English 201 –
The Research Paper Syllabus
Instructor
Ewan Magie
Winter Quarter 2013
Office
Hours: R230K; by appointment
Email: emagie@bellevuecollege.edu
Required Textbooks:
1) Writing and Reading Across the Curriculum,
11th edition, eds. Behrens and Rosen
2) Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
3) Essays on
BC Library Reserve
Course Description:
The main purpose of English 201 is to
develop skills to research and write a major research paper. In order to do this, much of our time will be
spent locating and analyzing various essays and incorporating different points
of view into our own written arguments.
We’ll learn to reach our own conclusions through summary, critical
analysis, explanatory and argumentative synthesis, all of which are essential
components of the research paper itself.
Open-minded, systematic critical analysis of the best, deepest sources
is at the heart of the research process.
Fundamentally, this course is about
what author Bruce Ballenger calls “the spirit of inquiry.” The research paper process emphasized by our
textbook and this course requires you to develop your own focus of
inquiry. This means that your research
paper will necessarily be an inquiry into who you are, how and why you care
about a particular subject, and about what you discover about yourself and that
subject by researching it thoroughly.
You will become, as Ballenger says, a knower, both of your subject and yourself. Because English is in the Humanities, this
opens a very broad spectrum of possibility, all the better for you to navigate
in your inquiry into yourself. As the RP
Topics for 201 handout reveals, many suggested subjects take cultural works or fields of cultural work as
a stepping-off place for this inquiry.
For example, you might be interested in James Bond films or in
rap/hip-hop music; you could take this interest and develop it into a line of
research inquiry but examining how femininity is constructed and represented in
Bond films, or how rap/hip-hop music is used in various ways by U.S. soldiers
in Iraq and Afghanistan. The basic concept
this ENGL 201 Research Paper course unfolds is that serious research involves
your own passions; just as much as it involves a serious examination of primary
and secondary texts on a given topic, so it also involves your own ability to
look inside yourself to find an inquiry that inspires you and reveals part of
who you are.
WHAT IS A SYLLABUS FOR?
A syllabus
explains the nature of a college course, and it outlines both expectations and
standards for the students. It helps
clarify what the students will be required to do, and why. You should understand this syllabus as a contract, one
that you agree to abide by when you register for the course. By registering for the class, you accept the
terms it imposes, in terms of attendance, participation, class behavior,
assignments and due dates, respect for yourself, your classmates and your
professor. This is standard for college
classes and you will be expected to abide by that standard. Please keep a copy of the syllabus (and time
schedule) with you in your course folder; I will be asking you to
carry them with you like a textbook and will be referring to them periodically
throughout the term.
Workshop/Group Sessions:
In these sessions you will gain
feedback from other students to prepare for writing your paper and on your
rough draft. Participation in these sessions is required. On the day of the session you need to be
prepared to discuss your ideas with your group, and on workshop days, you must
bring in three readable draft copies for your group. Non-attendance at the workshops will affect
your grade negatively. If you don’t
participate in Peer Review your paper cannot get higher than 90/100
points. If you don’t staple your final
draft you cannot score higher than 95 points (or 290 on the final paper).
Late Papers:
Papers and other assignments will be
due in class
at the beginning of class on the due date. Response papers later than the due date will
not be accepted. If for some exceptional reason you have to email a major
paper, they must be dated by the beginning of class on the due date or be
received as Late. Late major papers will
be graded as follows:
1 day late
(or received after the 1st 10 minutes of class): 90 points max
2 days late:
80 points max
3 days late:
70 points max
No papers will be
accepted 4 days after the due date.
Attendance and Participation:
First of all, there are no excused absences; either you are here or not. If you
are late to class, it counts as half an absence; if you miss 20+ minutes of
class, it counts as a full absence. Every
class hour counts as one hour of attendance, or one hour of absence. I want everyone to take note that the College
offers online courses which require students to go online everyday, but without
the need to convene in a regular classroom at a given time. If you think that attendance will be a
problem for you, then please take another course, perhaps an online
course. Participation and mutual
self-respect is also a part of attendance; in the college environment you are
expected to behave in a mature fashion.
I will expect that of you, and your peers will as well. Participation
in class means preparing the homework on time, doing the reading before class,
bringing your texts to class and having them open while we go over them,
bringing pen and paper, taking notes, etc.
This is standard college behavior; if you cannot follow this, please go
elsewhere until you are able to abide by these basics.
Please turn
off all cell phones before class; if you need it for work or emergency calls,
please put your phone on buzz. If your
phone goes off in class, I will deduct 10 points from your participation
grade. By self-evaluating your own
capabilities in regards to attendance and participation, you will do yourself,
your grade, and everyone else a big favor by deciding in advance which class is
suited to your learning style. Since so
much of our classroom time is spent in discussion and group work, attendance is
vital. As I will be giving random, graded quizzes on the readings, it will be
in every students’ interest to attend class and not miss vital points on the
overall grade. If you are absent during
the quarter, your grade will be affected according to the following scale:
6-7 absences final grade drops one full
grade point
8-9 absences final grade drops two full
grade points
10+ absences F grade
In order to
keep track of attendance, I will be passing around a sign-up sheet during each
class session, sometimes at the beginning of class, other times during the
middle of our class session. Don’t ask
your professor how many absences you have; keep track of your own absences.
Please understand this
syllabus as a contract, one that you accept and agree to abide by. When you registered for the course, you
agreed to take responsibility for your part as a student; this syllabus is a
specific version of what those responsibilities entail.
Affirmation
of Inclusion: Bellevue College is
committed to maintaining an environment in which every member of the campus
community feels welcome to participate in the life of the college, free from
harassment and discrimination.
We value our
different backgrounds at Bellevue College, and students, faculty, staff
members, and administrators are to treat one another with dignity and respect. http://bellevuecollege.edu/about/goals/inclusion.asp
Student Code:
“Cheating, stealing and plagiarizing (using the ideas or words of
another as one’s own without crediting the source) and inappropriate/disruptive
classroom behavior are violations of the Student Code of Conduct at Bellevue
College. Examples of unacceptable
behavior include, but are not limited to: talking out of turn, arriving late or
leaving early without a valid reason, allowing cell phones/pagers to ring, and
inappropriate behavior toward the instructor or classmates. The instructor can refer any violation of the
Student Code of Conduct to the Vice President of Student Services for possible
probation or suspension from Bellevue College.
Specific student rights, responsibilities and appeal procedures are
listed in the Student Code of Conduct, available in the office of the Vice
President of Student Services.” The
Student Code, Policy 2050, in its entirety is located at: http://bellevuecollege.edu/policies/2/2050_Student_Code.asp
Disability Resource Center: The Disability Resource Center
serves students with a wide array of learning challenges and disabilities.
Please visit the DRC if you have any questions about classroom accommodations
whether you are a student or a faculty member.
If you are a
student who has a disability or a learning challenge for which you have
documentation or have seen someone for treatment and if you feel you may need
accommodations in order to be successful in college, please contact the DRC
staff as soon as possible.
The DRC office is located in B132 or you can call
our reception desk at 425-564-2498. Deaf
students can reach us by video phone at 425-440-2025 or by TTY at 425-564-4110.
Please visit our website for application information into our program and other
helpful links at www.bellevuecollege.edu/drc
Remember
if you are someone who has either an apparent or non
apparent disability and requires assistance in case of an emergency
situation, such as a fire, earthquake, etc, please
meet with your individual instructors to develop a safety plan within the first
week of the quarter.
Assignments/Papers:
All major
papers must be typed and double-spaced, using proper MLA format. All of the papers must be completed to earn a
passing grade for the course. The
various checkpoints for the research paper are also extremely important; if these are not completed, your research paper will not be accepted. Response Papers
on the readings must be typed and single-spaced.
Plagiarism:
Plagiarism is the use of someone else’s words or ideas as
your own. You are
plagiarizing when you copy someone else, in part or whole, or when you receive
“help” to the extent that the paper is no longer in your words or is no longer
your own idea. Obviously, copying an article or book, or
even using a sentence from one of these sources without putting quotation marks
around it and citing the author is plagiarism.
Plagiarism is grounds for failing the course. BC provides a website that details both
general and school-specific policies on plagiarism, for your use as a
guideline; please check with these policies if you have any doubts about
whether you are plagiarizing other texts of any sort. In addition to the material in Behrens and
Rosen, you may also get information on plagiarism at the BC Library and/or at
the BC website, www.bcc.ctc.edu/writinglab
for any additional clarification or a sense of BC-specific policies.
Grading Policies:
Grades will
be based on the following 1000 point scale:
The Research
Paper is worth up to 300 points, making it the bulk of a passing grade. The following will also affect your grade:
Checkpoints
for the research paper must be turned in to gain credit for the final research
paper. There are several additional
intangibles that also affect your grade.
These are judgment calls made by me, but they are important in making
your experience of English 201 successful.
The following are included:
In the case
of in-between final grades, the mid-point must be reached to qualify for the
higher grade (for example, you must have at least a 3.85 to earn an “A” rather
than an “A-“ for the course). These
in-between grades can also be affected up or down by items such as the
checkpoints for the research paper, class participation, or workshop participation.
GRADING SCALE FOR FINAL COURSE GRADE:
A = 950-1000 B = 830-869 C = 690-759 D
= 550-599
A- = 900-949 B- = 800-829 C- = 650-689 D-
= 500-549
B+ = 870-899 C+ = 760-799 D+ = 600-649 F
= 0-499
Personal Responsibility, Withdrawal, and
HW Grades:
Please keep track of how you’re doing,
and be aware of the last day to withdraw from the course. I do not issue HW grades except in cases of
medical or psychological/emotional emergency or military service, and certainly
not in place of a low grade or lack of attendance. These are exceptional circumstances only, not
appropriate as “bail-out” measures. Please take
personal responsibility for your own conduct in the course, in all aspects,
from attendance and timeliness, to completing work successfully, to class and
online behavior, to your ability to recognize failure or success as a
stepping-stone to a more enlightened future.
A Last Word on Grades:
I realize, having been a student much
of my life as well as a professional whose own words are “evaluated” for
quality, that receiving grades is a central and emotional aspect of our
education system. While I am sensitive
to students’ feelings on this issue, I also expect the students to direct their
own learning, to take responsibility for their own education. This is another way of saying that the
student gets out of education what the student puts into it. There are many distractions in the world,
most of which are available to the college student; try to self-evaluate and
prioritize so that you do not waste the opportunity that your education
provides you with. While it can be a
difficult task to know exactly what you want, when students determine that they
want to dedicate themselves to their own education, most of them excel and
achieve their goals. I wish you the best
of luck in finding your own determination and sense of personal responsibility
in regards to your own education.
Final Point:
Please keep this syllabus with your
other materials for this course, and continue to refer to it throughout the
quarter. I intend it as a reminder and a
guide, and hope that it will provide inspiration to you in your efforts to
improve your writing, reading and research skills.
Remember that writing, critical
reading and research are difficult skills to master, and that they take time
and effort to do so. But this work is
also tremendously rewarding; it is your chance to speak your mind in the best
way you can. By developing these skills
you will become someone who can articulate their own ideas and speak clearly on
the ideas of others. These skills will
empower you throughout your life; people who are skilled writers and speakers
are always needed, in all parts of society.
Delve deep, work hard, and enjoy your quarter!
1 1/3-1/6 M Introduction/Course Outline and Purpose; Writing and Reading Across the Curriculum ch.1 Summary, Paraphrase, and Quotation
Tu Behrens and Rosen: Doris Lessing’s “Group Minds,”
Discuss Introduction to “Obedience to Authority,”
W Lessing continued: Discussing American ideals of “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness,” and “we hold these truths to be self- evident that all men are created equal”; Working with different types of sources in order to prompt imaginative thinking in research and research Discuss Paper #1: Summary (Working with Ideas in Essays)
Th Discussion of summary and paraphrase; Behrens and Rosen: “Summary and Paraphrase,” p. 3-20, 32-37
F Discuss Quotations: Behrens and Rosen pp.38-4
2 1/9-13 M DUE: 1-pg Response to Robert Grudin’s On Dialogue;
Discuss Research Topics for Paper #4
Tu DUE: 1-pg. response to Morris Berman’s The Twilight of American Culture; the use of primary and secondary sources and the beginning of synthesis; Comparing different styles and how critical analysis differs from imaginative fiction
W DUE: 1-pg. response to Neil Postman’s “The Peek-a-Boo World” from Amusing Ourselves to Death
Th Review Behrens and Rosen, pp.50-72; on Critical Reading and Critique; Review Postman, Berman, and Grudin
F DUE: Rough Draft of PAPER #1; Workshop/Peer Review
3 1/16-20 M Writing and Reading Across the Curriculum ch.2 Critical Reading and Critique, Ch.3 Introduction, Theses, and Conclusions and Ch.6 Analysis
Tu Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury; using fiction as a source in research; continuing the inquiry into the psychology of “Obedience to Authority”; Bring the novel to class.
DUE: PAPER #1 Summary Essay; Bring Bradbury to class.
W 1-pg Response to F451 pp 1-50 DUE; Bradbury’s novel and Grudin’s ideas of dialogue and “the Mass Other”
Writing Note Cards
Th DUE: 1-pg. response to F451 pp 51-100; Bradbury and Neil Postman’s Amusing Ourselves to Death, “The Peek-A-Boo World”
F DUE: 1-pg. response to F451 pp 101-151; Chapter 7: The Research Process (read 185-213)
4 1/23-27 M CHECKPOINT #1 DUE: Working Thesis Statement and Basic Outline of Main Points;
CHOOSE YOUR RESEARCH PAPER TOPIC BY THIS DATE; BRING IN WORKING THESIS & TOPIC OUTLINE
DUE: 1-pg. response to F451 conclusion; Discussion of Bradbury’s novel and Morris Berman’s The Twilight of American Culture
Tu Bradbury’s novel and Lessing’s “Group Minds”;
Discussion of outlines and thesis; Chapter 6
W Chapter 7: The Research Process (read 185-213)
Th CHECKPOINT #2 DUE: Ten bibliography Entries from background or preliminary reading in MLA Works Cited format
F DUE: Rough Draft Paper #2/Workshops
Discuss outlines and thesis/ Return and discuss preliminary research
5 1/30-2/3 M DUE: PAPER #2: Critical Analysis Essay;
Writing and Reading Across the Curriculum ch. 4 Explanatory Synthesis
Tu Discussing American ideals of “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness,” and “we hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal”; applying ideas to research and research writing—not settling for the obvious answers, but deepening research and writing in order to develop substantive, imaginative theses.
W Robert Grudin’s On Dialogue: the use of imaginative fiction in conjunction with analytical and informative writing in research writing.
Th Discussion of Synthesis paper: Behrens and Rosen, Ch.4 (89-128); Discussion of Paper #3: Explanatory Synthesis
F Discussion of Behrens and Rosen, Ch. 5: Argument Synthesis
6 2/6-10 M CHECKPOINT #3 DUE: Annotated Bibliography;
Review of the distinction between Explanatory and Argumentative Synthesis
Tu Discussion of Behrens and Rosen, Ch. 6 Analysis;
W Deadline: For Change of Research Paper Topic
Th Behrens and Rosen, pp 129-135, The Elements of Argument
F Behrens and Rosen, pp 129-135, The Elements of Argument
7 2/13-17 M Writing and Reading Across the Curriculum ch.5 Argument Synthesis
Tu Discuss Plagiarism and Proper Use of MLA
W SEMINAR on Sources from Working Bibliographies
Th SEMINAR on Sources from Working Bibliographies
F DUE: Rough Draft Paper #3
Workshop/Peer Review
8 2/20-24 M DUE: PAPER #3 Explanatory Synthesis Paper on Your Final Research Topic;
Behrens and Rosen, pp 208-222; Discuss the Credibility of Web Sources for Research Papers
Tu Discuss Revision Process
W Review Synthesis and the goals of the Research Paper
Th NO CLASS
F DUE: CHECKPOINT #4 Formal Sentence Outline
9 2/27-3/2 M Review of ch. 5 Argument Synthesis and goals of final paper; using First Person Narrative as part of the Research Paper
Tu Using Evidence: Analysis and Comparison
W Using Evidence: The Essence of Argument
Th Using Evidence: Historical Context
F Using Evidence: Finding Your Voice
10 3/5-9 M DUE: Rough Draft of Paper #4 Research Paper; Argumentative Synthesis Essay
Tu Guaranteeing Proper Use of Criticism in the Research Paper
W Avoiding Plagiarism; Review of the Purpose of ENGL 201; Review of Explanatory and Argumentative Synthesis
Th NO CLASS
F NO CLASS
11 3/12-16 M Proper Academic Research Papers and the Use of Sources
Tu Guaranteeing Proper Use of Criticism in the Research Paper
W Discuss Paper #4 Topics and the Use of Sources; Avoiding Plagiarism
Th Final Peer Review
F Final Peer Review
12 3/19 End of Term: Paper #4 DUE