OBJECTIVES FOR ENGLISH 302

In the university catalog, the general focus of English 302 is described as follows: "Intensive practice in writing and analyzing expository forms such as essay, article, proposal, and technical or scientific reports with emphasis on research related to student’s major field". This course is designed to build on the general writing skills and techniques you have acquired in 101 and other university courses, and to prepare you for completing advanced level writing, analysis and research in your major discipline, in other academic situations you may encounter, and in your possible future workplace.  We will, therefore, practice the various genres of writing you are likely to encounter. Throughout the semester, you will also learn to recognize the way(s) that knowledge is constructed in various disciplines, adapt your writing to common purposes and audience needs, conduct and synthesize research, use computer technologies as part of your research and writing process, and produce writng that employs the organizational techniques and genres typical in each discipline.

MASON CORE OBJECTIVES

OBJECTIVES FOR WRITING INTENSIVE WRITTEN COMMMUNICATION

Of the six key areas where General Education learning outcomes are reviewed by GMU's Office of Institutional Assessment, English 302 falls under "Written Communication."  
Students who successfully complete one or more writing-intensive courses in their major will be able to:

1. Analyze and synthesize course content using methods appropriate to the major;
2. Make reasoned, well-organized arguments with introductions, thesis statements, supporting evidence, and conclusions appropriate to the major.
3. Use credible evidence, to include, as applicable, data from credible primary and/or secondary sources, integrated and documented accurately according to styles preferred in the major.
4. Employ rhetorical strategies suited to the purpose(s) and audience(s) for the writing, to include appropriate vocabulary, voice, tone, and level of formality.
5. Produce writing that employs the organizational techniques, formats, and genres (print and/or digital) typical in the major and/or workplace.
6. Produce writing that demonstrates proficiency in standard edited American English, including correct grammar/syntax, sentence structure, word choice, and punctuation.

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As explained on the Composition Program website, students who successfully complete ENGH 302 will be able to adapt their reading and writing to meet the expectations of their academic discipline and future workplace. They will be able to demonstrate the ability to

• apply critical reading strategies that are appropriate to advanced reading in their academic discipline and in their possible future workplaces
• 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
• evidence considered sufficient to support arguments
• 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
• organizational strategies
• style, tone, and diction
• expected citation formats

By the end of this course students 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 – including argument proposals – that is appropriate for a range of rhetorical situations within your academic disciplines and possible future workplaces

TEXTBOOKS AND MATERIALS FOR THIS COURSE

• A research handbook is required: The Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (6th ed.) Washington, DC: APA, 2010.  This is available at any university or commercial bookstore, as well as on bookseller websites like Amazon. However, earlier editions of the Manual use significantly different formatting, so be sure to acquire the 6th edition. Additional support for APA format is provided within the Course Folder on Blackboard.
• Computers for students are provided in our classroom.  Therefore, students are encouraged NOT to use personal devices during class, as this detracts from the student's ability to remainfully focused and participatory during class activities.
• All course readings will be done online, using uploaded articles, links provided in the syllabus and material e-mailed to the class by the instructor.   

• it will be essential to have regular, reliable computer access and to check e-mail regularly, as well as daily when drafts or finished assignments are due.  The Course Description and Course Schedule are available through links on the instructor's website Joyce Johnston's Home Page (http://mason.gmu.edu/~jjohnsto.). All assignments are available in the password-protected course folder in Blackboard at http://mymasonportal.gmu.edu. Text summaries of all assignments are therefore available at all times, complete with goals, instructions and grading criteria.
• Use GMU email account only: students must use their Mason email accounts--either the exisitng "MEMO" system or the new "MASONLIVE" account to receive important university information, including messages related to this class. See http://masonlive.gmu.edu for more information. 
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• IMPORTANT NOTE: any student not regularly using his or her GMU e-mail account must set that account to forward to the student's preferrred e-mail address. Failure to do so will mean that the student will not receive any class notices or the web links needed for class work, which are sent to the class list maintained by the Registrar's Office.
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• Use either Chrome or the Mozilla Firefox browser. Our course software, Classroom Edition 9.1, SP12, of the Blackboard Learning System, often does not display properly or presents problems with uploading and downloading on Internet Explorer.  Also, Firefox is far more resistant to viruses and other malfunctions.  Mac users should use the Safari browser to avoid similar problems. Blackboard is compatible with Mac OS 10.5 or higher.
• If not using MS Word to prepare assignments, be sure to run the converter program for Mac, Open Office, LibreOffice or any other alternative word processing software. Successful conversion is SOLELY the student's responsibility.
  
• Be willing and able to use GMU's libraries in Fenwick, the Johnson Center, and if necessary the Prince William and Law School campuses, plus possibly the Washington Research Library Consortium. Students have access to specifically online resources through the library

• Please be aware that for researched work, ONLY APA format is used in this class. Students are responsible for correct APA format for all papers, whether or not the text is purchased. Other formats are not accepted. If using an older edition of the  APA Handbooks be aware that you are responsible for updating your formatting to reflect the changes made in the 7th edition, issued April 2009. 
• Students in Nursing, Pre-Med or other healthcare majors may use AMA style.  Students planning to work in international health care may use CSE style.  Chemistry majors may use ACS style. However, students are responsible for their own support materials and instruction.
  
• If you have not used Blackboard CE9.0 previously, review the tutorial immediately.
  
• The User's Guide to Mason is available in the Copy Shop (Room 117 in the Johnson Center) for those unfamiliar with GMU's computer support, at a cost of about $1.00.
• Diana Hacker's A Writer's Reference (7th ed.) is a valuable resource for questions of grammar, punctuation, and documentation. A Pocket Style Manual is an abridged but cheaper version of the same resource.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Online readings on the syllabus are no less required than paper texts are in other classes. They may be found in the Course Materials in Blackboard.

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ELEMENTS OF  A SCIENTIFIC PAPER  500-750 words; 10% of course grade)

This assignment is designed to help students identify and appreciate the characteristics of top-quality research publications. It specifically addresses qualifications for publication of primary research as defined by one of the most influential scientific editors of the 20th century. Students look closely at the diction, organization, required elemnts, and formatting of empirical research writing. Further, the assignment provides practice in identifying and evaluating the quality of research publications when students encounter them in class assignments in their majors or in professional literature in their career fields.  

DISCIPLINARY  RESOURCES WIKI  (1000 words; 15% of course grade)

LITERATURE REVIEW (500-750 words; 15% of course grade)

This assignment combines multiple goals. First, it reviews the appropriate documentation format for each student's field, beginning research while expanding the use of academic databases beyond consulting those appropriate to a student’s field to also include identify database(s) appropriate to the particular research tasks the student has identified. It also encourages disciplinary and research awareness by focusing on an ongoing research issue within the student's major or career field  Locating appropriate articles uses skills and information developed by the wiki assignment: selection of empirical research rticles form journals recognized and respected in the student's discipline.  Composing the review serves to integrate persuasive writing techniques, revision for persuasion and concision and paragraph construction as well as requiring higher level thinking as students synthesize the articles they have found to come to a greater understanding of the state of knowledge on a larger issue. The assignment file on Blackboard contains detailed instructions for completion.

RESEARCH PAPER (1500-1750 words; 20% of course grade)

This assignment allows students to synthesize all the major elements of learning this semester:

• Synthesis writing as students review the current state of scholarly and popular-media knowledge about a current technology which affects their disciplines
• Identification of research gaps and fruitful avenues for future exploration in their own career fields
• Standards and expectations for graduate level research in students'field of study, including evaluation of types of source and requirements for credibility
• Participation in the intellectual conversation in students' disciplines by evaluating current technology use and proposing practical applications of their research
  
• The use of the appropriate documentation format for a given discipline
• Use of appropriate vocabulary, sentence structure and organizational patterns for college-level writing
• Tone and diction appropriate to a scholar 
• Ability to move smoothly from first-person to third-person writing when appropriate    

• Class Civility Blog (5% of course grade)
• What is Your Discipline? Worksheet (5% of course grade)
• Quotations Quiz (5% of course grade)
  
• Peer Review of Review of Literature (5% of course grade)
• Peer Review of Research Paper (5% of course grade)
• Metacognitive Writing for Research Paper (5% of course grade) *QEP Activity

All assignments are listed below, in order of their percentage values out of 100%.

IMPORTANT NOTE: since the English Department requires a research component in all sections of English 302,

anyone not completing the Plagiarism Test and the  Research Project will fail the class.

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COURSE COMPLETION AND GRADING POLICIES

• For Spring 2015, the Last Day to Add or to Drop without tuition penalty is Tuesday, Jan. 27, 20145 
• The absolutely Last Day to Drop is Friday, Feb. 20, 2015.  Both are marked on our syllabus.  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.  
• The selective withdrawal option 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 Spring 2015, the period lasts from Feb. 23-March 27, 2015.  See the GMU Schedule of Classes for selective withdrawal procedures.

ENGLISH 302 GRADING POLICY

 It is University policy that in all General Education 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 and must repeat it.  It is also the policy of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences that once final grades have been recorded, instructors should not accept any additional work that would alter the course grade.  

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

Essays are graded using the following general criteria:

• a "C" level grade (70-79%) denotes average college-level writing and achievement.  The essay is a competent response to the assignment:  it meets, to some degree, all the assignment requirements, and demonstrates that the author has put significant time and effort into communicating his/her ideas to his/her targeted audience.  It has a thesis, 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."

•  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, reads smoothly at both the sentence and paragraph levels, and/or exhibits a personal "voice" or style.  It has few sentence-level errors.

•  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, 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.

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

LATE WORK POLICY

All work is due on the date specified in the syllabus. Unless by prior arrangement with the instructor, late work will be penalized TWO letter grades for the first week or portion thereof and 50% thereafter. This penalty cannot be removed from work resubmitted or revised. 

You should retain all graded files until the final course grade appears on your transcript at the end of the semester. 

In addition, late work may be delayed in being graded and returned to you; delay is usually one week but may be more. Please keep this in mind if planning to delay in submitting an assignment, especially near the end of the semester.   The absolutely non-negotiable final date for grade change is also indicated on the Course Schedule.

       IMPORTANT NOTE: No work will be accepted after the date indicated on the Course Schedule as the due date for the research paper.

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Each assignment has related instructions in a menu link to that assignment within our Blackbord course folder. The format for each assignment is presented in the file of instructions. 

Essay assignments submitted electronically MUST be in Word (.doc or .docx) format. Because they cannot be written on, PDF files prevent the instructor from grading the assignment. GMU's e-mail will not read Mime, NotePad or WordPerfect documents, and regards zipped documents as possible viruses. Therefore, any material sent in any of these formats cannot be accepted and may not even arrive. If using a Mac or Open Office or equivalent, it is the student's responsibility to make sure that his/her assignments can be read in Word 2010 or 2013.

      IMPORTANT NOTE: Assignments will not be scored if submitted in any format except .doc or .docx.

Finally, any correspondence should be directed to the instructor's GMU e-mail: jjohnsto@gmu.edu. A Google or other search will reveal other e-mail addresses, but all GMU-related correspondence is handled through that address and only that address.

NOTE: Be careful when responding to mail sent to the class list. The Registrar's Office provides the capability to e-mail the whole class from its online registration site, but requires the sender to use whatever mail program is resident on the machine (s)he is using rather than GMU's mail program, which is web-based. You will also receive messages from inside our course folder in Blackboard, to which you cannot directly reply. If trying to reach the instructor, DO NOT reply to the mail address used for class mailings, but to the GMU address above.

When engaged in online learning, you should be actively present.  This implies brain awareness as well as the basic courtesies of formal social gatherings.  Students who are watching TV, playing games online, carrying on private conversations, answering or texting on cell phones, participating in social media or working on assignments for other classes (etc.) are not wholly, actively present in the class.  If you are seriously unprepared for class or group work—having absolutely little or no draft for a draft workshop, for example—you may lose participation points for that activity.  Any serious breach of good online conduct may result in withdrawal of privilege to participate in a virtual group, thus directly affecting your participation points.

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•  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

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Return to the Course Schedule for Section N15 Spring2015

Return to Joyce Johnston's Home Page