Institution: Wright State University
Discipline: English
Title: Writing in the Academy – Problems in Community
Instructor: Cathy Sayer

English 102: Writing in the Academy
Section Theme: Problems in Community

Lecturer: Cathy Sayer Office: 082 Library
Mailbox: 441 Millett Office Hours: MWF 11:00 12:00
Phone: 775 2471 (my office) TTh 11:30 1:30
775 3136 (to leave message) Other times by
Email: cathy.sayer {at} wright(.)edu appointment.

Required Texts and Materials

The Allyn and Bacon Guide to Writing by John D. Ramage and John C. Bean
A Writer's Reference, 3rd Edition, by Diana Hacker
The Passbook for College Composition

2-3 paper folders with pockets
A copy card or money for copiers
Access to a computer or word processor (All work for this class must be typed.)

Course Goals

As a course in your General Education Program, this course seeks to:
-sharpen critical thinking, problem solving, and communication skills as a basis for life-long learning;
-cultivate an awareness of the ethical and moral insight needed for participation in the human community;
-increase knowledge and understanding of the past, of the world in which we live, and of how both past and present have an impact on the future.

Course Description

In this course, you will continue to build on what you have learned about writing processes in English 101 and in previous school work, while improving your skills in the types of writing you will do in your other academic courses. Specifically, you will focus on further developing skills in conducting various kinds of research, using traditional print sources, the Internet, and your own field experiences. You will also seek to understand how language works to effect persuasion, explore some of the ethical concerns of persuasion, and work to make your own writing persuasive within ethical parameters.

Course Theme

Since one of the goals for this course is to improve critical thinking and since clear thinking provides the content for clear writing, theme courses have been developed to encourage students to delve deeper into a particular area, rather than skim the surface of several. The theme for this course, "Problems in Community," is based on the belief that the health of our communities has a significant impact on all of our lives. Through readings in local newspapers, class discussions, and writing, we will explore some of the problems in the communities of the Miami Valley. We will attempt to uncover some of the causes of these problems and propose appropriate solutions. Additionally, in order to provide each student with a first-hand perspective of the issues affecting our local community, students in this class will participate in community service projects.

Course Requirements

Your final course grade will consist of the following:
Final portfolio 70%
Daily Writings 30%

Final Portfolio

Your final portfolio is due on the last day of class, Wednesday, March 10. It will include:

• a cover letter that introduces your portfolio and evaluates your progress as a writer
• the final revisions of 2 of your major essays,
  
• the photocopies of your cited research,
  
• all drafts and prewriting of the essays included,
  
• your final service log entry,
  
• any other pieces of writing produced during the quarter that you believe help to demonstrate your progress as a writer.

Needless to say, the final portfolio is extremely important, as its degree of success largely determines your level of success in the course. Additionally, passing English 102 signifies to the university community that you have achieved a level of writing skill that will enable you to continue to grow and succeed as a writer 'in your major. Therefore, multiple drafts and major revisions will be well worth your time. Consequently, I will give you written and/or oral feedback on your essays before you revise them for your final portfolio.

Major Papers

Your major assignments for this class will include prewriting, drafts, and revisions of

• Essay 1: Describing a Community Problem
• Essay 2: Investigating the Causes of a Community Problem
• Essay 3: Proposing Solutions to a Community Problem

As we begin to work on each of these papers, you will receive detailed instructions on the assignment requirements and the important due dates. All drafts, including draft 1, must be typed, and double spaced, following MLA guidelines. See 583 596 in Allyn & Bacon (A&B) for a model of page layout. Papers, along with all prewriting, drafts, and revisions, must be submitted in a folder with pockets. Staple pages together in the upper left comer. Do not use erasable bond paper, cover pages (on final drafts), or clear plastic covers.

Daily Writings

You will have some in class or out of class writing due almost every time class meets. It may be a log entry for your community service project, an exercise or quiz based on the reading assignment, prewriting for an essay, a draft, feedback on classmates' writings, etc.

You must be present in class to receive credit for that day's writing. All out of class assignments must be complete at the beginning of class on the assigned day. I will not accept make ups; but in keeping with the attendance policy, which follows, I will allow 3 zeros without penalty. However, you should save your zeros in the event you must be absent due to illness or winter transportation problems.

Community Service Log

After each visit to your community service site to provide service, you should write a log entry. These will be important *in helping you learn from your service experience and in generating insights that might be used in your papers and in the cover letter of your final portfolio. In your log, you should narrate what happened during that visit and reflect on the significance of those events.

Sometimes I may give you specific prompts to write about, but most of the time, you will be on your own. First, describe what happened during the visit. What did you and others say? What reactions did you observe? You'll need to be very observant In order to do a good job on this part of the entry. Second, reflect on your 'initial reactions to the visit and on what you think and feel in retrospect, as you write. What surprised, excited, puzzled, troubled, angered, or simply interested you? What reasons might there be for the way things are? What kinds of solutions can you imagine for some of the problems you see? What questions might you ask someone the next time you go? What might you want to check out through research? In this part of the entries, you'll need to put on your critical thinking and problem solving caps.

In class, we will decide together how much community service is reasonable for you this quarter and the appropriate number of entries that will be expected. These decisions will affect when and how often log entries will be collected. As with all the work for this course, entries must be typed and double spaced. I will evaluate these entries based on thoroughness, amount of detail, and depth of critical thinking.

Critical Readings

Critical reading is one of the most important skills a writer can develop. First, you learn to spot problems in the writing of others. Then, it's easier to recognize problems in your own writing. To help you develop skill in critical reading, this quarter, you will write several critiques of the work of your peers (peer responses) and of your own essays (commentaries). You will write at least one peer response to each of the major papers; and before, you turn in your own essays for feedback from me, you will write a commentary evaluating their strengths and weaknesses.

To critique means to evaluate both strengths and weaknesses. Since the purpose in doing critiques is to help you learn to evaluate your own work, your grades on these will be based on how thorough your assessments are, rather than on how right or wrong they are. In the case of the peer responses, I will especially be looking at how many problems you note and how many suggestions you make for improvement. When you write the commentaries for your own essays, I will again be looking to see how many problems you are able to spot. But I will also expect you to generate questions to ask me so that I can give you the kind of feedback that will be most useful to you in making your revisions.

Conferences

I will schedule two conference days during the quarter, one at about midterm and one before the final portfolio is due. These will be times that you can come in and chat about the progress you are making on your drafts. You may want to ask for clarification of some comment I wrote on an earlier draft, or you may want to show me revisions that you have done. During these conferences, you will be in charge. You will ask the questions and direct the conference to make sure that you get what you came for. I will act as your coach, encouraging and instructing you so that you will be able to do your best by "game time" (final portfolio). Of course, any time you have questions or need clarification on some point, or if you just want to talk about the class, you may see or call me during office hours or schedule a conference for that purpose. And don't forget the value of email!

Attendance

The collaborative nature of the course makes your participation necessary, not only to your own success in the class, but also to the success of others. Therefore, the following attendance policy will apply:

You may miss 3 classes without receiving a penalty. (Normally, my limit is 2, but I'm adding an extra to allow for winter health and transportation problems.) Your course grade will drop one letter for every day you are absent over the 3 allowed. You will automatically fail the course if you have more than 6 absences. Exceptions to this policy will be made at my discretion and may require documentation. So it would be wise to save your absences for those occasions when you really need them.