Instructor

Phil Atteberry
Office: 305 McKinney Hall
Phone: 827-4458
E-mail: atteberr@pitt.edu
Office Hours: MWF 7:30-8:00, 11:00-12:00,(Frequently 1:00-2:00)
TuTh 7:30-9:30 (Frequently 9:30-11:00)
Also by chance and appointment

Texts

75 Readings: An Anthology (10th edition)
A college level dictionary

Objectives

1) To learn to appreciate the value of good writing
2) To learn the varieties of expository development
3) To learn to construct effective thesis statements
4) To practice constructing well ordered paragraphs which support a thesis statement
5) To practice establishing and maintaining an appropriate voice
6) To increase mastery of English grammar and style

Attendance Policy

Attendance is important. Almost always a direct relationship exists between grades and class attendance. Therefore, each student will have three excused (not unexcused) absences. Students who miss more may have their final grades lowered. Students with six or more absences will have their final grades lowered. Students with ten or more absences will not pass. I will take attendance at the beginning of each class period. If you arrive after I have taken attendance, remind me to mark you present. I reserve the right, however, to mark absent anyone who is habitually late or extremely late. Also, please understand that attendance is not just physical but intellectual. If you sleep in class, catch up on your math homework, read Sports Illustrated (or even your history lesson), I will mark you absent. Also, students who do e-mail or surf the Internet during Computer lab classes will be marked absent.

Grades

Your final grade will consist of three elements: written assignments 75%, journal 20%, and quizzes and daily work 5%. All papers must be done on a word processor and submitted via e-mail. Papers not submitted properly will not be accepted.

Late Policy

Papers are due on time. Normally assignments will not be accepted late. If you absolutely cannot turn a paper in on time, see me and explain the circumstances before the paper is due. I will then decide whether to accept the paper or not. Do not simply send in a late paper. Late papers without explanations will not be graded. Also, I reserve the right not to accept papers by students who have not attended class regularly. In other words, if you are not in class to receive the assignment or hear subsequent discussions and explanations of the assignment, I will likely not accept the paper.

Rewrite Policy

I do not typically allow rewrites. Rewriting should occur before the paper is turned in, not after. You may bring me drafts of your papers before they are due, and I will help you with them. You may also send me drafts via e-mail. However, if you send a draft, it must be in my mailbox forty-eight hours before the final draft is due. If a weekend is involved, it must arrive seventy-two hours before the paper is due. (For example, if a paper is due at 9:00 Monday morning, the draft must be in my mailbox by 9:00 on Friday morning.) Please feel free to bring me drafts or come to me with questions. I am happy to help.

Web Page

My web page contains information you will need for the course. Among other things, it contains the course syllabus, sample papers, brief summaries of lectures and grammatical assistance. It may be accessed through the Pitt web site at the following address: www.pitt.edu/~atteberr.

Advice

Remember: Teaching is my job; learning is yours. You will get as much out of this course as you put into it. Coming to class is important, but coming ready to learn is even more so. Read your lessons on time; do your homework; be alert; ask questions, and you will be successful. View this and other classes as opportunities. Work hard and make the most of them.

Office Hours

My office hours are listed above, posted on my office door and on my website. Please feel free to come by and see me anytime I can help you. My office phone is also listed. I have voice mail, so if I'm not in the office, please leave a message.

Note: The daily syllabus which follows is tentative. Alterations will undoubtedly occur as the semester progresses. Those will be announced in class, and you are responsible for knowing about them, even if you are not in class when they are made.