GWRTC
103:
Critical
Reading
and
Writing
(Honors
Section)


Please
note
that
this
document
outlines
basic
course
policies
only.
For
assignments

description,
due
dates,
and
other
important
information,
please
visit
the
class
website




Where:
Harrison
117
(one
of
the
computer
labs
on
the
first
floor)

When:
T,Th
8am‐9.15am

Instructor:
Dr.
Pavel
Zemliansky
(8‐7056,
pzemliansky@gmail.com)

Office:
2285
Harrison
Hall

Office
Hours:
T,Th,
9.30‐12.00,
and
by
appointment


Class
Website:
www.pz‐writing.net/gwrtc



Course
Catalog
Description


The
course
emphasizes
the
process
of
constructing
a
focused,
logical,
coherent,
well‐
supported
thesis
or
point
of
view.
The
students
will
employ
research
and
formal

documentation
to
produce
writing
stylistically
appropriate
to
its
audience,
purpose

and
occasion.
The
course
also
places
emphasis
on
editing
for
clarity
and
control
of

conventions.
Instruction
in
writing
and
research
includes
critical
analysis
of
primary

and
secondary
sources
through
a
series
of
reading
and
writing
assignments.

Students
are
prepared
to
use
reading
and
writing
in
their
personal,
academic
and

civic
lives.

Why
This
Course
Is
Different
from
Other
Writing
Courses
you
Have
Taken
in

the
Past

You
are
probably
a
good
writer,
at
least
by
high
school
standards.
Maybe
even
better

than
that.
This
course
will
try
to
take
your
writing
abilities
beyond
what
you
can
do

already.
We
will
pursue
that
goal
through
three
main
means:


• We
will
work
with
both
words
and
images.
We
live
in
a
visual
culture
and

some
proficiency
in
understanding
how
images
persuade
and
how
to

communicate
and
persuade
using
images,
is
required
of
any
educated
and

literate
person.
Assignments
in
this
class
will
include
both
traditional
essays

and
“visual
writing”
where
you’ll
be
asked
to
compose
visual
and

visual/verbal
works.


• We
will
treat
writing
as
a
process
of
invention,
drafting,
on‐going
feedback,

and
editing.

• We
will
use
computer
technology
heavily,
but
responsibly.
Technology
use

requirements
will
be
similar
to
what
you
are
used
to
doing
when
you
are
on

the
web
in
your
spare
time.




Course
Goals
and
Objectives

At the completion of GWRIT 103, students should be able to use reading and writing for
inquiring, learning, thinking and communicating in their personal, academic, and civic
lives. They should be able to:

• Develop and support a relevant, informed, argumentative thesis, or point of view,

that is appropriate for its audience, purpose, and occasion (rhetorical knowledge)

• Analyze and evaluate information to identify its argumentative, credible, and
ethical elements; students should also be able to reflect on civic responsibility as
it relates to written discourse (critical thinking, reading, and writing)

• Demonstrate an understanding of writing as a series of tasks involving invention,
research, critical analysis and evaluation, and revision for audience, purpose, and
occasion (processes)

• Effectively incorporate and document appropriate sources (traditional and non-
traditional) to support an argumentative thesis, or point of view 

• Exhibit control over surface conventions such as syntax, grammar, punctuation,
and spelling that are appropriate for the writer’s audience, purpose, and occasion
(knowledge of conventions)


Course goals and objectives address the learning objectives of General Education’s
Cluster One for writing, which can be accessed at
http://www.jmu.edu/gened/clusterlearningobjectives.html

Program Requirements

The following course requirements for GWRTC 103 have been established by the
Writing Program and pertain to all GWRTC 103 courses taught at JMU:

1. Each formal essay assigned for this course must be focused on meeting the goals
and objectives of GWRTC 103 (see above).
2. Graded writing assignments for this course must total at least 5,000 words by the
semester’s end.
3. The course is conducted as a writing workshop in which students regularly meet
in small groups to discuss and respond in writing to assigned readings or student
texts-in-progress.
4. Students must attend individual or group conferences with instructors to work on
their writing.
5. Students must receive a written assignment for each formal essay.
6. No more than 20 percent of the course grade may be based on participation.
7. Each semester, two students in each section of GWRTC 103 will be required to
submit samples of finished, formally documented writing for the Writing Program
assessment. Instructors will provide these pieces of writing to the Assessment
Committee, according to instruction.
University and CAL Deadlines:

The deadlines for dropping and/or adding fall semester classes on e-campus are as
follows (dropping a class after these dates through the course adjustment deadlines
result in a “W” grade on the transcript and tuition charges):

Semester Class – Tuesday, September 1, 2009

The deadlines for adding classes with instructor and academic unit head signatures
are as follows:

Semester class – Thursday, September 10, 2009

Please be aware that giving a student an override into a full class does not
automatically enroll the student in class. The student must register on e-campus or,
if the add is made between September 2 and September 10, at the Registration Services
counter in Warren Hall.

The course adjustment deadlines (to withdraw with a “W” grade or change credit
options (from graded credit to credit/no credit or credit/no credit to graded credit))
are as follows:

Semester Class – Thursday, October 22, 2009

Required
Textbooks
and
Other
Materials

Both
textbooks
are
available
from
the
JMU
bookstore


• Ways
of
Reading
Words
and
Images,
by
Bartholomae
and
Petrosky

• Portfolio
Keeping,
by
Reynolds
and
Rice

• Online
readings
which
I
will
post
on
the
class
website

• You
are
required
to
have
a
reliable
and
regular
access
to
the
Internet
and
a

means
of
saving/backing
up
your
work


Class
Projects

Please
see
the
class
website
for
detailed
description
of
each
project.
Please
note
that

you
will
not
be
able
to
receive
a
satisfactory
grade
for
the
course
portfolio
unless
you

have
completed
every
step
of
every
essay
assignment.
These
steps
include
writing
all

the
drafts,
participating
in
in­class
and
online
peer
review
workshops,
conferences,

revising,
and
so
on.


• Four
essay
projects
with
revisions
40%
(10%
each)

• Course
Portfolio
(40%).
The
portfolio
will
be
published
online,
on
a
website

which
you
will
design
and
update
throughout
the
class.

• Class
Participation
(includes
posting
reading
responses
online,
class

discussion
participation,
work
in
small
groups)
(20%)



Plagiarism
and
Other
Matter
of
Academic
Integrity


There
are
three
main
types
of
academic
dishonesty:

• Plagiarism,
or
trying
to
pass
someone
else’s
work
as
your
own

• Collusion,
or
copying
other
people’s
material
without
their
knowledge

• Fabrication,
or
inventing
fake
research
data
and
using
that
data

JMU
has
set
up
an
Honor
Council
to
deal
with
all
three
types
of
academic
dishonesty.

Anyone
suspected
of
any
of
them
will
be
first
required
to
meet
with
me
to
discuss

the
matter.
I
will
not
differentiate
between
“intentional”
and
“unintentional”

offenses
when
deciding
whether
to
hold
such
a
meeting.
Penalties
for
these
offenses

will
include
failing
an
assignment
to
failing
the
class.
If
the
matter
is
reported
to
the

Honor
Council,
a
student
who
is
proven
guilty
of
such
an
offence
may
even
be

expulsed
from
the
University.

If
you
have
any
questions
about
academic
integrity,
it
is
important
that
you
ask
me

early
on
in
the
semester.

A
Note
on
Grammar


This
is
a
reading
and
writing
course,
not
a
grammar
course.
Therefore,
I
will
not
be

teaching
you
grammar
directly.
I
think
you
have
enough
grammar
proficiency
to

succeed
in
this
class.
We
will,
however,
attend
to
matters
of
writing
style
and

effective
editing.
You
will
also
be
provided
with
online
resources
for
matters
of

grammar
and
style.

Grading Policies and Grading Scale for Midterm and Final Grades

Because we are using a portfolio approach in this class, the system I will use for
evaluating your work will be slightly different from what you may have been used to in
the past.

Each time you complete en essay, I will read and assess that essay, but I will not assign a
“final” grade to it. This is because you will be required to revise and improve almost
everything you had written while preparing your portfolio. Should you want a
“hypothetical” grade on your work in progress, please let me know. Mind you, however,
that these hypothetical grades should not lull you into a false sense of security as each
new project will be different from the previous one.

A 93-99; A- 90-92; B+ 87-89; B 83-86 B- C+ 77-79; C 73-76; C- 70-72

80-82 D+ 67-69; D 60-66; F 59 or lower

The university required that each first-year student enrolled in this class receive a
midterm grade. In this class, these midterm grades will be “for information purposes” and
will not be factored into my calculations of your final grade in this class. However, you
should treat these grades seriously, as they provide a clue about your progress in the
class. If you would like to discuss your progress and standing in the class with me a
any time, please make an appointment to see me.


Attendance

Attendance
is
mandatory.
You
are
entitled
to
4
absences,
no
questions
asked.
After

the
fourth
absence,
I
will
deduct
one
half
of
a
letter
grade
from
your
class

participation
grade.


When
you
come
back
after
missing
a
class,
for
whatever
reason,
you
must
have

completed
any
homework
you
missed
and
be
ready
to
participate.
I
reserve
the

right
to
count
you
as
absent
otherwise.
This
policy
applies
to
all
types
of

homework:
essay
drafts,
reading
responses,
peer
workshops,
and
so
on.

Arriving
in
class
more
than
5
minutes
late
counts
as
one
half
of
an
absence.

So
do

repeated
late
arrivals
of
less
than
5
minutes.

I
reserve
the
right
to
count
you
as
absent
on
any
day
when
you
appear
unprepared.


Submitting
Your
Work


Increasingly,
the
professions
and
academia
are
moving
towards
a
“paperless”

workflow,
abandoning
printed
documents
and
exchanging
writing
online.
We
will

follow
the
same
principle
in
this
class.

All
work
in
this
class
will
be
submitted
online
and
following
specific
requirements

outlined
on
the
class
website.
No
printed
or
hand‐written
copies
of
any
assignments

will
be
accepted.
If
you
are
not
very
friendly
with
technology,
this
is
your

opportunity
to
learn.

Cell
Phones


As
a
courtesy,
please
turn
off
your
cell
phones
for
the
duration
of
the
class.
You
will

not
be
allowed
to
answer
your
phone
during
class.

Inclement
Weather
Policy



Check
the
JMU
homepage
or
the
local
radio
stations
(WMRA
90.7
or
WXJM
88.7)
in

case
of
bad
weather.
You
can
assume
we
will
meet
unless
the
whole
university
is

closed.




If
you
have
any
questions
about
any
of
the
above
class
policies,
or
about

anything
related
to
this
class,
please
ask.