Hi everyone!  By May 11th, please comment on your colleague’s 1101 units 2 and 3.  I’d like you to keep the same partner as before.  That way, you’ll be able to think about the whole trajectory of the course.  These pairs are:

Nadine/ Rebekah, Josh/ Alison, Jody/ Patrick, Amity/ Devon, Julia/ Jessica, Kieran/ Ruth, Jacci/Jim 

Please think about the following questions (you can find the unit descriptions under the menu item ” COURSE MATERIALS: 1101 UNIT DESCRIPTIONS”

• Look over the guidelines for Unit 2. The unit asks that students focus on genre awareness, that is, the unit teaches students to be aware of a range of genres and their different features so students might be able to learn those features so they themselves may start to write in those genres. It also asks that students learn transferrable research skills, evaluate sources, and begin to put sources in conversation with each other and with the student’s own thinking.  Does this assignment accomplish these goals?
• Is it clear to you (and to students) how they will find a topic for unit 2? Do you think they will find those topics engaging?
• Look at the guidelines for Unit 3. This assignment asks students to write in an unfamiliar genre, to identify and label conventions, and to use those conventions.  Does this assignment accomplish these goals?
• Is it clear to you, in both units 2 and 3, what the instructor is asking students to DO?
• Is it clear to you, in both units 2 and 3, what students will be graded on?

By noon on Thursday, May 14th, please post a draft of a final reflection assignment for your 1101 class– what will you ask your students to write for their final reflections next semester?  This can be similar to what you’ve done this semester, but it will likely be somewhat different, since we hope we won’t have another crisis quite so enormous (fingers crossed). Think about one or two of the learning objectives you may want the students to reflect on.  You can do this either directly (“Look at the second learning objective” or indirectly “what have you learned about genre?”) And also think about what kind of genre you want them to write in– an artist statement? a manifesto? a how-to article? Please use category “1101 Portfolio”

Also on Thursday, May 14th, we will have a Zoom meeting at 3 pm. I’d like you to be there if you’re able.  This will be our last group meeting of the semester (though I will still hold optional meetings).

Final deadlines (WOW)

• Thursday, May 28: The final syllabi, and all unit assignments for 1101 and 1121 are due. Please note: final syllabi do not need to include the whole schedule for courses–they will include all your course goals and policies.
• Thursday, May 28: Student grades due. All portfolios uploaded to the PD Dropbox folder (I will provide link shortly)

I will also email you with some times I will be available for Zoom office hours. Totally optional. 

For Unit 3, you will work in pairs and compose a multimodal project using all five (5) modals (linguistic, spatial, gestural, visual, and audio.) What does that mean? It means that you will create a multimedia piece with a written component. It can be any combination of text, visuals, audio, animation, graphics, or art. Your multimodal work can take a number of forms, but it is not you interviewing someone on your phone, and playing it for the class #boring. In other words, you will use research and reporting skills (honed from Unit 2) to create a multimodal project on a discourse community of your neighborhood choice in Brooklyn. This is an opportunity to be super creative!

 

For example, I am interested in the Discourse Community of natural hair braiders. I would choose Bed Stuy, Brooklyn for my Community Project. Based on Unit 2, I have four (4) different genres that I can use to research and further investigate things like: popular/unpopular, expensive/inexpensive hair salons that represent both Africans and black Americans; I would research the different African cultures that wear braids. For my multimodal component, I would, use statistics (natural vs. processed), record hair being braided while the stylist spoke, the end product is the art, animation is preparation involved in getting one’s hair braided, and graphics are the various hair salons in the community of Bed Stuy.

 

In Unit 3, you will be using your research to compose a document/artifact in a new genre. You might want to write a magazine article (for a particular publication), a comic book, short story or create a podcast, or a video essay. For sure, you have multiple publishing options for your Unit 3 genre. (Hint: think about your audience and the best way to communicate with them. Where could you publish or present your piece?)

 

The possibilities are virtually endless. The caveats are that you must:

• have a rhetorical understanding of the genre you choose
• make use of the research you did in Unit 2

 

You cannot simply write an “essay.” You will need to be specific, and the genre must contain words. It would help you to have a specific example (or model) of the genre in which you choose to write. You will have written about this genre, in some form, so use the knowledge you already have, and the knowledge you will gain from further research, to craft the best version of a document in the genre you have chosen. If you are choosing to do something say in video or song, you must transcribe the words.

 

Some ways you might want to get started:

• Question your intent. Think, “What do I have to say? Why do I care about this topic?

What is the best genre for me to communicate what I have to say?”

• Choose a genre you like and that you think best fits your intent. If you decide for

instance that you want to talk about bodegas, or your bodega specifically, perhaps an exposé is best.

• The topic and genre should mesh.

 

 

Outline of Tasks and Points:

 

1. View a list of various NYC neighborhoods by visiting: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neighborhoods_in_New_York_City.

 

2. Research: select a few neighborhoods and Google them. Then, choose one (1) neighborhood in which you would like to do your observation about your Discourse Community. Once you’ve narrowed your focus/have chosen your genre, outline your argument. How will you support your general claim? What kind of sources would strengthen your argument? Which genre will serve as your primary text?

 

3. Proposal. Consider again how your research and genre analysis in Unit 2 has addressed/influenced your line of questioning. What do you want to say? Why is your topic important to you and to the community at large? Which genre is best suited to communicating your message?
4. Plan: spend at least two hours in that neighborhood walking around to gather your data on two (2) different days (i.e., Wednesday and Saturday).
5. Create: be sure to include information about where exactly your neighborhood is (borough, direction in the borough, etc.), how you got there, what streets you walked on, what time of day and day of the week you were there and why you selected this neighborhood.
6. Incorporate Modes:

• Linguistic – word choice; delivery of spoken or written text (tone); organization into sentences, phrases, paragraphs, etc.; coherence of individual words and ideas
• Visual – color layout style size perspective, Google My Maps to create maps that highlight specific locations, or create memes or digital posters.
• Gestural – facial expressions, hand gestures, body language, interactions between people
• Spatial – arrangement, organization, proximity between people and objects
• Audio – use Sound Cloud or if you have a Mac, GarageBand can help you create a podcast; Buzzsprout, IG, Youtube, TikTok, and/or Facebookas a platform to host your product.

 

4. Write Rough draft. Begin writing. Bring in research and the methodological knowledge you’ve gained from our investigation into genre and rhetoric. Look to your source/mentor text for ideas about structure. Bring two (2) copies of your rough draft to class (or upload and email) to participate in the peer writing-workshop.
5. Conduct further research, based on feedback on your rough draft, if necessary, to

support your claims/vision. Incorporate reflection and feedback in order to improve the final product.

 

6. Reflect: write a two-page reflection paper describing your experience using the

information you gathered. Organize ideas by creating an outline before you write

your Reflection so you can be sure to include all of the information you gathered.

 

5. Present: in a 20-minute presentation (15min+5mins Q&A) about your exploratory walk. Be sure to use all of the information you gathered during your observation and present it in a clear, organized, and concise interactive way. Use visual aids to support your presentation and index cards for your speech notes.
6. **Final draft. Upload Unit 3 to Open Lab, and bring one copy of your full report to class (or email me at: jcleslie@citytech.cuny.edu) on the due date.

 

Grading:

1. Genre Awareness. You must show an understanding of the “rules” of the genre you are working in. Part of the Unit 3 assignment is a “genre report” (similar to those you did in Unit 2). Is this thoughtful, and well reasoned? Do you follow these guidelines in your final project?

 

2. Audience Awareness. Does your project do a good job at anticipating and accommodating the group to which it is addressed? Does your project make the diction, argument, genre, and design choices appropriate to your chosen audience?

 

3. Care. How carefully have you constructed a “finished work” in the genre of your choosing? For instance, a great deal of care was put into how a documentary organizes information and image to convey a particular message to an audience. This criterion will vary depending on your genre, but you must in all cases turn in a finished, organized project that is consistent and free of typos and formatting errors. You should be able to explain why everything is where it is.

 

4. Effectiveness of Message. Do you communicate a clear message to your intended audience? Your audience should walk away either having learned something that could change how they think about your topic, or else with productive questions about your topic. It should inspire nuanced engagement and curiosity in your audience.

Discourse Communities

Students should be provide visual images of certain communities if permissible:

Social organizations – Did you observe families, couples, children with other adults, groups of younger children, friends? Can you identify a specific class to which the members of this community belong? If so, why did you identify them as being from that class?

Customs and Traditions – How were people dressed? Were the women dressed specifically to the culture(s) you observed? Were the men? Did you see any sign of physicality within the groups (i.e. were mothers mostly holding their children’s hands?, did couples hold hands?, Did father’s have their hands on their children’s heads etc?). Were certain colors predominant? Did you see symbols or other visual evidence that identifies the culture (s)? If you would like to include a photo or a drawing in your presentation, please do. Did your neighborhood have certain scents that you would consider specific to a culture? Did you hear sounds that you think are unique to your location?

 Religion – What religion(s) seemed to be the most prevalent? How do you know? Did you see symbols of religion (cross, Star of David etc.) or buildings (mosques, churches, etc.,) How do you think clothing and religion overlapped for the people in the neighborhood?

 Language – Could you tell what the spoken language(s) was/were? Could you tell if everyone who spoke the same language (s) shared the same culture? Or did they come from different cultures? Did you notice people speaking English to one another? If so, did you notice any dialects/accents? Did you see any signs of body language being used between people (i.e., bowing, avoidance, facial expressions) What written language did you see on the signs? Did some retail establishments have specific language signs while others had different languages?

 Arts and Literature – Did you get a sense of the arts (music, fine art, theater) or literature people treasure in the neighborhood? If there is a public library, did you go in and see if some of the books at the front were in a language other than English?

 Food – What kinds of restaurants did you notice in the neighborhood? By looking at the menus in front of the restaurants, did you get a sense of the kind of food the people in that neighborhood like to eat? Or what people don’t like to eat? Try the food, what did it taste like?

 Gender – Did you observe a predominance of one gender over another? Can you describe the juxtaposition of genders? Were you able to identify any signs of an LGBTQIA community or view same-sex couples?

Overview for all Units – “You know I really need to know/(Who are you? Who, who, who, who?)” – Pete Townshend

Units 2 and 3 are presented together because Unit 2 will basically provide the information that you need for Unit 3. Unit 3 will be a “remix” of Unit 2. A “remix” in music is a “variant of the original recording”. We know what they sound like: think about popular artists today who take an old song and repurpose it in some way. Sometimes the lyrics are retained, sometimes the beats are retained, but there is always a moment of listener recognition, a moment of “I heard this before, but not in this way.” So, with Unit 3, you will be choosing to present your information in a new genre.

Throughout these two Units, we will continue reading and discussing topics related to Units 2 and 3. A few of these readings will serve as technical support, while some of these readings will provide models of what you might do. Some technical readings we will use are:

Donna Kain and Elizabeth Wardle: “Activity Theory: An Introduction for the Writing Classroom”

Laura Carroll: “Backpacks vs. Briefcases”

Anne Lamott: “Shitty First Drafts”

Sandra Giles: “Reflective Writing and the Revision Process: What Were You Thinking?”

Unit 2 – Genre Investigation and Analysis

“Find what you love and let it kill you” – Charles Bukowski

If Unit 1 was about exploring the “you” that exists in an academic venue, Unit 2 will be about exploring the other side of you, the you that exists when you are not working, out of school, or have that elusive time know as free time! You must develop a question about a specific topic that interests you. What make you tick as a person? If you tell me taking photos related to New York City transit, I’m curious, but I don’t really know what that means. Explain it to me by finding four sources of different genres that give me a full-blown picture of that hobby or interest. I want you to go in-depth here. For lack of a better explanation, imagine that I’ve landed from Mars and I don’t have any frame of reference for what you’re presenting. You will have to:

• Develop a specific question about a hobby or personal interest you have. DUE:
• Research, gather information on and analyze four sources that are at least three different genres. This will become the annotated bibliography for your sources. DUE:
• Read and annotate your sources with your question in mind. Make note of how the issue is discussed or presented in each source. Develop your argument about how effective each source was in presenting its message and purpose to its audience. Write a report about what the source says, but also how and why it says it. DUE:
• Please bring a copy to class on:
• Final draft: DUE:

Grading:

• Are the ideas clear and is there a central focus to your argument?
• Is there evidence of in-depth research here?
• Are there three different kinds of genres?
• Are the ideas organized in a way that makes sense to both of us?
• Is your language appropriate to the audience? Was there a clear consideration of audience?
• Is there a Works Cited Page?

Learning Objectives:

• Read and listen critically and analytically in a variety of genres and rhetorical situations.
• Use research as a process of inquiry and engagement with multiple perspectives.
• Demonstrate the social and ethical consequences of writing.

Unit 3 – Writing in a New Genre

“Sometimes a remix is good because it reaches a whole new generation.” – A. R. Rahman

In Unit 3, you will be using your research from Unit 2 to compose a document/artifact in a new genre. You might want to write a newspaper article or a children’s book, compose a short story or create a video essay. There will be no new research done. Since I wrote a report about New York City Transit photography in Unit 2, can I create a photo essay about New York City Transit photography in Unit 3? The possibilities are endless, but you need to consider your audience and the best way to communicate with them. This will help guide your genre. You also want to consider the purpose of your final product. What do you want the audience to walk away from the experience of your piece with? Your final product can contain pictures or sound, but it must contain at least 1500 words as well. You will have to:

• Create a proposal that explains what you want to say, how you want to say it, and who you want to say it to. There will be more specific details about this proposal later, but this is the gist. DUE:
• Find two to three examples of a model text. You can use one of the texts you used in the Unit 2, but find at least two more and explain how all of these texts meet the needs of your final project. Not every text has to mentor every aspect of your final project. Please explain what aspects of the text do. Please turn in another annotated bibliography. DUE:
• Write a rough draft. Use your mentor texts to guide the structure of your final assignment. Your project must have about 1500 words in it. Please bring a copy to class. DUE:
• Final draft. DUE:

Grading:

• Did your final project follow the rules of the genre that you picked?
• Did you make decisions about language and design of the project based on your audience?
• Was there clear effort and organization on a global, but also sentence level?
• Did you communicate a clear message that people can learn from?

Learning Objectives:

• Read and listen critically and analytically in a variety of genres and rhetorical situations.
• Compose in 21^st Century Environments.

ENG1101

Units 2 & 3 Topics & Assignment Descriptions

Overview
In order to explain Unit 2, I have to talk about Units 2 + 3 together first, because you’re going to have to use some foresight in the research decisions you make; there will be planning, trial, error, planning again. It’s all part of the process.

In Unit 3, you’ll be writing a document in a new genre, one you haven’t written in before, about the question you’ve decided to research in Unit 2. For example, in Unit 3, you might write a journal article for readers of the American Sociological Review, or the Society and Mental Health journal, or a science article for the readers of Scientific American, or for the readers of a Newsletter series, or create a How-To manual, report, manifesto, or a comic book. You might decide to write in a literary genre. Maybe you want to write a speech addressing a problem you outlined or discovered in your research for Unit 2.

You don’t need to know exactly what you’re going to be doing in Unit 3 yet. HOWEVER, you’ll be doing some things in Unit 2 that you’ll need for Unit 3.

What you need to do for Unit 2…

1. Researching a question you are truly curious about. You will use your research from Unit 2 when you write Unit 3.
2. Researching a variety of different genres, which will inform what you write in Unit 3.

UNIT 2: Genre Investigation & Analysis – Reflective Annotative Bibliography

Unit 2 will be an investigation into and a report on a specific question about a topic that interests you. You will conduct research into various genres (four sources), gather, and evaluate the information in those sources, and present a report on your findings, called a Reflective Annotative Bibliography. This report will be thesis-driven based on your investigating, analysis, and thinking of your sources, and what you have learned from your investigation. You may arrive at an answer to your initial question, or you may find you’re asking the wrong questions and will need to rethink your approach.

Outline of Tasks and Due Dates

1. Ask and develop a specific question. This should be something you care about, something you’ve always wondered about—something that will keep you engaged, as you’ll be continuing this line of inquiry in Unit 3 as well. Complete the Formulating Your Research Question Worksheet^[1] and have your question approved by me. If you change your question, your new question must be approved. (You cannot change your question past X.) The question is due X.
2. Research and analyze four sources consisting of at least three different genres. Complete a Reflective Annotated Bibliography for each of your sources. Instructions for this are after this outline.
3. Write the rough draft of your report. This will have three sections: The Introduction (detailing your initial question), the Reflective Annotative Bibliography, and the conclusion. Remember that format and appearance count, so give yourself time to proofread and make it look great! Include a Works Cited page of your sources. The rough draft is due X.
4. Prepare the final draft of your report. Include a Works Cited page of your sources. The entire report consisting of an introduction, Reflective Annotative Bibliography, and conclusion should be at least 1800 words (excluding the Works Cited page). Due X.
5. Reflect on your reading and writing in Unit 2 and write a reflective letter about the process. Consider: What did I learn from this process? About my own process of thought? About my reading process? My writing process? How can I apply what I have learned to other contexts? Your reflective letter should be at least 500 words. Due X.

Grading^[2]

• Is your document readable and informative? Does it teach us about what you’ve learned, as it relates to question? Does it teach us, not only about the content of the sources you’ve chosen, but also the
  rhetorical situation surrounding those sources?
• Did you do solid research here? One of the main goals of the assignment is to learn something new about your topic AND to help you learn to find information on your own, to be applied to future situations. If you simply choose the first three options on Google, that’s not doing enough, and your topic will most likely not be as nuanced as it could be.
• Did you find sources in at least three different genres? Did the genres you chose “gel” with the content – that is, did the genres you chose make sense for the goals of both Units 2 and 3?
  Your report must look great and must be organized in a way that makes sense to the reader you have in mind (and to me!).
• Is your language appropriate to the audience you have in mind? No matter how you chose to write it, the type of language you use (how it is written) must be consistent and must be appropriate to your audience. You should be able to explain with a good line of reasoning why you chose the language you chose.
• Cite your sources and include a Works Cited page.

Reflective Annotated Bibliography Directions

The reflective annotated bibliography works as a research device, having been adapted from the traditional academic document called an annotated bibliography. While the conventional form only includes a bibliographic entry and a précis, this adapted annotated bibliography adds a terminology/key word list, a reflection component, and a quotables section. These additional sections help you as a writer differentiate between “objective” reporting of the author’s ideas from your “subjective” editorial remarks about the reading (aka, your opinions, speculations, counter-arguments, questions). It also acts as a mnemonic device to help your retain terminologies, key terms and phrases, and an author’s memorable quotes. While this reflective annotated bibliography could conceivably help you review for exams or store information for future pieces of research scholarship, you can also use it to help you formulate paragraphs for an essay.

Note: The example is color-coded, listed as Part 1, 2, and 3, and explained simply to help you become more aware of each section. When you create your own Reflective Annotated Bibliography, you do not have to add these things!

Part 1:

Bibliographic Entry: This section gives the publication information: author, date, title, book or journal, vol., page numbers, print or web. (Please put this in regular Times New Roman, 12 point font.)

Fitzgerald, Jill. “Research on Revision in Writing” Review of Educational Research. 57.4 (Winter 1987): 481-506.

Part 2:

Terminology/Key Words: This section lists key words that the author uses that indicate a relationship to a disciplinary discourse community. You may also use this section to list unfamiliar vocabulary. (Notice the differentiation that I make between “vocabulary” (general words) and terminology/key terms (vocabulary used within a particular, sometimes specialized discourse community.))

Coding System

Cognitive Theory

Error-Detection Method

Linear Model

Participant-Observer Method

Problem-Solving View

Process

Process-Tracing Method

Recursiveness

Revision

Simulation-by-Intervention Method

Stage Model

Subprocess

Part 3:

Précis: This section articulates an objective summary of the reading. It should only convey exactly what the author states in the article without including your opinions. (1) It should state the author’s primary claim and, maybe sub-claims. What argument does the author want to assert? (2) It should acknowledge the types of evidence the author uses to support this claim. What data/facts/evidence does the author use to justify the claims of the article? (3) It should reveal the interpretations that this author arrives at through the claims and evidence. What point or conclusion does the author surmise? (Please put in regular Times New Roman, 12 point font.)

From a two decade period, his author compiles research studies, perspectives, and re-definitions about revision and its role in the improvement of writing. According to the author, these last twenty years of revision studies have reshaped the definition of meaningful revision to move beyond editorial actions. As the author states, “This paper presents a brief historical perspective on the development of the meaning of revision, presents findings from research on revision, and, finally, discusses limitations of the research” (481). Moreover, this survey of revision research consider various aspects of revision decision-making, including age, grade-level, expertise, and instructional response (aka, response to drafts). After summarizing and analyzing the revision studies and limitations, the author suggests further research studies that future composition/rhetoric researchers should pursue.

Part 4:

Reflection: This sections reveals your opinion about what the author has stated. Do you agree or disagree? What speculations do you want to make about this author’s methods of research? What questions do you have? What don’t you understand? What other information do you need to look up to better understand this article? This unconventional section puts forward your ideas. (Please put in italics, Times New Roman, 12 point font.)

This article provides an historical viewpoint for my articles albeit one which needs updating since 1987. Along with articles from 1987 to the present, this information provides a framework to discuss revision and the types of assessment systems in which productive revision—beyond editorial actions (aka: surface characteristics such as spelling, punctuation, and sentence correction)—can take place. The point accrual system that I suggest offers students a course policy system in which they can take control of their earned grade and see the value in revisionary efforts. By reviewing these methodologies of tracking revision habits, I can make a better argument for the types of classroom policies we might put in place to encourage, even instigate, revision.

If American public schools ask students to do little revision (and most of my students come from public schools) then incoming freshmen must be “unlearned” of the counter-productive habits that they were taught about revising in high school. If conditioned for twelve years not to revise, the freshman year composition course must place some re-conditioning structures in place to induce students to alter their normativized habits of textual-stagnation (Note to self: What would be the opposite term for revising in terms of writing? Textual stagnating/textual complacency/textual satisfying/ stifling/ impairing / ossifying/idling/constipating/fossilizing. I’ll need to figure out this specialized antonym for revising/revision. Fallowing?

Part 5:

Quotables: This section directly quotes one to three statements that the author made in the article that you feel really exemplify its claims or interpretations. Or, you will choose a sentence that you feel the author expressed exceptionally well. Include page number(s) where you find the quote. Place quotation marks around the chosen phrase and make sure you cite the phrase verbatim. (Put in regular Times New Roman, 12 point font.)

[T]heory has not always mirrored the practitioner’s belief that revision has a central role in writing. Early views of revision were theoretically dry and uninteresting. (481)

Most recently, Scardamalia and Bereiter (1986) coined the term “reprocessing” to refer to the metnal aspects of revision […] Reprocessing “spans everything from editing for mistakes to reformulating goals. Revision is a special case of reprocessing, applied to actual texts” (790)

Revision means making any changes at any point in the writing process. It involves identifying discrepancies between intended and instantiated text, deciding what could or should be changed in the text and how to make dsired changes, and operating, that is, making the desired changes. Changes may or may not affect meaning of the text, and they may be major or minor. Also, changes may be made in the writer’s mind before being instantiated in written text, at the teim text is first written, and/or after text is first written [list of authors contributing to this definition]. (484)

Over the last decade, particularly during the last [484] few years, methods of revealing individuals’ knowledge of revision, as well as actual revision made on paper, proliferated. The development of methodology mirrored the 1970s’ and 1980s’ reconceptualization of revision as potentially major and significant in nature, not just editorial, as both process and product, and as a subprocess that could occur at any point in the writing process. Five clusters of research methods emerged: coding systems for categorizing revisions; process-tracing methods, including think-aloud techniques, questionnaires, interviews and taped self-evaluations; a particpant-observer method; a simulation by intervention method; and an error detection method. (484-485)

Research on cognitive aspects of the problem-solving view of revision has focused on reasons for breakdowns. Several reasons are plausible. First, one break-down may occur if a writer does not clearly establish intentions for text. (489)

Intentions may be for content or for form or presentation so writers may have difficulty establishing intentions because of lack of knowledge about what to say (i.e., about content-related goals) and/or because of lack of knowledge about how to say it (i.e., about presentation-related goals such as structure, style, format, etc.). On the other hand, writers may actually have the requisite knowledge, but may have difficulty recalling and/or representing the knowledge. (489)

Expert professional writers made one meaning-related revision for every two surface changes; advanced college student writers made one for every three; and inexperienced college student writers made one for every seven. (492)

As a preface to a synthesis of findings of intervention research, it is perhaps useful to note that some research indicates that little emphasis is placed on revision in writing in American public schools. [article offers statistics about this claim]

Research on revision in writing is at a pivotal point. A view of revision that bgins to capture its potential complexity is developing. Research has documented the recursive and problem-solving nature of revision and has described how much writers revise, when they revise, and what kinds of revision operations they make. However, work on the cognitive aspects of the revision process is scant. Issues of how and when writers learn through revision remain virtually unexplored. . Little is known about the circumstances under which the reiviosn process is related to judgements of quality of writing, and intervention studies are just beginning to provide insight into ways of nurturing the development of revision knowledge and abilities. (497)

A crucial design factor is likely to be the extent to which new research examines revision in a broader context than it has in the past. […] The inescapable conclusion is that more research might be shaped to enlighten our knowledge about writers’ revisions in relation to “what’s needed,” rather than merely describing revision operations that are done. (497)

 

UNIT 3: Writing in a New Genre

In Unit 3, you will be using your research from Unit 2 to compose a document/artifact in a new genre. You might want to write a declaration, a manifesto, a rulebook, a magazine article (from a particular publication), a comic book, a children’s book, short story, a video essay. Perhaps you want to create a multigenre piece that mixes multiple genres in the same document, or a multimedia piece with a written component. I hope you get the sense that the possibilities are endless; you have multiple publishing options for your Unit 3 genre. Hint: Think about your audience and the best way to communicate with them. Where could you publish or present your piece? At a TEDx conference? A gathering of experts in your field of study? To an arm of the government? To a school district? Or others? The possibilities are virtually endless.

Requirements

1. You must have a rhetorical understanding of the genre you choose.
2. You must make use of the research you did in Unit 2. You cannot simply write an “article.” You’ll need to be specific, and the genre must contain words. It would help you to have a specific example (or model) of the genre in which you choose to write. You will have written about this genre, in some form, so use the knowledge you already have, and the knowledge you will gain from further research, to craft the best version of a document in the genre you’ve chosen. If you are choosing to do something say in video or song, you must transcribe the words.
3. The final word count for this will be 1500 words, at least.

Some ways you might want to get started…

• Question your intent. Think, “What do I have to say? Why do I care about this topic? What is the best genre for me to communicate what I have to say?”
• Choose a genre you like and that you think best fits your intent. If you decide for instance that you want to talk about bodegas, or your bodega specifically, perhaps an exposé is best. The point here is, the topic and genre should gel.

Outline of Tasks & Due Dates

1. Proposal. Consider again how your research and genre analysis in Unit 2 has addressed/influenced your line of questioning. What do you want to say? Why is your topic important to you and to the community at large? Which genre is best suited to communicating your message? Type your proposal. Due X
2. Outline with sources chosen and genre mentor text (model or example of the genre you would like to compose in). Once you’ve narrowed your focus/have chosen your genre, outline your argument. How will you support your general claim? What kind of sources would strengthen your argument? Which genre will serve as your mentor text? Due X
3. Rough draft. Begin writing. Bring in research and the methodological knowledge you’ve gained from our investigation into genre and rhetoric. Look to your source/mentor text for ideas about structure. Due X
4. Based on feedback on your rough draft, conduct further research, if necessary, to support your
   claims/vision. Incorporate reflection and feedback in order to improve the final product.
5. Final draft. Due X
6. Reflection. Your reflective letter should be at least 500 words. Due X

Grading^[3]

• Genre Awareness. You must show an understanding of the “rules” of the genre you are working in. Part of the Unit 3 assignment is a “genre report” (similar to those you did in Unit 2). Is this thoughtful, and well-reasoned? Do you follow these guidelines in your final project?
• Audience Awareness. Does your project do a good job at anticipating and accommodating the group to which it is addressed? Does your project make the diction, argument, genre, and design choices appropriate to your chosen audience?
• Care. How carefully have you constructed a “finished work” in the genre of your choosing? For instance, a great deal of care was put into how a documentary organizes information and image to convey a particular message to an audience. This criterion will vary depending on your genre, but you must in all cases turn in a finished, organized project that is consistent and free of typos and formatting errors. You should be able to explain why everything is where it is.
• Effectiveness of Message. Do you communicate a clear message to your intended audience? Your audience should walk away either having learned something that could change how they think about your topic, or else with productive questions about your topic. It should inspire nuanced engagement and curiosity in your audience.

1. Need to develop this! ↑
2. Need to simplify this! ↑
3. Again, need to simplify! ↑

Unit 2: Research 

Prof. Ruth Garcia

English 1101, Spring 2020

Unit 2: Annotated Bibliography (1000-word minimum)

Due: ?/?/2020

Assignment

At this point, you have brainstormed issues that are deeply important to you and you have narrowed those down to one in particular. Over the last couple of weeks, you have also worked to develop a question related to the topic you want to investigate.

Now, for this assignment you will do research and put together a 1000-word annotated bibliography of three sources that help you answer your 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.

How will this be graded?

• Your annotated bibliography should be at least 1000 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 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.

 

Unit 3: Genre

Prof. Garcia

ENG 1101

Spring 2020

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 you chose to work in.

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.
• Proofreading: You should proofread for clarity.

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I am not sure if I completed Unit 2 in full. Is the report necessary or is the Annotated Bibliography and Research Question enough? I looked at your instructions Carrie and also the samples, and it seemed like a report isn’t required, so I opted not to include it. If I need it, that’s fine and will revise.

English 1101

Unit 2 & 3 Projects

UNIT 2: Rhetorical Analysis Project

In Unit 2 you will investigate and report on a research question you choose. You will conduct research into at least four different genres, gather, and evaluate the information in those sources, and present a report on your findings. This report will be based on your investigating, analysis, and thinking of your sources, and what you have learned from your investigation.

Assignments and Due Dates (you will receive additional assignment sheets that explain each step more thoroughly when the due dates come closer)

1. Your Proposal with a research question Due Wed – 10/09 (10 Points): This will outline your intent for the project and the research question you will be investigating. Remember, this should be something you are interested in, since you’ll be continuing with this topic during Unit 3 as well.
2.  Initial Annotated Bibliography Due Mon – 10/16. (40 points): gather information on, and analyze four sources consisting of at least three different genres. I will have a hand out that shows the exact format I would like for you to follow, but essentially you will be summarizing the sources and evaluating their credibility.
3. Reflective analysis of each source Due Mon – 10/21. (50 points): After you have made your first annotated bibliography, I then want you to investigate those sources by means of rhetorical analysis with your research question in mind. Essentially, I want you to think about the reasoning behind the author’s choices they made when writing, and who they were writing for. You will also compare and contrast your analyses of sources to examine how the issue is discussed in a variety of genres.

Your analysis of each source must be at least 200 words. You must analyze not only what the source says, but how and why it says it.

4. Rough draft of your report Due Mon – 10/28. (50 points rough draft + 10 points for peer review): Include a Works Cited page of your sources. Bring two (2) copies of your rough draft to class to participate in the peer writing-workshop
5. 1500-word Final Draft with a Works Cited page Due Mon 11/04. (100 points.)
6. Reflection Paper Due Wed. 11/06 (25 points).: After the final draft you will write a reflection paper that will discuss what you have learned during the process.

Grading:

As always, I will be grading by using the rubric I provided on the first day of class on the syllabus, and how well you follow the directions of each assignment. Please ask me if you need any clarification.

 UNIT 3: Writing in a New Genre

In Unit 3, you will be re-purposing your research from Unit 2 to create a new composition, in a new genre. You might want to write a magazine article (with a specific audience in mind), a comic, a children’s book, short story, a video essay, a podcast etc. You may also create a multimedia piece with a written section if you want to do that instead.

This is to say, the assignment is left largely open. You can choose whatever rhetorical vehicle you want, as long as you are re-purposing your research from Unit 2, and that you are conscious of your rhetorical situation and the audience that you are communicating to. (For example: You cannot simply write an “article.” If you choose that route, then you will have to have a specific publication in mind and write towards that audience.)

Assignments and Due Dates (you will receive additional assignment sheets that explain each step more thoroughly when the due dates come closer)

1. Proposal Due. Wed -11/13. (10 points): The proposal will be a write up about what genre you are composing in and why do you think that genre will be effective in communicating your Unit 2 research to a specific audience. Essentially you will write: What do you want to say? Why is your topic important to you and to the community at large? Why is the genre you chose best suited to communicating your message?
2. Outline Due Wed. – 11/20. (40 points): Once you’ve narrowed your focus/have chosen your genre, you will provide me with an outline your project showing how it will communicate the central argument.
3.  Rough draft Due: Mon – 12/02. (50 points for the rough draft & 10 points for the peer review): Bring two copies of your rough draft to class to participate in the peer writing-workshop.
4. Final draft. Due: Mon – 12/09 (100 points)
5. Reflection Due: Wed – 12/11. (50 points): You will write a reflection on your project after you completed it. I will give you more specific questions at the time that this is assigned but your papers should be at least 500 words.

Grading:

You will be graded in accordance with the rubric I provided the first day of class, but since this is a more specialized assignment, I will be paying extra attention to the following:

1. Genre Awareness. Your project must show that you have a handle on the genre you are working in. This means that you must be conscious of what rules the genre has, and you will have shown that you can implement them.
2. Audience Awareness. As I have stated numerous times (and will no doubt state it numerous more times in class) Your project must have a clear audience, and your project must be conscious of that audience. You will be graded on how well you do this.

I used this for the first time this semester. I’ve noticed that most students chose to write short stories, op-eds and open letters.

Paper #3: Writing in a New Genre

In this paper, you will be using your research from Unit 2 to compose in a new genre. You might want to write a declaration, a manifesto, a rulebook, a magazine article (from a particular publication), a comic book, a children’s book, short story, a video essay etc. The possibilities are virtually endless, except you must:

1. Have a rhetorical understanding of the genre you choose
2. Make use of the research you did in Unit 2

It would help you to have a specific example of the genre in which you choose to write. Perhaps you discovered the genre while you were doing research for paper #2. You might have written about this genre, in some form, so use the knowledge you already have, and the knowledge you will gain from further research, to craft the best version of a document in the genre you’ve chosen. If you are choosing to do something say in video or song, you must transcribe the words. Word Count: I want you to follow the rules of the genre and don’t want you to write to fulfill a word count. That said, the piece you write needs to be well-developed. I also want you to write at least a 500 word reflection on the paper. I will hand out a separate sheet with questions that need to be addressed in the reflection. Reflections are written and submitted once you receive a grade for the paper,

Some ways you might want to get started:

Question your intent. Think, “What do I have to say? Why do I care about this topic? What is the best genre for me to communicate what I have to say?”

Choose a genre you like and that you think best fits your intent. If you decide for instance that you want to talk about bodegas, or your bodega specifically, perhaps an exposé is best.

The point here is, the topic and genre should gel.

Steps

1. Consider again how your research and genre analysis in Unit 2 has addressed/influenced your line of questioning. What do you want to say? Why is your topic important to you and to the community at large? Which genre is best suited to communicating your message?
2. Once you’ve narrowed your focus/have chosen your genre, outline your argument. How will your support your general claim? What kind of sources would strengthen your argument?
3. Conduct further research, if necessary, to support your claims/vision.
4. Begin writing. Bring in research and the methodological knowledge you’ve gained from our investigation into genre and rhetoric. Look to your source/mentor text for ideas about structure.
5. Incorporate reflection and feedback in order to improve the final product.

How will this be graded:

• Accuracy of genre analysis-Did you identify the common elements of this genre?
• Care and creativity- Did you put time and effort into the project?
• Repurposing- The question/argument from your research paper is present