Written, Oral, Visual, and Electronic Composition

Spring 2008 Course Policy Sheet

English 250, section MK
12:40 2:00 pm Tuesday, Carver Hall 132 (traditional classroom) Thursday, Maple-Willow-Larch Commons C3112 (computer lab)
Instructor: Londie Martin Email: londiem@iastate.edu Phone: (515) 294-9820 Office: Landscape Architecture 1 Office Hours: Tuesday 2:30-4:00 pm & by appointment

Textbooks
Faigley, Lester. The Brief Penguin Handbook. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc., 2006.

ISUComm Foundation Courses: Student Guide for English 150 and 250. Ames, IA: ISU, Department of English, 2007-2008.

Wysocki, Anne Frances and Dennis A. Lynch. Compose, Design, Advocate. New York, NY: Pearson Education, Inc., 2007.

English 250 Objectives

The goals of English 250 are for you to develop skills in written, oral, visual, and electronic composition. As a result, you should become not only a more perceptive consumer of information, but also a communicator better able to make effective decisions in your own work. Throughout the course, you'll learn to summarize, analyze, and evaluate various types of communication and then use those skills in four kinds of assignments: summaries, rhetorical analyses, argumentative and persuasive texts, and documented research. Written summarize accurately and responsibly the main ideas of others, especially published sources analyze professional writing to assess its purpose, audience, and rhetorical strategies construct arguments that integrate ethical, logical, and emotional appeals integrate appropriate source material, providing accurate and consistent documentation

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 demonstrate an ability to conform to usage conventions and to adapt expression to purpose and audience reflect systematically upon all of your communication processes, strengths, goals, and growth Oral give an oral presentation, either individually or as part of a team, using effective invention, organization, language, and delivery strategies function as an effective team member in small groups as a contributor, listener, collaborator, and presenter Visual apply the visual communication principles related to pattern, contrast, direction, chunking, and color analyze the rhetoric of visual communication (e.g., advertisement, documentary film, political cartoon) create a visual argument (e.g., advertisement, poster, slide presentation) Electronic apply the electronic communication principles related to layering, framing, transforming, and looping) analyze the rhetoric of electronic communication (e.g., TV commercials, videos, websites) create an electronic composition (e.g., communication eportfolio) WOVE ensure that all modes contribute to the primary message, purpose, and targeted audience develop clear, purposeful relationships between the modes exhibit a sensitivity to differences in modes and their cultural implications create a rich, interactive experience for the audience

Assignments
In addition to major assignments, there will be shorter assignmentskeep all assignments until the end of the semester. Shorter assignments serve different purposes: to plan or revise a major assignment, to practice strategies important to a major assignment, or to examine issues relevant to a major assignment. Therefore, failure to complete the smaller assignments on time may result in a failing grade for a major assignment. Shorter responses may not be graded if turned in late. All work completed outside of class should be typed: 1 margins, times new roman, double-spaced. Make sure you have a backup copy of all work before you turn it in to be graded. Major essays will be penalized one letter grade (e.g., from B to C) for each class period they are late. All major essays must be completed for you to receive a passing grade at the end of the semester. Unless otherwise noted, I will not accept assignments via email. Please bring paper copies of all assignments with you to class. In the interest of minimizing unnecessary consumer waste, you may use scratch or scrap paper when you print rough drafts and short assignmentsso long as your work is legible! You are also encouraged to use both sides of the paper when printing final drafts.

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Class Attendance & Participation

Much of our work will be in groups and may be online. You are expected to fulfill your share of group work and to interact courteously with your peers at all times. Classes are run in a discussion/workshop format; therefore, regular attendance and active participation are important. Missing more than four classes will lower your grade (e.g., from B- to C+), and more than seven absences can result in a failing grade for the course. I make no distinction between excused and unexcused absences: You have fouruse them wisely. At the beginning of each class, I will circulate an attendance sign-in sheet; it is your responsibility to sign this sheet.

Grading & Evaluation

Unit 1: Where We Are
Personal Narrative and Documentary Photography Major Assignment #1: Critical Personal Place Narrative Major Assignment #2: Online Documentary Photo Essay 10% 10%

Unit 2: Analyzing Arguments

Rhetorical Analysis, Advertising, and Place

Major Assignment #3: Rhetorical Analysis of Advertising and Environment Major Assignment #4: Group Presentation on Visual Analysis and Culture Jamming Major Assignment #5: Documented Argument about a Place Major Assignment #6: This American Life Radio Episode (group project & presentation) Blog Journals (eight separate journal entries) Summary ...of a film ...of a newspaper article (3 entries) Commentary ...on a song ...on an advertisement Analysis of a text of a corporate blog (list TBA) Major Assignment #7: Online Portfolio of Semester's Work with Reflections Topic Proposals, Annotated Bibliographies, Audience Analyses, Class Participation, etc.

15% 10%

Unit 3: Arguing
Ecology, Place, and Advocacy

15% 10%

Unit X: Blog Journals

Due throughout the semester

15%

Semester Portfolio and Final Exam/Reflection Shorter Assignments

10%

5%

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Academic Dishonesty
Thoroughly acquaint yourself with the material in ISUComm Foundation Courses: Student Guide for English 150 and 250, especially the section regarding ethics and plagiarism in the academy. Understanding what constitutes plagiarism and academic dishonesty will help prevent you from committing these acts inadvertently and will strengthen your communication. Plagiarism is a serious legal and ethical breach, and it is treated as such by the university. If you have any questions about documentation, see me before you turn in an assignment.

Grade Descriptions for Writing Assignments

A B Exemplary work; the qualities of a B paper, plus imagination and effective expression. Mature work; thorough analysis of the writing problem, appropriate and effective substance, good organization, and solid expression (style). No more than one or two small problems in correctness. Competent, developing work; satisfactory analysis of the problem, organization, and expression, but nothing remarkably good or bad. Acceptable sentence structure; other problems in mechanics or usage may occur. Beginning-level work; presence of a glaring defect in context, substance, organization, style, or delivery; inadequate treatment of the assignment. Possibly some sentence structure errors or other errors in correctness. Basic-level work; lack of context, inadequate coverage of essential points, poor organization, ineffective and garbled expression. Glaring defects in correctness.

Breakdown of Grades
A 94-100% C CD F 73-76% 70-72% 63-66% 59% and below

A- 90-93% B+ 87-89% B 83-86% B- 80-82% C+ 77-79%

D+ 67-69% D- 60-62%

Computer Ethics
Please check the ISUComm Foundation Courses: Student Guide for English 150 and 250 for information on the university's computer ethics policy. You are expected to use the university computers responsibly and to communicate courteously with others in your class.

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Disability Accommodation
If you have a disability and require accommodations, please contact me early in the semester so that your learning needs may be appropriately met. You will need to provide documentation of your disability to the Disability Resources (DR) office, main floor of the Students Services Building, Room 1076, 515-294-6624.

What do you believe, Ms. Martin?

I believe that the study of rhetoricthe study of human communicationis vital, provocative, exciting, and (most of the time) incredibly fun. Human communication, however, can be sometimes violent, sometimes oppressive, and sometimes demeaning. The negative as well as the positive attributes of human communication make the study of rhetoric a constant necessity as humans invent and evolve methods of communicationbe they written, oral, visual, or electronic. As we study rhetoric together this semester, you should know that I believe our classroom is a unique space in which both student and teacher are called to democratically participate in knowledge-shaping through discussion, action, and thought. Because our classroom is such a democratic space, we all must agree to monitor our own communications so that every student is comfortable and encouraged to contribute to our study and inquiry. Quite simply: Racism, misogyny, misandry, homophobia and other ideologies that attempt to quiet or silence individuals based on generalizations can have no place in our classroom and will not be tolerated.

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