Project I - Summaries (short and long) and critical reading assignments…..15%
Project II - Personal Essay and related assignments…………….………………….….15%
Project III - Research Report and related assignments (oral presentation)..30%
Project IV - Comparison Analysis of Two Articles…………………………………….……15%
Midterm and Final Exams…………..………………………..……….…………………………..….25%
Week 1
In class: Introduction to course; annotation: reading to understand, reading to respond; diagnostic
Due: read Joanne Cavanaugh Simpson “Multitasking State of Mind” 469-471
In class: watch youtube video on student life; short summary assignment; annotation: reading as a believer, reading as a doubter; class activity - annotate and write a summary of "Multitasking State of Mind"
Week 2
Due: read and summarize David Denby “High-School Confidential: Notes on Teen Movies” 396-401.
In class: distinguishing fact and opinion; tips for writing summaries; paraphrasing accurately and ethically; MLA formatting
Due: Summary of Tom Moore “Movie Fantasy vs. Classroom Reality” 402-405
In class: rhetorical triangle and audience: ethos, pathos, logos; long summary assignment; titles, introductions, conclusions (revise with course readings)
Week 3
Due: read Alfred Lubrano “The Shock of Education: How College Corrupts” 546-552
In class: Identifying main and supporting ideas in course readings; paragraph organization and transitions; more paragraph organization; style (to be worked on throughout the semester and applied to students' own drafts/writing when possible)
Due: read and draft long summary of Fan Shen “The Classroom and the Wider Culture: Identity as Key to Learning English Composition” 702-710
In class: peer review; integrating quotations smoothly; powerpoint on integrating quotes
Week 4
Due: Long summary of Fan Shen “The Classroom and the Wider Culture: Identity as Key to Learning English Composition”
In class: personal essay assignment; in-class writing: personal narrative seed; sentence combining; more sentence combining
Due: read Kevin Jennings “American Dreams” 591-585
In class: voice and audience of course readings; discuss criteria for personal narrative (class will design this criteria); in-class writing: personal narrative seed; showing not telling
(Two library instruction sessions will need to be scheduled to support research project.)
Week 5
Due: self-guided library tour
In class: organization and controlling themes of personal essays - outlining course readings; concrete vs. abstract language
Due: draft of personal essay (bring 3 copies)
In class: Peer review of personal essay; research project assignment; brainstorming research topics
Week 6
No class – conferences; have possible list of research topics and your revised personal narrative
Due: Personal narrative
In Class: library research day (schedule research days with library sometime between weeks 4-13)
Week 7
Fall Break
In class: prepare for midterm; narrowing topics through research; developing research questions before and during research
Week 8
In class: Midterm (summary of article)
Due: Research Plan
In Class: library research day (schedule research days with library sometime between weeks 4-13)
Week 9
Due: compile research: find and annotate two articles from Academic Search Complete
In class: thinking about our research findings; reviewing paraphrasing and integrating secondary sources
Due: compile research: find and annotate two articles from Proquest, bring all annotated articles to class
In class: In-class writing: working towards a theme; distinguishing primary and secondary sources
Week 10
Due: compile research: find and annotate two more articles based on your controlling theme
In class: types of evidence (revise with course readings); evaluating sources; assertions and evidence, the 80% rule; outlining
In class: field research; MLA citations; powerpoint on MLA (revise for new book)
Week 11
In class: oral presentations; powerpoint for presentations; prepare for group conference; hooks for introductions
no class: group conferences
Week 12
In class: Group oral presentations
Due: draft of research project for writing group (3 copies)
In class: Group oral presentations
Week 13
Due: writing group letters
In class: writing group meeting
Thanksgiving
Week 14
Due: Research project
In-class: comparative analysis assignment; strategies for the comparative analysis essay; theses for comparative analysis essays
Due: read and annotate Steven Johnson “It’s All about You” and Brian Williams “Enough about You” 446-451
Week 15
Due: draft of comparative analysis of Johnson and Williams due
In-class: peer review
Due: Comparative analysis of Johnson and Williams
In class: Review for Final
Sat. Final Exam (compare contrast of two articles)
