English 110: College Writing
Identity
Instructor: Alexa Wejko
Office: Klapper 533
Classroom: Klapper 333, TR 1:40-3:30PM
Fall 2014
Office hours: Tues. by appt.
E-mail: awejko@qc.cuny.edu
Course Description
In this course, we will consider how to best express and advance our knowledge of how identity
is created through narrative and academic writing. You will be asked to consider not only your
identity, but also your peers’ identity, your school’s, your generation’s, and so on, all in an
attempt to better understand how “individual” and “collective” identity are related, and
constructed. As a class, we will also consider how much identity consists of memory, history, and
imagination; we’ll discuss how categories of race and class factor into identity; and we'll discuss
and attempt to parse identity politics. Our texts will be diverse: narratives, memoirs, essays,
scholarly articles, play, film, and images.
Our exploration of identity will promote the development of our own writing. English 110
examines the arts and practices of effective writing and reading in college, especially the use of
language to discover ideas. Because Queens College believes the ability to write and
communicate effectively is essential to its students’ success both in college and after, this course
will introduce you to components of writing that you will continue to practice throughout your
college career. Expect to be challenged and excited by taking ownership of language!
Learning Goals
Students will:
1) Become familiar with the modes and conventions of academic writing, including informal
writing, formal academic essays, MLA-style bibliography entries, and letters to peers and
professors.
2) Learn proper academic research methods and resources, including identifying and evaluating
appropriate secondary sources for academic essays, selecting and integrating quotations for use as
evidence, and properly citing in MLA style.
3) Develop skills needed for critical assessment, close reading, and critical thinking, and build the
link between the analysis of ideas and the ability to communicate them successfully.
Philosophy: writing is a process of careful choice, construction, articulation, and revision.
Throughout the course, you MUST, and will be asked to, identify personal strengths and
weaknesses in this process.
ASSIGNMENTS
ASSIGNMENT #1: Create and argue a thesis. (3-4 pages)
Using one “cultural artifact” from your own life (image, object, etc.), create an argument that
addresses how/whether the artifact contributes to the construction of your identity.
ASSIGNMENT #2: Develop argument to analyze tension between two sources. (3-4 pages)
Analyze one of our gender readings using Morris’s theory about gender performance as a
framework. Choose ONE of Mark Gaipa’s strategies for critically engaging sources.
ASSIGNMENT #3: RESEARCH: Annotated Bibliography (3-5 pages)
ASSIGNMENT #4: Develop an analytical argument using original research that includes
both primary and secondary sources. (6-7 pages)
In this essay, you will write and develop a thesis on your original research on one of the identity
topics handed out in class.
Assignment Expectations
 All assignments are due at the beginning of class unless you have a documented
emergency or have previously made other arrangements with me. First drafts are due
(unless otherwise specified) by email, final drafts are due in-person, IN CLASS. I do not
accept late work without prior permission; all extensions must be arranged at least 48
hours in advance (with the "documented emergency" clause applying here as well).

Format: Your essays must be in double-spaced Times New Roman, size 12. Margins
must not exceed 1 inch. No cheap dodges to avoid required work, please. I expect you to
behave with the integrity and professionalism of scholars invested in preparing works of
substance.
Required Readings/Materials
Most of the readings will be available through the Blog/PDF format. In other instances, you will
be expected to make use of the Library’s electronic and print resources. You are responsible for:

Printing out these readings and bringing them to class, or having them ready on an Ereader.

Providing your own copy of Tony Kushner’s Angels in America. Angels in America is
available at the campus bookstore. The MLA Handbook is available in PDF form online,
but I strongly suggest you procure a copy! This should be kept at the ready, in class, and
for assignments.

Providing notebook that is kept exclusively for in-class writing. This must be brought to
every class. I will check this for a participation grade at random throughout the semester.

Ensuring that all readings and assignments are completed when due. Readings and
assignments are due in class on the date they appear on the syllabus.
Reading About Writing
Interspersed throughout the semester, and to keep our focus on the process of writing, I will be
assigning various readings about writing. Our main source will be QC’s own Learning Through
Writing, which is available in PDF form. I will also hand out hard copies in class. Other readings
will be available on Blackboard/Blog, or handed out in class by me, and will be used as
springboards for analysis, discussion, and tools for approaching your reading and writing
assignments.
BLOG & Reading Responses
To encourage close reading, informal reading responses of one or two paragraphs will be required
for assigned readings. These responses will address specific questions I will ask you to consider
as you read the materials, and will be due IN CLASS on the date the reading appears on the
syllabus.
Reading responses will all happen on the blog. To register:

You MUST use your QC email address.

Go to http://social.qwriting.qc.cuny.edu/register/

Fill out the form and follow the instructions. Choose a Username and Password that you
wish, or leave the Password field blank to have one automatically generated. Once
created, your Username cannot be changed. QWriting will also create a Display Name
for you based on your Username, which will appear next to your posts and comments.

You’ll need to use your @qc.cuny.edu email address to sign up for an account. This
is to prevent people who are not members of the QC community from creating blogs on
the QWriting server. Once you have signed up for an account, you will be able to change
your email address in your User Profile. You can access this by logging into your
Dashboard, then clicking Users > Your Profile.

Once you’ve signed up, you’ll receive an email asking you to activate your account
(check your spam folder if you don’t see the email). Click the link to activate your
account.
Participation
Since participation is crucial to your success, it will compose a significant part of your grade.
Important things to note:

Absence: Generally, I do not differentiate between excused and unexcused absences.
Arriving more than twenty minutes late, leaving early, or leaving in the middle of class
equals an absence. If you come unprepared, you are absent; this includes not doing the
reading, not bringing the text to class, sleeping during class, or not making an effort to
participate. If you know you cannot attend, contact me before to inquire about turning in
homework/assignments.

Participation: This means actively participating both in and out of the classroom. I
am not a lecturer—the success of class depends on student-driven discussion!
Grading
30%: Class participation. Class participation demands students thoughtfully respond to readings
and their classmates in discussion, ask questions, and otherwise demonstrate their engagement
with the class. For participation, I use a daily check system: ✓- is an absence or resistance to
class participation; a ✓ is promptly completing class assignments and participating in discussion;
a ✓+ goes above and beyond. Participation includes in-class writing; throughout the class, we
will engage in short in-class writing exercises as part of our writing workshop series. Some of the
writing workshops are marked on the syllabus, but you should always come to class prepared for
spontaneous writing exercises.
15%: Reading Responses. Both timeliness and substance will be considered.
30%: First three essays. While the first three assignments are individually important, students
should also see them as learning opportunities to be applied towards the final paper.
25%: The final paper.
Grading Criteria (by Professor Jason Tougaw, Queens College, Dept. of English)
When I evaluate your formal assignments, I am looking for inventive ideas expressed in engaging
prose. Your writing should both please and enlighten readers and give them a sense of why your
project is important – why what you have to say needs to be said. I evaluate the words on the
page, rather than potential, improvement, or effort. The work you put into an assignment will
most certainly be evident in the completed essay. The grading criteria below reflect the general
standards to which I hold essays. Pluses and minuses represent shades of difference. However,
no description can capture the full range of elements that make a piece of writing strong (or
weak). My feedback on your writing will give you both more concrete and more thorough
explanations of the standards by which I evaluate it.
An “A” range essay is both ambitious and successful. It presents and develops focused and
compelling sets of ideas with grace, confidence, and control. It integrates and responds to sources
subtly and persuasively.
A “B” range essay is one that is ambitious but only partially successful, or one that achieves
modest aims well. A “B” essay must contain focused ideas, but these ideas may not be
particularly complex, or may not be presented or supported well at every point. It integrates
sources efficiently, if not always gracefully.
A “C” range essay has significant problems articulating and presenting its central ideas, though it
is usually focused and coherent. Such essays often lack clarity and use source material in simple
ways, without significant analysis or insight.
A “D” range essay fails to grapple seriously with either ideas or texts, or fails to address the
expectations of the assignment. A “D” essay distinguishes itself from a failing essay by showing
moments of promise, such as emerging, though not sufficiently developed or articulated, ideas.
“D” essays do not use sources well, though there may some effort to do so.
An “F” essay does not grapple with either ideas or texts, or does not address the expectations of
the assignment. It is often unfocused or incoherent.
**This is a general education course that satisfies the English Composition I requirement for the
Queens Core under the CUNY General Education structure called Pathways.**
Revisions:
I will accept a revision of ONE formal assignments ONLY if the assignment received below a Bfor a final grade, the revision is substantial, and the revision is re-submitted with the original
attached on the last day of class. There is no guarantee that a revision will attain a higher grade
than the original; if it is indeed improved, the new grade will reflect that, and if it is not improved,
the grade will remain unchanged.
Writing Center and OWL
Located in Kiely Hall 229, tutors there are trained to help you revise your writing at various
stages. If you believe you need additional help with your writing, or if I ask you to set up a
regular meeting with a tutor, you should make an appointment at least one week prior to when an
assignment is due. You can also get online help by visiting their website at
http://qcpages.qc.edu/qcwsw. For additional help with mechanics, grammar, and MLA style,
students are further directed to Purdue’s “OWL” at http://owl.english.purdue.edu/.
Note about Electronic Devices
I allow these devices in-class. If I see that you’re doing anything other than following along with
a reading assignment, a grade for one of your assignments will be dropped an entire letter and you
will lose your participation grade for the week.
Academic Integrity
In 2011, the Board of Trustees adopted a new CUNY Policy on Academic Integrity. Violations
include: cheating, fabrication, facilitating academic dishonesty, plagiarism, and denying others
access to information. It is your responsibility to be aware of what constitutes academic
dishonesty; students who are unsure of whether their work meets criteria for academic integrity
should consult with their instructor. Please look at the full policy, which provides further
examples and possible consequences for incidences of academic dishonesty:
http://www.qc.cuny.edu/StudentLife/services/studev/Documents/Academic%20Integrity%20Viol
ation%20Form%20RV.pdf. Writing at Queens also offers useful advice on how to avoid
plagiarism: http://writingatqueens.org/for-students/what-is-plagiarism/.
Please note I have a zero-tolerance policy towards plagiarism and academic dishonesty.
The minimum punishment for any plagiarism in this course is receiving an F as a final
grade and being reported to the Vice President for Student Affairs.
Course Calendar
INTRODUCTION/ORIENTATION
1/29:
Introductions + syllabus review!
2/3:
Students share selections from the nonfiction section of Identity Theory
TOPIC: IDENTITY AS IMAGINATION & MEMORY
2/5:
Anderson, Imagined Communities
WORKSHOP GROUP A
2/10:
Cofer, The Story of My Body
Learning Through Writing
Instagram/Facebook assignment due.
WORKSHOP GROUP B
2/12:
NO CLASS: LINCOLN’S BIRTHDAY!
WORKSHOP GROUP C
2/17:
Cerulo, Identity Construction
WORKSHOP GROUP D
2/19:
Cerulo, Identity Construction
WORKSHOP GROUP A
Assignment #1: Rough Draft Due (electronically)
TOPIC: GENDER
2/24:
Geena Rocero, Why I Must Come Out
LaMott, Shitty First Drafts
WORKSHOP GROUP B
2/26:
Alice Dreger, Is Anatomy Destiny?
WORKSHOP GROUP C
3/3:
Morris, Performance Theory and the New Anthropology of Sex and Gender
WORKSHOP GROUP D
Assignment #1: Final Draft Due
3/5:
Morris, Performance Theory and the New Anthropology of Sex and Gender
WORKSHOP GROUP A
3/10:
Reading: TBD
WORKSHOP GROUP B
3/12:
Reading: TBD
WORKSHOP GROUP C
3/17:
Said, Orientalism
WORKSHOP GROUP D
TOPIC: CULTURAL IDENTITY & IDENTITY POLITICS
3/19:
Mary Louise Pratt, Contact Zone
WORKSHOP GROUP A
Assignment #2: Rough Draft Due.
3/24:
Mary Louise Pratt, Contact Zone
WORKSHOP GROUP B
3/26:
Yellow Face: in class.
WORKSHOP GROUP C
3/31:
Yellow Face: in class.
WORKSHOP GROUP D
4/2:
LIBRARY SESSION
WORKSHOP GROUP A
Assignment #2: Final draft due.
APRIL 3-APRIL 11: SPRING BREAK!
4/14:
Angels in America
WORKSHOP GROUP B
4/16:
Angels in America
WORKSHOP GROUP C
Assignment #3 due.
4/21:
Angels in America
WORKSHOP GROUP D
4/23:
Angels in America
WORKSHOP GROUP A
4/28:
Angels in America
WORKSHOP GROUP B
4/30:
NO CLASS—INDIVIDUAL CONFERENCES
5/5:
NO CLASS—INDIVIDUAL CONFERENCES
5/7:
Reading TBD
WORKSHOP GROUP C
5/12:
Reading TBD
WORKSHOP GROUP D
5/14:
LAST DAY OF CLASS. FINAL PAPERS DUE.
Note: I reserve the right to alter this syllabus if need be.
WRITING WORKSHOP GROUPS
Writing workshops will take place after every class for thirty minutes. You do not have to
attend every session; you must attend only those workshops assigned to your group. Each
workshop will have a different theme, or hone a different skill. These are not only
important, but essential.
WORKSHOP GROUP A:
WORKSHOP GROUP B:
WORKSHOP GROUP C:
WORKSHOP GROUP D: