English 391 – Advanced Composition
701 and 801, Writing about Food
Fall 2015
Section 701: M/W 3:30-4:45 Tawes 0207
Section 801: M/W 5-6:15 Tawes 1107
Instructor: Martha Thomas
Email: mjthomas@umd.edu
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Office: 1206 Tawes Hall
Office Hours: Tuesday and Thursday, 2-3 p.m. and by appointment.
There is no required text for this class.
Writing about food – leisure, culture, survival
Today, everyone gets to be a “foodie.” Some document gustatory exploits via
Facebook, post food porn on Instagram, rant about restaurants on Yelp or film
pickling projects for You Tube.
Others care deeply about everything connected with what appears on our plate: its
origins, preparation and social history. We go to the farmer’s market, rail against
industrial farming, worry about food deserts and the obesity epidemic, and eschew
gluten and GMOs.
Food writing has been around since the written word. Herodotus described the
Greeks’ love of coarse bread, raw, salted birds and barley wine as early as 400 BCE.
More recently, writers like Eric Schlosser (Fast Food Nation) and Michael Pollan
(Omnivore’s Dilemma) have shifted our thinking – and policies – about eating in
America. The Food Network has turned chefs into celebrities and the surge in
restaurant options in recent decades has made dining a favored past time. We can
read about and share just about every aspect of food – from growing, producing and
importing to buying, cooking and eating – on websites, blogs and twitter feeds.
In this course, we will move beyond social media to explore a range of food writing
genres, and how writing about food is, for some, writing about life.
After all, as the famous French gastronome Jean-Anthelme Brillat-Savarin once said,
“Tell me what you eat and I will tell you what you are.”
Background
English 391, Advanced Composition: Writing About Food is offered by the
Professional Writing Program (PWP) to fulfill the university’s upper level writing
requirement. This course is designed for students who are interested in exploring how the
world experiences food by working in a range of genres – from food reviews to recipes to
cultural anthropology.
The goal of English 391 Writing About Food is to experience these genres, while at the
same time tackling a wide range of rhetorical challenges including narrative articles,
personal essays, opinion pieces and expository research. The course will help you to
determine the most appropriate writing style to use in a given situation, what information
to include—or discard—and the means of presentation that will ensure your message is
delivered and understood just as you intended.
Along the way, we’ll review some basic rules of grammar, word choice and punctuation
that will help to strengthen your skills in any written communiqué—whether or not you
become the next MFK Fisher, Michael Pollan or Jonathan Gold.
Course Goals
Professional Writing
On completion of a Professional Writing course, you should be able to do the following:
 Analyze a variety of professional rhetorical situations and produce appropriate texts
in response.
 Understand the stages required to produce competent, professional writing through
planning, drafting, revising, and editing.
 Identify and implement the appropriate research methods for each writing task.
 Practice the ethical use of sources and the conventions of citation appropriate to each
genre.
 Write for the intended readers of a text, and design or adapt texts to audiences who
may differ in their familiarity with the subject matter.
 Demonstrate competence in Standard Written English, including grammar, sentence
and paragraph structure, coherence, and document design (including the use of the
visual) and be able to use this knowledge to revise texts.
 Produce cogent arguments that identify arguable issues, reflect the degree of available
evidence, and take account of counter arguments.
Assignments & Due Dates
The coursework will include five writing assignments and a final collaborative class
project as well as smaller writing assignments and a weekly blog post. The due dates
listed are my best projections, but are subject to adjustment based on class progress and
unforeseen events.
1. Food and Memory (with recipe), Sept 9
2. Day in the Life profile, Sept 28
3. Restaurant Review, Oct 7
4. Argumentative essay, Oct 19
5. Group project, Nov 16
6. Final class collaborative project, Dec 9
Writing Activities and worksheets
Along with the major assignments, students will be expected set up a food blog and post
to it weekly. These sites will be evaluated on writing, visuals and overall design. We will
occasionally have in-class free writing and grammar exercises. If for some reason, you
are absent on days when these activities take place, you are responsible for completing
the work outside of class.
Requirements
To succeed in this class, you will be expected to:
• Attend all class meetings, prepared for work;
• Participate in class discussions;
• Complete both in-class and out-of-class writing exercises;
• Complete weekly blog posts and share with instructor;
• Participate in all draft workshops;
• Submit all work by uploading it to the designated ELMS assignment by the date
and time it is due;
• Work collaboratively with class members to complete the final project.
Writing Project Standards
I will expect you to live up to professional standards when it comes to the submission and
appearance of your written work.
Promptness. In this course, as in the working world, you must turn in your work
on time. All writing projects must be submitted to me electronically (via ELMS).
Unless you have secured permission from me in advance, projects turned in late
will be lowered one-half letter grade for EACH DAY late (e.g., A becomes an A
minus, B minus becomes a C plus, and so on).
Appearance. All work should be neatly prepared on a computer using spacing and
design techniques that are conventional for the genre. Articles designed for
publication should have headlines.
Grammar, Spelling, Punctuation. In a professional setting or publication, even a
single error in spelling, grammar or punctuation can affect how your work is
perceived. If you would like special assistance with any of these skills, I am
happy to recommend helpful sources. Because this is a writing course with the
goal of students becoming proficient writers, a substantial part of your grade will
be based on writing quality, and how your writing improves over the semester.
Expectations and Etiquette
In addition to the requirements outlined above, you are expected to:
• Arrive for class on time and work until you are dismissed;
• Complete all reading and writing assignments on time;
• Foster an active learning environment for your peers by participating in class
discussions and group activities;
• Respect your partner(s) in group assignments with punctuality and
accountability;
• Allot at least 5-6 hours per week out of class to complete assignments and
prepare for class;
• Power off phones during class and keep them out of sight;
• Refrain from personal use of any electronic device.
Conferences
I will meet with you each individually after the semester midpoint, but am happy to
schedule conferences before or after as needed. Feel free to schedule a meeting or drop in
during office hours for any course-related question. For example, I’m available if you
would like to discuss ideas before a document is due, if you have questions about a
comment I’ve made, or if you want to know where you stand in the course. I am open to
your suggestions for improving the course, or supplementing it with information you feel
is missing, so please feel free to provide productive input. If you cannot make my
scheduled office hours and would like to meet, we can work together to find a convenient
time, or possibly arrange a phone or Skype conversation.
Undergraduate Writing Center
Please consider using the Writing Center, where trained peer tutors are there to help
writers with any piece of writing at any stage.
I may recommend that you visit the writing center for help on specific projects and will
take note of your attendance.
The Writing Center is located in 1205 Tawes Hall, and you can schedule appointments
with the Writing Center in three different ways:
• Scheduling Website: http://rich65.com/umd/
• Email: writadmin@umd.edu
• Phone: 301-405-3785
For more information, visit the center’s website:
http://www.english.umd.edu/academics/writingcenter.
Grading procedures
The most important gauge when it comes to grading your work will be how closely the
document aligns with the assigned purpose. I will ask, “Does this document do its job
successfully?”
The purpose of each assignment will be explained in detail on the assignment sheets that
I distribute, and we will spend plenty of time in class discussing how to accomplish each
project. (You are also, of course, welcome to consult with me during my office hours if
you have any questions). It is your responsibility to understand the assignment before you
begin to work on it. Letter grades for your work will be assigned according to the
following benchmarks:
A
Exemplary work. The text demonstrates originality, initiative and rhetorical skill.
The content is professional, thorough and well suited for the audience; the style is
clear, accurate and forceful; the information is well-organized and formatted so that
it is accessible and attractive; genre conventions are effectively used; mechanics
and grammar are correct. The overall document is well written and carefully edited,
B
C
D
F
well argued, and contains appropriate and thorough documentation; it requires no
additional revisions.
Good work. The overall document generally succeeds in meeting its goals in terms
of audience, purpose, and writing skill without the need for further major revisions.
The text may need some minor improvements in content, presentation, or writing
style.
Satisfactory work. The overall document is adequate in most respects, but requires
some substantial additions or revisions to the content, revised presentation and/or
writing style; it may require further work in more than one area. For instance, the
premise may generally be clear, but might lack adequate explanation and back-up,
or the style and presentation may not be the best choice for the desired audience.
Unsatisfactory work. The text requires extensive revisions of content,
presentation and writing style. The writer has encountered significant problems
addressing the audience and employing rhetorical principles.
Failing work. The text does not have enough information, does not live up to the
purpose of the assignment, or contains major and pervasive problems in
content, presentation or writing style that interfere with the message. A failing
grade is also assigned to plagiarized work.
Your final grade will be calculated based on the grades you receive on written and inclass assignments. Elements of the course will contribute the following weight towards
your final grade:
1. Food and Memory 10
2. Day in the Life profile 10
3. Restaurant Review 10
4. Argumentative essay 15
5. Research paper/group project 15
6. Final class collaborative project 10
7. Blog 15
7. Class participation (including attendance), collaboration 15
Instructions and expectations for each assignment will be explained in class, as well as in
assignment sheets distributed during the semester and posted on ELMS. If anything is
unclear about the assignment or the grading process, please feel free to discuss with me
during class (if appropriate) or office hours.
Your assignments will be graded based on the following percentages:
A
94100
A9094
B+
8689
B
8485
B8083
C+
7679
C
7475
C7073
D+
6669
D
6465
D6063
F
0-59
If you have questions about a grade, you can make an appointment to discuss it or
see me during office hours.
AN IMPORTANT WORD ABOUT GRADING: In writing there is no right and
wrong, and the subjectivity I bring to assessing your work is based on many years of
experience as a professional writer, editor and reader.
Revisions
Revisions will be accepted on three of the main assignments (Day-in-the-life Profile,
Restaurant Review and Argumentative Essay). If you would like to revise a piece of
writing for a higher grade, you must:
• Within ONE WEEK of the return of the paper, submit a revision proposal.
• Revision proposal describes what you intend to do to improve the paper and
proposes the date you intend to hand in the new draft.
• Revised draft is annotated with the places where changes were made with
explanation of why you made those changes.
NOTE: A revision will earn no more than one full letter grade higher than the original
grade.
Academic integrity
The University of Maryland defines academic integrity as the pursuit of learning in an
honest and responsible manner. Dishonesty of any kind will not be tolerated in this
course. Dishonesty includes, but is not limited to, cheating, plagiarizing, fabricating
information or citations, facilitating acts of academic dishonesty by others, submitting
work of another person or work previously used without informing the instructor, and
tampering with others’ academic work. The University’s student administered Code of
Academic Integrity and Honor Pledge prohibits students from committing any of
these acts. For more information on the Code of Academic Integrity or the Student
Honor Council, please visit http://www.shc.umd.edu. If you are found to have
committed plagiarism or any of the aforementioned breaches, you will fail the
course.
I will ask you to transcribe and sign the following statement on each of the major
assignment for the course:
“I pledge on my honor that I have not given or received any unauthorized
assistance on this assignment.”
Attendance and absences
You are expected to attend each scheduled class meeting, and are expected to bring
assignments and any other assigned reading (as well as notes on those readings) with you.
Attendance is important, and while absence for a good reason is understandable, habitual
absence is inexcusable. Any unexcused absence after two will affect the class
participation portion of your grade. Moreover, if you are absent from class, it is your
responsibility to understand homework assignments. I will not repeat a class lesson for
your benefit unless you have a valid reason for missing class.
An excused absence is a legitimate reason for missing a class, such as a regularly
scheduled, University-approved curricular or extracurricular activity, medical illness or
religious observance. If you foresee an excused absence, please notify me in advance.
Missing class due to illness
In the event that you must miss a class due to an illness, please be aware:
● For every medically necessary absence from class, you should make a
reasonable effort to notify me in advance of the class.
● If you miss more than two class periods for the same illness, upon returning to
class, bring documentation signed by a health care professional. Please note that
this documentation should not disclose details of your illness; it should only note
that your illness prevented you from participating in class on the days in question.
Missing class due to religious observances
Please see me at the beginning of the semester to schedule dates that you foresee missing
class due to religious observances.
Social Justice and Special Accommodations
The University of Maryland is committed to social justice. I will strive to maintain a
positive learning environment based upon open communication, mutual respect and nondiscrimination. The University does not discriminate on the basis of race, sex, age,
disability, veteran status, religion, gender identification or national origin. Any
suggestions as to how to further promote such a positive and open environment in this
class will be given serious consideration.
If you seek specific accommodations based on learning style, let me know. If you are a
person with a disability, you can also seek accommodations through:
Office of Disability Support Services
0106 Shoemaker Building
Phone: 301.314.7682
Email: dissup@umd.edu
Final Note
Is writing about food important?
"I think it could plausibly be argued that changes of diet are more important
than changes of dynasty or even of religion. The Great War, for instance, could
never have happened if tinned food had not been invented. And the history of
the past four hundred years in England would have been immensely different if
it had not been for the introduction of root-crops and various other vegetables
at the end of the middle ages, and a little later the introduction of non-alcoholic
drinks (tea, coffee, cocoa) and also of distilled liquors to which the beer-drinking
English were not accustomed. Yet it is curious how seldom the all-importance of
food is recognized. You see statues everywhere to politicians, poets, bishops, but
none to cooks or bacon-curers or market-gardeners."
– George Orwell, The Road to Wigan Pier