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Southern Utah University
Southern Utah University
Summer Semester 2026

Introduction to Academic Writing (Face-to-Face)

ENGL 1010-01

Course: ENGL 1010-01
Credits: 3
Term: Summer Semester 2026
Department: ENGL
CRN: 20519

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

This class does not require you to buy any textbooks, and the readings for the discussion boards will be provided through Canvas. These readings will come from:

  • Writing Spaces: Readings on Writing Vol. 1 Edited by Charles Lowe and Pavel Zemliansky
  • Matt’s Gutsy Guide to Reading in College: Unlocking the Art of Advanced Reading by Dr. Matt Friesen

Learning Outcomes

  • 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

Grading

Paper 1 Position Paper   10%

Paper 2 Proposal Paper 25%

Paper 3 Rhetorical Analysis      20%

Workshops                                  25%

Discussions                                 10%

Participation                                10%

Major Assignments

There are 3 major assignments spaced out throughout this course, and these correspond to the 3 Units that will divide this semester. The first in Unit 1 is a short, argumentative essay, and is worth 10% of your final grade. Its focus is to practice the basics of writing like thesis statements, beginning to use supportive evidence and engaging the audience. The second in Unit 2 is an proposal essay that offers a solution to a problem that you have noticed in your everyday life; it builds on the topic from the Unit 1 paper and our skills from Unit 1 with an increased focus on using and evaluating sources. Finally, the Unit 3 paper focuses on a rhetorical analysis of a famous, historic or contemporary speech. We will work on incorporating and evaluating academic sources and developing audience-focused arguments with a clear thesis statement, argumentative structure and supporting different kinds of evidence.

 

Discussion Boards

These will feature 2 to 3 chapters from our readings, and some exploratory questions to help you to engage with the reading and with each other. There is usually one discussion board per day, and they are meant to help prepare you for the discussions and workshops we will be doing in class.

 

Workshops

These are skill-building activities will be both in-class and at home assignments, and they have the goal of preparing to complete the major assignment for that unit. Many of them are group or group-based assignments for class, and the homework-based ones will include a reoccurring Writing Studio assignment where you will develop your Digital Portfolio of your drafts for the major assignments.


Course Outline

Unit 1 – What is a Problem?

Major Assignment 1 -Position Paper (Due Friday, May 22nd)

Week 1 – Day 1 (Monday, May 11th)

Discussion 1

Workshop: How Do You Write?

In-Class Activity: Drafting Thesis Statements and Brainstorming Topics

 

Week 1 – Day 2 (Wednesday, May 13th)

Workshop: Introducing AI Ethics and Plagiarism

Workshop: Commercials and Rhetoric

Workshop: Writing Studio 1

 

Week 1 – Day 3 (Friday, May 15th)

Discussion 2

Workshop: Commenting on Drafts

Quickwrites 1

Workshop: Peer Review 1

 

Week 2 – Day 1 (Monday, May 18th)

Workshop: MLA 9 Cheat Sheet

In-Class Activity: Peer Review Reflection

 

Unit 2 – What are You Going to Do About It? 

Major Assignment 2 – Proposal Paper ( Due June 8th)

Week 2 – Day 2 (Wednesday, May 20th)

Workshop: Sample Proposal Argument- Creating a Tip Sheet

Workshop: Wicked Problems

Discussion 3

 

Week 2- Day 3 (Friday, May 22nd) 

In-Class Activity: Transforming the Position Paper into a Proposal

Workshop: Brainstorming Through Research

Quickwrites 2

 

Week 3- Day 1 (Wednesday, May 27th)

Workshop: Finding Sources

Discussion 4

Workshop: Incorporating Sources into Writing

 

Week 3 – Day 2 (Friday, May 29th)

Progress Checkpoint 1

Workshop: Drawing From Examples

Workshop: Writing Studio 2

 

Week 4 – Day 1 (Monday, June 1st)

Workshop: Grammar Challenge and Notes

Workshop: Basic Outline

Week 4 – Day 2 (Wednesday, June 3rd)

Discussion 5

Workshop: Writing Studio 3

In-Class Activity: Investigating Each Other’s Sources

 

Week 4 – Day 3 (Friday, June 5th)

Workshop: Reverse Outline

Workshop: Peer Review 2

Quickwrites 4

 

Unit 3 – What is Persuasive?

Major Assignment 3 – Rhetorical Analysis Paper (Due, Monday, June 22nd)

 

Week 5- Day 1 (Monday, June 8th)

Workshop: Investigating TikTok and YouTube Videos

Discussion 6

Workshop: SOAPSTone Thinking Practice

 

Week 5 – Day 2 ( Wednesday, June 10th)

Workshop: Practice Rhetorical Detective Strategies

Discussion 7

Workshop: Rhetorical Strategies Gird

 

Week 5 – Day 3 (Friday, June 12th)

Progress Checkpoint 2

Workshop: Writing Studio 4

Discussion 8

Quickwrites 5

 

Week 6 – Day 1 (Wednesday, June 17th)

Discussion 9

Workshop: Revising Using Seegmiller’s

Workshop: Grammar Challenges and Notes

 

Week 6 – Day 2 (Friday, June 19th)

Workshop: Peer Review 3

Quickwrites 6

Workshop: Reflective Rhetorical Analysis

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 until it is 2 days late. There are 2 exceptions for this: 1) any group work including group workshops and peer reviews because your work affects the grade of your group members and 2) the final paper because it is due during finals week.

However, if you fall more than one week behind, you have to meet with me in my office or over 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.

 

Grading and Commenting:

Each assignment (except for group assignments and the final paper) will have a submission window of two business days which you can turn your paper in via Canvas. You may submit your paper at any point during this submission window. After many years of teaching, I have found that some students would simply like a rubric explaining quantitatively the strengths and areas for improvement in their writing, while others prefer more detailed written feedback, and some still prefer line-by-line suggestions on smaller things like grammar and style. So, in an attempt to customize the feedback each of you gets to best suit your learning style, the detail of my feedback will be based on when in the submission window you submit--earlier submissions will receive more detailed feedback than later submissions, and YOU control your destiny. For example, if you submit on the due date of the submission window, you can expect marginalia, a substantial end note, individual grammar and style notes, and a quantitative rubric. If you submit 2 days later, you can expect a rubric.

Notes of Importance:

  • Your grade will never be affected by when you submit--only the level of detail in my feedback will change.
  • 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 in the submission window. Making an appointment with me through email is essential to setting up a time where we can discuss any concerns you might have. It can be either in-person or online.
I aim to complete grades for each assignment within 2 weeks of submission, but it might take up to 3 for the longer assignments. I will keep you informed of my progress as I grade.

 

AI Usage and Academic Misconduct

Generative AI Policies

Three Principles: Generative AI (artificial intelligence that can produce content) is now widely available to produce text, images, and other media. I encourage the use of such AI resources to inform you about the field, to understand the contributions that AI can make, and to help[ your learning. However, keep the following three principles in mind: (1) an AI cannot pass this course; (2) AI contributions must be attributed and true; (3) the use of AI resources must be open and documented.

To pass this course: AI generated submissions cannot achieve a passing grade. This is necessary to ensure that you are competent to surpass generative AI in the future – whether in academia, research, the workplace, or other domains of society.

Openness: I encourage you to use AI tools to explore the field, play with knowledge, and help you study. But you need to be open about this, and document your use.

General writing: In principle you may submit material that contains AI-generated content, or is based on or derived from it, as long as this use is properly documented. This includes, for example, drafting an outline, preparing individual sections, combining elements and removing redundant parts, and compiling and annotating references. Your documentation must make the process transparent – the submission itself must meet standards of attribution and validation. 

Referencing and validating: You are taking full responsibility for AI-generated materials as if you had produced them yourself: ideas must be attributed and facts must be true.

AI and Factual Accuracy: AI is prone to writing factually incorrect statements, inventing fake quotes from real sources, and inventing entirely fake sources. It is your responsibility to double-check that any AI-assisted work you submit is free from these errors. Work containing obvious factual errors or fictitious quotes or sources will be marked as incomplete. If the problematic work is a major essay, you will be allowed to rewrite and resubmit it within the deadlines stipulated on the syllabus the first time this happens. If the problematic work is in any other type of assignment, you will not be allowed to rewrite or resubmit it. Submitting more than one assignment with these types of errors will result in you failing the class.

We will have workshops that will explore the ethics of AI this semester.

Attendance Policy

Attendance is not graded in this class. However, there are assignments known as Quickwrites that are only available to those who either attend class email me a reason for your absence. You will need to let me know within 24 hours if you want the quickwrite you missed. If you do so, I will email it back to you, and through my email, is the only valid way to get the quickwrite outside of coming to class; however, this only works for the first 5 times you miss. After that, we need to have a meeting to discuss your attendance.

You are responsible for any material that we discuss together, and I do not advise that you make a regular habit of missing this class. Getting to know classmates and exchanging notes can be a significant help if you have to miss class, but I will let you know that students who miss more than about 10 class periods usually do not pass the class because of the effect that these absences have on the work they turn in.

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.