Writing and Rhetoric I: Sherlock Holmes

1510-121: MWF 2:00 – 2:55pm

1510-127: MW 3:05-4:25pm

Tupper Hall 104A

 

Instructor: Dr. Renee Benham

Office: Lindley S238

Office hours: MWF 12-2pm and by appointment

 

Required Materials

• The Sign of Four. Doyle, Arthur Conan. Ed. Shafquat Towheed. Ontario: Broadview, 2010. Print. ISBN: 978-1551118376

·       The Little Seagull Handbook. Ed. Richard Bullock, Michal Brody, and Francine Weinberg. Third edition. W. W. Norton & Company, 2017.  (The Ebook from Norton is acceptable)

·       Composition Notebook

 

Introduction

This course is meant to provide training and practice in composing and revising writing that is well organized, logically coherent, and effective for its purpose and audience.

This course focuses on skills in writing a variety of genres (i.e. rhetorical analysis, research-based argument, report, etc.). Coursework includes learning to read rhetorically and effectively and using strategies for searching academic databases and evaluating sources. Additionally, this course focuses on using correct documentation and mechanics. To aid us in this endeavor, we will read Conan Doyle’s The Sign of Four, as well as other readings online, and watch recent adaptations of Sherlock Holmes.

 

Course Work

Mystery of the Mutilated Middlemarch project (10%)

Late one night in Alden Library, George Eliot's Middlemarch, the classic Victorian novel, is horribly mutilated. Individually and as a team, you must deduce who is responsible and compile a compelling case, marshaling your evidence and using it effectively to sway a jury of your peers. This will include a written group report.

 

Textual Analysis Essay (20%)

A close-reading essay of focused writing on a specific aspect of The Sign of Four that you find problematic, contradictory, or puzzling. This will demonstrate your analysis and essay-writing skills. 4-5 pages.

 

Visual Analysis Essay (20%)

This essay will analyze a particular aspect of the Sherlock episode either by itself or in comparison with The Sign of Four. It will be thesis-driven and demonstrate both your analysis and essay-writing skills. 5-6 pages.

 

Final Project (25%)

For this project, you will be rewriting a scene from either The Sign of Four or the Sherlock episode imagining Sherlock Holmes from a different subject-position. 6-7 pages. A 2-3-page reflective essay will accompany your scene.

 

Participation (25%)

Participation is essential to the success of this class.  You should regularly participate in class discussions, group work, group assignments, etc. This will be measured through your attendance, commonplace book, reading quizzes, and small writing assignments for in-class work (including peer review). Everyone begins with 40 points. Attendance, commonplace-book entries, quizzes, grammar tests, etc. will be worth points (usually 10) which will be added to your grade if complete. At the end of the semester, your point total will be divided by the number possible to determine your grade in this category.

 

Commonplace book

Each of you must have a composition notebook dedicated for this class. In this notebook, you will write most of your notes and small assignments (some will be on Blackboard). I will give you specific tasks to complete inside for each class, but you are free to write anything and everything beyond those specific instructions. Think of it as a "thinking log" where you write down words you don't know, things you find interesting or don't understand, or quotes that you particularly like. You can also brainstorm for your projects inside. I will collect these notebooks periodically to check in. Check the schedule for collection dates and specific commonplace book entry guidelines.

 

Writing exercises and tests

Each week you will have assigned reading, exercises, and tests that will address a specific writing element. The reading will be in your Little Seagull Handbook. The exercises and tests will be on Blackboard. I have assigned topics to the entire class that are common issues for freshmen students. I may assign additional reading and tests to individual students who need to improve in a specific area. These will be determined on a case-by-case basis. All of these points will be added to your participation grade.

 

If you are absent, your work is still due. If you miss class, it is your responsibility to contact another student to obtain notes from class. Unless we have made previous arrangements, any work that I do not receive by class time will be counted late. If a hardcopy of the assignment is due, please email me the assignment by the deadline if you want it to be accepted.

 

Grading

Grading will be based upon form and content (presentation of an interesting, thought-provoking thesis, clear organization of your argument, convincing display of textual evidence, capable use of secondary sources when applicable), as well as mechanics (competent handling of grammar, sentence structure, word choice, spelling, punctuation, citations). Students will have the opportunity to revise each major writing assignment except the final. I will gladly read drafts of assignments in advance if given proper time and notice.

 

Major projects will be graded on an A-F scale:

 

A = 95                          

A- = 92                      

B+ = 88                      

B = 85                        

B- = 82                       

C+ = 78                      

 

C = 75

C- =72

D+ =68

D = 65

D- = 62

F = 55

 

 

Final course grades will be counted numerically and a letter grade assigned accordingly:

A = 93-100                              C = 73-76

A - = 90-92                              C- =70-72

B+ = 87-89                              D+ =67-69

B = 83-86                                D = 63-66

B- = 80-82                               D- = 60-62

C+ = 77-79                              F = 0-59

 

 

Classroom Etiquette

·         Communication: If you need to contact me, email is the best method. Please feel free to email me at any time. I usually respond within 24 hours, but it may take me longer to reply on evenings and weekends. I am also available during in-person office hours. I can also make an appointment to meet with you.

·         Everyone in our class, including me, must remain civil and courteous at all times- including in our writing. We will often have the opportunity to share our opinions and beliefs, but no racist, sexist, heterosexist, or any other negative communication harmful to an individual or group will be tolerated. Whether something is offensive or not will be determined by the people whom it might offend. I am not perfect; if I ever say something that you consider offensive, please courteously make me aware of it and I, likewise, will do the same for you.

·         I value learning and I expect you to do the same. Therefore, activities that demonstrate that you do not value learning, such as using your cell-phones for non-class-related activities, listening to music (other than during independent work times and even then, quietly), or doing any non-class related activities on and off digital devices may be counted as an absence. If you are using a laptop during class, I may view your screen at any time.  

·       If you have any doubts or concerns about acceptable and not-acceptable class practices, please do not hesitate to ask. It is very important to me that my classroom remains a safe, encouraging space that fosters discussion and learning.

 

Plagiarism

I have a zero-tolerance policy with cheating and plagiarism. If you knowingly cheat or plagiarize on any assignment – large or small – you will receive an F in the course and I will notify the University.  You are at all times responsible for handling sources ethically by acknowledging the author and source of directly borrowed ideas and language in your writing.

Plagiarism: Cheating—whether by claiming another’s ideas or work as your own (fraud) or making up or falsifying information (fabrication).

Academic Dishonesty:  Plagiarism is defined by the Ohio University Student handbook as a Code A offense (10); this means:

·         [a] student found to have violated any of the following regulations will be subject to a maximum sanction of expulsion, or any sanction not less than a reprimand…Plagiarism involves the presentation of some other person’s work as if it were the work of the presenter.  A faculty member has the authority to grant a failing grade. . . as well as referring the case to the director of judiciaries.

Academic Misconduct Info for Students: http://www.ohio.edu/communitystandards/academic/students.cfm. Submitting work in this class that was already submitted and graded in a previous class is considered academic dishonesty.

To ensure accountability, I may request digital copies of your work to run through SafeAssign at any time.

 

ADA: Classroom Accessibility

Please let me know as soon as possible if you need an accommodation in order to work successfully in this class. Both able bodied students and students with disabilities are encouraged to suggest any improvements to the learning environment.  

 

Your continued enrollment in this course constitutes your acceptance and understanding of the policies outlined in this syllabus and all attached OU or English Department policies and your commitment to adhere to all policies and employ your best efforts to accomplishing course objectives and outcomes.

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English 1510 Course Outcomes/Objectives

The course will focus on the following areas and objectives.  By the end of the semester, you should be able to:

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Rhetorical Knowledge

recognize the elements that inform rhetorical situations. This understanding should enable you to produce expository texts that:

o     Have a clear purpose

o     Respond to the needs of intended audiences

o     Assume an appropriate stance

o     Adopt an appropriate voice, tone, style, and level of formality

o     Use appropriate conventions of format and structure

Critical Thinking, Reading, and Writing

o     Use reading and writing for inquiry, learning, thinking, and communicating

o     Analyze relationships among writer, text, and audience in various kinds of texts

o     Use various critical thinking strategies to analyze texts

Cultural Competencies

o     Recognize presuppositions and consider how they shape what we perceive as “reality.”  

o     Recognize that beliefs and arguments are framed by specific cultural contexts

o     Communicate with diverse audiences through recognizing that genres and conventions are specific to communities.

o     Reflect on how privilege impacts ourselves and others, while exploring options that seek to balance the playing field.

Knowledge of Composing Processes

o     Understand writing as a series of steps that includes generating ideas and text, drafting, revising,

o     Recognize that writing is a flexible, recursive process

o     Apply this understanding and recognition to produce successive drafts of increasing quality

Collaboration

o     Work with others to improve your own and others’ texts

o     Balance the advantages of relying on others with taking responsibility for your own work

Knowledge of Conventions

o     Employ appropriate conventions for structure, paragraphing, mechanics, and format

o     Use a standard documentation

o     Control syntax, grammar, punctuation, and spelling and editing

Composing in Electronic Environments. To the extent that technology is available and appropriate,

o     Understand the possibilities of electronic media/technologies for composing and publishing texts

Use electronic environments to support writing tasks such as drafting, reviewing, revising, editing, and sharing texts