| Advanced Academic English Writing, 2010-1 Mr. Blackwood www.mikeblackwood.net email@mikeblackwood.net office phone 3290-2451 office # 722 International Studies Hall Course Structure: We will be doing whole class and small group work, from pairs to ~4 students/group. Class size may change this. Text: College Writing (paragraph to essay) by Zemach and Rumisek (one per student); more information will be given in class. Recommended text: Practical English Handbook, by Watkins, Dillingham, and Hiers Participation: This is an advanced course in academic writing; active participation is required, understandably in English. Students are expected to use English when communicating their ideas and opinions, doing exercises, and completing any writing assignments given by the instructor. Please note that a large part of participation includes attendance. You should arrive on time for class, ready to begin work. If you are late (coming in after class has begun generally constitutes ˇ°being lateˇ±), or absent (showing up well after class has begun implies a general absence from the day's activities), you will be penalized. This is not harsh; it is practical. Arriving late disrupts classroom activities, causing classmates to lose focus (their minds and mouths begin to wander), while absences deprive classmates of your participation. Ten or more unexcused absences will result in a failing grade. This is Korea University policy. We will abide by it. Excused absences do not mean excused work; furthermore, students who do not complete an assignment by a given deadline will receive a zero for that assignment and could receive a zero for the course. FYI: (for your information) 1) I expect English to be spoken during class. People who speak another language will be considered absent. "You reap what you sow." 2) Please be aware that deadlines are final. If late work is accepted, it will be penalized. 3) Please write the date, your name, student number, course/section number and group number on ALL work submitted to me [date, your name, student #, class code (H3, FLS-056 or whatever your code is), group #] Failure to do so will result in a headache for me and lost points for you. Homework should be given in class, when I collect it, not thru email. 4) If you were absent for the first day of class, I'm expecting common sense to prevail for the understanding that it WAS the first day of class for the university, your classmates and the teacher. To be absolutely fair, I should accept no late homework and (though it's obvious and needs not to be mentioned) you were absent for the days in which you were not present (amazing, isn't it?). If I accept late work at all, it will necessarily be penalized. This is not harsh; it is practical, abides by university policy and is fair for everyone. We will abide by it. Please bring any doctor's excuses and other official papers you may have to show why you were absent. Also remember that, even if the absence is excused, excused absences don't imply excused work. Please see the syllabus for more information concerning participation. Course Outline and Goals: Outline This course is designed to stimulate students' thinking of the world around them, as well as providing the chance to employ their communication skills through writing and some discussion. Discussion, movies, and reading are provided as a means to further stimulate students' thinking and to facilitate writing. Special effort has been taken to establish process rather than product goals. Goals The goals for this course include, but are not limited to, critical thinking, a willingness to explore ideas contrary to one's own beliefs, as well as knowing when information or data are relevant to an issue and how to find that information. In addition to these general concepts, the instructor also wishes to address student concerns for self-discovery. Other Resources: I maintain some web pages of political/world issues; they are Blackwood Nsites, Bread-n-Roses, Countries/Islands, Almavore.com, Muckrakers and Blackwood Review. For grade info, click here: grade code for writing, spring, 2010 |