course.goals
materials
assignments

grading
attendance
electronica
ethics

disability


 

instructor kevin eric depew
office bal 313
phone 757.683.4019
e.mail kdepew@odu.edu
web.page http://www.odu.edu/~kdepew
office hours t 2-4; w 2-3; & by appointment


quick links

calendar
blackboard (email, collaboration, and readings)
resources


course.goals

In English 427/527, students will develop a meta-awareness of writing, especially as the purpose and audience of documents shift from one discipline to another, or one context to another. The focus of the course will be on factors related to context, genre, and the changing nature of writing.

In this course you will ...

  • learn the basics of genre and rhetorical theory
  • question who owns writing
  • learn what disciplines and institutions are and how they affect writing
  • specifically examine the writing done in academic and workplace contexts
  • examine different discourse communities, audiences, and expectations
  • explore how recent writing technologies are changing writing conventions
  • analyze contexts, genres, and your own writing
  • work collaboratively to design and present a workshop on writing in a specific discipline

Prerequisites

To best fulfill these goals, the prerequisites for English 427/527 are 9 hours of English including completion of the 6-hour General Education composition requirement and 3 additional hours of English.


course.materials

Readings will be retrieved from...

It is recommended that you purchase a toner cartridge and paper. Or put extra money on your ODU printing account.


major.assignments

Context Analysis (50 points): To better understand the expectations for the writing that you do (or will do), you should understand the context that you are writing. Using the heuristics that we develop, analyze the professional context that you anticipate writing within.

Genre Analysis (50 points): For this assignment you will use the heuristics we develop to determine the generic properties of a specific document type. Then using these properties, you will closely examine a sample of this document type.

Article Review (50 points): To get a sense of the issues that are discussed in your discipline, you will be asked to research, read, and respond to a peer reviewed article about writing in your field of study.

Writing Workshop (150 points): Working with peers in the same emphasis, you will develop and present a thirty-minute writing workshop on an issue relevant to writers in your discipline.

Workshop: Demonstration of Application (100 points): Each individual will explain how the the writing workshop that she/he helped to develop fits within the class's framework.

Work produced by English 555 student will be expected to meet the standards of Master's level writing.

Three Means of Failing the Course related to Major Assignments

  • Not completing a major assignment
  • Major assignments will be given no credit if the assignment is not turned in prior to the instructor returning the respective assignment to the class. This becomes the equivalent of not completing a major assignment
  • An act of plagiarism (or other forms of academic dishonesty)

Minor Assignments

Throughout the semester you will be doing in-class activities and homework related to the topics we are discussing in the course. These minor assignments have been designed to give you low stakes opportunities to explore various topics related to rhetorical studies and do prewriting for your major assignments. These minor assignments make up your process grade.

Use these writing opportunities to your advantage instead of treating them as "busy work." A lot of the work that you do for these smaller assignments can be used directly in the final assignment; therefore, you will want to take these assignments seriously. This also gives you an opportunity to get serious feedback from the instructor on your work-in-progress. So, just fulfilling these assignments will often result in twice as much work for you.


grading

Major Assignments

I will be looking for evidence of each student's progress towards high academic achievements. More specifically I will be looking for evidence of...

  • well supported and "original" work that addresses the assignment and problems relevant to the course content
  • an understanding of rhetorical theory and genre theory, as well as current discussions of their application
  • an ability to closely examine situations and documents and then clearly articulate what you have learned
  • an ability to generate a sound workshop and justify the approach
  • addressing your audiences appropriately, including fulfilling generic expectations
  • prewriting and planning, including the ability to collaborate
  • professional quality work, in terms of mechanics, design, and protocol

Process Grade (100 points)

Your process grade will be 20% of your overall grade (100 points). All students will start with 85% of the possible process points (85 points); this point total will be adjusted positively and negatively based upon homework, class work and attendance using the system described below.

Minor assignments (e.g., class activities and homework) that contribute to the process of completing major assignments will be marked and commented upon; these marks will entail a large percentage of your process grade. Late or missing minor assignments that are no longer relevant will receive no credit. Late work will only be accepted if you consult with the instructor prior to the class period in which the work is due.

Each minor assignment will be given a score from -4 to +2.

(or 0) = You did the work satisfactorily and on time. It will need some revisions or rethinking before the final assignment

+1, +2 = You demonstrated various degrees of engagement with the ideas and you turned it in on time. If it is prewriting for a major assignment, the work will need little revision

–1, -2 = Your work demonstrates a misunderstanding of the assignment or minimal effort, shows that you did not do the assigned reading, or was not turned in on time. Significant revision will be needed if this is prewriting

- 4 = No submission

This style of grading allows the instructor to evaluate the process of your work–how each student's work develops throughout a project–instead of only grading each minor assignment as a separate entity. The major assignment grades are final; therefore consider the questions and comments that the instructors poses to you in your minor assignments.

Grade Scale

Your final grade (500 points) and assignments will be graded on the following point scale* :
  A =92-100 % A -= 90-91.9 % B+ = 87-89.9 %
  B = 82-86.9 % B- = 80-81.9 % C+ = 77-79.9 %
  C = 72-76.9 % C- = 70-71.9 % D+ = 67-69.9 %
  D = 62-66.9 % D -= 60-61.9 %  
  F = 0-59.9 %    

* = The instructor reserves the right to adjust this scale based on the students' performance throughout the semester. Any adjustments will 1) apply to the entire class and 2) never deny a student the grade that she/he earns based upon this posted scale.

attendance

Students are required to attend every class. If you miss a class, for whatever reason, you are responsible for making up any missed work.

You are not only required to to attend every class, but you are required to come to class prepared. If you do not come to class prepared, you will be receive an absence–whether you stay or not. Therefore, it is recommended that you pay attention to the calendar.

Students at off-campus sites will want to 1) sign the attendance sheet and 2) sit close-to and in site of the camera. These method will work to verify your attendance.

In this class, you will do a lot of work and discussion of ideas in the classroom. Therefore the attendance policies are:

  • you are allowed two absences, excused or unexcused. More than two absences will result in failing the course
    • on the first day that you return from an absence you are responsible for submitting any major assignments that you missed due to absence, yet you are encouraged to submit your work through email at the earliest possible convenience. To learn what work you have missed consult the instructor or the calendar.
  • being late to class will be marked as a tardy and noted as part of your process grade.
    • students who miss between fifteen and eighty minutes will receive a half-absence
    • students who miss more than eighty minutes will receive a full absence

As a general rule, a student missing a class assignment because of observance of a religious holiday shall have the opportunity to make up missed work. Students must notify the instructor of anticipated absences before the absence occurs. Likewise, students who represent ODU at any official extracurricular activity shall have the opportunity to make up missed assignments, but the student must provide official written and/or email notification to the instructor no less than one week prior to the missed class(es).


electronica

Electronica refers to technology-related issues.

E.mail Accounts
Having an email account is required; a lot of information for this class will be exchanged via email including some assignment submissions and class updates. You will want to establish a consistent email account that you will use throughout the entire semester.

Because the Blackbaord "Send Mail" function "talks to" your ODU account, it is recommended that you work with this account. At the very least, you will want to forward your ODU mail to the account you use most. To get an ODU account go to OCCS.

You are responsible for making sure that files and messages are successfully received by the instructor and your peers; other email providers cannot provide this security. Also you will want to be aware that some evaluated course work will be returned via email; if you are concerned about other parties reading these messages, please make alternate arrangements with the instructor.

E.mailing the Instructor
When emailing the instructor, you are asked to remeber the following...

  • If you are submitting homework, please use the Blackboard "Message" function. This helps the instructor to keep all of the work for this class electronically organized in one place. However, this account will mostly be checked only when work is due
  • If you need to "talk" to the instructor (e.g., ask for clarification, make a request), use the instructor's ODU email account (kdepew@odu.edu). The instructor checks this account several times a day. In most cases, if you submit work to this account, you will be asked to resubmit it to the Blackbard account

If you cannot access one account, you are encouraged to use the other account to contact the instructor.

E.mailing Protocol
When emailing the instructor or the class list make sure that you include a subject line that includes the nature of the email. A subject line, such as "assignment" is vague. Instead be specific and state whether it is a "assignment submission," "need assignment clarification," or "assignment problem."

Also use the priority setting rhetorically; in other words, make your email message stand out when you really need to draw the recipient's attention to your message. Do not use the priority setting on your standard assignment submissions.

LAN Accounts
LAN accounts will be necessary to use the computers in the computer labs throughout the semester. If you do not already have a LAN account, please register for one with OCCS.

Protecting Your Work
Backup your document files frequently. Also save all email transmissions for this course. Keep your files on your home machine, floppy disks, cds, and/ or flash drives. You can also email documents to yourself as a means of backing up your work. The excuse "that was my only copy" is not a valid one. Some tips for protecting your work–and yourself–are:

  • Save all English 427/527 work until the course is over
  • Maintain copies of drafts and work-in-progress
  • Create folders on your hard drive and in your INBOX (email) for this class.
  • Keep copies of your email messages related to the course as a record of your work. For all messages that you send to the instructor, you should either have the message sent to your "Sent" folder in your email account or cc: yourself the message so that you have a copy for verification

Electronic Ethics and Respect
Electronic media allows us some freedoms that print media does not allow. Consequently, it is also subject to abuse. Please be respectful of your peers throughout the semester by not displaying, viewing, or posting web pages, files, or emails that may make others uncomfortable. Violations of this respect can be considered harassment according to university policy and will be handled as such.


ethics&plagiarism

As per the University's Honor Code, you must do your own original work in English 427/527–and appropriately identify that portion of your work which is collaborative with others, or which is borrowed from others, or which is your own work from other contexts. Whenever you borrow graphics, quote passages, or use ideas from others, you are legally and/or ethically obliged to acknowledge that use, following appropriate conventions for documenting sources. In English 427/527, the most serious form of academic dishonesty is to recycle another individual's major project under your own name.

If you have doubts about whether or not you are using your own or others' writing ethically and legally, ask the instructor. Follow this primary principle: If in doubt, ask. Be up front and honest about what you are doing and about what you have contributed to an assignment.


documented.disability

If you have a documented disability, make sure you register with Disability Services 757. 683.4655. Once you do so, feel free to talk to me about any special accommodations that you may need to fulfill the requirements of this course.


course.evaluations

At the end of the semester, you will have an opportunity to evaluate the instructor and the course. This is very important for helping the instructor and the department access the course. Please take the time at the end of the semester to do these online evaluations.

last.updated 1.4.06