First Year Writing

The Department of Writing and Rhetoric offers first-year writing classes that focus on helping students to develop the rhetorical skill, processes, and information literacies necessary for writing and composing in the 21st century. Our classes focus on community and civic engagement, new media composition, collaborative writing, and revision.

Students in WRT 102, Basic Writing will work with both a First-Year Writing instructor and an embedded tutor from the University’s Writing Center to develop their writing skills, including idea generation and invention, organizational strategies and conventional usage in expository prose.

Students in WRT 150, Composition I are introduced to the rhetorical and stylistic demands of college writing through a focus on experiential, analytical, and expressive writing. Students in Composition I learn to generate, organize and develop their ideas and to make choices as writers that are appropriate to the rhetorical situation.

Students in WRT 160, Composition II classes are exposed to the process of writing in increasingly complex rhetorical situations that will help college writers to focus on developing analytic thinking and problem-solving strategies in writing. Students in Composition II classes are also introduced to the methods of academic research including evaluation and documentation of sources and are expected to create at least one research paper. The successful completion of WRT 160, Composition II with a 2.0 or higher satisfies the university general education requirement in the writing knowledge foundation area.

Students who want additional help with their writing in any of our introductory writing courses or in any of the university’s writing-intensive courses may elect to enroll in WRT 104, Supervised Study. This 1-2 credit course provides students with tutorial instruction from a WRT faculty member based on the areas of writing the student wishes to work on. Students who take WRT 104 unanimously praise this course for the one-on-one time the course provides and the assistance the course instructors offer for writing assignments in a variety of classes. For example, a WRT 104 student from fall 2011 praised his course instructor because she “thoroughly walked through every assignment with me,” and another applauded the instructor’s ability to teach “in different styles until we found the one best fit for my learning.”

Most students will complete the first year experience by taking Composition I (WRT 150) and Composition II (WRT 160). Some students may be encouraged to take WRT 104 (Supervised Study) based on early writing samples in their classes.

To fulfill Oakland University’s general education writing foundations requirement, students must complete WRT 160 or its equivalent with a 2.0 or higher. Ideally, students should complete their writing foundations requirement (WRT 160) before their junior year and before they take their Writing Intensive in General Education courses. As with any other unfulfilled general education course, transferring juniors and seniors who have not completed writing foundations should do so immediately.

Students with questions about placement in first year writing should consult the Department of Writing and Rhetoric, 378 O’Dowd Hall, 248-370-2746, prior to the beginning of the semester in which they plan to enroll in first year writing.

Students who complete the writing foundations requirement through transfer credits are encouraged to complete the following tutorials to prepare for writing intensive courses in general education:

The Kresge Library plagiarism tutorial.

The American Psychological Association Basics of APA Style tutorial.

The Kresge Library research process tutorials.

Online Activities Policy

Online course content is an interactive and engaging part of students’ experiences in all of our introductory writing classes. These activities are listed in the course syllabus and calendar. Also, all courses listed as MW (partially online) will have an interactive assignment (preferably graded) every Friday or weekend. Participation in online activities counts as class attendance.

Occasionally, if an emergency arises and a professor has to cancel a class not listed as online in the course calendar, an online assignment will be substituted for the cancelled class. However, last minute cancellations and substitutions will be kept to a minimum -- ideally, no more than 2 in a semester for MW or TR classes; no more than 1 in an evening course.

Online activities include more than just solitary, non-interactive activities such as reading and reviewing course materials or participating in a reading or grammar quiz. Online activities that replace in-class time will include the following elements:

Interactions between students and their peers;

Interactions between students and their instructor;

Critical thinking, collaborative challenges, and textual productions that go beyond the simple summary or recitation of information.

Time on task approximately equal to the amount of time the replaced class would take.

Activities include engaging in online written discussions, chats, Voicethread conversations, Skype sessions, or Elluminate sessions; discussing a series of prompts using text in conjunction with visual, aural, or video mediums; completing group tasks entirely through online collaboration; completing peer reviews; or using Googledocs, Googlesites, Delicious, Pearltrees, wikis, or other online sites to compose texts or collect resources.

OU Excused Absence Policy and Department Attendance Policy

All WRT classes adhere to the OU Excused Absence Policy for OU events and activities.

For absences not covered by the university policy, students in writing and rhetoric courses are allowed a certain number of absences without penalty: 3 for MWF classes, 2 for TR classes, or 1 for evening classes. This includes absences due to illness, car trouble, or schedule conflict. Participation in online activities counts as class attendance. For each absence beyond those allowed, the student's final course grade will be lowered by 0.1 points on the 4.0 scale for MWF classes, .15 for TTh classes, or .3 for evening and Saturday classes. Students who miss more than three combined weeks of class are not eligible to receive a grade above 0.0.

Midterm Progress Reports

Students in all 100-level and 200-level WRT courses are given an indication of their progress sometime around the middle of the term and no later than a week prior to the last day to take an official Withdrawal (W grade), normally the ninth week of the term.

Incompletes

Incompletes can only be given if circumstances beyond the control of the student occur after the official withdrawal date and preclude timely completion of the work for a course. Student and instructor should agree on the terms under which the work will be completed and evaluated and should complete and sign the University Registrar's form available for this purpose. The form is available from the Writing and Rhetoric Department office (378 O'Dowd Hall) and from the Registrar's office (100 O'Dowd Hall).

Adds/Drops

All WRT classes adhere to the university policy on adds, drops, and withdrawals. It is the student’s responsibility to be aware of the University deadline dates for dropping the course.

Students may add or drop WRT classes using SAIL during open enrollment periods. Students are responsible for knowing registration deadlines and understanding the implications of schedule changes on their financial aid. The department is not responsible for a student's loss of financial aid due to schedule changes

Students may not over-enroll into full sections. Twenty-two students (18 for WRT 102) is the maximum number of students allowed in a section. The Conference on College Composition and Communication recommends, “No more than 20 students should be permitted in any writing class. Ideally, classes should be limited to 15. Remedial or developmental sections should be limited to a maximum of 15 students.”

Students may not add into WRT classes after SAIL registration closes. Because of the length of time that SAIL registration is available to students, instructors are advised not to sign add slips. The first two weeks of class cover important material and often include graded assignments. Enrollment after that cutoff would be unfair both to the student and to the rest of the class.

Students are responsible for dropping classes that they decide not to complete. No-shows will be submitted to the Academic Skills Center’s Early Alert program.

Academic Conduct Policy

Cheating on examinations, plagiarism, falsifying reports/records, and unauthorized collaboration, access, or modifying of computer programs are considered serious breaches of academic conduct. The Oakland University policy on academic conduct will be strictly followed with no exceptions. See catalog under Academic Policies and Procedures.

If upon reviewing a student project, an instructor suspects that a student has engaged in plagiarism, the instructor will issue an incomplete on the assignment and forward the matter with a letter of explanation and supporting documentation to the Office of the Dean of Students, 114 Oakland Center. The instructor will indicate clearly the passages that are plagiarized and their original source. More information about the academic conduct policy. Once the matter is resolved by the Academic Conduct Committee, the faculty member will issue the appropriate grade on the assignment. If an Incomplete has been issued for the final grade, the instructor will complete a change of grade form as appropriate, and under the reason for change of grade, note, "Final grade due to resolution of academic conduct matter."

Writing Center: The Oakland University Writing Center offers an environment where students can openly communicate with peer and faculty writing consultants about all areas of the writing process. These services are available for all majors of study, and to all undergraduate and graduate students in the Joan Rosen Writing Studio. Well-qualified, trained peer consultants can help students understand assignments, generate ideas, organize thoughts, develop focused points, craft awareness of audience and purpose, and revise and edit drafts. The focus is always on "helping students help themselves" discover various ways to express their ideas.

Student Technology Center: The STC is the headquarters for the promotion, instruction and support of technology literacy. From beginners looking to learn the basics to experts seeking to hone their skills, the STC's training, education and hands-on learning experiences offers on-campus services to meet OU students' ever-increasing technology needs. Core services include technology mentoring and free equipment loans. By aiding students in their academic and personal pursuits, the services available through the STC build and enhance technological skills that lead to success - in the classroom, workplace and life.

Disability Support Services: Oakland University maintains an office to assist students with special needs. Advocacy and support services are provided through the Office of Disability Support Services located in 157 North Foundation Hall (248-370-3266, 3268 for TDD). Services include, but are not limited to, priority registration, special testing arrangements, assistive technology, referrals to outside service agencies, assistance in identifying volunteer notetakers and volunteer readers, assistance with sign language interpreter services and with any general needs or concerns. Students with special needs are encouraged to utilize these services. The University Diversity and Compliance office (148 North Foundation Hall, 248-370-3496) is also available to assist students with disabilities.

Counseling Center: The university offers students personal counseling, testing, psychotherapy and consultations. The Counseling Center is located in the Graham Health Center (248-370-3465). In addition to counseling and psychotherapy, the Counseling Center can provide evaluations regarding learning problems and disabilities.

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