Southern Utah University

Course Syllabus

Southern Utah University
Southern Utah University
Fall Semester 2026

IW: Writing about Slam Poetry (Face-to-Face)

ENGL 2010-11

Course: ENGL 2010-11
Credits: 3
Term: Fall Semester 2026
Department: English
CRN: 31541

Course Description

The second of the GE writing courses emphasizes the development of an effective academic style in argumentative essays that makes use of traditional rhetorical patterns, culminating in a major research paper. Subtopics will vary. Students with ACT English scores below 29 must take ENGL 1010 or ENGL 1010E before enrolling in 2010. (Fall, Spring, Summer) [Graded (Standard Letter)] Prerequisite(s): ENGL 1010 or ENGL 1010E or ACT English Subscore - Prerequisite Min. Grade: D- Prerequisite Test (Min. Score): ACT English Subscore (29) General Education Category: Written Communication

Required Texts

The required texts for this course are as follows:
MLA Style Guide 9th Ed. (Optional)

We will be covering several Slam/Performance poems this semester. These will come in the form of online videos of the poet performing their work. They can be freely accessed online.

"Scratch & Dent Dreams" by Eric Darby
"Knock Knock" by Daniel Beaty
"Go Big, Young Friends" by George Watsky
"A Finger, Two Dots, Then Me" by Derrick Brown
"Hurling Crowbirds at Mockingbars" by Buddy Wakefield
"Shake the Dust" by Anis Mojgani
"Sleeping" by Andrea Gibson
"How to be a Person" by Shayne Koyczan
"Victory Explosions" by Derrick Brown
"Good Light" by Andrea Gibson
"I Will Not Let an Exam Result Decide My Fate" by Suli Breaks
"America Reloading" by Andrea Gibson
"21" by Patrick Roche
"Heaven or Whatever" by Shayne Koyczan
"Eclogue: A Field Guide and Cure" by Marcelo Hernandez Castillo

Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion of the Written Communication requirement, students will be able to:

  1. Locate, evaluate, and integrate credible and relevant sources to achieve various writing purposes;
  2. Demonstrate critical and conceptual awareness of genre in reading and writing-including organization, content, presentation, formatting, and stylistic choices
  3. Analyze rhetorical situations and adapt to the audience, purpose, modalities, and the circumstances surrounding a range of reading and writing tasks
  4. Recognize and make intentional, critical, and contextually-informed language choices across a range of rhetorical contexts/situations
  5. Develop flexible, iterative, and reflective processes for invention, drafting, workshopping, and revision.

Course Requirements

Diagnostic Essay

Your first essay this semester will be a short 3-5 page diagnostic essay designed to gauge your creative and critical thinking skills and abilities and to provide me with a sense of your strengths and weaknesses as a writer. This essay will not be formally graded; you will simply receive full credit for submitting a completed essay on the assigned due date. Failure to submit the essay on time and completed will result in no points for the Diagnostic Essay.

Three Essays

For each of your essays, with the exception of your research essay, you must complete 4-6 pages, typed and double-spaced pages; the research essay will require 8-10 typed and double-spaced pages. More specifically, your formal essay writing will require you to:

Offer a well-reasoned and properly justified and supported critical analysis essay of a poem of your choice.
Develop a comparative and critical analysis essay of two poems and poets and how their work speaks to the other.
Advance a well-reasoned and well-supported argument with credible, relevant sources in the form of a research essay.

Final Exam

Your final exam will be your Critical Research essay which will be handed in on the last day of class.

Journal Questions

Brief (approx. 1-2 page typed responses to the readings; formulate a thoughtful question raised by your reading of the text; you do not need to answer the question; JQs are designed to stimulate reflective questioning that can later be the basis for developing essay topics.

Participation

Participation is based on attendance, your level of involvement in class discussion and activities, and your completion of in-class writing exercises. Detailed and constructive commentary on your classmate’s writing is crucial.

Grades

You will receive a letter grade based on the final point breakdown which is as follows:

Diagnostic Essay: 50 pts
Critical Analysis Essay: 100 pts
Comparative Essay: 100 pts
Academic Research Essay: 150 pts
Abstract & Annotated Bibliography: 100 pts
Journal Questions:  100 pts
Participation/Attendance: 100 pts
Total Points Possible: 700 pts

Grade Scale and Standards:

A 93-100% C+ 77-79%
A- 90-92% C 73-76%
B+ 87-89% C- 70-73%
B 83-86% D 61-69%
B- 80-82% F less than 60%

A: Shows superior writing skills and a definite trend toward improving writing through significant revision. Very strong in all major areas: content, organization, style, and grammar and mechanics. All required work is apparent and well-organized. Class attendance and participation is exceptional.

B: Shows above average writing skills and improvement through revision. Strong in all major areas with some minor flaws. All required work is apparent and well-organized. Class attendance and participation is above average.

C: Shows average writing skills and some improvement through revision. Average in all major areas with some definite flaws. Most required work is apparent. Class attendance and participation are average.

D: Shows below average writing skills and very little if any improvement through revision. Writing is below average in all major areas with numerous flaws. Missing a good portion of required work. Class attendance and participation is below average.

F: Shows inferior writing skills and a serious lack of effort. Serious problems in major areas. Missing most required work. Serious problems with class attendance and participation.

Classroom Behavior, Boundaries, and Expectations

Please remain respectful of the instructor, your fellow classmates, and yourself at all times. There may be debate and discussion on a wide range of topics in this course. You may disagree with others at times. In fact, these things contribute significantly to learning. However, you must remain respectful, considerate, open-minded, and non-discriminatory at all times.

Any rude or disruptive behavior will NOT be tolerated. 

AI Policy

Every piece of writing has a "voice". AI writing is no different. This course looks to explore/develop your own voice in writing. AI generated writing will score poorly in this class. However, it is not without its uses. It can be an effective grammar and organizational tool. You are free to use this developing tool in any way that isn't generative. 

Course Outline

ENGL 2010-11 Writing about Slam Poetry
Sept. 2nd through Dec. 17th
M/W/F 1:00 - 1:50 in BC 208

The following schedule is an overview of each week's focus throughout the semester:

Week 1: Course Introduction
Week 2: Diagnostics
Week 3: MLA Formatting
Week 4: The Mechanics of Poetry
Week 5: The History of "Slam"
Week 6: The "Write Bloody" Poets
Week 7: Spoken Word and the World
Week 8: Individual Conferences
Week 9: Poetry and Argumentation
Week 10: Trying it Ourselves
Week 11: The Critical Research Essay
Week 12: Expanding Your Research
Week 13: Thanksgiving Break
Week 14: Putting Together the Critical Research Essay
Week 15: Workshop and Review
Week 16: Finals Week

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

Homework and assigned work must be handed in on the date it is due. No late work will be accepted unless you give me official documentation. That said, sometimes life has a way of surprising all of us. In the event of such an occurrence, please meet with/and or contact me as soon as possible to determine if an extension can be offered. 

Attendance Policy

Attendance is mandatory! You have a minimum of two absences for the entire semester before you begin losing attendance points. Any missed classes beyond these two will result in the loss of 10% of the attendance points. Poor attendance will hurt your participation grade so attend class regularly. Chronic absences/tardiness (Four or more for the entire semester and without formal, legitimate documentation) will result in a loss of all points. Finally, any absences over four can result in a failing grade for the course.

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.