ENG 110: College Writing (Section E4QMA)
Topic: Higher Education
Queens College, Fall 2010
Monday/Wednesday, 4:00-5:50 p.m., Rathaus 102
Instructor: Dominique Zino
Office hours: Wednesdays, 1:30 – 3 p.m., and by appointment
Office location: Klapper Hall 350
Office phone: (718) 997-4638
Dominique.Zino@qc.cuny.edu
Course blog: http://eng110fall2010.qwriting.org/
Course description
This is, first and foremost, a writing course. In this course you will be practicing
techniques and creating strategies to become a clearer, more organized and more effective writer.
Along the way, I will be here to guide you through developing your own relationship with the
writing process. The writing we do this semester will take many forms: free-writing and
journaling, recording fieldnotes, formulating shorter written responses to specific questions
about assigned texts, drafting longer responses that will be the basis for formal papers, reviewing
your work in class with me and your peers, and practicing editing your writing carefully on your
own time.
A word on our theme: all of our reading and writer this semester will revolve around the
idea of “higher education.” Our guiding assumption in this course is that education is not a thing,
an object, but something produced through a series of relationships. Attempting to understand
those relationships will help us to contextualize the experiences we have in college. We can think
of these relationships in different clusters or “frames:” as conversations between students, their
families, and their teachers, between faculty and administrators, between universities and the
racial, ethnic and geographical communities from which they draw. Together we will explore
some of the broader debates that have shaped public education in America: what should students
be learning in school? Are elementary and secondary schools sufficiently preparing students for
college-level work? How do colleges attempt to control to make-up of their student body?
Moreover, the process of observation, argument, evaluation and revision that has driven changes
in educational policy is the same process that you will engage with as you write for this course.
Learning Objectives: By the end of the semester students will be able to
1) assess rhetorical context across different genres—evaluating them in terms of tone, stance,
purpose, audience and visual design— and understand how this context works with ideas to
produce the meaning of a text.
2) incorporate various methods of research into their written texts, including the use of secondary
resources (both print and multimedia) and primary sources they have gathered themselves.
3) develop a vocabulary that will help them to analyze the structure and style of their writing,
applying critical reading skills to their own texts and then articulating strategies for
improvement.
4) make connections with other courses in terms of both content and methods of critical inquiry.
Required texts

They Say, I Say, 2nd ed., Graff & Birkenstein, WW Norton
ISBN: 9780393933611 / Retail Price: $17

Writing Ethnographic Fieldnotes, Emerson & Fretz, University of Chicago Press
ISBN: 978-0226206813 / Retail Price: $17.50
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A course packet is available for purchase at Queens Copy Center on Kissena Blvd.
(below Gino’s Pizzeria). This packet is required and must be purchased as soon as
possible. The cost is $19.
Required materials
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A lined notebook with sheets that can be torn out
A sturdy portfolio folder with multiple pockets for handouts
A reliable recording device (to collect data for your ethnographic research paper)
A mini-stapler (Please attach all work before turning it in!)
Consistent access to a working computer with a reliable internet connection and a printer
Assignments
As soon as you complete an essay, upload it to your personal blog. You will be reading from
each others’ blogs on days when we have in-class writing workshops. When you turn in the final
version of your paper (on the class following the writing workshop), you must hand me a hard
copy. Then, upload the final version to your blog as well. As all of our assignments use
secondary sources, a works cited page is required with every essay.
Essay #1: “They Say” (5-6 pages)
Summarize the positions that Hirsch, Macedo and Loewen take on the issue of what students
should learn in school. After discussing how their positions compare to and differ from one
another, analyze an elementary or secondary school experience of your own that will allow you
to “put in your oar” and explain your beliefs about how students should be taught history in
school. No direct quotations will be used in this paper.
Essay #2: As They Put It (5-6 pages)
Choose one educational policy that you want to learn more about (“No Child Left Behind,”
remediation, or affirmative action) as the focus for this essay. Quoting from various sources
(those we have discussed in class and some that you find on your own), create a transcript of a
debate between two fictitious individuals who are attempting to persuade the other of their
opinion about this policy by citing relevant, reliable sources.
Essay #3: Saying Why It Matters (5-6 pages)
Option #1: Imagine that you are addressing a group of college administrators who are trying to
understand how to better accommodate and respond to what Jean M. Twenge calls “Generation
Me.” After both summarizing and quoting from Twenge’s text, create your own argument about
why it seems important to distinguish the present generation (you may or may not agree with the
traits Twenge assigns to the present generation and may want to assign your own) from past
generations. Then discuss how colleges can best serve the present generation of students.
OR
Option #2: After summarizing and quoting from multiple sources we have discussed in class,
create an argument that presents a recommendation for how the federal government, nonprofit
colleges, or college students and their families (choose one audience) should confront this
increasingly popular turn toward for-profit colleges. Why should they be concerned about the
effect that for-profit colleges might have on present and future generations of college students?
What actions should they take in response to current news reports about the “for-profit boom”?
Essay #4: From the Inside Out: An Ethnography (8-10 pages)
An ethnography is a study of human social phenomena and social communities through the use
of fieldwork (first-hand observation). To conclude this course, you will choose a group of people
who have a stake in “higher education” (students, teachers, parents, etc.) and follow them closely
for three to four weeks to record their beliefs, understandings, and social interactions in order to
learn more about some aspect of higher education in America. It is never too early to start
thinking about the group or issue you want to study! Feel free to approach me about this at any
time.
Other Key Course Requirements
1) Obtain access to the course blog (http://eng110fall2010.qwriting.org/): Selected readings as
well as announcements and assignments will be posted on this course blog. If you have never
visited http://qwriting.org/ please visit the site and create a username and password. This will
give you access to our class blog.
2) Keep up with required writing assignments on your personal blog: Once you have signed up
for a Qwriting,org account at http://qwriting.org/, you will be able to create a personal blog for
use in this course this semester. The blog is yours forever. Treat it well and organize it clearly:
make sure there is a page labeled “Weekly Assignments” and a section labeled “Essays.” (Other
than that, you’re free to design it as you wish.) At the end of this semester, you may want to
continue to add to it or adapt it for another purpose. Once you have created your own blog, this
blog will be added to the “blog roll” for our course and will be open to the other members of the
course and to me. This is not a private blog and should not be treated as such. The blog is a space
for you to respond to the assignments on the syllabus and to develop your own relationship with
the course material. Weekly blog posts will usually be about 300-400 words (please include a
word count at the end of your post each week). Your response to the weekly material must by
posted by 9 p.m. every Sunday. Posting after the deadline will result in a deduction of points
from your final course grade.
3) Turn in polished hard copies of all four required essays. After you post your completed essays
on your blog on the due date, these essays will be revised to display your most polished,
sophisticated work. On the class following a writing workshop, hard copies of all revised papers
must be turned in for a grade on the dates indicated on the schedule (then you can upload this
final version to the blog as well). If you expect a grade on the assignment, both the electronic
version and the hard copy must be submitted by the required due dates. The lack of either will
severely lower the assignment grade.
Grading
Essay #1 (15 points)
Essay #2 (15 points)
Essay #3 (15 points)
Ethnographic research paper (30 points)
Active contributor status (25 points)
**Important note: You will receive 1 point for each day you are prepared for class (i.e.
have completed the readings and necessary blog posts or writing assignments). If you are
not prepared with the required work due on a particular day, even if you are physically
present, you cannot earn a point for that class. These points cannot be made up after a
class passes. If you know in advance that you are going to be absent, missing work must
be submitted by the end of the day on which class was held. If you are present and
prepared for every class this semester, you can earn up to three extra credit points in this
category, which will go toward your final grade.
Your final grade is out of 100 points.
90-100 = A-/A 80-89 = B-/B/B+ 70-79 = C-/C/C+ 60-69 = D Below 60 = F
Course Policies and Resources
Avoid plagiarism: Plagiarism is the act of presenting another person’s ideas, research or writings
as your own. The following are all examples of plagiarism (though this is not an all-inclusive
list):
 Copying another person’s actual words without the use of quotation marks and footnotes
attributing the words to their source.
 Presenting another person’s ideas or theories in your own words without acknowledging
the source.
 Using information that is not common knowledge without acknowledging the source.
 Failing to acknowledge collaborators on homework assignments.
 Internet plagiarism includes submitting downloaded term papers or parts of term papers,
paraphrasing or copying information from the internet without citing the source, and
“cutting & pasting” from various sources without proper attribution.
(http://web.cuny.edu/academics/info-central/policies/academic-integrity.pdf)
Plagiarizing material on a paper in this course is grounds for failing that assignment. A second
offense is grounds for failing the course. If you have any questions about what constitutes
plagiarism, please ask me before an assignment is due. If I find that you have plagiarized, I am
required to fill out the incident report and submit it to a college administrator.
Become an Active Contributor: You are a college student and an adult. Please take those roles
seriously. You are expected to be respectful to me and the rest of the group, which includes
coming prepared to class, contributing to class discussions in a thoughtful and consistent way,
and keeping abreast of any necessary changes in scheduling or course requirements.
Tips for Becoming/Remaining an Active Contributor:
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Bring all necessary course materials to class every day, especially the required readings.
Complete required assignments fully and on time. Be sure you updating your blog
multiple times per week and checking in with our course blog regularly.
Ask a question when you encounter material in the reading that you do not understand.
(Someone else probably has the same question.)
Ask a question as soon as I have said something that you do not understand or request
that I repeat myself.
Do not wait for me to call on you to raise your hand!
What does it mean to be enrolled in a “linked” course? The English 110 section is “linked”
with Sociology 101 because the courses share some similar themes and, at times, you may see
direct connections between discussions in both classes. You cannot drop one linked course
without dropping the other.
The Writing Center: 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.
Special Accommodations: If you have a learning, sensory, or physical reason for special
accommodation in this class, contact the Office of Special Services in 171 Kiely Hall at 718-9975870 and please inform me.
Semester Schedule
*Note: For first three units, readings are in They Say, I Say and the course packet unless otherwise noted.
Readings and assignments are subject to change. Students will be notified of any changes in class and/or
via the course blog.
Date
Assignments (due on the day next to which they are listed)
Unit 1
What (and How) Should Students Learn in School?
Mon, Aug 30 Introduction to the course: “putting in your oar”
Stephen Colbert on Higher Education
“Social Class and the Hidden Curriculum of Work” (handout)
Introduction to They Say, I Say (handout)
FYI survey
Set up your personal blog!
Wed, Sept 1 Reading: Complete “Social Class and the Hidden Curriculum of Work” (handout)
and Introduction to TSIS
Mon, Sept 6
Wed, Sept 8
Mon, Sept
13
Wed, Sept
15
Mon, Sept
20
Wed, Sept
22
Mon, Sept
27
Writing: How would Jean Anyon classify your elementary school? Provide an
anecdote from your experience in school to illustrate the category you have
chosen (300-400 words)
COLLEGE CLOSED
No classes scheduled for classes that end after 4 p.m.
Reading: Cultural Literacy: What Every American Needs to Know, Preface and
Chapter 1, “Literacy and Cultural Literacy” and TSIS, Chapters 1 “and 2
Writing: Following the advice in chapter 2 of TSIS, summarize Hirsch’s
argument about “cultural literacy” in about 300-400 words.
Introduction to Essay #1
Reading: Literacies of Power, Chapter 2, “Our Common Culture: A Poisonous
Pedagogy”
Writing: Following the advice in chapter 2 of TSIS, summarize Macedo’s
argument about “poisonous pedagogy” in about 300-400 words.
Reading: Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Textbook
Got Wrong, Chapters 5 and 6
Writing: Respond to prompt on course blog
Essay #1 due today (post on blog)
Writing workshop in computer lab (Room TBA)
Unit 2
Who Else is Making Decisions about Your Education?
Reading: Why School?, Chapter 3, “No Child Left Behind and the Spirit of
Democratic Education” and TSIS, Chapter 3, “As He Himself Puts It”
Wed, Sept
29
Writing: Revised copy of essay #1 due (turn in hard copy and post on blog)
Introduction to Essay #2
Reading: “Class Warrior” (posted on course blog) and TSIS, Chapter 4,
“Yes/No/Okay, But”
Mon, Oct 4
Writing: Respond to prompt posted on blog
Reading Why School?, Chapters 9 and 10, “Remediation at the University” and
“Re-mediating Remediation” and TSIS, Chapter 6, “Skeptics May Object”
Wed, Oct 6
Writing: Respond to prompt posted on blog
Ending Affirmative Action, Chapter 4, “Remediation and Diversity: Affirmative
Action in Higher Education”
Mon, Oct 11
Wed, Oct 13
Writing: Respond to prompt posted on blog
COLLEGE CLOSED
Essay #2 due (post on blog)
Writing workshop in computer lab (Room TBA)
Unit 3
Education in America: The Next Generation
Mon, Oct 18
Wed, Oct 20
Introduction to Essay #3
Reading: “Drive Thru U” (in course packet) and “Phoenix Risen” (on course
blog) and TSIS, Chapter 7, “So What? Who Cares?”
Writing: Revised copy of essay #2 due (turn in hard copy and post on blog)
Reading: “Homeless at College,” “Scapegoating For-Profit Colleges,” “Who
Profits? Who Learns?” “Subprime Colleges, Revisited” (readings on course blog)
and TSIS, Chapter 8, “As a Result”
Mon, Oct 25
Writing: Respond to prompt posted on course blog
Generation Me, Chapter 2, “An Army of One: Me” and TSIS, Chapter 9, “Ain’t
So/Is Not”
Wed, Oct 27
Writing: Respond to prompt posted on course blog
Generation Me , Chapter 3, “You Can be Anything You Want to Be” and TSIS,
Chapter 10, “But Don’t Get Me Wrong”
Mon, Nov 1
Writing: Respond to prompt posted on course blog
Essay #3 due (post on blog)
Writing workshop in computer lab (Room TBA)
Unit 4
Going into the Field: Ethnographic Inquiry as a Tool for Understanding the Beliefs, Habits
and Social Lives of Students
Wed, Nov 3
Introduction: What is Ethnography and How Can We Use It?
Reading: Writing Ethnographic Fieldnotes, Chapter 1, “Fieldnotes in
Ethnographic Research”
Mon, Nov 8
Writing: Revised version of essay #3 due (turn in hard copy and post on blog)
Reading: Writing Ethnographic Fieldnotes, Chapter 2, “In the Field:
Participating, Observing and Jotting Notes”
Wed, Nov 10
Writing: Choose THREE places where you know that groups of college students
(or faculty or administrators) congregate and where people might be engaged in
an activity and/or discussion that relates to any aspect of “higher education” we
have discussed this semester. Go to each place and observe the scene in front of
you for at least 30 minutes before moving on. Practice jottings at each location as
they are described in chapter 2 and post the jottings on your blog.
Reading: Writing Ethnographic Fieldnotes, Chapter 3, “Writing Up Fieldnotes I”
Mon, Nov 15
Writing: Follow up with the most interesting and informative scene of the three
you observed last time. Observe this one location/group for about an hour.
Collect jottings. Turn your jottings into fieldnotes as per the advice in chapter 3.
Reading: Writing Ethnographic Fieldnotes, Chapter 3, “Writing Up Fieldnotes I”
Writing: Create a proposal of about 500 words about the type of educational
scenario you would like to explore in depth in the field. Explain why it seems
important to learn more about this scenario and how you will collect your data.
Wed, Nov 17
Library session (Room TBA)
Mon, Nov 22
Reading: Writing Ethnographic Fieldnotes, Chapter 4, “Writing Up Fieldnotes II”
Wed, Nov 24
Mon, Nov 29
Wed, Dec 1
Writing: Create an annotated bibliography that includes at least two scholarly
sources you found about your educational scenario in the library.
Reading: Writing Ethnographic Fieldnotes, Chapter 5, “Pursuing Members’
Meanings”
Writing: After going into the field to observe your educational scenario one more
time, post another set of fieldnotes on your blog.
Reading: Writing Ethnographic Fieldnotes, Chapter 6, “Processing Fieldnotes:
Coding and Memoing”
Writing: Based on the sample conceptual memo and following the advice in
chapter 6, create a conceptual memo.
Reading: Writing Ethnographic Fieldnotes, Chapter 7, “Writing an
Ethnography”
Mon, Dec 6
Writing workshop (Room TBA)
Writing workshop (Room TBA)
Wed, Dec 8
Writing workshop (Room TBA)
Mon, Dec 13
(last class)
Final writing workshop (Room TBA)
Tues, Dec 14
- Tues. Dec.
21st
Writing: Review the work you have posted on your blog over the course of the
semester and, as your final post, write a reflective letter (addressing me and the
rest of the class) about the ways you have changed as a writer (and as a college
student generally) this semester.
EXAM WEEK, final ethnographic research papers due
Other important dates:
September 16th begins unevaluated withdrawal period