TESL010Fall2014
Roberts‐Kohno,R.
TESL010–AcademicWritingforGraduateStudents,Fall2014
ClassMeetings: Tuesdays:2:35am‐5:15pm,AsburyBuilding,Rm.B36
August25–December9,2014
FinalExam:
December9th,2:35pm‐5:05pm:Attendancerequired
Professor:
R.RuthRoberts‐Kohno
ContactInformation:
MaryGraydonCenter,Rm.326
robertsk@american.edu
Office:202‐885‐6845
OfficeHours: Tuesdays&Wednesdays:8:00am‐12:30pm,
Tuesdays8:00pm–9:00pm,&byappointment
CourseDescription:
This course is designed to help international graduate students adapt to the academic and cultural
expectationsduring their course of study at American University. Therefore, a large portionofthe course
willfocusontheindividualneedsofeachstudentanddrawuponthechallengesthatstudentsfaceintheir
classesandoncampus.Thiscoursewillsupportstudents'transitiontoanewcountry,academicculture,and
styleofwriting.
CourseGoals:
Asaresultofthiscourse,studentswill:
1. developanawarenessofUSacademicculturalnormsandstrategiestoapplythisawareness
ingraduatewriting,research,andclassroompractices
2. developanawarenessoftherolethatU.S.cultureplaysmoregenerallyinyourabilityto
adaptandcommunicatesuccessfully
3. beabletouseavarietyofresourcesincludingfaculty,classmates,referencelibrarians,and
othercampussupportservicestosuccessfullyworkwithintheAUacademiccommunity
4. gainanunderstandingoftheroleofresearchpracticesinacademiccareers
5. demonstratesuccessfulgraduatelevelwritingandresearchskills
6. understandandapplytheconceptofknowledgeownershipasitrelatestoacademic
integrity
CourseTexts:
Required:
1. Swales,J.andFeak,C.(2012).Academicwritingforgraduatestudents:Essentialtasksandskills.3rd
edition.AnnArbor,MI:UniversityofMichiganPress.
2. Caplan,N.(2012)Grammarchoicesforgraduateandprofessionalwriters.AnnArbor,MI:University
ofMichiganPress.
3. PurdueOWL(OnlineWritingLab)
OthermaterialswillbeaccessedviatheInternetormadeavailableonBlackboard(BB)asneeded.
Requirements:
Becausealargepartofthiscourseisbasedonin‐classactivitiesanddiscussion,participationandattendance
will be carefully monitored and account for a significant portion of the course grade. You are expected to
attend every class and to come to class on time. Multiple absences will result in a reduction in the
participationgrade,andbeinglatecountsas1/2ofanabsence.Ifyouknowinadvanceyouwillmissclassor
belate,pleasee‐mailmepriortothestartofclassthatday.Participationwillinvolvebothin‐classactivities
(discussions, peer editing, etc.) and homework projects that may require students to complete Blackboard
postings or interact with professors, campus support staff, and other students in ways to help them (1)
succeed in assignments for their program of study and (2) become integrated members of their program,
department,andcampuscommunities.
TESL010Fall2014
Roberts‐Kohno,R.
CoursePolicies:
1. YouaresubjecttotheAcademicIntegrityCodeofAmericanUniversity.See
http://www.american.edu/provost/registrar/regulations/reg80.cfm‐listformoreinformation.All
worksubmittedmustbeyourownormustbeproperlydocumented.
2. CheckyourAUe‐mailaccountregularlyforcourseannouncements.Announcementswillalsobe
availableonBlackboard.
3. Pleaseturnofftheringeronyourcellphonebeforeenteringtheclassroom.
4. Thisclassismeanttomakeyouracademiclifeeasier.Ifyouareexperiencinganydifficulties,please
visitmeduringofficehoursormakeanappointmenttoseeme.
AdditionalResources:
Additionallinksareprovidedinthe“Resources”sectionofcourse’sBlackboardpage.TheAcademicSupport
and Access Center offers study skills workshops, individual instruction, tutor referrals, and services for
international students. The Writing Lab provides individual writing assistance sessions and group writing
workshops.Pleasetakeadvantageofthese.
Evaluation:
Whilethiscoursedoesnotgrantcredittowardgraduation,thegradeisreportedonstudents’transcripts.The
gradeforthiscourseisbrokendownintothefollowingcomponents:
WrittenAssignments
Analyticessay 10%
Literaturereview
10%
Majorpaperfromcontentcourse
20%
FinalWrittenExam
10%
OralAssignments
Majorpaperpresentation
10%
PersonalSupportSystemAssignments Semesteractionplan 5%
Academicsupportsystemassignment 5%
Participation ReflectiveJournals
10%
Attendanceandpunctuality
10%
Activeclassparticipation
10%
Total 100%
AssignmentDescriptionsandDueDates:
Youarerequiredtocompleteallassignedreadingsandtasksbeforeclass.Allworkmustbehandedinbythe
duedatesestablished;lateworkwillbepenalized.Assignmentshavevaryingduedatesasdescribedbelow.
Adetailedclassschedule,availableonBlackboard,containsinformationaboutreadingsandweeklyactivities;
additionalinformationwillbeprovidedforeachassignment.
ActionplanforachievingallFallsemestercoursework
Studentswilldesignadetailedactionplandescribingwhentheywillbeginassignmentsforeachcourse,self‐
imposed draft deadlines, assignment due dates, challenges involved in certain assignments, and means to
addressthesechallenges(~2bulletedpages).
Academicsupportsystemreflection(journal)
Successinacademiarequiresstudentstobestrategicandproactive.Thesequalitiesareespeciallyimportant
for international students who compete with domestic students while working in a second language and a
foreign academic culture. Experiential research is recommended: use interviews with campus contacts,
advice from peers, or personal experience to draft a descriptive essay that details your academic support
system(2‐3pages).
Goal: To interact with faculty, students, and campus organizations to define a support system that will be
broadenoughtohelpstudentsaddressalloftheiracademicneedsanddeepenoughtoleadthemtosuccess.
TESL010Fall2014
Roberts‐Kohno,R.
AnalyticEssay StudentswillcomposeashortacademicessayintegratingProblem‐SolutionEssaytechniques.Goal:To
demonstratethatstudentscanintegratesources,readandunderstandshortacademicarticles,andusean
evolvingthesis.
LiteratureReview
Inthisassignment,studentswillwriteashortliteraturereview.Youmaychooseyourowntopic,butkeepin
mindthatthisassignmentwillbemoreusefultoyouifyourtopicrelatestosomethingyouarestudyingin
anothercourse(4‐6pages).
Goal: To prepare students to write literature reviews in their current courses and for future academic
research.
MajorPaperfromaContentCourse In this assignment, students will use a major paper from the content course they are currently taking. The
studentswillmeetwiththeinstructoroverthesemestertocompleteit;in‐classactivitieswillalsosupport
thisproject.Wewillmeetveryearlyinthesemestertodiscussthetopicandplanfuturemeetings.Inlater
meetings, we will focus on (1) revising the paper itself, (2) developing a plan to mobilize other campus
resourcestohelpcompletethepaper(referencelibrarians,AcademicSupportCenterorlibraryworkshops,
WritingLaborWritingCenter,meetingwiththecontentprofessor,etc.),and(3)checkinguponhowyouare
usingthoseresources.(Thepaper’slengthwillbeafunctionofcontentcourserequirements).
Goals: To build on previous assignments (research, organization, attribution), refine interpretation skills,
createanexplicitandarguablethesis,furtherdeveloporganizationandin‐textattributionskills,mobilizea
networktosuccessfullycompleteanassignmentthroughtotheproofreadingstage.Becauseyouareusinga
paperthatyouhavetowriteforanotherclass,you’renotdoingmorework,justensuringthatthispaperis
especiallystrong.
Note:Youmustgetpermissionfromyourcontentprofessortouseapaperfromtheircourseforgradedwork
inthisclass.ThisformalpermissionensureswecomplywithAU’sAcademicIntegrityCode.Keepacopyof
thepermissionletterandgiveonetome.ApermissionlettertemplateisprovidedonBlackboard.
MajorPaper(presentation) Students will reflect on a writing assignment completed for a content course (this assignment must be
different than the major paper discussed above). Students will turn in the final, graded copy of the paper,
alongwithareflectiondiscussingtheirsuccessesandchallengeswiththeassignment,howtheyplannedfor
it, and how they used their support network to complete it. They will also reflect on what they would do
differently to accomplish similar assignments in the future. One component of this reflection could be a
timelinedescribingtheirplanfortheprojectandtheactionstheytooktocompleteit.Studentscanturnthis
inatanytimeduringthesecondhalfofthesemester.(2‐3pages)
Goal: To identify and understand personal challenges and successes in academic writing and to be able to
applylearningfromthiscoursetoothersituationsandprojects.
WrittenFinalExam(inclass,timedessaywriting)
TESL010Fall2014
ClassScheduleOverview:
Readings:Completeby
thisclassperiod
Date
Topic
8/26
9/02
Courseintroduction
Goalsandexpectations
ApproachestoAcademicWriting
9/09
PerceptionsofAmericanAcademicLife
9/16
BuildingSupportSystemsandAffinity
Groups
9/23
9/30
Problem‐SolutionWriting
SelectingandEvaluatingSources
10/07
10/14
Writingsummaries
Synthesizingsummaries
10/21
10/28
NoClass–SpringBreak
Writingcritiques
11/04
11/11
Revisionworkshop/conferences
ConductingResearch
11/18
11/25
ConstructingaResearchPaper
Revisionworkshop/conferences
12/02
Finalpaperpresentation/Portfolio
construction
12/09
FinalWrittenExam(TimedEssay)
AWGSUnitOne
AWGSAppendixThree:
Email
LanguageLiteracyLife
blog
ISSSWebsite
SupportingAcademic
Success&GetInvolved
AWGSUnitTwo
AWGSUnitThree
AWGSUnitFour
AWGSUnitFive
TBD:willbepostedon
Blackboard
AWGSUnitSix
AWGSUnitSeven
PurdueOWLSubject
SpecificWriting
AWGSUnitEight
TBD:willbepostedon
Blackboard
TBD:willbepostedon
Blackboard
Roberts‐Kohno,R.
Assignments:Dueby
thisclassperiod
Actionplandue
ReflectiveJournal1 due:
Writeareflectionofyourfirst
weekintheUSandat
AmericanUniversity.
Reflectonthechallengesand
successesthatyou
experienced.
Hypothesizeaboutthefactors
thatmayhaveinfluenced
eachofthesesuccessesand
challenges.
Academicsupportsystem
essaydue
ReflectiveJournal2 due:
In2paragraphs,identify
andexplainaproblemthat
youhavenoticedinyour
fieldofstudy.Thisshould
focusonthelargerdiscourse
communityofthediscipline
andnotthelocalcontextof
justyourAmerican
Universitymajor
department.
AnalyticEssay
ReflectiveJournal3 due:
Tobeassigned.
LiteratureReview due
MajorPaperfroma
ContentCoursedue
ReflectiveJournal4 due:
ReflectiononaContent
CourseWriting
Assignment
TESL010Fall2014
Date
Topic
8/26
9/02
9/09
9/16
9/23
9/30
10/07
10/14
10/21
10/28
11/04
11/11
11/18
11/25
12/02
12/09
ClassScheduleOverview:
Readings:Completeby
thisclassperiod
Roberts‐Kohno,R.
Assignments:Dueby
thisclassperiod