Our Syllabus

FALL 2023 ENGLISH 1101 – D309

Professor: Adin Dobkin

Email: atd2140@columbia.edu

Location: Namm 602A

Course meeting times: 4:00–5:40pm, Mondays and Wednesdays

Weekly office hours: By appointment, Zoom or in-person 

Welcome

Hello all! I’m excited to have you in class this semester.

When I’m not teaching, I’m most often writing. I’ve had the chance to think about this subject from a few angles in my professional life: as a speechwriter, as a journalist, as an author and critic, and as a teacher. In graduate school and in my teaching since, I’ve focused on writing’s relation to what we experience and otherwise learn while we’re out in the world. My work in that time has often been creative in nature, for people reading something partly or entirely for pleasure, but I think there’s a common equation in most forms of writing, one that involves transmitting thoughts, feelings, and understandings through an imperfect and often unnatural medium. In that manner, writing is a skill and a practice we can undertake to make that transmission closer to our individual and shared ideals.

I believe it’s useful for us to think about writing this way, as an act that’s learnable and replicable. Writing well isn’t something you’re born with. It doesn’t require magic or inspiration to accomplish. It’s a practice. One you get better at each time you put your pen to paper, or your cursor to a Word doc (even if it doesn’t always feel that way). As you read and think about written works like novels, speeches, poems, movie scripts, etc., you expand your understanding of what writing can be. You think about who might pick up your writing—friends, family members, the public—and begin to shape your words and sentences to speak to them more directly.

What is it that only your writing can bring to these people? How can you best write what you mean? Yes, writing is an act of communication with shortcomings, but it also has unique qualities that can only be achieved through careful study of what writing is in a broad sense and what you’d like your writing to become. Besides, all of us at one point or another will have to write. This class, therefore, is as much for the math student as it is for the future novelist.

To this end, we’ll spend the semester focusing on writing’s three stages: the before, the during, and the after.

Before: We’ll consider how research and planning are essential tools of writing and communicating. Research helps us understand what we think and how to share those thoughts with others. We’ll hear from members of the City Tech library about how you can use their collections to complete assignments in this class and in others you’ll take during your time at City Tech. You’ll also learn about how you can bring your writing into conversation with others through citations and references. Finally, you’ll develop techniques to carry out before you start writing to make the writing process more efficient and to minimize the number of drafts you need to realize your aims.

During: In this class, I’ll ask you to write in a variety of forms and genres. Some of them might be distant from the reason you’re in school. But I believe just about all of them will have a kernel of usefulness to you, even if it’s only to understand that it’s a form you rarely want to write in. By engaging with these forms as writers and not just as readers, we can better examine them. We can understand what separates them from other forms, what audiences expect when they read them, and what we as writers might take from one form to use in another.

After: Being a reader is the most essential quality of being a writer. It’s how we understand what’s possible and how we can borrow from others so that what we put on the page can approach our internal voice. We’ll read and talk about what we’ve read regularly, both your work and that of your classmates, as well as the work of writers throughout history. By looking at what others have accomplished, we can also understand the written word’s power and the responsibilities that come with being a writer.

Goals

This course will help you build the skills to:

• Read, listen, and consider why works were written in a particular way. Decide what form and style of writing is most appropriate for a given situation.
  • Objective: Students will be able to identify the major choices a writer makes in a work and how those choices contribute to the writer’s purpose. Additionally, students will be able to identify a prompt’s aims and what written form and technique are most applicable to it.
  • Assessment: Essays that narratively describe a student’s experience with language and involve the selection and justification of a genre. (Unit 1 and Unit 3)
  • In-class development: Assignments and readings that develop a student’s understanding of published works, their own genre preferences, and other writers’ engagement with the expectations of genres.
• Write in a variety of genres and for a range of audiences.
  • Objective: Students will be able to understand the conventions and expectations of genres and be comfortable experimenting in them.
  • In-class development: Readings and workshops that analyze students’ artist statements and research in relation to their desired genres.
  • Assessment: Work that translates a student’s research question into a genre appropriate for its audience (Unit 3)
• Conduct research to develop arguments and better support them.
  • Objective: Students will be able to use tools such as the City Tech library and online databases to access reputable sources and integrate those sources into their written works in a scholarly way.
  • In-class development: Workshops on City Tech research resources as well as assignments that develop students’ research questions and engagement with sources.
  • Assessment: An annotated bibliography that has students engage with a variety of sources to answer a proposed research question. (Unit 2)
• Revise and reflect on your own writing to improve your practice and adapt it to new situations.
  • Objective: Students will be able to analyze completed assignments and early drafts to understand how they met their own expectations and those of the class, as well as develop strategies for how they might continue to improve these works in the future.
  • In-class development: Workshop on students’ development in the class and writing process.
  • Assessment: A series of revisions of students’ papers that seek to improve on their first drafts and reflect on their process of revision. (Final portfolio)
• Consider the social and ethical responsibilities of writing.
  • Objective: Students will be able to critically examine how their writing and the writing of others has affected the lives of others near and far, in ways expected and unexpected.
  • In-class development: Readings that engage with the surrounding context of a written work.
  • Assessment: No specific assessment, but engagement of ethical and social questions throughout the class.

In other words, this is a course in effective essay writing and basic research techniques including use of the library. Demanding readings assigned for classroom discussion and as a basis for essay writing.

Prerequisite

CUNY proficiency in reading and writing 

Course Meetings

This course will meet in-person twice weekly, from 4:00–5:40pm on Mondays and Wednesdays in Namm Hall 602A. Students are expected to commit to the scheduled class times. Please note that there are five class days when we won’t meet at our usual times due to holidays. Additionally, there will be one Tuesday class on October 10.

I also hold weekly office hours, which is a chance for you to discuss any questions or problems you’re having with the course, or if you’d simply like to talk about writing or reading. Often, it will be easiest to conduct these via Zoom. However, I’m also available on Wednesdays before 1:45pm. I encourage you to make an appointment or at least give me a heads-up if you’d like to come in for office hours so that I can make sure we have the time and space to meet and discuss any questions you have.

Attendance will be important as we regularly have graded in-class assignments that you will not be able to make up. These in-class assignments will also contribute to your understanding of our major assignments. Sometimes, they might include elements of these assignments you would otherwise have to complete on your own time. In other words, regularly attending class is the best way for you to stay on top of the material and concepts we’ll be covering.

However, I understand that unavoidable life matters arise. If you’re unable to attend a class, let me know. I will automatically drop the first two missed in-class assignments. In all instances in which you miss class, it is your responsibility to make sure you’re prepared for the following class by consulting with your fellow students and/or checking the website for readings and assignments.

Skills Site

In conjunction with the Writing Center, we have developed a skills site for all writing students, where you will find a lot of help. The site includes clear information on the grammar, the writing process, study skills and getting around City Tech. Check it out!

Course Website

Homework and messages from me will appear on our OpenLab site. However, it may be a week or two before the website is fully developed. In that time, we will instead augment digital readings and assignments with ones that will need to be turned in via hard copy. In each class, I will let you know the expectations and platforms you’ll be expected to use. Once our OpenLab site is live, I will let you know in class and via your City Tech email. This will then become the default platform for class communications, the most up-to-date class calendar, and homework submission system.

Please let me know if you have any trouble accessing the site or your email.

Inclusive Language

Every student has the right to be addressed by their chosen name/preferred pronouns. These are to be respected at all times.

• If you are comfortable doing so, let me know what your pronouns are.
• If you do not feel comfortable sharing pronouns, we will address you/refer to you in class by your chosen name.
• Update your chosen name in City Tech’s systems: Go to the Important Forms page and complete the Preferred Name Form.

Course Tools and Required Materials

All readings will be distributed via OpenLab or by me during class. Please come to class with a notebook and pen or pencil for in-class assignments and for marking up readings. 

Grading Breakdown

Unit 1: 20%

Unit 2: 20%

Difficulty Paper: 5%

Unit 3: 20%

Final Reflection: 10%

Low-stakes Writing (Homework and In-class Exercises): 25%

Major assignments (Units 1, 2, 3, difficulty paper, and final portfolio) must be turned in to pass the class.

Low Stakes Grading

You’ll note that low stakes writing, completed in class and at home, counts for 25% of your class grade. This gestures to writing as a process and a practice, something you get better at by doing on a regular basis.

Grades for low-stakes writing will be given based on participation. In other words, if you complete them, you’ll get the credit. The assignments must be complete and thoughtful and turned in on-time, but that is all it takes.

ChatGPT and AI Tools

ChatGPT and other AI systems are powerful tools for writing. They’re unlikely to go away and will only become more powerful in the future, perhaps entirely doing away with certain forms of written work.

I can’t and won’t stop you from using these tools. However, they have severe limitations, especially when used to write something that’s supposed to convey the emotions or thoughts of a writer. This includes all the major assignments in this class. Furthermore, these tools do not provide you with the formulation for their outputs. You see what the software created but not how it got there: its research, its assumptions, the paths it left unselected.

Still, I understand the desire to use them as a busy college student, particularly in a required class. Practicing writing includes plateaus when you can identify what your writing lacks and what it needs but are unable to deliver those changes. For that reason, I’ll always try to recognize those moments while grading and do my best to acknowledge you trying to move beyond that plateau yourself rather than delegating the task to software.

Late Paper Policy

Major papers are due before the start of class on the due date in the calendar. If you are struggling to complete a major assignment, please talk to me before it’s due. I can steer you toward resources that may help you organize and develop your paper on a timely schedule.

Papers that arrive late without some sort of prior arrangement will have five points deducted per 24-hour period after the deadline.

 Revision Policy

As you’ll learn in this course, one of the major developments of a writer is the realization that writing never starts in a clean state, even for the most well-recognized writers. Rather, the writing we love, the writing that has continued to have a place in our lives after generations started off as messy, with often unclear aims and constructions.

In recognition of that, you can and will revise all your major assignments for the final portfolio. The grade you receive on this final portfolio replaces your old grade for the assignments. You can choose to revise your units sooner than the final portfolio if you’d like additional feedback prior to receiving your final grade. Please come see me during office hours if you’re confused about any of my comments on your assignments, or if you’d like additional guidance.

University Policies

Statement for Syllabi of Online Synchronous Classes 

Synchronous classes resemble traditional on-campus in-person classes in that students must all be (virtually) present at the same time. Though they are conducted virtually, synchronous classes meet in real-time. Students must, therefore, commit to scheduled class times and sign onto their virtual learning platforms on schedule. During these classes, students will engage with the instructor and each other with online lessons, presentations, breakout rooms, and/or discussions. Active participation is an essential part of the learning process and is required of all enrolled students. A student who, for any reason, engages in non-class related activities during scheduled class times forfeits and loses the benefit of the education being provided.

Accessibility Statement

Academic Integrity

Students and all others who work with information, ideas, texts, images, music, inventions, and other intellectual property owe their audience and sources accuracy and honesty in using, crediting, and citing sources. As a community of intellectual and professional workers, the College recognizes its responsibility for providing instruction in information literacy and academic integrity, offering models of good practice, and responding vigilantly and appropriately to infractions of academic integrity. Accordingly, academic dishonesty is prohibited in The City University of New York and at New York City College of Technology and is punishable by penalties, including failing grades, suspension, and expulsion. The complete text of the College policy on Academic Integrity may be found in the catalog.

Diversity Policies:

City Tech Diversity and Inclusive Education Syllabus Statement

Support Resources

College Writing Center

Online writing tutoring is available through the Writing Center at City Tech! I encourage you to utilize their services. Keep in mind you’ll need to make an appointment ahead of time. It’s unlikely they’ll be able to squeeze you in at the last minute, especially during busy times, so plan ahead!

Advisors

Student Success Center

The Student Success Center is here to help all City Tech students tackle the challenges of college and keep moving forward to their degree. According to the team at the SSC, “We do this by listening to your needs, and working with you to create strategies and plans that move you closer to your goals. Come to us with any questions and we will help you get your answers.”

Additional Resources

The Student Skills Site has a list of resources for First Year Students and the Student Success Center has a list of emergency resource services, including help with food, housing and mental health services.

English 1101 Learning Outcomes

 Departmental Learning Outcomes

It is expected that at a minimum, students in ENG 1101 will:

Read and listen critically and analytically in a variety of genres and rhetorical situations: Identify and evaluate exigencies, purposes, claims, supporting evidence, and underlying assumptions in a variety of texts, genres, and media.

Adapt to and compose in a variety of genres: Adapt writing conventions in ways that are suitable to different exigencies and purposes in a variety of contexts, including academic, workplace, and civic audiences. When appropriate, repurpose prior work to new genres, audiences, and media by adjusting delivery, design, tone, organization, and language.

Use research as a process of inquiry and engagement with multiple perspectives: Learn to focus on a topic and develop research questions that lead to propositions and claims that can be supported with well-reasoned arguments. Persuasively communicate and repurpose research projects across a variety of contexts, purposes, audiences, and media. Demonstrate research skills through attribution and citation gathering, evaluating, and synthesizing both primary and secondary sources. Learn how to use appropriate citation styles depending on disciplinary and situational requirements (MLA, APA, Chicago, etc.).

Use reflection and other metacognitive processes to revise prior assumptions about reading and writing and transfer acquired knowledge into new writing situations. Students write reflections of their own reading and writing process from the beginning and throughout the semester with the intention to transfer their acquired knowledge about genre and composing practices into new writing situations.

Demonstrate the social and ethical responsibilities and consequences of writing: Recognize that first-year writing includes academic, workplace, and civic contexts, all of which require careful deliberation concerning the ethical and social ramifications concerning fairness, inclusivity, and respect for diversity. Write and revise for academic and broader, public audiences accordingly.

Compose in 21st– Century Environments: Learn to choose among the most current and effective delivery methods for different composing situations. Students learn to compose in new media environments, including alphabetic texts, still and moving images, sonic, and mixed media compositions. Use digital media platforms appropriate to audience and purpose.

 

CUNY Pathways Learning Outcomes

A course in this area must meet all of the following learning outcomes. A student will:

• Read and listen critically and analytically, including identifying an argument’s major assumptions and assertions and evaluating its supporting evidence.
• Write clearly and coherently in varied, academic formats (such as formal essays, research papers, and reports) using standard English and appropriate technology to critique and improve one’s own and others’ texts.
• Demonstrate research skills using appropriate technology, including gathering, evaluating, and synthesizing primary and secondary sources.
• Support a thesis with well-reasoned arguments, and communicate persuasively across a variety of contexts, purposes, audiences, and media.
• Formulate original ideas and relate them to the ideas of others by employing the conventions of ethical attribution and citation.