ENG 291
Fall 2013

Dr. Roxanne Kent-Drury
Phone: 859-572-6636
Office: LA 527
Office Hours: 1:30-2:30 Tu/Th
Email: rkdrury@nku.edu

Course Description. In ENG 291, you will learn and practice writing for various purposes, especially those you are likely to encounter during your college career, with emphasis on writing persuasively for academic audiences, based on sound research.

Student Learning Outcomes

By the end of the semester, you should be able to do the following:

• Develop and apply strategies in your writing appropriate to purpose and audience
• Generate, develop, organize, revise, and refine your ideas;
• Search library databases to locate reliable research materials
• Use search engines to locate popular and scholarly web sites;
• Evaluate sources for credibility, currency, and usefulness;
• Integrate sources smoothly into your writing;
• Document sources fully, accurately, and consistently
• Edit and proofread for a polished final product

Textbooks

Hacker, Diana.  A Writer’s Reference.  6th Edition.  Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s Press, 2009. 

Other readings/materials as provided

Materials

Please bring to each class paper, something to write with, and the any reading for that day's assignment.

Grading/Assessment*

Personal Research Essay (4-6 pages)* (20%)
(schedule) (assignment)

• Paper topic
• Source report
• Rough draft
• Peer review workshop
• Final draft

Media Rhetorical Analysis (4-6 pages)* (20%)
(schedule) (assignment)

• Question at Issue & Thesis
• Source report (Annotated Bibliography)
• Roughdraft
• Peer review workshop
• Final draft

Persuasive Essay (4-6 pages)* (20%)
(schedule) (assignment)

• Paper topic
• Source report
• Rough draft
• Peer review workshop
• Final draft

Persuasive Research paper (8-12 pages)* (20%)
(schedule) (assignment)

• Paper topic (discussed at conference)
• Rough draft
• Peer review workshop
• Final draft

Participation & In-class assignments (20%)

*Every component of every assignment must be completed before the final paper will be graded. Failure to complete one of the milestones will result in failure of the entire paper.

Essays and Major Assignments

Detailed written instructions for each writing assignment will be provided at the beginning of each assignment sequence.

Each of the major assignments will include outside sources/research. 

 NKU Email Account and Computer Access

As you can see, we are in a computer classroom, so you will need your NKU email and web account to complete this course. Consequently, you need to ensure that your NKU email account is activated during the first week of the semester. If you wish to use a different email account, forward your NKU email to that account. You will need computer access for to do research, correspond by email, complete assignments, and check Blackboard, and word processing. Computer labs are located throughout the campus.

Attendance/Class Participation

The university requires that all instructors take attendance as a legal matter. Class participation is a crucial aspect of this course.  The more you participate, the more enjoyable it will be for everyone.  There are many ways for you to participate.  The first way is obviously coming to class prepared, and participating in discussion, but we will also do in-class writing assignments, as well as group work, all of which count towards your participation grade, and all of which you will be turning in with your portfolios. 

Attendance, participation, and general engagement with the course determine borderline grades.

The Writing Center:
The Writing Center offers you an excellent service! They will assist you, free of charge, with your writing assignments. They can help you create a topic, generate ideas, develop a research strategy, start a draft, revise, and edit. When you go, bring your assignment sheet and any materials you are working on. They are located in the Learning Assistance Center, Founders Hall room 209, phone 572-5475, www.nku.edu/~laplearn. Make appointments on line at Tutortrac.