General Philosophy
This class will cover a variety of different modes of communication, but will focus for the most part on the type of writing you will engage in throughout your academic careers. We will give special consideration to issues of audience, as writing does not exist in a vacuum; its primary purpose is to communicate with others. In this classroom, you will be each others' audience. Therefore, most of our time in the classroom will be spent in groups. You are expected to be civil and courteous to your fellow students at all times, but also to give them detailed and constructive feedback on their work. I realize that many people consider writing an intensely personal activity and feel hesitant about sharing it, but I believe that group work is a vitally important part of the learning process. Please consider comments about your own work, whether they come from your fellow students or from me, with an open mind: they are not intended as personal criticism. (You are, of course, welcome to disagree; you already have your own writing instincts and style which are different from everybody else's.)
I hope that this class will be fun, but it will also be tough.
Whatever your major field may be, your grades in college will depend heavily
on your writing ability. I would be doing you a disservice if I did
not expect you to do first-rate work for this class. If you genuinely
feel that I have not graded you fairly, I am always available to talk about
your concerns.
Office Hours and Conferencing
My office is room XXX (phone # goes here). Walk-in office hours are from 2:30 to 4:30 on Mondays and Wednesdays; I will be available at other times by appointment. You will be expected to meet with me for two conferences during the semester, during the weeks before the papers for Units 1 and 3 are due. There will be a sign-up sheet on my office door for scheduling conferences. Please make sure I have a copy of the draft of your paper at least 24 hours before you meet with me.
Grading and Attendance
This class is divided into three units, Popular Culture, Public Issues, and Professional Communities. Each of these units will be worth 25% of your final grade, with class participation and occasional minor assignments accounting for the other 25%. Please see the individual unit pages for information about the point value of assignments within each unit.
All papers must be typed and handed in at the beginning of class on the due date. I will accept late papers; however, your grade will be lowered by one full letter grade for every calendar day the assignment is late. Similarly, you must deliver your speech on your assigned date; unless there are extraordinary circumstances, failure to do so will result in a grade of F.
I consider attendance a fundamental part of class participation. If you miss more than three classes (except in case of family emergency or documented medical problems) your participation grade will suffer. More than ten absences will result in a grade of F for the entire course.
Grading composition is, of course, a subjective process, but in general, an "A" paper is one that is coherent and original, with a strong, interesting thesis and supporting arguments. Each paragraph should relate to the thesis and examine it from a slightly different angle; the paper should neither be repetitive nor veer off into tangents. The strongest papers will take potential counterarguments into account and defend the thesis. A "B" paper will have most of these elements. Papers that earn C's or D's will have serious flaws either in argumentation or in general literacy. If a paper is extremely late, fails to fulfill the requirements for the assignment, lacks a clear argument, or is simply unreadable, it will receive an F.
I plan to be fairly strict when it comes to grading, because I believe that instructors serve their students best by expecting and demanding high-quality work. Grades are not personal judgments, nor should you regard the grades on your first few assignments as being set in stone. I am looking for improvement from all of you, and I will reward it.
Plagiarism
We will cover this topic more extensively in class, but in brief: All quotations or paraphrases and all ideas which are not your own must be documented. If you are uncertain about how to cite sources or whether your use of a source is legitimate, I will be happy to discuss your questions with you.
I expect that the bulk of your work will be original; that is, the thinking as well as the writing must be your own. Do not simply quote another person's argument without adding your own analysis and critique. This may not be plagiarism if you document your source properly, but it will certainly result in your receiving a poor grade for the assignment.
For further information, here is a link to the UNC Honor Code
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