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Syllabus
Syllabus
As instructors, we are here to guide and facilitate your success in this course, and to provide a
safe classroom environment where ideas can be exchanged through academic discourse and
productive conversation. As students, you are here to keep an open mind, engage with
complicated and critical thinking, and express your ideas in a collegial manner.
Feel free to contact us about any questions the syllabus may not answer, or any issues you may
be having in this course by coming to our office hours or sending us an email. If you want to
meet in person but cannot come to our office hours, email us to schedule another time to meet.
The assignments for this course are structured in a way that will direct you towards formulating
and responding to a research question. Throughout the semester we will work on addressing
this research question through various multimodal assignments. The major assignments consist
of a response towards research done into a problematic issue, two proposals and peer-reviews.
In completing these assignments effectively, we will develop our critical thinking, reading and
writing skills in preparation for upper level courses. We hope that this course will prepare you to
be confident in your writing skills and will give you the rhetorical skills required for all of your
University and professional career needs.
Learning Outcomes
Throughout this semester, you will:
● Interpret and evaluate how information is produced and consumed in specific contexts,
including networked environments
● Explore and create critical questions to drive meaningful inquiry
● Develop critical knowledge of primary and secondary research methods
● Examine the power and limits of writing as social and public action
● Compose rhetorically effective media for different audiences
● Deepen reflective and metacognitive thinking strategies
● Use intellectual property responsibly
● Develop and use effective invention, composing, and revision processes
● Demonstrate awareness and use of strategic rhetorical and stylistic techniques within
multilingual and diverse linguistic contexts
Course Materials:
Required
● Taylor, Todd. Becoming a College Writer: A Multimedia Text. Bedford Bks/St. Martin’s,
2018
○ You will need to bring your copy with you in class and prepared to discuss any
assigned readings
● Computer & internet access
○ This class will have an online component via Canvas. You will need access to
Canvas in order to turn in assignments and participate in the Discussion Boards
○ The library offers computer access to all students. You may access the FIU
library hours here
● Notebook/Paper
○ In case you need to take notes or complete a free write exercise. We recommend
a notebook so that you have everything in one place, but loose leaf paper works
fine!
Recommended
● Lunsford, Andrea. The Everyday Writer with Exercises. Customized for FIU. 6th Edition.
Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2016
○ This is a basic style guide that is good to have on hand
○ OR here are some online sources:
■ Grammar Girl
■ OWL Purdue
■ Lousy Writer (not knowing grammar doesn’t make you one!)
■ English Grammar 101 (essentially an online textbook)
● MLA Handbook. 8th Edition. Modern Language Association of America, 2016.
○ This is an additional source which is a comprehensive guide to MLA format
written by the Modern Language Association. It is a full book which focuses only
on MLA format.
● Strunk, William. The Elements of Style. Ithaca, NY, W.F. Humphrey, 1918.
○ A classic reference book for students and writers. Contains basic principles of
composition such as the common academic writing rules of how a paragraph
should start with a topic sentence, each paragraph should be one unified unit
which focuses on one topic per paragraph, etc.
Grades & Assignments:
In order to pass this class, your final grade must be a C or higher. Your final grade will be
broken down as follows:
Participation 15%
● Any in-class assignments that are collected
● Lowest two grades will be dropped
Major Projects:
Unit 1: Exploring the Power of Rhetoric & Information
In this project, students will examine the ways in which rhetoric and information can affect
change. In this module, students will begin to recognize the ways in which rhetoric, writing, and
language can influence change in beliefs, thoughts, feelings, and/or actions. For example,
students may be asked to explore this in social movements, as they have experienced it in their
own lives, and/or within specific community organizations.
FAQ:
What is the attendance policy?
Attendance is required for this course. We will take attendance at the beginning of each class
session. Attendance will be worth a total of 100 participation points. You are allowed to miss
three class meetings if our class meets Monday, Wednesday, Friday. These days which you are
allowed to miss should be used in case any personal occurrences should happen, or in the case
of an emergency. Missing anymore class meetings than what is allowed will result in points
being deducted from the final overall participation grade. Should you miss due to health
concerns and/or family emergencies, please contact us directly so we can work something out.
We understand that working with Canvas can present technical issues. Please keep us
informed of any issues you may have logging into or submitting assignments through Canvas.
We have included several emails at the top of the syllabus so that you have other means of
reaching us outside of Canvas.
If you have a personal matter that will present a problem in submitting an assignment on time,
please let us know as soon as possible. We are happy to work with you around emergency
situations! You can reach us at the emails listed on this syllabus or directly through Canvas.
Minor assignments (class reflections, peer reviews, online class discussions) will not be eligible
for resubmission. However, your two lowest grades will be dropped at the end of the semester.
Resources:
Disability Resource Center
● The Disability Resource Center works with students, teachers and faculty to ensure a
learning environment that is inclusive and supportable for all. The DRC provides
students with disabilities the necessary support to complete their courses. Please feel
free to contact the center for more information: 305-348-3532, Graham Center GC 190,