First-Year Writing & Rhetoric:
Reading like a Writer
WRTG1150 045
Spring 2013
Instructor: John Cotter
Office: STAD 260A
Office Hours: WF : 3:00 – 3:50pm
And Mondays by appointment
Phone: 303-492-2491
During office hours only
Email: john.cotter@colorado.edu
Class Meetings:
Section
045
Time
MWF 2:00-2:50 PM
Location
HLMS 196
Required Texts and Materials:
1. Program for Writing and Rhetoric. Knowing Words. Boulder, CO: Program for Writing
and Rhetoric, 2012 (Available in the CSM bookstore only)
2. The Norton Reader: An Anthology of Nonfiction, 12th edition, edited by Linda H.
Peterson Available in the CSM bookstore
3. Writer’s Help access and account. Writer’s Help is an online writing resource that the
you will be required to purchase for this class. Access procedures and instructions will be given in
class. See http://writershelp.bedfordstmartins.com/ebooks/helphandbook.php
You should also have


Notebook for homework responses and in-class writing paper and utensil
Copies of your work when needed for class discussion
Course Description
Welcome! This course is an introduction to college-level academic writing designed to
acclimate you to the kinds of scholarly work that take place at a research university like CU. The
course emphasizes thinking, reading and writing critically—that is, thinking, reading and writing
that does more than absorb the content of a text but also carefully studies the structure and
rhetoric of a text, as well as the cultural values that shape it. While our primary emphasis will be
on reading and practicing academic writing, we’ll also read and write texts that come from
other cultural arenas—politics, news media, art, and pop culture. We’ll examine the power of
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language as it functions in all of these various arenas with the goal of understanding how good
writers make effective choices, paying special attention to the field of ethics, both personal and
professional, and how individual ethical decisions are made, argued for, and made convincing.
Instructor’s Role
Throughout this process, I will act as a guide and will accommodate your input into the course
as much as possible. After all, this is your course and success is strongly determined by your
participation and interest in the subject matter. I will provide material and activities to stimulate
your thinking and discussion about the techniques of rhetoric and communication. I will help
make connections between the materials we address and the questions and ideas you bring to
the course. Always feel free to ask about the relevance of a topic to our goals or debate new
issues with the class. I will always encourage you to broaden your perspective through study of
various viewpoints, both those provided by course readings and those you discover in your own
research or through other students. I will help you discover resources and tools that you can use
to continue to develop your writing, reading, and critical thinking skills for this class and others.
What I cannot do is make you learn or fill you with any kind of knowledge. I expect you to put
forth the effort to learn and succeed in this course.
Student Obligations
Engage in Writing Process. When you write you create a product, yes, but writing necessitates
multiple smaller processes including outlining, inquiry, revising, and peer-review. It is essential that
students are willing to produce and improve upon their work. Peer-review will be utilized in order
to exchange work and work together to improve essays.
Critical Thinking. In this class we will read, discuss, and analyze in order to come to larger
understanding of social, environmental and political movements. We will work on discussing and
arguing with a focus on productivity and broadening our perspectives on various controversial
subject matters. It is crucial that you reevaluate your assumptions regarding your political,
sociological views in order to understand where emotions enter your perspective and logic
subsides.
Absences. You’re allowed three absences. Email me when you miss a class—before the class if
you know you won’t be there, or immediately after, so I don’t worry. If you miss more than three
classes, you will lose one whole letter grade. If you’re late twice that counts as an absence.
Failure to prepare for class (not having done the required reading or writing for that day) may
also be counted as an absence.
Electronics. Unless I receive a letter from Disability Services stating a specific need, there will be
no use of a laptop in my class. We may use laptops for some assignments but only at my
direction and as an exception to the general rule. Additionally, cell phone use is strictly
forbidden. If you are texting, or even look like you’re texting, I will mark you absent. There won’t
be a warning, and I won’t tell you that I’ve marked you absent for using your phone.
When I walk into the classroom—even if class hasn’t technically begun—all personal computing
devices and phones must be put away, out of sight.
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(If you must have access to your phone because of an emergency situation let me know before
class, and I will make an exception.)
Late Assignments. Late assignments are, well, late. Unless you have spoken with me beforehand
to arrange for an extension, I will subtract a half letter grade from the total grade for each day
the paper is late. I will not grant extensions just for any reason, but if you absolutely cannot meet
the deadline because of something unavoidable, contact me as soon as possible so we can
discuss the situation. Computer problems are not an acceptable excuse for a late assignment—
with the variety of resources on campus, you should have ample opportunity to complete your
work on time.
Personal Issues. Keep in mind that some discussions with me should not be had during class. We
have work to do as a group. Personal problems should be addressed immediately before or
after class, during an office meeting, or via email. Please contact me privately regarding any
unique needs you may have as a student, medical or otherwise. I do require an official letter
before I can make any accommodations.
Contacting Me. Email is an excellent way to reach me, however, I expect you to take care with
your emails. Begin with a proper greeting: “Dear Mr. Cotter” and end your letter “Sincerely” [your
name]. Use—to the best of your ability—correct punctuation. Capitalize the first word of every
sentence and proper nouns. Abstain from abbreviations commonly used in txt messages. This
kind of care and attention will count toward your class participation grade.
Grading Policy
Grading Guidelines
Each letter has a range from + to -. The following are guidelines for the range within
each letter.
A
Excellent Work. A paper that is superior in style, form, and content. Not necessarily
perfect, but approaching perfection. The paper is ambitious in conception and successful in
revision. To earn this as a participation grade requires remarkable hard work on the drafts of
fellow students, earnest and interesting contributions to class discussions, and no more than two
or three absences total.
B
Good (Above Average) Work. The paper is superior in one, but average in another of
the following: thought, form, or style. There are a few mistakes, but not many. The paper may
be ambitious and fail—though not too badly. Or the paper may be good—but not superior—in
thought, but very well executed. There may be one significant but not major fault in thought,
form, or style. In participation, this grade requires work that stands out above the class average.
You absolutely cannot earn this, or a higher grade, if you do not regularly, with enthusiasm,
participate in class discussions—or, if you are shy, make arrangements for alternative
participation.
C
Average Work. The paper exhibits strengths as well as weaknesses. The writing is
readable at the surface level, and has an idea, but it will have significant unresolved problems in
more than one key area: quality of idea, reasoning, and evidence; or word choice, stance, and
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structure. The paper may fulfill basic requirements yet say little of importance or significance—or
a well-written paper that does not satisfy a significant part of the assignment. In participation,
this grade reflects showing up, surface reading, and average or below-average contribution to
discussions and workshop.
D
Inferior Work. A paper that is seriously underdeveloped and deficient in content, form,
style, or mechanics. It may be disorganized, illogical, confusing, unfocused, or contain
pervasive errors that impair readability, or may be a paper that does not come close to meeting
the basic expectations of the assignment—including length. In participation, this grade reflects
a lack of contribution to the class effort, missed readings, failure to critique the work of fellow
students, and generally insufficient attention to the workshop.
F
Failing Work. A paper that is incoherent, disastrously flawed, unacceptably late,
plagiarized, or non-existent. Any paper that fails to meet basic requirements of page length,
number of sources, and genre (for instance, a “book report” when a “close reading” was
required by the prompt) can earn a paper an “F.” In participation, this grade reflects the
attendance and contributions of a student unable to adequately participate in the course, or
one indifferent—or hostile—to fellow students or the goals of the seminar.
Your grade for this class consists of a total of 1,000 points, broken down as follows:
Summary and Analysis Paper (150)
Persuasive Argument Paper (300)
Research & Bibliography (100)
Personal Essay Paper (200)
Journals (50)
RIOT training (50)
Participation (50)
Quizzes (100)
Presentations (25)
Total_________________1000pts
Each assignment will be explained in more detail as we proceed, but brief synopses of the three
major papers may be found below:
SUMMARY AND ANALYSIS
Page length: 3 – 5 pages
Part 1 Summary. 2-3 pages. In the first part of this assignment, students will summarize David
Foster Wallace’s essay “Consider the Lobster” from the Norton Reader. Imagine that you are
evaluating the essay for inclusion in a new edition of this anthology; your reader is not familiar
with the work and so you must clearly and accurately summarize its contents. Clearly summarize
Wallace’s rhetorical aim and how he deploys his content and style to achieve that aim. Make
accurate paraphrases of major arguments.
Part 2 Summary and Rhetorical Analysis. After you have revised your summary you will add an
analysis of the effectiveness of Wallace’s work, demonstrating how the various rhetorical
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techniques that Wallace uses advance or retard the presentation of his thesis and affect its
meaning. Clearly distinguish your position from the author’s and provide a logical argument for
your own point of view. During some class meetings you will bring in a portion of your project for
in-class workshopping, either with partners or as a group.
PERSUASIVE ARGUMENT
Page length: 10 – 12 pages (including annotated bibliography)
With fuel prices rising, natural disasters proliferating, and metropolitan cities re-learning the
usefulness of green space, our relationship with the natural world is increasingly at the fore of
public discourse.
In your second major paper you will research a thesis, producing first a proposal, then an
annotated bibliography, first draft, and eventually a final, polished persuasive paper about our
relationship with the natural world. This project can encompass, for example, the changing
ecosystem we live inside, the ecologically globalized world around us, or the increasingly
contentious use of extraction technologies. Each student will chose a contemporary aspect of
humankind’s relationship with the natural world that they have a specific interest in. In the course
of this assignment, each student will have researched, written, and revised a 10-12 page paper
on environmental science, law, politics, history, or health-related issues. The variety of potential
topics is infinite: Is the increasing use of hydraulic fracturing (“fracking”) more dangerous than it
is beneficial? How will global climate change affect our lives in the next half century? Have the
seas been overfished past the point where they may recover? Is “peak oil” a myth? Will the
electronic car ever replace the model that burns gasoline?
You can employ several methods to create the final text including one-on-one interviews and
personal experience, but the body of your research should take place online and in the library:
in books, scholarly journals, and intelligent periodicals. Allow yourself to be creative but stick to
MLA guidelines and remember that this is primarily a research project. You will form your thesis
and opinions based on your reading. A research paper is a moderated conversation between
sources and you are that moderator. During some class meetings you will bring in a portion of
your project for in-class workshopping, either with partners or as a group.
PERSONAL NARRATIVE-REFLECTION ESSAY
Page length: 7 - 10 pages
By the time we get to this paper, you will be finishing up your first semester of college. You have
had to make ethical decisions often over the last four months, likely without much input from
your parents or other authority figures. You’ve also had an opportunity to consider your family
from afar. Reflect on what you’ve learned about yourself, your peers, and life in general over the
last year and then decide which of the narrative approaches below you want to pursue. For this
essay, you have two choices (see below). But whatever you choose to do, you are to analyze
and reflect—the most important part of this paper is your analysis of the event or history that you
describe.
Choice 1: Write a narrative essay in which you recount a personal experience that involves an
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ethical decision. Over the course of your life, you have likely had to make a difficult decision
that required you to consult your moral compass. Please choose one such event and write of it.
If you feel comfortable doing so, feel free to write about an ethical lapse. In this essay, you may
choose to assess that ethical dilemma’s connection and relevance to your first semester at CU.
You may also write of someone else’s ethical decision, but it needs to have affected or involved
you in some way.
Choice 2: Write a narrative about one person in your family. What’s the story behind your mother
or father? What did your grandmother do when she was young? How did she arrive in Colorado
(or wherever your home is)? Writing this paper is an opportunity to learn more about your family’s
history. It’s also an opportunity to call your grandparents. You should write about ONE figure in
your family, or at most two. Families have long and complicated stories attached to them. You
cannot write about all of your family members in a 5-7 page paper, not with the kind of detail
each deserves.
Some Additional assignments:
•
Library Tutorials (RIOT): You are required to complete all of the Research Instruction
Online Tutorials. These tutorials prepare you to research your topic for your Persuasive Essay. For
more information on the tutorials, see Chapter 3 in Knowing Words.
•
Presentations: each of you will deliver a brief (5 minute) presentation on a different
rhetorical strategy or logical fallacy from a list that I will provide.
•
There will be occasional (announced) in-class quizzes on the concepts and material we
have covered in class.
•
I will expect you to keep a dedicated notebook or journal to record your notes (and to
conduct some written assignments). I may collect and review these notes several times during
the course.
Course Goals
There are six goals that shape this course. Our work this semester is designed to help you:
1
Develop rhetorical awareness, making informed choices as you adapt your writing to the
needs of your readers, to a specific context and situation, and for a particular purpose.
2
Refine and reflect on your writing process, engaging in substantial revision as you give
and receive feedback from your peers and from me.
3
Become proficient readers, approaching texts with a writer’s awareness of craft and a
critic’s ability to interpret and respond to a text’s meaning and effects.
4
Develop strategies of research, using a variety of research tools that will enable you to
become active investigators of your culture.
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5
Understand and apply conventions of standard linguistic usage, including proper
grammar, syntax, and punctuation, as you compose, revise, and edit your writing across a range
of rhetorical tasks and genres.
These six goals express the PWR’s commitment to preparing you for the kinds of reading and
writing you will perform in your other classes. They also fulfill the course criteria given to all state
institutions by the Colorado Commission on Higher Education, the governmental body that
contributes to the policies for college education in Colorado. In other words, this writing class is
not just about what your writing teacher here at CU thinks is important. It’s about deepening
your skills in rhetorical knowledge, writing processes, and language conventions so that you can
write effectively for a variety of audiences in a variety of situations—both inside and outside the
classroom.
Writing Center
If you want additional help with your writing, the Writing Center in Norlin Library is a great place
to go to talk about ideas, improve your thesis or essay organization, or just generally work on
your writing skills. Check the Writing Center website for more information about hours and
services, or request an appointment online at: http://www.colorado.edu/pwr/writingcenter.html.
Disabilities*
If you qualify for accommodations because of a disability, please submit to your professor a
letter from Disability Services in a timely manner (for exam accommodations provide your letter
at least one week prior to the exam) so that your needs can be addressed. Disability Services
determines accommodations based on documented disabilities. Contact Disability Services at
303-492-8671 or by e-mail at dsinfo@colorado.edu.
If you have a temporary medical condition or injury, see Temporary Injuries under Quick Links at
Disability Services website http://www.alumniconnections.com/links/link.cgi?l=3958265&h=
12345&e=UCBI-20130104183129 and discuss your needs with your professor.
Religious Observances*
Campus policy regarding religious observances requires that faculty make every effort to deal
reasonably and fairly with all students who, because of religious obligations, have conflicts with
scheduled exams, assignments or required attendance. In this class, absences on any legitimate
religious holiday may be excused if you secure my approval at least two weeks beforehand. See
full details at http://www.colorado.edu/policies/fac_relig.html<http://www.alumniconnections.
com/links/link.cgi?l=3958268&h=12345&e=UCBI-20130104183129>
Classroom Behavior*
Students and faculty each have responsibility for maintaining an appropriate learning
environment. Those who fail to adhere to such behavioral standards may be subject to
discipline. Professional courtesy and sensitivity are especially important with respect to individuals
and topics dealing with differences of race, color, culture, religion, creed, politics, veteran’s
status, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity and gender expression, age, disability, and
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nationalities. Class rosters are provided to the instructor with the student's legal name. I will gladly
honor your request to address you by an alternate name or gender pronoun. Please advise me
of this preference early in the semester so that I may make appropriate changes to my records.
See policies at http://www.colorado.edu/policies/classbehavior.html<http://www.alumni
connections.com/links/link.cgi?l=3958271&h=12345&e=UCBI-20130104183129 and at
http://www.colorado.edu/studentaffairs/judicialaffairs/code.html#student_code
Discrimination and Harassment*
The University of Colorado Boulder (CU-Boulder) is committed to maintaining a positive learning,
working, and living environment. The University of Colorado does not discriminate on the basis of
race, color, national origin, sex, age, disability, creed, religion, sexual orientation, or veteran
status in admission and access to, and treatment and employment in, its educational programs
and activities. (Regent Law, Article 10, amended 11/8/2001). CU-Boulder will not tolerate acts of
discrimination or harassment based upon Protected Classes or related retaliation against or by
any employee or student. For purposes of this CU-Boulder policy, "Protected Classes" refers to
race, color, national origin, sex, pregnancy, age, disability, creed, religion, sexual orientation,
gender identity, gender expression, or veteran status. Individuals who believe they have been
discriminated against should contact the Office of Discrimination and Harassment (ODH) at 303492-2127 or the Office of Student Conduct (OSC) at 303-492-5550. Information about the ODH,
the above referenced policies, and the campus resources available to assist individuals
regarding discrimination or harassment can be obtained at http://hr.colorado.edu/dh/
Honor Code*
All students of the University of Colorado at Boulder are responsible for knowing and adhering to
the academic integrity policy of this institution. Violations of this policy may include: cheating,
plagiarism, aid of academic dishonesty, fabrication, lying, bribery, and threatening behavior. All
incidents of academic misconduct shall be reported to the Honor Code Council
(honor@colorado.edu; 303-735-2273). Students who are found to be in violation of the
academic integrity policy will be subject to both academic sanctions from the faculty member
and non-academic sanctions (including but not limited to university probation, suspension, or
expulsion). Other information on the Honor Code can be found at
http://www.colorado.edu/policies/honor.html and at http://honorcode.colorado.edu
*University of Colorado - Boulder recommended syllabus statement
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Schedule (subject to change with advance notice)
IN-CLASS ACTIVITIES
WHAT’S DUE TODAY
1/14
Introduction to the course and each other
1/16
Quiz on chapter 2; Key terms of rhetoric
Read chapter 2 in Knowing Words:
“Critical Inquiry”
1/18
Discussion of summaries; summary exercise
Read George Saunders, “Thank You
Esther Forbes”; brief writing autobiography
due
No
Class
MLK Day
1/23
Discussion of paraphrasing; in-class paraphrasing
exercise
1/25
Discussion of quotations, avoiding plagiarism
In-class outline discussion
Summary of David Foster Wallace’s
“Consider the Lobster” (p. 198) Summary
rough draft due
1/30
Writer’s workshop
By now you should have seen Avatar
2/1
In-class rhetorical analysis; cliché exercise
1/28
2/4
Discussion of rhetorical context of Avatar &
Daniel Mendelsohn’s analysis
read & outline
Daniel Mendelsohn’s analysis of Avatar
2/6
Finish Avatar discussion; Scavenger hunt teams
selected from Flowers of Rhetoric handout;
project explained
Summary and Analysis draft due
2/8
Open-book quiz on structure and analysis
Read Ephron’s “The Boston Photographs”
(p. 727)
9
RIOT discussion & prep
2/11
Outline of Ephron due
Scavenger hunt due
discussion & informal presentation of scavenger
hunt; primer on ethics
2/13
Discussion of the multiplicity of possible voices
and languages
Read Gloria Anzaldúa’s “How to Tame a
Wild Tongue”(p 523)
2/15
Remainder of language conversation; grammar
& punctuation pointers
Summary & analysis final due
2/18
Research & Argument paper assigned;
Lecture on the fundamentals of arguement
2/20
Norlin room E113 – Library Day
2/22
Rhetorical analysis of argument: Pollan
Read Michael Pollan’s “An Animal’s Place”
(p. 702)
2/25
Quiz on strategies of persuasion; rhetorical
presentations
2/27
Review of key concepts, discussion of proposals
Research Proposal Due
3/1
Rhetorical analysis of Cronon, discussion of
argumentation strategies; rhetorical
presentations
Read William Cronon’s “The Trouble with
Wilderness” (p. 651)
3/4
rhetorical presentations; review of reading;
making ethical arguements
Read chapters 3 & 5 in Knowing Words
“Information Literacy” and “Argument”;
RIOT Online Tutorial introduction
3/6
rhetorical presentations (cont.); discussion of
student papers (strengths/weaknesses)
Read student selection from Knowing
Words TBD
3/8
One-on-one student meetings
3/11
Annotated Bibliography Due
in-class workshop
10
3/13
Discussion of grammar issues
Continue work on research & persuasive
paper
3/15
Discussion of style issues
Rough Draft for Research & Argument
paper due
In-class workshopping
3/18
Writing Workshop
3/20
E113 – Library follow-up day
3/22
In-class research day
3/25 –
3/29
No
Class
Spring Break
Continue work on research & persuasive
paper
Introduction to the Personal Essay
Mini-analysis of Maya Angelou’s
“Graduation” (p. 34)
4/3
Class discussion of Maya Angelou and Lars
Eighner’s use of detail and description
Read Lars Eighner’s “On Dumpster Diving”
(p. 25)
4/5
Discussion of Personal Essay assignment
Final Draft for Research & Argument
Paper due
4/1
4/8
In-class rhetorical exercise
Koyaanisquatsi to be shown in class
4/10
In-class workshop of student work
4/12
Discussion of how to write about the past
4/15
Rhetorical analysis of “American Childhood”
4/17
Personal writing: dos and don’ts; conversation
about “In the Kitchen”
Annie Dillard from American Childhood (p.
132)
Henry Louis Gates “In the Kitchen” (p. 323)
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4/19
Strategies of revision: getting the details right
First draft of personal essay due
4/22
In-class workshop
Scott Russell Sanders’ “Under the
Influence” (p. 121)
4/24
4/26
Review Quiz
Continue to work on personal essay
The rhetoric of Fiction
Paul Theroux’s “25 Stories” (to be
provided)
4/29
4/1
The rhetoric of Poetry
Thomas Transtromer poems (to be
provided)
4/3
Wrap-up; patting ourselves on the back
Final draft of personal essay due
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