ENGLISH 103: RHETORIC AND WRITING
Section:
Meets:
Laura Romano
[email protected]
Office number: Robert Bell 263
Office phone number: x0032
Office Hours: Tuesday/Thursday 9:30-10:30
ENG 103: Rhetoric and Writing (3) Introduces and develops understanding of principles of
rhetoric; basic research methods; elements, strategies, and conventions of persuasion used in
constructing written and multi-modal texts. Prerequisite: appropriate placement. Not open to
students who have credit in ENG 101 or 102.
ENGLISH 103 Course Goals:
• Understand that persuasion—both visual and verbal—is integral to reading and composing
• Understand how persuasive visual and verbal texts are composed for different audiences
and different purposes
• Develop effective strategies of invention, drafting, and revision for different rhetorical
situations and individual composing styles
• Compose texts in various media using solid logic, claims, evidence, creativity, and audience
awareness
• Integrate primary and secondary research as appropriate to the rhetorical situation
• Develop strategies for becoming more critical and careful readers of both their own and
others’ texts
• Demonstrate a professional attitude towards their writing by focusing on the need for
appropriate format, syntax, punctuation, and spelling
• Take responsibility for their own progress
• Develop the ability to work well with others on composing tasks.
REQUIRED TEXTS:
everything's an argument (with readings). Andrea Lunsford, John J. Ruszkiewicz, Keith Walters. Bedford/St. Martin's. 6th edition. 2013.
BallPoint. http://goo.gl/nMnnb
ASSIGNMENTS OVERVIEW AND GRADING SYSTEM:
All assignments are to be turned in to the instructor as hard copies. They must be double-spaced and written in 12-point font.
Writing Project 1: Reflection, 2-4 pages (100 points)
Articulate a moment that had a lasting impact on the way you perceive the world. You should be able to convince your audience not only of the event’s significance, but also its influence on your value system and way of life.
Writing Project 2: Rhetorical Analysis, 2-4 pages (100 points)
Cartoons are often rich in political and social commentary. For this assignment, chose a cartoon that you find interesting. In your paper, demonstrate that you understand the core principals of rhetoric; discuss the cartoon’s rhetorical appeals (ie: ethos, pathos and logos). Focus on the parts rather than the whole. You will need to do some research in order to better understand the content of the cartoon.
Writing Project 3: Time and Place in Marketing 4-6 pages (200 points)
Find 3-4 advertisements from different time periods; the library has a large selection of past and current periodicals that you can use in your search. These ads might be for a specific product, marketed throughout the last 30 years. You will look at the advertisements and (a) discuss their rhetorical appeals and (b) discuss now those rhetorical appeals are relevant to their time and place. You will ground your analysis in research; you will use secondary sources (at least 3-5) to make your analysis.
Writing Project 4: Multimodal Project and Presentation (300 points)
You will develop a project that expresses an argument using a combination of mediums: it cannot simply be text-based. You might consider making a podcast, website, video, powerpoint or collage, for example. In addition to the project itself, your grade will be determined by a 4-6 page essay identifying how you constructed your rhetorical appeals and why, according to your research, these appeals will be effective, a 5-10 minute presentation of your project, as well as an accompanying cover letter, which will be your opportunity to reflect on your development as a writer over the course of the semester.
Writing Prompt Responses: 200 points
Class Participation and Attendance: 100 points
TOTAL POINTS POSSIBLE: 1000
GRADING SCALE:
950-1000= A
900-940= A-
870-890= B+
840-860= B
800-830= B-
770-790= C+
740-760= C
700-730= C-
670-690= D+
640-660= D
600-630= D-
590 and below= F
NOTE: In order to fulfill the University's Core Curriculum requirement in Writing Program courses,
students must earn a minimum grade of C to pass; a grade of C- is not considered acceptable.
Writing Program courses may be repeated as many times as necessary to meet the requirement
but:
• The first and all other grades will show up on the transcript.
• All grades except the first will be used to compute the GPA.
• A grade of W will not replace a previous grade.
• Course credit hours apply only once to graduation requirements.
• Students who do not successfully complete ENG 104 before earning 90 credit hours will not
be able to take the Writing Proficiency Exam. These students will instead need to take an
additional writing course [WP 393] after completing ENG 104.
LATE ASSIGNMENT POLICY:
All work is due on the date indicated on the syllabus. If you are aware that you will be absent, work must be turned in during the class prior to the absence. Late class work will not be accepted for any credit. For paper drafts, five points will be deducted for each day the draft is late.
ATTENDANCE POLICY:
BSU and the Department of English consider class attendance essential to your learning. You may miss three class sessions without any penalty, but after three absences 10 points will be deducted from your class participation grade for each class missed. Please note that if you are more than ten minutes late to class you will be considered absent for that day. The department does not award passing grades to students who miss more than 20 % of class meetings. Therefore, if you miss more than six classes, for any reason, you will fail the course.
ACADEMIC INTEGRITY:
It is your responsibility to give credit where credit is due and know how to cite your sources appropriately. Using someone else's ideas or words as your own on any assignment is plagiarism. It is a violation of the Code of Student Rights and Responsibilities as defined in the student
handbook (or at www.bsu.edu/sa/dean/stucode/) and will be treated as such. If you are
concerned about inadvertently violating this policy, please see me before completing the
assignment. We will review MLA documentation in this course, and you are always welcome to come to me with any questions or concerns. Please note, however, that plagiarism and/or academic dishonesty (such as turning in work that is not your own) has severe consequences and can result in failure of the assignment, failure of the course and/or expulsion from the university.
DISABILITY STATEMENT:
If you need course adaptations or accommodations because of a disability, if you have
emergency medical information to share with me, or if you need special arrangements in
case the building must be evacuated, please make an appointment with me as soon as
possible. My office location and telephone number are: Robert Bell 263, x2250.
CLASSROOM EXPECTATIONS:
This classroom will be a place where all ideas, opinions and voices are welcome. Therefore, any disrespectful, threatening or discriminatory behavior will not be tolerated. Also, please do not bring cell phones to class. You may bring an iPad or laptop for note-taking purposes. If I suspect, however, that you are checking email or surfing the web during class you may be considered absent for that day.
THE WRITING CENTER:
Want extra feedback on your papers? The Writing Center is a community of Ball State
students who value writing. Come and collaborate with one of our trained peer tutors on
any project for any major. The Writing Center is a comfortable, supportive environment for
writers from all communities and backgrounds. We are located in RB 291. Our hours are Monday through Thursday 10am-8pm and Fridays from 10-2. To make an appointment go to ballstate.mywconline.com.
TENTATIVE SCHEDULE:
Week 1: Reading and Understanding Arguments
Class introductions, syllabus review.
Due: EA ch. 1
Week 2: Arguments Based on Emotion: Pathos/Arguments Based on Character: Ethos
Due: EA ch. 2 and 3
Week 3: Arguments Based on Fact and Reason: Logos/Fallacies of Argument
Due: EA ch. 4 and 5
Week 4: Rhetorical Analysis (Peer Review Day with Mini-Conferences)
Due: Draft of WP 1; EA ch. 6
Week 5: Structuring Arguments/Arguments of Fact
Due: WP 1, EA ch. 7 and 8
Week 6: Arguments of Definition/Evaluations
Due: EA ch. 9 and 10
Week 7: Causal Arguments/Proposals
Due: EA ch. 11 and 12
Week 8: Style in Arguments (Peer Review Day with Mini-Conferences)
Due: Draft of WP 2, EA ch. 13
Week 9: Visual and Multimedia Arguments/Presenting Arguments
Due: WP 2 , EA ch. 14 and 15
Week 10: Academic Arguments/Finding Evidence
Due: EA ch. 16 and 17
Week 11: Evaluating Sources (Peer Review Day with Mini-Conferences)
Due: Draft of WP 3, EA ch. 18
Week 12: Using Sources/Plagiarism and Academic Integrity
Due: WP 3, EA ch. 19 and 20
Week 13: Documenting Sources/ How Does Popular Culture Stereotype You?
Due: EA ch. 21 and 22
Week 14: NO CLASS—CONFERENCES
Due: Draft of WP 4
Week 15: Why Worry About Food and Water?/What are you Working For?
Due: EA ch. 24 and 26
Week 16: FINAL PROJECT PRESENTATIONS
Due: WP 4
FINAL EXAM PERIOD MEETING: Final Project Presentations
Section:
Meets:
Laura Romano
[email protected]
Office number: Robert Bell 263
Office phone number: x0032
Office Hours: Tuesday/Thursday 9:30-10:30
ENG 103: Rhetoric and Writing (3) Introduces and develops understanding of principles of
rhetoric; basic research methods; elements, strategies, and conventions of persuasion used in
constructing written and multi-modal texts. Prerequisite: appropriate placement. Not open to
students who have credit in ENG 101 or 102.
ENGLISH 103 Course Goals:
• Understand that persuasion—both visual and verbal—is integral to reading and composing
• Understand how persuasive visual and verbal texts are composed for different audiences
and different purposes
• Develop effective strategies of invention, drafting, and revision for different rhetorical
situations and individual composing styles
• Compose texts in various media using solid logic, claims, evidence, creativity, and audience
awareness
• Integrate primary and secondary research as appropriate to the rhetorical situation
• Develop strategies for becoming more critical and careful readers of both their own and
others’ texts
• Demonstrate a professional attitude towards their writing by focusing on the need for
appropriate format, syntax, punctuation, and spelling
• Take responsibility for their own progress
• Develop the ability to work well with others on composing tasks.
REQUIRED TEXTS:
everything's an argument (with readings). Andrea Lunsford, John J. Ruszkiewicz, Keith Walters. Bedford/St. Martin's. 6th edition. 2013.
BallPoint. http://goo.gl/nMnnb
ASSIGNMENTS OVERVIEW AND GRADING SYSTEM:
All assignments are to be turned in to the instructor as hard copies. They must be double-spaced and written in 12-point font.
Writing Project 1: Reflection, 2-4 pages (100 points)
Articulate a moment that had a lasting impact on the way you perceive the world. You should be able to convince your audience not only of the event’s significance, but also its influence on your value system and way of life.
Writing Project 2: Rhetorical Analysis, 2-4 pages (100 points)
Cartoons are often rich in political and social commentary. For this assignment, chose a cartoon that you find interesting. In your paper, demonstrate that you understand the core principals of rhetoric; discuss the cartoon’s rhetorical appeals (ie: ethos, pathos and logos). Focus on the parts rather than the whole. You will need to do some research in order to better understand the content of the cartoon.
Writing Project 3: Time and Place in Marketing 4-6 pages (200 points)
Find 3-4 advertisements from different time periods; the library has a large selection of past and current periodicals that you can use in your search. These ads might be for a specific product, marketed throughout the last 30 years. You will look at the advertisements and (a) discuss their rhetorical appeals and (b) discuss now those rhetorical appeals are relevant to their time and place. You will ground your analysis in research; you will use secondary sources (at least 3-5) to make your analysis.
Writing Project 4: Multimodal Project and Presentation (300 points)
You will develop a project that expresses an argument using a combination of mediums: it cannot simply be text-based. You might consider making a podcast, website, video, powerpoint or collage, for example. In addition to the project itself, your grade will be determined by a 4-6 page essay identifying how you constructed your rhetorical appeals and why, according to your research, these appeals will be effective, a 5-10 minute presentation of your project, as well as an accompanying cover letter, which will be your opportunity to reflect on your development as a writer over the course of the semester.
Writing Prompt Responses: 200 points
Class Participation and Attendance: 100 points
TOTAL POINTS POSSIBLE: 1000
GRADING SCALE:
950-1000= A
900-940= A-
870-890= B+
840-860= B
800-830= B-
770-790= C+
740-760= C
700-730= C-
670-690= D+
640-660= D
600-630= D-
590 and below= F
NOTE: In order to fulfill the University's Core Curriculum requirement in Writing Program courses,
students must earn a minimum grade of C to pass; a grade of C- is not considered acceptable.
Writing Program courses may be repeated as many times as necessary to meet the requirement
but:
• The first and all other grades will show up on the transcript.
• All grades except the first will be used to compute the GPA.
• A grade of W will not replace a previous grade.
• Course credit hours apply only once to graduation requirements.
• Students who do not successfully complete ENG 104 before earning 90 credit hours will not
be able to take the Writing Proficiency Exam. These students will instead need to take an
additional writing course [WP 393] after completing ENG 104.
LATE ASSIGNMENT POLICY:
All work is due on the date indicated on the syllabus. If you are aware that you will be absent, work must be turned in during the class prior to the absence. Late class work will not be accepted for any credit. For paper drafts, five points will be deducted for each day the draft is late.
ATTENDANCE POLICY:
BSU and the Department of English consider class attendance essential to your learning. You may miss three class sessions without any penalty, but after three absences 10 points will be deducted from your class participation grade for each class missed. Please note that if you are more than ten minutes late to class you will be considered absent for that day. The department does not award passing grades to students who miss more than 20 % of class meetings. Therefore, if you miss more than six classes, for any reason, you will fail the course.
ACADEMIC INTEGRITY:
It is your responsibility to give credit where credit is due and know how to cite your sources appropriately. Using someone else's ideas or words as your own on any assignment is plagiarism. It is a violation of the Code of Student Rights and Responsibilities as defined in the student
handbook (or at www.bsu.edu/sa/dean/stucode/) and will be treated as such. If you are
concerned about inadvertently violating this policy, please see me before completing the
assignment. We will review MLA documentation in this course, and you are always welcome to come to me with any questions or concerns. Please note, however, that plagiarism and/or academic dishonesty (such as turning in work that is not your own) has severe consequences and can result in failure of the assignment, failure of the course and/or expulsion from the university.
DISABILITY STATEMENT:
If you need course adaptations or accommodations because of a disability, if you have
emergency medical information to share with me, or if you need special arrangements in
case the building must be evacuated, please make an appointment with me as soon as
possible. My office location and telephone number are: Robert Bell 263, x2250.
CLASSROOM EXPECTATIONS:
This classroom will be a place where all ideas, opinions and voices are welcome. Therefore, any disrespectful, threatening or discriminatory behavior will not be tolerated. Also, please do not bring cell phones to class. You may bring an iPad or laptop for note-taking purposes. If I suspect, however, that you are checking email or surfing the web during class you may be considered absent for that day.
THE WRITING CENTER:
Want extra feedback on your papers? The Writing Center is a community of Ball State
students who value writing. Come and collaborate with one of our trained peer tutors on
any project for any major. The Writing Center is a comfortable, supportive environment for
writers from all communities and backgrounds. We are located in RB 291. Our hours are Monday through Thursday 10am-8pm and Fridays from 10-2. To make an appointment go to ballstate.mywconline.com.
TENTATIVE SCHEDULE:
Week 1: Reading and Understanding Arguments
Class introductions, syllabus review.
Due: EA ch. 1
Week 2: Arguments Based on Emotion: Pathos/Arguments Based on Character: Ethos
Due: EA ch. 2 and 3
Week 3: Arguments Based on Fact and Reason: Logos/Fallacies of Argument
Due: EA ch. 4 and 5
Week 4: Rhetorical Analysis (Peer Review Day with Mini-Conferences)
Due: Draft of WP 1; EA ch. 6
Week 5: Structuring Arguments/Arguments of Fact
Due: WP 1, EA ch. 7 and 8
Week 6: Arguments of Definition/Evaluations
Due: EA ch. 9 and 10
Week 7: Causal Arguments/Proposals
Due: EA ch. 11 and 12
Week 8: Style in Arguments (Peer Review Day with Mini-Conferences)
Due: Draft of WP 2, EA ch. 13
Week 9: Visual and Multimedia Arguments/Presenting Arguments
Due: WP 2 , EA ch. 14 and 15
Week 10: Academic Arguments/Finding Evidence
Due: EA ch. 16 and 17
Week 11: Evaluating Sources (Peer Review Day with Mini-Conferences)
Due: Draft of WP 3, EA ch. 18
Week 12: Using Sources/Plagiarism and Academic Integrity
Due: WP 3, EA ch. 19 and 20
Week 13: Documenting Sources/ How Does Popular Culture Stereotype You?
Due: EA ch. 21 and 22
Week 14: NO CLASS—CONFERENCES
Due: Draft of WP 4
Week 15: Why Worry About Food and Water?/What are you Working For?
Due: EA ch. 24 and 26
Week 16: FINAL PROJECT PRESENTATIONS
Due: WP 4
FINAL EXAM PERIOD MEETING: Final Project Presentations