English 300 Writing in the Disciplines (online)

Section 710 -- Fall 2014

Instructor Name: Rebecca Hallman
Email Address: rebeccahallman7@gmail.com

Class time/location: Online

Office hours: by appointment only

COURSE DESCRIPTION
Welcome to English 300-710! This course is designed to familiarize you with the writing conventions of your discipline and
to give you practice writing within those conventions. You will also learn how to read scholarly texts rhetorically and
critically, understand the conversation going on among multiple texts, and join that conversation. My goal as a writing
teacher is to help you understand the ways in which knowledge-making happens in your discipline, and to help you learn
how to participate in that making of knowledge through scholarly, argumentative writing.
In addition to understanding the uniqueness of your own disciplines writing, there are also common academic trends
across disciplines. Thus, our class is split into two parts: in the first, we will focus on mastering some common academic
skills used by all scholars, and in the second, you will have the opportunity to focus on your own research projects and
those of your classmates. Our course readings will include: texts about both general scholarly and discipline-specific
writing (based on research from my discipline, Rhetoric and Composition), texts about sustainability and the environment
(based on research from various disciplines both inside and outside of the university), and texts from within your own
discipline (which you will find, evaluate, and share with a small group of your classmates who are within your discipline or
in a surrounding field. You will also use these texts in your major research projects).

COURSE THEME
This writing course is built around the course theme of sustainability. Reading, writing, analyses, arguments, and
discussion will center on this broad theme. While my own philosophy and personal interests have led me to build this
interdisciplinary writing course around the theme of sustainability, my personal beliefs will not drive forward our
discussions. I will have to support my own positions on course topics, as will you, and I welcome (even insist on) open,
honest, and well-supported debate about our course theme. *Students who do not wish to study sustainability in an
interdisciplinary way should not register for this section of English 300.

MAJOR ASSIGNMENTS
Assignment
Essay 1: Critique

Points
100

Approximate Due Date

9/30 (T)

Essay 2: Navigating Sources that Disagree

200

10/28 (T)

Essay 3: Major Research Essay

300

12/5 (F)

Rough Drafts (one for each Project 1-3)

Semi-formal Writing (discussion posts, journals, quizzes, reading reviews,
peer reviews, etc.)
Smaller Assignments (annotations, project proposal)

30/ea.

Due one week prior

to due date.

10-25/ea.

Ongoing (25+ times)

30/ea.

TBD

WHAT I EXPECT FROM YOU

Your work should be turned in on time.
You will upload major essays electronically through an assignment link on our Blackboard course site by 11:59pm on the
paper due date. Be sure to click the Submit button after attaching the document. Late papers will be penalized one letter
grade for each day (24 h. period) overdue. Papers should conform to the documentation/formatting style that you choose
at the beginning of the course.
You are also expected to complete semi-formal writing and semi-weekly homework on time. Semi-formal writing
assignments will often be discussion board posts, journal responses, and quizzes/reading reviews. Due dates for weekly
work will always be Tuesdays and Fridays at 11:59pm. Each assignment prompt and all unit schedules will clearly indicate
the due date and time, but always remember: You will have something due almost every Tuesday and Friday by midnight.
If you submit your work late, you can expect to receive partial credit. If your work is over two weeks late, you can expect
to receive a zero.
To be accepted, you must save ALL essays, semi-formal work, and drafts as a Microsoft Word documents (.doc
or .docx).
* In order to pass this course, you must complete all major assignments (Projects 1, 2, & 3).

Submission of your work should follow specific guidelines.

You will submit all work via Blackboard. This means do not send me your work via email, ever, unless I ask you for it. All
major projects should be uploaded as Microsoft Word documents (.doc or .docx). Microsoft Word is the only acceptable
file format for this class.
It is your responsibility to ensure that I receive your work. You also should back up all of your work and plan on saving it
for some time, especially materials you will use in major assignments. To help organize the work in the course, please
follow this file naming convention: yourfirstname_yourlastname_assignment-oneworddescription.docx. So, for instance,
my first draft of Project 1 would look like this: Rebecca_Hallman_Essay-draft.docx.

You should check your student email and Blackboard regularly.

All students should check their WKU email accounts and the Blackboard Announcements page at least daily.
In all emails sent to me, include ENG 300 and your name in the subject line so that your message stands out. If you fail to
do this, there is a chance your email will get lost. Also, when you e-mail me, appropriate etiquette for professional e-mails
is expected. Dont take offense if you receive a response to a poorly written e-mail with a request for you to revise it and
send it again. The Purdue OWL (Online Writing Lab) provides a useful set of guidelines for composing professional emails at http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/636/01/.

You will be expected to respond thoughtfully and regularly to your peers.

You can expect to both give and receive feedback from your peers on all major assignments. Additionally, you will be
responding to one another semi-formally on a regular basis via discussion board posts. I expect you to participate
respectfully, thoughtfully, and honestly. If you have a concern about class conduct (either your own or someone elses),
please dont hesitate to contact me.

Be aware that failure of technology is NOT a valid excuse for missing deadlines.
Technological failure of any kind is no excuse for submitting assignments late or failing to submit assignments. If you are
not confident with technology, consider working ahead, submitting work early, and checking in with me to be sure Ive
received your work (at least at the beginning of the course).

WHAT YOU CAN EXPECT FROM ME

I will provide regular feedback on your writing.
I strive to provide timely, detailed written feedback on first drafts of all Major Essays for students who submit drafts to their
Peer Writing Groups on time. If you have questions or want additional feedback at any time, please feel free to send me
an email and request it. Im always happy to discuss your writing with you in more detail.

Additionally, semi-formal writing (discussion posts, journals, reading reviews) will receive some feedback at the beginning
of the semester, and then brief or no feedback later in the term.

The best way to communicate with me is via email.

Email is by far the best way to communicate with me, and I am happy to answer any questions you have and would much
prefer that you send me an email to clarify an assignment than that you turn in something unsatisfactory. Please use my
Gmail account (rebeccahallman7@gmail.com). Ill plan to check email at least a couple times a day (once in the morning
and once in the evening), but Ill probably get back to you within 24 hours or less. Im also happy to set up a phone call,
blackboard chat, or skype meeting with you.
That being said, if youve got a general question about the class or about an assignment that isnt immediately urgent, I
encourage you to post your question on the general class discussion board in Blackboard, titled, Questions/Concerns
About the Course. This will help out your classmates, save me some time, and also give you a point of extra credit. Ill
plan to check this discussion board at least every other day.

This class has an Open Revision Policy.

This class is based on the belief that students learn best when high standards are set but lots of assistance is provided to
help meet those standards. Consequently, you will receive feedback from both peers and myself on drafts of essays
regularly. Im also happy to meet with you anytime during the semester to discuss your writing (face-to-face or virtually). In
addition, if you are dissatisfied with a grade you receive on a Major Essay, you have exactly two weeks from the day I
return your project with a grade and comments to revise. If you revise, your new grade will replace the original grade. All
revised essays must be accompanied by a cover letter explaining how you have addressed my comments.

I teach with anonymous, real student writing from my own classes.

Sometimes before you submit rough drafts for Major Essays, I show you a range of sample papers and discuss with you
how/why the papers were actually scored by me. Additionally, sometimes I like to pull a sample sentence or paragraph
from one of your current papers to share with the class as an example to serve as either a model or a revision
demonstration.
Thus, I keep copies of all work that you turn in and will frequently use samples of student work from our course for class
discussion. If you have concerns about this policy, please let me know.

I am committed to providing a supportive, accessible learning environment.

All people learn differently and some people have particular challenges that might make functioning in a fully online
college course difficult. Please, if you find that any part of the course is unclear or inaccessible in any way, contact me and
let me know. Im happy to make accommodations when needed, but in order to do that, youve got to communicate with
me. For example, if there is a font color you cant read easily, I will avoid using it; if you need to compose your writing
using a speech recognition software, Im happy to work with you to set that up; or if you cannot read a PDF or course
document with a screen reader, Ill find a different version of the text for you.

ALL THINGS REQUIRED

Required Texts (1) Behrens, Laurence, and Leonard J. Rosen. A Sequence for Academic Writing. Fifth Edition. New
York: Longman, 2012. Use the ISBN 9780205674374 when ordering online to ensure you purchase the correct edition.;
(2) Kolbert, Elizabeth. Field Notes from a Catastrophe. New York: Bloomsbury, 2006. ISBN 9781596911397; (3) Various
journal, newspaper, and magazine articles and video/audio (online).
Prerequisite ENG 200 or equivalent.
Colonnade Program Description Writing in the Disciplines (English 300) gives students advanced instruction and
practice in writing and reading essays within an academic discipline and make students aware of how disciplinary
conventions and rhetorical situations call for different choices in language, structure, format, tone, citation, and
documentation. Students conduct investigations into writing and reading conventions in their fields and receive advanced
instruction in planning, drafting, arranging, revising, and editing discipline-specific essays.
Pre-2014 General Education Goals Met by this Course English 300 helps to fulfill the A.1. (Organization and

Communication of Ideas) general education requirement at WKU. The course will help you attain these general education
goals and objectives: 1. The capacity for critical and logical thinking, and 2. Proficiency in reading, writing, speaking
Colonnade (Fall 2014 and later) Learning Outcomes Met by this Course English 300 helps to fulfill the written
communication (WC) Colonnade Foundations requirement. Upon completion of English 300, students will demonstrate
the ability to:
1. Write clear and effective prose in several forms, using conventions appropriate to audience (including academic
audiences), purpose, and genre.
2. Find, analyze, evaluate, and cite pertinent primary and secondary sources, including academic databases, to prepare
written texts.
3. Identify, analyze, and evaluate statements, assumptions, and conclusions representing diverse points of view, and
construct informed, sustained, and ethical arguments in response.
4. Plan, organize, revise, practice, edit, and proofread to improve the development and clarity of ideas.
5. Distinguish among various kinds of evidence by identifying reliable sources and valid arguments.
Academic Integrity Plagiarism/Academic Fraud occurs when a student knowingly or unknowingly submits another
persons published or unpublished (print or web) writing as his/her own, has another person dictate what should be
written, has another person write an assignment and submits that work as his/her own, or copies/borrows another
persons ideas/progression of argument without acknowledgment or permission. Students must complete their own work
in this class, and they should not ask for or receive inappropriate assistance on their work. Students who decide to violate
this policy should understand that they might automatically fail this course.
Plagiarism or academic dishonesty on any single assignment, including quizzes, exams, reflective assignments, outlines,
proposals, Discussion Board posts, other short papers, or early drafts of longer papers will result in a course penalty up to
course failure. The severity of the penalty will be at the discretion of the instructor, depending on the nature of the
violation. Length or nature of the assignment are not factors affecting the course penalty. In other words, plagiarism on a
onepage paper could result in course failure just like plagiarism in a sixpage paper might; or cheating on a daily quiz
could result in course failure just like cheating on a final exam might.
Program Assessment As part of a university-wide accreditation study, a small sample of research papers will be
collected from randomly-selected individuals in all English 300 classes this semester. The papers will be examined
anonymously as part of a program assessment; results will have no bearing on the student assessment or course grades.
Incompletes Typically, incompletes will not be granted for this course. When extenuating circumstances arisefor
example, if a student is in the military and is deployed toward the end of the semester, or if a student has a personal or
medical crisis that comes up toward the end of the semesterthe student must discuss the situation with me if possible
and I will consider an incomplete. I will only consider an incomplete for students who are in good standing (C or higher) in
the course.
ADA notice Students with disabilities who require accommodations (academic and/or auxiliary aids or services) for this
course must contact the Student Accessibility Resource Center, Room 1074, Downing Student Union. The SARC
telephone number is (270) 745-5004 (TDD: 270-745-3030). Please do not request accommodations directly from the
instructor without a letter of accommodation from the Student Accessibility Resource Center.
Writing Center The Writing Center offers individual conferences (both facetoface and via email) about writing with our
staff of English graduate students. Our services are available to all Western Kentucky University students.
Visit the website for more information: http://www.wku.edu/writingcenter/
Important Dates
September 1: Labor Day Holiday
September 2: Last day to add a class or drop a class without a grade
October 2-3: Fall Break
October 15: Last day to withdraw from a full-semester course
October 27: 60% point of the fall semester (FN date). [Explanation for those of you who are new: Students who stop attending and submit
no work following this date, between October 29 and the end of the semester, must be assigned the grade of FN instead of F. Accurate attendance
records must be kept in order to confirm that a student has not attended class after 10/29 as TopNet grade recording requires a last date of attendance
for FN grades.]

November 26-28: Thanksgiving break

December 8-12: Final Exams

Your continued enrollment in this course constitutes your acceptance of this syllabus as a learning contract. By
remaining enrolled in this online course, you agree to abide by the policies outlined above.
The instructor has the right to make changes to the syllabus and schedule if necessary.

Assignment 1: Critique
Overview
Using Behrens & Rosens Chapter 2 as a guide, you will critically read and then write a critique of
Albrecht Classens Humanities-- To Be or Not To Be, That Is the Question or Dham, Samonte, and
Shows Organic Foods: Do Eco-Friendly Attitudes Predict Eco-Friendly Behaviors? (from Rollins &
Bauknights book Food). When we critique texts, we move beyond summarizing the writers main
points to also include an analysis of the authors subject position, motives, and degree of success in
accomplishing the purpose she/he establishes. After thoughtfully engaging with the text and its
authors goals, we then determine the extent of our agreement with the authors overall argument and
major claims.
Purpose
To practice rhetorical techniques for understanding a text which can then be used in your major
research project. Oftentimes when we critique texts, we find gaps in an authors research, reasoning,
or scope, which we can then use to jump-start our own research pursuits.
Requirements
Be 1,000-1,500 words
Use a respectful tone towards the writer, regardless of whether or not you agree
Follow B&Rs Guidelines for Writing Critiques on pp. 68-69
Use summary, paraphrase, quotations and correct citation where appropriate
Include an introduction, summary, assessment of the presentation, your response to the
presentation, and conclusion
Evaluation Criteria (worth 100 pts.)

Introduction (10)

Summary (20)
Assessment (30)

Response (30)

Includes an introduction that provides

context and a thesis statement that clearly
states the writers overall
assessment/response to the text.
Provides a fair and accurate summary of
the article. Generally follows Guidelines
for Writing Short Summaries.
Evaluates the author of the articles
presentation. Consider accuracy,
significance, fairness, and logic (B&R pg.
68)
Responds to the authors views statting
clearly with which points the writer agrees

Conclusion (10)

and/or disagrees. Provides reasons to

support response
State your overall conclusion about the
validity of the article. Review the overall
strengths/weaknesses.
Assignment 2: Navigating Sources That Disagree

To help get you started on research surrounding an issue or controversy related to sustainability in
your own field, profession, or major, you will use this assignment as a way to begin considering
multiple perspectives. For this assignment, I am asking you to put three writers/articles in
conversation with one another by examining how and why they appear to disagree. To do this,
you will want to consider the arguments made, critique them, and analyze them rhetorically. You might
also ask who the authors are and what their values, motivations, and constraints might be.
Make sure to consider: What arguments are these authors making? What are their points? Do they
disagree on everything? What kinds of evidence do they use? Do they seem to believe that the same
things even count as evidence?
You will build on the summarizing and critiquing skills youve been developing over the past couple
weeks. In addition, you will organize your essay by first briefly noting the ways in which sources are in
agreement. Then, you will focus your essay on the points of contention that you find among the texts.
This assignment will also help you prepare for the Literature Review section of your major research
paper (Assignment 3).
Purpose
To write an analytical, research-based essay in which you provide an answer to the question: Why do
authors of texts in the debate on x disagree?
Requirements
Be approximately 1,500 words (6 pages, double spaced)
Include at least 3 credible sources (at least two should be from scholarly journals, and the
other can be either your interview, a blog, a magazine article, something in the media, etc.)
Have a clear thesis that answers the question: why do the authors of texts in this debate
disagree?
Stay focused on the arguments made by the authors and how they relate to one another. In
other words--do not organize your essay in terms of the authors with which you agree and those with
which you disagree.
Follow the citation style for your discipline that you chose at the beginning of the semester

Evaluation Criteria (worth 200 points)

Background/Context and
thesis statement (30)

Provide background information in the introduction

paragraph on the debate and the 3 texts you chose to
analyze. Write a clear thesis that sets up the
organization for the rest of the assignment.

Organization and clarity

(50)

Use explicit topic sentences at the beginning of

paragraphs that point out the ways in which sources
disagree so that your reader can follow your writing
without having to work to figure out how the sources
disagree. It might be easiest to begin with some
paragraphs/statements about how the sources agree
before pointing to the places where they disagree.

Use of evidence (60)

Integrate short summaries, paraphrases, and quotations

into your argument in ways that support your main
claims about how the sources disagree.

Conclusion (30)

In your conclusion paragraph, you should consider what

questions your essay brings up for your continuing
research on this topic. Also mention other perspectives
you might consider, and how you plan to settle/further
explore the disagreements youve found.

Style, tone, grammar,

citation (30)

Maintain a scholarly tone throughout the essay. Your

own personal views and opinions about which texts you
like more should be left out of this essay. Make sure the
essay is edited so that the reader understands what you
are arguing and is not distracted from your claims.

Assignment 3: Major Research Paper

Overview/Purpose
To advance an argument by credible, current, relevant scholarly research, about a topic relevant to
your major/discipline/future profession and related to sustainability. This is a standard research-based
academic argument.
Audience
Like Assignments 1 & 2, the readers will be the members of your peer review group who are writing in
the same or a similar discipline. Also, you can imagine the readers of your paper as professionals in
your discipline--those who are accustomed to reading research-based academic writing.
Organization of the Essay
This essay will be modeled after standard research articles, moving from introduction to literature
review to body to conclusion. The research essay will draw heavily on the Navigating Sources
Assignment, which you will expand in the literature review section. Generally, the research essay
consists of the following sections:
Introduction: includes background, context, definitions of important concepts and terms, and the
thesis statement (around 300-600 words)
Literature review: the scholarly context for the essay--this will probably be a revision of Assignment 2:
Navigating Sources in that you will add more sources and discuss how research on your topic is in
agreement and disagreement, and point out the gaps you see (100-300 words)
Body of the essay: development of the argument, using evidence from your research, personal
experience, interviews (possibly) and other information (1500-2500 words)
Implications for future research (optional): This section would make suggestions on what kind of
research could continue to explore your topic, to extend the conversation about your subject (300-600
words). It will be especially useful if you are writing a Proposal Argument.
Conclusion: Wrap it up, bring the argument to a close, leave the reader with something to think about
(100-500 words)
Requirements
Be 3,000-4,000 words (3,000 is the minimum word limit, excluding the references/works cited page.
(The rough draft must be 1,500-2,000 words)
Include at least ten sources

Evaluation Criteria (worth 300 points)