TWO Required Books:

LB Brief. 6^th ed. Jane E. Aaron. Pearson.

The Best American Essays 2019. Edited by Rebecca Solnit. Mariner.

Course Goals:

Write thesis-based essays that provide strong support and specific details.

Engage in a writing process that includes invention, drafting, and revision.

Demonstrate critical and creative thinking about a timely issue or debatable topic.

Demonstrate proficient use of Standard Written English.

Assignments:

Ten Qs (quizzes) on D2L                                                          10 percent (each is 1 point)

Five Essays – the Ws                                                   50 percent (50 points out of 100)

W1        5%   

W2      10%   

W3      12%   

W4      13%   

W5      10%  

Final Essay Respondus  20 percent (20 points out of 100)

Multiple Choice Grammar Test  20 percent (20 points out of 100)         

Attendance

In D2L the class list (under communication) indicates the most recent date the students have logged into the course. I will use D2L to track attendance.

Grading (out of 100): A 100-90; B 89-80; C 79-70; D 69-60; F 59-0 (no rounding up). Late “W” essays are penalized 10 points out of 100. 

Our Qs (see TESTS under ASSESSMENTS: D2L grammar exercises—the Qs—are worth one point each for a total of 10 points (10 percent) of the total semester grade— irrespective of the student score. They are NOT extra credit. An untaken Q is an F and no points (“0”).

The Multiple-Choice Grammar Exam (20 percent of semester grade) is 60 minutes on Respondus and opens April 22 at 12 AM and close at midnight; the FINAL ESSAY (20 percent of semester grade) is 120 minutes on Respondus and opens 12 AM Monday April 26 and closes at midnight.

The W essays (W1-W5) must be submitted to their appropriate drop box in order to be evaluated and graded. If you are late for submission, email and ask Dr. Fields to grant you special access. The penalty for a late W essay is 10 points out of 100.

Use the THREAD for input on your work in progress:

Each “W” assignment begins with a DISCUSSION FORUM & TOPIC in CONTENT on D2L. Students respond by clicking on VIEW TOPIC and starting a THREAD.

Point of Contact in ENGL 2213 online is the THREAD:

A THREAD is a paragraph in progress. Outlook notifies me that you have submitted a draft paragraph for our current “W” essay. I need to reply with suggestions for improving the paragraph. You may submit subsequent threads with other paragraphs for the same “W.”

A THREAD paragraph needs to be submitted in TIMELY fashion—not just before the drop box opens. A THREAD is NOT a requirement. It is only for those sincerely interested in feedback prior to the drop box opening. Other students in the course can see your work and my response.

NOTE: Please type into the textbox or copy and paste from your own document into the text box for a thread. Do not use the attachment function in the thread, which does not allow me to see your writing and reply at the same time.

The 4-paragraph model:

Paragraph 1 needs these components:

Answer-to-prompt and the because/why give us the overall idea (thesis position).

Supporting idea 1 is a branch or category of that overall idea.

Preview of example in par. 2 and one of its sensory details (“I” or “my” is fine).

Supporting idea 2 is another branch or category of the overall idea.

Preview of example in par. 3 and one of its sensory details (“I” or “my” is fine).

LAST SENTENCE: THESIS-the “because” of the answer to the prompt but without the “because” (the THESIS and BECAUSE must match).

NOTE: IDEAS use plurals like “we”; examples (personal experiences and observations) use the singular (“I” or “my”).  Do NOT use “you” for anything.

Paragraph 2 needs these components:

Topic idea explains the first supporting idea.   

Provide the context for the first example previewed in par. 1.

Describe the example’s experience—an action—with sensory details.

Here would be a sensory detail: onions and peppers sizzled on the grill.

We need the action in THREE respects (e.g., beginning, middle, and end).

Paragraph 3 needs these components:

Provide a couple of sentences for Topic idea.

The topic idea explains the second supporting idea (do not use “I” or “my”).

Now introduce the author from Best American Essays 2019.

Put the title of the essay in quotation marks.

Explain the author’s idea in your own words.

Quote from the essay and provide a parenthetical page. Here is the model:

Camille T. Dungy in her essay “Is All Writing Environmental Writing?” makes the point that the in-between is where nature has a chance to grab hold of us and make us like her—make us free. As a youngster, Camille eluded her neighbor’s scary Dobermans by climbing above her cul-de-sac neighborhood and venturing along an undeveloped hillside of overgrown weeds, precarious rock outcroppings, and imposing, scraggly trees. She was always in sight of her home, but the hillside terrain felt like untamed wilderness: “On that little-traveled path, I was free from the tensions of my built environment. I could be like the landscape in the hills beyond our house—a little wild and moderately protected” (71). NOTE: WE ARE NOT DONE WITH PARAGRAPH 3.

Paragraph 3 is not over! Now provide the context of the second example previewed in par. 1. Describe the example’s experience with sensory details.  We need the action in THREE respects (e.g., beginning, middle, and end).

Paragraph 4 (just three to four sentences) needs these components:

Retrieve a sensory detail from one of the two examples.

Develop that detail further for two or three sentences.

Adjust THESIS for the last sentence of the essay.

Tentative Schedule & Due Dates

NOTE: See our four-paragraph model (pp. 3-4 of this syllabus). 

January 11 (Mon) – Jan14 (Thur)

Do the Pre-Test and Q! Online Pre-Test & Quiz 1 (Q1) Subject-Verb open in TESTS under ASSESSMENTS as of 12:00 AM Monday Jan 11 and closes by 11 PM Thursday Jan 14. See LB BRIEF CH 21 Parts of Speech; LB CH 22 The sentence.

Prompt for W1 & W2 Enclosed Spaces: What do our enclosed spaces say about us? What makes them meaningful? An enclosed space can be any contained area in your experience: your kitchen (or your parents’), your backyard, garden, a collage of pictures, office—even a drawer in a desk.

DISCUSSION FORUM and TOPIC W1 Enclosed Spaces: Paragraphs 1-2

Go to CONTENT and open the Discussion Forum for W1. Click on arrow next to title for View Topic. Start a thread with paragraphs 1 and 2. See 4-par model in this syllabus.

January 18-21

Do the Q! Q2 Phrases, clauses, fragments opens 12 AM Monday Jan 18; closes 11 PM Thursday, Jan 18. See LB 23 Phrases/Clauses; LB 35 Fragments.

January 25-28

DUE DATE: Drop box for W1 Enclosed Spaces (pars. 1-2) opens 12 AM Monday Jan 25 and closes 11 PM Thursday Jan 28.

Do the Q! Q3 Comma Splices, fused run-on opens 12 AM Monday Jan 25; closes 11 PM Thursday, Jan 28. See LB 36 Commas; LB 24 Sentences.

Discussion Forum and Topic W2 Enclosed Spaces: Paragraphs 3-4.

Start a thread with paragraphs 3 and 4. For par. 3 please quote from ONE of these two essays in THE BEST AMERICAN ESSAYS 2019 book. See model for par. 3 (p. 4 of this syllabus): Camille T. Dungy, “Is All Writing Environmental Writing?” (p. 70; see esp. p. 71). OR Elizabeth Kolbert, “How to Write about a Vanishing World” (p. 124: see esp. 124-25).

February 1-4

Do the Q! Q4 Subject-verb agreement opens 12 Monday Feb 1; closes 11 PM Thursday Feb 4.

February 8-11

DUE DATE: Drop box for W2 opens 12 AM Monday Feb 8; closes 11 PM Thursday Feb 11.

Do the Q! Q5 Pronoun Agreement & Q6 Pronoun Case opens 12 AM Monday Feb 8; closes 11 PM Thursday Feb 18. Do BOTH Qs!

Prompt for W3: Now we do all four paragraphs in one essay. How does loss make our lives meaningful? In paragraph three, be sure to quote from J. Drew Lanham, “Forever Gone” (p. 131, see esp. pp. 131-33, 136-42).  .

Discussion Forum and Topic for W3 Losing Something.

Click on View Topic (by the forum title) and start a thread. You can send consecutive threads—or you can type in more than one paragraph at a time.

February 15-18

Do the Q! Q5 and Q6 will close 11 PM Thursday Feb 18. See LB 30, 31, 32. Do BOTH Qs if you have not already.

February 22-25

Do the Q! Q7 Commas opens 12 AM Monday Feb 22; closes 11 PM Thursday Feb 25.

See LB 39 Commas.

March 1-4

DUE DATE: Drop box for W3 opens 12 AM Monday Mar 1; closes 11 PM Thursday Mar 4.

Do the Q! Q8 Colons/semicolons opens 12 AM Monday Mar 1; closes 11 PM Thursday Mar 4. See LB 40 Semicolons and LB 41 Colons.

Prompt for W4 Fitting In: Why is it so important for us to fit in? In paragraph 3, be sure to quote from either Lacy M. Johnson, "On Likability" (starts on 105; see esp. 105-106) OR Walter Johnson, "Guns in the Family" (starts on 113; see esp. 113-15, 116-17, 117-18, 120-22). 

Discussion Forum and Topic for W4 Fitting In. Click on View topic (by the forum title) and start a thread.

March 8-11

Do the Q! Q9 Parallelism opens 12 AM Monday Mar 8; closes 11 PM Thursday Mar 11. See LB 16 Parallelism.

March 15-18

Do the Q! Q10 Apostrophes opens 12 AM Monday Mar 15; closes 11 PM Thursday Mar 18. See LB 42 Apostrophes and LB 43 Quotation Marks

March 22-25

DUE DATE: Drop box for W4 Fitting In opens 12 AM Monday Mar 22; closes 11 PM Thursday Mar 25.

Prompt for W5: Not Fitting In: Why is failing to fit in sometimes a good thing? In paragraph three, be sure to quote from Kai Minosh Pyle, “Autobiography of an Iceheart” pp. 176-188.

Discussion Forum and Topic for W5: Not Fitting In (may not be so bad). Start a thread!

March 29-April 1

Start a thread for W5.

April 5-8

Last chance for a thread for W5.

April 12-15

Drop box for W5 Not Fitting In (May Not Be So Bad) opens 12 AM Monday April 12; closes 11 PM Thursday April 15.

April 19-22 Grammar Exam – 50 multiple choice/ 60 minutes (open 24 hours)

GRAMMAR EXAM opens on D2L Respondus 12 AM Thursday April 22; closes at midnight.

April 26-29 Finals Week – Choice of 3 prompts/2 hours  (open three days)

FINAL ESSAY opens at 12 AM Monday April 26; closes 11 PM Wednesday April 28 on D2L Respondus.

GRAMMAR EXAM. We have 60 minutes to complete 50 multiple-choice questions.

FINAL ESSAY. We will have a choice of three prompt questions. We have two hours.

Paragraph 1 is our usual model: answer-to-prompt/because, supporting idea 1, preview of example 1 with dynamic detail, supporting idea 2, and preview of example 2 with dynamic detail. Then provide the THESIS as last sentence.

Paragraph 2 is our usual model and starts with the topic idea (plural with “we”), which explains and goes deeper with supporting idea 1. Make sure not to use "I" or "my" until the example starts. Please do NOT use YOU in this essay. Start example with context and describe experience in at least three respects with sensory details.

Paragraph 3 is our usual model but with one difference: no use of Best American Essays 2019. However, it does begin with the topic idea, which explains supporting idea 2 and goes deeper. Keep topic idea plural ("people" or "we"). Do not go to the "I" or "my" until the example begins. Start example with context and then describe the experience in at least three respects with sensory details.

Paragraph 4 is our usual model: begins with further development of a descriptive detail from par. 2 or 3. Then it revisits the THESIS but adjusts it somewhat in light of further developing that dynamic, descriptive "sensory" detail. 

You should have nothing out except one sheet of scratch paper to scribble thoughts and examples and details.

On the scratch paper start with two experiences--two observations--that you know you can describe with dynamic "sensory" details. Then ask yourself: what idea--or lesson--or does each experience imply?

Then how would you answer the "should/should we not" prompt and the "because"? The "because" then becomes the THESIS (the last sentence of paragraph one) without the word "because."

As of writing paragraph one, you now have everything you need to write the rest of our final four-paragraph essay, which does NOT quote from anything else.

The rubric will be adjusted because it will NOT have a category for a required essay from BEST AMERICAN ESSAYS 2019. 

Before you take the final exam, please be sure that you have everything that you need. Read the information below carefully:

You will need a computer or laptop with access to both the internet and a webcam.

Take time to check that both your Wi-Fi and camera are in working order.

Be sure you have one of the following Operating Systems: Windows: 10, 8, 7; Mac: MacOS 10.12 of higher: iOS: 11.0+ (iPad only – no phones)

You should download/update the Respondus Lockdown Browser. You can do so here: https://download.respondus.com/lockdown/download.php?id=444613158

This link is also available through the exam in D2L.

NOTE: CHROMEBOOK LAPTOP CANNOT BE USED WITH LOCKDOWN BROWSER.

Google Chrome or Firefox are the recommended browsers.

Do not use Edge.

If you have trouble downloading Respondus or have any issues with D2L please contact d2lhelp@msutexas.edu for assistance. DO NOT CONTACT YOUR INSTRUCTOR FOR TECHNICAL ISSUES.

For the Grammar Exam and the Final Essay, follow these instructions:

Launch the D2L ENGL 2113 Course

Read any News Items you may have missed

At the navigation bar, click on Assessments

Select “Tests”

Click on the Exam (Grammar Final or Final Essay)

Follow the instructions for Respondus Lockdown Browser

You will be asked to pan the camera over your area, remove extra papers and books, and show a picture ID. Your MSU Student ID or a driver’s license will work.

For the Grammar Exam, remember you only have 60 minutes!

For the Final Essay, you may use a single, blank sheet of scratch paper to plan

Type your Final Essay in the text box.

You will have 2 hours to complete the Final Essay.

Submit your exam.

A tentative (approximate) rubric for the “W” essays:

Grading Rubric: Let us say someone did not provide most of the components in paragraph one. That would be a 50 for the first horizontal category. NOTE: Shading indicates the squares I settled on for evaluation.

Let us also suppose the student achieved in the SATISFACTORY column in categories, 2, 4, and 5. For category 3, the student went much higher—reaching the EXCELLENT column. Moving left from the lowest score (the 50 column in this case), each square is worth 2 points. We need to add 12 points (six squares that reach SATISFACTORY) to the starting point of 50; we also need to add 8 points (category three’s four squares to reach EXCELLENT). That would be 70. 

EXCELLENT (unique among our columns) allows for a bonus of four more points (notice the 96-100 at the top of the EXCELLENT column), if excellence for category 3 was truly remarkable.

 The highest possible grade for this assignment would be a 74: 50 + 4 + 4 + 4 + 8 (+ 4 points) = 74.

Attendance

In D2L the class list (under communication) indicates the most recent date the students have logged into the course. I will use D2L to track attendance.

Attendance

In D2L the class list (under communication) indicates the most recent date the students have logged into the course. I will use D2L to track attendance

Grading (out of 100): A 100-90; B 89-80; C 79-70; D 69-60; F 59-0 (no rounding up). Late “W” essays are penalized 10 points out of 100. 

Our Qs (see TESTS under ASSESSMENTS: D2L grammar exercises—the Qs—are worth one point each for a total of 10 points (10 percent) of the total semester grade— irrespective of the student score. They are NOT extra credit. An untaken Q is an F and no points (“0”).

The Multiple-Choice Grammar Exam (20 percent of semester grade) is 60 minutes on Respondus and opens April 22 at 12 AM and close at midnight; the FINAL ESSAY (20 percent of semester grade) is 120 minutes on Respondus and opens 12 AM Monday April 26 and closes at midnight.

The W essays (W1-W5) must be submitted to their appropriate drop box in order to be evaluated and graded. If you are late for submission, email and ask Dr. Fields to grant you special access. The penalty for a late W essay is 10 points out of 100.

Note: You may not submit a paper for a grade in this class that already has been (or will be) submitted for a grade in another course, unless you obtain the explicit written permission of me and the other instructor involved in advance.

Plagiarism is the use of someone else's thoughts, words, ideas, or lines of argument in your own work without appropriate documentation (a parenthetical citation at the end and a listing in "Works Cited")-whether you use that material in a quote, paraphrase, or summary. It is a theft of intellectual property and will not be tolerated, whether intentional or not.

Student Honor Creed

As an MSU Student, I pledge not to lie, cheat, steal, or help anyone else do so."

As students at MSU, we recognize that any great society must be composed of empowered, responsible citizens. We also recognize universities play an important role in helping mold these responsible citizens. We believe students themselves play an important part in developing responsible citizenship by maintaining a community where integrity and honorable character are the norm, not the exception.

Thus, We, the Students of Midwestern State University, resolve to uphold the honor of the University by affirming our commitment to complete academic honesty. We resolve not only to be honest but also to hold our peers accountable for complete honesty in all university matters.

We consider it dishonest to ask for, give, or receive help in examinations or quizzes, to use any unauthorized material in examinations, or to present, as one's own, work or ideas which are not entirely one's own. We recognize that any instructor has the right to expect that all student work is honest, original work. We accept and acknowledge that responsibility for lying, cheating, stealing, plagiarism, and other forms of academic dishonesty fundamentally rests within each individual student.

We expect of ourselves academic integrity, personal professionalism, and ethical character. We appreciate steps taken by University officials to protect the honor of the University against any who would disgrace the MSU student body by violating the spirit of this creed.

Written and adopted by the 2002-2003 MSU Student Senate.

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is a federal anti-discrimination statute that provides comprehensive civil rights protection for persons with disabilities. Among other things, this legislation requires that all students with disabilities be guaranteed a learning environment that provides for reasonable accommodation of their disabilities. If you believe you have a disability requiring an accommodation, please contact the Disability Support Services in Room 168 of the Clark Student Center, (940) 397-4140.

The professor considers this classroom to be a place where you will be treated with respect as a human being - regardless of gender, race, ethnicity, national origin, religious affiliation, sexual orientation, political beliefs, age, or ability. Additionally, diversity of thought is appreciated and encouraged, provided you can agree to disagree. It is the professor's expectation that ALL students consider the classroom a safe environment.

All instructors in the Department have voicemail in their offices and MSUTexas e-mail addresses. Make sure you add your instructor's phone number and e-mail address to both email and cell phone lists of contacts.

All students seeking a Bachelor's degree from Midwestern State University must satisfy a writing proficiency requirement once they've 1) passed the 6 hours of Communication Core and 2) earned 60 hours. Students may meet this requirement in one of three ways: by passing the Writing Proficiency Exam, passing two Writing Intensive Courses (only one can be in the core), or passing English 2113. If you have any questions about the exam, visit the Writing Proficiency Office website at https://msutexas.edu/academics/wpr, or call 397-4131.

Senate Bill 11 passed by the 84th Texas Legislature allows licensed handgun holders to carry concealed handguns on campus, effective August 1, 2016. Areas excluded from concealed carry are appropriately marked, in accordance with state law. For more information regarding campus carry, please refer to the University’s webpage at https://msutexas.edu/campus-carry/rules-policies.

If you have questions or concerns, please contact MSU Chief of Police at police@msutexas.edu.