REQUIRED TEXTS:

 

	Rise Axelrod & Charles Cooper: The St. Martin's Guide to Writing, 8th Edition
	Course Packet

Note: The literature textbook for this course has been replaced with a Course Packet.  This packet is a collection of readings from a variety of sources that have been saved in a pdf format and embedded into the individual webpages that make up the modular Sections of the course.  In order to successfully complete this class, you absolutely must do the assigned readings in the both Course Packet and The St. Martin's Guide. 

COURSE OBJECTIVES:

Upon successful completion of Web 1213 students should be able to effectively:

	Use the process of invention, drafting, and revising to construct original collegiate-level essays.
	Identify, analyze, and adapt essay content for appropriate topic, audience, and purpose.
	Evaluate the validity of ideas through analytical thought and problem solving.
	Locate, evaluate, and use conventional and field research; document according to MLA guidelines.
	Use established techniques to construct original  grammatically, mechanically, and structurally collegiate-level essays.
	Analyze, evaluate, and critique assigned essays/readings.

COURSE REQUIREMENTS: Must be completed to receive a grade of "C".

1. A summary of an argument
2. A critique of an argument
3. A short story
4. A critical analysis of a short story
5. An explication of a poem
6. A research paper
7. An at-home final essay test

OPTIONAL: Must be completed to receive a grade of "B" or "A".

8. A review (YOU MUST BASE YOUR JUDGMENT ON THE CRITERIA LAID OUT IN THE POWERPOINT PRESENTATION IN SECTION 9).

"B" Option: write a review of a movie on the Paper 8 Movie List in Section 9

"A" Option: write a review of a book on the Paper 8 Book List in Section 9

Note: in order to complete the "A" or "B" Option, you must obtain a copy of one of the books or movies on the lists contained in Section 9 of the Web 1213 Course Site. 

GRADES AND GRADING:

Your final grade will be determined by the grade level you complete—all students are required to complete Papers 1-7 for a grade of "C"—and your choice of whether to complete the optional paper (as well as which paper you choose).  Each paper will be marked ACCEPTED, EDIT, REVISE, or REWRITE.  You may submit only one assignment at a time, and one assignment per day.  Once each paper has been accepted, you may submit the next assignment.

	ACCEPTED: the paper fulfills the objectives of the assignment and is free of grammar, spelling, and punctuation errors.  The student should move on to the next assignment.
	EDIT: the paper fulfills the objectives of the assignment but contains grammar, spelling, and/or punctuation errors.   The student should fix the errors that have been marked, complete all the editorial instructions made by the instructor, and resubmit the assignment.
	REVISE: the paper needs improvement in organization, development, and/or style.  The student should fix the errors that have been marked, complete all the revision instructions made by the instructor, and resubmit the assignment.
	REWRITE: the paper does not fulfill the objectives of the assignment.  The student should start the assignment over again, using the instructor's comments as guides.

Notes: 

1. Again, you may submit only one assignment at a time, and one assignment per day.  Once each submission has been accepted, you may submit the next assignment.  However, you must wait until the next day to do so.
2. You get only four tries at a particular topic on a particular assignment (for example, the Formal Outline for Paper 1).  If, after your fourth submission, you have still not completed all the work required by the instructor in order to get the assignment accepted, you must choose a new topic and start over on that assignment.
3. Editorial instructions made by the instructor are not suggestions; they are requirements.  You must make all of them in order to get a new draft of an assignment accepted.

CLASS ACTIVITY SCHEDULE:

	This course is self-paced.  While you must complete a set amount of work in order to earn grades of "C," "B," and/or "A," the dates on which you turn in this work are up to you—with three important exceptions listed in the Notes section below.
	In order to earn a grade of "C," you must complete Section 1 through Section 8.  Since the semester is comprised of approximately sixteen (16) weeks, you must complete approximately one Section every two weeks in order to finish up the required work.
	If you wish to earn a grade of "A" or "B," you must move a little faster—especially since you must either read a book and or watch a movie and write a review in order to be able to complete either the "A" or "B" Option for Section 9.

Notes:

1. You MUST get Paper 1 accepted by the end of Week 5 or you will be Administratively Withdrawn from the course.
2. You MUST get up through Paper 3 accepted by Midterm or you will be Administratively Withdrawn from the course.
3. You MUST get up through Paper 7 accepted by 5 p.m. on the last class day or you will receive a grade of "F."
4. On the last day of class you may turn in only one (1) assignment—even if this means that you receive a grade of "F."

1. There will be absolutely no grades of "Incomplete" given in this course.
2. Students must complete all required major assignments in order to pass this course.
3. All major assignments must be submitted one at a time, and in the proper sequence (Formal Outline for Paper 1 first, then Paper 1, etc.).  Assignments submitted out of sequence, and/or multiple submissions, will not be accepted—and will be deleted, unread.
4. Students may turn in only one assignment per day.
5. Students may turn in a draft for a single assignment only four (4) times.  That means you only get four tries at a topic for a particular assignment (for example, Paper 1).  If, by the fourth try, you have not made all the necessary changes to your draft in order to get it accepted, you must choose a new topic and start over on that assignment.  There will be no exceptions.
6. You must purchase the St. Martin's Guide.  This text is required.  You cannot successfully complete the course without it.
7. It is your responsibility to know the final drop date—and the final class date—for this course.  The final drop date will be posted by the college.  The final class date is contained in the start-up message for the course that you will receive from your instructor at the beginning of the semester.  If you pass the final drop date and fail to complete all major requirements by the end of the final class day, you will receive a grade of "F".
8. It is your responsibility to know the Week 5 deadline and the Midterm deadline for this course.  Along with the final class date, these deadlines are contained in the start-up message for the course that you will receive from your instructor at the beginning of the semester.  If you pass either of these required deadlines without getting the required assignments accepted, you will be Administratively Withdrawn from the course.
9. All work must be typed in a 12-point font and double-spaced. Use black text on a white background.  Do not use colored text.  Do not use graphics.  Work which violates these guidelines will not be accepted—and will be deleted, unread.
10. All Web-based Composition II assignments must be submitted via e-mail attachments in files formatted in Microsoft Works, Microsoft Word, or a Rich Text Format.  Students may not submit compressed (zipped) files.
11. Save all your work.  All Web-based Composition II students compile an electronic portfolio which determines their grade at the end of the semester. Your final portfolio must contain all major assignments.  Your instructor will compile this portfolio for you.  However, in the event of a major malfunction on the instructor's end—it hasn't happened yet, but you never know—any work missing must be redone and resubmitted by you.  Therefore, saving your work is a wise precaution.
12. Again, all Web 1213 students must have up through Paper 1 accepted by the end of Week 5 and up through Paper 3 accepted by Midterm.  Failure to meet either of these deadlines will result in the student being Administratively Withdrawn from the course.
13. When you check in with your instructor, the instructor will inform you in writing about the last day to turn in work.  This date will be the absolute final day to turn in assignments.  Period.  Regardless of what day Final Exams end.  Any assignments received after 5 p.m. on the last day to turn in work for the class will not be accepted—even if this results in a grade of "F".
14. Students must use their MSC e-mail accounts to take the course, unless other arrangements are specifically approved by the instructor.
15. For another account to be approved, it must bear the student's name in some form.  Any correspondence (e-mail or attached assignment) from an account which is not the student's will not be accepted and cannot be returned.  

TECHNICAL PROBLEMS

1. Your technical problems are your own.  They are not the responsibility of the college, or the instructor.  
2. Technical problems on your end will not be accepted as an excuse for failing to meet the Paper 1 or Paper 3 deadlines.  
3. You cannot use technical problems on your end as an excuse for not completing the work required for a "C" by 5 p.m. on the last class day.  
4. Technical problems cannot serve as the basis for a grade of "Incomplete" in this course.

SHARED WORK

1. There will be no shared work whatsoever in Web 1213. 
2. Every part of every assignment (with the exception of cited quotes and paraphrases) MUST be completely the work of the student who is registered for the course. 
3. If you and a friend are taking the course together, you and your friend should never use the same topic for any assignment..
4. Students should not use papers turned in by other students (during the current semester or in semesters past) as "guides" or "examples"—never under any circumstances—and if caught doing so will be assigned a grade of "F" for the course on the first offense.
5. Students should not download essays off the Internet and attempt to turn them in, nor should they use such essays as "guides" or "examples"—never under any circumstances—and if caught doing so will be assigned a grade of "F" for the course on the first offense.

E-MAIL:

Dr. Andrew Geyer