109 W20 Kampherm

Revisions to Course Outline for Winter 2020

ENGL 109 Section 005
Introduction to Academic Writing

Winter 2020
Monday and Wednesday 11:30 a.m. - 12:50 p.m. • EV3 3406

Instructor: Monique Kampherm

Original Syllabus Grading Structure:

Assignments and Grading

Date

Weight

Class Attendance and Participation

ONGOING

10%

Rhetorical Analysis of an Advertisement Assignment

Post your Advertisement Title and a brief description on the Discussion Board

January 15, 2020

 

In-Class Working Session, Rhetorical Analysis of an Advertisement

January 20, 2020  

Peer-Review Workshop, Rhetorical Analysis of an Advertisement 

January 27, 2020 *

Final Rhetorical Analysis of an Advertisement and Reflection

February 3, 2020 25%

Argument Editorial Assignment

Post your Editorial Topic and a brief description on Discussion Board

February 5, 2020  

In-Class Working Session, Editorial

February 10, 2020  

Peer Review Workshop, Editorial

March 2, 2020 *

Final Argument Editorial and Reflection

March 4, 2020 30%

Report or Evaluation and Abstract

Post your Report/Evaluation Topic and a brief description on
Discussion Board

March 9, 2020  

In-Class Working Session, Report/Evaluation

March 11, 2020  

Peer-Review Workshop, Report/Evaluation

March 23, 2020 *

Oral Presentation, Report or Evaluation

March 30, 2020  

Final Report or Evaluation and Abstract

April 1, 2020 35%

* There will be a 10% deduction of the assignment grade if the peer-review workshop is not attended and/or a full version of the assignment is not uploaded into the workshop dropbox by the specified date.

Revised Syllabus Grading Structure:

Removed final report/evaluation and abstract assignment. Re-weighted completed assignments and class attendance/participation grade, keeping the original syllabus weighting the same. Changes highlighted in yellow.

Assignments and Grading

Date

Weight

Class Attendance and Participation

ONGOING

15%

Rhetorical Analysis of an Advertisement Assignment

Post your Advertisement Title and a brief description on the Discussion Board

January 15, 2020

 

In-Class Working Session, Rhetorical Analysis of an Advertisement

January 20, 2020  

Peer-Review Workshop, Rhetorical Analysis of an Advertisement 

January 27, 2020 *

Final Rhetorical Analysis of an Advertisement and Reflection

February 3, 2020 39%

Argument Editorial Assignment

Post your Editorial Topic and a brief description on Discussion Board

February 5, 2020  

In-Class Working Session, Editorial

February 10, 2020  

Peer Review Workshop, Editorial

March 2, 2020 *

Final Argument Editorial and Reflection

March 4, 2020 46%

Report or Evaluation and Abstract

Post your Report/Evaluation Topic and a brief description on
Discussion Board

March 9, 2020  

In-Class Working Session, Report/Evaluation

March 11, 2020  

Peer-Review Workshop, Report/Evaluation CANCELLED

March 23, 2020 *

Oral Presentation, Report or Evaluation CANCELLED

March 30, 2020  

Final Report or Evaluation and Abstract CANCELLED

April 1, 2020 0%

* There will be a 10% deduction of the assignment grade if the peer-review workshop is not attended and/or a full version of the assignment is not uploaded into the workshop dropbox by the specified date.

Attendance and Participation Grade Rubric:

Component

Outstanding - 25 points

Strong - 20 points

Developing - 15 points

Lacking - 10 points

Fail - 0 points

Attendance

Outstanding - 25/25 Student was present for every class (or formally excused).

Strong - 20/25 Student was absent from one class.

Developing - 15/25 Student was absent from two classes.

Lacking - 10/25 Student was absent from three classes.

Fail - 0/25

Student was absent from more than three classes.

Engagement – participating in the development of our course

Outstanding - 25/25 Student brought original thought and perspective to class discussions . Student was fully engaged and actively involved during every class. They also work cooperative ly and well with all of their peers.

Strong - 20/25
Student often participated freely in class and asked thoughtful questions. Student often participated in discussions/work with peers cooperatively.

Developing - 15/25
Student mostly participated in class without being prompted. Student mostly joined in discussions/work with peers.

Lacking - 10/25
Student sometimes participated in class discussions or asked questions. Student was hesitant to join in discussions/work with peers.

Fail - 0/25

Student rarely participated in class discussions or asked questions. Student was reluctant to join in discussions/work with peers.

Preparation

Outstanding - 25/25 Student is always prepared for class with completed assignments, activities, readings, and necessary materials (e.g. discussion board, working sessions, peer- review, etc.).

Strong - 20/25 Student is usually prepared for class with completed assignments, activities, readings, and necessary materials (e.g. discussion board, working sessions, peer- review, etc.).

Developing - 15/25 Student is sometimes prepared with most of the assignments, activities, readings, and necessary materials (e.g. discussion board, working sessions, peer- review, etc.).

Lacking - 10/25
Student is usually unprepared for class with partially completed assignments, activities, readings, and/or necessary materials (e.g. discussion board, working sessions, peer- review, etc.).

Fail - 0/25

Student is often unprepared for class with incomplete assignments, activities, readings, and/or necessary materials (e.g. discussion board, working sessions, peer- review, etc.).

Behaviour – courtesy and respect

Outstanding - 25/25 Student always followed directions and procedures and always brought a positive attitude.

Strong - 20/25 Student usually followed direction and procedures and brought a mostly positive attitude.

Developing - 15/25 Student sometimes followed direction and procedures and brought a neutral attitude.

Lacking - 10/25
Student was usually reluctant to follow directions and procedures and mostly brought a less than positive attitude.

Fail - 0/25

Student usually displayed disruptive behaviour during class and usually had a negative attitude.

Course Communication (Announcements on LEARN and emails to entire class):

Evaluate our Introduction to Academic Writing (ENGL 109) Course

March 24, 2020 9:46 p.m.

Hello everyone,
I have just posted two lectures online in PDF format--one on graphics and one on how to write under pressure. These are posted in the Additional Readings section on our LEARN site for you to review on your own time.

As we are ending the Winter term, I want to let you know that I am happy to have had the opportunity to be your instructor for our in-class Introduction to Academic Writing (ENGL 109- 005) course and I hope you have enjoyed working with diverse forms of writing, constructing your own ideas for different genres, circumstances, and audiences.

Formally, the goals of our course were:

  • To help you think critically and communicate effectively

  • To learn and practice a variety of strategies for inventing, drafting, and editing texts

  • To learn and practice writing in a variety of academic genres

  • To learn to read critically

  • To learn to write persuasively by effectively employing elements of formal argumentation

  • To help you give and receive useful feedback on writing for the purposes of revision

  • To learn and practice communicating to a variety of academic audiences

In our class, I strive to provide you with learning opportunities and information you could draw on as you continue through your academic pursuits and as you enter the working environment. To that end, your feedback is of vital importance to me. If you have the chance now, or over the next few days, please take 15-minutes to let me know how you enjoyed our course and how I did as your instructor. Kindly complete this questionnaire. Your evaluation, both numerical and narrative, are important.

https://evaluate.uwaterloo.ca/

Thank you for taking the time to help.

Kindest regards,
Monique Kampherm

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Cancellation of Final Assignment and Re-Weighting of Submitted Assignments

March 19, 2020 9:04 p.m. Hello Everyone,

Thank you to all of you for your support during this time. I appreciate all of your comments and suggestions over the past week on the proposed amendments to our course and have carefully considered what you all have said in light of the COVID-19 constraints.

To that effect, the remainder of the course will be structured like this:

Cancellation of Final Assignment:
The report/evaluation and abstract assignment will be cancelled along with our peer-review. From your comments and feedback, I understand that the removal of the last assignment is greatly appreciated during this extraordinary situation.

Re-Weighting of Submitted Assignments:
With the cancellation of the final assignment, it was suggested that the weighting of assignments should follow the structure provided in the syllabus, with the assignments weighted out of 65, rather than 100. This means that the relative weighting for assignments remains the same, increased by an equal proportion. I agree that this amendment appears to be most fair.

Therefore, weighting for the assignments will be as follows:
15% - Class Attendance and Participation
39% - Rhetorical Analysis of an Advertisement and Reflection Assignment 46% - Argument Editorial and Reflection Assignment

Lectures:
To complete our course lectures over the next few weeks, I will develop and provide on LEARN PowerPoint slides in PDF format. These PDF documents will have information I would like you to know regarding the final topics of our course. We will not have a scheduled class time, but by providing these lecture documents on LEARN, you will have the information to review on your own time.

Again, thank you for your comments and feedback during this time. If you have any further comments, questions, or suggestions regarding these amendments, please contact me within 48- hours. Also, if you have a particular circumstance for which you may need another approach, please communicate this with me.

I am in process of grading your argument editorial assignment. Thank you for your continued patience during this unforeseen situation.

Kindest regards,

Monique Kampherm
--
BA (ACS), MA (Political Science), MA (Journalism), MA (English-Rhetoric)
Instructor and Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) Candidate (ABD), Political Rhetoric in Social Media Department of English Language and Literature
University of Waterloo
uwaterloo.ca/scholar/mekamphe/

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Update: Proposed Cancellation of Final Assignment

March 18, 2020 1:07 p.m. Hello Everyone,

I hope you are all doing well. This unprecedented situation with COVID-19 is changing rapidly, and I understand that this is a stressful and uncertain time for all of you.

In light of this evolving situation, and with approval from the Chair of the English department, I would like to propose that we cancel our final assignment and lectures going forward.

This means that there will be no requirement to submit the final assignment of our report/evaluation and abstract, and we will not have the online peer-review session. We will also not have any further online classes. In effect, our Introduction to Academic Writing (ENGL 109- 005) course will end.

I propose to reallocate the weighting of grades for the assignments you have already submitted, as well as for our class attendance and participation.

The Proposed Revised Grading Structure will be as follows:
20% - Class Attendance and Participation
40% - Rhetorical Analysis of an Advertisement and Reflection Assignment 40% - Argument Editorial and Reflection Assignment

I am currently in process of grading your argument editorial and reflection assignment.

Thank you to those who have provided me with their comments. I, again, invite you to communicate with me about this proposed amendment with your comments, questions, or concerns. Also, if you have a particular circumstance for which you may need another approach, please communicate this with me. I ask that you respond to this proposal within 48-hours.

Kindest regards,

Monique Kampherm
--
BA (ACS), MA (Political Science), MA (Journalism), MA (English-Rhetoric)
Instructor and Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) Candidate (ABD), Political Rhetoric in Social Media Department of English Language and Literature
University of Waterloo
uwaterloo.ca/scholar/mekamphe/

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Update: Proposed Change to Assignment Due Dates

March 16, 2020 10:58 p.m. Hello everyone,

As I know that many of you are in student residence, and in light of the recent directive from Feridun Hamdullahpur, president and vice-chancellor of the University of Waterloo “strongly encouraging all students to make arrangements to move out of residence by noon on Friday, March 20, 2020” (uwaterloo.ca/coronavirus/), I would like to suggest a date amendment to our online peer-review workshop and extend the due date of our final report/evaluation and abstract assignment.

Rather than having our peer-review workshop on Monday, March 23, 2020, I propose the peer- review workshop date be moved to Monday, March 30, 2020, with our final report/evaluation and abstract assignment due on Monday, April 6, 2020.

I would like to hear from you, and I invite you to respond to this proposed amendment within 48- hours.

Hope you are keeping well. Kindest regards,

Monique Kampherm
--
BA (ACS), MA (Political Science), MA (Journalism), MA (English-Rhetoric)
Instructor and Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) Candidate (ABD), Political Rhetoric in Social Media Department of English Language and Literature
University of Waterloo
uwaterloo.ca/scholar/mekamphe/

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Proposed Changes to Our Class Syllabus and Schedule

March 15, 2020 12:40 a.m. Hello everyone,

I hope you are doing well. As you are aware, we are in an unprecedented situation. Motivated by public health concerns, I would like to propose some changes to our current class syllabus and our class schedule based on direction from the University of Waterloo.

For the remainder of the term, I propose:

  • We will refrain from attending our in-person class sessions. Your 10% attendance and participation grade will be based on your attendance and participation from January 6, 2020 to March 11, 2020.

  • As scheduled, you will upload your workshop report/evaluation in the Workshop Dropbox on March 23, 2020 by 10:30 a.m.

  • In addition, I ask that you will also upload your workshop report/evaluation on our course discussion board, as our in-class peer-review workshop will be moved online to LEARN.

  • You will be paired randomly with two other students into a group on the discussion board.
  • Before 11:30 a.m. on March 23, 2020 (our usual class start time), upload the workshop draft of your report/evaluation onto the "Peer Review" discussion board. To upload your report/evaluation document for the peer-review, start a new thread and click on, “add attachment.”
  • In the body of the discussion board thread, include a note describing what you would like your reviewers to focus their attention on as they review your document.
  • Following this, download the documents from your group members.
  • Read the Report/Evaluation Guidelines I provided in class on March 11, 2020 (and also on Learn). Provide your feedback and comments and write your response letter to your peer based on this.
  • Spend approximately 30-minutes providing feedback on each document. Use either the Comment Tools for Adobe Acrobat PDFs or Track Changes for Microsoft Word to deliver your feedback, comments, and your response letter.
  • Upload your revisions using “reply to thread,” and the “add attachment” function on the discussion board before midnight on March 23, 2020.
  • Our in-class 2-minute oral presentation will be cancelled.

  • As scheduled, your final report/evaluation and abstract is due on April 1, 2020 by 10:30 a.m. in the LEARN Dropbox. You are welcome to submit your final version earlier if you wish.

I invite you to respond to this proposal with 48-hours regarding the above changes. If you have any concerns or questions about this proposal, I would like to hear them.

I will be in touch with further information as I organize these changes over the coming week. Kindest regards,

Monique Kampherm
--
BA (ACS), MA (Political Science), MA (Journalism), MA (English-Rhetoric)
Instructor and Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) Candidate (ABD), Political Rhetoric in Social Media Department of English Language and Literature
University of Waterloo
uwaterloo.ca/scholar/mekamphe/