English W240 Community Service Writing


Leadership and Civic Engagement ENGLISH W240 - Community Service Writing Spring 2008, Tarez Graban

	Description & Goals • Schedule Updates • Course Resources • Assignments
Course Policies	required materials
	Fieldworking: Reading and Writing Research, Third Edition (available at IU Bookstore) iX Visual Exercises CD-ROM (available at IU Bookstore) Additional readings (from eReserves--you must print these and bring them to class). Please note that you can "roll over" any unused printing balance from last semester by visiting Print Services Management Hardbound notebook for fieldnotes (this must be hardbound and should be a separate notebook from the one you use to take notes in class since I will be collecting it periodically) Access to the following software: Microsoft Office, Adobe Reader, a Web browser, and a working Indiana University e-mail account (available on any UITS computer across campus).
	service hours
	Unlike most courses you have probably taken at Indiana University, W240 is a Service-Learning course--a course that integrates community service into academic learning and vice versa. You will be selecting one of five community agencies for your individual service hours and research project, and you will need to commit to spending a minimum of 20 hours over the semester at that agency (or 2 hours per week). These service hours will serve a double function: they will help you understand more about the ins and outs of the culture you are studying; and they will allow you to be an informed collaborator in creating something that you can give back to the agency, by way of your individual research project and group public document project. You must satisfactorily complete all service hours in accordance with Community Partner expectations--including attitude, decorum, and engagement--and you are expected to meet your weekly schedule and to notify your supervisor as soon as possible whenever you are unable to do so. Contact your agency's ACE (Advocate for Community Engagement) as soon as possible in the first week of class to set up your orientation and get started filling out any paperwork that is required before you can begin your service
	attendance
	Classes like this are most successful when we build intellectual community. Undertaking a field research project involves several stages, which we will negotiate together as a class. For that reason, attendance is required. If you know you will have to be absent for an official university-sponsored event—or in the event of illness, religious holiday, military duty, or dire emergency—please contact me in advance so we can arrange for you to make up what you miss and to turn in what’s due. More than 4 absences will result in your final grade being dropped by 1/3 of a letter grade for each additional absence. Excessive lateness will count as absences.
	late work
	Unless otherwise specified, all assignments must be submitted at the beginning of class on the day they are due without exception. I make every effort to post and distribute assignments well in advance so that there are no surprises. This means you should plan ahead to get them done, and you should make preparations to print them well in advance of class so that "computer crises" don't prevent you from handing them in on time. If a severe illness or emergency prevents you from completing an assignment on time, you must contact me in advance of the due date to discuss your options. Late work is accepted only at my discretion and may incur a grade penalty.
	participation and preparation
	Participation means completing your assignments on time, arriving to class on time and fully prepared, and being attentive and engaged while in class. To be fully prepared, bring everything to class every day, but especially bring the reading or relevant materials that you know we will be covering. All reading assignments must be completed by the date for which they are assigned, and readings on e-Reserves must be printed and brought to class in hard copy on the day we are scheduled to discuss them. Over the course of the semester, I will call on you to lead discussion with one or two other classmates. This will not be a formal presentation, but rather an opportunity for you to act as respondent, pose certain questions to the class, or present your take on what you read. This is not meant to "put you on the spot," but rather to allow you some ownership of what we discuss.
	class conduct
	Learning sometimes means admitting what we don't know and being willing to ask questions when things aren't very clear. Please get into the habit of asking questions early on--at least one other person in the class will probably always be glad that you did. As you share and evaluate ideas, be respectful of all members of the class, be attentive, and be open to learning from something they have to say, as you would want them to learn from you. While I want you to feel comfortable to initiate and facilitate great discussions in our classroom, please remember that it is, in a way, a performance space where we need to be committed to some good practices. Because our computer classroom is a shared space, the rules of conduct that you follow in a traditional classroom also apply here. Checking e-mail, instant messaging, playing games, Web surfing, falling asleep, doing homework for another class, or being otherwise disengaged or disruptive are not only unprofessional but will also lower your participation grade. Cell phones must be turned off while class is in session.
	evaluation
	Much of the semester will be devoted to building your fieldworking portfolio and working on your collaborative public document project. Here is how the points are distributed. · Fieldworking Portfolio (4 components) - 600 points · Public Document Project and Presentation - 200 points · Short Assignments and Fieldnotes - 100 points · Participation and In-Class Work - 100 points
	Each assignment has specific evaluation criteria that we will go over in class, with the exception of short assignments and fieldnotes, which I will grade on the “plus” system. If your work shows considerable thought and exploration of the topic and satisfies length and quality requirements, I assign it a (plus). If it demonstrates some thought and exploration of the topic but lacks in a certain area, I assign it a (check). If it is lacking in many areas or is generally incomplete, I assign it a zero. At the end of the semester, I’ll convert those to points. The final grade distribution is as follows: 1000-900 (A range) 899-800 (B range) 799-700 (C range) 699-600 (D) 599 & below (F) I treat grading as a conversation where I comment on your work. My comments are typically questions intended to make you think about purpose and audience; suggestions for improving some aspect of the writing (e.g., focus, development, organization, language, visual clarity, or “voice”); and reactions to particular passages or prose. You should always feel free to meet with me if an assignment is unclear, if you get stuck, or if my first response on an assignment is unhelpful. You should also feel free to meet with me at any time if you are unsure of where you stand in the course.
	revision
	I encourage revision, particularly if a writer feels like they better understand the goals and aims of a project after having just completed it. If you choose to revise a project, you must meet with me to discuss your ideas for revision within one week after I have returned the project. You must then turn in the revised project within one week of this meeting. Please note that revisions must be substantial and of good quality (i.e., more than just minimal editing or reorganization) to improve the grade.
	academic integrity
	At IUB, we take plagiarism and other violations of academic integrity very seriously. Plagiarism literally means “the act of kidnapping” and involves representing someone else’s work as your own. Doing so “accidentally” is as problematic as doing so deliberately. As you get into more advanced writing, it becomes important that you read, take notes on, and incorporate sources productively and fairly. We will spend some class time discussing ways to avoid plagiarism and learning about good source use in general. But please note that violations of academic integrity can result in automatic failure of the course. Always ask me if you are unsure about how to use a source fairly, and refer to the Code of Student Ethics for more information.
	writing tutorial services
	This class isn't the only place at IU where you can develop as a writer. In addition to meeting with me in conferences, I highly recommend that you visit Writing Tutorial Services (located in BH 206). The WTS consultants can offer you one-on-one feedback and a number of excellent do-it-yourself resources. Talking and thinking with others is extremely helpful at any stage of your writing, whether you are planning the project or editing the final draft. I still get feedback on much of what I do.
	support services
	Disability Services and the Adaptive Technologies divisions of the Office of Student Affairs can arrange for assistance, auxiliary aids, or related services if you think a temporary or permanent disability might prevent you from being a full participant in this class. Visit their website or call them at 855-7578 with any individual concerns. Students with disabilities must be registered with Disability Services before classroom accommodations can be provided.