Email: ctkung@ship.edu; Phone: 477-1716
Office: DHC 007
Office hours: MW 9:15-11:45; R 1:45-2:45 and by appointment
TEXTS
McMahan, Elizabeth, and Robert Funk. Here’s How to Write Well. 2nd ed. Pearson, 2002.
Recommended: a handbook that includes the documentation format appropriate for your discipline
COURSE DESCRIPTION
In this course, you will work on a semester-long project, your senior thesis. This thesis, which should be considered a culmination of skill and knowledge you have gained in your coursework and areas of expertise, must be given final approval by both Dr. Pressler, chair of the Interdisciplinary Arts Program, and myself. Though each of you will be working on different topics and with different texts, you will all be writing, and all of you will need guidance in places.
Class meetings will include instruction in topics relevant to composing the Senior Thesis and work out of Here’s How to Write Well (HHtWW), a short accessible text that will help you improve your writing. The primary work for the course will be your work—finishing your research on your topics; writing drafts; reading and editing one another’s drafts; and organizing, compiling, and formatting the final draft of your senior thesis.
All written work must be submitted in hard copy, typed and double-spaced, AND submitted through D2L the night before. Your drafts will be emailed to two of your classmates so that they can review your work prior to the editing session. It is very important that you adhere to these deadlines and participate fully in peer editing.
A few notes on the schedule, which is broken down into three main parts.
Finally, you should always bring your current work with you to class: to workshop, edit, apply writing strategies to out of HHtWW. Again, I’ll try to tell you what to bring more specifically each week, but know that you should always have work available, either on your laptop or in hard copy.
COURSE POLICIES
Attendance: Unlike the usual semester paper, the Senior Thesis cannot be researched and written in the last few weeks of classes. That is why you were asked to submit a proposal last May and why you were asked to start your research over the summer. It is imperative that you attend all meetings and complete written work by the deadlines listed below. Any absence without sufficient reason or any work that is submitted late will result in a 1/2 letter-grade reduction in your thesis. More than five absences (includes conferences) or late submissions will mean failure in the course. For most of you, this means not graduating on time. I will work to guide you as much as possible towards successful completion of the project.
Plagiarism: Plagiarism is the submission of work done by another with the intent that it be evaluated as one's own. Plagiarism is a very serious ethical and academic transgression; SU’s policy can be found at <www.ship.edu/catalog/ug/acad7.html>. You must be scrupulous researchers to be successful in this class. You must take good notes, write down all bibliographic information for any source you think you might use (this gets hard, especially since we click through so many web sites), and integrate these sources clearly and cleanly. As a baseline, know that any ideas found in books, articles, and elsewhere must be given written credit in your essay. We will work on how avoid plagiarism and learn how to properly cite sources, but the onus for this aspect of your thesis falls on you.
That said, I take plagiarism very seriously, and if I find that you have deliberately and knowingly plagiarized, I will give you an “F” on the thesis and take the appropriate action at the university level.
Conferences/Help: Please do not hesitate to see me during office hours or to set up a conference. You are also strongly encouraged to seek help from the tutors in the Learning Center (FYI: the lab attendants in DHC 002 are also writing tutors). If you are a student with a disability and would like to discuss special academic accommodations, contact me during my office hours.
SHIP says No More: Shippensburg University and its faculty are committed to assuring a safe and productive educational environment for all students. In order to meet this commitment and to comply with Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 and guidance from the Office for Civil Rights, the University requires faculty members to report incidents of sexual violence shared by students to the University's Title IX Coordinator. The only exceptions to the faculty member's reporting obligation are when incidents of sexual violence are communicated by a student during a classroom discussion, in a writing assignment for a class, or as part of a University-approved research project. Faculty members are obligated to report allegations of sexual violence or any other abuse of a student who was, or is, a child (a person under 18 years of age) when the abuse allegedly occurred. Such reporting must be made to the Shippensburg University Police at 477-1444, the Department of Human Services (DHS) at 800-932-0313, and the University’s Office of the Vice President of Student Affairs at 477-1308. Information regarding the reporting of sexual violence and the resources that are available to victims of sexual violence can be found at: www.ship.edu/No_More/Sexual_Misconduct/Sexual_Misconduct_Information/
Grades: your main grade for the course is, of course, the thesis: bound and complete by the end of the semester, as perfect as you can make it. It will be scored by a rubric given to you early in the semester. I will also use your readiness on editing days, completion of assigned writing exercises, and participation in class—in your learning—as guides to help me assign a final grade. You can think of this as an 80/20 split, with the 80% being the thesis and the other 20% your professionalism and scholarly attitude.
This may change at my discretion, as the class requires.
Week 1
T 8/30 Introduction to the course; creating a work plan
From HHtWW: n/a; handout from A Manual for Writers of Research Papers, Theses, and Dissertations
YOU: Q & A: email me a list of five questions or concerns that you have regarding the Senior Thesis, including for librarian
R 9/1 Topic Focus and Development; discussion of questions or concerns regarding Senior Thesis
From HHtWW: skim chapter 1 (for next Tues); iniital work plan in class
YOU: Create work planWeek 2
T 9/6 Librarian Ashley Esposito to visit: meet in the Library (LL110) ; exercises from ch. 1
DUE: Work plan
From HHtWW: ch 3. What “strategy” do you think you are using? Rethink it: what else might you do?
R 9/8 Topic Focus and Development (continued). In-class writing: outline of ideas, overall organization; constructing a basic topic or thesis. Storyboarding in class
YOU: Create initial bibliography. What do you have? Based on the direction you think you want to do, what do you still need? Have Prewriting Checklist (HHtWW page 13) completed.
Set up appointment with reference librarians
Week 3
T 9/13 No Class (Individual conferences with me and with librarian). Be prepared to go over initial thesis and outline; gaps in research.
R 9/15 No Class (Individual conferences with me and with librarian)
From HHtWW: ch 2; ch 4 (pages 51-57)
YOU: After meeting with librarian, have list of items you still need to research; updated bibliography. Bring to class on Tuesday
Week 4
T 9/20 Addressing readers; exercises from ch 2
YOU: for TR, have several paragraphs/a mini-section completed that you can bring to class for workshop
R 9/22 Effective paragraphs (ch. 4 in class, also pages 58-64). Work on paragraphs
***All primary research materials should be obtained by this date.***
From HHtWW: ---
YOU: WRITE! Section one of thesis due next week
Week 5
T 9/27 In-class mini-conference to discuss progress, ask questions, address problems, etc..
DUE: section #1 of thesis (10-12 pages of writing) through d2l/email. Submit by Tuesday night to your group members and me. Remember to print out and fill out the peer editing sheet as well (this will change for each section of the thesis) and to post your own list of concerns/places to watch.
R 9/29 Editing session: bring peers’ printed out and edited sections
From HHtWW: ch. 9
YOU: keep writing; bring in section where you integrate a source
Week 6
T 10/4 Using your sources (exercises from ch. 9)
R 10/6 Using, integrating, and documenting your sources continued
From HHtWW: finish ch. 9
YOU: Re-outline the project: based on what you’ve got, what do you still need to do? Where do you need more information to bulk up your argument? How might you need to re-focus?
Week 7
T 10/11 No Meeting: Individual conferences this week to discuss first 2 sections of your thesis.
R 10/13 No Meeting: Individual conferences this week to discuss first 2 sections of your thesis.
Week 8
T 10/18 FALL BREAK. 10-12 additional pages of writing due, posted to d2l by Tuesday night
DUE: section #2 of thesis (10-12 additional pages of writing)
R 10/20 Editing session: bring peers’ printed out and edited sections
From HHtWW: rest of ch. 4 (65-end)
YOU: draft/rewrite the introduction and conclusion: several paragraphs that lay out your topic/main idea and sum up your findings (thus far)
Week 9
T 10/25 mini workshop on introductions and conclusions
R 10/27 Workshop on documentation formats: Works Cited, review of in-text documentation (HHTWW ch 10). Begin HHtWW: ch 5
From HHtWW: ch 5
YOU: keep writing! final section due next week
Week 10
T 11/1 In-class mini-conferences to discuss progress, ask questions, address problems, etc.
DUE: 10-12 additional pages of writing through D2L
R 11/3 Editing session: bring peers’ printed out and edited sections
From HHtWW: finish chapter 5; from ch 12 as assigned/needed (individual)
YOU: what ancillary materials like graphics might you add? How and where should those be incorporated? How documented?
Week 11
T 11/8 Review of documentation formats and brief editing session. GO VOTE!
R 11/10 Double-checking responsible use of sources.
DUE: final bibliography and complete draft to me
From HHtWW: ch 6 (revising)
YOU: Revise, based on feedback and advice from ch 6
Week 12
T 11/15 No Meeting (Individual conferences this week).
R 11/15 No Meeting (Individual conferences this week).
Week 13
T 11/22 Discuss formatting the final draft
R 11/24 THANKSGIVING—NO CLASS
Week 14
T 11/29 No Class Today—work on final draft.
DUE: revised final copy to d2l
R 12/1 Editing session: peers review your final draft, my comments on your final draft
Week 15
T 12/6 Mini-conferences to discuss any last questions or concerns.
R 12/8 Bound copy of thesis DUE