This is a course is "about" researched writing. The objectives of the course are the following. 1) For you to learn the principles, practices, and processes of research writing and documentation, so that your writing, your voice and your authority can be informed and enriched by the ideas of others. In particular, we will focus on posing and refining interesting questions, problems and hypotheses, finding and evaluating credible and useful sources, evaluating the content of what we read, developing our knowledge of a range of methods for producing worthwhile researched projects you are invested in and feel confident about. 2) For you to become involved in the processes of writing so that you see the "finished" essay as a part of a continuing process of engagement with your ideas and you learn the meaning of "substantive revision." 3) For you to learn the rhetoric of argumentation and evidence within your own processes of research writing so that you can present your ideas powerfully and convincingly. Part of what this entails is developing a sense of audience reactions to your writing, enabling you to write with greater sensitivity to others. And finally, 4) for you to gain practice with using conventional spelling, punctuation, mechanics, and documentation of written academic discourse.
This course is designed to function as a writing workshop. We will be reading and commenting on each other's work and relying on each other's expertise as readers and writers as we move through the semester. Think of the course as a braid. One strand of the braid will focus on thinking about, reading extensively about, and writing about a reseach topic of your choice. The second strand of the braid will focus on thinking about, reading extensively about, and writing about your researching and writing processes. How and why do you do what you do as a researcher and writer? What is effective for you and why? In what ways do you "spin your wheels" or waste time and effort in your researching and writing process? How can you develop more effective strategies and techniques for researching and writing? The third strand of the braid will focus on thinking about, reading extensively about, and writing about the research and writing habits of other writers -- these writers will include professional or published writers and all of our peers in this class, and perhaps, in other writing classes. We will read, write, discuss, and listen to people talking about their research and their writing process and test what we learn from these activities as we apply them to our own research and writing.
A. One critical analysis of a piece of literature which explores some aspect of the text and your connection to the theme or the issues the literature explores. Accompanying the draft should be three sets of questions modeled after the questions following each reading in the first section of the text. (4-5 pages)
B. One personal narrative or developed discovery essay which establishes a context for the topic you've chosen to research and pursues some issues and a possible direction for your research paper. Accompanying the draft should be three sets of questions modeled after the questions following each reading in the first section of the text. (5-6 pages)
C. A first draft of your research paper in which you begin to work with your sources, to explore new ideas, to organize your arguments. Accompanying the draft should be three sets of questions modeled after the questions following each reading in the first section of the text. (8-10 pages)
Drafts A and B are worth 10% of your grade. Draft C is worth 20% of your grade. Late work will be penalized.
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We'll begin keeping the journal once we've finished the personal narrative and turned to library work. The journal should be divided into three parts: a) a bibliography, b) a reading journal where you record quotations and notes as you read, and c) a drafts and ideas section where you jot down brainstorms, looping, clustering, questions, sketch outlines, attempt initial drafts and record examples from your own experience.
The journal is worth 15% of your final grade. Late work will be penalized.
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Create a chapter modeled after chapters 1-5 in the textbook. The chapter should reflect the thinking and writing you've done this semester on the topic you've chosen to work with. Each piece in the chapter should be polished. This means you probably had to revise the pieces based on the feedback you received from me and from your peers, in terms of both content and style. You'll need to title not only each piece of writing, but the chapter. Each piece will have an introduction, indicating its history and its connection to the topic and to the writer. Each piece will be followed by questions the writer would like the reader to consider about the piece, organized into three sections: a) thinking about the text, b) writing from the text, c) connecting with other texts. (The other texts you might connect with might be pieces from our book, essays your classmates have written, pieces of writing you've discovered in your research.) Finally, the portfolio should include a learning letter. More later on this.
The final portfolio is worth 30% of your grade. Late work will be penalized.
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A. The first presentation, a topic search presentation, will be an opportunity to share your topic idea with the class, to discuss with us what you already know about that topic, to tell us why you think this topic is important to explore in more depth, and to get some feedback from the class about what they think is interesting about your topic. This is your testing ground for your topic. It's the place to find out if it is interesting to others and what angles your readers might like you to explore. You must convince the class that this is a topic worth exploring, worth the time and effort both you and they will put into it over the course of the semester.
B. The second presentation is a "book report." Once you decide what you're going to write about, you will need to search the library, the internet, browse bookstore shelves, and find one book that deals in some way with your topic. It doesn't have to be a scholarly treatment of the issue; it can be a collection of essays by one person, an edited collection of essays by various authors about the topic, a novel that deals with the issue you're researching. Once you find a book you think you like, either order a copy through interlibrary loan or purchase a copy from a bookstore and read it. In your report on the book you should focus not so much on the content, (though that is, of course, important and some discussion of it is unavoidable), but rather on the author's research methodology and writing style. Pepper your presentation with quotations from it. Compare it to your own work. Discuss what you learned about researched writing from reading this author. How do they say what they have to say?
The first presentation is worth 5% of your grade, the second is worth 10%. If you miss the date assigned for your presentation for any reason, you will not be able to make it up. You will lose the 5 or 10 % of the grade.
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You will not do well in this class if you do not come to class. If you miss more than three classes your grade will be adversely affected. If you miss more than nine classes you will fail the course. There are NO exceptions to this rule. Seven misses and you're pushing a "D," no matter what kind of work you've done on the other course requirements. Nine misses and you're out. If you are consistently late for class, you will be penalized, too. Three lates equals one absence. Showing up is important, but you must do more than just show up to succeed in the class. You must be a responsible citizen. You must do your "homework" and be prepared to discuss and share your thoughts or results with the class.
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Bachmann, Susan and Melinda Barth. Between Worlds: A Reader Rhetoric and Handbook. 2nd Edition. New York: Longman, 1998.
*****Copies of your work for group review as required.
| Jan. 15 |
Syllabus, Names |
| Jan. 20 |
In between places/Borderlands -- Free writing, in-class reading Read -- Anzaldua, 127; Olds, 168; Rushin, 195; Kooser, 205, Dacey, 249 |
| Jan. 22 | Working w/ texts -- Active reading and relating your own experience
between worlds. Read -- p. 443-451 Read Chapter 6 |
| Jan. 26 |
Last Day to Add |
| Jan. 27 |
Character analysis -- Group work with Oates -- Character Analysis and relating to your own experience between worlds. Read -- Bambara, 46, Oates, 101, and p. 436-442 |
| Jan. 29 |
Research time. Spend time in the library or bookstore finding a poem or short story that relates to your topic or the issue you'd like to write more about. |
| Feb. 03 | Draft #1 Due. Group work with writer's questions. |
| Feb. 05 | Beginning the personal narrative or discovery draft Finding a topic, clustering, list making, veins and trees. Read Leonard, 11; Edwards, 130; Coleman, 207; Staples 219; Naylor, 230 |
| Feb. 10 | Submit two one page topic proposals. Presentation #1 begins. |
| Feb. 12 | Presentation #1 continues. |
| Feb. 17 | Workshop, focussing the draft . |
| Feb. 19 | Read essays beginning on pages 14, 130, 189, 198 and 383-390. Thesis Statements and Introductions. Maybe some Loop Writing. |
| Feb. 24 | Workshop Draft #2. |
| Feb. 26 | Moving from personal to public research. Read p. 54-87 . What kinds of information do writers need and what kinds of resources are available? -- interviews, surveys, on-line, books, articles, etc. Primary, secondary and tertiary sources. Evaluating a source. Discussion of research journal and goals for essay. (20 sources for the bibliography -- 3 books, 7 articles, 5 websites, 2 newspaper articles, 3 e-mail, usenet group or chatroom conversations, interviews, observations, 8 used in the paper.) Midterm learning letter due. |
| Mar. 03 | Meet in Library, Room 122, for training session. |
| Mar. 05 | Submit a page or two discussing what kinds of research you need to do and some thoughts about where you'll start your search. Read Dorris, 23; Churchill, 159; Travis, 274; McCarthy, 277. Research day. |
| Mar. 09 | Last day to withdraw. |
| Mar. 10 | Reserach Work. Conferences |
| Mar. 11 |
Conferences |
| Mar. 12 | Research work. Conferences. Read Chapter 7. |
| Mar. 17 | Research work |
| Mar. 19 | Outline of essay due, accompanied by questions about or discussion of the following issues: audience, voice, goals, issues, order of presentation, thesis. Small group sharing. Research Journal Due. |
| Mar. 24 | Spring Break |
| Mar. 26 | Spring Break |
| Mar. 31 | Shaping and organizing an essay. In-class discussion and writing. Read p. 390-434 |
| Apr. 02 | Julie out of town for 4Cs coference. |
| Apr. 07 | Draft #3 Due -- In class reading. Take copies home for comments and responding to writer's questions. |
| Apr. 09 | Presentation #2 begins. |
| Apr. 14 | Presentation #2 continues |
| Apr. 16 | .Draft Returned, Conferences |
| Apr. 21 | Revising an essay -- in-class work. Read Chapter 8 |
| Apr. 23 | Submit a page or two commenting on the revisions you will make to your draft and the reasons for those revisions. Share these plans with your group. |
| Apr. 28 | Group Editing. |
| Apr. 30 | Work in-class on learning letter. |
| May 4-7 | Final portfolio due, including learning letter. |
MLA-Style Citations
of Electronic Sources
Dictionaries
Strunk and White's
Elements of Style
Virtual Tourist (Geographical
Directory of Web Servers)
On-Line English
Grammar
The Write Place
Catalogue
Resources
for Writers -- University of Pennsylvania
Research Resources for
Writers
Roget's
Thesarus
Punctuation Made Simple
National
Writing Center Association -- Writer's Resources
Computer Writing and Research Lab,
Univ. of Texas at Austin
Dakota State
University Online Writing Lab
University of Richmond Writing
Center
University of Michigan
OWL
University of Missouri -- Columbia
NWCA --
On-Line Tutoring Resource Guide
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Sandra Conner |
241-8873 |
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248-1335 |
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255-2510 |
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256-0468 |
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263-0549 |
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248-1622 |
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243-1999 |
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248-1327 |
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245-8980 or 241-2217 |
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Mike Kammers |
283-5523 |
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257-9087 or 250-2165 |
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243-9144 |
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Alicia Lucero |
248-1292 |
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248-1585 |
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257-1726 |
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256-1219 |
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248-1258 |
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248-1541 |
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245-2062 |
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256-7951 |
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Domonique Ricciardi |
248-1349 |
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248-1526 |
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