Since we are composing multimodally throughout the course, you are encouraged to bring to class and operate laptops, tablets, and smart phones. The classroom is equipped with desktops that we will use regularly. I encourage you to develop best practices for negotiating among virtual communities and the real time of the classroom. What choices can you make to remain attentive to your peers and me, while at the same time engaging with digital resources?
Email is the best way to contact me if you have questions or concerns. Generally, I will respond to all student email within 24 hours (although on weekends and holidays, it may take a little longer). Likewise, there may be instances when I will need to contact you by email. It is your responsibility to check your Emory-based email account at least once every 24 hours.
Please consider all writing for this class to be “public.” Part of becoming an effective writer is learning to appreciate the ideas and feedback of others. In this course, our purpose is to come together as a writing community. Avoid writing about topics that you wish to keep private or that you feel so strongly about that you are unwilling to listen to the perspectives of others.
The Emory Writing Center offers 45-minute individual conferences to Emory College and Laney Graduate School students. It is a great place to bring any project-from traditional papers to websites-at any stage in your composing process. Writing Center tutors take a discussion- and workshop-based approach that enables writers of all levels to see their writing with fresh eyes. Tutors can talk with you about your purpose, organization, audience, design choices, or use of sources. They can also work with you on sentence-level concerns (including grammar and word choice), but they will not proofread for you. Instead, they will discuss strategies and resources you can use to become a better editor of your own work. The Writing Center is located in Callaway N-212. Visit writingcenter.emory.edu for more information and to make appointments.
If English is not your first language and if you need additional help with assignments in this or other college classes, you may benefit from working with specially trained ESL Tutors. The tutors are undergraduates who will support the development of your English language skills. Like Writing Center tutors, ESL tutors will not proofread your work. Language is best learned through interactive dialogue, so when you come to an ESL tutoring session, be ready to collaborate! ESL tutors will meet with you in the ESL Lab in Callaway S108 and other designated locations, and they will help you at any stage of the process of developing your essay or presentation. You may bring your work on a laptop or on paper. If you schedule an appointment in the ESL Lab, you may also bring your work on a USB stick — computers are available in the lab.
Visit the website of the Office for Undergraduate Education and select “Student Support” and then “ESL Program” to schedule an appointment, read the tutoring policies, and view the offerings of the ESL Program. If you do not have a scheduled appointment, you may want to meet with a drop-in tutor in the ESL Lab, Callaway S108. Here, you may have less time with a tutor if other students are waiting, but you can briefly discuss an assignment and some of your concerns. For more information, visit the website or contact Levin Arnsperger at larnspe@emory.edu.
I strive to create an inclusive learning environment for all. I am invested in your success in this class and at Emory, so please let me know if anything is standing in the way of your doing your best work. This discussion can include your own learning strengths, any classroom dynamics that you find uncomfortable, ESL issues, disability or chronic illness, and/or personal issues that impact your work. I will hold such conversations in strict confidence.
This course emphasizes user-centered design and the value of connectivity over static standards to facilitate “universal instructional design.” Issues of accessibility are an integral component of instruction for all students. While students should disclose non-standard needs in keeping with guidelines provided by the Office of Disability Services in order to have those needs augmented by digital tools such as voice to text software or close captioning, the course recognizes the extent to which all students are “multiply situated learners.”1 As such, the course emphasizes shared strengths over remediation.
All of that said, Emory University complies with the regulations of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 and offers accommodations to students with disabilities. If you are in need of a classroom accommodation, please make an appointment with me to discuss your situation as soon as possible.
For more information, please visit Access, Disability Services and Resources or contact the office by phone at (404) 727-9877 [voice] or TDD: (404) 712-2049. Students who receive accommodations must present the Accommodation Letter from ADSR to your professor at the beginning of the semester, or when the letter is received.
Price, Margaret. Mad at School: Rhetorics of Mental Disability and Academic Life. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 2011. Print. 88 ↩
The Office for Undergraduate Education offers programs to support student learning. These include mentoring, coaching, and tutoring services for individuals and small groups. In addition, special support is available for students with special needs and those for whom English is an additional language.
Free and confidential counseling services and support are available from the Emory Counseling Center (404) 727-7450. This resource can be invaluable when stress makes your work more challenging than it ought to be.
“Integrity without knowledge is weak and useless, and knowledge without integrity is dangerous and dreadful.”
Samuel Johnson
Article Four of the Emory University Honor Code defines academic misconduct as “action or inaction which is offensive to the integrity and honesty of the members of the academic community,” which may include, but is not limited to, the following:
(a) Seeking, acquiring, receiving, or giving information about the conduct of an examination, knowing that the release of such information has not been authorized:
(b) Plagiarizing;
(c) Seeking, using, giving, or obtaining unauthorized assistance or information in any academic assignment or examination;
(d) Intentionally giving false information to professors or instructors for the purpose of gaining academic advantage;
(e) Breach of any duties prescribed by this Code;
(f) Intentionally giving false evidence in any Honor Council hearing or refusing to give evidence when requested by the Honor Council.
Please read through the description of the Honor Code linked above and make sure that you understand what it says because it is in effect in this course. We will spend time in this course discussing these issues and you must observe that Code at all times. It is the responsibility of every faculty member and every student in the university to support the honor system here.
By taking this course, you affirm that it is a violation of the code to cheat on exams, to plagiarize, to deviate from the teacher’s instructions about collaboration on work that is submitted for grades, to give false information to a faculty member, and to undertake any other form of academic misconduct. You agree that the instructor is entitled to move you to another seat during examinations, without explanation. You also affirm that if you witness others violating the code you have a duty to report them to the honor council.
I take plagiarism and other forms of academic dishonesty seriously. Should I suspect that you engage in academic dishonesty in this course, I will refer the case to Emory’s Honor Council. You may also receive a zero on the assignment in question or fail the course.
Students compose texts in multiple genres, using multiple modes with attention to rhetorical situations.
Through composing a variety texts and using a number of composing technologies, students demonstrate understanding of audience, purpose, and constraints. They use and adapt generic conventions, including organization, development, and style.