ENGL135 Advanced Composition
Week 1 Discussion
EXPLORING THE COURSE THEMES
The four course themes of education, technology, art &
culture, and the environment are topics that touch each of our lives in some
way. In this discussion, practice exploring the themes as a researcher would:
by creating problem statements.
First, choose a broad area of inquiry. Second, brainstorm questions related to that
topic. Third, answer the questions. Finally, write down your focused topic. Some samples are provided below to help you to
get started.
Broad Area of Inquiry
Education
Technology
Arts and Culture
The Environment
Sample Brainstorming Questions How can we reward the best teachers and educational
leaders? How can we attract the best and brightest to enter the education
field? How do nations use computing
technologies to gain strategic advantage over rivals and adversaries? What are
the dangers of such technologies to citizens? Is
art limited to what we see in museums and downtown galleries? Is graffiti art?
Are tattoos art? Who gets to decide? Are
zoos ethical? Are wild animals better off in zoos or in their native habitats?
Do zoos encourage preservation, or are they simply a form of entertainment for
humans?
Possible Answers Teaching
should be a highly paid, respected profession to attract the best candidates to
the field. The best teachers should be
paid more. There is growing
evidence that nations have attempted to interfere in the elections of other
nations. Some nations may have used
computer viruses against their rivals. While
traditional attitudes toward art are still dominant, greater attention and
respect are being paid to controversial artists such as Banksy. These artists define themselves as being in
opposition to traditions and even laws. Proponents
of zoos would argue that endangered animals may go extinct without them, and
that the animals are well treated.
Opponents might counter by claiming that zoos are nothing more than
animal prisons.
Focused Topic Merit
Pay for Teachers Cyberwarfare Outlaw Art The
Ethics of Zoos
ENGL135 Advanced Composition
Week 2 Discussion
DQ1 SUMMARIZING A SOURCE
Locate one high-quality, reliable source you plan to use for
your course project. A source's quality
and reliability depends on a variety of factors, including the following:
the author's credibility
the reputation of the publication
timeliness
the quality, depth, and attention to detail in the writing
Begin your response by providing the reference, in APA
format, for your source. Do not use
anonymous sources, or undated sources.
If the article is not paginated, provide a word count. The source should be at least three pages, or
1000 words long.
Find out more about the author. What are his or her qualifications? What else has this individual written
recently?
Summarize the article in a well written paragraph of five or
more sentences. Follow the directions in
this week's Lesson to help you write an effective summary.
Finally, tell us why you think this article is a
good-quality source, and share with us how you intend to use the source in your
course project.
After your initial post, read those of your fellow
classmates and provide constructive feedback to at least two other students.
DQ2 INTERNET RELIABILITY
On one hand, the Internet is a tremendous resource,
providing instant access to information that helps us at work, at school, and
in our personal lives. It is hard to
imagine life without it. On the other
hand, it can be difficult to find sources of information that are both accurate
and unbiased. Please share with us an
example of a recent search for information.
What were you looking for? How
did you find it? How did you decide if
the source or sources you found were reliable?
ENGL135 Advanced Composition
Week 3 Discussion
DQ1 ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY PRACTICE
For this week's homework you will be creating an annotated
bibliography with five high-quality sources.
For each source, you will create an annotation of two paragraphs. See the Week 3 assignment description,
located in the Files -> Supplemental Materials folder, for more details (the
rubric is located in Files -> Grading Rubrics.)
For your initial post this week, share one source annotation
with your fellow classmates. Start with
the correct APA-style reference, followed by the two-paragraph annotation. After making your initial post, respond to
the posts of at least two other students.
Note: it is especially important this week to make your
initial post by Wednesday so that your classmates have an opportunity to
provide feedback to your work.
DQ2 PRESENTING IDEAS
Persuasive presenters have several traits in common. Browse
through TED talks http://www.ted.com/talks (Links to an external site.)Links to
an external site. or American Rhetoric Website at
http://www.americanrhetoric.com/ (Links to an external site.)Links to an
external site. to find a notable speaker who demonstrates strong communication
traits. How does this speaker meaningfully communicate to his or her audience?
Include the URL link of the speaker you choose to write about. After your
initial post, respond to the posts of two of your fellow classmates.
ENGL135 Advanced Composition
Week 4 Discussion
ANALYZING A SAMPLE ARGUMENT
In the textbook, read "From Degrading to
De-Grading" on p. 254 in Chapter 11. What are the strengths and weaknesses
of the argument? Were you convinced by the author's main points about grading?
ENGL135 Advanced Composition
Week 5 Discussion
COURSE PROJECT PEER REVIEW - GROUP A
This week, we'll be sharing drafts in a class peer review.
In order to make this process run smoothly, please be sure to follow the
instructions noted below.
Find your name on the peer review assignment list provided
by your professor to determine whether you are in Group A, B, C, or D.
Once you have located your assigned group, join that
discussion area and hit "reply" to the initial prompt. In your reply,
leave feedback for your classmates with general information about your draft.
Explain the current state of your draft, your plans to add content, and your
revision plans. If you have specific questions for the peers who will review
your assignment, or want to provide them with any additional information,
please do so in your initial post.
Attach your current draft to your initial post. This must be
completed no later than Tuesday night.
Even if your rough draft is not as complete as you'd like, it is
important to submit the rough draft on time so that your fellow team members
have enough time to provide you with thoughtful feedback.
Find the two peers who have posted after you in terms of
time. Read their attached drafts and any notes they left to accompany the
draft. Find the Week 5 Peer Review Checklist in the Supplemental Materials
folder in Files and download it. Complete the form separately for each of the
two peers whose drafts you will be reviewing.
Using the Peer Review Worksheet, provide thoughtful feedback
to each of your peers separately. This must be completed by no later than
Friday night, so that students can incorporate your feedback into their drafts.
Continue to check into your group Discussion area in the
event your peers pose any follow-up questions.
**Please note: If you are the last to post in your group
before the Tuesday deadline, you should review the students who post in the #1
and #2 slot. If you are second last to post in your group, please review the
students who post in the last and #1 slot. Be sure to ask your professor if you
have any questions about the peer review process.
ENGL135 Advanced Composition
Week 6 Discussion
PRESENTATION PEER REVIEW - GROUP A
This week, we'll be sharing rough drafts of your
presentations in a class peer review. In order to make this process run
smoothly, please be sure to follow the instructions noted below.
Find your name on the peer review assignment list provided
by your professor to determine whether you are in Group A, B, C, or D.
Once you have located your assigned group, join that
discussion area and hit "reply" to the initial prompt. In your reply,
leave feedback for your classmates with general information about your draft.
Explain the current state of your draft, your plans to add content, and your
revision plans. If you have specific questions for the peers who will review
your assignment, or want to provide them with any additional information,
please do so in your initial post.
Attach your current draft to your initial post. Ideally,
your rough draft should consist of 5-7 slides, accompanied by a 5-7 minute
audio presentation. This must be completed no later than Tuesday night. No matter how "rough" your rough
draft is, submit what you have by Tuesday night. The reason this is so
important is that if you don't submit your draft on time, your fellow students
can't complete their task of providing you feedback on time either.
Find the two peers who have posted after you in terms of
time. Read their attached drafts and any notes they left to accompany the
draft. Find the Week 6 Presentation Peer Review Checklist in the Supplemental
Materials folder in Files and download it. Complete the form separately for
each of the two peers whose drafts you will be reviewing.
Using the Presentation Peer Review Worksheet, provide
thoughtful feedback to each of your peers separately. This must be completed no
later than Friday night, so that students can incorporate your feedback into
their finished presentations.
Continue to check into your group Discussion area in the
event your peers pose any follow-up questions.
ENGL135 Advanced Composition
Week 7 Discussion
DQ1 APA WORKSHOP
Each academic area of study has a particular style for
documenting the ideas of other scholars. The standards of formatting document you’ve
been using are from the American Psychological Association (APA). This is the
preferred style in the social sciences.
As you work on revising your Course Project, what questions do you have
about how to incorporate standard APA format and documentation guidelines into
your essay? In addition, please share any tips, tricks, or advice on how to
make sure your research follows correct APA format.
DQ2 DESIGNING YOUR COURSE PROJECT
Unlike your Course Project presentation, your Course Project
paper is mostly text. However, you may
find it helpful to incorporate a visual element into your final paper. Review
Chapter 17, pp. 382–387 to learn more about the use of visual elements. How can
the use of a visual element enhance your project? What kind of visual element are you thinking
of using? If you have located a good
visual element already, please show it to us in your initial post.
ENGL135 Advanced Composition
Week 1 COURSE PROJECT - TOPIC
SELECTION
This assignment was locked Sep 9 at 11:59pm.
First, review the Course Project Overview page located in
the Introduction & Resources module.
You will notice that Course Project milestones are assigned in each week
of the course. Therefore, you may refer
back to this Course Project Overview page frequently throughout the term.
This Course Project will address a topic within one of the
course themes of education, arts and culture, technology, or the environment.
Read the Week 1 Lesson page for more information.
For this first Course Project milestone you will select a
topic for your 8- to 10-page research project.
The assignment is a prewriting activity that requires your
detailed responses. Please use the Topic Selection document (template and
instructions) found in the Files section for this assignment. The responses for
almost every question should be written in two paragraphs (approximately 250
words). When you are finished, save the
document as <your last name.Wk1 Topic Selection> and submit it by the end
of the week.
The completed assignment is due at the end of Week 1 and is
worth 50 points.
Note that there is a button located in the left side Course
Menu labeled "Files". See this
Files area for support documents. The
Week 1 files are listed below, along with their specific folder location within
the main Files > Advanced Composition folder:
Week 1 Topic Selection ENGL135 [Files > Advanced
Composition > Supplemental Materials]
Week 1 Grading Rubric Topic Selection ENGL135 [Files >
Advanced Composition > Grading Rubrics]
View the tutorial on formatting a Word document:
What is your possible topic? Brainstorm five
questions about it.
How is the topic important to you and how does it
affect you? What do you personally hope to gain or accomplish by writing about
this topic?
Research your topic and provide a brief summary of
the current points of view about the topic. Share at least two
different/opposing positions on the topic
Describe whom you might choose as your audience. Who
are your readers, and what are their needs, motivations, and influences? In
what ways will you need to structure your writing to appeal to them?
What specific issue will you write about within the
larger topic, and what unique angle will you provide?
ENGL135 Advanced Composition
Week 2 COURSE PROJECT - RESEARCH
PROPOSAL AND OUTLINE
This assignment was locked Sep 22 at 11:59pm.
The research proposal and outline will present the topic you
have selected for your Course Project. The purpose of the proposal is to
persuade your reader to believe that you are interested in the topic and ready
to learn how to develop the topic into a project. The format of the proposal is
a sentence outline (approximately 250 words minimum). Use APA style to document
any sources referenced in your proposal. When you are finished, save the
document as <your last name.Wk2 Proposal Assignment> and submit it by the
end of the week.
The Course Project - Research Proposal and Outline is worth
50 points.
See the Files section (located in the Course Menu) for the
support documents. The Week 2 files are listed below, along with their
location:
Week 2 Proposal Directions and Document Format [Files >
Advanced Composition > Supplemental Materials]
Week 2 Grading Rubric Proposal [Files > Advanced
Composition > Grading Rubrics]
Submit the assignment.
I. Introduction
A. Topic
1) What is
your research question?
2) What is
your working thesis?
3) What is
your angle on the topic?
B. Context
1) Justify
for your reader why the topic is important.
2) Justify
for your reader why you are the one to write about it. What do you bring to the
topic?
C. Audience
1) Who is
your primary audience?
2) Who is
your secondary audience?
3) Does your
audience share your opinions and values?
II. Evidence
A.
What research have you gathered so far?
B.
What research do you need to gather?
III. Conclusion
IV.
References
ENGL135 Advanced Composition
Week 3 COURSE PROJECT - ANNOTATED
BIBLIOGRAPHY
This assignment was locked Oct 6 at 11:59pm.
The annotated bibliography will present an introduction and
five reference citations with annotations. The purpose of the annotated
bibliography is to determine the appropriateness of the sources to the argument
you are developing for the Course Project. The format of the proposal is an
introductory paragraph followed by an alphabetized list of sources with two
paragraphs of annotation after each source (approximately 325 words). Use APA
documentation to document any sources referenced in your proposal. When you are
finished, save the document as <your last name.Wk3 Annotated
Bibliography> and submit it by the end of the week.
The Annotated Bibliography is worth 100 points and is due at
the end of the week. Please use the grading rubric as a guideline for your
assignment.
See the Files section for the following support documents.
This files are listed below, along with their location:
Week 3 Annotated Bibliography Directions and Document Format
[Files > Advanced Composition > Supplemental Materials]
Week 3 Annotated Bibliography Sample [Files > Advanced
Composition > Supplemental Materials]
Week 3 Grading Rubric Annotated Bibliography [Files >
Advanced Composition > Grading Rubrics]
Before you turn in your assignment, proofread and edit
carefully for spelling, punctuation, and grammar. Not every error will be
flagged automatically in word-processing programs, and some that are flagged as
errors are actually correct.
ENGL135 Advanced Composition
Week 4 COURSE PROJECT - FIRST DRAFT
This assignment was locked Oct 20 at 5pm.
The purpose of the first draft is to begin communicating
your topic and to establish its relevance to a reader. The first draft will
present an introduction (two to three paragraphs) and one section (two to three
paragraphs) of the body of the paper. The first draft should include at least
three of the sources you presented in your Annotated Bibliography. If you have
made changes to your list of references, cite each new reference carefully both
in the text and on the references page. The length of the first draft is three
to four pages of text, not including the title and References pages
(approximately 1000-1250 words).
The assignment includes a prewriting activity to plan the
sections of the project, which is included on the “Week 4 First Draft
Directions and Document Format” file, located in the Supplemental Materials
folder in the Files section. When you are finished, save the document as
<your last name.Wk4 Project First Draft> and submit it by the end of the
week.
The Project First Draft is worth 70 points. Please use the
grading rubric as a guideline for your assignment.
The files for this assignment are listed below, along with
their location:
Week 4 First Draft Directions and Document Format [Files
> Advanced Composition > Supplemental Materials]
Week 4 First Draft Sample [Files > Advanced Composition
> Supplemental Materials]
Week 4 Grading Rubric First Draft [Files > Advanced
Composition > Grading Rubrics]
View the tutorial on formatting a Word document:
ENGL135 Advanced Composition
Week 5 COURSE PROJECT - SECOND DRAFT
This assignment was locked Oct 20 at 11:59pm.
The purpose of the second draft is to further develop the
ideas you began communicating in the first draft. There is more than one way to organize your
essay, but a common method is problem and solution. If your essay is organized as a
problem/solution, then your second draft will include three sections: a
solution, benefits, and a conclusion. The second draft should be at least four
pages long, not counting the title page and references (approximately 1750-2000
words). If you have made changes to your
list of references, cite each new reference carefully both in the text and on
the references page.
For more ideas, and a helpful template, use the "Week 5
Second Draft Directions and Document Format" file, located in the
Supplemental Materials folder in the Files section. When you are finished, save
the document as <your last name.Wk5 Project Second Draft> and submit it
by the end of the week.
The Course Project Second Draft is worth 80 points.
The files for this assignment are listed below, along with
their location:
Week 5 Second Draft Directions and Document Format [Files
> Advanced Composition > Supplemental Materials]
Week 5 Second Draft Sample [Files > Advanced Composition
> Supplemental Materials]
Week 5 Grading Rubric Second Draft [Files > Advanced
Composition > Grading Rubrics]
Submit the
assignment.
ENGL135 Advanced Composition
Week 6 COURSE PROJECT - PRESENTATION
Based on the feedback you received on the rough draft of
your project in Week 5 and on your rough draft presentation this week, revise
and submit the finished version of your Course Project presentation here. The presentation should consist of 5-7
slides, accompanied by an audio recording of 5-7 minutes in length. The slides should be attractively designed
and easy to understand. Slides should
effectively combine text and visual elements.
Avoid using long blocks of text.
Instead, use bullets and short phrases to highlight your ideas, and use
visual elements to provide evidence and make the presentation more interesting
to look at. When you are finished, save
the presentation as <your last name.Wk6 Presentation> and submit it by
the end of the week. If your audio file
is separate (not embedded in the presentation file), name the separate audio
file as <your last name.Wk6 Presentation Audio>.
Typical presentation organization:
Title slide with title of project, your name, and the name
of the class
Introduction/Overview slide to preview the main points you'll
discuss
A few body slides that develop your main points
Conclusion slide to sum up
References slide to show off your research skills
The Course Project Presentation is worth 100 points.
The Grading Rubric for this assignment is listed below,
along with its location:
Week 6 Grading Rubric Presentation [Files > Advanced
Composition > Grading Rubrics]
Submit the assignment.
ENGL135 Advanced Composition
Week 7 COURSE PROJECT - FINAL DRAFT
The Final Draft assignment is due. It is worth 170 points
and should be 8 to 10 pages, excluding the title page and References page
(approximately 2500 words). There must be five sources at minimum in the
References page.
To succeed with the Final Draft assignment, view the Week 7
Final Draft Directions and Document Format in the Files section. This document
indicates what to include and how ideas are arranged on the page. Also, the
Week 7 Final Draft Sample found in the Files section should be used as a model.
When you are finished, save the document as <your last
name.Wk7 Project Final Draft> and submit it by the end of the week.
The files for this assignment are listed below, along with
their location:
Week 7 Final Draft Directions and Document Format [Files
> Advanced Composition > Supplemental Materials]
Week 7 Final Draft Sample [Files > Advanced Composition
> Supplemental Materials]
Week 7 Grading Rubric Final Draft [Files > Advanced
Composition > Grading Rubrics]
Submit the assignment.
ENGL135 Advanced Composition
Week 8 COURSE PROJECT - CAREER
CONNECTION
Congratulations on the end of your journey in Advanced
Composition. DeVry University strongly believes that every class you take helps
you to learn something of value to achieving your career goals. In this course, you have worked on improving
your skills in writing, researching, presenting, working in teams, and using
technological tools.
For our last graded assignment, you will write about how the
skills you have honed in this class will help you in achieving your career
goals. You can approach the assignment
in one of two ways:
1. Discuss how the skills of writing, researching,
presenting, working in teams, and using technological tools help you in your
current role in the workplace. Which of
these skills do you find most important right now? Which skills do you think will be important
to you in helping you to achieve future goals?
or
2. Look up an occupation you are interested in pursuing
after you graduate from DeVry. To find
information on occupations, you can visit the Occupational Outlook Handbook at
https://www.bls.gov/ooh/ (Links to an external site.)Links to an external
site.. Search for a career you are
interested in, such as software developer.
Then, click on the "What They Do" tab. Compare the duties of that occupation to what
you learned in this class. Which skills
that you learned in this class will be most useful to you in your chosen
career?
The Course Project - Career Connection assignment is worth
50 points.
Assignment Requirements
Length: approximately 500 words.
No need for a title page or references, but do give credit
for any information derived from the Occupational Outlook Handbook.
The assignment should be typed and submitted as a Microsoft
Word document with 12-point font and double spacing.
See Files > Advanced Composition > Grading Rubrics for
this assignment's grading rubric: Week 8 Grading Rubric Career Connection.
Week 2 Quiz
Question 1
What is the primary purpose of research?
To make money
To earn a good grade
To create new
knowledge
To become famous
Question 2
According to the presentation, up to how many steps are
involved in the research process?
3
5
7
10
Question 3
Which of the following steps in the research process is optional?
Grant
Research
Idea
Write Manuscript
Question 4
What is one key difference between an editor and a peer
reviewer?
Peer reviewers know
the identity of the author, but the editor doesn't
The editor is always
paid, but peer reviewers usually aren't
Editors focus on
grammar, while peer reviewers care only about content
Editors know the
identity of the author, but peer reviewers don't
Question 5
One main purpose of APA format is to give credit to the
sources you have used.
True
False
Question 6
Which of the following must be cited?
Direct quotations
from sources
Facts found in
sources
Ideas expressed in
sources
All of the above
Question 7
What is the correct way to cite a page number of a source in
text?
(7)
Page 7
(p.7)
(P.7)
Question 8
Which of the following is an example of a correct in-text
citation using APA format?
(Mary T. Jones,
2016)
(Jones, 2016)
Jones, 2016
(2016, Jones)
Question 9
Which of the following is good advice for researchers?
Always give credit
for ideas that aren't your own
Use quotation marks
to indicate a direct quote
Provide complete and
accurate references on the final page of your paper
All of the above
Question 10
Who makes the ultimate decision on whether to publish an
article in a scholarly journal?
The editor
Peer reviewers
The author
The university
president
Question 11
Which of the following is not a common criticism of the
peer-review process?
Too time consuming
Not enough experts
for peer review
Suppresses
alternative points of view
Too expensive
Question 12
As long as you list all the sources you've used in the
References page, you don't need to cite them in text.
True
False
Question 13
All sources listed in the References page of your paper must
be cited in text.
True
False
Question 14
Where can you find more about APA format?
Tutorial on APA in
Course Resources
Citation Machine
Chapter on APA format
in the textbook
All of the above
