Tracy Mendham
CALENDAR FOR COLLEGE WRITING I, Franklin Pierce, Fall 2007
Readings marked Graff are from They Say/I Say. Readings marked Shrodes are from The Conscious Reader.
For the three phone message assignments, call 1-800-749-0632, enter Channel Number 12483, and Password 3848. Remember to
say your initials or first name at the beginning of your message.
Date
Week 1
09/5
[9/13]
Week 2
Topic and Assignments
FIRST CLASS. Go over syllabus, expectations for the
course, introductions.
ACTIVE READING & LEARNING SKILLS
Call in a “Received Idea” by midnight Saturday
Readings Due
(Handout, Mortimer Adler’s “How to Mark a Book”
distributed.)
Read “Entering the Conversation” (Graff 1-14);
David Zinczenko’s “Don’t Blame the Eater” (Graff 139-141)
09/10
9/13
USING TEMPLATES AND THE WRITING PROCESS
Journal assignment 1: come to class with 3 questions
about readings or course. (Doesn’t need to be 1 page)
Journal assignment 2: Respond to Zinczenko. Include
one of the templates from Graff (pages 1-14)
Ch 1, “They Say” (Graff 17-27);
Gerald Graff’s “Hidden Intellectualism” (Graff 142-148)
PEER REVIEW
COLLECTIVE INQUIRY & COLLABORATION IN
LEARNING
Essay 1 Peer Draft due
Journal assignment: Explain in your own words,
briefly, what “Hidden Intellectualism” says, and then
what you think or feel about Graff’s ideas.
Week 3
Ch. 2, “Her Point Is” (Graff 28-47);
Susan Bordo’s “The Empire of Images in Our World of
Bodies” (Graff 149-161)
9/17
ORGANIZATION OF ACADEMIC ESSAYS
Journal assignment 1: Respond to Susan Bordo’s
essay, including a summary of her main point.
Ch 3, “As He Himself Puts It” (Graff 39-47);
Stephen King’s “On Writing” (Shrodes 367-371)
9/19
SUMMARIZING AND QUOTING;
DOCUMENTING SOURCES AND MLA STYLE
Essay 1 Instructor Draft due
Journal: Answer one of the Suggestions for Discussion
at the end of “On Writing.” Include a quote from King
Week 4
Ch. 4, “Yes/No/Okay, But” (Graff 51-64);
“Somebody’s Baby” by Barbara Kingsolver (Shrodes 133138)
9/24
REVISION
Journal: Respond to “Somebody's Baby” using one of
the templates in Graff Ch. 4
“The Angel in the House” by Virginia Woolf (Shrodes 230235)
9/26
CRITICAL READING; PEER REVIEW
Essay 2 Peer Draft due
Journal: Answer one or more of the Suggestions for
Writing questions at the end of “Angel in the House”
Week 5
Ch. 6, “Skeptics May Object” (Graff 74-87);
“Science Fiction: Imaginary Worlds and Real-Life
Questions” by Noel Perrin (Shrodes 842-847)
Mendham 2
10/1
THE RHETORICAL SITUATION
Journal: Have you ever watched or read sci fi?
Compare your views/like/dislike of it to Perrin's.
Ch. 7, “So What? Who Cares?” (Graff 88-97);
“Teaching Students to Swim in the Online Sea,” by
Geoffrey Nunberg (Shrodes 881-884)
10/3
RESEARCH & INFORMATION LITERACY
Essay 2 Instructor Draft due
Journal: Respond to “Teaching Students to Swim” in
any way you like.
Journals due for mid-semester evaluation
Week 6
“Hispanic” by Richard Rodriguez (Shrodes 699-710)
10/8
OWNING OUR WORDS & INCLUSIVE LANGUAGE
Phone message assignment due: Briefly, what is a
name or label that has been applied to you and in
what ways does it fit or not fit?
Ch 8, “As a Result” (Graff 101-114);
“A Homemade Education,” by Malcolm X (Shrodes 880887)
10/10
PEER REVIEW; SMALL GROUP CONFERENCES
Essay 3 Peer Draft Due
Journal: Answer one of the questions at the end of “A
Homemade Education”
Week 7
Ch. 9, “Ain’t So/Is Not” (Graff 115-122);
“Growing Up Gay” by Arnie Kantrowitz (Shrodes 578-581)
10/15
EXPLORING YOUR EMOTIONAL AND INTELLECTUAL
RESPONSES TO TEXTS
Journal: Answer one of the questions at the end of
“Growing Up Gay”
Ch. 10, “In Other Words,”(Graff 123-132);
“Why I Went to the Woods” by Henry David Thoreau
(Shrodes 464-470)
10/17
PEER REVIEW; CLOSE READING
Essay 4 Peer Draft due
Journal: Answer one or more of the questions at the
end of “Why I Went Into the Woods”
Week 8
“You’ve Got Blog,” by Rebecca Mead (Shrodes 311-317)
10/22
EDITING, MECHANICS OF STANDARD ENGLISH
RESPONDING TO NEW MEDIA
Journal: Respond to “You’ve Got Blog,” including any
template you like from They Say/I Say
10/24
RESPONDING TO MUSIC
Journals due for evaluation
Journal: Answer one of the questions at the end of
“I'm Like a Bird”
“I’m Like a Bird” by Nick Hornby (Shrodes 337-339)
Week 9
“The God Who Loves You” by Carl Denis (Shrodes 96-97)
10/29
RESPONDING TO POETRY
WRAPPING THINGS UP
Phone message assignment due: Read 4 lines of a
poem you like and say briefly why you like it.
Essay 4 Instructor Draft due
Thanks for all your hard work. See you in College Writing II!