Required Materials
1. A college-level dictionary *BRING TO EVERY CLASS
2. Ramage, John D.,
and John C. Bean. Writing Arguments: A Rhetoric with Readings. 4th brief edition. Boston: Allyn
and Bacon, 1998.
3. Gaines, Ernest J. A Lesson Before Dying.
4. A notebook,
a looseleaf pad, and a folder to store your handouts, homework, etc.
Grading Scale
| A+ 98 | B+ 88 | C+ 78 | *D+ 68 | *F 50 |
| A 95 | B 85 | C 75 | *D 65 | *Not a Passing Grade |
| A- 93 | B- 83 | *C- 73 | *D- 63 |
Grading Schedule: You can expect assignments back in one to two weeks. Papers over six pages may require three weeks for grading.
Attendance Policy: Each missed class is two points off your raw course grade score; each partially missed class is one point off your score. Role will be taken at each class. There are no exceptions to the deductions for missing a part of or a whole class: true emergencies occur rarely, so no student who plans carefully and acts responsibly would suffer from a few points off for emergencies. (If some "long-term" emergency occurs, it is best to drop or withdraw from classes as you would take a leave of absence or quit a job). Consult "Grade Formula" and "Grading Scale" to understand the effects of missing class.
Grade Formula: The final grade is calculated
by taking the grade or average of the grade for each part below and multiplying by the percentage
of 100. The resulting numbers are added together and then two points are deducted for each absence
and one point for each partially missed class. The number that results is the final grade. The closest
letter is assigned based on the scale specified above.
1. Average of the Quizzes and Tests
20%
2. Final Version of Research Project 10%
3. Homework Assignments, Classwork,
and Other Participation 35%
4. Average of Papers 25%
6. Final Exam 10%
ALL HOMEWORK IS DUE AT THE BEGINNING OF EACH CLASS PERIOD.
WORK THAT IS NOT THERE WHEN I COLLECT THE HOMEWORK IS LATE AND LOSES
3 POINTS. AFTER THE END OF A CLASS SESSION, NO HOMEWORK IS ACCEPTED
ABSENCE IS NOT AN EXCUSE FOR LATE WORK. EMERGENCIES DO NOT GET SPECIAL
CONSIDERATION. IF A LONG-TERM EMERGENCY OCCURS DURING THIS SEMESTER,
DROP, WITHDRAW, OR APPLY FOR A LATE WITHDRAW.
Plagiarism Policy
Any idea of another person must be cited as that person's idea (ideas from lectures, interviews, the
internet, videos, books, journals, etc.) Failure to indicate the idea is another person's is plagiarism.
Any exact wording of another author (including as few as two words) used by students must be
indicated by quotation marks or the MLA or APA, indented, long quotation format, or it is
plagiarism. Any use of the sentence structure of another is plagiarism. Plagiarism receives a grade
of ZERO. If the plagiarism is malicious, extensive, or repeated, the student discipline policy will be
applied (see page 19 of the 1998-9 Catalogue or page 14 of the Schedule of Classes).
Advice from Cathy ...
1. Make going to class a priority--it is more
important to come to some of the class than none, so come in late if you arrive late. Likewise, if
some personal emergency occurs, come to class without homework rather than missing the
class.
2. Come to class prepared: bring your textbook, dictionary, paper to write on, and
pencils.
3. Be prepared to have your homework collected. Do not tear pages out of your
textbook, do homework involving the textbook on separate paper or photocopies. I will specify
which assignments must be done on photocopies.
4. Ask questions and talk about your
worries, problems, or fears about the class material in class or at my office hours. The school has
a Basic Skills Lab, tutoring services, academic counselors, and health professionals to assist you.
Get help if you need it.
5. Schedule time to do any reading for the class--treat the reading as
a serious assignment. If you try to read your assignments in bed or as you are doing something else,
you will not understand the readings or be able to correctly answer the questions about the readings.
Tentative Class Schedule (All pages are from the Ramage and Bean textbook
unless another text is specified.) The rest of the schedule will be distributed in 1/20/99.
Week 1
1) Jan. 11 Introduction
2) Jan. 13 Have read pp.
81-94 (Chapter 4)
Week 2
Jan. 18 Martin Luther King Day/No
School
3) Jan. 20 Have read pp. 1-23 (Chapter 1)
Draft of Paper1 Due (Option
1 pp. 75-76) (must be typed and 500 words or 2 typed pages)
Bring 4 copies of your paper to
class.
Week 3
4) Jan. 25 Paper 1 Due (Option 1 pp. 75-76) (must be
typed and 500 words or 2 typed pages)
5) Jan. 27 Test 1 on all material previously
covered. The test will be open book and consist of two essay questions (approximately 150-250
words for each essay) and several short answer questions.
Jan. 29 (Friday, no class)
Last day to add this class; students not officially on the role by this day do not receive grades or
course credit and may no longer attend classes.
Week 4
6) Feb. 1 Have read pp.19-51. Revision of Writing Assignment 1 of pages 75-6 Due (turn in graded draft with this).
7) Feb. 3 Summary Workshop--Have read "Oncore, Obscenity, and the Liquor Control Board" (pp. 220-1); and "Why Married Mothers Work" (pp. 259-262)
Feb. 5 (Friday, no class) Last day to drop this class without having a grade or a "W" on your transcript.
Week 5
8) Feb. 8 Revision and Prewriting Workshop; Have read pp. 52-74.
Writing Assignment #2, page 76 due. For the 250-word summary, use the guidelines
below in addition to those provided in your textbook. For the one-sentence summary,
follow the directions in your textbook. The summary can be on any of the following
arguments: "Petition to Waive the University Math Requirement" (pp.19-22); "Oncore,
Obscenity, and the Liquor Control Board" (pp. 220-1); and "Why Married Mothers Work"
(pp. 259-262). Bring three photocopies or print outs of your 250-word summary to class
in addition to your original.
1.The title of your summary must be different from that of the article being summarized.
2. The first sentences must contain the title, author, thesis, and publication data of the
article being summarized.
3. Nothing should be plagiarized; the wording and structure of the paper should be of
your own creation.
4. There must be a "Work Cited" bibliography page in the MLA style (page 2 or 3 of the
paper). See your textbook page 412 and pages 397-410 for directions on this page.
5. There should be only a few quotations on each page, if any.
6. The content of the summary should be the main claims and support of the article's
argument; minor details and minor illustrating examples should not be discussed.
7. The summary should cover material in proportion to the original. If one page is spent
on point A and two pages on point B, your coverage of point A should be half the length
of your coverage of point B.
8. No new or original ideas belong in the summary; every idea must be one presented in
the original article.
9. The first time you refer to the writer, give their full name. Any later references use
only the last name and do not use any title.
10. Make sure your tone is neutral. Your summary should not convey either strong
approval or strong disapproval of the article.
9) Feb. 10 Homework Due: Select one of the controversial claims on page 57 or come up with one of your own. Play the believing and doubting game described on pages 58 to 61 by freewriting for ten to fifteen minutes. Then revise your freewrites to make them grammatical and correctly spelled. Leave in sentences like "Relax. I can't think of what to say." You can cut repeated sentences, words, and rhyming nonsense if you have done any to help you keep constantly writing. Do not worry about varying sentence structure, unity, coherence, etc. Just make sure you have correctly spelled and grammatical sentences. This exercise can be neatly handwritten or typed.
Week 6
Feb. 15 (Chaffey's) George Washington Holiday/No School
10) Feb. 17 Test 2
Week 7
11) Feb. 22 Have read pp. 95-112. Revised version of Summary Due (Must turn in graded draft with this).
12) Feb. 24 Have read pp. 113-128. Homework Due: Due Task 1 page 71. List at least 15 items. Then do two freewrites and two idea maps on any four of your topics. Bring two photocopies of the freewrites and idea maps to class.
Week 8
13) Mar. 1 Have read pp.129-144. Homework Due: Option 5, page 77. OR write a letter to me identifying something you really want to know that would involve research. In other words, if you approach an argument as an opportunity to find out the truth, what truth do you want to find out? In your letter identify your topic and explain why you are interested in it and what you will gain from searching for the truth about it. This letter must be typed. This should be about 2 pages (500 words). Bring three photocopies of the letter in addition to the original.
14) Mar. 3 Have read pp. 145-157 Homework Due: Option 1, page 138-9. This should be typed and about 150 to 500 words. Bring two photocopies of your microtheme with you to class.
Week 9
15) Mar. 8 Have read pp. 157-182 Homework Due: Another microtheme--select option 2, 3, or 4. Bring two photocopies of your microtheme to class.
16) Mar. 10 Test 3 on all material covered to this point. Homework Due: Revision of Option 5, page 77 due. (Must turn in graded draft with this.)
Week 10 Spring Break/No School
Week 11
17) Mar. 22 Have read pp.182-227 Homework Due: Select one of the following assignments and produce a four-page paper upon it: Option 3, page 76; Option 5, page 143; Option 1, page 187-8; Option 3, page 188. Use either MLA or APA style. Bring three photocopies of your paper to class as well as the original. If you use sources (such as for Option 3) attach clear photocopies of the articles to your original. Be sure to attach an MLA or APA-style work-cited page as well.
18) Mar. 24 Have read pp. 357-379. Homework Due: Definition Heuristic on any topic. See pages 212-214 for guidance.
Week 12
19) Mar. 29 Have read pp. 380-420. Homework due: Draft of your definition paper on any topic. Target length: 500 words or 2 pages.
20) Mar. 31 Have read pp. 421-434. An MLA or APA bibliography for a short research paper. This can be based on the essay written for March 22, the topic you wrote a letter to me about, or a original topic. You need to have 3 books, 3 newspaper articles, 3 journal articles, and 1 website in your bibliography.
Week 13
21) Apr. 5 Have read A Lesson Before Dying, Chapters 1-3. Have read pp. 228-246. Revision of Mar. 22nd paper due. (Turn in graded draft with this.)
22) Apr. 7 Have read A Lesson Before Dying, Chapters 4-6. Have read pp. 247-253. Homework Due: Do the exploration tasks on pages 247-8. Turn in your list of likes and dislikes, your additions to the lists on page 247-8, and at least three idea maps. Bring 1 photocopy of your lists and idea maps as well as the original.
Week 14
23) Apr. 12 Have read A Lesson Before Dying, Chapters 7-9. Have read pp. 253-264. Homework Due: Draft of a Causal Argument. Target length: 500 words. Bring three copies of your draft to class in addition to the original.
24) Apr. 14 Have read A Lesson Before Dying, Chapters 10-12. Have read pp. 264- 274. Revision of Definition argument due. (Turn in draft with this.)
Week 15
25) Apr. 19 Have read A Lesson Before Dying, Chapters 13-15. Have read pp. 274- 280.
26) Apr. 21 Have read pp 304-338. Research Paper Session. Bring 3 copies of draft of a 6-page argumentative essay involving research on any topic in any style of argument. The draft must cite at least eight sources. You must include a works-cited page. Use APA or MLA style.
Week 16
27) Apr. 26 Have read A Lesson Before Dying, Chapters 16-18. Have read pp. 281- 293. Revision of Casual Argument Due (turn in drafts with this).
28) Apr. 28 Have read A Lesson Before Dying, Chapters 19-21. Have read pp. 294- 303. Homework: Option 2, page 268 due. This must be typed and should be about 1 typed page (250 words).
Week 17
29) May 3 Have read A Lesson Before Dying, Chapters 22-24. 30) May 5 Have read A Lesson Before Dying, Chapters 25-27. Have read pp. 339-353.
Week 18
31) May 10 Have read A Lesson Before Dying, Chapters 28-33. Revised 6-page research-based argument due (turn in drafts with this).
32) May 12 Exam Prep.