New York City College of Technology, CUNY
English Department
Writing and Reading in a Digital Age: An Introduction to College Writing in the 21st Century
ENG 1101/ Fall 2012
Instructor: Johannah Rodgers, Ph.D. Class Meetings: Entirely Online
Office Location: Namm 503
Office Hours: M/W 4-5 and by appointment
Email Address: jrodgers@citytech.cuny.edu
Course Description
This course is designed to assist students in further developing the writing, reading, and critical thinking practices needed to participate in various academic and professional communities. The course will focus on a study of the use, structure, significance, and applications of language. The course is not only structured around an inquiry into various issues related to language matters in written and spoken communication, but, through that inquiry, asks students to develop their understanding of–and comfort with–the writing process, explore their unique relationships to writing and language, and consider how writing relates to critical thinking. The overall goal of the course is to better enable students to structure and complete written work in future courses, as well as to use writing as a means of expression and problem-solving in various academic, creative, personal, and professional projects. There will be a strong emphasis on writing, close textual analysis, and research methods.
THIS CLASS WILL BE MEETING ENTIRELY ONLINE. This means several things: 1/ You must be very self directed, 2/ You must manage your time well and allocate at least 9 hours/week to our course (this is calculated based on the following: 3 hours of class time plus 2 hours independent work per class hour per CUNY guidelines), 3/ You need to become familiar with the online tools that we are using, 4/ You will need to become accustomed to working with these online tools and working in groups online, 5/ You will need to read assignments, course materials, and instructions closely and critically
Each week, I will ask you to do four things:
1/ Post an entry in your Learning Journal. Feel free to post more than one entry if you would like, but only one entry is required. Entries in your learning journal will most often be focused on Free Writing or Structured Free Writing, which is Free Writing in response to a specific topic, prompt, or question.
2/ Complete or more Group Assignments (GA), which will require that you contribute a BLOG post to our Course Web site and/or to our Group Discussion Board.
3/ Complete one or more Reading and Writing Assignments (RWA).
4/ Post at least one comment a week on our Discussion Board and Course Blog (you will find this on the Home page of our course Web site) board and check in on both at least three separate times each week.
You will find all of our course information and assignments on our course OpenLab site.
Additional Information:
1. Professor Rodgers will be having office hours, when she will be available to meet with you in person at the following times: M/W 4-5 pm. You can also make an appointment to meet with her at another time. You should also feel free to e-mail Professor Rodgers at any time Monday – Friday and she will try to get back to you within 24 hours. However, please note that any specific questions that you have about the course, the OpenLab, or course materials should be posted Questions About Our Course Discussion Board.
2. Netiquette:
a. Be polite: Behave towards others as you would face to face;
b. Be presentable: Never forget that what you write or otherwise post online determines what others think of you, so think and review before posting;
c. Be open: Share what you find with others, and be willing to share in what others present;
d. Be careful: Never post anything online that could compromise anyone—no names, no personal information, and certainly no slander;
e. Be forgiving: If someone makes a mistake online or even flames out, do not hold it against them.
3. Negotiating OpenLab:
a. Our Course OpenLab site has two elements: a Profile Page and a Web Site. These are connected, though some tools such as the DISCUSSION BOARD and FILES section can only be accessed via the Profile Page.
b. On the Course Web Site you will find the following:
HOME/COURSE BLOG
SYLLABUS
WEEKLY ASSIGNMENTS FOLDER
COURSE READINGS AND DOCUMENTS
COURSE ANNOUNCEMENTS ARCHIVE
c. Click on HOME to read announcements from me and blog posts from me and other students. Click on SYLLABUS for course information, including syllabus, grading policies, and other information you will need;
d. In COURSE READINGS AND DOCUMENTS will be links to sites or documents that you will be expected to read;
e. The WEEKLY ASSIGNMENTS FOLDERS contain, of course, are what you are expected to do, and by when;
f. You will find links to COURSE READINGS AND DOCUMENTS in that folder;
g. Go to the COURSE ANNOUNCEMENTS ARCHIVE if you cannot find the weekly announcement on the HOME page.
h. If you have a question or are looking for an answer to a question about our course or about the course materials, you will either post a question to the DISCUSSION BOARD, or find the answer to your question there. Please plan on checking in on this section at least once a week.
Technology Prerequisites
1. You should have access to and be able to use the Firefox, Netscape and/or Internet Explorer browsers.
2. You will need an email account and should be comfortable using it. The college provides an email account to all students.
3. You need access to a computer with at least 256 MB RAM and an Internet connection. There are computers at the college that you can use if you do not have a computer or internet connection at home.
Course Objectives
Upon successful completion of this course, students should be able to:
Use the writing process (invention, drafting, revision, and editing) to produce coherent and well developed essays that support an expressed or implied controlling idea. These essays should have a targeted audience and a designated rhetorical purpose.
Use writing as a process of discovery, promoting habits of critical thinking.
Apply the rhetorical techniques of interpretation, analysis, synthesis, evaluation, and argumentation to various kinds of texts.
Locate, use, and document information from authoritative sources to fulfill research objectives.
Compose according to standardized academic conventions of grammar, punctuation, mechanics, spelling, diction, and sentence structure. Included here are the conventions of tone, point of view, and style appropriate to a specific rhetorical context.
Course Web Site
https://openlab.citytech.cuny.edu/21stcenturycomposition
You will find all of our course assignments and links to or copies of additional course readings on this site. Please make sure that register for Open Lab and add this course to your profile.
Required Texts
1) Rodgers, Johannah. What Is Writing? A Brief Introduction to Writing as an Act of Communication
This text will be distributed free of charge to you.
2) Bazerman, Charles. The Informed Writer. This textbook is available online at no charge because the author has made it available to college writing students as part of the Creative Commons. If you would prefer having a printed copy of the book, you can buy one used at a very low price on Amazon.com or via other book Web sites.
3) Ferrell, Monique, et al. Good Writing Made Simple. Please purchase this book. I also recommend familiarizing yourself the the Purdue Online Writing Lab, an collection of Web-based resources and information about academic writing (http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/).
4) A College-level English Dictionary. You can use reliable dictionaries on the web, e.g., Merriam Webster (http://www.merriam-webster.com), Oxford, and/or a dictionary that you already own.
In addition to the books listed above, we will be using several different texts for our course this semester, all of which are available on the Web. I have made every effort to ensure that the required books for this course are both affordable and portable. Please make sure that you bring whatever books/handouts that we will be discussing to class with you, and that you purchase the required texts for our course by the end of the first week of classes.
Course Readings
Although we may, in the course of our course discussions, alter or augment the readings for the course, the following is a proposed reading list. All essays will be available via our course Web site.
Sherman Alexie, “Superman and Me”
Mike Bunn, “How To Read Like a Writer”
Edward Finegan, “What Is Correct Language?”
Sandy Chung and Geoff Pullum, “Grammar”
Brock Haussamen, “Public Grammar/Private Grammar”
NCTE, “On Student’s Right To Their Own Language”
Amy Tan, “Mother Tongue”
Michael Pollan, “You Are What You Grow”
The Economist, “Income Inequality in America
Supplies
One notebook for Assignments and Notes.
One folder with pockets for Assignments and Course Handouts.
Course Requirements
Learning Journal (LJ): Entries in your Learning Journal (LJ) will most often be focused on Free Writing or Structured Free Writing, which is Free Writing in response to a specific topic, prompt, or question. I will give you a weekly LJ assignment. Please post entries in your LJ HERE. This is a private journal that only you and your instructor can access.
Group Assignments (GA): Group Assignments will require that you contribute either a BLOG POST and/or to our course Discussion Board. These posts and discussions will be read by our entire class.
Reading and Writing Assignments (RWA): Related to the writing process, research methods, and course readings and themes, these assignments will be discussed in class before they are due and, once completed, will form the basis of various discussions and writing projects. See Course Schedule for details and due dates. These assignments must be typed and will be graded on a check+, check, check-, R basis. A check+ represents a full, thoughtful, and thought-provoking response. A check is an adequate response; A check- is an inadequate response either in length or content. An R means that the assignment was not adequately completed and needs to be revised and handed in again for a grade.
Essays: We will be discussing, drafting, and revising expository essays for several weeks before they are due. You will be given a letter grade for these essays based on a grading rubric assessing various issues related to academic writing, all of which will be reviewed and discussed during the course of the semester. See Course Schedule for details and due dates.
1/ Personal Essay (2-3 pages)
2/ Textual Analysis Essay (2-3 pages)
3/ Research Project (4-5 pages)
Exams: The English department requires that our course include two exams: a midterm exam and a final exam. We will discuss and prepare for these exams in the course of the semester.
Final Writing Portfolio: Over the course of the semester, I would like you to keep all of the writing that you do. At the end of the semester, you will compile your writing assignments, journals, drafts, and essays into a final writing portfolio.
Grading
This course is about the practice of reading and writing, your exploration of that practice, and your engagement with it. As a result, grades for the course will be based on a student’s progress throughout the semester, as well as on the following:
25% Learning Journal and Final Writing Portfolio
15% Group Assignments
20% Reading and Writing Assignments (Completion=50%; Grade=50%)
20% Essays
20% Midterm and Final Exam
Although grades will be calculated based on the percentages listed above, this calculation, and your ability to receive a passing grade for the course, are dependent both upon your completion of all essays and assignments, upon course attendance, and upon passing the final exam.
Attendance will follow the standard university policy, with late posts counting as late arrivals and no posts for a week counting as an absence. More than three absences, and you can fail the course. Please note that three latenesses count as one absence
The work for this course is also cumulative, which means that one assignment builds from the next and it is difficult to catch-up once you fall behind. This is true of most courses, but perhaps even more so for an online course. It is crucial that you set aside enough time each week for our course work.
Course Policies
Essays and Assignments
Essays and writing/reading assignments are due on the date indicated. Late essays will not be accepted. Essays and assignments must be typed. Essays should be formatted according to MLA guidelines, which will be reviewed. Please make sure that you retain a copy of all assignments, essays, and handouts. If you must miss a class, please consult with one of your classmates or our course Blackboard site regarding any assignments you may have missed.
Formatting papers: Use MLA guidelines, which include the following recommendations:
Double-space the text of your paper, and use a legible font (e.g. Times New Roman). The font size should be 12 pt.. The left and right margins of your document should be 1.25 inches. In the upper left-hand corner of the first page, list your name, your instructor’s name, the course, the date, and the assignment title. Include a title for all essays and for any assignments for which a title may be appropriate.
Students with Disabilities
If you have any type of disability, please come discuss this with me so we can make arrangements to tailor any course policies or assignments to your specific needs.
Academic Integrity Policy
“Academic dishonesty includes any act that is designed to obtain fraudulently, either for oneself or for someone else, academic credit, grades, or any other form of recognition that was not properly earned. Academic dishonesty encompasses the following:
Cheating: Defined as intentionally giving, receiving, using or attempting to use unauthorized materials, information, notes, study aids, including any form of unauthorized communication, in any academic exercise. It is the student’s responsibility to consult with instructors to determine whether or not a study aid or device may be used.
Plagiarism: Plagiarism is intentionally and knowingly presenting the ideas or works of another as one’s own original idea or works in any academic exercise without proper acknowledgement of the source. The purchase and submission of a term paper, essay, or other written assignment to fulfill the requirements of a course, and violates section 213-b of the State Education Law. This also applies to the submission of all or substantial portions of the same academic work previously submitted by the student or any other individual for credit at another institution, or in more than one course.
Semester Course Schedule
Over the course of the semester, I will be distributing a Weekly Course Schedule that will list assignment and reading details and due dates. The Semester Course Schedule is for reference purposes, e.g., course beginning and end dates, holidays, etc.
| Week | Topic | Exams and Final Drafts |
|
1 |
Introductions | |
|
2 |
What Is Writing? | |
|
3 |
Writing and Communication | |
|
4 |
Personal Essays | |
|
5 |
Personal Essays | |
|
6 |
Three Stages of Revision | |
|
7 |
Three Stages of Revision | Draft Personal Essay Due |
|
8 |
MIDTERM PREP |
|
|
9 |
MIDTERM | |
|
10 |
Research Projects | |
|
11 |
Research Projects | |
|
12 |
Research Projects | |
|
13 |
Research Projects | |
|
14 |
Final Exam Prep | |
| Researched Response Essay Due | ||
|
15 |
Final Exam | FINAL EXAM |
