English W233—Sections 33,36
Intermediate Expository Writing--Spring 2012
 
Instructor: GB Waldschmidt 
Office: CM143
Office hours: by appt.
E-mail: waldschg@ipfw.edu

Course Texts
--They Say I Say- The Moves That Matter in Academic Writing, Graff/ Birkenstein, Second  Edition, 2010
    
I will also post documents/readings on our Blackboard page (or elsewhere); you will likely want to print off these documents.  In addition,  I may assign a few readings through Helmke Library’s Reserves Express (REX) at http://www.lib.ipfw.edu or directly at http://res.ipfw.edu.  You must have your student account activated to access REX, using your own username and password.

Course Materials 
--three-ringed binder for final portfolio
--flash drive on which to save your work and present selected writing
--a recent collegiate dictionary and thesaurus is highly recommended.

Course Goals
Upon completion of W233, you should be able to demonstrate competence in the following areas:
--Rhetorical Knowledge, including the ability to focus on a purpose and audience; to
respond appropriately to different kinds of rhetorical situations; to adopt appropriate voice, tone, and level of formality; to write in several genres; and to understand how genres shape reading and writing.
--Critical Thinking, Reading, and Writing, including the ability to use writing and reading for inquiry, learning, thinking, and communicating; to manage a writing assignment as a series of tasks, including finding, evaluating, analyzing, and synthesizing appropriate primary and secondary sources; to integrate one’s own ideas with those of others; and to understand the relationships among language, knowledge, and power.
--Writing Processes, including the use of multiple drafts to create and complete a successful text; the development of flexible strategies for generating, revising, editing, and proof-reading; learning to balance the advantages of relying on others with the responsibility of doing one’s own part; and participation in collaborative and social processes that require the ability to critique one’s own and others’ works.
--Knowledge of Conventions, including the ability to follow common formats for different kinds of genres; to increase knowledge of genre conventions ranging from structure and paragraphing to tone and mechanics; to practice appropriate means of documenting one’s work; and to control such surface features as syntax, grammar, punctuation, and spelling.

Major Writing Assignments and Portfolio
   Think of your work for the semester as your book—a series of chapters, approaching a topic in which you are deeply invested and on which you are (or will become) an expert. The portfolio which you submit at the end of the semester, then, is your “book,” and each major writing assignment is a chapter in that book.

   You will choose a topic—of particular significance/interest to you as well as of interest to a public audience—to explore/research for the semester. You will produce
five writing assignments, and you will need to include at least four of these in your portfolio. (You may choose to omit one from your final portfolio; the final researched essay, however, is required to be included in your portfolio).  Obviously, the key to your
success and enjoyment in the course is your careful, thoughtful choice of a topic—a topic that will keep you engaged in writing and researching on it for several months. (This may seem overwhelming right now, but most W233 students have found writing on one carefully selected topic to be their favorite component of the course.)

   You will write five major assignments, exploring your selected topic using different
genres.  These five major writing assignments include the following:

 1) Personal-connection essay (5 pages)
A reflective narrative that expresses your personal connection to the research topic we have chosen for the semester.  This will serve as the first “chapter” of your portfolio.

2) Comparative Analysis (5 pages)
A rhetorical analysis and review of three different sources and perspectives on your topic.
Your sources for this essay should be miscellaneous, non-scholarly sources (i.e. not scholarly journals). Students in the past have used articles from a substantial periodical (such as a reputable magazine, newspaper); books; television series/shows; podcasts; Natl. Public Radio transcripts; movies; youtube sources, etc.  Be creative in choosing sources that help you to consider your topic via several original, substantial, interesting, and pertinent lenses.  You’ll need to include a Works Cited page for this assignment.

 3) Annotated Bibliography (5 pages)
Your sources for this assignment will be three articles on your topic from scholarly journals. You’ll write 2- or 3-paragraph summaries of the 3 scholarly journal articles you have chosen relating to your your topic. The format of an annotated bibliography includes a correctly formatted bibliographic entry that precedes each summary

4) Primary Research (3 pages)
A report/review of two primary sources. You’ll conduct this primary research, summarize it , and analyze it your as part of your field research for the semester. Primary sources may include a personal interview; e-mail interview; survey; observation of an activity; etc.
5) Final Researched Essay (5 pages plus Works Cited page)
This final chapter is your opportunity to present your original thesis and support, after all of the investigation and thinking you’ve done on your topic. Think of this essay not as the “major” essay (i.e. not as any more important than the first four essays) but simply as the concluding chapter of your “book”/portfolio  This essay needs to include in-text documentation of your sources and a Works Cited page.

Misc. Course Requirements
a) You will write a rough draft; a revised draft; and a final polished version for the first four writing assignments/chapters. I will make comments and revision/editing suggestions on your first and/or revised drafts. and your classmates will offer feedback in your writers’ workshops. (Even on “A” drafts, I may make a lot of  comments/suggestions—these comments/suggestions are meant only to give you ideas to improve each essay—even essays that may already merit an “A.”)
     For the final essay/chapter, you will write sections of the essay and bring them to class; however, you won’t submit drafts of this essay, only the final polished version in your portfolio.
   When I read and evaluate your final portfolio, I’ll be looking for significant revisions in your work. You’ll be able to get feedback from me and from your class members for every major assignment.

b) For each draft that you bring to our writer’s workshops, you will write a reflective cover letter to readers of your drafts to let us know problems/challenges you’re having, what you’re pleased with, what more you plan to do.

c) During workshops, it is essential that you provide a serious reading and response to the writing of your group members, offering constructive feedback and suggestions for improvement. The collaborative spirit of your group workshop is a responsibility of each writer in the group. Your positive role in the workshops will be a factor in the participation part of your course grade.
 
d) You will be asked to give a 15-min. presentation of one of your drafts to the class. Your presentation is intended to help your classmates in various aspects of their researching, drafting, revising processes. The presentation will help you, too, in that class members can help with any problems you may be having.

e) We will meet during the semester for one-on-one conferences. (Conferences are usually 15-20 minutes long. Classes are cancelled for the week of conferences.)

f) Class participation and collaboration—the success of this class (and each person’s writing progress)--depends upon your active participation in all class sessions and in student-instructor conferences. It is essential that you come to class with the required writing and reading completed and ready to respond thoughtfully to the work of your peers.

Evaluation
  Final portfolio: 70% : (Portfolio criteria sheet will be distributed later in the semester.)
  Participation: 30%: Grade is based on preparedness for each class (all reading and writing assignments); engagement in class discussion; committed role in group workshops; consistency and level of involvement in your own writing and the writing of your peers; in-class writing; student-instructor conferences; quality of presentation; and attendance.)

Attendance and Class Policy
--Regular attendance is essential to your success in W233. A willingness to participate and to collaborate with other class members has direct bearing on your grade.

--More than five absences may result in the loss of an entire letter grade. After six absences, you may fail the entire course.

--Please obtain the names, phone numbers, and e-mail address of at least two other
class members in order to know what you missed in the event of an absence.

--I’ll be glad to discuss your assignments and tentative grade for each major writing assignment.

--Recycled papers from any other class or previous writing project won’t be accepted.

--All students are expected to respect every member of the classroom (including me)
and refrain from disruptive or disorderly conduct that interferes with the teaching and learning of the course.
 
--Cell phones must be turned off during class time.

--“Not carved in stone:”  Syllabus will be modified/ adapted to each particular time and each particular group.