English 106

Monday-Friday 1:30 pm
www.pondercomposition.ning
Emily Ponder Office: HEAV 123
[email protected] Office hours: M W 2:30-3:20

Welcome to English 106, the first year composition class for Purdue students! Our semester together will
take place in three different learning environments: a conventional classroom, a computer classroom, and a
conference room. We will be engaging in multimedia projects, including visual analysis and production, in
addition to more traditional writing.

Required Texts
Ruszkiewicz, Anderson, and Friend’s Beyond Words: Cultural Texts for Reading and Writing
Graff and Birkenstein’s They Say, I Say

Both textbooks are available at University bookstore Follett’s. You are welcome to get them online if you
prefer, as long as you do it quickly so you get them on time to begin reading.

I encourage you to consider acquiring a good college dictionary and writing manual. However, these
resources are also readily available (and free!) on the Web. For a style writing manual, I recommend using
Purdue’s Online Writing Lab (OWL) at http://owl.english.purdue.edu.

Writing
People say we are living in the information age. I say we are living in the communication age. Technology
has produced an explosion of new and exciting ways to communicate—everything from word processing
software to television commercials to Twitter—which constantly bombard us with facts, opinions,
arguments, and ideas. This means that in today’s world, literacy involves visual aspects, such as color,
images, and video, as well as spoken and written language. For example, when we “read” a webpage, the
choices in layout, font, and icons convey information which supplements the actual words on the page.
This course aims to provide you with a sophisticated understanding of this modern, multimodal literacy
within an academic framework.

The primary goal of English 106 is help students engage in effective, creative, and critical writing. To be a
successful writer in this communication age requires skills in a range of textual forms, visual design
components, and various media other than the standard paper, such as posters, videos, and webpages. In
other words, English 106 students learn to do much more than produce the typical college essay. The
Compose Design Advocate textbook will provide us with both traditional and nontraditional texts (essays,
posters, billboards, letters, etc.) we can use to better understand what makes different media effective. We
will explore how messages are communicated, how audiences (and we as audiences) respond to
communication, which will help you to create your own texts. Writing is a process. This means that while
the final product may be an act of communication, the process helps you to understand your own ideas and
how they relate to others’ perspectives.

To improve your writing skills, you will compose a variety of writing assignments which will occasionally
involve visual media. Reading comprehension is an important part of the course because good reading
skills are an essential aspect of good writing. There will be four major writing projects, culminating in a
project in the field of advertising. Writing is an inherently social affair, connecting the writer and the
reader in a dialogue through words and visuals. Modern advertising is an excellent example of successful
and pervasive multimodal writing. In this class we will not be critiquing advertisements, but rather
learning from them. Advertisements attempt to persuade an audience, a purpose that has been fundamental
to writing since the ancient Greeks first developed rhetoric millennia ago. Advertisers are among the
savviest writers in our culture, and they have much to offer in terms of rhetorical ability. Of course, this
class will also address traditional academic writing, which has a particular power and authority in addition
to more formal standards. Both genres are integral to modern writing and literacy. By the end of the
semester, students should be able to recognize these forms, know which is appropriate for a given situation,
and compose in either framework confidently and effectively.

We’re online
Our class will be using an online networking space called “ning.” If you’ve never heard of it, relax, it’s
easy to navigate and user friendly. You will be blogging regularly through ning, but our site is set up so
that the only people who can access your blogs are your fellow students (and, of course, myself). Online
communication is about more than just expressing your own ideas, though—the internet allows us to be in
constant dialogue with one another. You can always check the website for updates on the schedule, your
homework and short write assignments, and for any readings that aren’t from out textbook.

Every week you will be writing a blog entry of at least 2 paragraphs responding to that week’s readings, or,
if you prefer, a discussion we had in class. Your blog is due by11:59pm each Friday, but I encourage you
to do it earlier, seeing as you might have other plans for your Friday nights. You will also be commenting
on one another’s blogs. You have until 11:59pm each Monday to comment on at least one of your peers’
blogs.

Our website is: www.pondercomposition.ning.com Bookmark it—you’ll be there a lot!

Conferencing
Half of you will be meeting with me for conferences on Tuesdays, and the other half on Fridays. In the
first conference we will all meet at 1:30 to talk about the conferencing process in more detail. At that time
I will ask you to sign up for times to meet each student individually for 10 minutes. Because of our time
limitations, individual conferences mean you will conference every other week, instead of every week. For
each conference you MUST bring one of the following:
-A short passage of your writing, with at least two issues (structure, transitions, word choice,
etc.) that you would like to discuss. If you are still in the brainstorming stage of a writing
project, bring a list of ideas for potential topics.
-A short passage of reading from your homework (a paragraph from our book or a visual text,
such as a poster) and at least two questions you have about that reading
If you do not come prepared for the conference, or if you are late, you will be marked absent for that day of
class. When choosing your passages, please keep in mind that we will be working under strict time
constraints. Do not expect us to be able to work through the four pages of a rough draft in ten minutes.

Attendance
Attendance is required. I will be taking attendance every day. However, I understand that there are
legitimate reasons you might not make it to each and every class. Each student will be allowed four
unexcused absences for the semester. Missing a conference counts as an absence. At the fifth absence, I
will lower you grade one half letter (B+ to a B-, B- to a C, etc.), and I will continue to lower your grade one
half letter for every absence thereafter. That said, if you feel at all sick, especially if there are flu symptoms
involved, please do not come to class. Go to PUSH: they will not only help you feel better, but they can
give you a note that will excuse your absence.

Swine flu and other emergencies

As I’m sure many of you know, we are in the midst of a global pandemic of Influenza A H1N1, more
commonly known as swine flu. In the event of an outbreak of swine flu or any other major campus
emergency, course requirements, schedules, deadlines, and grading percentages are subject to change. Any
campus-wide emergency actions will be posted at www.purdue.edu. I will communicate any changes in
the Engl 106 syllabus via email.

Grading and Assignments

The Grade Equation:
Project 1 (20%) + Project 2 (20%) + Project 3 (20%) + Project 4 (20%) + Short Writings (20%) = 100%
There are four major writing project assignments in this course. Each project requires brainstorming,
drafting, and revision. First drafts will be due for every project, as well as design plans for projects 3 and 4.
These projects will be the focus of our class. However, good writing is a matter of practice. There will be
regular short writing and reading assignments both in class and as homework throughout the semester.
Your short write assignments will usually be submitted on our website as blog entries. In the end, the
cumulative short writings will have the same weight on your grade as any one project.

Short writings will be graded on whether or not they are completed satisfactorily. When I return the
assignments you will have a check mark (or something of that nature) to let you know you received credit.
For the blog short writes, I will issue my record of your satisfactory completion four times over the course
of the semester, and you can ask me about your status any time in between. 90% satisfactory completion is
an A for short writings, 80% is a B, and so on. Your class participation is also reflected in the short
writings portion of your grade.

Plagiarism
Plagiarism is the copying of another person’s work, words, or ideas without proper citation, even if it was
unintentional. We will talk about what constitutes plagiarism, and how to avoid it, more in class.
However, you must know that I will not tolerate intentional plagiarism. If you are caught plagiarizing, your
project will receive a failing grade. Furthermore, plagiarism can lead to disciplinary action by the
University. If you have any doubts at all about plagiarism in your writing, I encourage you to talk to me
about it through email, in conferencing, or at my office hours.

Late work
Every day that your work is late, your grade is lowered one letter. If for some reason you need extra time
to finish an assignment, talk to me about it at least three days in advance and we might be able to work
something out. Remember, communication is the key!

Cell phones and electronics

Portable electronics are a wonderful communication tool. However, in a classroom they can be disruptive.
While in class, your phone, pda, blackberry, etc. must be on silent. Texting during class is not acceptable
and will not be tolerated.

Disability
If you have a disability that affects your learning in any way, please arrange to talk with me about it
privately within the first week of class so we can make any necessary arrangements.

Schedule (subject to change if necessary)

Week 1: Aug. 23-Aug. 27
Introduction to each other and the course
Reading: TSIS “Introduction: Entering the Conversation”

First module: Identities

Week 2: Aug. 30.-Sept. 3
What is a text? How are identities formed in texts?
Reading: BW “The Body Piercing Project” 138-142

Week 3: Sept. 6-Sept. 10

Monday: No class for Labor Day
Composing texts and analyzing Facebook
Reading: BW excerpt from Persopolis 110-116
Week 4: Sept. 13-Sept. 17
Composing and revision
Reading: TSIS ch. 7 “So What? Who Cares? : Saying Why It Matters” 92-101
Friday, Sept. 17: Rough draft project 1 due

Week 5: Sept 20-Sept. 24

Analyzing visual rhetoric; ethnicity and identity
Peer review
Reading: BW Montage of Rolling Stone covers 136-137
BW “Lone Stars” 151-154

Second module: Media

Week 6: Sept. 27-Oct. 1
Audience, Editorial genre, choosing topics
Reading: BW “From YouTube to YouNiversity” 307-311
Friday, Oct. 1: Project 1 due

Week 7: Oct. 4-Oct. 8

Sources and plagiarism
Reading: BW “Telling War’s Deadly Story at Just Enough Distance” 280-283
Friday, Oct. 8: Rough draft project 2 due

Week 8: Oct. 11-Oct. 15

Monday and Tuesday cancelled for October break!
Composing with Style
Reading: BW “Fear of a Black Cinema” 296-299

Third Module: Science and Technology

Week 9: Oct. 18-Oct. 22
Academic genre, academic sources
Reading: TSIS Section 1 “They Say” 19-50
Friday, Oct. 22: Project 2 due

Week 10: Oct. 25-Oct. 29

Composing in Academic Style
Reading: TSIS section 3: “Tying It All Together” 105-138
BW “CSI: Reality” 368-372

Week 11: Nov. 1-Nov. 5

Argument and Stasis Theory
Reading: BW “Google Maps is Changing the Way We See the World” 348-352
Friday Nov. 5: Rough draft project 3 due

Week 12: Nov. 8-Nov. 12

Logic, science, and culture
Reading: BW “This is your Brain on Video Games” 381-384
BW “Baby, You Mean the World of Warcraft to Me” 385

Fourth module: Style and Design

Week 13: Nov. 15-Nov. 19
Visual media—analysis and composition, introduction to photoshop
Reading: BW Dove real beauty campaign 425-431
Friday, Nov. 19: Project 3 due

Week 14: Nov. 22-Nov. 26

No class Wednesday-Friday for Thanksgiving!
The Persuaders

Week 15: Nov. 29-Dec. 3

Advertising, analyzing ads and the Soul of the Brand
Reading: BW “Fearing Crime, Japanese Wear the Hiding Place” 452-454
Tuesday, Nov. 30: Design plan project 4 due

Week 16: Dec. 6-Dec. 10

Creating our own brands, workshops, peer reviews
Last day: presentations
Reading: BW “Head Case” 420-422

Final projects due Monday, December 13, by 5 pm