Instructor: Josh Hall
Office: AH 3163
Office Hours: W 6:00 – 7:00 PM and by appt.
Email: Joshua.Hall@gcccd.edu
RWS 305W: Writing in Various Settings
We live in a world where there is more and more information, and less and less meaning.
—Jean Baudrillard
Class: Sec. 24, 3 units, SDSU, Fall 2013
Meeting Times: W 7:00 – 9:50 PM in AH 2111
Required Texts (please get the editions listed):
Miller, Richard E. and Kurt Spellmeyer, eds. The New Humanities Reader . 4 th edition.
Vonnegut, Kurt. Slaughterhouse-Five . (Dial Press, 2009).
Class handouts and online articles (see course calendar)
Recommended Texts:
Gibaldi, Joseph. MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers .
A college-level dictionary.
MLA Citation (online resource): http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/01/
Course Description: Rhetoric and Writing Studies 305W is designed to help upper-level students develop the communication skills needed for successful professional careers.
The course builds on the rhetorical model that students are introduced to in earlier 100 and 200-level courses: attention to audience, purpose, presentation (genre and organization), evidence, and language. In RWS 305W students learn to respond not just to academic tasks but a wider variety of genres and settings that require diverse research methods and writing styles. The course also contains a metacognitive component in which students learn to reflect on and evaluate the effectiveness of their own writing style(s) within rhetorical contexts.
Prerequisites: A qualifying score on the Writing Proficiency Assessment (WPA), or a grade of C or higher in RWS 280 or 281, and completion of general education requirements in composition and critical thinking.
Course Objectives: To learn to write with clarity and cogency while becoming inquiring and analytical readers and thinkers. You’ll be given practice in writing of various kinds in order to help you develop the skills needed for further university work and beyond. The readings for this course are rich and challenging and will serve as stimuli for your writing and our class discussions. Our specific objectives for this course fall into a number of categories:

1. Rhetorical Knowledge
RWS 305W will help students to analyze writing in different contexts by introducing them to the concept of rhetorical situations: the complex interplay among writer, audience, subject, and context. Students will learn how to
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Respond effectively in writing to issues and arguments raised in a variety of disciplinary, popular, and professional texts and/or contexts
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Identify individual discourse communities and find and analyze their characteristic texts, evaluate their credibility and principles, and apply relevant aspects of their information to other contexts and arguments
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Analyze the details of a wide variety of writing situations (textual elements such as tone, evidence, organizational patterns, diction, even visuals) according to the author’s purpose as well as the audience’s needs and tastes
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Understand the concept of rhetorical situations: the relationship among writeraudience-subject-context
2. Critical Thinking and Reading
RWS 305W will provide students with strategies to understand the function of reading and writing in cultural, academic, and professional communities. Students will learn how to
 Use “language about language” that enables a writer to reflect on the use of rhetorical strategies as well as strengths, difficulties, and progress as a working writer
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Apply critical reading strategies to a variety of publicly and individually produced texts
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Work with demanding readings and learn to interpret, incorporate, and evaluate these readings
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Use writing as a way to learn—to think about, question, and communicate ideas
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Understand the relationships among language, knowledge and power
3. Writing Processes
RWS 305W will enhance students’ abilities to develop writing processes that reflect invention, inquiry, revision, and editing. Students will learn how to

Develop successful, flexible strategies for generating, revising, and editing texts
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Understand the collaborative and social aspects of the writing process
 Critique their own and others’ texts
4. Knowledge of Conventions

RWS 305W will provide students with strategies to analyze the writing conventions of different discourse communities and to begin to write effectively within these communities. Students will learn to
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Understand the ways various discourse communities use different strategies for conveying information, researching information, and evaluating and analyzing information
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Analyze audience expectations about conventions and address them in critical ways
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Effectively integrate a variety of sources into their writings
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Practice appropriate means of documenting their sources
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Sustain reasonable correctness in grammar and mechanics to perform well in a variety of writing contexts and professional settings
5. Attitudes, Values, and Preparation for Life Beyond the University
RWS 305W reflects the values of a liberal arts education, namely,

Working cooperatively with others to achieve mutually defined goals, face-toface in the classroom and in other settings
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Respecting the diverse voices and perspectives that characterize life in a multicultural classroom and society

Applying critical reading strategies to a variety of publicly and individually produced texts
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Valuing free expression and the ability to participate confidently in public discussion on issues of importance to the workplace and the community

Showing initiative in problem solving situations
Expectations: Always bring the assigned reading to class, and arrive having completed the assignment(s). To succeed in this course, my expectation is that you will spend at least one hour of outside study for every hour that you are in class.
Attendance: Attendance is paramount to your success in this course. It is imperative that you attend each class session in order to keep up with the assignments. If you are absent, it is your responsibility to find out what you have missed.
Grading:
Paper #1: 100 pts.
Paper #2: 100 pts.
Paper #3: 100 pts.
CV, Resume, and Cover Letter: 100 pts.
Final Reflection: 25 pts.
Homework Assignments: 10 pts. each
Editing Workshops: 10 pts. each

Grading Scale:
93-100% = A
90-92% = A-
88-89 % = B+
83-87% = B
80-82% = B-
78-79% = C +
70-77% = C
60-69% = D
0-59% = F
Papers: There are three formal papers, and there will be an editing workshop the week before each paper is due. Please arrive on time and bring four copies of a complete rough draft to each workshop . If you do not arrive on time or bring four copies, you will not be given credit for the workshop . I am available during office hours to answer any questions you might have about the papers.
CV, Cover Letter, and Resume: Toward the end of the semester, you will complete a CV,
Cover Letter, and Resume targeted toward your specific future (or ideal) profession.
Final Reflection: During the final exam period, you will write a reflection on your work as a writer this semester. Bring a large Bluebook to class for the reflection.
Homework Assignments: You will be required to turn in a one-page summary of and response to each reading that we discuss over the course of the semester. These assignments will have two parts: first, you will write a paragraph summary of the text (i.e., in your own words, discuss the main idea(s) presented in the text). Second, you will write a paragraph in which you respond to the idea(s) you have summarized (i.e., what is your reaction to reading?).
*All work done outside of class must be typed and stapled (Handwritten assignments will not be
accepted, and five points will be deducted from essays that are not stapled).
*Papers will be accepted up to one class period late for a full letter-grade reduction of the original grade.
*The homework assignments and final reflection cannot be made up.
*I do not accept papers or assignments via email.
Classroom Etiquette: Thoughtful, respectful contribution to class discussions is welcomed and highly encouraged. Please arrive on time ; if you are late, enter as quietly as possible and choose a seat at the back of the room or close to the door. With regard to the burgeoning ubiquity of technological gadgets, I ask that you turn off and put away all electronic devices before each class session begins . Texting, checking Facebook, and other phone-related disruptions are highly disrespectful to both me and your classmates. If you are on your phone during class, you will be marked absent. I do understand, however, that genuine emergencies arise, so if you are expecting an urgent or important call, please let me know before class begins.
Plagiarism: Plagiarism—presenting someone else’s work as your own—is a serious offense and will result in an “F” for the work plagiarized. Instructors are also required to report all cases of

plagiarism to the university judicial officer, who may impose further penalties. If you have specific questions regarding plagiarism, refer to the university guidelines or see me.
Special Needs: If you have special learning needs or are registered with Student Disability
Services, please let me know early on so that I can accommodate you.
Best wishes for a successful semester!

RWS 305W Course Calendar
*Read each assignment before we discuss it in class. For Wednesday 9/4, for example, you will need to read Edmundson’s “On the Uses of a Liberal Education” and complete the first homework assignment. Assignments due are in bold.
Week 1
W 8/28 Introduction to the course
Week 2
W 9/4 Mark Edmundson, “On the Uses of a Liberal Education: As Lite Entertainment for Bored
College Students” (find online, print, and read)
http://www.mjfdesign.net/terri/9optedmundson.pdf
Edmundson Homework Assignment Due
Week 3
W 9/11 Mark Edmundson, “Dwelling in Possibilites” (find online, print, and read)
http://chronicle.com/article/Dwelling-in-Possibilities/7083
Edmundson Homework Assignment #2 Due
Week 4
W 9/18 Daniel Gilbert, “Immune to Reality”
Gilbert Homework Assignment Due
Week 5
W 9/25 Virginia Postrel, “Surface and Substance” (Handout)
Postrel Homework Assignment Due
Paper #1 Editing Workshop
Week 6
W 10/2 Martha Stout, “When I Woke Up Tuesday Morning, It Was Friday”
Stout Homework Assignment Due
Paper #1 Due
Week 7
W 10/9 Tim O’Brien, “How to Tell a True War Story”
O’Brien Homework Assignment Due
Week 8
W 10/16 Kurt Vonnegut, Slaughterhouse-Five
Vonnegut Homework Assignment Due

Week 9
W 10/23
Malcom Gladwell, “The Power of Context”
Gladwell Homework Assignment Due
Week 10
W 10/30 Nicholas Carr, “Is Google Making us Stupid?”
Carr Homework Assignment Due
Paper #2 Editing Workshop
Week 11
W 11/6 Annie Dillard, “The Wreck of Time” (Find online, print, and read) http://www.midwayisd.org/cms/lib/TX01000662/Centricity/Domain/115/The_Wreck_of_
Time.pdf
Dillard Homework Assignment Due
Paper #2 Due
Week 12
W 11/13 Eric Schlosser, “Global Realization” (Handout)
Schlosser Homework Assignment Due
Week 13
W 11/20 Edward Tenner, “Another Look Back, and a Look Ahead”
Tenner Homework Assignment Due
Week 14
W 11/27 Jean Twenge, “An Army of One: Me ”
Twenge Homework Assignment Due
Week 15
W 12/4 CV, Resume, and Cover Letter Workshop
Week 16
W 12/11 CV, Resume, and Cover Letter Due
Paper #3 Editing Workshop
Week 17
W 12/18 Final Reflection 7:00 – 9:00 PM
Paper #3 Due
*I reserve the right to revise the syllabus and reading calendar at any time