Dr. Dean Taciuch
George Mason University

Fall 2021

English 302
Sections N21 & N22

Dr Dean Taciuch
Office: Horizon Hall 4163
Office Hours: Tuesdays & Thursdays 12N - 1:15 via Zoom
Email dtaciuch

Course Syllabus

Course Description
English 302 will help you understand how knowledge is created and transmitted in your field of study or discipline; understand key methods and conventions of scholarly research in your field of study or discipline; articulate and refine your own question for scholarly inquiry; situate your investigation in an ongoing context or conversation in your field; and design a final project that adds new perspectives to the conversation. Advanced composition will help you engage in academic and non-academic inquiry as you work on narrowing a research question and as you engage with your discipline or field of study.

ENGH 302 Learning Outcomes

• Students will be able to analyze rhetorical situations–audience, purpose, and context–in order to recognize the expectations of readers and understand the main purposes of composing across multiple contexts relevant to their fields of study.
• Students will understand the conventions of academic and non-academic genres, to include usage, specialized vocabulary, format, and attribution/citation systems.
• Students will be able to apply critical reading strategies that are appropriate to advanced academic and non-academic texts of relevance to their fields of study.
• Students will identify and synthesize multiple perspectives in articulating and refining a research question relevant to their fields of study.
• Students will engage in a recursive process of inventing, investigating, shaping, drafting, revising, and editing to produce a range of academic and non-academic texts of relevance to their fields of study.

Students as Scholars (SaS) & Mason Impact

English 302 participates in the Students as Scholars and the Mason Impact programs. The learning goals for these programs are integrated into English 302. See this page for more information.

Prerequisites

Students must have completed or transferred in the equivalent of English 100 or ENGH 101. Students must have completed 30 credit hours and the Mason Core literature requirement before enrolling in the class. The program recommends that students enroll in ENGH 302 after completing 45 credit hours. Students should take a version of English 302 related to their major field.
 
Please note that the Volgenau School of Engineering has specific ENGH 302 recommendations and requirements for its students enrolled in the following majors:

Volgenau students enrolled in another version of ENGH 302 should contact their advisor immediately to make sure they are enrolled in the right course. 

Mason Core

This course is part of the Mason Core (General Education) Program, which is designed to help develop “a Mason Graduate [who is] an engaged citizen, a well-rounded scholar, and someone who is prepared to act” (Mason Catalog). It fulfills the Mason Core Upper Division Written Communication requirement. For more information on the Mason Core, visit the Provost’s Mason Core page. 

Textbook and materials

There is no required textbook for this class. We will use several online texts, however.

GMU Writing Center Resources
GMU Library Tutorials
UNC Writing Center Handouts
Purdue OWL
Students as Scholars

Method of Instruction

Sections N21 & N22 are online sections: the courses will have no face-to-face meetings. I will have virtual office (via Zoom) on Tuesday and Thursdays from Noon to 1:15. I can also be reached via email.

See Tech Policy for technology requirements

Course readings, assignments, video lectures and notes will be posted to the Weekly Content Folders in BlackBoard every Monday. Do not share or post these materials online, as this would be an Honor Code violation ("Providing, using, or attempting to benefit from unauthorized academic material and/or assistance: This includes but is not limited to the posting or enabling of posting of homework assignments and/or exams or solutions on websites").

All course assignments will be submitted via Blackboard. Assignments should be uploaded as Word, PDF, or OpenOffice formats (doc, docx, pdf, odf).

In addition, we will have weekly BlackBoard discussions or journal entries. The discussions and journals are generally due on Wednesdays, but I also expect everyone to post and comment on other students' posts throughout the week if comments are required.

An online course requires special attention to submission deadlines, discussion posts, and course announcements. You should check the BlackBoard site regularly. The course assignments will be explained on BlackBoard, as will any clarifications and changes to the assignments and course schedule.

Assignments

The Major Assignments are described on BlackBoard

• Research Log 1 & Reflection (15%)
• Research Log 2 & Reflection (15%)
• Research Log 3 & Reflection (10%)
• Literature Review (25%)
• Advocacy Letter & Reflection (15%)
  

The Minor Assignments are the weekly Discussion posts, journals, and peer review groups. These assignments will not be graded individually, but they make up 20% of the final grade.

Important dates

Course and Grading Policies