Syllabus - Spring 2020

Instructor Information


Name: Dr. Matthew Horton
Office: 704 - Faculty Center
Email: matthew.horton@ung.edu
Office Hours: MW 10-12, F 10-1, TR 12:30-2:00

Description of Course

English 1102 is English Composition II, a 3-credit hour course offered by the English Department in the College of Arts and Letters that fulfills the second of two Area A "Communication Skills" requirements. You must earn a "C" in English 1102 in order to move on to any 2000-level English course.

Panel by Panel: Reading Comics for Visual Literacy

Students entering First-Year Writing courses often feel uninspired because the writing assignments they've had in the past forced them to discuss ideas that didn't mean anything to them. In order to generate more interest, you will read some comics that address important social issues in a world that is often short on mercy and kindness, ideas that appeal to most people with a desire to live a good life. Also, comics are just cool, right!? Well, if you don't think so, maybe you will after this class. I hope so! Along the way, we will learn how to make sense of visual storytelling and interpret the ways they generate meaning worth thinking about. To aid in your writing tasks and to share your writing with your classmates and me, you will use Google Drive to write most of your assignments.

To pass this course, you must achieve the following goals:

  • Submit all discussion postings and writing assignments, without turning in too many late or incomplete
  • Type all of your writing, without copying and pasting, in Google Drive (including all comic discussions prior to posting on D2L)

To make a strong grade in this course, you should pursue a mindset that

  • Values good, thorough work more than earning a particular grade
  • Views a college education as your purpose, not an obstacle
  • Approaches writing as a skill to develop rather than busy work
  • Promotes thinking about storytelling, character, expression, and meaning
  • Helps you develop a productive writing process
  • Follows the parts of an essay to compose smart, lively papers
  • Accepts criticism from others as a path to stronger performance
  • Motivates you to attend class and participate in our activities

Texts and Materials

Our texts are available at the UNG Bookstore (and elsewhere). You must purchase paper copies and bring them to class with you every day

Course Grading

To learn about the work you will do and how your course grade will be determined, please read how your grade is calculated. The basic idea is that you will earn your grade by completing a variety of labor tasks:
  • Reflections
  • Discussion Postings
  • Reading Responses
  • Peer Responses
  • Self Responses
  • Paper Topics
  • Rough drafts of papers
  • Revised drafts of papers
  • Final drafts of papers

Stress Reduction Policy

Emotional stress in academic situations can hinder learning and make you anxious. To minimize this type of stress in this class, we will enact the following policies:
  1. Writing assignments in this course will allow you to discuss matters that are personally relevant to you as a human being.
  2. Writing assignments in this course are designed to help you work on skills that you are developing/improving (see Course Objectives for 1102).
  3. I will say only positive comments about your writing during class. Any comments to help you improve will be typed as comments on your documents or in a digital chat session. In addition, you can visit my office for a private conversation to help you improve.
  4. Course grades will largely be determined by timely completion of writing tasks, both in and out of class, not how sophisticated your writing happens to be on those assignments. Please see the Grading Contract for this course.
  5. If you feel stressed or worried about a grade for any assignment or the overall course, you may talk with me about your concerns and options for moving your grade to where you would like it to be. You can email me your free times to meet, even outside my stated office hours.

Conduct Policies

  1. Seek help from Dr. H first. If you are struggling or need help, send me an email—we can meet for tutoring in my office. You can also use workshop time in class to ask me questions. You may seek help on assignments before they are due. Be sure to use your UNG email account and send me an email at matthew.horton@ung.edu, my UNG email addres.
  2. Visit the Writing Center. Getting extra help from the writing tutors could be good for you. It all depends on the kind of help you need. If you are not sure, you can talk to me about the best way to use the Writing Center.
  3. Be present. Arriving on time goes a long way to staying on track. I want you to succeed--time in class is essential to that success.
  4. Keep your phone in your bag. I appreciate your effort to stay off your personal devices. Part of "being present" is staying engaged with me, your classmates, and your assignments while in the classroom. You can use your phone to authenticate, but I would rather not see them otherwise. I am not going to enforce this as a grade requirement. However, engagement with me and your classmates is part of participation.
  5. Make-Up Work. Some assignments will be homework, and some will be done in the classroom. When you are absent, show me proof of excuse to avoid the penalty for late work. Attendance will often be required to complete an assignment on time because of an assignment-related workshop. Being here every class period, with all assignments ready, is the best way to earn the grade you want. Always email to notify me about an absence. And if you know you will be absent ahead of time, please let me know so you can finish your work ahead of time and figure out another way to participate in our planned activity.
  6. Turning in work. All assignments for credit will be done in Google Drive. Writing assignments have length requirements stated in the instructions. You will need access to a working computer with reliable internet. The computers in the labs here on campus work great if you don't have one at home. Never use email to turn in work.
  7. Email. The official form of communication at UNG is email. This UNG policy protects the privacy of all of us in the exchange of information. If you need to ask me a question about anything, whether personal or class related, please use your UNG email account to send a message to matthew.horton@ung.edu. This is my official UNG email address. Check your email two or three times a day.
  8. Computers. Please log on as soon as you arrive and come to this website. Review the calendar, look over the resources, reread assignment instructions, work on your writing. All communication with people outside the classroom needs to happen outside the classroom. If you have an emergency that requires you to use your phone during class, please asked to be excused.
  9. Printers. To avoid distractions, do not print any documents in the classroom during class.
  10. Disruptive behavior. Sensitivity and respect in and out of class between you and me and between you and your classmates is important. Do not be intentionally base, insulting, or provocative. I like debate during class when we are discussing issues or reading material, but please do not publicly criticize me, my class, or your classmates. We can speak privately in my office, or you can send me an email. Disruptive behavior includes leaving class (except for emergencies) and eating in the classroom. You may have bottled water in the classroom, but no food (UNG policy).
  11. Academic honesty. All work to fulfill requirements of this class must meet UNG standards of academic honesty. Violations of these standards include receiving or giving assistance on any graded assignment without my permission (aka, cheating), fabricating evidence for use in an essay (aka, lying), and using another person's words or thoughts in your paper without giving that person credit (aka, plagiarism). Penalty for committing these acts could range from a zero on the assignment to an "F" in the course. For instance, in a class like this one, having someone proofread your paper or write any part of it for you would be considered cheating. I know that might seem strange to some of you, but it is even more strange to think that you should pretend to have skills that actually belong to someone else. Instead, develop YOUR skills.
  12. Withdrawal. Remember that you cannot withdraw from a class simply by not coming anymore. You have to withdraw yourself through Banner Web before the midpoint. Please be familiar with the University Attendance Policies.
  13. Disclaimer. This syllabus is subject to change to meet the needs of the course.
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