English 1101 Sample Syllabus 4 The Rhetoric of Social Change Semester Year Georgia State University Instructor Time Contact Information Office Phone Office Hours Room number Email Course Description This course is designed to increase the student s ability to construct written prose of various kinds It focuses on methods of organization analysis research skills and the production of short argumentative and expository essays readings consider issues of contemporary social and cultural concern A passing grade is C By the end of this course students will be able to engage in writing as a process including various invention heuristics brainstorming for example gathering evidence considering audience drafting revising editing and proofreading engage in the collaborative social aspects of writing and use writing as a tool for learning use language to explore and analyze contemporary multicultural global and international questions demonstrate how to use writing aids such as handbooks dictionaries online aids and tutors gather summarize synthesize and explain information from various sources use grammatical stylistic and mechanical formats and conventions appropriate for a variety of audiences critique their own and others work in written and oral formats produce coherent organized readable prose for a variety of rhetorical situations reflect on what contributed to their writing process and evaluate their own work This section will increase your ability to construct written prose for academic rhetorical situations Part of the FLC Understanding Social Change it focuses on social change in Atlanta As such we ll focus on how language effects personal social cultural and political change We will assume that all writing is motivated or rhetorical it grows out of the writer s desire to change a particular social situation Kenneth Burke a twentieth century rhetorician defines rhetoric as the use of language as a symbolic means of inducing cooperation in beings that by nature respond to symbols Rhetoric 43 This class applies Burke s idea by studying how language induces us to various attitudes and actions Thus you will become sensitive to how language affects us in all arenas academic economic cultural social and interpersonal Subsequently you will learn to produce writing that engages themes of social change and contributes to current discussions of social issues Required Texts and Materials Glenn Cheryl et al Writer s Harbrace Handbook 2nd ed Boston MA Harcourt College Publishers 2004 Sugarman Tammy and Lyn e Lewis Gaillet Pullen Guide and Supplement 2003 ed Packaged with Harbrace Handbook Miller Robert Keith Motives for Writing 4th ed Boston McGraw Hill 2003 A ring binder notebook photocopying costs for printing multiple copies of drafts of papers Recommended Texts a college dictionary and thesaurus Course Work 1 Reading Responses Quizzes and Short Writing Assignments 20 These include in class and out of class writing assignments that practice skills we discuss in class respond to assigned readings and serve as invention strategies for papers Two of these will include a reflection essay about our visit to the Martin Luther King Center and a report on your poverty lunch project from GSU 1010 2 Classwork Peer Review Drafts 10 These include exercises oral presentations group collaboration drafts of papers and your written and oral feedback of others papers 3 Papers 60 These include out of class essays that follow MLA format Topics and specific assignments will be provided in class Paper 1 3 5 pages long Due Sept 18 10 An essay that reflects on our readings and an experience you ve had with language and social change Paper 2 3 5 pages long Due Oct 16 15 An essay that reports information about the civil rights movement in Atlanta Paper 3 3 5 pages long Due Dec 4 15 An essay that interprets information related to civil rights Paper 4 3 5 pages long Due Dec 9 20 An essay that evaluates Nickel and Dimed from your sociology class 4 A final in class essay that summarizes what you learned this semester 10 I use the following grading scale 90 100 A 80 89 B 70 79 C 60 69 D below 60 F Course Policies 1 Late work Late work is bad for both of us it reinforces poor time management strategies and makes it impossible for me to give sustained careful feedback of your work Furthermore if you turn in work late I may not be able to return it in time for my feedback to help you on the next assignment In addition much of the class activities we do simply cannot be made up since they focus on your active engagement with others ideas However you may turn in work one class period late for a letter grade deduction if you have an emergency Otherwise see a classmate and come to the next class prepared to submit the work that is due that day 2 Submitting papers This course emphasizes the development of your ideas in various stages of the writing process We will have peer review for each of the major writing assignments paperclip a copy of these rough drafts to your final papers when you submit them for a grade Final papers drafts for peer review and all out of class writing should be typed on a word processor double spaced with standard margins and font and follow MLA guidelines Computers are available in the Writing Center 976 GCB the Learning Lab in 120 Kell Hall and the Computer Lab in 106 Library South Papers are due at the beginning of class on the date due I do not accept emailed or faxed papers for final submission Always keep a copy of any paper you submit so you can re submit if a paper is lost hasn t happened in my fifteen years teaching but it s a good habit to develop for future classes All essays must be completed to pass the course 3 Academic Misconduct The Department of English expects its students to adhere to the university s code of student conduct especially as it pertains to academic conduct For the university s policies on academic misconduct see in the student catalog Academic Honesty pp 54 55 or http www gsu edu wwwreg LK 4 html Academic Honesty 4 Grading Grades reflect my best and fairest judgment of the overall quality of your paper taking into account how well it fulfills the assignment and its purpose how focused and organized it is how effectively it uses evidence how effectively it communicates with its audience to what extent it engages its reader s imagination and understanding how easily it can be read and comprehended reading ease is affected by factors such as unity and coherence