eng 1110

st. scholastica eng 1110
fall semester 2009

section 008: MWF, 10:30-11:35 p.m., Tower 3410

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syllabus daily writing reading responses research project reflection essay calendar

syllabus

Chris Godsey
cgodsey@css.edu
310.8048 (before 9 p.m.)
meetings upon request

DESCRIPTION

This course is about learning to do apparently simple things:

• find information

• use that information to develop and support ideas

• organize those ideas and that information

• convey all of it in writing that's effective for an intended audience and purpose

Simplicity is seldom easy to achieve; those things we'll be learning about get complicated and tricky quite quickly.

You know both more and less about all of it than you realize. By the end of the semester you will not be a writing expert, but by working very hard you should know much more than you do now, and I hope you will have started to trust your ability to make writing decisions.

SUGGESTED TEXTS

• The Elements of Style

• Essentials of English Grammar

You'll never be quizzed or tested about what you've read in those books. They are helpful for any writing situation you'll face in college and beyond.

COURSE GOALS

Increases in:

• familiarity with writing as a thoughtful process (and not just a single session of misery)

• understanding of how and why a writer's audience and purpose should control every decision they make

• confidence in making writing decisions

• ability to recognize and write effective sentences and paragraphs

• editing skills and confidence

• reading comprehension ability

• ability to write with detail, credibility, conciseness, and clarity

• understanding of how and why to find, use, and reference relevant, credible support information

• knowledge of how, where, and why to seek and use feedback

• knowledge of how to let an audience know what sources you've used

I also hope you come to see that writing well--regardless of the context--means

• constantly thinking about what your audience and message require

• eliminating needless words

• trusting your own voice and using it clearly

• getting feedback from other people who can help you clarify your own voice

• providing rich, concise detail

• organizing information effectively

• a bunch of other stuff that we'll talk about as it comes up

Grammar and punctuation rules are important, but lots of people who know them also suck as writers, and lots of scary-good writers have to look them up or ask many questions about them.

A few random thoughts at the outset, so you know where I'm coming from:

I don't know everything about writing. I also guarantee that more than a few of you are way smarter than me.

I do probably know more about writing, and have more experiences with it, than you do. My job is to guide you toward confidence and competence in making your own decisions.

Taking ownership of decisions can be uncomfortable for folks like you and me; most of us have grown up with an educational culture that conditions us to seek easy answers and arbitrary approval. We're not taught how to process ambiguity, how to value true learning over memorizing prescribed material, or how to be independent thinkers. We're taught to be passive instead of active--to be controlled by our academic education instead to control it.

All that is understandable and strangely comfortable, but unfortunate.

Making writing decisions might leave you annoyed, angry, and insecure every now and then. That's OK. It's all part of the process, and you're in a safe place.

Writing is not one thing. It's many things--e-mails, research papers, Web sites, PowerPoint presentations, grocery lists, scientific reports, SOAP notes, class notes, letters to your sweetie, blogs, newspaper articles, and a lot of other stuff--and they're all about using words to communicate in real situations.

Whether you want to or not, you need to write and comprhend others' writing in your life and work. If you hate writing and reading, or are indifferent toward them, the best thing you can do is learn to do them effectively with minimal discomfort. If you love or are curious about them, you owe them and yourself the respect of learning how to do them effectively.

That's why this course matters: it's about learning and developing real skills--using assignments and exercises as tools to develop knowledge and experirence--not just writing some pointless papers for the sake of jumping through some random academic hoops.

I'm serious about all that. I couldn't get up every morning and teach if I couldn't explain to myself and to you how this class actually means something both in college and, more importantly, in the real world. If you need or want a more detailed explanation of any of that stuff, just holler.

ASSIGNMENTS

1. Frequent, informal daily writing during class

2. A reading response every three weeks or so

3. A thesis-based research project during week 14

4. A reflection essay during finals week

SEMESTER GRADES

A Receive credit for 95 percent of the daily writing, all three reading responses, the project, and the essay.

B Receive credit for 85 percent of the daily writing, all three reading responses, the project, and the essay.

C Receive credit for 70 percent of the daily writing, all three reading responses, the project, and the essay.

D Receive credit for 55 percent of the daily writing, all three responses, the project, and the essay.

F Do almost nothing: fail to get credit for 50 percent of the daily writing, or fewer than three of the responses, or the project, or the essay.

ASSIGNMENT SUBMISSION

Daily writing should be submitted to me in class, by the end of each period, on paper, via e-mail (cgodsey@css.edu), or in whatever method is most convenient for you.

Reading responses should be typed and submitted in your most convenient method.

Research projects can take any form you think is effective for the intended audience and purpose you create.

COURSE POLICIES

All these policies are based on a fundamental concept: this is your education, and you should be actively responsible for it instead of allowing other people to dictate how it will go.

Unexcused Late Work

Might not be accepted.

Plagiarism

Cheating is easy. It's tempting and even understandable, to a certain degree. It's also a stupid waste of your time and money. If you do it and get caught, you may fail the course.

Attendance

I don't take roll, but remember these things:

• written work is possible every day, and will sometimes depend on class discussion

• you're always accountable for what's discussed in class

• you can't possibly get everything a class has to offer without participating in it

• college is about learing to make your own decisions, instead of being told what to do.

Pay attention to your official CSS e-mail account--check it at least once a day--I and other teacher-type people communicate that way quite often.

Participation

Constant involvement from everyone isn't required, but everyone should be engaged and observe the Golden Rule.

Leave your phones and books for other classes in your bag. If your laptop will distract you from what we're talking about, leave it packed, too.

Respect me and your classmates. If someone is talking, everyone in the room is expected to pay attention.

Special Needs

People who have or incur any disability (either permanent or temporary) that might affect their ability to perform in this class are encouraged to inform the instructor at the start of the semester. Adaptation of methods, materials, or testing may be made as required to provide for equitable participation.

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daily writing

ASSIGNMENT

At the end of many class sessions, you'll be asked to write a brief, informal, and detailed response to some sort of question or discussion prompt; sometimes the request will be identical to other days; sometimes it will be slightly or significantly different.

PURPOSES

• Communication between you and me

• Writing and thinking practice for you
• Reflection oppportunities for you

AUDIENCE

I am always the work report audience.

EXPECTATIONS

1. Obvious thought
2. Detail

Here's an example of what I mean:

This report does not include obvious thought or detail:

"Today I did some research. I looked for some information. I found some information."

This one does include thought and detail:

"Today I took notes on possible people to have conversations with about my topic. Since I'm researching weight gain among freshmen, I looked for information on the CSS Web site about who might be good people on campus to talk to. I know there are nurses on campus, but I have to find their names. I also found out that Tad Sears and Teresa Aldach are counselors on campus, and they might either know about the topic or be able to help me find other people who do know about it, or find information on it. I might also try to see if I can talk to someone from food service. I also wrote down a bunch of questions I have about freshman weight gain, like, Do all freshmen gain weight? How much weight do they usually gain? Is it the same for guys and girls? Why do they gain weight? Does drinking have anything to do with it? Do some people also develop eating disorders?"

These are informal reports, and I'll usually be asking you to write them on a moment's notice, which can be quite difficult, so I'm not expecting super-polished prose. But if I'm having trouble understanding your sentences, or if at the end of the report I know less more than I did before it, I might chat with you about how and why to write with more detail and clarity.

Questions? E-mail me at cgodsey@css.edu
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reading responses

ASSIGNMENT

Throughout the semeser, we'll be using pieces of writing to help us learn about reading comprehension and our own work. We'll talk about each piece for three or four weeks, and at the end of each discussion period you'll submit a response, based on a request from me, to the piece.

PURPOSES

Writing and reading practice. Learning how to deal with assignment expectations. A bunch of other stuff.

AUDIENCE

Different for every assignment--check details below.

EXPECTATIONS

1. Obvious thought
2. Detail
3. Adherence to the assigned audience and purpose

DUE DATES (also listed in the course calendar)

1. "Less than Murder" -- Monday, 5 October

ASSIGNMENT DESCRIPTION

Please play a game with me: Pretend that we're having a class discussion, and I ask, "Hey, is this article any good?" and everyone looks to you--and only you--for an answer. With as many details, examples, illustrations, supported opinions, and other tactics, how would you answer? Remember that your audience (your classmates and me) has also read the article, so they won't need some details, but they will need other ones in order to take you seriously. Try to anticipate their questions and response to what you're saying. How would they challenge you? Where would they ask for more detail or say you're giving too much? How will you know when you've clearly and solidly answered the question? (One hint: What does "good" or "not good" mean?)

2. "From Degrading to De-grading" -- Monday, 19 October

(head to http://www.alfiekohn.org/index.html, click on "Articles," then look for the title)

ASSIGNMENT DESCRIPTION

Please write a letter to CSS President Dr. Larry Goodwin, explaining in clear detail, with effective illustration of your own experiences, and with use of quotes from Kohn and any other sources, why you agree with Kohn, disagree with him, or have some other response to the article. Remember who you're writing to, and what your audience and purpose will require of you if you want to be taken seriously and express your point clearly.

3. Book reviews -- Monday, 23 November

ASSIGNMENT DETAILS

Read these three book reviews:

• Michiko Kakutani's New York Times review of Eric Schloesser's Fast Food Nation

• Bunny Crumpacker's Washington Post review of Michael Pollan's The Omnivore's Dilemma

• Bill Buford's New Yorker review of multiple books about meat

Write and submit a thesis-based essay that answers one of these questions (and fulfills the requirements about details, etc):

1. What do those books and the reviews of them suggest about the diets of average college students? Use direct quotes, paraphrases, and summaries from the reviews, and clear, detailed examples from any other sources, including your own experience, to support your answer.

2. Which of the reviews or books would most likely be interesting or useful to an audience of your St. Scholastica peers? Use direct quotes, paraphrases, and summaries from the reviews, and clear, detailed examples from any other sources, including your own experience, to support your answer.

3. After reading any one of the reviewed books, what is your response to the review of it? Use direct quotes, paraphrases, and summaries from the review and the book, and clear, detailed examples from any other sources, including your own experience, to support your answer.

Any essay that does not meet those requirements or the following ones will be handed back, without comments, for revision.

• Must be handed in at the beginning of class on Monday, 23 November.

• Three double-spaced pages--no more, no less

• 12-point Times New Roman font

• One-inch margins

• Bottom-centered page numbers

• Upper-left-hand-corner staple

• Single-spaced, upper-right-hand header, on all three pages, that includes your name, the date, and "ENG 1110 Section 008, Fall Semester 2009"

• Centered title that shows your reader what the essay is about

• One space between title and first paragraph

• Flawless MLA in-text documentation and works cited list

• Flawless grammar, punctuation, and syntax

• Third person only

• No passive voice

• Single-paragraph introduction with the essay's thesis directly stated as its last sentence

4. "The Chameleon" -- TBA

http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2008/08/11/080811fa_fact_grann

ASSIGNMENT DETAILS

Please prepare for and participate in a classroom conversation that's initiated and maintained by you and your classmates.

Questions? E-mail me at cgodsey@css.edu
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research project

ASSIGNMENT

Please find, learn and develop ideas about, and write a thesis-based project about any person, event, or issue.

PURPOSES

Practicing multiple skills, developing multiple experiences:

• Finding, using, and writing based on, research
• Developing your own ideas through reading
• Learning some cultural and media literacy
• Making writing decisions
• Writing with an intended audience and purpose
• Taking ownership
• Seeking and using feedback
• Challenging your comfort zone
• Empowering yourself through knowledge and fulfillment

There's more to it than can be stated here, but that list is a good start.

AUDIENCE

You'll determine a relevant and appropriate audience once you know your topic and intended message well enough to do so.

EXPECTATIONS

Format, content, syntax, grammar, tone, style, voice, punctuation, source references, spelling, and all other characteristics that are appropriate to your message, your audience, and your desire to be easily understood and taken credibly.

Since you will be using information from various sources, you will definitely need to decide where and how to most effectively let your audience know whose information you're using. Pay attention to the articles we read in class--and the sources you accumulate--for examples of how to create credibility by choosing effective types and numbers of sources.

Every day of class from the first one till the day this project is submitted will be devoted to defining what all that means and preparing you to achieve it.

If you come to class, handle your business outside of class, take yourself and this task seriously, and ask a lot of questions, you will wind up with a project that's cooler and more useful than you can imagine.

As we proceed through the semester, more information may be added to this section. Pay attention.

DUE DATE:

Monday, 14 December

Questions? E-mail me at cgodsey@css.edu
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reflection essay

ASSIGNMENT

Please write an essay that reflects on (thinks about, ponders, mulls over, discusses, explores, expresses carefully considered thoughts about) at least these three things:

1. Your work in this course this semester
2. How that work relates to your past academic and life experiences
3. How it might influence your approach to future opportunities and expectations, academic and other

PURPOSE

To express and carefully examine your thoughts and feelings about what you were asked to do, what you did, what you didn't do, and what all that stuff suggests about how you approach your academic education and why you approach it that way.

AUDIENCE

Who seems like a relevant audience for such a piece of writing?

EXPECTATIONS

Basically:

• Detailed, careful thought and expression about your semester experience

Complicatedly:

• Base the essay on a direct statement that's specific and detailed instead of vague.

• For example: Instead of saying, "I both liked and disliked this class," try to say something more like, "This class was a lot of work, which I found frustrating and time-consuming, but it also helped me learn a lot, which was quite fulfilling."

• Unpack that statement.

• A suitcase is a single object made up of many smaller ones; all packed up, it's tough to see everything that's in it; once it's unpacked, though, all the contents become clear. That's a corny metaphor, but it can be effectively applied to sentences--once all the basic parts are unpacked and in plain sight, the sentence and its ideas have a better chance of making sense.

What do you mean by "a lot"? What about "work"? How and why was it frustrating? Time-consuming? How did the work "help" you? What did you "learn," and why, and how? What does "fulfilling" mean?

• Explore and discuss all those terms and conepts. What do they show and suggest about your past, present, and future participation in and perspective toward academic and other sorts of education, experience, obligation, opportunity, and anything else that comes to mind?

The point is not to celebrate or excoriate yourself; it’s to honestly discuss yourself and your experiences.

DUE DATE

• Tuesday, 22 December, by noon.

Questions? E-mail me at cgodsey@css.edu
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calendar

Week 1 course introduction

Wednesday, 9 September

•Get acquainted a bit
•Discuss syllabus and project
•Assign "Less than Murder"

Friday, 11 September

Work day

•Read and make sense of "Less than Murder"
•Ask syllabus and project questions
•Hang out and listen to music

Week 2 topic selection

Monday, 14 September

•More course and assignment discussion
•Start talking about topic selection and project requirements
•Discuss "Less than Murder"

Wednesday, 16 September

•More course and assignment discussion
•Keep talking about topic selection and project requirements
•Discuss "Less than Murder"

Friday, 18 September

Work day

•Think, read, and ask questions about research topics
•Make sense of "Less than Murder"
•Hang out and listen to music

Week 3 topic selection

Monday, 21 September

•Keep talking about topic selection
•Keep discussing "Less than Murder"

Wednesday, 23 September

•Keep talking about topic selection

•Keep discussing "Less than Murder"

Friday, 25 September

Work day

•Think, read, and ask questions about research topics
•Work on response to "Less than Murder"
•Hang out and listen to music

Week 4 human resources

Monday, 28 September

•Discuss human sources of information
•Keep discussing "Less than Murder"

Wednesday, 30 September

•Discuss human sources of information
•Keep discussing "Less than Murder"

Friday, 2 October

Work day

•Think, read, and ask questions about topics and research
•Go find information
•Read and take notes on information already acquired
•Make decisions about how to use the library and why
•Work on response to "Less than Murder"
•Start reading "From Degrading to De-grading"
(head to http://www.alfiekohn.org/index.html, click on "Articles," then look for the title)
•Hang out and listen to music

Week 5 library resources

Monday, 5 October

•Response to "Less than Murder" due

•Discuss library and human sources of information
•Start discussing "From Degrading to De-grading"

Wednesday, 7 October

•Discuss "Degrading..."

Friday, 9 October

Work day

Week 6 online resources

Monday, 12 October

•Start discussing online sources of information
•Keep discussing "From Degrading to De-grading"

Wednesday, 14 October

•Keep discussing online sources of information
•Keep discussing "From Degrading to De-grading"

Friday, 16 October

Work day

•Think, read, and ask questions about topics and research
•Go find information
•Read and take notes on information already acquired
•Make decisions about how to use the Internet and why
•Work on response to "From Degrading to De-grading"
•Start reading three book reviews:

1. Michiko Kakutani's New York Times review of Eric Schloesser's Fast Food Nation

2. Bunny Crumpacker's Washington Post review of Michael Pollan's The Omnivore's Dilemma
3. Bill Buford's New Yorker review of multiple books about meat

•Hang out and listen to music

Week 7 figuring out how to use resource info

Monday, 19 October

•Response to "From Degrading to De-grading" due
•Start discussing how to make decisions about using information
•Start discussing book reviews

Wednesday, 21 October

•No class: Community Day

Friday, 23 October

Work day

•Think, read, and ask questions about topics and research
•Go find information
•Read and take notes on information already acquired
•Make decisions about how to use info and why
•Make sense of book reviews
•Hang out and listen to music

Week 8 tailoring message to audience

Monday, 26 October

•Start discussing how to make content, style, and format decisions based on audience
•Keep discussing book reviews

Wednesday, 28 October

•Keep discussing audience-based decisions

•Keep discussing book reviews

Friday, 30 October

Work day

•Think, read, and ask questions about topics, research, using information, meeting audience with content and format,
•Go find information
•Read and take notes on information already acquired
•Make decisions about how to use info and why
•Make sense of book reviews
•Hang out and listen to music

Week 9 planning what to write

Monday, 2 November

•Discuss how to start figuring out what to write and how to write it

•Keep discussing book reviews

Wednesday, 4 November

•Discuss how to start figuring out what to write and how to write it

•Keep discussing book reviews

Friday, 6 November

Work day

•Think, read, and ask questions about topics, research, using information, meeting audience with content and format, and figuring out what to say, why, and how

• What concepts and facts are standing out?
• What have you learned that people in your audience should know?

•Go find information
•Read and take notes on information already acquired
•Make decisions about how to use info and why
•Work on book review essays
•Hang out and listen to music

Week 10 more figuring out what to write, and how, and why

Monday, 9 November

•Discuss planning

•Keep discussing book reviews

Wednesday, 11 November

•Discuss planning
•Discuss book reviews

Friday, 13 November

Work day

•Think, read, and ask questions about topics, research, using information, meeting audience with content and format, and figuring out what to say, why, and how

• What concepts and facts are standing out?
• What have you learned that people in your audience should know?

•Go find information
•Read and take notes on information already acquired
•Make decisions about how to use info and why
•Work book review essay
•Start reading New Yorker article "The Chameleon"

http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2008/08/11/080811fa_fact_grann

•Hang out and listen to music

Week 11 puking out ideas

Monday, 16 November

•Book review essays due
•Discuss getting ideas from head to somewhere else
•Discuss "The Chameleon"

Wednesday, 18 November

•More idea discussion
•Discuss "The Chameleon"

Friday, 20 November

Work day

•Think, read, and ask questions about topics, research, using information, meeting audience with content and format, and figuring out what to say, why, and how

• What concepts and facts are standing out?
• What have you learned that people in your audience should know?
• What's your main point?
• Who are you talking to?
• What do you have done?
• What do you still need to do?

•Go find information
•Read and take notes on information already acquired
•Make decisions about how to use info and why
•Make sense of "The Chameleon"
•Hang out and listen to music

Week 12 arranging the ideas

Monday, 23 November

•Discuss how to make ideas flow
•Discuss "The Chameleon"

Wednesday, 25 November

•Thanksgiving break--no school

Friday, 26 November

•Thanksgiving break--no school

Week 13

Monday, 30 November

•Keep discussing idea flow
•Discuss "The Chameleon"

Wednesday, 2 December

•Keep discussing idea flow
•Discuss "The Chameleon"

Friday, 4 December

Work Day

•Think, read, and ask questions about topics, research, using information, meeting audience with content and format, and figuring out what to say, why, and how

•Go find information
•Read and take notes on information already acquired
•Make decisions about how to use info and why
• Make sense of "The Chameleon"
•Hang out and listen to music

Week 14

Monday, 7 December

•Assigned "The Chameleon" discussion

Wednesday, 9 December

•Work day

Friday, 11 December

•Work day. Lots to do.

Week 15

Monday, 14 December

•Research projects due
•Course evaluations

Wednesday, 16 December

•Reflection essay work day

Friday, 18 December

•First day of finals.

Finals Week 18, 21, 22 December

• Essay exam due by noon on Tuesday, 22 December.

Questions? E-mail me at cgodsey@css.edu
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contact: cgodsey@css.edu | 310.8048 (before 9 p.m.) | meetings upon request