Fall Trimester, 2015
Department of English & Modern Languages

ENGL 430: Writing for the Online Age
College of Arts and Sciences
Authoring Digital Selves
Instructor Information

Dr. M. Melissa Elston


Office: 2875 Colden Hall/Writing Center (2nd Floor,
Owens Library)
Contact: (660) 562-1743 [email protected]

CH Office Hours: MW 3-4:30 p.m., TR 3-4 p.m.

WC Office Hours: TR 11 a.m.-noon (or by appointment)

Website: www.mmelissaelston.com
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MWF 2-2:50 p.m., CH 3750
Course Description
Texts and
Resources
This class – as generally
conceived – is designed to
equip students with an array of
compositional skills suited to
the Information Age. Readings
and assignments will
emphasize strategies for
planning and creating
documents in technology-rich
environments, as well as
adaptive strategies when
moving from one electronic
medium or genre to another.
Each time it is offered, ENGL
430 features a unique theme.
This term, we will work with the
concepts of Digital Selfhood
and Telecopresence, which
is a term for “interaction with
Other readings will be distributed
as PDF files.
Note: While students are free to
work with raw code if they have
an IT background, HTML
knowledge is not required in
order to satisfy the multimodal
writing requirements of the
course.
2.
4.
You are expected to participate in col-
attendance is essential to complete the
laborative activities and class discussion.
course successfully.
Documented failure to participate in group
Research assignments in this course will use
work will result in a grade of "F" for the Multi-
a variety of materials, print and electronic;
media/Oral Presentation, which is 20% of
proper citation and attribution (using
your overall course grade.
either MLA documentation or another style
3.
order to receive a passing grade.
Class attendance is the responsibility of an
individual student. Regular and punctual
www.engl430.jigsy.com
www.writingaboutwriting.
wikispaces.com
Students will be encouraged to
reflect upon their own online
practices and the multiple
“selves” these generate. What’s
more, by trimester’s end they
will have engaged with multiple
digital genres in order to craft
an online public persona that
fits their individual professional,
academic, and/or creative
goals. (In other words, they will
apply these insights.)
Course Requirements
1.
Kristin L.
Arola; Jennifer
Sheppard;
Cheryl E. Ball.
Writer/
Designer: A
Guide to Making
Multimodal
Projects.
ISBN-10: 1457600455
others from a distance in
a disembodied
environment” (Zhao 388).
Questions this course will pose
include:
 What is our
relationship to our
digital self/selves, and
how is this enacted
through writing?
 How do digital spaces
allow us to shape – and
in some cases, reshape –
our identities?
 What risks and
opportunities do the
disembodiment (and
relative anonymity) of
cyberspace carry?
5.
While this is a classroom-based course, cer-
guide, with instructor approval) must be used
tain course activities and assignments are
when integrating sources into your papers.
housed on the Northwest Online course site.
You must complete all required work, in
You must access this regularly in order to
the sequence outlined on this syllabus, in
succeed in ENGL 430.
Page 2
MWF 2-2:50 p.m., CH 3750
Attendance and Tardiness
You are allowed 3 unexcused absences
from MWF classes or 2 from TTh classes
without having your grade lowered due to
absences. For each additional absence,
your overall course grade will be lowered
1/2 of a letter grade.
Unexcused absences are all others.
Because life can be unpredictable, you are
allowed three unexcused absences without
penalty. Subsequent unexcused absences,
however, will result in reduction of your final
course grade as described above.
Excused absences include absences
due to participation in university functions
(such as an official sporting event),
illnesses, religious holidays/observances,
or documented attendance of a funeral.
Undocumented absences will be excused
at my discretion. Whenever possible (i.e.,
in non-emergencies), please let me know
about an upcoming absence in advance.
Class begins at the scheduled time. Unless
previous arrangements for a late arrival
have been made with me, tardiness (by 5
minutes or more) will be documented, and
three late arrivals will count as one
unexcused absence. Late arrivals often
disrupt planned class activities. By striving
to be punctual, you are showing respect for
course participants’ time.
Grades and
Weights
Wiki entries
(Three entries, ~2,100
words total)
15%
Quizzes/impromptu
writing/other
10%
Project 1
(Web Presence
Self-Analysis )
20%
Project 2 (Hyperlinked
Web Document 40%
Final Presentation
(Conducted in
class)
15%
Grades are not
negotiable. Your final
course grade will be
based on your work in
the course. If you are
concerned about a
grade, see me during
regular office hours or
make an appointment if
you cannot meet during
the posted times. I am
happy to provide
additional help and
suggestions during
office hours.
Late Papers and Makeup Work
You are required to complete
and submit work by the due
dates listed on this syllabus.
Late submission of assignments
(major or minor) will result in a
deduction of 10 per cent of the
total points per day. Papers
submitted outside of class (for
example, left under the door or
left in the wrong office) will
receive a grade of zero if they
are lost, and will have points
deducted for late submission if
they are late.
If you are ill on a due date, you
must contact me ASAP to
arrange an alternate time to turn
the paper in and avoid losing
points.
Short reading responses (1-2
Academic Honesty
Academic honesty is central to
our mission as a university and
your success as a student, and it
is expected that you will read and
become familiar with the section
on “Academic Honesty” in the
Undergraduate Academic Catalog
and Northwest Student Handbook. Academic honesty entails
treating the work of others ethically and ethically representing
your own work.
If you are found guilty of academic dishonesty, one possible
consequence is failure of the
class.
While academic dishonesty includes more than plagiarism (your
questions) to the weekly
readings will be given
periodically during the first five
minutes of class and cannot be
made up in cases of tardiness or
unexcused absence. In the case
of an excused absence, you are
responsible for promptly making
up your reading responses
during my office hours (or at
another time by appointment).
Citation question?
The Purdue OWL online or
the Writing Center at
Northwest can help!
WC line: (660) 562-1480
https://owl.english.purdue.
edu/owl/
catalog details 8 practices considered academically dishonest), be
especially aware of the following
definition of plagiarism prepared
by the Department of English:
Recycled papers/projects
Plagiarism is defined as using
someone else’s language or
ideas as your own without appropriately crediting the source,
or to such an extent that the writing is no longer representative of
your own abilities.
You may not turn in assignments
submitted for credit in other
courses. If you are unsure about
whether a project idea that
connects to work in another
class is close enough to be
considered “recycling,” please
see me one on one.
Page 3
MWF 2-2:50 p.m., CH 3750
Schedule of Due Dates
Wiki entry 1
Friday, September 11
Wiki entry 3
Friday, November 6
Wiki entry 2
In-class presentations
Monday, October 12
Project 1
My Web Presence
(Self-Analysis)
Monday, October 19
Varies
Project 2
Hyperlinked web document
Submit on or before
official finals date
Accessibility and Accommodations
Students in this course who
need disability
accommodations/
modifications should present a
copy of their official Northwest
accommodation letter from the
LAP/S Committee to the
instructor during private office
hours as early in the term as
possible. If you believe you
may have a disability or need
further information about
receiving accommodations,
please see http://
www.nwmissouri.edu/swd/
index.htm, access the
information at myNorthwest, or
speak to your advisor.
Please refrain from wearing
perfume, cologne, or other
scented products to class, as
well as to one-on-one
conferences during office hours.
(If you are asked to leave the
class or my office due to
violation of this policy, it will
It is important to keep our
count as an unexcused absence
space accessible to individuals and/or a missed instructor
with chemical sensitivities.
conference.)
E-mail and In-Class Electronics
You are free to
use any style
guide you wish
for your final
project, so long
as it is consistent
and appropriate
to the topic and
audience.
Email Policy: Email is a wonderful tool
to ask questions and touch base with
me and your classmates. Please keep
In-Class Electronics Policy:
in mind that I do not accept unsolicited
Please bring your laptop to every
work via email. Furthermore, to protect
class meeting; we will be using them
student privacy as per FERPA and as-
heavily due to the nature of this
sociated guidelines, my policy is not to
course. Otherwise, turn off all cell
discuss student grade issues via email.
phones, tablets, and other
Students interested in such matters
electronic devices (with the
should make an appointment for a con-
exception of ADA-related assistive
sultation or see me during regular office
devices) before class starts and stow
hours. Emails received after 5 p.m. or
them away in order to fully participate
during regular break times (weekends,
in classroom activities. Those who
holiday periods, etc.) may not be re-
disregard this request will be politely
turned until the following business day.
asked to leave the room.
Page 4
Schedule of Topics/Readings for the Term
MWF 2-2:50 p.m., CH 3750
This is a tentative schedule; readings may be subject to change over the course of the trimester, depending
upon class needs.
Week 1:
Aug.25
Introductions, Course Overview
Reading: TBA
Week 2:
Sept. 4
What are Multimodal Projects?
Reading: Writer/Designer, Chapter 1, all, other TBA
Week 3:
Sept. 8
Analyzing Online Personae (Rhetoric)
Reading: Writer/Designer, Chapter 2, pp. 20-31, other TBA
Week 4:
Sept. 15
Analyzing Online Personae, Part II (Design choices)
Reading: Writer/Designer, Chapter 2, pp. 31-39, other TBA
Week 5:
Sept. 22
Classical Connections, Part I (Aristotle finds his way to the World Wide Web)
Reading: Aristotelian topoi (handout), other TBA
Week 6:
Sept. 29
Classical Connections, Part II (Building a persona through style)
Reading: Cicero, De Inventione. Excerpt. (handout), other TBA
Week 7:
Oct. 6
Choosing a Genre and Following Conventions
Writer/Designer, Chapter 3, pp. 40-51, other TBA
Week 8:
Oct. 13
Conceptualizing and Pitching
Writer/Designer, Chapter
3, pp. 51-56,other TBA
Peer Review Activity Oct. 13
Week 9:
Oct. 20
Working with Multimodal Sources
Writer/Designer, Chapter 4, pp. 52-76
Week 10:
Oct. 27
Week 11:
Nov. 3
Working with Resources and a Team
Writer/Designer, Chapter 5, pp. 52- 76
Designing Your Project
Writer/Designer, Chapter 6, pp. 93-105
Week 12:
Nov. 10
Drafting and Revising Your Project
Writer/Designer, Chapter 7, pp.106-118
Week 13:
Nov. 17
In-Class Multimedia/Oral Presentations
Week 14:
Nov. 24
In-Class Multimedia/Oral Presentations
Week 15:
Dec. 1
Putting Your Project to Work
Reading: Writer/Designer, Chapter 8, pp.
119-135, other TBA
Peer Review Activity Dec. 1
Finals Week:
Turn in/present your final project during
the scheduled course final
Have a wonderful holiday break!