Course Syllabus

Writing the Research Essay

English 201

Introductory Remarks

This English 201 course is taught completely online; you are not required to attend classroom sessions on campus. However, this is not a correspondence course, completed on your own timetable in isolation. There are specific deadlines, and you will be communicating with your instructor and classmates regularly.

At the end of this course, students will be able to write a humanities-style research essay which includes as part of its composition or process:

• Write an objective summary of a complex college level essay
• Critically evaluate source material, in terms of style, tone, logic, overall persuasiveness
• Write a critical analysis of source material
• Synthesize source material and integrate it into students’ writing smoothly and appropriately
• Be comfortable using library sources and materials
• Use an appropriate note-taking system
• Cite sources properly, both in text and on Works Cited pages
• Be able to develop, organize and support a clearly defined thesis in a 8-10 page research essay
• Fine-tune group feedback and editing skills
• Have a firm grasp of grammar and mechanics and be able to edit their own work

If you signed up for this course thinking that it would have less work than a course in the classroom, you were mistaken. Any online course has more writing work than a class on campus as all of our communication must be written. Please be advised that the workload may be very difficult for you if work and/or family demands do not allow you a minimum of two to three uninterrupted hours every weekday to work on the assignments for this class. I have tried to focus and space assignments to facilitate as many learning styles as possible, but extra time may be needed, especially around essay writing/editing time.

What do I have to do for this course?

Grading

Weekly Discussions (7 at 25 each)                                   175

Response Essay                                                               50

Three Potential Topics                                                      25

Informative Research Essay                                             100

Short Argument                                                              200

Peer Reviews (3 at 50 each)                                             150

Research Project                                                             300

Total                                                                             1000

To figure out your grade at any time, simply divide the total points you have earned by the total points you have submitted to that point. I use standard percentage markings:

94-100% = A, 90-93.9% = A-, 87-89.9% = B+, 84-86.9% = B, 80-83.9% = B-, and so on. ..

You must complete all assignments to receive a passing grade in this course. The instructor reserves the right to adjust assignments or points as needed throughout the quarter. Students will be notified when this happens.

Reading: There will be a tremendous amount of reading in this course. The average amount is 10-15 pages per day. I strongly suggest that you read these pages as early as possible. Your best plan is to read them the weekend before so that you will be ready to participate in the Weekly Discussions. There is no point value for reading (I can’t exactly look over your shoulder while you do it) but every assignment is based upon the reading. DO THE READING.

Discussion: You are required to participate in discussions every week. Grading for each weekly discussion will be purely subjective. You will be graded based upon the depth and quality of your participation, not the number of times you post. However, you must contribute at least 5 substantive posts each week in order to achieve ANY credit.

How to be Successful with Weekly Discussions

Essays: You will write 1 response essay (1-2 pages), 1 informative research essay (3-4 pages), and 1 short argument essay (3-4 pages) in this class plus a final large (8-10 page) research essay. The process for writing, revising and submitting work is on a tight timeline. We will follow this process for all essays (except the response essay):

1. You will post an original, self-revised draft of each essay to the discussion area in the appropriate peer review forum by the date on the calendar. This draft MUST be attached to a message in the correct forum. If you expect to get help on your essays, you must post them early. Essays posted late in the review process may be overlooked by other students as the deadline nears.
2. While you wait for comments on your essay, you will give peer comments on two other class members' essays which have been posted. Specific guidelines for this process can be found below in Peer Review.
3. After giving comments, collect the comments on your essay. Then, revise and edit your essay before submitting it on Canvas by the date and time listed on the calendar.
4. Directions for submitting your final draft to me are posted in the Course Info. Once the essay crosses my virtual "desk," its grade is permanent.

You can find sample research essay on pages 309-314 in Current Issues and Chapter 21 in The Bedford Researcher. Take note of not just the content but also the format. All essay assignments must be double spaced with a 12-point font and no extra space between paragraphs. We will be learning to follow the rules of MLA formatting so you will need to make sure that your essays look just like these. Written assignments must be submitted by midnight on the due date.

Peer Review: Much of what you will learn in this course will come from participating in a peer review of others' essays. Do not fail to participate in this area of the course. In general, to participate successfully in peer review, you will complete these tasks:

Helpful Hints for Effective Peer Reviewing

(1)   You will analyze two other students' essays using the Peer Review guidelines. You MUST follow the Peer Review guidelines completely in order to earn full credit for comments on student essays.

(2)   After you have analyzed and evaluated each student essay, copy-and-paste your evaluation of each essay as a REPLY to the essay you reviewed in the peer review forum. Remember this work must be completed at least 24 hours before the essay's due date and time according to the class calendar. If you fail to meet these deadlines, you will NOT receive points.

(3)   Peer Reviews must be submitted on time. There will be no extensions.