ENG 1310 Syllabus Wilhite (2)2 PDF

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ENG 1310-Syllabus...

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ENGLISH 1310 | WRITING & ACADEMIC INQUIRY SEMINARS | FALL 2020 TECHNOLOGY & INNOVATION

Instructor: George Wilhite Class: Online class

Email: [email protected] Office Hours: Online, by appointment. Email to set up appointment.

“I discovered, to my amazement, that all through history there had been resistance…and bitter, exaggerated, last-stitch resistance…to every significant technological change that had taken place on earth. Usually the resistance came from those groups who stood to lose influence, status, money…as a result of the change. Although they never advanced this as their reason for resisting it. It was always the good of humanity that rested upon their hearts.” (Isaac Asimov) “Unlike any other creature on this planet, humans can learn and understand, without having experienced. They can think themselves into other people’s places. We do not need magic to change the world, we carry all the power we need inside ourselves already: we have the power to imagine better." (J. K. Rowling)

Welcome to ENG 1310, a New Kind of Writing Course at Baylor! In fall 2019, the College of Arts & Sciences began offering ENG 1310: Writing and Academic Inquiry, in which we will write different types of essays that will develop our research and writing skills in different ways. ENG 1310 is grounded in academic inquiry and rhetoric. We will use rhetorical skills to craft arguments that are built on the foundations of what has already been said. Thus, writing and inquiry rely on researching and reflecting upon the thoughts and ideas of others as you work toward relaying your own thoughts. ENG 1310 will help you become a critical thinker who can effectively construct arguments, use evidence to support arguments, and consider alternative viewpoints. Through questioning and research, we gain the knowledge to join academic conversations ethically and critically.

The End of the World As We Know It? At the definitional level, technology is “the application of scientific knowledge to practical use.” In this way, we are surrounded by technology in nearly every moment of every day, from technologies as simple as the ink pen to those as complex as automobiles. In this course, we are going to consider technology throughout history, from the invention of language all the way to the recent iteration of Artificial Intelligence (AI). Whether AI comes in the form of Siri on your phone or the visions of fully autonomous cars cast by Tesla, technologies that think for themselves and behave in human ways play will play an important role in future technological and societal advancement. Yet such technological advancements bring with them important ethical questions. For example, when early man used the invention of a stone axe, was he “cheating” in order to survive? In science fiction and in our current world, what do we do with technologies that have all the characteristics of living creatures? Is it morally permissible to develop friendships with such creations? Does it become unethical to kill a robot that can think, reason, and feel? And, if a robot can do everything a human can do (and more!), what does it mean to be human? How has technology advanced humanity? What effects does it have? What problems can you see? In the end, is it worth it…or not?

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Required Text 1. Yagelski, Robert P. Writing: Ten Core Concepts. 2nd ed., Cengage, 2018. 2. We will also be using Eli Review for our peer reviews for this semester. I will provide more information during the first part of the semester. The bookstore should have information.

Learning Objectives In completing this course, you will:  Practice writing as a process (plan, invent, draft, revise, edit).  Learn how to use the concepts of purpose, audience, exigence, context, medium, and genre to write effectively for a variety of situations.  Advance your critical reading and critical thinking skills through the texts you read and analyze.  Develop the rhetorical knowledge needed to respond to the writing of others productively and critically.  Learn different methods of invention to generate questions, ideas, claims, supporting details, and evidence.  Practice conducting different methods of inquiry-based research.  Represent sources accurately and ethically through summary, paraphrase, quotation, and numerical representations and to incorporate and document sources in their writing.  Read sources carefully to evaluate information and arguments for credibility, sufficiency, accuracy, truth, timeliness, bias.  Deliver orally one major project grounded in scholarly research that responds to the needs and expectations of your audience.  Consider the effects technology has had, has now, or will have on humanity, the planet, the universe, and the future.

Required Materials A small notebook for journaling, freewriting, and taking notes. (Electronic notetaking or journaling devices and programs are acceptable as long as the files can be sent through Turnitin.com.) A reliable method for transferring and backing up your work such as a flash drive or secure cloud-based storage like Baylor Box. Save your work in multiple locations. Grading You will complete three major writing projects and a series of smaller daily work writing projects this semester. Please note that you cannot pass ENG 1310 if you do not complete and pass each of the three major writing assignments. Your work in progress(Notes, Organizational Plan, Rough Draft with Peer Review) will count for 50% of your final essay grade for each of these assignments. Major Writing Projects The major writing projects for this course ask you to compose essays for specific purposes for concrete audiences. You will find detailed assignment prompts for each

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major project on Canvas (https://baylor.instructure.com/). All final work should be typed and will be turned in through the appropriate Turnitin.com submission link in Canvas.

Inquiry Essay. This assignment initiates your semester-long exploration of a topic to learn the issues and debates within it. A major part of this project is to explore how scholarly research and listening to the ideas of others can inform, expand, and complicate your understanding of a topic. The goal of this essay is two-fold: (1) to summarize the contents of a source article, and (2) to respond to the content of that article with your own ideas and thoughts regarding it. This should help identify and raise important questions surrounding this issue. The inquiry essay will be 3-4 pages in length and will undergo thorough revision after peer review workshops. As part of your ongoing research this semester, you will also compose an Annotated Bibliography for each article you read during the semester that will help you identify sources that propel your inquiry. A library workshop in Jones library will introduce you to the skills of finding and evaluating worthy sources. For this first essay, you will identify the relevant source article that will aid in your exploration of this topic, and you will write an annotation for it to be included in your Notes submission (10% of essay grade). The annotation should (1) cite the text of your choice in MLA format; (2) summarize the text; (3) evaluate the validity and fairness of the source, and (4) discuss how the text will help you gain a deeper sense of the issue and how the source will contribute your investigation. Approx. 150 words. This annotation will provide the source information necessary for your Works Cited page, which will consist of only the one source. As you read additional sources during the semester, you should produce an Annotated Bibliography for EACH of those sources. These will be used at the end of the semester to provide the information for your Works Cited page of the Position Essay. Critical Analysis Essay. Here, you will analyze several texts that relate to the issue you have chosen. You have two main goals: (1) to identify and explain the argument made by the texts, and (2) to make a research-based argument about the effectiveness of the texts for the given audience. The critical analysis essay will include at least two outside sources and will be 4-5 pages in length. Position Essay. This researched position essay is the culmination of the inquiry and exploration you have conducted throughout the semester. Your goal is to compose an essay that offers the argument you find most persuasive within the issue you’ve been examining. Your job is to take a position within this debate, refute competing positions and alternatives, and organize your ideas effectively and efficiently. This research-based essay is

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directed to a specific, academic audience, and it should include a Works Cited page of at least 8 sources (6 of which must be scholarly, peer-reviewed sources). You will attach the Annotated Bibliography for this essay AFTER your Works Cited page. Please note that Works Cited page and Annotated Bibliography will NOT count toward the page count of the essay. The position essay will be 8-10 pages in length. All major assignments for this class must follow MLA formatting. Please note that many of the articles you use as source materials may come from other fields which use APA or Chicago Manual of Style formatting. CHECK ALL CITATION SUGGESTIONS TO BE SURE THEY MEET MLA GUIDELINES. For example, an article about health care may well be using APA formatting. YOU need to change that citation information to meet MLA guidelines.

Daily Work Daily Work will be composed of several items: Notes, Organizational Plans, Rough Drafts, and Peer Review Workshops. This class is predicated upon the belief that writing is a process and that feedback and revision are crucial parts of this process for (1) learning to be a critic of your own writing and the writing of others, and (2) learning how to revise your work given comments and questions from your peers. Your writing will improve by having others read and respond to it. Annotated Bibliographies and Reflection Letters. You will submit an Annotated Bibliography for each paper. After you turn in each major project, you will submit a letter that discusses your progress as a writer and discusses the work you have done in class. Participation Because this is an online class, participation and attendance are somewhat harder to determine than in a traditional classroom setting. Quizzes. Since this is an online class, participation (other than the Major Writing Projects) is harder to determine than in a traditional classroom setting. Consequently, you will have a quiz each week of the semester until we start work on the Position Essay. Quizzes will cover the readings and the textbook chapters assigned for that week. Discussions and Activities. After the quizzes are completed in Week Seven, there will be a few short discussions and activities over readings which will also count in the participation grade. Grades Your final course grade will be based on the following approximate percentages:

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Unit I: Inquiry Essay 20% Unit II: Critical Analysis Essay Unit III: Position Essay Daily Work 15% Class Participation 10%

25% 30%

You are welcome to discuss your essay grades with me; however, I ask that you wait at least 24 hours after you have received your graded essay before doing so. In those 24 hours, please read carefully all comments on the rubric and/or in the margins and consider their validity before we discuss the essay. Grading Scale A 90-100 B+ 87-89 B 83-86 B80-82 C+ 77-79 C 73-76 C70-72 D 60-69 To earn an A or B in this class, you will need to demonstrate superior effort and produce writing that exceeds the minimum requirements. The grade of A is reserved for excellent work. Excellent work does not equate to showing up every day, participating occasionally, and turning in completed drafts on time. Those are the average requirements of any class setting, and average equates to a C. Late Work Major projects turned in after the time deadline (always 3 p.m. on a Monday) the day they are due will receive a 50% penalty. Late daily work assignments will not be accepted, responded to, or evaluated. In the case of extenuating circumstances, you should make arrangements with me, preferably before assignment deadlines. Course Policies This course emphasizes professionalism—in the way you approach the task of writing, in the way you communicate through email, in the way you work with others, in the way you respond to the expectations of the class environment, and in the quality of work you produce. Attendance Please see the Participation section above. If you do not turn in daily work, etc. you will show as absent that week. Your grade on Canvas will not reflect overall grade reductions for exceeding the number of permitted absences. All of these calculations will be made at the end of the term. I follow the policy of the College of Arts & Sciences, which states that you must attend 75% of class meetings in order to pass the course. Since this class is set up on a weekly schedule to accommodate varying student schedules (academic, work,

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athletics, etc.), we have only 16 “meetings” during the semester. Therefore, missing three weeks of daily work can result in a failing grade for the semester. Any University-related activity necessitating an absence from class (e.g. athletic events, academic competitions, etc.) will count as an absence when determining whether you have attended the required 75 percent of class meetings. Furthermore, if you miss class, it is your responsibility to get the assignments, class notes, and course updates from a classmate. It is also your responsibility to keep track of and complete the missing work. University Resources Baylor offers many resources to assist you both inside and outside of the classroom. Office of Access and Learning Accommodation (OALA) If you have documentation for any accommodations through the Office of Access and Learning Accommodation (OALA), please see me privately within the first week of class to make arrangements for instructional modifications. Contact the Office of Access and Learning Accommodation at 710-3605 or visit baylor.edu/oala/ for more information. The Baylor University Writing Center I encourage you to visit the Baylor University Writing Center this semester for writing done in this course. Located in Carroll Science G-06, the Writing Center offers assistance free of charge to you at any stage of the writing process (brainstorming, outlining, drafting, revising, editing, etc.). In their feedback, the consultants focus on higher order concerns, such as content, thesis, evidence, and organization, before grammar or style. The Writing Center will not proofread, edit, or write your work for you, but they will equip you with a toolbox of strategies to improve your writing, research, and editing skills. When you attend your appointment, please take the prompt, your paper/text, and other materials you need with you. Please include my name as the professor, and a report will automatically be sent to me after your session. You can set up an appointment online (baylor.mywconline.com/). Turnitin Baylor University subscribes to turnitin.com, a web-based plagiarism prevention service to which papers are submitted and compared to resources in the database, with the results of the comparison (including hyperlinks to web pages or other papers with the same text) sent to me. I use turnitin.com as a tool to hold us both accountable. Please be aware of the following: You agree that by taking a course, all required papers, exams, class projects or other assignments submitted for credit may be submitted to turnitin.com or similar third parties to review and evaluate for

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originality and intellectual integrity. A description of the services, terms and conditions of use, and privacy policy of turnitin.com is available at http://www.turnitin.com. Please understand that all work submitted to turnitin.com will be added to its database of papers. Further understand that if the results of such a review support an allegation of academic dishonesty, the course work in question as well as any supporting materials may be submitted to the Honor Council for investigation and further action. Basic Needs If you have difficulty affording groceries or accessing sufficient food to eat every day and believe this may affect your performance in the course, I urge you to look into the additional resources provided by the Success Center (http://blogs.baylor.edu/TheFridge/the-store/). The Store is a food pantry located on the ground floor of Sid Richardson (047). The hours at The Store are M-F 8:30 – 4:30 pm. The Fridge is another campus initiative that maintains mini fridges in different places around campus (Moody, the BARC, Bobo, Martin, and the Counseling Center). If you are comfortable doing so, please let me know if you are encountering these or other hardships, which will enable me to identify additional resources that Baylor offers. Title IX Office The Title IX Office exists to support and empower students, while allowing them to remain in control. If you or someone you know would like help related to an experience of sexual violence including sexual assault, harassment, domestic violence, dating violence, stalking or other type of non-consensual sexual conduct, please contact the Title IX office at Baylor University by phone (254-710-8454). The Title IX office understands the sensitive nature of these situations and can provide information about available on- and off-campus resources, such as counseling and psychological services, medical treatment, academic support, university housing and other forms of assistance. Staff members at the office will also explain your rights and the judicial process options, if you choose to file a complaint with the University. You will not be required to share your experience, and the Title IX Office will keep any information private. The Title IX Office exists to support and empower students, while allowing them to remain in control. If you or someone you know feels unsafe or may be in imminent danger, please call the Baylor Police Department (254-710-2222) or Waco Police Department (9-1-1) immediately. Academic Integrity Baylor University policies require that students, staff, and faculty act in academic matters with utmost honesty and integrity. It is your responsibility to be familiar with the Honor Code and other university policies and procedures affecting academic integrity. The Baylor University Student Handbook states that “Dishonorable conduct means an act of academic dishonesty.” Among the types of dishonorable conduct defined in the Handbook, the following are particularly relevant to this course:

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(1) Offering for course credit as one's own work, in whole or in part, the work of another. (2) Plagiarism, that is, incorporating into one's work offered for course credit passages taken either word for word or in substance from a work of another, unless the student credits the original author and identifies the original author's work with quotation marks, footnotes, or another appropriate written explanation. (3) Offering for course credit one's own work, but work that one has previously offered for course credit in another course, unless one secures permission to do so prior to submission from the instructor in whose course the work is being offered. (4) Submitting for course credit work prepared in collaboration with another, unless the student secures the instructor’s permission in advance of submission. Examples of collaboration that violate this aspect of the Honor Code include the following: unauthorized group work, providing unauthorized assistance to another student, allowing another student unauthorized access to completed academic work (such as examinations, answer keys, or lab reports), purchasing help or assignment completion from anyone not approved by the instructor (excluding university-provided tutoring services), conspiring with another person to commit a violation of the honor code, and/or collaborating in the submission of work that violates the Honor Code regardless of whether the student m...