English 202: Research Writing

Teacher: Omar Alqadoumi                                                        Semester: Fall 2008

Phone: 724-357-9955                                                              Section: 1

Office: TBA                                                                              Location: Leonard, Rm. 101

Office hours: T&R 2-4                                                  Time: M W F 9-10

Course Description:

Research Writing is a required Liberal Studies-English course. In this course, students learn to choose a research problem, issue or question and to do different kinds of research in order to write a correctly documented, interesting and factual piece that is substantial and compelling. Students will work in groups and will often work on their own. A lot of work is done outside of class.

EN 202 is designed to provide opportunities for students to read, analyze, and evaluate non-fiction sources and to present the results of their analysis in clear, organized, carefully documented research papers. The focus of reading and research in this section of EN 202 will be on Issues in Education.

Goals and Objectives:

• Take notes from written texts.
• Write clear and coherent summaries and paraphrases.
• Use accurate direct and indirect quotations.
• Locate and collect specific information at the library.
• Organize thoughts and information into developed, coherent, and unified texts.
• Sharpen revision and editing skills learned in EN 101.
• Present effective oral reports     .
• Write research papers with good development, organization, coherence, unity and documentation techniques.

Required Texts:

Ballenger, B. (2006). The curious researcher. (5^th Edition) Longman.

Reading Packet available at Copies Plus. . Read one part every week.

Course Requirements:

• Class participation and attendance (20%)

Participation and attendance is a non-negotiable issue in this class. Since this is a writing class, we will be mostly working on your writing pieces, conducting workshops and revising. Missing more than three classes and not participating in class discussion will affect the quality of your work and lower your grade.

• Research Papers:

You are required to write three research papers and one annotated bibliography related to the third research paper. The final version of each paper should be typed, 12 times new roman font, double-spaced, and follow he latest version of MLA or APA style.

The first paper will be related to Gun control in the US whether or not it should be banned. In this paper I want you to cite at least five references. Further directions will be given in class. (15%)

The second paper will be a collaborative one. You will work in groups of three and will be responsible for the topic of your paper. Group writing can be hard and stressful but it is a very important skill in academia and the workplace nowadays. Further directions will be given in class. (15%)

The third paper will be either individual or collaborative (it’s your choice!) The topic of the paper will be something of interest to you. If you are interested in the topic you will write better. Once you decide on your topic and select your references, you are supposed to write an annotated bibliography. The annotated bibliography should contain 8-10 references. You will provide the full reference and a brief summary of no more than five sentences under each reference. Once done with the annotated bibliography you can write your paper. The paper should be 7-10 pages in length. (10% for the annotated bibliography and 15% for the research paper)

General Guidelines for the Papers:

 Each paper should be at least 1000 words in length and on more than 1200 words. The following is the process for each paper.

1. Write in class at least 400 words using whatever online resources you need. The aim of this draft is to prepare you for writing in a limited time limit. Random drafts will be collected each draft session.
2. Bring Draft 1 to class and build upon it a second draft of at least 700 words. At the end of the class session you will exchange your draft with one of your peers for review. You will also review the draft of the peer who took your draft.
3. Based on the peer-review you will write your final draft and conference with me individually to discuss the progress of the paper.
4. After the conference, write the final version of the paper.

• Portfolio: (25%)

You will be asked to include all final drafts of your research papers and modified versions of them in a portfolio. The aim of the portfolio is to see the progress of your writing and the modifications made on the papers. A portfolio workshop will be held during the semester.

Grading

Participation and attendance                      20%     

Annotated Bibliography                               10%

3 Research Papaers (15% each)                 45%

Portfolio                                                     25%       

                                                                   100%       

Course Policies

Class Participation and Attendance

Students will be expected to come to class prepared and willing to participate in class discussion, group activities, and writing prompts. Attendance will be taken at the beginning of each lesson. If you miss more than three classes, you will loose one letter grade. You should notify me at least 24 hours prior to class if you are going to be absent for a valid reason

Late Assignments

NO late papers or any other work will be accepted unless you provide a valid excuse and at my discretion. Advance notification is important. If you turn in a late assignment without a valid excuse your grade will be lowered a letter grade for each calendar day it is late.

Academic Integrity Policy and Procedures

"IUP is an academic community within the society at large. All members within this community are expected to accept the responsibility for academic integrity and honesty. Academic dishonesty seriously erodes the quality of educational pursuits and is unacceptable at IUP."

I consider any form of academic dishonesty to be a waste of your time and mine. Such dishonesty is usually as much work as doing the assignments. Furthermore, I do not assign busy work, so each assignment is an opportunity to learn. If you miss that opportunity, you miss learning something.

If you find any of the course assignments so disagreeable that you feel inclined to cheat in any way, please talk to me about the problem with the assignment. I would rather alter the assignment to help you learn better than to have you violate the Integrity Policy.

My door is always open for any discussion of the class and problems that you see with my conduct in the class. We both lose if you do not talk to me. You might have had the opportunity to direct your own learning more effectively, and I might have learned more about my teaching and how to improve it.

Conferencing

One key to success in any writing class is having regular conferences with your instructor about your work and your overall performance. You will be asked to conference with me in a regular basis. Conference meetings are mandatory; failure to attend a conference will count as 1 absence and will affect your attendance and class participation grades. If you miss a conference make sure you schedule a make-up conference with me.

Class Conduct

Writing is best accomplished in a supportive environment. You should know that I will treat you, and I expect you to treat each student in the course as well as myself, with consideration and respect. You must also respect the academic environment. Your classmates came to learn and improve themselves and their abilities. I do not expect any disruption of class. Learning can be noisy and may even involve some anger as people defend their ideas. I have never experienced class disruptions that caused me to ask a student to leave the class. However, I cite the policy for your information.

My own view of learning is that you have the right to question anything, but do not have the right to call others or their ideas names.

I never intend to embarrass anyone. However, if I feel that you are insulting or stereotyping another person, I will inform you directly. If you have any questions about my judgment, please feel free to talk with me. I may ask you to speak with me outside of class to avoid disrupting the learning of other members of the class.

"Students and faculty alike should strive to create a class environment that reflects mutual respect and the importance of learning. If a student’s behavior threatens to disrupt that environment, the faculty member has a responsibility to seek resolution of the problem.  

A faculty member is empowered to request that a student leave during particular class period if, in the measured opinion of that faculty member, the student:

1. Significantly disrupts the learning process, or

2. Is a threat to others."

Disabilities Accommodations

Students with disabilities who require reasonable accommodations to fully participate in course activities or meet course requirements should inform me as soon as possible. Those with learning disabilities may already know that I receive a file from Advising letting me know of modifications and adaptations at the semester’s beginning.

Course Schedule (Tentative)