A.Walzer Theme #1: “Academic Identity” - Writing Prompts, sp16
W HAT
WEEK ?
1
2
W HAT ’ S THE
A
SSIGNMENT
?
Micro-theme #1
(in-class) on Wed
2/10
NOTES:
Micro-theme #2
(out-of-class) due on Thu 2/18
NOTES:
H OW
MANY
P OINTS ?
50
50
P ROMPT & R ELEVANT T EXTS
THEME #1: What is Academic Identity?
Compose a coherent, thesis-driven essay that responds to the following prompt: “According to Greene and Lidinsky, what is an ‘Academic Habit of
Mind,’ and how could it benefit you as college student?” Suggested length: 3-4 pages, handwritten in a blue book. Relevant text:

“Habits of Mind” (FIAW, Greene and Lidinsky) pp. 1-14
Things to shoot for:
1.
A descriptive and engaging title
2.
An introduction that identifies the text up for discussion and includes an insightful, formal thesis statement
3.
A multi-paragraph essay that develops the thesis with direct reference to the text in the form of summary, paraphrase, brief quotation and analysis
4.
Clear topic sentences for all paragraphs; unified paragraphs
5.
Effective application of the ideas in in the text to your personal experience as a college student
6.
Effective conclusion that shows how the thesis has been proven/developed
7.
Use of language and writing style appropriate for an academic essay, academic audience & academic purpose.
Compose a coherent, thesis-driven essay that responds to the following prompt: “According to Claude Steele, what is ‘Identity Contingency,’ and how could it affect your experience as a college student?” Suggested length: 3-4 pages, typed, MLA Style and submitted to turnitin.com. Relevant text:

“At the Root of Identity” (Whistling Vivaldi, Steele) pp. 1-15
Things to shoot for:
1.
A descriptive and engaging title
2.
An introduction that identifies the text up for discussion and includes an insightful, formal thesis statement
3.
A multi-paragraph essay that develops the thesis with direct reference to the text in the form of summary, paraphrase, brief quotation and analysis
4.
Clear topic sentences for all paragraphs; unified paragraphs
5.
Effective application of the ideas in in the text to your personal experience as a college student
6.
Effective conclusion that shows how the thesis has been proven/developed
7.
Use of language and writing style appropriate for an academic essay, academic audience & academic purpose.

A.Walzer Theme #1: “Academic Identity” - Writing Prompts, sp16
4
5
Peer Workshop #1 on Mon 2/22
Theme #1 (out-ofclass) due on Thu
3/3
NOTES:
15 Bring two copies of either Micro-theme #1 or Microtheme #2 to class for the peer workshop. LF: thesis statements & 7 common grammar mistakes
100 Compose a coherent, thesis-driven essay that responds to the following prompt: “Select either the concept of an Academic Habit of Mind or the concept of Identity Contingency, and apply the theory to help explain the experiences of Richard Rodriguez in ‘Scholarship Boy’ and/or Gerald Graff in
‘Disliking Books.’ Use Micro-theme #1 or Micro-theme #2 as the starting point for your paper.” Suggested length: 4-6 pages, typed, MLA Style and submitted to turnitin.com. Include a list of Works Cited. Relevant texts:

Micro-themes #1 and #2

“Habits of Mind” (FIAW, Greene and Lidinsky) pp. 1-14

“At the Root of Identity” (Whistling Vivaldi, Steele) pp. 1-15

“Scholarship Boy” (FIAW, Rodriguez) pp. 15-22

“Disliking Books” (FIAW, Graff) pp. 23-27
Things to shoot for:
1.
A descriptive and engaging title
2.
An effective introduction that identifies the texts up for discussion and includes an insightful, formal thesis statement
3.
A multi-paragraph essay that develops the thesis with direct reference to the chosen theory (i.e. Habits of Mind or Identity Contingency) and reference to texts by Rodriguez and Graff in the form of summary, paraphrase, brief quotation and analysis
4.
Clear topic sentences for all paragraphs; unified paragraphs
5.
Effective application of your chosen theory (i.e. Habits of Mind or
Identity Contingency) to the essays by Rodriguez and Graff
6.
An effective conclusion that shows how the thesis has been proven/developed
7.
Use of language and writing style appropriate for an academic essay, academic audience & academic purpose; include List of Works Cited
FIAW: From Inquiry to Academic Writing
LF: Language focus for peer workshop; topics will vary with each workshop of the semester
NOTES:

Ask questions! What’s not 100% clear? (Good students ask a lot of questions.)

Sign up for a conference with Amanda, your instructor (see conference times) 

Make an appointment with Katy, your ESP tutor; make it A.S.A.P. or at least by week 3 

Set your own internal deadlines for prewriting, organizing, drafting, and revising all three assignments