FINAL GRADES WILL BE DETERMINED BY THE FOLLOWING

• 10%: Participation*


• 10%: Midterm


• 80%: Essays (Outline, Draft 1, Draft 2, reflection) associated with each essay
  
  
  
  • Exemplification (10%)
  
  
  • Cause-Effect (20%)
  
  
  • Argument (20%)
  
  
  • Process-Analysis (30%)
  
  
  
  

*Participation

Your participation grade will be based on your attendance and your contribution to the learning experience of others.

• Attendance will be taken at most class meetings. If you are not yet present when role is called, let me know so you can be marked tardy.
  
  
  
  
  • If you are ill or will be absent for a good reason, let me know in advance.
  
  
  • You may receive points for attendance if you are representing your department or NCCU in an activity or participating in another worthwhile event.
  
  
  • Let me know if you are ill.
  
  
  • If you are absent without good reason for 6 class meetings, your final Process-Analysis essay will not be graded.  
  
  
  
  

• Contribution includes your in-class questions to the instructor, creative insights and comments regarding class content, answers to the instructor’s questions, and reactions to other students’ contributions (Points are awarded for peer review, forum posts, and any other activities).

Homework

Must be done before class.

Pay close attention to the instructions given in class and on Moodle!

Google Drive:  Your folder is where you should work on drafts. You must have one folder for each assignment. Your outlines and essays need to be in your Google folder to receive feedback during drafting and writing process from Dr. Sheridan and your peers. Your files must have proper names (see below).

Moodle uploading for official submission and evaluation:

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  • Date/Time due is the hour that class starts.
  
  
  • Cut-off is one hour after class on the due date. Nothing can be uploaded after this time.
  
  
  • Do not wait until the last minute to upload your work to Moodle because you may have technical problems.
  
  
  • For any assignment, 1 to 3 bonus points will be awarded for uploading the correct work with correct format by due date/time, with proper file names. You will not know for which assignments. Do not miss this chance for bonus points!
  
  
  
  

Late work:

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  • You must contact Dr. Sheridan in advance to request an extension in advance.
  
  
  • If you miss a class, do not assume you can hand in the work the following week.
  
  
  • IF work is submitted late without extension, 10% will be deducted from the grade for each week late.
  
  
  • In-class assignments and quizzes cannot be made up.
  
  
  
  

For online Moodle assignments, the assignment closes one hour after class on the due date.

Prepare before class: Textbook reading and exercises. You will be expected to be able to respond to questions about the textbook exercises. There may be unannounced quizzes on reading materials.

Documents and Files: Keep your files in Google Docs organized and labeled properly. Be sure to back up your work on a thumb drive/and or your computer. Keep all work until final grades have been submitted. Prepare hard copies when needed: You should have a multi-pocket folder or folders to keep your papers for this class. These will include the outlines and drafts for your compositions, peer review sheets, evaluation sheets, teacher feedback, etc.

Academic Honesty and Plagiarism: It is expected that you will do all of your own work and writing in this class. Copying and cheating of any sort, including online/electronic writing generators, will not be tolerated. If any are detected, the student will, at minimum, receive “0” for that assignment or exam. Regarding plagiarism in writing assignments, the student will have the opportunity to rewrite the assignment. If there is a second infraction, the student will fail the class.  

WRITING ASSIGNMENTS

• Assignments are due on the hour class starts on the due date. You must upload PDF with proper file name. See above for deadline details and below for file name model.


• For every assignment, you will save your work-in-progress in your Google G Suite folder.


• Files must be given proper file names in this format:
  
  
  
  • Class_Name+Student#_assignment_Draft (if appropriate) submission date
  
  
  • Ex: 112.1-Wed_HsuReiYong_111999999_CE-D2_22.09.30
  
  
  • (OL=Outline; CE=Cause-Effect etc.; D1=Draft 1; D2=Draft2)
  
  
  
  


• For each major essay assignment (below**), you will ALSO upload to the Moodle Assignment the following (all files and headers must reflect the assignment and draft):
  
  
  
  1. Outline (and any revisions)
  
  
  2. Draft 1
  
  
  3. Draft 2
  
  
  4. Your Reflection Revision Report
  
  
  
  

Format for written assignments:

• Typed and printed on A4 paper


• 2 cm margins on all sides


• All lines double spaced, even between paragraphs


• The title of your composition centered and NOT bold.


• First line of each paragraph indented 5 spaces.


• Use  the Header: At the top of the first page include:
  
  
  
  • Your Chinese name and either Romanization or “English” name
  
  
  • Your student number
  
  
  • The class of mine that you attend (Wed or Thurs)
  
  
  • A few words that identify the assignment
  
  
  • The date that the assignment is due
  
  
  
  


• Use “Footer”: At the bottom center insert a page number


• Save as PDF for Moodle upload

Detailed Information for Each Assignment is Provided on Moodle

EMAIL (Completion credit/not graded)

You will compose a short email about your motivations and goals for the course and send to the instructor

PARAGRAPH (In-class writing completion credit)

You will write a paragraph (200-300 words) describing your "Bliss Station" using the seven steps for a strong paragraph: a topic sentence, supporting evidence, and concluding sentence. 

OUTLINES

You will create and submit formal outlines for each writing assignment. Evaluation based on complete, detailed, properly formatted outline submitted on time.

EXEMPLIFICATION ESSAY

You will write an essay based on the “General Topics” or “Career-Related Topics” listed in the textbook. The essay content must derive from your experience and observations and follow the assignment description in Moodle.

CAUSE-EFFECT ESSAY

You will write an essay based on the “Reading-Based Writing Topics” that analyze the reasons and/or results of some situation or event. Although you will be engaging with the assigned readings, you are expected to reflect on your own perspectives and experiences .

ARGUMENT PROPOSAL ESSAY

You will compose a persuasive academic essay based on the “Career-Related Topics” (p. 243) in the textbook. The purpose is to make a proposal to solve a problem and persuade your reader to implement your plan. You must use good evidence , which must include citing articles that you find through your own research

PROCESS ANALYSIS ESSAY

For your last (mostly independent) essay, you will write an “Informative Process Analysis” essay reflecting on this course. It will include what you have done during the semester and your progress during the semester. It should reflect what you have learned in the course and so may include elements or narrative, process, argument, etc. You will need to refer directly to your essays, reflections, and comments from peer reviewers and your instructor. You will give a short oral report to the class summarizing the content during Week 17. You will not write a revision report for this essay.