ENGL 109 F22 Ofili

 ENGL 109 Introduction to Academic Writing

Fall 2022

Classroom EV3-3412

Tuesdays and Thursdays, 2:30-3:50 pm

Instructor Information:

Instructor: Patricia Ofili

Office Hours: Tues/Thurs: 1:30 – 2 pm via Team, and by appointment Email: p3ofili@uwaterloo.ca

Course Description

The purpose of ENGL 109 is to help students develop critical reading and writing skills. We will focus on three genres of writing: Personal Narrative, Rhetorical Analysis, and Argumentative Essay. Smaller activities will also be completed in class to help you develop and revise your own work as well as the work of your peers. Collaboration is a key to learning in this course, and it will be expected that you participate in the social environment of the class. Another important component of this course is revision. Since writing is an iterative process, it is important that students have the chance to develop their work through the revision of draft work. This process will also give you a chance to bring up any challenge you may be having (e.g., developing a thesis or main idea, grammatical issues, etc.) with the course, so that you can clear them up before the final due date of an assignment. Finally, originality is encouraged! Some of the best ideas come from your own personal interests and life experiences. Feel free to be creative.

Required Texts

Ruskiewicz, John and Jay Dolmage. How To Write Anything: A Guide and Reference with Readings, 5^th Edition. Boston: Bedford St. Martin’s Press, 2022. Print.

Joan Didion’s “Goodbye to All That” (available as a .pdf via Google).

Course Goals and Learning Outcomes

English 109 is designed to:

• To give you the opportunity to learn and practice writing in a variety of academic genres
• To help you learn to read critically
• To help you 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 help you learn and practice communicating to a variety of academic audiences.

Accommodations

We will make an effort to ensure that all students have multiple means of accessing class information, multiple ways to take part in class activities, and multiple avenues for being assessed on class work. The University of Waterloo has a long- standing commitment to support the participation and access to university programs, services, and facilities by persons with all types of disabilities. All students who have a permanent disability as well as those with temporary disabilities have the right to what UW calls “AccessAbility Services.” To register for these services, you must provide documentation from a qualified professional to verify your disability. Please contact them at 519-888-4567 ext. 35082 or drop into Needles Hall 1132 to book an appointment to meet with an advisor to discuss their services and supports.

Standard of Work

This is a university-level course, and you are expected to be comfortable with the mechanics of writing; that is, to understand and use proper grammar, syntax, and punctuation in order to communicate effectively. The course textbook, How To Write Anything, offers guidelines and activities to help you with these mechanics. If you feel that you require extra assistance regarding this, please contact me and/or the Writing Centre in the Student Success Office (South Campus Hall, second floor).

Response and Evaluation

You will write three major essays in this class, and this work will represent the bulk of your course grade. You will receive a final grade on individual papers when you hand them in. Finally, you will collect your best work and create a final portfolio, which you’ll submit at the end of the semester for a final grade.

The larger assignments will be complemented by smaller ones. These smaller assignments will help you build up to the larger themes and ideas of the major assignments.

Your participation grade includes attendance, participation in class and group discussion, as well as your overall level of interaction with the material. I understand that some students may feel uncomfortable participating in class; however, I will try to foster an environment that is inclusive and comfortable for all to share their ideas.

The final portfolio will include your revised three major papers and your final reflection.

***All writing assignments are to be submitted into the dropbox.

Late Work

Late papers (major assignments) will be penalized 2% (applied to your participation grade) per day late. All major papers must be completed – you will fail the class if any of the major papers are not completed and submitted, however late. Short-writing submitted late will be accepted, but will work against your short-writing grade. Check syllabus for all due dates. Extensions will be provided on an individual basis. Please contact me if you require an extension for the material. Extensions will not be given after 10:00 pm of the night before the final due date.

Absences

It is strongly encouraged that you attended all classes. Attendance will be taken in all class sessions. Students who miss more than two classes are in danger of a failing participation grade. Always bring your course book How To Write Anything to class.

Course Concerns

If you are experiencing problems with the course or with the marking, you should first discuss your difficulties with your instructor, Patricia Ofili. Students who believe that they have been wrongfully or unjustly treated or penalized have the right to grieve; refer to Policy #70, Student Grievance: http://www.adm.uwaterloo.ca/infosec/Policies/policy70.html.

A decision made or penalty imposed under Policy 70 (Student Petitions and Grievances) (other than a petition) or Policy 71 (Student Discipline) may be appealed if there is aground. A student who believes he/she has a ground for an appeal should refer to Policy 72 (Student Appeals)http://www.adm.uwaterloo.ca/infosec/Policies/policy72.htm

Academic Honesty

All students registered in courses in the Faculty of Arts are expected to know what constitutes an academic offence, to avoid committing academic offences, and to take responsibility for their academic actions. When the commission of an offence is established, disciplinary penalties will be imposed in accord with Policy #71 (Student Academic Discipline). For information on categories of offences and types of penalties, students are directed to consult the summary of Policy #71 which is supplied in the Undergraduate Calendar (on the Web at http://www.adm.uwaterloo.ca/infoucal/UW/policy_71.html).

If you need help in learning how to avoid offences such as plagiarism, cheating, and double submission, or if you need clarification of aspects of the discipline policy, ask your course instructor for guidance. Other resources regarding the discipline policy are your academic advisor and the Undergraduate Associate Dean. Students seeking guidance on academic honesty are urged to consult the following page of the Arts Faculty Web site, “How to Avoid Plagiarism and Other Written Offences: A Guide for Students and Instructors” (http://watarts.uwaterloo.ca/~sager/plagiarism.html).

Plagiarism or copying other people’s style or ideas and claiming them as your own is a serious academic offense. Any incident of plagiarism will automatically cause a paper to fail, could cause you to fail the course, and will be reported to the Dean’s office.

Formatting of Assignments and Procedural Basics

• For all hard copy assignments, use Times New Roman, 12 pt. font, 1-inch margins
• Number all pages
• MLA format is required for all of your bibliographies and in-text citations.
• Save all of your work (including final assignments, draft work, peer comments, etc., since these may be required for your final portfolio)
• For peer-review exercises in class, you would be expected to bring your laptop or any other device to class with you.

Classroom Etiquette:

The classroom (including any online activity on our LEARN site) is expected to foster ideas and communication. Therefore, be respectful in your interactions with other students. Constructive criticism is encouraged, but it is also important to be fair with others. Smartphones and laptops are allowed in class; however, in a manner that is productive to learning. The consequence of using these technologies inappropriately (e.g. playing videogames, texting, etc.), will be that your participation grade will suffer.

Grade Breakdown

Final Portfolio                    15%

Personal Narrative              15%

Rhetorical Analysis              15%

Argumentative Essay           15%

Short Writing Assignments    10%

Group Project                       15%

Class Participation                 15%

Unit Overview and Schedule

Note: Some dates and scheduling may change. I will notify you of these changes.

Unit 1: Personal Narrative

This personal narrative, simply put, tells a story about a particular event that changed the writer’s life. The contents of the narrative are up to the author. Similar to a storybook, a personal narrative will likely have characters and dialogue, develop a plot, and have a major theme that the narrative surrounds (e.g. family, love, a life lesson, goals, first job, learning a new language, etc.). There are several subgenres of the personal narrative outlined in your textbook, including:

• Literacy narratives (pp. 22 - 23)
• Memoir/Reflection (p. 21)
• Visual Narrative/Infographics (59 – 60 & 153)

The goal of the personal narrative is to help you develop a main idea using originality. This assignment does not require secondary sources, however, if you choose to use them, please format the assignment appropriately (MLA). You may be creative and include a photograph, a drawing, or content through another medium. However, please remember that the written content should make up the bulk of the assignment and that any visual content should be used as a reference point for the rest of the narrative. The Personal Narrative should be 4-5 pages in length.

Unit 2: Rhetorical Analysis

The rhetorical analysis takes a critical focus on Shakespeare’s Othello. The purpose of this assignment is for you to show how well you can argue persuasively about any chosen position regarding any contemporary issues identified in Othello.

Three main concepts may help you do this are how: ethos, pathos, logos function in this text. We will discuss these further in class and I will provide examples on how to spot and analyze these effectively. The rhetorical analysis is also the first assignment that requires you to have an argument of sorts (thesis). This assignment may also require secondary sources and we will discuss how to find sources that support your argument. The analysis should be around 4-5 pages in length.

Unit 3: Argumentative Essay

For this assignment, students are required to complete a formal essay, with credible secondary sources and a well-structured argument. You will begin by choosing a current issue that you are interested in. Then, you will do some research to learn more about the issue and about various viewpoints and stakeholders. Eventually, you will form a unique thesis about this issue, and use research to support a series of claims. You will organize your essay and write persuasively to change people’s minds about your issue. The main point of this assignment is to further help students develop critical reading and writing skills. The essay should be 5-6 pages in length.