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*COMPOSITION 2 50 (SECTIONS 3 AND 4): ACADEMIC INQUIRY AND WRITING FALL 2014

*This syllabus is printed in three sections. Part I contains this professor’s contact information, office hours, COMP 250 course description, and an assignment based on the learning outcomes for COMP 250 as established by CCHE and FLC. Part II includes remaining particulars such required texts, supplies, grading scale, late policy, attendance requirements, classroom decorum, disability services, FERPA, and much more. Part III is the anticipated schedule for this term.

Dr. William Lee Mangrum / Visiting Instructor: The Writing ProgramNoble Hall 234 / Fort Lewis College / 1000 Rim Drive / Durango, CO 81301

Office: 970-247-6764 / Cell: 760-445-6441 / [email protected]

Office Hours: Mondays and Wednesdays @ 12:45 until 1:45 / Tuesdays @ 11:00 until 5:00To make appointments, please go to https://williamleemangrum.acuityscheduling.com/schedule.php

Welcome to Composition 250: Academic Inquiry and Writing. The first thing you need to know about this course is this: I enjoy teaching this course! This is a good course, an important course, and a difficult course.

I’ve prepared our syllabus to aid our thinking together on “inquiry and writing.” Thus, this syllabus is important both for the information it conveys to students about this course and as an example of a text to be studied, a communication artifact embodying a particular rhetorical strategy. We’ll study many strategies of rhetorical inquiry this semester, focusing on arguments and argumentation. We begin our “arguing together” by analyzing this syllabus as well as the FLC and the State of Colorado Learning Outcomes for COMP 200 Level Courses.

Here is the catalogue description for this offering.

Comp 250: Academic Inquiry and Writing (4 credits). This course guides students through the process of proposing, conducting, and presenting an independent academic research project. Prerequisite: Successful completion of any CO-1 course with a C- or higher or FLC Writing Placement Score placing student into CO-2.

Again, this syllabus is for Composition 250: Academic Inquiry and Writing.

Section 3 / CRN 20353 / 8:15 until 9:25 / Monday, Wednesday, Friday / Reed Library 18 Section 4 / CRN 20372 / 9:35 until 10:45 / Monday, Wednesday, Friday / CSWS 212

I prefer that you call me “Bill” inside the classroom, in our private conversations elsewhere, and even in public places. I will quickly learn and use your first name. Likewise, I expect you to learn and use the first names of your peers in all our discussions (but not in academic papers). As mentioned in my letter to you prior to the start of school, the respectful use of first names promotes healthy personal connections. Strong personal connections among peers foster ease-of-learning in the academy and the ethical practices of critical thinking beyond these walls. We learn better when we know each other.

This course fulfills the Composition II requirement at Fort Lewis College. In order to move forward from here into a Composition III course, you must maintain a C- or better in this class. Earning a “C” is difficult. I do not say “difficult” to scare you. Fear is not motivation for much of anything in this world. I do say that earning a “C” is difficult so that you are fully aware of this course’s intellectual demands and academic opportunities.

After a brief review of MLA and class introductions, we’ll begin with a close reading (analysis) of the learning outcomes for COMP 250. In what follows, the COMP 250 learning outcomes—copied from the Fort

Dr. William Lee Mangrum / Composition 250: Academic Inquiry and Writing/ FLC / FALL 20141

Lewis College Writing Program website—are to the left. I have added a center column and a column on the far right. One of your early assignments is to compare these learning outcomes with the primary texts for this course: Good Reasons with Contemporary Arguments (5th edition). (Please note: this book, by Lester Faigley and Jack Selzer, is required of all students. It is available in the FLC Bookstore. I do not permit digital copies in class.)

Again, this is a course in “academic inquiry.” Academic inquiry is not something we’ll do “later.” Rather, we begin with understanding the goals and strategies of this course. This is not busy work. Rather, by this assignment I’m assessing your ability to locate the material listed as an outcome within the required text. This close reading and comparative analysis is due the first day of the third week of the term. If you need assistance, please see a member of your assigned learning community.

Each department of Fort Lewis College maintains and assesses learning outcomes for its catalogue offerings. Below are the Writing Program’s 200-Level Composition Course Learning Outcomes (left column). These are to be compared, by each COMP 250 student, to the table of contents, chapter summaries, glossary, and index from Good Reasons with Contemporary Arguments (5th edition), by Lester Faigley and Jack Selzer. Use the center column to note corresponding chapter titles, headings, and pages. Note your critical comments and questions in the right column.

The FLC COMP 250

Learning

Outcomes

Note corresponding matter from Good

Reasons with Contemporary Arguments

(5th ed).

Record, here, your critical remarks, questions, and concerns which you will

later address in class.

Rhetorical knowledge

Establish main and secondary

claims, evidence, and

consideration of multiple

viewpoints

Understand how voice, tone,

format, and structure affect

content

Read and write texts in several

genres, for specific discourse

communities (may include

professional or disciplinary)


Develop awareness of

authorial bias in readings

Experience in the writing and

research process

Develop invention, revision,

editing, and proofreading

strategies through multiple

drafts to complete an in-

depth project

Use a variety of

technologies to develop

information literacy skills,

utilizing campus resources

as needed

Conduct original research

by selecting a specific topic

and using primary and

secondary sources to

understand and explicate it

Understand and practice

ethical research

methodologies

Critical thinking and communication

strategies


Incorporate research

methods that utilize multiple

perspectives

Develop presentation skills

that incorporate multimodal

genres

Create a deliberative

argument that seeks to move

audience to action or

address a defined problem

or gap in the scholarship

Recognize and

communicate to a variety of

audiences within specific

disciplines, discourses, or

professions

Awareness of writing conventions

Use appropriate format for

specific writing task,

including visual design

Apply genre conventions

such as structure, tone,

voice, and mechanics

Use disciplinary vocabulary,


format, and documentation

Control features such as

syntax, grammar,

punctuation, and spelling

Now that you have worked through the course outcomes, comparing these to the critical resources available to you in the required text, Good Reasons with Contemporary Arguments, you are ready for the next step. Please study the chart below. On the left are the same COMP 250 Course Outcomes. In the middle column these course outcomes are correlated with various assignments you will encounter in this course—exercises, readings, library work, blogging, papers, in-class writes. The space at the far right is provided for you to note actual assignments as they are given in class, linking what we claim to be doing with what we actually do.

FLC Comp 250 Course OutcomesRhetorical knowledge AssignmentEstablish main and secondary claims, evidence, and consider multiple viewpoints

All homework, in-class exercises, essays, discussions, and blogs

Understand how voice, tone, format, and structure affect content


Read and write texts in several genres, for specific discourse communities (may include professional or disciplinary)

Researched Argument, CSW Presentation

Develop awareness of authorial bias in readings

Annotated Bibliography

Experience in the writing and research process

Assignment

Develop invention, revision, editing, and proofreading strategies through multiple drafts to complete an in-depth project


Use a variety of technologies to develop information literacy skills, utilizing campus resources as needed

Library Instruction

Conduct original research by selecting a specific topic and using primary and secondary sources to understand and explicate it

Researched Argument based in collaborative blogging and discussions of Authoring Your Life

Understand and practice ethical research methodologies

Annotated Bibliography


Critical thinking and communication strategies

Assignment

Incorporate research methods that utilize multiple perspectives


Develop presentation skills that incorporate multimodal genres

CSW Presentation, blogging, classroom presentations

Create a deliberative argument that seeks to move audience to action or address a defined problem or gap in the scholarship


Recognize and communicate to a variety of audiences within specific disciplines, discourses, or professions


Awareness of writing conventions AssignmentUse appropriate format for specific writing task, including visual design


Apply genre conventions such as structure, tone, voice, and mechanics


Use disciplinary vocabulary, format, and documentation


Control features such as syntax, grammar, punctuation, and spelling


Thought we were done, did you? We’re not! Not only must we—students and professors—attend to the FLC outcomes for this course, we must also be sure to link our work in COMP 250 with the requirements sent down to us from the Higher Learning Commission for the State of Colorado. So, now we turn our attention learning goals established state for students in a COMP 2 course. I’ve provided space at the bottom of this page for your critical markings, questions, and comments. Again, read closely, read critically, annotate.

State-Level goals for Intermediate Writing (CO-2) courses:Deepen Rhetorical Knowledge

Focus on rhetorical situation, audience, and purpose Use voice, tone, format and structure appropriately, deepening understanding of relationships

between form and content in writing Write and read texts written in several genres, for specified discourse communities. These

communities may include professional and disciplinary discourse communitiesDeepen Experience in Writing Processes

Use multiple drafts Develop strategies for generating ideas, revising, editing, and proofreading for extensive, in-depth

and/or collaborative projects Learn to critique own and other’s work, including the work of professional writers and/or scholars


Use a variety of technologies (writing and research tools) Learn to evaluate sources for accuracy, relevance, credibility, reliability, and bias

Deepen Understanding of Writing Conventions Select appropriate format for different writing tasks Apply genre conventions ranging from structure and paragraphing to tone and mechanics to more

extensive projects Control features such as syntax, grammar, punctuation, and spelling in more extensive and/or in-

depth writing projectsDevelop Effective Communication Strategies, including

Ability to compose a message for a specific audience and purpose Ability to communicate to a variety of audiences or ability to communicate to an audience within a

specific profession or discipline Ability to adapt content and style to respond to the needs of different audiences and different

rhetorical situations or ability to adapt content and style within a profession or discipline.

Your thoughts:


Let me emphasis this point again: Getting from COMP I to COMP II is not a given. COMP I is not an easy course of study. Outside of class (including weekends!) we must each read and re-read various materials in preparation for rigorous engagement in class. After closely reading and annotating assigned texts on our own, we will participate in scholarly conversations with others in class—raising critical issues, voicing unaddressed concerns, and rhetorically analyzing various readings. We will learn the arts of research, develop an appreciation for writing conventions, and practice shaping persuasive arguments.

Critical reading, academic writing, information organization, rhetorical analysis—these are difficult skills to master. Once learned, however, these literacy skills will open doors for you. Indeed, the more practiced you become in deploying the skills learned in Composition 150: Rhetoric and Research the more likely you are to finish college in four years. No matter the path you took to Fort Lewis College, gaining admittance is behind you. You are here and getting here took work. Celebrate but don’t rest. Now before you is the more difficult and demanding task: to finish your course of study, completing college in four years.

So, let’s get at it! You have an important document in front of you. Your first assignment is to read this text carefully, closely. Take out your pen and set to marking in the margins of this syllabus as you read.

Formulate interesting questions as you read; write your questions in the margins. Make a list of words you don’t know and look them up in your dictionary. Begin compiling notes as to what this specific text tells you about its author. Describe whom you believe to be the author’s intended audience. Comment on the author’s word choice, voice, tone, and sentence structure. Is this document primarily about the past, the present, or the future? Does it matter? Is there a clear logical progression in this text? Or, is this piece jumbled and emotional? What issues constrained the author as they conceived, drafted, and edited this document? What, if anything, is expected of you—the reader—as you now peruse this syllabus? Note phrases which trouble and perplex as you read, as well note those which delight you. Do you sense your mind changing as you read this syllabus? If so, why and how? If not, why not?

After you have read and re-read, come to class prepared to tear apart, critique, and unpack the meaning of this text. If there is something herein that you do not understand, give voice to your question in class. If you discern a gap—something missing—in this syllabus, this too should be annotated in the margins and raised by you for discussion in our classroom conversations. Bottom line: Learning to read academically begins with learning to read critically—with rhetorical appreciation for author, audience, context, and message—every syllabus you receive from your professors at the outset of each course. So, start now.

A: The Gritty, Nasty Particulars Necessary for Surviving, Enjoying, and Growing thru Composition 250: Academic Inquiry and Writing

1) REGISTRATION SPECIFICS: You alone are responsible for knowing the course information and your schedule. In the space below, please make note of the relevant information for this course.

o Catalogue Number:o CRN:o Section Number:o Room Assignment:o Days / Time:o Final Exam Day and Time:


2) COMMUNICATION: At the outset of this syllabus, at the top of page one, you are given several means for contacting me. My office location is noted, my cell number and my office phone number are also listed. You have my email address and you have the URL for my online scheduling service which will guide you in making an appointment with me. So, you know how to reach me. No excuses!

For my part, I will only use your official Fort Lewis College email address to reach you. By using your Fort Lewis College email address we will keep our communication (safely) within our college system. So, please check your email daily. Also, it is your responsibility to learn the school’s course management system, Moodle. Learn to use it and check it frequently—for this and other classes.

3) REQUIRED AND RECOMMENDED BOOKS: The required books are listed below. These are available in the FLC Bookstore. Please bring your books to class. If you do not have your books (and materials) with you in class, you will not be permitted to participate. This will inhibit your academic progress, influencing your final grade. As computers are not allowed in class, digital versions of these books are not permitted. You must have hard copies of these texts in order to participate in this course.

REQUIRED BOOKS

Keith, William M. and Christian O. Lundberg. The Essential Guide to Rhetoric. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2008. (ISBN: 978-0-312-47239-9)

Lunsford, Andrea, et al. Everyone’s An Author with Readings. New York: W.W. Norton and Company, 2013. (ISBN: 978-0-393-91201-2)

Mayeroff, Milton. On Caring. New York: HarperCollins, 1971. (ISBN: 978-0-060-92024-1)

COMMON READING EXPERIENCE (CRE): Active participation in the Campus-wide Common Reading Experience is also required for students enrolled in Composition 150. Thus, you must have a copy of Kristen Iversen’s Full Body Burden: Growing Up in the Nuclear Shadow of Rocky Flats (New York: Crown Publishers, 2012. ISBN: 978-0-307-95563-0). If you are a new student and did not receive a free copy at orientation, please see me. Others must purchase a copy from the bookstore.

RECOMMENDED BOOKS

Graff, Gerald and Cathy Birkenstein. They Say / I Say: The Moves That Matter in Academic Writing. 2nd ed. New York: W. W. Norton, 2010.

Lunsford, Andrea A. Easy Writer: A Pocket Reference. 4th ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2010.

Rohde, Michael D. The Sketchbook Handbook Video Edition: The illustrated guide to visual note taking. Peachpit Press, 2013.

4) SUPPLIES: The following supplies are required for this course. These supplies are available either in the FLC bookstore or elsewhere (Wal-Mart, Office Depot, Amazon, etc.).

a. A 1.5 inch / three-ring binder embossed with the Fort Lewis College logo on front. If you are in Composition 150, please purchase a pink binder. If you are in Composition 250, buy green.

b. A set of five colored plastic tab dividers. I will show you how to label and order these.

c. Highlighters (pink, blue, yellow, and green) and several pens (red, blue, green, and black)

d. Tools: stapler / three-hole punch / ruler

5) TWO-COLUMN NOTE-TAKING PAPER: My students are required to take class notes, reading notes, and dialogue notes in a two-column format. Each student will receive five (5) two-column note-taking sheets in the first week of class. Each student should keep one blank sheet for making additional copies for their own use throughout the semester. A master template will also be posted on Moodle. After this initial


distribution, students are responsible for providing their own two-column note-taking paper. Ordinarily ruled or lined note paper—either loose-leaf or torn from a spiral binder—is not permitted. There are specific learning outcomes attached to the scholarly discipline of taking two-column notes . The “why” and “how” of this approach will be discussed throughout the course.

6) ROUGH DRAFTS: Reading and writing is a recursive process. I am interested in your presentation product but I am more interested in the many versions demonstrating your embrace of invention, drafting, revision, and editing. So, save your drafts for sharing in class, organizing your work—all of it—in your course binder. Again, please be careful with your working drafts. Your notes, early attempts, revisions, and corrections—these should go into your notebook (portfolio) for future review.

7) PAPERS SUBMITTED IN COMPOSITION 150 MUST CONFORM TO THE FOLLOWING:

o Papers must be printed on one side only and must be three-hole punched (see supplies).

o Papers must be properly headed. And, please note the word-count at document’s end: (words: 827).

o Papers—except drafts, outlines, and notes—should bear no pencil or ink markings on the final typescript; the backside should be clean. That is, non-recycled is required for your presentation copy.

o Papers must be stapled together. I do not accept loose papers, crumpled papers, dirty or stained papers. I will not accept half-sheets. Nor will I accept papers bound with paperclips, safety-pins, stuck together with gum, glued, folded down at the corners and torn, bobby-penned, rolled and rubber banded . . . no! Please purchase a stapler, use it for your papers, and rent it to your friends!

o Papers must be submitted at the beginning of the specified class period. After this, they are late. Emailed papers are not accepted. Again, there are specific learning outcomes at work here.

8) REQUIRED STYLE SHEET: Adherence to the MLA style sheet is required for all assignments, through the whole of the course, starting now. You will most likely learn to use CSE, Chicago, or APA elsewhere during your time at FLC—but not in this course. In Composition 150 all typed papers—whether submitted for a grade or placed in your binder for later review—must be MLA formatted.

9) LEARNING MLA: Below are three sources—one online and two print resources—for guiding students as they learn to format their scholarship, humbly cite sources, and present their best academic work.

o http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/

o Easy Writer: A Pocket Reference. 4th ed. (This book is on the recommended list.)

o MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers, 7th Edition

10) CALENDAR OF READINGS, ASSIGNMENTS AND SPECIAL EVENTS: A calendar of anticipated readings, ungraded homework, and graded assignments is to be found later in this document. This will also include special events and days. Calendar information for this course is also to be found on Moodle.

11) INSTRUCTOR’S PREROGATIVE: Notwithstanding the announced calendar, the instructor reserves the right to make changes to the printed schedule, the nature and weight of graded assignment, and the course goals. When such changes are made, they will be announced in class and accompanied by a printed assignment sheet. Changes to the schedule will also be posted on Moodle within 24 hours.

12) ATTENDANCE: Regular attendance and participation is expected of you. The Writing Program attendance policy will be followed. In short, much more than merely showing up is required. Regardless of the quality of your submitted work, you will fail the course if you do not participate.


o Unexcused absences equaling one full week of school—two class meetings for some courses and three for other courses—are permitted without penalty. You will receive one warning via campus email if and when you reach the number of absences from class equaling one full week of the term.

o A one-third grade reduction will be taken for each additional absence—up to a second week.

o If your absences exceed two full weeks of class, you will be dropped. Regardless of the quality and quantity of your submitted work and the strength of your classroom engagement, you will be dropped from this course with a grade of “F.” If you withdraw, you will still receive an “F.”

o FLC Student-Athletes must present an official letter (or form) from the FLC athletic department requesting course accommodation for the student (by name) before the student travels with a campus team. If an official letter (or form) is not provided prior to traveling, the student will be marked for an unexcused absence and course accommodations will be denied.

o Excused absences are granted if a student is hospitalized in an emergency or if there is a death in their immediate family. Excused absences are not granted for a student’s early departure from campus on Spring Break, attending music festivals, weather related transport difficulties, taking roommates to the airport, changes in work schedule, school fatigue, self-diagnosed illness, field trips with other college classes, oversleeping, sleeplessness, not-enough-Adderall, trouble completing assignments, visits from the Easter Bunny, new powder, birthday celebrations, weddings, religious holidays, printer malfunction, crashed computer . . . you get the picture.

o Habitual tardiness will be addressed promptly and may result in a student being dropped.

o As per the Registrar’s Office, students who miss a single class during the first week of school may be dis-enrolled by the instructor in order to make room for wait-listed students.

13) EXTRA CREDIT: There is no extra credit available for this course.

14) GRADED ASSIGNMENTS: Beyond the graded assignments and percentages listed below, this course requires numerous written but not graded exercises. These exercises must be included in your binder.

o 40% Course Binder (your reading annotations, two-column classroom notes, in-class writing exercises, ungraded homework assignments, reading logs, chapter summations, rough drafts, and interactive notes on assigned textbook readings—all properly ordered and neatly presented)

o 10% Two twenty minute oral evaluations with the instructor in his officeo 15% Three lesser papers (800 words each)o 20% Major Paper (3,000 word rhetorical analysis), worked through multiple iterationso 15% Final Exam—you must present at the final exam. There are no exceptions!

14) GRADING STANDARDS: The business of assessing student work and assigning grades for a student’s academic performance is considered by many to be intrusive into the delicate teacher-student relationship. Some folks argue students need more nurturing from their professors and much less judging. Many more folks denigrate the grading of students by professors according to rigid standards, viewing this practice as inimical to the teacher’s role in providing transformative college experiences.

Yet, there is no field or life endeavor we shall enter that is not subject to regular scrutiny and ongoing assessment by others. We learn and grow as much by our openness to rigorous evaluation by others as by our own continual efforts. “Effort” and “assessment” are partners in promoting human flourishing, not enemies. True, grades are not the final measure of a person’s worth. You are now and will always be much more than a single grade. However, each graded evaluation is a measurement-in-time of a student’s range of acquired skills, academic disciplines, language and problem-solving competencies, and


attentiveness as demonstrated in that course. In this class you should expect the following grading standards to be fairly and evenly employed for all students.

You must submit a binder, four papers, sit for two oral evaluations, and present at the final period to receive a passing grade. That is, all work is required and must be submitted in order to pass this class.

C / An average grade in the “C family” is generally recorded for students who are regularly in class on-time, ready with their homework, attentive to the moment and demands of the class, take careful notes daily, thoughtfully reflect in their writing on classroom conversations, read all course assignments closely, engage in classroom dialogue, master the MLA format, submit all their work on time, and pay sharp attention to order and detail in preparing their papers and their Course Binder.

B / Please do be aware that “B” is not the new “C” in this class. We do not inflate grades in the Writing Program. You will not earn a “B” simply by showing up and submitting your work. Rather, those students who do all of the above and demonstrate analytical, creative insight into the issues and problems of language, writing, reading, and critical thinking – these students will earn a “B.”

A / Students who fulfill the course requirements (grade C), are creative and insightful (grade B), and write at an extremely high level—demonstrating careful word choice, deploy multiple voices and styles with ease and as may be appropriate to the situation, give evidence of a deepening rhetorical understanding, and learn to write/speak with conciseness and precision—these will receive an “A”.

You must have a “C-” to pass this class, so we needn’t discuss you earning a lower grade. Also, I do not discuss grades via the phone, text, or email. If you have a question about your grade—for legal, moral, and developmental reasons—you must meet me in private. If you wish me to discuss your grade with other persons, you must sign a waiver from the Registrar’s Office giving me permission.

15) DROPPING: You may drop this course without a recorded grade thru Tuesday, January 22, 2013.

a) After Census Date, 17 September 2013, you may only drop this course with a recorded grade.

b) If you ask to drop this course after 17 September 2013 and your current grade in the class is below the C- minimum as required by the Writing Program, you will be withdrawn with an “F.”

c) The last day to withdraw from a individual course is 4 PM on Friday 25 October 2013.

d) Non-attendance is not considered an official withdrawal.

16) AN OPEN LETTER FROM THE DIRECTOR OF THE WRITING PROGRAM AT FORT LEWIS COLLEGE

Date: Winter 2011To: FLC StudentsFrom: Erik Juergensmeyer, Writing Program DirectorSUBJECT: GRADING POLICY

This letter is to help explain an important part of the Writing Program’s policy on grading. Your instructor will have written about this policy in his/her syllabus and will be able to answer any questions you may have.In order to be successful in any course you take, it is obviously important for you to be present in that class, not only in body, but in mind. We are dedicated to making our courses in the Writing Program as stimulating and productive for you as we possibly can. We have found that just one student who is disengaged or consistently absent can diminish the learning and the enthusiasm of an entire class. We are determined not to let this happen to those of you who are eager and ready to participate and engage in the scholarly process.Therefore, we have developed a policy that rewards students who try hard, attend class, and turn in assignments, but removes from class those students who are not yet ready to make this commitment to learning. Throughout the semester, in addition to being graded on the quality of


your work, your instructor will grade you on participation, preparation, homework and attendance. If you do not have a grade of C- or better in this area, you are considered failing this part of the course and you will receive a written warning. If you do not raise this grade, you will be withdrawn from the class by your instructor with a grade of “F.” A student will not be withdrawn without first receiving a warning from his/her instructor and will be given at least two weeks to address the problem. Warnings may be given at any time during the semester and withdrawals will occur throughout the semester. If a student is failing in participation, preparation, homework and attendance at the end of the semester, the student will receive an F for the course.To make clear the distinction between failing the class for quality of work and failing the class for preparation, participation, homework and attendance, here is an example. If you are assigned homework and turn it in complete and on time, that is considered full credit – even if you get 4 of the 10 questions wrong because you didn’t understand the material and earn a D for the assignment. If you are engaged and working hard, and you still find you are making poor grades, you will not be withdrawn from the class. It is possible, of course, that you may in the end fail the class but that is another story.This policy is meant to enhance your learning process. You do not deserve to be in a class where students with poor attitudes are allowed to sap the energy of the class or the teacher. The automatic withdrawal with a grade of “F” policy is a way of saying if you’re not attending class and doing the work, let’s just make it official: you’re not really in this class” (Writing Program website, FLC).

17) FERPA (FAMILY EDUCATIONAL RIGHTS AND PRIVACY ACT) STATEMENT:

a) As has been noted, this course makes regular use of Moodle, a course management system. Moodle may render a student’s name and their FLC ID visible within the course website. FLC employs password-protected access to the each course, however, so that your identifying information will be visible only to other students registered in the Moodle class. If you have concerns about the visibility of your identifying information, please contact me.

b) Again, as per FERPA regulations, I will not discuss grades via text, phone, or email. To discuss your grade, please use the online scheduler to arrange an appointment with me.

c) Again, you must sign a privacy release—Consent to Disclose Student Education Records—in in order for me to discuss your class participation and your academic work with your other parties.

18) DISABILITIES POLICY: Fort Lewis College is committed to providing all students a liberal arts education through a personalized learning environment. If you think you have, or you do have a documented disability which will need reasonable academic accommodations, please call Dian Jenkins, the Coordinator of Disability Services (280 Noble Hall, 247-7459) for an appointment. I cannot make disability accommodations without an official letter from the Disability Services Office. Also, accommodations apply from the date I sign the letter after discussing it with you, the student.

B: Learning Outcomes for Composition I (125/126 or 150), Colorado State Goals, and the Composition Sequence at Fort Lewis College

19) COMPOSITION I (125/126 OR 150) LEARNING OUTCOMES AND COMPOSITION SEQUENCING:a) Outcomes Established by Fort Lewis College for Composition I

After satisfactorily completing this course, students will have experience in the following four areas:

1. Rhetorical knowledge• Learn to identify rhetorical situation, including audience, purpose, exigencies, and constraints• Identify rhetorical appeals (pathos, logos, ethos)• Use voice, tone, format, and structure appropriately• Read and write academic texts


2. Experience in the writing and research process• Develop invention, revision, editing, and proofreading strategies through multiple drafts • Learn to critique others’ work and receive feedback from a variety of sources including peers, one-on-one

conferencing, and/or campus support services • Use at least one research tool appropriate to library/campus resources• Utilize primary and secondary sources while maintaining official standards of academic integrity

3. Critical thinking and communication strategies• Establish rhetorical situation in own writing • Apply course concepts to appropriate situations • Utilize rhetorical appeals• Use content and style appropriate to academic audiences

4. Awareness of writing conventions• Develop effective organizational strategies • Use specialized vocabulary, format, and documentation • Develop and support a main claim through a cohesive and structured argument • Demonstrate competency in mechanical and stylistic features • Control features such as syntax, grammar, punctuation, and spelling

b) THE STATE-LEVEL GOALS FOR INTRODUCTORY WRITING (CO-1) COURSES ARE LISTED BELOW:

Develop Rhetorical Knowledge• Focus on rhetorical situation, audience and purpose• Use voice, tone, format, and structure appropriately• Write and read texts written in at least one genre for an academic discourse community.

Develop Experience in Writing Processes• Use multiple drafts• Develop strategies for generating ideas, revising, editing, and proofreading• Learn to critique own and other’s work• Use at least one technology (writing and research tool).

Develop Understanding of Writing Conventions• Select appropriate format for different writing tasks• Apply genre conventions ranging from structure and paragraphing to tone and mechanics• Use specialized vocabulary, format, and documentation appropriately• Control features such as syntax, grammar, punctuation, and spelling.

Develop Effective Communication Strategies, including• Ability to compose a message for a specific audience and purpose• Ability to communicate to peers in academic audiences• Ability to adapt content and style to respond to the needs of peers in academic audiences and academic

rhetorical situations.

C) FLC COMPOSITION COURSE SEQUENCING STATEMENT: Due to recent changes in Composition requirements at the state level, the FLC Writing Program has enhanced our course offerings. We now offer two main Composition sequences:

(1) COMP-1 followed by COMP-2. If you have placed into COMP-1, the following tracks are available to you. The appropriate track depends on your particular course placement and academic needs. Please see your academic adviser with questions: (a) COMP 125, COMP 126, followed by your choice of one of the following: COMP 250, COMP

252, COMP 253, ENGL 268, HIST 250, or SOC 210.(b) COMP 150, followed by your choice of one of the following: COMP 250, COMP 252, COMP

253, ENGL 268, HIST 250, or SOC 210.


(c) College Composition CLEP test, then your choice of one of the following: COMP 250, COMP 252, COMP 253, ENGL 268, HIST 250, or SOC 210. Because these courses are sequential, they must be taken in order and enrollment in the next course in the sequence depends on your successful completion of the previous course with a C- or better.

(2) COMP-2 followed by COMP-3. If you place into and begin the sequence with COMP-2, you must successfully complete COMP-2 (C- or better) and then move to COMP-3.

If you have placed into COMP-1 but feel as though you should be in COMP-2, you may attempt to take the College Composition CLEP exam for COMP-1 credit by visiting the Testing Center in Noble Hall. Please note that you may not take the CLEP exam if you have enrolled in or already completed (including withdrawing with a “W” grade) any COMP course (whether 1, 2, or 3). For more information, please contact Assistant Dean Bridget Irish ([email protected], 970-382-6940).

C: Additional Information about My Teaching Schedule, Making Appointments Online to See Me, and Our Learning Community

20) DR. WILLIAM LEE MANGRUM – As is mentioned earlier, I prefer to be called “Bill.” However, please do not construe my preference for the familiar in class as indicative of (1) lower academic expectations in this course, (2) lesser scholarly and professional standards for your writing, (3) toleration of sloppy thinking, (4) enthusiasm for endlessly repeating myself in class, and (5) my pledging that you will pass this class. Again, the use of personal names strengthens respect, integrity, and community. We are accountable to each other for our academic work but we are accountable as authentic persons and not merely as “butts in seats.” So, please call me “Bill” AND work hard!

So that you may know where to find me on campus, here is my Fall 2013 teaching schedule:

o MWF / COMP 150-13F / 20696 / Class meets at 08:15—09:25 / REEDLB 027

o MWF / COMP 150-8F / 20540 / Class meets at 13:55—15:05 / JONES 154

o MW / COMP 150-5 / 21293 / Class meets at 15:35—17:35 / REEDLB 082

o MW / HON 423 1 / 21020 / Class meets at 10:10—11:05 / REEDLB 140

o MW / HON 223 1F / 21019 / Class meets at 10:10—11:05 / REEDLB 140

o TTh / COMP 250 12F / 20705 / Class meets 14:30—16:30 / REEDLB 027

o You are always welcome to visit with me. I look forward to talking with you. But, first consult my teaching schedule posted above and on my office door: Noble Hall 234.

o In respect of my many students and the heavy demands on their scholastic energies, I now utilize an online scheduler: https://williamleemangrum.acuityscheduling.com/schedule.php.

o To use this system, please copy the above link into your web browser. On the Homepage, create an identity, log in, and make a selection appropriate to your class and your need. Only available appointment times will appear on the screen. Also, you will not be able to make an appointment more than three weeks in advance nor within 15 hours. Once you have made your appointment, you will receive a confirmation via email. Please do NOT delete this confirmation notice. If you need to cancel or re-schedule, this confirmation note is your link for scheduling changes.

o If you miss more than two scheduled appointments or are consistently late for appointments, I will take this into account when posting your final grade. Office hours with you are an extension of our classroom “learning contract” and should be so honored and respected.


o Finally, because most students schedule their appointments in advance (by use of the scheduling service detailed above), there is no guarantee that I will be able to see you if you simply stop by my office. So, please do come by on very short notice . . . you are always welcome. But, do not be upset if someone else has already scheduled a meeting with me during that time. OK?

21) OUR TEXTUAL-LEARNING COMMUNITY: Whatever your expectations upon enrolling for this course, please note that Composition 150: Rhetoric and Research is not a typical “lecture” course. The professor will not stand at the front of the room, dispense precious coinage, urge you to “bank” a modest savings over several weeks, and then test your addition and subtraction at mid-term and term-ending. Rather, you are joining a nascent community of scholars and thinkers and writers and readers.

Communities are complex, living organisms. Without some communal order, anarchy prevails, toxins poison, and death comes quickly to us all. On the other hand, neither is tyranny conducive to human flourishing, to the well-being of the whole community. Rather, if a community qua community is to flourish, each must shoulder their part as well as honor the roles, contributions, and insights of others.

Engaged attentiveness is the hallmark of ‘honoring the other.’ But many people are immersed in a narcissistic cloud of distractions; they haven’t a clue as to the meaning and practices of attentiveness. For reasons, then, of nurturing a learning community characterized by awareness and attention, the following items and practices are not welcomed in this community: excessive absences, habitual tardiness, lack of preparation, feet on the table/chair, hair brushing, gum-chewing, applying make-up, eating (Take smelly snacks and lavish banquets elsewhere.), radios, IPods, IPads, laptops, cellphones, earphones, homework for other classes, alcohol, drugs, hats, sleeping, rudeness, lying, cheating, stealing, interrupting, threats/violence, revealing attire, belittling speech, excessive cursing . . .

There is no further need to belabor the obvious. This is not high school. This is college. Here responsible persons are engaged in the pursuit of learning for the betterment of the whole planet.

To be sure, most students are here to work, learn from others, and acquire important academic skills. Most recognize that even with subsidies and grants and scholarships and legacies—someone is paying for their education! Most students understand that “taking advantage” without “giving due” is theft.

So, before going any further, please the space provide below to make a self-assessment. Inventory your expectations upon entering this class. Set your current habits and practices alongside my call to labor with others in a caring, respectful, attentive community. Be ruthlessly honest about you!

Now, review what you have written. Take your time. Think carefully. If at this time you are not up to the challenge, consciously acknowledge this to yourself and withdraw. There is no shame in withdrawing. Neither is there shame in acknowledging that you are not yet who you wish to be!

The choice to engage is yours. All are welcome. None will be denied who wish to press forward.

22) THE ENJOYMENT OF LEARNING: If you give yourself without reserve to this course—that is, if you trust your peers and your instructor and do not resist us—you will come to enjoy the arts of scholarship over the course of this class. You will grow to love thinking, learning, debating, and writing—but only if you


lay down your resistance to reading, critiquing, and dwelling in words. I promise that our work will be serious. If you come along, you will grow academically, socially, and emotionally. It will be hard. But on our way, we will laugh together and we will celebrate life.

D: Resources for Composition 150: Rhetoric and Research

In this section I’ve listed links to numerous online resources relevant to this course . . . and to your college career. All materials necessary for navigating successfully through this course are now, or will soon be, available online. This syllabus is also available online. If you are enrolled in this course, you will receive this syllabus via an email sent the first day of class. It is your responsibility to print the syllabus, read it, and keep it in your binder. It will also be posted on Moodle. Again, if you have not yet learned to navigate Moodle, please do so today. Fort Lewis College professors use Moodle. Critical to your scholarly work here at FLC—and for academic success in this class—is your daily accessing Moodle.

23) THE WRITING PROGRAM (WP) – Composition 125/126 and 150 are offered through the Writing Program. Below are the main link and three sub-links of utmost importance to this course.

o http://www.fortlewis.edu/writingprogram Learning Outcomes for Composition I: Please attend to carefully and retain this material.

o http://www.fortlewis.edu/writingprogram/LearningOutcomes.aspx Grading Policies: Pay special attention here!

o http://www.fortlewis.edu/writingprogram/GradingPolicies.aspx Common Reading Experience (CRE)

o https://www2.fortlewis.edu/writingprogram/CommonReadingExperience/About.aspx 24) THE WRITING CENTER: Critical to your scholarly success in a liberal arts college—and well beyond—

will be your mastery of the changing forms and varied demands of writing in the modern world. The tutors at The Writing Center are employed by FLC to help you. During the semester we will be visited by the Director of the Writing Center who will demonstrate the center’s work and explain how you can arrange for a tutor’s assistance. Smart people ask for help; those who do are rewarded.

o https://www2.fortlewis.edu/writingcenter/Home.aspx 25) THE JOHN F. REED HONORS PROGRAM: Fort Lewis College is a liberal arts college. Critical to our

mission as a liberal arts college is the important task of introducing students to the nature of academic scholarship, encouraging critical scholarship within all disciplines, and challenging students to increasingly higher levels of scholarship. For purposes of this class you are all scholars. As such, you are to become familiar with the FLC Honors Program and their offerings available to all students.

o http://www.fortlewis.edu/honors/Home.aspx 26) ACADEMIC CALENDAR, FINALS, REGISTRAR’S OFFICE, ACADEMIC POLICIES AND PROCEDURES Academic Calendar—Download and print this PDF so that you know the academic year.

o http://www.fortlewis.edu/home/about/academiccalendar.aspx Finals Schedule—Much of this course is given to growing students’ confidence, urging students to

owning responsibility for their schedules, holding them accountable to know and understand what is required of them. To this end, if you are enrolled in this course, it is your responsibility to know the “when” and “where” of our final exam during Finals Week.

o http://www.fortlewis.edu/registrar/StudentInformationandPolicies/FinalsSchedule.aspx Student Grievances Policy—Please familiarize yourself with this section.

o http://www.fortlewis.edu/studentgrievance/Home.aspx Academic Integrity—Dishonesty, plagiarism, and multiple submissions are serious breaches of academic

standards and will be dealt with swiftness and severity. (Faculty Handbook, 62-72)o http://www.fortlewis.edu/Portals/71/FacultyHandbook.pdf o See also Quick Coach Guide to Avoiding Plagiarism (Menager and Paulos).

Academic Policies and Procedures


o http://catalog.fortlewis.edu/content.php?catoid=8&navoid=206 Registrar’s Office: Forms, Worksheets, and Guidelines

o http://www.fortlewis.edu/registrar/Forms.aspx Procedure for Students Requesting an “Incomplete” in a course: Please note that your professors cannot

give you an incomplete apart from you stating your request to the Dean. Even if your circumstances warrant an incomplete, you request must be approved by the Dean.

o http://www2.fortlewis.edu/Portals/12/Policy%203-1%20Incomplete%20Grades-April %202012.pdf

27) CAMPUS RESOURCES FOR STUDENTS Accommodations for Students with Disabilities

o http://www.fortlewis.edu/disability/Home.aspx Testing Center

o http://www2.fortlewis.edu/testingcenter/Home.aspx Counseling Center

o http://www.fortlewis.edu/counselingcenter/Home.aspx

Below is provision for your signature. By signing and dating this document, you indicate agreement with the course description, assessment strategies, and other particulars as outlined in this syllabus.

Your Signature: Date:


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