Welcome to ENGL 1102 - Composition II. I'm Dr. Joe Pellegrino, your instructor for the course. This email will be a bit lengthy, please read it through, because it will contain all the information and links you'll need to get started in the course.

Here are the topics I'll cover (I saved the best for last):
1. The course syllabus
2. The course structure/schedule
3. The course materials
4. The writing process
5. Discussion forums
6. Attendance verification
7. Contact
8. Your + 1

1. Course Syllabus
I've been teaching online with the D2L/Folio platform since we adopted it at GS. I was on the committee that evaluated several Learning Management Systems and decided on D2L/Folio. But I was the only member of that committee who voted against this platform. It's buggy, overly complicated, uses outdated technology, and is difficult to navigate. And that's just from your end. You should see how ridiculous it is on my end. I have had to contact the D2L external support team at least once every semester to address issues like corrupt sectors on their servers, courses suddenly reverting back to earlier versions, and calendar dates changing unexplainedly. If you've worked with it for any amount of time, you know how cumbersome it is, and how frustrating it is when it loses your data. So the fundamental guidepost for this class is an externally-hosted syllabus, that's just linked to in Folio. Here's the external URL:

https://jpellegrino.com/teaching/ENGL1102/1102-Summer2023-Syllabus.html

Everything you need to know about the course is in that syllabus. Check it out, and read it pretty thoroughly, since your writing prompts and explanations about what's going on in Folio are all in there.


2. Course Structure
The course is broken roughly into three sections:
The first section is filled with introductory material, and a short project involving reading and writing about what you read.
The next section is more academic; you'll be tracking down a news article on a topic of interest in your major, then finding a couple of academic articles on the same subject. All of this will end with an analysis of the news article as you compare it to those academic articles.
The final section has a larger project, where you'll come up with a question about something in your major field, and then investigate the answer to that question through at least three academic sources. You'll consider your initial impressions, then slice and dice with those academic articles until you arrive at a new understanding of your initial question.
FOR THE COURSE SCHEDULE, COMPLETE WITH DUE DATES FOR ALL ASSIGNMENTS, GO TO THE SYLLABUS:
 https://jpellegrino.com/teaching/ENGL1102/1102-Summer2023-Syllabus.html#sched

3. Course Materials
Everything you need for this course is already loaded into Folio for you. So there are no material or book costs for this course.

4. The Writing Process
Writing is an iterative process. That is, you do the same thing, over and over again. If you've ever sharpened a knife, you know what I mean. You can't get an edge sharp enough to shave with by just making one or two passes on a stone. You need multiple passes to get your blade sharp. The same is true of writing. Turning in something you dashed off ten minutes before the deadline will not get you the grade you want. So I've built in multiple drafts for each major assignment here.

5. Discussion Forums
The discussion forums in the course serve two functions. The first is that you can respond to questions posed there. The initial forum, on "Reading and Writing" is one of those, as is the "Bonus Questions" area (you'll have to read the syllabus to see about them). But we'll also be using the forums as a way for you to pass your drafts to your peers for peer review. That way I get to see those drafts and evaluate them as well.

6. Attendance verification
The U is verifying your attendance through a simple one-question quiz that they will place in the course site on D2L by Monday. You'll have to complete this quiz by Tuesday in order to verify your attendance. Don't blow this off; the U will drop you from the class if your attendance isn't verified.

7. Contact
If you need to email me, use my GS account (jpellegrino@georgiasouthern.edu), and not the email in Folio (it's one of those features with serious flaws). If an email won't cut it, I can be available for a virtual or F2F meeting (in the Statesboro Campus) if our schedules can sync up.

8. Your +1
In a class of this size, especially in the summer, we don't usually have the luxury of having a Teaching Assistant. This class, however, is an exception. April Trepagnier, who was recognized this year by the University System of Georgia Board of Regents as the top student at Georgia Southern, the one who best exemplified the system’s highest scholastic ideals, will be joining us as a Teaching Assistant. So you literally have the single best student at the institution available to you as a TA. You may have some questions about this, so I'll try to anticipate them here.

Why would I want to use a TA?
April won't write your papers for you. Nor will she edit them. But what she can do, and do very well, is help you plan your work so you can construct a solid piece of writing. If you're nice to her, she can probably take a look at your work and tell you things like, "You're missing words in several of your sentences here," or "There's a reason why we have so many prepositions in English: they mean different things, so you should find the right ones for your sentences." Essentially, she can point you in the right direction in your writing.

I can handle my writing. Why else is she here?
I'll admit it; I can be intimidating as a professor. I taught my first college course in 1982, so I've been through the wringer for a while now. I'm not the kind of person to gush over your writing, because my assumption is that you already know it's as good as you can make it, because you wouldn't turn it in until it was. My job is to point out where and how you can do better in your writing, so most of my comments on papers are questions to you, asking if what you wrote is really what you meant.

So you might be a little too worried to set up an appointment with me, even though you need some guidance. That's where April comes in. Think of her as a kind of intermediary between us. She's under no obligation to tell me about anything you tell her, so if you need a patient ear, or someone to speak for you, she's your woman. Believe me, she has never had any problem speaking her mind.

What's the big deal about her?
Along with the fact that the ultimate governing body for all higher education in Georgia considers her #1 out of over 25,000 students here, she earned that honor while at the same time running an incredibly successful national business, and raising a passel of kids (5? 6?). Want to learn how to speak your truth, manage your time, live your priorities, and get all the things done, all the time? Listen to April.

OK, I'll be in touch again soon. Please take a look at the material on the course site, as well as the syllabus and schedule. If, after going through these, you have any questions, please let me know.

Dr. P