English 2100 KMWA: Writing I
Baruch College—Fall 2015
Mondays and Wednesdays 2:55PM-4:35PM
Room #VC 13-145
Professor: Dr. Linda Neiberg
Office: VC 7-290D
Email: [email protected]
Office Hours: Wednesdays 12:00PM-1:00PM, or by appointment
Required texts (available at the College Bookstore):
* A notebook in which you will take copious notes during class and sketch ideas you are working through, and which you will bring to each class.
* A journal (a notebook, a diary, a three-ring binder with lined paper, etc.—as long as it is a hard copy)
(please note that your “notebook” and your “journal” are two, distinct items; bring each to class)
* Our course blog on our course site, located on Blogs@Baruch (your Baruch email is required for access)
* Reading materials on our course BlackBoard (BB) page, and reading materials distributed as handouts
Recommended texts (available at the College Bookstore and Online):
* Jane E. Aaron. The Little, Brown Handbook, 7th ed. New York: Pearson Longman, 2007 (handouts from this text will also be distributed)
* Online guide: OWL Purdue https://owl.english.purdue.edu
ENG 2100: Writing I (4.0 Hours; 3.0 Credits)
Required for all undergraduate degrees granted by Baruch College, Writing I is an intensive course introducing students to the conventions of academic writing and to writing as a means of discovery. The primary purpose of this course is to enhance students’ writing skills and rhetorical sophistication, particularly with regard to argumentative prose. Students practice and share their written articulation of ideas as a community of writers, and read a variety of intellectually challenging and thematically coherent texts in a range of genres. All semester, the emphasis is on writing and communication skills as processes involving multiple steps, including drafting, discussion, revision, and re-thinking. The work of the class is conducted in classroom, small-group, and one-on-one sessions.
This course is designed to be a gateway of exploration for further writing and research you will do in your courses at Baruch and beyond.
Learning Outcomes for ENG 2100 and ENG 2150 are:
- Rhetorical knowledge: You will analyze and identify key ideas in various discursive genres (e.g. essays, news articles, speeches, documentaries, plays, poems, short stories), with careful attention to the role of rhetorical conventions such as style, tropes, genre, audience and purpose, and demonstrate an ability to apply such rhetorical knowledge in your own writing.
- Inquiry and research: You will identify credible sources for your research questions; engage with multiple perspectives by summarizing, interpreting, critiquing, and synthesizing the arguments of others; and avoid plagiarism by ethically acknowledging the work of others when used in your own writing using a citation style appropriate to your audience and purpose.
- Well-developed thesis: You will develop your ideas into a focused, compelling argument, developed in unified and coherent paragraphs, and supported by, as applicable, evidence from your own experience, your research, and the texts you analyze.
- Composing process: You will experience writing as a creative way of thinking and generating knowledge and as a process involving multiple drafts, review of your work by members of your discourse community (e.g. instructor and peers), revision, and editing, reinforced by reflecting on your writing process in metacognitive ways.
- Style and editing: You will produce effectively organized writing that demonstrates sophistication in word choice, syntax, and sentence structure and that follows conventions of standard English grammar and usage.
COURSE DESCRIPTION:
This intensive course, the first of two required writing courses (ENG 2100 and ENG 2150), shall help develop your ability to write as a means of discovery and expression. The course focuses on writing and reading as interconnected practices that develop and sharpen critical thinking skills. We will emphasize writing as a process—one that entails freewriting, reading, drafting, informal and formal writing, discussion, re-thinking, and revision. We will work in small groups, as a whole class, one-on-one, and individually as we explore some of the following questions: What is the purpose of a particular piece of writing? What is its genre? Who is my audience? How should I organize a certain piece of writing? What should I think about in order to revise my work? What is an argument, how do I compose one, and how do I prove my argument? How do I read and write critically? What are some of the various modalities in which we write? How do I convey information through writing? Can reading and writing offer us pleasure?
COURSE THEME:
Our theme for this course is Imagining and Reimagining the Body. We all have bodies—but what does it mean to have a body, to be a body, to read bodies? How do poets, scientists, artists, theologians, mystics, playwrights, scholars, autobiographers, and journalists describe (or show) the body and its parts? Who are their respective audiences and what is the purpose of a particular “text” whose main theme foregrounds “the body?” What does the body show us? What does it conceal? How have bodies been viewed by particular cultures and in particular historical periods? How does technology alter the shape of—and our conceptions about—the human body? Through a wide variety of reading and writing assignments, our learning community shall explore depictions of living bodies, dead bodies, and bodies in extremis. The primary purpose of this course is to help you enhance your writing skills and rhetorical sophistication, particularly with regard to argumentative prose. In the process, we shall also identify connections between the human body and culture, and some of the ways in which one shapes the other.
ATTENDANCE AND COMPORTMENT:
You are responsible for attending every class. If you miss even one day, you will miss a lot, so save any absences for illnesses or emergencies. Department policy states that after four absences a student is to be dropped from the course. You are responsible for all material covered in class, even if you are absent; therefore, get to know your classmates so you can get notes from them. I will not chase you down to inform you about what you missed. And please don’t ask me in an email if you missed “anything important.” The answer will always be “yes.”
If you brought a beverage or food with you to consume before class begins, please take your containers with you. Also, please take care of your restroom needs before class. Running to the loo during class is rude and will not be tolerated, unless you are experiencing a medical emergency. If exits become habitual, I will begin treating them as absences. Also, you must bring that day’s reading materials to class, otherwise I will mark you absent for that day.
LATENESS AND SNOOZING:
I do not tolerate lateness. If you arrive more than ten minutes late for a class, you will receive half an absence. Thus, two late arrivals = one absence. The math is rather straightforward. Similarly, if you leave before the end of the class period, I will note half an absence. If you sleep during class, you will be noted as absent for that day.
ELECTRONIC DEVICES:
Laptops, notebooks, and cell phones must be turned OFF, and kept off and in your bags during class. Studies have shown that open laptops and cell phones lead to texting, internet surfing, and emailing—distractions that can impair learning. Studies have also shown that this distracts not only the user of the device, but people seated nearby, which impairs their learning too. Unless you have a note from Disability Services, you must turn off your devices until class is over. Finally, I find it distracting when students are engaged with electronic devices when they should have eyes on their peers and on me and be actively engaged in a class discussions and writing exercises. There will, however, be times when our activities will require the use of electronic devices in the classroom. I will let you know when this is the case.
EMAIL ETIQUETTE:
We will write in several genres, from informal, in-class freewriting to formal essays. Please think of your emails to me as brief, semiformal electronic letters. Your emails to me must include the following (oh, and please don’t address me as “Hi,” with no name):
Subject heading: Please include: Course Title and Section, plus keywords indicating the purpose of your email:
ENG 2100 SMWB – Copy of Rough Draft—Essay #1
Salutation: Dear Dr. Neiberg, Greetings Professor Neiberg, Hello Dr. Neiberg,
Valediction: Sincerely, Regards, Kind regards.
Your name Your name Your name
Please do not send me a document without writing something in the body of your email. Sending an attachment, without letting the recipient know what it is and why you are sending it, is simply impolite. If I receive a free-floating attachment, with no written email, I will pretend I never received it.
READING ASSSIGNMENTS:
This course demands considerable reading, much of which may be unfamiliar to you. You must therefore keep up with the reading starting with the very first reading assignment. Once you fall behind, it will be nearly impossible to catch up. Please budget reading time generously. The quality of your work—including all papers, class participation, blogs, oral presentations, and quizzes – depends on your having read all of the assignments. Begin your homework well in advance, so that you can arrive in class with comments, questions, and positions. All reading materials for a given day must be brought to class. If you arrive unprepared (this includes not bringing your reading materials to class), your grade will suffer. You will also be marked absent for the day.
CLASS PARTICIPATION:
I expect you to come to class having read all of the work for that day and to both initiate and engage in meaningful discussions (with your peers and with me) that not only will help us analyze the texts, but that likewise will show how deeply you have thought about the texts. Moreover, I don’t want you to simply respond to me, but also to engage each other. This course is designed as a workshop and seminar, not a lecture. To grow as writers and readers, we must read and write regularly. Please note that your lack of participation will adversely affect your course grade. Consistent, engaged participation, on the other hand, will positively influence your final grade. I will call on students. I do not do this to put people on the spot, but rather to be sure that everyone has a chance to share ideas, make observations, and pose questions.
LATE PAPERS AND LATE HOMEWORK:
I will not accept late papers or homework. Since you will have had ample time between the date that the topic is assigned and the due date—and since I am available for feedback and guidance during that period—there is no reason for not having your written work on time. If you are absent the day a writing exercise is due, you must be sure that your work is submitted electronically to me before the start of class. A late paper will result in a failing grade for that assignment.
ACADEMIC HONESTY:
Borrowing any words or ideas from another source—without proper citation—is plagiarism. We will have ample opportunities to review examples of plagiarized work so that you know what it looks like—and how to avoid plagiarizing. I have failed students for plagiarism and my policy is strict: if you plagiarize or commit any other act of academic dishonesty, you will fail the assignment and possibly the course. Among the tools I may use to confirm plagiarism are internet sources such as “turnitin.com.” The school’s policy on academic dishonesty states in part: “Academic dishonesty is unacceptable and will not be tolerated. Cheating, forgery, plagiarism and collusion in dishonest acts undermine the college’s educational mission and the students’ personal and intellectual growth. Baruch students are expected to bear individual responsibility for their work, to learn the rules and definitions that underlie the practice of academic integrity, and to uphold its ideals. Being unaware of the rules is not an acceptable excuse for disobeying them. Please refer to Baruch’s website for the full statement. Any student who attempts to compromise or devalue the academic process will be sanctioned.” I will formally report instances of plagiarism to the Office of the Dean of Students. Turn to me if you are having an essay crisis.
ACADEMIC ACCOMODATION:
Students with disabilities may be eligible for a reasonable accommodation to enable them to participate fully in courses at Baruch. If you feel you may be in need of an accommodation, please contact the Office of Services for Students with Disabilities at (646) 312‑4590. For additional information: http://www.baruch.cuny.edu/facultyhandbook/DisabilitiesInformation.htm
ACTIVITIES AS A COMMUNICATION INTENSIVE COURSE (CIC):
Blogging (Blogs @ Baruch):
Each student is responsible for initiating at least one post on our course blog. This post must be at least 200 words. Respondents (i.e. readers who offer a comment on a post) to the initial post may offer responses that are shorter than 200 words. Your post should not be merely a summary of the assigned reading. Rather, try to analyze the reading in a way that opens up that text for discussion. Alternatively, if your assigned text raises questions for you, pose one or two of those questions as a centerpiece of your blog. Foregrounding one’s confusion about a text is likewise a productive way to generate online discussions (and, perhaps, share answers). You may also want to compare the assigned readings to another text we have read. Please feel free to be creative and incorporate images or video (or any other appropriate multimedia material) in your posting. Try to think of your blog as a way to express your ideas about the reading assignment, and of drawing your classmates into an online discussion that helps illuminate that text and expand the way(s) in which you think about it. Each student is responsible for initiating one blog and being a respondent to at least four blogs throughout the semester. (I keep count J).
BLOGGING PROTOCOLS:
Although our blog is online, it will be private. The aim in doing so is to promote a safe place for you to freely express your thoughts and practice your online writing style. Our goal is to create a space for respectful, considerate, and thoughtful discussion and debate. Thus, please make sure that what you write, as well as what you might link to, is not offensive to anyone in our classroom or in the hypothetical blogosphere. Blogs are often informal, though some tend to be more formal. While I want you practice your formal writing style (complete sentences, correct spelling and grammar, standard English, etc.), I also want you to feel free to experiment with more informal styles (using sentence fragments, slang, a conversational, colloquial tone, etc.). However, please avoid swear words and language that might come across as offensive. Since our professional lives also encompass our online presence, I urge you to use your posts and comments for our course as an opportunity to begin (or continue) shaping an online presence that promotes you as “a thinking person,” one who engages with the subject(s) at hand and does so in ways that help you evolve into a person adept at creating a public online presence.
FORMAL ESSAYS:
You will be required to write at least 3 formal papers during the semester, one of which will be a research paper. Assignment specifics and due dates will be posted on the assignment handout, and on our Blogs@Baruch site. I will distribute the essay topics well before the deadline. Your paper must have a clearly stated thesis in the first paragraph and you must develop your argument in a logical, persuasive manner throughout the rest of the essay, support your points with textual evidence, and conclude with a paragraph that summarizes your findings. If you earn a B- or lower, you may revise (not simply “correct”) your paper after you have met with me face-to-face. I want both a hard copy and an electronic copy of your essays. A portion of at least two class periods will be devoted to writing workshops and peer review, for which you will be required to bring 3 drafts of your work-in-progress to class. I will give you specific details as those dates approach.
ONE-ON-ONE CONFERENCES:
Each student is required to meet with me mid-semester for a half-hour conference. I will provide a sign-up sheet during the second week of our class. The primary objective of our meeting is to discuss your writing, how you feel you are developing as a writer and reader, sections in the syllabus where you are confused or feel anxious, and so forth. Please remember: our conference is a conversation. Please arrive with your journal, some samples of your course writing-in-progress, and a list of at least three questions. One on-one conferences are required, but will not be graded. We can chat, review your writing, discuss reading practices, design some plans for you for the rest of the semester, strategize, and discuss your hopes at Baruch. I also shall ask you to type a memo, summarizing the content and your takeaways from our conference.
LIBRARY DAY:
One class during the semester will be devoted to a visit to the library, during which we will conduct a “scavenger hunt” for books, articles, and handy tools such as scanning machines and self check-out. The purpose is to familiarize you with the library’s resources, as well as to discuss specific steps in the research process. Since you are required to write a research paper, your attendance is required.
GRADING:
I do not give grades. You earn them. Please note that I do not issue “warnings” if your grade is in jeopardy. It is up to you to remain aware of your attendance record, your degree of class participation, and your grades on all written and oral work, quizzes, and exams.
Essay #1 (2-3 pages): 10%
Essay #2 (4-5 pages): 25%
Essay #3 (7-10 page Research Paper): 40%
Participation and Preparedness*: 25%
*(includes engaged in-class participation, attendance, taking class notes, journaling, blog posts & comments, bringing texts to class, etc.)
Please note that your Portfolio—a compilation of what you see as some of your best, and perhaps some of your less-than-stellar-but-stepping-stone work—will ultimately make up the bulk of your grade. Thus, I shall evaluate your Research Paper as a separate contribution, but also as part of your “oeuvre” for the semester. However, I see writing as a process. This means that a revised essay for your portfolio (Essays 1 and 2, for instance, a Blog Post with a reflection on that post, an Updated/Expanded Annotated Bibliography, a well-formatted and thoughtful Portfolio Cover Letter, and so forth, could potentially enhance your course grade. You have my grading rubric. However, as a firm believer in improvement at every stage of writing, I am flexible in how I weigh the individual components noted above, as well as how those components weigh in the overall culminating work of the semester—your Portfolio.
Student Resources
Writing Center Student Academic Consulting Center (SACC)
VC8-185 VC2-116
646-312-4012 646-312-4830
http://www.baruch.cuny.edu/writingcenter/ http://www.baruch.cuny.edu/sacc/tutorial_service.htm email: [email protected]
Writing Center @ Newman Library
151 E. 25th Street
next to Reference Desk, 2nd floor
Grammar Girl: Quick and Dirty Tips for Writing™
http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/
OWL (Online Writing Lab, Purdue University)
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/
Please use these resources regularly. And without prompting from me. Simply get into the habit of exploring them, of using them. They are there to support you and offer you guidance in your development as proficient writers, readers, critical thinkers, and engaged intellectual members of the Baruch community, and beyond.