Assignment Sequence

Presentation & Paper Sequence

Scholarly Writing Presentation & Paper

CTL Basic Assignments

CTL Unique Assignments

Sample Syllabus 1

English 10600: Writing Through Literature

Section: 278
MTWThF: 10:30-11:20
http://web.ics.purdue.edu/~wjpeck/106ii/intro.html

M: HEAV 225
T: WTHR 214
W/F: HEAV 105
Th: HEAV 223

Instructor: William J. Peck
Office: HEAV 311E
Office Hrs: TTR, 12:00-2:00
Office Phone#: 494-3727
Email: wjpeck@purdue.edu

Course Description

English 106 is designed to help you learn to express and develop your critical thinking and writing skills. This course will help you to develop the skills you will need to write successfully in college, in the workplace, and in your everyday lives, while also introducing you to the strategies necessary for effectively using research within your writing.

Furthermore, you will learn that the best way to improve your writing skills is through revising and rewriting. This will be accomplished through peer-revision, while working in your small groups and within conferences. A writing workshop will help you reach your writing goals while giving and receiving constructive comments on assignments. Course goals include:

• Drafting, designing, writing, revising and editing your writing projects
• Identifying and exploring research issues and questions
• Evaluating the credibility of various sources
• Learning how to write both in self-reflective and objective ways
• Writing ethically and responsibly
• Reading and analyzing literature

In this class, we will be reading various examples of literature including poetry and short stories. By analyzing and interpreting the literature we read, we will develop our critical skills and apply them to our writing. We will be researching literature in order to write effective reports and essays, but the arguments that are posed must be original.

Required Text

Responding to Literature, 5th ed. by Judith A. Stanford.
Available at Von’s Book Store (State St.)

Attendance

Attendance is very important to the effectiveness of this class. You will depend on the comments and suggestions of your fellow classmates, and they will depend on yours. I will take attendance everyday, so I will know who is attending and who is not. The attendance policy for this class is that you will receive 4 free absences. Furthermore, if you come unprepared for a class or a conference, then you will be counted absent. This class is dependent upon your preparation and participation, and I take that seriously. If you are more than 15 minutes late, you will be counted absent. If you miss the first 15 minutes, you won’t be able to catch up with the class for the day. After you use your 4 absences, each additional absence will lower your total grade by one letter.

Due Dates

I expect that you will all complete your assignments and readings by class time. Assignments are to be turned in during class on their respective due dates. If you do not hand your paper in on time, then it is one letter grade off for each day it is late, and you will not be allowed to do a revision on that project.

Revisions

I want you to consider writing as a process and not the creation of a product. Therefore, you will be allowed to do revisions on your papers. However, this is not an excuse for you to do unsatisfactory work the first time around. You can do 2 revisions on any one project provided that the original draft is turned in on time. Your final grade will be the average of your original grade and your most recent revision.

Conferences

Conferences are your opportunity to bring questions and concerns to me. They are not another classroom time for me to organize. I will try NOT to plan anything for these days so that they are free for you to direct. Any issue you want to discuss is fair game, but you must come prepared to discuss something. If you come to conference with nothing to discuss, then I will count you absent for the day. I suggest that you have a folder with all of your papers and assignments to bring to every class and conference. You should always have something in there that you need to discuss.

Grading

For this course, you will be expected to complete five projects and a web-portfolio. The web-portfolio will include copies of all your previous papers for the class and whatever else you choose to add (i.e. research materials, pre-writing, pictures, videos, etc.). Everything that you turn in will be given back to you with a grade except the final paper. This way, you should always be able to calculate how well you’re doing in the course. Plus, you can always raise any questions and concerns in our conferences.

Grading Method:
Humor Paper—20%
Review—20%
Annotated Bibliography—10%
Web-Portfolio—10%
Final Paper—30%
Reading Quizzes—10%

Academic Integrity

Don’t plagiarize anything for any project in this class! When writing research papers, you are bound to consult many sources for information. Be sure to properly cite every piece of information you use in your projects. If you are not sure whether something needs to be cited or not, ask me. This is not a small matter. Any student plagiarizing in this class will be given an “F” for the course, and will be referred to the university. If you want more information on this subject, go to: http://www.purdue.edu/ODOS/osrr/integrity.htm.

Campus Emergencies

In the event of a major campus emergency, course requirements, deadlines and grading percentages are subject to changes and may necessitate a revised semester calendar or other circumstances. You can contact me at the email address above to get information about changes.

Course Evaluations

During the last two weeks of the semester, you will be provided an opportunity to evaluate me and this course. To this end, Purdue has transitioned to online course evaluations. On Monday of the fifteenth week of classes, you will receive an official email from evaluation administrators with a link to the online evaluation site. You will have two weeks to complete this evaluation. Your participation in this evaluation is an integral part of this course. Your feedback is vital to improving education at Purdue University. I strongly urge you to participate in the evaluation system.

Sample Syllabus 2

ENGL 10600 – 331 Introductory Composition:
Composing through Literature Syllabus
Tony Russell, HEAV 207A
Office Hours: M 2:30-3:30
tgrussel@purdue.edu

Course Description

In almost whatever field you choose to pursue, you will do a significant amount of writing. You may write letters and memos, be asked to document and clarify your research, have to describe processes or procedures, or prepare formal presentations. Writing is not just an English thing; it is a skill that is learned, practiced, and refined across the university curriculum.

Each piece of writing that you undertake will have a defined rhetorical purpose and audience. The purpose of your document describes why you are writing and what you are writing about. Your audience is the people you will be writing to. Thus, you must pay careful attention to what your audience does and does not know, what its expectations are, and how you can reach it most effectively. Finally, your writing almost always reflects your own rhetorical stance. This stance reveals how you feel about the topic that you are describing. It often appears in the tone, attitude, or style of the piece. For some documents, your audience will expect a tone where that stance is subdued—what we sometimes call objective writing—while at other times, they will be looking for an argument with compelling claims and evidence. In this course, we will talk about the rhetorical strategies that inform our writing and the process of preparing a professional document for an audience. To this end, we will discuss, write, and revise four types of papers commonly required in university courses.

Required Texts

You may purchase your books new at Von’s Bookstore in Chauncey Village or at Borders on the levee. You are also welcome to purchase used copies, if available. Please note, however, that I prefer that you purchase the same edition as the rest of the class since class assignments are usually listed by page number. Also, I will not spend extra class time resolving pagination issues for alternate editions. Whether you purchase your books new or used, I have provided the ISBN-10 and ISBN-13 numbers as well as images of the book covers in order to make getting the right edition easier.

Gardner, Janet E. Writing about Literature: A Portable Guide. 2nd ed. Boston: Bedford, 2009. Print.
ISBN-10: 0312607571
ISBN-13: 978-0312607579

Elanie P. Maimon, Janice H. Peritz, and Kathleen Blake Yancey. A Writer’s Resource: A Handbook for Writing and Research. 3rd edition. Boston: McGraw-Hill, 2010. Print.
Comb-bound:
ISBN-10: 0073383775
ISBN-13: 978-0073383774
-or-
Spiral-bound:
ISBN-10: 0077300750
ISBN-13: 978-0077300753

Graham Greene. The Quiet American. 1955. Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition. New York: Penguin, 2004. Print.
ISBN-10: 0143039024
ISBN-13: 978-0143039020

Alan Moore and David Lloyd. V for Vendetta. 1988. New York: DC Comics, 1995. Print.
ISBN-10: 0930289528
ISBN-13: 978-0930289522

Art Spiegelman. The Complete Maus: A Survivor’s Tale. New York: Pantheon, 1997. Print.
ISBN-10: 0679406417
ISBN-13: 978-0679406419

Supplementary Texts

From time to time, we will read texts that are not found in the above required texts. You will find these texts in the Texts folder on the course Blackboard Vista site. Print these materials out and bring them to class with you on the assigned days. While you will incur some costs in printing out these texts, the expense will be considerably less than if I had you purchase a course pack. Also, some of the texts that we will read during the first week of class are available in PDF format. This will give you a little extra time to purchase books or to wait for online orders to arrive.

Grading and Assignments

I will calculate student final grades using the percentage scale. Major papers appear in italics.

Participation - 15%
Informative Report - 20%
Interpretive Analysis - 20%
Argumentative Research Paper - 20%
Annotated Bibliography - 10%
In-Class Writing - 10%
S-LEd Examples - 5%

Participation:
Classroom conduct
Attend every class on time. Also, be ready to take part in class discussions and to take notes on course content. I expect you to speak up frequently, make insightful comments, and to listen actively. In the Course Procedures folder on Blackboard Vista, you will find a list of specific criteria that I will use for grading class participation.

Please do not IM, text, sleep, make derogatory or disruptive comments, or do homework assignments for other classes during my class.

Absences:
Personal issues and illnesses sometimes arise that necessitate absence. If you feel seriously ill, please refrain from coming to class and potentially infecting other students.

I do not give excused or unexcused absences, but you can miss up to five class periods, for any reason, without penalty. You are still, however, responsible for any work you have missed for that day. These absences include Conference absences. Conferences are not an option; they are an integral part of the course and help constitute ENGL 10600 as a four-credit one. After four absences, you will forfeit your entire Participation grade (15 %). I will do not tolerate tardies for any reason and will count one absence for every two tardies. If you are with an athletic team or campus organization that holds games or events that will necessitate absence from class, please bring me your schedule early in the semester so that we can arrange for potential scheduling adjustments.

Whenever possible, please let me know as a courtesy when you will be missing class or conferences before you miss them (by email is fine). You are always responsible for any class work you miss (i.e. readings, papers). Papers must be turned in at the beginning of the class period they are due without exception. If you going to be absent on the day a paper is due, you must either email the paper to me before the class period begins or prearrange an alternative with me beforehand. (You must receive a confirmation from me beforehand in order to arrange an alternative; a simple one-way request will not suffice.)

Major Papers:
You will receive an assignment sheet for each major paper. Major papers will correspond with a unit number and book with the exception of the Annotated Bibliography, which is a part of Unit 3. The Informative Report and Interpretive Analysis will be three pages long each. The Argumentative Research paper will be five pages long, and the Annotated Bibliography will be 1-2 pages.

In-Class Writing Assignments:
These semi-formal assignments will improve your ability to critically read and annotate texts, form concise theses and claims, provide textual evidence, and cite research responsibly. They are essentially practice documents for your major papers. Sometimes you will incorporate your in-class writing assignments into your major papers. You will type and print out these documents in class, or we may use the discussion list function in Blackboard to facilitate our exercises and discussion.

Please note that I will on several occasions require in-class student writing while in our lecture classroom. Most often, I will ask you to discuss your ideas using these informal writings as a reference. I may on occasion take these handwritten assignments up. In that case, they will be incorporated into your participation grade.

S-LEd Examples:
Students and professionals alike complain that they don’t do grammar well or never really learned to understand punctuation rules well enough to know when to use certain items correctly. During some conference periods, we will briefly discuss some of the more common quandaries (e.g. How do you use a semicolon as opposed to a colon?) and those that apply directly to responsible research in the university (e.g. using quotation marks, brackets, and ellipses for quoting source material). These are Sentence-Level Editing (S-LEd) concerns that don not often get addressed in class but which can be very helpful in adding polish to your writing. You will likely find these “rules” much easier than you remember them, and I will help you on a one-on-one basis to understand these principles in an easygoing, non-embarrassing setting. Each time you have an S-LEd Example due, you will briefly explain the grammatical principles and their significance to me, and then you will provide me with five examples of the principle in question. You may type these examples up or handwrite them.

Plagiarism

Purdue University discourages acts of “dishonesty in connection with any University activity. Cheating, plagiarism, or knowingly furnishing false information to the University are examples of dishonesty.” Further, the University Senate declares:
the commitment of acts of cheating, lying, and deceit in any of their diverse forms (such as the use of ghost-written papers, the use of substitutes for taking examinations, the use of illegal cribs, plagiarism, and copying during examinations) is dishonest and must not be tolerated. Moreover, knowingly to aid and abet, directly or indirectly, other parties in committing dishonest acts is in itself dishonest. (See University Regulations, Part 5)
In all instances of academic dishonesty pertaining to this course, I reserve to the right to assign a failing grade for the assignment in question and/or the right to assign punitive work.

Artistic Responses to War

Compare/Contrast Paper: Responses to War (20% of grade)

In this project you will examine various responses to war. You will be asked to choose a contemporary response to war (film, visual arts, music, political cartoons, photography, fiction, etc.) and compare/contrast that response with a selection of plates from Goya’s The Disasters of War (which we will discuss as a class). The project asks you to consider similarities in the ways people have artistically responded to war throughout history, as well as explore how different our modes of commentary are today from Goya’s time. The paper will be six-eight (6-8) pages, and will incorporate visual images.

This paper may take a variety of shapes. What I do expect is that you choose two to three (2-3) images from Goya’s Disasters of War to examine. As for your examination of contemporary responses to war, your options are less limited. You may choose a selection of photos, paintings, cartoons, or shots/scenes from a film. Or, you might choose to look at some passages from a work of fiction or lyrics/music to a song. You should choose one medium, however, in order to narrow your discussion. In choosing your medium and examples, be sure to choose artistic responses that will allow you to compare and contrast them to Goya’s plates.

How you incorporate the images into your paper is largely up to you, but you should demonstrate rhetorically sound choices in your placement of the images. You could work the images into the text of the paper, or include them at the end of the paper as separate pages (labeled figure 1, figure 2, etc.). You may also choose to place images side-by-side in order to put them in “dialog” with each other. No matter how you choose to work in the images, you are still expected to write at least six full pages of written text.

Your organization will also be somewhat open to your own choices. You may want to develop an interpretation of each image separately, and then move into a compare/contrast section of the paper that looks at the images together. Or, you could choose certain images to pair and develop an interpretation and analysis of them together. How you meet the objective is largely up to you; choose an organizational method that will best express your larger claims. In the end, be sure you do three things: offer an interpretation of each image; compare the Goya/contemporary images; contrast the Goya/contemporary images.

Your paper should be guided by a thesis that suggests what an analysis of Goya’s responses to war in comparison to contemporary responses to war reveals. By looking at these various responses, what can you conclude about the ways humans have responded (artistically) to war?

Grading Criteria: I will use the following criteria when grading your paper:

• You have a clear thesis that guides your paper
• You examine at least two-three images from Goya’s Disasters of War
• You examine a selection of contemporary responses to war within one medium
• You compare/contrast Goya’s images with the contemporary responses
• You successfully incorporate images into your paper
• You provide ample support for your claims about the various responses (meaning you support your claims by pointing to the images/responses themselves; you don’t need to incorporate any outside research for the paper)
• Your paper is free from grammatical/spelling errors

Documenting Your Reality Final Project

• Final Project Assignment Guidelines: Documenting Your Reality (25% of grade) 

This assignment will bring together everything we have studied and learned over the course of the semester about documenting reality.  You will document some aspect of your own life, whether it be an immediate part of your reality or a larger topic somehow related to you, and will also choose your own method of documentation.  The assignment will involve 3 parts: the actual project, an artist’s statement, and an in-class presentation. The project allows for a wide variety of possible responses.  To help you in developing your project, the two main items you should consider are listed and explained below:

• Choice One: What aspect of my life should I document?

One important point is that this project is not asking you to document your entire life, but one important aspect of your life.  Consider the following points when choosing:

• §         Was there a certain time period in your life that stands out as having a large impact upon you?  (one day, week, month, summer, semester, etc.)

• §         Is there any specific person that influenced you that you could discuss?  (parent, teacher, sibling, friend, etc).  How about an animal or object? 

• §         Can you think of a particular event, hobby, interest, etc. that you would like to document?

• §         Is there a current event, issue, or problem that would be interesting to document? 

Remember that these are only starting points, and can be combined with one another (obviously events happen in certain time periods, etc).  It is also important to choose an aspect of your life that involves extensive detail, as you will be developing not only your final project but also a 10-minute presentation for your classmates from this information.  Also, remember that you are documenting an aspect of your reality, not someone else’s. However, you do have room for flexibility in making connections between a larger topic and yourself.    

• Choice Two: How should I document this part of my life? 

You are not limited to writing a traditional paper for this final project, but of course may choose to do so if you wish.  This project allows you to choose a method of documentation that fits well with your subject, is interesting, and showcases your reality.  You should be proud of your completed project and want to show it off!  Here are some options for you to consider, but this list is by no means exhaustive of all possibilities: 

• §         Web site

• §         Film (you can check-out digital cameras in the DLC)

• §         Power-point or other software program

• §         Traditional essay (or a variation on this: write a journal, letters, memoir, etc)

• §         3-D project - such as a poster-board, collage, sculpture, etc.

• §         Painting or Photography project

• §         Poetry, short story, songs, or other creative writing

• §         Drawing or series of sketches

• §         Music
  

• Grading Criteria : I will consider all of the following criteria when grading each portion of your project:

• Project: The actual creation that documents some aspect of your own reality ( 75% of project grade)

• ¨       Does the project adequately and creatively document some aspect of your reality?

• ¨       Is there evidence of the amount of effort expected for a final culminating project? 

• ¨       Is there evidence of careful planning and revision? 

• ¨       Is the chosen method of documentation appropriate for the chosen topic?

• ¨       Other appropriate criteria will be considered depending on the method of documentation chosen

•  Artist’s Statement: A written statement that discusses the process of creating your project, as well as your final thoughts/interpretation of your project (15% of project grade)

• ¨       Does your artist’s statement clearly and fully explain the project you chose to complete? 

• ¨       If the final product differed somewhat (or even a lot) from the project you first proposed in the proposal, you should discuss how/why these changes came about.

• ¨       Does the statement describe the process of creating your project?

• ¨        Does the statement address how successful you feel you were in documenting your own reality? 

• ¨       Does the statement offer some type of interpretation of your project and what it means to you as its creator?

• ¨       Does it meet the 1 ½-page minimum, with few or no grammatical, spelling, or punctuation errors?

• In-class Presentation:  An informal presentation to the class in which you show off your completed project and discuss the details of your project (10% of project grade)

• ¨       Did you clearly explain why you chose the aspect of your life and method of documentation that you did?

• ¨       Did you clearly and fully explain your actual project, including how it was created and the process of revising and completing it?

• ¨       Did your presentation meet the 10-minute minimum? (not going under or over time)

• ¨       Please provide a copy of your artist’s statement for the class (16 copies total)

• ¨       Note cards are fine, but do not just read your artist’s statement to the class.

Documenting the Semester

Project Goals and Questions

Assignment number four is where you get to show me that you've made sense of everything we've been doing over the semester. You get to show me that you have control of things like transitions, introductions, citation style and the like. However, this is also the essay wherein you get to show me that you've made sense of both our overall project of assimilating into an academic reality and your own writing process and progression

Therefore, for this essay I want you to think about your writing as it relates to a class that has required you to hone your thinking skills and join the academic world. Think about the requirements of this class and how your work intersected, or strayed from those requirements. Which techniques of yours learned before this class served you well in completing your assignments? Which had to be reassessed? Techniques might include aspects of actual sentence construction, time management, your writing process, your argumentative style (is it reserved or straightforward; does it appeal mostly to reason or emotion?), your use of rhythm, etc.

Conversely, what of that which you have learned do you find valuable; what will you take with you to help you throughout the rest of your college career? What will you jettison in favor of previous learning or in favor of what might be to come? You need to think about these questions and anything else that comes to mind during class discussion and create a logical question/argument/position/main-idea/thesis-ish thing that answers/explores these questions.
So basically, I want to see a documentary research paper that shows me that you have a handle on everything we have been doing, and that you are somewhat awake and alert as you are jumping through the hoops of this class (and your college life in general).

Project Schematic (note that in some sense, my pre-writing schematic is suggestive rather than proscriptive)

1. Look through all your notes, graded work, your journal, peer reviews, and class handouts
2. Try to make sense of everything that is there. Write a little summary of what's been going on. Now try to synthesize that summary into one statement about the class.
3. After doing this, reverse engineer the statement. What impressions led you to this statement? Can you group similar items in your pile of materials that worked together to form certain impressions? Do you see any change in your attitude or philosophy that led to this final statement about the class?
4. Next, from your initial statement about the class, begin building a narrative which is organized via this reverse engineering. Remember that because the class has a focus on academic documentation, and this final documentation is of process and outcome, the narrative thread should be both semi-chronological and semi-epistemological (ask me about this last term).
5. Now it is time to start writing. This essay must be in MLA format so I suppose the first thing here would be to gather the materials that you really have to make use of and try to figure out how to do MLA citations of them (some of it will be tricky, particularly something like my comments about a peer's comments about your paper, so getting this out of the way now will keep you from freaking out the day before the paper is due).
6. After getting the formatting out of the way you will proceed in much the same way as what was outlined for your research paper. However, as this class also has contended with other media forms, don't feel that you must be confined to a strict, linear, textual presentation. It must be MLA but it can also be HTML, etc.
7. Your draft due date is April 8nd. Then when you get the draft back, the rest of the semester will be dedicated to refining this draft and, from looking at what you have discovered, going back and revising the one major assignment you think you are in a better position to complete to your satisfaction and for a better grade.

Material Requirements of this Essay

• This project should be approximately 2000 words (first draft around 1200 words) of MLA, research paper formatted text, hyper-text, or other. If strictly text, it should be 12 pt., Times New Roman…HAVE A TITLE THIS TIME!

• The first draft should be accompanied by your MLA format bibliography

• Your first draft, even though shorter, should be considered a finished piece of work as it always is so no careless errors and I would like your sources to be already well integrated into the narrative of your work.

• Remember, the first draft of your project will be due on April 8nd so get started…and come to my office hours to see me or email, what's the purpose of all this available help if it's all going to waste?

Project Outcomes

After completing this project you will be almost done with ENGL 106!!! So, since my influence on your college career will be practically over, try to learn a couple last things. I want you to leave at least understanding what it is to be an academic and where you stand in the journey towards that goal. Additionally, I want you to have an understanding of the composition process and a real world understanding of what it takes to complete a project that, at least in some measure, reflects who you are successfully to your audience. Finally, and perhaps less importantly, I want to see that you have acquired the basic skills of traditional composition in this discipline (English).

Project Suggestions

• Be creative (but not with your grammar)
• Get started early
• Push yourself to try and understand the class and yourself past a surface level
• Have fun; this is a fun assignment
• Above all, be honest with both yourself and me. If you aren't, your work will be boring and probably the disingenuousness will cause fissures in your grammar

Gendered Realities

Asignment #4: Gendered Realities

Purpose:
This time you will be asked to perform an analysis of gender politics in contemporary society or from a previous decade of the twentieth century. Your task will combine previously acquired skills of critical analysis, knowledge about rhetoric and audiences, and various media representations regarding gendered realities.

Introductory Readings:
Adams, Rachel/David Savran. (eds.) The Masculinity Studies Reader. Malden, MA: Blackwell,
2002.
Dines, Gail/Jean McMahon Humez (eds.). Gender, Race, and Class in Media: A Text-Reader.
Sage Publishers, 2002.
Ehrenreich, Barbara. 1993. "Beyond Gender Equality: Toward the New Feminism."
Democratic Left 21(4):3-5.
Green, Penny Anthon 1995. "Evolutionary Insights Into Problems of Sexism, Classism &
Racism: Including Prospects for their Elimination." Race, Gender & Class 2(2):65-83.

Topic:
While it has often been argued that gender, along with race and class, fundamentally governs nearly every aspect of our identity – our occupations, family dynamics, political and social power, and media realities -, neither of these issues can be constructed merely upon biological or social influences. You may concentrate on either masculinity or feminist studies, or their combination with issues of class, race, and religion.

Task:
This assignment asks you to concentrate on one institution, here broadly defined as anything that has a demonstrated social influence on our view of the world, to analyze its portrayal of gender, its construction and effects upon audiences. This institution could be a campus club, a magazine, a celebrity, a series of well-known advertisements, a movie, sport, or radio program.
The assignment consists of (1) the composition of a 1,000 word essay, which will count for 70% of the assignment grade and, as preparation, (2) a reflexive essay on one of the sources discussed in class, which should amount to approximately 500 words.

Writing Prompt (for (1)):
How does your institution support or subvert gender stereotypes, and does the institution do so in a constructive/destructive way?

For the 1,000 word essay, you are required to use a minimum of four sources, at least two of which must be academic sources. The reflexive essay does not require any additional sources apart from the primary material, that is, the article to which you are responding.

Length & Format: Reflexive Essay (500 words) & Analytical Essay (1,000 words), plus Works Cited page
MLA format, Times New Roman font 12, one inch margins, double-spaced

Due Dates: Reflexive Essay --- March 23
Analytical Essay: Outlines --- March 24
Rough Drafts --- March 26
Final & Complete Version --- March 30

Identity Collage

ENGL 106 – Assignment #2: Identity Collage
________________________________________

Project Goals

The Goal of this essay is for you to gain a significant understanding of one part of the rhetorical pyramid—you as writer (refer to discussion about rhetorical pyramid). To do this, we will be creating a multimedia identity collage. The multimedia component is up to you but I am requiring that the textual component of this essay be significant as well (this is, after all, mostly a writing class). For the purposes of this assignment your task is to combing non-written genres of communication with written text to create a non-linear argument (yet one which still maintains a hierarchical progression and has a proposition) about your constitution as a person, critic and writer. Non-textual genres might include digitized photos, music, video, paintings, three dimensional art, computer code, etc.; however, the goal is to integrate these elements into a composite whole that also makes use of traditional text significantly. While not an essay per se, some rules still apply: intro, analysis, and conclusion. To do this successfully you will need to ask the basic questions from handout #3: what’s it to you? what do you want to say? who is the audience? what do you need to know? how will you progress? and how well is it all working out? I expect that getting started on this will be a serious hassle and cause creative blocks for many of you. This is why our computer class this week will be mostly focused on idea generation for this essay. I also expect to see as many of you as possible in my office hours this week.

Material requirements of this essay

• This project should include approximately 1000 words of traditional typed text (font optional).

• This text should harmonize with additional media to give a composite picture, not just of you, but of what constitutes you as a student and critic.

• What you initially hand in should be considered a finished piece of work even though it is a first attempt so I do not want to see careless errors and I would like most media to be “in place” even if some work is yet to do (please also include a title).

• This draft of your project will be due the week of February 11th for peer editing.

Project Outcomes

After completing this project you should know your critical eye and begun to make concrete the idea of your writerly self that you are attempting to convey throughout the rest of this semester of composition. You should also have become at least somewhat proficient in multi-media design logic. Finally, this project should go a long way towards showing your investment in this class and willingness to trust ENGL10600 protocol.

Letter to Editor

ENGL 106 Project 3: Letter to the Editor --

DUE: by email Monday, 11/3

In this project, you will choose a letter to the editor to which you feel compelled to respond. You may use a letter to the editor from any reputable news source (Journal and Courier, The Purdue Exponent, etc.). You will critique the argument of this letter and then compose a rebuttal. Additionally, you will critique your own argument and explain its effectiveness.

For this assignment, then, you will turn in three parts:

• 1. A 2-page critique of the letter to which you’re responding – In this critique, you should elaborate on the strengths and weaknesses of its argument. You must refer to how the letter uses ethos, logos, and pathos, and how well it does so.
• 2. A 1-page letter (approximately 300 words) written in response.
• 3. A 1-2 page analysis of your own argument. You must refer to how your letter uses ethos, logos, and pathos, and how well it does so.

The key to this exercise is learning how to find gaps in someone else’s argument so that you can fill in these gaps when stating your own claims – that way, you look smart and credible, and your audience understands what you’re trying to convey. You’ll want to consider the audience for these letters very carefully and address this issue directly in your critique of each letter: who is the audience for this newspaper? How will other people likely respond to the letter you’re responding to? How will they respond to the letter that you write? How have you constructed your rebuttal accordingly?

You are not required to submit your letter for possible publication, although I strongly encourage you to do so, once you’ve revised it. You will have spent the time crafting an excellent, persuasive argument, so why not put it to the test?

Important Submission Information: Please email all three sections to me as one Word attachment. Also, copy and paste the original person’s letter to the editor at the end of your document, remembering to include the author’s name, where the letter appeared, and what date it appeared.

Literature: Fiction or Reality?

(10% of the final grade)

Purpose: This exercise will introduce you to the world of fiction and the various kinds of writing that can be composed in an analysis of the latter. The assignment will consist in an analysis of Bram Stoker’s Dracula, and will, thus, lead us to consider new methods of craft and style different from the previously learned ones. We will practice seeing this fiction in its cultural and historical context, in relation to other works, schools of literary criticism, and the author’s background.

Task description: Your task in composing this assignment is to write a composition of 1,500 words that either
(a) approaches Bram Stoker’s Dracula as a work of fiction from a certain angle (or topic), such as, interpreting aspects of gender, politics, labor, science. Within this selection, your essay can serve as an analysis of the text in light of its background, publication history, or other works by the same author.
(b) investigates Stoker’s novel in relation to texts by another author from the same time period (H. G. Wells, Henry James, R. L. Stevenson, etc.) or a different one. This includes the possibility of comparing it to the film or play adaptation(s).
(c) analyzes the novel from a certain aspect of literary criticism (see handout: Schools of Literary Theory), e.g. psychoanalysis, feminism, new historicism. This choice might overlap with approach a.

You should, as known from previous assignments, come up with a thesis of your own and use the text as well as 2 other sources (not Cliff’s Notes, or other condensed aids) to argue your thesis. This argument should show your attentiveness to language, themes, character portrayal, location, and so on in the fictional text(s) used.
Sources can be found online (www.findarticles.com, scholar.google.com, etc.) on the Web, or in the Library search catalogs (via Megasearch, JSTOR, or WorldCat), which specialize in literary criticism.

Length and Format: 1,500 words
MLA Format, 12-size font, and Times New Roman; please be sure to include course title, teacher’s name, your name, and date on the top left of the first page, and add page numbers throughout.

Due dates: Topic chosen & Thesis formulated --- February 26
The thesis you will come up with might change slightly throughout the drafting process, however.
Rough Draft (500 words) --- March 2
Rough Draft (1000 words) --- March 5
I will pair you up with another student and you will comment on each other’s drafts in class on that day.
Final Draft (1,500 words) --- March 9

Mixed Media Analysis

ENGL 10600 – Essay Assignment #1: Analyzing a Mixed Media Cultural Artifact

Essay Writing Goals

Having done the initial work of the analysis of your artifacts, it is now time to put this analysis together into an essay. As this is your first essay, I won't tell you a lot about essay structure because I want to see how you organize your work on your own. I will say, however, that this paper has to have an introduction, some semblance of a conclusion, and must progress logically (transitions etc.) from beginning to end. I also want to stress that I would like for you to have something to say… What have you found out about this particular piece of media that surprised you? What have you found out about how you read texts that surprises you? And lastly, What have you found out about the culture in which both you and this piece of media exist?
p.s. I obviously don't want you to answer all of these last questions in a list, just think about them as you compose.

Material requirements of this essay

• This essay should be between 3 and 5 typed pages.

• The paper should have a twelve point, Times New Roman font with one-inch margins, be double-spaced, and have only one return between paragraphs.

• It should be considered a finished piece of work even though it is a first attempt so I do not want to see careless errors (please also include a title).

• Finally, it should be in a semblance of MLA format so last name and page number in the header at the right margin and all biographical info on the first page in the upper left corner.

• This draft of your essay will be due on January 27th. All supporting documents will be due at this time as well.

Essay Outcomes

After completing this essay you should have familiarized, or re-familiarized yourself with some of the standard practices used to write about texts. You should also, however, have begun to look at the composing process in a bit different light and begun to adjust your critical eye. Finally, you should now be familiar with some of the terms and concepts that will be fundamental to our practice and study of composition throughout the rest of the semester.

Grading

The grading of this essay will be based on a few things: first, the depth of your analysis (have you considered all there is to consider), second, the coherence with which you present your analysis and evidence, third your general comfort level with the conventions of academic writing.

Multimedia Project

Multimedia Project: Magazine/Webzine

One of the overall themes of the class has been a discussion of how we document the world around us using various media.  Not only did we see two different documentaries of different realities at the beginning of the semester, we have looked at visual and audio rhetorics as well.  In order to allow you the opportunity to try your own hand at documentation of your own reality, I am turning the final project into a means for you to document an issue of your choice. 

Here is the project:  either a magazine layout or a webzine.

The class will be split into groups.

You will be responsible for choosing groups (with some limitations which I will explain to the class) for developing the idea and the project itself.  I will give you some time during class, but the majority of your work will need to occur outside of class time. 

Each member of the group will be expected to contribute equally to the webzine by participating in generating ideas, writing or design, and posting the site.  The final project will be expected to look as if it is the work of one person, even if individual responsibilities have been divided. 

Your webzine will be several pages (AT LEAST four) of stories, photos, links, and other things that, when put together, document an issue that you feel is important (either on or off campus), or document the experience of being a student on this campus at this time.  In addition to your four pages of text/pictures/audio, you will required to supply a mission statement for your magazine/‘Zine, which should address the purpose of the magazine/‘Zine, the intended audience, and how it addresses a need for documenting the issue you have chosen.

You will be expected to document any sources that you use on a separate Works Cited page that follows MLA format.

Before you can proceed, you will be asked to propose your idea for your magazine/webzine. This is a separate assignment, which will be due by November 15th.  See the Proposal Assignment sheet for details.

Presentations:

By the last week of class, you will have completed your site, and will be ready to present it to the class.  In class, you will allow everyone to visit your site, answer a questionnaire, and give feedback, after which you and your group will discuss your site, the stories, and your intended documentation of reality.

All groups will sign up for a time to present their site during the last week of class, and will be expected to have the site ready at that point. 

Artist’s Statements

Along with the final project, the website, your group will turn in an Artist’s Statement.  Each group turned in a proposal describing what they hoped to accomplish in the project.  The Artist’s Statement describes the project as it turned out, analyzing how the finished product met the goals of the original intention. 

It should consider:

What were the choices you made about how you chose to document this issue?  How did you decide what to include, and what to leave out?  How did the things we see on the site actually make it there?  How well do you think you reached the audience you identified in the mission statement on the webzine’s mission statement page?

What were the choices you made in terms of how you put the website together?  How did the idea of the webzine change as you worked on the project?  Were there technical issues that caused you to reconsider your way of documenting the issue?

How successful were you in documenting this issue?  What do you feel could have been done differently?  What would you change about the webzine, given the opportunity?  What turned out well?

 The Artist’s Statement for the group will be turned in on the day of the group presentation of the webzine. 

Individual Participation:

In addition, you will individually write a 1 ½ page defense of your participation in the group.  In it, you will explain exactly what your contribution to the group effort was and why your participation was important to the final product.  This will be used to weigh the individual part of the group effort in order to see that all members of the group earn the grade.

Place Project

The first step to this project is to scout out and select a space on campus. This might be a place you’ve never noticed before, or a place you go to every day. Make sure it’s a place that you can spend some time in relatively inconspicuously investigating and observing. (Common rooms, eating areas, library or study spaces, outdoor areas, etc.)

For this assignment, “space” is being defined as the location and context (or situatedness) of real, physical objects that have been deliberately and permanently placed there. For example, the union, a dorm, and the library have been deliberately planned to create an environment.

Try to pick a place that interests you, and that you think you might be able to say something about.

You’ll begin this project by completing the Place Worksheet over the first weekend of the semester.

Later, you’ll spend some time in class developing an idea and an argument about that place.

For the paper part of this project, take everything you’ve done thus far, and spend some more time examining this place, both in person and by doing research. Find out anything you can about its background, and analyze it rhetorically.

A rhetorical analysis asks you to discuss its context (surroundings, atmosphere, a description of the space and how it functions), audience (or people milling around, or even the people who are intended to be there but might not be), author (or architect/institutional creator), subject (its main idea or what it portrays, its “main point”), and style (formal, informal, comfortable, useful, etc.). The point of a rhetorical analysis is to understand how all these things work together to support the purpose of the place.

Try to synthesize all of your findings into a new observation that discusses some aspect9s) of its history, intended purpose and/or actual use. That new observation should lead you to a single statement of its importance which can serve as a guiding (“thesis”) statement to your analysis. In other words, what is the place supposed to do? Does it actually do that? Do people use the space as intended? Is this a good or a bad thing?

We’ll be Peer Reviewing this essay in class. You’ll need to bring a heavily developed draft (at least 1000 words) to class and be prepared to read and comment on a classmate’s draft. Failure to show up with your draft, or meaningfully participate in Peer Review will result in the loss of participation points and mean you’re missing one of the components (a Peer Reviewed essay) of this project.

The analysis should be a typed, double-spaced 1250 to 1500 word paper with your name, my name, the course number, and the date at the top left of the first page. Please use a 12 point font like Times New Roman or Courier, use standard 1 inch margins, and indent paragraphs. Feel free to include appropriately positioned pictures of your place if they help illustrate points of your argument. You’ll need to properly cite in MLA style any outside sources you use. For help with this, feel free to email me, discuss it in conferences, or come by my office hours. For a quick breakdown of MLA format, please refer to the Purdue OWL (Online Writing Lab) and its MLA Formatting and Style Guide.

As is the standard for all assignments in this course, you’ll need to turn your final draft of this essay in a folder containing all other components of this project (the ‘Accompanying Material’), in this case, the Place Worksheet, pictures of your place or space, your In Class Writing, and your 200-300 word reflection on this assignment.

-From S.C. Gooch's 106 Class

Research Paper

ENGL 106 Documenting Realities – Assignment #3: Research paper

Project Goals

The Goal of this essay is to familiarize yourself with the research process and the rhetorical mode of presenting research through the genre of the research paper. As such, and understandably, a research paper is evaluated by both the quality of your research and your adherence to the norms of presentation (for our purposes, the MLA stylesheet).

An additional goal is for us to put together everything we have learned so far about textual, visual, spatial, and self-analysis into one focused effort with the goal of understanding and navigating the rhetorical situation of our academic reality.

Now for that in English: Much of what we do for this paper will be analyzing the written documents that make up some of the wealth of resources available to you at Purdue. This is the common practice of the academic. However, your topics will be developed using the sort of compositional and spatial analysis discussed so far in class. Additionally, now having a handle on your uniqueness within the academy from doing assignment #2, I expect your particular mode of being in and seeing the world to shine through the oftentimes dry genre of research paper.

So basically, I want this research paper to show me that you have a handle on everything we have been doing and that you are somewhat awake and alert as you are jumping through the hoops of this class (and your college life in general).

Project Schematic

1. As I indicated previously in the prompt, (and will indicate in our initial research paper discussion,) the first step is finding a topic and I will be sort of restrictive about this while still offering you a significant amount of academic freedom.
2. After you have decided on your angle into this subject, we will proceed with our digital library lesson where we will use library research to place your initial ideas generated from this analysis into one or more academic disciplines. (remember to ask me sometime early in the research process how this sort of method helps in providing you with material for your paper introductions).
3. After figuring out how your initial inquiry fits into the structure of knowledge of the academy you have to insinuate your own vision into the academy through a bit more initial research and the development of a research question.
4. After you have your question it is time for serious research (refer to handout). By serious I mean finding, annotating, and synthesizing approximately 10 sources that are relevant to your topic (not all of them need be used in your paper).
5. Now it is time to begin writing. By this time we will have gone through some lessons dealing with specific mechanical considerations of paper construction (transition creation, MLA style, sentence variety, pronoun usage, integrating outside sources, getting started, etc.) so you should have no problem beginning to write.
6. Your draft is due March 6 and will be handed back Friday before spring break.

Material Requirements of this Essay

• This project should be approximately 2000 words (first draft around 1200 words) of MLA, research paper formatted text in Times New Roman 12 pt. font…and it needs a title!

• The first draft should be accompanied by your MLA format annotated bibliography; the final draft needs a traditional “works cited” page

• Your first draft, even though shorter, should be considered a finished piece of work even though it is a first attempt so I do not want to see careless errors and I would like your outside sources to be already well integrated into the narrative of your research paper.

• Remember, the first draft of your project will be due on March 6th so get started.

Project Outcomes

After completing this project you should be well on your way towards mastering the core skills this class is designed to teach, and you should have begun to realize how to apply those skills, not just in ENGL106 but at the university in general. Of course, the main outcome is your actual research paper, and I think that if you submit yourself to the real process of academic research you will be extremely satisfied with this outcome. Finally, after you’re done, you will have completed somewhere between 65 to 70% of your work for this class, which should be a huge relief.

Project Suggestions

• Research is only difficult or annoying if it is done up against a deadline. Get started early and save yourself some existential anguish
• This is a collaborative, supportive class. Use your peers as resources. Ask questions, create research groups, use each other’s expertise
• Apropos this suggestion, if you would like, combine your efforts with up to two people and submit a group project (length and source requirements obviously would increase accordingly)
• If you want to succeed, you should be consulting me throughout this research process; besides your peers and the library, I am your best resource

Research-based Argument Paper

SEQ CHAPTER \h \r 1Research–Based Argument Paper and Annotated Bibliography (20% of grade)

• Research-Based Argument Paper (60% of total project grade)

For this assignment, you will research a local problem that you feel needs to be brought to our attention, focusing on an issue related to Purdue and its community (i.e. Purdue/greater Lafayette area). Using your research, you will then develop an argument addressing this issue. You will develop an original point of view on your topic, and support your argument with evidence from your research as well as your own personal knowledge of your topic. Field research is essential here: you will report from the scene, giving a first-hand account of the issue, as well as incorporating interviews, surveys, or observations. Your goal is to convince readers of the validity of your point of view regarding the topic. To persuade your readers, you also will need to have researched the topic and synthesized the existing information. Think of this project as a script for a documentary film: what is a local issue you feel people ought to be made aware of?

• Your paper should meet the following guidelines:

• Format:  Your paper should be an eight (8) to ten (10) page paper, double-spaced with 12 point Times New Roman font.  Adhere to MLA formatting guidelines.

• Content:

A.        Provide a clear thesis.  What are you examining, and what is your point of view on the topic?

B.         Support your thesis: Your paper should include at least four (4) secondary sources.  The majority of your sources should be scholarly sources, and only one source can be a website. In addition to this, you must also include some type of field research in your paper. You may use more than four sources. Be sure to choose sources that will be the most effective in your paper.

C.         Acknowledge other points of view.  Either refute or accommodate these alternative perspectives.

• Grading Criteria: I will use the following criteria when grading your argument paper:

• Critical Analysis -- You carefully explore your argument within the paper.  You support all of your statements through examples, explanations, and secondary sources; your own voice and perspective are clear.

• Field Research—You conduct relevant field research and skillfully incorporate it into your paper. This includes “getting your hands dirty” and reporting from the scene and talking to people. I would like your own experience/field research to drive your argument.   

• Organization -- Your thesis statement makes an original claim and gives your paper direction; you fully support your ideas through quotes and examples; you fully explain ideas; you use transitions skillfully; each paragraph clearly relates to the surrounding paragraphs and your thesis statement.

• Secondary Sources --  You skillfully use at least four secondary sources to build your argument and support your statements.  Remember you can use sources you disagree with to build your argument.

• Audience—You need to choose your own audience for this paper. Make it specific: who would benefit from hearing your argument? Who does it pertain to? It should be written in a way to either persuade them your idea is the best solution to the problem, or at least make them consider your argument as valid.

• Works Cited --  You have properly cited your in-text citations using MLA format; you have used correct MLA format in your works cited page. If you know your field uses a different citation method, please see me to discuss alternatives to MLA. You MUST cite sources in your rough draft!!!

• Format -- Your paper is in MLA format; it is typed in 12-pt. Times New Roman font and double spaced; it is 6-8 pages long; there are few or no spelling, punctuation, or grammatical errors; you have an original and pertinent, creative title.

•   SEQ CHAPTER \h \r 1Annotated Bibliography (40% of total project grade)

Annotated bibliographies provide brief overviews or summaries of articles related to a specific topic.  Before you submit your research paper, you must submit an annotated bibliography of sources related to your topic.

• Your annotated bibliography should meet all of the following guidelines:

• Include a brief, one to two paragraph introduction of your topic.  This introduction should briefly introduce your topic, but its primary purpose is to introduce the sources you have annotated and to explain how they relate to each other.

• Create annotations for six (6) sources that you could use in your argument-based research paper.

• Provide bibliographic information for each source, just as you would in the works cited section of a paper.  Use MLA format for these citations.

• Summarize each source in a one–paragraph annotation.  These annotations should provide brief overviews of the sources.  What are the key points addressed in the article?  You also need to include at least one sentence that addresses the way(s) in which you would incorporate this source into your research paper; in other words, how helpful do you think this source would be toward furthering your main argument?

• At least two (2) of your sources must be scholarly sources, which would include critical books and scholarly journal articles. Your remaining sources can include newspaper and magazine articles. One (1) of your sources may be a website, as long as you can defend the site as being credible.

I will grade your project on your ability to effectively follow the assignment guidelines. Make sure you complete each requirement for the paper and annotated bibliography. I will grade your research paper and your annotated bibliography separately, and then average the two grades to find your overall grade for this assignment. As always, for any help needed with the writing process, please see me or go to the Writing Lab.

Rhetorical Analysis (Documentary Film)

Documentary film is probably one of the first mediums that come to mind when we think about “documenting reality,” yet they are also one of the most complex formats for recording aspects of our world. Documentary films use a variety of methods—images, words, sounds, and various film techniques, to name a few—in order to present an argument. Project two asks you to view a documentary film and to analyze the rhetorical strategies employed by the filmmaker in the construction of the film’s argument.

The paper should not be a summary of the film, nor should it be a review based on your personal reaction to it. The aim of the project is to identify the filmmaker’s thesis, and to analyze the rhetorical strategies and film techniques used in order to develop the film’s thesis. You paper should do all of the following:

1. Identify the main argument and / or purpose of the film (this is somewhat subject to interpretation). 
2. Examine the ways in which the thesis and / or aim of the film’s argument is supported through the particular style and manner of the composition’s construction, that is, through rhetorical strategies and film techniques. In order to focus your ideas, you’ll need to choose a selection of strategies and techniques to analyze; do not attempt to discuss everything about the film. You will also need to choose specific scenes or moments from the film that illustrate these techniques, and analyze how the filmmaker uses them to present the film’s argument.
3. Interpret / explain, in terms of your own thesis, why you think that the filmmakers made the particular compositional choices they did (i.e. #2) in an effort to forward their main argument (i.e. #1). You should ask the ‘so what?’ question; these choices are not arbitrary, therefore you should interpret why the filmmakers have made certain compositional / stylistic choices. Again, support all claims with specific examples from the film.

• Papers will be four (4) to six (6) full pages in length. I will use the following criteria when grading your project:

• The paper has a clear thesis which states what your analysis of the rhetorical strategies of the film reveals
• The paper identifies the thesis of the film
• The paper has a well-developed analysis of specific techniques and strategies used to support the film’s thesis
• The paper points to specific scenes and moments from the film in order support claims made about the film’s rhetorical strategies
• The paper is effectively organized
• The paper shows signs of careful proofreading, with no grammatical or mechanical errors

Sample Syllabus A

•  Documenting Reality
  

Required Texts: The required text is available at Von’s Book Store.

Hacker, Diana. A  Pocket Style Manual, (4e). Bedford/St.Martin’s, 2004.

You will also need a folder for submitting all written work.

Course Policies

·        Purpose

In this class you will practice the writing process from the planning to the revising stages. The class is structured by the theme “Documenting Reality.” Through this theme we will examine various documentary forms, such as newspapers and magazines, film, fiction, web sites, art, music, and “reality” T.V. You will examine, explore, and critique the many different ways in which we document our reality, and will learn to respond to various texts and situations with various genres of writing. You will learn to become an effective college writer, and learn the skills necessary to succeed as a writer in both your future classes and career. In addition to this, you will learn the skills necessary to complete various types of research, as well as documentation styles (such as MLA) you will encounter in college. This course is structured with the common goals of all 106 classes in mind (a list of these common goals will be provided for you), and uses the theme of “Documenting Reality” as a means for focusing course writing and discussion. 

·        Student Friendly Environment

Our classes will involve a great deal of student-led discussions. Each student has important thoughts and opinions, and I encourage you to share, debate, and evaluate ideas. I expect each of you to be respectful of your classmates. Harassment of any kind will not be tolerated.

·        Attendance and Tardies 

Attendance will be taken for each class meeting. You may miss six classes with no penalty. These absences may be for any reason. If you miss more than six classes you will fail the course. No exceptions. Please note that when you miss class you receive no participation points and cannot make-up any missed assignments. Thus, it is in your best interest to attend class regularly.  If you know you are going to miss a class, plan to complete any assigned work by/before the due date. Consistently arriving late and/or leaving early will be considered an absence

·        Intellectual Property           

The work you submit for this class should be your own, and you should cite any sources you reference in any version (draft or final) of your class projects. Submitting another person’s work as your own or failing to cite sources you have used will result in failure of the project or the course. I take this policy very seriously, and follow the University guidelines on academic dishonesty. Please refer to “Honesty and Use of Sources” in the “Introduction to First-Year Composition Courses” handout for information on intellectual property. If you have any questions about using and acknowledging a source, please see me or visit the Writing Lab.

Grading Policy

IMPORTANT NOTICE: ALL of the following projects must be completed in order to receive a passing grade in this course. Detailed Guidelines will be provided for each assignment.

·        Participation, Homework, and In-Class Assignments (10%)

This class is a learner-focused class, which means that the instructor will not lecture for the entire class, but that students will engage in and lead a class or small group discussion. Therefore, your participation in class is vital. I expect each student to contribute to class and group discussions, and I will keep track of your participation. You will also complete short in-class assignments, peer review, and homework assignments. Participation in conferences will be recorded as well.

·        Blogs (10%)

The class blog will allow you to discuss course topics in an online environment. You will be expected to post weekly, and specific guidelines for each week’s posts will be available on the class website (on the calendar page). You will also be expected to respond to your classmates’ posts. You must write at least 250 words per week on the blog.

·        Project One: “This I Believe” Essay (15%)

The first project asks you to develop a personal essay using NPR’s “This I Believe” radio essays as a template. You will choose a personal belief you hold that indicates something unique about you as an individual. Essays will be read to the class in brief presentations. Essays will be between Two (2) to Three (3) pages in length.

·        Project Two: Rhetorical Analysis of Documentary Film (20%)

This project asks you to analyze the rhetorical strategies of a documentary film. You will consider the ways in which the filmmaker employs sounds, images, film techniques, etc. to present their argument, and determine the rhetorical soundness of these techniques. We will view the film in class. The paper will be Four (4) to Six (6) pages in length.

·        Project Three: Argumentative Research Paper (20%)

This project allows you to investigate a topic you feel would make for a good documentary film, and to develop an argument about the topic. The project asks you to develop a research question, conduct research (both archival and field), and then develop an argumentative essay that provides background information on the topic, evidence in support of your argument, and a discussion of counter-arguments. You will submit a brief proposal for your topic and all topics must be approved by me. Papers must be eight (8) to ten (10) pages in length and include a works cited page.

·        Project Four: What is it Like to Be___? (25%)

The final culminating project asks you to fill in the blank: What is it like to be [something/someone] you do not define yourself as?  What is it like to be colorblind? a POW? a Wabash trolley-driver? a second-generation American? an ex-con?  The final project asks you to document the reality of someone/something from a sub-culture of your choice. The project must incorporate a visual, oral, and written component, and must also take the form of a short film, power point, or website. You will also write a brief proposal, artist’s statement, and give an informal presentation that shares your project with the class. You will work in pairs or in groups of 3-4 students.

·        Additional Information About Papers

All papers must be typed, double-spaced, in 12 point Times New Roman font, with one inch margins. All papers should adhere to MLA guidelines for formatting and citation. I will give you detailed guidelines for each assignment that outline my expectations for the project as well as give the criteria I will base your grade on. Papers are due at the beginning of class on the due date. Late papers will be penalized; your project grade will be lowered ten (10) percentage points for each day (including weekends and holidays) that it is late.

You are required to turn in a typed draft of each project so that you may participate in a peer review. Peer review is an important component of this class. If you do not have your draft with you on peer review day, you cannot participate in class, and thus will be marked absent. You will revise peer-reviewed drafts and submit them for a grade. You will have the option to revise the graded draft and re-submit it within a week. Revisions must be substantial in order to warrant a revised grade. Submitting revised work does not guarantee a revised grade.

·        Grading Scale 

Purdue has implemented a plus/minus grading system, and this system will be used in this course. Grades break down as follows:

A+ = 97%; A = 94%; A- = 90%; B+ = 87%; B = 84%; B- = 80%; C+ = 77%; C = 74%;   C- = 70%; D+ = 67%; D = 64%; D- = 70%; F = 0%

·        Writing Lab

The writing lab is an excellent (and free) resource provided to help students with their writing, and I highly encourage you to make use of this valuable campus resource. You can obtain help with any part of the writing process here, and they take drop-in students as well as schedule appointments for the entire semester. If you go, remember to take your assignment guidelines and any class notes with you. The Writing Lab is located in Heavilon 226, and you can make an appointment by calling 949-3723.

·        Class Schedule

The course website includes a weekly schedule that indicates what we’ll be doing in class and conferences, gives details for daily homework assignments, and provides the prompt for that week’s blog. The calendar also includes due dates for drafts of larger course papers. Please consult the online schedule on a regular basis in order to keep up-to-date with course assignments and due dates.

Sample Syllabus B

English 106: Documenting Realities

Required Texts:

 The Little Brown Compact Handbook. Jane E. Aaron. 6th Edition. Pearson Longman, 2006. ISBN: 0-321-24531-8
 Böll, Heinrich. The Lost Honor of Katharina Blum. Penguin, 1994. ISBN: 0-140-18728-6
 Stoker, Bram. Dracula. Dover Publications, 2000. ISBN: 0-486-41109-5

These books have been ordered and are available at Border’s Bookstore, Wabash Landing, West Lafayette.

 Additional articles and handouts will be available on the course website http://mjauchsp09.wordpress.com

Course Description:
Welcome to a challenging, engaging, and fascinating seminar that will teach you the processes and rewards of composing essays and responding to various genres of writing! The “Documenting Realities” approach in this English 106 seminar allows you to explore familiar methods of documentation -- websites, television, newspapers, and more -- from a critical perspective and challenge the ways in which they purport their own realities.

A crucial tool for your future course career at Purdue, composition will give you the skills to understand the multifaceted purposes to which writing can be directed regarding contexts and audiences. The class will provide the communicative environment to share ideas, improve them, and empower you to use your own voice to understand different cultures and learn how to confidently interpret and evaluate texts of all sorts and time periods. You will learn to respond credibly and accurately to the documented realities of both large (Purdue, USA) and your own distinct communities (hometown, peers).

Instead of fostering learning through lectures, this class will come together as a workshop, which survives and blossoms through the creative input you provide and the enthusiasm you bring to the classroom.

If you have any questions or concerns throughout the semester, feel free to contact me anytime via email (your best bet), phone, or talking to me in person. I will gladly provide you with additional information about topics, direct you to writing aids, and assist with your development as a writer throughout this course.

Writing Materials:
Even though some of the work that you will hand in to me will be in electronic format, please make sure to retain PAPER COPIES of essays and other assignments in addition to these electronic files. Also, always come to class prepared with pen, paper, and completed assignments. Any assignment that you will submit to me should also be stapled and typed (unless otherwise instructed) in a readable, size 12 font, as well as double-spaced to allow space for comments.

Attendance/Participation:
Attendance is mandatory for all class sessions, individual and group conferences, computer sessions, and any other meetings that might be scheduled. Since this class should be an environment for (respectfully) discussing your ideas and inspiring you in your writing, energetic participation is expected.

More than three excused or unexcused absences will result in a lower grade and will also affect your participation grade negatively. This applies to all class or conference meetings. Please come to class on time to get the most out of the course. Repeated tardiness (that is, more than three times) will also result in a lower attendance grade (one percentage point off the final grade per additional absence).

If you know that you will miss a class, please tell me so that I can provide you with the materials for that session.

Classroom Behavior
The class will involve a great deal of student-led discussion, in which every student’s thoughts and opinions should be respected. I strongly encourage you to share, debate, and evaluate ideas. However, behavior which distracts students from learning and/or impedes my teaching, or any kind of harassment will not be tolerated.

The use of electronic devices, like cell phones or Ipods, in the classroom will result in a lowering of the participation grade. If these disruptions persist, you may be asked to leave class.

Assignments:
You will receive detailed instructions in class on how to complete individual assignments that will clearly outline your task and should make the composition process easier. All of the assignments must be handed in at the beginning of class on the due date. Only in extenuating circumstances will papers/projects be accepted late, but the grade will be lowered ten percentage points for each class meeting that they are late.

To be on the safe side, be sure to print your blog entries and keep them along with all the other materials until the end of the semester. These blogs along with additional shorter homework exercises will amount to 15% of the final grade.

You will write five compositions, counting as 50% of the final grade, which we will revise throughout the semester. They are outlined in more detail below. The final portfolio (itself making up 15% of the final grade) will consist of all of these compositions after they have been revised using peer review, instructor input, and individual changes.
1. The Power of Journalism (10%)
The first project asks you to connect Heinrich Böll’s The Lost Honor of Katharina Blum to the strategies and rhetoric of journalistic writing since the time of its composition. You may focus on particular newspapers, editors’ styles, or thematic issues from the novel that are found in journalism. Finally, you will compose a 1,000 word essay that analyzes the rhetoric, style, and aims of these news reports in terms of particular audiences.

2. Documentary Movie Analysis (10%)
The second assignment will be preceded by the showing of the documentary “The Fog of War” (2003), which will be followed by an investigation of historical and political circumstances of the topic. You then learn to describe the ways in which the filmmaker employs sounds, images, and film techniques to present their argument. You should use three additional sources to support your argument and cite these correctly in this approximately 1,500 word essay.

3. Literature: Fiction or Reality? (10%)
In this composition, you will either compare and contrast another piece of literature with Bram Stoker’s novel or analyze Dracula according to certain critical approaches. You should pay particular attention to close reading techniques and citations. We will practice writing short book reviews, summaries, and annotated bibliographies first, then move onto the 1,500 word analysis. You may also include some of the visual materials we will discuss in class into your project.

4. Gendered Realities (10%)
Based on given fictional readings, advertisements, and criticism on feminism and masculinity studies, you will compose a research paper that will focus on one institution either on or off campus and its portrayal or potential subversion of gender stereotypes. This assignment includes a 500 word reflexive essay on one of the readings in class and a 1,000 word analysis of the institution’s gender politics.

5. The Science of Research (10%)
This final ‘documentation of reality’ project consists, first of all, of a 2-300 word proposal for the application of one’s area of research (humanities, sciences, etc.) to ‘real life’ via a close engagement with subjects (interviews), media, or other sources. We will begin with an analysis of writing styles between literary and scientific forms of writing. The unit will culminate in a 2,000 word research paper or an equivalent media project that will be presented to the class as a teaching demonstration of approximately 7-8 minutes in the last week of the semester.

Blogs & additional Homework:
As part of this semester’s ongoing discussions, we will maintain a blog on http://www.wordpress.com. Topics will be based on current dialogues and themes in the classroom. You are expected to contribute at least one 100-200 word blog per week and further comment on two other postings (approximately 50 words each).

Other assignments might include shorter grammar exercises or ad hoc (to be determined) in-class homework and short practice paragraphs.

Theatre Event:
As part of this class, you will also attend the Purdue Theatre’s production of “Dracula” in February, although it will be optional whether you want to focus on this play in your third assignment.

Grading:
Assignments will be graded according to the ICaP evaluation guidelines, which can be found here: http://www.digitalparlor.org/icap/studentguide (Section III)

Grade Breakdown:
Assignments (5) --- 50% total
1. The Power of Journalism 10%
2. Documentary Movie Analysis 10%
3. Literature: Fiction or Reality? 10%
4. Gendered Realities 10%
5. The Science of Research 10%
Attendance & Participation --- 20%
Final Portfolio --- 15%
Homework & Blogs --- 15%

Plus/Minus Grades will be applied in the following fashion:
(This is not the complete grading scale!)
A/A+ 93-100% 4.0
A- 90-92% 3.7
B+ 87-89% 3.3
B 83-86% 3.0
B- 80-82% 2.7
C+ 77-79% 2.3
C 73-76% 2.0
C- 70-72% 1.7

Conferences:
As you can see on your class schedule, essay assignments will be preceded by conference time with me. I will convene with groups of 2 or 3 students (that is, for either 20 or 30 minutes, respectively) in Heavilon Hall, Room 225, so that there will be ample time for me to give suggestions on essay topics, and for students to comment on each other’s work. In order for these meetings to be productive and inspiring, please come prepared with questions and/or ideas. Assigned times will be available on the course website at the beginning of the semester.

Of course, I am also available for one-on-one conferences during office hours or by appointment.

Writing Lab:
The Writing Lab, located in Room 226 of Heavilon Hall, will be able to help you with any concerns about your writing and to aid you with any aspect of the writing process free of charge. You should call in advance to schedule a half-hour appointment and be sure to come prepared with assignment sheets and your material. They can be reached during business hours by calling 765-494-3723. Same-day appointments are generally possible as well.

You can also consult their webpage (http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl) to access information about MLA/APA styles, grammar guidance, and other important issues of the writing process.

Plagiarism/ Policy of Academic Honesty
The Department of English requires the same high level of academic honesty and integrity Purdue University expects of its students. Therefore, in your Composition class, you will be expected to turn in your own work without help from others, to acknowledge all sources of information you use in your assignments, and to maintain the same high level of honesty in all examinations. Cheating is not expected of any students, but in case a student violates the policy of academic honesty (i.e. cheats or commits plagiarism on any exams or other assignments), the student will receive a failing grade for the course. For further information regarding student conduct, see Sections II and III of Purdue University Regulations.

All outside resources (such as, newspapers, articles, webpages) must be acknowledged through citation and you are, at all times, to compose written and other assignments for the class on your own. The instructor knows at which level and in which style you are writing, thus you can expect him/her to detect any plagiarism.

Statement about Disabilities:
In compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), all qualified students enrolled in the class are entitled to ‘reasonable accommodations’. It is the student’s responsibility to inform the instructor of any special needs by the end of the second week of class, so that arrangements can be made.

Purdue Emergency Clause
In case of emergencies (e.g. natural disasters), the class schedule is subject to change and might lead to a change in grading policies.

Detailed Schedule and Homework Assignments:

Date Topics Homework(due that day)

WEEK 1
January 12th
Composition Quiz/Short Activity
Course Introduction & Policies
Group Introductions
January 13th Basics of Rhetoric, How does it affect us? Excerpts from Aristotle, Kenneth Burke, & other rhetoricians
January 14th No Conferences
January 15th In-class Diagnostic essay What makes a successful essay? What does not?, LB 69-82
January 16th
(Last day for late registration) No Conferences
WEEK 2
January 19th
NO CLASS
M. L. KING Jr. DAY
January 20th Audience, Genre, Purpose
Thesis statement
Invention (fact/idea list) NY Times articles and recent editorials;
LB on Thesis Statements (14-20)
January 21st Conferences
January 22nd Advocating & Persuading
Presidential Speeches Lincoln, Kennedy, Roosevelt; part 1 of Katharina Blum
January 23rd Conferences
WEEK 3
January 26th
(Last day to cancel a Course without it appearing on record.)
Concession, ‘Advanced Offense’, kairos,
Composing Arguments
LB on paragraph structure & ordering (37-51), compare Katharina Blum with a chosen newspaper article
January 27th Logos/Pathos/Ethos,
Individualism/Social Conformity in the novel, Burke’s Pentad Part 3 of Katharina Blum
January 28th Conferences
January 29th Film Clips from Schlöndorff, in-class freewriting & group debate Prepare short topic presentations on K. Blum
January 30th Conferences
WEEK 4
February 2nd
Arrangement (Cicero);
Literary Excerpts for practice
Assignment #1 due
February 3rd Media Functions, Vocabulary vs. Visual Display Documentary Screening, McLuhan, Adorno; Film editing terms
February 4th No Conferences
February 5th Search for Source Materials; War imagery & Vietnam culture LB 315-40; Crane
February 6th No Conferences
WEEK 5
February 9th
(Last day to cancel a course without a grade.)
Visual rhetoric in painting vs. film; changing role of broadcasting (news)
Picasso, September 11 photographs, World War II
February 10th Transitions & Closure,
Movie endings LB 43-44, 49-52,
Benjamin, Joyce, Brontë
February 11th Conferences
February 12th MLA Workshop, Citations; Analyses of short films Yale Film Website, character analysis via shots
February 13th Conferences
WEEK 6
February 16th
Technology Workshop, Making Videos, Scripting
LB 52-65, short articles from Design Handbook
February 17th Film and Book reviews, reading strategies Assignment #2 due
February 18th Conferences
February 19th Mapping & Knowledge,
Urban context of Dracula Gustave Doré, Charles Booth, Alan Moore Comic
February 20th
(Reports of unsatisfactory work are to be issued by this date.) Conferences
WEEK 7
February 23rd
Development of particular literary themes in Dracula, Invention (Topoi)
Analyze a particular article for group work
February 24th Literary Criticism overview, forms of narration LB 23-36, read part of the play’s script
February 25th Conferences
February 26th Peer Workshops, Guidelines for Self-Evaluation
February 27th Conferences Play “Dracula” at Hansen Theatre, 7:30 pm
WEEK 8
March 2nd
Writing summaries, rhetoric in theatre productions/ adaptations
Reactions to the play, major contrasts
March 3rd Close reading techniques, meta-issues of genre Several comparable Gothic texts from 18c to 20c
March 4th Conferences
March 5th Peer Commentary on Drafts, Editing Techniques for Final Portfolio Prepare essay drafts, LB 21-22 & handout
March 6th Conferences
WEEK 9
March 9th
Logical Fallacies, examples from popular culture
Assignment #3 due
March 10th Short overview of feminism and masculinity studies; history of images Butler, Fuller, Howe
March 11th Conferences
March 12th Library Tour, Photo essays on a particular decade Analyze one assigned movement
March 13th Conferences
WEEK 10
March 16th to March 22nd
SPRING BREAK

WEEK 11
March 23rd
(Last day a course assignment can be cancelled [Pass/Fail].)
“Lost” and “other” voices, particular institutions & their transmission of gender
Lessing, Huxley;
Reflexive Essays due
March 24th Purdue’s policy & on-campus institutions Outlines due; LB 141-77
March 25th Conferences
March 26th Peer Review of Drafts, legislation and outlook Drafts due
March 27th Conferences
WEEK 12
March 30th
Interviewing Professors, the University environment
Assignment #4 due
March 31st Departments (Sciences/Humanities), Advertising Pausch’s The Last Lecture
April 1st Conferences
April 2nd Academic Writing Vs. Biographies, Objectivity & “the Space In-Between” LB 384-96, Pinker, Hawking, Lightman
April 3rd Conferences
WEEK 13
April 6th
College Geography & Identity, History of Universities
Proposal due; LB 95-113
April 7th College Applications, comparison to other decades Obama, The Audacity of Hope (Ch.); Republican equivalent
April 8th Conferences
April 9th Purdue on the Web, ‘Official Merchandising’ Annotated Bibliography due
April 10th Conferences
WEEK 14
April 13th
Quotation and Paraphrasing, Plagiarism
Sample texts for practice
April 14th Places we live and work, 20th century perspectives Spatialities from Marx to Sassen
April 15th Conferences
April 16th Presentation techniques, group Powerpoint slides Assignment #5 due, LB 122-25
April 17th Conferences
WEEK 15
April 20th
The future of composition, The role of new media
Short descriptions of different media types.
April 21st Forms of Business Writing, Portfolio Workshop Write Sample Letter(s).
April 22nd Conferences
April 23rd Portfolio Workshop in Groups, Course Evaluations Revise Essay 1
April 24th Conferences
WEEK 16
April 27th
Teaching Demonstrations
Revise Essays 2 & 3
April 28th Teaching Demonstrations Revise Essay 4
April 29th Conferences
April 30th TBA
May 1st Conferences

Sample Syllabus C

English 106: First-Year Composition
“Documenting Reality(ies)”

COURSE DESCRIPTION
This course is designed to help you:
• build confidence in your abilities to create, interpret, and evaluate texts in all types of media;
• develop knowledge and inspire new ideas through writing;
• understand, evaluate, and organize your ideas;
• understand what it means to write in different academic contexts
• articulate, develop and support a topic through first-hand and archival research;
• become an effective writer who can respond credibly and accurately to a variety of writing situations.
This course will explore how we document the world around us through a variety of verbal, visual, and digital media including magazines, music, websites, television, and film. We will examine, explore, and critique the various ways in which we document our reality, and you will learn to respond to various texts and situations within various genres of writing. You will learn to become an effective college writer and adopt the skills necessary to succeed as a writer in both your future classes and career. Throughout the semester, we will discuss both how we define reality and how we document it; we will take into account the larger community (e.g. the U.S., Purdue) in which we live as well as your own distinct communities (e.g. your hometown, your peers).

ATTENDANCE AND PARTICIPATION
Your attendance and participation are crucial to getting the most out of this course. You may miss 5 classes during the semester without penalty. Missing 6 classes will lower your final grade by 10 percentage points. Missing 7 classes will lower your final grade by an additional 10 percentage points. No further points will be lost if additional classes are missed, but you will not be able to receive a grade higher than a C+ for the course. Please note that I do not distinguish between excused and unexcused absences. If you are absent from class, it is your responsibility to contact me about what you have missed.

LATE WORK
I do not accept late work. Unless otherwise stated, a project is due before midnight on the due date assigned and should be submitted electronically by email.

CLASSROOM BEHAVIOR
Because of the nature of this course, our class discussions may address themes about which certain students feel very strongly. The classroom should be a safe environment in which topics can be explored thoroughly while every opinion is treated with respect. Behavior which distracts students from learning and/or impedes my teaching will not be tolerated. (Please see Purdue University Regulations, Part 5, Section III.B).

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY
Purdue students and their instructors are expected to adhere to guidelines set forth by the Dean of Students in “Academic Integrity: A Guide for Students,” which students are encouraged to read here: http://www.purdue.edu/ODOS/osrr/integrity.htm.
If you have any questions regarding these issues, please see me before you turn in the draft in question. Following a meeting with me, any evidence of intentional plagiarism in either a rough or final draft will result in a failing grade for the course, and I will refer you to the Dean of Students’ office.

GRADING
This course emphasizes the process over product method of writing. In other words, we will focus on improving each draft through a revision. When you turn in a project on its due date, you will receive a grade from me, and you will then have the opportunity to revise this draft for a higher grade. In this way, your efforts go toward a revision rather than a polished product. Please keep in mind that revising a draft does not guarantee a grade increase. You must make significant improvements to your final draft before I will consider increasing your grade (We will discuss in class what constitutes “significant improvements” to a draft).

I will grade each of your projects based on the ICAP evaluation guidelines found here: http://www.digitalparlor.org/icap/studentguide

A: An "A" indicates work of exceptional quality. "A" work addresses the assignment thoroughly, appropriately, and insightfully. It demonstrates a strong understanding of the rhetorical context for writing; is sophisticated in content, purpose, structure, and form; makes effective use of language, mechanics, and style; and follows the appropriate citation and documentation conventions required by the genre.
B: A "B" indicates work of above average quality. "B" work exceeds baseline expectations and addresses the assignment thoroughly and appropriately. It is clearly focused; demonstrates a sound understanding of rhetorical context; is solid in content, purpose, and form; uses language, mechanics and style appropriately; and follows the citation and documentation conventions required by the genre.
C: A "C" indicates satisfactory completion of the assignment. "C" work meets baseline expectations but may need some revision to successfully meet the goals of the assignment. It may require an identifiable focus; a clearer understanding of the rhetorical context for writing; or some strengthening of content, purpose, structure, and form. It may also need improvement in using language, mechanics, and style appropriately; and follows the citation and documentations required by the genre.
D: A "D" indicates unsatisfactory but passing work. "D" work lacks the strength necessary to successfully complete the project. That may include failure to address the assignment; unclear focus or purpose; confusion with content, structure, or form; or numerous errors in language, mechanics, style, and in usage of important genre conventions.
F: An "F" indicates failing work, or work that does not meet the expectations expressed above. Although not the only reason, not coming to class or completing the required assignments is frequently the reason for failure.
.COURSE REQUIREMENTS
Participation and In-Class Writing Assignments (20%)
During certain class periods, you will be asked to respond to various topics in the form of an informal response paper. I will assign a topic for you to consider, and you will write a 1 ½- to 2-page response. While the responses will not be graded, you can expect that class discussions will stem from these responses to the topic.
ALL of the following projects must be completed in order to receive a passing grade in this course.
Project 1: Writing in the Real World (15%) – 3 pp.
This project is meant to give you a better understanding of how composition will fit into your post-Purdue reality. You will interview 2 professionals in your chosen field to determine the importance of writing in this field, the various audiences you may be asked to address and the genres or conventions within which you may be asked to compose.

Project 2: Film Analysis (Writing in the Reel World) (20%) – 5 pp.
We will be watching a film (title T.B.A) that engages some of the themes of this course (ie. documentation of reality and constructions of identity). For this assignment, you will objectively analyze the film's ability to document its topic, and ultimately conclude if the film is successful at capturing reality. You will develop criteria to be used in your evaluation, as well as succinctly summarize key points from the film.
Project 3: Letter to Editor (20%)
In order to sharpen your persuasive writing skills, you will choose and respond to a letter to the editor of the Purdue Exponent. You will analyze the letter’s weaknesses and its strengths in a short essay, draft a letter of response, and submit a second brief essay outlining how you approached your rebuttal argument. After a final revision, you will submit your letter to the Exponent for possible publication.
Project 4: “What Is It Like to Be ______?” OR Documenting a New Reality (25%)
Your final course project will build upon everything we have discussed over the semester, and will allow you to choose your own format for documenting some aspect of reality. In addition to your project, you will write an artist's statement explaining your project as well as a research-based essay, and you will give a 10-minute in-class presentation during which you share your project with the class.
Additional Information about Papers
All papers must be typed, double-spaced, in 12 pt. Times New Roman font, with one inch margins. All papers should adhere to MLA guidelines for formatting and citation. I will give you detailed guidelines for each assignment that outline my expectations for the project as well as the criteria on which I will base your grade.

This syllabus is subject to change with notice.

Sample Syllabus D

English 106: First Year Composition
Documenting Reality

Required Texts:

Aaron, Jane E.. The Little, Brown Compact Handbook with Exercises. 6th ed. New York: Pearson Longman, 2007. (isbn: 0-321-40914-0)

Required Course Materials:

You will be expected to come to class with a writing instrument (pen) and at least one backup. You will also be required to have a notebook reserved specifically for use in this course, which you will bring every day. Additionally, I suggest you invest in some sort of portable digital storage medium. One note on what are absolutely not required or permitted course materials: there will be absolutely no tolerance for the use of any electronic devices in this class (other than those approved by Adaptive Programs for the use of students with disabilities). Disruption of class time due to cellphones, PDAs, Ipods, etc. will result in an absence for the day (refer to attendance policy) and repeated offences will result in your being asked to leave the class.

Course Objective:

"English 106: Documenting Realities" is a course designed with multiple goals. First, this course is an initiation into the academic community and tradition. The aim of all academic endeavor has as its root the preservation and cultivation of knowledge, and, while this sounds grandiose and abstract, in practice what we as scholars do is both systematic and rigorous. This course will prepare you for the real work of maintaining the continuation and integrity of the academy. However, such work does not have to be drudgery. It can be fun, fresh, and relevant to your own lives because, as of right now, you will be recreating and molding the academy to your own purposes. Revealing this vital side of academic life is another very important goal of this course. Finally, though, and most importantly, this course is not just about developing scholars; it is about developing people and about developing the rhetorical skills you need to assess and develop our world.

Course Description:

This is not exactly a traditional composition or English class. While you will be asked to write more for this class than you probably have ever written for one class before, (what did you expect? It's college.) in our class we will view "composition" in the broadest terms possible. As well as writing a lot, also expect to explore other means of communicating, including blogs, audio, visual, and digital composition. Our course focus is "Documenting Reality" and reality is not just the written word nor is the written word the only means through which to document. In this class, we will explore how "reality" is interpreted and created through various means of documentation and, with our texts as both guide and model we will try our own interpretation and creation.

A Word on the Texts:

While not the only artifacts we will hold up for observation, expect to engage a significant portion of both your handbook and our textbook. The handbook is a tool to refine our tools of written communication. Within it are generally agreed upon academic conventions of grammar as well academic conventions of presentation and format. Along with some supplementary handouts, this handbook will serve to mold your written communication into something presentable to the academic community. Your textbook teaches ways to interpret and document the world and also gives you a significant amount of material to synthesize and evaluate. Consider this the primary text of the course.

Coursework and Organization:

Major Assignments – You will have four major assignments, all of which will go through a full composition process (initial essay*, peer review, instructor review, and revision). All writing in these assignments must conform to MLA conventions of style (which we will discuss thoroughly throughout the semester).

Supplemental Assignments, Responses and In-Class Work – In addition to these major assignments, you will be expected to complete smaller tasks geared toward teaching competence in the mechanics of communication (grammar, IT, etc.). You will also be responsible for frequent written responses to class materials as well as tasks assigned for completion during class time.

Class Participation – This course is not a lecture course. You are expected to contribute significantly to our day's work, whether by engaging in dialogue with the class, answering my questions, or working with classmates in small groups. Part of class participation is also being prepared for class by having completed class assignments so we can engage in effective discussion. Class participation is a significant portion of your grade.

Conferences – Expect to meet with me frequently for individual or small group conferences. Our conferences are an important and very productive component of this composition course. Just as with our regular class meetings, attendance of conferences is required.

Grading Breakdown:

Assignment #1 (mixed media analysis) 10%
Assignment #2 (Identity Collage modified) 15%
Assignment #3 (Researched Document, MLA style) 20%
Assignment #4 (Process analysis and portfolio genre[s] of choice) 25%
Responses 10%
Class Participation 10%
Homework, and class-work 10%
Total 100%

Course Policies:

Attendance and Tardiness Attendance is crucial to your success in this class and is mandatory. Much of our composition and revision work will take place in the classroom in small group workshops; so to ensure both your and your classmates' success you must be in class. After four absences your grade will drop. After excessive tardiness your grade will also drop. In addition, your class participation grade will also suffer if you are chronically absent or tardy.

Late work Don't turn in papers late. I deduct one letter grade for each class period an assignment is late. That's a lot.

Academic Misconduct and Plagiarism So annoying! Due to the amount of your in class writing that I'll read this semester and also because I have been reading and evaluating prose for about 28 years, I'll know if you're plagiarizing. It's something I take seriously. If I determine that someone has willfully plagiarized another's work, the assignment in which this plagiarism occurred will almost assuredly earn a failing grade. In extreme cases, expect additional, more severe action to be taken (such as failure for the course or expulsion from the university). While we will discuss the definition and implications of plagiarism in class this term, it is your responsibility to familiarize yourself with Purdue's (very strict) policies on academic misconduct and plagiarism.

Campus Emergencies
In the event of a major campus emergency, course requirements, deadlines and grading percentages are subject to changes that may be necessitated by a revised semester calendar or other circumstances. Please check the course website or email me to get information about changes in this course.

Notes and Recommendations:

• Retain all of your work in both digital and analog forms for your records (you never know)
• Familiarize yourself with the Writing Center (Rm. # Heav 222, phone #765.494.3723).
• If you have a disability I will try to accommodate you, but for any classroom accommodations to be provided, you must be registered with Adaptive Programs in the Office of the Dean
• Yes, the syllabus is daunting and boring, but I promise the class will be neither if you engage with class materials and put in effort to succeed
• The Course website is http://web.ics.purdue.edu/~kcrowell/spring09engl106.html refer to it often

Sherman Alexie Project

For this project we will be reading Sherman Alexie’s collection of short stories, The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven, and watching the film adaptation, Smoke Signals, and will consider the ways in which fiction and film can “document reality.”

After reading the stories and viewing the film, you will choose a topic/theme/issue from the texts and then conduct research and develop an argument based on this topic. The argument will be grounded in your own interpretations of the stories and film, and will be supplemented by secondary sources. Your paper should examine specific scenes, passages, or quotes from both the stories and the film. Secondary sources will be used to support your own argument and/or to provide alternate viewpoints on the topic.

A persuasive argument paper contains several key components.  It introduces the topic and provides background information.  It also explains the author’s argument or position, while considering alternative stances.  Finally, the paper includes a conclusion that summarizes the key points but also provides the reader with ideas for further consideration of the topic.

Format:

Papers will be seven (7) to nine (9) pages in length, typed, double-spaced, in Times New Roman font. You will also include a works cited page.

Content:         

A.Provide a clear thesis.  What are you examining, and what is your point of view on the topic?

B. Support your thesis: Your paper should include at least five (5) secondary sources.  The majority of your sources should be scholarly sources, and only one source can be a website. You may use more than five sources. Be sure to choose sources that will be the most effective in your paper.

C. Acknowledge other points of view.  Either refute or accommodate these alternative perspectives.

 Grading Criteria: I will use the following criteria when grading your argument paper:

Critical Analysis -- You carefully explore your argument within the paper.  You support all of your statements through examples, explanations, and secondary sources; your own voice and perspective are clear. You discuss your topic in relation to both the stories and film.

Organization -- Your thesis statement makes an original claim and gives your paper direction; you fully support your ideas through quotes and examples; you fully explain ideas; you use transitions skillfully; each paragraph clearly relates to the surrounding paragraphs and your thesis statement.

Secondary Sources --  You skillfully use at least five secondary sources to build your argument and support your statements.  Remember you can use sources you disagree with to build your argument.

Audience—Let’s say your audience consists of scholars who study Alexie’s work. Your paper should be written in a way to either persuade them that your interpretation of the texts is the best way to understand the topic, or at least make the audience consider your argument as valid.

Works Cited --  You have properly cited your in-text citations using MLA format; you have used correct MLA format in your works cited page. You MUST cite sources in your rough draft!!!

Format -- Your paper is in MLA format; it is typed in 12-pt. Times New Roman font and double spaced; it is 7-9 pages in length; there are few or no spelling, punctuation, or grammatical errors; you have an original and pertinent, creative title.

Subculture Project

The first step to this project is to identify a subculture that exists at Purdue. Make sure it’s a subculture that you can spend some time investigating and observing at meetings or events.

As always, try to pick something that interests you, as you’ll be spend some time with it.

You’ll begin this project by completing the Drift Worksheet over a weekend.

The following Monday, you’ll spend some time in class developing field research questions about your subculture.

For the paper part of this project, take everything you’ve done thus far, and spend some more time looking at this subculture, both in person and by doing research. Pay attention to your field research questions.

You’ll be using your field research to rhetorically analyze this subculture, discussing the functions of the group (what it does, how group members interact), its subject (the “why” the group exists, its main idea or what it portrays about its members), its context (surroundings, atmosphere), and its audience (or viewers, people outside the subculture like recruits). The point of a rhetorical analysis is to understand how all these things work together to support its purpose.

Try to synthesize all of your findings into a new argument about this subculture. This should lead you to a single statement of its importance which can serve as a guiding (“thesis”) statement to your analysis. In other words, what does the group do? What is it supposed to do? Does it actually do that? What purpose does it serve for members? What kind of identity do the members construct by being in this subculture, or what does being a member say about them and who they are? Is this a good or a bad thing?

On the next Monday, we’ll be Peer Reviewing this essay in class. You’ll need to bring a heavily developed draft (at least 1000 words) to class and be prepared to read and comment on a classmate’s draft. Failure to show up with your draft, or meaningfully participate in Peer Review will result in the loss of participation points and mean you’re missing one of the components (a Peer Reviewed essay) of this project.

On the next day, we’ll be doing a different type of Peer Review, for which you’ll need to bring a printed copy of your draft (having incorporatined the comments and suggestions of the previous day’s peer review).

The analysis should be a typed, double-spaced 1500 to 1750 word paper with your name, my name, the course number, and the date at the top left of the first page. Please use a 12 point font like Times New Roman or Courier, use standard 1 inch margins, and indent paragraphs. Feel free to include appropriately positioned pictures of your subculture if they help illustrate points of your argument. You’ll need to properly cite in MLA style any outside sources you use. For help with this, feel free to email me, discuss it in conferences, or come by my office hours. For a quick breakdown of MLA format, please refer to the Purdue OWL (Online Writing Lab) and its MLA Formatting and Style Guide.

As is the standard for all assignments in this course, you’ll need to turn your final draft of this essay in a folder containing all other components of this project (the ‘Accompanying Material’), in this case, printed copies of your blog posts about subcultures, pictures of your subculture, your Peer Reviewed drafts, and your 200-300 word reflection on this assignment. You’ll also need to email me a Word or rtf formatted copy of your essay.

-From S.C. Gooch's 106 Class

The Power of Journalism

Assignment #1: The Power of Journalism
(Grade Percentage 10%)

Purpose:
Based on your (newly acquired) knowledge of the importance of speaking to specific audiences and the purposive techniques of genre writing, this project is designed to help you understand variously designated rhetoric and styles of different media providers.

Task:
You should develop an analytic essay that should connect the newspaper article to the role of the press in Heinrich Böll’s The Lost Honor of Katharina Blum. In order to show the flaws and successes of the style, rhetoric, and theme of the chosen news article, you will need to find arguments in support of or against a particular thesis statement after stating the article’s original thesis.
How has the audience changed since the 1974 publication of the novel?
How is the rhetoric and reputation similar or different in the article and the press in the novel?
Do you find thematic connections?
In what ways does this reflect changes in society and in the readership? Are there well-known historical and popular examples to consider?

Writing Process:
Identify the major statements and arguments of the article by listening to specific topic words and summarize them. Based on these observations, look at the structure of sentences, vocabulary, and rhetoric. Apart from this analysis, find out whether your instinctive reaction differs from your analytical reaction to the content and presentation and in what ways. What rhetorical features and appeals does the author use?

Move on to more abstract, broader considerations of audience and framework. Is there an intended audience or a particular ethics that the author supposes? Do you think this is an adequate assumption and how closely resembles the presentation your own views?
What are the author’s realities? Is there any overlap with the novel and are there mutual concerns?

Recommended Sources: www.newyorktimes.com
www.washingtonpost.com www.usatoday.com
www.chron.com www.denverpost.com

Length and Format: 1,000 words; font size 12, Times New Roman, one inch margins,
double-spaced, place headings on the first page & page numbers throughout
Due Dates: Monday, February 2

Grading Criteria:
You have a clearly stated belief /thesis that guides your essay.
You use specific examples to back up this claim, but also acknowledge other arguments. Always incorporate concrete details and move from the general statement to the specific instance.
Your essay is well organized and your thoughts developed in an effective manner.
Your essay shows signs of careful proofreading, with no grammatical or spelling errors.

The Science of Research

Assignment #5: The Science of Research
(10% of the final grade)
Martina Jauch

Purpose: This final assignment will ask you to apply all the concepts and writing skills you have learned so far to your own area of study or interest at Purdue. It will be a topic of your own choice, which gives you greater freedom than with the other assignments, but also asks you to consider wisely which medium and topic you will work on to fulfill the required length and breadth of the assignment.

Task: The assignment will consist of three separate elements, which will all contribute to the overall assignment grade.
(1) As practice for any future proposals or abstracts you will have to write in your own field of research, the first part will be a description and justification of your project. This abstract should consist of about 200 to 300 words and state your thesis, give some background and reasons for your choice, and expected results or goals. (This will be 15 percent of the assignment grade.)
(2) Annotated Bibliography: The second part of the assignment will consist of a bibliography of four sources you would like to use for your research and write a short (3-5 lines) description of the content, including its main thesis, for each of those. (This will be another 15 percent of the assignment grade.)
(3) The final product of this assignment is an approximately eight-page (2,000 word) research paper. Alternatively, you can choose to write a brochure or create a website with the same word count, if that suits your topic better. Your proposal should state already, whether and which of those media you will use. (This will be 70 percent of the assignment grade.)
The assignment will be presented to the class during the final week of the semester as a teaching demonstration. Make sure you inform me of any A/V needs as soon as possible.

Topic: You can choose ONE from the options below, within which you can choose freely what (or who) you would like to focus on. Examples and sample essays of all three can be found in Beyond Words. Some of those topics might turn out to overlap in the course of your research.
a. Research and profile a person from your field (a scientist/ researcher/ author, a professor of yours, the department in general, etc.)
b. Create a brochure, an advertisement, a webpage, or an analysis (research paper) of a particular place, that is, Purdue campus as a whole, specific buildings, departments, a dorm, etc.
c. Focus on one specific area of research in your field, for instance, something that might be a new development you would like to study, its impact on your studies, or its relation to previous discoveries.

Format: Make sure you use Times New Roman or a similar font, size 12, proper 1-inch
margins. Include course information on the first page as well as page numbers throughout.
Due Dates: Proposal: April 6; Annotated Bibliography: April 9
Research Paper (or equivalent): April 16

This I Believe Essay

This project is modeled on the radio feature of the same name, “This I Believe,” and asks you to sketch a personal belief that shapes your daily life. The belief that you choose to illustrate may not be entirely unique to you, but the way you present it should be personal and individualized. You may begin with a larger, general belief, but you will need to narrow it down to a particular life experience in order to demonstrate how that belief shapes your own life.

To begin, think about your day-to-day life. What influences your decisions, your outlook, and your interaction with your environment? What principles guide your life? After you’ve established one belief to focus on, you will then need to choose a specific, personal story to tell in order to illustrate this belief and how you live by it. The important thing is to be specific in your details; this is an essay that can only be written by you.

This is a short essay, so you will need to be concise and choose only the most important details necessary to describing your belief. You’ll want to have a good “lead,” a sentence or two that draws your reader in and sets up the topic. You’ll need to then state your belief. This should be followed by a story that shows your belief in action and demonstrates how your belief shapes your daily life. You have several options as to how you approach your topic; you can use humor, or you can take a more serious approach. Think about what style would best reflect your own personality, and best reflect the belief you choose to discuss, but be sure to avoid lecturing to your audience.  

Essays must be between 400-500 words; it is important that you keep your essay within this parameter. They must also be typed and double-spaced. We will follow the formatting guidelines for NPR’s “This I Believe” program, and I will highly encourage you to submit your essay to them. This gives the project a function outside of the classroom, and presents you with a larger audience.

Please consult the “This I Believe” webpage for more guidelines on to how to write a good essay, and to also read sample essays. http://www.thisibelieve.org

• Grading Criteria: I will use these criteria when grading your essay:

• You have a clearly stated belief that guides your essay
• You use a specific story or experience and incorporate concrete details in order to illustrate how this belief shapes your life
• Your essay is personalized and unique to you and expresses your own voice
• Your essay is well organized and your thoughts developed in an effective manner
• Your essay stays within the length requirement of 400-500 words
• Your essay shows signs of careful proofreading, with no grammatical or spelling errors

If you have questions, concerns, or need additional help, please come see me or visit the Writing Lab. Consult the Weekly Calendar on the course webpage for due dates.

The guidelines listed here are from the “This I Believe” webpage. Please keep these guidelines in mind as you start drafting your essay.

• Tell a story: Be specific. Take your belief out of the ether and ground it in the events of your life. Consider moments when belief was formed or tested or changed. Think of your own experience, work, and family, and tell of the things you know that no one else does. Your story need not be heart-warming or gut-wrenching—it can even be funny—but it should be real. Make sure your story ties to the essence of your daily life philosophy and the shaping of your beliefs.

• Be brief: Your statement should be between 350 and 500 words. That's about three minutes when read aloud at your natural pace.

• Name your belief: If you can't name it in a sentence or two, your essay might not be about belief. Also, rather than writing a list, consider focusing on one core belief, because three minutes is a very short time.

• Be positive: Please avoid preaching or editorializing. Tell us what you do believe, not what you don't believe. Avoid speaking in the editorial "we." Make your essay about you; speak in the first person.

• Be personal: Write in words and phrases that are comfortable for you to speak. We recommend you read your essay aloud to yourself several times, and each time edit it and simplify it until you find the words, tone, and story that truly echo your belief and the way you speak.

Taken from: http://www.thisibelieve.org/essaywritingtips.html

Weekly Blog

Blog are a significant component of the course and allow for an ongoing, online discussion of course topics. The blog is your space, meaning that while I will read your posts regularly, I will typically refrain from posting myself. I will only intervene when and if I feel it is necessary, or to post a prompt for you to respond to.
The blog is similar to a journal in that it asks you to record your thoughts on various topics and texts. It differs from a journal in that it is public in nature; not only can your classmates read your posts, but online surfers may check out what you have to say as well (although they won't be able to comment). The blog is also different from a journal in that your classmates will respond to your ideas by posting comments.
My expectation is that the blog will remain a respectful and professional environment. You are free to express your ideas and opinions, and you are free to comment on your classmates' thoughts. I do expect everyone to be respectful of our differences of opinions. No personal attacks or hateful remarks will be tolerated. It's fine to disagree, but please make comments and arguments in a way that does not make others feel uncomfortable about posting (this includes your choice of subject headings).
You are expected to post original comments and respond to your classmates. You can respond to what we've read, class discussions, or bring up other relevant topics. Providing links to other sources, and explaining their usefulness/relevance is also acceptable. Any additional comments beyond the minimum requirement may be shorter in length. I will also provide required prompts on a regular basis. Check the Calendar for weekly prompts.
Basic Requirements for Blogging:

• You must post a minimum of 250 words per week
• You must respond to required prompts (check calendar)
o You can respond by adding an original post, by commenting on another classmates’ post, or both
o Be sure to both post original comments and respond to your classmates over the course of the semester; I will be checking to make sure you maintain some balance between the two.

Grading Criteria for Blogs:

• An “A” blogger will go beyond the basic expectations for the assignment. You post thoughtful and insightful comments, respond intelligently to other blogger’s comments, create conversations that relate to the course as a whole, but go beyond merely responding to prompts, and post regularly.
• A “B” blogger successfully fulfills the blogging requirements. Comments should be well-thought and contribute to the larger discussion at hand. You will respond to your classmates’ posts, and regularly post.
• A “C” blogger does the bare minimum to fulfill the assignment requirements. A “C” blogger meets the word count, but lacks the thought, effort, and regularity of posting that the “B” and “A” range bloggers achieve.
• A “D” blogger does not satisfactorily meet the basic requirements. You do not contribute thoughtful posts, do not comment on your classmates’ posts, and do not regularly post.
• An “F” blogger does not contribute to the blog, and thus does not fulfill the assignment requirements.

Weekly Response Papers

Weekly Response Papers (20%)

Writing down your thoughts, impressions, ideas, and questions about a topic can be helpful in that it will allow you to better articulate your ideas in class discussions. It also allows you to explore your own personal response to a given topic. For this assignment, you will write a total of eleven responses to various assigned topics throughout the semester. Your response will be similar to a journal entry in that it will be informal and ask you to simply express your own ideas.

About once a week you will be assigned a topic to respond to in written form. While in some cases a brief summary will be appropriate, the object of this assignment is to record your own thoughts and reactions to various topics. Please do not focus on summary! For example, if for your “art” response you choose to look at a certain photographer, I do not want you to simply summarize the collection of photos or the photographer’s life in your response. Instead, you should focus on a few photos, and discuss your reaction to them and their ability to document reality. While a sentence or two on the photographer themselves may be appropriate, the bulk of you response needs to express your own ideas about the documentary style you’re examining.

I will assign specific instructions for each response, but in general you will be considering various documentary styles and their ability to document reality. You will consider things such as method, audience, argument/rhetoric, and effectiveness in addition to your own personal reaction. Most importantly, you need to go beyond surface details. Dig deeper into your topic, and develop your ideas. This may result in arriving at conclusions about your topic, or possibly raising new questions. Each response should also address the medium’s effectiveness in documenting its topic.

You will need to bring your typed responses to class with you, and we will use your responses as a “springboard” for class discussion on that topic. I will not require you to read your response out loud to the class, but you will need to be able to verbally articulate the ideas expressed in your written response. Some topics will be assigned as in-class work. Reponses are due on the day that particular topic is to be discussed.

I will grade your responses on quality and effort. Responses that show considerable thought and exploration of the topic (and research when required), plus meet the length requirement will receive a √+, worth 3 points. Responses that show some thought and exploration of the topic, but perhaps lack in a particular area (research, personal thought, length, etc.) will receive a √, worth 2 points. Responses that lack original thought (i.e. too much summary or not enough personal thought) and lack in exploration of the topic will receive a √-, worth 1 point. Responses not turned in on the due date will receive a zero and cannot be turned in late or made up—no exceptions.

Responses must be typed, double-spaced, in twelve-point Times New Roman font (the format for all papers in this course). Responses must be 1 ½-2 pages in length. Responses not meeting the length requirement will receive a lower grade.

Detailed guidelines for each response can be found on the course website. It is your responsibility to check the schedule on the syllabus and be aware of when responses are due.

What is it Like to Be ____?

Final Project: What is it Like to Be_____? (25%)

Fill in the blank. What is it like to be [someone/something] you do not define yourself as? What is it like to be colorblind? a POW? a Wabash trolley-driver? a second-generation American? an ex-con? The final project asks you to document the reality of someone/something from a sub-culture of your choice. The final project allows you to make your own statement about this topic. Your project may take the form of your choice: short film, website, or power point slide show. The project must be a stand-alone project, meaning that I should be able to grade it without you standing there filling in information (especially important if you choose to do a power point). This is also a group project. You will choose a group of 2-4 people with whom to work, and will divide the work amongst group members accordingly.

The project will encompass three parts: visual, oral, and textual.

1. Visual: Your project must incorporate a visual component of some sort. You are free to choose what type of visual element you include and the manner in which it is incorporated.

2. Oral: You will present your project to the class, telling us what you did and why.

3. Textual: Each group will submit a written proposal and artist’s statement for the project.

a. Proposal: You will turn in a 1-2 page proposal that outlines the project you wish to complete. The proposal must include all of the following items: 1. An explanation the specifics of the topic; 2. Description of the medium you will work within; and 3. An overview of what each group member will contribute to the project.

b. Artist’s Statement: You will distribute a 1-2 page artist’s statement to the class on the day of your presentation that includes a description of the process of creating your project and your interpretation of the final result. It should encompass all of the following: 1. a clear explanation of the project; 2. a description of the process of creating your project; and 3. a discussion of the creative decisions made during the project (i.e. why certain photos or audio clips were chosen). Remember: the artist’s statement is your opportunity to show me all of the effort that you expended for this project, so be as specific and detailed as possible.

c. Works Cited: You will need to turn in a separate Works Cited/Consulted page, or have a “Credits” page incorporated into the project. You are required to use proper MLA citation. You must cite at least eight (8) sources in the project.

d. Group Evaluations: Each group member will evaluate their own contributions to the project, as well as what the other group members contributed. The final project is your opportunity to express yourself and to be creative. Try to have fun with this, and develop a project that you are excited about and that you would like to share with others. Due Dates: Thursday, November 6th: You will join a group and start making decisions about: your topic, your method of documentation (film, website, or power point), and who will contribute what to the project.

Your group will sign up for a conference day today, too.

Your group conference day is: _________________________________________________

Wednesday, November 12th: Project Proposal due, via email. Email me your group’s proposal by 9:30am today. The name of the group member who will email me your group’s proposal is: __________________________________________________

Monday, November 17-Tuesday, November 25th: Group Conferences. Your group will meet with me once over the course of these two weeks to discuss your project. You must bring your Works Cited page and your project-in-progress (i.e. whatever you have completed for the project so far). You must have some form of draft of your project at this time. Be prepared to tell me what you’ve done, and what still needs to be done. You will also sign up for your presentation day during your conference.

Monday, December 1-Thursday, December 11th: In-Class Presentations. You will present your project to the class. You must bring 20 copies of your Artist’s Statement to distribute to the class at this time. Your presentation day is:___________________________________________

Thursday, December 11th: The final version of your project is due in class.

You will want to divide up the tasks to be completed by the group. Here are some suggested roles to assign: 1. Proposal writer(s) 2. Researcher(s) 3. Various elements of project development, including, but not limited to: a. Getting materials together (film, power point, or website related needs) b. Coordinating group meetings c. Project Content Writers (script, slide info, web page content d. Technical Components (filming, developing slides, building website) 4. Artist Statement Writer(s) 5. Group Leader

Writing in the Real World

Project 1: Writing in the Real World (15% of total course grade)

This project is meant to give you a better understanding of how composition will fit into your post-Purdue reality. You will interview 2 professionals in your chosen field to determine the importance of writing in their field, the various audiences you may be asked to address, and the genres or conventions within which you may be asked to compose.

Part 1: Expectations (10%)
(approx. 1 page) DUE: Monday, 1/26 by EMAIL
What information do you anticipate gaining from this project? Who will you interview for this project, and why? You must have either verbal or written confirmation of your interviewees at this point.

Part 2: The Interviews (70%)
(approx. 3 pages) DUE: Monday, 2/2 by EMAIL
Conduct an interview with two professionals in your chosen field. Each interview must be conducted face-to-face with someone with who you are not acquainted. In class, we will generate questions to ask your interviewee, but you should also do some research about the interviewee (e.g. what past industry experience has he/she had?) in order to prepare properly for your meeting. Take detailed notes during the interview. Then, write a synthesized report of the relevant information you gained during each interview. Translate the question/answer format from your notes into a first-person informative narrative. Do not use actual dialogue in your synthesis of the interview. You want to make sure to 1:) convey only the information relevant to the topic, and 2:) cover all of the points we generated in class.

Part 3: Evaluation (20%)
(approx. 1 page) DUE: Monday, 2/2 by EMAIL
What did you gain from this experience? Provide specific examples.

Computer Literacy

• Web Source Evaulation Chart

Conferences

• Student Conference Worksheet

Documentation

Documentation Activities:

• Cecil Citation
• Donna Documentation 

Interviewing

Paper Assignments

• Writing to Understand Traditions:
• Discourse Communities-Writing to Understand Traditions
• Discourse Analysis-Writing to Understand Traditions
• Gender Analysis-Writing to Understand Traditions
• Discipline Paper-Writing to Understand Academic Discourse Traditions
• Memo-Connected to 'Discipline Paper'
• Writing as Discovery:
• Magazine of Your Life-Writing as Discovery
• Soundtrack of Your Life-Writing as Discovery
• My Turn-Narrative
• Research-on-Research
• Writing as Rhetorical Analysis:
• Ethos/Pathos/Logos-Rhetorical Analysis/Appeals
• Rhetorical Literacy Narrative-Rhetorical Analysis
• Rhetorical Analysis-Rhetorical Analysis
• Rhetorical Analysis of an Advertisement
• Letter to the Editor-Proofs
• Writing to Explore:
• Exploratory Essay
• Research Journal for the Exploratory Essay
• Annotated Bibliography for Exploratory Essay

Peer Review

• Peer Critique Guide
• Peer Review - Exploratory Paper
• Peer Critiques (Proofs)

Plagiarism

• Plagiarism Acitivity
  

Reading to Write

• Critical Reading for Logos
• Journal and Courier Analysis

Research

• Database Scavenger Hunt
• Planning Your Primary Research

Response Papers

• Rhetorical Response Papers
  

Rhetorical Analysis

Some samples are attached below.

Rhetorical Situations

• Magazine of Your Life
• Soundtrack of Your Life
• Letter to the Editor

Style

Visual Literacy

Writing as Discovery

• Rhetorical Literacy Narrative
• Gender Analysis
• Discourse Community Analysis

Writing as Process

Writing to Think

Writing to Understand Traditions

The Rhetorical Situations/Real Texts approach attempts to help students understand that they are situated: within their family ideals, their experiences, their community relationships, etc. Although this hints at a strong connection to social consturctionism, this syllabus approach does not present a political agenda. While we understand that every pedagogical approach entails some type of agenda, either unspoken or spoken, the goal of Rhetorical Situations/Real Texts is to emphasize the rhetorical nature of all texts and visuals-of all mediums.

Different instructors use different methods to achieve this goal. We hope you will find something of interest here to use when you wish to present this important aspect of situatedness.

Syllabus A: ENGL 10800 Syllabus

ENGLISH 10800: Accelerated First Year Composition

Course Description

Welcome to English 10800!  This is an accelerated course designed to meet the needs of students who excel at writing and are eager to meet the challenges of more rigorous reading and writing tasks than they would find in English 10600.  (If you are not adequately prepared for an honors-level English course, I recommend you take 10600 next semester.)  As an accelerated course, we will not spend much time on basic writing skills; I have planned this course under the assumption that 108 students are already competent and confident with the mechanics of writing academic prose.  Rather, we will focus on developing critical reading and analytic skills to better prepare you for engaging in complex conversations within the academic discourse community here at Purdue, the fields of your future careers, and the wider public forums we encounter as members of local and global communities.  By critically engaging different media and genres as both audience and author, students will gain a more expansive view of how written and visual rhetoric work implicitly and explicitly to shape our social and cultural lives.  Much of the class time will be spent in workshops and class discussions.  Diligent preparation and participation is therefore essential to success in this class, and is expected of all class members.  

Course Goals

The readings, in-class activities, and writing projects in this course will serve largely to practice and hone students’ critical thinking and composition skills, including: reading closely and critically; annotating texts; recognizing and using rhetorical strategies to appeal to various audiences; collaborating with others; performing rhetorical analyses of visual and verbal texts; conducting critical inquiry and research; synthesizing ideas and engaging secondary sources; using a variety of invention techniques at all stages of composition; and making effective grammatical and stylistic choices. 

Required Texts

(Books available at Von’s, online, and on course reserve at Hicks; please use the editions indicated)

• Anderson, M.T. Feed.  ISBN 0763622591
• Buckley, Christopher. Thank You for Smoking.  ISBN 0812976525
• Palahniuk, Chuck. Fight Club. ISBN 0393327345
• Additional required readings posted on Blackboard; print all readings and bring to class

 Assignments and Grading

Detailed guidelines for each of the three major writing projects are on Blackboard (Handouts).

Your work this semester will culminate in a final ePortfolio, which will comprise the largest part of your grade in this class.  The final course grade breaks down as follows:

• Essay Drafts (150 pts. total)

You will submit rough drafts for three major writing projects during the semester.  Please refer to the handout on Blackboard for specific requirements. I will provide a letter grade for each rough draft, along with detailed comments (either in conference or in writing).  You are expected to use this grade and feedback to determine your revision strategy and polish your projects for submission in your writing portfolio.  The drafts will be worth 50 pts. each.

• ePortfolio (600 pts.)

Through feedback on rough drafts and one-on-one portfolio conferences, you will develop a revision strategy for each of the major writing projects.  Your portfolio will include final, polished drafts of three projects, three revised reading responses, and a short reflection essay.  You will publish it electronically on a website of your own design.  Please refer to the handout on Blackboard for a breakdown of the point-value for each component of the portfolio. 

• Discussion Posts (100 pts.)

You will respond to course readings on a weekly basis, using our class Blackboard site.  Please refer to the separate handout (also on Blackboard) for details about the posting requirement and grading.

• Collaboration (50 pts.)

Your collaboration grade may include in-class activities and discussions, team presentations, team writing workshops, peer evaluations, conferences, and homework. 

• Reading Quizzes (100 pts.)

 TOTAL PTS POSSIBLE: 1000 

A+ = 970-1000

A   = 930-969

A-  = 890-929

NOTE: In the event of a major campus emergency, course requirements, deadlines and grading percentages are subject to changes that may be necessitated by a revised semester calendar or other circumstances.  See Blackboard announcements for any such updates.

TENTATIVE DUE DATES

As described in the Project Guidelines, you are responsible for composing three major papers over the course of the semester: a rhetorical analysis, an application essay, and a literary or film analysis. The deadlines for the drafts of these papers will depend on which texts you choose to write about. Rough drafts are due no later than two weeks after we discuss the text in class.  The following table gives tentative discussion dates and corresponding due dates.  You are welcome—and encouraged—to work ahead (read/write in advance) and revise later, post-discussion.  I strongly recommend that you consider your exam schedule for your other classes (and not just your personal preferences) when deciding which texts you want to write about for your three projects.

Select ONE from each of the following three clusters:

Text/Due Date

CLUSTER ONE: SCAPEGOATS

“… Omelas”; “The Lottery”: F 2/5

Pleasantville (film): M 2/8

“… Soft Rains”; “Harrison Bergeron”: F 2/12

Feed (novel): F 2/26

CLUSTER TWO: SOCIAL DEVIANCE

Watchmen (film): W 3/3

“Girl with Curious Hair”: M 3/8

Fight Club (novel): F 3/19

CLUSTER THREE: POSTMODERNISM

The Yes Men (film)*: M 4/5

Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog (film): W 4/7

Thank You for Smoking (novel): F 4/16

*Because of its genre (documentary), please note that The Yes Men is really only suited for a rhetorical analysis paper.

Mandatory conferences will be held in lieu of class on the following dates: 2/1-2/3 & 4/5-7.  In addition, you are encouraged to visit me in office hours or make additional appointments with me as needed.

Syllabus A: Project Guidelines

English 10800: Project Guidelines

You will be expected to compose a total of 15-20 pages of polished writing (5000-6500 words) over the course of the semester, comprising three essays on course texts of your choice (one per cluster).  The length of each essay is up to you, provided they add up to the required total. 

Rhetorical Analysis: Write a rhetorical analysis of one of the novels, short stories, or films we are treating in class.  The rhetorical analysis is typically an evaluative argument that judges the effectiveness or significance of an argument based on the author’s use, misuse, or neglect of particular rhetorical, narrative, and/or filmic strategies.  The purpose is to get you to look at composition of narrative (and argument) from the writer’s point of view.  I will be lecturing briefly on rhetoric and rhetorical strategies in the first two weeks of the semester, and the reading responses will provide regular practice working with the principles of rhetoric. 

This essay has a fairly formulaic structure.  The introduction should explain the premise of the text you are evaluating, and end with a thesis containing three parts: what argument is the narrative/film making, is it effective, and what specific (3-4) strategies most help or hurt the argument.  The strategies can be rhetorical (ethos, logos, pathos), literary (character, setting, tone, language, symbolism, metaphor, etc.) and/or filmic (lighting, editing, focus, scale, etc.).  Each of the strategies you chose should be analyzed in a separate body paragraph, demonstrating how it is used (with specific examples) and how this helps or hurts the larger argument.

Application: Select a critical text from the course pack or from your own research, identify several core ideas, and apply these ideas systematically to a novel, short story, or film we are reading/viewing in this class.  (I can make recommendations if needed.)  For the application project, the critical text should play a prominent, rather than supporting, role; that is, it should not simply come up once or twice in support of your argument.  Rather, a central idea from the secondary source should be at the heart of your thesis statement and you should apply it systematically to the primary source throughout the essay. 

This essay is less formulaic than the rhetorical analysis, but still has a regular structure.  While the primary source (novel, story, film) should be the focus of your analysis, the main idea of each body paragraph should be drawn from your secondary source.  Your paragraph structure, then, would look something like this: topic sentence introducing the idea; quotation or paraphrase from secondary source that further elaborates or explains this idea; several examples/quotes from the primary text demonstrating how this idea applies; and a concluding sentence tying the paragraph back to your thesis.

Literary/Film Analysis: Write an analytic essay on one of the literary or film selections from the course.  Your analysis can draw on ideas discussed in class, on your own reading response for the text you select, or on an original insight or idea you come up with independently.  You are welcome, but not required, to use a critical methodology to guide your argument (psychoanalytic, Marxist, feminist, structuralist, etc.); we will discuss some of these methodologies in class.  You could also focus on a particular theme (e.g., scapegoating; technology; language; the monstrous/grotesque; consumer culture; waste/wasteland; violence/conflict; identity/perspective; truth/lying/BS; the postmodern; authorship/metanarrative; deviance/subversion).

There is no particular structure or formula for this type of essay, apart from the principles of sound reasoning and organized writing.

For all of the project options, I expect you to perform close, critical reading in order to develop original insights about the texts you’ve chosen.  You should regularly refer to key passages from your primary and secondary sources throughout the essay, in support of your argument.

[Note: Examples of all projects will be made available on Blackboard.  Please review them carefully before you begin writing, to get a better sense of each genre.]

Text Selection & Due Dates

Rough drafts do not have a set due date; they are due no later than two weeks after the in-class discussion of the primary text(s) you treat in the paper.  (For example, if you want to write a paper on Feed and we finish the course discussion on Feb. 12, the draft would be due by Feb. 26.)  The only caveat with regard to text selection is that you must pick one text/film from each of the following clusters:

CLUSTER ONE: Le Guin, “Omelas”; Jackson, “The Lottery”; Pleasantville; Bradbury, “…Soft Rains”; Vonnegut, “Harrison Bergeron”; Anderson, Feed

CLUSTER TWO: Watchmen (film); Wallace, “Girl with Curious Hair”; Palahniuk, Fight Club (novel)

CLUSTER THREE: The Yes Men*; Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog; Buckley, Thank You for Smoking; TYFS (film)

*As a documentary film, The Yes Men is really only suitable for the rhetorical analysis essay.

Please plan your time wisely in order to spread the work over the course of the semester; this may require reading ahead. (Consult your exam schedule, too, so that you aren’t trying to write a paper while cramming for exams.)  I have provided a brief annotated bibliography in the course pack to facilitate planning; when we meet for conferences on 2/1-2/3, I expect you to make a tentative decision about which primary texts you will use for each project.  You do not have to decide which type of essay you’ll write for each text until after we’ve read/viewed it.  Getting an idea of your choices in conference will help me plan my semester timeline and coordinate peer evaluations. 

Research

The literary analysis and application essays both require the inclusion of secondary sources that support your argument; you must use at least one secondary source, either from the course pack or your own research, for each of these essays.  Secondary sources may or may not be as useful for the rhetorical analysis, depending on the text & approach you choose, and are therefore optional.

In addition to any course pack materials you draw on, I will require you to find and incorporate at least three additional secondary sources (total) into your essays.  You could, for instance, include all three additional sources in one paper, or use one to two sources in each paper for a total of three.  At least two of the three sources must be print sources (journal articles or books).  There is no upward limit to the number of sources allowed.  Please note that dictionaries, encyclopedias, and general information websites (e.g., Wikipedia, About.com) do not constitute critical sources.  I will provide in-class instruction on research methods and library resources.

Analysis

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Video Ad Parody and Analysis - Alexandra Hidalgo

In order for students to become acquainted with the theory behind advertising for this project, we read chapter 1 of James B. Twitchell’s AdCult USA: The Triumph of Advertising in American Culture. The students receive a workshop in how to use Windows Moviemaker from the DLC. We also have a brief introduction on how to write screenplays and storyboard a scene by using the following websites:

Screenplays:
http://www.screenwriting.info/01.php

http://www.scriptfrenzy.org/howtoformatascreenplay

Storyboarding:
http://accad.osu.edu/womenandtech/Storyboard%20Resource

http://www.timeforkids.com/TFK/media/teachers/pdfs/2002F/021108NSw1.pdf

Visual Rhetoric - Calista Kelly

Because many first-year students have not understood how to properly analyze visual texts, the “Visual Rhetoric” project explores the various ingredients and techniques used in visual compositions. I used the book Compose, design, advocate , where there are several chapters, especially “Chapter 14: Analyzing posters”, devoted to helping students analyze different kinds of visual texts. I wanted to get my students to start thinking about all of the elements that go into visual compositions to show them how we are able to not only communicate orally but visually with others.

Literary Analysis - Catherine Lewis

This assignment is particularly useful within this syllabus approach when it is connected with a literary text written by a visiting author to the Purdue campus. Students are able to read an excellent literary text, compose an essay that is investigative and argumentative, and then, after becoming familiar with the text, attend a reading or discussion by the visiting author. This assignment allows students to see writing (and writers) as something tangible, something worthy of investing their efforts in. The Literary Analysis can also be used as a precursor to a larger research project; it allows students small-scale practice in the art of incorporating quotations and formatting citations.

Visual Rhetoric - Kim Myers

I assign this project as a conclusion to the visual rhetoric portion of our semester. After students learn how to analyze the productions of others (they can practice their analytical skills on ads, campus posters, and famous works of art), I tell them that they are to use the skills they’ve acquired to create their own piece. I’ve found that students really enjoy taking on the role of artist, and that they become much more interested in visual rhetoric when they’re attempting to convey a message about their own lives.

Critical Analysis - Adam Watkins

Argument

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Argument Paper - Adam Watkins

Exploratory

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Writing to Explore Scenarios - Adam Pope

Tom Strong is a comic series written by Alan Moore, of Watchmen, League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, V for Vendetta, From Hell, and other various comic fame. Tom Strong can best be described as post-modern. It tells the story of Tom Strong, an archetypal hero, in his adventures through the past century or so. Moore's stories have differing times and because of this he chooses artists whose style best mesh with the story he wants to tell. Because of this, and several interesting story elements, some of which can be encountered in the first story-arc, Tom Strong is a great candidate for exploration in a class that is interested in the visual, and the post-modern.

Narrative

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Diversity Narrative - Casarae Gibson

The Diversity Narrative is the first full length assignment that English 106 students complete in my classroom. Students have to develop a story that suits their interest along with promoting diversity within their college campus, community, and/or religion. The main focus of this project is to promote diversity in the classroom and to make sure that students understand the concepts of diversity not only in the United States, but globally.

Literacy Narrative - Kim Myers

I see the Literacy Narrative as a way to make students rethink their ideas about writing. Many of our students have trouble deviating from the five-paragraph essay format they were taught in high school. The Literacy Narrative requires them to experiment with organization and voice; when they're talking about themselves, they often abandon the stuffy, mechanical voice they cling to in more formal writing. The Narrative also encourages students to think of their own lives as worthy of examination. This mentality will serve them well in the WYWIP syllabus approach, as most of their work will deal with matters that relate in some way to them and to their lives at Purdue.

Literacy Narrative and Comic - Catherine Lewis

This assignment asks students to examine their own experiences with reading and writing and to translate their experiences into a vivid, detailed, and descriptive story. This introductory, informal narrative allows students to explore the line between public and private writing, and it forces them to consider what their writing reveals about themselves. By narrating a significant instance in their “literacy life,” students recognize that they do indeed have experiences with composition that they can either build on or overcome. I’ve used the Comic component of the Literacy Narrative primarily as a drafting and pre-writing tool, but it also allows students to see composition as something physical—something that can be manipulated and organized and revised. The Comic could also be useful as an introductory assignment in a unit that deals with visual rhetoric and visual arguments.

Literacy Narrative - Adam Watkins

Other

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Semester Assignment Sequence - Hirofumi Kaji

This document includes a sequence of major writing assignments given throughout the semester.

Profile

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Profile - Kim Myers

This assignment, in which students must write a profile of an advocacy group on campus, allows students to increase their familiarity with Purdue’s student organizations. It also encourages them to experiment with analysis and representation. Students cannot merely parrot the organization’s literature. They must actively engage members of the organization in discussion and, in their paper, synthesize their own impression of the group with the information they’ve gathered from these interviews. The specifics of this assignment also compel students to consider the nature of advocacy; this version of the profile assignment fits well with the textbook compose, design, advocate.

Profile - Adam Watkins

Public Document

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Public Service Announcement - Linda Haynes

I took ideas from two lesson plans on the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) website and added my own requirements to develop this Public Service Announcement multi-media project for first-year college composition students in the Writing Your Way Into Purdue syllabus approach. Instructors are free to use and modify any part of this assignment without my permission and without crediting me. Instructors should, however, notice that I have credited others (from NCTE and from CIE) in the assignment.

I use The Norton Field Guide to Writing and They Say/I Say as required texts, but neither book has information about multimedia projects nor public service announcements. For my PSA project, these texts offer readings in rhetorical situations, process, argument, and strategies.

PSA video examples are plentiful on YouTube. Students love the original “Your Brain on Drugs” PSA and the many spin-offs and satires it inspired. I also use examples from “The More You Know” (http:www.themoreyouknow.com), The Media Awareness Network (http://www.media-awareness.ca/english/corporate/media_kit/psas.cfm), and The Ad Council (http://www.adcouncil.org/).

Each PSA team must use a storyboard to help write the PSA script. A good template to use for this is at http://www.digitalparlor.org/pwenglish/files/storyboard-blank.pdf. Other writing tasks for this project include project logs, a proposal, a report, an annotated bibliography, and a reflection.

Public Document - Calista Kelly

After exploring and analyzing various visual texts, I gave my students the opportunity to compose their own visual compositions in the “Public Document” project. Providing them with a sense of purpose and a context, I encouraged and challenged my students to take what they learned about visual compositions to compose their own visual compositions for an organization on campus. I used a number of websites to show my students physical examples of different kinds of visual compositions: (1) a website-www.avodah.net, (2) Sarah Mclachlan’s Youtube video “World on Fire”, and a number of advertisements/posters from the ICaP Technical Mentoring website www.digitalparlor.org/mentor.

Writing to Solve Problems

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Writing to Solve Problems at Purdue - Laurie Pinkert

In this project, students work in small groups to develop websites that propose solutions to campus problems. They also present their websites to the class. During the semesters in which this project was assigned, we used The Conscise McGraw-Hill Guide: Writing for College, Writing for Life as one of our course texts. However, the project might be easily adapted to fit other texts or purposes. The project emphasizes collaborative research, group work, visual design, writing for the web, and proposal writing.

There seem to be at least five major aspects of the project:
1) Developing Possible Topics (related to the Scenarios) and Assigning Groups
2) Proposal-Writing
3) Web Design
4) Web Reading and Writing
5) Presentations of Websites
6) Evaluation of Websites

Resources for Aesthetic Rhetoric, Rhetorical Aesthetics Instructors

Instructors for Fieldworking

Approach Leader

Judy Rechberger

Webmaster

Instructors

Resources for Fieldworking Instructors

The resources below were created for the Fieldworking approach. Please feel free to use and/or adapt them, and if you would like to contribute resources you've created for other Fieldworking teachers to use, please contact Amy Ferdinandt Stolley. If you use or adapt any of these handouts, please make sure you give credit to the original author.

SHORT ANALYSIS EXERCISES

• 3 rhetorical analyses

BIG ETHNOGRAPHY

• Big ethnography
• Big ethnography peer review
• Developing a thesis statement
• Ethnography organizational plan
• Evoloving thesis
• Grid heuristic
• New voices research heuristic
• Updrafting exercise

ETHNOGRAPHIC FILM PROJECT

• Film project

BOOK PRESENTATION

• Book Presentation

VISUAL LITERACY/RHETORIC

• Creating visual texts
• Photo essay analysis
• Rhetoric of Powerpoint workshop
• Visual Rhetoric assignment

CRITICAL BIBLIOGRAPHY

• Critical bibliography
• Searching for outside perspectives

SUBCULTURES

• Subcultures handout
• Cultural awareness
• Taking fieldnotes

PORTRAITS

• Verbal-visual portrait
• Four-part observation
• Narration heuristic
• Portrait heuristic
• Self-portrait
• Using embedded language

INFORMATION LITERACY

• Evaluating electronic resources
• Identifying voices
• Information Literacy Scavenger Hunt

URBAN LEGENDS

• Urban legends
• Lore analysis
• Video lore analysis

WEB-BASED PORTFOLIO

• Web-based portfolio