GOALS
RHE306 - Rhetoric & Writing is a course in argumentation that situates rhetoric as an art of civic discourse. It is designed to enhance your ability to analyze the various positions held in any public debate and to advocate your own position effectively. Your work in this course will help you advance the critical writing and reading skills you need to succeed in courses for your major and university degree.

You will learn how to

1. Read critically
2. Identify, evaluate, construct, and organize effective arguments
3. Conduct library and web-based research and document sources
4. Edit and proofread your own and others' prose
5. Produce a clean, efficient style and adapt it to various rhetorical situations
6. Advocate a specific position responsibly

ATTENDANCE
The Department of Rhetoric & Writing has established an attendance policy for all RHE 306 sections; any questions or appeals concerning this policy must be made directly to the Chair or Associate Chair. You are expected to attend class, to arrive on time, to have prepared assigned reading and writing, and to participate in all in-class editing, revising, and discussion sections. Should you miss the equivalent of five class sessions this semester, excused or not, you will fail this course. Tardiness can also affect your grade; for every three times you are more than 5 minutes late for class, you will receive one absence. If you find that an unavoidable problem prevents you from attending class, you should contact your instructor as soon as possible, preferably ahead of time, to let him or her know.

You will not be penalized for missing class on religious holy days. A student who misses classes or other required activities, including examinations, for the observance of a religious holy day should inform the instructor, in writing, well in advance of the absence, so that alternative arrangements can be made to complete work. If you know you will have to miss class(es) for this reason, provide your instructor with the date(s) as early as possible. Please note that the University specifies very few other excused absences (e.g., jury duty or military service). When you must miss a class, you are responsible for getting notes and assignments from a classmate.

LATE/INCOMPLETE ASSIGNMENTS
All assignments must be completed in order to pass this class. Though some assignments will not be graded - that is, the grade is purely advisory - if a student fails to complete the assignment, they will be penalized on future assignments. For example, if a student fails to turn in Paper 1.1, twenty (20) points will automatically be deducted from Paper 1.2.
Additionally, papers turned in late will be penalized one (1) letter grade per class day.

GRADING POLICY

• Assignment...................Grade
• Paper 1.1..........................Advisory
• Paper 1.2..............................15%
• Paper 2.1..............................15%
• Paper 2.2..............................15%
• Paper 3.1..............................15%
• Paper 3.2..............................15%
• 6 Short Assignments................20%
• SPURS/Wiki.............................5%
• Peer reviews....................Mandatory
• Participation.....................Invaluable

SCHOLASTIC HONESTY
Turning in work that is not your own, or any other form of scholastic dishonesty, will result in a major course penalty, possibly failure of the course. This standard applies to all drafts and assignments, and a report of the incident will be submitted to the Office of the Dean of Students and filed in your permanent UT record. Under certain circumstances, the Dean of Students will initiate proceedings to expel you from the University. So, take care to read and understand the Statement on Scholastic Responsibility. If you have any doubts about your use of sources, ask your instructor for help before handing in the assignment.

CLASS PARTICIPATION

RHE 306 requires your intense participation in class activities. To state the obvious: you need to read assignments carefully and critically and to contribute enthusiastically to discussion. The success of this course—what we learn and whether we are engaged or bored— depends on all of us. Student discussion is essential. For this course to be worth your time and that of your colleagues, you must be and active participant in every discussion and response. If I find that students are not coming to class prepared, I reserve the right to call on students whether or not their hands are raised and to give pop quizzes. I also ask you to contribute to our Class's Immigration Vocabulary Wiki once a week. I will monitor your contributions to the wiki and will make frequent references to it in class discussions.

UNDERGRADUATE WRITING CENTER
You are strongly encouraged to attend the Undergraduate Writing Center in FAC 211 (471.6222), which offers free one-on-one writing consultations with trained specialists. UWC consultants are trained to help you develop and improve your writing in ways that preserve the integrity of your work.

SPURS

Ours is one of 12 Rhetoric and Writing classes at UT that will be participating in Students Partnering for Undergraduate Rhetoric Success (SPURS), a program that pairs lower-division writing classes at UT with 11th grade AP English Language and Composition classes from underrepresented high schools in Texas. You’ll communicate electronically with students from our partnering class at Del Valle and write a formal peer review of a rhetorical analysis paper they’ll write. I’ll make two site visits to Del Valle, and, if possible, our partnering class will visit UT and attend one of our class meetings. For more information, please see the SPURS web page

STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES
The University of Texas at Austin provides upon request academic adjustments for qualified students with disabilities. If you have a disability that you feel might affect your performance in this class, please notify your instructor early. For more information, contact the Office of the Dean of Students at 471.6529, 471.4641 TDD.

COMPUTER USE AND AVAILABILITY
Computers are available to you in the Student Microcomputer Facility on the second floor of the FAC. If you have not already done so, you should get your Individually Funded (IF) account number for the SMF immediately by going to ITS Accounts. For CWRL classes, you are invited to use the CWRL open lab at PAR 102. Also, the University offers every student 75 megabytes of free Webspace for personal document storage and website creation. Austin has an increasingly large number of free public wireless Internet hotspots, which you can find out about here.

EMAIL ACCOUNTS
Email is an official means of communication at UT Austin, and your instructor will use this medium to communicate class information. You are therefore required to obtain a UT email account and to check it daily. All students may claim an email address at no cost by clicking here. Please feel free to email me with your questions and concerns. It may take me up to two days to respond, so please do not expect an immediate response. If your question is a lengthy one (about writing, etc.), I may ask you to visit me during office hours.

*Adapted from the "Policy Statement, 2007-2008" provided by the Department of Rhetoric and Writing. Questions about these policies should be addressed to Department of Rhetoric and Writing at 512.471.6109 or rhetoric@uts.cc.utexas.edu.