Syllabus
Topic Outline/Schedule*
| Class | Date | Weekly Topic | Readings | Activities |
| 1 | Tue8/26 | Introductions. Learning as attentiveness. | Syllabus | Community guidelines |
| 2 | Thurs8/28 | David Foster Wallace “This is Water” | Simone Weil, “The Right Use of School Studies” Passage Analysis Chart | |
| 3 | Tues09/02 | Writing as self-trust. | Ursula K. Le Guin, “A Matter of Trust” and “Unquestioned Assumptions” | “A Writing Lexicon” “Rhetorical Situations: Purpose, Audience, Genre, Stance, Design” |
| 4 | Thurs09/04 | “Writing in Academic Contexts” | ||
| 5 | Tues09/09 | English or Englishes? A common language about diverse speech. | Gloria Anzaldúa, “How to Tame a Wild Tongue” James Baldwin, “If Black English Isn’t a Language, Then Tell Me, What Is?” | “Strategies: Comparing and Contrasting” Passage Analysis Chart 2 Key features in text analysis papers. Intro to MLA. |
| 6 | Thurs09/11 | Grammar lesson “Strategies: Describing” Cubing activity | ||
| 7 | Tues09/16 | Description, context, intro to motive. Exposition. | Lauren Markham, “The Crow Whisperer” Susan Orlean, excerpt from The Orchid Thief | Paragraph structure Charlie Kaufman Speech Due: Comparative Outline (in class) |
| 8 | Thurs09/18 | Watch the film Adaptation | ||
| Tues09/23 | NO CLASS | Due: Comparative Essay | ||
| 9 | Thurs09/25 | Hot take? Let’s look at the persuasive essay. | Grammar lesson Argument vs persuasion? Taking a stance Jamieson Webster, “I Don’t Need to Be a Good Person. Neither Do You.” | |
| 10 | Tues09/30 | YouTube: Zoe Bee, “In Defense of Inefficiency” | Hanif Abdurraqib, “In Defense of Despair” | |
| Thurs10/02 | NO CLASS | |||
| 11 | Tues10/07 | Audience and reasoning. | Bartolomé de las Casas, “In Defense of the Indians” | Tia Baheri “Your Ability to Can Even: A Defense of Internet Linguistics” Zadie Smith, “In Defense of Fiction” |
| 12 | Thurs10/09 | Grammar lesson Umberto Eco, excerpt from “How to Write a Thesis” | ||
| Tues10/14 | NO CLASS | |||
| 13 | Thurs10/16 | Writing with a case study. | BYOPaperhttps://aeon.co/essays Begin Sarah Ahmed, “The Politics of Good Feeling” Due: Defense or Critical Essay Draft | |
| 14 | Tues10/21 | Ahmed, cont… | Rhetoric of source useDavid Foster Wallace, “Tense Present” | |
| 15 | Thurs10/23 | Sources and citation. | Library VisitFinding sourcesPlagiarism workshop | |
| 16 | Tues10/28 | Andrews and Birch, “What Has Feelings?” | More exploration of sources Due: Defense or Critical Essay | |
| 17 | Thurs10/30 | Approaching the research question. | Back to motive The How and the Why Thesis Improv | |
| 18 | Tues11/04 | James Bridle, “On Being Inside Gaia” | Generating ideasSynthesizing ideas | |
| 19 | Thurs11/06 | Letter writing exercise Six Paragraph Essay | ||
| 20 | Tues11/11 | Nathaniel Rich, “The Wasting” | Due: Research Proposals (in class) | |
| 21 | Thurs11/13 | Drafting dayOne on one meetings | ||
| 22 | Tues11/18 | Research continues. Owning your skills in professional writing. | Browsing and picking job ads Cover Letter Due: Research Paper Draft | |
| 23 | Thurs11/20 | Designing an online portfolio. | ||
| 24 | Tues11/25 | Blog Spotlight (Paired Activity). | ||
| Thurs11/27 | NO CLASS | |||
| 25 | Tues12/02 | Writing and resistance. Intro to the literacy narrative. | Malcolm X “Learning to Read” Due: Research Paper | |
| 26 | Thurs12/04 | James Baldwin, “Autobiographical Notes” | Review | |
| 27 | Tues12/09 | Audre Lorde, “The Transformation of Silence into Language and Action” | Review | |
| 28 | Thurs12/11 | Writing Workshops | ||
| 29 | Tues12/16 | Writing Workshops | Due: Final Paper Draft (in class) | |
| 30 | Thurs12/18 | Reflections Course feedback forms | ||
| Fri12/22 | FINAL PAPER DUE | |||
*This reading schedule is tentative and subject to change.
Late Work Policy
Assignments submitted after the due date will be accepted up to one week late, with a half-grade deduction for each day late. For example, if an assignment is one day late, the highest grade possible will be -A. After one week, the assignment will not be accepted. Additionally, drafts and final submissions will count toward the same assignment. This means that a late draft will hurt the grade of the final submission. Extensions are permitted at my discretion. Please contact me as soon as you realize you may need extra time. Requests must be submitted at least 48 hours before the due date.
Graded Course Activities
| Assignment | Due Date/Date Held | Value |
| Essay 1: Comparative Essay (350-500 words) This essay will take two readings from the first weeks of the semester and compare them stylistically and/or thematically. | ||
| Essay 1 Outline (Completed in class) | 9/16 | 10 pts |
| Final Essay 1 Submission | 9/23 | 90 pts |
| Essay 2: Defense or Critical Essay (500-750 words) Students choose between writing an essay that follows the form of our “In Defense of….” readings or an essay that engages with readings critically through the construction of a thesis statement. | ||
| Essay 2 Draft | 10/16 | 15 pts |
| Final Essay 2 Submission | 10/28 | 150 pts |
| Essay 3: Documented Research Essay (750-1000 words) Students will pick a topic inspired by one or more of the assigned readings and conduct research. It will present an argument supported by evidence and verified sources complete with MLA citations. | ||
| Research Proposal | 11/11 | 5 pts |
| Essay 3 Draft | 11/18 | 15 pts |
| Final Essay 3 Submission | 12/02 | 200 pts |
| Essay 4: Reflection Essay (500-750 words) Students will be prompted to reflect on their experience completing the documented research essay or on issues of writing and communication more generally as the class has engaged with them. | ||
| Essay 4 Draft | 12/16 | 15 pts |
| Final Essay 4 Submission | 12/22 | 150 pts |
| Engagement and Contribution | ongoing | 200 pts |
| In Class Activities | ongoing | 150 pts |
Letter Grade Assignment
Final grades assigned for this course will be based on the percentage of total points earned and are assigned as follows:
| A 93-100% | A- 90-92% | |
| B+ 87-89% | B 83-86% | B- 80-82% |
| C+ 77-79% | C 73-76% | C- 70-72% |
| D+ 67-69% | D 63-66% | D- 60-62% |
| F 0-59% |
