ENG-W 131 Elementary Composition

Spring 2012
Section: 3476
Instructor: Rebecca Gerdes
Time: TR 1-2:15
Room: T DW 1170
R DW 1235
Email: rgerdes@iusb.edu*

Phone: cell 574-261-5696

Office: DW 3145
Office Hours: MW 9-11 and by appointment

* I will reply to ALL emails by 8 pm each evening. If I do not reply to an email by then, you can
assume I did NOT receive it and it is YOUR responsibility to get in contact with me another way, I
recommend by calling my cell phone.
Introduction:
English W131 is designed as a course to further your skills in critical thinking, close reading,
intensive research, and academic, thoughtful writing. This course is also designed to help you find your
own voice within the context of other writers, thinkers, teachers, and studentsit is meant to guide you
into joining the wide and varied discussion of ideas and arguments that has been going on for centuries,
and to help you become a participant in the current debates over several contemporary issues. Reading
closely is an essential part of this course; come to class prepared for discussion, with notes in the margins
and at least two questions or comments ready to present to the class.
Writing, too, is an essential part of the course. The most important thing to remember is that
writing is a process. No one writes a perfect paper the first time around. Thus, this course will focus on
revision, discussion, workshop, and further revision. Again, coming to class fully prepared, with
complete drafts, is very important in developing your own writing.
If you have concerns, questions, other ideas on which youd like feedback, dire needs, or sudden
and unexpected joy, then please email me or set up an appointment with me to discuss it. Ill be glad to
help.

Required Texts:
1. Articles available under resources in oncourse
2. Custom Published book, specifically for our class. ISBN: 9780390434401
3. Understanding the Goals for First Year Writing, editor Rebecca Brittenham
Course Goals:
1. Critical Thinking Skills: active involvement with and evaluation of ideas encountered in texts and
in discussion; using examples and ideas from the readings in order to shape an argument; the
ability to draw connections between different readings and make judgments about the
significance of ones findings.
2. Organizational Skills: the ability to write an essay in which ones line of thought progresses both
logically and coherently from introduction through conclusion; the ability to write an essay with a
more sophisticated organization pattern that emerges as you begin to see relationships between
the elements you have chosen to write about.
3. Fluency and Amplitude: the ability to write an essay of four to five pages in length that explores
its ideas and examples clearly and completely.

4. Copy Reading Skills: the ability to spot and fix most errors, with special emphasis on individual
patterns of error and on syntactical problems which make it difficult for a reader to understand the
writers meaning.
5. Revision Skills: the ability to reconsider the material in light of new reading or allowing a new
perspective to influence the thinking and writing based on feedback from both peers and the
teacher; the ability to respond to others writing as a way of internalizing the process of revision.
Grades:
Your course grade will be based on the following:
Attendance/Participation: 50 pts.
Essay One: 50 pts.
Essay Two: 100 pts.
Research Proposal: 50 pts.
Research Paper: 150 pts.
Assorted Assignments: approx. 50 pts.
Your grade will be determined by the percentage of points earned out of these points.
Please note: Students who receive a grade of C- or lower will be required to take W131 again. You
must receive a C or higher on at least one of your essays to pass the class.
The grading scale is as follows:
98-100 = A+ 78-79 = C+
93-97 = A
73-77 = C
90-92 = A70-72 = C88-89 = B+
68-69 = D+
83-87 = B
60-67 = D
80-82 = BBelow 60 = F

Policies and Procedures:

Late and Incomplete Work:
-Assignments are due at the beginning of class on the day they are listed as due on the
syllabus. I will not accept late work without previous arrangement. Students who miss class
on the day an assignment is due must still have their assignment turned in before class starts,
via dropping it off or email. 20% will be deducted from any late work (unless previous
arrangements have been made).
-Assignments that are incomplete (not meeting minimum length requirements) are
unacceptable. Four pages means four FULL PAGES. I will NOT accept incomplete
assignments. If you hand in an incomplete assignment, I will return it to you and you
must turn it in late, which will result in a 20% deduction.
Attendance:
- I expect you to be here, on time, and prepared to contribute to class discussion in a
meaningful way. You are allowed six absences. After your third absence, absences will
negatively affect your grade. After your sixth absence you automatically fail the class.
- I do NOT excuse absences. Whether you are at home eating Taco Bell and playing video
games or you are unconscious in a coma, an absence is an absence. Please plan accordingly.

- Tardiness is disruptive and unacceptable. Three tardies of ten minutes or more will count as
one absence.

IU South Bend Attendance and Course Commitment Policy

- This course has been approved to enforce the IU South Bend Attendance and
Course Commitment Policy and the full text of this policy is available at
http://registrar.iusb.edu/attendance.
- As a student in this course, you are expected to attend scheduled class meetings and
actively participate in all class activities. Students who miss the first week of the
semester or who do not attend 50% of the scheduled class meetings before the end
of the fourth week of the semester may be subject to administrative withdrawal.
Students who are administratively withdrawn from this class after the fourth week
will not be eligible for a tuition refund. Administrative withdrawals may have an
impact on the students financial aid awards and visa status.
Cell Phones:
- Turn them off.
- If I see a student texting during class, I will require all students to leave their cell phones on
my desk while in class.
Class Participation and Respect:
- We will be discussing some sensitive issues in this class and I expect us all to behave like
adults. The use of abusive or hateful language, racial or sexual slurs will not be tolerated in
this class.
- There are numerous ways to participate in class. I pay attention to contribution during large
and small group discussions, engagement with discussed topics in writing assignments, and
whether or not a student comes to class prepared.
Religious Observances:
- If any student will require academic accommodations for a religious observance, please
provide me with a written request to consider a reasonable modification for that observance
by the end of the second week of the course. Contact me after class, during my office hours,
or by individual appointment to discuss the issue. If after discussion we reach no consensus,
either party or both should seek the advice of the Department Chair or the Dean, and if no
consensus is reached, then the advice of the Vice Chancellor of Academic Affairs (VCAA).
Either the instructor or the student may appeal the VCAAs decision to the Office of
Affirmative Action within ten business days of the determination.
Plagiarism
- Please refer to the Department of English Statement on Plagiarism at
http://www.iusb.edu/~sbeng/fyw.shtml for the specific policies governing this course. It is

the responsibility of the student to know of the prohibited actions such as cheating,
fabrication, plagiarism, academic, and personal misconduct, and thus, to avoid them.
All students are held to the standards outlined in the code. Please reference the entire
code for a complete listing (www.dsa.indiana.edu/Code/). Any violation may result in
serious academic penalty, ranging from receiving a warning, to failing the
assignment, to failing the course, to expulsion from the University.
Do not do it. I will catch you, and it is not a fun process for anyone to go through, myself
included.

Equal Access:

If you have a disability and need assistance, special arrangements can be made to
accommodate most needs. Contact the Director of Disabled Student Services
(Administration Building, room 149, telephone number 520-4832), as soon as
possible to work out the details. Once the Director has provided you with a letter
attesting to your needs for modification, bring the letter to me. For more information,
please visit the web site for Office of Disabled Student Services
(www.iusb.edu/~sbdss/services.shtml)