COURSE SYLLABUS
ENGLISH 271/272: EXPOSITORY WRITING I & II
Winter Quarter 2013
DAILY, M-F
8:30 a.m. - 9:20 a.m.
“PUMP UP THE VOLUME!”
(IDENTITY, VALUES, AND THE 3-MINUTE NARRATIVE)
Instructor: Danielle Newton
Contact Information
Email: danielle.newton@bellevuecollege.edu
Twitter:
@DanielleJNewton
Skype: danielle.newton2
Website: www.daniellenewton.com
Email etiquette: I will respond to your emails the same day
you send them, up to 5p.m. However, if you email me on a Saturday or Sunday, I will
respond first thing Monday.
Office Hours
By appointment
Office: R230
Course Outcomes: ENGLISH 271/272 EXPOSITORY WRITING I & II
After
completing this class, students should be able to:
·
Identify implicitly and/or
explicitly one’s intentions as a writer.
·
Define implicitly and/or explicitly
the audience for a particular piece of writing.
·
Apply appropriate style, tone and
format to the writer’s purpose and audience.
·
Use rhetorical formats conventional
to expository writing.
·
Demonstrate objectivity toward one’s
own writing.
·
Demonstrate practical uses/applications
for expository writing beyond the college classroom.
How Outcomes will be met: READ THIS
Concentrating on the writing process,
students work on a series of writing projects related to contemporary music as
literature, including professional memos, opinion briefs, music briefs, music reviews,
artist profiles, collaborative writing and discussion, and in-class assignments
related to music and writing. Active participation in the Editor-at-Large
project is also required for this course.
Core
to this course is the class website
(what I intend as an online e-portfolio of student work to replace hard copy
portfolios), which we will design using wordpress.com, and for which each
student will supply his/her written work as we build the site together
throughout the quarter. At the end of the course, students will be able to
hyperlink this site to their resumes, if they wish, as a demonstration to
employers or colleges of their critical thinking and writing skills.
Grading
I want you to know what rigor I hope
you will achieve in your writing; therefore, I provide grading rubrics for all writing
assignments, as well as a rubric for your “Remember
When …” group presentation. These
rubrics will be posted on our course site page. No grade-change (adjustment)
request is entertained unless you detect clerical error. Any questions you have
about your grades or how I have graded your work must be brought to me as soon as you have a concern. Your
final grade will be calculated and your final letter grade will be given based
on the following formula:
A 93-100% B+ 88-89.9% C+ 78-79.9% D+ 67-69.9%
A-
90-92.9% B 83-87.9% C 73-77.9% D 63-66.9%
B- 80-82.9% C- 70-72.9% D- 60-62.9%
F below 59.9%
TOTAL POINTS POSSIBLE: 130
The class website e-portfolio and your
Editor-at-Large grade are your only grades for the class:
·
Editor-at-Large Assignment: 10 points (Students will form editorial groups,
evaluate peer work, and make determinations as to which assignments will be
included in the class website)
·
Class website e-portfolio: 120 points (12 writing assignments total and
each assignment is worth 10 points)
I’ve made this easy. While I will
provide feedback for each assignment so as to help you in your revision process
throughout the quarter, you will not receive grades for your individual or
group writing assignments until the end
of the quarter, when we upload your documents to the class website. I will
keep track of your assignments in my record book. Once you have turned in an
assignment on time, and I’ve returned my feedback, you are encouraged to revise
as the quarter goes so that you are ready for upload to the class website
during finals week.
THIS
IS IMPORTANT: students
cannot submit any assignment for upload to the class website that was not
turned in to me on time, as outlined in the course weekly schedule. For each
assignment not turned in by the due dates listed in this syllabus, I merely
subtract 10 points for each at the end of the quarter since those assignments
will not appear in your e-portfolio (class website). Remember, final grades
aren’t assigned until the end of the quarter. Therefore, you may revise to your
heart’s content after you have submitted each assignment on time. However, even
if you have submitted every assignment on time, before writing is uploaded to
our class website I reserve the right to subtract points (and/or not post your
writing) at the end of the quarter for work that is sloppy, unorganized, or
which does not demonstrate the revision, intellectual effort, or academic rigor
expected in an upper level college writing course. I will use the rubrics I
provide for each assignment to make these determinations.
Books and Materials Required
REQUIRED TEXTBOOKS/CLASS MATERIALS:
This course has no textbooks. I will
assign all readings for this course from the text, Best Music Writing: 2011, for the Music Brief writing assignments, and other articles as relevant. These readings
will be posted on the course site page throughout the quarter. Please bring paper and pen to each class.
This course requires you to view music videos outside of class, on YouTube, so
that you may fully participate in class discussions. Take notes while you watch/listen,
with particular interest on the word/words I’ve included next to the songs on
the syllabus. Even if a video doesn’t exist for the song, the song itself is on
YouTube. You may view these videos in the Bellevue College library if you don’t
have an internet connection at home.
Instructor’s Expectations
IMPORTANT: This course relies heavily on
revision, persistence, and patience, and
– ultimately – completed writing assignments ready for publication on our class
website. Your final grade will be based in large part on your participation
in the class website of student work. To protect your privacy, you may use a
pseudonym (a made up name) for your online postings if you wish, but you must
upload assignments to the website in order to receive a final passing grade in
the course.
READING LIFE: To be a strong writer you must be a strong
reader.
Critical to your success in this
class – and paramount to your success as a writer – is your commitment to
reading. You will be expected to read from, engage with, and discuss in-class
assigned essays as well as other assigned reading. You will also work with your
assigned groups for two assignments: 1) to submit, as a collaborative group, two Best
Music Writing Memos, and 2) Editor-at-Large groups meet several times near
the end of the quarter to determine which peer writing submissions will be
included in our class website. Completion of this assignment will require
close, objective reading of others’ work, with annotations.
PARTICIPATION
I want you to be here, I want you to
succeed, and I presume all students are adequately prepared for class
participation and ready to engage fully and enthusiastically and I grade
participation accordingly. Students are expected to contribute actively to a
positive classroom environment. Absences, late arrivals and early departures,
inappropriate use of cell phones or laptops, lack of preparation,
inattentiveness, or unwillingness to discuss readings will affect your ability
to contribute to a positive classroom environment.
SUBMITTING WORK
For
purposes of grading, you will not
turn in hard copies of your written work to me, with the exception of what you
write while in class. You will email me your written assignments. To avoid
issues of lost work:
Your in-class written work will be
achieved using paper and pen, so please bring both to each class.
All of your out of class written
assignments must be turned in to me, no
later than 11:55pm on the specified
due date in the syllabus, via my email address: danielle.newton@bellevuecollege.edu.
The subject line of your
email(s) must include your name, course number, and assignment type. Example:
Subject:
Last Name, First Name, Eng 271/272, Critic’s Choice Essay
I will not read, grade, or provide
feedback on assignments that do not adhere to this submission rule. Your work
will be considered late and will be penalized accordingly (see LATE WORK
policy). I will return your graded work
to you via your email address in a timely manner.
PLAGIARISM
Plagiarism is the use of someone else’s words, ideas, or
information as your own or allowing someone else to use your words, ideas, or
information as their own. Please document your sources carefully. According to
Bellevue Community College policy, for plagiarism or cheating, you may be given
an “F” grade for an individual assignment or the entire course. In addition,
the incident will be reported to the Dean of Student Success. ***Please note: your written assignments
may be submitted by me to www.turnitin.com in
order to check for plagiarism errors.
ATTENDANCE AND ABSENCES
I
will promptly take roll at the beginning of each class period and I also
understand that life happens. Students
are expected to attend every class, complete the required assignments before
every session, bring the assigned readings and/or materials to class, and
participate in class discussion. You are allowed three (3) absences from the class without penalty. After 3 (3) absences, I will drop your
final grade by one letter grade and so on for each subsequent absence. For
instance, if you are earning an A in the course and you miss a fourth class,
you will earn no greater than a B in the course. Your fifth absence also
results in a letter grade drop, the 6th absence, etc. Keep in mind
that with planned Bellevue College holidays, and my absences for a conference
in February 2013, you will have ample outside of class time to take a deep
breath. Use your time well – come to class!
Note: I do not need to hear from you if you will
miss class and it will not be possible
to arrange make-up assignments for due dates or in-class activities/required
participation/group work that you miss.
LATE WORK
Deadlines are essential to any
workplace – and, for that matter, any writer – and this course seeks to model
professional practices. Late,
incomplete, or missing assignments will not be given credit and won’t appear on
the class website, meaning you will not receive points. It is the
responsibility of the student to keep records of their assignments, including
the submission time and date. It is your responsibility to ensure that I
receive your assignment on time. In addition, “My computer is broken” or “I
don’t have the Internet at home” and similar phrases are NOT valid reasons for
failure to complete any work. If you’re having technology problems, plan ahead:
Internet access is available on campus and at public libraries.
With
the exception of in-class work, which you cannot make up, I give you ONE ‘pass’
on my ‘no-exceptions to late written work’ policy, with the grade lowered by one grade,
with a one-day window. For instance, if you have an essay due on February 25
you may turn your essay in to me on February 26, but you also agree that your
final grade for that essay will be lowered one letter grade. For example, let’s
say you turned in an essay that I believe has earned an A grade. Because it is
late you will receive no higher than a B. You will have also used your one free
pass for late written work.
I do not entertain requests for extra
credit or rewriting assignments for a higher grade.
PERSONAL TECHNOLOGY
Using
your laptops to take notes is fine, so long as you are taking notes or actively
at work on class material. There will be class discussions during which I ask
you to go ‘tops down’ and my expectation is that you’ll kindly stay off your
laptops. My pet peeve is cell phone use
in class. It’s never fine to
have a cell phone ring during class time; never fine to be on the phone during
class time, texting, surfing the net, or otherwise, unless you have my consent
first. Turn off all cell phones and iPods, etc.
IMPORTANT:
if you are using your cell phone during class without my permission, you are
certainly not ‘present’ in class. I will not ask you to put your cell phone away;
instead, I will mark you absent for the class and place CP next to your name to indicate ‘cell phone’ to avoid confusion as
to why you were marked absent.
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
Division Statements
·
Arts & Humanities Division Policy Regarding
Values Conflicts Essential to a liberal arts
education is an open-minded tolerance for ideas and modes of expression that
might conflict with one’s personal values. By being exposed to such ideas or
expressions, students are not expected to endorse or adopt them but rather to
understand that they are part of the free flow of information upon which higher
education depends. To this end, you may find that class requirements may
include engaging certain materials, such as books, films, and art work, which
may, in whole or in part, offend you. These materials are equivalent to
required texts and are essential to the course content. If you decline to
engage the required material by not reading, viewing, or performing material
you consider offensive, you will still be required to meet class requirements
in order to earn credit. This may require responding to the content of the
material, and you may not be able to fully participate in required class
discussions, exams, or assignments.
·
Information
about Bellevue College's copyright guidelines can be found at: http://bellevuecollege.edu/lmc/links/copyright.html
·
Want
to avoid plagiarism? A good resource is the Writing Lab: http://bellevuecollege.edu/writinglab/Plagiarism.html
·
Need
help with your writing or tutoring for other subjects? Go to the Academic Success Center.
http://bellevuecollege.edu/asc/
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
Bellevue College E-mail and access to MyBC
All students registered for classes at
Bellevue College are entitled to a network and e-mail account. Your student
network account can be used to access your student e-mail, log in to computers in
labs and classrooms, connect to the BC wireless network and log in to MyBC. To create your account, go to: https://bellevuecollege.edu/sam . BC offers a wide variety of computer and learning labs
to enhance learning and student success. Find current campus locations for all
student labs by visiting the Computing Services
website.
Disability Resource Center (DRC)
The Disability Resource Center
serves students with a wide array of learning challenges and disabilities. If
you are a student who has a disability or 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 us as soon
as possible. If you are a student with a documented autism spectrum
disorder, there is a program of support available to you. If you are a
person who 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.
The DRC office is located
in B 132 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
Public Safety
The Bellevue College (BC) Public
Safety Department’s well trained and courteous non-commissioned staff provides
personal safety, security, crime prevention, preliminary investigations, and
other services to the campus community, 24 hours per day, 7 days per
week. Their phone number is 425.564.2400.
The Public Safety website is your one-stop resource for campus emergency
preparedness information, campus closure announcements and critical information
in the event of an emergency. Public Safety is located in K100 and on the web
at: http://bellevuecollege.edu/publicsafety/
Final Exam Schedule
This M-F daily class will have its final on March 20,
2013, from 7:30 a.m. – 9:20 a.m.
Academic Calendar
The Bellevue College Academic Calendar
is separated into two calendars. These calendars provide information about
holidays, closures and important enrollment dates such as the finals schedule.
COURSE WEEKLY SCHEDULE
PLEASE
NOTE: This class,
while designed to be engaging (and, no doubt, fun), is primarily intended to examine
the larger social contexts and implications of the role of music in our lives
and how we articulate these factors through expository writing; that is,
writing to inform. Central to our classroom goals will be discussions each
class period that delve into the historical, gender, cultural, political, and
sociological significance of contemporary music; specifically, the songs I have
listed in the syllabus, which, thanks to the power of YouTube, you can and
should access before any class period. Please come to class prepared to
undertake serious discussions and to offer your insight.
NOTE: I reserve the right to make changes (and will alert
you to any changes) to this schedule
WEEK ONE (Jan 2-4): GETTING
STARTED: PUMP UP THE VOLUME!
W:
Review class
syllabus/Student Learning Survey
TH:
Review class
readings/YouTube/ Editor-at-Large assignments
In-class activity: CNN interview/Grand
Central Station: Mary Chapin Carpenter: Role of pilgrimage in the human
experience
FR:
Review class website
details (wordpress.com)/Discuss management of website
Music Brief Reading assignment
WEEK TWO (Jan 7-11): STAND
UP: PROTEST!
M:
Discussion: Best
Music Writing Memo #1 group writing assignment/Critic’s Choice assignment
T:
Tiger (Neko Case): Animal Rights
W:
Not Ready to Make
Nice (Dixie Chicks): War/Consequences of free speech
TH: Changes (Tupac): Social Injustice/Racial bias
DUE
by 11:55p.m.: Music
Brief #1: “The Thriller Diaries”
FR: Writing Process: MLA Documentation/Music Brief Reading Assignment
DUE
by 11:55p.m.:
Critic’s Choice Memo to Instructor (Artist Pick)
WEEK THREE (Jan 14-18):
COVER ME: THE ORIGINAL OR THE NOT-SO-ORIGINAL?
M:
Hurt (Nine Inch
Nails/Johnny Cash): Regret/Redemption
T:
Wurlitzer Prize
(Waylon Jennings/Norah Jones): Loss
W:
Will You Still Love
Me Tomorrow? (The Shirelles/Amy Winehouse): Sexual Identity
TH: One (U2/U2 with Mary J. Blige): Anger/Regret/Reconciliation
DUE
by 11:55p.m.: Music
Brief #2: “The Runaways: Wild Thing”
FR: Writing Process: Sentences and Paragraphs/Music Brief Reading
Assignment
DUE
by 11:55 p.m.: Best
Music Writing Memo #1
WEEK FOUR (Jan 21-25): STEAL
THE AIR: CENSORSHIP!
M:
College Holiday, No Class
T:
Discussion: Best
Music Writing Memo #2 group writing assignment/Discussion of censorship
W:
Film: Pump up the Volume
TH: Film: Pump Up the Volume
DUE
by 11:55p.m.: Music Brief
#3: “I Wish I Knew How it Would Feel
to be Free: The Secret Diary of Nina Simone”
FR: In-class writing: Pump Up the
Volume/Best Music Writing Memo #2 group writing assignment
DUE
by 11:55p.m.: Opinion
Brief: The role of authority figures in Pump
Up the Volume: why they matter
WEEK FIVE (Jan 28-Feb 1): MOVIES
AND MUSIC: PULP FICTION (1994)
M:
Why soundtracks
matter (In-class writing)/Pulp Fiction: Flowers on the Wall (Statler Brothers): Lost Identity
T:
Pulp Fiction: Son of
a Preacher Man (Dusty Springfield): Sex and Youth
W:
Pulp Fiction: Girl,
You’ll Be a Woman Soon (Urge Overkill): Sex and Youth
TH:
Editor-at-Large
Breakout Session
DUE
by 11:55p.m.: Music
Brief #4: “The Curious Case of Nicki
Minaj”
FR: Writing Process: Know Your Audience/Music Brief Reading Assignment
DUE
by 11:55p.m.: 3-page Essay:
Critic’s Choice
WEEK SIX (Feb 4-8): MADONNA
VS LADY GAGA IN THE WORLD SERIES OF SHOCK AND YAWN
M:
Like A Virgin vs. You
and I
T:
Respect Yourself vs.
Born This Way
W:
Live to Tell vs. Alejandro
TH: Editor-at-Large Breakout Session/Music Brief Reading Assignment
DUE
by 11:55 p.m.: Music
Brief #5: “Growing up Gaga”
FR:
No class, instructor
conference, but you have an assignment due
DUE
by 11:55p.m.: Best
Music Writing Memo #2
WEEK SEVEN (Feb 11-15): LOVE
IS A BATTLEFIELD
M:
No class, instructor
conference
T:
No class, instructor
conference
W:
Same Love (Macklemore): Gay rights
TH: Stand By Your Man (Tammy Wynette): Gender war
(In-class writing)
DUE by 11:55 p.m.: Music
Brief #6: “How Jay-Z Became King of
America”
FR: Discussion: Class website and wordpress.com/Reading Assignment
WEEK EIGHT (Feb 18-22): MURDER
MUSIC
M:
College Holiday, No Class
T:
Cocaine Blues and
Women’s Prison (Johnny Cash/Loretta Lynn): murdering spouses
W:
Cop Killer (Ice-T):
protest/police brutality
TH: Pumped Up Kicks (Foster the People) (In-class writing): the role of the
outcast
DUE
by 11:55p.m.: Music
Brief #7: “In Which John Mayer is a
Douchebag for Possibly the Last Time”
FR: Writing process: REVISION
WEEK NINE (Feb 25-Mar 1): BLURRED
IDENTITY: MARSHALL MATHERS-EMINEM-SLIM SHADY
M:
The Real Slim Shady:
music critique: competition
T:
Like Toy Soldiers:
making peace
W:
Lose Yourself: self
determination
TH: Student Self-Assessment: writing to inform
FR:
Writing Process: REVISION
WEEK TEN (March 4-8): BATTLE
RAP, BATTLE RHYME
M:
Guest Speaker
T: Guest Speaker/In-class writing
W: Guest Speaker
TH: BRING TO CLASS: HARD COPIES: ALL
STUDENT WORK SUBMITTED
FR:
Editor-at-Large
Breakout Session
WEEK ELEVEN (Mar 11-15): Editor-at-Large/Instructor
Assistance
M:
Editor-at-Large
Groups
T:
Editor-at-Large
Groups
W:
Editor-at-Large
Groups
TH: Editor-at-Large Groups announce titles to class
FR: STUDENT CHOICE
FINAL EXAM (MARCH 20th, 2013, 7:30
a.m. – 9:20 a.m.)
We will meet during our scheduled
finals time to review our class website, which will serve as students’ online
writing portfolio, to go over its last details, including student questions,
comments, and suggestions. At the end of our meeting, we will set the website
‘live’ and students will be able to hyperlink the website to their resumes and
send out to family, friends, colleagues, social networks, etc., as an artifact
of your effort and work. I will leave the site ‘live’ for 6 months, until
September 2013.