WRD 104 syllabus
WRD 104 syllabus, Winter 2011 p. 1 1
WRD (Writing, Rhetoric, and Discourse)
104, Rhetoric and Composition II
Winter 2011
Instructor: Beth Ann Bryant-Richards
Office: LC 1634
Office Hours: Tuesdays and Thursdays
8:00-8:30 pm and 12:00-1:00 pm and by
appointment
Phone: 312/362-8883 (no voicemail on
this number)
E-mail: ebryantr@gmail.com
Course Description: This will be a thematic
course designed to give students a
background in knowledge about the role
of religion in the United States. Student research
projects will focus on the experiences
of people in the United States and their religious or
non-religious practices.
Students will:
--choose a topic and thesis and have
it approved by the instructor;
--research and gather sources related
to their approved topic;
--compile and write an annotated bibliography
of sources;
--engage in peer review and evaluation
of other student drafts;
--give a presentation to the class about
their research;
--write a research paper about their
approved topic;
--compile a portfolio from class writing
and write a reflective essay.
Note well: Only research topics dealing
with some aspect of U.S. religious
experiences will be approved.
Course Goals:
*Students will develop their concept
of writing as an interaction between writer and
reader and their ability to analyze
their audience’s knowledge, assumptions, and
disposition.
*Students will develop their ability
to read and evaluate the writing of others with
accuracy, understanding, and insight.
*Students will develop strategies of
effective research (including, but not limited to
library and Internet research, interviewing,
field work) and learn appropriate conventions
for citation, documentation, summary,
and paraphrasing.
*Students will learn to develop and
support convincing arguments from their research.
*Students will learn to incorporate
quotations and paraphrased passages into their writing
and to document such material with standard
scholarly apparatus.
*Students should refine their skill
in using written language in multiple genres with
greater stylistic sophistication, especially
in the context of argumentative strategies.
*Specifically, students will learn how
to research and write about a topic. Emphasis will
be on evaluation of sources, thesis
development, writing to a specific discourse
community or audience, writing as readers,
and learning to read sources critically and for
analysis of the thesis and bias of the
writer. A portfolio of writing and a reflective essay
will engage students in the notion of
writing as a recursive activity, that is, an activity that
develops over time. Students will be
expected to demonstrate college-level grammar,
punctuation, spelling, and other sentence-level
skills. Students will learn proper use of
MLA format.
WRD 104 syllabus, Winter 2011 p. 2 2
Learning Outcomes for First year Writing:
Rhetorical Knowledge
By the end of FYW, students should be
able to demonstrate that they can:
• Define and focus on a purpose or purposes
• Interpret and respond to different
audiences
• Respond appropriately to different
kinds of rhetorical situations
• Apply conventions of format and structure
appropriate to the rhetorical situation
• Apply appropriate tone, diction, and
level of formality
• Demonstrate how genres shape reading
and writing
• Write in several genres
Critical Thinking, Reading and Writing
By the end of FYW, students should be
able to demonstrate that they can:
• Employ writing and reading for inquiry,
thinking, and communicating
• Respond and evaluate texts in multiple
genres and media
• Demonstrate that a writing assignment
is a series of tasks that includes finding, analyzing, and
synthesizing appropriate primary and secondary sources
• Integrate their own ideas with those
of others
• Interpret and explain the relationships
among language, knowledge, and power Processes
By the end of FYW, students should to
demonstrate that they can:
• Recognize and articulate the value
of using multiple drafts to create and complete a successful
text
• Exhibit flexible strategies for generating,
revising, editing, and proof-reading
• Demonstrate understanding that writing
is an open process that permits writers to use later invention
and re-thinking to revise their work
• Explain their collaborative and social
aspects of writing processes
• Critique their own and others’ works
• Apply a variety of technologies to
address a range of audiences.
Knowledge of Conventions
By the end of FYW, students should be
able to demonstrate that they can:
• Demonstrate competency in using common
formats for different kinds of texts.
• Apply a variety of genre conventions
ranging from structure and paragraphing to tone and mechanics.
• Correctly document their work.
• Correctly apply in their writing such
surface features as syntax, grammar, punctuation, and spelling.
Texts and Reading Materials:
St. Martin’s Guide (you should have
this left over from English 103)
Additional readings posted on Blackboard;
you must print out these readings, annotate
them, and bring them to class for discussion
access to a dictionary
Students should bring whatever text
is under discussion to class on that day.
Grading Information
Percent of final
course grade
Short assignments (This category includes
reading responses,
film responses, annotation assignment,
pop quizzes,
online library assignment, topic paper,
and any other short
or draft assignments)………………………..………………………………25%
Presentation on research topic………………………………………………25%
Final Portfolio………………………………………………………………50%
WRD 104 syllabus, Winter 2011 p. 3 3
Grading Scale
Note that not turning in an assignment
or being absent for a quiz automatically makes your grade
for that portion of the class an “F,” which gives you zero
points. Pop quizzes will be given in the first 10 minutes
of the class period and are not eligible for make up.
90-100 A
89-80 B
79-70 C
69-60 D
59-0 F
Attendance and tardiness: Attendance
is crucial to your success in this class and in your
life. If you are absent more than three
times, you run the risk of failing this class. Coming
to class late two times equals an absence.
I take attendance and I keep track of
latecomers. Students who have not attended
class by the first regular class meeting after
the last day to add will not be admitted
to this class. In addition, new program policy
states that you will receive a grade
of F if you miss more than four class meetings.
Academic Integrity: Students are responsible
for understanding DePaul’s Academic
Integrity Policy, which you will find
online in the Student Handbook. If you violate the
Academic Integrity Policy, you will
fail the course.
University Writing Centers: The Writing
Center is a good place to go for feedback
during the quarter. They offer help
in the form of tutorials. That means one-on-one
learning, which is the best way to learn
anything. The Writing Center uses students as
staff. The Writing Center at the Loop
Campus is in Lewis Center, 16th floor. At any time
during the quarter, I may require you
to go to the Writing Center to seek help with your
writing.
Classroom Issues/Notes
1. Only one person at a time should
be speaking during class. If we are having a
class discussion, participants should
expect others to listen with respect. During
infrequent lectures, I will be passing
on vital information for your success in the class.
Carrying on separate conversations or
whispering will not be tolerated. Students who
engage in such activity will leave the
class and their next graded assignment will be
reduced by one letter grade.
2. Please turn off and put away your
cell phones, pagers, and all other electronic
devices before class begins. You must
keep your electronic devices in your bag at all
times. Students who display such devices
in class will have their next graded
assignment reduced by one letter grade
and will leave the class.
3. You are welcome to bring food or
something to drink to class. Please use the time
between classes to use the facilities
and get a drink from the water fountain. Students
who enter and exit class during class
time are disruptive and such disruptions will not be
tolerated. Students who engage in such
activity will have their next graded
assignment reduced by one letter grade.
Course Schedule
TUE Jan 4
Introduction/Syllabus/Survey/In-class
Writing
THUR Jan 6
Rhetorical Arguments, The Rhetorical
Triangle
Discourse, Reading, and Writing in the
Academy
WRD 104 syllabus, Winter 2011 p. 4 4
TUE Jan 11
Reading: Reading #1 from D2L
Reading #1 Annotation Assignment Due
(in class)
Overview of Religion in the U.S.
THUR Jan 13
Reading Response Due for Reading #1
(submit via D2L)
TUE Jan 18
Reading: Reading #2 from D2L
Reading #2 Annotation Assignment Due
(in class)
THUR Jan 20
Discuss Research Topics/Assign Research
Topic Paper
TUE Jan 25
Topic Paper Due (in class)
Reading Response Due for Reading #2
(submit via D2L)
Discuss and Assign Annotated Bibliography
THUR Jan 27
Online library assignment due.
Library visit. Class will meet in the
Loop Campus Library.
TUE Feb 1
Reading: Reading #3; Reading Annotation
due in class;
Reading Response Due for Reading #3
(submit via D2L)
Students must have an approved topic
by this date.
THUR Feb 3
MLA format, List of Works Cited, Annotated
Bibliographies
Reading: Reading #4 from D2L; Reading
Annotation for
Reading #4 due (in class) due and Reading
Response for
Reading #4 due (submit via D2L)
Bring two of your sources to class on
this day.
TUE Feb 8
Rough Draft Annotated Bibliography Due
for Review
Bring or email a digital copy of your
Annotated Bibliography
to the computer classroom on this day.
Failure to bring your
annotated bibliography rough draft to
class on this day will
result in the lowering of your final
course grade by one letter
grade.
THUR Feb 10
Annotated Bibliography Due
Discuss MLA format for in text citations
Review details of research paper assignment
TUE Feb15
Reading: Reading #5 due; Reading Annotation
for Reading #5
due in class and Reading Response for
Reading #5 due (submit
via D2L)
Assign and Discuss the Presentation
Assignment
THUR Feb 17
Research Paper Due for Peer Review
Bring a digital copy of your Research
Paper to class on this
day. Failure to bring your paper to
class on this day will result
in the lowering of your final course
grade by one letter grade.
WRD 104 syllabus, Winter 2011 p. 5
TUE Feb 22 Research Paper Due
Assign and Discuss the Final Portfolio
5
TUE Feb 22 Research Paper Due
Assign and Discuss the Final Portfolio
THUR Feb 24
Reading: Reading #6 due; Reading Annotation
for Reading #6
due in class and Reading Response for
Reading #6 due (submit
via D2L)
TUE Mar 1
Final Portfolio and Reflective Essay
Revision
Film Response Due via D2L
THUR Mar 3
Final Portfolio and Reflective Essay
Due for Review
Bring a digital copy of your final portfolio
and reflective essay
to class on this day. Failure to bring
your paper to class on this
day will result in the lowering of your
final course grade by one
letter grade.
TUE Mar 8
Presentations
THUR Mar 10
Presentations
THUR, Mar 17
Scheduled final exam time
During our final exam slot, your Final
Portfolio is due. You may
turn the portfolio in early; however,
you MUST turn it in by
2:00 pm on March 17. Your final portfolio
will include the
following: a reflective essay, the revised
final draft of your
research paper, the revised final draft
of your annotated
bibliography, two revised reading responses,
and an author's note.
You will receive a comprehensive assignment
sheet detailing the
expectations of the final portfolio,
which will account for 50% of
your final course grade.