ENGLISH 302-M25 Tues. and Thurs. Noon-1:15 PM Thompson Hall, Room L004 CRN 73817 Fall 2018 |
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Please note that the Volgenau School of Engineering requires students enrolled in the following majors to take ENGH 302N: applied computer science and computer science, electrical engineering, computer engineering, systems engineering, and statistics. The school also requires students in the following majors to be enrolled in either 302N or 302M: bioengineering, cyber security engineering, mechanical engineering and civil engineering. Information technology majors may enroll in 302N, 302M, or 302B.
Students enrolled in another version of ENGH 302 should contact their advisor immediately to make sure they are enrolled in the right course. Students in the School of Management are very strongly recommended to take English 302B.
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.
Advanced
Writing Goals: Students who successfully complete ENGH 302 will demonstrate
that they have continued to develop their research and writing strategies to an
advanced level. They will be able to:
• Use writing as a tool for exploration and reflection in addressing advanced problems, as well as for exposition and persuasion
• 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
• Identify, evaluate, and use research sources
• Employ a range of appropriate technologies to support researching, reading, writing, and thinking
• Apply critical reading strategies that are appropriate to advanced reading in your academic discipline and in possible future workplaces
• Recognize how knowledge is constructed in your academic discipline and possible future workplaces
• Analyze rhetorical situations – audience, purpose, and context – of texts produced in your academic disciplines and possible future workplaces
• Produce writing that is appropriate for a range of rhetorical situations within your academic disciplines and possible future workplaces
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 Three Year Calendar.
For Fall 2018, the Last Day to Add or to Drop without
tuition penalty is Tuesday, Sept. 4, 2018.
The absolutely Last Day to Drop is Friday, Sept. 28, 2018. After the last day to drop a class, withdrawal
requires the approval of the Dean and is only allowed for nonacademic
reasons.
Undergraduate students may choose to exercise a selective withdrawal option, which may be used no more than three times in a student's undergraduate career at George Mason and must be completed within the selective withdrawal period. For Fall 2018, the period lasts from Oct. 1-Oct. 26. See the GMU Office of Undergraduate Affairs for selective withdrawal procedures.
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.
All
assignments must be submitted to Blackboard with the exception of the
Disciplinary Resources Wiki, which is completed entirely within
PBWorks. The instructions file for each assignment contains the link to
submit it when finished.
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 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.
CLASS PARTICIPATION POLICY
Be aware
that writing is a time-intensive activity. 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. 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. When interacting with others in the class, as well as the instructor, remember the core rules of Netiquette. Be sure to carefully craft communications to show respect and avoid misinterpretation.
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.
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 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:
ASSIGNMENT |
PERCENTAGE OF COURSE GRADE |
STUDENTS AS SCHOLARS LEARNING OUTCOMES SUPPORTED |
Quiz on Course Policies |
5% |
2 |
Class Civility Blog and Survey |
5% |
2, 6 |
What is Your Academic Discipline? Worksheet |
5% |
1, 3, 4, 6 |
Quiz: Writing with Quotations |
5% |
2, 3, 6 |
Peer Review of Literature Review |
5% |
3, 5 |
Proposal and Conference for Literature Review |
5% | 1, 5, 6 |
Memo on Choosing a Professional Association |
10% |
1, 4, 6 |
Plagiarism Test |
10% |
2, 3 |
Course Communication Observation and Analysis |
10% |
1, 3, 4, 5, 6 |
Poster and Presentation: An Important Issue in the Discipline |
10% |
1, 5, 6 |
Elements of a Primary Research Article |
10% |
2, 4, 5, 6 |
Literature Review |
20% |
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 |
TOTAL |
100% |
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.
Five SHORT WRITINGS will establish appropriate
online behavior norms, used for critical reading, writing and reflection on research
material:
Three QUIZZES, taken online, will cover concerns in business
research and writing.
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 values diversity. Through the Office of Diversity, Inclusion and Multicultural Education (ODIME), Mason seeks to create and sustain iclusive learning environments where all are welcome,valued and supported. It 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 Lifeline Chat, sponsored by the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. 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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