Syllabus

ENG 1121 Section D435- Writing Across Genres and Communities

 

DEPARTMENTAL LEARNING OUTCOMES

These are the goals that all instructors in ENG 1101 and ENG 1121 want students to gain by the end of the sequence:

1. 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.
2. Adapt 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.
3. 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 proper 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.)
4. Use reflection and other metacognitive processes to revise prior assumptions about the writing processes and transfer acquired knowledge about effective reading and writing practices into new writing situations. Engage with reading and writing as a process including prewriting, writing, and continuous revision. Students write essays that demonstrate their reflection of their own 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.
5. 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.
6. Compose in 21st Century Environments: Learn to choose among the most current and effective delivery methods for different composing situations, including composing 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.

 

COURSE PROJECTS

Unit 1: Genre Analysis- Choose a genre of interest to you and write a paper that explains its major features, analyzes an interesting sample from the genre, and explains how this genre knowledge will be useful to yourself and others. 

Unit 2: Call to Action Research Paper- Identify an issue within a discourse community that you belong to, conduct research, and write a paper that suggests a course of action related to the issue.

Unit 3: Call to Action Remix- Translate the call to action from a research paper into a genre that your discourse community uses/interacts with. 

Mini-unit: Revision and Proofreading- Use feedback from me as well as revision and proofreading strategies to make your writing even more excellent. The mini-unit will prepare you to turn in a final portfolio of your writing.

 

GRADING

Attendance and participation- 20%- In terms of attendance, you should be in the classroom both physically and mentally. Missing more than 5 classes can result in a 0 in this section, and regular lateness/early departure can be subject to 1/3 of an absence.

In terms of participation, you should be completing all in-class assignments, including journaling and peer review.

Writing Assignments- 30%

• Low-stakes writing 15%- This includes OpenLab discussion posts, writing-based homework, and in-class journaling and writing assignments. They will be graded based on completion.
• Unit projects 15%- This includes your major papers: the genre analysis, the call to action, and the call to action remix. They will be graded based on rubrics that we collaboratively design in class. Please note that this means that each of your major papers is worth only 5% of your grade. Why? Because I want to see you revise—and the best versions of what you write will be the revised versions that appear in your final portfolio.

Final Portfolio (final drafts and author’s statement)- 50%- This is the key component of the course; it is equivalent to a final exam. You will use feedback from me and revision strategies that we learn in class to write final drafts of your major unit projects. I expect you to revise significantly—focusing on “higher-order issues” like organization, development, and thesis rather than just on “lower-order issues” like grammar and punctuation. You will also write an author’s statement reflecting on your writing practices, what you’ve created during of the semester, and how you can apply knowledge from this course in future contexts.

 

WHAT YOU CAN EXPECT FROM ME

I’ll give you frequent feedback- You will get comments from me on your high-stakes writing, and I’ll also be giving you guidance on major projects as you draft. I will also conference individually with everyone in class twice during the semester.

I’ll teach transferrable skills- My goal isn’t just that you write the papers and do the work for this class—I want to introduce skills that you can use when you write and participate in new genres throughout your life.

I want to collaborate with you- I’m interested in co-creating this class with you. Together we’ll talk about what makes a good conversation, create a technology policy, and create rubrics together. I want it to always be clear why we do things in class—if the why isn’t clear, ask me to explain!

I’ll be a resource to you- If you have questions about the class, about City Tech, or about looking for jobs/internships, let me know! I’ll do my best to help you find the resources you need. Office hours are a great time to talk one-on-one!

 

COURSE POLICIES

Late work- Late writing related to your unit projects (not printed and brought in for peer review or not submitted via email on time) will result in a 5% reduction in your final portfolio grade. Late portfolios are subject to a 10% reduction in the portfolio grade for each day that they are missing.

That said, I understand that emergencies happen. Please reach out to me well before (not 10 minutes before!) an assignment is due if a personal emergency will prevent you from turning in an assignment on time, and we can talk about a one-time 24-hour extension.

Missing class- If you miss class, assignments for that day are still due. Check in with a classmate about what you missed in class, and check the course calendar to see what is due on the day that you return to class.

It is important that you are in class for peer review days (9/18, 10/30, 11/20). If you miss these days, I highly recommend going to the Atrium Learning Center to work on your paper with a tutor.

Withdrawing from/dropping the course- I want to have you in class all semester, but if you feel that you need to withdraw, please come speak to me and your advisor. Keep in mind that you have to drop/withdraw officially through CUNYFirst and that there are dates on the academic calendar that indicate the periods in which you can drop and withdraw.

Email- Please reach out via your City Tech email with any course-related concerns, and I’ll get back to you within 1 business day.

Plagiarism and academic integrity

Here is City Tech’s statement on 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 (CUNY) and at New York City College of Technology (City Tech) and is punishable by penalties, including failing grades, suspension, and expulsion.”

What does that mean? Turn in your own work and ideas! When you use someone else’s ideas, cite them properly. Don’t turn in plagiarized work, as it can have serious consequences.

We will talk about proper citation in class, and if you have any doubts related to academic integrity, please reach out to me.

 

CAMPUS RESOURCES

Center for Student Accessibility- Connect with this office for support if you have a documented disability, and come talk to me about accommodations in the classroom.

Phone: 718-260-5143

Location: Atrium 237

Website: http://www.citytech.cuny.edu/accessibility/

Atrium Learning Center- Access free writing guides online, and visit a tutor in-person to work on your writing.

Phone: 718-260-5874

Location: 300 Jay St LG-18

Website: https://www.citytech.cuny.edu/alc/

 

REQUIRED MATERIALS

Readings- This is a textbook-free course. I will upload all of your readings to OpenLab as PDFs. Please print your readings and bring a physical, annotated copy to class on the day that the reading is due.

Supplies- Please bring a dedicated notebook for journaling and in-class writing.