ENGL 298 Syllabus

catalog description
Critical thinking, research, and advanced writing for Honors College students.

details
The theme of this section of Honors Engl 298 can be summed up in these questions:
How do you see the world?
What do you value?
How will you live?

We will consider these questions in terms of the ecological, social, and economic issues that impact the quality of our lives and how those same issues may affect the quality of life for future generations. Critical reading and writing will allow students to develop a sense of context, a sense of the way in which various writers focusing on a certain issue address each other, refute each other, and carry on persuasive discourse. Engl 298 includes advanced practice in effective researching skills, information literacy, critical thinking, and writing.

required texts (all available at Crimson and Gray)
The Earthscan Reader in Environmental Values ed. by Linda Kalof and Terre Satterfield
Silent Spring (40th Anniversary paperback ed.) by Rachel Carson
i-claim: visualizing argument by Patrick Clauss (CD ROM)
i-cite: visualizing sources by Douglas Downs (CD ROM)

learning outcomes
This course emphasizes the Honors College Learning Outcomes: Information literacy, Communication, Self and Society, Quantitative and Symbolic Logic, Critical Thinking, and Disciplinary Knowledge. Specific information on these outcomes as they relate to Engl 298 can be found on the linked handout.

attendance and assignments
To successfully complete this class, you must faithfully attend class and faithfully complete all assignments. Because we will be working collaboratively on many assignments, your regular attendance is vital. Specifically this translates to the following
>More than three absences will seriously jeopardize your grade; five absences will make it almost impossible to complete the course successfully.
> Extensive tardiness will be considered in assessing absences.
> Planned absences must be discussed and OK’d by the teacher prior to the absence.
> Acceptance of late work is unusual and must be discussed in conference with the teacher. Late work unaccompanied by a sufficient excuse (and conference) will receive a lowered grade if turned in within one week of the original due date. Work turned in later than one week past the original due date will be give an automatic grade of F.

schedule
Although a complete schedule is attached, it may be adjusted to accommodate student and teacher needs.

wsu accommodation policy
We are committed to providing assistance to help you be successful in this course. Reasonable accommodations are available for students with a documented disability. Please visit the Disability Resource Center (DRC) during the first two weeks of every semester to seek information or to qualify for accommodations. All accommodations MUST be approved through the DRC (Admin Annex Bldg, Rooms 205). Call 509 335 3417 to make an appointment with a disability counselor.

academic honesty
All students are expected to act in accordance with the WSU policies on Academic Honesty found in the Student Handbook. These policies include falsification of information, fabrication of information, plagiarism, multiple submission, and various others. Information about these policies can be found in the Handbook. These policies will be discussed in class and students will be asked to acknowledge that discussion and a basic understanding of the policies. For additional information on plagiarism, WSU has an informative site. See the class academic honesty form by clicking here. Please print, read, sign, and bring this form to class.

projects and evaluation:
Each project will include a guide for evaluation (an evaluation rubric) that is agreed upon by the teacher and students. Collaborative agreement on these evaluation rubrics will assure both the students and the teacher that the assignments are understood and that the evaluation criteria are fully clarified.

assignment		% of final grade
Project 1 (Personal value essay)		10
Project 2 (Interview)		15
Project 3 (Annotated Bibliography)		15
Project 4 (Discovery Draft of Project 5)		10
Project 5 (Researched Project)		25
In-class writings		15
Miscellaneous Assignments		10