Southern Utah University

Course Syllabus

Southern Utah University
Southern Utah University
Summer Semester 2026

IW: Writing about Video Games (Online)

ENGL 2010-32I

Course: ENGL 2010-32I
Credits: 3
Term: Summer Semester 2026
Department: English
CRN: 20529

Course Description

This class is a continuation of ENGL 1010; you are responsible for 1010 skills before starting this class, but you're welcome to ask about anything you've forgotten.

2010 has an emphasis on finding good academic sources and using strategies in order to make a good written argument. Part of how we learn this is to practice writing.  Another way is to read about writing or just read writing that is well-done!  So there is a lot of writing, reading, and revision in all Engl 2010 classes.

For summer, you have to learn a full semester's worth of work in half the time, so it's pretty intense.  Make sure you have time for this class.  I suggest taking only one summer class at a time.  I have knocked out some assignments and shortened the final essay to 8 pages for you, though.

This particular class focuses on arguments surrounding the topic of video games. If you don't know much about gaming, that's okay!  I'll teach you. If you do know a lot, awesome!  I've been a gamer my entire life and know a lot about the topic, too.  You will be writing about video games only this semester.

The skills you learn in this class will help you in all your other classes and in many real-life situations, as well.

Required Texts

  • I provide required articles and links for you through Canvas modules and your assignments. There are no books for you to buy.
  • You need to use Word365 for this class.  You have free access to this:  Go to MySUU->Resources->Office365
  • Do not use Google Docs; it will flag you for AI use and messes up the formatting.  I know I said this already, but it's important!
  • You need access to Canvas and the SUU Library website.

Learning Outcomes

1. Sources and Evidence: Locate, evaluate, and integrate credible and relevant sources to achieve various writing purposes.


2. Genre Awareness: Demonstrate critical and conceptual awareness of genre in reading and writing—including organization, content, presentation, formatting, and stylistic choices.


3. Context and Purpose: Analyze rhetorical situations and adapt to the audience, purpose, modalities, and the circumstances surrounding a range of reading and writing tasks.


4. Language Awareness and Usage: Recognize and make intentional, critical, and contextually-informed language choices across a range of rhetorical contexts/situations.


5. Recursive Writing Processes: Develop flexible, iterative, and reflective processes for invention, drafting, workshopping, and revision.

Course Requirements

Why English 2010 Online is Harder 
than Face-to Face Classes


There's a myth that online classes are easy (or at least easier).  Unfortunately, that is NOT true for English composition. You have to be highly self-motivated to do the readings and need to look over assignments and rubrics multiple times since you don't have me with you to clarify all concepts as would happen in a classroom. I am always available for questions, though!

If you have an overloaded schedule this semester at school or work, consider taking this class later when you have time.  Research and writing are time-consuming tasks.  Even if you got A's in high school by writing essays the night before, that will not work in this class. The final essay, for example, should take a minimum of 12 hours to do properly.  You'll learn a whole new way to write academically.

AI and Plagiarism


So you learn how to do the basics, there is no AI use AT ALL in this class.  I expect all assignments to be at 0% through the attached Copyleaks, which you can see on each assignment.


*AI on an assignment fails you for the assignment and gets you turned in to the university.*


AI includes:

  • ChatGPT and the like
  • Grammarly and the like
  • Google Docs (use only Word365- it's free!  Go to MySUU->Resources->Office365)
  • Idea Generators
  • Language Translators

**I don't care if your grammar or vocabulary is perfect.  I want to read how YOU think.  Give me your crap if you have to, but make sure it's YOUR crap, not AI's crap or even its brilliance (though it honestly isn't brilliant anyway). Please trust me that you need to know how to do this on your own before adding in AI beyond this class**

Course Outline

Wed Jul 1, 2026 | Assignment Canvas Settings (abt. 15 min) | due by 11:59pm
Discussion Checkpoint Discussion: "Power On: Why Video Games Matter" (abt. 1 hr) Reply to Topic | due by 11:59pm
Discussion Checkpoint Discussion: Go Play a Game! #1 (abt 3 hrs) Reply to Topic | due by 11:59pm
Assignment MLA Template 1 (abt. 15 min) | due by 11:59pm
Assignment Syllabus Quiz (abt. 15 min) | due by 11:59pm
Sun Jul 5, 2026 | Discussion Checkpoint Discussion: "Power On: Why Video Games Matter" (abt. 1 hr) Required Replies (2) | due by 11:59pm
Discussion Checkpoint Discussion: Go Play a Game! #1 (abt 3 hrs) Required Replies (2) | due by 11:59pm
Assignment Quick Quiz: Personal Pronouns in Academic Writing (abt. 15 min) | due by 11:59pm
Assignment Quick Quiz: What Makes a Source Academic? (abt. 15 min) | due by 11:59pm
Wed Jul 8, 2026 | Discussion Checkpoint Discussion: "Shitty First Drafts" (abt. 30 min) Reply to Topic | due by 11:59pm
Sun Jul 12, 2026 | Discussion Checkpoint Discussion: "Shitty First Drafts" (abt. 30 min) Required Replies (2) | due by 11:59pm
Assignment MLA Template 2 (abt. 15 min) | due by 11:59pm
Assignment Quick Quiz: MLA Writing Style (abt. 30 min) | due by 11:59pm
Assignment Workshop: How to Read Like a Writer (abt. 1 hr) | due by 11:59pm
Wed Jul 15, 2026 | Discussion Checkpoint Discussion: Go Play a Game! #2 (abt. 3 hrs) Reply to Topic | due by 11:59pm
Discussion Checkpoint Discussion: Rhetorical "Moves" (abt 30 min) Reply to Topic | due by 11:59pm
Sun Jul 19, 2026 | Discussion Checkpoint Discussion: Go Play a Game! #2 (abt. 3 hrs) Required Replies (2) | due by 11:59pm
Discussion Checkpoint Discussion: Rhetorical "Moves" (abt 30 min) Required Replies (2) | due by 11:59pm
Assignment Quick Quiz: Choosing Quotes (abt. 15 min) | due by 11:59pm
Assignment Workshop: Incorporating Sources into Writing (abt. 1 hr) | due by 11:59pm
Wed Jul 22, 2026 | Assignment Major Assignment 1: First Draft of the Rhetorical Analysis | due by 11:59pm
Sun Jul 26, 2026 | Assignment Major Assignment 1: Final Draft of the Rhetorical Analysis | due by 11:59pm
Wed Jul 29, 2026 | Assignment Major Assignment 2: First Draft of the Topic Proposal (abt. 3 hrs) | due by 11:59pm
Sun Aug 2, 2026 | Assignment Major Assignment 2: Final Draft of the Topic Proposal (abt. 1 hr to revise if your first draft is in decent shape) | due by 11:59pm
Assignment Quick Quiz: Odds and Ends (abt. 15 min) | due by 11:59pm
Wed Aug 5, 2026 | Assignment Thesis Statement (abt. 30 min) | due by 11:59pm
Sun Aug 9, 2026 | Assignment Workshop: Introductions (abt. 20 min) | due by 11:59pm
Wed Aug 12, 2026 | Assignment Major Assignment 3: First Draft of the Persuasive Argument Essay (abt. 8-12 hrs depending on the time you spent on assignments working up to this one) | due by 11:59pm
Sun Aug 16, 2026 | Assignment Major Assignment 3: Final Draft of the Persuasive Argument Essay (abt. 2 hrs to revise if your first draft is in decent shape) | due by 11:59pm
| Assignment Workshop: Conclusions (abt 20 min) |  


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

  • You can turn work in late for full points! But late work on major assignments won't get notes from me, which can inadvertently affect your grade. (You can still get notes if you come in for office hours).
  • You can do revisions for most assignments for full points, too! In writing, it is very common to have to revise.  That's what the writing process is.  I'll say it again: it's not a failing on your part when you need to revise- all good writers do it!  I want you to learn, so if you miss the point of an assignment or you don't like your grade, come see me so we can see what needs to be done for your next attempt.
  • There are exceptions to late work and revisions being allowed:
    • May 31 and Jun 21 are hard deadlines. No work or revisions from Weeks 1-3 can be turned in after May 31. No work or revisions from Weeks 4-6 can be turned in after Jun 21. There are no exceptions.
    • Your final draft of your final essay cannot be turned in late.  There are no exceptions.


**Please, contact me asap if you need extra time or are struggling in some other way! I can't help you after the fact.**


Please remember: 


1. You have to learn the skill to get the grade. Even if you work really hard, if you don't fulfill the assignment, I can't give you full credit.

2. The minor assignments are the lessons for the class, so don't skip them.

3. C is average. If you do the basics of an assignment, that's a C, not an A.

4. You earn grades; I write them down.  Students don't get to decide what they've earned.  Neither do I, really.  I just follow the rubrics.

5. I can care if you'll be on probation, not be able to play for your team, lose your scholarship, have to go to your home country, etc. (all things students have told me) I worry about all of you all the time, but I ethically can't give you grades you don't earn, add extra assignments for your personal benefit, or bend the rules just for you.


Attendance Policy

There are due dates but no attendance.

Course Fees

There are no fees.

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.

Religious / Conscience Belief Accommodation

RELIGIOUS / CONSCIENCE BELIEF ACCOMMODATION: In accordance with SUU Policy 6.7 Student Belief Accommodation, students may request, in writing, that their faculty accommodate their sincerely held religious or conscience beliefs. Students should provide their faculty with sufficient advanced notice, if possible within the first five (5) business days of the semester or session, or thereafter with good cause for requesting an accommodation after the first five (5) business days.

Faculty must provide a schedule accommodation or excuse an absence, in any course, for students to observe or participate in religious holidays or an organized activity conducted under the auspices of the student’s religious tradition or religious organization.

In courses that are required for graduation or for an academic major, a faculty member may accommodate a religious or conscience belief by modifying an assignment or examination if its content conflicts with the student’s belief. Faculty may decline the accommodation if it would fundamentally alter the course requirements. If declined, the student may request review by a neutral arbiter using the Belief Accommodation Request Form: https://cm.maxient.com/reportingform.php?SouthernUtahUniv&layout_id=5

Questions go to Assistant Provost Jake Johnson at johnsonj@suu.edu.

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.