1
RIVIER COLLGE
WRITING ASSISTED-COURSE PROPOSAL
Please complete each section and send an electronic copy in Word, plus a course syllabus in Word, toTim
Doherty (tdoherty@rivier.edu). Sample Assignments greatly appreciated, as well. For more information,
contact Dr. Tim Doherty at x8483.
DEADLINE: September 30 for all proposed W courses slated to be offered in the following Spring or Fall.
Proposals submitted well before that date are warmly welcome.
College and Department: Criminal Justice
Course Title: Legal Writing
Number: CJ/LGS 200
Signature:
Department Chair
Date
Author of This Proposal:
Name: Carol Rolf
Box:
Phone: x8266
Email: crolf@rivier.edu
NOTE: The course plan presented here is taken as a representative example of the way the course will be taught.
Section I: Overview of the Course Writing Requirements
Please provide the following information.
1.
Number of credit hours: 3
2.
Total number of pages of writing that each student will be required to write and submit to the instructor: 25
3.
Number of pages that each student will be required to revise, in response to instructor comments: 15
4.
Number of pages that each student will be required to revise, in response to structured peer review: 5
5.
Percentage of the final grade that is based on written materials (including essay exams and essay quizzes):
91
Section II: Administrative Information
(Please NOTE: The information you provide in this section is very useful to the writing committee, but it will
NOT be used in deciding whether proposals are approved.)
1.
Course is:
General Ed. Core course
x Required for major
x Required for minor
2.
When will this course be offered? Spring (annually)
2
Note: If the course you are proposing here as writing-assisted is also a new or revised course, you should
seek approval from the Writing Committee first, and then proceed with the usual curriculum approval
process overseen by the Curriculum Committee.
3.
If your department plans to offer this course in the subsequent academic terms, during which terms will it
do so? Spring
4.
According to current department plans, who will teach the course? Rolf
5.
Who are the possible instructors for the course in the future, in addition to the instructor[s] listed above?
None.
Section III: Writing Assignments and Revision
A. Informal Writing Assignments: Below is a checklist of informal types of writing (the list is not
exhaustive). Please check off the types of writing students will write.
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
See
below
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
Types of Writing
answer to a test question
Blackboard discussion
commonplace book
definition
description
description of writing process
dialogue
double-entry notebook
freewriting
micro-essays and mini-themes
journal
list
memo
narrative
news story
notes from lecture/reading
observations
outline
personal letter
pre- and post-lecture questions
questions
problem / solutions
rebuttal
response paper
review
rough draft
script
summary
survey/questionnaire
thesis sentence / hypothesis
letter to editor
web/concept map
other
3
x
A Statute Journal
x
Collaborative Research projects and reports
other
other
other
other
other
B. Formal Writing Assignments: Below is a checklist of formal types of writing (the list is not exhaustive).
Please check off the types of writing students will write. In the columns to the right, please indicate how
many of this type the student will compose; if the text will be revised; if instructor draft-feedback is involved;
and if peer feedback is involved
Types of Writing
How
Many of
This
Type?
Revised?
(All/None/Some)
Instructor
feedback on
draft?
Peer
feedback
on draft?


abstract
annotated bibliography
brochure
business plan
case study
essay
essay exam
instructional manual
lab notebook
lesson plan
narrative
news story
play
problem solutions (in-depth)
program documentation
proofs
research paper / literature review
survey
technical report
term paper
Legal memorandum
Case briefs
1
1
y
y
y
y
y
2
1
All
y
Y
y
Y
1
2
y
no
y
Collaborative Research projects
and reports
other
1
y
y
other
other
other
other
y
4
C. Revision
Please briefly state how revision will be carried out. The guidelines recommend that 12 pages of formal
writing be revised during the semester. The guidelines also define revision broadly: revision should occur
in response to instructor comments and/or peer review. Ideally, formal writing receives a mix of audience
feedback—some from the professor, some from peers. As an example of a revision statement for this
proposal, one might write: “Students will turn in drafts of three major papers, which will be responded to
by peers. Two of these essays will also be read by the instructor and returned for revision.”
The first half of this course will involve social science research culminating in a final social science
report that will be conducted as a group project with individual input. The process will involve
revision of the draft and the final report, based on feedback from instructor and peer comments on
drafts and in-class presentations. The second half of the course concerns the basics of legal research
and argument. Each student will prepare a legal memorandum, a draft of which will be revised
based on instructor feedback.
Section IV: Additional Comments?
Section V: Course Syllabus and Assignments
Please attach a departmental syllabus to this proposal. Any sample assignments, as well, will be greatly
appreciated.
Tips on the Syllabus:
 We recommend that the W dimension of the course be fully articulated in the Course Objectives.
 Under “Teaching Strategies,” it may be helpful to give a robust explanation of how and why writing is
assigned in the course.
 Many instructors append evaluation rubrics to the syllabus so that students see how writing will be
graded.
 It will be helpful if the course outline clearly indicates for students when drafts and revisions are due.
NOTE: Please be aware that any instructors teaching a W course for the first time must enroll in summer faculty
development. Please contact Tim Doherty for details (tdoherty@rivier.edu; x8483).