Syllabus, Schedule, Rationale Writing

The detailed instructions are in the documents below but here is a break down:

Syllabus: 13 pages

readings/textbook
theme (if desired)
student learning outcomes (SLOs — provided – GS website on FYW)
assignments (list)
2 assignments fully fleshed out) plus the one “common assignment” (THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT!!)
grading expectations
peer review
classroom expectations /policies

I have provided a sample to reference

Schedule: To build a schedule, use my sample in the module and build at least 3 weeks of a twice a week or three times a week class. This means for each day you have instructions for work in class and instructions for work at home.

Rationale writing 8-10:

This assignment will explain the theoretical basis for your syllabus, assignments, and schedule including policies for assessment/grading, attendance, late work, OpenAI, etc. This explanation is a crucial piece to your teaching: evidence that you are basing your choices in class on what we call “BEST PRACTICES” in the field. What this means is that your choices and goals are based in relevant, current, and respected scholarship in rhetoric and composition

(Use Jackson chapter 1-3 to reference the best practices.Be sure to site)

NO AI!

I have already started on this assignment, so I just need you to pick up where I left off and finish it.

M6 Syllabus Assignment Instructions.html

Module 6: Syllabus Assignment (includes a partial schedule and assignments)

Syllabus and Schedule (for a proposed 1101/1102 course). (20 points)

FORMAT: syllabus genre and table-based daily schedule

Using our theoretical readings, discussions from class, our guest lectures, and our beta-testing on creating assignments, you will build your own syllabus for a proposed freshman level writing course (typically an 1101 or 1102). There are several syllabi examples to look at before preparing our own. We will also talk about how to build daily schedule for instruction. Having these two documents will be absolutely crucial to entering your writing classroom fully prepared.

Use our template to cover all the sections you need to have like SLOs, course descriptions, policies, etc. Then PERSONALIZE It based on your choices. Some items that might be included:

readings/textbook

theme (if desired)

student learning outcomes (SLOs — provided – GS website on FYW)

assignments (list)

2 assignments fully fleshed out) plus the one “common assignment”

grading expectations

peer review

classroom expectations /policies

Schedules:

To build a schedule, use my sample in the module and build at least 3 weeks of a twice a week or three times a week class. This means for each day you have instructions for work in class and instructions for work at home.

Syllabus Grading Criteria

The syllabus is part of your teaching portfolio. It is worth 2o points and will be graded on the required, included elements listed in the description and based on our samples. You must include:

a syllabus

3 assignments including the common assignment

a schedule for the first three weeks of a class

Due Date

There is a workshop for the syllabus. It is optional in April. The final syllabus/assignments/schedule are due WEEK 16 and then revised (if desired) in your Teaching Portfolio due in the FINAL WEEK of class.

From the Assessments dropdown menu, Assignments.

Submit all documents to the assignment boxes:

Syllabus, Schedule and Assignments

Final Rationale Essay

Teaching Portfolio.

M4.1 Introduction.html

Module 6: Introduction: Syllabus, Schedule, and Assignments

This module will address the nuts and bolts of building your own syllabus, schedule, and assignments. There are lots of ways to build a syllabus. I will copy one chapter from First Year Composition: From Theory to Practice that gives you an example and I also have posted several ENGL 1101 templates from GS. These samples will be important to help you see how teachers in the field build their classes. When you think about a syllabus you can build it around:

a theme, if desired (music, climate change, etc.) and choose readings, videos, and assignments around this.

or you can direct it toward a specific audience (second language learners) and focus your choices there

these are just two examples…

Here at GSU, there is freedom to choose your textbook and assignments, though there is one common assignment they use for all classes so that it can be assessed by the department with consistency across all sections.

The link to our department documents for First Year Writing under “Resources” and “Links” for M6:
https://cah.georgiasouthern.edu/writling/first-year-writing-for-faculty/

There will be elements of a syllabus that are simply required. Student Learning Outcomes (SLOs) are one of those things. We will all use the SLOs from the department of Writing and Linguistics for consistency. From these, you can build out your assignments with greater intention. Scaffolding assignments is one method that can be successful. That is, you can build each assignment on the skills you taught in the last one. So maybe your first assignment is a short opinion piece about a current event. This one can teach about structure and voice. Your next assignment might be an information piece about another current event but this one needs to add research and thesis building. In COMP 1101 classes, we need to be thinking about the skills we are teaching in our assignments. These should align with SLOs but also be linked to each other. This is how we can move students in a comfortable progression in rigor.

I also encourage you to incorporate multimodal assignments into your syllabus. This means that you give students a chance to create their communication in a visual form like a video, slideshow, infographic, etc.

I am going to encourage you to build your dream syllabus keeping the above in mind, especially the SLOs. If you get hired and they tell you what to teach – it’s okay. You can still use all the ideas you had in your own syllabus about how to teach and why you teach.

To get you started with ALL the framework already there to personalize, I have provided TEMPLATE syllabus for ENGL 1101. Please feel free to start with this and then personalize it.

Rationale Essay:

This leads me finally to the Rationale Essay. You should have a supported reason for most of what you choose to do in your classroom. Like the Teaching Philosophy, you base the syllabus and assignments on some of the theories we read. If you are going to direct your syllabus to a Second Language Learning audience or for students interested in media (like our template), for example, you need to base assignments on some of our readings and might need to find more to support your choices! You might choose and area where we did not read a lot – feel free to add your own sources. This rationale essay lengths (undergrad and grad) are in the Syllabus assignment descriptions here:
Course Syllabus

I encourage you to not only assign multimodal projects for your students, but also I encourage you to use multimodal techniques for this rationale essay. You can add infographics, insert personalized videos about your teaching decisions, add images, etc. Remember that an essay can be written or visual and sometimes both. You need to “show the work” of your syllabus by discussing the theories you are using for best practices, but this can be done textually and visually, if desired. What matters is that the research, structure, and clarity are solid.

Learning Outcomes

At of this learning module, you will be:

Have a completed syllabus, schedule, and assignments

Complete a draft support essay called the “Rationale essay” which shows how you used material in the class (including guest lectures) to build the syllabus and assignments.

Engage in a workshop for assignments.

Engage in an optional workshop to help revise your support essay.

Revise essay and materials for final submission.

Questions?

If you have a question about the tasks in this module, please submit it to the Questions for the Professor discussion forum under Communication > Discussions.

Composition I: Media, Discourse, Rhetoric

ENGL1101-G / 09:30am-10:45am / TR / Gamble 225
ENGL1101-GG / 11:00am-12:15pm / TR / Gamble 225
ENGL1101-HH / 02:00pm-03:15pm / TR / Gamble 223

OVERVIEW

Instructor information
Chris Cartright, MFA (he/him)
ccartright@georgiasouthern.edu
Lecturer of English
Department of Writing & Linguistics
Georgia Southern University, Armstrong Campus
Gamble Hall 208

Welcome
Hello and welcome to our class! You can call me “Chris” or “Mr. Cartright” if you prefer. Please
don’t hesitate to reach out with any questions this semester.

Email, virtual office appointments
I’m available via email throughout the week and do my best to respond as soon as possible between
9am and 5pm, Monday through Friday. I try not to send or respond to emails over the weekends.

I’m available for office appointments between 11am and 1pm on Mondays and Wednesdays.
If those times don’t work for you, let me know, and I’ll do my best to work with your schedule.

I prefer to meet virtually using Zoom, and I ask that you wear a mask if we meet in my
office. If you’re looking for the link to my virtual office, please click here.

Catalog description & student learning outcomes
This course introduces students to the conventions of academic and professional writing through
the rhetorical practices of reading and composing texts. Students will use critical thinking and
information literacy skills to develop texts through the processes of writing, revision, and reflection.
Students must complete the course with a “C” average or better to earn credit.

At the completion of ENGL1101, students will be able to:
○ Develop flexible composing strategies to achieve a defined purpose for writing;
○ Compose texts to develop ideas in relation to a range of sources;
○ Respond to various rhetorical situations through practicing genre conventions

appropriate to the audience, purpose, and context of reading and writing; and
○ Analyze how textual features, context, and purpose shape a text’s message.

mailto:ccartright@georgiasouthern.edu

https://georgiasouthern.zoom.us/j/5640916240?pwd=b1VieUMyU0duck5LMlFoZDB6THQrQT09

Course description
Composition I is the first of a two-course series designed to develop your critical thinking, academic
research, and professional communication skills.

This course will study three major concepts: media, discourse, and rhetoric. Media refers to
the variety of texts that humans create to communicate. Discourse (or discourses) refers to the
conversations that we have about different topics. Rhetoric refers to the strategies people use to
communicate effectively.

Our goal is to study texts (different media compositions) and create our own texts (our own
essays and creative compositions). Doing so will develop our ability to navigate media, understand
discourse, and employ rhetoric. Put another way, studying composition will help us think, read, and
write better.

Workload
A standard college course represents about 3 hours of class time. Colleges recommend that
undergraduates spend at least 9 hours on homework for every 3-credit class.

It is my recommendation that students devote around 10 hours per week to this class. If
you’re devoting that much time without seeing an improvement in your grades, let’s talk.

Required resources
● A computer. To complete our weekly and major assignments, you will need a device with a

stable internet connection and the ability to have multiple tabs open, to download and
annotate documents, and to draft and revise long passages of text. I recommend a physical
keyboard rather than a touchscreen when possible.

● Writing materials. To participate in class, you must have the ability to write during class and
to collect your writings throughout the semester. Physical notebooks, smartphones, tablets,
or laptops are all fine. Always bring your drafts to class when we’re working on a major
assignment.

● There is no textbook. You are not required to spend any money on course materials.

Recommended resources
● A smart device. Sometimes, we’ll conduct research in class, so it helps to bring a

smartphone or other internet-connected device if you can. Tablets and laptops may be
available to borrow from the Library and the Learning Commons. Please let me know if you
won’t be able to access the internet during class.

Tips for success in this course
● Come to class as much as possible. This is the best way to ensure that you understand

our concepts, resources, and assignments.
● Keep up when you miss class. If you have to miss, use the online materials to complete

weekly activities and major assignments. I can help you keep up through email and virtual
office appointments.

● Stay healthy. Wash your hands, wear a mask, and maintain social distancing. Don’t come to
class if you’re sick, are waiting for a result, or have been advised to quarantine. Notify
CARES or the Office of the Dean of Students if a situation arises that causes you to miss
classes or assignments.

● Communicate with me. Email me for advice on upcoming assignments; schedule an office
visit for detailed feedback on your work; reach out when you’re falling behind or have to
miss class.

● Make a realistic homework schedule. As much as possible, do this work in increments
throughout the week rather than all at once. Plan ahead; don’t wait for the last minute.

● Create a focused work space. Find a computer, set up a desk, organize your school bag,
organize the folders on your device. Find your spot in a library, a learning commons, a cafe,
or a bar. Make it easy to get in the zone when it’s time to read and write.

● Think for yourself. This class will ask you to select your own research topics and make your
own arguments. You must choose what to write about; you must decide what you think.

Syllabus policy
This syllabus contains an overview of the course, our calendar & due dates, information on grades,
assignments, and course policies. I reserve the right to update our calendar, assignments, and policies
throughout the semester to adjust to any issues that come up this semester.

After the first week of classes, I expect that you have read through this document and
understand our course policies. In the interest of time, I will respond to questions answered in the
syllabus by directing you to read the appropriate section of this document.

I will update this document throughout the semester, so I don’t recommend printing it out.
For easier navigation, I recommend opening the document outline by going to View > Show
document outline. You can also bookmark this page or “star” this document in Drive for easier
access.

CALENDAR & DUE DATES

I will update and adjust the calendar over the course of the semester. If I change any due dates, I’ll
announce it on Folio well in advance. Full instructions for each week’s activities will be posted on
Folio at the start of each week.

COMPOSITION I

Week 01
Monday,
1/10

Introduce the course
Introduce ourselves

Week 02
Monday,
1/17

Introduce the personal narrative essay
Study media and genres
Monday, Jan. 17: MLK Day

Week 03
Monday,
1/24

Study discourse and ideology

Week 04
Monday,
1/31

Study rhetoric (basic)

Week 05
Monday,
2/07

Develop personal narrative essays

Week 06
Monday,
2/14

CONFERENCE & WORKSHOP WEEK.
NO CLASS TUESDAY OR THURSDAY.

Submit the personal narrative essay by Sunday, Feb. 20.

Week 07
Monday,
2/21

Introduce research report
Study information literacy

Week 08
Monday,
2/28

Practice academic research

Week 09
Monday,

Practice academic research
Develop research reports

3/07

Monday,
3/14 SPRING BREAK

Week 10
Monday,
3/21

Develop research reports

Week 11
Monday,
3/28

CONFERENCE & WORKSHOP WEEK.
NO CLASS TUESDAY OR THURSDAY.
Submit the research report by Sunday, Apr. 3.

Week 12
Monday,
4/04

Introduce rhetorical analysis essay
Introduce APA formatting

Week 13
Monday,
4/11

Practice rhetorical analysis
Develop rhetorical analysis essays

Week 14
Monday,
4/18

Practice rhetorical analysis
Develop rhetorical analysis essays

Week 15
Monday,
4/25

CONFERENCE & WORKSHOP WEEK.
NO CLASS TUESDAY OR THURSDAY.

Week 16
Monday,
5/02

NO CLASSES DURING FINALS WEEK.
THERE IS NO FINAL EXAM IN THIS CLASS.
Submit rhetorical analysis & reflective cover letter by Monday, May 2nd.

ATTENDANCE

This is a face-to-face class. The bulk of instruction will occur in class, and I will monitor attendance.
I will not stream or record class sessions. I recommend that students plan to attend every session.

However, in order to accommodate illness and quarantine due to the pandemic, you will not
be penalized for missing class if you are sick. There are no points for attendance. If you can’t attend
class, you should continue participating using the online modules and access additional support
through email or virtual office appointments.

If you have an illness or other issue that is impacting your ability to attend class, please
contact CARES, the Office of the Dean of Students, or the Student Accessibility Resource Center.

Policies
The following policies are designed to ensure that class periods remain safe and productive:

1. Students should not attend class if they are sick.
2. Students should arrive on time and remain until I dismiss class.
3. Students should arrive prepared and remain on task until I dismiss class.
4. Students should follow my instructions and work on our assignments during class.
5. Students should not engage in distracting behaviors or unrelated activities during class.
6. Students should remove headphones, silence their devices, and only use technology for class

activities.
7. Students should avoid bringing food or strong-smelling items into the classroom. Please

keep a secure lid on any drinks you bring to class.

If a student violates these policies, I will discuss the issue with them. If a student continues to violate
these policies, I will ask them to leave, then contact the Office of the Dean of Students.

If I ask you to leave, you may not return to our class until we have met with the Dean of
Students.

https://www.georgiasouthern.edu/covid-19-information/

https://students.georgiasouthern.edu/dean/resources/

https://students.georgiasouthern.edu/sarc/

ASSIGNMENTS & GRADING

20pts: Weekly activities & extra credit opportunities
Each week, you will complete an activity on Folio worth 2 points. Incomplete or incorrect
submissions will earn partial credit (1 point). There are 30 points available, but only 20 are
required for full credit. Therefore, any points earned above 20 will count as extra credit.

25pts: Personal narrative essay
A personal narrative is an essay that discusses the writer’s experiences and observations
regarding a particular topic.

25pts: Research report & reflective cover letter
A research report is an informative, evidence-based essay about a given topic. The reflection
should discuss the steps you took and challenges you faced in producing the research report.

30pts: Rhetorical analysis & reflective cover letter
A rhetorical analysis essay is an analysis of the rhetorical elements of a specific text or texts.
The reflection should explain how you applied course concepts to complete this essay.

Detailed assignment instructions will be provided through Folio when each assignment is introduced
(see calendar).

Late work
Assignments are due on the date stated on the course calendar. You may submit weekly assignments
or major assignments late for partial credit any time before the last day of classes.

If you have an illness or other issue that is impacting your ability to complete assignments,
please contact the Student Accessibility Resource Center, CARES, or the Office of the Dean of
Students. Please note that I will not provide deadline extensions or other learning accommodations
without official recommendations from the relevant university office.

Final grades
Final grades at Georgia Southern are entered as letters. There are no plus or minus grades. Point
grades are converted to letter grades as follows: F: 00-59 percent; D: 60-69; C: 70-79; B: 80-89; and
A: 90-100.

At the end of the semester, I will round 9s up to the next letter grade (ex: 69 = C). If you
have any questions about grades this semester, please don’t hesitate to ask.

https://students.georgiasouthern.edu/sarc/

https://www.georgiasouthern.edu/covid-19-information/

https://students.georgiasouthern.edu/dean/resources/

Major assignment instructions
● Please submit major assignments to the appropriate dropbox by going to our course Folio

page > Assessments > Dropbox. Please submit assignments as a .DOC, .DOCX, or .PDF
file type.

● Submit the assignment by the date listed on the course calendar to be eligible for a passing
grade. If you miss the deadline, submit the assignment late for partial credit.

● Don’t plagiarize. Always indicate when you’re using a direct quote from a source. Always
indicate the sources of your information.

● Meet the minimum length requirement. Essays under the minimum word count will earn a
failing grade.

● Use the best available information. Employ the library research strategies we’ll learn in class;
rely on scholarly articles and the most credible sources we can access.

● Think critically about the assignment and make it your own. The assignment prompts are
intentionally open-ended so that students can decide on their specific focus.

● Communicate with me regularly about your assignment to make sure you’re on the right
track.

POLICIES
Academic integrity
This course will not tolerate any form of academic dishonesty. I am required to report any instance
of potential plagiarism to the Office of Student Conduct. According to GSU’s Code of Student
Conduct, Plagiarism is the offering of the words, ideas, computer data programs, or graphics of
others as one’s own in any academic exercise. Examples of plagiarism include (but are not limited
to):

● The offering of another’s work, whether verbatim or paraphrased, as original material
without identifying the source(s) in an academic paper.

● Directly quoting the words of others without using quotation marks or indented format to
identify them.

● Self-plagiarism: re-submitting work previously submitted without appropriate or accurate
citation or credit and/or without explicit approval from the instructor.

● Use of materials prepared by another person or agency engaged in the selling of term papers
or other academic materials.

It is your responsibility to know and adhere to the Code of Student Conduct. Please note that our
Folio assignment dropbox contains an originality-verification software capable of detecting
intentional and unintentional plagiarism.

Accessibility and accommodations
The Student Accessibility Resource Center is committed to providing an equal educational
opportunity for all qualified students with disabilities. To request accommodations for a disability,
please register with the Student Accessibility Resources Center on the second floor of Memorial
College Center (Armstrong), the second floor of Cone Hall (Statesboro) or contact the Center at
sarcsav@georgiasouthern.edu. Armstrong Campus Phone: 912-344-2572. Statesboro Campus
Phone: 912-478-1566.

Administration of this class
This class is offered through the Department of Writing and Linguistics. If you have questions
regarding ENGL 1101 or ENGL 1102, please contact Dr. Annie Mendenhall (Armstrong and
Liberty First Year Writing Coordinator) or Dr. Russell Willerton (Department Chair).

Continuity of instruction
I will maintain continuity of instruction by keeping all of our course materials and assignments
updated on Folio. In the event that we need to cancel class, we will be able to continue our work
online. Students who miss class due to illness can also complete assignments online and meet with
me during virtual office hours.

Civility
Our class is a safe space. Everyone—regardless of ethnic, gender, sexual, or other identity—will be
treated with respect. You will likely hear perspectives that offend you, but I want to ensure that my

students don’t feel threatened or disrespected in our class. I will not tolerate disruptive,
discriminatory, or harassing behavior in any aspect of our class.

Communication policy
You are responsible for checking Folio and your student email account regularly during the school
week. Because college is a professional setting, our emails should reflect this fact. Make sure your
messages have a clear subject line. Use full sentences and correct punctuation. I encourage you to
take the time to learn and apply basic email etiquette.

Constructive conversations
This class requires consistent discussion in order for us to practice our thinking, research, and
communication skills. It might sound counterintuitive, but I am going to encourage us to argue with
each other this semester.

Our goal is not to “win” these arguments. Rather, we should argue in order to learn. By
expressing our opinions, sharing evidence, and reasoning together, we learn how to think more
critically. By discussing controversial and uncomfortable topics, we learn about other perspectives,
and we develop our own.

I’ve included the following recommendations to help us have more constructive
conversations. Let me know how you think we can foster an open space for evidence-based
discussions.

● Critique ideas, not people.
● Read closely and take notes.
● Listen actively and attentively.
● Ask for clarification when confused.
● Take ownership of your own learning.
● Offer supporting evidence for your claims.
● Challenge one another, but do so respectfully.
● Take responsibility for the quality of the discussion.
● When discussing a text, always have it in front of you.
● Distinguish between personal experience and empirical evidence.
● Don’t be afraid to reconsider your stance in light of new evidence.
● Try not to over-generalize from your experiences or speak for others.
● Make room for other speakers in the conversation; know when to listen.
● Build on other people’s comments and work towards shared understanding.
● If anything said during the discussion offends you, acknowledge it immediately.
● Always consider your audience; make room for other experiences and perspectives.
● When discussing a topic, start with what we know, then find out what we don’t know.

Content notice
The content of this class will engage with controversial and sensitive topics. Our discussions will
address real issues that affect members of our class. Let’s be sensitive to each others’ experiences.
Please let me know if you find any reading or discussion particularly upsetting.

Credible sources of information
There is a lot of misinformation on the internet. We will rely on credible journalism and scholarship
as our basis of evidence. As much as possible, let’s try to start with empirical evidence, what has
been observed and documented using scientific methods. Then, we should look for analysis from
professionals and scholars.

Whenever I ask you to conduct research or share information in your classwork, make sure
it’s from a reliable source. Be careful not to confuse opinion articles with actual reporting. If you
have any questions about a source, please don’t hesitate to ask.

And remember, even “bad” sources can yield important insights. Let’s stay critical and try
not to write any perspectives off too quickly, even if they aren’t “credible” by academic standards.
Always consider why someone is making an argument, even if you think it’s wrong.

Here is a list of sources that I believe are credible and accessible for college students. Let me
know what sources you would add to this list.

Newspapers and Magazines Academic databases

● Reuters
● The Associated Press
● The BBC
● The Guardian
● The Atlantic
● The New York Times
● The Washington Post
● The Wall Street Journal
● The Atlanta Journal Constitution
● USA Today
● Miami Herald
● LA Times

● Credo Reference
● Discover Search
● JSTOR
● Project Muse
● ProQuest

Access these databases through the university
library.

Feedback
I strive to provide effective feedback as efficiently as possible. In my experience, individualized
written feedback isn’t the most effective or most efficient way to help students. Therefore, I will only
provide feedback on activities and assignments during one-on-one meetings. I will not provide
written feedback on graded assignments, nor will I read drafts over email.

Instead, I ask that you schedule virtual or face-to-face meetings during my regular office
hours throughout the semester. I will provide additional opportunities for meetings in the lead up to
major assignments by scheduling office hours during class time. I’m happy to meet with you for up
to 30 minutes at a time, multiple times throughout the semester, to help you with your assignments.

I plan to grade weekly activities within 1 week and major assignments within 2 weeks of the
due date.

FERPA
According to the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), your academic performance is
private information. Therefore, I will not discuss your grades with anyone other than you. If you
would like me to share this information with anyone else, you will need to complete the appropriate
documentation with the university.

Plagiarism verification
I use Turnitin, an originality-verification software, to check assignments submitted to the dropbox
for plagiarism. When you submit your assignments, you will see a percentage indicating what degree
of your assignment matches content found online or submitted through the same software. Any
matching content in your assignments should be clearly quoted and attributed to the appropriate
source.

Privacy policy
Be advised that our communication on Folio and through email is recorded and may be monitored. I
will do my best to keep our class discussions and assignments confidential in accordance with state
and federal law.

Let’s strive to be conscientious about our own privacy and respectful of the privacy of
others. You do not need to share information that you would rather keep private. Keep your
communications with your peers professional and avoid asking personal or sensitive questions.
Unless a person has invited you to do so, avoid contacting members of your class outside of the
class setting. If someone asks you to stop communicating with them, respect their request.

Use your best judgement, and please let me know if you have any concerns about privacy or
communications in this class.

Reporting illness
Georgia Southern University wants you to take appropriate precautions for your health as well as the
well-being of your classmates. If you need to self-report either a confirmed or suspected positive
COVID-19 diagnosis, have received self-quarantine requirements, or have symptoms with pending
test results, please complete the CARES Center COVID-19 self-reporting form (through the
MyGeorgiaSouthern portal under “COVID-19 Information & Resources”). You may also reach the
CARES Center by using the MyGS mobile app, calling 912-478-CARE (M-F 8am-5pm), or emailing
covidsupport@georgiasouthern.edu. The CARES Center should not be used for medical advice. If
you need medical advice, contact your health provider; call 911 only in emergencies.

Respect for diversity
It is my intent that students from diverse backgrounds and perspectives feel respected and served by
this course. I hope to present materials and activities that are respectful of diversity: gender, sexual
orientation, disability, age, socioeconomic status, ethnicity, race, culture, perspective, and other
background characteristics. Your suggestions about how to improve the value of diversity in this
course are encouraged and appreciated.

Student success
GSU has many services available to you for free or at reduced cost. In particular, I encourage you to
take advantage of the Academic Success Center, the Library, and the Writing Center for coaching,
tutoring, and help with our assignments.

ENGL

1 Composition One | Fall Semester

022

Task

Due Date

Begin

End

/10

8/1

Course Info–Start Here

First Half Week

Post a message to Discussion Board (Unit 0 – see below). Be sure you meet all requirements of content and format per the syllabus.

Review course syllabus.

before starting work

Print out this course schedule & check off items as completed.

before starting work

Read all pages in the module. If you have ANY questions about the discussion boards, peer responses, technology standards, communication rules, etc., be sure to email or post ASAP to the FAQ discussion board.

before starting work

Upload a course-appropriate picture of your face so that we can see each other for the duration of the course.

before starting work

Post to Discussion 1 “Introductions”.

8/14, 11:59 pm

Read “Shitty First Drafts” and “Dangers of the Single Story”

8/14, 11:59 pm

Dropbox “1101 Writing Sample”

8/14, 11:59 pm

Module 1: Creating a Literacy Narrative

Week 2-5

Read assignment sheet for the WA #1 Literary Narrative.

before starting work

Read Reading Response Directions

before starting work

Read Tolentino’s “Age of Instagram”

, 11:59 pm

Dropbox Reading Response

8/17, 11:59 pm

Review “Concrete and Specific” PowerPoint

8/21, 11:59 pm

Post and Respond to Discussion Board 2 “Examples”

8/21, 11:59 pm

Read articles from Manjoo and The Oatmeal

8/24, 11:59 pm

Dropbox Reading Response

8/24, 11:59 pm

Post and Respond to Discussion Board 3 “Brainstorming”

8/2

, 11:59 pm

Review “Audience Analysis” PowerPoint

8/28, 11:59 pm

Dropbox “Audience Analysis” document

8/28, 11:59 pm 4

Complete draft of Literary Narrative

8/31, 11:59 pm

Post draft of LN to Peer Response Discussion Board

8/31, 11:59 pm

Respond to Peers LN Drafts

9/4. 11:59 pm

Dropbox Writing Assignment #1: Literary Narrative

9/7, 11:59 pm

9/7

9/21

Module 2: Group Presentation: Exploring Research

Week 5-7

Review and sign up for a group on the Google Doc

before starting work

Read assignment sheet for WA #2: The Group Presentation

before starting work

Review Research Folders in “Resources” folder on Folio: CRAAP, SIFT, MLA and APA content

before starting work

Read and Post Reading Response to “How to cook”

9/9, 11:59 pm

Read and Post Reading Response to “Code of Ethics SPJ”

9/9, 11:59 pm

all these dates revised

Dropbox Group Presentation Plan and Research Document

9/15, 11:59 pm

Post Group Presentation to Discussion Board (one per group)

9/19, 11:59 pm

Presentation Response posted to Discussion Board

9/22

, 11:59 pm

Dropbox personal reflection

9/22, 11:59 pm

9/22

10/26

Module 3: Research Report: Ethics and Citation

Week 8-11

9/25-9/27

10/5-10/7

These days observe Rosh Hashanah – let me know if I should expect your work later.

These days observe Yom Kippur – let me know if I should expect your work later.

Read Assignment Sheet for WA #3: The Research Report

before starting work

Review Research Folders in “Resources” folder on Folio: CRAAP, SIFT, MLA and APA content

before starting work

Read and Post response to “Braindead Megaphone”

9/25, 11:59pm

Read and Post response to “Private Prison Guard”

9/26, 11:59 pm

these four dates have been changed to give you more time

Post and Respond to Discussion Board 4 “Topics”

10/2, 11:59 pm

Post and Respond to Discussion Board 5 “Ethics”

10/5, 11:59 pm

Read and Post response to “Spears Conservatorship”

10/6, 11:59 pm

Post and Respond to Discussion Board 6 “Annotations”

10/9, 11:59 pm

Post to Discussion Board 7 “Abstracts”

10/14, 11:59 pm

Respond to your peers on Discussion Board 7 “Abstracts”

10/16, 11:59 pm

Post rough draft of your Research Report to the Peer Response Discussion Board

10/19, 11:59 pm

Post Peer Responses to Discussion Board

10/23, 11:59 pm

Dropbox Final Draft of WA#3 Research Report

10/26, 11:59 pm

10/27

11/20

Module 4: Rhetorical Analysis

Week

-14

Read Assignment Sheet for WA #4 Rhetorical Analysis

before starting work

Read Ch 6 “Thinking and Reading Rhetorically”

before starting work

Review resources in Rhetorical Analysis folder

before starting work

Read and Post response to “Blank Space”

10/30, 11:59 pm

Post and Respond to Discussion Board 8

11/2, 11:59 pm

Post and Respond to Discussion Board 9

11/6, 11:59 pm

VOTE!

Today is Election Day – Go Vote!

11/8

Read and Post response to “Radicalized Representation”

11/9, 11:59 pm

Post and Respond to Discussion Board 10

11/13, 11:59 pm

Post rough draft of your Rhetorical Analysis to Peer Response Discussion Board

11/16, 11:59 pm

Post Peer Responses to Discussion Board

11/18, 11:59 pm

Dropbox Final Draft of WA #4 Rhetorical Analysis

11/20, 11:59 pm

Thanksgiving Break (November 21-26th)

11/27

11/30

Module 5: Preparing the Final

Week 15

Read Final Letter Assignment Sheet

Before starting work

Review your writing from the semester

Before starting work

Time for optional conferencing between 11/27 and 11/30

Final: December 4th

Submit your Final Letter to the Dropbox

12/4, 11:59 pm

M6 Rationale Essay.html

Module 6: Rationale Essay

Final Essay (theoretical rationale for your Syllabus, Assignments, Schedule, and various policies). (15 points)

FORMAT: essay

This essay will explain the theoretical basis for your syllabus, assignments, and schedule including policies for assessment/grading, attendance, late work, OpenAI, etc.

This explanation is a crucial piece to your teaching: evidence that you are basing your choices in class on what we call “BEST PRACTICES” in the field. What this means is that your choices and goals are based in relevant, current, and respected scholarship in rhetoric and composition. Anyone could think about assigning or assessing writing, but having those choices informed by best practices means that your future students’ diverse needs will have been considered. Your choices will have been informed by theories on identity, writing process, assessment, and second language learning, for example. You will have attended to typical Student Learning Outcomes (SLOs) in the writing classroom to help students understand that there are goals to be met that include transferable skills.

Undergraduate students will be expected to write about 8-10 pages and Graduate Students 10-12 pages.

Build your Rationale Essay just like you would a research essay. You will need an open/close, reasons, in-text citations, and a works cited page. Think about introducing the reader to your class: basically explain how you got there and how you made your choices. Essentially you are writing about the reasons why you made certain choices in these documents, what theories they are based in (your evidence), and what it all means. That is – why is it important? When you get to talk about your materials at a hiring meeting or in a teaching demo or in an application, this essay will inform your speech. Having good ideas, a good theory base, and reasons for what you do and why you think it will work will be really persuasive to your audience.

Any multimodal elements count toward you page count.

Due Date

The Rationale Essay is due April 22nd:
Final Rationale Essay

From the Assessments dropdown menu, Assignments.

Select Rationale Essay. Upload the Essay here.
Final Rationale Essay

For second submission: Select Teaching Portfolio. Upload the syllabus and other documents here.

Submit all documents at the end of the class to the Teaching Portfolio box
Teaching Portfolio

Student A

Dr. Costello

ENGL 5541

21 April 2024

Rational Essay

Introduction

In my teaching philosophy I went over why I teach as well as certain aspects of the

classroom that I hold in high regard. This includes flexibility in the classroom, a focus on process

over product, the power of metacognition, multimodality, and giving students the choice of

topics to circumvent the bad history that Standard American English presents. Staying in the

world of theory, as the teaching philosophy does for the most part, can teach us new things.

However, practically applying these things to a syllabus as well as a series of assignments

provides a clearer view on how I put all those ideas listed into actual practice.

Polices

The course policies included in my syllabus are best practices. Many of them have

asterisks attached that show they were copied from other professor’s syllabi. Specifically, Dr.

Costello and Dr. Cartright’s 1101 equivalents. I understand that if the university I’m applying to

be a teacher at has different standard policies, I will change the syllabus to reflect those policies.

After all, the syllabus is an ever-changing document due to a variety of circumstances. There are

a couple of exceptions, however, and these are my attendance policy and AI policy. Both policies

are typically not university wide standard practices, with attendance being up to the professor

and AI being a new and constantly evolving field.

I do not give out an attendance grade. I believe that if students are attending class, are

leaving partway through class, or not participating, that it will affect their grades down the line.

In fact, grades in this course reflect that mindset. Major assignments net the most points, minor

assignments net enough to bump up the students’ grade, and extra credit opportunities (while not

outlined in the syllabus) give that extra boost to go from a B to an A. There’s also the flexibility

angle of attendance. A 2023 study involving 2.9 million students shows that 78% of them

mentioned “long commuting hours” as part of the reason why they chose to skip some classes

and believe that mandatory attendance should not be applied to the classroom (Kaushik, p. 129).

The only issue with this study is that it was in India and not in the US, but I’m sure anyone in the

U.S. who commutes to class can agree that traffic makes you late to class sometimes, even if

you’re a straight A student who’s the best at planning, and I believe that you shouldn’t be

punished for that.

My AI policy mostly comes from the “MLA-CCCC Join Task Force on Writing and AI

Working Paper: Overview of the Issues, Statement of Principles, and Recommendations.” This

paper outlines the positives and negatives that AI can have in the classroom and was integral to

formulating my stance on AI. For example, AI has biases that support, “dominant racial and

economic power structures” (Byrd, p. 7). However, AI can give those who aren’t native speakers

a voice in a culture that’s dominated by Standard American English. Even from these two

statements alone we can clearly see that AI is not a black and white issue. Because of this, the

solution is also not black and white. I’ve outlined that AI can be used for various things,

including multimodal uses within the final research project, but that if any student chooses to use

AI, then they must cite it. The current general practice for this, outlined in Dr. Costello’s

syllabus, is that the student should write a paragraph at the end of any assignment stating what

the AI was used for, and a link or copy that shows evidence of the chat log. So, it’s a give and

take between the teacher and student to maintain academic honesty. Unfortunately, systems to

detect AI in papers have not yet yielded any useful results, and until then this is the policy I seek

to maintain.

Grading Policy

There is a great introduction video on contract grading by the Metro College Success

Program YouTube channel titled, “What is Contract Grading?” See below:

This is the type of grading that I’ll be introducing students to in the class. This type of grading

allows students to choose what grade they’d like to receive in any one of their major

assignments. Some students really want to excel in their first-year writing course, and as teachers

of the course we love these students’ passion for the craft, but some students are okay with

getting by with a C, and we should provide that option for them without the embarrassment of

marking off points of an essay that they turn in knowing that it isn’t an A. So, once again the

benefits are both for the student and the teacher. The student can pursue the level of academic

achievement they wish to attain, and the teacher grades accordingly to what the student chose,

eliminating the frustration of late-night grading sessions where the teacher wishes they saw more

passion in a student that just wants to get by, and saving some red ink along the way.

My approach started just how Lynda S. Radican did her approach in her essay titled,

“Contract Grades: An Agreement between Students and Their Teachers.” In it she states, “I had

students maintain a portfolio, and if their portfolio contained the core assignments to satisfy

basic course requirements, they were guaranteed a C.” (p. 286). I designed my C-Rubrics in

much the same way. These have the basics covered and that’s it. If the student is satisfied with

the C, then they sign the rubric and hand it to me. Lynda S. Radican concludes in her essay that,

“at least 90 percent of my students like the freedom of the contract grade.” (p.286). Freedom is

the key word here. Much too often do we restrict the ways students approach their learning

journeys, and contract grading gives some of that freedom back to the students.

But how do I assess these grades? The grades for major assignments end up being what

the student signed up for, or a D. Now, I can see how this can seem like an intimidating decision

at first, but this is the core of contract grading. Roopika Risam does much the same in her essay.

“Reframing Grading, Rethinking Rigor.” She states that, “All assessments are graded on a

‘complete’ or ‘incomplete’ basis.” And goes onto say, “I walk students through exemplars of

assignments, so they understand what is expected of them for ‘completion.’ Students also have

the opportunity for a revision of an assignment on which they received an ‘incomplete.’ (p. 49). I

am following both practices in my own classroom. Of course, I may have to design my own

examples at first, but eventually student examples will take over, and students need to be offered

a second chance at revision. This exemplifies my idea that writing is more about the process

rather than the product. The major assignments are not a one and done scenario, but rather a

process that’s meant to be iterated upon if the student doesn’t succeed the first time.

Minor Assignments:

The minor assignments collectively represent a point total that can help a student who

chooses a B-Rubric for one or two of their major assignments turn their final grade into an A.

That’s mathematically what minor assignments represent, but they also represent a check for

understanding of material right as the student is learning the material. I seek to do more with

checking students’ understanding, however. In a 2023 paper titled, “Concept Questions and

Alternatives: Easing Check Understanding” authors Délcio Jacob Felicidade and Tweuhanda

have outlines that help to design concept question and diversify the tools teachers can deploy

when checking for understanding in minor assignments. Among these are to, “always have a

purpose for your questions, […] ask for information you don’t share with your learners, […]

contextualize your questions and make them as learning based as possible, [and] do not let

questions and answers become only one-way activities.” (p. 80). These are general pointers, but

the paper goes onto explain types on how to write effective concept questions. The paper itself

has to do with in person discussions in a foreign language classroom, but I believe that their

advice can be used in the broader sense of minor assignment questions that check students’

understanding.

The Literacy Narrative Assignment

The literacy narrative assignment is the first major assignment of the course, and as such

its purpose is to introduce students to engaging in rhetoric without being overwhelmed by the

nuances of rhetoric. A literacy narrative assignment was chosen because of the many benefits

that literacy narratives have. These include, as J. Blake Scott writes, “[they] can help validate

students as authors” (p. 111), they can help, “students expand their definitions of literacy and

writing” as well as help combat the ideology of individualism (p. 112). This paper, written in

1997, teaches literacy narrative as a reflection on the process of writing itself, but I’ve taken a

different approach that comes with the hindsight of ever evolving technologies. As I state in my

“Some Background” section of the assignment, being literate does not just mean being literate in

writing, and so if a student would prefer to talk about how a movie, game, or song that changed

them in some way, they should feel free to do so. This also incorporates multimodality by letting

the student choose the medium they wish to talk about. The goal of the assignment remains much

the same as what J. Blake Scott had in mind in his essay as well, both of us agree that the

assignment should have the students who feel they write academically and those who write

creatively both reflect on the process of writing itself (p. 112). The step-by-step document in the

assignment sheet helps scaffold the project out so students don’t feel overwhelmed by the writing

process.

The Analyzing a Text Assignment

The analyzing a text assignment comes after the literacy narrative assignment, and the

goal for this assignment is get students to engage directly with the rhetoric concepts we’ve been

learning in class. This includes media, genres, discourse, ideology, and rhetoric. Students will

have smaller assignments to help them engage with each term individually before this

assignment is introduced. There are a couple of similarities to this assignment and the literacy

narrative. The choice for the student to talk about a different medium is here once again, but the

student must engage that medium all the same. The “questions to ask themselves” helps in this

regard. The other similarity is the scaffolded structure, except now we include a step for

research. This assignment assigns a reflection to all rubrics as I want to engage in Jackson’s

concept of metacognitive strategies (p. 35). These strategies help students reflect on their own

writing process, and because the literacy narrative assignment was all about this process, I

decided not to include a reflection for any rubric except for the A-rubric.

The Research Project

The research project for the course asks students to engage with all the concepts that

we’ll be discussing throughout the semester. This project will be assigned in the beginning of the

semester and is scaffolded more than most. I understand that this can be intimidating to some

students, but most of our minor assignments will incorporate work that students should be doing

on their research project. So, by doing a little bit each week students will eventually have most if

not all the work completed for the research project before they even know it. The second goal for

the project is to instill good writing habits in our students. They’ll be given much less time in

other classes to do research, so this research project gives them a safe space to make mistakes

and learn the ins and outs of what to do. Once again, students are allowed to choose their own

topic, but they can also present their project in a variety of ways. This, and all other mentions of

multimodality go back to Kitalong and Miner’s research on how multimodality helps engage

learners. The pair used multimodality to help engage students in STEM learning, and I’d like to

do the same here with all my major assignments, but most prominently in the research project. A

reflection letter is required for this project as well and should be more detailed because students

will be turning it in by the end of the semester, and as such will have more to reflect on than in

other assignments.

Workshop Etiquette

Every major assignment includes a section on workshop etiquette. I included it in every

assignment because it’s important for students not to forget how our workshops function. I run

these workshops using ideas from Jackson. He states that teachers should include a discussion

about discussion in their syllabus (p. 133), but I find it easier to include the more formal notes on

discussions in our assignment sheets themselves, as all other discussions in the class will be

informal. For both I use his method titled, “Write-pair-share” the write part is our student rough

drafts, the pair is the groups of around four, and each student reads a draft that isn’t their own

and response to it both in writing and with discussion (p. 137). Of course, rough draft reviews

won’t be the only way my students engage in workshop, as in class prompts will be given the

same treatment. I find that it’s important our students engage with each other as much as they

engage with myself. It helps build a positive environment. Jackson also includes advice on how

to deal with the potential negative aspects of discussion, which I will implement if they are

needed.

Conclusion

Flexibility in the classroom, a focus on process over product, the power of metacognition,

multimodality, and giving the students choice of topics to circumvent the bad history that

Standard American English presents… all these ideas are the fuel that drives my classroom. I

have demonstrated specific ideas in this essay that detail how all those ideas will be put into

practice. Metacognition is in the assigned reflections, multimodality is given as a choice for

students through their choice of topics, and in the research project students can present their

project in several mediums. As stated in my teaching philosophy, I understand how impossible it

can seem to want to become the light that sparks students engagement with writing, but not only

do I believe that there’s no harm in trying, I believe that the way we try is by giving as much

freedom and choice to our students as possible, because it is our job to show students that writing

is just another tool of expression, and everyone can benefit from learning how to engage with it.

Works Cited

Byrd, Antonio, et al. MLA-CCCC-Joint-Task-Force-on-Writing-and-Ai-Working- …, July 2023,

hcommons.org/app/uploads/sites/1003160/2023/07/MLA-CCCC-Joint-Task-Force-on-

Writing-and-AI-Working-Paper-1 .

J, Blake S. “The Literacy Narrative as Production Pedagogy in the Composition Classroom.”

Teaching English in the Two Year College, vol. 24, no. 2, 1997, pp. 108. ProQuest,

https://www.proquest.com/scholarly-journals/literacy-narrative-as-production-

pedagogy/docview/220949662/se-2.

Jackson, Brian D. Teaching Mindful Writers. Utah State University Press, 2020.

Kaushik, Asha, et al. “Effect of Partial Compulsory Attendance on Academic Performance of

Technical Education Students.” Innovations in Education & Teaching International, vol.

60, no. 1, Feb. 2023, pp. 124–33. EBSCOhost,

https://doi.org/10.1080/14703297.2021.1948440.

Kitalong, Karla Saari and Rebecca Miner. “Multimodal Composition Pedagogy Designed to

Enhance Authors’ Personal Agency: Lessons from Non-academic and Academic

Composing Environments.” Computers and Composition 46 (2017): 39-55.

Metro College Success Program. “What Is Contract Grading?” YouTube, YouTube, 3 Sept. 2022,

www.youtube.com/watch?v=28i4FFvYJu8.

Radican, Lynda S. “Contract Grades: An Agreement between Students And …” Contract

Grades: An Agreement between Students and Their Teachers, California State

https://www.proquest.com/scholarly-journals/literacy-narrative-as-production-pedagogy/docview/220949662/se-2

https://doi.org/10.1080/14703297.2021.1948440

University-Sacramento, wac.colostate.edu/books/tchudi/chapter22 . Accessed 21 Apr.

2024.

Risam, Roopika. “Reframing Grading, Rethinking Rigor.” University of California Press,

University of California Press, 1 Oct. 2022, online.ucpress.edu/esr/article/45/2-

3/49/194546/Reframing-Grading-Rethinking-Rigor.

Tweuhanda, Delcio Jacob Felicidade. “Concept Questions and Alternatives: Easing Check

Understanding.” Education Quarterly Reviews, vol. 6, no. 2, June 2023, pp. 78–

86. EBSCOhost, https://doi.org/10.31014/aior.1993.06.02.739.

https://doi.org/10.31014/aior.1993.06.02.739

ENGL 1101: Composition

Term: Fall 2026

T/Th: 10:00 am -11:15 am

Instructor: Amy Harden

Office:

Email:

ah33343@georgiasouthern.edu

Office Hours:

· Wed & Fri from 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm

· Virtual Zoom meeting upon request

Overview

Course Description

English 1101 is the first course in the First-Year Writing sequence. This course introduces you to the foundational principles of academic and professional writing, with an emphasis on rhetorical reading, critical thinking, and the writing process. You will learn to analyze and produce a variety of texts while engaging in practices of drafting, revising, and reflecting on your work.

Through writing assignments, collaborative activities, and class discussions, you will strengthen their ability to construct well-supported arguments, develop a clear writing voice, and adapt your communication to different audiences and purposes. You will also gain experience with research and information literacy, learning to locate, evaluate, and integrate sources effectively. You will need to achieve at least a “C” average in this course to earn credit and be eligible to take the second course int the First-Year Writing sequence, English 1102.

Student Learning Outcomes:

Required Text/Material:

· There is no textbook required for this course! I will provide you with the necessary digital or paper copies of the material we will use.

· You will need a computer or laptop to complete your weekly assignments. Your devise should have a stable internet connection and allow you to maneuver between multiple tables, draft and revise documents, and annotate documents as well. A physical keyboard will be the most ideal for efficiency and ease of use.

· Please be sure that you have access to a word processor, such as Microsoft Word or Google Docs. Georgia Southern Students have free access to Office 365 through your MyGeorgiaSouthern portal.

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