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 major 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 Course Goals
- 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.
Prerequisites
All students who register for English 302 must:
- Have completed at least 30 credit hours; 45 credit hours are strongly recommended
- Have earned credit (or been exempted from) English 100/101, or English 121/122
- Have earned credit for the Mason Core literature requirement
The College of Engineering and Computing (CEC) has specific requirements for which version of English 302 its students must take, which are listed on the Composition website. If you are a student with the College of Engineering and Computing, you should talk with your advisor and make sure you are enrolled in the correct version of ENGH 302.
Mason Core
This course is part of the Mason Core (General Education) Program, which is designed to help develop a Mason Graduate as “an engaged citizen and well-rounded scholar who is prepared to act” (Mason Core). It fulfills the Mason Core Written Communication (Upper-Level) requirement. For more information, visit the Provost’s Mason Core page.
As a Mason Impact course, English 302 teaches students to understand knowledge creation and to investigate a meaningful question through the development of an inquiry-based research project that evaluates, synthesizes, and incorporates multiple perspectives. The in-depth research you conduct in this course informs the construction of your final project as an intellectual or creative contribution to your field of study. You may apply for funding through Mason Impact to support your work on this final project in preparation for submitting it as a Mason Impact Project. The title of your project will be highlighted on your transcript.
Textbook and materials
There is no required textbook for this class. We will use several online texts, including
- GMU Writing Center Resources
- GMU Library Tutorials
- Other tutorial and handouts on BlackBoard
- Purdue OWL
- Students as Scholars
Method of Instruction
This course will be hosted on Blackboard for the Spring 2025 semester. Please ensure you are familiar with accessing and navigating this platform. Resources and support are available at: https://lms.gmu.edu/getting-started-students to help you get started. If you have any questions, do not hesitate to reach out to me or contact the ITS Support Center for assistance.
Sections N11 and N12 are hybrid sections, with one face-to-face meeting each week and one asynchronous lesson on BlackBoard. Most Weekly Content folders contains two lessons: the first we will cover in class (but please read the assigned material before class). The second is online, asynchronous (you work at your own pace).
Course readings, assignments, and notes will be posted to the Weekly Content Folders in BlackBoard every Sunday. Do not share or post these materials online, as this would be an Academic Standards violation ("Making an unauthorized record of (photo, screenshot, download) and/or posting (such as on a public website or in group messenger apps) exams or academic content ,").
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
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 other "low stakes" assignments.. The discussions 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.
The Major Assignments are described on BlackBoard
- Research Logs & Reflections (15%)
- Literature Review (25%)
- Issue, Audience, and Genre Analysis (20%)
- Advocacy Letter & Reflection (15%)
The Minor (low stakes) Assignments make up 25% of the grade
- Non Academic Source Evaluation
- Academic source Evaluation
- Lit Review Outline
- Peer Reviews
- Discussion posts
These assignments will be graded as Credit/No Credit. The Discussion Post grade will be calculated at the end of the semester. If you have posted in all discussion posts, and commented on at least three others' posts, you will get full credit for the Discussions.
Course Policies: Please review the policies on this page. You will find information on course resources, as well as policies on revision, late assignments, plagiarism, and other important issues related to the course.
Important dates
| First day of classes | Tuesday Jan 21 |
| Last day to add classes– all individualized section forms due | Tuesday Jan 28 |
| Last day to drop with no tuition penalty | Tuesdays Feb 4 |
| Unrestricted Withdrawal Period (100% tuition liability) | Wednesday Feb 12 – Tuesday Feb 25 |
| Midterm progress reporting | Monday Feb 17 – Friday Mar 21 |
| Selective Withdrawal period | Wednesday Feb 26 – Monday March 31 |
| Spring Break (University Closed) | Monday March 10 – Sunday March 16 |
| Last Day of classes | Monday May 5 |
| Reading Day Reading days provide students with additional study time for final examinations. Faculty may schedule optional study sessions, but regular classes or exams may not be held. |
Tuesday May 6 and Sunday May 11 |
| Exam Period | Wednesday May 7 – Wednesday May 14 |
Students are responsible for verifying their enrollment in this class. Schedule adjustments should be made by the deadlines published in the Schedule of Classes. After the last day to drop a class, withdrawing from this class requires the approval of the dean and is only allowed for nonacademic reasons. Undergraduate students may choose to exercise a selective withdrawal. See the Schedule of Classes for selective withdrawal procedures.
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