Week 1
- Welcome and introductions
- Housekeeping: Course and site review
- Diagnostic: Beginning-of-Term Reflection (core values)
- Self-Introductions (alternately, students can interview each other)
- Create free New York Times account
- NYTimes Word of the Day
- “Managing Your Time”
- Mike Bunn, “How to Read Like a Writer” (WP: What are your regular reading and writing habits? What do you tend to read? What forms of writing do you engage in? Do you tend to write on paper, a laptop, your phone?)
- Reading strategies: annotating, understanding main ideas, considering how reading and writing work together [Integrated Reading and Writing principles, or IRW]
Week 2
Unit 1: Education Narrative
- June 2023 City Tech Graduation Video (Writing Prompt: What do you think will be the biggest challenge facing you in your pursuit of a degree?)
- “Life Before and After Remote Learning at City Tech” Sergio Flores (2023) (WP: What is the best lesson you learned from the Covid-19 pandemic?)
- Prof. Caroline Hellman, “In Defense of the Classroom” (2020) (WP: Which method of instruction–asynchronous on-line, synchronous on-line, hybrid, fully in-person–do you prefer?)
- Reading strategies: annotating, understanding main ideas, summarizing, vocabulary building
Week 3
- Video: Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie: “The Danger of a Single Story” (20min)
- José Olivarez, “Maybe I Could Save Myself by Writing” and “Mexican American Disambiguation” (2018) (WP: What is something you do very well?)
- Video: “Citizen Illegal. José Olivarez discusses his immigration and family challenges” (Ars Poetica)
- Poem: “Ars Poetica,”
- Reading strategies: summarizing and responding, identifying rhetorical choices, imagining intended audience
- Unit 1 discussion and brainstorming
- Hellman, Writing Process PPT
- Low-stakes paragraph about educational experience, inside or outside of a school setting. Use this paragraph to generate an Education Narrative Outline for your Unit 1 Education & Identity narrative
Week 4
- Unit 1 Outline due
- “The Beauty of Reading” Jose Olivarez (and NY1 News story Video)
- Sentence Mechanics – Composition Skills
- Quote Sandwich – Composition Skills (cuny.edu)
- Schedule writing conference
Week 5
- Unit 1 Rough Draft due in Google Drive
- “Learning to Think” Fared Zakaria
- Revising and proofreading. How can a piece of writing be improved? What does it mean to revise? Revision components: argument, structure, development, grammar, word choice, sentence structure. What does it mean to proofread?
- Peer review
- Revise Unit 1 essay with feedback from Professor, peer review partner
Week 6
- Unit 1 due in Google Drive
Unit 2: Critical Media Literacy (Guided Reflective Annotated Bibliography and Response Essay)
- Nolan Higdon, Teaching Media Literacy
- Critical Media Project (Website)
- Film, Trust Me
Week 7
- “What the Internet is Doing to Our Brains” : Interview with Nicholas Carr, author of The Shallows
- “ChatGPT is Making Universities Rethink Plagiarism” NYTimes Article
- Rhetorical analysis and determining representative quotations
- Work on your RAB (Reflective Annotated Bibliography) and Response Essay
- The “Response” Essay (with directions)
- Sample Student Essay
Week 8
- Unit 2 Rough Draft Due in Google Drive
- Share draft with peer reviewer
- Use feedback to revise draft and prepare final version with cover page reflection
Week 9
- Unit 2 Due in Google Drive
Unit 3: Final Research Topic and Genre Determination
- Emily Hu (City Tech Student) “Many Years After: A Letter on Anti-Asian Violence”
- Many Years After (short film based on Emily Hu’s essay)
- Arnold Ludd (City Tech Student): “Critical Race Theory: Pass it On”
- Prof. Hellman, Understanding Unit 2 PPT
- Find an article in the New York Times (or on one of the library databases) on a current topic of your choosing. Using information from this article, write a 1-paragraph summary and review. What is the topic of the article? Why are you interested in the topic? What are three things you learned about the topic? What quotes stand out? What are some potential questions you still have? Lastly, create a list of 1-2 additional sources (in different genres perhaps) that you also plan to consult.
- Consider how you now want to present your topic to a wider audience. Which genre and writing style best suits your project, and your intended audience. If in doubt about choosing a genre, consider submitting the written text that accompanies your Powerpoint presentation.
Week 10
Library Visit. November 8 (2:30-3:15). Review databases for research and discuss the importance of finding and vetting appropriate sources.
Week 11
Review Research Methods
Week 12
- Unit 3 Workshop: Outline due
- Use your outline and annotated bibliography to generate a rough draft of Unit 3
- How to make a great Powerpoint Presentation
- Schedule writing conference
Week 13
- Unit 3 Rough Draft due in Google Drive
- Class presentations
- Revision workshop
Week 14
- Unit 3 Class Presentations continued
- Revision workshop
Week 15
- Unit 3 Class Presentations continued
- Revision workshop
Week 16
- Unit 3 Due in Google Drive
Week 17
- Final Reflection Due
UNIT #1 ALTERNATIVE READINGS
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- Rhina P. Espaillat, “Bilingual/Bilingüe”
- Stephon Hobson, “The Caged Bird Prevails” (29)
- Li-Young Lee, “Persimmons”
- Perri Klass, “The Influence of A Perfect Teacher,” NYT
- Esau McCaulley, “What Mrs. Bailey Taught Me in A.P. History Changed My Life”
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