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English
11.67
Course
Guidelines
numbers / course goals / materials / assignments / participation / rubric / deadlines / paper format / office / writing center / plagiarism & honor code
English
11.67: Rhetoric & Composition
thematic touchstone: Irish Culture & Identity
class location: Greenlaw #106, T/Th, 8-9:15 a.m.
instructor: Paul Marchbanks
e-mail: marchban@email.unc.edu
office: Greenlaw #405
office hours: 9:30-11:00 a.m.
home phone: 929-4926 (9 a.m. to 9 p.m.)
While we will touch on any number of writing concerns this semester, our primary objectives will be learning to adjust voice, tone, diction and content as we approach different kinds of audiences in different academic arenas. As concerns style, we will focus on concision, organization, and privileging active (over passive) voice.
Though we will write quite a bit about Irish culture and identity, Ireland is a secondary or tertiary concern relative to improving writing and style. Our primary goal will be learning a number of effective, convincing ways to communicate across a number of academic discourse communities. The Irish bit will merely provide an increasingly familiar landing area each time we bring our musings about writing out of the clouds and plant our ideas on linguistic terra firma.
Course Materials
· an "onyen" (go to https://onyen.unc.edu/cgi-bin/unc_id/services
if you do not)
· laptop w/ wireless card, Microsoft Office (Word, Powerpoint, etc.)
· The St. Martin's handbook (CD version and/or book)
· The Student Guide to English 10, 11, and 12
Daily Materials
· laptop computer w/ St. Martin's Handbook (text or CD); fully
charged and booted by the beginning of class
· drafts, notes, and sources for whatever assignment is in progress (printed
out copies, as well as copies submitted to BLACKBOARD, in case the system crashes
. . .)
· all papers, handouts, and other files saved in multiple places: hard
drive, floppy, BLACKBOARD, etc. (save everything until semester's end)
For each of three units, you will complete two feeders and one project. The smaller assignments will in some way feed into the larger project that follows, so that all three assignments inform and enrich one another. You will also receive a participation grade for each unit, which will count the same as a feeder.
6
feeders (40%)
3 participation grades (20%)
3 unit projects (40%)
Perhaps more than most courses you will take at UNC Chapel Hill, English 11 and 12 require and measure active participation in class. Each unit, your participation grade will be determined by the degree to which you:
English 11 is a workshop course, the effectiveness of which depends on the involvement of every student in a given group. Obviously, one's involvement requires one's presence. In addition to inevitably hurting your participation grade (see above), absences will injure your final grade. After the first two absences, every absence (regardless of the reason: illness, sporting event, etc.) will detract an increasing number of points from your overall participation grade (3 absences = -1, 4 absences = -3, 5 absences = -6, etc.). Absences on draft workshop days will detract an additional 3 points from your participation grade (regardless of the reason), or 1 point if, despite your absence, you both submit your draft to BLACKBOARD by 8 a.m. that same day and comment on your peer group members’ work by 6 p.m. In addition, every 2 tardies will detract one point from your participation grade. Keep in mind that, per department guidelines as pointed out in the Student Guide, seven or more absences during an English course automatically place a student in danger of failing that course.
All assignments (and participation) will be graded on a 6-point scale, with unit projects counting twice. Your final average will also lie somewhere between a 0 and 6.
6 =
A+ (rare, superior work)
5.5 = A (forceful, original, well-structured, employs a strong prose
style, error-free)
5 = B+ (convincing, well-structured, virtually error-free)
4.5 = B (structured and clear argument; only a couple stylistic
or grammatical errors)
4 = B- (structured, but unbalanced argument; a few distracting
errors)
3 = C (some structure; weaker argument; distracting number
of errors)
2 = D (completed assignment, but little apparent effort and/or
many errors)
1 = failing (incomplete work)
Obviously, you are statistically unlikely to earn a whole number for your average, so the grade averages you receive at term's end will be determined using the following ranges:
A =
5.4 - 6.0
A- = 5.1 - 5.39
B+ = 4.9 - 5.09
B = 4.2 - 4.89
B- = 4.0 - 4.19
C+ = 3.8 - 3.99
C = 3.25 - 3.79
C- = 3 - 3.24
D = 2 - 2.99
F = 0 - 1.99
Deadlines
All drafts and final assignments must be submitted to BLACKBOARD by 7 a.m. the day they are due. Assignments will not be accepted late. If you are unable to attend class the day a draft or final assignment is due, it still must be submitted to BLACKBOARD by 7 a.m. I strongly recommend finishing unit projects in advance of their due date. Computer or printing problems do not provide an apt excuse for late work; call 962-HELP immediately whenever you have computer difficulties.
Papers must follow the models in the St. Martin's Handbook, and must be typed, double-spaced, with a 12-point font, in Times New Roman, with four one-inch margins (including left and right margins-these are not the default margins in Microsoft Word). Keep all work saved in BLACKBOARD and on your computer until semester's end.
I hope to work closely with each of you throughout the semester to improve your work. Please contact me when you have questions. Use e-mail frequently--it's the easiest way to reach me. Also, feel free to drop by my office in Greenlaw 405. If you cannot see me during established office hours, we will schedule an appointment.
Experienced writers at the Writing Center offer free assistance with your assignments for any class. Please take advantage of this service. Doing so will improve the best writer's output. Call their office in the Phillips Annex (962-7710) to schedule an appointment well in advance of your intended visit, or go to their website www.unc.edu/depts/wcweb.
The goal of this course is, of course, to improve your writing with the help of others. Regularly approach those in your group, myself, and tutors at the Writing Center for suggestions on how to improve your writing. Remember, however, that all work you submit must be your own. Any paper containing borrowed but undocumented thoughts or words will receive a failing grade, and I am obligated to report all instances of plagiarism to the Honor Court. You are responsible both for knowing the guidelines for documentation and plagiarism as covered in the The Student Guide and for remembering these issues after we have discussed them in class. Let me know if you have any further questions concerning this important issue.
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Paul Marchbanks
marchban@email.unc.edu