Welcome to your Fall 2020 Composition 1 Course with Robert Allen!
This course will include two optional on-campus work sessions, for the purpose of A) accessing Microsoft Word and B) learning how to follow and apply the assigned formatting features. Writers who attend these on-campus sessions will automatically secure the four points awarded for their paper’s proper formatting (20% of the paper’s grade).
These work sessions will occur during Week 4/12 (October 5-8) and Week 9/12 (November 16-19) at the scheduled time, day, and place of the writer’s selected class. In order to evenly split classes with more than twelve writers, each individual student will receive a notice from me regarding which of the two possible sessions they should attend during each of those weeks.
Each week by 10 AM on Monday, directly after this paragraph, you will find new information, reminders, or a link leading to a short YouTube video in which I discuss concepts that will generally help students improve their writing and specifically help students complete this course. I will also facilitate live group discussions (through the chat function found in my website’s lower right corner) during the first 30 minutes of each section’s scheduled class period—an optional opportunity for all students who want to engage in another element of synchronous and immediate interaction beyond the on-campus class meetings.
Week Eleven:
Link to the electronic source section of Purdue’s MLA Guide
Week Ten:
Hello Composition 1 Students!
I know you already all have the meeting dates in the course syllabus, but I still want to give you all an extra reminder about our second set of on-campus class meetings this week. These meetings will follow the same system of times and places that we used for the first set of meetings. Also remember that each writer can pre-earn the four points for the proper formatting of his/her persuasive MLA paper (just as we did with the informative APA paper) by simply participating in his/her section’s on-campus class meeting.
I hope to see you all!
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Week Nine:
Follow this general structure for formatting direct quotes:
Julia Eno provides insight about [insert idea you’ve just been writing about above] in her article “A Totally Relevant Read” for Mega Reputable Magazine of Words: she writes, “[insert quote].”
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Week Eight:
Hello Class!
Before we begin extracting direct quotes from our sources (as mentioned last week) and pairing those quotes with MLA signal phrases, I want to provide you all with ample time to focus on research——along with an open opportunity to send me the sources you find, so I may verify their applicability for this project before anyone progresses too much further with a potentially ill-selected source. Please notice that this is not an assignment; you will not find any instruction to send me sources listed on the week-by-week assignment schedule that I included in the syllabus. Instead, this is an invitation and an offer from me to you, for the pre-screening of your sources so that you may proceed with a greater sense of security and confidence, knowing that you have what you need to earn the grade that you want.
Hoping you’re all well!
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Week Seven:
introductory paragraphs due before Saturday, October 31
&
three quotes from three sources (discussed over the next two weeks) due before Saturday, November 14.
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Week Six:
Hello Class! I want you all to read the example persuasive paper I’ve written for you, and at this early stage, I want you all to make a special note of just one specific characteristic in this sample writing—a characteristic that you will need to practice in your own persuasive paper: notice that none of the sourced information I incorporate is originally written with the apparent purpose of supporting the same position or stance that I establish with my thesis statement. I do not simply show my readers three different examples of other writers who have stated the same argument I want to support. Instead, I find, identify, and leverage support from related and relevant sources that do not directly address my debate. I use sources that are neutral and unbiased, relative to my position, and I carefully couple the information that those sources offer with my own thoughts and reasoning. In this way, I craft a unique defense for my own stance, rather than simply present my readers with a collection of sources that show how other writers’ have already reasoned their own support for the exact same position I establish with my thesis statement.
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The Ideal Analogue
Record labels have produced analogue recordings in a number of different formats for more than a century. A few of the most popular and enduring options include 7-inch 45 rpm records, 10-inch 78 rpm records, and 12-inch 33 rpm records. To a lesser extent, record companies have matched these sizes and speeds in other ways—and one of these options, the 10-inch 33 rpm record, provides listeners with the ideal form of analogue audio.
The 10-inch record offers an appealing type of tactile solidity simply unachievable with a foot-wide disc. The 10-inch possesses the beautiful character of a hardback book compared to a flimsy monthly magazine—or the 12-inch record. As purely aesthetic as that quality may seem to some listeners, the record’s size also does offer a practical advantage: collectors of 10-inch records can use a far wider range of book or improvised shelving options to safely house their music libraries—and shelving records matters more than some casual collectors may realize. In Kathleen Harrison’s article “Caring for your LP Records,” on the American Library Association’s website, the writer explains that for best preservation, records should ideally rest vertically on shelves that can support fifty pounds per foot of shelf and that include full-height dividers every six inches. Many bookshelves can nearly satisfy this standard for 10-inch records, but shelves that facilitate hundreds or thousands of 12-inch records can present the owner with a comparatively difficult search—or a costly custom build.
The 10-inch record also represents an iconic history that predates other modern record sizes. Companies pivotally positioned this format in the emerging record industry to the extent of influencing how some early recording artists considered and approached their own original work. According to one of Susan Stamberg’s reports on NPR’s Morning Edition, “The Roots of Audio Recordings Turn at 78 RPM,” even artistically renowned musicians like classical pianist Igor Stravinsky and jazz trumpeter Louis Armstrong shaped composition to fit the 78 rpm 10-inch. Listeners consequently associate the 10-inch record with some of the first classical recording and—more often—the foundational forms of jazz, blues, and rock n’ roll that informed decades of popular music.
At the customary 78 rpm, however, the 10-inch record moves far too fast to facilitate any more than two single songs, one on each side—hardly a combination that could contend for the ideal form of analog audio. Here enters the value of the atypically paired size and speed. At 33 rather than 78 rpm, the 10-inch record allows musicians to preserve this historic format while still offering listeners roughly 15 minutes of music on each side, which means the album will provide the better part of a thirty minute experience—a length that demands a sense of focus from the artists that encourages quality. This length coincides with the short and intense live sets that The Guardian’s music blogger, Caroline Sullivan, explains that influential bands like The Ramones and The Jesus and Mary Chain favored and consciously developed. This length of performance and record allows the listener enough time to walk away from the turntable and settle into the music—but not long enough for the listener to lose interest.
Some listeners may reasonably argue that the 12-inch 33 rpm record offers more music and bigger album art. These listeners, of course, present quantitatively true points. The 12-inch offers more space, musically and visually. More space, however, does not necessarily mean a better experience. The association of “more” and “better” likely stands strong as a result of a culture over-consumed by the simple-minded pursuit of size and speed.
With these factors in mind, the 10-inch record paired with a 33 rpm recording speed offers the listener a combination of qualities unmatched by any other form of analogue audio. The record’s size alone offers both aesthetic and practical advantages, while also preserving a more historic format than either the 7-inch or 12-inch record. And when paired with 33 rpm recording, the 10-inch provides just the right amount of music on each side—enough to keep the artists deliberate with their extended selections and the audience connected to their listening experience.
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Week Five:
Thoughts Concerning the Thesis Statement
Week Four:
This week we will consider how to the last few steps to completing the informative paper.
Bellow you’ll find the above mentioned link leading to the basic rules for the overall format of the APA reference page. Use the list you find on the left of that page to select general categories of sources; then, within each category, you can scroll down to find the different templates that best match each of your more specific source types.
Click here to reach the basic rules and the menu of source types.
And next you’ll find a link leading to a page with instructions (and visual models) explaining the construction of a student style APA title page and the formatting of the page numbers.
Click here to see the title page and page numbers.
complete informative compositions due before the end of Friday, October 9
Week Three:
due before the end of Friday, October 2
Week Two:
due before the end of Friday, September 25
Week One:
Please note that while I introduced many of these videos during the Summer 2020 semester, I recorded, uploaded, (minimally) edited, and tested them with the Fall 2020 course fully in mind. Considering this intention, understand that these videos include the exact ideas I want us to discuss this fall. Just disregard any mention of an 8-week semester. You’re now in a 12-week fall course!
^ What to take away from the above video: Select a topic for your informative paper, and write a topic sentence. For example, if a writer decides to compose a paper about the natural phenomena of rogue waves, s/he might write a topic sentence such as, “Researchers now study the scientific causes and effects of rogue waves, the towering and singular walls of water that were long considered little more than a matter of mysterious sea lore.”
On this page you will also find the simple syllabus and schedule that this course will follow over the next 12 weeks:
To successfully complete this course, each writer must compose two 1,200-word papers—an informative paper due at the end of week-4/12 (or 8/16) and a persuasive paper due at the end of week-11/12 (or 15/16) . Each paper must included cited information from at least three academically reputable sources, which, for the purposes of this course, can include peer-reviewed journal articles from a library database, trade journals, educational institutions, government agencies, news papers, news magazines like The Economist, academic magazines Smithsonian or National Geographic with area-specific writers, and broadcast interviews with experts.
We will develop these papers in graded increments, so you can earn credit for your engagement in the writing process—not just the final product. The combination of each paper’s developmental increments and the completed composition will equal 50 points.
I will not subjectively grade these developmental increments. If you do them completely, according to the instructions, and provide them before the deadline, you will earn all the points. That means 60% of this course’s points depend simply on your own diligence and ability to follow instructions—not writing skill.
Here’s our schedule, with each assignment completed and sent to allenrob@easternflorida.edu before the end of Friday on the week listed:
Week 1/12 (or 5/16), Sept 14-18 —one sentence topic proposal (5 points)
Week 2/12 (6/16), Sept 21-25 —introductory paragraph (10 points)
Week 3/12 (7/16), Sept 28-Oct 2 — three APA style paraphrases from three reputable sources (15 points)
Week 4/12 (or 8/16), Oct 5-9 — complete APA informative paper (20 points)
= a 50-point paper
Week 5/12 (or 9/16), Oct 19-23 — one sentence thesis statement (5 points)
Week 7/12 (or 11/16), Nov 2-6 — introductory paragraph (10 points)
Week 9/12 (or 13/16), Nov 16-20 — three MLA style quotes from reputable sources (15 points)
Week 11/12 (or 15/16), Nov 30-Dec 3 — complete MLA persuasive paper (20 points)
= a 50-point paper
Office Hours and Attendance:
Please note that while students can, of course, email me at any time and on any day, I tend to review and respond to these messages during my office hours, 8:45 AM to 12:15 PM, Monday through Friday. I will also be happy to meet with any of my students, by appointment, at my office (Building 1, 124B) on the Titusville Campus.
Please also note that I will withdraw any student who falls out of correspondence with me for more than 28 days.
The rubric I will use to grade the two completed papers follows:
Does the paper address the assigned objectives?
No (0 points) In some ways (2 point) Yes (4 points)
Does the paper include fewer than five major mechanical errors? Major mechanical errors include sentence fragments, comma splices, subject/verb disagreements, and antecedent/pronoun disagreements.
No (0 points) Yes (4 points)
Is the paper free of unclear and/or ambiguous language? Ambiguous language includes misplace modifiers, unidentifiable pronouns, and inconsistent tense or perspective.
No (0 points) In all but one or two sections (2 points) Yes (4 point)
Does the paper employ a discernible and systematic structure?
No (0 points) Yes—but an ineffective one (2 points) Yes (4 point)
Does the paper follow the assigned formatting?
No (0 points) In some ways (2 point) Yes (4 points)
Was the assignment submitted to allenrob@easternflorida.edu as a Microsoft Word document or PDF before the designated deadline?
No (0 points) Yes (4 point)
Additional College-wide Information (required in every course syllabus)
Religious Observations:
When the observance of a student’s religious holiday(s) interferes with attendance in class, class work assignments, examinations, or class activities, the student must notify the instructor in writing within the first week of class. Students are held responsible for material covered during their absence. The instructor should provide alternative arrangements for students to complete the work for the missed session. Students excused for religious observances will be expected to meet the class requirements for those days without undue delay. Students who believe they have been unreasonably denied educational benefits due to their religious beliefs or practices may seek redress through the student appeal procedure. [FS 1001.64, 1002.21, 1006.53] Nationally recognized religious holidays shall be acknowledged plus any significant day of religious observance as recognized by the highest governing body of that particular religious faith. Students may be required to provide information or proof the religious holiday if such holiday is not generally known.
Academic Dishonesty:
EFSC Policy: Any form of academic dishonesty is subject to the disciplinary actions set forth in the Student Code of Conduct. Cheating, plagiarism and any other misrepresentation of work are prohibited. Students who are found to be in violation of this standard may receive severe sanctions, including a failing grade in their respective course and depending on the circumstances, possible expulsion from Eastern Florida State College.
In general terms, plagiarism is the adoption or incorporation of another’s ideas without proper attribution of the source. It is more simply defined as taking the writings of another person or people and representing them to be one’s own. Please note that access to or obtaining information/copying assignments provided from sources like CHEGG, Course Hero, Accounting Tutor, or any other online applications that purport to offer the answers to exercises or instructor materials for courses, may be considered CHEATING, and any instances that can be substantiated will be treated as such.
To avoid plagiarism, you should always credit the sources used when writing as essay, research paper, or other assignment in accordance with the appropriate style manual or format required in your course. Confirm with your instructor the appropriate format to use.
Types of actions defined as plagiarism include but may not be limited to:
- Cutting and pasting to create a written document from a single or various sources.
- Citing a source with false or inaccurate information. (Bibliographical or URL).
- Quoting less than all the words copied or paraphrasing a source without proper citation or notation the document has been altered.
- Submitting papers, assignments, exams, or forums that were completed by someone other than yourself.
- Working in a group or otherwise colluding with other students to prepare and submit work without prior acknowledgment and approval from the instructor.
- Receiving or giving outside help without prior written faculty consent, this includes assistance from tutors, websites, or other online resources.
- Sharing assignments, exams, or discussions with other students.
- Selling or purchasing (or copying) papers, assignments, or exams from any website that buys or sells them and submitting them as your work in whole or in part.
- Using a quotation without proper quotation marks and citation.
- Preparing a draft for final paper for another student.
- Submitting a paper, assignment, quiz or exam that you submitted in a previous and/or concurrent class without requesting and receiving in writing prior permission from your instructor(s). This could also apply to “revising” papers, assignments, quizzes or exams that were previously submitted in any course.
- Copying a non-text material such as: image, audio, video, spreadsheet, PowerPoint presentation, etc., without proper citation and reference.
- Altering any information on forms, electronic attachments or emails after the original has been submitted.
- Presenting statistics, facts, or ideas that are not your own, or is not common factual knowledge either by the general population, or commonly known within the particular discipline, without citation, even if you view them as common knowledge in your own educational background.If you have any questions or concerns regarding plagiarism, ask your instructor or Associate Provost for assistance before a plagiarism problem arises. For more information about plagiarism and proper citations please visit the campus learning lab and/or writing center.
Sexual Misconduct:
Eastern Florida State College is committed to providing a safe and productive learning environment. Title IX and our school policy prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex. Sexual Misconduct—in any form, including sexual harassment, sexual assault, dating violence, domestic violence, and stalking—is prohibited at EFSC. Our school encourages anyone experiencing Sexual Misconduct to talk to someone about what happened, so they can get the support they need and our school can respond appropriately. For more information about your options, please visit easternflorida.edu/our-campuses/campus-security/titleix-sexual-misconduct. Our school is legally obligated to investigate reports of Sexual Misconduct, and therefore it cannot guarantee the confidentiality of a report, but it will consider a request for confidentiality and respect it to the extent possible. As an instructor, I am also required by our school to report incidents of Sexual Misconduct and thus cannot guarantee confidentiality. I must provide other EFSC officials with any relevant information reported to me.
Sail:
Faculty at EFSC are innovative and may utilize additional resources and technology (including recording devices) above and beyond the required course materials to enhance the instructional experience. EFSC strives to provide equitable access at the same academic and instructional level for all students and is committed to ensuring access for students with documented disabilities. A person with a disability may qualify for reasonable accommodations. SAIL (Student Access for Improved Learning) ensures that reasonable accommodations are provided for students with documented disabilities that significantly impact major life functions While personal services and personal aides cannot be provided, reasonable accommodations will be arranged to assist a student with a disability based on documentation provided by the student. For more information about accommodations and the resources available to students with disabilities, students are encouraged to go to the website or visit a SAIL office on any campus
Additional Links:
• Academic and Administrative Appeal Process • Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Section 504 (Subpart E)• Computer Lab Usage • COVID–19 Syllabus Statement• EFSCares Student Counseling • EFSC Grading/Incomplete Policy • EFSC Proctored Exam Process • EFSC Rules on Class Participation and Religious Observances • FERPA • Financial Aid and Scholarships • Green Dot Initiative (EFSC Bystander Training Program to prevent power-basedpersonal violence) • Health, Safety, and Security • Sexual Misconduct and Title IX • Standards of Academic Progress• Student Access for Improved Learning
Thoughts, Revised & Refined 