Professor: Matt King (he, him, his; more on pronouns here and here)
Email: mrking@sbu.edu
Phone: 716.375.2457
Office Hours: Wednesday 1:30-4:30 and by appointment
Office Location: Plassmann D6
Class Website: https://mattrking.com/courses/e104/
University Writing and Communication Goal
University Learning Goal 3: Students will develop competence in multimodal communication with special emphasis on oral, written, and digital communication, including an understanding of key issues relating to their use.
Learning Objectives
- Students identify and respond to contexts using appropriate processes and modes of delivery.
- Students use effective content and approaches to organization, style, and design that are appropriate for the discipline and genre of communication.
- Students demonstrate control of syntax and mechanics by using language that communicates with clarity, fluency, and minimal errors.
Course Description
A composition course emphasizing writing as academic discourse, with attention to academic argumentation and expectations for research, structure, and style. Course assignments emphasize intensive research and disciplinary conventions, as well as professional and digital communication. This course is designed for students in the Honors Program. It achieves the same objectives and satisfies the same requirements as ENG 102: Writing II. At the discretion of the instructor, this course may do one or more of the following: cover additional topics, cover topics in more depth, require additional scholarly assignments beyond simply writing an extra paper. (3 credits)
Course Goals
Students who successfully complete the course will be able to:
- Demonstrate an advanced writing process with attention to academic research, argumentation, structure, and style;
- Understand writing as a disciplinary endeavor;
- Analyze texts in terms of disciplinary conventions;
- Document sources in standard academic formats;
- Produce writing that addresses different audiences and purposes and makes use of different modalities.
- Deliver content through advanced digital media and modes.
Class Texts
– Bullock, Brody, and Weinberg. The Little Seagull Handbook, 3rd ed.
– Other readings made available online as needed.
Grading
Paper 1 – Public Analysis = 15%
Paper 2 – Academic Analysis = 20%
Paper 3 – Theorizing Identity = 15%
Paper 4 – Digital Writing = 10%
Reflection Papers = 15%
Short Assignments = 10%
Participation = 5%
Honors Assignments = 10%
Papers are graded based on the quality of the final product as well as your writing and revision process work. The Reflection Papers ask you to reflect on your writing process and work on each paper. Short Assignments will receive a completion grade. Participation is based on your preparedness for class and participation in class activities.
Late Work. Excessive or unexcused late work will not be acceptable, and I reserve the right to penalize late work in such circumstances (generally, such penalties will be a letter grade for every day an assignment is late). If circumstances prevent you from being able to submit an assignment on time, you should discuss the situation with me ahead of time.
Attendance. You should arrive to class on time with all assigned readings and papers for the day completed. You are allowed six absences throughout the semester without a grade penalty (although missing class can affect your participation grade and your ability to succeed in the class generally). If you have 7-8 absences, you cannot receive higher than a C for your semester average. If you have 9-10 absences, you cannot receive higher than a D for your semester average. If you have 11 or more absences, you will receive an F for the semester. For every 3 instances of tardiness, you will incur 1 absence. If you only have 0-1 absences, you will receive a 1/3 letter grade bonus on your semester average.
For athletes, students who provide documentation for absences related to athletic competitions will be excused for all such absences. Student athletes can also miss two more class periods throughout the semester without a grade penalty. If you have three or more unexcused (non-athletic) absences throughout the semester, then all your absences will be counted toward the attendance policy.
+/- Grades. Plus and minus grades will be used in awarding final grades for this course. The letter-to-percentage conversion is given below.
Assignment Grades
A+ = 98.5 A = 95 A- = 91.5
B+ = 88.5 B = 85 B- = 81.5
C+ = 78.5 C = 75 C- = 71.5
D+ = 68.5 D = 65 D- = 61.5
F = 55
Semester Average
A = 93-100 A- = 90-93
B+ = 87-90 B = 83-87 B- = 80-83
C+ = 77-80 C = 73-77 C- = 70-73
D+ = 67-70 D = 63-67 D- = 60-63
F = Less than 60
Student Success Center
Revising and responding to feedback will be an invaluable and necessary part of your development as a writer this semester. Toward this end, you are strongly encouraged to visit me during office hours and to visit the Student Success Center on the first floor of Plassmann Hall to meet with a writing tutor. Bring your work with you to your appointment.
Academic Integrity
Academic dishonesty is inconsistent with the moral character expected of students in a University committed to the spiritual and intellectual growth of the whole person. It also subverts the academic process by distorting all measurements. A list of unacceptable practices and procedures to be followed in prosecuting cases of alleged academic dishonesty may be found in the Student Handbook and here.
Students with Disabilities
Students with disabilities who believe they may need accommodations in this class are encouraged to contact the Disability Support Services Office (Doyle 26, 716-375-2066) as soon as possible to better ensure that such accommodations are implemented in a timely fashion. Documentation from this office is required before accommodations can be made. Please see the official SBU Student with Disabilities policy here.
Email
Email will serve as an official means of communication for this class, and you should check the email account you have registered with the university regularly. Feel free to email me with your questions and concerns.
Title IX
Title IX makes it clear that violence and harassment based on sex and gender are Civil Rights offenses subject to the same kinds of accountability and the same kinds of support applied to offenses against other protected categories such as race, national origin, etc. If you or someone you know has been harassed or assaulted, you can find the appropriate resources at the Health and Wellness Center or at the Campus Safety Office. For on-campus reporting, see the Title IX Coordinator (Sharon Burke, Director of Human Resources) and Residence Life Staff (RAs, RDs, and other professional staff). The University’s policy and procedures regarding gender-based and sexual misconduct can be found online.
In the event of an emergency, call Campus Safety at 716-375-2525 or contact Nichole Gonzalez, Residential Living and Conduct, 716-375-2572, ngonzale@sbu.edu. Be aware that most university employees are mandated reporters.
Other Concerns
If you have any other concerns that affect your ability to succeed in this course – for example, affording costs related to the class, having regular shelter and food, dealing with mental health issues, etc. – please let me know, and I will do what I can to help.
Matt King 