WRITE 298 SECTION

							WRITE 298: SECTION Q2                                         FALL WINTER 2008-09

                                  COURSE OUTLINE

Instructor: Dr. Don Perkins
Office: 3-91 Humanities Centre
          Office Phone: 492-2179
          Office Hours:
              By appointment.
          E-mail: dperkins@ualberta.ca. However, PLEASE NOTE: I do not teach by
              e-mail, so do not contact me via e-mail to repeat class material missed. If
              you miss classes, get the notes from someone who attended.

              Course website: http://www.arts.ualberta.ca/~efsboard/moodle, Please
       read carefully my teaching philosophy statement, and the “Assumptions”
       statement at the start of this site.


Prerequisites: 6 Units of Junior English.
      RESTRICTION: Not to be taken by students with credit in English 299.

Texts: Perl and Schwartz: Writing True
       Strunk, White and Kalman: Elements of Style (Illustrated)
       Williams and Nadel: Style: Ten Lessons in Clarity and Grace

       (Recommended: A good College-level dictionary

Course Objectives: This is an introductory class in writing non-fiction prose. We will
produce at least the 12 000 words (not all of which are high-risk, or ‘marked” writing) of
writing the course calls for, most of it in invention, revision and other exercises from the
course texts.

A particular objective will be work on telling detail, personal voice and style, and clarity
of communication. Some of the assignments are fairly traditional on the surface, some are
more experimental in form.

Regular writing and workshopping in class are regular and required features of this class.
If you cannot commit to regular participation for any reason, let me know by the end of
the Registration period to see if there is any accommodation possible, or expect to pay
penalties as laid out below for non-participation.

ASSIGNMENTS: There will be SIX graded writing assignments in this course,
constituting approximately 6 000 of the 12 000 words this course typically calls for.

1 Story Exchange Narrative 500-600 Words. 5%
2 Description or Geist postcard elaboration: 5-600 Words. 5%
3 Definition: 800 Words. 10%
4 Dialogues project: 800 Words. 10%
5 Revision/recombination/revisitation project: 1000-1200 Words.
       OR Community Service Learning option: 15%
6 Major Project: 1800-2000 Words. 25%

No more than 60% worth of the written assignments can be entirely or mainly
personal narrative, without written consent from the instructor.

In addition, there is a Double-entry Notebook project: 10%

Participation: For regular thoughtful participation in in-class exercises (in invention and
in grammar, as necessary, workshopping and peer-editing. This segment also includes an
element in which students will select and present short prose passages not from Writing
True as models for rhetorical study: 20%.

Please note—this is an earned 20%, not an automatic 20%. Each missed session or
exercise will cost one grade increment from this total. Inadequate, inappropriate or
thoughtless response in peer-editing or workshopping will also cost one increment per
session.

MARKING SCHEME: All assignments will be graded according to the U of A letter
grading system. To receive a passing grade in this course, a student must submit at least
four graded writing assignments worth more than 50% of the course weight. This
submitted work must include the major project.

Previous evaluative material (i.e. final exams, etc.) is not available, as all marks derive
from the assignments or participation. There is no final exam in this course.

Term Work Reassessment: PLEASE NOTE

Should you have any grievances concerning term work grades, you must first discuss
your concerns with the instructor. No official, in either the Department of
English and Film Studies or the Faculty of Arts, will talk to a student
about a grading disagreement unless the student first talks to the
instructor. If the problem is not resolved after a meeting with the
instructor, students are encouraged to talk with the Department Chair, Dr. Garrett Epp.
Please note, however, that the Department of English and Film Studies does not allow
reconsideration of term work after a student writes the Final Examination. Since this
course has no Final Exam, begin any such request for reconsideration before the last day
of classes.

APPEALS OF FINAL GRADE: Appeals of Final Grade: any appeals of the final grade
must be made to the Registrar, not to the Department of English and Film Studies.
ACADEMIC INTEGRITY: Read this attentively.

1. "Policy about course outlines can be found in Section 23.4(2) of the University
Calendar." (GFC 29 SEP 2003).

2. "The University of Alberta is committed to the highest standards of academic integrity
and honesty. Students are expected to be familiar with these standards regarding
academic honesty and to uphold the policies of the University in this respect. Students are
particularly urged to familiarize themselves with the provisions of the Code of Student
Behaviour (on-line at www.ualberta.ca/secretariat/appeals.htm or in the Calendar), and
avoid any behaviour which could potentially result in suspicions of cheating, plagiarism,
misrepresentation of facts and/or participation in an offence. Academic dishonesty is a
serious offence and can result in suspension or expulsion from the University." (GFC 29
SEP 2003).

The recent policy revisions can be found in the GFC Policy Manual section 61.6
(University of Alberta Marking and Grading Guidelines) which can be accessed at:
(http://www.ualberta.ca/~unisecr/policy/sec61.html).

Therefore, it is essential that each student please read carefully the sections in the
University Calendar entitled "Code of Student Behaviour."

It is the student’s responsibility to be familiar with, and adhere to, the terms of the
University of Alberta’s Code of Student Behaviour. Included in this Code are
descriptions of unacceptable behaviour for students in the University, the sanctions
for commission of the offences, and explanations of the complete discipline and
appeal processes.

The Code of Student Behaviour, as set out in the General Faculties Council (GFC)
Policy Manual, is provided in its entirety in Appendix A of the print Calendar or
electronically on the University Secretariat website at
www.ualberta.ca/secretariat/appeals.htm.

Amendments to the Code of Student Behaviour occur throughout the year. For the
most current version of this Code, visit the University Secretariat website at
www.ualberta.ca/secretariat/appeals.htm or contact the University Secretariat for
information concerning amendments approved by GFC since this copy of the Code
was published.

The University recommends we draw your attention specifically to the sections on
PLAGIARISM and on CHEATING.
PLAGIARISM:

1. "No student shall submit the words, ideas, images or data of another person as the
student's own in any academic writing, essay, thesis, research project or assignment in a
course or program of study."
2. "No Student shall represent another's substantial editorial or compositional assistance
on an assignment as the Student's own work."
3. "No Student shall submit in any course or program of study, without the written
approval of the course Instructor, all or a substantial part of any academic writing, essay,
thesis, research report, project, assignment, presentation, or poster for which credit has
previously been obtained by the student or which is being submitted by the Student in
another course or program of study in the University or elsewhere."

If I detect what appears to be plagiarism, I have a series of procedures to follow,
beginning with a request that you discuss the matter with me before we proceed further.
Such a discussion tends to be uncomfortable and unpleasant for both of us, so please do
not make it necessary. Keep accurate and complete research notes, and fully credit any
sources you quote or paraphrase. After our talk, I pass my notes on to the Faculty office
and the Discipline Office, who will jointly decide the penalties, if any. The most
common penalty lately has been an F8 for the course, and a one-term suspension. That
is, your transcript will record not only a failing grade, but also the coded information that
you failed because of an academic offence.

CHEATING is more complex, but essentially,
        ·A student may not ask for information or offer to exchange information with
anyone else during an exam, or bring in and use unauthorized notes or other material;
        ·A student may not pretend to be someone else, or have someone else pretend to
be the student in an exam or other activity;
        ·A student may not submit an assignment containing a statement of fact known to
the student to be false, or a reference to a source known to the student to be false or
fabricated.

There are two further offences you should be aware of:

30.3.6(4) Misrepresentation of Facts: No Student shall misrepresent pertinent facts
   to any member of the University community for the purpose of obtaining
   academic or other advantage. See also 30.3.2(2) b, c, d and e.

30.3.6(5) Participation in an Offence: No Student shall counsel or encourage or
    knowingly aid or assist, directly or indirectly, another person in the commission
    of any offence under this Code.
For fuller details, a "Don't Cheatsheet" is available on the
University Secretariat Website at http://www.ualberta.ca/SECRETARIAT/appeals.htm
Check as well the TRUTH IN EDUCATION website:
http://www.ualberta.ca/STUDENTSERVICES/tie/