ENGLISH 2001—SPRING 2013
Introduction to Writing Across the Curriculum
INSTRUCTOR: Dennis Bohr (bohrdj@appstate.edu)
OFFICE HOURS: (Sanford 328, 262-2330) TR 12-12:30, 1:45-2, 3:15-3:45; online: M 34, W10-11, 1-2; and by appointment
COURSE DESCRIPTION: English 2001 will introduce you to Writing Across the
Curriculum (WAC). You will build on skills you learned in English 1000 and prepare for future
academic writing. You will practice your writing in different academic genres, read and analyze
texts rhetorically, and analyze the writing conventions of different academic disciplines.
Writing is integral to every academic discipline, but the conventions of one may differ greatly
from the conventions of another. Writing is important in all subjects, and how you write in an
English class may differ greatly from how you write for a political science or sociology class.
This class is designed to give you an awareness of the different styles and conventions of various
disciplines and teach you how to adapt your writing to different fields. In this course, we will use
the lens of theory about writing to investigate writing of different discourse communities.
This class approaches writing as a process, a series of steps writers engage in to reach a final
product: invention, drafting, critiquing, revision, and editing. This class will use the portfolio
method of instruction and evaluation, which will allow you to practice your writing in various
forms and genres and reflect on your writing and the writing of others. You will be required to
submit an electronic portfolio for this class.
Because there is an online component to the class, you should check the site
(asulearn.appstate.edu) each week for journal assignments and other reminders.
PREREQUISITE: Successful completion of English 1000 and 30 hours of course credit
GEN ED GOALS AND OUTCOMES:
Goal: Thinking Critically and Creatively
 Recognize, differentiate, and effectively employ increasingly sophisticated strategies to
collect and interpret information.
 Successfully integrate disparate concepts and information when interpreting, solving
problems, evaluating, creating, and making decisions.
 Construct persuasive arguments in increasingly complex contexts.
 Apply theories from a variety of disciplines and advance convincing reasons to connect
as well as differentiate theories from different domains of knowledge.
Goal: Communicating Effectively
 Articulate and comprehend effectively, using verbal or nonverbal communication suitable
to topic, purpose, and audience.
 Use writing effectively to discover and develop ideas and to articulate positions in
contexts of increasing complexity.
 Make rhetorical decisions appropriate to topic, purpose, and audience while correctly
using the conventions of standard written English.
 Determine the scope of information needed in specific research contexts and successfully
identify, locate, evaluate, use, and communicate information from various media.

Read actively and analytically at the college level and synthesize and apply information
and ideas from their reading across disciplines.
 Select and use hardware, software applications, databases, and other technologies
effectively for both inquiry and communication.
Goal: Understanding Responsibilities of Community Membership
 Collaborate effectively with others in shared processes of inquiry and problem solving.
 Apply principles of responsible community membership within and beyond the campus
community.
All English 2001 students will produce a semester-ending portfolio that demonstrates
fulfillment of these Goals and Objectives.
INSTRUCTIONAL METHODS
Writing workshops, discussions, lecture, journal writing and other short writings, sharing and
responding, student presentations, online postings, portfolio
TEXTS
Writing about Writing, Wardle and Downs (rental text)
Writing in the Disciplines, Cullick and Myers Zawacki (text to purchase)
A Pocket Style Manual, 2012, 6th ed., Hacker and Sommers (to be purchased)
ATTENDANCE POLICY
Participation and attendance are crucial to improving your writing skills; therefore you should
attend class and be prepared to work. If you do miss class, you will be responsible for any missed
work; however, process work cannot be made up. Much of your grade (40%) will be a process
grade—turning papers in on time, writing journals, completing in-class work, and participating in
paper workshops, among other activities. If you are not in class, you will be unable to complete
these assignments, and your process grade will suffer.
Religious observances: You will be allowed two excused absences for religious observances.
You are responsible for requesting such excused absences in writing no later than three weeks
after the first class day of the term. Religious observances shall include religious holidays or holy
days that require absence from class. You will be afforded the opportunity to make up work
missed due to an excused absence for a religious observance. Specific arrangements to make up
work will be made upon receipt of your written request.
ACADEMIC INTEGRITY CODE
You are responsible for understanding and abiding by the Academic Integrity Code
(http://studentconduct.appstate.edu/), particularly in regard to plagiarism. All cases of plagiarism
will be handled according to this Code.
SPECIAL ACCOMMODATIONS
From the Office of Disability Services: "Appalachian State University is committed to making
reasonable accommodations for individuals with documented qualifying disabilities in
accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, and Section 504 of the
Rehabilitation Act of 1973. Those seeking accommodations based on a substantially limiting
disability must contact and register with The Office of Disability Services (ODS) at
http://www.ods.appstate.edu/ or 828-262-3056. Once registration is complete, individuals will
meet with ODS staff to discuss eligibility and appropriate accommodations."
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HELP The University Writing Center (room 008, Belk Library and Information Commons) is
open Monday through Thursday from 9am to 9pm and on Friday from 9am to 1pm. Consultants
are available to work with you in hour-long, one-on-one sessions about any type of paper and any
genre. They can provide assistance with drafting papers, organization, style, content, voice,
grammar, punctuation, and documentation (including MLA and APA formats). In addition to the
draft of your paper and/or notes about the paper, please bring a copy of the assignment to the
session as well. Walk-ins are welcomed but appointments are advised (especially at mid-term
and end of term): call 262-3144 or visit www.writingcenter.appstate.edu for more information.
GRADES
Portfolio
60%
Process credit 40% (journals, daily work, drafts, workshops, presentations, etc.)
[Journals and other assignments are usually worth 10 points each; drafts of papers are 50
points. Work that is late will receive 8 and 43 points respectively. Work turned in later
than a week will receive no credit. Responses to READING ASSIGNMENTS must be
completed by the due date to receive any credit. Please note that there are no late submissions
accepted for the Cultural Events (Journals 1, 2 and 3) or the final portfolio.
The final process grade will be your total points divided by the total possible: 97100=A+; 93-96=A; 90-92=A-; below 60=F.]
Please be aware that ASULearn may give you a misleading idea of your participation grade since
it only records work done on that site. Some assignments on the site will be done in class and will
not show up on ASULearn under grades. There are a number of other in-class assignments that are
not recorded on ASULearn.
ASSIGNMENTS/ REQUIREMENTS
1. Attend class and participate in workshops and discussions. You will join a writing group
for the semester to help you compose, organize, write, revise, and edit drafts of your
papers. (You will also collaborate on group presentations.) In writing workshops, you
will receive feedback about your writing, and you will provide feedback to others about
their writing, with the goal that, at the end of the semester, you will be able to evaluate
your own writing with a critical eye.
2. Keep an online writing journal in which you write about a variety of topics. Each entry
should be at least one page long (approximately 200-250 words) and posted online at
asulearn.appstate.edu unless other instructions are given. While journals should address
the specific topic, I will not grade them according to mechanics, usage, spelling or
grammar but on whether they are complete and posted on time. I will check journals
weekly so they should be kept up to date.
In addition to other entries, you should attend and write a one-page response to three
cultural events. Explain what happened at the event, when it happened, why you went,
whether it was worth your time and/or money, and whether you would recommend it.
3. Attend at least one conference to discuss your progress in the class.
4. Write drafts of each of the following papers:
 Literacy Narrative
 (Annotated Bibliography)
 Researching and Writing in the Major
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

Rhetorical Analysis of an article in the major
Alternative Media presentation
For this class you will create an electronic portfolio, which you will upload to ASULearn at the
end of the semester as a single Word Document. This portfolio will include the following:
•
•
•
•
A table of contents
Drafts of all of the papers you have written for the semester
Revised, polished, final drafts of two of the papers (excluding the
annotated bibliography)
A reflective piece that evaluates your portfolio and your writing
All papers in which you borrow information from a source will require documentation and
must be cited accurately in order for you to receive draft credit in the portfolio.
*****
PORTFOLIOS

A portfolio is a collection of student writing on various topics. Papers are
revised and polished throughout the semester, and the portfolio is collected at the
end of the semester. (A portfolio is not simply a collection of papers amassed
during a semester or year.)

Portfolios are real writing—the way people write in the “real world”—with
multiple revisions and will demonstrate that writing is a process.

You are responsible for your own grade since you can revise each paper as
many times as you wish.

There are no grades on the papers until the final portfolio is due, but I write
extensive comments on each draft turned in. (The portfolio is graded holistically:
the grade is not an average of what each individual paper would receive.)

Get papers on computer as soon as possible—revision will be as simple and
painless as possible. Also be sure to make backup copies of your work.

There are usually more A’s and B’s in the class than any other grade. (Since I’ve
started portfolio grading, I have also given more D’s and F’s than before—mainly
because students turn in incomplete portfolios.)

Most error will disappear by the time the portfolio is due.

Conferences at mid-term and at the end of term will provide you with an
indication of your progress. (Any time you wish to discuss your grade, talk to
me.)

Portfolios will count as 60% of your final grade.
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The only drawbacks to portfolios that I have seen are that procrastinators often do poorly
in the class, and that students may not be aware of their grades. Feel free to come to me
to discuss your grade at any time during the semester. Students who do not attend on a
regular basis usually do poorly with the portfolio system.
ENGLISH 2001—WEEKLY SYLLABUS—SPRING 2013
January 15-17
Intro to class, syllabus/ information sheets/ introductions/ process/ invention/ Read WAW:
Lamott (301) & Goodman (308)/
January 22-24
Timelines/ WAW: Brandt (331)/ sponsors/ influences/ paper #1 topic discussions/ details
workshop
January 29-31
WAW: Malcolm X (353) & Alexie (362) / feedback/ grading criteria/ grading papers
February 5-7 (No Class Thursday—Research Day)
Paper #1 due/ Annotated Bibliography assignment/ MLA vs. APA
February 12-14
Library guides/ scholarly vs. popular articles/ summarizing and evaluating sources/
avoiding plagiarism/ IU Quiz/ drafts of Annotated Bib/ feedback
February 19-21
Annotated Bibliography due/ WAW: Swales (6)/ Research and Writing in the Major /
Research plan/ Writing in the Disciplines/ Groups and majors/ Group reports
February 26-28
WAW: Kantz (67), Swales (466)/ interviews/ evaluating sources/ report format
March 5-7
Group conferences/ conducting research/ Draft workshops/ revision/ #2 due
March 12-14 (Spring Break)
March 19-21
Rhetorical analysis/ researching article in the major/ “Backpacks vs. Briefcases”/ WAW:
Grant-Davie (101)
March 26-28
WAW: Haas & Flower (120) / Group analysis: ads/ web sites/ music/ visual rhetoric
April 4 (No Class Tuesday, April 2—Easter Break)
WAW: Keller (595), Talbot (156)/ analyzing sample rhetorical analyses (Bennett/ Woolf)
April 9-11
Revision/ planning/ WAW: McCarthy (667), Diaz (706)/ Draft workshops/ Rhetorical
analysis due
April 16-18 (Wednesday: Celebration of Student Writing; No class Thursday)
Planning/ writing/ Alternative Media Assignment/ groups and topics
April 23-25
Portfolio letter/ portfolio review/ Revision exercise/ all journals due Thursday, 4/25
April 30—May 2
Conferences/ portfolio preparation/ planning presentations
Final Exam Times:
English 2001.138, Friday, May 10, 9am
English 2001.148, Monday, May 6, Noon
Final Portfolios due / Alternative Media Presentations
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