Important Dates

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      First Day of Class: Wednesday, August 13th       
      Drop/add ends: Tuesday, August 19th          
      No-show reporting deadline: Wednesday, August 27th
      Midterm averages posted to SWORDS: Wednesday, October 8th at noon
      Last Day to Withdraw from ENGL 1101 with a “W” (must also withdraw from English 0999): Wednesday, October 29th
      Last Day of Class: Wednesday, December 3rd
      Final Exam Period: Thursday-Tuesday, December 4th-9th
      Final Grades Posted in D2L and SWORDS: Wednesday, December 10th at noon

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Syllabus shortcuts:
Course components: What we do in the class (and why)	Semester grade breakdown
1101.07A (and 999A.07) schedule of readings and assignments	Chip's grading criteria
Course policies	MGA policies and resources
Keys to succeeding	Overcoming setbacks

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In English 1101 Composition I:

Class discussion: Most class meetings involve open discussion of the reading assignments with little lecture. I believe you will find our discussions interesting and will feel comfortable sharing your thoughts in a welcoming classroom environment. To participate, you must be present in class (duh!). You can earn strong participation grades just by contributing meaningfully to discussion two or three times each class meeting.

Why? Our primary aims in discussion are 1) engaging in active critical thinking as we explore significant literature from perspectives shared by you and your classmates, and 2) providing fruitful avenues of argument and analysis to develop in the essays that form the backbone of the course.

Reading quizzes: unannounced quizzes testing your close attention to the readings. Note that reading quizzes also test punctuality, and they cannot be made up when missed.

No need to explain "why" here, right? The quizzes encourage careful preparation for each class period: the more prepared you are for class, the more you get from each session, which ultimately translates to stronger performance in essays and good freakin' grades!

Writing exercises: written assignments, usually brief and sometimes collaborative, that vary as need arises. At most they are paragraph-length.

And why? These exercises offer low-stakes practice of key elements of composition (i.e., building blocks) that are fundamental in effective essays.

Grammar and mechanics quizzes and exams: on basic matters of grammar, convention, diction, and mechanics following discussion of my "Golden Rules," "Nuggets," "Word Problems," and "Quotations" web pages. Golden Rules are important rules of grammar and style. The Nuggets cover a variety of conventions, especially in the handling of quotations. A number of common problems in diction are explained in Word Problems. The Quotations page presents basics of MLA-style citation and documentation of sources. The Writing Matters Test covers these four pages comprehensively. 

Why we do grammar, punctuation, spelling, and all that stuff: The Writing Matters pages are involved, and many of the items are downright picky. All true. Still, the more time we spend with each of these rules, conventions, and best practices, the more completely we'll master them—and thus improve the line-by-line quality our writing significantly. 

The in-class essay is like an essay exam, but here your work is evaluated for structural, grammatical, and stylistic quality as well as content.

Just because? Ha! Your more advanced coursework sometimes requires timed writings in a physical classroom. This assignment builds strategies for successful essay-writing under time- and in-class pressure.

Formal papers: the guts of the course—formal papers present carefully structured and polished argumentation or analysis of issues arising from the readings and discussion. You will have detailed instructions and various topic options for all four papers.

The papers are what the course is (i.e., "composition"): these assignments develop skills in the writing process, from setting up viable topics to brainstorming and outlining, to research methods and draft development, to revision, editing, and proofreading.

Peer responses involve close reading of classmates' essays and guided written criticism and advice on how to improve them.

Two benefits: 1) you get specific one-on-one advice from a classmate on how to strengthen your work before turning it in; 2) examining classmates' working essays can help you recognize strengths and weaknesses in your own writing.

Corrections: After I grade and hand back each essay, you compose a fully corrected draft with all changes indicated in bold type. For specifics, see corrections instructions. 

You'll see. . . . "Trial and error" is one thing, but trial, error, and actually fixing the errors improves your writing dramatically in grammar, mechanics, diction, convention, etc. We turn something negative (look at these errors) into something positive (strengthening your writing) when we go beyond the red ink to correct the issues and over time eliminate common errors from occurring in the first place.

Paper conferences: I encourage conferences at any stage of the essay-writing process—exploring topics, outlining, drafting, revising, editing, or proofreading. My typical aim in conferences is to head off potential problems in your papers and offer helpful, critical feedback on your work before you submit it for grading.

Three benefits of conferences:

1) Discussing your progress in a class with the professor is always a good thing: if nothing else, it helps your prof to know you as a person; it also demonstrates that you care about your performance in the class.

2) Having a professor review your work "in progress," before it's submitted, can improve the quality of your writing substantially.

3) If it happens that an essay (or other assignment) is mildly, moderately, or even catastrophically less successful than you hoped, talking about it with the professor before and/or after it's graded is massively important: getting one-on-one feedback on assignments that are less than stellar is the surest way to improve performance on future writings in and beyond the class. You might find, too, that some professors will allow "rewriting" of particular assignments that go poorly on the first attempt.

Final exam: The exam involves substantial revision of a previously submitted and graded essay from earlier in the course.

This assignment emphasizes writing as a process, not simply the composing of a "finished product." Especially when a graded assignment has "sat untouched" for weeks or even months, taking a careful, fresh look at it can identify areas for powerful improvement in content, structure, and local quality that we don't recognize initially because we are so close to the writing: the word "revision" means literally to "re-see," or "see again."

Paper "rewrites": You may rewrite and resubmit any formal paper after it's graded and you have completed corrections (the four out-of-class essays). Rewrite grades replace original grades entirely. Note that rewriting involves more substantial revision than correcting grammatical errors: rewrites should also address larger problems in focus, structure, content, and style. The starting point for revision is my typed comments on your graded papers and/or in rubrics; rewrites should also address comments and questions written in the margins of the graded papers. You can submit rewrites up until the day the final exam is scheduled.

Obviously, rewriting can raise the most heavily weighted grades in the course, transforming grades of D or F possibly even to A's or B's. Importantly, too, by addressing significant weaknesses in the original essays, you learn to strengthen those areas in your writing more generally. While many consider assignment grades below an A or B negatively, as being "marked off" or "down-graded" for weaknesses when you correct and rewrite, you surpass the negative to achieve positive improvement in specific ways that advance and refine your writing not just for the assignment in question, but in later writing you will need to produce in school, in the workplace, and indeed, in life.

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In English 999 Support for Composition I:

Participation/Engagement: This is a hands-on class, with lots of activities requiring not merely attendance but engaged participation in the classroom and in assignments outside of class. Being attentive and participating in all class activities are major keys to success in the course.

Reflection assignments are brief responses to writing experiences and Growth Mindset videos.

Writing exercises: assignments paralleling or complementing ENGL 1101 writing exercises.

Grammar and mechanics exercises: mostly independent work online in Norton InQuizitive.

Academic Success Coach engagement: An MGA Academic Success coach is embedded in our class to help develop your writing skills. Our Academic Success Coach is MGA alum and singer extraordinaire, Bethany Knowles. You will meet with and maintain contact with Bethany most weeks of the semester. As you'll learn very quickly, working with your Academic Success Coach is no "burdensome obligation" as some class requirements may seem: Bethany will help you learn and succeed in all kinds of ways truly as a dedicated and supportive coach.

Writing Center visits: a required minimum of two visits for active tutoring sessions with the Writing Center (online tutoring sessions count as well as face-to-face). See https://www.mga.edu/student-success-center/writing-centers.php.

Final grade breakdown

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In English 1101 Composition I:

Class participation	5%
Reading quizzes	5%
Writing exercises	5%
Golden rules quiz	1%
Nuggets quiz	1%
Quotations quiz	1%
Word problems quiz	1%
Writing Matters test	4%
Peer responses	4%
Paper proposals	4%
In-class essay	5%
Paper 1	8%
Paper 2	9%
Paper 3	10%
Paper 4	15%
Corrections	10%
Final exam	12%

For grading specifics, see ENGL 1101 and 1102 Grades and Grading Criteria

In English 999 Support for Composition I:

In-class participation	10%
Engagement with Success Coach outside of class	10%
Reflection assignments	25%
Writing exercises	25%
InQuizitive exercises	25%
Writing Center visits	5%

Tracking grades: Check your grades periodically in Brightspace (D2L). Let me know of any concerns about your class average or grades on specific assignments. If you have something of a bumpy start, talk to me before you consider withdrawing from the course!

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Attendance: Each class meeting is important. High-performing students rarely miss class and are on time every day we meet. Financial aid requirements mandate that I record attendance, and absences do inevitably affect grades. Students with more than four non-illness-related absences generally fail the class. When you miss class for illness, notify me before the missed class meeting so I can work with you on any assignments you miss (other than reading quizzes). A quick email before class is fine.

Late work: Late work receives a letter-grade penalty for each class day (e.g. Tuesday or Thursday) the assignment is late.

Minimum course requirements: To pass the course you must turn in all five essays (four papers and an in-class essay), do all sets of corrections, and complete the final exam assignment.

Plagiarism: Except for assignments expressly calling for collaborative effort, all written work must be entirely your own. Any unacknowledged borrowing from the writings or work of others is considered plagiarism, a serious breach of academic integrity. Note that "writings of others" includes work produced by Artificial Intelligence. I submit cases of plagiarism or other academic dishonesty for review by the Student Conduct Officer. The penalty for plagiarism in this class is an "F" for the entire course, not just the assignment in question. See the more specific definition of plagiarism in the English 1101 Syllabus Supplement; also see "On Plagiarism."

AI Notice: To reiterate, "writings of others" includes essay-writing services and generative artificial intelligence (AI) such as Chat-GPT, MS Copilot, Google Gemini, and "writing assistance" tools such as Grammarly, paraphrasing programs, "Humanizers," etc. All work in this class must be your own except where properly cited or disclosed. The use of any generative AI tools is prohibited at any stage of the work process, including quizzes and writing exercises, informal writing of any kind (peer response, e.g.), and essays written either in class or outside of class. Stay far, far away from generative AI! If you have questions about specific online writing tools, talk with me before submitting any work that may include writing assistance you are not entirely certain about.

Cell phones/personal electronics: Generally, the use of cell phones and other personal electronic devices, including earbuds, is forbidden in the classroom. All such devices must be kept out of sight for the duration of class—off of desks and out of laps.

Content advisory: This is a college class, at a State University, and although some students may legally be minors, I consider college students adults. We may read and discuss material that makes you uncomfortable or that some deem offensive or counter to their beliefs, including matters relating to religion, race, sex, and sexuality. If you are uncomfortable with any of the material we encounter in the class, do let me know about it.

English Department "D" average stipulation: If you have a "D" average or lower on the major assignments, no participation or daily grade average (reading quizzes, e.g.) can bring the overall average up to a C.

Keys to succeeding

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Read and digest instructions for all assignments, large and small: ask questions when you have them.

As I note on the grades and grading portion of the syllabus, "Following instructions is crucial. Regardless of the quality of your work in other respects, often the single most important factor in grades on individual assignments is how carefully you follow instructions. It is vitally important that you read all assignment instructions with carefully focused attention. Too often low grades reflect a student's not meeting assignment requirements or not doing the work specifically intended in a particular assignment."

Attend class religiously. We cover important material every class meeting, and even when you get notes from a classmate, you cannot get the full benefit from a class you did not attend.

A recent sampling of MGA composition students across twenty sections (several hundred students) revealed that

100% of students achieving "A's" for the semester, 100% of students achieving "B's," and 90.7% of students achieving "C's" missed fewer than four class meetings.

Students earning "D's" missed an average of 5.6 classes.

Students who failed averaged 13.4 absences.

Do the work! Complete and submit absolutely all coursework, even if sometimes the work must be late (within reason). Every assignment, large and small, contributes significantly to your mastering the skills the class develops, so doing the work is important to your success even without considering grades.

If you miss an assignment (other than reading quizzes), talk to me about completing the work outside of class. Some profs do not permit making up missed work, but many do—it never hurts to ask. Offering to do the work even when it won't receive a grade a) signals to your prof that you really want to learn, and b) may sometimes lead to a grade even when the prof intends not to record it. Surprising as it is, your professors are people, and they do absolutely want you to learn and succeed!

Take notes in every class. Valuable benefits of taking notes include:

1) it forces you to attend carefully to all that happens in class because you constantly have to determine what's important enough to write down;

2) you can consult the notes later to refresh your recall of the material covered in the class (which translates directly into your effective command of the essay topics), and

3) scholars can't explain it definitively, but taking notes—by hand, on paper, not on a laptop—contributes significantly to greater mastery and recall of the material, even when you don't review the notes after taking them.

Hugely important note on note-taking: Although this course involves little lecture and we do not have unit tests on the readings and discussions, you will have a much easier time writing effective papers—papers that receive higher grades—if you take notes during every class period. "A" students typically take extensive notes. Even in discussions where your classmates do more "discussing" than the professor, you should take notes on any significant points made by anyone in the discussion. You would also do well to underline, highlight, or otherwise make note of all passages from the readings that we take special notice of in class.

Focus 100% on class activities in the classroom and 100% on coursework you do outside of class.

Don't kid yourself about the famous abilities of today's students to multi-task better than earlier generations. The science shows emphatically that people of all generations perform better at important tasks when they eliminate distractions. Ask yourself whether you'd want a neurosurgeon to concentrate exclusively on microscopic surgery repairing damaged arteries essential to your abilities of speech and reasoning, or whether it would be okay for the surgeon to operate while texting family members, listening to loud music in earbuds, and watching a playoff football game between the Georgia Bulldogs and Clemson on a TV brought specially into the OR for "your case." Search Google for "effects of multitasking on students," and scan the first few items your search generates.

To do your best in college, to succeed, silence your phone's ringer and put it in your backpack along with your tablet, laptop, and earbuds. Especially if you or your parents are paying your college expenses, or if you have grants or student loans that require you to earn good grades to continue from one semester to the next, understand absolutely that during class-time, your portable technology is not your friend, but your powerful enemy!

Overcoming setbacks

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Most students find college more challenging than high school: the classes get tougher as you proceed through the curriculum, professors hold students more accountable for the quality of their work, and college requires far greater self-discipline and more persistent effort outside of class. Generally, succeeding in college requires 4-6 hours of work each week outside of class. So a typical 3-credit-hour class requires 7-9 hours of work outside of class time per week.

All college students encounter setbacks, especially when they have important responsibilities beyond school: jobs and family obligations top the list for many MGA students. Even the most dedicated, hardest-working students will sometimes earn low grades. All of us at some point will be unable to give an assignment our best effort because we are sick, or we have to sit all night with a friend in a crowded Emergency Room, or our wondrous, precious newborn baby can't yet sleep more than an hour at a time, or our five-year soul-mate love relationship crashes spectacularly the day before final exams. And so, on and on, life happens to us all. . . .

Know that missing an assignment or receiving a low grade does indeed happen to all of us. The key to overcoming setbacks is not getting down on yourself or stewing on bad thoughts that swell mole hills into gigantic mountains in our minds. If you hit a rough patch, breathe deeply and do these things as soon as you can:

Let your professor know your situation and ask if you can submit or redo the assignment even if there is a grade penalty or if you aren't allowed to improve the grade. You might do (or redo) the work before you communicate with the instructor and share it with him or her. Even if they do not accept late work or allow "re-do's," many professors will evaluate and respond to your work even without assigning a grade, and more than you know, your acknowledging of your own dissatisfaction with your performance will make a positive impression on your instructor that can benefit you in important ways on down the road.*

For small assignments, you might communicate with your prof in email; for more heavily weighted assignments (papers, exams, projects, etc.), speaking with him or her in person after class or during office hours has greater positive impact.

If you have missed multiple assignments, know that your professor truly wants you to succeed (it's true, I promise!). Even if you are a little nervous, take the plunge and visit him or her during office hours: explain your situation honestly, and ask if the professor can help you construct a plan to get back on track. I promise that MGA professors don't bite! The one who did retired years ago. *

If you submit work that gets low marks and you don't see exactly where things went awry, see your professor outside of class and ask politely for assistance or further explanation of the work's shortcomings. This kind of request is best done during office hours for a face-to-face class, or via Microsoft Teams for a fully online class.

Aside from talking with just the professor about your situation, you can also get excellent assistance improving less-than-entirely successful work at the Writing Center or the Student Success Center.

In fact, all students have access to this powerful free help in doing their best. Note to all you high achievers: Tutoring is available free of charge in the Writing Center and in Student Success Centers (SSC) on all campuses. The Macon campus Writing Center is in TEB 226 and the SSC is in the lower level of the Library building. Studies show statistically that students who take advantage of Writing Center services are generally highly motivated students with A or B averages much more often than struggling students who need "extra help" just to pass their classes. When I taught at The Citadel, cadets who visited the Writing Center regularly earned, on average, a full letter-grade higher than non-Writing Center users in the same classes.

To check schedules for subjects tutored and tutor availability, visit the SSC website at http://www.mga.edu/student-success-center/. On the Macon campus you can book tutoring sessions by visiting mga.mywconline.com/. The SSC website also posts tutoring schedules for other centers across the five campuses, including the Writing Center (in Macon, TEB 226: 478-471-3542). All tutoring centers across the five campuses are free of charge. Other services at the SSC include online academic workshops and a robust website with resources for academic assistance. The centers also have computer workstations, free printing, and Internet access.

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The Bottom Line: I would love every member of this class gets an A, and I will do all I can to make this happen. Don't get me wrong—the standards for "A" work are high. The number-one key to succeeding in this class is that you take responsibility for your own success, meaning that you attend to all assignments with careful, earnest diligence, that you respond positively to any setbacks and heed my feedback on all assignments, and that you seek my help as much and as often as you need it. I guarantee you have one of the most accessible professors at Middle Georgia State: ask for help outside of class, and I'll do my level best to deliver. 

Addenda to the syllabus:
English 1101 Syllabus Supplement
English 999 Syllabus Supplement
English 1101 and 1102 Grades and Grading Criteria
English 1101.07A and 999.07A schedule of readings and assignments

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