Syllabus

ENGLISH 110 RHETORIC AND RESEARCH
Fall 2016  Dr. Arden Jensen

Electronic Device Policy: Anyone using a cell-phone, electronic game, earphones, laptop, texting, etc. may be dismissed from class and counted absent. A zero will be recorded for the day, including for any assignments that are due on that day. There will be no make-up for any assignments missed.

TEXTS: Online readings and viewings as assigned by the instructor—see the Course Calendar; online The Pocket Cengage Handbook, available through the bookstore

 

UNIVERSITY MISSION STATEMENT:

 

Lee University is a Christian institution that offers liberal arts and professional education on both the baccalaureate and graduate levels through residential and distance programs. It seeks to provide education that integrates biblical truth as revealed in the Holy Scriptures with truth discovered through the study of arts and sciences and in the practice of various professions. A personal commitment to Jesus Christ as Savior is the controlling perspective from which the educational enterprise is carried out. The foundational purpose of all educational programs is to develop within the students knowledge, appreciation, understanding, ability and skills which will prepare them for responsible Christian living in a complex world.

CATALOG DESCRIPTION:

A course focusing on four major writing projects; enables students to review the creative process as it applies to composition, learn the research methodologies and procedures of their chosen discipline (including computer-generated research), internalize approaches to critical thinking, apply basic principles of public speaking, and perform literary analysis.

Prerequisites

ACT English score of 25 or higher, or an SAT recentered verbal score of 570 or higher, or completion of ENGL-105 or 106 with a grade of C or better.

 

Credit Hours: 3

 

1.PURPOSE

This course is intended to focus on development of advanced writing skills and basic oral communication skills as students review principles of rhetoric, practice techniques of research (including computer-related skills), improve their critical thinking skills and strategies, apply principles of public speaking, and analyze literature.

 

2.OBJECTIVES OF COURSE

  1. General Learning Objectives

This course seeks to

1.Encourage students to use writing and reading for inquiry, learning, thinking, and communicating

2.Help students to understand a writing assignment as a series of tasks, including finding, evaluating, analyzing, and synthesizing appropriate primary and secondary sources

3.Enhance students’ awareness of purpose and audience

4.Provide opportunities for students to respond appropriately in writing to different rhetorical situations, including adopting appropriate tone, voice, and level of formality

5.Teach the basic techniques of public speaking

6.Acquaint students with research methods

7.Familiarize students with online research and documentation of electronic sources

8.Introduce students to readings and techniques in at least one genre of literature

9.Present the techniques of critical thinking as applied to essay writing and research, including critical analysis of literature and evaluation of sources.

 

B.Specific Learning Objectives

As a result of the activities and study in this course, the student should be able to

1.Plan and write a full-length essay

2.Write essays appropriately adapted to the reading audience

3.Apply the techniques of extemporaneous public speaking in oral reports based on writing projects

4.Articulate the research process orally or in writing

5.Write documented papers exhibiting effective integration of source material with the writer’s own ideas and following documentation form accurately

6.Employ Internet materials with good judgment and accurate documentation

7.Demonstrate knowledge of the analytical techniques of at least one genre of literature

8.Produce a properly documented literary analysis paper

9.Demonstrate the ability to do critical thinking in the handling of research and in analysis of literature

10.Demonstrate the ability to evaluate sources

 

 

C.TOPICS TO BE COVERED

1.Rhetorical principles, processes, and structures

2.Basic techniques of public speaking

3.Research methods and techniques

4.Documentation forms and techniques

5.Revising and editing procedures, including spot attention to grammatical deficiencies in papers

6.Techniques of analysis of the chosen literary genre

7.Critical thinking skills

 

D.INSTRUCTIONAL PROCEDURES

1.Selected and individualized readings

2.Lecture

3.Writing assignments with focus on analytical and research techniques

4.Revision in response to peer or instructor critique

5.Library orientation activities/research

6.Critical thinking exercises

7.Oral presentations by students

 

E.RESPONSIBILITIES OF STUDENTS

1.Complete assigned textbook readings

2.Write three documented essays in different genres, including an argumentative essay

3.Present a PowerPoint related to one of the papers written in the class, preceded by attention to basic public speaking skills

4.Read and analyze selections from genres of literature

F.EVALUATION; components and relative weights of evaluation activities:

1.Essay I 20%

2.Essay II 20%

3.Researched Literary Analysis 30%

4.Reflections and other assignments 10%

5.PowerPoint presentation 10%

  1. Portfolio 10%

7.There is a one-letter-grade penalty for each day an assignment is late.

9.Attendance: Each student is allowed two days of sick/personal absences. Beyond two absences, unless special arrangements are made, the student will be penalized five points on his or her final grade average for each absence up to a total of ten points. Students who come to class unprepared for the day’s activity may be counted absent. Being tardy counts as 1/2 absence.

10.Class participation: A student’s failure to participate will result in a grade penalty for the student.

11.Grading scale: A=90-100 B+=88-89 B=83-87 B-=80-82 C+=78-79 C=73-77 C-=70-72 F=below 70

 

6.STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES:

Lee University is committed to the provision of reasonable accommodations for students with disabilities as defined in Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. Students who think they may qualify for these accommodations should notify their instructor immediately. Special services are provided through the Academic Support Program.

7.ACADEMIC INTEGRITY

As a Christian community of scholarship, we at Lee University are committed to the principles of truth and honesty in the academic endeavor. As faculty and students in this Christian community, we are called to present our academic work as an honest reflection of our abilities; we do not need to defraud members of the community by presenting others’ work as our own. Therefore, academic dishonesty is handled with serious consequences for two fundamental reasons: it is stealing – taking something that is not ours; it is also lying – pretending to be something it is not. In a Christian community, such pretense is not only unnecessary; it is also harmful to the individual and community as a whole. Cheating should have no place at a campus where Christ is King because God desires us to be truthful with each other concerning our academic abilities. Only with a truthful presentation of our knowledge can there be an honest evaluation of our abilities. To such integrity, we as a Christian academic community are called.