Syllabus: Writing 2
Spring, 2011
Ben Spanbock
spanbock@ucsc.edu
Writing California
Course description:
The state of California encompasses a tremendous amount of social, cultural, environmental and
regional diversity. Operating under the premise that our diverse community stands to benefit
from intellectually informed ideas and opinions, the purpose of this class is to introduce the
writing process as a method for engaging with problems faced in California today. Together we
will examine a number of short texts related to California history and culture, and engage with
problems that draw from and speak to a variety of specific academic discourses, including film,
journalism, literature, history, and cultural studies. Beginning with an overview of the place of
California in writing, we will work together to define the limits of the “California imaginary” to
serve as a common ground while students identify and pursue issues relevant to their own
interests. Students will practice both formal and informal writing techniques with the goal of
forming their own perspectives on these issues through acts of writing.
Course Website:
http://www.benspanbock.net/writing-2.html
List of Texts:
Michaels, Reid and Scherr. West of the West: Imagining California
Murray, Donald M. Write to Learn
Yamashita, Karen Tei. Tropic of Orange
Other short texts available on the course website
List of Assignments:
Newspaper article summary and report
Origins position paper
Close reading paper
Newspaper article revision project
Prospectus with annotated bibliography
Research project
3 pages
3 pages
4 pages
4 pages
4 pages
8-10 pages
(Specific details and requirements for each assignment will be distributed prior to the due
date)
Grading:
Writing Program faculty determine a student’s final grades for Writing 2 by considering all of
that student’s work at the end of the quarter. During the quarter, students will receive written
assessment and advice concerning what their work has accomplished and how it can be improved
rather than letter grades on individual assignments.
Portfolios: At the end of the quarter, students will submit all completed work including drafts,
cover sheets, final versions and comments together in a portfolio. This will establish a collection
of your work that you can refer back to, and that will enable me to reference all of your work and
my comments for final evaluation. Be sure to keep all completed work from the quarter
together in a folder as we move along through the quarter!
Course Requirements:
1. Attendance is crucial to successful completion of this course. Your first absence will be
excused, your second absence marked against your participation, and your third will result in a
lowering of your grade. Four or more absences is considered grounds for failing the course.
Regardless of your reason for missing class, you will want to keep up with your work. Because
of the condensed nature of the quarter system, more than three unexcused absences will result in
the drop of a full letter drop to your final grade.
2. Over the course of the quarter you will be expected to keep a writing journal and complete
several informal free-writing and exploratory writing assignments. Because some of these
3. Students will work together over the course of the quarter in revision groups which will meet
frequently during class, and in some cases before, after, or between classes. Revision groups will
also have regular check-in meetings with the instructor during the quarter.
4. Students will be responsible for coming to class ready to discuss all readings assigned to them
for that meeting. You will be expected to engage in informed discussions pertaining to a text’s
content, its formal features, its cultural context, or other relevant aspects
Course Policies:
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Please feel free to make use of office hours or talk with me whenever you have a question
Written work should be submitted in hard copy, not by email.
Bring the texts to be discussed to class each lecture and session.
If you qualify for classroom accommodations because of a disability, please get an
Accommodation Authorization from the Disability Resource Center (DRC) and submit it
to me in person outside of class (e.g. office hours) within the first two weeks of the
quarter. Contact DRC at 459-2089 (voice) or 459-4806 (TTY) or http://drc.ucsc.edu for
more information on the requirements and/or process.
Schedule:
Week 1: Introduction/Paradise
Tuesday: Introductions and course overview; Distribution and discussion of syllabus;
Imagining California YouTube exercise on responding to advertisement; Distribution and
discussion of “Reader/Writer’s statement” assignment
Thursday: Group discussion of readings; In-class free-write activity on advertisement;
Distribution and discussion of “Newspaper article” assignment
Read: Julián Marías, “California as Paradise” Joan Didion, “Notes from a Native
Daughter” (West of the West) “Read as a Writer” (Write to Learn, 44-51)
Bring: Reader/Writer’s Statement
Week 2: Origins
Tuesday: Group discussion of readings; Newspaper article free-write and group
workshop; Class activity on focusing and planning a written argument
Read: “Focus” (WTL 95-110) “Plan” (WTL138-171)
Bring: Two newspaper articles related to a current issue or problem in California
Thursday: “Quoting, Paraphrasing, and Plagiarizing” exercise; Hand out and discuss
“Origins position paper” assignment; Class discussion on effective written arguments
Read: Richard Henry Dana Jr., Two Years before the Mast (selection on WEBSITE),
Maidu Creation Myth (WEBSITE), and Henry Miller, “In the Beginning” (WOTW)
Bring: “Newspaper article summary and report’
Week 3: Water Wars
Tuesday: Discussion of reading and responding to a rough draft; Peer-editing activity
and coversheet workshop on “Origins” paper
Read: “Draft” (WTL172- 201)
Bring: “Origins position paper” draft
Thursday: Discussion of readings; In-class viewing of scenes from Cadillac Desert
Read: Mary Austin, The Land of Little Rain (Selections on WEBSITE), view PBS video:
Agriculture’s Effect on Frogs, “The Revision Checklist” (WTL 212-216)
Week 4: City Life
Tuesday: Discussion of readings; Hand-out and discuss “Close Reading” assignment;
In-class discussion and workshop on effective close reading skills
Read: “Cities” [excerpts from Simone de Beauvoir, Rudyard Kipling, Frank Norris, Jack
Kerouac, Maxine Hong Kingston] (WOTW 145-163) Hernandez, David. “When Mother
Nature Visits California” (WEBSITE)
Bring: “Origins paper” with cover sheet
Thursday: Discussion of readings; In-class free-writing exercise and workshop:
California’s Urban Spaces; Class activity using topic paragraphs: “Topic statements vs.
thesis statements”
Read: Watch Gangs Wars: Oakland parts 1 and 2, and “Fit Your Process to Your Task”
(WTL 241-250)
Bring; topic paragraph for “Close reading” essay
Week 5: Immigration and Labor
Tuesday: Peer-editing and coversheet workshop; Distribute and discuss “Research
project” prompt and potential topics list
Read: Takaki, Ronald. Gam Saan Haak: The Chinese in Nineteenth Century America
(Excerpt on WEBSITE 80-112) “Edit to Clarify Meaning” (WTL 225-236)
Bring: “Close reading” essay
Thursday: In-class journal exploratory and guided class debate: Immigrants and
immigration; Newspaper article tabling project; Distribute and discuss “Newspaper
article revision project”
Read: Pitti, Steven: The Devil in Silicon Valley (Excerpts on WEBSITE)
Bring: Revised “Newspaper article” assignment from earlier in the quarter
Friday: Special evening showing of Chinatown (Polanski, 1971) Time/Place TBD
Week 6: Film, Media, News
*** Library visits happening this week/details TBD ***
Tuesday: Class discussion of the film/readings; In-class free write workshop on topics
and thesis statements
Read: Bugliosi, Vincent. “Saturday, August 9th, 1969.” Thompson, David. “Driving
in a Back Projection” (WOTW 16-29). Begin reading sources
Bring: “Close reading” revisions and cover sheet
Thursday: Class discussion of film/readings continued; In-class workshop on finding
sources in the library; Group activity on thesis statements
Bring: Three thesis statements for “Research project” and “Newspaper revision project”
Week 7: Exploring, Researching, and Refining
Tuesday: Discussion of Readings; Peer review of research materials and potential
sources;
Read: Yamashita, Karen Tei. Tropic of Orange: Monday, Summer Solstice.
Bring: “Research project” topic paragraph and four potential sources
Thursday: Discussion of Readings; In-class writing activity using topic paragraphs and
new sources; In-class discussion of writing prospectus and annotated bibliography
Readings: Tropic of Orange: Tuesday, Diamond Lane; Continue reading sources
Bring: Topic paragraph plus eight potential sources
Week 8: Writing about Research
Tuesday: Discussion of Readings; Return topic paragraphs and sources; Group
discussion and free write: “the struggles of research”
Read: “Tips for writing a research project” (WEBSITE 250-254); Tropic of Orange:
Wednesday, Cultural Diversity
Thursday: Discussion of Readings; Peer editing exercise on prospectus drafts;
In-class discussion of turning a prospectus into a full draft
Read: Tropic of Orange: Thursday, The Eternal Buzz
Bring: “Prospectus and annotated bibliography” (5-6 annotations)
Week 9: Getting into Place
Individual meetings on final assignments held throughout the week.
Tuesday: No class (individual meetings: please bring revised prospectus and annotated
bibliography with cover sheet)
Thursday: Discussion of Readings; In-class journal exploratory: “Finding place in
California”
Read: Tropic of Orange: Friday, Artificial Intelligence and Casey, Edward. “Getting
Back into Place” [excerpts on WEBSITE]
Week 10: Conclusions and Portfolios
Individual meetings on final assignments held throughout the week.
Tuesday: In-class discussion on assembling portfolio; Peer review and cover sheet
activity
Read: Tropic of Orange: Saturday, Queen of Angels and Sunday: Pacific Rim
Bring: Completed “Research project”
Thursday: Final discussion of Tropic of Orange; Class summary
***COMPLETED PORTFOLIOS DUE DURING FINALS WEEK***