Caruso 1 English 1102 & 1103 Spring 2012 Instructor: Beth Caruso Office: Fretwell 285-D Office Hours:

Tuesday 11:00-12:00 and by appointment Email: elcaruso@uncc.edu Required Texts and Materials: - A writing notebook - You will be expected to make copies of your own writing, as well as a number of essays that can be found online. - Depending on computer lab availability, you may be asked to bring a laptop computer to class. If you do not have a laptop, you may check one out from the library or borrow one from a friend. Course Description: All of you will enter this class at different stages of the writing process, and we will work together to help you become better writers in all aspects of the word. However, in order to become a better writer, you must open yourself to writing and revising your own work, reflecting on it and the work of others, and responding to your work, the work of your peers, and ideas we discuss in class. While you will be expected to write to the best of your ability and share your writing, you should also be as open as possible to suggestions from your peers and your teacher. However, since you are the writer of the paper, the use of these ideas is ultimately your decision. You may not choose to dismiss ideas just because you do not want to do the work, but you do have the right to make a decision as to why you should or should not use an idea in terms of yourself as a writer or for the integrity of the piece. While you are given a certain amount of creative license, you will also be expected to be cognizant of your audience and your reasons for making certain decisions. Because of this, you will have ample space to articulate the choices you made in both your writing and your creative projects. Class Goals: In this class you will: - focus your attention on an extended inquiry project that will allow you to research multiple concepts in connection with a single idea. - conduct extensive research on your topic of inquiry in order to develop multiple forms/genres of writing and ultimately to synthesize the information in an informed proposal. - use creative writing (prewriting and polished, formal writing) as a base for critical thinking. - revise, edit, and reflect on your writing. - peer review drafts of other students papers, and have your own papers peer reviewed. - formalize your writing through employing professional language and MLA conventions. - make judgments about your own writing and writing processes. - Use digital media to house and synthesize your writing and ideas. Major Projects: Unless otherwise noted, all major assignments should be typed in MLA format with double-spaced paragraphs, one-inch margins, page numbers, black, 12 point Times New Roman font, and a complete MLA heading and title. Theme of the course: Throughout this course, you will conduct extensive inquiry on a topic of your choosing through completing three major assignments. The theme of these assignments will revolve around the idea of you taking the role of an author, a film director/producer/writer, or a video game developer (you must choose one role not all three). Once you assume this role, you will then conceptualize, research, and develop a novel, film, or video game inspired by an historical event. After you conceptualize, research, and develop your inquiry project, you will conclude by creating a formal proposal that you will pitch to a fictional publication firm, movie production studio, or game design studio. In short, the goal of this project is to mimic the methods of inquiry and the developmental processes that authors, producers, and designers use to create various projects and products. The purpose of this project is also to demonstrate how the methods and processes used in the aforementioned contexts parallels the methods and processes employed in academic inquiry.

Caruso 2 The three major assignments for your inquiry project are as follows: Historical Inquiry Project: To begin your inquiry, you will discover a source of historical inspiration for your project. In order to immerse yourself in the historical context which will inform your novel, movie, or video game, you will conduct research using a variety of sources and synthesize that data into a formal research piece. Through conducting research and developing the concept for your project with research in mind, you will show the implications for how context is informing your concept, and how you are attempting to authenticate your ideas through incorporating accurate cultural and historical data. Concept Board: For this assignment, you will create digital concept board that represents the core components of your novel, film, or video game. Your concept board will consist of multiple phases and form of pre-writing and will allow you to house all your data and ideas for further exploration. The concept board will require you to interact with the development of each area of your creation so you will be as informed as possible about your concept and what your product will be. Although this is not a formal paper, this is a major component of the inquiry project, and without it, you will be unable to complete your final proposal. Final Proposal: The final phase of your inquiry project will act as a synthesis of the information you have gathered over the course of the semester. It will take the form of a proposal in which you detail multiple aspects of your novel, movie, or video game in order to present it to the fictional publication firm, movie production studio, or game design studio. In addition to representing your concept and supporting context, you must also be conscious of the concerns of your proposals audience, which means considering the audience of your product, where you plan to distribute it, and how you intend to represent it to the audience as a whole. The final part of this project will consist of a presentation on our exam date or during the last few classes. Portfolio: Before your first project is due, you will create your e-portfolio and learn how to upload your work in order to compile and showcase it throughout the semester. At the end of the semester, you will revise and reflect upon your work, giving insight into your semester as a whole. The portfolio will grant you the opportunity to see how all of your writing, responding, and revising has worked together in order to get a more comprehensive view of how you are working as a writer. It is important that you keep track of all of your writings beginning with the first day of class. Do not throw anything away. Your portfolio will also be the main defense of your grade in the course. Please see below for more information. Grading: Portfolio: Class Participation: 80% 20%

Your final grade will be based on your overall performance over the semester. You will create a portfolio of your work and reflect on your rigor, skill, and growth through the various writing situations and assignments, which will all act as evidence of your performance this semester. (Please keep in mind that your attendance and timeliness also influences your grade. See the absences area of the syllabus for more information.) Please refer to the holistic rubric for the general descriptions of possible grades. Failure to complete a major project will result in automatic failure of the course. Grades will be discussed in two instances at the midpoint of the semester and at the end of the semester, in which we will meet to review your work and decide where you fall within the grading scheme. Number grades will not be given throughout the semester. Although I will give thorough feedback on each of your writing assignments, and I will certainly indicate where you are in the class, it is up to you to wholly interact with the feedback to understand where you are in the course.

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Letter Grade Descriptions The highest grades will be given to those who: A - show sustained rigor in all aspects of the class (classwork, process work, major projects, attendance, peer response, and presentations). (90-100%) - show a high level of polish in the final drafts of the major assignments and have a strong, detailed final reflection. Above - participate in every class thoroughly and submit all work on time. Average - takes risks and actively tries to improve their skills as a writer - go above and beyond requirements in terms of quality, content, and effort. Average grades will be given to those who: B - show rigor in most aspects of the class (classwork, process work, major projects, attendance, peer response, and presentations). (80-89%) - have relatively polished final drafts of major assignments and a strong, detailed final reflection. - participate in many classes and submit the majority of work on time. Average - makes basic strides to improve their skills as a writer - meet requirements in terms of quality, content, and effort. Below average grades will be given to those who: C (70-79%) Below Average - show inconsistent rigor in many aspects of the class (classwork, process work, major projects, attendance, peer response, and presentations). - attempt to polish the final drafts of major assignments and have a strong final reflection. - participate in a few classes and submit the majority of work on time. - occasionally make basic attempts to improve their skills as a writer. - meet requirements, but are lacking in terms of quality, content, and effort. Far below average grades will be given to those who: D (60-69%) Far Below Average - show inconsistent rigor in most aspects of the class (classwork, process work, major projects, attendance, peer response, and presentations). - have weak polished final drafts of major assignments and a cursory final reflection. - participate in very few classes and submit few assignments on time. - make cursory attempts to improve their skills as a writer. - meet few requirements and is lacking in terms of quality, content, and effort. Unsatisfactory grades will be given to those who: F (0-59%) Unsatisfact ory - show rigor in very few or no aspects of the class (classwork, process work, major projects, attendance, peer response, and presentations). - have weak or absent polished final drafts of major assignments and a cursory or absent final reflection. - participate in very few or no classes and submit most work late or not at all. - take no initiative to improve their skills as a writer. - meet few or no requirements and is lacking in terms of quality, content, and effort.

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Course Policies: Class Participation: This not only includes participating in class discussion, but also coming to class, participating in workshops and peer reviews, and your attitude toward them. Come to class, having completed all assignments for the day and bring all necessary materials in order to fully participate in the class. The class should have a relaxed, but focused atmosphere, but this cannot be achieved unless everyone in the class is committed to it and prepared. Absences and Lateness: You will automatically be dropped a full letter grade at your fourth and another at your fifth absence. If you miss six classes (the equivalent of three weeks of classes), you will automatically fail the course. If you accumulate these absences, you will not have a chance to get them removed from the record. If you are absent, it is your responsibility to check both Moodle and your email for any work you may have missed and for work for the next class. You are also responsible for any announcements I make in class.. It would be in your best interest to also ask another student what you missed. Please keep in mind that there are no excused absences after your third absence. If you know of activities you are required to attend during class time (such as athletic events), please plan for these out of your three absences. Lateness: If you are late, you must inform me after class that you did arrive, or you may be marked absent. However, for each three times you are late or leave early, you will have earned one absence. You will be considered late from the beginning of class. If you have trouble getting to class on time, you will be expected to make arrangements to arrive on time in the future. Please note that if you are more than 20 minutes late, you will be considered absent for the day, but you are more than welcome to participate in the class. Make-up Work: You are required to make up any work you may have missed during an absence or if you were late; however, this does not excuse your absence. If this work is not made up, you will not receive credit for the work. Group Work: You will take part in group work throughout the semester. You may occasionally be required to meet outside of class or exchange work over email. Please send your work to your partner as soon as possible, as your partner will need time to work on it. This holds especially true for peer review days. If you are absent on a peer review day, your partner's name and email address should be emailed to you. You will still be held to the due date, and still must post your materials. Due Dates: Assignments are due at the beginning of class on the given due date, and they must be in the appropriate format. However, turning in an assignment late is better than not turning it in at all. I do reserve the right to refuse late work if it is submitted significantly after the due date, as well as incomplete work (including work submitted without all components of the assignment). Failure to complete one of the major assignments will automatically result in your failing the class. Also, failure to turn in a completed portfolio at the end of the term will result in automatic failure of the class. Computer failure will not be accepted as a valid excuse for late submission or lack of submission of an assignment. If this happens, you should still find a way to submit your assignment on time. Texting/Cell Phones/Laptops: Part of adequate class participation is being completely engaged with the class throughout the entire time period. That said, I do not permit any type of cell phone usage, texting, or inappropriate surfing on the Internet when you are given time in class to work. I reserve the right to ask you to leave class and be counted absent for the day or lower your participation grade should you be seen texting, working on other materials, or socializing on your computers during class time. If you have an extenuating circumstance that requires you to have access to your cell phone, please see me. Please use your class time wisely. If you use your phone as a calendar, I expect that you have it out only when we are discussing due dates. Technology: Moodle: For the syllabus and all assignments, including a listing of your homework assignments (updated

Caruso 5 after every class), go to moodle.uncc.edu and sign in with your UNCC username and password. If you have questions about the homework, go to Moodle first. Email: You are required to check your email daily, as this is the main way we will communicate outside of class. This is especially important if you are absent. Computer access: There are multiple computer labs on campus, as well as computers at off-campus libraries. If you do not have a computer, or your computer or printer malfunctions, please keep these labs in mind. However, at the end of the semester, computers are sometimes scarce and printers frequently malfunction. Be sure you complete your work in enough time to submit it. Depending on computer lab availability, you may be asked to bring a laptop computer to class. If you do not have a laptop, you may check one out from the library or borrow one from a friend. Course Readings: You must bring all readings to class, either on your laptop or as a hard copy. You are responsible for bringing the necessary materials to class in whichever form is most convenient, unless a form is specifically stated. Electronic Format for Assignments: All assignments sent to me via email or posted/submitted on Moodle must be in a .doc or .docx format. Assignments submitted with .pages, .txt or other extensions will not be accepted and late points will be deducted until it is sent in the correct format. For any assignments you are uploading on your e-portfolio, all content must not only be visible, but readable. Formatting and Style: Format is extremely important in the writing world. For this reason, you will be held to using the correct format for your major assignments. Unless otherwise stated, your assignments should be typed, in 12-point Times New Roman font, and follow the most recent version of MLA. Syllabus: This syllabus acts as a contract for the course. If you agree to stay in the course, you are stating that you agree to the terms. Plagiarism: All of the university policies concerning plagiarism apply. If you do plagiarize work, you will be reported to student affairs. I will be glad to answer any questions you may have about this. Disabilities Statement: Students who have a disability or condition that may impair their ability to complete assignments or otherwise satisfy course criteria should meet with me to identify, discuss and document any feasible instructional modifications or accommodations. If you do need special considerations, inform me as soon as possible after a disability or condition is diagnosed, whichever occurs earliest. For information and auxiliary assistance, contact the Disabilities Resource Center. Web Resources: Moodle: moodle.uncc.edu UNCC 49er Express: 49erexpress.uncc.edu UNCC library: library.uncc.edu Purdue Online Writing Lab: owl.english.purdue.edu UNCC Writing Center: wrc.uncc.edu UNCC Writing Center Online Schedule: rich65.com/uncc

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY The Code of Student Academic Integrity governs the responsibility of students to maintain integrity in academic work, defines violations of the standards, describes procedures for handling alleged violations of the standards, and lists applicable penalties. The following conduct is prohibited in that Code as violating those standards: A. Cheating. Intentionally using or attempting to use unauthorized materials, information, notes, study aids or other devices in any academic exercise. This definition includes unauthorized communication of information during an academic exercise. B. Fabrication and Falsification. Intentional and unauthorized alteration or invention of any information or citation in an academic exercise. Falsification is a matter of altering information, while fabrication is a matter of inventing or counterfeiting information for use in any academic exercise. C. Multiple Submission. The submission of substantial portions of the same academic work (including oral reports) for credit more than once without authorization. D. Plagiarism. Intentionally or knowingly presenting the work of another as one's own (i.e., without proper

Caruso 6 acknowledgment of the source). The sole exception to the requirement of acknowledging sources is when the ideas, information, etc., are common knowledge. (NOTE: For more information regarding plagiarism, see PLAGIARISM Appendix at http://legal.uncc.edu/policies/ps-105.html#APP.) E. Abuse of Academic Materials. Intentionally or knowingly destroying, stealing, or making inaccessible library or other academic resource material. F. Complicity in Academic Dishonesty. Intentionally or knowingly helping or attempting to help another to commit an act of academic dishonesty. A Note to Students: Charlotte English Department Statement on Diversity The English Department strives to create an academic climate that respects people of varied cultural backgrounds and life experiences. As a community of scholars and teachers who study language, literature, and writing, we are committed to nurturing intellectual and aesthetic diversity. In all our activities, we invite participation by diverse groups, including, but not limited to, those who define themselves in the following terms: race and ethnicity; gender; political orientation; sexual orientation; special health needs; age; religion; country of origin; and socio-economic status. Finally, by fostering multiple perspectives in our coursework, we can help our students prepare to participate in our increasingly diverse society, as well as in the global community.