Southern Utah University

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Southern Utah University
Southern Utah University
Fall Semester 2025

Introduction to Academic Writing (Online)

ENGL 1010-32I

Course: ENGL 1010-32I
Credits: 3
Term: Fall Semester 2025
Department: ENGL
CRN: 32207

Course Description

The first of the required GE writing courses introduces students to academic composition. Students will engage in writing as a process, pre-drafting strategies, multiple drafts, peer review, and large and small-scale revisions. Students with ACT English scores between 17 and 28 must take 1010 before ENGL 2010; those with scores below 17 must enroll in ENGL 1010E. (Fall, Spring, Summer) [Graded (Standard Letter)] Prerequisite(s): ENGL 0990 or ACT English Subscore or Accuplacer Next Generation score - Prerequisite Min. Grade: C Prerequisite Test (Min. Score): ACT English Subscore (17) or Accuplacer Next Generation (250) Registration Restriction(s): Intensive English Program majors may not enroll General Education Category: Written Communication

Required Texts

Our textbook is free and online. Please reach out to me if you cannot open the links (that way I can fix it for everyone!)
  • Writing Spaces vol. 1 (links to be provided on Canvas)
  • Supplemental Readings via Canvas

Learning Outcomes

ENGL 1010
1. Genre Awareness: Demonstrate critical and conceptual awareness of genre in reading and writing—including organization, content, presentation, formatting, and stylistic choices.
2. Context and Purpose: Analyze rhetorical situations and adapt to the audience, purpose, modalities, and the circumstances surrounding a range of reading and writing tasks.
3. Language Awareness and Usage: Recognize and make intentional, critical, and contextually-informed language choices across a range of rhetorical contexts/situations.
4. Recursive Writing Processes: Develop flexible, iterative, and reflective processes for invention, drafting, workshopping, and revision.


Course Requirements

To pass this course you must complete all the major assignments, fulfill all the weekly assignments, and submit all the writing assignments on time. You are expected to attend all class meetings and to participate in draft workshops, in-class exercises, and classroom discussions. All proposals, drafts, papers, and revisions must be handed in on time; failure to turn in a proposal on time, or to appear at a draft workshop without a draft is equivalent to turning in an assignment late (i.e., normally a penalty of one grade per late day). 


Course Outline

 

Grading

Paper 1 Narrative Self-Portrait   15%

Paper 2 Position Argument        20%

Paper 3 Proposal Argument       25%

Workshops                                  25%

Discussions                                 15%

Paper 1: Narrative Self-Portrait (15 pts) (3-5 pages)
Who are you? It is one of the most fundamental and important questions you will ever face. For this assignment, you will use narrative to craft an argument about who you are in 3-5 pages. That’s not a lot of room, so you’ll have to be strategic: what are the most important aspects of your identity, and how can you convey them clearly and succinctly while telling a good story?

Paper 2: Position Argument (20 pts) (5-7 pages)
Argue a point. Take a stand. Change a behavior. Correct a misconception. Refute an argument or belief. Launch a manifesto! In this paper, you will build on the skills learned in class to identify an interesting problem or issue that merits your taking a stand; translate your stand (or position) into a thesis statement; support the good reasons for your position with specific details and examples; and marshal your reasoning and appeals to persuade others to accept your position.

Paper 3: Proposal Argument (25 pts) (5-10 pages)
A proposal argument aims to identify a problematic situation that merits your taking a stand and then advocating a plan of action. For this assignment, you will build from your Position Argument to advocate for a solution to or way to address the problem (or problems) identified in the previous assignment. The Proposal Argument will require that you use credible sources  (among other appeals) to supply the data and authority that often persuade contemporary audiences.

Reflective Rhetorical Analysis (10 pts) (~2 pages)
A rhetorical analysis examines and explains how an author attempts to influence an audience. For this assignment, you will complete a short rhetorical analysis of your final Proposal Argument. Your analysis should not simply paraphrase or summarize what you have said, but should provide a way of understanding how the text persuades its audience. This analysis will draw on readings from class to examine and explain your decisions and argumentative strategies in the essay you wrote. It might also draw on successes and failures from previous assignments and how you have capitalized/improved on them for the Proposal.

Reading Responses (10 pts--1 pt each)
For each assigned reading, I would like you to write a brief, half-page (single-spaced) response addressing the following:

  1. Tell me one thing you know for certain from the reading.
  2. Tell me one thing you’d like to know more about from the reading.
  3. Tell me one thing you didn’t understand from the reading.

Your questions might deal with any part of the reading—a confusing example, a term from the text that struck you, an essay that intrigued you, etc.   




 

Instructor's policies on late assignments and/or makeup work

Late Work

There is no secret shortcut to good writing: it just takes time. This course and its due dates are paced to help you manage your time through a significant amount of writing while being as humane as possible. If you find yourself falling substantially behind the due dates in Canvas you should make an appointment to talk to me so we can strategize.

This is a long way of saying: I don't penalize late work, but it also will not receive written feedback.

However, if you fall more than three weeks behind, you have to meet with me via phone or Zoom before continuing. This is (1) so I can check in and offer help, and (2) so we can develop a clear plan to get you caught up OR a clear plan to get you withdrawn and in the best situation possible to try again.

Also, Canvas automatically drops the three lowest scores from the Discussions and Workshops assignment groups--think of them as free absences for when life inevitably happens or you just can't even!

 

Grading and Commenting:

As you will learn in this class, multiple drafts are a part of the writing process (even if they look different than just a standard paper). If you would like to send me your draft at least 3 days prior to when your assignment is due, I am happy to comment on it and offer you feedback. Otherwise, you can expect comments and the rubric with your final submission. You can then use those comments and rubric to improve upon your next assignment!

If you have questions about why your paper received a certain grade or what the rubric means, please reach out to me. I want you to understand why you are receiving a particular grade or comment and how you can continue to improve. 

 

Notes of Importance:

  • Documents that cannot be opened will be considered missing. Please submit as a .doc or .docx to ensure compatibility with Canvas’ commenting function.
  • Due dates and times are based on Canvas Standard Time
  • I am always happy to discuss a paper in detail regardless of when it is submitted. Please email me if you would like to make an appointment (my schedule is open, just give me some options of when you are free!). 

Attendance Policy

Attendance: As with my Late Policy, if you miss or fall more than two modules/weeks behind, you must meet with me before continuing so we can make sure you are situated to do well!

ADA Statement

Students with medical, psychological, learning, or other disabilities desiring academic adjustments, accommodations, or auxiliary aids will need to contact the Disability Resource Center, located in Room 206F of the Sharwan Smith Center or by phone at (435) 865-8042. The Disability Resource Center determines eligibility for and authorizes the provision of services.

If your instructor requires attendance, you may need to seek an ADA accommodation to request an exception to this attendance policy. Please contact the Disability Resource Center to determine what, if any, ADA accommodations are reasonable and appropriate.

Academic Credit

According to the federal definition of a Carnegie credit hour: A credit hour of work is the equivalent of approximately 60 minutes of class time or independent study work. A minimum of 45 hours of work by each student is required for each unit of credit. Credit is earned only when course requirements are met. One (1) credit hour is equivalent to 15 contact hours of lecture, discussion, testing, evaluation, or seminar, as well as 30 hours of student homework. An equivalent amount of work is expected for laboratory work, internships, practica, studio, and other academic work leading to the awarding of credit hours. Credit granted for individual courses, labs, or studio classes ranges from 0.5 to 15 credit hours per semester.

Academic Freedom

SUU is operated for the common good of the greater community it serves. The common good depends upon the free search for truth and its free exposition. Academic Freedom is the right of faculty to study, discuss, investigate, teach, and publish. Academic Freedom is essential to these purposes and applies to both teaching and research.

Academic Freedom in the realm of teaching is fundamental for the protection of the rights of the faculty member and of you, the student, with respect to the free pursuit of learning and discovery. Faculty members possess the right to full freedom in the classroom in discussing their subjects. They may present any controversial material relevant to their courses and their intended learning outcomes, but they shall take care not to introduce into their teaching controversial materials which have no relation to the subject being taught or the intended learning outcomes for the course.

As such, students enrolled in any course at SUU may encounter topics, perspectives, and ideas that are unfamiliar or controversial, with the educational intent of providing a meaningful learning environment that fosters your growth and development. These parameters related to Academic Freedom are included in SUU Policy 6.6.

Academic Misconduct

Scholastic honesty is expected of all students. Dishonesty will not be tolerated and will be prosecuted to the fullest extent (see SUU Policy 6.33). You are expected to have read and understood the current SUU student conduct code (SUU Policy 11.2) regarding student responsibilities and rights, the intellectual property policy (SUU Policy 5.52), information about procedures, and what constitutes acceptable behavior.

Please Note: The use of websites or services that sell essays is a violation of these policies; likewise, the use of websites or services that provide answers to assignments, quizzes, or tests is also a violation of these policies. Regarding the use of Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI), you should check with your individual course instructor.

Emergency Management Statement

In case of an emergency, the University's Emergency Notification System (ENS) will be activated. Students are encouraged to maintain updated contact information using the link on the homepage of the mySUU portal. In addition, students are encouraged to familiarize themselves with the Emergency Response Protocols posted in each classroom. Detailed information about the University's emergency management plan can be found at https://www.suu.edu/emergency.

HEOA Compliance Statement

For a full set of Higher Education Opportunity Act (HEOA) compliance statements, please visit https://www.suu.edu/heoa. The sharing of copyrighted material through peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharing, except as provided under U.S. copyright law, is prohibited by law; additional information can be found at https://my.suu.edu/help/article/1096/heoa-compliance-plan.

You are also expected to comply with policies regarding intellectual property (SUU Policy 5.52) and copyright (SUU Policy 5.54).

Mandatory Reporting

University policy (SUU Policy 5.60) requires instructors to report disclosures received from students that indicate they have been subjected to sexual misconduct/harassment. The University defines sexual harassment consistent with Federal Regulations (34 C.F.R. Part 106, Subpart D) to include quid pro quo, hostile environment harassment, sexual assault, dating violence, domestic violence, and stalking. When students communicate this information to an instructor in-person, by email, or within writing assignments, the instructor will report that to the Title IX Coordinator to ensure students receive support from the Title IX Office. A reporting form is available at https://cm.maxient.com/reportingform.php?SouthernUtahUniv

Non-Discrimination Statement

SUU is committed to fostering an inclusive community of lifelong learners and believes our university's encompassing of different views, beliefs, and identities makes us stronger, more innovative, and better prepared for the global society.

SUU does not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, citizenship, sex (including sex discrimination and sexual harassment), sexual orientation, gender identity, age, ancestry, disability status, pregnancy, pregnancy-related conditions, genetic information, military status, veteran status, or other bases protected by applicable law in employment, treatment, admission, access to educational programs and activities, or other University benefits or services.

SUU strives to cultivate a campus environment that encourages freedom of expression from diverse viewpoints. We encourage all to dialogue within a spirit of respect, civility, and decency.

For additional information on non-discrimination, please see SUU Policy 5.27 and/or visit https://www.suu.edu/nondiscrimination.

Pregnancy

Students who are or become pregnant during this course may receive reasonable modifications to facilitate continued access and participation in the course. Pregnancy and related conditions are broadly defined to include pregnancy, childbirth, termination of pregnancy, lactation, related medical conditions, and recovery. To obtain reasonable modifications, please make a request to title9@suu.edu. To learn more visit: https://www.suu.edu/titleix/pregnancy.html.

Disclaimer Statement

Information contained in this syllabus, other than the grading, late assignments, makeup work, and attendance policies, may be subject to change with advance notice, as deemed appropriate by the instructor.