ENGL 102 sections 008 & 009
Comp 102
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Spring 2005 / section 008 TR 11-12:15 p.m./section 009 TR 12:30-1:45 p.m./Caruthers 104
Dr. Nick Melczarek Office phone: 410-546-6203
Office: HH 344 e-mail anmelczarek@salisbury.edu
(send no attachments!)
Office hours: MW 12:45-2p.m., TR 2-4 p.m. & by appt.
This website and the schedule updates linked to it for ENGL 102.008/.009 supercede and overrule the paper syllabus. You must have an e-mail account and web access to participate in this course. If you don't have both of these yet, obtain them immediately.
FINAL ESSAY EXAM DATE/TIME/ROOM: Monday 12 December 4:15-6:45 p.m., Devilbiss Hall 213
All sections of 102 take the exam at the same time. You must take this exam -- no late make-ups. If for whatever reason you need to take the exam early, you must notify me at least two weeks in advance so that I can arrange accomodations.
NEW SU Writing Centre:
Starting November 1, we now have a Writing Centre on campus to offer additional help in all stages of the writing process. Located upstairs in "Herb's Place" in the Guerrieri Centre, the UWC welcomes students in 30-minute blocks on a walk-in basis. I do not require, but heartily recommend, that you take advantage of this resource. If you go, know ahead of time what you wish to discuss in your paper(s). Do not approach the Centre as a proofreading service, though--that's your job.
Related Websites for ENGL 102.008/.009

FAQs for ENGL 102.008/.009 --Answers on setting margins & page #s, making outlines, revising papers, etc.
Online PDFs for DRAMA section.
Online PDFs for SHORT FICTION section.
Online PDFs for Sarah Orne Jewett section.
Online PDFs for POETRY section.
The Goddess of All Dictionaries: the OED online -- USE IT!
The famous Spell-Checker Poem--indicates why not to trust Spell-Check on your computer or PC!

Essay Assignment Sites
Essay 1 (Drama) | Essay 2 (Short Fiction) | Essay 3 (Poetry)
Research Paper Assignment
Updated Schedules (highlighted as available); these sites overrule the paper syllabus schedule:
Contents on this site
(click to jump to the following sections below)
Course Decsription and Rationale Course Objectives and Goals
Required Texts and Materials Assignments & Grade Distribution
Essays Mandatory Research Paper
Poetry Presentation Final Exam
Quizzes, etc. Attendance & Tardiness
Participation Class Conduct
Cell phones, etc. Academic Dishonesty & Plagiarism
Students with Disabilities
This syllabus remains deliberately brief to allow flexibility to the unpredictable needs of students. Once updates are posted online, you are responsible for tracking due dates. To ensure that you do not miss class notes, familiarize yourself with at least two other students -- trade 'phone numbers or e-dresses so that you have two people to contact. I should be the last person you contact for any such information. Always consult the online syllabus and schedule updates before asking me any questions about assignments or the class.
»»Course Decsription and Rationale
Composition II is part of a two-course sequence in composition. C-level work in Composition I and Composition II demonstrates a student's ability to
  • formulate and support a thesis
  • inform, argue, and persuade
  • address a variety of audiences effectively
  • analyze, synthesize, evaluate and formulate arguments
  • support claims with adequate and relevant evidence
  • support generalizations with specific evidence
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    »»Course Objectives and Goals
    This course addresses three genres of literature: drama, short fiction, and poetry. Through class discussion, lecture, and writing we will analyze and evaluate assigned literary readings in terms of their literary, cultural, and creative elements. We will study how literary writers achieve the effects they do, and therefore will also learn a good deal of literary terminology. This course ultimately trains and tests both your analytical faculties and your ability to communicate what you find I clear and correct language.
    NOTE: SALISBURY UNIVERSITY REQUIRES THIS COURSE FOR ALL STUDENTS. YOU MUST EARN A GRADE OF C OR BETTER IN THIS COURSE TO PASS.
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    »»Required Texts and Materials
  • Murfin and Ray, Bedford Glossary of Critical and Literary Terms
  • Schilb and Clifford, Making Arguments About Literature
  • Maimon and Peritz, A Writer's Resource
  • A Manual/Casebook for Freshman English
  • active e-mail account & Internet access for online materials; some library reserve
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    »»Assignments & Grade Distribution (elements described below)
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    »»Essays
    30% of your grade consists of three essays. I will distribute essay assignments, either hard-copy or via the course website, far in advance of due dates. Each essay will ask you to pick a position to argue about the literature we will have read in each area (drama, short fiction, poetry). Type or clearly computer-print your essays written outside of class. The assignment handouts/websites will list other specifics for each assignment (margins, length, focus, etc.) in explicit detail. Follow these criteria carefully and exactly; failure to do so will drop your possible essay grade. Late essays will be penalized one letter grade for each day late, including weekends. After five days late, I will not accept an assignment and it will receive an F.
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    »»Mandatory Research Paper
    20% of your grade comes from a mandatory research paper. All 102 students will compose a research paper on the short story included in the Manual/Casebook for Freshman English. We will discuss the story and the critical articles that accompany it as a class. You are responsible for your own work/grade on the paper. We will discuss the paper, paraphrase, quotation, summary, and MLA citation style as a class. To dispel temptation to plagiarism, I will provide paper topics. (See "Academic Dishonesty/Plagiarism" section below.) Failure to complete the research paper will fail you from the course.
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    »»Poetry presentation
    During the poetry section of the course, you will participate in a group presentation on one or more poems. I will discuss with you far in advance what the presentation includes; in general, you will lead class discussion for your assigned day in terms of literary elements, theme, and explication. I encourage groups to meet with me during office time as well, before beginning/presenting. The presentation is graded separately from Essay #3 (Poetry). Each group member receives a separate grade.
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    »»Final Exam
    All 102 classes take a common final exam -- Monday 12 December 4:15-6:45 p.m., room t.b.a. See the Casebook for details and example questions. If you have completed all other requirements for the course but miss the exam, you will receive an "I" grade and need to make up the exam in the first week of Fall 2005. If you will miss the exam because of a University-sponsored event, that event's faculty sponsor must make arrangements with the English Department on your behalf.
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    »»Quizzes, etc.: You will take three "quizzes" during this semester, each one covering a genre of the course (drama, short fiction, poetry). I will determine the format of the quiz, but usually I will present you with a quotation from any of the works we will have covered in detail in class for that genre, and you will be asked to provide the work's title and author, speaker of quotation and/or who is addressed, and the quotation's context/relevance. These quizzes will test your reading comprehension and retention, as well as help prepare you for the kinds of questions you may be asked on the final exam.
    Additionally, the SU drama department will perform Antigone on November 10-13, and 17-20. You are required to attend one of these performances, and write a brief reaction/response/critique of the performance as part of your quiz grade. I will discuss the assignment and its requirements in class.
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    »»Attendance & Tardiness Your grade depends mostly on what you pick up from class discussion, so attendance is crucial. I allow you 3 absences (equivalent to a week of class) before I begin to penalize you. If you anticipate an absence, notify me in person or by e-mail; e-mail must be time/date-stamped at least 24 hours before your absence; this does not, however, excuse the absence. Tardiness disrupts class flow. Arrive to class on time -- not five or ten minutes later. Travel difficulties are immaterial. Three late arrivals will count as an absence. Check with me at the end of class to be counted on that day's roll; unless you check with me, you will stay marked absent.
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    »»Participation Simply attending class is not enough. Have assigned book pages read before you come to class. Always have a pen and writing material available for in-class notes. I also expect you to actively participate in class. Ask questions and offer ideas based in the texts. I do not give you participation points just for showing up.
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    »»Class Conduct Whether you agree with ideas and perspectives from the reading material or class discussion, you will show respect for those ideas, perspectives, and the people who hold them. This counts in class, on paper, and in e-mail. You will participate in class discussion in a polite, responsible, adult manner. ANY name-calling, derogatory or belittling comments, disparaging attitude or the like, directed toward either myself or another student, will NOT be tolerated One instance will receive a verbal reprimand; another will lose you all class participation points. After the first instance, it remains at my discretion to expel you from class and seek disciplinary measures from SU authorities.
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    »»Pagers, cell phones, beepers, PDAs, electronic alarm watches, etc. All such electronic devices must remain switched off during class time -- turn them off before class. If any of these in your possession goes off during class or conferences, you will automatically be counted absent for that session. This counts especially for exams. Repeated incidents of interruption by such devices and your checking/responding to them will result in your expulsion from the class.
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    »»Academic Dishonesty & Plagiarism You're here to learn and to prove yourself, not simply to accrue empty grades like a scavenger hunt. I will therefore pursue and prosecute any instance of cheating, plagiarism, or other academic dishonesty in my class with the utmost vigor, in accordance with SU policies. "Plagiarism" constitutes any of the following
    Any form of dishonesty will result in automatic failure from the course; will be reported to SU authorities; and could result in expulsion from the university.
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    »»Students with disabilities Please discuss with me during the first week of the semester any special accommodations you will require due to a verifiable disability.
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    Students remain responsible for knowing when assigned readings and essays are due. I advise you to collect 'phone numbers from at least two peers in class, so that you have someone to contact for assignments in case of absence. Check the website regularly for schedule updates. Avail yourself of my office hours as well -- instructor availability remains one of the key advantages of a small university. I welcome and encourage office visits for you to ask questions, further explore lines of inquiry, and to update me on how you think you're doing in the course.

    Notice: I do NOT hold conferences during the last two weeks of the semester before exam week--if you waited until then, it's too late.

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