The Great Plains Environment: Ecology and Conservation

Instructor: Mr. Stevens        Office: Morrill Hall room 408    Office Phone:  744-2079
Office Hours: Mondays and Wednesdays from 1:25 to 2:25,  Fridays from 10:25 to 11:25

E-mail:

Course Time and Place:
1213.030 MWF 12:30-1:20 Morrill Hall room 306
1213.044 MWF 2:30-3:20 Classroom Building room 317

Important Note Regarding This Syllabus:  Quite simply, refer to this syllabus early and often throughout the semester. The first day of class will consist of a lecture that covers all of the items in this document, and will also include a question and answer period.  Even so, my expectation is that you will read this syllabus, more than once, in its entirety. Students who have not attended the first day of class should make an extra effort to read this document thoroughly and see me during office hours with any questions.

Course summary and objectives: The following are all key to earning a passing grade:

This is a writing class and the draft and revise writing process is a key element.  Accordingly, my expectations are that you will begin writing and revising all major projects early and often, and also participate in all peer revision workshops. Composition II progresses from the skills developed in Composition I.  That is, your writings are required to include:

1) A thesis statement in the introductory paragraph.
2) Focused body paragraphs that advance the thesis statement.
3) A concluding paragraph that ties together your thesis with key points from the opening paragraph and from the body paragraphs, and also makes an intellectual conclusion, which might be a solution to the focused problem or issue that you have been arguing about, or some further assertion based upon the evidence presented in your paper.

This course will also teach you new skills.  You will learn the basics of MLA documentation style guidelines, and you will learn library research techniques.  In effect, you will advance the Composition I skills of writing an argumentative paper, but further, you will learn how to write an argumentative research paper.  Moreover, I will teach you how to compose a polished and professional college level paper: this is the OSU course that teaches you how to research and format a paper for upper division classes.

You must be clear about the fact that all Composition II courses require that students spend some hours in the library doing research.  Composition II is a writing class, but it is also a writing class that is research driven.

It is also my expectation that, as the semester evolves, you will become more astute readers, and more highly skilled writers of academic prose. Along those lines, I expect your writing skills and your analytical skills to progress from one major project to the next.  I will assist you in identifying your writing strengths, as well as the aspects of your writing that will negatively impact your grade in this class and in upper division classes.  No student is expected to completely resolve every problematic aspect of their writing, but you are expected to focus on these issues and demonstrate progress in resolving them. See the grading rubric on my webpage for more information on the criterion I use to grade your writings.

Provisional Syllabus: As the semester evolves, so will this syllabus.  As such, scheduled in class activities will change. Moreover, even if we have departed from syllabus-scheduled activites at times, there is no reason for you to assume that any scheduled work has been cancelled or changed if I have made no such announcement.

Course Theme and Your Writings: Your writings must, at all times, reflect the theme of the course: The Great Plains Environment: Ecology and Conservation. Part of my grading process will involve assessing how each individual writing assignment demonstrates a connection to that theme.  Writing that does not make evident this connection will receive a lower grade.

Also, every assignment you hand in must be titled, and the title must include a colon. We will discuss this further in class. See the title of this course as an example. Writings that do not follow this guideline will receive a 5 point grade reduction.

Required Texts: Writing Worth Reading (Packer); Keys for Writers (Raimes); The Great Plains (Gambill et al.). Bring the syllabus, all handouts, and your Keys for Writers book to every class.

Other Required Materials:

Three pocket folders and some floppy diskettes:

First pocket folder--The five major projects and Reading Responses 4-15 must be turned in for grading in a pocket folder with all drafts and appropriate works cited pages.

Second pocket folder--contains your syllabus and all the class handouts, as well as E-mailed handouts. This second pocket folder should be brought to every class.

Third pocket folder--contains all work returned to you, so that you have an ongoing record of all your graded assignments.  By keeping your graded assignments organized you will be able to calculate your own grade at any given point in the semester. I will not calculate your grade until after the final examination.

Floppy diskette--make backup copies of all your final work and your work in progress, so as to avoid lost work through computer related problems.

Further Requirements: You must supply me with a working E-mail address, and subscribe to the class Listserve ASAP.  If you do not provide me with an E-mail address, then you are choosing not to receive E-mailed quizzes, homework assignments, syllabus updates, and any information I believe you need.

There will be additional assignments that do not currently appear on the syllabus.  They may be assigned via E-mail or during class.

You are required to check your E-mail on a daily basis.  If absent, you should communicate with peers regarding missed work, or see me during my office hours.

Turn off pagers and cell phones.  Don't read outside material in class.  Don't bring food into class.

E-mail Guidelines:

Be professional in your E-mails to me and to your peers.

Treat these as though they are business correspondences.

Make them brief.  Ask your question and I will provide the necessary information.

Always sign both your first and last name.

Always use a subject heading that includes this course number and its section number.

Finally, use E-mail judiciously, yet understand that these policies are not an effort to discourage your questions. I am available to answer your questions via E-mail, office hours, and during class.

Web Resources: My own webpage: englishdiscourse.com

Composition home page: http://comp.okstate.edu

MLA guide: http://www.mla.org

OSU Resources: Discover the great services offered by The Writing Center, which is located in Morrill Hall, room 104. Or, go to The Writing Center's Home Page.

Student Monetary Expenses: You should be prepared to spend around $10 in copying fees for the annotated bibliography assignment in this course.  This is the case  with all Composition II classes at OSU.  See the annotated bibliography guidelines on my webpage.

Missing the First Day of Class: If you were part of my original class roster, in other words if you were enrolled in this class from the first day of the semester or earlier, but simply did not attend the first day of class, then all missed work is already considered late.  Review the policy on late work.

Transfer students: If you transfer into this class, then immediately turn in to me all writing from the former class.  In the event that you have no work to turn in, or if I consider the work to be insufficient, then all of the missed work for this class must be made up and is due two classes later.  For example, if a student joins the class on Friday of week two, all missed work is due on Wednesday of week three.

You must also provide me with the section number of that former class and that instructor's name. Attendance from the former class will be applied to this class.

You should factor these policies into your decision to remain in this class.

Late registration students: All missed work must be made up, and is due two classes later. For example, if you join the class on Friday of week two, all missed work is due on Wednesday of week three.

Further, you should communicate with your peers about missed lecture materials, E-mails, etc., or see me during office hours.  You should factor these policies into your decision to remain in this class.

Late work: After the class period ends, the work is late.  Other than the major projects, I do not accept any late work: it is calculated as a zero. In effect, late work is missing work.  I suggest that you pay particular attention to the information listed below under Missing Work.

Missing Work: Missing work of any kind can affect your Attendance/Participation/Discussion grade, perhaps to the point of zero in that component of the course.  So when you fail to turn in homework, reading responses, discussion questions, etc., not only do you lose credit for that particular assignment, but you may lose points in your Attendance/Participation/Discussion grade as well. If you are not handing in written assignments then I assume you are not doing the assigned reading, or at least you are not adequately analyzing the reading; if your analysis is inadequate then you are not prepared to participate in class and groupwork discussions. Do the coursework as it is assigned, do it to the best of your abilities, and turn it in on time if you expect to pass this course.

Being Prepared for Class: Many of the assignments for this class necessitate the use of my own website and other websites as well. We are all aware that websites experience technical difficulties and become temporarily unavailable from time to time.  I strongly suggest that you read ahead on your syllabus, access all upcoming materials and print them at least a week in advance.  Computer or website related problems are not a valid excuse for the late turn-in of an assignment, nor is it a valid excuse for being unprepared for class.  It is solely your responsibility to make certain that all work is turned in on time and you are prepared for class. Further, some browsers are designed to cache web pages, which means you may be viewing an old version of a web page, as opposed to its updated version. This is particularly a problem with the AOL browser. If I have announced an update to my website, yet when you view the page the new information does not appear, then make certain to refresh the page as many times as is necessary for the new information to appear. With AOL, use the F5 key repeatedly to refresh the page, and eventually the updated version of the page will load.

Computer Labs: All students have access to computer labs on campus.  You will need your student id card to get in and out of the labs in addition to your master password for the novell system.  Most of the labs should have someone on duty to help you find this password, or you may go to the site http://home.okstate.edu/prism to learn your password.  If you encounter difficulties with the prism website, you can call tech support at 744-7836. The printing in each of these labs is free.  Three of the labs are 24 hours: Bennett Hall, Willham Mezzanine, Math Sciences Lab 108 (periodically reserved between 8am-6pm).  Student Union 065 is open M-F 8am-10pm and Sa-Su Noon-5pm.  Business Building 002 (periodically reserved) is open M-Th 8:30am-11:45pm, F 8:30am-4:45pm, Sa Noon-4:45pm, Su Noon-11:45pm.  Classroom Building 4th Floor (periodically reserved) is open M-F 8am-5pm.  Sparc Lab Engineering South 113 is open during Engineering South hours of operation. The OSU Writing Center in Morrill Hall 104 is the only facility that charges for printing, 25 cents per page. Further, the hours of operation listed above are, to the best of my knowledge, accurate. However, it is your responsibility to verify this information and be prepared in advance to use these labs.

Formatting of All Course Work: All course work, with the exception of in-class writings, must be typed.  Since I do not accept late work, if you turn in handwritten work it will be calculated as a zero.

All course work must be in a 12 point Times New Roman font.  Other fonts, particularly those generating a deceptively higher page count, are unacceptable, and such papers will receive a lower grade.

Margins are to be either 1 inch or 1¼ inches.

Always double space.  Do not turn in any typewritten single spaced work or I will reduce the grade by a minimum of one full letter grade.

Never use subject headings in your writings. I will give specific examples of subject headings during class. I will reduce the grade of any assignment by 2 points per subject heading used.

Adhere to the page count guidelines for all assignments.  See the subject heading: Page Count Requirements for: Major Projects; Peer Revision Workshop Drafts; All Course Work, listed below.

If any of the above problems persist, I will grade the assignment as a zero.

Major projects: There are five major projects in this course: four essays and an annotated bibliography.

OSU Composition Program guidelines mandate that no student can pass this course unless all of the major projects are handed in.  Even if the project is so late that it requires a grade of zero to be given, the project must still be handed in and the page count must adhere to the guidelines on this syllabus, as well as other guidelines established via                handouts/E-mails/lectures.  Failure to hand in a major project constitutes automatic failure of this course.  No exceptions, regardless of circumstances.  Major projects that are late lose 5% per calendar day including weekends, holidays, breaks, etc.

Grading of Your Major Projects: Your paper will not be graded, nor will it be considered as turned in, unless it is accompanied by all the drafts that lead up to it, as well as copies of all secondary resources cited in your paper.  This means you must turn in all your in-class writings as well as your out of class writings. While these requirements pertain to all five Major Projects, you should also note that Essay 4 has an additional turn-in requirement: it must be accompanied by the graded final copy of Essay 3. In effect, when turning in Essay 4 you must still turn in all your in-class writings as well as your out of class writings, but further, if Essay 4 is not accompanied by the graded final copy of Essay 3, then Essay 4 is ineligible for turn-in.

Until I, and peer reviewers, have read and commented on an intermediate draft of the paper  (one that is typed and meets the assignment requirements as to subject, approach, formatting, and length) and you have revised in accordance with those comments, you cannot turn in a final copy for grading.

Even if I have read and commented on a paper copy or an E-mailed draft of your paper, but you have participated in none of the peer revision workshops for that paper, you cannot turn in a final copy for grading.  Your only recourse is to schedule at least one consultation at the writing center. That consultation must take place in-person: E-mail consultations do not count as make-up for a missed peer revision workshop.  The writing center must also E-mail me verification of your consultation.  Only then may you hand in a final copy for grading.  A late major project will also result in a reduction of your Attendance/Participation/Discussion grade, perhaps to the point of zero in that component of the course.

Also, make certain you are familiar with the information contained below under the subject heading Peer Revision Workshops.

Extra Credit:

There are two types of extra credit. Students are eligible for one or the other, not both.

First type extra credit:

Scholars publish their writings. You are a beginning scholar, and in this class you have the opportunity to publish your writing and earn extra credit at the same time.  And I wish to make clear that participation here is optional.  Choosing not to participate will have no effect on your grade.

If you decide to participate, you need to do the following:

• Sign the Student Consent Form # 2, which grants me permission to publish your writings on the Web.
• Hand in 2 copies your project: one paper copy and one floppy diskette copy.

• You have (probably) three opportunities to publish your writing, meaning one opportunity for each of the following Major Projects: Essay 1, Essay 2, and the Annotated Bibliography.
• For each essay of yours that is published it raises your grade to 100 on either 1, or 2, or 3 previously graded Reading Responses.
• This means that a student could, conceivably, earn 100 on from 1-9 Reading Responses.
• I will decide, based upon the quality of scholarship reflected in your major project, how many Reading Responses will receive the extra credit. The criterion I use to determine the quality of scholarship directly relates to your effective negotiation of various syllabus guidelines, lectures, course materials, etc.  I will cover this further during class.
• Eligible Reading Responses are those which were written and turned in during the time scheduled for that particular Major Project and must have earned an original grade of 65 or higher.
• Eligible Essays are those which were written and turned in during the time scheduled for that particular Major Project and must have earned an original grade of 70 or higher.
• Once you have failed to turn in a total of three Reading Responses, or have received a failing grade on a total of three Reading Responses, you are no longer eligible for any type of extra credit for the remainder of this course. However, if the essay receives a grade of 85 or higher and you request editorial feedback and revise in accordance with the suggestions, then you may be offered an opportunity to publish the essay with no extra credit points awarded.

• In English Discourse in Composition, and (probably) English Discourse in Research, which are non-profit scholarly E-Journals for students.  I am launching the site on the World Wide Web beginning this semester.  It has its own domain, located at www.englishdiscourse.com.  If I launch similar non-profit online projects in the future, then your writing may be published there as well.
• As author, you retain the rights to your writing, but you are granting me the right to publish your writing on the Web.
• You are, of course, given credit as the author.
• If your essay is chosen to be published you will receive an E-mail from [email protected], informing you of the decision.
• No essays will be published as is. Based on suggestions in the E-mail, you will generate a revision for publication. You will have one week to make the revisions and resubmit the essay for publication.
• Once you turn in on floppy diskette a revised copy of the essay, and if the revised essay meets the requirements set forth in the E-mail, you will receive the extra credit points.

Second type extra credit:

• If your essay is not chosen for publication you still have an opportunity to earn extra credit:
• I will choose one of your previous RR's and you will have one week to revise it in accordance with my suggestions.
• The revised Reading Response may earn a grade up to but no more than 10 points higher than its original grade.
• Eligible Reading Responses are those which were written and turned in during the time scheduled for that particular Major Project and must have earned an original grade of 65 or higher.
• When turned in, the revised Reading Response must be accompanied by the originally graded copy.
• Second type extra credit opportunities are not eligible for publication.

Disclaimer: The publishing/extra credit opportunities associated with this course are new to me as well.  Although I expect that all will go well with this new online venture, in the event that unforeseen problems arise I reserve the right to cancel part or all of this component of the course, in which case there will be no publishing or extra credit opportunities associated with this course. Time constraints will not allow for any publishing and/or extra credit opportunities for Essay # 4 (the argumentative essay).

Avoiding the Use of Gender-specific Language:

Do not use discriminatory words such as man and mankind.  Use non-gender-specific language like humankind, humanity, and people.  For each instance of gender-specific language in your writings one percentage point will be deducted from that assignment's grade. Further, do not use discriminatory language of any type. For each instance of discriminatory language in your writings one percentage point will be deducted from that assignment's grade.

Peer Revision Workshops: Peer Revision Workshops are crucial to the draft and revise writing process taught in this course, and you are expected to participate in all of them.

I will reduce the final grade of an essay by 5% if a peer review workshop is missed for any reason, including absence from class.

However, if you miss a peer review, you may opt to have a  consultation at the writing center. That consultation must take place in-person; E-mail consultations do not count as make-up for a missed peer revision workshop. Even so, for you to receive credit the writing center must E-mail me verification of your consultation no later than one week (to the day) after the missed peer revision workshop, or by the day prior to the major project's due date, whichever comes first.