Instructor: Hai Dao
Section: 10, MWF 10:00-10:50
Office Hours: MW 11:00-12:00
Email: haidao@gmail.com
Phone: 408.499.8906
Office: Calaveras 142
English 1A: An Introduction to Academic Discourse
“Every time a student sits down to write,” David Bartholomae claims in “Inventing the
University,” “the student has to learn to speak our language, to speak as we do, to try on
the peculiar ways of knowing, selecting, evaluating, reporting, concluding, and arguing
that define the discourse of our community.” In a sense, Bartholomae simply states
explicitly what we’ve always known: speaking in different “discourse communities”
requires different styles, tones, and conventions. When we speak to friends and family,
our voices are often colloquial, littered with slang, pop culture references and our own
unique voice; when we speak to strangers (a college professor, or a job interviewer), our
speech is naturally more formal. The academic setting is no different.
In the previous paragraph for example, I begin with a clear appropriation of the academic
language; believe it or not, I don’t usually go about quoting composition theorists in
everyday conversation. The goal for this class is to help students appropriate or assume
the academic language of the university. This may initially feel unsettling, but as I have
suggested, it is a natural process we are all familiar with. The concept of different
“voices” for different occasions is often referred to in Linguistics as “registers.”
Academic discourse is simply another register we can learn and use to our advantage.
This is an intensive writing course designed to teach you not only how to write and think
critically at the university level, but how to appropriate the language of your field of
study with much greater ease. At the end of this course, you will have a methodology
applicable to all your future university endeavors. Ultimately, students will compose
meaningful expository essays which utilize appropriate structure, development, and
usage. This class fulfills the Area A-2 requirement.
In addition, consider the official course description for English 1A:
College Composition. Intensive writing that provides students with practice in
the kinds of challenging thinking, reading, and writing required in academic
discourse. Concentrates on prewriting, drafting, and rewriting processes that
address a variety of rhetorical and academic tasks. Special attention given to
effective development and support of ideas. Writing requirement: a minimum of
5,000 words.
Course Requirements
The requirements and grade breakdown for this class are as follows:
Discussion and Class/Homework
15%
Leading Discussion
10%
3 Mini-Portfolios
45%
Final Research Portfolio
30%
Discussion, In-Class Writing Assignments, and Homework: Due to the nature of this
course, you are expected to attend and actively participate everyday in class. Since 15%
of your grade comes from participation and in-class/home assignments, neglecting this
aspect of the class will severely affect your grade. In order to ensure that you both read
and think critically about the assigned readings, you will be required to post responses to
the readings on the WebCT discussion board. The WebCT posts, peer responses, and
short group assignments are graded on a √+, √, √-, Ø scale. At the end of the term, I will
average these marks to determine the overall mark you will receive for this part of the
course and factor that into your final letter grade for the course. An overall √+ on these
requirements means you receive the full 15% of your grade, while an overall √ is
calculated as 10/15 percent. An overall √- will be calculated as 5/15. You will receive
NO credit for an overall Ø.
Leading Discussion: You are required to sign up for and lead one class discussion. This
is not a presentation or lecture. Your job is to facilitate discussion, pose questions about
the reading, and guide the class. Discussion leaders are required to post their response on
WebCT at least two days before their discussion period. I will pass out sign-up sheets at
the end of the first week of classes. Please glance over our reading schedule to see which
class you would like to lead ahead of time.
Mini-Portfolios: Each of these portfolios will contain all drafts of a 3-5 page paper, all
peer responses to the paper, and a short explication as to how you approached, revised,
and resolved your final paper. Each portfolio is worth 15% of your grade. I will give you
a tentative grade for each portfolio, but you are given the chance to revise any or all of
them before the end of the semester. These mini-portfolios are meant to show you that
writing is a process not an ultimate finished product. Even with a grade on each portfolio,
you may revise and resubmit that portfolio as many times as you would like until the end
of the class.
Final Research Portfolio
Oral Presentation: Each person will sign up to present a short analysis and response to an
academic article or book of interest. You will deliver a ten-minute presentation on its
contents, express your initial reaction, and field questions from the class. Be sure to note
the unique conventions used in the specific academic discourse of your article. Please feel
free to consult with me before hand if you have any questions.
Written Paper: Using the article you selected for your Oral Presentation as a stepping
stone, appropriate its academic register and participate in its discourse community. For
this seven to ten page paper, you must present a paper proposal beforehand, including an
annotated bibliography, for approval. As with all previous portfolios all drafts, peer
responses, explications of revision and research material must be turned in together with
your Final Research Portfolio.
Conferences
You will each be required to meet with me once during the semester—after you turn in
your first portfolio. You will receive your first tentative grade on your portfolio during
the conference, but remember, you may revise as many times as you would like
afterward. The purpose of these conferences is to provide you with an opportunity to talk
with me one-on-one about your writing. In addition, please feel free to drop during my
office hours if you have any questions.
Attendance Policy
Due to the collaborative nature of this class, regular attendance is required. You may miss
no more than three classes before it begins to effect your grade; you will lose one third of
your final grade for each unexcused absence thereafter—from an A to an A- for your
fourth absence, an A- to a B+ for your fifth, ect,. Note: You cannot pass this class if
you have more than five unexcused absences. Any absences beyond the fifth will
result in an F in the class.
If you miss a class session, you are responsible for contacting one of your fellow students
to find out what you missed and what is due. I strongly suggest you exchange contact
information with at least two other students in the class. Further, missed in-class
exercises cannot be made up, and I will not accept late homework assignments. If you are
absent on a day when homework is due, you will not receive credit for the assignment
unless you turn it in before the day it is due. Also, please arrive on time to class. For
grading purposes, two tardies will equal one absence, so don’t be late!
Plagiarism
Plagiarism is unacceptable under any circumstances and will not be tolerated. Plagiarism
on any assignment will result in an immediate failure in the class and possible further
action from the university. Remember that plagiarism is not only using someone else's
exact wording without citing the source, it is also using someone else's ideas without
citing the source. In other words, if you borrow an idea from someone and put it in your
own words, you still must cite that person as a source. We will discuss proper citation,
how to avoid unintentional plagiarism, and the university policy on plagiarism in class. If
you have further questions on what constitutes plagiarism and how to avoid it, please
consult with me.
Required Texts
Bartholomae, David and Anthony Petrosky. Ways of Reading: An Anthology for Writers.
Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2005. 7th ed.
Lunsford, Andrea A. The St. Martin’s Handbook. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2003. 5th
ed.
Recommended Reading:
Porter, James E. Audience and Rhetoric: An Archaeological Composition of the
Discourse Community. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1992.
Schedule
The schedule below is tentative and deliberately so. The flexibility is meant to let you
decide what your problem areas are, and what you, as a class, would like to spend more
time on and discuss further. The first few weeks are meant as an introduction into the
discourse community. Class will become much more flexible as the semester progresses.
NOTE: All readings are due on the date listed.
Week 1
Jan 29
Jan 31
Feb 2
Week 2
Feb 5
Feb 7
Feb 9
Week 3
Feb 12
Feb 14
Feb 16
Week 4
Feb 19
Feb 21
Introduction to the course: Theory and Methodology. What is academic
discourse and what is a Register?
“Introduction: Ways of Reading” (Bartholomae 1-18); Register Letters.
Freire, “The ‘Banking’ Concept of Education” (Bartholomae 256-70).
Discussion Leader Sign-ups.
“Introduction: The Problem of Audience” (Porter 1-14). Register Letters
Due.
“Reading, writing, and research” (Lunsford 30-41). First Paper
Assignment Handout.
“Considering Rhetorical Situations” (Lunsford 43-56).
“Exploring, Planning, and Drafting” (Lunsford 57-83). Conference Signups.
“Poststructuralism, Social Constructionism, and Audience as Community”
(Porter 79-84).
Peer Response Drafts. Please bring in two copies of your register papers.
Feb 23
“Reviewing, Revising, and Editing” (Lunsford 83-112).
Second Draft Due. Please bring in two copies of your paper. Be prepared
to talk about the changes you made, why you made them, and how they fit
into our theoretical framework.
Berger, “Ways of Seeing” (Bartholomae 139-74).
Week 5
Feb 26
Feb 28
Mar 2
Conferences: Class Canceled.
Conferences: Class Canceled.
Pope, “Essay on Man”
Week 6
Mar 5
Mar 7
Mar 9
Week 7
Mar 12
Mar 14
Mar 15
Week 8
Mar 19
Mar 21
Mar 23
Week 9
Week 10
Apr 2
Pope, selections from “Essay on Criticism”
Pope, selections from “Essay on Criticism”
Pope, selections from “Essay on Criticism.” Second paper assignment
handout. Joining a specific discourse community.
Handout: Critical Pieces on Pope
Handout: Emerson, “The Poet.”
Peer draft due. Please bring two copies of your paper.
Third paper assignment handout: choosing your academic discourse
community. Select your own readings from Bartholomae.
Library Research Seminar.
Second Draft Due. Be prepared to speak as before about the changes in
your draft. Turn in list of selections for approval.
Spring Break
Apr 4
Apr 6
Continue self-readings. Handout: Eliot, “Tradition and the Individual
Talent.”
Continue self-readings. Discussion: “Tradition and the Individual Talent.”
Continue self-readings. Peer response draft for third paper.
Week 11
Apr 9
Apr 11
Apr 13
Oral Presentation/Research Paper Handout. Sign-up for oral presentation.
Workshop: Mini-portfolios
Second draft of third paper due.
Week 12
Apr 16
Apr 18
Apr 20
Oral Presentations
Oral Presentations
Oral Presentations
Week 13
Apr 23
Apr 25
Apr 27
Oral Presentations
Oral Presentations/Research Week
Oral Presentations/Research Week
Week 14
Apr 30
May 2
May 4
“Preparing for a Research Project” (Lunsford 302); “Conducting
Research” (Lunsford 318)
“Integrating Sources into your writing” (Lunsford 380); MLA overview.
MLA, APA, CBE, Chicago Style Documentation (415-89).
Week 15
May 7
May 9
May 11
Final Portfolio Peer Response
Final Portfolio Peer Response
Final Portfolio Peer Response
Week 16
May 14
May 16
May 18
ALL PORTFOLIOS DUE MAY 18th
Final Portfolio Assessment/In-class conferences
Final Portfolio Assessment/In-class conferences
Final Portfolio Assessment/In-class conferences.