EN120b Expository Writing II


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Course Syllabi

EN 120b: Expository Writing II
Jonathan Gourlay Spring 2003
Office: Lang/Lit A, in the back Office Hours: M-F 10-11
Email: jgourlay@comfsm.fm Web site: http://www.comfsm.fm/~jgourlay
Telephone: 320-2480 ext. 101

Course Description and Objectives

Expository Writing II provides an introduction to college-level research writing skills. The student will investigate research topics in a variety of disciplines while enhancing their critical thinking and argumentative abilities.

Students in this course will write three research supported argumentative papers. By the end of the course, students will be able to:

  • Summarize passages and use them in coherent paragraphs.

  • Develop a research thesis.

  • Conduct research and take notes.

  • Incorporate research into papers.

  • WRITE AN ARGUMENTATIVE ESSAY SUPPORTED BY RESEARCH.

    • Course Assignments

    The main assignments in this course will be the three research papers. Throughout the research process there will be other assignments to turn in as well, such as outlines, notes, and drafts. In addition, each of our research topics will require knowledge in the area of the research. We will have some quizzes to be sure that we are all “up to speed”.

    Grading

    The following is the breakdown of my grading for previous semesters of this class. It is subject to change.

    Essays and essay related assignments: 85%
    Quizzes: 10%
    Participation: 5%

    What is participation? Participation means speaking or reading in class. Participation means having an opinion that you are not sure is correct and sharing it.

    Attendance

    This is a T/Th class. As per COM-FSM policy, any more than 4 absences will result in a “W” before mid-term or an “F” after mid-term.

    Plagiarism

    If you use someone else’s work as your own, without any attempt at citation, you will fail this class and be reported to the student conduct board. You get exactly ONE chance to commit plagiarism: on the first draft of the first essay, I will merely fail you for that assignment. After that, you will be removed from the class.

    Examples of students from previous semesters who were kicked out of Expos. II because of plagiarism:

  • A student copied text off of a web page and put his name on it.

  • A student turned in a paper by a different student, from a previous semester of Expos. II.

  • A student copied text off of a web page, put her name on it, but changed the words around a little.

  • A student copied text from a few different web pages and put his name on it.

    • Any direct quote or IDEA taken from a source must be properly cited.