Course Objectives/Learning Outcomes:

Goal	Learning Outcomes
1. Develop awareness of how communities shape reading, writing, and research.	Analyze and evaluate how communities and purposes influence writer’s rhetorical choices. Understand genre conventions and examine how reading and writing are situational and contextual. Develop critical reading skills and internalize and apply a variety of effective reading, writing and study strategies.
2.Explore a writer’s identity in relation to the politics of language.	Contribute to discussions about how language and culture influence reading and writing. Examine and analyze how language influences the writer’s identity.
3.Goal #3: Engage in reflective and metacognitive processes.	Practice self-assessment and revision in order to improve reading, writing, and research processes. Monitor and adjust processes of reading and writing. Provide, receive, and incorporate peer feedback.
4. Goal #4: Compose rhetorically effective texts, informally and formally, in a variety of mediums or genres.	Demonstrate flexible strategies for generating, drafting, revising, and editing. Write organized texts with controlling ideas that respond to multiple rhetorical situations. Summarize, analyze, evaluate, integrate, and cite sources. Apply appropriate writing conventions. Display evidence of editing, control of grammar, and sentence variety.

Attendance Policy: There are 48 days we are scheduled to meet. Please be present for all of them. Any absence will greatly affect your ability to meet the requirements of the course. Absences and/or early departures in excess of 5 class periods may result in my dropping you from the course. Attendance will be noted and taken into consideration concerning borderline grades when the final grade is given. Remember: You're paying for the time whether you come or not.

Electronic Submissions: You may choose to submit any and or all of your work via electronic submissions. You may submit:

Workshop Days: All students must have rough drafts available on the designated due dates or sacrifice 10% of the total grade for that paper.

Revision Policy: One of the four out-of-class papers may be turned in for revision. This paper must be below a 90% to be eligible for revision.

Due Dates: All assignments are due on the dates given (unless otherwise notified).

Late assignments: Late assignments will be assessed a 10% penalty per late class session.

{Electronic submissions will be considered late if they are received after the end of the day. Some leeway may be given for first-time offenders and for technical problems, but the discretion will be mine. [Note: most students choose to e-mail assignments the night before they are due.]}

New Late assignments policy: You will have one week after the due date to turn in late work. After this point, the late work will not be accepted. Exceptions to this rule will be granted only if you have received prior OK from me due to some extenuating circumstance which would not let you complete the work.

Plagiarism: Plagiarism is pretending that someone else's ideas or writing is your own. Intentional failure to cite source material will be dealt with quickly and severely. The usual result for plagiarizing will be a grade of 0 on the assignment with no make up possible. If this should occur on one of the major papers in class, this is virtually equivalent to a failing grade in the class.

A work requires a compliance with the guidelines and the stated purpose of the assignment. Content is clear and balanced. There are no tangled sentences. A varied length of sentences is present and correct sentence structure is used. The pattern of development is clear and apparent and demonstrates forethought regarding the desired effect upon the reader. The styleand tone are appropriate to the topic and audience. There may be an occasional mistake in mechanics. The topic of the paper should aim to be fresh and original and should attempt to stretch the academic horizons of the writer.

B work requires a compliance with the guidelines and the stated purpose of the assignment. Content is generally clear and balanced, but there may be some instances in which there are some confusing or awkward sentences, though these do not detract from the overall effect of the paper. A somewhat limited variety of sentences may exist, but the sentence structure is generally correct. The pattern of development is apparent, but may deviate at times. The style and tone of the paper are generally appropriate to the topic and audience. There are relatively few mistakes in mechanics. The topic may not demonstrate any original thinking or particularly or novel approach to the assignment.

C work requires a fair amount of compliance with the guidelines and the stated purpose of the assignment, but may miss the stated objectives to some degree. Content is generally clear and balanced, but there may be several points where the sentence structure becomes jumbled and confused and this interferes with the flow of the paper. A limited variety of sentences is readily apparent. The pattern of development may be vague and unclear, but there is more than a semblance of formal constraint apparent. The style and tone may be somewhat varied and inappropriate for both the topic (misnomers) and the perceived audience. The topic does not demonstrate any novel approach to the given assignment. There are a distracting number of mistakes in mechanics.

D work demonstrates a minimal amount of compliance with the guidelines and the stated purpose of the assignment. Content is unclear and unbalanced and there may be a significant amount of jumbled and confused sentences. The pattern of development is unapparent and it demonstrates a lack of forethought on the part of the writer. The style and tone of the paper are wildly varied and inappropriate for both the topic and the perceived audience. The topic does not demonstrate any novel approach to the given assignment. There are an overwhelming number of mistakes in mechanics. In general, the paper demonstrates a hurried and haphazard approach devoid of any forethought (i.e. the paper that is written the night before).

F work demonstrates a minimal amount of compliance with the guidelines and the stated purpose of the assignment. Any work deemed to be completely unsatisfactory with regard to content, pattern of development, style, tone, topic, or mechanics. A paper in this category demonstrates an absolute minimum of effort.

Note: This schedule reflects work that will be discussed in class on the date given. Students should be prepared to discuss the items listed for that day.

	87%-89% B+	77%-79% C+	67%-69% D+	Below 60% F
92%-100% A	83%-86% B	74%-76% C	63%-66% D
90%-91% A-	80%-83% B-	70%-73% C-	60%-62% D-

Persuasive/Argumentative Paper [Social Media]	100
Comparison/Contrast Paper [Interpreter of Maladies]	100
Characterization Paper [Identity]	100
Thesis/Outline [Research Paper]	20
Subject A-like "in-class" Essay #1	50
Homework assignments/Quizzes	165
Research paper	200
Contingencies	+/-

Mon. January 23	Introductions and Syllabus
Wed. January 25	Grammar Review Day
Fri. January 27	Begin Watching "The Great Hack"

Mon. January 30	Finish Watching "The Great Hack"
Wed. February 1	Social Media Regulation questions #1 due; discussion of guidelines for Social Security Privatization paper.
Fri. February 3	Social Media Regulation questions #2 due; discussion of guidelines for Social Security Privatization paper.

Mon. February 6	Social Media Regulation questions #3 due; discussion of guidelines for Social Media Regulation paper.
Wed. February 8	Continued discussion of guidelines for Social Media Regulation paper.
Fri. February 10	Grammar Review Day

Mon. February 13	Rough drafts of Social Media Regulation paper due. Discussion of student papers.
Wed. February 15	Peer Review and discussion of rough drafts. Discussion of student papers on web site (continued).
Fri. February 17	Grammar Review Day

Mon. February 27	Study Questions for Interpreter of Maladies # 3 due
Wed. March 1	Study Questions for Interpreter of Maladies # 3 due cont'd
Fri. March 3	Grammar Review Day

Mon. March 6	Rough Drafts for Interpreter of Maladiespaper due. Discussion of student papers on web site.
Wed. March 8	Rough Drafts for Interpreter of Maladiespaper due. Discussion of student papers on web site.
Fri. March 10	Grammar Review Day

Mon. March 20	SPRING BREAK
Wed. March 22	SPRING BREAK
Fri. March 24	SPRING BREAK

Mon. April 17	Peer revision and discussion of rough drafts for research paper
Wed. April 19	Peer revision and discussion of rough draftsfor research paper
Fri. April 21	Final draft of the research paper due

Mon. April 24	Identity study questions #1 due
Wed. April 26	Identity study questions #2 due
Fri. April 28	Identity study questions #3 due

Mon. May 15	Finals Week Starts May 15