ENGL306: Writing Seminar
Spring Semester 2001
Nethery Hall 205, 11:30-12:20, Tuesday and Thursday

Course Instructor

Bruce Closser
Office: Nethery Hall 116
Phones: 471-3172 (office); 473-5480 (home, before 9 p.m.)
E-mail: closserb@andrews.edu
Hours as posted

Course Librarian

Sabrina Pusey
Office: JWL
Phone: 471-6215 (office)
Email: puseysa@andrews.edu
Hours as posted

Texts

Hubbuch, Susan M. Writing Research Papers Across the Curriculum. Orlando, FL: Harcourt, Brace, 1996.

Please purchase or make available a three-ring binder to be used as your researcher's log book or journal.

Course Description and Objectives

ENGL306: Writing Seminar is the culmination of the writing sequence ENGL111 and 112 begun in the freshman year. This course assumes that you bring sharpened writing skills from those prerequisite courses, that you have chosen a major field of study, and that you are now ready to research a topic in that field and present the results in an academically acceptable written and oral form. This course is intended to help you:

  1. Understand the nature of the research process and the conventions of research writing including documentation and citing of borrowed sources.

  2. Discover and refine a topic for a research project which makes a significant contribution to your chosen profession or discipline.

  3. Develop or improve personal strategies for conducting research which you can apply to future research projects.

  4. Write a research project in your chosen field of study which successfully integrates the work of other writers.

  5. Practice and improve writing and speaking skills in presenting the results of your research for those in and out of your area of study.

  6. Cultivate an understanding of, and appreciation for research in other fields.

  7. Foster a community in which you can benefit from the giving and receiving of critical comments and advice in the spirit of Christian grace and tact.

Overview of Course Requirements and Policies

During the semester, class time will be devoted to a variety of activitiesclass discussions, small group meetings, conferences, library research, and public speaking. Since this is a research writing course, much of your time will be spent researching and writing a major paper in your field of interest. Initially class time will be devoted to discussing aspects of the research process common to each of you. Additional class time will be devoted to discussions of strategies for using the James White Library and Internet resources and to generation of ideas for your research, and discussion of these ideas with each other.

Once your research is well underway, class time will shift to individual research. In lieu of traditional class sessions, each of you will have several opportunities to meet with me to discuss your progress. At the conclusion of the course, each of you will present the results of your research in an oral presentation to the class. The schedule of events below outlines when each of these activities will occur.

Because the emphasis is on process, it is essential that you participate in every aspect of your paper's development. It will not suffice to produce a completed project at the end of the quarter. If you do not attend rough draft conferences and participate in and submit the groundwork assignments you will not have fulfilled satisfactorily the requirements of the class and will not receive a passing grade.

Your attendance and participation in each of these activities is absolutely necessary. Absences, excused or otherwise, may lower your final grade by as much as one full letter, depending on number and circumstances. I will abide by the University Bulletin policy regarding absences which states that students who miss more than 20% of the total course appointments may receive a failing grade. In this course, 20% is six absences. If you accrue more than six absences plan to withdraw from the course to avoid failure.

Since computers do malfunction, make a practice of saving your work regularly in multiple locations. It is your responsibility to keep copies of your work until the final grade is submitted.

It is also your responsibility to be able to prove "ownership" of the final paper. You must be able to produce on demand any research notes, source material (either the actual sources or photocopies thereof) used in your research. Evidence of academic dishonesty will result in either failure of the specific work or of the course in general.

All written work which is not completed in class must be typed, double-spaced, in 12-point, Times New Roman font, with one-inch margins. Follow one of the style manuals included in the textbook or provide a style manual for comparison.

Written work is due when announced in the Tentative Schedule of Activities below; if you are unable to meet a due date, please make prior arrangements.

Written and Oral Projects

During the semester you will complete the following written and oral projects. Instructions for each major project will be provided as necessary:

  1. Daily Work: As the semester progresses, you will produce a variety of written work, both in and out of class, culminating in a major research project in your major field. Since one of the purposes of this work is to record attendance, any in-class work missed as a result of absence will not be made up.

  2. Researcher's Notebook: This notebook is a record of your research activities during the quarter. In it you will store all notes, drafts, and source materials used in your project. Bring the notebook to class and to scheduled appointments since it will be used in a variety of ways.

  3. Proposal: Early in the semester you will write a proposal (3-5 pages of text plus an annotated bibliography and official Andrews University title page) for the research project you intend to produce during the semester.

  4. Research Project: Your research project (12-15 pages plus reference page and official Andrews University title page) represents the major writing effort for the semester. The project should grow out of an interest in your major field, though projects growing from other interests may be acceptable upon approval. The project should be original with this class; papers previously written for another course may not be revised or submitted for this course. Written work being conducted simultaneously for another class may be acceptable; speak to me in advance if you wish to exercise this option.

  5. Oral Report: At the conclusion of the semester you will present an oral report of your research to the class. You will provide a copy of the abstract from the proposal to each class member at the time of your presentation. Your oral report must include at least one "aid" designed to make your research accessible to an interdisciplinary audience.

Grading

To pass the course, you must complete all requirements in a satisfactory manner on the date due. In addition, your topic must remain relatively consistent during the semester. Any mid-term changes in topic must be approved in advance by the instructor.

Course activities will be worth the following percentages of the final grade:

Written work will be evaluated according to the grading form included in this document.

Your grade, based on the total number of points possible, will be determined according to this scale:

Tentative Schedule of Activities

The class will proceed according to this tentative schedule of discussion topics and activities. Due dates for major projects are indicated. Necessary changes in scheduling, will be announced. The page numbers in parentheses indicate the portions of the text book you should have read for that class period.

T/1/9

Introductions. Review syllabus. Create a business card.

R/1/11

Get-acquainted "mocktail" party. Swap business cards. The Researcher's Notebook (pp. 15-18)

T/1/16

What is a research paper? (pp. 1-12) Complete Facts, Inferences, Judgements exercise.

R/1/18

Small Group Work. Getting Started. Forming Research Questions (pp. 13-15, 19-25). Do ten assumptions and ten questions related to your major or field of interest.

T/1/23

Small Group Work. Explore Assumptions in Research Notebook. Apply strategies from pp. 26-33.

R/1/25

Working Thesis/Question Conferences. (See pp. 34-35 for examples of what you should bring to your conference.) No Class.

After completing your Working Thesis/Question Conferences, make an appointment for an interview with the course librarian. Your objective is to begin developing a working bibliography of useful research sources. At the time of this interview, discuss your Working Thesis and Research Questions with the librarian and find out where you can begin looking for your initial sources. As you will see, additional instruction in the use of the James White Library and the Internet are coming later. This interview must be completed before February 6. The results of the interview will appear in the methodology section of your Proposal.

T/1/30

Types of Projects (pp. 35-42). The Proposal. (See appropriate chapter for bibliographic style.)

R/2/1

Conducting an Interview with a content advisor (pp. 43-54). Conduct an interview with someone who will serve as your content advisor. Learn something new about your topic.

T/2/6 and R/2/8

Library Lectures. Meet in the James White Library. (pp. 54-80).

T/2/13 and R/2/15

Proposal Conferences. No Class. Meet with the instructor and the librarian to discuss a draft of your proposal. Submit a draft of your proposal to the instructor prior to your conference.

T/2/20

Reading Critically and Taking Notes (pp. 80-98) Submit Completed Proposal.

R/2/22

Reading Critically and Taking Notes (pp. 98-119).

T/2/27

No Class. Work Day. Use this time to read in your sources and take notes in your Researcher's Notebook. For each source you read, write a summary.

R/3/1 and T/3/6

Researcher's Notebook check. Bring your researcher's notebook for a check on progress. You should have notes/summaries for each article or book chapter you have read so far.

R/3/8 through R/3/15

Mid-Semester Break. No Class

T/3/20

Writing the Paper. Thesis Statements (pp. 120-144). Write an abstract of your paper.

R/3/22

Maps of the Territory (pp. 144-161). Create a map of your territory.

T/3/27

Incorporating and Documenting Sources (chapters 6 and 7).

R/3/29

Work Day. No Class

T/4/3 and R/4/5

Rough Draft Conferences.

T/4/10 and R/4/12

Final Draft Conferences. (Read Chapter 8.)

T/4/17

Presentation Preparation. Submit Project/Research Notebook

R/4/19 through

R/5/3

Presentations and Course Evaluation

Test week Grade Conferences. During this week sign up for an appointment with the instructor discuss your final course grade. Research projects and researchers' notebooks will be returned at this time.