Southern Utah University

Course Syllabus

Back to Syllabus Search | Browse by Department
Southern Utah University
Southern Utah University
Fall Semester 2026

IW: Writing abt Video Games (Online)

ENGL 2010-30I

Course: ENGL 2010-30I
Credits: 3
Term: Fall Semester 2026
Department: English
CRN: 32528

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

These will be provided in Canvas.  You will need access to a computer (not just your phone) and Word or the equivalent.

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

ENGL 2010 Intermediate Writing - 3 Credits
The second of the General Education (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.  General Education Category: Written Communication

All ENGL 2010 classes have minimum requirements from the English Dept.  If you have an interest, you can see that list here.
  (I.E., it's not me trying to give you a lot of work; it's a requirement of all 2010's.)

Course Outline


While you can technically miss some assignments and not hurt your grade, sometimes one assignment is the only time a concept is talked about. Every small assignment concept will need to show up in your final essay for the semester.  So you can be doing decently but if you don't learn the concepts and show me them in the final essay, it can drop your grade quickly at the end.  The good news is I teach you each concept I need you to learn, so if you're learning as you go, you probably don't need to stress over it.


**Also note that because I want to teach you to use the best academic sources, we will only be using peer-reviewed articles and university press books through the SUU library databases and Google Scholar.  They must be 10 years old or less.**

Discussions 10%


Discussions are completion-based assignments that allow us to explore course ideas and readings in depth. If you do this reasonably well, you get full points. One discussion grade will be dropped.


I have two identical sections in this Canvas shell. In order to comply with FERPA, I need students to sign a waiver saying if it's okay with you to do discussions across the two sections instead of just one.  You'll see it as an assignment.

Workshops 10%


Workshops are low-stakes activities designed to help you practice skills and explore ideas (easy points that will help your other assignments, too)--they also let your professors check in on how your research is developing. They are designed to help with your Major Writing Assignments, so feel free to reuse and recycle the writing you do for them when appropriate! If you do this reasonably well, you get full points. One workshop grade will be dropped.

Quizzes 10%


These are open-book quizzes just to make sure you have some basic information under your belt.

Major Essays:


The bulk of your grade in ENGL 2010 will come from these interconnected assignments which culminate in a substantial, 10+ page Persuasive Argument Essay. The Rhetorical Analysis, the Topic Proposal, and the Thesis Statement are all part of the process for this final essay.


These are graded by skill (not time it took to write or perceived effort) so follow the directions and rubrics meticulously.


Rhetorical Analysis 15% 


3 pages


Analyzing a peer-reviewed journal article about video games for academic rigor.


Proposal 20% 


5 pages


Proposing what you want you want to write about and organizing your potential Persuasive Essay about video games.


Thesis Statement 5%


This is part of your persuasive essay, but is pivotal enough to have its own assignment as well.


Persuasive Essay 30%


10 pages besides the Works Cited


This argumentative essay is a step up from a high school essay that argues a point about video games.

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:
    • Oct 10 and Dec 5 are hard deadlines. No work or revisions from Weeks 1-7 can be turned in after October 10. No work or revisions from Weeks 9-13 can be turned in after Dec 5. 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. 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.

4. I can care if you'll be on probation, not be able to play for your team, lose your scholarship, have to go to home (all things students have told me, ), etc. 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

Since this is an online asynchronous class, there is no attendance.  There are, however, due dates throughout the semester.

Course Fees

There are no fees for this class.

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.