Our Lives, Our Culture(S), Our Generation

Our Lives, Our Culture(s), Our Generation WRTG 1150 FIRST-YEAR WRITING Sect. 8 MWF 9-9:50 in EDUC 132 Sect 21 MWF 11-11:50 in CLUB 10 Catherine Lasswell, Instructor

Course Office Hours and Contact Information Office: Environmental Design Building (ENVD) 1B30B Office hours: M, W, F Office phone: 303-735-4673 Email: [email protected] Mailbox in ENVD, lobby area

Required Texts: --Writing in the Margins (Stephen Brown) --Knowing Words: A Guide to First-Year Writing and Rhetoric (PWR Third Edition) --A Writer’s Resource 2nd Edition (Maimon, Peritz, Yancey) --Various e-reserve articles, handouts, emails --A good college-level dictionary --The Purdue University OWL (on-line writing lab; http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/ --The Colorado State university Writing Center, which offers an array of “writing resources” and “teaching resources” pertinent to this course: http://writing.colostate.edu/ --The Colorado State University “WAC Clearinghouse,” which supports scholarly exchange about communication across the curriculum: http://wac.colostate.edu/

Course Overview and Objectives First-Year Writing is intended for freshmen in the College of Arts and Sciences. The course draws on broad rhetorical principles for cogent writing and applies them to concrete academic and civic writing projects which meet the demands of communicating to the public or an academic audience. Entitled “Our Lives, Our Culture(s), Our Generation,” this course will focus on readings related to the experience of living and learning in today’s university culture, in your own subculture(s), and within the culture of your own generation in order to move you toward deeper insight and engagement as one functioning and communicating effectively within these cultures. 2

The course focuses on introducing you to the tools of analysis and argument essential to success in college and in professional and civic life. Readings and essay assignments will allow you to practice analysis and argument in the context of analyzing the perspectives, practices, and concerns related to your generation. As in any writing endeavor, effective written communication grows out of sound, incisive critical thinking. Such thinking must be grounded in an understanding of not only the immediate rhetorical situation as it is driven by the assignment, but also the academic and societal contexts surrounding it. As writers analyze issues within this interplay of contexts, they learn to exercise their abilities and responsibilities as individuals within the discipline, and more broadly as citizens within a community.

Assignments: The course begins with the exploration of Personal Narrative, in which you draft your own personal narrative based on your own experiences and perspectives. Writing about an incident that had a large impact on you, you will recreate the experience and explain the ways in which it affected you. This essay will allow you to hone your descriptive skills-- writing succinctly, vividly, and clearly as well as move into aspects of cause/effect.

Subsequent short writing assignments will involve writing a Summary of an Argument and making an Assessing the persuasiveness of the argument’s claims and evidence. The summary requires students to read critically and thoughtfully to recognize the purposes of a piece of writing, convey the essence of the ideas through paraphrasing and summary. deconstructing the steps in a logical argument, differentiating between causal claims, values claims, assertions and evidence. Assessing the persuasiveness of an argument requires critical thinking, particularly identifying stated and unstated assumptions, evaluating evidence, determining what is an arguable assumption and an unarguable assumption. Summary writing requires students to write clearly and concisely, synthesizing information while keeping the same message.

A Refutation assignment will ask you identify and evaluate persuasive strategies in several arguments and to respond analytically and argumentatively to them.

The course will culminate in the writing of a Research Essay which will move you fully into academic inquiry. This assignment will involve critical information literacy, which will require you to evaluate and use outside sources in your own writing. This essay will involve laying out a specific area of 3 inquiry, researching the area, and then writing a position paper in which you craft and support an original thesis.

Addressing one’s audience will be considered fully in all readings and in each piece of writing we undertake as we uncover the ways in which arguments take place in specific academic and civic conversations.

Throughout the course, matters of style, grammar, and organization will be addressed in the context of larger rhetorical and argumentative concerns. The course text, A Writer’s Resource, will provide in-depth explanations of how to use conventions effectively.

Course Principles:  This course is based on a number of “first principles” that help to define and orient our work together. Our course will do the following:  Familiarize you with various writing genres and issues in academic and civic communication.  Attend to critical-thinking skills and rhetorical principles that are transferable or adaptable from one writing task to another and from discipline to discipline.  Encourage a sustained focus on revision that will develop the analytic and argumentative edge that many forms of academic and civic communication require.  Focuses on multiple dimensions of communication: written and oral, formal and interpersonal.  Enable you to work collaboratively on communication issues through peer response and collaborative editing.  Respect and challenge you by relying on you as an intellectual resource and part of the course design, seen in your own writing and speaking, your disciplinary interest, and your role as readers and writers.

This course will involve both problem posing and problem solving grounded in academic disciplinary concerns. You will learn how to discover, evaluate, and define disciplinary concerns/issues in ways that can help you develop a set of essay design requirements and then a fuller argumentative essay design, one that you can adopt and adapt to other academic essay writing course situations. Throughout, we will spend considerable time studying the particular rhetorical strategies of academic writing – specifically the implied arguments writers make through their use of logos, pathos, and ethos. We will discover the ways in 4

which the intended audience shapes the choice of strategies and the ways that writer anticipate audience thinking and objections.

Whereas other writing courses might ask you to “write about X,” this course will ask you to write in order “to do X.” Writing tasks function not as isolated assignments but as interlocking activities in a recursive process – one that connects audience needs with rhetorical problem solving and issue framing. You will be seeking to understand the goals and needs of those who write academic and civic pieces, as well as the tools and technologies that affect the production of such work and how they might be enhanced to better meet those goals. Throughout, the course will make use of different kinds of written activities (rhetorical analyses, critical analyses, researched essays), not as isolated tasks but as part of an ongoing process of inquiry and research, oriented to the needs and exigencies of the audience/reader/scholar. This course thus connects matters of genre in academic writing to intellectual, rhetorical, and social activity.

Weighting of Assignments  Personal Narrative Essay 10%  Summary and critique 10%  Refutation 10%  Quizzes and short responses 10%  Information Literacy Assignments 5%  Quality of class participation, accountability  in workshops 15%  Research Position paper 25%  Short Final Paper 10%  Final Quiz 5%

The Colorado Commission on Higher Education (CCHE) WRTG 1150 also meets CCHE criteria for a writing course (GT-CO2) in the Colorado system of higher education:

Rhetorical Knowledge: Rhetoric is the art of shaping words and images to move a particular audience to a particular purpose. Knowledge of rhetoric sharpens the ability of a communicator to choose the most effective evidence, reasoning, and communication strategies for a given audience and purpose. Handouts developed by the instructor will distill those concepts to a form that can be readily remembered and applied. Articles will place the critical thinking that drives communication into rhetorical contexts that involve positioning yourself 5 within an academic or civic environment, influencing decision-making, and analyzing issues related to civic and ethical engagement.

Writing Processes: Writing is an ongoing process that requires multiple drafts as well as a range of strategies for developing, revising, and editing texts. Writing and speaking are also formed within a community of colleagues. The workshops and feedback forums in this course provide opportunities to develop skill in providing constructive feedback as well as incorporating feedback into the development of your own work. Assignments will provide practice in using technologies such as data base search engines and online research tools. Library Research Workshops with Norlin Library will introduce you to specialized sources that will connect you to the issues, language, and modes of analysis generated by your field. Repeated examination of evidence and reasoning in the development of your research project will give you practice in evaluating sources for accuracy, relevance, credibility, reliability, and bias.

Conventions: The sequence of assignments will give you practice in analyzing and developing common forms of academic and civic communication, in interpreting and using the language of your field, and in designing communication strategies that meet the expectations of readers. You will learn the elements of effective academic writing. You will also become aware of elements of your own writing that can be improved, including syntax, grammar, and punctuation addressed in A Writer’s Resource, a course text.

Content Knowledge: The range of assignments as well as exposure to the work of your peers will heighten your awareness of the relationship between specialized content and various audiences. This awareness will translate into facility in adapting content and communication strategies to the expertise, needs, and expectations of a particular audience.

Workshop Format This course is organized as a Workshop. This means that your writing will be central to what is learned in this class. It will be critiqued and discussed as part of the process of critical inquiry, as we all work closely to moving your ideas to greater originality, depth, logic, and clarity. On the days we workshop, you will be expected to contribute constructive comments to your classmates’ drafts. The writers of these drafts will receive your comments and decide how to incorporate the feedback into their revisions. All students are responsible for reading essays in advance of workshops. With all workshops, your responsibility is to arrive ready to comment on the work of your colleagues and to share in their inquiry. 6

High quality participation in workshops involves identifying weaknesses in the writing and suggesting ways to remedy them.

This is a collaborative classroom. A regular and required assignment is that you pick up (or electronically download) in advance of the class the papers we will be discussing. You will be expected to arrive to class ready to comment on the work of your colleagues and to share in their inquiry. You will be expected on occasion to give a presentation on the strengths and weakness of a student paper with recommendations for improvements. These presentations should be prepared in advance of class and be well organized, cogent. In our “workshops” (as elsewhere in life), the Golden Role applies: Do unto other writers as you would have them do unto you. Writers want and need more than empty praise. They want an attentive and discerning audience, one that is ready to help improve their writing and thinking.

You will need to have drafts (typed, double-spaced) ready to distribute according to the workshop schedule. Drafts are required, but will not be graded. If you miss classroom critiques because you do not turn in a draft, the quality of your papers will almost certainly suffer. I will not accept final essays that have not been reviewed on a regular basis over the course of the assignment. “First draft” final versions are unacceptable and will receive an F. Late papers will not be accepted (except under extraordinary circumstances).

Attendance Because this class is structured as a workshop/seminar, it is crucial that you attend class consistently to make the course worthwhile for you and others. Students who miss class will be expected to ask their classmates for the material they missed. Three absences are allowed during the semester, taken for any reason including illness. Absences four and beyond will lower your final grade by a fraction of a letter (i.e. A- to B+) for each absence after the third. Even when excused, more than six absences will result in an automatic F for the course. Class starts at the announced time; tardiness is not acceptable (two late arrivals later than 10 minutes count as one absence). If you arrive late, make sure I mark you present.

Grading Criteria for Essays: A: A paper that is excellent in form, content, and style: original, substantive, insightful, persuasive, well organized, and written in a clear, graceful, error-free style. Although not necessarily “perfect,” an A paper rewards its reader with genuine insight, gracefully expressed. 7

B: A clearly written, well-developed, interesting paper that shows above- average thought and writing craft. The paper may have some relatively minor difficulties in content or style, but contains no major flaws that compromise the general effectiveness of the case it presents or the readability of its prose. C: A paper that represents a mixture of strengths and weaknesses. The paper may be readable, reasonably well organized, and support a focused thesis satisfactorily, but it has some important unresolved problems in content and form, and distracting grammatical errors and stylistic flaws. The paper may fulfill the basic requirements of the assignment, but, finally, say little of genuine importance or significance. D: A paper seriously deficient in content, form, style, or mechanics. It may be disorganized, illogical, confusing, unfocused, or contain pervasive errors that impair readability. F: A paper that is incoherent, disastrously flawed, unacceptably late or failed to meet the workshop review requirements.

Grading Scale for Participation: A Always prepared for class; participates without being called upon; criticism of other student essays shows insight, close reading; comments clear, succinct, and helpful. B Generally prepared for class; occasionally participates without being called on criticism of other student papers shows mastery of the course goals. Comments generally clear and helpful. C Adequately prepared for class; only participates when called on; mastery of the course goals generally evidence, but criticism of other student papers, although somewhat helpful, demonstrates a less than thorough reading of the paper. D Preparation is less than adequate; never participates unless called on; criticism of other student papers demonstrates a casual reading, at best; comments demonstrate a failure to master the course goals. F Disruptive in class (reading newspaper, talking, continual tardiness, etc.), unprepared when called on, unable or unwilling to participate in class discussion.

Format for Essays For all essays, use regular margins, 12 font, and DS. Length is never as important as the purpose you have for your piece – how many pages are needed to accomplish your aim? Your piece should be as long as it needs to do this and not a word more.

Use this Standard Heading, at the top of your essay: Jane Smith PWR 1150 Sept. 8, 2006 Essay 1, Draft 3

Assignments 9

This is a collaborative classroom. A regular and required assignment is that you pick up (or electronically download) in advance of the class the papers we will be discussing. You will be expected to arrive to class ready to comment on the work of your colleagues and to share in their inquiry. Student presentations on drafts submitted by classmates will be a regular feature of the workshop. These presentations should be prepared in advance of class and be well organized, cogent. In our “workshops” (as elsewhere in life), the Golden Rule applies: Do unto other writers as you would have them do unto you. Writers want and need more than empty praise. They want an attentive and discerning audience, one that is ready to help improve their writing and thinking.

Email: This class will use e-mail communication for messages from instructors, for general discussion and at times for the circulation of drafts. Please check your university e-mail account (Colorado.edu) daily. If you use a non- university e-mail account (e.g.hotmail.com.msn.com), be sure to link it to the university e-mail account. Access to on-line library materials requires that you be identified as a university user (Colorado.edu). It is your responsibility to become familiar with sending and receiving attachments using commonly available software (e.g. Microsoft Word). For assistance in technical computing matters, contact 735-HELP or 5-HELP for the Information Technology Help-line.

Special Notes The University of Colorado makes reasonable accommodations for those with documented disabilities. Students should notify the counselor for Students with Disabilities located in Willard 322, (303-492-8671) and their instructors of any special needs. Instructors should be notified the first week of classes so accommodations can be discussed. For more information go to www.Colorado.EDU/disabilityservices

CU is very clear on its stance toward plagiarism given the adoption of the Honor Code. You will receive an F for the course if you plagiarize a paper in this class. In addition, the matter will be referred to the dean. Please do not compromise your own integrity. Please note that I cannot accept a “finished” paper that has not been through the complete workshop process. All students must understand what constitutes plagiarism. Honor code information can be found at [www.Colorado.edu/academics/honorcode/]

Please notify me at least one week in advance if you will be absent due to religious observances. These missed classes will not be counted as absences. I will make every effort to accommodate your absence including giving make-up exams or extra credit work for in-class assignments missed. [See policy details at http://www.colorado.edu/policies/fac_relig.html]

Students and faculty each have responsibility for maintaining an appropriate learning environment. Students who fail to adhere to behavioral standards may be subject to discipline. Faculty have the professional responsibility to treat students with understanding, dignity and respect, to guide classroom discussion, and to set reasonable limits on the manner in which students express opinions. Professional courtesy and sensitivity are especially important with respect to differences of race, culture, religion, politics, sexual orientation, gender, and nationalities. See policies at http://www.colorado.edu/policies/classbehavior.html and http://www.colorado.edu/studentaffairs/judicialaffairs/code.html#student_code . The University of Colorado Policy on Sexual Harassment applies to all students, staff, and faculty. Any student, staff or faculty member who believes s/he has been sexually harassed should contact the Office of Sexual Harassment at 303-492-2127 or the Office of Judicial Affairs at 303-492-5550. Information about the OSH and the campus resources available to assist individuals who believe they have been sexually harassed may be found at http://www.colorado.edu/sexualharassment/

First-Year Writing – Tentative Course Schedule (All readings must be completed by the day listed.)

Week 1 Aug 25-29 Introduction to course: description/analysis/argumentation (Mon) What’s in a Name? Exercise. (Wed) Read Margins Preface – p. 8 (Fri) Read Knowing Words pp. 4-15; PWR Course Policies pp. 131-136; “A Day to Forget and Remember” pp. 123-126 and “Alford J. Knapp.”(handout) (Fri)

Week 2 Sept 1 – 5 No class Sept 1 (Labor Day) Read “Learning to Read” KW pp. 43-37 ``and “Mother Tongue” (handout).(Wed) Make sure you have understood and agreed to the syllabus and policies. (Wed) 11

Workshop personal narratives. (Bring one copy of personal narrative to read aloud twice and receive feedback on with a small group.) (Fri)

Week 3 Sept 8-12 Workshop Personal Narrative in small groups. (Mon) ADD: Read “Cultural Chameleon” KN pp 33-41. (Mon) Read “Violence at Columbine: Why?” KW (Wed) Discuss claims/assertions/evidence (Wed) (HW: email by Wed 6pm a critique of ROlolo’s argument) Continue discussing claims/assertions/evidence (Fri) Workshop Rotolo’s critiques Personal Narrative due Fri Sept 12

Week 4 Sept 15-19 Read Pew Report Generation Next (Mon) Discuss Report and reliable sources (Mon) Read Brooks’ pp. 1-10 (Wed) Discuss Brooks, claims, evidence, thesis, audience (Wed) Read Brooks pp. 11-20 (Fri) Discuss Brooks and summary writing (Fri) (Email summaries on Sun eve.) Read Margins pp. 61-63 (Fri) Brooks Summary due Wed. Sept 24th

Week 5 Sept 22-26 Workshop Brooks summaries I bring copies(Mon) Hand in Summary Revisions Read “Autumn of the Multitaskers” (Wed) Discuss claims, evidence, thesis, audience Read “Hold ‘Em Hold Up”(Fri) Discuss possible topics for development Other readings TBA(Fri) Response to Autumn or Hold ’Em due Mon Sept 29th

Week 6 Sept 29-Oct 3 Position paper topic development Topic development What is a thesis statement? Read Margins pp.117-127.(Wed)

Week 7 Oct 6-10 Individual Conferences with instructor to discuss Topic/Position 12

Discuss topic development (Fri)

Week 8 Oct 13-17 Library Seminar – Meet at Norlin 303 (Fri) Read Margins Ch 3 (M) Workshop Thesis statements (MW)

Week 9 Oct 20-24 Discuss effective Introductions (M) Workshop Introductions (WF)

Week 10 Oct 27-31 Read Margins Ch. 4 (Mon) Workshop Body Paragraphs (MWF)

Week 11 Nov 3-7 Reread Margins Ch 4 (Mon) Workshop Body Paragraphs (MWF)

Week 12 Nov 10-14 Read Margins Ch. 5 (Mon) Discuss effective conclusions (MWF)

Week 13 Nov 17-21 Read Chapter 5 Margins, Ch 6 Margins (Mon) Workshop Conclusions (MWF) Research Essay due Fri Nov 21

Week 14 Thanksgiving Week -- no class

Week 15 Dec 1-5 Workshop Final Short Essay

Week 16 Dec 8-12 Workshop Final Short Essay

Final Short Paper due Fri Dec 12