CRTW201: Critical Reading, Thinking, and Writing
Fall 2008
This page was last updated on 08/24/2009

Section 8
TR 9:30-10:45
Owens 208		 Section 6
TR 12:30-1:45
Owens 109

Dr. Jo Koster
228 Bancroft Hall
803-323-4557
kosterj@winthrop.edu

[Texts] [ Goals] [Grading] [ Instructor Access]
[Calendar of Readings and Assignments]
[Saving Your Papers] [Plagiarism] [Turnitin.com] [Revisions]
[Late Papers] [Attendance] [Accommodations]
[Other Things You Should Know About This Class]
[Calvin & Hobbes on CRTW]

Texts:

  • Nosich, Gerald. Learning to Think Things Through 3rd ed. Prentice Hall. ISBN: 0-13-813242-9.
  • Harris, Muriel, ed. Prentice Hall Reference Guide to Grammar and Usage. 6th or 7th ed. Prentice Hall.
  • Rosenwasser, David, & Jill Stephen. Writing Analytically. 5th ed. Thomson/Wadsworth. ISBN: 1-4282-2989-2.
  • Wilson, Edward O. The Future of Life. Vintage. ISBN: 0-679-76811-4.
    •

    Goals:

  • · To learn that the complex process of critical thinking is a part of all we do and that the process relies on such skills as observing, listening, reading, and writing.
  • · To use writing, reading, speaking, and critical thinking to foster intellectual growth in an academic environment.
  • · To recognize critical thinking and problem solving strategies in different academic disciplines and for different audiences.
  • · To evaluate arguments, evidence, and the contexts in which they appear.
  • · To prepare for writing by carefully analyzing evidence.
  • · To plan, organize, and develop essays based on introspection, general observation, deliberation, research, and the critical reading of mature prose texts drawn from varied disciplines.
  • · To learn to revise effectively by completely rethinking, restructuring, and rewriting essays.
  • · To recognize individual writing voices and learn how those voices can be adapted to fit different audiences and rhetorical situations.
  • · To improve oral communications skills through class discussions and small group activities.

    • See a complete listing of course goals for the Department of English at http://www.winthrop.edu/english/goals/index.htm. Goals for teacher certification majors are listed at http://www.winthrop.edu/english/goals.htm#englished.

    Office Hours:  M 4-5 PM; Weds. 2-5:30 PM; and gladly by appointment

    Grading and Assignments:

    Assignment

    % of Grade
    Three 5-8 pp. essays (papers 1, 2, & 3)

    Each: 10%

    In-class essay (midterm)

    10%
    Researched Argument (10-12 pp. exclusive of WC)

    25%
    Thinking notebook and other informal writing

    10%
    Class participation (includes oral component)

    10%
    Final Exam (Thursday December 11)

    15%
    Grading Standards If you do not receive at least a C- or S grade in CRTW 201, you must repeat the course to graduate. I do not check to see if you are S/Uing the class until I submit final grades, so everyone is treated equally. In this class, I will be using plus/minus grades and the following conversion scale:

    A  94-100; A- 91-93

    B+ 88-90; B  84-87; B- 81-83

    C+ 78-80; C  74-77; C- 71-73

    D+ 68-70; D  64-67; D- 61-63

    F  0-60
    Saving
    Papers    		 At the end of the semester you must turn in all original graded papers plus any graded revisions in a manila envelope for storage by the Department. Papers not returned for storage will be averaged as zeroes into your final grade. Make photocopies of any papers you want to keep permanently.
    Instructor Access You can expect me to be available as a resource from which to draw and to obtain feedback. I am very responsive to email questions as long as I know who the email is from and have all information necessary to provide a complete answer. Please be sure to “sign” your emails as oftentimes email names are confusing at best (brownb1@winthrop.edu could be Bob Brown or Beth Brown). Please make sure to speak slowly and comprehensibly if leaving a voicemail so that I can decipher the name, message, and return phone number as well.

    What you cannot expect of me is to be available 24/7. While I do check my email and voicemail regularly, including weekends (if I am in town), I do not necessarily check them more than once a day or late in the evenings. Therefore, if you procrastinate on an assignment, you may not have the information you need to complete the assignment appropriately. Please plan your time accordingly to maximize the probability that you will receive a response in time for it to be useful.
    Plagiarism
    Policy    		 Please review the English Department’s policy on Using Borrowed Information at http://www.winthrop.edu/english/plagiarism.htm. You are responsible for reviewing the Code of Student Conduct in your Student Handbook and the description of plagiarism in The Prentice-Hall Reference Guide to Grammar and Usage and handling source materials correctly. If you turn in plagiarized work, I reserve the right to assign you a failing grade for the paper or even for the course. The University Policy on Plagiarism is explained at http://www.winthrop.edu/studentaffairs/Judicial/judcode.htm under section V, "Academic Misconduct."
    Revision
    Policy    		 If you receive a C+ or lower on papers 1 or 2, you must revise these papers and submit those revisions by the assigned dates. If your grade is higher than C+, the choice of revising is yours, but revision is not required. The grades on those revisions will be averaged in with the first grade for the paper. If you choose not to submit a revision by the assigned date, you are conceding that you accept the first grade on the paper. It may be possible to revise the cultural events paper; you may discuss those possibilities with me individually. Revisions of the research paper are at the instructor's discretion; no one who fails to bring in a complete rough draft of that paper to the scheduled conference will be given the opportunity to revise. A detailed description of revision is found on the Revision Page.
    Turnitin.
    com     Policy    		 We will be using www.turnitin.com this semester for all out-of-class papers; I will provide more information on that closer to the dates of those assignments. Papers not submitted to www.turnitin.com will not receive a grade.
    Attendance
    Policy    		 Winthrop policy is that students who miss more than 25% of the classes in a semester (in a twice-weekly class, 7 classes) cannot receive credit for the course. In this class, if you miss more than 4 classes, you will be on attendance probation. Each absence after the fourth will lower your final grade by 3 points. If you arrive more than ten minutes late for class, you're counted tardy; two tardies count as one absence.
    Late Paper/
    Assignment Policies
    • Hard copies of all assignments are expected at the beginning of class on the due date in your manila envelope, with all drafts and working papers included.
    • You may submit one late out-of-class assignment during the term [late meaning due one class period after it is due], provided that you notify me you are taking this extension at least one day before the assignment is due; no explanation is needed. Any unexcused  late papers will be thoroughly marked and commented on but will receive a grade no higher than 68 (and probably lower). However,
    • No late research papers can be accepted. There's just not enough time to grade them.
    • Under no circumstances will an assignment be accepted more than two class periods after the due date; it will receive a grade of zero.
    • Failure to submit any graded assignment means failure for the course. No exceptions!
    • Failure to bring a rough draft for a class workshop or mandatory conference will lower your grade for that paper by 8 points and earn you two absences.
    Accommo-dations If you have a disability and need classroom accommodations, please contact Ms. Gena Smith, Coordinator, Services for Students with Disabilities, at 323-3290, as soon as possible. Once you have your professor notification letter, please notify me so that I am aware of your accommodations well before the first accommodated assignment is due.
    Safe Zones Statement The professor considers this classroom to be a place where you will be treated with respect as a human being – regardless of gender, race, ethnicity, national origin, religious affiliation, sexual orientation, political beliefs, age, or ability. Additionally, diversity of thoughts is appreciated and encouraged, provided you can agree to disagree. It is the professor’s expectation that ALL students consider the classroom a safe environment.
    Cultural
    Events Requirement    		 You will be asked to attend several (2-3) cultural events this semester as part of a graded writing assignment. I will give you advance warning of these and will provide several options to accommodate varying schedules, etc. Because there are so many options over the twelve-week period of the assignment, everyone should be able to attend at least one. Therefore, there are no excuses for failure to complete the assignment.
    Technology Requirements I conduct most of my business with students using e-mail. If you do not have an e-mail account, go to 15 Tillman immediately to set it up. All class e-mail will be sent to your campus e-mail address, so make sure you set it to forward to any off-campus account you use (e.g. Comporium, AOL, Yahoo!, etc.) You must have a working Winthrop POBox e-mail address by August 29, 2008. All students must subscribe to the class listserve.
    Other Expectations
    • I've been teaching for over 25 years, and I've been teaching this class since it was a pilot course. I have a pretty good idea about what's required to pass it, and I have a good track record of helping students succeed in it. If you'll do what I ask you to do, you have an excellent chance of getting the results you want. If you don't do what you're asked to do, you're jeopardizing your chances. That choice is up to you.
    • If you are not enthusiastic about being in this course, fake it. Fifteen weeks is not forever. You must participate to succeed in this class.
    • If you need to make a certain grade in this class to maintain a GPA or keep a scholarship, the time to start working on it is at the beginning of the semester, not in Week 13.
    • Experience has shown that keeping up with the thinking notebook and getting an excellent grade on it does more to improve your average than multiple revisions of an average paper; use your time strategically.
    • I'm not your mom and I don't nag you. If you don't turn a paper in, don't expect me to ask you where it is. It's your responsibility to make sure your paper is in turnitin.com on time and that I get your hard copy in the proper folder. If you don't get a graded paper back, it's also your responsibility to ask me for it.
    • I expect to see visible signs you are doing assigned work, such as annotations in your book, note-taking in class, notebook entries, reading notes, etc. If I do not see those signs, your class participation grade will be affected significantly.
      • Again, this is a choice you can make to improve your success in the class.
    • If you are not prepared for class, I reserve the right to send you to the library for the class period to do your preparation and will count you absent for that day. It’s not fair to other people who have done the preparation to have to drag you along with them. So be prepared!
    • Multitasking is not appropriate during class time. Cell phones, iPods, and other communications devices must be turned off in class.* If they disrupt the class you will be graded absent for the day. Text messaging or checking personal messages is not permitted during class. Repeat offenses may earn you an "F" for class participation for the semester. *If necessary, I will designate a student to leave a cell phone on to access the Alertus system.
    • I will do my best to keep my office hours but emergencies sometimes arise. If I can't keep hours I will e-mail the class discussion list and try to get someone to put a note on my office door.
    • Failure to prepare or use time wisely on your part does not constitute an emergency on my part.
    • Sleep in your rooms, not in my class.
    • I do not read minds. If something is going on that affects your work in the class, you need to tell me about it. I won’t just sense that "something’s wrong."
    • If some life crisis arises that will make you miss a lot of class, tell me as soon as you realize this—don’t disappear for three weeks, then come back and say, "Uh, did you miss me?" There are accommodations that can be made if you give reasonable notification but few or none if you don't.
    Calendar

    http://faculty.winthrop.edu/kosterj/crtw201.htm  The calendar on this website will be updated frequently and will be official, so check it often. I am experimenting this semester with an RSS feed through www.feedity.com and would like your feedback on how that works for you.