FCWR 101 W04: Writing I: Foundations of College Composition:
College in the Digital World
Fall 2019, MW 12:45-2:10pm.
Harry J. Schure Hall, Room CLC3
Instructor: Dr. Amanda Golden
Office: Balding House 208
Office Hours: MW 11am-12pm and by appointment
Email: [email protected]
Course Website: digcollege.weebly.com
Course Materials
Elizabeth Losh, et al., Understanding Rhetoric: A Graphic Guide to Writing 2nd Edition, Bedford/St. Martin's, 2017. ISBN: 1319042139
Gerald Graff, et al. They Say, I Say: The Moves that Matter in Academic Writing. 3rd Edition, Norton, 2017. ISBN: 1469028611
Jennine Capó Crucet, Make Your Home Among Strangers. Picador, 2016. ISBN: 1250094550
Additional Readings will be available on Google Drive.
Course Overview
Technology has changed college. This course examines past, present, and future images of college in literature and media. We will consider such topics as academic expectations, ethics, and social life. Reading and interpreting a wide range of texts, students will become stronger writers and more creative thinkers, better able to strategize and have fun at NYIT.
Catalog Description
A course introducing students to the fundamentals of college composition. Topics include writing process, rhetorical strategies, basics of critical reading and thinking, analytical writing, and argumentative writing. This course serves as a foundation to prepare students to succeed in other academic writing contexts. Coursework includes a computer lab component. Prerequisite: WRIT 100 or English Placement Exam.
Course Objectives
This course introduces students to the fundamentals of academic writing. Students explore analytical and argumentative/persuasive writing, learning how to develop their thinking and writing through the use of various rhetorical strategies. The course also examines writing as a process, encouraging students to develop productive writing strategies that can be adapted to various academic and professional writing contexts. One of our main goals this semester involves dispelling the myth that good writers are born, not made. Most professional writers will tell you that their best work happens in the revision stage after a concentrated effort to re-envision and reshape the raw material of an early draft. Following their lead, we will focus on all stages of the writing process, from invention strategies and idea development, to drafting and feedback, to revising for improved content and style. In preparation for the researched writing required by Writing 2, this course will introduce students to the process of locating and evaluating sources through the Information Literacy assignment.
Learning Outcomes
In this course, you will focus your efforts in four major areas: the writing process; conventions of organization and mechanics; critical thinking, reading, and writing; and composing in electronic environments. You will develop skills in each of these four areas. Upon successful completion of this course, you will be able to:
1. Process (Core Outcomes: Communication, Literacy, Critical Thinking) 1.1 Develop flexible strategies for generating, drafting, revising, editing, and proofreading to create an improved product 1.2 Work collaboratively and learn to critique their own and others’ works
2. Conventions of Organization and Mechanics (Core Outcomes: Communication) 2.1 Identify a specific purpose for writing and adapt to audience needs, expectations and interests 2.2 Focus thoughts with a clear thesis supported by concrete, specific evidence and examples and leading to a well developed, well thought out essay 2.3 Use the paragraph effectively as an organizational unit for the essay’s introductory, body, and concluding elements. 2.4 Choose words carefully and purposefully; construct sentences carefully and meaningfully; demonstrate careful attention to academic writing style; and be proficient in mechanics and grammar
3. Critical Thinking, Reading, Writing (Core Outcomes: Literacy, Critical Thinking) 3.1 Use writing and reading in print and digital formats for inquiry, learning, and complex thinking 3.2 Consider and integrate ideas with secondary sources using proper attribution
4. Composing in Electronic Environments (Core Outcomes: Literacy, Communication) 4.1 Use electronic environments for drafting, reviewing, revising, editing, and sharing. 4.2 Adapts writing to take advantage of the rhetorical possibilities offered by electronic writing environments.
Methods of Assessment Will Include
1. Group work and peer commenting: will assess process, conventions of organization and mechanics, and composing in electronic environments.
2. Responsive writing activities: will assess critical thinking, reading, writing; conventions of organization and mechanics; and composing in electronic environments.
3. Major essay writing: will assess process; conventions of organization and mechanics; critical thinking, reading, writing; and composing in electronic environments.
Description of Assignments (See the course website digcollege.weebly.com for further instructions)
Group Work and Peer Commenting: Students will be organized into peer commenting groups in which you will share and comment on each others’ drafts. A main objective is to encourage each other to engage the writing process when drafting, revising, and editing essays.
Analytical Essay: Each student will write and revise an essay of at least 750 words asserting a thesis statement and supporting it with analysis of a course text or texts.
App Design and Rationale Project: Working in groups, students will design images of a phone, tablet, or computer application (app) for the NYIT community and compose a rationale of at least 750 words that addresses the group's design choices, the argument(s) the app design makes, the audience and purpose of the app and how it would work.
Argumentative Essay: Each student will write and revise an essay of at least 750 words asserting a thesis statement about a course text or texts and supporting it with analysis of that text or texts as well as research with secondary sources.
Blog Entries and Comments
Throughout the term you will post blog entries on the dates indicated on the syllabus. You must also comment on at least one of your peers’ blog postings each time a posting is due. You have up to three days after each blog posting deadline to post your comment. Our blog will be limited to members of our class and not available to the public. The instructor will provide prompts for the postings indicated on the syllabus, but you are also welcome to post and comment whenever you feel inspired to do so. Your blog entries must be at least 250 words and analyze quotations from the text as well as an image, sound, or video clip that you will include or indicate with a link. Blog postings provide an opportunity to shed light on the contexts that inform the texts we will read. You should build from the topics we have addressed in class and in our projects, taking the readings a step further and posing questions for your classmates to consider. The blog is also a place where you can receive feedback as you develop your projects.
Writing Center Visit Reflections
Over the course of the term, you are required to visit the English Department Writing Center in Balding House at least once, bringing an assignment from this course (such as a blog posting, project, rationale, essay rough draft, or final draft) that you are writing or revising. You can visit the writing center at any stage in the writing process, from brainstorming to editing. You can also visit the writing center to strengthen a particular skill, such as commas, introductions, or any aspect of writing or communication. Following your visit, complete a 250-word response reflecting on your visit. This reflection should include a description of the task or assignment that you brought to the center, the feedback you received, and your plans for moving forward. These reflections will be graded using the blog assessment rubric, and for quotations you should analyze the language of your own writing and the tutor's feedback you receive. Your reflection must also contemplate your own growth as a writer and critical thinker. Your two reflections are due on Blackboard (under assignments) no later than the dates indicated on the syllabus, but can be uploaded earlier.
Grading
Grade Scale:
100-94 A 79-77 C+
93-90 A- 76-74 C
89-87 B+ 73-70 C-
86-84 B 69-67 D+
83-80 B- 66-60 D
59-below F
Analytical Essay: 15%
App Design and Rationale: 20%
Argumentative Essay: 20%
Responsive Writings (Blog Postings and Writing Center Reflection): 15%
Final Exam: 15%
Class Participation: 15%
Assignments are due on Blackboard at least thirty minutes before class begins.
Papers must be typed in 12-point Times New Roman font, and double-spaced with 1-inch margins on all sides. Students must use MLA format. Do not include your name in documents submitted on Blackboard.
These activities count for your participation grade:
Participation in class discussions
Participation in group activities
Discussions
Peer review
Short Assignments
Quizzes
You must be present, prepared, on time, and engaged in seminar discussions. All course readings must be completed before class, and you will be attentive while in class if you want to earn an A or B. Substantive contribution to discussions, active listening, and thought-provoking questions are all considered participation. Being present but doing something else on your laptop is not participation, and will result in a C or lower. Here is a rough breakdown of what you can expect for each grade:
A: Lively engagement in discussions. Applies and/or challenges readings. Engages with and/or motivates peers
B: Actively listens in class and occasionally comments. Good collaboration with classmates
C: Tends to look disengaged. Might use phone or laptop for purposes not related to class. Occasionally tardy and absent
D: Sleeps in class. Rarely pays attention and/or is disruptive. Frequently tardy or absent. Unprepared for peer review or group meetings
F: Doesn’t attend class often. Sleeps through class when present, or disengaged. Disruptive.
You are expected to bring print or digital versions of the required readings or writing assignment to each class.
Course Policies
1. Come to class. This is a workshop class that requires your daily attendance and active participation. If you accumulate five or more absences, you will be withdrawn from the class or receive a failing grade. Repeated tardiness will count as absences (3 tardies = 1 absence). If you are using your phone or sleeping in class, you will be asked to leave and marked absent.
2. Make your deadlines. Late assignments will not be accepted. Know and keep your deadlines. All due dates are posted in this syllabus.
3. Academic Integrity and Plagiarism Policies. Each student enrolled in a course at NYIT agrees that, by taking such course, he or she consents to the submission of all required papers for textual similarity review to any commercial service engaged by NYIT to detect plagiarism. Each student also agrees that all papers submitted to any such service may be included as source documents in the service’s database, solely for the purpose of detecting plagiarism of such papers.
Plagiarism is the appropriation of all or part of someone else’s works (such as but not limited to writing, coding, programs, images, etc.) and offering it as one’s own. Cheating is using false pretenses, tricks, devices, artifices or deception to obtain credit on an examination or in a college course. If a faculty member determines that a student has committed academic dishonesty by plagiarism, cheating or in any other manner, the faculty has the academic right to 1) fail the student for the paper, assignment, project and/or exam, and/or 2) fail the student for the course and/or 3) bring the student up on disciplinary charges, pursuant to Article VI, Academic Conduct Proceedings, of the Student Code of Conduct.
Cheating on an examination or assignment in this course will result in a zero for the examination or assignment and the matter will be reported to the appropriate college authorities as per the Student Handbook. A second incident of cheating on an examination will result in failure for the course.
In your writing for this class, you are encouraged to refer to other people's thoughts and writing -- as long as you cite them.
If you are ever in doubt about whether you are citing something correctly, please contact the professor.
You must list all sources you consult in your works cited list. You must cite web pages.
In moments of crisis students sometimes make decisions that they would not otherwise make. If you find yourself in a situation that affects your work in this class, please contact the instructor.
4. Original Work. All of your assignments must be created originally for this class only. Work submitted for other courses or created before the start of this course will not be accepted.
5. Computer Access. According to university policy, all students are required to own or have access to a computer system off campus with connectivity to the Internet and an installed or current version of Microsoft Office. NOTE: Microsoft Works is not compatible with Microsoft Office.
6. Technology Policy. Technology use in-class should be related to what we are doing in class. Set your mobile phone to vibrate. Do not answer your mobile phone unless it appears to be an emergency, e.g. the call is from a child or elder care provider or a parent who would not call during class except in case of emergency. Do not engage with social media or email unless the instructor specifically requests that you do so.
7. NYIT Withdrawal and Incomplete Grade Policy. After the second week of the semester (second class meeting for cycle courses) students wishing to exit a course may do so by requesting to withdraw from the course from the instructor. The decision to withdraw from a course should be made only after consulting with the course instructor and advisor, as withdrawing from a course may affect financial aid eligibility. Consult with the Office of Financial Aid for more information. To withdraw from a course, the student and the instructor must complete a withdrawal form, and the instructor must submit it to the Office of the Registrar within 48 hours. Upon receipt of the withdrawal, a grade will be assigned by the Registrar.
Students can withdraw from a course from the end of the add/drop period (second week of the term or second class meeting for cycle classes) through the week before finals to receive a grade of W. The W grade is not included in the computation of the cumulative GPA, but it may affect financial aid eligibility.
The withdrawal (W) grade will be assigned to students who officially withdraw from a class according to this schedule. The unofficial withdrawal (UW) grade may be assigned if a student has stopped attending class without officially withdrawing. The W and UW grades are not included in the computation of the GPA, but may affect eligibility for financial aid.
Students may not withdraw from classes during the final exam period.
The temporary grade of Incomplete (I) shall change to a failing grade (IF) if the student does not complete the work by the end of the allotted time. Grades of IF become part of the student's CUM.
Library Resources. All students can access the NYIT virtual library from both on and off campus at www.nyit.edu/library. The same login you use to access NYIT e-mail and NYITConnect will also give you access to the library’s resources from off campus.
On the left side of the library’s home page, you will find the “Library Catalog” and the “Find Journals” sections. In the middle of the home page you will find “Research Guides;” select “Video Tutorials” to find information on using the library’s resources and doing research.
Should you have any questions, please look under “Library Services” to submit a web-based “Ask-A-Librarian” form.
Additional Resources for Further Learning
If you would like additional help in the course, please contact your instructor for guidance. You are also encouraged use NYIT’s academic support services: the Learning Center, the Writing Center, the
Math Center, and Brainfuse (online tutoring, 24/7). For more information and links to the individual centers, see www.nyit.edu/student_resources/centers/.
Support for Students with Disabilities
NYIT adheres to the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 and the rehabilitation Act of 1973, Section 504. The Office of Accessibility Services actively supports students in the pursuit of their academic and career goals. Identification of oneself as an individual with disability is voluntary and confidential. Students wishing to receive accommodations, referrals and other services are encouraged to contact the Office of Accessibility Services as early in the semester as possible, although requests can be made throughout the academic year. To contact the Office of Accessibility Services please send an e-mail to [email protected] or call (516) 686-4934 for the Old Westbury campus and (212) 261-1759 for the Manhattan campus.
The Department of English Writing Center and Writing Workshop Computer Lab
Discuss your essays with Professors of English. While the Writing Center can help you with grammar and punctuation, it is not primarily an editing service. Rather, you can work with writing instructors to address specific writing concerns or issues. The Writing Center is a place to get additional support for your writing, servicing all students at all levels of writing and at any stage of the writing process. You can also use the Wireless Laptop Writing Workshop, a writing computer lab with laptops and wireless access to the Internet. The Writing Center and the Writing Workshop lab are located in Balding House. No appointment is necessary, but you are welcome to schedule an in-person appointment or online consultation. Give us a call at 516-686-7557 and visit us at 101 Balding House. For hours, visit https://www.nyit.edu/student_resources/writing_center.
Weekly Schedule (Subject to Change):
Wed. 9/4: First Day of Class. Introductions.
In Class: Writing assignment.
Mon. 9/9: Due: Read Understanding Rhetoric, Introduction, “Spaces for Writing.”
Wed. 9/11: Due: Read Understanding Rhetoric, Issue 1: “Why Rhetoric?” and Issue 2: “Strategic Reading.”
In Class: MLA format for in-text citations, works cited pages and entries.
Mon. 9/16: Due: Read William Zinsser, "College Pressures."
Wed. 9/18: Due: Read Understanding Rhetoric, Issue 4: "Argument Beyond Pro and Con.”
Mon. 9/23: Due: Read Understanding Rhetoric, "Issue 5: Research: More than Detective Work" (Issue 6 in the second edition of Understanding Rhetoric).
In Class: Infographics with Piktochart.
Wed. 9/25: Due: Read Make Your Home Among Strangers Ch. 1 and 2
Mon. 9/30: Due: Blog Posting 1 and read Make Your Home Among Strangers, Ch. 5 and 6
In Class: Briallen Hopper, "On Spinsters."
Tues. 10/1: Briallen Hopper, Reading and Discussion of the Personal Essay, 12:30pm, Anna Rubin 309.
Wed. 10/2: Due: Read Make Your Home Among Strangers, Ch. 7-11.
In Class: Drafting Essay Introductions
Mon. 10/7: Due: Read Make Your Home Among Strangers, Ch. 12-19.
Wed. 10/9: Analytical Essay Rough Draft.
In Class: Peer Review
Mon. 10/14: No Class.
Wed. 10/16: Due: Analytical Essay Final Draft.
In Class: Joy Harjo, "An American Sunrise" and Gwendolyn Brooks, "We Real Cool."
Mon. 10/21: Due: Read Make Your Home Among Strangers, Ch. 25-29.
Wed. 10/23: Due: Blog Posting 2. Read Make Your Home Among Strangers, Ch. 34-36.
Mon. 10/28: Due: Read Chapters 1, 2, and 3 from They Say, I Say
Wed. 10/30: Due: Read Zadie Smith, “Generation Why?”
In Class: Work on Apps and Rationales
Mon. 11/4: App Design and Rationale Rough Draft.
In Class: Peer Review.
Wed. 11/6: App Design "Shark Tank"
Mon. 11/11: App Design and Rationale Final Draft.
In Class: View The Social Network (2010).
Wed. 11/13: Due: Blog Posting 3 by 5pm.
Mon. 11/18: Due: Read Caryl Phillips, "Colour Me English."
In Class: Service Learning Activity for NYIT Consultants for the Public Good.
Zadie Smith and Caryl Phillips
Wed. 11/20: Read John Seabrook, "The Next Word: Where Will Predictive Text Take Us?"
Mon. 11/25: Due: Writing Center Reflection. Read They Say / I Say, ch. 8-10.
Secondary Sources Google Form Due by 5pm.
Wed. 11/27: No Class: Thanksgiving.
Mon. 12/2: Due: Draft of introduction
In Class: Workshop essay introductions.
Wed. 12/4: Due: Argumentative Essay Rough Draft.
In Class: Peer Review
Mon. 12/9: Due: Argumentative Essay Final Draft.
Final Exam: Monday 12/16, 12:45-2:45pm, in CLC3.