Welcome to the Course!!

Who am I? - Class/Colleague Intros

Eric Cody Smothers, Ph.D.,

Hometown:  Harrodsburg, KY

• I've taught First-Year and Advanced Writing Courses, Business Communication, Digital Rhetoric & Writing, as well as a visual research course focussed on icons. 

• My Special Research Interests include visual rhetorics, iconography, and digital circulation online related to  icons, symbols, I’m interested in visuals and how they are used in marketing and advertising. I have skills with web building, infographics, and researching.

• I enjoy rock collecting, fishing, going to national parks, and reading fiction, poetry, and non-fiction.

Instructor Contact Info

• Office - Cupples Hall 425 (the very top) - walk through the entrance of Smiley Library
• Hours
  • M/W 11am-1:30pm
  • T/R 12:30pm-1:30pm
  • And by appointment
• EMAIL: esmothers@centralmethodist.edu
• You can also message through Canvas Inbox but direct email I will respond faster usually within

      a 12-24 hour window or sooner.

Thinking about Icons from Venngage, YouTube

There are many ways we use icons in computer-based settings, design, research and everyday use...

Course Expectations

In this course, you will be engaging in:

• Weekly Discussion Boards (Original Content and Responses to Peers)
• In-Class Writing Exercises addressing the readings, project essays, and working with each other. Participation is a big part of composition.
• A Semester-long research topic (split into two halves of the semester) exploring discourse communities & genres, writing/researching important topics connected to your group, organization/style, & professionalism. 
• Constructing and creating content beyond the written word and into multimodal spaces.

Course Etiquette

• Showing up repeatedly late (3 times or more) will lead to being marked absent. (Let me know if something will keep you from being on time via email).
•  
• Be respectful of your classmates and instructor during classroom discussion & instruction: save personal conversation before/after class (Contributing to discussion and in group work is also important).
•  
• If in doubt, ASK... I don't believe in stupid questions!

Course Policies

• Attendance (will be kept via Canvas)
  • For a MWF week course, you are permitted 3 unexcused absences. After your third, I will email you to follow-up and remind you of attendance policy and impact on your grade. Attendance percentage recorded.
  • Excused absences are because of:
    • Sickness/Illness
    • Family Emergency
    • Professional or Legal Obligation

IMPORTANT: Please email me BEFORE class to let me know about this absence OR through Canvas Inbox. This helps keep communication open especially for potential make-up work.

Course Policies-cont.

• Late Work
  • No Submissions in Canvas will result in a zero after the due date. Half-credit (50%) will only apply to major projects/assignments
  • Participation In-Class Assignments: Your attendance is importance as missing could result in zeros for not completing in-class work made available during class. Unless prior contact is made with me concerning making up work, you CANNOT make up work that required your attendance to complete (peer reviews, in-class writing excercises, etc.

Our Texts for Comp2:

• Language Awareness 13th Edition, 
  • Eagle CMU Bookstore: EN110, 
  • RENTING is the cheapest option. 
  • On a budget? Smiley Library has a Reserve copy you can access and keep within the library - take pics on your Ipad of important info!
• Canvas Reading Pack
  • All other articles/resources we will read for EN111 will be supplied through Canvas.

The A.I. Question

Can A.I. Help or Hurt your Research Process?

A.I. Writing Policy

• A.I. Writing Tools, whether ChatGPT, Grammarly, Google Bard, etc., are Writing Generators and good for brainstorming, getting ideas BUT... here is where it gets tricky...

1. Lots of Content and Info BUT NO CONTEXT (doesn't know our assignments, class, and what I'm wanting as your instructor)
2. Eliminates YOUR WRITER'S VOICE; in other words, it may sound fancy but it isn't you.
3. May or may not give you sources and evidence you can back up with citations (double the work). 

A.I. Policy (However...)

Academic Honesty and Avoiding Plagiarism

In Summary, Plagiarism is taking another person, thing, or construct's work and claiming it as your own. Avoid this at all costs by: 

• Always CITE your sources (MLA, APA) and show readers where you got your content from. 
• LIMIT information or writing you are getting from A.I. Writing Tools or generators
• DO NOT Copy and Paste Content directly into your Word Doc, especially if it is your ESSAY.
• COPY and PASTE is ONLY appropriate for URL Links, Citations, or Reference material. 

A.I. Plagiarism can lead to major grade deductions, zeros, academic dishonesty forms, or even failing the course! If in doubt, ASK!

Areas we will cover...

Unit 1: Discourse Communities

- Understanding the skills, rhetoric, and situations that form groups of people and how they are researched and visually represented.

Unit 2: Researching Methods for Discourse Community  - What are genres and what kind of spaces does my community occupy? Why is it important to have secondary sources? What are they? Where can I get material to support my research?

Unit 3: Expanding Research Investigations (Genre Analysis)

- How can primary, secondary, and visual/data analysis help the work I do in my research. How can I expand what I know? 

Unit 4: CompCON!! - Professional Showcases for Research

- Towards the end of the semester, you'll practice presenting your research, engaging with an audience, and demonstrating where you've come throughout the semester!

• The FINAL Research Report/Paper will be an organized culmination of your final results on discourse community and genre and include a variety of sources, secondary, primary, data visuals, and other research artifacts related to your discourse community and research topics.
  
• CompCON!!! - A panel-style showcase in the tradition of ComicCon where research panelists present, engage, and show off the hard work they've done throughout the semester.

Scaffolded Assignments we Build On:

- Topic Proposal

- Initial Discourse Community Analysis

-Secondary Source Chart, Annotated Bibliography

- Primary Research Investigation

- Rough Drafts and Peer Response

- Infographics, data visuals, etc.

Class Writing Activity - Building a Network of  Research Colleagues

• Navigating our Canvas Course, you will access in-class, homework, and major assignments by going to each Week's Module.
• Today, you will be placed in small groups of 3-4 to interact with the readings and thinking about academic writing/research. We will spend time unpacking the readings for class and get to know our fellow classmates' interests. We will share our work with the class later on.