For a hardcopy of the syllabus click on the leaf. 

Course description:  A course in the critical arts of reading, writing, reflection, and discussion with an introduction to rhetoric and informal logic.  This course meets the University Core Curriculum Goal A1:  Composition/Speech and A3:  Critical Thinking.

Required Textbooks	Required Writing	University Resources
Attendance	Lab Schedule and Use	Course Assignments
Instructor Information	Format for Papers	Plagiarism Policy

Required Textbooks: 

Axelrod, Rise B. and Charles R. Cooper.  The St. Martin's Guide to Writing, 6th Ed.  Boston:  Bedford/St. Martin's, 2001. http://www.bedfordstmartins.com/theguide/

Writing Requirements and Graded Papers: 

• Four major papers:  (1) a paper about an event, (2) a paper about a person, (3) a profile paper, and (4) a concept paper
• Three short papers:  (1) a  description paper, (2) a definition paper, and (3) a classification paper
• Written exercises and class work

For more detail, click here: 

Attendance and Make Up Work Policy

            Each student is allowed one week of absences (3 for MWF, 2 for TTR).  After the allowable absences, the student's grade is reduced by one/third of a letter value (e.g., an A+ would become an A; a B- would become a C+).

            Tardiness:  Students who habitually arrive late to class disrupt instruction and insult those who arrive on time.  After receiving a verbal warning, such students will be recorded as absent for each occasion of tardiness thereafter.

            All papers (other than in-class essay exams) are due at the beginning of class.  These papers are to be placed on my desk.  Papers received after class begins or anytime afterward are considered late, unless prior arrangements have been made.  Do no expect much flexibility on this rule, as the consistent and timely submission of papers greatly aids in their consistent and timely return.       

            Students may not make up any missed class work assignments, including journal entries if they are absent or tardy on the date on which the assignments are due.  Because the class participation grade is made of up of several assignments, no make-up work is allowed, under any circumstances, for missed response sheets.  Students who have excusable absences may submit missed major papers within one week of their return to class with no grade penalty.  Students who do not have excusable absences may turn in missed major papers within one week of their return with a penalty of one letter grade reduction of the earned grade.  The students is responsible for contacting the instructor regarding missed papers.

Lab Schedule and Use

Friday classes meet in the lab on Mondays of the following dates: 

March 12 and 26; April 9 and 23  – The class meets in LA 1008.

    When the class is scheduled for the lab, you are to report there instead of the regular classroom.  Come prepared to write.  Have some part of the assignment to work on if there is no other assignment.  You may not use class time to check your e-mail or explore the Internet.  These activities, even if they are for gathering material for your papers, should be done outside of the class.  Printing for written assignments is free in the lab, but you may not use the lab for any other printing, especially for printing web pages.

    Please bring one 3 1/4" disk for saving your files.  Though you may save your work on the hard drive of the computers, you may have it erased by the end of the day.  There is no security for your work on these computers.    Please be especially careful about checking your disks for viruses, both before and after you use the classroom labs.  Technical advisors from the computer center suggest that you use a "flash drive," or "jump drive," instead of diskettes.  These large storage drives usually come with virus blockers installed.

Academic Dishonesty and Plagiarism

The University of Southern Indiana makes the following statement on academic dishonesty and plagiarism:

All work submitted for this course must be your own and written exclusively for this course.  If you have any questions regarding this policy, please see me.  According to the University of Southern Indiana Bulletin, "The University considers plagiarism a form of academic dishonesty and proof of plagiarism may subject a student or student organization to disciplinary action as outlined in the University of Southern Indiana Code of Conduct."

 

This policy is stated in greater detail at http://www.usi.edu/admissn/forms/7-03.pdf    .  A student will receive a grade of F or zero on any plagiarized assignment.  Plagiarism on the final will result in a grade of F for the course.

 

University Resources for Writers

    USI maintains a very helpful Academic Skills Center. At the Center, you can get help with writing your papers. Whether you just need a reader to respond to your drafts or if you need help with a specific composition skill, the Center is there to assist you. Visit the center at http://www.usi.edu/acadskil/asengl.htm . You can even use the On Line Writing Center or request special help with your papers via e-mail at http://www.usi.edu/acadskil/OWL/USI~OWL.asp .