English 106: Critical Thinking and Writing

English 106: Critical Thinking and Writing

Fall 2016 MWF 2:00-3:05

Instructor: Darby Lewes, Professor of English

Office D324; Tel. 321-4114 (O); 546-7521 (H);

Office hours: MW 11:45-12:30 or by appointment

Course Information

Description: English 106 is designed to help you develop the basic skills of essay writing. These skills will be used in other college courses when you express your ideas in written form. In addition, English 106 helps you develop skill in reading, gives you some familiarity with library resources, and provides an introduction to the basic conventions of formal documentation.

•Learning outcomes

Students will learn to write effectively for a variety of professional and social settings. They will explore the ideas of other writers ideas as they develop their own. They will be able to revise for content and edit for grammatical and stylistic clarity.

Students will understand how language and genre shape meaning, and will learn to employ appropriate genres for a variety of purposes and audiences. Students will be able to identify topics and ask questions for productive inquiry; they will identify appropriate methods and sources for research and evaluate critically the sources they find; and they will use their chosen sources effectively in their own writing, citing all sources appropriately. Students will gain the skills needed in effective oral communication and will be able to prepare, organize, and deliver an engaging oral presentation.

•Students with disabilities

Lycoming College provides academic support for students who officially disclose diagnosed learning, physical and psychological disabilities. If you have a diagnosed disability and would like to seek accommodations, please contact JillianeBolt-Michewicz, Assistant Dean of Academic Services / Director of the Academic Resource Center. Dean Bolt-Michewicz will help you arrange for appropriate academic accommodations. She can be reached by calling 570-321-4050, emailing , or visiting her office (Academic Resource Center, 3rd Floor of Snowden Library).

In order to do well in this course, you must:

Attend class regularly.
Since class participation will make up a considerable portion of the final grade, students with more than three undocumented absences will receive deductions from their final grade: 4 absences, ½ letter grade deduction; 5 absences, 1 full letter deduction; 5 absences, 1 ½ letter grade deduction. Students with six or more undocumented absences will be assumed to have dropped the class and will receive an “F” in the class. Excused (documented) absences must be made up with written exercises assigned by the professor (usually an outline of the assigned material).

Have at least one verified tutoring session (minimum 30 minutes) before 10 October at the Academic Resource Center. Failure to do so will lower your final grade by 10%. Failure to do so by 10 November will result in a second 10% penalty.

Turn in all assigned work on time.
There are no late papers in this class: only timely papers and “F” papers. Extensions may be arranged, IN ADVANCE, if the situation warrants.

Grades

1. Six five-paragraph essays: 5 points each (30 points total)

2. Four 3-5 page essays: 40 points each

3. Midterm Grammar exam: 20 points

4. Final Grammar exam (cumulative): 40 points

6. PowerPoint presentation: 20 points

7. Class participation/preparedness: 40 points

8. Six sets of reading questions: 18 points

Textbooks

Ruszkiewicz, How to Write Anything

Gordon, The Deluxe Transitive Vampire

(Highly) Recommended texts:

A decent hardcover “college” dictionary for home use (easily the best investment you will ever make)

A paperback dictionary for the classroom

A good thesaurus

Course Outline and Assignments

Extra stuff

Class Cancellations

I try not to cancel classes, but sometimes things happen. If there is a class cancellation, notices will be emailed to all students registered on Turnitin. I try for at least a twelve hour advance notice.

Study Partners

List the name, phone number, and e-mail address for a “study partner” here:

Name ______

phone number ______

email address ______.

Just in case you and your partner are absent on the same day, you should get a second partner as a backup.

Name______

phone number ______

email address______.

Class Expectations

1.Attendance: Do not miss more than three classes.

2.Writing Center: Have at least one verified tutoring session (minimum 30 minutes) before 28 September 2014 at the Academic Resource Center.Faliure to

3.Deadlines: Submit all work on time.

4.Completion: Turn in all assigned work: i.e., essay questions, five-paragraph essays, final essays.

5.Recording: Keep copies of all drafts/revisions and turn them in with your final papers.

6.Cooperation: Provide serious feedback in workshops, and work cooperatively with your writing partners.

7.An Oral Presentation which meets minimum and maximum time requirements.

8.Four final essays that meet the following conditions:

Revisions must be real revisions, not just a few cosmetic touch-ups. Real revisions reshape the essay, and extend your argument substantially.

Copyediting: The final drafts must be free of any mistakes in spelling or grammar.

Perplexity: As Gary Hafer points out, “For every paper, you need to find some genuine question or perplexity. That is, don’t just tell four obvious reasons why communism is bad or why democracy is good. Root your paper in a felt question about honesty or democracy—a problem or an itch that provokes. (By the way, this is a crucial skill: how to make an assignment your own—even “boring” ones!).”

Thoughtfulness: You essay should be the result of a mind at work. It should reflect original thought—merely recycling a few overdone ideas will not do it.

Improvement: Your essays should improve over the course of the semester, reflecting recognition of your weaknesses in writing and a concerted effort on your part to deal with them (multiple writing center visits will help here).

Academic Conduct

You are expected to avoid any sort of academic misconduct. You must never seek to claim credit for the work or efforts of another without authorization or citation; you must never use unauthorized materials or fabricated data; you must never intentionally impede or damage the academic work of others; (or assist other students in doing so); you must never cheat on an examination; submit a paper or assignment as your own work when a part or all of the paper or assignment is the work of another; or submit a paper or assignment that contains ideas or research of others without appropriately identifying the sources of those ideas.

Classroom Environment

You should be prepared to speak often in class, to participate in class activities beyond simple note-taking. Classes will be conducted seminar-style, with much small group discussion and active participation in large group discussion being expected of each student. I do not merely want bodies in attendance; I expect to see prepared and thinking students. This means that you will bring the required materials and complete any assignments due for that particular day. You should read the assignments listed on the syllabus before class. In addition to doing well on the exams and the papers, the best way to illustrate that you are an active, engaged, and interested student is by contributing regularly to class discussions. I do not want to lecture; I want you to participate actively in creating a learning environment in the class by constantly challenging each other and supporting each other’s learning.

Reading
You should expect to do plenty of reading. Since you signed up for this course, I expect you to fulfill the very least of your responsibilities: complete the readings listed on the syllabus before you come to class—not just by skimming the material but by actively and carefully reading each assignment (take notes in the margin and look up unfamiliar words) and bringing your essays for workshops. Yeah, it sounds pretty grim. But we’ll have some fun—I promise.

I have read the ENG 106 class syllabus and agree to its terms.

Name______Date______