Outline

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Course Description
ENGWRIT101 teaches students how to produce a well-written and well-structured essay, that addresses the question being asked, and does so in an appropriate way. The paper focuses on the basic principles of essay writing, the different rhetorical styles students are asked to produce in university papers (eg. comparison and contrast, summary, argument, critique), and the different types of essays required in different papers and different faculties.
This is a content course, with two 50-minute lectures per week, and a strong skills-based component built into the tutorials. Students enrolled in ENGWRIT101 must attend 1 tutorial per week.
The paper requires no prerequisites or co-requisites. ENGWRIT101 is one of two Stage 1 papers that can be taken as part of the Writing Studies major.

IMPORTANT: ENGWRIT101 is not a course in English as a Second Language. Students enrolling must be fluent in spoken and written English.

Assessment:
Coursework          70%
Final Exam            30%
The exam is 3 hours and is compulsory. Information about exam structure and content is provided during the course. For information about aegrotat or compassionate consideration, refer to: http://www.auckland.ac.nz/uoa/for/currentstudents/academiclife/aegrotatinfo.cfm

Coursework:
 

Asst 1 Paragraph	10% (150 words)	Due: Week 3 Friday 4pm August 7
Asst 2 Summary	20% (500-600 words)	Due: Week 6 Friday 4pm August 28
Asst 3 Argument Essay	20% (800-900 words)	Due: Week 9  Friday 4pm October 2
Tutorial Work	20% (300 words x 3 pieces - 5% each; 5 Revision practices - 1% each)	Due: See class schedule

Assignment Requirements:
• Submit drafts and a completed peer review (Student Reader Report) along with ENGWRIT101 assignment cover sheet (available from Level 8 Fisher Building, or Cecil Resources). 
• Keep an electronic copy in case an assignment is misplaced
• Submit a copy of all assignments to Turnitin. Procedure for submission on Cecil Resources.

Tutorial Work:
• Submit in tutorial 1 week after work is assigned
• Cover sheet & drafts not required
• Writing: submit up to 4 pieces – best 3 grades contribute up to 5% each  
• Revision practice: submit 5 for up to 1 % each

Teaching Staff:
Neil Matheson
nj.matheson@auckland.ac.nz
Room 905, Level 9, Fisher Bldg, 18 Waterloo Quadrant
tel: 373-7599 ext 86727
Office hours: To Be Announced (TBA)

Other staff TBA

Learning Outcomes
The table indicates expected outcomes for students and the focus of particular assignments and tutorial work in general.

	Asst 1	Asst 2	Asst3	Tutorials
Write more easily and in a more organised way	Y	Y	Y	Y
Revise and edit writing and peer review others’ work	Y	Y	Y	Y
Compose good introductions and conclusions		Y	Y	Y
Reference in an appropriate way		Y	Y	Y
Recognise differences in writing style between disciplines		Y	Y	Y
Use the various methods of writing development		Y	Y	Y
Use the Lbrary more effectively			Y	Y

 

Workload
As with other university courses, the workload in ENGWRIT101 is designed to be an average of 10 hours work per week (including lectures and tutorial) in a regular semester. In summer semester, it is twice this.  

Class times
Lecture:  Monday  & Wednesday 10-11am (ENG1439)
 
Tutorials:  Monday:  11am (Fisher 102) 2pm (Fisher 102)
Tuesday:  10am (Arts 1 520) 11am (Arts 1 520)
Thursday:  10am (Fisher 104) 11am (Fisher 104) 

Course content
The lecture content for the paper is divided into 3 parts.
Part I, Basic Academic Writing Skills, covers basic skills essential to all types of academic writing. Lectures include writing paragraphs, peer review, revising, editing and proofreading, generating ideas, writing outlines and other organising techniques, introductions & conclusions, using sources (summaries, quotes & paraphrases), avoiding plagiarism, and the use of in-text citations and bibliographies. The writing skills you learn in this part of the paper will help you write better essays.
Part II of the course focuses on Different Types of Writing. Here we focus on the different types of essays students are required to produce in a university setting. We teach you how to vary your writing style so that you can write your assignments in different ways.
In this part of the course, we focus on arguments, narratives, and several types of description. Arguments are the fundamental writing task for students in Philosophy courses. They are also important in other fields.
Narratives are common in case studies and in laboratory reports, however, there are many pitfalls to  using narrative, and these are covered. Descriptive writing is common in all fields of study. Descriptive writing includes summaries, comparison and contrast, definitions, classifications and exemplification, critiques and literature reviews. 
Part III deals with Special Topics. We focus on the differences between writing papers for different departments and different faculties. Although the basic structure of the essay and the types of texts are similar, there are some differences between writing a paper in Linguistics and one in Literature. There are also some differences between writing a paper in History and one in Psychology. Students often do well in their major but sometimes when they decide to take a one-off paper for interest in another discipline, they find that they are suddenly getting C's instead of A's. This part of the course attempts to explain why.
We look at extremes in academic writing: case studies, writing reports, writing about quantitative research, and writing for examinations. Case studies are widely used in a whole range of subjects. Reports and quantitative research writing are common writing types in some fields (Economics, Mathematics, Computer Science) but not others (Literature). Even if you don't have to write a report, it is often interesting and informative to know how your writing differs from others. You may also find the lecture on report writing useful in your future employment. Many businesses ask their employees to analyse data and write it up in the form of a report.

Purpose of course
When you finish this course you should be able to write a well-written and well-organised essay that addresses the question being asked and does so in an appropriate way. An ‘A’ paper has three essential ingredients: it is well-written, it is on topic (it answers the question), and the topic is well-researched. This course does not guarantee ‘A’ grades in your other courses. It is not a "quick fix". However, most students who take this course comment that they now find writing essays easier and that their marks on essays have improved.
This course will therefore assist you greatly in all other papers that require you to write essays. It will not teach you the technical terms and concepts that are needed to write a good paper in your particular field nor does it do the research for you. You will still have to set time aside to research, plan, write and revise your essay.

Lectures
The content for this paper is provided in the lecture, so attendance is vital. If you cannot attend a lecture, get notes from a colleague (establish a contact asap). Lectures start at 10:05 and end at 10:55. There are two lectures per week Monday and Wednesday 10 - 11am. Lecture handouts are usually sample texts referred to in the lecture. Information in the lectures is therefore not repeated in the readings for that lecture.

It is okay to tape the lecture. Links to audio recordings of lectures from earlier semesters will be posted under Cecil ENGWRIT Resources, 1 or 2 weeks after scheduled lecture times.
Power-points used in lectures are available on the course website, but you will still need to take notes alongside them.

Tutorials
The tutorials contain the practical component of the course. In order to learn how to write, you must practise writing at home, and in tutorials. Because you need to practise writing, the tutorials are obligatory. You must sign up for and attend 1 tutorial per week. Tutorials start in Week 1.
20% of the final grade is made up of tutorial writing and revision practice.

Assignments: Deadlines, Penalties and Extensions

The DALSL office is not open Saturday or Sunday or during public holidays or after 5pm on workdays.

DEADLINES
Deadlines for coursework are NOT generally negotiable.  Any work submitted after the due date and without an extension form will be treated as overdue and penalties will apply (see below).

Out of class (take-home) assessments are due no later than 4pm on the due date. Assignments handed in after 4pm, will not be processed until the following work day and penalties will apply. 

PENALTIES
The mark given to an overdue assignment will be reduced by 5 per cent (out of 100) for each day that it is late up to 5 working days (eg. an assignment worth 80 per cent would receive 75 per cent if it is one day late, 70 per cent if it is two days late etc… 55 per cent if it is 5 days late.)  

Assignments which are due on Friday, but not processed until the following Monday or Tuesday, will be counted as TWO days late.

Overdue assignments submitted more than five days late will not be marked nor will assignments be marked if submitted after the assignment has been marked and returned.  Unmarked assignments will be held until the end of the semester at which time the marker may choose to award a minimal completion mark (1 or 2 per cent) in cases where the final grade for the student is borderline (D+).  For this reason, it is better to hand in a late assignment than no assignment at all.

HOW TO SEEK/ REQUEST/ APPLY FOR AN EXTENSION
In serious circumstances beyond the student’s control  (see below), s/he may apply to the staff member who marks the assignment for an extension form. Students should request extensions 2-3 days in advance.  Only in extreme circumstances will late requests for extensions be considered.

Serious circumstances means sudden illness (in the case of in-class tests etc) or long-term illness (for essays etc done over a week or more) but does NOT mean time management difficulties such as too many assignments due at once, wanting to go on holiday, relatives visiting from overseas etc.

Only ONE extension can be granted to a student per assignment.

OUT-OF-CLASS ASSESSMENT 

(i.e. take-home essays/ projects assignments etc)
 
When a staff member grants an extension they will issue the student with a signed extension form stating a new due date, and any additional documentation they may require (such as medical certificates).

The completed assignment must be submitted on or before the new due date together with the signed extension form and the other paperwork. Otherwise the extension will be void and the assignment will be treated as overdue. 

PLAGIARISM

Note also the following statement regarding plagiarism.
‘The University of Auckland will not tolerate cheating, or assisting others to cheat, and views cheating in coursework as a serious academic offence.  The work that a student submits for grading must be the student's own work, reflecting his or her learning.  Where work from other sources is used, it must be properly acknowledged and referenced.   This requirement also applies to sources on the world-wide web.  A student's assessed work may be reviewed against electronic source material using computerised detection mechanisms.  Upon reasonable request, students may be required to provide an electronic version of their work for computerised review.’
The penalties for plagiarism are severe and can range from gaining no marks for the assignment to disciplinary action under the terms of the Examination Regulations.

For further details and advice on avoiding plagiarism, refer to Conduct of Coursework Guidelines:
http://www.auckland.ac.nz/uoa/fms/default/uoa/about/teaching/policiesprocedures/docs/conductcoursework.pdf

Students may need to submit assignments to www.turnitin.com. no later than the due date.  If not, they will be considered late and incur the same penalties as a late assignment.  Details on how to submit to Turnitin will be available on Cecil under Resources for this course and as a handout if you are required to do this.