Course Policies:

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Required Texts:

Weston, Anthony. A Rulebook for Arguments. 3rd ed.

Various readings will be posted to the class website (http://rhetorwiki.pbwiki.com), and students are required to print these and bring them to class, as directed. Students may also be required to bring to class a current issue of the New York Times or The Daily Collegian, as well.

Grading Schema:

5 papers (3-5 p.) (rhetorical analysis, definition, analogy, causal, evaluative): 10% each, for a total of 50%

1 final project (10-12 p.): 20%

Blogs: 20% (Have the blogs been written? Do they respond rhetorically and in a timely fashion to the course and other bloggers?)

In-class presentations (2): 10%

Letter grades will be apportioned as follows: A = 95 to 100; A- = 90 to 94.9; B+ = 87.9 to 89.9; B = 83.33 to 87.8; B- = 80 to 83.32; C+ = 75 to 79.9; C = 70 to 74.9; D = 60 to 69.9 and F = 59.9 and below. Please read the English Department Grading Standards for more details.

Essays:

All essays should be typed using double-spaced 12 pt. Times New Roman font and should be formatted within the default margins of the word processor in use (1 inch or 1¼ inches).

Late essays, if accepted, will drop a letter grade for each class period they are behind schedule (eg. an “A-” essay submitted a day late will receive a “B-” grade).

Academic Integrity:

Penn State defines academic integrity as the pursuit of scholarly activity in an open, honest and responsible manner. All students should act with personal integrity, respect other students’ dignity, rights and property, and help create and maintain an environment in which all can succeed through the fruits of their efforts (Faculty Senate Policy 49-20).

Dishonesty of any kind will not be tolerated in this course. Dishonesty includes, but is not limited to, cheating, plagiarizing, fabricating information or citations, facilitating acts of academic dishonesty by others, having unauthorized possession of examinations, submitting work of another person or work previously used without informing the instructor, or tampering with the academic work of other students. Students who are found to be dishonest will receive academic sanctions and will be reported to the University’s Judicial Affairs office for possible further disciplinary sanction.

Attendance:

Class attendance is mandatory. According to Faculty Senate Policy 42-27 "the fact that classes are scheduled is evidence that the faculty believes instruction is important. It is implicit, therefore, that class attendance is important for the benefit of students." Attendance in this section of English 15 is required. While it is understood that emergencies / University-sanctioned activities may arise which result in your missing one or more classes, frequent absences may negatively affect your final grade. As a rule, one or two absences will have little impact on your final grade, assuming you participate enthusiastically when you are in class and realize you are responsible for all material covered during the missed class(es). In the event that your attendance, or lack thereof, becomes a problem, I will ask you to meet with me to discuss our options. These options may include a failing grade or a lower grade than you might have earned had you attended classes regularly.

Please read Faculty Senate Policy for more details.

Disability Access:

The Pennsylvania State University encourages qualified people with disabilities to participate in its programs and activities and is committed to the policy that all people shall have equal access to programs, facilities, and admissions without regard to personal characteristics not related to ability, performance, or qualifications as determined by University policy or by state or federal authorities. If you anticipate needing any type of accommodation in this course or have questions about physical access, please tell the instructor as soon as possible.

Information Management

Please back up everything you write for this course. You should either write your wiki posts in a word processor and save before posting, or write directly in the wiki and cut and paste to an open word processing window as you go along. Information technologies are perhaps inherently volatile, so it is always good to have redundancy in your writing process: make copies and put them in different places!

Freedom of Speech and Cognitive Liberty

As you will see, classrooms and wikis are both spaces devoted to free inquiry. This is a rhetorical space, one where composers are response-able to each other: they think and write in response to each other, and not to a preconceived notion of each other. Assume the best in those you study with and be generous with your respect, and you will teach them to respond in kind.

Penn State's Statement on Intolerance

The First Amendment of The United States Constitution