UWC2101E: Writing and Critical Thinking: Literature and Ethics

Attendance & deadlines | Course requirements & assessment | Text Style & Formatting | Plagiarism | Office hours

Attendance & deadlines

Attendance is mandatory. You are allowed two unexcused absences. A third unexcused absence may result in a failing grade or dismissal from the course.

A few excused absences from seminars, writing conferences and presentations will be permitted (in the case of illness, family crisis or official university events) if documented to my satisfaction by a medical certificate, a letter from the Dean of your faculty, or a letter from your parents. If you are having difficulties, please contact me before any unexcused absence. Students with absences (excused or unexcused) are responsible for keeping up with the work assigned for a class session. You can contact me by e-mail to find out about tasks and make up anything you have missed.

All essays and drafts are due in class on the date specified in the syllabus (unless expressly stated otherwise). Late work will not be accepted. If you have a legitimate reason for not being able to submit a piece of work, contact me before the deadline. Falling behind may warrant exclusion from the course if there is no legitimate medical or family emergency.

[TOP]

Course Requirements & Assessment

You will write three essays, one for each unit of the course.

Essay 1: A short 3-4 page essay. Analytical argument drawn from close reading.
Essay 2: A 5-6 page essay, analyzing primary and secondary sources together.
Essay 3: A 7-8 page multi-source essay.

You will also need to:

• submit drafts of these essays
• submit a cover letter for each draft and final version
• attend seminars twice a week
• be an active, constructive member of the group
• turn off your handphone, pager and other gadgets in class, unless you are in charge of an international rapid reaction taskforce
• read and think about all set readings before attending class
• be an active participant in class
• participate in peer review exercises
• attend three individual (student-teacher) writing conferences (one for each unit)
• have a current e-mail account
• have regular access to a current writer's reference book (Diana Hacker's A Writer's Reference, 4th Edition, available at the NUS Co-op, is recommended).

Assessment will be determined as follows:
Essay 1 (Unit 1) 3-4 pages: 20%
Essay 2 (Unit 2) 5-6 pages: 30% or 35%
Essay 3 (Unit 3) 7-8 pages: 30% or 35%
Participation, good questions, oral presentations, ungraded short assignments: 15%

1. Idea: arguable, interesting enough to sustain a whole essay, yet sufficiently limited in scope. The essay should be more than a report or a mechanical exercise in composition. The idea is present throughout the essay.
2. Motive: the essay successfully conveys why this idea is significant or valuable for the reader. The essay leaves the reader with a new or revised understanding of something.
3. Evidence and examples are woven into the argument. Alternative interpretations of the evidence are considered. The evidence is presented in an understandable way (orientation).
4. Structure: a logical, progressive structure (not a list or repetition), which allows for development and complication (a consideration of counter-arguments and further implications). Well-organized sections and paragraphs.
5. Clarity: carefully defined key terms and concepts and effectively designed sentences. The reader has no trouble following your argument or understanding what you mean. The reader has no reason to doubt your authority because of grammar and spelling problems.
6. Style: clear and conversational, yet sophisticated. Diction is appropriate to the audience.
7. Research: sources are well-chosen and used for a variety of purposes. The essay includes references and a bibliography.

• A    work possesses all of the above qualities and is a delight to read. It reaches high and achieves most of its aims.
  
• B    work demonstrates most of the above qualities. It reaches high and achieves many of its aims or it reaches less high than an A essay and achieves all of its aims.
  
• C    work has major problems in one or two of the key areas (idea, structure, evidence and clarity) or it is a summary or it is a personal reaction.
  
• D    work is seriously deficient. It is far too short or has serious problems in many of the above areas or it fails to address the assignment.
  
• F    work is unrecognizable as an essay or is a case of plagiarism or an essay late without prior permission or an essay without a submitted first draft.
  

Please note that although first drafts are not graded, failure to include the first draft along with the finished essay will result in an "F" grade for that particular essay. Late papers are not accepted unless prior arrangements have been made with me.