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RGarcia Final 1101 Unit 1 Literacy Narrative Assignment

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Prof. Ruth Garcia

English 1101, semester

Unit 1: Literacy Narrative Writing Assignment (1000-word minimum)

Due: xx/xx/xx

Assignment

In class we have read, discussed, and analyzed Plato’s “Allegory of the Cave,” Malcolm X’s “Learning to Read,” and Sandra Cisneros’ “Only Daughter.” In these narratives, the writers discuss their educational journey—the way their experiences affect their education and shapes their career choices/professional interests, the way they feel about education, and their understanding of the world around them. In addition, in the “Allegory of the Cave,” Plato likens leaving the cave to the painful experience of TRUE education, while being trapped in the cave and being force-fed the shadows on the wall is something of a false education.

Now, for this assignment you will use these writers as models and write an education narrative of your own. You should write a narrative focused on one of the following:

  1. A moment, person, and/or experience that led you to choose your major and shaped your interest in your chosen field.
  2. An experience, or inter-related series of experiences, that shaped how you viewed or experienced education.
  3. An experience in your educational journey thus far that changed how you felt or thought about something important to you.
  4. With Plato and your own experiences in mind, write a narrative in which you show what to you is a true education and explain how it relates to Plato’s ideas.

In developing your narrative, and regardless of which focus you choose, you should reflect on your experience and the significance of your story. As you write, you should also keep in mind Mike Bunn’s “How to Read Like a Writer” and think about your purpose and audience as these will help you makes decisions about your content, style, and tone.

You will be graded on:

  • Your ability to develop an overall point/significance for your narrative.
  • Concrete, significant detail (are you painting us a picture?)
  • Focused event (did you focus on one event or connected, series of events?)
  • The thoughtfulness of your reflections (is there a point?)
  • The carefulness of your proofreading and organization You should be able to explain the choices you made.
  • Word count: At least 1000 words!
  • Whether or not it’s on time

RGarcia Final ENG 1121 syllabus

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ENG 1121-D???/C???—English Composition II

Days, Times, Room

Professor Ruth Garcia

Email: RGarcia@citytech.cuny.edu

Office Hours:

Office/Mailbox Location: Namm 503

Phone Number: (718) 260-5117

Course Description and Learning Outcomes

This is an advanced course in effective essay writing that includes a library paper and further development of research and MLA style documentation skills. Literary and expository readings are assigned as the basis for classroom discussion and for essay writing.

Students in this course will do the following:

  • Read and listen critically and analytically in a variety of genres and rhetorical situations.
  • Write in a variety of genres, including adapting writing conventions in ways that are suitable to different situations and purposes in a variety of contexts.
  • Develop rhetorical awareness by understanding and responding appropriately to different kinds of rhetorical situations.
  • Use research as a process of inquiry and engagement with multiple perspectives,
  • 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.).
  • When appropriate, repurpose prior work, including research, to new genres, audiences, and media by adjusting delivery, design, tone, organization, and language.
  • Use reflection and other metacognitive processes to revise prior assumptions about reading and writing and transfer acquired knowledge into new writing situations.
  • Compose in 21st Century Environments.

Required Texts/Materials

– An OpenLab Account

– Readings provided on the OpenLab site

– An online writing guide such as the Online Writing Lab: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/

– 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.

***Note: I will post our readings on the OpenLab. You are responsible for reading these at home and printing them for class. Because annotating and interacting with the text is an important part of what we will do this semester, you will be marked unprepared for the day if you do not have the reading in class and in a hard copy format. Please note: the college provides free printing at the library and computer labs.

OpenLab

This course will use OpenLab. For this reason, you need to sign up for an OpenLab account and become a member of our class site. It is your responsibility to check the site regularly and access the readings in advance of class. Also, instructions for assignments, as well as class announcements, will appear there.

In order to set up your OpenLab account, you must activate your City Tech email. Notices from me will go to your City Tech email address, so make sure you set it up early and check it regularly.

Other Materials 

A notebook or folder that is dedicated to this class and where you can keep notes, handouts, and assignments. You must devise a system to record, store, and organize the course materials. It is very important that you save all of your work for this class, including prior drafts and final copies of all major assignments, as well as your research notes, outlines, and written evaluations. Additionally, save all final drafts of assignments on a stable format such as a remote hard drive/server such as Dropbox. Never throw away or delete drafts, notes, or graded assignments until after you have received your final grade.

Grading

Your course grade will be calculated according to the following breakdown:

  • Discourse Community Assignment: 10%
  • Inquiry Based Research Assignment: 10%
  • Multimodal Repurposing Assignment: 10%
  • Final Reflection and Portfolio: 50 %
  • Participation: 20%

Assignments and Essays

There will be three major writing assignments throughout the course of the semester. You will be required to submit a hard copy of the paper.

  • All essay assignments should follow MLA format. This means that all rough and final drafts must be typed, double-spaced, with 1-inch margins all around, in 12-point Times New Roman font. The first page must display student’s name, your teacher’s name (Professor Ruth Garcia), the class you are in, and the date the paper is due. Every paper should have an original title. I recommend that you obtain a writing handbook for the purposes of formatting and editing your work. You may have one from an earlier writing course, or you can use the Purdue OWL (Online Writing Lab) at http://owl.english.purdue.edu/
  • Since writing is a process, you should draft and revise your essay before submitting the final draft. While I will not review an entire essay via email, I’m happy to conference with you about your essay drafts and ideas during my office hours. I am also happy to respond to specific questions via email. Feel free to consult with me at any stage in your writing process.
  • Your writing should be grammatically correct and free of spelling errors, and it should demonstrate increasingly complex critical thinking and analysis as the semester progresses. If this is a challenge for you, I encourage you to visit my office hours.
  • All essays must be submitted as a hardcopy, by the start of class on the day they are due or you will get no credit for them. In general, I do not accept late work or give make-ups for in-class essays. However, if you have a personal emergency or other circumstances that prohibit you from finishing your assignment on time or turning in an essay as scheduled, email or see me as soon as possible so we can discuss your situation.
  • All homework assignments are due by the start of class, and there will be no make-ups on quizzes, in-class work, or OpenLab assignments.

Informal writing: In addition to the graded essay assignments that you will have to complete to do well in this class, you will also be required to complete a variety of informal, non-graded assignments throughout the semester. Examples of these assignments may include, but are not limited to, any in-class writing such as reflections, free-writing, and group projects. These exercises are designed to ensure your understanding of the main points of each topic. They will also push you to think critically about the ideas and issues raised over the course of the semester, thereby making you an active participant in the learning process. Though all the writing that you do in this course is not collected or graded, I do randomly collect these and they do contribute to your final grade. If you consistently fail to hand in the informal writing assignments, you will receive an “F” for class participation.

Class Participation, Attendance, and Lateness

Attendance:

This class depends heavily on in-class discussion and in-class writing. In other words, the class is a collaborative effort, and your attendance is required in order for the course to be worthwhile to you and for you to succeed! In addition, we do a fair amount of “in the moment” writing, which cannot be made up and which figures significantly into your class participation grade. Therefore, after three absences, we will meet to discuss whether you should proceed with the class or if you should drop it. Likewise, if you are chronically late, we will meet to discuss whether or not you should drop the class.

Part of your class participation grade is based on being prepared for class: 

  • Be ready to discuss the day’s reading.
  • Submit assignments on time.
  • Check the syllabus to see if we are meeting in a location other than the classroom that day (for example, the library).
  • Pay attention to announcements that are sent to you via OpenLab.
  • Follow basic classroom etiquette (see below).

Etiquette in and out of the classroom:

  • Respect your classmates: listen to them when they are talking. And make an effort to learn their names.
  • If you bring beverages into the classroom, be sure to take bottles, cans, and cups with you when you leave.
  • Do not sleep or put your head down during class. If you are not feeling well, please inform me that you need to leave due to illness.
  • Please turn off all electronic devices (and stow in bags) when class starts. You may not text, browse the internet, or record or photograph anything in the classroom.
  • Remove earbuds, Airpods, or other headphones before class starts.
  • When emailing me, use standard letter-writing etiquette (“Dear Prof. Garcia…” not “Hey…”)
  • If you are absent, check OpenLab for announcements and check in with me after class or during office hours. It is a good idea to email a fellow student for notes. Please do not email me to find out what you missed. While I am happy to talk to you in person about what you missed in class, I will not send you a summary via email. I will however send handout and other materials I may have given out in class.

Electronic Devices in Class:

Cell phones, tablets, and laptops are an incredibly wonderful and useful tools, and intrinsic to our daily lives… but in a classroom setting, they are distracting and disruptive. Therefore, we will decide as a group how to best manage electronic devices in our classroom.

Accessibility Statement

City Tech is committed to supporting the educational goals of enrolled students with disabilities in the areas of enrollment, academic advisement, tutoring, assistive technologies and testing accommodations. If you have or think you may have a disability, you may be eligible for reasonable accommodations or academic adjustments as provided under applicable federal, state and city laws. You may also request services for temporary conditions or medical issues under certain circumstances. If you have questions about your eligibility or would like to seek accommodation services or academic adjustments, please contact the Center for Student Accessibility at 300 Jay Street room L-237, 718-260-5143 or http://www.citytech.cuny.edu/accessibility/.

 

Nondiscrimination Policy

This class does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, age, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, gender, marital status, disability, or status as a veteran.

Finally, please keep in mind throughout the semester, if ever any type of question, problem, or confusion should arise contact me so that we can address whatever may prevent you from successfully completing this course

New York City College of Technology Policy 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 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. Students are expected to be familiar with the accepted academic principles regarding plagiarism. If ANY section, no matter how small, of your work is plagiarized, you will get a ZERO for that paper, with no rewrites.

 

RGarcia Final 1121 Portfolio and Reflection Assignment

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Prof. Ruth Garcia

English 1121, semester ????

Portfolio and Final Reflection Assignment

Due: ?/?/2020

Assignment

Final Reflection and Portfolio

We have arrived at the end of the semester and are nearly done! I am so proud of you all for making it to this point. Now it is time for you to pull all your work together and, look at it as a whole, and reflect on what you have done over the course of the semester.

This is a two-part assignment but the final product is one large document (more details about this below).

Part I (Reflection):

Reflect upon the questions in the box below. You will then create a reflection of a minimum of 1000 words to accompany your portfolio. Make sure to quote from yourself to support your thinking. You must have at least three quotes from different pieces.

What have you learned about yourself as a reader, writer and scholar this semester?

How will you be able to use what you have learned this semester and transfer that knowledge to other writing situations—either in college or in your community?

As a way to begin gathering ideas and information for your Reflection, look back through all your work: in-class writing exercises, homework assignments, blog posts, earlier reflections, essays/projects, and so on. As you browse through your work, ask yourself about and take notes on the following questions:

  • How would you compare/contrast work done early on in the semester to now? How have your developed as a writer?
  • What was your favorite/least favorite assignment and why?
  • What are some notable lessons that have stuck with you after completing certain assignments?
  • What changed in your writing (and reading and thinking) as the genres changed?
  • How did you make decisions in your assignments about content and design?
  • What were your early assumptions/beliefs about yourself and writing? Have they since changed? Explain.
  • What was your experience revising assignments?
  • Was there any peer feedback that stands out to you and why?
  • What was particularly challenging for you in our course this semester and how did you overcome it (or attempt to)?
  • What did you expect to learn in this class? What did you actually learn? Is it the same? Different? Less? More? How do you feel about the class and what you have learned now that the semester is over?
  • What advice would you give to students taking this course next semester?

Things to keep in mind:

  • Don’t simply answer the above questions in your final reflection. In fact, you do not need to answer them all. Instead, use them as a guide to help you brainstorm ideas.
  • Think about all of the essays we’ve read about writing this semester—some of them certainly hooked your interest while others… probably did not. The ones that did were well-written, they had a point, the writer had a voice that you felt was worth listening to. Try to do that in your own writing here.
  • Remember that this isn’t just you writing off-the-top of your head; this is a finished piece of writing. Treat yourself as a respected author who has learned: you are someone with something to say.
  • Make sure to include an MLA heading with your name, my name, our class information, and a heading. Also, make sure to give your reflection a creative title that reflects the content

Here’s what I will be looking for (and grading you on):

  • Attention to audience. You need to have a “so what?” Don’t just list off a bunch of random opinions about your writing—write an article about what you’ve learned. Think about who you are writing for (hint: it’s not just me).
  • Attention to organization. This does not have to be a traditional organization, but you should have paragraphs (not just a 1000-word paragraph, please) and some reason for why they’re in the order they’re in!
  • Evidence and analysis. If you tell me you learned something about yourself as a writer, show me proof! By proof, I specifically mean quotes from your own writing. All reflections should have at least three quotes from your own writing this semester. And, it is really important that you don’t just drop those quotes in there and expect your readers to figure out why you’ve chosen them. Explain why that passage is important to your readers and to your “so what?”
  • Care. Proofread. Make sure it’s long enough. As usual, you can use whatever language you see fit to use, but make decisions about your language—that is, the words that are there should be there for a reason.
  • Timelines. I am as flexible as possible with deadlines, but it is the end of the semester and the final portfolio (including this reflection) are due ________ and I don’t have any leeway because I need to turn grades in. The rough draft is due________. Make sure to get this done on time! You’ve probably never written anything like this before, so I’m sure you’ll want to get some feedback!

Part II (Portfolio):

Put together a portfolio that includes final versions of all your major assignments (Units 1, 2, 3). In your portfolio you should also include two other written pieces from our semester that show your growth as a writer. These can be from your homework, blog posts, reflections, or other class work.

Note: You can choose to revise up to two of your major assignments. If you do revise, please make note of that in your reflection so I can read and regrade the revision(s). With any revisions, you should also include a short paragraph explaining the changes you made and why. This can be included at the end of the revised essay and put under a heading that says “Reflections on Revisions”.

Putting the portfolio together:

Please submit your portfolio as one document in the order below:

  1. Final Reflection
  2. Unit 1 project
  3. Unit 2 project
  4. Unit 3 project
  5. Low stakes assignments of your choosing

Portfolio grading:

Your portfolio counts as 50% of your final grade. You have already received grades for each of the major assignments included in the portfolio and I will regrade any major assignments you revise using the criteria for those assignments. But your overall portfolio will be grades on the following:

  • Care and attention to organization. Is the material presented in the assigned order and in a clear way so that I can easily find each piece? Are the pieces neatly and consistently formatted in terms of font, paragraphing, breaks between assignments?
  • Timelines. Is the assignment on time?

Project 1: 10%

Project 2: 10%

Project 3: 15%

Final Reflection: 15%

 

RGarcia Final 1121 Unit 3 Multimodal Repurposing Assignment

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Prof. Garcia

ENG 1121, semester ???

Unit 3: Multimodal Repurposing Assignment

Due: ?/?/20

Assignment

In the conclusion of your annotated bibliography you identified a discourse community that you think would benefit from your research. You also thought about why and how that community would benefit from your research.

Now for this assignment you will repurpose the information you learned from your research and present it in another medium. This medium should be the one you think will best convey your information to the specific audience you have chosen. Your final product should go beyond the written word and communicate using other modes of communication.

Examples of modes you might choose: TedTalk, audio Podcast, YouTube video, song lyrics, Wikipedia entry, video or graphic essay, blog, informational brochure, short movie, or play.

Notes: This project asks you to write in a new way, but you must still turn in a written component. For example, if you put together a TedTalk, podcast, or video of some sort, you can turn in the transcript you developed.

Due Dates

??/??/??: Hand in a one-page plan for your project. Here you should do the following:

  • Tell me the mode you selected for presenting your information and why you feel this is the appropriate mode. Also, tell me what you hope to accomplish with your piece (persuade, inform, something else).
  • Tell me about the mode in which you will compose. For example, what do you see as the main elements or features of this genre, including the length, tone, format, organization, desired effect on the audience, and other key features? Make a list and describe each element in a few sentences.
  • Tell me about how you will go about composing your piece. For example: What technologies will you use? What information will you include in your final product? How will you organize it?

??/??/??: Bring in a fully drafted version of your project for peer review

??/??/??: Unit 3 project due. On this day you should also come prepared to write an in-class reflection on your project. You will be asked to write about the choices you made, the process you undertook, what you learned, and how you will use this experience/information in future classes.

How will this be graded?

  • Careful and thorough thinking: The new media piece you produce should be similar to other pieces in the media you chose to work with, be polished/finished looking, and thorough. Note: There is no particular word count for your assignment as the length will be determined by the genre in which you chose to work.
  • Audience: The audience you chose should make sense for your topic. Also, the genre you chose to work in and the choices you made when composing should be appropriate for your chosen audience.
  • Repurposing: The new genre piece you produce should use the research from your annotated bibliography and be related to your research question.
  • Timeliness: Your project should be on time.

 

RGarcia Final 1121 Unit 2 Inquiry Based Research Assignment

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Prof. Ruth Garcia

English 1121, semester ????

Unit 2: Inquiry Based Research/Annotated Bibliography (1800-word minimum)

Due: ?/?/2020

Assignment

In class we have read and discussed “The Declaration of Independence,” The U.S Constitution, and current pieces about social issues in occurring today. Inspired by these texts, we have brainstormed issues that are deeply important to you and you have picked one of these and worked over the last couple of weeks to develop a question related to your topic that you want to investigate.

Now, for this assignment you will do research and put together an 1800-word annotated bibliography of four sources that help you answer your research question.

Here is a useful site explaining what an annotated bibliography is and how to do one: https://guides.library.cornell.edu/annotatedbibliography

Your particular annotated bibliography should include the following:

  • Your research question at the top of the page.
  • An opening statement (a paragraph) explaining why this topic is important to you, what you know about it, and what you expect to find.
  • Four sources that are properly formatted in MLA style.
    • Note that your sources do not need to be articles. In fact, I encourage you to find information from a variety of genres. Examples of genres you might include are: newspaper articles, TED talks, personal essays, magazine article, scholarly article, organizations website.
    • You can find more on how to do MLA citations at the link below and throughout the Purdue OWL site: https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/mla_style/mla_formatting_and_style_guide/mla_formatting_and_style_guide.html
    • You can also use Purdue OWL, Easy Bib, or Citation aNchine to do your citations—you can google for the second two sites and the first is at the link above.
    • Make sure your citations are in alphabetical order by author’s last name.
  • After each MLA style citation, put a summary of the source that tells what the piece is about.
  • Following each summary, you should also include
    • a few sentences that explain the genre, audience, and purpose of the piece.
    • one or two sentences evaluating the usefulness of each source.
    • An important and useful quotation from your source.
  • A concluding statement (about two paragraphs) reflecting on the following: What did you learned about your topic? How did your thinking change? Which discourse community do you think would benefit from your research? Why and how would this discourse community benefit from this information?

Note: Below–after “How will this be graded” I have included a template for your annotated bibliography. This is to show you how to organize and format your annotated bibliography, which is its own genre of writing.

How will this be graded?

  • Your annotated bibliography should be at least 1800 words.
  • Your annotated bibliography should be on time.
  • Your annotated bibliography should have all the components listed above and be formatted in the way indicated by the template below.
  • You should proofread.

The template for this assignment begins on the next page.

Your Name Here

Prof. Garcia

ENG 1121

Date Here

Research Question: Insert your research question here in place of this red text. Then make the text black/automatic when you are done.

Introduction:

In place of this blue text, insert your Opening statement saying what you expected to find before you began your research—this should be about at least a paragraph. Make sure to return the text to black/automatic.

Insert your first source here in place of all this black text and make sure your citation is in MLA style and alphabetized by author’s last name. Notice that the first line of a citation is all the way to the left and other lines of the citation are indented.

In place of this green text, you should insert your summary. In your summary you should make sure to mention the genre, audience, and purpose of the piece. Also, make sure to return your text to black/automatic.

In place of this purple text, you should insert your evaluation of the source and return the text to black/automatic.

In place of this orange text, insert an important or useful quotation from your source and return the text to black/automatic.

Insert your second source here in place of all this black text and make sure your citation is in MLA style and alphabetized by author’s last name. Notice that the first line of a citation is all the way to the left and other lines of the citation are indented.

In place of this green text, you should insert your summary. In your summary you should make sure to mention the genre, audience, and purpose of the piece. Also, make sure to return your text to black/automatic.

In place of this purple text, you should insert your evaluation of the source and return the text to black/automatic.

In place of this orange text, insert an important or useful quotation from your source and return the text to black/automatic.

Insert your third source here in place of all this black text and make sure your citation is in MLA style and alphabetized by author’s last name. Notice that the first line of a citation is all the way to the left and other lines of the citation are indented.

In place of this green text, you should insert your summary. In your summary you should make sure to mention the genre, audience, and purpose of the piece. Also, make sure to return your text to black/automatic.

In place of this purple text, you should insert your evaluation of the source and return the text to black/automatic.

In place of this orange text, insert an important or useful quotation from your source and return the text to black/automatic.

Insert your fourth source here in place of all this black text and make sure your citation is in MLA style and alphabetized by author’s last name. Notice that the first line of a citation is all the way to the left and other lines of the citation are indented.

In place of this green text, you should insert your summary. In your summary you should make sure to mention the genre, audience, and purpose of the piece. Also, make sure to return your text to black/automatic.

In place of this purple text, you should insert your evaluation of the source and return the text to black/automatic.

Conclusions:

In place of this blue text, insert your concluding statement saying what you learned about your topic, who you think would benefit from this information, and why and how they would benefit from this information—this should be about a paragraph. Make sure to return the text to black/automatic.

 

RGarcia Final 1121 Unit 1 Discourse Community Assignment

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Prof. Ruth Garcia

English 1121, semester ???

Unit 1: Discourse Community Assignment (1200-word minimum)

Due: xx/xx/xx

Assignment

In class we have read about and discussed the concept of a discourse community. We have also read and discussed Frederick Douglass’ “The Meaning of Fourth of July to the Slave,” and Mary Wollstonecraft’s Introductory letter to A Vindications of the Rights of Woman. In our discussions, we have examined the way these documents are shaped by audience, purpose, content, and the way that the texts (what and how they say things) are shaped by the writer’s discourse community as well as their position vis-à-vis their audiences’ discourse community.

For this assignment, you will pick an issue or problem at City Tech that is important to one of your discourse communities here. Then you will do the following:

  1. Research the problem you have identified, its solutions, and what has already been done. This is light, internet-based research. You may also interview those affected by, dealing with, and in other ways involved with the problem you have identified. Find 3-4 relevant sources, make sure your sources are reliable, keep track of your sources, and take notes.
  2. Write a letter or speech to the administration (a discourse community that will presumably see you as different and perhaps less knowledgeable then themselves). Thinking about your position vis-Ă -vis your audience, use Douglass and/or Wollstonecraft as a model, as well as some of their strategies, to write a speech, letter, or call to action/open letter making clear the problem that exists.

Things to keep in mind:

  • Give a clear understanding/outline of the problem you are discussing. Remember, the person you are addressing does not necessarily know or understand your problem. Or, perhaps they do not understand the problem in the way that you do.
  • Give specific examples and details to illustrate the problem.
  • Persuade your reader that they should care about your community and its problem.
  • This is a letter or speech and therefore a particular genre with conventions attached to it. Make sure you follow the conventions related to this genre.
  • You are writing to a particular discourse community that possess particular values, beliefs, and language use and these are likely very different from those of your student-related discourse community. Therefore, keep your audience in mind as you make writing choices.
  • Make sure to properly cite any research you include in your letter, speech, or call to action/open letter.

How will this be graded?

  • You should have an audience and genre in mind.
  • You should write with tone and diction appropriate to your audience.
  • You should give a specific reason(s) to your reader as to why he or she should care about your issue and your reason should keep details of the discourse community you are working with in mind.
  • Your assignment should be on time.
  • Your letter or speech should be 1200 words.
  • You should proofread

 

RGarcia Final 1101 Portfolio and Reflection Assignment

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Prof. Ruth Garcia

English 1101, semester????

Portfolio and Final Reflection Assignment

Due: ?/?/2020

Assignment

Final Reflection and Portfolio

We have arrived at the end of the semester and are nearly done! I am so proud of you all for making it to this point. Now it is time for you to pull all your work together and, look at it as a whole, and reflect on what you have done over the course of the semester.

This is a two-part assignment but the final product is one large document (more details about this below).

Part I (Reflection):

Reflect upon the questions in the box below. You will then create a reflection of a minimum of 1000 words to accompany your portfolio. Make sure to quote from yourself to support your thinking. You must have at least three quotes from different pieces.

What have you learned about yourself as a reader, writer and scholar this semester?

How will you be able to use what you have learned this semester and transfer that knowledge to other writing situations—either in college or in your community?

As a way to begin gathering ideas and information for your Reflection, look back through all your work: in-class writing exercises, homework assignments, blog posts, earlier reflections, essays/projects, and so on. As you browse through your work, ask yourself about and take notes on the following questions:

  • How would you compare/contrast work done early on in the semester to now? How have your developed as a writer?
  • What was your favorite/least favorite assignment and why?
  • What are some notable lessons that have stuck with you after completing certain assignments?
  • What changed in your writing (and reading and thinking) as the genres changed?
  • How did you make decisions in your assignments about content and design?
  • What were your early assumptions/beliefs about yourself and writing? Have they since changed? Explain.
  • What was your experience revising assignments?
  • Was there any peer feedback that stands out to you and why?
  • What was particularly challenging for you in our course this semester and how did you overcome it (or attempt to)?
  • What did you expect to learn in this class? What did you actually learn? Is it the same? Different? Less? More? How do you feel about the class and what you have learned now that the semester is over?
  • What advice would you give to students taking this course next semester?

Things to keep in mind:

  • Don’t simply answer the above questions in your final reflection. In fact, you do not need to answer them all. Instead, use them as a guide to help you brainstorm ideas.
  • Think about all of the essays we’ve read about writing this semester—some of them certainly hooked your interest while others… probably did not. The ones that did were well-written, they had a point, the writer had a voice that you felt was worth listening to. Try to do that in your own writing here.
  • Remember that this isn’t just you writing off-the-top of your head; this is a finished piece of writing. Treat yourself as a respected author who has learned: you are someone with something to say.
  • Make sure to include an MLA heading with your name, my name, our class information, and a heading. Also, make sure to give your reflection a creative title that reflects the content

Here’s what I will be looking for (and grading you on):

  • Attention to audience. You need to have a “so what?” Don’t just list off a bunch of random opinions about your writing—write an article about what you’ve learned. Think about who you are writing for (hint: it’s not just me).
  • Attention to organization. This does not have to be a traditional organization, but you should have paragraphs (not just a 1000-word paragraph, please) and some reason for why they’re in the order they’re in!
  • Evidence and analysis. If you tell me you learned something about yourself as a writer, show me proof! By proof, I specifically mean quotes from your own writing. All reflections should have at least three quotes from your own writing this semester. And, it is really important that you don’t just drop those quotes in there and expect your readers to figure out why you’ve chosen them. Explain why that passage is important to your readers and to your “so what?”
  • Care. Proofread. Make sure it’s long enough. As usual, you can use whatever language you see fit to use, but make decisions about your language—that is, the words that are there should be there for a reason.
  • Timelines. I am as flexible as possible with deadlines, but it is the end of the semester and the final portfolio (including this reflection) are due ________ and I don’t have any leeway because I need to turn grades in. The rough draft is due________. Make sure to get this done on time! You’ve probably never written anything like this before, so I’m sure you’ll want to get some feedback!

Part II (Portfolio):

Put together a portfolio that includes final versions of all your major assignments (Units 1, 2, 3). In your portfolio you should also include two other written pieces from our semester that show your growth as a writer. These can be from your homework, blog posts, reflections, or other class work.

Note: You can choose to revise up to two of your major assignments. If you do revise, please make note of that in your reflection so I can read and regrade the revision(s). With any revisions, you should also include a short paragraph explaining the changes you made and why. This can be included at the end of the revised essay and put under a heading that says “Reflections on Revisions”.

Putting the portfolio together:

Please submit your portfolio as one document in the order below:

  1. Final Reflection
  2. Unit 1 project
  3. Unit 2 project
  4. Unit 3 project
  5. Low stakes assignments of your choosing

Portfolio grading:

Your portfolio counts as 50% of your final grade. You have already received grades for each of the major assignments included in the portfolio and I will regrade any major assignments you revise using the criteria for those assignments. But your overall portfolio will be grades on the following:

  • Care and attention to organization. Is the material presented in the assigned order and in a clear way so that I can easily find each piece? Are the pieces neatly and consistently formatted in terms of font, paragraphing, breaks between assignments?
  • Timelines. Is the assignment on time?

Project 1: 10%

Project 2: 10%

Project 3: 15%

Final Reflection: 15%

 

RGarcia Final ENG 1101 syllabus

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ENG 1101-D???/C???—English Composition I

Days, Times, Room

Professor Ruth Garcia

Email: RGarcia@citytech.cuny.edu

Office Hours:

Office/Mailbox Location: Namm 503

Phone Number: (718) 260-5117

Course Description and Learning Outcomes

This is a course in effective essay writing and basic research techniques, including use of the library. College-level readings are assigned as the basis for classroom discussion and for essay writing.

Students in this course will do the following:

  • Read and listen critically and analytically in a variety of genres and rhetorical situations.
  • Write in a variety of genres, including adapting writing conventions in ways that are suitable to different situations and purposes in a variety of contexts.
  • Develop rhetorical awareness by understanding and responding appropriately to different kinds of rhetorical situations.
  • Use research as a process of inquiry and engagement with multiple perspectives,
  • 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.).
  • When appropriate, repurpose prior work, including research, to new genres, audiences, and media by adjusting delivery, design, tone, organization, and language.
  • Use reflection and other metacognitive processes to revise prior assumptions about reading and writing and transfer acquired knowledge into new writing situations.
  • Compose in 21st Century Environments.

Required Texts/Materials

– An OpenLab Account

– Readings provided on the OpenLab site

– An online writing guide such as the Online Writing Lab: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/

– 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.

***Note: I will post our readings on the OpenLab. You are responsible for reading these at home and printing them for class. Because annotating and interacting with the text is an important part of what we will do this semester, you will be marked unprepared for the day if you do not have the reading in class and in a hard copy format. Please note: the college provides free printing at the library and computer labs.

OpenLab

This course will use OpenLab. For this reason, you need to sign up for an OpenLab account and become a member of our class site. It is your responsibility to check the site regularly and access the readings in advance of class. Also, instructions for assignments, as well as class announcements, will appear there.

In order to set up your OpenLab account, you must activate your City Tech email. Notices from me will go to your City Tech email address, so make sure you set it up early and check it regularly.

Other Materials 

A notebook or folder that is dedicated to this class and where you can keep notes, handouts, and assignments. You must devise a system to record, store, and organize the course materials. It is very important that you save all of your work for this class, including prior drafts and final copies of all major assignments, as well as your research notes, outlines, and written evaluations. Additionally, save all final drafts of assignments on a stable format such as a remote hard drive/server such as Dropbox. Never throw away or delete drafts, notes, or graded assignments until after you have received your final grade.

Grading

Your course grade will be calculated according to the following breakdown:

  • Literacy Narrative: 10%
  • Research Assignment: 10%
  • Genre Assignment: 10%
  • Final Reflection and Portfolio: 50 %
  • Participation: 20%

Assignments and Essays

There will be three major writing assignments throughout the course of the semester. You will be required to submit a hard copy of the paper.

  • All essay assignments should follow MLA format. This means that all rough and final drafts must be typed, double-spaced, with 1-inch margins all around, in 12-point Times New Roman font. The first page must display student’s name, your teacher’s name (Professor Ruth Garcia), the class you are in, and the date the paper is due. Every paper should have an original title. I recommend that you obtain a writing handbook for the purposes of formatting and editing your work. You may have one from an earlier writing course, or you can use the Purdue OWL (Online Writing Lab) at http://owl.english.purdue.edu/
  • Since writing is a process, you should draft and revise your essay before submitting the final draft. While I will not review an entire essay via email, I’m happy to conference with you about your essay drafts and ideas during my office hours. I am also happy to respond to specific questions via email. Feel free to consult with me at any stage in your writing process.
  • Your writing should be grammatically correct and free of spelling errors, and it should demonstrate increasingly complex critical thinking and analysis as the semester progresses. If this is a challenge for you, I encourage you to visit my office hours.
  • All essays must be submitted as a hardcopy, by the start of class on the day they are due or you will get no credit for them. In general, I do not accept late work or give make-ups for in-class essays. However, if you have a personal emergency or other circumstances that prohibit you from finishing your assignment on time or turning in an essay as scheduled, email or see me as soon as possible so we can discuss your situation.
  • All homework assignments are due by the start of class, and there will be no make-ups on quizzes, in-class work, or OpenLab assignments.

Informal writing: In addition to the graded essay assignments that you will have to complete to do well in this class, you will also be required to complete a variety of informal, non-graded assignments throughout the semester. Examples of these assignments may include, but are not limited to, any in-class writing such as reflections, free-writing, and group projects. These exercises are designed to ensure your understanding of the main points of each topic. They will also push you to think critically about the ideas and issues raised over the course of the semester, thereby making you an active participant in the learning process. Though all the writing that you do in this course is not collected or graded, I do randomly collect these and they do contribute to your final grade. If you consistently fail to hand in the informal writing assignments, you will receive an “F” for class participation.

Class Participation, Attendance, and Lateness

Attendance:

This class depends heavily on in-class discussion and in-class writing. In other words, the class is a collaborative effort, and your attendance is required in order for the course to be worthwhile to you and for you to succeed! In addition, we do a fair amount of “in the moment” writing, which cannot be made up and which figures significantly into your class participation grade. Therefore, after three absences, we will meet to discuss whether you should proceed with the class or if you should drop it. Likewise, if you are chronically late, we will meet to discuss whether or not you should drop the class.

Part of your class participation grade is based on being prepared for class: 

  • Be ready to discuss the day’s reading.
  • Submit assignments on time.
  • Check the syllabus to see if we are meeting in a location other than the classroom that day (for example, the library).
  • Pay attention to announcements that are sent to you via OpenLab.
  • Follow basic classroom etiquette (see below).

Etiquette in and out of the classroom:

  • Respect your classmates: listen to them when they are talking. And make an effort to learn their names.
  • If you bring beverages into the classroom, be sure to take bottles, cans, and cups with you when you leave.
  • Do not sleep or put your head down during class. If you are not feeling well, please inform me that you need to leave due to illness.
  • Please turn off all electronic devices (and stow in bags) when class starts. You may not text, browse the internet, or record or photograph anything in the classroom.
  • Remove earbuds, Airpods, or other headphones before class starts.
  • When emailing me, use standard letter-writing etiquette (“Dear Prof. Garcia…” not “Hey…”)
  • If you are absent, check OpenLab for announcements and check in with me after class or during office hours. It is a good idea to email a fellow student for notes. Please do not email me to find out what you missed. While I am happy to talk to you in person about what you missed in class, I will not send you a summary via email. I will however send handout and other materials I may have given out in class.

Electronic Devices in Class:

Cell phones, tablets, and laptops are an incredibly wonderful and useful tools, and intrinsic to our daily lives… but in a classroom setting, they are distracting and disruptive. Therefore, we will decide as a group how to best manage electronic devices in our classroom.

Accessibility Statement

City Tech is committed to supporting the educational goals of enrolled students with disabilities in the areas of enrollment, academic advisement, tutoring, assistive technologies and testing accommodations. If you have or think you may have a disability, you may be eligible for reasonable accommodations or academic adjustments as provided under applicable federal, state and city laws. You may also request services for temporary conditions or medical issues under certain circumstances. If you have questions about your eligibility or would like to seek accommodation services or academic adjustments, please contact the Center for Student Accessibility at 300 Jay Street room L-237, 718-260-5143 or http://www.citytech.cuny.edu/accessibility/.

 

Nondiscrimination Policy

This class does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, age, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, gender, marital status, disability, or status as a veteran.

Finally, please keep in mind throughout the semester, if ever any type of question, problem, or confusion should arise contact me so that we can address whatever may prevent you from successfully completing this course

New York City College of Technology Policy 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 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. Students are expected to be familiar with the accepted academic principles regarding plagiarism. If ANY section, no matter how small, of your work is plagiarized, you will get a ZERO for that paper, with no rewrites.

 

RGarcia Final 1101 Unit 3 New Genre Assignment

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Prof. Garcia

ENG 1101, semester ???

Unit 3: Writing in a Genre Assignment

Due: ?/?/20

Assignment

Think about the research you conducted for your annotated bibliography and decide which audience you think would benefit from this information, why they would benefit, and what would be the best way to convey this information to them. You have already started to do some of this thinking in the conclusion of your annotated bibliography, but now you need to pick a specific group with whom to share your research, come up with a plan for how you will share the information you found, and write the proposed document for your intended audience.

Note: This is a two-part assignment.

Part One: Reflection and Genre Analysis

Write a 2-3-page reflection on how to best use the information you gathered and the knowledge you gained with your annotated bibliography.

In your reflection address the following:

  • Who do you think would benefit from this information? Why?
  • Tell me about your one specific audience—a brief description so I understand who they are, why you chose them, and how this research relates to them.
  • Explain why you chose this audience. Give 2-3 well-developed reasons why you think this information is useful for this particular audience. Also, explain what you want to accomplish for this audience. In other words, are you trying to inform them, persuade them, and/or something else?
  • How do you think it would be best to reach this audience in a way that accomplishes what you want to have happen by sharing the information with this group? In other words, what genre would you choose for reaching this audience?

(Examples of genres you might consider are: news report, pamphlet, article in a particular kind of magazine or newspaper, YouTube video, podcast, song lyrics, speech, Wikipedia entry, letter to a particular political figure—these are just examples but the point is to pick a genre that would reach and appeal to your audience).

  • Why would this be your choice of genre for this group?
  • Tell me about this genre. Find three examples of your genre, step back and look them over carefully. Then, answer the following questions based on what you see as common among all three pieces:
    • Where is your genre found? What kind of place/publication?
    • Who creates/authors this type of work? For what audience?
    • Why does this genre appeal to your chosen audience? Or why do you think it does?
    • What is the purpose of this genre? (to Persuade, to Entertain, or to Inform, something else?) Note that there might be more than one purpose to your genre. For example, some types of musicians or poets work to inform through their work but that does not make their music any less entertaining.
    • Finally, what do you see as the main elements or features of this genre, including the length, tone, format, organization, desired effect on the audience, and other key features? Make a list and describe each element in a few sentences.

Part II: Writing in a genre

Now take your research and draft a document for your chosen community in the genre you have chosen and analyzed.

Use the work you did in the reflective writing and the understanding you developed about the genre to write your piece.

Your goal is to share your research and share it with your chosen community to accomplish your desired goal, which you identified in your reflection.

Note: There is no particular word count for this portion of the assignment as the length will be determined by the genre in which you choose to work.

How will this be graded?

  • Length: Your reflection and genre analysis should be at least 1000 words.
  • Careful and thorough thinking:
    • Your reflection should have all the components listed above
    • Your genre analysis should be accurate and detailed.
    • Your genre should make sense for the audience you have chosen to address.
  • Genre Execution:
    • The genre piece you produce should be similar to other pieces in the genre you chose to work with.
    • The genre piece accomplishes your goal (to inform, persuade, something else—whatever you said in your reflective piece.)
  • Repurposing: The genre piece you produce should use the research from your annotated bibliography and be related to your research question.
  • Timeliness: Your project should be on time.
  • You should proofread.

 

RGarcia Final 1101 Unit 2 Genre Research Assignment

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Prof. Ruth Garcia

English 1101, semester????

Unit 2: Genre Research/Annotated Bibliography (1000-word minimum)

Due: ?/?/2020

Assignment

In class we have read and discussed Sophocles’ Antigone and worked with the play to identify issues and questions related to the family, the individual, society, social justice, power, and war that the play makes us think about and which feel relevant for us today. We have also worked to develop individual research questions inspired by the issue we identified in the play.

Now, for this assignment you will do research and put together a 1000-word annotated bibliography of three sources (these must each be a different genre) that help you answer your research question.

Here is a useful site explaining what an annotated bibliography is and how to do one: https://guides.library.cornell.edu/annotatedbibliography

Your particular annotated bibliography should include the following:

  • Your research question at the top of the page.
  • An opening statement (a paragraph) explaining why this topic is important to you, what you know about it, and what you expect to find.
  • Three sources that are properly formatted in MLA style.
    • Note that each of your sources should be a different kind of genre. Examples of genres you might include are: newspaper articles, TED talks, personal essays, magazine article, scholarly article, organizations website.
    • You can find more on how to do MLA citations at the link below and throughout the Purdue OWL site: https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/mla_style/mla_formatting_and_style_guide/mla_formatting_and_style_guide.html
    • You can also use Purdue OWL, Easy Bib, or Citation aNchine to do your citations—you can google for the second two sites and the first is at the link above.
    • Make sure your citations are in alphabetical order by author’s last name.
  • After each MLA style citation, put a summary of the source that tells what the piece is about.
  • Following each summary, you should also include
    • a few sentences that explain the genre, audience, and purpose of the piece.
    • one or two sentences evaluating the usefulness of each source.
    • An important and useful quotation from your source.
  • A concluding statement (a paragraph) reflecting on what you have learned about your topic and who would benefit from this information and how.

Note: Below–after “How will this be graded” I have included a template for your annotated bibliography. This is to show you how to organize and format your annotated bibliography, which is its own genre of writing.

How will this be graded?

  • Your annotated bibliography should be at least 1000 words.
  • You have three different genres represented among your three sources
  • Your annotated bibliography should be on time.
  • Your annotated bibliography should have all the components listed above and be formatted in the way indicated by the template below.
  • You should proofread.

The template for this assignment begins on the next page.

Your Name Here

Prof. Garcia

ENG 1101

Date Here

Research Question: Insert your research question here in place of this red text. Then make the text black/automatic when you are done.

Introduction:

In place of this blue text, insert your Opening statement saying what you expected to find before you began your research—this should be about at least a paragraph. Make sure to return the text to black/automatic.

Insert your first source here in place of all this black text and make sure your citation is in MLA style and alphabetized by author’s last name. Notice that the first line of a citation is all the way to the left and other lines of the citation are indented.

In place of this green text, you should insert your summary. In your summary you should make sure to mention the genre, audience, and purpose of the piece. Also, make sure to return your text to black/automatic.

In place of this purple text, you should insert your evaluation of the source and return the text to black/automatic.

In place of this orange text, insert an important or useful quotation from your source and return the text to black/automatic.

Insert your second source here in place of all this black text and make sure your citation is in MLA style and alphabetized by author’s last name. Notice that the first line of a citation is all the way to the left and other lines of the citation are indented.

In place of this green text, you should insert your summary. In your summary you should make sure to mention the genre, audience, and purpose of the piece. Also, make sure to return your text to black/automatic.

In place of this purple text, you should insert your evaluation of the source and return the text to black/automatic.

In place of this orange text, insert an important or useful quotation from your source and return the text to black/automatic.

Insert your third source here in place of all this black text and make sure your citation is in MLA style and alphabetized by author’s last name. Notice that the first line of a citation is all the way to the left and other lines of the citation are indented.

In place of this green text, you should insert your summary. In your summary you should make sure to mention the genre, audience, and purpose of the piece. Also, make sure to return your text to black/automatic.

In place of this purple text, you should insert your evaluation of the source and return the text to black/automatic.

In place of this orange text, insert an important or useful quotation from your source and return the text to black/automatic.

Conclusions:

In place of this blue text, insert your concluding statement saying what you learned about your topic, who you think would benefit from this information, and why and how they would benefit from this information—this should be about a paragraph. Make sure to return the text to black/automatic.