TRITON COLLEGE
COURSE OUTLINE
CRS PREFIX CRS NO.
COURSE TITLE
SEM HRS LECT HRS LAB HRS IAI
RHT
101 FRESHMAN RHETORIC & COMPOSITION
I 3
3
0 C1 900
1. CATALOG DESCRIPTION OF COURSE: Freshman Rhetoric I emphasizes logical, coherent writing skills for competency in any school or professional writing situation. (Note: grade of ĪCā or better is an IAI requirement effective summer 1999)
2. PREREQUISITES: Writing assessment test score of 4, 5; or a grade of ĪCā or better in RHT 095 or 096.
3. GENERAL STATEMENT OF THE PRIMARY PURPOSE: This class is designed to teach freshman students who have already mastered basic grammatical principles to write clear, coherent, well-developed essays. The class will also focus on critical reading, writing, and thinking.
4. SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES: Upon successful completion of this course, students should have the competencies listed below. Students are expected to:
a. use various invention, drafting, and revising/editing
strategies depending upon the purpose of the writing, the materials available
to the writer, and the length of time available for the task;
b. engage an appropriate topic that explores
writing as a means of self-discovery and that persuades the reader of the
writerās commitment;
c. establish a voice appropriate to the topic
selected and the rhetorical situation;
d. clarify major aims, arrange material to support
aims, and provide sufficient materials to satisfy expectations of readers;
e. select and interact effectively with sources,
subordinating them to the writerās purpose and creating confidence that
they have been represented fairly;
f. demonstrate satisfactory control over the
conventions of edited American English and competently attend to the elements
of presentation;
g. recognize the existence of discourse communities
with their different conventions and forms and
h. become familiar with the Learning Resource
Center and other college support services.
5. PRIMARY METHODS OF INSTRUCTION: Lecture/Peer Groups/Discussion
6. MAJOR COURSE TOPICS:
a. Writing strategies, including pre-writing,
writing, revising, editing, and peer review.
b. Organization of essays, including thesis statement,
topic sentence, paragraph structure and outlining
c. Style
d. Basics of MLA documentation
e. Major writing assignments÷five major essays
are required (2 to 3 pages each for a total of 10 to 15 pages of expository
and argumentative prose)
7. TEXTBOOKS
Axelrod & Cooper, The St. Martin's Guide
to Writing. 7th ed.
8. PAPER FORMAT
All essays and inventions handed in should:
(1) be typed in a 12 point
font and double-spaced;
(2) have one-inch margins
on all sides;
(3) be in a folder;
(4) include your name, the
course title, the date, and the assignment and draft number.
Example: John Smith
RHT 101
September 30, 2006
Paper 1, Final Draft
9. PLAGIARISM POLICY: Plagiarism is the deliberate submission of someone elseās work as the studentās own. This includes borrowing or paraphrasing for a paper without referencing the source, intentionally or knowingly representing the words or ideas of another as your own, and purchasing a term paper or having someone write a paper to submit as your own work. If this occurs, the student will receive a zero for the assignment. Please see the Triton Catalog, pp. 30-31 for more information about Academic Honesty.
10. ATTENDANCE AND MISCELLANEOUS:.
More than five (5) absences may result in termination
from the course unless the student is excused for a serious reason and an agreement
has been reached with the instructor to make up work missed. If this situation
applies to you, please contact me before you acrue five (5) absences.
If you do miss a class, you are responsible for making up the work you have missed; you should find out what you have missed and borrow any necessary notes or handouts from a fellow student before the subsequent class meeting. Quizzes may not be made up.
11. LATE WORK: Late work is an irritant. Late essays will receive one lowered grade for each class meeting late. Late work beyond one week will not be accepted.
12. BEEPERS AND CELL PHONES
Beepers and cell phones should not go off during class.
If a student uses her/his cell phone during class, INCLUDING TEXT MESSAGING,
(s)he will be dismissed for that class period.
13. METHOD OF DETERMINING STUDENT GRADE: Students are responsible for all reading and writing assignments given in the course. Work will be graded as follows:
Participation
5%
You are expected to participate cooperatively,
constructively, and to the best of your ability in all class and conference
activities. You are considered late five minutes after the hour.
A student who comes to class regularly, on time, and who is prepared and
contributes to the class discussion will earn the full five percent participation
points. Students who come to class late or sporadically, and/or who
sleep or talk to friends during class can expect a deduction in their participation
grade.
Quizzes
10%
Quizzes will be given at the beginning of the class on
the day that new material is assigned to be read. The lowest two scores
will be dropped in computing the average score for the semester; thus, no makeups
will be given.
Homework/Peer Editing/In-Class Activities/Inventions
15%
Students will earn points for various in-class activities
and outside homework assignments. Students will also peer review one anotherās
papers for each essay. If students come to class with a TYPED, COMPLETED copy
of their essay on peer review days, they will receive 10 homework points.
Each peer review is worth 10 points for a maximum of 20 points for one peer
review session. Students who do not bring ONE TYPED drafts of their essay
on peer review days will not be allowed to peer review their classmatesā papers.
This will result in a deduction of 30 points÷20 points for the peer reviews
and 10 points for not having the essay done on time. If a student comes
to class more than five (5) minutes late on the day the first draft is due,
her/his essay will be considered late and will lose points accordingly.
In addition, students will create inventions for each essay. Each invention
counts as 30 points.
Four major writing projects
40%
The following essays will be written during the
course of the semester:
· Evaluation (Article Critique)
Taking a Position
· Proposing a Solution
· Literary Analysis
Midterm Exam 15%
Final Exam
15%
The final exam will be an in-class essay.