Simon Fraser University
Engaging the World

Course Outlines

Fall 2024 - ENGL 199W OL01

Writing to Persuade (3)

Class Number: 4943

Delivery Method: Online

Overview

  • Course Times + Location:

    Online

  • Prerequisites:

    12 units.

Description

CALENDAR DESCRIPTION:

An introduction to reading and writing from a rhetorical perspective. The course treats reading and writing as activities that take place in particular circumstances and situations, in contrast to the traditional emphasis on decontextualized, formal features of texts. It prepares students for reading and writing challenges they are likely to encounter within and beyond the classroom. Students with credit for ENGL 199 may not take this course for further credit. Writing.

COURSE DETAILS:

This course introduces the participants to reading and writing for academic purposes with a rhetorical point of view. This means that interacting with a text is considered as something students and scholars do with a purpose and within a specific context or situation. Participants will reflect on texts as social actions and develop strategies to face the challenges of professional and academic communication. The course will require participants to engage in extensive and close reading, online discussions and quizzes, several writing tasks, and the composition of a research proposal paper. 

As a fully online course, all mandatory interactions with your instructor, teaching assistants, and classmates will be held oline in an asychronous basis. This means that there will not be mandatory real-time online lectures that will require meetings either in person or through an online conference system. However, you will engage in asynchronous online discussions to which you will contribute at your own time and discretion within a prescribed time limit (usually a week). You will also have the option of meeting with your instructor and/or TAs for online consultations (by appointment) to discuss the preparation of major assignments. Only one of these meetings will be graded as a one of your Weekly Online Learning Tasks (see Grading). All subsequent meetings will be optional and not graded.

All video lectures will be video-recorded and you will have the opportunity to ask questions about contents via Canvas or by email. 

COURSE-LEVEL EDUCATIONAL GOALS:

By the end of the course, you should be able to:

  • Define and describe the relationship between cultural situations and the text as a communicative action.
  • Use published sources to inform your writing in ways that position you as a respectful information user.
  • Analyze texts to identify the purpose, context, and stance of the writer.
  • Develop strategies to take notes from course readings to compose summaries and reports.
  • Compose texts with the appropriate level of abstraction and specificity for an academic audience.
  • Organize academic texts considering the expectations and needs of the audience.
  • Apply various language resources to compose a research proposal paper.

Grading

  • Weekly Online Learning Tasks 20%
  • Annotated Bibliography (1100-1400 words) 25%
  • Research Proposal Draft (700-1000 words) 25%
  • Research Proposal Revised Version (700-1200 words) 30%

NOTES:

ENGL199W focuses on scientific and scholarly writing. This is not a literature-oriented course. 

This is a writing-intensive course. For this reason, you must be prepared to devote considerable time to reading and writing. In average, consider you will invest 8 to 9 hours of independent work each week. Procrastinating or omitting work will negatively impact your results in the course.

The course is evaluated on the basis of labour (considering your effort, not your performance). This means that if you complete all mandatory assessments in due time and manner, you will receive a final mark equivalent to a B, without being judged on how well or poorly you performed. However, you will receive feedback to help you improve your work with every new writing task. Showing evidence of engagement in improving your work will be part of submitting assignments in due manner.

Students who wish to achieve a higher final mark (B+ or higher) will have to complete additional work by the end of the semester. This work will be graded based on performance.

Materials

MATERIALS + SUPPLIES:


Participants will be expected to complete required readings since the first week of the course. Therefore, every student must plan ahead to acquire the required textbook. Information on where to purchase the text is available in the required reading section below.

Having a laptop or personal computer and access to internet connection to work from home will be crucial in this online course.

If needed, you can borrow a laptop from SFU Library: https://www.lib.sfu.ca/borrow/equipment/list  


 

REQUIRED READING:

Giltrow, J., Gooding, R., & Burgoyne, D. (2021). Academic writing: An introduction (4th edition). Broadview Press.

Paperback copies are available for purchase at the publisher's website and at various retailers (e.g. amazon, Indigo). An electronic version can be acquired at Google Play or Campus Bookstore.  

REQUIRED READING NOTES:

Your personalized Course Material list, including digital and physical textbooks, are available through the SFU Bookstore website by simply entering your Computing ID at: shop.sfu.ca/course-materials/my-personalized-course-materials.

Department Undergraduate Notes:

IMPORTANT NOTE Re 300 and 400 level courses: 75% of spaces in 300 level English courses, and 100% of spaces in 400 level English courses, are reserved for declared English Major, Minor, Extended Minor, Joint Major, and Honours students only, until open enrollment begins.

For all On-Campus Courses, please note the following:
- To receive credit for the course, students must complete all requirements.
- Tutorials/Seminars WILL be held the first week of classes.
- When choosing your schedule, remember to check "Show lab/tutorial sections" to see all Lecture/Seminar/Tutorial times required.

Registrar Notes:

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY: YOUR WORK, YOUR SUCCESS

SFU’s Academic Integrity website http://www.sfu.ca/students/academicintegrity.html is filled with information on what is meant by academic dishonesty, where you can find resources to help with your studies and the consequences of cheating. Check out the site for more information and videos that help explain the issues in plain English.

Each student is responsible for his or her conduct as it affects the university community. Academic dishonesty, in whatever form, is ultimately destructive of the values of the university. Furthermore, it is unfair and discouraging to the majority of students who pursue their studies honestly. Scholarly integrity is required of all members of the university. http://www.sfu.ca/policies/gazette/student/s10-01.html

RELIGIOUS ACCOMMODATION

Students with a faith background who may need accommodations during the term are encouraged to assess their needs as soon as possible and review the Multifaith religious accommodations website. The page outlines ways they begin working toward an accommodation and ensure solutions can be reached in a timely fashion.