The course is designed specifically for transfer students who require a course that acknowledges your prior experience, but also recognizes that a writing course geared specifically toward the demands of the Binghamton University can be helpful.

It helps students offers students an opportunity to learn how to research and write in academic settings. You’ll learn to search sources, analyze positions and develop arguments of your own.  You will produce written work that demonstrates your broad understanding of an issue, as well as work that argues for a position. You’ll also learn to use technology that makes research and writing easier, note taking strategies, and elements of academic craft, such as summary, paraphrase and quotation. We’ll explore strategies that can help you produce writing on demand, develop a clear and concise style, and compose effectively organized writing appropriate to the situations you that will confront you in your majors. We will also practice preparing presentations, a kind of writing that can extend and supplement your work. The principles, skills and strategies you’ll learn here are also intended to have value beyond an academic audience as well, so we will practice analyzing texts in terms of their purpose, form, and audience.

The course is as much about how writers, in particular writers who use research and write from sources, manage their work. You’ll be expected to use specific tools set up in a certain way, as you would in an art studio, athletic practice, or rehearsal space. The tools and strategies you’ll use in this class are intended to be adapted to other situations. They’re taught so that you can use them to manage the complex work of writing for school. You’ll be expected to use these tools and arrive at class prepared to use them.

Professor Robert Danberg, PhD

WRIT 212-01/212-02 Tuesday/Thursday

rdanberg@binghamton.edu

Office: Tuscarora 3C (CIW)

This course satisfies the requirements for a “J” course (the “O” and “C” requirements)

C requirement – Composition: Students in C courses will demonstrate:

• The ability to write effectively and coherently, in ways appropriate to the discipline and the level of the course.
• The ability to revise and improve their writing in both form and content.

O requirement – Oral Communication: Students in O courses will demonstrate:

• Proficiency in oral presentations.
• The ability to improve oral presentations in response to critiques.
• Skill in listening to and critiquing oral presentations.

Course Text

Richard Bullock, Norton Field Guide to Writing with Handbook 4E. ISBN 9780393264357

Materials

• Three Ring Binder
• Dividers
• Notebook paper in each section

Argument

   Students will be able to

• Assess the value of evidence in support of a position and its source
• Weigh the merits of an argument based on the relationship between claims and evidence
• Evaluate argumentative texts for persuasiveness, style and organization
• Identify issues in dispute and the positions that characterize them
• Differentiate between argument and opinion
• Identify and articulate arguments that run counter to favored positions
• Construct and execute a research plan that uses databases and other resources

Composing and Editing

  Students will be able to

• Use drafting, prolific writing and outline strategies to produce formal and informal writing
• Evaluate and compose thesis statements
• Create skillful openings and closings for research based academic writing
• Create annotated bibliographies and other informative texts with a post of view
• Use rhetorical strategies and appeals to analyze and create argumentative and informational texts
• Paraphrase, summarize, and quote appropriately
• Synthesize sources and integrate them into argumentative and informative writing
• Edit for clear, concise text and focused paragraphs

Presentations

   Students will be able to

• Deliver well-organized oral presentation with and without media (Powerpoint, prezi, etc.)
• Use iMovie and Piktochart to create visual representations of information and digital essays
• Prepare and deliver a short presentations for audiences face to face and online

Reading and Commenting

   Students will be able to

• Compose observations of colleague’s work to help colleagues revise
• Analyze their own texts for the purposes of revision
• Apply instructor comments to revision

Research

   Students will be able to

• Library Databases to conduct research
• Evaluate sources for credibility
• Identify characteristics of scholarly, academic, general audience, and advocacy sources

Technology

   Students will be able to

• Use Google Docs, Google Drive to draft and organize work
• Use RefWorks to keep track of research
• Use programs to produce digital essays and infographics

If you are experiencing undue personal or academic stress at any time during the semester or need to talk with someone about a personal problem or situation, I encourage you to seek support as soon as possible. I am available to talk with you about stresses related to your work in my class. Additionally, I can assist you in reaching out to any one of a wide range of campus resources, including:

1. Dean of Students Office: 607-777-2804

2. Decker Student Health Services Center: 607-777-2221

3. University Police: On campus emergency, 911

4. University Counseling Center: 607-777-2772

5. Interpersonal Violence Prevention: 607-777-3062

6. Harpur Advising: 607-777-6305

7. Office of International Student & Scholar Services:607-777-2510

In the event that you choose to write or speak about experiencing or surviving sexual violence, including sexual harassment, dating and domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, and rape, please keep in mind that federal and state laws require that, as your instructor, I notify the Title IX Coordinator, Andrew Baker. He will contact you and provide you with on and off campus resources and discuss your options with you. If you would like to disclose your experience confidentially, you can contact University Counseling Center, Decker Student Health Services, Harpur’s Ferry, Ombudsman, or Campus Ministry. For more information, please go to

• https://www.binghamton.edu/ivp/or https://www.binghamton.edu/rmac/title-ix/.

Students, especially first year students, often misunderstand absence policies in their classes. They interpret the fact that four or more absences have an impact on grades to mean that they are “allowed” to miss three classes. A more accurate way to understand an absence policy is this. Courses, like jobs, understand that students and employees will get sick. In fact, we encourage you to stay home when you are sick so that you won’t get anyone else sick. However, we set up clear boundaries so that you understand what is considered reasonable on an everyday basis, as well as when absences have an automatic impact on status. The expectation is that you will be absent only when you need to be absent. You are still responsible for work due on a day you are absent, for the work that is due the next class, for following up with a classmate or checking Blackboard, and for checking with your teacher. Missing class can have an impact on your participation grade if you do not keep up with class.

The only time absences are considered excused, or do not count as part of the absence policy, is when there are extraordinary circumstances, such as an illness which forces you to leave campus or a family emergency. Your instructor will request verification of those events. Also, religious observances do not count within the number of absences that have an impact on your grade, although “travel time” may.

• Three absences lower your final grade by a third (B+ becomes B, B becomes B-, B- becomes C+, and so on.).
• Four absences lower your final grade by a two-thirds (B+ becomes B-, B- becomes C, C becomes D+) becomes C+, and so on.).
• Five absences lower your final grade by a full letter (B+ becomes C+, B becomes C, C becomes D and so on.).
• Each additional absence after five lowers your grade by another full letter.

If you experience a crisis that prevents you from attending class and/or completing your work, speak to me. We will create a contract that allows you to complete work within a period of time I deem reasonable. Reserve all absences for illness or other unpredictable events such as transportation problems, unforeseen family obligations, and the like. All classes missed after the first week count toward absences.

Texting is not permitted in class. When you come to class, put your phone in airplane mode and put it in your backpack or bag. Lacking a backpack or bag, put it in your pocket. You need to “unplug” for the time you are in class.

Communication is extremely important to your success in class.  If you have problems with assignment instructions or personal or technical emergencies that have an impact on your performance in class, you must contact me.  When you contact me, we can, perhaps, arrive at a solution.  

If you have emergencies in your life or with family that you believe have an effect on your coursework, please contact me. When you contact me, we can, perhaps, arrive at a solution, including the possibility of a learning contract that enables you to complete your work and directing you to resources that can help. But you you must contact me as soon as your are aware of any problems.

In this document, you’ll find an “Email Etiquette” checklist. It’s meant to help you communicate with  professors, counselors, and campus administrators (and future employers) in a way that enhances your credibility. Follow the guidelines for email communication below so you’ll be seen as responsible and professional.

1. When you email me, use a salutation. Don’t write “Hey.” You can address me as “Robert” or “Professor Danberg.” In your first email, use “Dear.” You can use the greeting  I use when I write you back in subsequent emails.
2. If I send you an email with “please reply” in the subject line, reply.
3. When you close, use “Thank you” and use your first name.
4. If there are several exchanges over a single topic– a series of replies and questions– you’ll find that for efficiency’s sake the salutation drops way and the emails might in fact turn to phrases or even one word replies.
5. Don’t use abbreviations or the kind of spelling you’d use in a text.
6. Use complete sentences.  
7. Provide as much information as you’d think I need to understand any concern you have. If you have a problem, describe it, but keep it brief. If you find you need to go on at length, tell me you’d like to arrange for time to talk.
8. If you feel wronged, frustrated, or upset with recipient, keep your goal in mind when you compose your email. Your goals is not to express your frustration or anger, it’s to get information and find a solution. Assume the person you are writing to acts in good faith and is not an adversary. You don’t want to put that person on the defensive. Before you hit “Send,” save to your drafts and send it a few hours later, or even the next day. Have a friend read the email. Consider speaking in person, too, and sending an email that asks for time to speak.
9. In the subject line of the email, put the topic of the email.
10. Remember that in emails, tone is difficult to read. Re-read your email before your send it to makes sure it sounds the way you want to sound.  Avoid using humor unless you know someone well. You can use an informal, but professional tone.
11. Consider the purpose of your email. Is it to get information? Is it to explain something to me? Do you want to clarify something?
12. Don’t begin an email by telling me you are confused. Rather than present yourself as confused, show yourself to be conscientious and thorough by describing what you understand and asking a question. You’ll find that in academic and professional situations, people appreciate being asked for clarification, but they also want to see that someone has made her best effort to figure things out.

In specific instances, I may give a student who has fallen behind work and is danger of failing an opportunity to continue in the course. In the case of a learning contract, I will spell out, in specific terms, what must be done to pass the course. Contracts are not negotiable and always include the following: if the student doesn’t meet the terms of the contract, they will fail.

A primary goal of this class is to teach you how to use and document sources appropriately. If you have questions or are confused, please do not hesitate to ask. Any violation of the Academic Honesty Code, however, constitutes plagiarism, which can result in failure of the course or suspension from the University. The Academic Honesty Code defines plagiarism as:

Presenting the work of another person as one’s own work (including papers, words, ideas, information, computer code, data, evidence-organizing principles, or style of presentation of someone else taken from the Internet, books, periodicals or other sources). This includes:

• quoting, paraphrasing, or summarizing without acknowledgement, even a few phrases;
• failing to acknowledge the source of a major idea or ordering principle central to one’s work;
• relying on another person’s data, evidence or critical method without credit or permission;
• submitting another person’s work as one’s own or using unacknowledged research sources gathered by someone else. (http://bulletin.binghamton.edu/integrity.htm)

Classroom and Studio Conduct Policies (adapted from the Classroom and Studio Conduct Policy of the Institute of American Indian Arts, The College of Contemporary Native Arts)

This writing class is conducted in the form of a studio. Each individual contributes to the success of the other members of the community. All students are expected to conduct themselves in a manner that contributes to a positive learning environment. Conduct that distracts others or detracts from and disrupts the community has no place in the studio.

To maintain a positive learning environment, all students are expected to observe these guidelines. Students are expected to:

• Show respect for classmates and for the instructor
• Be open to new ideas
• Be willing to try new techniques and projects
• Demonstrate a positive attitude
• Be willing to learn and change
• Be prepared for class
• Respect other student’s work, thoughts, and feelings
• Support other students effort to change, grown and take risks

Discourteous, destructive, or disruptive behavior is never acceptable in the studio or classroom.

The first time you engage in these behaviors, you will be asked to stop. If you persist, you will be asked to leave the classroom and counted absent. That absence will contribute to your total absences for the semester and can affect your final grade and will affect your studio grade. This conduct includes

• Undermining class, especially group work, by coming to class unprepared: ex., no reading notes or drafts, without required assignments, The Common Sense, binder, and composition book
• Exhibiting disrespect toward classmates or the instructor
• Exhibiting anger inappropriately in any form (speech, body language, gestures)
• Non-participation (refusal to do assignments, indifference, sleeping in class)
• Engaging in cross-talk (carrying on a private conversation)
• Texting or talking on cell phones or using the phone to check email, listen to music, or conduct online activity unrelated to class work (cell phones must put in airplane mode during class unless they are being used as part of research for a class assignment) Listening to music on headphones except during nonstop writing or individual writing
• Using the computer for personal use (checking email, listening to music, surfing the web, chatting, instant messaging) during class time
• Eating or drinking beverages

You need consistent access to a working computer and printer for this course. BU students have limited computer and printing privileges in campus labs, called “PODs”: you may use campus computers during regular PODs hours and print up to seventy-five pages per week at no cost, but if you go over quota, you must use a BUC$ account to pay for material printed on campus. Whether you use your private computer and printer or public ones, however, you alone are responsible for saving and backing up all of your written work: if you fail to do so, you risk missing course deadlines, which can lead to a lowered grade. A crashed computer or accidentally deleted assignment will not excuse a late or missing assignment. A broken computer will not excuse you from submitting an assignment.