Dr. Mary E. Martin                                                          E-mail: martinme@winthrop.edu

Bancroft 208               Website:http://faculty.winthrop.edu/martinme

Office Phone: 323-4554                                                          Office Hours: MW 12:00-1:00 PM.  TR  10:00-11:00 AM; 1:00-3:30 PM and by appointment                                                                                           

Critical Reading, Thinking and Writing

Spring 2009

Texts:

Nosich, Gerald. Learning to Think Things Through. 3^rd ed. Prentice Hall.

Rosenwasser, David, and Jill Stephen. Writing Analytically. 5th ed. Thomson.

Harris, Muriel, ed. Prentice Hall Reference Guide to Grammar and Usage. 2^{nd custom} ed. Prentice Hall.

Wilson, Edward O. The Future of Life.. Vintage Books.

*You will also need two folders with pockets, any color but not plastic or vinyl, as well as a separate spiral notebook for your Thinking/Reading Journal.

Course Goals:

1. 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.
2. To use writing, reading, speaking, and critical thinking to foster intellectual growth in an academic environment.
3. To recognize critical thinking and problem solving strategies in different academic disciplines and for different audiences.
4. To evaluate arguments, evidence, and the contexts in which they appear.
5. To prepare for writing by carefully analyzing evidence.
6. 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.
7. To learn to revise effectively by completely rethinking, restructuring, and rewriting essays.
8. To recognize individual writing voices and learn how those voices can be adapted to fit different audiences and rhetorical situations.
9. 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.

Course Requirements:

Final Exam schedule:

     MW 9:30 class--8:00 AM, Friday, May1

     TR 8:00 AM class--8:00 AM, Tuesday, May 5

      TR11:00 AM class--11:30 AM, Tuesday, May 5

      Remember--all assignments must be completed in order to receive credit for the class.

Grading Standards:

A description of letter grades for writing assignments can be found at 

http://www.winthrop.edu/english/rubric.htm.

 Grades will be based on the following scale:  94-100=A, 91-93= A-, 88-90=B+, 80-87=B, 81-83=B-, 78-80=C+, 74-77=C, 71-73=C-, 68-70=D+, 64-67=D, 61-63=D-, 0-60=F.

Plagiarism Policy:

Please review the English Department’s policy on the Correct Use of 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. The University Judicial Policy on Plagiarism is explained at http://www.winthrop.edu/studentaffairs/Judicial/judcode.htm under section V, “Academic Misconduct.”

The offense of plagiarism will result in failure of the class.

Attendance Policy

and Class Behavior Guidelines

Students are expected to attend class.  An absence for any reason will count as a class missed.  Students who arrive to class late must check with me at the end of the class.  Three absences will lower the student’s final grade by 10%.  More than four absences will result in failure of the course.

Please turn off cell phones and keep them off your desk.  Anyone observed using his/her cell phone will receive an absence for the day. Anyone caught sleeping in class will receive an absence for the day.

Other Guidelines

Paper Preparation:   all out of class papers, unless otherwise directed, should follow MLA style demonstrated in the Prentice Hall Guide.  Papers must be evenly double-spaced with a one inch margin on all sides. Refer to page 448 in Prentice Hall for a template of the first page; no extra cover sheet is necessary.

Due Dates:  Hard copies of all assignments are due at the beginning of class on the due date unless due dates fall on a Friday; then you have until 4:00 PM on Friday to drop the paper by my office.  late papers will be penalized one letter for every class day late.  Please see me ahead of any due dates if your are having trouble completing the assignments.

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 turnitin will not receive a grade.

Technology Requirements

I conduct much of class 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 January 23, 2009. All students must subscribe to the class listserve.        

Disabilities