RHE 306ca: Rhetoric and Composition (Computer-Assisted)
Unique number: 41910
Place and time: PAR 102 MWF 10:00-11:00
Instructor: Matthew Russell
Office: PAR 6
E-mail: mrrussell@mail.utexas.edu
Office hours: TBA
Rhetoric and Composition 306 is a course in argumentation that will enhance your understanding of academic writing and give you practice in producing it. You will learn how to:
You will be writing the following papers this term:
To pass the course, you must turn in on time a good faith rough draft and a polished final draft of each paper. Your peers and I will look at and comment on the rough drafts. To complete each final draft, you must consider the comments you received on your first draft thoughtfully, acting on them and going beyond them to improve your draft substantially.
Grades in this course will be determined on the basis of the Learning Record Online, which includes a portfolio of work presented at the midterm and at the end of the course. These portfolios present a selection of student work, both formal and informal, completed during the semester, ongoing observations about student learning, and analysis of student work and interpretations with respect to the student's development across five dimensions of learning: confidence and independence, knowledge and understanding, skills and strategies, use of prior and emerging experience, and reflectiveness. This development centers around the major strands of work in the course; these strands will posted in the LRO. Please review the information at the LRO web site carefully.
Please note: All assigned work, including informal writing, proposals, rough drafts, finished projects, peer critiques, the midterm and final LRO must be completed and submitted on time to receive a passing grade in this course. If you consistently fail to fulfill any of the classwork assignments, you may fail the course. Do not discard any drafts, notes, papers or research materials you produce during the semester until you receive a final grade.
LRO Observations are one-paragraph accounts of your own progress. You will write two per week for each week of the course except for the weeks you complete parts A, B, and C of the LRO. They are meant to trace your improvement in the four skill areas mentioned in the "Goals" section above. Most importantly, the evaluations should assess how you use what you learn in this class in other capacities in different courses, at work, or in daily life. These reports should be treated seriously, since they will help you make a case for your final grade. You are encouraged to make additional observations as they occur to you.
Rough drafts and final drafts of all out-of-class papers must be submitted electronically. The first page of your paper must include the following information: your name, my name, course, date, and paper title. Double space the lines and use 1 inch margins all the way around the text. Unless you're told otherwise, your papers should have the same format as the sample MLA paper in the Brief Penguin Handbook.
The Computer Writing and Research Lab hosts open hours during which students enrolled in computer-assisted sections can work on assignments. Computers are also available to you in the Student Microcomputer Facility (SMF) on the second floor of the Flawn Academic Center (FAC) (the same building as the Undergraduate Library, or UGL). You should plan to get your IF number for the SMF immediately if you have not already done so. Some departments also provide computer labs, so check with your advisor. Also check the list of computer locations in The Student Guide to First-year Writing.
You are expected to attend class daily, to arrive on time, to have prepared assigned reading and writing, and to participate in all in-class editing, revising, and discussion sessions. If you have nine absences you will fail the course! Your grade will be negatively affected after 6 absences. Save any absences to use when you are sick, or when you have an emergency. If you find that an unavoidable problem prevents you from attending class, please discuss the problem with me.
Be sure to arrive to class on time. 3 noticeably late arrivals are equivalent to one absence.
Papers, drafts, and other out-of-class assignments will be turned in at the time they are due. You may include late work as samples in your LRO, but I will not comment on late drafts. If you miss a peer review session, it is your responsibility to find a classmate to review your paper and a classmate whose paper you will review. If you cannot attend class on the date an assignment is due, arrange to have a classmate or friend drop it off during scheduled class time. There is no makeup of in-class work.
If you have further questions, please consult the "Classroom Policies and Etiquette" section of the CWRL's Students page.
The class website and syllabus will be updated throughout the semester and should be consulted between class meetings. Email should also be checked between class meetings.
You are required to back up all your work. Hardware difficulties are not a suitable excuse for not having work in on time.
Turning in work that is not your own, or any other form of scholastic dishonesty, will result in a major course penalty, possibly failure of the course. A report of the incident will also be made to the Office of the Dean of Students. Be sure you read and understand the Statement on Scholastic Responsibility in chapter 6 of the The Student Guide to First-Year Writing .
I strongly encourage you to use services offered by the Undergraduate Writing Center (FAC 211, 471-6222) and the Learning Center (JES A332A, 471-3614). The consultants at these centers are trained to help you resolve your own problems so that all your writing reflects what you have learned.
We will be covering the use of sources extensively in class. In general, I will ask you to provide me with photocopies or printouts of all sources you use. I will explain the procedures for presenting this material later in the course. If you have any questions about the use you are making of sources for your assignments, see me before you turn in the project.
The University of Texas at Austin provides upon request appropriate academic adjustments for qualified students with disabilities. For more information, contact the Office of the Dean of Students at 471-6259, 471-4641 TDD.
The Computer Writing and Research Lab (CWRL) is both a teaching and a research lab. Students in CWRL classes and CWRL instructors have made valuable contributions to research in teaching writing. Some of this work has found its way into research journals and books intended to help improve writing instruction. To continue this research, the CWRL is required to get student signatures on a release form. On the 12th class day, all students taking classes in the CWRL are required to sign a release that states:
All work that you produce for this class and in online class discussions is public and is archived for future research. Faculty and graduate students who teach in computer classrooms are conducting on-going research to make writing instruction more effective. These and other researchers may read and quote from these archives. If you wish to take a course in the CWRL, you must sign an agreement that your work for the course, including Internet postings, is in the public domain and may be read and reproduced (edited as appropriate) in future publications by researchers.
The CWRL will not assume responsibility for personal views or any offensive material that you may post to a public forum as a result of your work in this class. Neither will the CWRL assume responsibility for further distribution of any work that is posted to a public forum.