ENGL 200 (Sections BF & BQ): Expository Writing II
Spring 2002 -- TU 12:30-1:45 p.m., 2:05-3:20 p.m.
 
Schedule of Classes | K-State Online
 
Professor Westman
108 Denison Hall; 532-2171
Office Hours: T, U 8-9am and by app't
Email: westmank@ksu.edu
 


Course Philosophy and Description
Expository Writing II is the second of two courses required of all students here at Kansas State University. In this writing class, you will study and practice argumentation, so you are prepared for the complex writing tasks that you will do as a college student and later in your workplace and community. We will write five essays, which will be due roughly every three weeks. Your essays will be persuasive pieces that use written argument to explore and persuade others to some new attitude or action.
 
While some of your writing will take place in the classroom, much of what you must satisfactorily complete for the course will require time outside the classroom: reading assignments about aspects of argumentation, writing activities which prepare you for the assignments, generating ideas for drafts, and completing drafts and revisions according to the schedule below.


Texts
Ramage, John D. and John C. Bean, Writing Arguments (6th edition)
Westman, Karin E. Expository Writing 200 (4th edition)
Recommended: Hacker, Diane, Rules for Writers and a college-level dictionary


Supplies
Several letter-sized filing folders for keeping and handing in your work
8 ½ x 11 college-ruled notebook paper
#2 pencils, pens with blue or black ink
Credit on your K-State Wildcat Card to print
Formatted disks dedicated to this course for storing and backing up your computer files


Attendance: Since the University requires that students attend all classes in which they are enrolled, there are no excused absences. If you are absent for more than nine classroom hours (nine class periods), you will fail this class automatically. If you are absent for more than three, you jeopardize your final grade for the course.
 
If you wish to receive a passing grade in this class, then, attendance is very important. Classroom work or homework assignments missed due to absence cannot be made up. If you are absent, it is your responsibility to find out from another class member any announcements or assignments. (On those rare occasions when circumstances make it impossible for you attend, please notify me by email or in person in advance so we can discuss the absence.)


Essays: You will write five major assignments for this course. All assigned work is due on the day and time listed below. I do not accept late work. You may arrange for one alternate due date during the semester in advance of the paper's due date; be sure to speak with me in advance, if you need to exercise this option.
 
Drafts and revisions of papers must be typed, double-spaced, with one inch margins (one page = 250 words); the pages should be spell-checked, proof-read, and stapled or paper-clipped together. Your name, my name, the date, and the type of assignment should appear in the upper-left hand corner of the first page. A "Works Cited" page should accompany any assignment that refers to outside sources. Submit the paper in a manila file folder with your name written on the tab. Title pages are not necessary. Do not submit your work in a report cover.


Honor Code and Plagiarism: Be extremely careful in acknowledging the sources that have influenced your work. Should you incorporate the ideas, general phrasing, or exact words of any other source without properly crediting the author, you are guilty of plagiarism and of failure to follow the University's Honor Code. The penalty for plagiarism is severe: you may fail the course and the Dean may be notified of the reason for your failure. If you have any questions about whether you need to cite a source, please see me or consult Rules for Writers or Expository Writing 200.


Grades: Your grade for the course will be based on your preparation, drafting, and revising of the five writing assignments for the class, as well as your attendance and participation in the class. During the course, I will give you written feedback about your writing, its content, and its effect on your intended audience. I will tell you what's already working well and what still needs work. Some key points:

-- You must pass the Final Portfolio Examination at the end of term to pass the course, no matter what your grades have been during the term.
 
-- Major papers will receive one of four letter grades: R, C, B, or A. The grades you receive on these drafts reflect how I think the paper matches up to the grading standards for the Expository Writing Program. I will clearly indicate to you if I think your paper will pass the Final Portfolio Examination required of all students. Papers that I believe will not pass the Final Portfolio Examination will receive a grade of "R" for "Revision needed," and you must revise these papers in a week's time to receive a grade. If you do not turn in the revised "R" paper within a week, the paper will earn an "F."
 
-- Remember that a paper's grade depends on your hard work during the whole writing process, which will often include in-class and out of class writing exercises, preparing a draft, participating in peer review workshops, and revising. To receive full credit for your hard work, be sure to keep all notes, peer review comments, and drafts for each assignment.
 
-- Because writing develops with lots of thinking and writing and over several drafts, I do have a policy that will also allow you to revise some of your work for a higher grade (see the Revision Policy below).


Portfolio Examination: At the end of week 8 or the beginning of week 9, you will turn in one of your papers to be evaluated for the Midterm Portfolio Examination. A different instructor will read your paper to determine if it meets the minimum requirements for this course. If it passes, it can then be used in the Final Portfolio Examination as a passing paper.


During the last week of class, you will turn in a Final Portfolio that will contain 3 of the five papers you wrote for this class. Again, a different instructor will read your portfolio to determine if it passes. Portfolio readers do not determine your final grade; they just determine if your portfolio passes or fails the course. After I get the results of the Final Portfolio Examination, I will assign you letter grades based on your written work, attendance, and class participation. Please note: it is possible to pass the Portfolio Examination and still fail this course for lack of attendance, excessive lateness, poor class participation, failing to hand work in on time, and plagiarism. For more information about the Portfolio Examination, see the "Instructions to Students for the Portfolio Examination" in Kanning.


Revision Policy: I require you to attempt revision on any essay which receives a grade of "R"and to keep revising until that essay reaches the acceptable level. If you do not turn in a revision of an essay that received an "R" within a week's time limit, that essay will receive a permanent grade of "R" and will be calculated as an "F." Though I do not require revisions of essays which earn acceptable grades when first submitted, I do allow you the option to revise such an essay once. You may not revise in-class essays for higher grades.
 
You must also earn the right to revise any of your major papers for this class. In order to earn this right, you must do all the homework, classroom activities, and participate seriously in the peer-review workshops for each assignment. If you are absent on workshop days or for some other reason do not participate in all the activities leading up to a final draft, you will not be allowed to revise for a higher grade. If you do the activities, homework, and participate in all the peer-review opportunities, you will find that your writing will improve over the term.
 
A paper will be considered revised when it demonstrates significant change in global issues such as focus/purpose (Is the paper on one topic? Is the writer's purpose clear?), or arrangement (Is the order of the information logical and easy to follow?), or development (Is there enough detail and support for the reader to clearly understand the issue), or tone (Is the reader addressing the audience appropriately for the purpose and occasion?). Revisions that do not meet this criteria will be returned unread. Simply correcting errors in spelling, punctuation, or grammar is not revision but editing.


Remember that a revision does not automatically receive a better grade. If you choose to revise, keep in mind that the whole paper may need revision once you begin to revise one element of its argument and presentation. If you choose to revise a paper and it earns another grade, I will replace the first grade with the second grade. Before you revise, I strongly encourage you to arrange for a conference with a Writing Center Tutor or with me to discuss your plans for revision. If you do not seem to be making any improvements on a particular paper, I will advise you to leave it and work on a difference assignment.


Your revision must include the following or it will be returned unread:
-- Underline and explain any additions you make to the text on the new version.
-- Mark any deletions on the old version.
-- Write a summary on a separate page explaining why and how you revised -- for example, why you decided to change the paper's focus or arrangement, why you added or deleted a certain part of the paper, why you rearranged the information, and so forth.
-- With the revision, you must turn in all previous notes and drafts, peer response sheets, and a clear label of which assignment you are revising. Place all these items in a file folder with your name on it.


Computing: Over the course of the semester we will be using Daedalus Integrated Writing Environment (DIWE) and resources available through the World Wide Web. We may also use K-State Online. Our work with computers is designed not only as another forum for practicing argumentation, but as a way for you to sharpen your communication and research skills for an increasingly technological age.
A word about DIWE: this software is free, but only available on the computers in EH228. While we will use this software occasionally during class time, you will also be required to complete some homework assignments on the software outside of class time. The computers in EH228 are available for your use when classes are not in session: typically, M-R, 3:30 p.m. until midnight; F, 3:30-8 p.m.; Sunday, 3 p.m.-midnight. (The classroom is locked during university holidays.) A Pay-for-Print system similar to those located in University Computing Labs is available for your use as well.
If you do not yet have an email account, I encourage you to activate your KSU account. I highly recommend email as a way of touching base with me about your writing — a kind of virtual office hours. You can send me queries, your thesis statement for an essay, or anything else that could be handled with a quick exchange of messages. I check my email in the morning before classes, in the afternoon, and in the evening.


Conferences: I want you to succeed in this course, and I am happy to meet with you about your writing and your progress. I encourage you to see me before writing assignments are due, or if you have questions about material we discuss in class. Please feel free to stop by during office hours (T, U 8-9 a.m.), or contact me by phone or email to arrange a more convenient time to meet.


Note: If you have any condition such as a physical or learning disability that will make it difficult for you to carry out the work as I have outlined it or which will require academic accommodations, please notify me in the first two weeks of the semester.

Schedule of Classes (subject to change)

Evaluating an Argument
 Week1  

 (Preparation for class)
  

 (In-class activities)

Jan

17

1

 --
Introduction to Course Policies and Goals
Introduce in-class writing assignment for 1/22.
Week 2

Jan

22

2
Prepare in-class writing assignment according to directions.
Do in-class writing assignment.

Jan

24

3
Read Chapter 1 (3-21) in Writing Arguments (WA).
 
Read pages 289-96, 300-302 in WA.
Do exercise on page 295-96 for one of the classes listed (a-i).
 
Read pp.445-47 in WA.
What is a good argument?
Review exercise on p.295-96.
 
Introduce Evaluation Essay Assignment.
 
Evaluation is a Criteria Match.
Do Task 1, p.446 in class.
Do Task 2, p.447 in class.
 
Week 3

Jan

29

4
Do Task 3, pp.447-48 in WA.
Read Chapter 2 (22-48) in WA.
Read pp.305-6 in WA.
Do Task 4, p.454 in class.
Develop and defend criteria for good argumentation.
How "Says and Does" helps you understand what you read.
Do exercise on p.28 in class.

Jan

31

5
Read "Marijuana for Medical Purposes" in Expository Writing 200 (EW 200), pp.115-16.
Write "says" and "does" statements for each paragraph. (Your goal: to understand the argument's major claims and how it is put together.)
Understanding the How and What of an Argument.
Discussion of essay and "says" and "does" statements.
Week 4

Feb

5

6
Read EW200, pp.55-66.
Complete Respond Question Series for one of the two sample essays. (Follow hyperlink to access questions.)
If you missed class last Thursday, be sure to visit K-State Online for further information about last Thursday's class.
 
Read WA, pp.438-45.
 
Work on "Organizing Your Evaluation Essay" in EW200, pp.57-59.
Reminder: First draft due 2/7.
Review Student Samples (EW200).
Organization of Evaluation Essays.
Evidence in Evaluation Essays: Quoting from your source.

Feb

7

7
Bring two copies of first draft for Group Peer Review: one to hand in and one to use in class.
Learning about Peer Review and linking review comments to grading/passing criteria.
Peer Review Session
Leave with a revision plan.

 Components of Argument
Week 5

Feb

12

8
Bring three copies of second draft for Peer Review.
Peer Review Session.
More on linking review comments to Grading/Passing Criteria.
Leave with a revision plan.

Feb

13

--
Evaluation Essay due by 4pm to DE108.

Feb

14

9
Read Chapter 4 (75-86) in WA.
Do exercises on pp.78, p.80.
Read pp.24-34 in EW200 on revision.
Transition to a detailed understanding of arguments.
Exercise on p.84 in class.
Review procedures for revision.
Week 6

Feb

19

10
Read Chapter 5 (87-108) in WA
Do exercise on p.90, #1-6, in WA.
Do exercise on p.97 of WA, choosing 2 of the remaining 9 enthymemic arguments.
Structure of Argument: Claims, Stated Reasons, Grounds, Warrants, Backing, Rebuttals, and Qualifiers.
Review exercise on pp.90 in WA.
Review responses to exercise on p.97.
 Proposal Arguments: How to Change Reality

Feb

21

11
Read Chapter 15 (319-354) in WA.
Introduce Proposal Essay assignment.
Proposals: We should/should no do X.
Rhetorical situations.
Practical vs. Policy Proposals.
Week 7

Feb

26

12
Bring three possible topics written out to hand in. Have one that you are fairly sure about and two for back-up.
 
Read Chapter 7 (129-139) in WA.
Do exercises on pp.103-4 and pp.138-39.
Finding an issue for a proposal.
Who is your rhetorical audience?
 
Discuss responses to exercises on pp.103-4 and on pp.138-39 in class. Do exercises on p.107-8 and pp.329-30.

Feb

28

13
With your topic for your proposal essay in mind, write out answers to questions about "Audience-Based Reasons" on pp.104-5 of WA and write out answers to "Stock Issues" on pp.330-31 of WA.
Audience-Based Reasons.
(Directions for accessing today's DIWE transcripts.)
Week 8

Mar

5

14
Read pp.76-80 in EW200.
Complete Respond Question Series for one of the two sample essays. (Follow hyperlink above to access questions.)
How Proposals are presented and organized.

Mar

7

15
Bring two copies of first draft for Group Peer Review: one to hand in and one to use in class.
Peer Review Session.
Linking Review comments to grading/passing criteria.
Leave with a Revision Plan.

Mar

8

--
Submit essay for Midterm Portfolio Review to DE108 by 4 p.m.
Week 9

Mar

12

16
Bring three copies of second draft for Peer Review.
Peer Review Session.
Determine readings for next assignments.
Leave with a Revision Plan.

 Researched Debate

Mar

14

17
Both Sections: Read pp.83-84, 88-91, 96-98 in EW200.
 
Section BF:
Read in Writing Arguments John Leo's "Kill-for-Kicks Video Games Desensitizing Our Children" (467-468), Charlie James's "Littleton Massacre Seems So...American" (475-476), and Michael Ventura's "Warrior Women: Why Are TV Shows like Buffy..." (527-530).
 
Complete a Respond Question Series (Teen Violence) for one of the essays. (Follow hyperlink above to access questions.)
 
Section BQ:
Read in Writing Arguments Michael Medved's "A Sickness in the Soul" (488-493), Barbara Streisand's "The Artist as Citizen" (493-498), and John Leo's "Kill for Kicks Video Games Desensitizing Our Children" (467-468).
 
Complete a Respond Question Series (Pop Culture) for one of the essays. (Follow hyperlink above to access questions.)
Introduce Researched Debate Essay.
Complete Research Survey on pp. 39-40 of EW200.
Review model sample essay on pp. 96-8 of EW200.
Discuss selected essays.

Mar

15

--

Proposal due by 4pm to DE 108.
--
 

 Mar

19

 --

 --
    NO CLASS

 Mar

21

 --

 --
    SPRING BREAK
 
Week 10

Mar

26

18
Section BF:
Read in Writing Arguments Mike Males's "Stop Blaming Kids and TV" (468-472), Gloria Steinem's "Supremacy Crimes" (472-475), and Chuck Shelton's "When White Boys Kill, White Dads Fail" (476-478).
 
Complete a Respond Question Series (Teen Violence) for two of the selected essays. (Follow hyperlink above to access questions.)
 
Section BQ:
Read in Writing Arguments Ron Weiskind's "South Park Movie Revels in Its Really Bad Behavior" (504-505), Denise Noe's "Parallel Worlds: The Surprising Similarities (and Differences) of Country-and-Western and Rap" (523-526), Michael Ventura's "Warrior Women: Why Are TV Shows Like Buffy..." (527-30), and Mike Males's "Stop Blaming Kids and TV" (468-472)
 
Complete a Respond Question Series (Pop Culture) for two of the selected essays. (Follow hyperlink above to access questions.)
Discuss selected essays.
Determine several "pro/con" claims for debate topic.

Mar

28

19
Review all selected essays and "pro/con" claims generated in class: teen violence (section BF) or popular culture (section BQ). Choose one or create one of your own for your researched debate essay, and then develop three reasons for the "pro" claim and three reasons for the "con" claim. Bring a copy of them to class.
 
Reread pp.83-84, 88-91, 96-98 in EW200.
Read pp.384-423 in WA and pp.41-42 in EW200.
Using sources effectively and avoiding plagiarism.
 

Review student sample essay and format for essay.

Developing reasons, rebuttals, and complete statements for each character in your debate.

Week 11

Apr

2

20
Bring two copies of first draft for Group Peer Review: one to hand in and one to use in class.
Review student sample essay while drafting.
Peer Review Session.
Review research requirements and how to cite sources in MLA format.
Leave with a Revision Plan.

Apr

4

21
Bring three copies of second draft for Peer Review.
Check format for citing sources in MLA format.
Peer Review Session.
Leave with a Revision Plan.
Introduce Persuasive Research Paper.

Persuasive Research Paper
Week 12

Apr

8

--
Researched Debate due by 4pm to DE108.
--

Apr

9

22
Read pp.62-66 in WA.
 
Read Chap 16 (357-83) and review Chapter 17 (384-405) in WA. Read pp.45-6 in EW200.
 
Decide topic for persuasive research paper and hand in for approval.
Organizational patterns for research reports; review p.64 in WA.
 
Finding, Selecting, Using, and Documenting Sources.

Apr

11

23
Work on persuasive research paper: Develop working thesis claim and at least three reasons for your topic, and begin any additional research.
No Class
Week 13

Apr

16

24
Bring thesis statement (claim and three reasons) to class.
Review sample model persuasive research essay.
 
Developing Opposing Views and Refutations.
To view the transcripts for InterChange conferences, click the appropriate link below:
Conference 1 (BF), Conference 2 (BF), Conference 3 (BF), Conference 4 (BF), and Conference 5 (BF).
Conference 1 (BQ), Conference 2 (BQ), Conference 3 (BQ), and Conference 4 (BQ).

Apr

18

25
Identify the 4-6 sources which will best suit your topic and thesis claim. Bring them to class.
 
Bring two copies of your outline to class.
More on Selecting, Using, and Documenting Sources.
Do exercises on p.47-50 of EW200.
 
Review of outlines, paragraph structure, use of sources, documenting sources.
Week 14

Apr

23

26
Bring two copies of first draft for Group Peer Review: one to hand in and one to use in class.
 
Refer to the sample model persuasive research essay and methods for citing online resources.
Peer Review Session.
Linking Review Comments to grading/passing criteria.

Apr

25

27
Bring three copies of second draft for Peer Review Session.
 
Locate hard copies of all sources used and highlight material used in paper.
 
Verify correct citation format for "Works Cited" page and in-test citations, especially for online resources.
Peer Review Session.
Review of format for "Works Cited" page.

Apr

26

-- Persuasive Research Paper due by 4pm to DE108.

Letter to the Portfolio Reader
Week 15

Apr

30

28
Read pp.3-7 and p.122 in EW200.
Bring all of your papers to class.
Introduction to "Letter to Portfolio Reader"
Review Student Samples: Common Organizational Patterns and Details to Support Claims.

May

2

29
Bring all your papers to class.
Planning session for Letter and Gathering Evidence.
 
Complete outline, including examples, by end of class.
Week 16

May

7

30
Revise outline and lists of examples in preparation for in-class writing.
Write "Letter to Portfolio Reader" in class.

May

9

31
Prepare revisions to existing drafts in preparation for Final Portfolio Review.
Draft workshop, assignment of your choice.
Finals Week
Mon
May
13
10 am-12 noon, Final Portfolios due to DE108.
Portfolios are now available for pick-up from the box under my mailbox in Denison 122.
 
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Email: westmank@ksu.edu
Last updated 24 November 2003