Assignments
This is not my complete syllabus (I'll be tweeking this over the weekend); I'm including only my
schedule and the assignments, but not my course policies in this draft. I will be posting the finalized
version over the weekend, but for now did want to submit the meat of the material: the major projects
and schedule of readings/assignments building to each.
Project 1: Literacy Narrative + Writing Process "Log" (to be applied toward Project 2)
In the literacy narrative, students will be asked to write about their relationship with "reading" (in any
form - books, video games, blogging, etc); although this project can be more creative in nature, they are
required to respond to one or two of the readings from this unity (Alexie, Malcolm X, Brandt, or
DeVoss)
Total Value: 50 points
Project 2: "Portrait of a Writer": Reflection on the Writing Process
Also more "creative" in nature, this assignment asks students to shift from thinking of themselves as
readers, to thinking of themselves as writers. They will also be asked to respond to
Berkenkotter/Murray and at least TWO of the "professional" writers featured in this section (King,
Diaz, etc). The Writing Process Log from Project 1 will give them a chance to discuss their own
"process." Although they will be free to create "codes" and such, I am trying to keep this as low-tech as
possible, since our time is limited.
Total Value: 50 points
Project 3: Discourse Community (Common Assignment)
Students shift from thinking of themselves as writers to thinking of themselves as writers within a
discourse community. I'd like students to consider the idea of "authority" within the discourse
community: how does one establish s/he has authority, what moves a writer can make to establish this
authority, what appeals s/he makes to audience, etc. I would like them to take a look at some writing
examples from their discourse community in order to unpack some of these moves. Additionally,
students will be performing interviews with faculty/professionals, librarians, and older peers.
Total Value: 100 points
Project 4: Persuasive Argument: Students and the Authority of Language
From writing about a community to writing to persuade members of a discourse community. I'm using
as the model Option 1 in WAW, pg. 712 (Do students have a right to their own language?); they'll be
responding to sources from the text, one of which must come from outside the class reading list. This
assignment is still the roughest for me; am going to work more with it this weekend. I'm also concerned
that I may be rushing it a bit, right near the end of the semester; however, I would like students to
continue to examine the question of "authority" in writing - how one establishes it, makes meaning
from it, reaches audience with it, etc. Although continuing in the vein of Project 3, I'd also like students
to here consider how they may use different languages that "coincide and conflict with the languages of
the community" (Downs and Wardle, 712).
Total Value: 100 points
Reading/Writing Journal: In response to reading assignments; this also includes brainstorming activities
from the major projects (a "time line/journal" for the Discourse Community project, and the writing
"log" from Projects 1 and 2). The questions from the reading assignments are listed in the syllabus;
they are also designed to help students work toward the major projects.
Total Value: 40 points
Peer Review: Four peer review sets, each with two peer review responses (students work in groups of
three)
Total Value: 40 points (10 points each set; 5 points each review)
Portfolios: I will be asking students to revise 2 out of the 4 major projects.
Total points for course: 380 (I may add 20 points for class participation)
Unit 1: Who are you as a reader, or, What is reading to you? (Project 1: Literacy Narrative)
WEEK ONE: Introduction to Course: Reading and Writing as Meaning-Making
Monday 1/30: Introduction to course; review syllabus; discuss common terminology
Wednesday 2/1: Writing with purpose and with authority: a reader's analysis
Reading and Discussion: Rey, "Letter to West Port High School's English Department" (WAW
271)
R/W Journal: As you reader, answer the following questions: What is Rey's purpose in
writing? What appeals does she use to persuade her audience? What does she feel high schools
must do to prepare students for college, and how are high schools currently "failing" to live up
to this? What do you think college writing does, or should, look like?
Friday 2/3:
Reading and Discussion: Grant-Davie, "Rhetorical Situations and Their Constituents" (WAW
101-119)
R/W Journal: Consider what "rhetorical situation" inspired Grant-Davie to write. Who is
his intended audience? How effective is his argument? Does it achieve its purpose? Cite
evidence to support your response.
WEEK TWO
Monday 2/6: Literacy "narratives"
Reading and Discussion: Brandt, "Sponsors of Literacy" (WAW 331)
Wednesday 2/8:
Reading and Discussion: Alexie, "The Joy of Reading and Writing: Superman and Me" (WAW
362)
R/W Journal: Answer questions 1-4 under "Questions for Discussion and Journaling" (362)
Friday 2/10:
Reading and Discussion: Malcolm X, "Learning to Read"
R/W Journal: Write a one-page narrative about the impact of an early literacy sponsor on your
life. Recount as many details as you can and try to assess the difference that sponsor made in
your literate life (WAW 361, from "Applying and Exploring Ideas")
Assign: Project 1: Literacy Narrative and Writing Log (Rough draft of narrative due next
Friday!)
WEEK THREE
Monday 2/13: Literacy narratives, continued
Reading and Discussion: DeVoss, et al, "The Future of Literacy" (WAW 395)
R/W Journal: Answer questions 1 and 5 under "Questions for Discussion and Journaling"
(WAW 420). Consider: are technological advancements (social networks, video games, etc)
types of "literacy"? Can they have the same impact on a reader/writer as books?
Wednesday 2/15: Drafting your literacy narrative
Friday 2/17: Workshop, Project 1
Due: Completed Rough Draft, Project 1. Bring 2 copies for your peer review group. If you do
not have a draft, you will be marked absent and will not participate in peer review.
WEEK FOUR
Monday 2/20: No class - President's Day (but don't get too excited ... )
Tuesday 2/21: Follow Monday's schedule
Reading and Discussion: Murray, "All Writing is Autobiography" (WAW 56)
R/W Journal: Answer questions 1-6 under "Questions for Discussion and Journaling" (WAW
66). Specifically focus on Murray's style, and how it compares to other "scholarly" pieces, such
as those written by Brandt and Grant-Davie (Murray's piece did originally appear in a scholarly
journal)
Due: Peer Review Responses, Project 1: Bring two copies of both reviews; you will give one
copy each to your peer review partners, and you will give copies of both reviews to me
Wednesday 2/22:
Continue discussing Murray and "constructs" of writing
Friday 2/24:
Reading and Discussion: Lamott, "Shitty First Drafts" (WAW 301)
Due: Revised Draft, Project 1
R/W Journal: Make sure to finish your writing log for Project 1
Assign Project 2: "Portrait of a Writer"
Unit 2: Portrait of a Writer
WEEK FIVE
Monday 2/27: What is the writing process?
Reading and Discussion: Berkenkotter, "Decisions and Revisions: The Planning Strategies of a
Published Writer" and Murray, "Response of a Laboratory Rat - or, Being Protocoled" (WAW
216)
R/W Journal:
Wednesday 2/29:
Reading and Discussion: Continue with Berkenkotter and Murray; writing "strategies"
Friday 3/2: What would writers do?
Reading and Discussion: King, "What Writing Is" (WAW 305)
R/W Journal: As you read, consider: what "process" do these writers go through? What is each
concerned with? What is each attempting to communicate to the audience about the writing
process? Pay attention to the style King (and Lamott) have used. Is it "scholarly?" Why or why
not?
WEEK SIX
Monday 3/5:
Reading and Discussion: Goodman, "Calming the Inner Critic and Getting to Work" (WAW
308) and Haruf, "To See Your Story Clearly, Start By Pulling the Wool Over Your Own Eyes"
(WAW 311)
R/W Journal: Continue to consider the "writing process" of these writers. What strategies do
they use? How do these compare to your own writing process, as captured in your writing log?
Wednesday 3/7:
Reading and Discussion: Sontag, "Directions: Write, Read, Rewrite. Repeat Steps 2 and 3 as
Needed" (WAW 315) and Diaz, "Becoming a Writer" (WAW 319)
R/W Journal: What do you think it means to "become a writer?" (Refer to the reading
assignments)
Friday 3/9: Workshop, Project 2
Due: Rough draft, Project 2. Bring 2 copies to class (one for each member of your peer review
group). If you do not have a draft, you will be marked absent and will not participate in peer
review.
WEEK SEVEN
Monday 3/12: A writer's process and workshop
In-class workshop: sample drafts; offering constructive feedback
Due: Peer Review, Project 2
Assign Project 3: Writing for a discourse community
Wednesday 3/14:
Reading and Discussion: Ransom, "How Do I Write?" (WAW 292)
R/W Journal: Set up interviews with a professional (professor or other professional) and a peer
student from your discourse community
Friday 3/16:
Due: Final draft, Project 2
WEEK EIGHT
Spring Break: 3/17-3/3/25: Begin work on Project 3
Unit 3: Writing for a Discourse Community: To Whom Are You Writing?
WEEK NINE
Monday 3/26: What is your "community?"
Discussion and Reading: Swales, "The Concept of Discourse Community" (WAW 466)
R/W Journal: Answer questions 1, 3, and 5 under "Questions for Discussion and Journaling"
(480)
R/W Journal: Perform interviews of professionals and students in your discourse community
(you should complete this part of the project by next Monday); record in your R/W Journal
Wednesday 3/28:
Reading and Discussion: Continue discussing Swales
R/W Journal: What is your discourse community? What of its conventions are you aware of?
What types of reading/writing assignments are you expected to do? For this, draw on
knowledge of your classes from your discourse community which you have, or are currently,
taking.
Friday 3/30:
In-class "discussion" groups of discourse communities (work in teams of 2-4
with people in
your discourse community, or similar discourse communities)
R/W Journal: Research library database and academic journals/sources for your discourse
community.
WEEK TEN
Monday 4/2: Discourse communities, continued
Reading and Discussion: Johns, "Discourse Communities and Communities of Practice:
Membership, Conflict, and Diversity" (WAW 498)
R/W Journal: What does Johns mean when she writes, "we cannot tell students 'truths' about
texts or community practices" but that "we can heighten student awareness of generic
conventions?" (515) What conflicts exist in your discourse community? What gives someone
"authority" in your discourse?
Wednesday 4/4:
Reading and Discussion: Continue discussing Johns, authority, conflict, in the discourse
community
R/W Journal: Keep researching journals/publications/databases. What do you notice about the
types of work accepted by these publications? What conventions, if any, do they adhere to?
What genres of writing are valued? Why? What about styles/conventions give writers authority?
Friday 4/6:
Rhetorical "analysis"; academic vs. non-academic sources; writing with authority
R/W Journal: What types of "literacies" exist within your discourse community? What
different research might a writer use that gives him/her authority?
WEEK ELEVEN
Monday 4/9:
Reading and Discussion: Wardle, "Identity, Authority, and Learning to Write in New
Workplaces" (WAW 520)
R/W Journal: Respond to #1 under "Applying and Exploring Ideas" (WAW 536)
Wednesday 4/11:
Due: Rough draft, Project 3. Bring 2 copies to class (one for each member of your peer review
group). If you do not have a draft, you will be marked absent and will not participate in peer
review.
Friday 4/13:
Due: Peer Review, Project 3
Activity: In-class workshop; sample drafts
WEEK TWELVE
Monday 4/16: No class - Patriot's Day!
Keep working on Project 3
Wednesday 4/18:
Reading and Discussion: Branick, "Coaches Can Read, Too: An Ethnographic Study of a
Football Coaching Discourse Community" (WAW 557)
R/W Journal: Answer the questions following text (WAW 573). Are you convinced with the
author's claims regarding the forms of literacy that exist within the coaching community? How
do these observations hold against your observations of literacy in your discourse community?
Friday 4/20:
Reading and Discussion: Harris, "The Idea of Community in the Study of Writing" (WAW
581)
Unit 4: Making Your Voice Heard: Authority, Purpose, Persuasion
WEEK THIRTEEN
Monday 4/23: What is "community" in writing (and in the university)?
Due: Final Draft, Project 3
Assign Project 4: Writing Persuasively (Do students have a right to their own language?)
Wednesday 4/25:
Reading and Discussion: Casanave, "The Beginnings of Change: Learning and Teaching
Undergraduate Academic Literacy Games" (WAW 619-636 only)
Friday 4/27:
Continue discussion of Casanave; what "games" must you play to succeed as a college writer?
WEEK FOURTEEN
Monday 4/30:
Reading and Discussion: Penrose and Geisler, "Reading and Writing Without Authority"
(WAW 602)
Wednesday 5/2:
R/W Journal: Respond to #1 under "Applying and Exploring Ideas" (WAW 617)
Friday 5/4:
Due: Due: Rough draft, Project 4. Bring 2 copies to class (one for each member of your peer
review group). If you do not have a draft, you will be marked absent and will not
participate in peer review.
WEEK FIFTEEN
Monday 5/7:
Activity: In-class workshop; sample drafts
Wednesday 5/9:
Friday 5/11:
Due: Final Draft, Project 4
WEEK SIXTEEN
Monday 5/13:
Work on revisions to submit for final "portfolio"
Wednesday 5/15: Last day of class
Due: Portfolio