English ENG 1121 Course Syllabus

Professor:  Kieran Reichert

Office Phone: (718) 260-5392

Office: Office Hours: Email: kreichert@citytech.cuny.edu

Meeting Time:

Classroom Location:  Namm N-1107

Online Location: *Insert OpenLab here*=

Course Description: 

As the second semester course in City Tech’s first-year writing program sequence, we’ll deepen our analytical understanding of writing and rhetoric by considering more rigorously how authors produce texts in response to a variety of situations. Building on what you’ve done in English 1101, the course will practice close reading and will learn how to approach texts from many different genres as well as learn about the idea of discourses and discourse communities. We’ll explore writing as a process, how research can help you build credibility and put texts into a conversation, and build skills that that can be applied across all areas of study.  We will be able to develop our own ideas about writing that we can take with us into future academic and professional experiences. Students will engage in class discussion to strengthen critical thinking and develop the language to respond to a wide variety of texts, ideas, and societal issues. The ultimate goal of ENG 1101 and ENG 1121 is to provide you with the rhetorical awareness and tools to transfer your writing skills to any type of situation that requires a written response. So we’ll explore situations even beyond the scope of this class, and look outward at how you can become a successful writer throughout your career and life beyond the academy.

Prerequisite:  CUNY proficiency in reading and writing

 

Objectives

After completing ENG 1121, you should be able to: 

1. Read and listen critically and analytically in a variety of genres and rhetorical situations: Identify and evaluate exigencies, purposes, claims, supporting evidence, and underlying assumptions in a variety of texts, genres, and media.
2. Adapt and compose in a variety of genres: Adapt writing conventions in ways that are suitable to different exigencies and purposes in a variety of contexts, including academic, workplace, and civic audiences. When appropriate, repurpose prior work to new genres, audiences, and media by adjusting delivery, design, tone, organization, and language.
3. Use research as a process of inquiry and engagement with multiple perspectives: Learn to focus on a topic and develop research questions that lead to propositions and claims that can be supported with well-reasoned arguments. Persuasively communicate and repurpose research projects across a variety of contexts, purposes, audiences, and media. Demonstrate research skills through proper attribution and citation gathering, evaluating, and synthesizing both primary and secondary sources. Learn how to use appropriate citation styles depending on disciplinary and situational requirements (MLA, APA, Chicago, etc.)
4. Use reflection and other metacognitive processes to revise prior assumptions about the writing processes and transfer acquired knowledge about effective reading and writing practices into new writing situations: Engage with reading and writing as a process including prewriting, writing, and continuous revision. Students write essays that demonstrate their reflection on their own writing process from the beginning and through the semester with the intention to transfer their acquired knowledge about genre and composing practices into new writing situations.
5. Demonstrate the social and ethical responsibilities and consequences of writing: Recognize that first-year writing includes academic, workplace, and civic contexts, all of which require careful deliberation concerning the ethical and social ramifications concerning fairness, inclusivity, and respect for diversity. Write and revise for academic and broader, public audiences accordingly.
6. Compose in 21st Century Environments: Learn to choose among the most current and effective delivery methods for different composing situations, including composing in new media environments, including alphabetic texts, still and moving images, sonic, and mixed media compositions. Use digital media platforms appropriate to audience and purpose.

Texts

• To be handed out in class and/or posted on the course website. If texts are available on the course website only, I’ll expect you to download, print, and bring them with you on the day we’re due to discuss them in class.
• Course website: https://openlab.citytech.cuny.edu/groups/eng1121_s20_reichert_dXXX
• For style, editing, and source citations, I recommend the Purdue OWL

University Policies

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/.

Academic Integrity and Plagiarism Statement

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 at New York City College of Technology and is punishable by penalties, including failing grades, suspension, and expulsion.

Sanctions for Academic Integrity Violations

In accordance with the CUNY Policy on Academic Integrity, NYCCT empowers its Academic Integrity Committee and Academic Integrity Officer to process violations of the CUNY Academic Integrity Policy. As stated in the student handbook, all instructors must report all instances of academic dishonesty to the Academic Integrity Officer.

Course Policies

Word Count: All students in first-year composition are required to turn in a minimum of 6,000 finished words in order to successfully pass the class. Students who don’t meet the word count requirement will receive a grade of F. This is the English Department policy.

Final Portfolio / Reflection: At the end of the semester students will turn in a final portfolio which is a collection of their revised essays over the course of the semester. In addition, students will submit a final essay that is both reflective and argumentative in nature. In this essay, students will be asked to explain how the work they have done over the course of the semester has met the learning outcomes for the course. In developing this essay, students will argue that the work they have done in the course has met the learning outcomes and will show how that work meets the outcomes by using examples from their own writings that appear in the final portfolio. The final reflective/argumentative essay should be a minimum of 1100 words. Students who do not meet the 1100 word count for this reflection piece will not pass the class and will receive a grade of F. This is the English Departmental policy. 

Attendance: Students who fail to attend class regularly will fall behind on the daily writing assignments. The daily assignments build upon previous work and lead towards success in the major projects. In order to succeed in the class, students will need to attend regularly. Students who fall behind will likely have a difficult time catching up.

 Late/Missing Work:  Work is counted as late if it is not provided to me before or during class on the due date (if you email it to me later that day, it is considered late). Late papers will lose one letter grade per day late. Missing class is not an excuse for late work. If outside circumstances make a deadline impossible to meet, it is your responsibility to contact me ahead of time to discuss a possible extension.

NOTE: Please make sure to have at least one student’s email address for missed work. You are responsible for reaching out to them or to me to find out what you missed.

OpenLab Statement:

You will need to register with the City Tech Open Lab and join our course immediately. It will be your responsibility to learn the navigation of the class website during the first week. After the first week, we will be using the Open Lab. Any work that you fail to post after the 3^rd class meeting cannot be made up. If you need help with this, see me immediately, and make sure to come to the first and second class meetings.

Course Load Statement:

A full-time course load for a college student is 4 classes. At forty hours per week, that breaks down to 10 hours per class. You will be in class for 2.5 hours a week. Plan to spend 7.5 hours on reading/writing assignments for each week on average. Some weeks will be more. Some less. 

Major Projects and Assignments

Project 1: Rhetoric, Genre, Discourse

Project 2: Research Proposal & Annotated Bibliography

Project 3: Multimodal Remix

Other graded projects:  Blog posts, reflection essays, revisions, peer review letters.

Participation: 10% of your grade will be based on the quantity and quality of your participation in class. Reading the assigned texts, completing any homework, and bringing the necessary materials to class are all crucial to effective participation.  

Extra Credit: Extra credit proposals will be considered on a case-by-case basis and are only available given extenuating circumstances.

 

Unit 1: Rhetoric, Genre, Discourse

This assignment asks students to identify a discourse community and help them become aware of the ways that discourse communities inform rhetorical situations and rhetorical choices. Discourse communities can be defined by the instructor, full class, and/or individual students in many ways: as academic, cultural, ethnic, religious, social, artistic, or other communities. However, one thing that discourse communities share is a common specialized interest and linguistic discourse. By closely analyzing specific discourses that they may have previously ignored or taken for granted and rhetorically analyzing linguistic artifacts, students become more aware, not only of how discourse functions within the particular community out of which the artifact arose, but of the powers and limitations of language as it travels within and through various discourse communities. This assignment offers a means for students to understand and use a variety of types of research, including ethnography, analysis of artifacts, interviews, or other primary sources. The final product may take one of many different forms: an analytic paper, a creative assignment, an Op-Ed/popular article, a report, a letter, or a review, but in all cases, students should emerge with a deeper understanding of the ways in which discourse communities define a rhetorical situation by uniting an audience, establishing a shared language, and promoting a common interest or goal.

 

Unit 2: Research, Inquiry, Argument

This assignment asks students to continue looking outside their school lives and to tackle an urgent current social problem, such as voter suppression, empowerment of specific communities, or the epidemic of shootings, or something that is particularly important to them and/or a specific discourse community, possibly the one they wrote about in Unit 1. The goal is to create an argumentative essay that 1) begins with focused research questions about a specific problem/issue, 2) asks students to conduct primary and secondary research to identify stakeholders and analyze different perspectives, 3) ends with a draft of a position paper. This might be used in Unit 3 and translated into different media targeting a specific audience affected by the problem.

Unit 3: Repurposed Multimodal Project

This assignment asks students to re-think—or re-envision—one of the assignments they have written previously in the semester, presenting it in a totally new genre, perhaps changing modes: a written essay to an audio podcast, website, graphic, video essay, rap album, or mixed modal. This assignment builds on the generic, rhetorical, and audience awareness that students have worked on all semester long, asking them to consider what discourse community they are trying to reach and, not only what diction, but also what mode of delivery would be best for that message/community. This “translation” is key to transfer, one of the course learning outcomes of this course. If students can take a message and transform it for different audiences and media, then they are well on their way to being able to transfer writing skills across fields, disciplines, and discourse communities.

Final Portfolio Project

The final portfolio assignment asks students to accomplish three tasks: 1) to revise all of their work over the course of the semester; 2) reflections, describe the process and evolution of the project over the course of the semester; 3) students also write a narrative that explains their evolution as a reader and writer over the course of the semester, from their thoughts about writing/reading during the literacy narrative to how they feel about writing and reading now. It is important to recognize that students should not simply state that their writing has changed over the semester, but they should be able to specifically identify and describe with sufficient detail particular moments in their assignments and in the semester where they could substantiate how their own growth was taking place. Last, 4) the assignment should also ask students to consider how the course has prepared them for transfer—that is, for writing in other contexts.

Grading Procedure: While the Portfolio will be graded as a whole at the end of the semester, the drafts that you turn in throughout the course of the semester will be treated as intermediate grades and will count for a percentage. You will be graded based on the strength of the first draft, the success of the revision, and the depth and quality of the reflection. Students who fail to submit process and scaffolding work for the major projects during the semester will likely not perform well on the final portfolio. You will receive feedback on every draft of each major writing assignment, and you will get a grade for each assignment that can be continuously improved and revised for the final portfolio.   

Grade Calculation

Blog Posts                                                        20%

Presentation                                                      10%

Participation                                                     10%

Final Portfolio                                                   60 %

Drafts                20%

Revisions           20%

Reflections         20%

 

 

 

 

 

 

Semester Outline

 

• All Readings and Assignments are DUE on the day they are listed.
• Any changes made to the following schedule will be announced in class or on the class website. It is your responsibility to keep up with all announced changes.

 

DATE	CLASS TOPICS	READINGS / WRITINGS / VIEWINGS
WEEK 1            M  01/27	Introductions, Syllabus, Open Lab	Open Lab website, readings, intro writing.
W   01/29	Syllabus, Discourse communities, Literacy Narratives	“Mother Tongue” by Amy Tan. DC activity. “Concept of a Discourse Community” by John Swales (in-class), use on own DC.
WEEK 2 M   02/03	Unit 1: Rhetoric, Genre, Discourse An Analytical Framework	“Backpacks vs. Briefcases” by Laura Carroll. Continued review/practice with DC. Writing due: Blog Post #1 – Critical Response to Tan, Swales, or Carroll
W 02/05	Primary Research	“Navigating Genres” by Kerry Dirk. Podcasting/Interviewing. Relate to interview process.
WEEK 3 M    02/10	Process	“Shitty First Drafts” by Anne Lamott. Writing due: Blog Post #2 – List of 10 interview questions
W   02/12	Lincoln’s b-day. College Closed.
WEEK 4 M    02/17	Peer Review: Group Review	“Responding—really responding—to Other Students’ Writing” by Richard Straub. Writing due: Rough Draft, incl. interview (2 copies)
W   02/19	Revision: Lamott + Murray	“Internal Revision: A Process of Discovery” by Donald Murray. Notes on Reflection.
WEEK 5 M    02/24	Unit 2: Research as Inquiry Introduction	Writing due: Final Draft #1 (for now) + Reflection
W   02/26	Library Visit? Using inquiry to drive Research	“Using Sources Ethically” by Marcia Muth. “Argument as Conversation: The Role of Inquiry in Writing a Researched Argument” by Stuart Greene.
WEEK 6 M    03/02	Research Questions to Theses	“On the Other Hand: The Role of Antithetical Writing in FY Composition Courses” by Steve Krause. Writing due: Blog Post #3 – Annotation of 3 sources
W   03/04	A Good Thesis	“Why We Need to Get in Formation: The Rhetoric of Beyoncé” by Kira Pratt (Student Essay). Lay out traditional academic outline.
WEEK 7 M    03/09	Genre + Discourse Community	“Don’t Eat Before Reading This” by Anthony Bourdain. Write: Blog Post – Analysis of DC/Genre
W   03/11	Different Modes of Peer Review	Writing Due: Rough Draft (1 copies)
WEEK 8 M    03/16	Consider Your Audience	“Consider the Lobster” by David Foster Wallace.  Writing Due: Blog Post #4 –Peer Review Letter
W   03/16	Audience, cont’d.	Excerpt, “My President Was Black” by Ta-Nehisi Coates.
WEEK 9	Midterm Grades Due this Week
M    03/23	Unit 3: Multimodal Remix Introduction	“The Art of Trespassing” by Justin Graffa (student project). Writing Due: Final Draft + Reflection
W   03/25	Questions of Genre	“All Writing is Multimodal” by Cheryl Ball and Colin Charlton.
WEEK 10 M    03/30	Composing in 21st Century Environments	Presentation Examples + Tutorials.  Mini-Conferences.
W   04/01	Film/Video as a Genre	Excerpt, Where to Invade Next by Michael Moore.
WEEK 11 M    04/06	Presentations	Presentations
T     04/07	Classes follow a Wednesday Schedule.	Presentations. Mini-conferences (cont’d).
W   04/08	Spring Recess	No Class.
WEEK 12 M    04/13	Spring Recess	No Class.
W   04/15	Spring Recess	No Class.
WEEK 13 M   04/20	Final Portfolio Introductions In-Class Reflection Review	In Class: One-on-One Peer Review. Writing due: Rough Draft Multimodal Essay Reflection
W   04/22	Argument and Reflection	“Don’t Let My Classmates’ Deaths Be in Vain” by Christine Yared. “A Young Activist’s Advice: Vote, Shave Your Head, and Cry Whenever You Need To” by Emma González
WEEK 14 M    04/27	Revision Workshop	Micro v Macro, Feedback loops, Revision Plans. Writing Due: Blog Post #5 – Revision Plan
W   04/29	Discourse Communities, Research, and Argument	“The Florida Shuffle” by Colton Wooten.
WEEK 15 M    05/04	Syllabus Catch Up Day.	Writing Due: Final Draft #3 (Reflection)
W   05/06	Revisiting Genres.	“Leaving Prison at 72” by Rick Rojas. Vice video piece.
WEEK 16 M    05/11	Putting it All Together	Reflecting vis-à-vis learning objectives.
W   05/13	Peer Review	Group Workshop. Writing Due: Draft of Final Reflection
F 05/15	Reading Day. No Classes.
WEEK 17 5/16-22	Final Exam Week.
M    5/18	Final Thoughts.	Workshop day. Bring in Portfolio materials, including reflection drafts.
W    5/20	Final Thoughts.	In-class writing activities. Writing due: FINAL PORTFOLIO DUE (BB)
Th 05/28	Final Grades Due

 

 

 

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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 21^st 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.

 

English 1121: Writing Across Genres and Communities

CP20                                      

Professor Lowenstein

Email: ALowensteinisaacs@citytech.cuny.edu

Office: Pearl 313

Office Phone: 718-260-5399

Room: Monday and Wednesdays 12:30-1:45

Office Hours: Monday 11:00-12:00 and 5pm-6pm

 

COURSE DESCRIPTION

 

Welcome to ENG 1121! This course builds on its prerequisite, ENG 1101. Together, we will explore and write within new genres, conduct research, and reflect on our writing practices. The big goal is that after you finish this sequence, you’ll be able to analyze and participate in genres inside and outside of higher ed. We’re aiming to build skills that will be useful in future coursework, the workplace, and in your personal lives. In other words, this course isn’t self-contained—we’re aiming to give you a toolbox of skills that you can apply across situations.

 

DEPARTMENTAL LEARNING OUTCOMES

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

4. Use reflection and other metacognitive processes to revise prior assumptions about the writing processes and transfer acquired knowledge about effective reading and writing practices into new writing situations. Engage with reading and writing as a process including prewriting, writing, and continuous revision. Students write essays that demonstrate their reflection of their own writing process from the beginning and throughout the semester with the intention to transfer their acquired knowledge about genre and composing practices into new writing situations.

 

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

 

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

 

COURSE PROJECTS

 

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

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

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

 

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

 

 

 

 

 

GRADING

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

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

Writing Assignments- 30%

• Low-stakes writing 10%- This includes writing-based homework, and writing assignments. They will be graded based on completion.
• Unit projects 20%- This includes your major papers: the discourse community analysis, the call to action, the call to action remix, and the final reflection. They will be graded based on rubrics I will hand out. Please note that this means that each of your major papers, as well as the final reflection, is worth only 5% of your grade. Why? Because I want to see you revise—and the best versions of what you write will be the revised versions that appear in your final portfolio.

 

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

 

WHAT YOU CAN EXPECT FROM ME

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

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

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

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

 

COURSE POLICIES

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

 

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

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

 

It is important that you are in class for peer review days (3/2, 3/23, 4,27). If you miss these days, I highly recommend going to the Atrium Learning Center to work on your paper with a tutor.

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

 

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

 

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/.

 

 

College Policy on Academic Integrity:  “Students who work with information, ideas, and texts 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 CUNY 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.”

 

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

 

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

CAMPUS RESOURCES

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

Phone: 718-260-5874

Location: 300 Jay St LG-18

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

 

REQUIRED MATERIALS

Readings- The Literary Experience

Bruce Beiderwell, Jeffrey M. Wheeler, .2nd ed. 

Boston: Cenage, 2016. Print.

Handouts

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

 

 

Unit 1:Portrait of a Discourse Community           

        

2/3          Class introduction and review of syllabus. Read Anne Lamott “Sh**ty First Drafts.” Writing Response #1:Read the first half of Tim O’Brien’s “The Things They Carried.” Write a 150-word response to the reading addressing any emotions or insights you had while reading the story.

 

2/5          Discussion on Discourse Communities and “The Things They Carried.” Writing Response #2: Read the rest of “The Things They Carried.” After discussing discourse communities in class, do you see how that concept relates to the story? Are the soldiers a part of a discourse community? Why? Why not? Write 200 words. Read the first part of “Navigating Genres” handout.

 

2/10        Discussion on “The Things They Carried” and “Navigating Genres.” Review Essay #1:  Assignment hand out. Writing Response #3: Finish reading “Navigating Genres.” Answer one discussion question following the reading. You can choose which one to answer! Response must be at least 150 words.

 

2/24        Presenting Outlines! Read NYT Op-Ed in class. Discuss Genre and Discourse Communities. Writing  Response #4: Read Richard Straub, “Responding to Work” Write a 150 word response.

 

2/26        Discussion on “Responding to Work.” Work on first draft of Essay #1.

 

3/2          First Draft Workshop

 

3/4          Hand in Paper #1! Discussion on Research and New Unit. Brainstorming a Research Question!

 

Unit 2: Call To Action

 

 

3/9          In-class reading and discussion on “Backpacks v. Briefcases” and identifying problems within a community. Start doing your research!

 

3/11        Library Visit!

 

3/16        Bring in Research Memo for Peer Review

 

3/18        In-Class reading and discussion of Mike Rose “Writer’s Block.” Write your papers!

              

3/23        First Draft Workshop

 

3/25        Hand in Paper! In-class discussion on Donald Murray “Internal Revision,” Writing Response #5: Read “The Yellow Wallpaper” and write 200 words on your thoughts on the ending.

 

3/30        Discussion on “The Yellow Wallpaper.” Writing Response #6: Read Nelson Graf, “Teaching Rhetorical Analysis to Promote Transfer of Learning.” Write 200 words reacting to the reading.  While addressing the reading, highlight a portion that stood out to you and write one question you have about that reading.

Unit III: Call to Action Remix

4/1          Discussion on “Writing for Transfer.” Discussion on Mentor Articles

 

4/6          Proposal for Final Project. Continued discussion on “Writing for Transfer.” Writing Response # 6: Bring in a mentor article, video clip, etc for your genre and write a 150 words explaining why you chose it. Be prepared to present this mentor article to the class. Write

 

 

4/8          Present mentor articles. Writing Response #7: Read Joyce Carol Oates “Where Are You   Going, Where Have You Been?” Write 150 word response to the reading addressing any emotions or insights you had while reading the story

 

 

4/20        Discussion on “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” and genres.

 

 

4/22        Discussion on genres, “Where Are You Going, Where You Have You Been.”  Discussion on assembling a Writing Portfolio.

 

 

4/27        In-Class Research and finalization of project

 

4/29       First Draft workshop

 

 

5/4          Paper #3: Call to Action Remix due today! In-class presentation day for remix projects more details to come on how we will present.

 

5/6          In-class presentation day for remix projects Write 1000 word author statement (guidelines will be handed out in class). Due 5/11.

 

**During these final two weeks, I will hold mini-conferences during class to discuss papers and grades**

 

5/11         In-class revision workshop: Bring in your discourse analysis paper with my comments to class call to action paper with my comments to class.

5/13         In-class proofreading workshop: Bring your most updated version of the call to action paper to class

5/18         Submit your completed portfolio today

 

5/20        Final Class Reflection.