Course Goals
● Critically analyze texts in a variety of genres: Analyze and interpret 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.
● Identify and engage with credible sources and multiple perspectives in your writing: Identify sources of information and evidence credible to your audience; incorporate multiple perspectives in your writing 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.
● Compose as a process: 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 meta-cognitive ways.
● Use conventions appropriate to audience, genre, and purpose: Adapt writing and composing conventions (including your style, content, organization, document design, word choice, syntax, citation style, sentence structure, and grammar) to your rhetorical context.
Course Requirements
Participation: Each member of the class will be expected to arrive in class on time, actively listen and engage with their classmates, voice their own ideas, and complete all blog and paper assignments on time. 15 %
Process: For each essay, we go through a drafting process, where you receive comments from me on early drafts and give comments to your peers during peer review. You will then be asked to reflect on your writing process and its evolution. I expect full engagement during this process, which is why I isolate it as a separate portion of your final grade. 10%
Writing Assignments: Paper topics/guidelines will be distributed well in advance of the due date. The basic criteria and the weight each assignment carries towards your final grade (using 100% scale), as well as basic details about formatting and style are below:
Regular Blog Posts: I will post a prompt on our class website related to the reading for that week that you must respond to in a 350-550 word post (part of participation grade). Ten total posts.
Assignment One: : Rhetorical Analysis of a Cultural Artifact (1800-2100 words/6-7 pages double-spaced). 20%
Interview a Family Member: Interview a parent, aunt, uncle, or grandparent (1500-1800 words/ 5-6 page double-spaced). 15%
Assignment Two: Research-based argument essay (2400 words/8 pages double-spaced). 20%
Assignment Three: Remixed research paper. 20%
Formatting and Word Count: Your papers must always include your name, my name, the name of the course, and the date (all left justified), as well as a title that should be centered. All of this should be in plain text (no bold, no underline, no italics). All essays must be typed and double-spaced in Times New Roman 12 point, with 1-inch margins all around. This produces an average of 300 words per page, which means a 5-page paper should be about 1500 words.
MLA Style: All essays must follow the formal guidelines of the Modern Language Association (MLA). We will go over these guidelines in detail in class.
Grade Scale
This course follows the college-wide grading scale posted on the College website:
Manners
NO CELL PHONES (Phones are clearly visible even under the desk from where I stand). No meals/disruptive food.
Laptops and tablets are permitted for note-taking and text referencing, or for working on your writing. Internet is not required during class and therefore no web browsers should be open.
Late Assignments
Late assignments will be subject to a reduction in grade of 1 letter grade for every class session they are late. If you foresee a problem, speak to me well in advance of the due date.
What if I miss class?
- I expect you to attend all class meetings.
- Having established this policy, note that you can miss class up to 2 times, no questions asked.
- If you miss a presentation, you will receive a grade of F for that assignment.
- If you have more than 2 absences, your final course grade will be lowered by a half letter for each additional absence (a B+ becomes a B-)—and your grade likely will be otherwise affected simply because of the activities and work you’ll miss.
- If you miss class more than 4 times, you must arrange to meet with me privately and, according to Baruch College policy, you will be subject to a WU grade, which counts as an F on your transcript and your GPA.
- As with anything else, if you have questions or concerns come talk to me.
What if I’m late to class or leave early?
- If you arrive to class late more than twice it will count as an absence. The same will hold true if you leave class early more than twice. If you do arrive late to class, please check with someone nearby to see what you may have missed.
What if I need to drop the course?
If you feel you must drop or withdraw from this course, you must do so by the dates on the Baruch College academic calendar. Merely ceasing to attend class is not the same as dropping or withdrawing; dropping and withdrawing are separate, formal administrative procedures. Dropping is officially removing the course from your schedule within the first three weeks of class with no grade of W appearing on your transcript; withdrawing is officially removing the course from your schedule any time between weeks 3 and 11, and as a result, receiving a permanent “W” on your transcript for the course. If you’re having difficulty in the class for any reason, I encourage you to let me know before withdrawing.
Accessible Participation
Baruch College is committed to making individuals with disabilities full participants in its programs, services, and activities through compliance with Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990. It is the policy of Baruch College that no otherwise qualified individual with a disability shall be denied access to or participation in any program, service, or activity offered by the university. Individuals with disabilities have a right to request accommodations. If you require any special assistance or accommodation, please let me know as soon as you can, ideally during the first three weeks of the semester.
For additional information see: http://www.baruch.cuny.edu/facultyhandbook/DisabilitiesInformation.htm
Writing Center
The Writing Center offers free, one-to-one (in-person and online) and small-group workshop writing support to all Baruch students. The Center’s consultants work collaboratively with you to deepen your writing and English language skills. At any step in the process, they’ll help you become a more confident and versatile writer. I encourage you to schedule your appointment well in advance of when your writing is due. You can schedule an appointment at: https://bc.mywconline.com/. Visit the Writing Center in NVC 8-185 or at the Newman Library Reference Desk, or log on to their website, writingcenter.baruch.cuny.edu, to learn more.
Plagiarism and Academic Integrity
Do not plagiarize or cheat.
As described on Baruch’s website, plagiarism is the act of presenting another person’s ideas, research or writing as your own, such as:
- Copying another person’s actual words without the use of quotation marks and footnotes (a functional limit is four or more words taken from the work of another)
- Presenting another person’s ideas or theories in your own words without acknowledging them
- Using information that is not considered common knowledge without acknowledging the source