• complete 45 credit hours (may include transfer hours approved by the GMU Registrar's Office)
• complete English 100 or 101 (may substitute English 111 from a Virginia community college)
• complete 3 credits of English 200-level literature
• meet with your advisor to determine which type of English 302 to register for
  

Thinkers and Problem-Solvers

This course participates in the Students as Scholars (SaS) program, a university-wide initiative that encourages undergraduate students to engage in scholarly research. Across campus, students now have increased opportunities to work with faculty on original scholarship, research, and creative activities, through their individual departments and the OSCAR office (http://oscar.gmu.edu).

At the end of the course, the Office of Institutional Assessment and the Composition Program will collect random samples of students’ final research projects to assess the effectiveness of the Students as Scholars Program. This assessment has no bearing on your grade in the course.

STUDENTS AS SCHOLARS LEARNING OUTCOMES are:

• CORE: Articulate and refine a question, problem, or challenge.

• ETHICAL: Identify relevant ethical issues and follow ethical principles.

• DISCOVERY: Distinguish between personal beliefs and evidence.

• METHOD: Gather and evaluate evidence appropriate to the inquiry.

• METHOD: Appropriately analyze scholarly evidence.

• CONTEXT: Explain how knowledge is situated and shared in relevant scholarly contexts.

1. apply critical reading strategies that are appropriate to advanced reading in their academic discipline and in their possible future workplaces
2.  recognize how knowledge is constructed in their academic discipline and possible future workplaces, attending to issues such as kinds of claims or questions posed by advanced or professional writers 
   
3. understand evidence considered sufficient to support arguments 
   
4. analyze the rhetorical situations—audience, purpose, and context—of texts produced in their academic disciplines and in possible future workplaces produce writing—including arguments or proposals—that is appropriate for a range of rhetorical situations within their academic disciplines and possible future workplaces, with particular attention to textual features such as common genres 
   
5. use appropriate organizational strategies, as well as style, tone, and diction 
   
6. demonstrate mastery of document design and expected citation formats related to their academic discipline 
   

1. use writing as a tool for exploration and reflection in addressing advanced problems, as well as for exposition and persuasion
2. successfully employ strategies for writing as a recursive process of inventing, investigating, shaping, drafting, revising, and editing to meet a range of advanced academic and professional expectations—including, when given appropriate time for drafting and editing, the ability to produce documents in Standard Edited American English that are generally free from error 
   
3. collaborate with others as they write, through peer review, group projects, and/or consulting with outside experts (writing center tutors, librarians, subject-matter experts, workplace informants, etc.) 
   
4. identify, evaluate, and use research sources (print and electronic), to include advanced online library searching of databases pertinent to their disciplines and the critical use of web sites 
   
5. employ a range of appropriate technologies to support their researching, reading, and thinking, with particular attention to the ways that advanced students and professional locate, analyze, organize and share information

UNIVERSITY POLICY ON CLASS MEMBERSHIP

Students are responsible for verifying their enrollment in this class. Deadlines are included in the Course Schedule for this class as well as the GMU Schedule of Classes.

For Spring 2019, the Last Day to Add classes is Tuesday, Jan. 29.  The last day to drop is Friday, Feb. 22.

ACADEMIC ACCOMMODATIONS POLICY

In accordance with English Department policy, each student will submit a minimum of 3500 words in the course of the semester, which will serve as the basis for the course grade. Any student with a documented disability which could impact the completion of this requirement must notify the instructor at the beginning of the semester, using a Faculty Contact Sheet.  Students needing documentation must contact the Office of Disability Services, located in SUB 1, Room 4205, phone number (703) 993-2474.  Documentation is required to obtain course adaptations to ensure that students recieve appropriate support and assistance for success in the class.

It is the student's responsibiity to retain a copy of work submitted in case of submission problems, plus all graded files until the final course grade appears on their transcripts at the end of the semester.

If extraordinary cirmcumstances prevent a student from submitting to Blackboard on time, it is his/her responsibility to email the assignment to the instructor before the due date to avoid late penalties.  

CLASS POLICY ON EXTRA CREDIT

Extra credit is not awarded in this class.

CLASS POLICY ON LATE WORK

All assignments should be submitted to Blackboard on time.

• Late work will be penalized one letter grade for the first  24 hours after the due date.
• Late work will be penalized 50% of the original grade if submitted more than 24 hours after the due date until the end of the first week. The late penalty cannot be removed from work resubmitted or revised. 
• No work will be accepted more than a week after the due date indicated on the Course Schedule.

Late work may be delayed in being graded and returned; delay is usually one week but may be more. Please keep this in mind, especially near the end of the semester.

Students should retain all graded files until the final course grade appears on their transcripts at the end of the semester.

IMPORTANT: Both the Research Paper and the visual presentation project on situational leadership have non-negotiable due dates due to the necessity of submitting final grades in time for graduation. They cannot be submitted late.

CLASS PARTICIPATION POLICY

Be aware that writing is a time-intensive activity.  The Registrar's Office suggests 2-3 hours per week per credit hour, but composition courses can easily take a little more time.  It is thus very difficult to make up any significant amount of lost time. Anyone who must unavoidably miss class activities is advised to notify the instructor promptly to avoid falling behind.  In an online class like this one, course work and deadlines go on as scheduled, regardless of weather-related closings, unless there is a network outage or Blackboard crash.

If a major religious holiday will interefere with the ability to participate inclass activities or submit an assignment on the due date, it is the student's oblilgation to provide the prpofessor with the date(s) within the first two weeks of the semester.  See the Mason University Life Religious Holiday Calendar for dates.

Since group work is conducted online, it is crucial that each person contribute meaningfully to the group to which s/he is assigned, especially  in a business writing section, since the business world is so highly collaborative. Therefore, participation in the class environment is an important part of the semester grade, especially for the civility blog, the wiki project and the peer reviews of research papers.  The instructions files and scoring rubrics for these activities explain the type and level of participation required. It is not possible to earn an "A" in this class without timely, meaningful group contributions.

Active presence in online conversations is essential.  This implies brain awareness, without other distractions, as well as the basic courtesies of formal social gatherings. A student who is seriously unprepared for class or group work--having no draft ready for group mates to critique, for example, will lose class participation points for that activity.  Any serious breach of good online conduct may cause the loss of all participation points.

UNIVERSITY GRADING REQUIREMENTS FOR ENGLISH 302

It is University policy that in all Mason Core English classes (English 100, 101, 201 and 302), students must achieve a grade of C (73) or higher to receive credit for the course. Students with averages of C- or lower will receive an NC (No Credit) for the course.  Students can keep track of their grade in the course folder in Blackboard by clicking on My Grades in the Course Menu.

It is also university policy that all students in English 302 must successfully complete a major research assignment in order to earn credit for the course.  In our case, this is the Research Paper. 

It is the policy of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences, which houses the English Department, that once final grades have been recorded, instructors should not accept any additional work from a student to change a grade.

In addition, the University requires that students submit a minimum of 3500 words in course of the semester, upon which the course grade is based.

COURSE GRADING SCALE

Each assignment, as well as the final course grade, is based upon a total of 100 points. Grading ranges are:

A+ 100-97.5% | A 97.4-93% | A- 92.9-90% | B+ 89.9-87.5% | B 87.4-83% | B- 82.9-80% | C+ 79.9-77.5% | C 77.4-73% | C- 72.9-70% | D 69.9-60% | F below 60%.

ESSAY GRADING CRITERIA

Essays are graded using the following general criteria:

•  An "A" level grade (90-100%) marks an essay that is a delight for the reader.  Even more than in a "B" essay, its author anticipates and responds to possible reader questions, structures arguments  to create a fluid reading experience, uses a wide range of supporting evidence, engages the reader in a provocative conversation, provides unexpected insights, and/or uses language with care and facility.
•  A "B" level grade (80-90%) highlights a strong example of college writing and thinking.  In addition to meeting the "C" level requirements, such an essay goes further in some way(s): it demonstrates some insight into the "gray areas" of the topic, provides original or very thorough support that is tightly woven into the overall argument, creates prose that reads smoothly at both the sentence and paragraph levels, and/or exhibits a personal "voice" or style.  It has few sentence-level errors.
• a "C" level grade (70-79%) denotes competent college-level writing and achievement.  The writer responds to the specified rhetorical situation: he or she meets, to some degree, all the assignment requirements, and employs some key strategies for communicating his/here ideas to his/her targeted audience. The essay has a central focus, presents some support, and moves from point to point in an orderly fashion. Sentence-level errors do not significantly prevent comprehension. Essays that do not meet these criteria will not earn a "C." 
  

• "D" and "F" level essays do not meet the basic expectations of the assignment.

There are four MAJOR WRITING ASSIGNMENTS for this course, each in a different format. Each assignment has an instructions containing goals, skills developed by the assignment, procedures to complete the assignment, and grading criteria. There are also help files supplementing each assignment, designed to provide support in locating materials and/or developing needed critical analysis and research skills.

1. The Disciplinary Resources Wiki--prepares for research in a specific field of study by constructing a simple database--a wiki--that identifies some basic resources, scholars, organizations, questions, issues and writing conventions
2. Memo on Choosing a Professional Association--compares three professional associations that offer valuable opportunities for networking, hiring, reading materials, conferences/training, outside contacs and benefits to an aspiring professional.  IMPORTANT: this is the only assignment that can be rewritten for a higher grade.  Specific conditions apply; see Instructions file for details.
   
3. Visual Presentation on Becoming an Effective Situational Leader--synthesis project combining skills from the three other majr assignments. Analyzes attributes needed in students' business careers at the management level.
   
4. The Research Paper--reviews current professional, scholarly and media knowledge about a proposed corporate or government employer. Identifies contact points between the corporate brand and the student's personal brand and values. Successful submission of a complete paper by the due date is required to earn credit for this course.  At a minimum, a complete paper must contain an title page, abstract page, body with internal citations for sources and a references page.
   

Four SHORT WRITINGS will establish appropriate online behavior norms, used for critical reading, writing and reflection on research material:

1. A class blog in which students compare appropriate with potentially challenging topics for online interaction, followed by a survey to establish a class code of conduct for a business environment
2. A worksheet designed to introduce and reinforce the concept of an academic discipline
3. Peer review of classmates' research paper drafts
4. A personal blog reflecting on writing progress and issues in each of the four major assignments, which also supports the university's Students as Scholars/QEP objectives

Three QUIZZES, taken online, will cover concerns in business research and writing.

1. The first will cover parallel structure used in lists, resumes and bullet point formats like Prezi or PowerPoint.
   
2. The second will test proficiency with formatting research papers, internal citations and references in APA style, as required by the School of Business.
   
3. The third will review plagiarism and intellectual property. It is a prerequisite for acceptance of the research paper, which in turn is required in order to pass the class.  

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HONOR CODE and STUDENT SAFETY

This class will include direct instruction in strategies for handling sources as part of our curriculum. However, students in composition classes must also take responsibility for understanding and practicing the basic principles listed below.

AVOIDING PLAGIARISM

To avoid plagiarism, meet the expectations of a US Academic Audience, give their readers a chance to investigate the issue further, and make credible arguments, writers must

• put quotation marks around, and give an in-text citation for, any sentences or distinctive phrases (even very short, 2- or 3-word phrases) that writers copy directly from any outside source: a book, textbook, article, website, newspaper, song, baseball card, interview, encyclopedia, CD, YouTube video, movie, etc.

• completely rewrite—not just switch out a few words—any information they find in a separate source and wish to summarize or paraphrase for their readers, and also give an in-text citation for that paraphrased information

• give an in-text citation for any facts, statistics, or opinions which the writers learned from outside sources (or which they just happen to know) and which are not considered “common knowledge” in the target audience (this may require new research to locate a credible outside source to cite)

• give a new in-text citation for each element of information—that is, do not rely on a single citation at the end of a paragraph, because that is not usually sufficient to inform a reader clearly of how much of the paragraph comes from an outside source.

Writers must also include a Works Cited or References list at the end of their essay, providing full bibliographic information for every source cited in their essay.

While different disciplines may have slightly different citation styles, and different instructors may emphasize different levels of citation for different assignments, writers should always begin with these conservative practices unless they are expressly told otherwise. If student writers ever have questions about a citation practice, they should ask their instructor! Instructors in the Composition Program support the Mason Honor Code, which requires them to report any suspected instances of plagiarism to the Mason Honor Committee. All judgments about plagiarism are made after careful review by the Honor Committee, which may issue penalties ranging from grade-deductions to course failure to expulsion from GMU

STUDENT SAFETY

George Mason University is committed to providing equal opportunity and an educational and work environment free from any discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, disability, veteran status, sexual orientation or age.  GMU adheres to all applicable state and federal equal opportunity/affirmative action statutes and regulations.

George Mason University is also committed to a campus that is free of sexual misconduct and incidents of interpersonal violence.  If you experience or witness such an incident, contact the Title IX Coordinator's Office at (703) 993-8730 for available options and resources at the Office of Diversity Services and Programs. This office works specifically with  African Heritage, Hispanic/Latino, Asian/Pacific American, American Indian, and Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Questioning populations. 

The Student Support and Advocacy Center , available at (703) 993-3686, offers educational programming, one-on-one consultations, and resources in the areas of interpersonal violence, personal wellness, and alcohol and drug use. Students seeking additional counselling or advice should contact Counseling and Psychological Services at (703) 993-2380.   In an emergency, call Crisis Link at (703) 527-4077 or go to Online Crisis Chat.  You may also call the campus police at (703)-993-2810, especially if a problem arises at night when daytime offices are closed.

The University Catalog is the central resource for university policies affecting all students, faculty and staff conduct in university academic affairs.  Other policies are available at http://universitypolicy.gmu.edu/.  All members of the university community are responsible for knowing and following established policies.

ACADEMIC RESOURCES

The University Writing Center: The Writing Center is one of the best resources you will find on campus. The center’s website offers a wealth of online resources for student writers. You can schedule a 50‐minute appointment with a trained tutor to help with any phase of the writing process. You can obtain assistance with papers by visiting the online writing center. Go online, call, or drop in to make an appointment

The University Library: In addition to a wealth of printed resources, the library hosts around 150 electronic databases indexing hundreds of journals. GMU is also a member of the Washington Research Library Consortium (WRLC), which means you have hassle‐free access to the library resources of eight area universities! Please take some time to explore the library’s offerings; you may also instant message the library with any questions. In our distance learning environment, the library's Online Education Services are particularly helpful

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