Course Guidelines

The Beatles’ song “A Day in a Life,” from Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, describes a typical day typically from the 1960s: the narrator reads the newspaper. But some forty years later, do we read newspapers or do we depend on other media sources for the news? How we read the news in the early 21st century is very complex.

What does it mean to receive the news as opposed to read the news? How do we recognize and respond to biases in news agencies? How do we distinguish between objective reporting and subjective commentary and analysis? And how do we manage the news information overload available to us on the web, email, and smart phones? We become news literate. News literacy is the vital capacity of consumers “to judge the credibility and reliability of the news,” according to the new Center for News Literacy at Stony Brook University’s School of Journalism.

In our writing seminar, we will use writing as a means of exploring these issues. Our assignments will range from comparative analyses of diverse news sources and media to a critical assessment of news events as presented across a variety of news media, from traditional sources such as news magazines and network evening news broadcasts to web sites, blogs, and comedy news programs.

Participation

Your participation is critical to the progress of our class as a community of writers and to the development of each of you individually as a writer. Therefore, EN 105 requires that you come to every class meeting having completed that day's writing and reading assignments, prepared to contribute to class discussion and to share your writing. Good class participation depends more on the quality of your comments than on the quantity of your remarks in class. "Participation" includes informal, ungraded assignments, contributions to class discussions, and conferences. I expect that each of you to meet with me in conference a minimum of two times during the semester to discuss your writing; I will distribute sign-up sheets in class. Of course, I encourage you to meet with me more often.

Papers

You will write six papers during the semester: four completed papers and two polished revision.  As part of the writing process for papers 1,2, 4, and 5, you will prepare working drafts of the assignment that you will discuss and criticize in your Peer Critique Groups. After writing the first two papers, you will select one of these papers and revise it as paper 3. We will repeat this pattern for the second part of the term, writing papers 4 and 5, and revising one of these as paper 6. I will grade each of the revisions. I will read and assess your working drafts and final versions as /+, /, and /-.

All papers must be produced on a computer and word processor, double-spaced, with one-inch margins.   Fonts should be clear and readable, such as New Times Roman or Arial, font size 12.  Our papers do not require a cover page, but should include an original title, page numbers, and correct citation and documentation following MLA style. Whenever possible, please try to print your papers double sided. I encourage you to submit your papers--or other class work--electronically as an email attachment. Please follow these instructions: put your name in the file name, such as "MyName.doc" or "MyNameP1.doc." Please check to make sure your file has been saved with a .doc extension.

These formal papers--as with all assignments--are due at the beginning of the class period designated on the syllabus.   I accept no late work.   If you submit late work, it will receive a zero; I will, however, provide comments on it.  

You must complete all course assignments and papers to pass the course.

Peer Critiques

Despite the romantic myth of the writer as the solitary artist, most successful writing is a result of cooperation and collaboration between the writer and a small group of friends and colleagues who serve a critical readers. Our peer critique groups will provide you with such a group of (productively) "critical friends" for your papers throughout the semester. At the beginning of the semester, I will divide you into four peer critique groups. You will be responsible for reading each of the working drafts of the other students in your group and writing a critique letter to one (assigned) student in your group. Your critique groups will meet outside of class time to exchange critique letters, thoroughly discuss each paper, and compose a report to me on the work of your critique group meeting. Critique Group Meetings are noted on the syllabus. While we often think of criticism in a pejorative light, the purpose of your critique groups is to provide each other with constructive advice from an informed reader. I will read your critique letters and group reports and grade them as /+, /, and /-.

We will use our class Discussion Forum to post working drafts and critique letters to the members of your Peer Critique Group.

Attendance

Attendance is mandatory. After four absences, you will automatically receive an "F" in the course. Lateness disrupts our classroom writing community, so please arrive promptly. Similarly, leaving the room during class is discourteous to your classmates and me. Please avoid it. If you are absent from class, please contact one of your classmates or me to find out what work you missed so that you are up to date when you return to class. The withdrawal deadline for the fall semester is Wednesday, 18 November 2009.

Disabilities Statement

If you are a student with a disability and need any academic accommodations for EN 105, please be sure that you have made your requests for such accommodations to the Coordinator for Students with Disabilities, Meg Hegener. You will also need to provide documentation that verifies the existence of a disability and supports your request. For further information, please call Meg at 580-8161, contact her by e-mail at mhegener@skidmore.edu, or stop by the Office of Student Academic Services in Starbuck Center.

Grading

All course work--graded and ungraded--must be completed by the beginning of class on the due date listed on the course syllabus. I do not accept late papers. If you fail to complete an assignment by the due date, it will receive a zero (0). However, you must complete all course work to pass the course; therefore, you still must hand in work even if you missed the deadline. I will continue to provide comments on late work.

Final Grades are based upon the following:

I follow the description of letter grades as presented in the Skidmore College Catalog, Academic Standards and Review :