Welcome Back!

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Department Meetings § Wed. 2/6, Common Hour (11:15-

12:40), Brower 201 Please try to attend this meeting. We have many important issues to discuss, including recent budget cuts, grading standards, and the proficiency exam. .

department meetings.

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WSC 1

An introduction to expository writing at the college level, with an emphasis on analysis and argument. Assignments in reading and writing are coordinated. In-class exercises including workshops and oral presentations.

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WSC 2

Continued instruction in expository writing, and an introduction to writing in the disciplines of the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences. Reading and writing assignments are organized around a central theme.

Information about teaching WSC 1 and 2

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Inside:

§ Writing Assignments and Revision p. 2 § Common Text for Syllabus p. 3 § Grading p. 4 § Writing Center and Important Info p. 5 § Academic Honesty & Honor Code p. 6 § Grading Standards – Draft - p. 7

Writing Studies and Composition

Dear Colleagues,

As you finalize preparation for the spring term, please review the following information regarding WSC 1 and 2. Since these classes are required of nearly all Hofstra students, it is important that we provide a reasonable degree of consistency across the various sections while maintaining our own unique approach in the classroom. I hope the material below helps us toward that end.

- Frank Gaughan, Chairperson

WSC Fall 2012 (2)

Writing Assignments and Revision

Students in WSC 1 and 2 are taught to use all facets of the writing process: invention, drafting, revision, editing. To achieve these ends, instructors typically use class discussion, in-class writing, peer criticism, small group work, and student conferences.

During the first week of class, faculty should collect and review writing from their students. Please contact the Chair’s office if it seems likely that a student will not be able to pass your class without specialized assistance.

Textbooks

§ Assigned readings should provide a basis for learning to discuss, analyze, and write about sophisticated texts and ideas. Since we are teaching analytical and argumentative writing, most of the texts you assign should be analytical or argumentative in nature. Faculty should either assign a handbook (e.g., Diana Hacker’s A Pocket Style Manuel) or provide instruction in how to access and use reliable online sources (e.g., Purdue’s OWL site).

Writing Assignments

• Both WSC 1 and 2 require a meaningful writing task every week. Although assigned essay lengths may vary, students should produce final drafts that collectively add up to at least 18 pages of revised writing over the course of the semester.

• Most instructors use three to five major essay assignments, spaced more or less evenly throughout the semester.

• Students should be given prompt feedback on these essays. • For major essays, written assignments (as opposed to verbal directions) help to

clarify expectations. Be specific about the task, due dates, point values, and grading criteria. Put this information in writing and give it to your students.

• Vary assignment type from time to time so students have opportunity to compose in more than one genre or mode.

• Use low and medium stakes assignments to encourage drafting and invention activities.

Revision

• Students should have opportunity to revise the majority your major essay assignments. They should so do so with the benefit of written or verbal feedback from you as well as criticism from their peers.

• Organize at least a few of your lessons around revision. Teach students how to analyze their own writing at both global and local levels. Provide them with strategies for doing this work effectively.

WSC Fall 2012 (3)

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Faculty should distribute a syllabus to their students at the first meeting of the class. Your syllabus should include an attendance policy, a grading policy, a plagiarism policy, required and recommended texts, office hours, and a schedule of assignments and major topics covered in the course (e.g., a weekly or unit-by-unit plan). Please include the learning goals and the statement for students with disabilities on your course syllabus.

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Learning Objectives, WSC 1 and 2

§ Compose grammatical sentences; § use various sentence forms to

effectively modulate style and tone; § compose a sequence of paragraphs that

develop a point; § summarize, quote, and respond to

reliable texts to support and develop claims, as well as apply relevant standards for citation;

§ write an effective argumentative essay; § respond to writing assignments using

appropriate style, structure, and voice; § and finally apply editing, proofreading,

and revising strategies.

Common Text for the Syllabus

Statement of Services for Students with Disabilities If you require accommodations for a disability, please contact Services for Students with Disabilities (SSD). In accordance with Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, qualified individuals with disabilities will not be discriminated against in any programs, or services available at Hofstra University. Individuals with disabilities are entitled to accommodations designed to facilitate full access to all programs and services. SSD is responsible for coordinating disability-related accommodations and will provide students with documented disabilities accommodation letters, as appropriate. Since accommodations may require early planning and are not retroactive, please contact SSD as soon as possible. All students are responsible for providing accommodation letters to each instructor and for discussing with him or her the specific accommodations needed and how they can be best implemented in each course.

For more information on services provided by the university and for submission of documentation, please contact the Services for Students with Disabilities, 212 Memorial Hall, 516-463-7075.

http://www.hofstra.edu/StudentAffairs/stddis/index.html

WSC Fall 2012 (4)

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Grades in WSC 1 and 2 should be based primarily on the revised essay assignments.

Provide students with regular feedback about their progress. Many instructors use the gradebook featured in Blackboard for this purpose. If you’re interested in learning how, inquire with Faculty Computing Services in 215 McEwen Hall.

Your grading policies should be included in your syllabus and announced on the first day of class. Provide students with a sense of scale and proportion. Are all essays worth equal point values? How much are quizzes or drafts worth relative to essays?

Participation is a notoriously fuzzy category. If you grade participation, consider devising ways to document it, e.g., a weekly freewrite, a journal, or a portfolio. If your participation grade is, say, ten percent of the total, then a student

Grades

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who would otherwise earn a 90 (or an A minus) might earn an 80 (or a B minus) if he or she received a zero for a participation grade. If this hypothetical student inquires about the reason for the grade deduction, can you answer the inquiry in ways that are fair and reasonable?

Faculty Policy Series (FPS) # 10 requires that final grades be submitted to the Office of Academic Records within six days of the final exam period. Grades are entered online, via the Hofstra Portal.

University policy requires that students pass WSC 1 and 2 with a C- or better in order to fulfill their university writing requirement. Neither course can be taken on a P/D/F basis. Please include this information in your grading policy.

Incompletes: If you assign an incomplete, please let Gloria know the name of the student. Doing so helps avoid pre-requisite errors in future semesters.

Final Examination

No final exam is required, but Hofstra stipulates that the final exam period be used as a class period if no exam is given. In this case, you may use the time to return papers and conduct final conferences. Currently, the Writing Proficiency Exam (a graduation requirement) is given at the end of WSC 2 during the final exam period. If you are unfamiliar with this exam, please contact Eileen Greco in Mason 118 (516.463.5252).

Oral Communication

There is an oral communication component to WSC 1 (see bulletin description). Students may, for example, read some of their work out loud, present some of their research, or explain visuals or graphics that inform an essay project.

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Pellentesque:

The Writing Center

Please encourage your students to use the writing center. There are two locations:

Mason Hall 102

and

The Collaborative Learning Center, 2nd floor, Axinn Library

Hours, Fall Term 2012

17 Sep -- 19 Dec

Mason Hall hours: M - Th 10am - 8pm

Axinn Hours: TBA

Students can get more information here:

http://www.hofstra.edu/Academics/Colleges/HCLAS/WRITING/WRTCTR/index.html

Student Conferences

Hofstra’s Faculty Policy Series # 9 states: “Faculty shall schedule regular times for conferences with students at least one hour each week for each three hours taught. These scheduled hours shall be kept for this purpose. Adjunct faculty shall be available to students before or after their teaching periods.”

You may use your office for a student conference or reserve time in Mason 119, which is a dedicated student/instructor conference space that WSC shares with English.

Communication

Both the university and the department send important notices via email. Please check your Hofstra email regularly during the semester. It is a good idea to include your communication preferences and policies (email, office telephone number) on your syllabus as well.

Important Information

If you must miss a class

FPS # 9.III states: “A faculty member who must be absent because of illness or emergency shall notify his/her department chair, so that classes can be covered. A faculty member who needs to be absent from a class for other reasons must obtain permission from the department chair.”

If you are going to miss a class, please contract Gloria Hoovert at 516.463.5467 as soon as possible.

Filing Syllabi

As required by FPS # 9.VII, a copy of the course syllabus shall be filed with the Chair’s office. Please leave a hard copy of your syllabus in Gloria’s mailbox.

Peer Observations

The requirements for peer observation of teaching are described in FPS # 46. Peer observations must be conducted at least once every three years, and are generally scheduled every 4-6 semesters. Newly hired faculty will be scheduled for both a mentoring observation and a summative evaluation in their first semester of teaching. Any faculty member may schedule a mentoring observation. If you would like to do so, please contact the Chair’s office.

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In both WSC 1 and 2, students should be taught the rhetorical and ethical purposes of citation and receive instruction in at least one major style (e.g., APA, MLA). Students should apply principles of documentation in their major essays.

Include in your class plans one or more discussions of plagiarism. Aim to be more sophisticated than “Don’t do it!” There are degrees of plagiarism ranging from stealing a paper to cribbing a sentence to mirroring the

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sentence structure and word choice in a cited paraphrase. Make students aware of these nuances.

All faculty have access to Turnitin. You may require students to submit essays through Turnitin, or you may use Turnitin to spot check papers that seem plagiarized. If you have questions about how to use this service, contact Faculty Computing Services.

All faculty are required to report instances of plagiarism. For information on how to do so see FPS #

Instruction in Academic Honesty

In the spring of 2012, Hofstra faculty passed an honor code, which all students, starting this year, must take as a condition of membership in Hofstra’s community. The full version of the honor code is included on Hofstra’s webpage for academic integrity and a short version will be printed on blue exam books. In addition, you may decide to ask that students affirm or sign the short version of the code when they submit assignments to you.

§ Full version: As a member of the Hofstra community I pledge to demonstrate integrity and ethical behavior in all aspects of my life both inside and out of the classroom. I understand that I am accountable for everything I say and write. I will not misrepresent my academic work, nor will I give or receive unauthorized assistance for academic work. I agree to respect the rights of all members of the Hofstra community. I will be guided by the values expressed in the P.R.I.D.E. Principles. I accept the responsibility to follow this Honor Code at all times.

§ Short version: I pledge on my honor that I have done this work with honesty and integrity, without giving or receiving unauthorized assistance.

§ For more information about academic integrity at Hofstra, see this URL: http://www.hofstra.edu/academics/colleges/huhc/integrity/integrity_faq_students.html#4

Hofstra’s Honor Code

Your Plagiarism Policy

Base your plagiarism policy on the information in FPS #11 and on the honor code, below. Include in your policy penalties for violations and make these both enforceable and scaled to the range of violations that you are likely to encounter.

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11 or contact the Chair’s office, Mason 124. URL for FPS # 11:

http://www.hofstra.edu/pdf/Faculty/Senate/senate_FPS_11.pdf

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WCS 1 and 2 Grading Standards

(DRAFT – Fall 2012) Several faculty have asked about grading standards, which were part of the now out-of-date Hofstra Writer’s Guide. You may continue to use the grading standards in the Guide, but over the course of this academic year, let’s also work on revising and updating our standards. Below, you will find a draft of the work we’ve done to date. Your comments are welcome.

Grade: A or high B

• The essay develops an insightful and supported position that demonstrates critical engagement with the required readings or research.

• Textual references are integrated into the essay in rhetorically compelling ways, and the essay demonstrates a near mastery of a citation system (MLA, APA, etc.).

• The essay displays a command of genre. Ideas are sequenced in a manner that conveys and supports the writer’s purpose.

• Fundamental principles of grammar and style are applied with sophistication.

Grade: B

• The essay develops and supports a position that indicates sustained engagement with the required readings or research.

• Textual references are responsibly handled and integrated into the essay. A citation system (MLA, APA, etc.) is used consistently.

• The essay displays an awareness of genre with a logical sequence of ideas and appropriate logical transitions.

• Fundamental principles of grammar and style are applied consistently.

Grade: C

• The essay tends to rely on summary of key texts or to assert a position with inconsistent context or support.

• Paragraphs may be organized by a quotation rather than by a sequence of ideas. Quotations may be mishandled (e.g., merely “dropped” into the paragraph without adequate explanation or use of a citation system).

• The organizational pattern may be explicit but insufficient for the task at hand; e.g., the five-paragraph format is used when more sophisticated integration of narration, analysis, and argument is necessary.

• Fundamental principles of grammar and style may be applied unevenly.

Grade: D or lower

• The essay tends to summarize key texts and there may be gaps in reading comprehension. Key claims in the essay may be difficult to locate or may be asserted without adequate context or support.

• Paragraphing may appear random. Quotations may be used irresponsibly (e.g., quotations are incorrect or misrepresentative of the source).

• In general, the essay’s organization may cause the reader to backtrack, and the relevance of the evidence may be difficult to determine.

• Grammatical errors are frequent and often significant enough to disrupt meaning.