arrangements.
Helpful Resources:
UCF’s Library Website: http://library.ucf.edu/
University Writing Center’s Website: http://uwc.ucf.edu/
First Year Advising and Exploration Website: http://firstyear.sdes.ucf.edu/
FreeRice: http://freerice.com/
Grammar Girl’s Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing: http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/default.aspx
Important Dates to Remember
Due Dates:
Unit One Paper due: Friday, September 18th
Unit Two Paper due: Friday, October 16th
Unit Three Paper due: Friday, November 13th
Unit Four Paper due: Wednesday, December 2nd
Portfolio due at time of Final Exam: Friday, December 11th
Important Days/Events:Withdrawal Deadline: Friday, October 16th
Thanksgiving Break: November 26-29 (YES, we will have class on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving)
Final Exam: Friday, December 11th, 10:00AM-12:50PM (same class location)
This syllabus and schedule can be amended at the discretion of the instructor.
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