Course Description
In this class, you will develop your ability to read and think critically and to write well about issues you care about. One of the most important abilities you’ll develop over the course of your studies (and hopefully throughout your life) is the ability to discern how the way we think is shaped by language. This course will ask that you think critically about the arguments of others and in turn to develop and communicate your own ideas and arguments.
The subject of the course, simply put, is writing. We will read and discuss a wide variety of texts—for example, popular news/magazine articles, stories, academic articles, and videos—with careful attention to the role of rhetorical conventions such as style, tropes, genre, audience and purpose. Studying the writing styles and rhetorical moves of professional, published writers will inform your approaches to your own development as a writer within academic contexts and beyond.
This course is designed to be a gateway of exploration for further writing and research you will do in your college courses. I invite you to open your mind, be ready to engage with me and your classmates, and expand your thinking about what it means to be a good writer this semester.
Attendance Policy
Much of the learning in this course happens through your engagement with your instructor and your peers via discussion and group interaction. Your course projects will be sequential and learning activities will build toward larger assignments. The class will be interactive, requiring frequent engagement with its materials, participation and discussion, collaborative composing, and responding to your classmates’ work. For this reason, your instructor will expect you to attend all meetings.
- Missing class more than four times will cause a lower total class grade (5 points per class) and missing it more than six times will cause a WU.
- If you face any extraordinary challenges that hinder your ability to attend class, please arrange for a one-on-one meeting with the professor to discuss alternative arrangements.
Accessibility
Baruch College is committed to making individuals with disabilities full participants in the programs, services, and activities of the college community through compliance with Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990. It is the policy of Baruch College that no otherwise qualified individual with a disability will be denied access to any program, service, or activity offered by the university. Individuals with disabilities have a right to request accommodations. If you require any special assistance or accommodation, please contact the Office of Services for Students with Disabilities at (646) 312-4590, and let your instructor know as soon as you can, ideally during the first three weeks of the semester. We encourage persons with disabilities or particular needs that impact course performance to meet with your instructor to co-design accommodations.
Dropping Courses
If you feel you must drop or withdraw from this course, you must do so by the dates on the Baruch College academic calendar. Merely ceasing to attend class is not the same as dropping or withdrawing; dropping and withdrawing are separate, formal administrative procedures. Dropping is officially removing the course from your schedule within the first three weeks of class with no grade of W appearing on your transcript; withdrawing is officially removing the course from your schedule any time between weeks 3 and 11, and as a result, receiving a permanent “W” on your transcript for the course. If you stop attending and do not officially drop or withdraw from the course, your instructor will assign you a WU grade at the end of the term, equal to an F. If you’re having difficulty in the class for any reason, we encourage you to meet with your instructor.
Academic Integrity
Plagiarism is a serious offense that, if done knowingly and depending on the severity and other factors, can result in a failing grade (or worse) and a mark on your permanent academic record. You will be expected to compose your projects ethically, meaning that if you use the work of others you cite that work, and that all work in your ENG 2100 or 2150 course is original, composed for the first time for this course, and is entirely your own, to the degree that anything we write is entirely our own. All students enrolled at Baruch are expected to maintain the highest standards of academic honesty, as defined in the Baruch Student Handbook. Cheating and plagiarism are serious offenses. The following definitions are based on the College’s Academic Honesty website:
Plagiarism is the act of presenting another person’s ideas, research or writing as your own, such as:
- Copying another person’s actual words without the use of quotation marks and footnotes (a functional limit is four or more words taken from the work of another)
- Presenting another person’s ideas or theories in your own words without acknowledging them
- Using information that is not considered common knowledge without acknowledging the source
Depending on the severity of the case, plagiarism can result in an F on the assignment in question or an F in the course. Refer to your individual class syllabus for details.
If you ever have any questions or concerns about plagiarism, please ask your instructor. You can also check out the online plagiarism tutorial prepared by members of the Newman Library faculty and Baruch College’s academic integrity policy.