1 Kennesaw State University-Department of Foreign Languages German 3200: Critical Reading and Applied Writing Fall 2009 Instructor: Dr. Susanne Kelley Section: 11:00-12:15 MW, Social Science 3032 Office: Pilcher 254 Office Hours: TTH 9:30-10:45 and by appointment Email: [email protected] Office Phone: 678-797-2383 (email is better and faster) Textbooks: Motyl-Mudretzkyj, et al. Anders gedacht. Text and Context in the German-Speaking World. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2005. Any standard College Dictionary English-German/German-English Catalog Description: German 3200 emphasizes skill development and refinement in the areas of critical reading and writing in German. Designed to give students extensive experience in reading and writing in German, the course focuses on the relationship between writing and reading, and on ways to improve one through the other. Prerequisite: German 2002 or equivalent. Course Goals: German 3200 introduces you to authentic texts of different types. The emphasis is on reading, discussing, analyzing and writing different text genres. You will continue to practice and polish the five language skills (speaking, listening, reading, writing, and culture) with focus on reading, writing, and culture. Course Expectations: Participation and Attendance: In class: Classroom activities are mainly concerned with the acquisition of active communication skills, which means that you will frequently prepare oral and written assignments in pairs and groups (speaking and writing only German!). Class will begin on time. Punctual attendance is mandatory and absolutely essential. It is very difficult to make up classroom work. Each class session, you will give yourself 0-10 participation points. You will receive the criteria and the grading sheet separately. If you don't come to class, you will get a 0. Your total will be calculated so that you get two absences for free. There is no way to make up or excuse non-participation beyond those two absences, because regardless of your reason for not coming to class, you are missing material, and you are not participating in discussion. Weekly Written Assignments, Quizzes, and Midterm: Assignments and tests cannot be made up, except in cases of documented family or medical emergencies. Please note that homework does not have to be mistake-free to earn top points. Students who are struggling with the language can still get perfect scores for their homework if they take it seriously. You will be expected to be able to respond to homework assignments orally as well. Be sure to check over returned homework. It is a good idea to correct the errors that have been marked. Written assignments will range in format (including online discussions and blogs, typed exercises, book exercises, etc.) and quizzes will be in the online, take-home, or in-class format. Essays/Aufsätze: Aufsätze are more formal writing assignments that will be graded on both content and grammatical accuracy. They will be typed and double spaced with the option of submitting them online. There will be three essays. Your grade will be based on two versions of each essay. The second version will include the suggested corrections marked on the first draft. When submitting the second draft, please include the first one too.2 Your revised essay will not be accepted without the first draft. The final grade on the essay will be the average of the original essay and the revision. You may only revise each composition once. Late Aufsätze will drop one grade step each calendar day (that includes Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays) that they are late. Final Project: You will read a book written in German (the book is your choice and can be anything excluding a textbook for this or another class) and review it orally and in writing, considering careful research and including a short bibliography. In class, you will give a presentation about your book (alternatively, you may prepare a PowerPoint presentation to be posted online) and hand in a written book review (3-4 pages) with the bibliography. You will be graded on how well you communicate orally or in writing, and show what you have learned. I do not expect grammatical perfection in your presentation, so please don’t bury your nose in a script! Culture Report/Kulturbericht: There is an unusually large number of cultural events planned for KSU and the Atlanta area this semester. You will attend at least one of them and report on it. Your report should include a summary and short analysis of the event along with your personal response to it. You should connect the experience to the topics you have covered in this and other classes. You may complete and submit this assignment at any time during the semester. Movies watched on your own at home or in the lab will not count. Any other movie event is subject to instructor’s approval. Evaluation: Essays 200 points 20% Weekly writing assignments 150 points 15% Quizzes 100 points 10% Final Project (Presentation 10%, Written Book Review 10%, Bibliography 5%) 250 points 25% Take-home Midterm 100 points 10% Culture Report 100 points 10% In-class Participation 100 points 10% Total 1000 points 100% Grading Scale: 100-90%=A; 89-80%=B; 79-70%=C; 69-60%=D; 59% and below=F Academic honesty statement: Every KSU student is responsible for upholding the provisions of the Student Code of Conduct, as published in the Undergraduate and Graduate Catalogs. Section ii of the Student Code of Conduct addresses the University’s policy on academic honesty, including provisions regarding plagiarism and cheating, unauthorized access to University materials, misrepresentation/falsification of university records or academic work, malicious removal, retention, or destruction of library materials, malicious/intentional misuse of computer facilities and/or services, and misuse of student identification cards. Incidents of alleged academic misconduct will be handled through the established procedures of the University Judiciary Program, which includes either an “informal” resolution by a faculty member, resulting in grade adjustment, or a formal hearing procedure, which may subject a student to the Code of Conduct’s minimum one semester suspension requirement. Academic honesty is