FAQs

=Dr. Archibald's English Composition Course=

FAQ: English Composition ENGL 110

[Last updated: 09/02/08]

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

-- Where can I find news of regular updates of the course? -- How can I contact you if I have a problem or question -- What are you looking for with the Discussion Board responses to the essays we are to read? -- When are assignments due? -- What do you mean by "significant revision"? -- How do you read our papers?
 * New ! Extra credit of discussions (9/15)
 * New new ! Note on MyCompLab due dates (9/10)

Q. Where can I find news of regular updates of the course?

A. Check Wikispaces home page and the link to the Daily Jing. I will be producing a Daily Jing every day of the course--MWF. Daily Jings are narrated screencasts that take your through the web pages of the course while highlighting what is new and what is due as well as portions of the schedule or syllabus or assignments that need your attention.

Q. How can I contact you if I have a problem or question?

A. Phone: Please call me anytime. My phone #s are Off. 872 3937 or H. 872 0176. I am glad to talk to you about any aspect of the course.

A. Email: 1) I get a tremendous amount of email so do not email me unless it has to do with a pressing course question, some personal issue, or an emergency of some sort and you can’t reach me by phone. If you have a course question that others can benefit by an answer, please post it to the Wikispaces home page discussion and I or some other class member will answer it. 2) Please, please, please if you must email me have the courtesy to address me, ask a specific question, and sign your full name with the section number of the course you are in (i.e., 110.50). Also, write in complete, grammatical sentences where you capitalize the first word of the sentence. Do not use abbreviation such as “u” for “you”. Informalities such as this one and others associated with IM-speak are not appropriate in a college level course. Following these directions will get you a prompt and friendly reply. Neglecting these rules will get you silence and then a request to resend.

A. Virtual office hours/Chat: I will be having VO/chat sessions in Wikisapces several times a week. Also, I will be in my office 1:00-2:00 T&R. See my complete office hours schedule in the syllabus.

A. My office: If you are on campus feel free to drop by during my regular office hours (in 104 Chryst) or call and make an appointment.

Q. What are you looking for with the Discussions responses in Wikispaces?

A. See this [|link]. **Rule of thumb**: The discussion boards are places where students should join in conversations related to the course readings and materials. These conversations can't be specified in any real way as to length of response or number of responses--no one thinks of a conversation in these ways!

I do look for engagement with the material. You have the option to respond to any of the questions posed for each reading or you can post your own question. I do this because some questions might engage your attention more than others so be flexible and follow your interests. In regard to the questions you do respond to: respond with more than a sentence or two and bring in some background knowledge to show your engagement with the issue.

Try to state your opinion and quote from the reading but also if you choose reply to other class member's responses with comments and questions in order to produce a threaded discussion/conversation.

New Extra credit for discussions:
 * If you go beyond the 2 substantial responses each week and post more responses--1pt Xcredit.
 * If you submit a question for discussion, place it correctly for others to discuss, write it so it deals with the topic under discussion, and at least 3 people not including yourself respond to it--1pt Xcredit.

Q. When are assignments due?

A. Assignments will usually be due (unless noted differently directly in the assignment) the morning (by 6am EST) after the day it is posted as due. (So if the assignment is due on a Monday, it is finally due Tues by 6am EST). Partial credit may be given for late assignments--it depends on their quality. [See the section on MCL due dates below and the syllabus for more detail about due dates. ] If you do not turn assignments in at all you will receive zero credit. Work or childcare or. . . whatever is not an excuse for missing assignments. If you have an emergency then contact me beforehand the assignment is due and we will work something out.

New ! MyCompLab is not forgiving when it comes to assignment due dates. When the due date passes the assignment becomes unavailable and you cannot post to it. I have gone into every MCL assignment (see * below) and added grace days. These grace days are extra days for you to post the assignment. The assignment is still due on the due date described in the Course Schedule but the grace days add extra time for emergencies. After the final grace day date there will be no way to post that assignment and you will receive a zero grade on it. Also, do not post one assignment into another assignment's slot--it will be returned to you.
 * Exception**: The four course papers are due at particular times during the course as described in the Course Schedule, but you will be able to post any final course paper late with penalties (see the syllabus-3procedures for an explanation of these late paper assignment penalties) until the last day of class: Dec 8th.

Further explanation : If I set an assignment due in MyCompLab for say, Tuesday, that assignment will expire at 12.01 am (a minute after midnight) //on// Tuesday. So in effect you will have only ONE MINUTE on Tuesday to submit that assignment before it disappears. Is this clear? If you have questions ask them in the discussion tab above.

Subject: Questions concerning posting peer responses

Q1. (forthcoming)

Q. In what other ways can my group members be helpful?

A. Please keep in contact with your group members. Send each other e-mail, read them, and reply to them in a timely fashion. If you do IM than set everyone up to receive your messages. I'm not the only one who can give you information and support. Help each other.

Q. What do I do if I have technical problems?

A. If you're experiencing technical problems in respect to common computer and Internet browser issues contact the MU Help desk: 871 2371. If you are having trouble with MyCompLab or Wikispaces email me and I will try to help you. If I can't I will connect you with someone who will.

Q. What do I mean by "significant revision"?

A. For one thing, it is not line editing. You edit a paper after you've written and revised your final draft. In order to revise your papers, you must deal with macro level changes--additions, deletions of text, reorganization, elaboration and refinement.

Often you end up with a quite different paper when you successfully revise. Most of us write to learn what we want to say and by the end of the first draft we have a pretty good idea. In the next draft we then need to bring these ideas that have occurred to us at the end of the first draft and integrate them into the beginning. The first draft of an essay is usually always an exploratory draft.

Professional writers polish their drafts forty and fifty times before they are satisfied. I want you to experience a small portion of this process so you can see why writers say that it is when they revise over and over again is when the writing comes clear. Of course, we can't ignore the fact that the pay off here (in this class) is a grade. But let's try to ignore that temporarily and concentrate on risking something with our writing—don’t be satisfied with your first effort at writing. Sure you can't put these papers aside for weeks to see what might be lingering in them that calls to you sweetly the next time you pick them up. But I'm telling you, that if you work the process, take an idea and re-see it through several drafts, and listen to what your readers say about your writing, you will come up with something new and unexpected.

Here’s a popular misconception: I'm not asking you to do two different papers as some might feel. Revision is not some mechanical act that you perform by changing this or that because someone (me) has made it a requirement. Revision is a requirement in this class because I believe that it is a worthwhile practice. I expect that in light of the requirement that you will discover how best to fulfill it. There is no one way—not even writing a whole new paper. Revision happens when you get new ideas not when you focus on a requirement. Learn to be creative within this or any requirement. A requirement at face value is always a dead thing. The rote practice of a requirement will always merely give you what you already know. Use the requirement to risk something, to open yourself up to new knowledge.

Read the paper examples I've posted for you, take your peer's advice, go to the Chryst Writing Center—anything to get you started on a new idea for your paper. Get an idea and then change the direction of your essay so it reflects this new idea. Writing is hard work and it doesn't end with the first or second or even third draft. Try it.

Q. How do you read student papers?

A. I am going to read and comment on them in MyCompLab computer. I compare the rough draft and final draf versions to see if the student has revised. Note: Those who have not revised their paper can expect only a “C+” grade or lower. (My details forthcoming about MyCompLab and grading.)