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Course Pack for ENGL 275Comment by Amy Rupiper Taggart: Notes on the semester:Loved this sequence. The community project was so much more focused than in the past and having Kris so engaged was wonderful. Alterations: more teacher feedback on the features, more drafting, responding, revising in that unit. Contract just to me, not to the partner, when the task is clear up front. Preview AP earlier and come back to it on the editing workshop day.
Table of Contents
ENGL 275: (3 Credits)2
Introduction to Writing Studies2
Course Description2
Learning Objectives3
Primary Texts3
Recommended Texts3
Expenses3
Assignments3
Grading4
Grade Descriptions5
Grading Conferences5
Attendance5
Academic Honesty5
Special Needs6
Observations and Suggestions6
Schedule7
Phaedrus Remix13
Peer Response Letters14
Academic Essay Exam16
Community Project18
Handouts23
The Spheres of Writing Studies (WS)23
Maxine Hairston. “How Professional Writers Work.”25
Phaedrus on Writing and Rhetoric26
Phaedrus Worksheet27
Design Checklist29
ENGL 275: (3 Credits)Introduction to Writing Studies
4
Professor: Amy Rupiper Taggart
Office: Minard 318 E48
Office Hours: TR 2-3pm & by appointment (I’m often in my office but a head’s up is appreciated.)
Phone: 1-7148
Email: [email protected] (Please give me 24 hours to respond on most issues.)
Class Location: Min 220
Class Time: 9:30-10:45
Course Site: https://bb.ndsu.nodak.edu
Bulletin Description
A broad history of writing and rhetoric as well as an introduction to spheres of writing studies: creative, academic, professional/technical, and public writing.
Course Description
In one sense, Writing Studies has been around a long, long time; its roots are in the study of rhetoric at least as far back as classical Greece and Rome. On the other hand, writing studies seems relatively new in English departments, since people who consider themselves writing and rhetoric specialists have only been in English departments in the US since about the 1950s. Writing Studies is on the rise: Students and scholars in English departments are increasingly interpreting and producing all kinds of "texts"–television, film, blogs, wikis, comic books, legal documents, technical and professional documents, letters and diaries–to name a few. Scholars and students are also studying how people write: similarities and differences in expert and novice writers, cultural differences and their impact on writing, collaboration and its role for writers, technology and its impact on writers.
While both literature and writing specialists read and write and teach reading and writing, literature specialists emphasize reading while writing specialists emphasize writing. They are therefore highly complementary subfields. Even if you see yourself primarily as a student of literature, use this course as an opportunity to think about how cultural shifts in writing technologies affected how your favorite authors wrote or how readers received their texts. Think about the research that goes into creative writing and literature. Try to apply some of the terminology you learn here to your literary study. You may find that you understand new nuances in the literature than before.
IWS is meant to give you an overview of the history of writing, some of the vocabulary and the approaches used by writers and those who study writing, and experience writing creatively, academically, and professionally. The course aims to balance reading with writing. You should learn content knowledge such as terminology, historical facts, and theories. But you should also have the opportunity to try your hand at some writing tasks (some familiar and some new).
IWS is also intended as an introduction to the kinds of courses offered in the department outside of the traditional period or genre literary courses. You will be introduced to concepts and types of assignments that you might see again in English 320 ("Business Writing"), English 321 (“Writing in the Technical Professions”), English 322 and 323 ("Creative Writing I and II"), ENGL 357 ("Visual Culture and Language"), English 358 (“Writing in the Humanities and Social Sciences”), English 458 (Advanced Writing Workshop), ENGL 456 (“Literacy, Culture, and Identity”), ENGL 457 ("Electronic Communication"), and ENGL 459 ("Research and Writing Grants and Proposals"), and other courses.
Learning Objectives
This course will help you:
· To develop from the course readings a general understanding of many of the technological, economic, and artistic trends which have shaped writing in western civilizations.
0. To begin to understand the wide range of genres and styles of writing you will be asked to work with as English majors or writing minors at NDSU.
0. To develop and extend your reading skills, with a particular emphasis on reading academic prose.
0. To develop and extend your writing skills, with a particular emphasis on writing persuasively and effectively in several genres.
Primary Texts
Plato. Symposium and Phaedrus. Dover Thrift Editions. New York: Dover, 1993. (or comparable)
Bauerlein, Mark, ed. The Digital Divide: Arguments for and Against Facebook, Google, Texting, and the Age of Social Networking. New York: Tarcher/Penguin, 2011.
Readings posted to Bb. On days when we have reading posted on Blackboard, be sure to print out a copy of the reading so that you can refer to it in class. See the schedule and the course site for updates.
Rip: A Remix Manifesto http://www.ripremix.com/
Recommended Texts
A writer’s handbook or please use Purdue’s Online Writing Lab (OWL) regularly for writing support—their materials are similar to a print handbook.
Expenses
Photocopying/printing:
First drafts: On first draft due dates, you will be expected to bring enough copies of your draft for your review partner or group and post one to Bb for completion credit.
Final drafts: On final draft due dates, you will need to bring 1 copy for me.
Finally, you will be expected to print readings, handouts, assignment sheets, etc. from the course site.
Assignments
1. Daily writing & assignments: I will randomly collect daily writing, grading a random sampling of it (includes peer response). I will likely only have unannounced or closed book quizzes if students are not completing the reading. Most daily writing assignments will be worth 25 points. Total 250 points.
1. Phaedrus Remix. 3-5 pages. A creative writing project that allows you to show your understanding of Phaedrus and translate it for a modern audience. Draft 25 points. Final Draft + casual presentation. 225 points. Total 250 points.
1. Academic Essay Exam. Minimum 5 complete pages. The exam will require that you develop an argument based on multiple course readings plus an additional researched source or two. Final draft 250 points.
1. Community-based professional writing (collaborative). Your final course project will be to write a document set for The Arts Partnership. You will work in teams for this project. Draft 25 points. Final draft 225 points. Total 250 points.
Total points possible in the course: 1000
Grading
1. First drafts are graded on four things: Are they full length? Were they on time (beginning of class)? Are they generally on task? Do they have a works cited page?
1. First drafts handed in after the due date will receive 0 points. This is a nonnegotiable requirement. If you wake up sick the day a draft is due, send it via a classmate or email. Do not count on me checking my campus box after class. The draft deadline is important because coordinating peer response goes much more smoothly if everyone has a draft at the same time.
1. Any projects completed collaboratively will receive one grade. Individuals will be asked to evaluate and support both their own work and their peers’ work on this project. This self-assessment will serve as a grading guide for me.
1. All drafts are due at the very beginning of class on the due date.
1. You may choose to substantially revise the Phaedrus Remix and the Academic Essay Exam after the initial grade. Revisions must be substantial. **When you complete a substantial revision for a changed grade, hand in the previous and newest drafts together with a cover note that indicates what substantial changes have been made so that I can easily see what you’ve changed to improve the piece. I won’t read/regrade revisions without the cover note.
Scales
For assignments worth 25 points:
A = 22.5-25
B = 20-22.4
C = 17.5-19.9
D = 15-17.4
F = 0-14.9
For assignments worth 225 points:
A = 203-225
B = 180-202
C = 158-179
D = 135-157
F = 0-134
For assignments worth 250 points
A = 225-250
B = 200-224
C = 175-199
D = 150-174
F = 0-149
For the course:
A = 900-1000
B = 800-899
C = 700-799
D = 600-699
F = 0-599
Grade Descriptions
A = Excellent work, virtually free of mechanical error (grammar, citation, punctuation, spelling), going beyond the basic requirements of the assignment. Demonstrates sophisticated understanding of the assignment and the writing situation. There can be room for improvement in “A” work, but in most respects it knocks my socks off.
B = Good or above average work, minimal mechanical error, going beyond the requirements of the assignment in a least one way, fulfilling all assignment requirements. Demonstrates better than average understanding of the assignment and the writing situation.
C = Ok or average work, some mechanical error is acceptable, just fulfills all assignment requirements. Demonstrates basic understanding of the assignment and the writing situation.
D = Needs improvement to meet assignment requirements.
F = Unacceptable work. Does not fulfill most of the assignment requirements, is not handed in, or is not the writer’s own work (the last 2 conditions warrant a zero at best).
Grading Conferences
For the Phaedrus Remix assignment, I will hold individual grading conferences with each of you. The Phaedrus conference is required. The conferences will allow you to see how I respond to your writing, to understand the grading process better, and to learn how you can improve your writing through a one-to-one discussion with me. It will also help me to get to know you and your writing needs better. Finally, it will allow you to receive feedback quickly so that you can begin revising, if you choose.
The week before the conferences begin, I will post a sign-in sheet on my office door (Minard 318 E48). You will sign up for a time that works for you. Come to the conference with two copies of your finished final draft, the peer responses you received on the draft, and copies of any sources you used.
In the conference, you and I will both read your paper with the response sheet to guide our reading. We will then compare our evaluations of the document and discuss any differences. You may choose to keep the grade or substantially revise the paper once for an improved grade.
Attendance
Because writing classes are classes in which writers work together and support each other, attendance at all classes is expected. Be here, and be on time. If you are aware of a potential conflict with this class, consider taking another section at another time.
You have two free absences to use for sickness or emergency. After that, each absence will drop the final grade 50 points. At 4 weeks’ absence, you will fail the course because of a lack of course completion. When unavoidable serious emergencies arise beyond these two absences, contact me as soon as possible to make the appropriate arrangements (this does not mean the absences will always be excused). Poor attendance will affect your grade. Being late and leaving early add up proportionally to absences.
Academic Honesty
All work in this course must be completed in a manner consistent with NDSU University Senate Policy, Section 335: Code of Academic Responsibility and Conduct (http://www.ndsu. edu/policy/335.htm).
Academic Dishonesty/Plagiarism: Work submitted for this course must adhere to the Code of Academic Responsibility and Conduct as cited in the Handbook of Student Policies: "The academic community is operated on the basis of honesty, integrity, and fair play. Occasionally, this trust is violated when cheating occurs, either inadvertently or deliberately. This code will serve as the guideline for cases where cheating, plagiarism, or other academic improprieties have occurred. . . . Faculty members may fail the student for the particular assignment, test, or course involved, or they may recommend that the student drop the course in question, or these penalties may be varied with the gravity of the offense and the circumstances of the particular case" (65).
Academic Honesty Defined: All written and oral presentations must "respect the intellectual rights of others. Statements lifted verbatim from publications must be cited as quotations. Ideas, summaries or paraphrased material, and other information taken from the literature must be properly referenced" (Guidelines for the Presentation of Disquisitions, NDSU Graduate School, 4).
Special Teaching and Learning Needs
If you have any disabilities or special needs, or need special accommodations in this course, please share your documentation (to be submitted at Counseling and Disability Services) with me as soon as possible, and I will happily work with disabilities services to make sure that this class accommodates your needs.
Further, I assume that all of us learn in different ways, and that the organization of any course will accommodate each student differently. For example, you may prefer to process information by speaking and listening, so that some of the written handouts I provide may be difficult to absorb. Please feel free to talk to me about your individual learning needs and how this course can best accommodate them. If you do not have a documented disability, remember that other support services, including the Center for Writers and the Counseling Services (which even helps with study skills!), are available to all students.
Observations and Suggestions
1. This class is an introductory class–it will provide methods, history, and some "big picture" concepts that you will see or use in other classes. I don’t expect students to develop mastery of the subject in an introductory class. If you start feeling overwhelmed at any point, please come talk to me.
1. Some of the readings in this course are examples of academic writing; they might refer to other scholars you are not familiar with, they might use words you are not familiar with, and quite frankly, they might seem a little bit dry. Again, I would say focus on the big picture. Academics are trying to get ideas across, and they are not trying to write stories that entertain. The technical language is a way of being very specific and it is the language of a particular discourse community.
1. Have some fun with the assignments! Because this is an intro class, my intention is for you to try some things out, play around with some ideas and texts. Pay attention to what you like to do, and which tasks you find difficult–becoming aware of your preferences will help you decide which courses to take, and perhaps even help you make some career decisions.
1. I have tried to use the formula 1 hour of class time = 2 hours out of class as I thought about designing this course. That means for 2.5 hours of class time per week, I would expect you to put in 5 hours per week out of class. That doesn’t mean every week will require 5 hours of commitment—some will be more and some will be less—but it does mean that if you are working a lot, or taking a lot of credits, you will probably find this class to be pretty demanding.
Schedule
* Subject to change.
Unit I: Creative Writing Day & Date
Reading Assignment
Writing Assignment
In-Class Information
T 8-27
Introductions
Spheres of Writing Studies
Introduction to remix
R 8-29
Read the handout “How Professional Writers Work” after the schedule in this course pack.
Begin reading Phaedrus
Print the course pack and read the syllabus portion (up to the schedule), posted to Bb under Syllabus. Bring this every day to class. We will refer to it daily.
Complete the writing activity on the Hairston “How Professional Writers Work” handout in the course pack
Your goals for writing
Course policies and procedures highlights
Creative writing & Remix
http://www.ted.com/talks/ken_robinson_says_schools_kill_creativity.html
Reading Phaedrus
T 9-3
Phaedrus (45-70)
Read the Phaedrus Remix assignment sheet and come with questions.
Phaedrus Remix assignment—Q&A
Understanding Phaedrus
Remix of the day
R 9-5
Phaedrus 71-end
Daily writing: In preparation for the “Phaedrus Remix,” write a page or two answering the following questions:
What is Phaedrus’ position regarding writing? Rhetoric? On what basis does he believe this?
Socrates’ position on writing? Rhetoric? His reasons for believing this?
Answering these questions should really help you identify the core writing and rhetoric issues in the text.
Rhetoric v. philosophy
Writing as a technology
Truth
Remix of the day
T 9-10
Watch Rip: A Remix Manifesto documentary (pay want you want online) http://ripremix.com/getdownloads/
For yourself: make a quick list of things you might like to either “rip” or take inspiration from for your Phaedrus
Remixing
TLMC for help with multimedia projects
Intellectual property
Creativity
R 9-12
Read “Phaedrus 2002” (a more traditional style remix!) on blackboard under Readings
Daily writing: Write a proposal, sketch, outline, and/or draft for your “Phaedrus Remix” (at least one page) so you can share the proposal with the class.
Sharing proposals for Phaedrus Remix
Writing as a technology
T 9-17
Read Lamott “Shitty First Drafts” at http://www.orcutt.net/othercontent/sfds.pdf
http://www.technorhetoric.net/17.1/disputatio/parish/index.html
NO CLASS—work on your Phaedrus Remix for at least 2 hours and be prepared to report in on your progress
R 9-19
Lethem “The Ecstasy of Influence: A Plagiarism” on Bb under readings
*note: this is a slightly longer article. Please give yourself enough time to complete it.
Write a page on how you see the Rip Documentary and Lethem’s piece speaking to each other (similarities? Differences? Whose argument do you find more compelling?)
Benefits of shitty first drafting
T 9-24
Read Walter Ong, “Writing Is a Technology that Restructures Thought” posted to Bb under Readings
Orality & Literacy, Writing as a technology
R 9-26
Digital Divide, 76-96
Full Draft Phaedrus Remix Due, 2 copies (one may be emailed)
Full Draft=
*3-5 pages of written material or
*5 short poems or
*a strong sketch of a visual rewriting plus 2 pages of discussion of the imagery in the sketch or
*2 sketches that complement each other plus at least one page of discussion of the imagery or
*a script for 3-5 minutes of a film or
*a 3-5 minute PowerPoint video
Use your best judgment and where in doubt, write up a bit of text about the thing you’re creating to convey it as completely as possible to the peer who will offer you feedback.
Side shadow and peer response
Need to have signed up for a conference by Friday noon at the latest.
Dr. Andrew Mara guest instructs
Unit II: Academic WritingDay & Date
Reading Assignment
Writing Assignment
Class Information
T 10-1
Read Essay Exam assignment sheet
“What Is a Synthesis Essay?” Bb
Peer Response Letter Due, 25 points
Sign up for grading conferences
Essay Exam Q&A
R 10-3
Dennis Baron “From Pencils to Pixels: The Stages of Literacy Technologies” on Bb
The Digital Divide, Introduction, pp. 3-25
Daily writing: Respond to the following question in about a page:
Baron argues that all literacy technologies go through similar stages. Summarize each of the stages. Then, come up with at least one example that illustrates how the computer has gone through or is going through each stage.
Summary
T 10-8
Digital Divide, Shirky, 318-334
Phaedrus Remix due (for grading).
Be prepared to show off your Remix today by doing one of the following: showing us and describing what you were trying to do with the Remix, explaining what you were trying to do and reading a small selection. About 3 minutes of show and tell (because people will be curious)
Be prepared to talk about what you revised based on your peer’s feedback.
Casual Phaedrus Remix presentations
R 10-10
Be prepared to talk about what you revised based on your peer’s feedback.
No class. Class will be held as grading conferences.
T 10-15
Read the sample essay exam on Bb under Readings, Academic Essay and Synthesis
Reading from Research Matters: “Entering Conversations and Supporting Your Claims” on Bb under Readings
If you didn’t go last time: Be prepared to show off your Remix today by doing one of the following: showing us and describing what you were trying to do with the Remix, explaining what you were trying to do and reading a small selection. About 3 minutes of show and tell (because people will be curious)
Casual Phaedrus Remix presentations, part 2
Synthesis
R 10-17
Digital Divide, pp. 26-33
Daily assignment worth 25 points
Practice mini-exam: Using 3 of the course readings (can include Rip), respond to the following prompt and compose a 1-2 page practice essay with a thesis, at least 3 main supporting points, and a brief conclusion:
Why do you think artists draw on each others’ work, remixing, referring to, and building on it? What might this have to do with building knowledge, or maintaining tradition, or changing society?
Signal phrases and transitions
Structure
Discussing your practice exams
T 10-22
Johns “Discourse Communities and Communities of Practice”
Essay exam prompts distributed
A great paragraph: from focus to transitions
R 10-24
Digital Divide, 63-75
Making the plan: outlining/sketching the exam essay
T 10-29
Wardle “Identity, Authority, and Learning to Write in New Workplaces”
Read the community project assignment sheet and come with questions
Go to artspartnership.net and sign up to receive ArtsPulse via email.
Preview final community project
Introduction to community reps
Kris’s top ten tips for super groovy writing
R 10-31
Digital Divide 112-29
Any revisions of Phaedrus Remix are due today (optional). Revision checklist:
A copy of the revision
A copy of the pencil grade draft
A cover note explaining why the revisions you have made have substantially improved the draft (not just edits or fine tuning).
I will not be able to read and give credit to revisions without all three components.
Form community collaborative teams, begin group contract
Bring laptops or tablets if you have them.
Roles
Forming, Norming, Storming, Performing
T 11-5
Digital Divide, 130-59
Project log overview
If you have not done so already, schedule a meeting with community partners and teams to develop a specific project contract.
Each individual member of the community teams should begin keeping a project log no later than today (regarding team work, community partner communications, reviewing sample documents, gathering information, etc.)
Analyze the weak writing sample in class
R 11-7
Digital Divide, 166-204
Submit quick practice sample of your community project for Kris’s feedback (25 points)
Sign up for a grading conference if you would like one for the essay exam.
T 11-12
Read the model example of an ArtsPulse feature prior to today’s class
Essay Exam due
Genre & Audience
Getting the story
R 11-14
Submit signed project contract for TAP project to me no later than today.
Gathering information:
Observing and live tweeting
Interviewing
Unit III: Public & Professional Writing
Day & Date
Reading Assignment
Writing Assignment
Class Information
T 11-19
Class in cluster: West Dining
R 11-21
Digital Divide 44-62, 271-94
First project log due.
Design and usability
Eli Pariser TED talk on filter bubbles
T 11-26
Digital Divide, 215-49
Any revisions of the Essay Exam are due today (optional). Revision checklist:
A copy of the revision
A copy of the pencil grade draft
A cover note explaining why the revisions you have made have substantially improved the draft (not just edits or fine tuning).
I will not be able to read and give credit to revisions without all three components.
Web 2.0
R 11-28
No class. Thanksgiving break.
T 12-3
Submit a full draft of your project to the community partner and to me by today at the latest (if they need to see a copy earlier, their deadline is most important)
Workshop in computer cluster: EML 377.
Kris will attend this workshop to start providing feedback
Project Response
R 12-5
Community Project Work Day
Daily writing: Submit 2nd project log via email (see handout titled Project Log on Bb under Assignments). In this log, be sure to report specifically what you’ve been able to accomplish during the work days. In addition, reflect on one of the topics listed on the project logs assignment sheet.
Workshop in our classroom; bring your laptops.
Final project log guidelines
T 12-10
Read sample self-assessment letter as model for yours
Complete the Student Rating of Instruction online this week.
Copyediting and proofreading workshop. Class in cluster: EML 377
R 12-12
Collaborative professional writing projects due. Cc me on the email in which you send your electronic documents and/or web links to the community partner. Be sure to communicate professionally in the email to the partner.
Self- and group assessment
Showing off your work
Final exam period
Attend to collect graded work, have a final discussion, tie up any loose ends: classes into which this one feeds, overview of class concepts
Phaedrus Remix
9-12
Bring a proposal/sketch/outline/draft to class
9-26
Full first draft due
10-1
Peer Response due
10-8
Final draft due
10-31
Optional revisions due
Assignment Description
Not all academic writing needs to be in the form of a thesis-driven research paper, and not all creative writing needs to be an overflow of emotion reflected upon in tranquility. This assignment asks you to creatively and intellectually engage with an important text in the history of western civilization–Plato’s Phaedrus. You are invited to do any one of the following projects, a combination of the following projects, or use the following list as a catalyst for thinking about how you want to creatively and intellectually respond to the dialogue.
1. modernize Phaedrus as a contemporary dialogue, screen play, short story, or other creative genre
1. write a song
1. perform it and film it, using the period and setting of your choice
1. respond to it with poetry, art, or other creative means (if you choose visual art, please accompany it with an explanation of what you are trying to achieve or create a series to meet the content and length equivalents)
1. develop a web site. Combine appropriate visual and textual elements.
The goal of this assignment is to have you show your understanding of the dialogue, its concepts, and perhaps the history of writing through your ability to make the dialogue relevant to contemporary readers. Use the dialogue (whole or parts) as part of a creative/intellectual reflection on contemporary concerns about reason and passion, truth, and technologies of writing. Please be careful that you do not get too caught up in love and non-love as literal topics. Remember that these are metaphors.
Helpful Guides
· Refer to the outline I handed you in class when you are confused.
· Use the worksheets we develop in class.
· For tech support for multimedia modernizations: TLMC at NDSU, in IACC 150C: http://www.ndsu.edu/its/tlmc/ (super helpful and free to you!)
· See the Blackboard site under Assignments, Phaedrus Remix Help
Length
Written products might be 3-5 pages of prose/dialogue, a collection of poems (or a long poem), a 3-5 minute video production, a rap, a modernized short story, or a small collection of web pages. The list of possible projects and project lengths are meant simply as guides or aids–I encourage you to design a project that excites and interests you.
Grading
1. Does the finished project indicate an understanding of the Phaedrus and its main arguments?
1. Is there a creative element to the project?
1. Does the finished product sufficiently modernize the Phaedrus for an audience outside our class?
1. Are the tone, style, and format of the project consistent (or in rare cases inconsistent only to make a point connected to Phaedrus)?
1. Is the project presented well (clean of error, formatted well to support the effectiveness of the text, designed well, etc.)?
Peer Response Letters
Description
Gathering response, a process of reading drafts of assigned writing and offering constructive feedback, is central to improving writing. Writing has the most potential for improvement when read and responded to by more than one person. Peer response will not only help improve the writing that is reviewed, but it will give you more practice responding to texts, which will ultimately improve your writing. Furthermore, reading writing others have done may inspire you or give you ideas for improving your own writing.
The peer response letter is a formal, thoughtful response. After you’ve read your peer’s project, you will write a minimum one-page letter to talk about how you’ve responded to the writing.
Process
Peer response in this class will generally involve several stages.
1. When you come to class on the draft due date, you will “side shadow” your text. This means you will take a few minutes to read back through your own writing and write in the margins, at the beginning, and at the end of the text some things you’re thinking about the text at that point (identifying what you are most concerned about, asking questions you hope your peers will answer in their responses, suggesting what you think you will do next to revise, and so on). I may ask you to do this prior to class at times.
1. Then, in class, you will swap papers with a peer. Your partner will then read the paper silently and you will read his or her draft.
1. Next, you will have a brief conversation with the peer with any questions you have.
1. Finally, you will take your in-class notes and the drafts home with you to write a response letter to your peer that you will return the next class period (or the due date, if that date is later than the next class). It is critical that your partner receive a response as quickly as possible, so if you know you will be gone from class the day the responses are due, you should email your responses to me and to your classmates through blackboard (as an attachment). As with all assignments, your grade will be affected if you do not hand this piece in on time.
What to Include in Your Response
There are several basic types of responses you may include in each response letter. A few follow in the list below.
· Be sure to respond to your classmates’ side shadows. If they ask a question in their side shadows, try to answer the question.
· Let the writers know what you think they’re arguing or what you think the writing is doing. If your understanding of the text is drastically different from theirs, they will know there is a problem in clarity.
· Let the writers know which part or parts seem to be working best.
· Ask yourself “Has the writer met each grading criterion listed on the assignment sheet?”
· Allow yourself to respond as a reader. If, as you are reading, a question comes to mind, tell the writer what you wondered and where you began wondering. If you respond positively to a word choice, a metaphor, an image, a fact, a claim, or some other part of the text, explain to the writer why you think you responded in that way.
· Make constructive recommendations. In other words, assume that you are looking at one of your own pieces of writing. Assume also that this writing has lots of room for improvement. How would you proceed to make it better, to produce a better draft?
· When making recommendations, do not begin with editing and mechanics. Large-scale issues such as organization and focus need to be addressed by a writer before grammar and mechanics.
Responses to Avoid
· “This part is stupid” or any other disrespectful comment.
· “Everything looks good” or any other overly nice, also unproductive comment. Telling people their writing is perfect is always untrue (all writing can improve) and not helpful.
· “Something’s not working on page two” or other overly vague comments. This last type of response needs to be paired with another sentence that explains what you think the nature of the problem is. You may be unsure what’s not working, but you should say so and should take a stab at identifying the problem.
· Lots of specific editorial advice (“you need a comma after the word run on page two”). If you edit your peer’s paper, you are assuming the paper is finished other than editing and you are not helping them figure out how to improve their writing.
Format
Business letter format
· Typed
· Single spaced
· One blank line between paragraphs
· Including date, greeting, body, closing, signature (all left justified)
· Signature should be typed about 4 hard returns after the closing, and a handwritten signature belongs between the closing and typed signature.
Grading, 25 points
· Are the responses thoughtful and helpful? (This is the #1 criterion for grading)
· Are the responses specific?
· Are they respectful?
· Is the letter appropriately formatted?
· Is the letter reasonably grammatically and stylistically correct (so that it is readable and easy to understand for the peer)?
· Did you bring a copy for the peer and post one for me on Bb?
Academic Essay Exam
Due Dates
11-12
Exam due
11-28
Revision due (optional)
Assignment Rationale
In upper-division courses in English and across the curriculum, students are often asked to process the course material in essay form under examination conditions. Essay exams allow students to make sophisticated connections among readings instead of memorizing and regurgitating (as in short answer exam situations) or just responding to a single source (as in class on a daily basis).
The exam essay is a somewhat regular genre, as well. It can be taught, learned, practiced, and improved upon. An essay exam asks you to develop an argument or stance (the thesis) in relation to many of the sources you read and work with in this course. You also must then synthesize or suggest the relationships among the articles you use to make your arguments, citing them carefully as you do. All of these skills—developing a clear thesis, structuring an argument, synthesizing sources, citing sources—are skills you will use in writing in higher education constantly. For a wide range of reasons, then, it is a good genre to practice in a 200-level class and is representative of the sphere of academic writing.
Assignment Description
In this essay exam, you will receive a couple of possible prompts, big questions, from which you will choose one and around which you will develop your essay. You will receive these prompts about 2 weeks in advance of the due date for the exam. The prompts will be topics that emerge pretty clearly from the readings in the course: writing as a technology, writing technologies, the history of writing, impacts of writing on culture. You will then choose a minimum of 5 readings from the course texts plus searching for a minimum of one outside scholarly source. You will then develop an argument from these 6+ sources that responds to the prompt question you’ve chosen. The essay is a take home exam and is thus open book. Feel free to integrate visuals into the document but remember that they need to supplement your writing, not substitute for the 5 pages.
To prepare for the exam, we will complete some daily writing that will mimic on a small scale the writing expected in the exam. The key to being prepared will be completing all of the readings, all of the daily assignments, and Also, unlike a typical academic essay exam, you will have the opportunity to choose this document for revision if you aren’t as successful as you’d like at first.
Structure
· Introduction, including thesis statement
· Body, including topic focused paragraphs that integrate source texts
· Body may include tables, charts, graphs, images, or any other visual that might enhance and support the argument
· Conclusion that does not simply repeat the contents of the essay, that adds some value to the document overall (raising further questions, suggesting more tentative implications, offering an anecdote that drives the overall argument home, leaving readers with a provocative quotation)
Length
5-7 pages plus works cited page
Audience
Your classmates and I. Think of persuading us to agree with your stance on the topic, using authoritative sources to substantiate your position. The best essays will offer us a slightly new perspective or insight, a way to look at these sources that we might not have discussed or thought of before but that that flow logically and reasonably from the course sources.
Grading
· Does the exam essay advance a clear and focused argument (thesis statement + evidence)?
· Does the essay provide readers with sufficient evidence from the sources to substantiate the main claim?
· Are the sources fluidly integrated, identifying the relationships among sources and between sources and your argument, with clear signal phrases and appropriate citation?
· Is the essay logically organized?
· Is the argument fully developed (this includes both writing enough substance for 5 pages without filler and using all 6 sources at minimum)?
· Did you cite carefully and responsibly (MLA or APA style—your choice, just be consistent)?
· Is the project well proofed?
What might distinguish a B or A on this assignment?
· Having enough real substance to have more than 5 full pages plus works cited
· Going beyond the minimums in terms of course or outside sources integrated (as long as they add something good to the essay)
· Very strong visuals that add a new dimension or help to clarify the argument
· Offering a perspective that isn’t precisely something we discussed in class, adding some intellectual insight
· Choosing the more challenging sources in the course and handling them well
Community Project: Writing for ArtsPulse
Due Dates
11-14
Project contracts are due
“The One to Get Out of Your System” due to Kris for feedback
12-3
Full draft of project due to community partner and to me (latest date)
12-12
Final drafts due to me and to the agency, include a final project log that self-assesses)
Other deadlines to be developed with Kris and your team and put into the project proposal
The Organization
For this project, you will complete written work for The Arts Partnership’s publication ArtsPulse. “The Arts Partnership is a collective of over 100 artists, arts-related businesses and arts non-profit organizations in Cass and Clay counties, primarily Fargo, Moorhead and West Fargo. We work to ensure that the arts and culture in our community are being communicated about, advocated for and spread across many sectors, including the business community, educational centers, government, and the general public. We are truly cultivating the arts in our community. Founded in 1970, TAP was formerly the Lake Agassiz Arts Council.”
The Task
In teams, you will compose blog format feature writing about community arts events and personalities. Features might be profiles of organizations and individuals requiring interviews or might be previews or reviews of events and installations that might involve live tweeting the events to generate excitement and interest and keep notes for your larger piece of writing. Some teams may need to attend an interesting community event. TAP should be able to provide you with tickets to events requiring them.
All teammates will participate in the pre-work of interviewing, attending, doing background research. All teammates will create a full first draft. The team will then pick best elements from several drafts or use one of the drafts as their baseline for a final document to submit.
There are a few of primary objectives this project is meant to achieve:
1. give you experience writing in a nonacademic setting for a new audience, thereby building your experiential knowledge of rhetorical situations
1. offer you the experience of creating and/or revising a professional document
1. refine your collaboration skills, drawing on the strengths of a team and drawing on your strengths within the team
1. build your experience and ability with project management and project coordination
Contacts
TAP website: http://theartspartnership.net
Your primary contact at TAP will be Kris Kerzman, their media professional. With a small team, you will choose among a small set of assignments Kris has available and will complete the work under Kris’s direction. email address: [email protected]
Contacting Kris
1. put Introduction to Writing Studies, NDSU in the subject line
1. give him 24 hours to respond before sending another query
1. be patient with brief responses—he means no disrespect but will often need to work quickly
1. always include your names
1. if trying to set a meeting, offer several availability times, preferably 9-5 M-F
“The One to Get Out of Your System”
For this practice assignment, you’ll complete a document similar to the one you will write for The Arts Partnership (a preview, review, or a profile), but the focus for this first one can be any event or person at NDSU related broadly to the arts. Take the writing seriously, because this will be an opportunity to get feedback from the TAP professionals, but have fun! Pick an event you want to attend anyway (movie, theater show, art gallery) or interview a person you think would be cool to talk to on campus. Use Kris’s top ten tips for groovy writing. Think about what you know at this point about the genre. Then, write something that an audience could enjoy. You won’t revise this one but will apply what you learn to the “real” assignment. The key to this low stakes assignment is to take some risks, try a playful voice, capture a cool story, and get some feedback you can use to do the final project.
Project Contract
The project contract is important to making this project a success. It will clarify the parameters of your work as a team and each person’s role in the team. You should work with the agency contact to determine the following:
1. A series of deadlines for completing the tasks involved. Break the project into reasonable tasks so everyone involved knows the work you will be doing (this will ensure that you don’t take on too much). Be sure to include the following tasks within your break down:
0. A plan for any research/information collection other than researching the genre you will write.
0. Who will take the lead on which tasks (Taking photos? Reserving, picking up, or providing any needed equipment? Initiating an interview? Doing x segment of the background research? Getting a Doodle set up for meetings with Kris?)
0. At least one full draft review with the community partner before the final draft is submitted, early enough for the partner to suggest substantial revisions.
0. An editing/proofing session prior to the final hand in (at least 24 hours in advance of the due date) so you can all sign off on the final document.
1. The goal or the purpose of the document you will create (or revise).
1. Your learning goals related to the project (what do you hope to learn, practice, or reinforce as you work on the project—this may help the agency to think about how you can gain from the partnership and what you need from them to make that learning possible.)
1. The genre of the project. Get a model and/or set of guidelines from the agency.
1. The audience for the project. Who will read the documents? Why? What works for them?
1. IMPORTANT: (These will basically be your grading criteria.) A list of criteria for success: what is reasonable for you to accomplish and what will satisfy the agency that you have contributed something useful to their organization (I will use these for assessing the project at the end). You should have criteria/standards for each of the following categories:
5. Genre (including length, design, etc.)
5. Tone/style
5. Content
5. Collaboration (how will you know the collaboration is a success?)
5. Purpose (try to be specific to the assignment you receive—how is your task different from other groups?)
1. Note any questions that you might have to answer as part of your preliminary research regarding any of these categories (if the agency representative doesn’t have an answer, for instance.)
Include all of these components in your project contract, using clear subheadings to make the document easy to scan. If the project changes while in progress, simply revise the contract to reflect the changes, and make sure Kris signs off on the changes—submit the revised contract to me when you hand in the next draft.
Contract signatures
When you submit your contract, it must be signed by all teammates and Kris. I will accept being cced on an email from Kris agreeing to the contract as long as you also include a copy of the email with the contract itself. Be sure to get the contract to Kris at least 2 days before it is due, in case he wants to suggest changes.
Supervisor/Mentor Performance Report on Community Project
North Dakota State University English Department
For the Performance Report, please include the following information.
Your Name: ________________________ Your Title: _____________________________
Place of Employment: _____________________________
Student Name(s): ______________________ Inclusive dates of work: _______to_________
Please comment on each of the following questions.
1. Please describe the project or projects the student(s) completed for your organization.
2. Are you fully satisfied with the final product the student or students produced for you? If not, what seems to be missing or lacking?
3. What kinds of mentoring support did the students receive from you or the organization?
4. Please comment on the students’ professionalism (such qualities as attitude, cooperativeness, reliability).
Circle one: 1 is low 5 is high
1 2 3 4 5
5. Please comment on the students’ apparent control of project management (the ability to plan a project, be self-directed, achieve target dates, and adapt to unexpected difficulties).
Circle one: 1 is low 5 is high
1 2 3 4 5
Circle one: 1 is low 5 is high
1 2 3 4 5
6. Please comment on the quality of the students’ work and/or the quality of the products produced by the student.
7. Based on your experience with other students or with people at about the same level of experience, how would you rate this student?
Circle one: 1 is low 5 is high
1 2 3 4 5
8. What, in your opinion, are the students’ strengths?
9. What, in your opinion, are areas in which the students could improve the most?
Thank you for providing this experience for our students and for completing this form. Please return completed form to Amy Rupiper Taggart at [email protected].
HandoutsMaxine Hairston. “How Professional Writers Work.”
From Successful Writing. 3rd ed. Norton, 1992.
Maxine Hairston dispels many of the myths that surround writing. She speaks of successful writers generally but this can include professionals writing a range of things, from creative, to academic, to technical.
Read through the list and write one of the following next to each to suggest the degree to which you do the things she has found successful writers do: never, sometimes, often, always.
· Most writers don’t wait for inspiration. They write whether they feel like it or not. Usually they write on a schedule, putting in regular hours just as they would on a job.
· Professional writers consistently work in the same places with the same tools—pencil, typewriter, or word processor. The physical details of writing are important to them so they take trouble to create a good writing environment for themselves.
· Successful writers work constantly at observing what goes on around them and have a system for gathering and storing material. They collect clippings, keep notebooks, or write in journals [new media leads effective writers to tag pages, keep bibliographies, blog, even video or V-log].
· Even successful writers need deadlines to make them work, just like everyone else.
· Successful writers make plans before they start to write, but they keep their plans flexible, subject to revision.
· Successful writers usually have some audience in mind and stay aware of that audience as they write and revise.
· Most successful writers work rather slowly; four to six double-spaced pages is considered a good day’s work.
· Even successful writers often have trouble getting started; they expect it and don’t panic.
· Successful writers seldom know precisely what they are going to write before they start, and they plan on discovering at least part of their content as they work. . . .
· Successful writers stop frequently to reread what they’ve written and consider such rereading an important part of the writing process.
· Successful writers revise as they write and expect to do two or more drafts of anything they write.
· Like ordinary mortals, successful writers often procrastinate and feel guilty about it; unlike less experienced writers, however, most of them have a good sense of how long they can procrastinate and still avoid disaster.
After reading the list, reflect on your own habits and skills. Type at least one paragraph about what you recognize to be your strengths and weaknesses as a writer based on this list and other insights you have from other writing courses, work, etc. Include a couple of manageable goals for this semester. Save this and print a copy. Put it in your class binder.
Key terms in Phaedrus for Intro to Writing Studies
Watch out for how the following words are represented in the dialogue, as you fill out the worksheet today and as you continue to read. Which are clustered together or associated? Which are treated positively? Negatively? As you encounter them, put page numbers and quotes under each term.
Philosophy
Rhetoric
Speaking
Writing
Dialogue
Memory
Knowledge
Truth
Phaedrus on Writing and Rhetoric
What does Socrates claim that politicians think of writing?
What is the first rule of good speaking, according to Socrates (73)?
How does Socrates seem to define rhetoric (74-5)?
Socrates claims “rhetoric is like medicine” (83). In what way?
What is the relationship between rhetoric and truth? Philosophy and truth?
What does the story about Theuth suggest about writing (87-88)?
Phaedrus Worksheet
Adapted from: http://oncampus.richmond.edu/~jbaker/phaedrus.html
Accessed 1-17-05
In the first part of the text, Phaedrus tells Socrates of the ideas of Lysias, who believes that it is better to have a non-lover than a lover as a companion. Fill out the chart below with Lysias’ ideas concerning the disadvantages of taking a lover as a companion and the advantages of choosing a non-lover.
Disadvantages of a lover as a companion
Advantages of a non-lover as a companion
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SOCRATES FIRST SPEECH (the false speech)
p. 54, Socrates discusses a definition of love. First, what is this love?
Next, what is it in terms of the two guiding principles. What are they?
1.
2.
How do self-control and wantonness play into this definition?
In short, what is this definition? Love is.....
What does a lover do regarding the beloved that illustrates this definition?
Phaedrus Worksheet
Socrates Second Speech (the true speech):
Now Socrates offers a "recantation" of his first arguments and offers the opposite.
Why does he say that love's madness is advantageous?
p.61 What are the characteristics of the Soul?
1.
2.
3.
p.61-2,-8 67 The main metaphor for the soul presented in this text is a chariot made of three parts. What are they and what do they represent?
1.
2.
3.
p. 63 How do the degrees of seeking truth translate into professions or vocations?
Design Checklist
Use the following checklist to check the design of your documents as you create them and after you have completed a draft. This list is not exhaustive. Feel free to add items that I may have left out or that pertain specifically to the genre of your document.
General principle of design:
“Don’t be a wimp.” (Williams 79)
____Have you been bold in your design choices?
Repetition
____Have you used the same size and type of font repeatedly to suggest related sections?
____Have you considered using or used a design feature repeatedly to create a sense of unity (font, bullets, colors, lines, etc.)?
Contrast
____Have you used enough white space to set off the text and/or graphics?
____Have you made sure there is enough contrast in terms of the size of your fonts (make some very large, some very small) to really signal difference?
____Have you created contrast in other areas of your design (perhaps putting important text in white font on a black background, using an unusual direction for your text, etc.)?
Proximity
____Are the things that are closest together closely related?
____Have you deliberately created space and distance between unrelated items?
____Have you varied the space between items to indicate the closeness or importance of the relationship?
Alignment
____If you wanted to keep the entire page unified, did you make sure your alignment was all left, all right, all centered (less professional) or all full justified?
____Using alignment and proximity, do you have no more than 5 related clusters of information or images on a page?
____Have you used principles of reading gravity as you created the layout of your page? (remember the eye tends to move most prominently from the upper left hand corner
____Have you at least considered uncentering the document to make it a little unexpected and interesting?
Primary Source:
Williams, Robin. The Non-designer’s Design Book. 2nd edition. Berkeley: Peachpit Press, 2004.
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