Spring 2015
Academic Honesty:
Plagiarism is the use of another person’s words without crediting that person. Plagiarism
and cheating will not be tolerated and may lead to failure on an
assignment, in the class, and dismissal from the University. For more information, please view the campus policy here:
Syllabus: Assignments
are DUE
the day they are written, and are subject to change as noted in class and on
MyGateway.
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Date |
Topic |
Reading |
Writing |
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Week One |
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M 1/19 |
Martin Luther King holiday – no class |
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W 1/21 |
Introductions Syllabus overview Why write? What
makes “good” writing? Rhetorical situations |
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Week Two |
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M 1/26
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Constructs, myths, and misconceptions about writers and
writing Where do our ideas and attitudes about writing come from? |
-“Conceptions and Misconceptions about Writing” and
“Constructs” by Wardle and Downs (pages 4-6 in Writing about Writing) -“I Won’t Use Writing as a Punishment” by Clark (pages
3-10 in Essays on Writing) |
MRR 1 (Group A): Clark writes about how students often view writing as a form of punishment. How do you view the process of writing? In general, what are your ideas or attitudes about writing? |
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W 1/28 |
Writing and identity |
-“All Writing is Autobiography” by Murray (pages 65-75 in Writing about Writing) |
MRR 2 (Group B): Why does Murray believe that all writing is
autobiography? What does he mean by this? Do you agree? |
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Week Three |
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M 2/2 |
Writing and survival Writing and power struggles |
-“The Joy of Reading and Writing” by Alexie (pages 128-131
in Writing about Writing) |
MRR 3 (Group A): Can you think of examples from your own literacy history where expectations - positive or negative - shaped your literacy learning? |
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W 2/4 |
Writing and healing |
-“writing autobiography” by bell hooks (pages 29-35 in Essays on Writing) -“Healing Through the Written Word” by Cangialosi (pages
188-194 in Essays on Writing) |
MRR 4 (Group B): How,
according to hooks and Cangialosi, can writing help you heal? Do
you have examples of writing-to-heal from your own literacy history? |
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Week Four |
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M 2/9 |
Writing environments Writing rituals, tools, habits and practices |
-“Time, Tools, and Talismans” by Wyche (pages 52-64 in Essays on Writing) -“Shitty First Drafts” by Lamott (pages 527-531 in Writing about Writing) |
MRR 5 (Group A): Describe – in detail – your typical writing process. What are your writing habits, tools, and rituals? Where and when do you typically write? How do these habits help and/or hurt you? |
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W 2/11 |
Conferences – no class |
First draft/prewriting of Paper 1 due. |
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Week Five |
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M 2/16 |
Thesis statements Avoiding clichés |
-“Internal Revision” by Murray (pages 74-84 in Essays on Writing) |
MRR 6 (Group B): How is revision related to discovery? Can you think of examples of discovery-through-writing from your own literacy history? |
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W 2/18 |
Constructive
criticism Peer response |
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Second draft of Paper 1 due (bring 2 copies) |
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Week Six |
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M 2/23 |
Transitioning into Unit 2 Research as a social process |
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Portfolio 1 due (with the final draft of Paper 1) |
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W 2/25 |
Arguments in academic conversations Framing as a critical strategy |
-“Argument as Conversation: The Role of Inquiry in Writing
a Researched Argument” by Greene (pages 27-38 in Writing about Writing) |
MRR 7 (Group A): When you think of the term “argument,” what usually comes to mind? What does Greene mean when he asserts that writing an argument is “a process of learning how to enter conversations” (11)? |
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Week Seven |
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M 3/2 |
Inventing the university Literacy and knowledge/epistemology Writing in academic settings Literacy, authority, and institutions Deciding what “counts” as evidence |
-“Inventing the University” by Bartholomae (online) -“Disciplinary Discourses: Social Interactions in Academic
Writing” by Hyland (Writing about
Writing E-pages) |
MRR 8 (Group B): How do students "invent the university" when writing
a paper? Why, according to Bartholomae, is this process so
difficult to do? |
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W ¾ |
Literacy and institutions continued Theories of literacy education |
MRR 9 (Group A): What is the “banking concept of education,” and how does it relate to our system(s) of education in America today? Does Freire’s argument relate to your own educational experiences? If so, how? |
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Week Eight |
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M 3/9 |
MRR 10 (Group B): What do composition scholars mean by the term “voice”? How does Fulwiler describe his voice(s)? How would you describe your own? |
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W 3/11 |
Silence and listening |
-“The Transformation of Silence into Language and Action”
by Lorde (online) |
MRR 11 (Group A): Why is speaking and silence so important to Lorde? In other words, how does she overcome silence? |
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Week Nine |
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M 3/16 |
Re-thinking Standard English |
-“Teaching Standard English: Whose Standard?” by
Christensen (pages 101-108 in Essays on
Writing) OR -“Nobody Mean More to Me Than You and the Future Life of
Willie Jordan” by Jordan (online) |
MRR 12 (Group B): What are some of the problems associated with teaching Standard English? How does the process of learning Standard English shape students' writing in different ways? |
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W 3/18 |
Conferences – no class |
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First draft/prewriting of Paper 2 due. Come to your conference with questions or concerns. |
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Week Ten |
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M 3/23 |
Spring Break – no class |
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W 3/25 |
Spring Break – no class |
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Week Eleven |
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M 3/30 |
Literacy and technology A new kind of authorship? |
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W 4/1 |
Peer response |
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Second draft of Paper 2 due |
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Week Twelve |
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M 4/6 |
The importance of community in the study of writing |
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Portfolio 2 due (with the final draft of Paper 2) |
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W 4/8 |
Academia as a discourse community? |
-“The Concept of a Discourse Community” by Swales (pages
215-227 in Writing about Writing) |
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Week Thirteen |
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M 4/13 |
Ethnographic writing and research |
MRR 13 (Group A): How might ethnographic writing help
you become a better (and maybe more ethical) writer? What lessons can you take away from Kahn's article? |
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W 4/15 |
Sites of writing |
MRR 14 (Group B): What is Mirabelli's main argument, and how does he
develop and support his argument? How did you respond to his
ideas? |
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Week Fourteen |
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M 4/20 |
-“Intertextuality and the Discourse Community” by Porter
(pages 395-408 in Writing about Writing) |
MRR 15 (Group A): What
is "intertextuality," and what ideas does this theory challenge?
In other words, how does intertexuality challenge myths about
writing? |
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W 4/22 |
Plagiarism, patchwriting |
-“A Plagiarism Pentimento” by Howard (pages 115-125 in Essays on Writing) |
MRR 16 (Group B): How does the concept of patchwriting challenge traditional notions of plagiarism? Why, according to Howard, do you students end up plagiarizing by way of patchwriting? Do you have examples of these concepts from your own literacy experiences? |
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Week Fifteen |
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M 4/27 |
Coding data |
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Field notes due. |
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W 4/29 |
Peer response Discuss PowerPoints, visual aids, etc. |
-Student models (online) |
First draft of Paper 3 due (bring two copies) |
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Week Sixteen |
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M 5/4 |
Presentations |
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Prepare for your presentation. |
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W 5/6 |
Presentations |
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Prepare for your presentation. |
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Finals Week |
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M 5/11 |
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Portfolio 3 due (with the final draft of Paper 3) |