Course description:
This writing course may be
unlike any you have enrolled in before, for our focus won't center on your
finished "products" but rather the goal of the course is to help you to
develop strategies for using writing to construct meaning—which in turn
assists you in generating thought-provoking discourse for your intended
reader. Current research indicates that writers must become well-versed
in a variety of approaches to constructing the types of genres required
in their college courses (now) and in the workplace (later).
When students are equipped
with appropriate strategies for generating texts, they typically approach
their writing with confidence and commitment. Additionally, students report
that they find the writing process and the writing they construct both
rewarding and pleasurable. Upon completing this course, you will have learned
that all writing involves a recursive (and often messy) process of thinking
and writing strategies often referred to as peer review, invention, prewriting,
drafting, revising, and editing.
This semester, I’ll ask you
to complete three major writing projects and two portfolio analyses—one
in the middle of the semester, and the other in lieu of a final exam.
The Composition Program at
ASU supports the Conference on College Composition and Communication’s
Outcome Statement (preliminary version), which supports these "outcomes"
for students:
Rhetorical knowledge: this
covers the kinds of things students need to know about the writing situation,
such as who the readers are and what kind of information they may be expecting
from the text. By the end of their first-year writing courses, students
should:
· be able to focus
on a specific purpose
· be able to anticipate
the needs of different kinds of readers
· be able to recognize
the differences among kinds of writing situations
· be able to use the
conventions of format, organization, and language appropriate to specific
writing situations.
· understand what
makes writing types (like a book review, a project proposal or a research
report) different
General reading, writing,
and thinking skills: this covers general reading, writing, and thinking
skills students must have to meet the demands of different kinds of writing
situations. By the end of their first-year writing courses, students should:
· be able to use writing
to record, explore, organize, and communicate
· be able to find,
evaluate, analyze, and synthesize appropriate primary and secondary sources
in order to meet the demands of different kinds of writing situations
· understand the general
relationships among language, knowledge, and power.
Processes: this covers the
processes students need to follow to produce successful texts. By the end
of their first-year writing courses, students should know how to use:
· multiple drafts
to improve their texts
· strategies like
brainstorming, outlining, and focused freewriting in all stages of the
writing process
· generating, organizing,
revising, and editing strategies that are appropriate to the specific writing
situation
· effective collaborative
strategies to investigate, write, revise, and edit
· a variety of media,
including particularly standard computerized media, in ways that permit
them to make their writing acceptable to a wide variety of readers.
Conventions: this covers specific
conventions, such as spelling and punctuation, that readers expect writers
to control. By the end of their first-year writing courses, students should:
· control general
conventions of spelling, grammar, and punctuation expected in standard
written
English
· be able to document
primary and secondary sources appropriately
· know how to check
for conventions about which they are uncertain
· understand that
different conventions are appropriate for different kinds of writing situations
A college-level dictionary
Please note: if you miss more than four classes (more than 15% of the course), you will fail the course. If you’re more than five (5) minutes late to class, you will be counted absent for that class period.
CLASS
ETIQUETTE:
Please
be on time and prepared. We will spend most of our classtime
in
discussion and workshop. A portion of classes will also include traditional
lectures and/or
oral
presentations. Regardless of the class format, please be prepared, to listen,
and to participate
appropriately.
Failure to do so is distracting to other students and will not be
tolerated: I may ask you to leave (which will constitute an absence),
or, if a problem persists, permanently withdraw the student from the class.
Similar penalties will occur to students who
commit other forms of rudeness: failing to turn off your cellphone,
failing to peer edit, offtask talking, writing, or reading, insulting other
classmembers; persistently arriving late to class.
*NOTE:
Just as it is inappropriate to read the newspaper during any class unless
it is assigned reading, so it is inappropriate to reply to or read personal
email during class, or to use the computer for other than class work specified
for that day. You may be dropped from the class for failing to adhere to
these policies.
COMPUTER
CLASSROOMS:
No
food or drink is allowed in computer classrooms. Coming to a computer class
without your disk is coming unprepared. Coming without your assignement
is coming unprepared. The printers in the classrooms are for very limited
use. Do not come to class expecting print your paper in class.
PRINTER:
Please copy and print your assingment well before the deadline in case
you have computer problems or there are lines to use the computers in the
dorms.
Also,
do not say anything on-line, via email, or on Webboard that you wouldn't
say in a public forum. Your password is available to teachers and administrators,
so mind your on-line manners, e.g. libel, slander, use of language inappropriate
to the classroom.
Conferences:
Please also note: several
times during the semester we will cancel classes so we can hold conferences.
If you miss a conference, you will be counted absent for the same number
of classes that were canceled in order to hold conferences. For instance,
if we cancel class for two days to hold conferences and you miss your conference,
that "counts" as two absences. Also note: the class period before we start
these conferences, you will be asked to bring in copies of your Writing
Projects to share with your classmates, so they can comment on them and
make suggestions on how to improve them. If you do not have copies of your
Writing Project for your classmates on the day they're due, you will be
counted absent for that day and cannot participate in conferences, therefore
losing two (2) class participation points as well as being absent for both
class periods.
Please also note that if you don't have a workshop copy on the day it's due for in-class workshops, you will not be able to participate and will lose one letter grade from your final Writing Project grade. And obviously, to pass this class all assignments must be completed, and please remember, too, that all writing for this class must be written for this class.
University
Sanctioned Activities:
To accommodate students who
participate in university-sanctioned activities, the Composition Program
offers sections of this course at various times of the day and week. We
have asked advisors across campus to help students enroll in appropriate
sections. If you think that this course may conflict with a university-sanctioned
activity in which you are involved--athletics or the debate team or whatever--please
see me after class today. While transferring to another section may be
the only viable option, let's discuss the possibilities.
Deadlines for Dropping the
Course:
I want to underscore the
published deadlines for dropping courses. The deadline for unrestricted
withdrawal for any class you have enrolled in this semester is 9/20/02.
The deadline for restricted withdrawal—meaning that the instructor of the
class you wish to drop must indicate whether or not you currently have
a passing grade in that class—is 11/1/02.
While I am optimistic that
you will not elect to drop this class or any other class that you’re currently
taking, it is important that you pay attention to these deadlines. The
better informed you are about the options available to you as a student
at ASU, the more likely you are to succeed academically. If you feel you
would benefit from additional support in reading, writing, math, philosophy,
or any other area of your academic life, please make an appointment to
see me during office hours so that I can provide you with information about
services available to you at ASU.
Required writing:
Learning Logs (one percent
each).............................................….....…........10%
In-class writing, at the
beginning of class/participation grade .......…........… 15%
Writing Project # 1: Rhetorical
analysis .............................….………….….15%
Writing Project # 2: Constructing
an informative text....................…....……20%
Writing Project # 3: Constructing
a persuasive argument........................…..25%
Partway through "reflective
letter"………………………………...……...….. 5%
Final portfolio analysis.........................................................................……10%
Class Procedures:
For every class period, there
will be reading assignments. We will discuss and/or write about these texts
in detail, so be sure to read them and annotate carefully, so please remember
to bring your textbook to class each day.
For most class periods, you
will have a Learning / Research Log entry. Each entry in your learning
log should be dated and be about 200 words long (1 typed or 2 handwritten
pages). Most often, you will annotate and respond to the readings in your
learning logs. Learning Logs will be graded on a check+, check, and check-
basis.
Note that this semester we'll
use the same LL format you used in WAC 101, but about halfway through we'll
start to focus on outside research (which you'll concentrate on in ENG
102). To help you get ready for ENG 102, we'll start to incorporate
outside research into WP#2, and your learning logs will then "shift" to
become "research logs," so we'll call them LL/RL for this semester.
Generally, learning / research
logs will move you up or down about one grade. That is, if most of your
learning logs are check+, then they'll help you if you're close to the
next higher grade. If many are check-, and you'd "between grades," you'd
probably receive the lower grade for the class. Average learning logs,
marked with a check, will keep you about the same. I strongly, strongly
recommend that you put a lot of time and effort into your learning logs--and
in the end, it will help you write better Writing Projects. LEARNING /
RESEARCH LOGS MUST BE TURNED IN THE DAY THEY ARE DUE.
Disposition of Papers:
Please also keep a copy of
any Writing Project you turn in, for your own files. You'll need them for
the mid-term and final portfolios in ENG 101, and also if you want to file
a grade appeal. Please also note: when you turn in the final version of
any Writing Project, you must also turn in all earlier versions, including
notes, outlines, etc.
I will not accept Writing Projects unless all earlier versions are turned in at the same time as the final version. Note also that half of the grade for each writing project comes from your "process" work--the invention and other activities that I'll ask you to write about . . . so if you want to impress me with how hard you've worked on a Project, you're going to want to turn in everything, right?
Week One:
Day 1: Tuesday, 8/27:
In-class: introductions; syllabus; in-class writing: what are your goals and hopes for this class, this semester? How do you think you might go about accomplishing those goals? That is, what do you do plan to do this semester (that perhaps you didn't do last semester, to make sure you accomplish what you want to this spring? What is your plan of attack, so to speak, for this class?) Final Day of drop/add Sept. 1. |
Day 2: Thursday, 8/29: Assignments due: read 22-36In-class: in-class journal writing: what brainstorming method (several are discussed in your reading for today) do you find the most useful? Why? Give at least one specific example of when you used one of these methods and how it was useful to the writing you were working on. Also: Cooperative learning and the goals for this class; discuss readings for today; do "doubting and believing" page 39-40; assignment handout for WP#1 (See webpage) *(Bring advertisment to class next Tuesday). |
Week Two:
Day 3: Tuesday, 9/3:
assignments due: read 215-223; also LL/RL#1 answer the three questions on page 216 under "Exploring image analysis"; also: bring in a full-page magazine advertisement for discussion; also read "How cigarette advertisers . . ." on page 232; In-class: in-class journal writing: trade advertisements and do the excercises on page 220. Discuss how we'll move from analyzing an advertisement to textual analysis of student writing |
Day 4, Thursday,
9/5:
assignments due: bottom of 108-top 123; also: read the 1st three stories (see webboard); also LL/RL#2: which of these stories is the most effective in terms of making a logical appeal to the reader? Give examples to show what you mean. Which of these stories is the most effective in terms of making an ethical appeal to the reader? Give examples to show what you mean. Which of these stories is the most effective in terms of making an emotional appeal to the reader? Give examples to show what you mean. In-class: in-class journal writing: in terms of what WP#1 asks for and of the stories you read for today, which story do you think would "fit" the best? Why do you think so? Give specific examples from the text to show what you mean. Also: Discuss LL/RL#2; coop and discuss the stories that seem to be the "best" for one reason or another; also: in-text citations; also: discuss rhetorical reading per 108--123 |
Week Three
Day 5, Tuesday, 9/10: read the last stories for our assignment(see webboard); also LL/RL#3: which of these stories is the most effective in terms of making a logical appeal to the reader? Give examples to show what you mean. Which of these stories is the most effective in terms of making an ethical appeal to the reader? Give examples to show what you mean. Which of these stories is the most effective in terms of making an emotional appeal to the reader? Give examples to show what you mean. In-class: in-class journal writing: in terms of what WP#1 asks for and of the stories you read for today, which story do you think would "fit" the best? Why do you think so? Give specific examples from the text to show what you mean. Also: Discuss LL/RL#3; coop and discuss the stories that seem to be the "best" for one reason or another; in-class writing time to get started on WP#1; in-text citations |
Day 6, Thursday,
9/12:
assignments due: WP#1 version 1 (6 copies); also: LL/RL#4: what research have you done for WP#1 that was effective for you and helped you to move the project along? What hasn't been helpful? Any ideas on why? What can you do to improve your research process next time? In-class: in-class journal writing: Workshop WP#1; set-up group conferences |
Week Four
Day 7, Tuesday,9/17 Conferences in my office |
Day 8, Thursday, 9/19: group conferences in my office(Unrestricted Withdrawal Deadline 9/20) |
Week Five
Day 9, Tuesday, 9/24 Assignments due: Writing Project 1 version 2 In-class: in-class journal writing: what would you like your classmates to look at and comment on for this workshop? Remember that the more specific you can be, the more helpful your classmates will be with their comments; workshop WP#2 |
Day 10, Thursday,
9/26:
Assignments due: WP#1 final (15%); also LL/RL#5: how are you feeling about WP#1? What is the best part? Why? What part(s) would you like to spend more time on, if you could? In-class: in-class journal writing; get started on WP#2 (see webpage); invention activities |
Week Six
Day 11, Tuesday, 10/1: Assignments due: read 194-201; also: LL/RL#6: decide on a topic or topics that you think you might want to write about for WP#2 and list the topic or topic on the top of a sheet of paper; under it, list what you already know about the topic and what questions you still have about it, what you'd like to know, what you perhaps don't understand about it, and so on--in other words, work not only to list what you already know but also to problematize and complicate the topic or topics. in-class: in-class journal writing: answer question #3 on page 201 about "Behind stone walls." Also: Share and coop LL/RL#6: how can you help your classmates (1) with more information about their topic or topics, and (2) what other questions can you think of to complicate/problematize the topic? Also: guided in-class research time either on the Internet or at the library; in-text citations |
Day 12, Thursday,
10/3:
Assignments due: In-class: meet at Hayden Library. We'll meet right inside the front doors by the pay phones. I'll take attendance and we'll go on a tour. This is an important class day, so please plan to attend and be on time. |
Week Seven
Day 13, Tuesday, 10/8 Assignments due: LL/RL#7: discuss your "research method" that you used both in-class last Tuesday and on your own last Thursday: what worked? What helped? What will you do differently next time? Also: bring copies of two essays you found about your topic In-class: in-class journal writing: share your two sources with a classmate; he or she will comment on them per the questions on page 554; discuss the shift for the LL/RL; discuss bias in all language; discuss evaluating sources; in-class research time |
Day 14, Thursday,
10/10:
no class: research day; remember that you need at least two sources for WP#2 (and only one can be from the Internet) |
Week Eight
Day 15, Tuesday, 10/15: assignments due: In-class: journal writing; examine model papers for WP#2 |
Day 16, Thursday,
10/17:
Assignments due: WP#2 version 1 In –class: workshop WP#2 |
Week Nine
Day 17, Tuesday, 10/22, Peer edit WP # 2 |
Day 18, Thursday
10/24
Evaluation of resourses, more on research. Be sure to have your sources with you. |
Week Ten
Day 19, Tuesday, 10/29/2002: Assignments due: WP#2 version2 posted to Webboard by the beginning of class time, or before. Failure to do so will constitute an absence. Mid-term due. In-class: prepare to conference WP#2 online. Discuss webpage presentataion, and editing of essays. November 1: Restricted Withdrawal Deadline |
Day 20, Thursday,
10/31/2002
Group conferences on webboard. WP2V2 must be posted by or before classtime Thursday. WP2V2 must be edited by Friday at 5:00. (see Webboard) |
Week Eleven
Day 21, Tuesday, 11/5/2002: In class webpage workshop |
Day 22, Thursday,
11/7/2002:
assignments due: Writing Project #2 final (20%); also LL/RL#8: tell me how you are feeling about writing this Writing Project. What is the best thing about your Writing Project? What would you like to spend more time on? If you had to select the best idea in the Writing Project, what would it be? The purpose of this learning log is to ask you to step back a little from your writing and study it and think about it. In-class: in-class journal writing; get started on reflective letter |
Week Twelve
Day 23, Tuesday, 11/12:
In-class: get started on WP#3—see assignment handout on webpage |
Day 24, Thursday,
11/14/2002:
Assignments due: read 316-23; also do ONE of the questions on 323, in “For writing and discussion”—make a list of as many “because clauses” as you can think of In-class: Invention activities for WP#3; in-class research time; hand around “lists of because clauses” and add to them |
Week Thirteen
Day 25, Tuesday, 11/19: Assignments due: read 324-335 In-class: in-class journal writing; discuss ethos, logos, and pathos; answering objections; in-class examples of argumentative readings from the text (6 copies on Thurs.) |
Day 26, Thursday,
11/21/2002:
Assignments due: WP#3 V1 (6 copies) In-class: workshop WP#3; (no group conferences). |
Week Fourteen
Day 27, Tuesday, 11/26: WP# 3 Workshop |
Day 28, Thursday
11/28
Happy Thanksgiving. Have a good day, but remember, only three days to complete your work. |
Week Fifteen
Day 29, Tuesday, 4/23/2002 Assignments due: WP#3 version 2 In-class: journal writing; workshop WP#3 December 4: Restricted Complete Withdrawal |
Day 30, Thursday,
4/25/2002:
Assignments due:; also LL/RL#9: tell me how you are feeling about writing this Writing Project. What is the best thing about you/r Writing Project? What would you like to spend more time on? If you had to select the best idea in the Writing Project, what would it be? The purpose of this learning log is to ask you to step back a little from your writing and study it and think about it. Also: read 193-201; Also: Final portfolio version 1 In-class: in-class journal writing: what grade do you think this WP deserves? Why? Also: Discuss/coop readings; get started on final portfolio--go over assignment handout; brainstorm possible topics; do "for writing and discussion" page 201; discuss "Not Guilty" page 198 |
Week Sixteen
Day 31, Tuesday, December 10 /2002: assignments due: Writing Project #3 final (25%); also: portfolio final (10%); last class day In-class: departmental evaluations |
Happy Holidays !! |
The first Writing Project
will be a rhetorical analysis of a number of student texts that were written
for the final WAC 101 assignment--the autobiography that focused on an
event or series of events that in some way changed the writer, helped to
make the writer who he or she is now, today. There are several reasons
why I want you to construct such an analysis, including
· The Writing Project
asks you to focus on texts in terms of comparing, analyzing, and synthesizing
their information--tools you'll need in ENG 102
· In school and in
your future life and career, any communication (whether oral or written)
must deal with the rhetorical aspects of what you're trying to get across
to a particular audience at a specific moment in time, and this project
will help prepare you for that work; this Writing Project asks you to really
think about and consider what it means to "meet" the criteria of an assignment
from a rhetorical perspective
Since you're working with
texts, you'll have to cite properly, so this is a chance to continue to
work on learning how to cite correctly
The second Writing Project
asks you to construct an informative paper, one with (perhaps) a surprise
for the reader. This project asks you to start with a problematic question,
just as you did last semester, but to push your questions even further
with some outside research. There are several reasons I'm asking you to
construct such a project, including
· The Writing project
asks you to get started with outside research (print, Internet, interviews,
surveys, etc.) to support your ideas and claims. In ENG 102 you'll
focus on research, so this assignment, like WP#3 this semester, helps you
move in that direction
· You'll start to
work with proper citations, but now from a wider range of sources
· The Writing project
asks you to start constructing a "research journal," or what we'll call
"Learning Log / Research Log" (LL/RL), where you'll move away from responding
to readings, etc., as you've been doing in your LLs to keeping track of
and reflecting on your research activity, discussing things such as what's
been effective for you in your research, what's been a problem, thinking
about how you might work more efficiently in the future, and so on
Then I'll ask you to construct
a partway-through reflective letter, where (as you did last semester) you'll
reflect on and discuss all the work we've done so far in this class.
We've made this into LL#5 for this semester.
The third Writing Project
asks you to select a question, issue, or problem that perplexes you and
to take a stand on one aspect of that problem or issue. This project
also has a research component, where you'll go to the library and look
on the Internet and perhaps interview some others about your topic.
As with the other writing I'll ask you to do, there are several reasons
I want you to construct such a project, including
· The Writing Project
asks you to "push" a question or problem to places where you might not
have even considered, by collecting research on that area
· You'll work with
proper citation from a range of texts
· This Writing Project,
with its "research log" component, provides a wider base for your reflection--reflection
that will help you understand not only what you've done but why you've
being doing it
Finally, I'll ask you to construct
an end-of-semester portfolio that will focus on two areas:
· A longer and more
complex and detailed reflective letter, where you'll again discuss everything
we did over the course of the semester
· A detailed and in-depth
revision plan of one of your Writing Projects (you select which one, and
it can be from WAC 101 or ENG 101)
Your purpose is to construct an informative text that explains the issue or problem or question in some detail, to an audience who's interested but who may not know much about the subject you're working with. And while it's not required, your paper will be even more interesting if you discover something odd or unusual or surprising about your topic. You'll find that the readings and other information in the Allyn and Bacon Guide to Writing focuses on this "surprising" aspect of the paper, and I hope that information will help you really try to discover something unusual or unique or surprising about your subject.
Rhetorical Considerations:
Rationale for the project:
Although research projects are typically expected to be completed within
one academic semester (or less) most of us who become vested in a project
often "live" with it for months if not years before bringing it to completion.
This Writing project will give you the chance to get started with some
outside research on a topic that you're interested in . . . and which you
might want to continue to focus on for the rest of the semester--that'll
be your choice. So here's a chance to explore a little, without making
a major time and work commitment.
Audience: we might know a little about your topic, but you're on the way to becoming an expert . . . so help us see why you find it interesting, what's unusual about it, what made you select it, what we ought to know about the subject (and why we need to know it).
Length: the length of your
paper depends on your own interpretation of your rhetorical situation:
what information do you need to provide to us, to get your message across?
Sources: you need at least
two (2) outside sources for this project, to quote from to help expand
your base of information about the topic you're focusing on
Writer's Journal/Day book:
Obviously an assignment of
this kind cannot be completed without the writer maintaining an extremely
detailed log of his or her questions, hunches, research strategies, source
material/citations, findings, and reflections. You should create a log
of your process.
This log will be the most
important part of the project for you will rely on it heavily as you begin
to draft the story of your research endeavors. Each writer will have a
unique approach to creating the research log. While it may begin as a seemingly
linear process, allow yourself the opportunity to respect the "chaos" that
will surely occur as you grapple with information and analysis. Your log
should resemble an elaborate note-taking ritual. Do not recopy your notes
(unless you do this for your own sense of clarity); rather, reflect on
them and allow your writing and work --even in a disheveled form -- to
represent your hard work and thinking/creating processes.
You can also use your journal
for invention work--for generating material for your projects. For this
part of the journal, engage in the informal kinds of writing described
in A & B. I'll also share with you other kinds of informal writing
that will help generate material. Second, use the journal as place to reflect
on your work in the course--invention, peer discussions, drafting, reading,
revising, editing, thinking. You might consider a dialectical journal in
which you record and generate on one side of the page and reflect on the
other side of the page. Dialectical journals help writers to develop the
habit of using writing to reflect. For this project, use the journal to
complete the invention work described below, to record comments and questions
that peers offer, and to reflect on the project as it emerges.
Expectations of you the writer:
You are expected to work
closely with your instructor and classmates through the entire process
of creating your project. Upon completion of the project, your work should
clearly demonstrate several hours of work on the project per day. Your
expertise, excitement about your work, and interest in your project should
be clearly evident. Anything less than what's described in this section
will be considered substandard college work.
final version
(20%)
Rationale for the letter
Following this assignment
prompt, you will find a draft "outcomes statement" that composition faculty
from all over the United States have constructed. The purpose of this document
is to specify the kinds of knowledge and skills that students should acquire
by the end of the first-year composition sequence. Because only some of
that knowledge and some of those skills will be evident in any given project
that you complete for the course, you need to provide a sampling of all
your work in this course to demonstrate what you've accomplished as a reader,
writer, thinker, learner. In general, this letter provides you an opportunity
to illustrate how make informed choices as a writer.
Rhetorical Considerations
One purpose for this letter
is to demonstrate that you have acquired rhetorical knowledge. Second,
you should also demonstrate that you have further developed your reading,
writing, and thinking skills. Third, you should demonstrate that you know
how to use composing processes. Finally, as the outcomes statement suggests,
you should demonstrate that you have gained further control over conventions
of written language, especially by showing in your compositions what you
are doing . . . and why you're doing it (that is, what's your rhetorical
purpose?). So: what can you give me copies of (Learning Logs, Drafts,
comments, commented-on papers, invention activities, etc.) and comment
on to show what you've learned?
The Project
To complete this letter and
the final portfolio for this course, you will need to save your written
work throughout the semester--invention work, drafts of projects, "final"
versions of projects, the post-composing reflections on each project, journal
entries, written peer responses, and the like. However, you do not need
to submit all of your written work with your letter. Rather, you need only
submit copies of whatever you consider necessary to demonstrate that you
have accomplished the goals specified in the attached outcomes statement.
For this letter, I'm asking
you to submit a letter addressed to me in which you explain what you've
chosen to include in the portfolio and what each item in the portfolio
demonstrates--so if you include some of your learning logs, discuss them
in relation to the questions below. You'll want to include an early version
and the final version of WP#1, and you'll want to discuss it in detail
in terms of the questions below, and so on.
For your letter, you need
to be as detailed as possible, using examples from your writing Projects
#1 and #2 as well as the other work we've done to illustrate your growth
as a writer, what you've learned from the invention, peer review, and other
activities, and from the final "production" of the first writing project.
Your letter should also include a paragraph or two in which you look to
the future, commenting on how you plan to use your rhetorical knowledge
and your composing skills in your academic, professional, personal, and/or
civic lives.
Final edited version
(5%)
Your purpose is to construct a persuasive text that takes a position or stand on some aspect of the issue or problem or question, and tries to convince an audience who's interested but who may not know much about the subject that your position is the right one to take.
Rhetorical Considerations:
Rationale for the project:
Although research projects are typically expected to be completed within
one academic semester (or less) most of us who become vested in a project
often "live" with it for months if not years before bringing it to completion.
As with WP#1, this Writing Project will give you the chance to get started
with some outside research on a topic that you're interested in . . . and
which you might want to continue to focus on for the rest of the semester--that'll
be your choice. So here's a chance to explore a little, without making
a major time and work commitment.
Audience: we might know a little about your topic, but you're on the way to becoming an expert . . . so help us see why you find it interesting, what's unusual about it, what made you select it, what we ought to know about the subject (and why we need to know it). You also want to explain with facts or statistics or testimony or evidence why your position is the correct one, and why we should adopt your ideas.
Length: the length of your paper depends on your own interpretation of your rhetorical situation: what information do you need to provide to us, to convince us that your approach/ideas/position is the correct one?
Sources: you need at least
four (4) outside sources for this project, to quote from to help expand
your base of information about the topic you're focusing on
final version (25%)
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Reflective letter overview:
The final Reflective letter
+ Revision Plan Project for this semester has two components:
· First, a cover letter
that discusses your change (and, we hope, your growth) as a writer over
the course of the semester. The "rhetorical considerations" section and
others below provide more detail, but the idea here is to both explore
and demonstrate in what specific ways you have further developed your reading,
writing, and thinking skills as you "wrote your way" through this class.
· Second, a revision
plan that explains specifically how you'd go about revising one of the
Writing Projects you constructed during the semester. Keep in mind that
you do not do the actual revision; rather, you discuss what you would do
if you had the chance to revise the propjet. Please include the final version
of the text with my comments and then, attached to these, a detailed discussion
of how you are seeing this paper differently and how you would go about
revising it now. Be sure to comment on audience, purpose, goals, and so
on for the essay and provide specific examples of what changes you'd like
to make.
Rationale for the letter
Following this assignment
prompt, you will find a draft "outcomes statement" that composition faculty
from all over the United States have constructed. The purpose of this document
is to specify the kinds of knowledge and skills that students should acquire
by the end of the first-year composition sequence. Because only some of
that knowledge and some of those skills will be evident in any given project
that you complete for the course, you need to provide a sampling of all
your work in this course to demonstrate what you've accomplished as a reader,
writer, thinker, learner. In general, this letter provides you an opportunity
to illustrate how make informed choices as a writer.
Rhetorical Considerations
One purpose for this letter
is to demonstrate that you have acquired rhetorical knowledge. Second,
you should also demonstrate that you have further developed your reading,
writing, and thinking skills. Third, you should demonstrate that you know
how to use composing processes. Finally, as the outcomes statement suggests,
you should demonstrate that you have gained further control over conventions
of written language, especially by showing in your compositions what you
are doing . . . and why you're doing it (that is, what's your rhetorical
purpose?). So: what can you give me copies of (Learning Logs, Drafts,
comments, commented-on papers, invention activities, etc.) and comment
on to show what you've learned?
The Project
To complete this letter and
the final portfolio for this course, you will need to save your written
work throughout the semester--invention work, drafts of projects, "final"
versions of projects, the post-composing reflections on each project, journal
entries, written peer responses, and the like. However, you do not need
to submit all of your written work with your letter. Rather, you need only
submit copies of whatever you consider necessary to demonstrate that you
have accomplished the goals specified in the attached outcomes statement.
For this letter, I'm asking
you to submit a letter addressed to me in which you explain what you've
chosen to include in the portfolio and what each item in the portfolio
demonstrates--so if you include some of your learning logs, discuss them
in relation to the questions below. You'll want to include an early version
and the final version of WP#1, and you'll want to discuss it in detail
in terms of the questions below, and so on.
For your letter, you need
to be as detailed as possible, using examples from your writing Projects
#1 and #2 as well as the other work we've done to illustrate your growth
as a writer, what you've learned from the invention, peer review, and other
activities, and from the final "production" of the first writing project.
Your letter should also include a paragraph or two in which you look to
the future, commenting on how you plan to use your rhetorical knowledge
and your composing skills in your academic, professional, personal, and/or
civic lives.
Final (10%)
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Conventions:
By the end of their first-year
writing courses, students should control general conventions of spelling,
grammar, and punctuation expected in standard written English, be able
to document primary and secondary sources appropriately, know how to check
for conventions about which they are uncertain, and understand that different
conventions are appropriate for different kinds of writing situations.
This draft was revised by
Irvin Peckham Last updated July 18, 1998.