Project Information
Final course grades in writing courses are based primarily on the quality of students' finished, polished written work, though other pertinent factors may also be considered, e.g., class participation and homework assignments. In ENG 101, 80% or more of the final course grade is based on grades received on the major writing assignments. Students in ENG 101 turn in a minimum of 25 pages of polished, written work through the course of the projects. You must submit a final, completed draft and project folder for each of the major project assignments, even if the project is so late that it will earn an F; failure to do so will result in an automatic F in the course. This policy is not mine, but that of the First-Year Writing Program, and it will be enforced.
Final drafts are to be handed in by the beginning of class on the day they are due. Along with your final draft, you are required to submit all peer- or instructor-reviewed drafts, outlines, etc. in a project folder. Failure to do so will result in loss of a letter grade for each calendar day that it is late. Papers must be formatted according to the specific guidelines provided in each Project Assignment Sheet. Failure to comply may cause a paper to be counted late.
Drafts and the Project Folder: While working on each project, you will be asked to bring drafts, paragraphs, outlines, etc. to class, either on your storage device or in your project folder. Each project will have its own folder: all materials you gather, including all notes, all drafts (peer-reviewed and non-peer-reviewed), and any supplemental assignments must be handed in with the final draft of each assignment. Failure to hand in any of the associated materials will result in loss of points.
Drafts: I will not accept drafts via e-mail. I will be happy to meet with individual students during office hours to discuss issues they may be having with a project - if you can't make office hours, please make an appointment. Students are responsible for changes to their papers; however, I will make every effort to guide them in the right direction.
Late Work: Late papers, drafts or otherwise, create problems for all of us. Because your peers will require your input during peer-review days, you must bring a complete draft to class on the designated peer-review day. Failure to do so will result in a 1/3 letter-grade penalty to the final paper. Late papers will lose one letter grade per day.
Technological issues, such as client or server-side e-mail problems, disk malfunction, printer concerns, etc. are unacceptable reasons for late work: save frequently and make backups. If you are absent, it is your responsibility to complete missed homework and in-class assignments. Contact me as soon as possible and we'll work something out.
Assignment Sheets
[Download] [Link] Project 1 - Interpretation of a Persuasive Speech or Policy Statement - Accurate and representative interpretation of texts is a skill you will need throughout college and in your future career. Being able to successfully find and focus upon the important aspects of a text will make your college coursework much easier to handle, especially around exam time. Often, though, one of the most difficult skills to master is avoiding binary thinking, or "Agree/Disagree." This project was designed to teach you how to read critically without falling into the binary thinking problem that plagues our public discourse. You will be asked to discuss what the object of your study does rather than just what it says.
[Download] a PDF of the Rubric for Project 1. We will review it in class, and I may revise it based upon our discussion
Sources
- Stanley Fish, "Boutique Multiculturalism" from The Trouble With Principle, Cambridge MA, Harvard University Press, 1999, pp. 56-72. [Download]
- Ronald W. Reagan, "First Inaugural Address" 20 Jan. 1981. Transcript provided by American Rhetoric. [Download]
- Al Gore, "Speech to the Commonwealth Club" 23 Sept. 2002. Transcript provided by The Washington Post [Download].