Composition 1a/ 1b Fall 2015
Class location –Pearlman 202
Gordon Ruesch, Instructor -- Ruesch@brandeis.edu 781 325-8136
Office/Tutorial Hours: M W Th 11-1:50 (and by apt.) Tutorials and meetings will usually be in
the Library foyer, left of main entrance.
Academic Writing, with a focus and textual analysis and argument
Weighing the ethical, environmental, and cultural implications of emerging technologies will be
our semester’s focus. Through lucid close reading and interpretation, incisive unpacking of essay
arguments, judicious inspection of claims and warrants, precise restating and representation of
essay arguments, and persuasive assembling of our own argument, we will aim for achieving
excellence in academic discourse. My aim as instructor is to work closely with each writer,
encourage progress toward a new person-best writing proficiency (each writer has individual
strengths and areas for growth). Of most value, I think, is the opportunity to discuss individually
with you writing projects in early development and in later states of revision; as well, many
writers find that individual conversations clarifying challenging texts makes the analytic,
interpretive writing seem doable. Last broad motive to mention: our course should demystify
what academic writing consists in and coach you toward realizing a new level of sophistication
surpassing by far the comfort-zone of high school mastery.
Our semester’s goal will be mastering the academic writing process: we will brainstorm, test
reader reaction, draft strategically, get big-picture feedback, revise globally, then get close
feedback for achieving sentence-level precision of expression By rigorously engaging critical
thinking and argumentation skills, writers will achieve mastery of the university-level writing
skills that secure academic success—and, increase chances of affecting what happens to the
world, to human culture, on this generation’s watch.
Required Course Texts
[The first two listings below are required of all students in UWS as well as in Composition. For
Monday, Sept. 1, please get and bring to class Writers Help (an on-line pay-for-use resource) and
Writing in Response¬ (paper text).]
[Initial readings will be indicated for printing from web or distributed in class. Because our focus
on "close reading" that texts be annotated by hand and used in class, texts cannot be accessed
solely on screen; you must print them out. Please note as well that three texts below, are soon to
be released, not yet available. I'll let you know when to order them]
•
Writer’s Help--E-Handbook (Bedford) and Writing in Response¬ (req. in spring UWS).
Four-Year Access Card
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Write Now! Author: Brandeis -- Copyright Year: 2015 (avail. early Sept.)
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Undeniable--Bill Nye ( 8 Sept. avail.)
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The Best American Science and Nature Writing 2015--Ed. Rebecca Skloot (6 Oct. avail.)
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A Good English-English Dictionary
Course Design and Rationale
Composition 1a should help you become familiar with mainstay academic writing formats,
scope, and style. Through a series of reading-response and analytic writings of graduated
complexity (from one-page summaries to an extended essay using multiple sources), you will
have a valuable rehearsal of essential academic writing forms as well as a vigorous writing
workout. Our course approach originates partly in the notion that with challenging practice
opportunities, each writer can realize her or his own personal best success as a college writer and
thinker.
Course Focus on Writing Process
College writing (any writing) is not merely about recording one’s thinking according to a certain
academic rubric. Rather, it is about a way of finding out what we think. That is, it is a process we
use to closely inspect our reasoning, a means of moving toward greater clarity in our thinking
even when we start (as we often do) in a fog, anxious and uncertain. Trusting ourselves to start
writing without knowing quite where we are going can be scary; certainly we feel better when
we devise a provisional plan, a set of preliminary steps before we start out. We’ll work at
trusting the writing process to help us find out what we think and what we have in mind to say.
A Word about Course Texts and Focus:
We will explore our course theme, “Innovation, Effects, and Ethics,” through assigned readings
selections from The Best American Science and Nature Writing, as well as other contemporary
sources. Our readings cover a broad range of compelling issues arising chiefly from science
developments; our primary concerns, meanwhile, are with the practice of writing, careful
reading, critical analysis, and argumentation. Through these readings, we’ll be honing writing
skills by scrutinizing, then practicing punctuation, paragraph structure, argumentation, and
response to counterargument. We’ll also rely on our Writer’s Help E-Handbook and the
accompanying Writing in Response.
Oral Presentations and Readings:
Facilitating class discussion in our friendly, low-anxiety seminar format helps us gain confidence
and comfort invaluable in semesters to come. After choosing selections from a sign-up sheet,
student partners will be responsible for leading discussions on individual reading selections.
Partners will meet outside of class to devise discussion strategies that draw classmates into
focused, insightful discussion of readings,
Key Course Skills
We’ll also observe requisite protocols for incorporating and crediting source support and develop
a sense of possible variations in essay structure, sentence form, and paragraph organization well
beyond the five-paragraph high school formula. Writings assignments of graduated complexity
will help hone skills in summarizing, paraphrasing, properly crediting sources, knowing when to
quote or paraphrase, developing effective thesis-first introductions, devising effective paragraph
structure and variation, using transition devises to link paragraph sections smoothly, and
especially, editing for clarity and precision, honing proofreading and critical skills through peer
review exercises.
The Instructor’s Role
I see myself as your writing coach, trying to encourage you toward your best performance. I need
to encourage, inspire, sometimes cajole, even coerce. I need to be able to see your strengths as a
writer and also help you achieve your improvement goals (each writer will help me identify
individual goals in the first tutorials of weeks three and four.) I also will help you advance
toward your personal best by offering close analysis of your writing at the global level (big
picture: content, thesis, structure, argumentation; local level: sentence mechanics, rhythm, word
choice, grammar. At my best, I need to encourage you to discover a legitimate confidence about
your best. I need to help each of you glimpse the next level of excellence within your reach, then
help you motivate you. I can’t get you there, but I can guide you toward on how best you can get
yourself there, and, how after this semester, you can sustain your growth as a writer and continue
to reach for a new writing level of personal best.
Syllabus/Assignments Outline
We’ll undertake three major papers, along with a host of shorter exercises. The major papers
prepare writers for UWS expectations, as described on the Brandeis web page:
Close-Reading Essay
The close-reading essay requires students to slow down and read their given text(s) carefully,
whether those texts are a work of art, a public space, or another piece of writing. The goal is to
recognize the move from observation to analysis in the writing process.
Lens Essay
With the lens essay, students will take a piece of critical or theoretical writing and use it to
examine another text in order to create an analytical dialogue between the two texts.
Extended Essay with Multiple Sources
In this more elaborate culminating exercise of the semester’s skills, writers will develop a focus
of interest from the semester’s reading to explore, interrogate, and develop a line of critical
inspection and discovery. Topic focus and scope of inquiry will be negotiated individually in
tutorial with the instructor, then gradually developed and sharpened at designated progress
checks. Using skills acquired in the previous essay assignments, including careful close-reading,
textual analysis through a given theoretical or critical lens, and crafting a strong argument,
students will integrate their selected source-text illumination to create a polished and thesisdriven final essay.
How Much Work?
We will be writing every week, sometimes for a new assignment, sometimes for a revision, or
for one of the many preliminary exercises accompanying each major paper (total: two major
papers and one longer final project, an extended essay with multiple sources). You should expect
to write a lot. The pace and workload must be manageable, certainly, so I’ll look for a reasonable
timetable once I see how people are doing. If we were to do only a modest writing load, you’d
agree, the gain in skill would be correspondingly modest; conversely, a full workout gets us
gains in competence, confidence, and academic success that stand to be great.
Keeping a portfolio: Keep all your in-class writing in the left pocket. Keep all drafts and revised
versions of assignments in the right pocket. Bring it to class according to announcement.
Keeping a reading journal: Recording your reading reactions and perceptions on points of key
significance makes you an active, not passive reader, better preparing you to contribute to
focused discussion. It also promotes the act of reflecting on what you read, and enhances your
recall of textual “cruxes” and key points that may be useful for writing later on.
Your reading journal may be handwritten, entered into a notebook (or separate pages collected in
a notebook). You’ll be expected to record some perceptions about each class reading; Write
complete connected sentences—paragraphs, even!—but not a listing of items. The length of your
entry for each reading is up to you; extremely brief entries, however, will not receive assignment
credit.
Using Writer’s Help Online: Before class, in preparation for each “Five-Minute Skills Review”
segment, as well as for other topics announced in class, students need to consult Writer’s Help .
Students will sometimes be asked to do Writer’s Help review exercises and send the results to
the instructor via Writer’s Help.
Academic Integrity
Composition Seminar aims at providing guidance on avoiding academic dishonesty by
demonstrating and practicing proper source citations and avoiding illicit use (unquoted,
uncredited use) of Internet material. Students who submit work incorporating uncited language
not their own (that would include work written by mentors, friends, genius siblings, internet
Wiki-pickings) will enjoy no benefit of the doubt, so, as a moral and as a practical matter,
honesty is essential. Please think carefully if you find yourself confused about what is or is not
honest, or if you find yourself tempted by deadline pressures, a desire for A’s, etc. Anyone
taking the plagiarized way out should expect Draconian (flunk/leave) consequences.
Attendance and Grading
Class attendance is required. Missing class means missing discussions on which writing
assignments depend. Should an emergency arise, please notify me before class by email or
telephone. Necessarily, students who are late or absent learn less and take lower final grades.
Missing three sessions means automatic email to the academic dean. Course grades come from
quizzes, in-class exercises, from class preparation and participation, and, primarily, from grades
on writing. Revision is encouraged, but must be negotiated after we discuss your revision plans.
(Revision does not equal fixing grammar; we will work extensively on big-picture rethinking,
provision of convincing support, clear argument structure, and careful line editing for clear,
concise expression.)
Grade Components
35% grade = Quizzes, attendance, class participation, in-class writing, use of tutorials, class
presentations
35%=Close-Reading and Lens Essay Revisions
30%=Extended Essay with Multiple Sources
Learning Disabilities Act
“If you are a student with a documented disability on record at Brandeis and wish to have a
reasonable accommodation made for you in this class, please see me immediately.”