Megan Little's Instructor Page

Course goals

This class is both content-driven and skills-driven. In terms of content, the goal of this class is to familiarize students with different modes of human subjects research, and especially, well-known studies around the theme of language use and identity. In terms of skills, the goals of this class are: to enable students to design heir own human subjects research study and perform a pilot run of this study, to enable students to analyze texts rhetorically, and to enable students to follow the conventions of academic discourse and produce good (great!) college-level writing.

Writing and assignments

This is a “substantial writing component” (SWC) class. That means we will write a lot. Almost everyday. Literally every week. And I will read almost everything you write, as will another student in class. We will spend time reading and responding to each other’s writing, both as a class and individually. Here are the different kinds of assignments (both writing and otherwise) that will form the bulk of your class grade.

Forum postings (20 points)

You will complete 10 forum postings (FPs) on the class website, each with a minimum 300 words and each worth 2 points of your final grade. While this is a lot of writing, my students in the past tended to find these useful. They are graded complete/not complete based on whether you answer the specific question or perform the specific task and have fulfilled the length requirement, so they are a great place for you to try out ideas and play with different writing styles. The only way your postings can be graded down is if they consistently show a blatant lack of effort, do not perform the assignment, or consistently fall below the required word count. If this occurs, I will talk with you privately.


Forums are a place for you to post questions about our readings. A perfectly valid posting, for example, might simply point out the confusing parts of a passage and try like heck to make sense of it. In other words, forums need not present a “flawless” and complete interpretation. Try something, be creative, take a risk, throw some thinking our way. I will also encourage you to use forum postings to jump start your ideas for formal paper assignments. Several students in the past have been able to copy and paste from their forum postings into their formal papers, or at least, build upon the kernel of an idea they started on the forum. The last forum posting of each unit can also be a working draft of your formal paper (discussed below).

One last thing about forums: they're public. Your classmates can (and will) read your postings, and I will respond to each and every forum posting with my own feedback on your thinking and writing. Some students are initially intimidated by this, but I've received almost unanimous feedback that students feel they benefit from reading each others' postings with interest. Some even read my feedback on others' postings. It lets you see what kind of writing and interpretation I find convincing, and also what kinds of statements I am prone to resist. This is important, as my responses are meant to model how members of the academic community would respond to you. In other words, my job is to help you enter an academic conversation, so I personify how members of a humanities- or social science-based discipline, such as rhetoric, would likely respond to your thinking.

Forum activities (part of class participation grade)

You will read and respond to each others’ postings and we’ll have several in-class activities and discussions inspired by your postings and responses. For example, perhaps several students are interested in the same passage. We’ll look at it together in class. Perhaps a student raises an important question, or there are two very different interpretations of the same piece of text. This would be something I’d ask students to talk about in class. I will keep track of your participation in forum activities, so missing a lot of class and missing these activities can negatively impact your grade.

Presentation (10 points)

You will also be expected to present some tentative findings from your human subects research study near the end of the semester. I will hand out a sign-up schedule and instructions for this presentation at the beginning of unit 3.

Instructor-led paper workshops

We will also engage in instructor-led workshops, meaning I will select sample papers and talk about them in class. Some students are reluctant at first about having their writing talked about. Since I use papers as examples of good writing and analysis, and don’t name names, most students aren’t worried about it. But if you are very uncomfortable with this prospect, feel free to come talk to me privately.

Peer review (part of formal paper grade)

We will also do in-class peer reviews, where you talk with a partner or partners about your papers. These are mandatory and a part of your formal paper grade. These cannot be made up outside of class. Please don’t miss them!

Formal papers (20, 20, 20 points, total of 60 points)

You will turn in three formal papers. These must be double-spaced, typed, 11-12 point font, 1 inch margins. Paper prompts will be discussed in class one week before the peer review session. Usually, you have the option of posting a working draft as one of your forum postings (on the class schedule, this means forum postings 3, 6, and 9 can be formal paper drafts). This way, you get my feedback on your paper before turning it in for a grade.

Reading

Expect a minimum of 2 hours of reading in preparation for each class. If it becomes apparent that students are not performing the required reading, I will have pop-quizzes that are part of your participation grade. A good way to avoid the pop-quiz scenario is to talk in class!

Participation (10 points)

Participating in this class is very important. This means reading the assignments, participating in forum inspired activities, writing thoughtful comments for your classmates on their forum postings, and talking in class. If you’re looking for an easy way to up your grade, it’s simple. Participate! Talk!

Grades

Based on the assignments listed above, the grading breakdown is:

Forum postings 20%
Participation = 10%
Presentation = 10%
Formal paper 1 = 20%
Formal paper 2 = 20%
Formal paper 3 = 20%

Late Work

Papers and other out-of-class assignments must be turned in at the time they are due. Because we have a tightly timed schedule, getting even a little behind can hurt you severely, and if a class day is planned around your writing, late work will hurt your classmates also. All late work will lose one full letter grade for every day (not class day) past the due date (for example, an A- paper due on Tuesday and turned in on Thursday is two days late—Wednesday, Thursday—so it falls to a C-).

If you cannot attend class on the date an assignment is due, turn it in early, arrange something with me in advance (such as an electronic submission), or ask a classmate or friend to drop it off during scheduled class time. There is no makeup of in-class work.

Attendance

You are expected to attend class daily, to arrive on time, to have prepared any assigned reading and writing, and to participate in all in-class activities. After three absences, your grade may begin to drop, and after six, you are at risk of failing the class. (The only excused absences are those taken for religious holidays and for official university business, and you are responsible for all work missed while you were absent.) If you find that an unavoidable problem prevents you from attending class, please discuss the problem with me in advance. I will take roll at each meeting.

The Department of Rhetoric and Writing policy on absences is that you automatically fail the class upon your fifth absence. This policy will be enforced in this class.

Computer Use and Availability

Computers are available to you in the Student Microcomputer Facility (SMF) on the second floor of the Flawn Academic Center (FAC). In addition, one benefit of being in a computer-assisted classroom is that you have access to the Computer Writing and Research Lab (CWRL) student laboratory, Parlin 102. This means you can use the computers (for CWRL classwork) during the lab's hours of operation, and you can print (course work for this class) for no charge.

Scholastic Responsibility

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. At the very least, you will almost certainly receive a zero on the assignment. A report of the incident will also be made to the Office of the Dean of Students.

Note: Ignorance about what constitutes plagiarism will not excuse a student or serve as a mitigating factor in adjudicating any instance of plagiarism. One thing you should learn in this class is how—and why—to properly cite and attribute sources, so if you do not know, you must make sure to ask.

You should read and understand the Statement on Scholastic Responsibility in The Student Guide to First-Year Writing. I strongly encourage you to use services offered by the Undergraduate Writing Center (FAC 211, 471-6222). The consultants at the UWC are trained to help you resolve your own problems so that all your writing reflects what you have learned.

If you have any questions about the use you are making of sources for your assignments, see me before you turn in the project.

Students With Disabilities

The University of Texas at Austin provides upon request appropriate academic adjustments for qualified students with disabilities. For more information, contact the Office of the Dean of Students at 471-6259, 471-4641 TDD.