Course Syllabus

JOHN CABOT UNIVERSITY

COURSE CODE: "EN 110-11"
COURSE NAME: "Advanced Composition"
SEMESTER & YEAR: Fall 2024

SYLLABUS

INSTRUCTOR: Tara Keenan
EMAIL: [email protected]
HOURS: MW 8:30 AM 9:45 AM
TOTAL NO. OF CONTACT HOURS: 45
CREDITS: 3
PREREQUISITES: Prerequisite: Placement via JCU English Composition Placement Exam or completion of either EN 103 or EN 105 with a grade of C or above
OFFICE HOURS:

COURSE DESCRIPTION:
This course prepares students to read, think, and write critically. Students will develop their ability to read critically and analyze primary and secondary sources, hone their composition skills through in and out of class essays, and will complete the course by writing and revising a fully-documented and well-reasoned research paper, complemented by an annotated bibliography and literature review. EN110 focuses on the argumentative form, encouraging students to position their work within current critical discourses. The course develops the following skills: source selection and interrogation, identification and contextualization of themes, thesis development and defense, digital literacies, use of library resources, and careful citation in MLA style. Students must receive a grade of C or above in this course to fulfill the University’s English Composition requirement and to be eligible to take courses in English literature.

SUMMARY OF COURSE CONTENT:
The course examines a range of fundamental writing strategies, starting with grammar, critical reading of sources, summarizing, paraphrasing and proper quoting; it continues with the writing of a topic proposal, selection and citation of sources, literature review, and thesis development. Research and use of library resources will also be covered. Students will be required to submit assignments through Turnitin.

LEARNING OUTCOMES:
Students will learn to write a well-organized and error-free argumentative research paper. By the end of the course students will be able to:

Grammar
Write sophisticated as well as grammatically and idiomatically correct English prose

Reading
Read to comprehend increasingly complex material
Read and think critically

Vocabulary
Expand vocabulary through reading and writing
Develop subject specific terminology through reading and writing

Rhetoric
             Write well-organized essays, focusing specifically on argumentative essays
             Write a strong and developed thesis statement with supporting arguments
             Think, read, write critically for an academic audience
              Write a developed outline
              Paraphrase and summarize
             Cite and write using documentation
             Write a fully documented research paper

Research and sourcing (can be covered by a librarian in one or more workshops in the library)
                Be familiar with research and information literacy skills including
                        - A reinforcement of searching skills: catalog, database, and web sourcing
                         - Source evaluation
                         - Subject searching
                         - Utilize MLA style for all aspects of a research paper
                         - Understand how to avoid plagiarism

TEXTBOOK:

Book Title	Author	Publisher	ISBN number	Library Call Number	Comments	Format	Local Bookstore	Online Purchase
They Say, I Say 6th edition	Graff and Birkenstein	Norton	ISBN978-1-324-07011-5		Check the Almost Corner Bookshop.	Hard Copy	Almost Corner Bookshop

REQUIRED RESERVED READING:

NONE

RECOMMENDED RESERVED READING:

NONE

GRADING POLICY
-ASSESSMENT METHODS:

Assignment	Guidelines	Weight
Reading, Short Assignments, and Quizzes		20
Writing assignments (4)	Connection essay - 20%, Lit Review - 30%, Assembled Paper - 40%, Final Reflection - 10%	25
Midterm		20
Final Exam		25
Course engagement		10
Late	Each assignment handed in late will be capped at 75%. Students have one week to make up late assignments before the grade reverts to 0. For missed in-class work, it is the student's responsibility to approach the instructor to schedule a make-up. The make-up should take place within one week of the absence. Students may not miss midterm and final exam.

-ASSESSMENT CRITERIA:
A Work of this quality directly addresses the question or problem raised and provides a coherent argument displaying an extensive knowledge of relevant information or content. This type of work demonstrates the ability to critically evaluate concepts and theory and has an element of novelty and originality. There is clear evidence of a significant amount of reading beyond that required for the course. (90-92 = A-; 93-100 = A)
B This is highly competent level of performance and directly addresses the question or problem raised. There is a demonstration of some ability to critically evaluate theory and concepts and relate them to practice. Discussions reflect the student’s own arguments and are not simply a repetition of standard lecture and reference material. The work does not suffer from any major errors or omissions and provides evidence of reading beyond the required assignments. (80-82 = B-; 83-86 = B; 87-89 = B+)
C This is an acceptable level of performance and provides answers that are clear but limited, reflecting the information offered in the lectures and reference readings. (70-72 = C-; 73-76 = C; 77-79 = C+)
D This level of performances demonstrates that the student lacks a coherent grasp of the material. Important information is omitted, and irrelevant points included. In effect, the student has barely done enough to persuade the instructor that s/he should not fail. (60-62 = D-; 63-66 = D; 67-69 = D+)
F This work may fail to show any knowledge or understanding of the issues raised in the question. Most of the material in the answer is irrelevant or not written in the student's authentic voice. (<60) Each assignment handed in late will be capped at 75%. Students have one week to hand in graded work before the grade becomes a 0. It is the student's responsibility to approach the instructor to schedule a makeup for any missed in-class work within one week.

-ATTENDANCE REQUIREMENTS:

ATTENDANCE REQUIREMENTS, DEADLINES, AND EXAMINATION POLICY

Absences should be rare and reserved for unforeseen circumstances. You cannot make up a midterm or final without the permission of the Dean’s Office. The Associate Dean’s office should not be involved in correspondence regarding any other type of routine absence. This means that if you need to return home for a funeral, if you need to go to the dentist, if you have a fingerprinting appointment, if you are ill, or for any other reason that I have not listed, you simply do not come to class that day and you contact a colleague to find out what went on in class. Let us all agree that if you need to be absent, I believe you and I trust that you will find out what you missed from a colleague. Let’s create a world in which we believe each other and trust that we would be in class every session if we could. Let us focus on building skills of direct student-professor communication rather than asking others to intervene on routine absence matters on our behalf. It should go without saying that frequent absences will mean you are less prepared to meet the learning objectives of the course. Thus, your grade will suffer because, simply put, you are unfamiliar with what we have done in class. At the 5th absence, you will be expected to withdraw from the course. The number 5 makes sense: if you haven't been there that much, can you really say you attended the class? Remember, your presence is not just about what you get out of the course. We need you there for what you give to the course.

Any absence, excused or otherwise, counts as an absence from class, so "getting an absence excused by the Dean's office" for a medical visit, for example, really is irrelevant. If you are not in class, you are not in class and that's okay. We all have emergencies and health visits in our lives. Please keep these absences to an absolute minimum and move forward. There is no need to "get it excused."

There are always one or two obvious common sense extreme exceptions to this aspiration, but generally it is best to avoid triggering institutional responses for routine short-term absences. The bottom line is that every student, including you, is a treasured resource for each class. We need you as much as you need us. Without you, it's just not the same.

If you are unsure of what a superior level of classroom engagement looks like, please consult the Class Engagement Rubric posted to Moodle.

ACADEMIC HONESTY

The very point of why we are all here is that we want to develop ourselves into well-rounded life-long learners. Cutting corners with paper-writing services and AI, or recycling older papers cheapens everyone’s experience of the course and professors tend to take it personally. Some assignments will make use of AI tools and others will not. Pay attention to instructions. A good rule is that if you have to ask, “Is this okay to do?”, it probably is not. If you are unsure, it can't hurt to ask.

ACADEMIC HONESTY
As stated in the university catalog, any student who commits an act of academic dishonesty will receive a failing grade on the work in which the dishonesty occurred. In addition, acts of academic dishonesty, irrespective of the weight of the assignment, may result in the student receiving a failing grade in the course. Instances of academic dishonesty will be reported to the Dean of Academic Affairs. A student who is reported twice for academic dishonesty is subject to summary dismissal from the University. In such a case, the Academic Council will then make a recommendation to the President, who will make the final decision.

STUDENTS WITH LEARNING OR OTHER DISABILITIES
John Cabot University does not discriminate on the basis of disability or handicap. Students with approved accommodations must inform their professors at the beginning of the term. Please see the website for the complete policy.

SCHEDULE

Example schedule

Course Moodle page will be more reflective of schedule. If you are absent, check the Moodle page and consult a colleague.

Week 1 – Academic Register, Rhetoric, Writer’s Purpose, Intro to AI literacy

Class 1 - Welcome, Syllabus, class topic, Writing Center, letter activity
Class 2 - How to annotate, Letter activity

Week 2 - Liberal arts approach, Annotation on paper vs. digital techniques, Critical reading for academic conversations

Class 1 - Cronon, "Only Connect"

Assignment: Finish “Only Connect” if not finished, Read They Say, I Say (TSIS): Introduction and Chapter 1

· Class 2 – Cronon, TSIS Intro, Ch. 1

o Assignment: Using Perusall, annotate podcast. See instructions on Perusall. Read and annotate TSIS Ch. 2, 3

Week 3 - Academic conversation, Summarizing and quoting, Conducting Research

· Class 1 – TSIS Ch. 2, 3 and podcast discussion.

o Assignment: Study for TSIS quiz Chs. 1-3, do research extension activity

· Class 2 – Quiz and research extension activity

o Assignment: Research extension activity

Week 4 - Information and digital literacies, Metacognition on liberal arts approach and research process, Research tool evaluation

· Class 1 - Information Literacy, research using AI

o Assignment: Reflection using Riffbot

· Class 2 – Information Literacy, research using the library

o Assignment: Prepare for Connection Essay

Week 5 – Weaving sourcing to trace scholarly debate, Extended definition, Finding a scholarly voice

· Class 1 - Connection Essay

o Assignment: Read and annotate TSIS Chs. 4, 5

· Class 2 - Discuss TSIS Chs. 4, 5

o Assignment: Read and annotate TSIS Ch. 6, 15, and Watch Baldwin/Buckley Debate

Week 6 - Rhetorical strategies, Counterpoint, Research as conversation

· Class 1 – Discuss TSIS Ch. 6, 15

o Assignment: Annotate Baldwin/Buckley annotation

· Class 2 – Discuss Rhetorical strategies, content intersections with major themes

o Assignment: Midterm preparation tasks

Week 7 – Prepare for midterm TSIS Chs. 1-6, 15, Liberal arts approach, Thematic throughlines

· Class 1 - Midterm Review, Course engagement Rubric 1

· Class 2 – Midterm exam

o Assignment: Watch Bladerunner (1982) “Final Cut” version. Take notes using specific criteria

Week 8 – Finding the scholarly conversation in creative projects, Writing about art and literature, Critical Summary skills

· Class 1 – Bladerunner and our themes

o Assignment: Read and annotate TSIS Ch. 16

· Class 2- The Annotated Bibliography

o Assignment: Your annotations vs. AI-generated annotations

Week 9 – Charting the scholarly conversation – assessing the limits and possibilities of the prevailing research

· Class 1 – Literature review definition of terms – charting the conversation

o Assignment: Prepare for the Literature Review Definition of Terms

· Class 2 – Literature Review Definition of Terms in class.

o Assignment: Read and annotate TSIS Ch. 19

Week 10 – Working with AI in a scholarly manner, Evaluating sources

· Class 1 - TSIS Ch. 19 and source evaluation

o Assignment: Do first half of Checkology course

· Class 2 – Fact Checking and disinformation

o Assignment: Do second half of Checkology course

Week 11 – Focusing your research – Structure, Thesis

· Class 1 – Checkology wrap up, research question, thesis (hypothesis)

o Assignment: Post questions and hypotheses

· Class 2 – Introductions, literature review term definition

o Assignment: Outline

Week 12 – Nuts and bolts: Style and MLA

· Class 1 – Body paragraphs, MLA

o Assignment: Bring in a printed and annotated source

· Class 2 – MLA, Conclusions

o Assignment: Assemble your paper, submit to Moodle

Week 13 – Editing and revision techniques, using AI to teach yourself

· Class 1 – Assembled paper due before class.

o Assignment: TBA

· Class 2 – Writing and researching lab

o Assignment: start preparing for final exam

Week 14 – Integration of skills, metacognition, critical reading

· Class 1 – Reflection activity

o Assignment: Prepare for final exam

· Class 2 – Review for final exam

o Assignment: Study for final exam

Week 15 – Final exam

DO NOT MAKE ANY TRAVEL PLANS FOR THIS ENTIRE WEEK, INCLUDING FRIDAY.