A few notes:
1/ this is a T Th schedule, so if you're teaching MWF, you'll have to adjust the dates.
2/ I'll be at a conference on 3/25 so I won't have class that day; you'll need to "uncombine" those activities for your own syllabus
3/ thanks to Jeanne Olson, Steve Farmer, and Mike Stancliff, who (along with me) used the A&B Guide this fall semester for WAC 101, and who had good suggestions on how to "tweak" the syllabus we'll now use in the spring of 1999.
4/ I have a "visit from a WC tutor" scheduled for 2/2; if you'd like someone to come to your class and talk to your students about the WC, contact Kate Mohler at 965-4062 to make an appointment.
5/ I also plan a trip to the Learning Resource Center on 2/4; you'll get a letter from John Bloomquist at the LRC explaining how you can schedule your class visit (this is another resource for students that many of them don't know about, so it's worthwhile to spend the time doing the visit).
6/ I'm planning on individual conferences about WP#1 with my students, on 2/16. Based on our experience with WP#1 this fall, I strongly recommend that you plan to have each student visit you, so you can skim through his or her paper to make sure the student is on the right track with this assignment.
7/ I'd suggest you give out the assignments in stages, as all together they make a pretty big package.
You should feel honored to be selected as a Stretch Program instructor, but with your selection come some responsibilities:
Please be sure to list on your syllabi:
My feeling, therefore, is that we ought to allow "D" level students to continue on to ENG 101/107, so as not to penalize the ones who will manage to pass ENG 101/107. I want to speak individually to each of these students, however, before the final withdrawal deadline for the their WAC 101/107 class, to make sure they understand the ramifications of sticking around and trying to pass ENG 101/107. (The deadline for spring 1999 is 4/2/99, so prior to that I'll need you to identify any WAC 101/107 students who are at the "D" level and I will schedule appointments with them.) I do this each year and I think it may help to get some of these students in gear for the rest of the semester.
Finally, I also strongly suggest that you discuss with your classes (WAC 101/107) exactly why and how these students were placed into the Stretch Program. As you may know, students place into Stretch or into ENG 101/107 based on their ACT or SAT scores.
This means that some students may be misplaced, and some of your students might be upset that they have to take another semester of English; others may have upset parents, who see only more money for what appears to be a five-year degree. Students need to know that the Stretch Program in no way slows down a student's progress. We ask for one more semester of composition (WAC 101/107), which students receive credit for. That means they have one less elective class to take along their academic road.
It's important to confront--early-on--any issues your students have about placement and the class. Usually in the second or third class period, I have my students write about how they're feeling and what they expect the class to be; we then share their thoughts with each other, and I talk about the "good things" (more experience in academic writing; a better chance to really get a good grade in ENG 101/107; no impact--if they pass--on their GPA for their first semester of college from the WAC 101/107 class; that while they may have done a lot of writing in high school, it wasn't necessarily the kinds of writing they need for all their university classes, and so on) and then contrast them to the "bad things" (one class for one semester, which they do get credit for).
As we get close to the start of the semester, I'll provide you with enough handouts that explain the program, for all of your WAC 101/107 students. If you'd like, I'll be glad to come to your class and talk with them about placement, what the class is about, and so on. Most students, once they understand why they're in this program and after they get a chance to vent a little about how they (or their parents) feel, are quite comfortable with the class; by the end of their first semester, invariably they're glad they stayed with the Stretch Program.
However, if you have WAC 101/107 students who really think they belong in ENG 101/107 (or your diagnostic essay strongly indicates they may be misplaced), ask the student to see me (LL C 345; 965-3898). I will talk to the student and ask for several writing samples, so I can get a sense of his or her work. I can move students from WAC 101/107 to ENG 101/107 if I think they're misplaced in the Stretch Program and if I can find an ENG 101/107 class with room for them. If you do send someone to see me, please don't make any promises or even indicate that I might move them--just tell the student who feels he or she is misplaced in WAC 101/107 to come and see me and we'll go from there. My personal feeling is that everyone can benefit from more guided writing experience and that more students ought to be taking the Stretch Program, rather than fewer, so I tend to leave them in the program unless they're obviously misplaced.
Other notes:
I suggest you send around, at the start of every class period, a sign-up sheet, as then you have tangible proof that students have attended or missed any particular class. If you don't do a sign-up sheet, then a case of failing someone for absences becomes a "your word against hers" situation.
I also suggest that you penalize students for late papers (see my policy below), rather than not accepting late papers at all; what is often difficult is to be the arbiter of what constitutes a "good" excuse and what does not. With a penalty, a student can still turn in a paper even though her car broke down or whatever, and will lose points because of it, but doesn't lose the credit for the entire assignment.
The "values" questions (attached) are questions I use, as outlined in the brief article attached; you might try them, as invariably my students tell me these are useful and interesting class sessions.
I’ve changed my workshop policies to indicate that if a student does not have a draft for a workshop, her final grade for that paper will go down one letter grade, as she is really "absent" that day. If a student doesn’t have a draft for the day when we hand around drafts for upcoming group workshops, she is counted absent for three days—that day, plus the two in which we have group conferences.
I suggest that you insist your students turn in all drafts and notes with the final versions of their papers, so you can see their writing process
I’ve attached a copy of the mid-term evaluation form I use; it will give you some useful feedback when there’s still time to do something about questions, problems, etc.
As you’ll see below, we are only switching papers for the "minimal competency" reading during the WAC 101/107 part of the sequence.
There will be sample student essays on the web that you can download and use as models for your own students, if you wish to.
How can I help?
Thanks,
Greg Glau
965-3898
Spring 1999 line # ____________
Instructor: __________
Office: __________
Office hours: __________
Office phone: __________
e-mail: __________
web address: __________
Course description:
This writing course may be unlike any you have enrolled in before, for our focus won't center on your finished "products" but rather the goal of the course is to help you to develop strategies for using writing to construct meaning—which in turn assists you in generating thought-provoking discourse for your intended reader. Current research indicates that writers must become well-versed in a variety of approaches to constructing the types of genres required in their college courses (now) and in the workplace (later).
When students are equipped with appropriate strategies for generating texts, they typically approach their writing with confidence and commitment. Additionally, students report that they find the writing process and the writing they construct both rewarding and pleasurable. Upon completing this course, you will have learned that all writing involves a recursive (and often messy) process of thinking and writing strategies often referred to as peer review, invention, prewriting, drafting, revising, and editing.
This semester, I’ll ask you to complete three major writing projects and two portfolio analyses—one partway through the semester, and the other in lieu of a final exam.
The Composition Program at ASU supports the Conference on College Composition and Communication’s Outcome Statement (preliminary version), which supports these "outcomes" for students:
Rhetorical knowledge: this covers the kinds of things students need to know about the writing situation, such as who the readers are and what kind of information they may be expecting from the text. By the end of their first-year writing courses, students should:
The Stretch Program is a two-semester sequence of classes linked through a common instructor--for both semesters, students usually have the same teacher, work with the same group of students, and often even have the same classroom. We designed Stretch to help build a real writing community, as everyone has an entire year to work together to improve his or her writing.
The Stretch Program is designed specifically for those university students who lack experience with the kinds of writing they will be asked to do at ASU--students who have good ideas and who may be effective writers in some situations, but who have minimal training and experience with academic writing. Stretch gives these students more time to develop effective writing strategies--strategies they will use in all of their university classes. Students in Stretch classes read the same texts and do the same kinds of assignments as other ENG 101/107 students. In effect, Stretch students do twice as much writing and revising as other ENG 101/107 students, thus giving them more practice at the kinds of writing they'll do in their academic career, and beyond. The first class in the Stretch sequence is WAC 101/107; the second is ENG 101/107. In effect, these connected Stretch Program classes "stretch" English 101/107 over two semesters, so students have the opportunity of extended experience at working with many and various ways of both reading and writing.
This extra time allows students to learn and work with a wide range of composing strategies, to help them understand what techniques are appropriate for any particular situation: reading strategies (to effectively read their own textbooks, as well as their classmates' writing and their own compositions), invention techniques (to help students get started on their writing), composing methods (strategies of organization), and revision and proofreading strategies (to help improve their early drafts of texts).
Students in Stretch Program classes take responsibility for their own education by being involved in a wide range of learning activities, for we believe that students can best learn to write by writing, receiving feedback (from peers and their instructor), and revising those texts, always with a view of the rhetorical situation: what do we want our writing to do?
Required texts:
Bean, John, C., and John D. Ramage. The Allyn and Bacon Guide to Writing (all readings will be from this text, unless specifically indicated otherwise)
Rhetoric and Composition Committee. Guide to First-Year Composition, latest edition
A college-level dictionary
Policies:
Attendance is mandatory. I know everyone has problems from time-to-time in getting to class. However, since our class uses a workshop approach where other members of the class suffer when you're not present (to comment on their work), absences will affect your final grade for the course. 10% of your course grade will come from your in-class writings (we do those right at the start of class) and your class participation. At 10% of the total grade, the "in-class writing/participation" grade is about.5% per class period. Put another way, you'll lose 1% of your grade for every two days you miss class--no matter what "excuse" you have for missing class. The 1% penalty may not seem like much, but a few missed classes will quickly move you down one letter grade.
Please note: if you miss more than four classes (more than 15% of the course), you will fail this class.
Please also note: several times during the semester we will cancel classes so we can hold conferences. If you miss a conference, you will be counted absent for the same number of classes that were canceled in order to hold conferences. For instance, if we cancel class for two days to hold conferences and you miss your conference, that "counts" as two absences. Also note: the class period before we start these conferences, you will be asked to bring in copies of your Writing Projects to share with your classmates, so they can comment on them and make suggestions on how to improve them. If you do not have copies of your Writing Project for your classmates on the day they're due, you will be counted absent for that day and cannot participate in conferences, therefore losing two (2) class participation points as well as being absent for both class periods.
Please also note that if you don't have a workshop copy on the day it's due for in-class workshops, you will not be able to participate and will lose one letter grade from your final Writing Project grade. And obviously, to pass this class all assignments must be completed, and please remember, too, that all writing for this class must be written for this class.
To accommodate students who participate in university-sanctioned activities, the Composition Program offers sections of this course at various times of the day and week. We have asked advisors across campus to help students enroll in appropriate sections. If you think that this course may conflict with a university-sanctioned activity in which you are involved--athletics or the debate team or whatever--please see me after class today. While transferring to another section may be the only viable option, let's discuss the possibilities.
I want to underscore the published deadlines for dropping courses. The deadline for unrestricted withdrawal for any class you have enrolled in this semester is 2/12/99. The deadline for restricted withdrawal—meaning that the instructor of the class you wish to drop must indicate whether or not you currently have a passing grade in that class—is 4/2/99.
While I am optimistic that you will not elect to drop this class or any other class that you’re currently taking, it is important that you pay attention to these deadlines. The better informed you are about the options available to you as a student at ASU, the more likely you are to succeed academically. If you feel you would benefit from additional support in reading, writing, math, philosophy, or any other area of your academic life, please make an appointment to see me during office hours so that I can provide you with information about services available to you at ASU.
Grading: Grading for Writing Projects will follow English Department standards, which are based on content, organization, expression, and mechanics. If you ever have a question about a grade and/or a comment I've made, please ask me about it. Remember that your grades from your WAC 101/107 class will accumulate and will count as 50% of your ENG 101/107 grade. We will talk individually about your WAC 101/107 grades, so you will know exactly where you stand starting your ENG 101/107 semester.
All sections of first-year composition follow a uniform grading policy, which is based on the university's 4.0 grading system. To compute the final grades, the following values are assigned to the standard letter grades of A through E:
Manuscript preparation: Please consider every piece of writing you do for this class to be "public property." We will discuss your writing in both large and small groups. Several times during the semester, you will be asked to duplicate your Writing Project for your writing groups (approximately six copies). ALL VERSIONS of ALL Writing Projects, including learning logs, must be typed, double-spaced. Please do not use cover sheets (let's save trees) or binders.
The public nature of class writing and discussions: Part of becoming a good writer is learning to appreciate the ideas and criticisms of others, and in this course our purpose is to come together as a writing community. Remember that you will often be expected to share your writing with others, so avoid writing about things that you may not be prepared to subject to public scrutiny, or things you feel so strongly about that you are unwilling to listen to perspectives other than your own. This does not mean that you are not entitled to an opinion but that you adopt positions responsibly, contemplating the possible effect on others. In particular, please do not write about any criminal activity that you have knowledge of—as a witness, as a victim or as a perpetrator. This may seem like an odd thing to caution you about, but if you were to write about such activity, I may be legally required to report it to the authorities.
Class Procedures:
For every class period, there will be reading assignments. We will discuss and/or write about these texts in detail, so be sure to read them and annotate carefully, so please remember to bring your textbook to class each day.
For most class periods, you will have a Learning Log entry. Each entry in your learning log should be dated and be about 200 words long (One typed or two handwritten pages). Most often, you will annotate and respond to the readings in your learning logs. Learning Logs will be graded on a Ö+, Ö, and Ö- basis.
Generally, learning logs will move you up or down about one grade. That is, if most of your learning logs are Ö+, then they'll help you if you're close to the next higher grade. If many are Ö-, and you'd "between grades," you'd probably receive the lower grade for the class. Average learning logs, marked with a Ö, will keep you about the same. I strongly, strongly recommend that you put a lot of time and effort into your learning logs--and in the end, it will help you write better Writing Projects. LEARNING LOGS MUST BE TURNED IN THE DAY THEY ARE DUE.
Please also keep a copy of any Writing Project you turn in, for your own files. You'll need them for the final/portfolios in both WAC 101/107 and in ENG 101/107, and also if you want to file a grade appeal.
I will not accept Writing Projects unless all earlier versions are turned in at the same time as the final version. Note also that half of the grade for each writing project comes from your "process" work--the invention and other activities that I'll ask you to write about . . . so if you want to impress me with how hard you've worked on a Project, you're going to want to turn in everything, right?
Late Writing Projects: Do not turn your Writing Projects in late, unless you negotiate with me BEFORE the due date--NEVER on the same day a Writing Project is due. Writing Projects that are late will be marked down a full letter grade for each day they are late. As with the attendance policy, I will not vary on deducting for late Writing Projects, no matter what "excuse" you might have.
Plagiarism is stealing. Plagiarism is cheating yourself and someone else. The consequences are severe, including failure for the assignment, probable failure for the course, disciplinary referral to the Dean, and possible expulsion from the University. Whenever you borrow a phrase, sentence, paragraph--or even an idea stated in your own words--from any outside source (newspaper, magazine, TV show, book) without giving credit to that source, you have plagiarized. For more information, see the Guide to Composition. If you have any questions about how to acknowledge someone else's words or ideas, see me.
The writing contest, "The Printer's Devil," covers the fall 1998 and spring 1999 semesters.
The contest is open to all students currently enrolled in a First Year Composition class (WAC 101/107, English 101/107, 102, 102H, 105, 107, and 108). We recommend that teachers of these classes encourage their students to enter the contest. Entries must be examples of the assignments (essays) as specified in the Department recommended syllabi.
Since we're using two textbooks for these classes (most classes will use the St. Martin's Guide to Writing, 5th edition, while others will use the Allyn and Bacon Guide to Writing), please identify on the permission form (below) which text your class uses.
Prizes may be awarded at three levels of each assignment:
First Prize-$50.00 tuition credit Second Prize-$25.00 tuition credit Honorable mention-gift certificate valued at $10.00 from a local bookstore
If the judges do not find suitable winners for each category, those prizes will not be awarded; only those essays which the judges believe are of the highest quality will be awarded prizes. In some instances, judges may choose to award more than one prize per category. Entries will be judged throughout the semester as they are submitted. Final judging will occur during spring finals week. Winners will be notified after finals.
The submissions will be judged in three categories:
5 copies of the assignment without any identification; each copy must be paginated and must be collated and stapled 1 signed submission sheet for each essay entered
1 cover sheet containing the following:
Student's name and ID number Student's address and phone number (Summer address) Teacher's name, office number, and phone number Class designation Assignment title Essay title 1 disk containing essay text (multiple entries limited to1disk), fully labeled with name, essay title, and assignment title.
Permission form:
I,_____________________________, give the instructor __________________________
and the editors of the Printer's Devil Contest permission to copy and publish in paper copy and/or on the Internet as part of the Printer's Devil Contest the attached paper:
Title of writing project__________________________________________
Textbook we're using (circle one): St. Martin's Guide to Writing, 5th edition, or the Allyn and Bacon Guide to Writing)
Date ______________________________________________________
Student signature _____________________________________________
Instructor signature ____________________________________________
Please put your entry forms (with disk, etc.) into the mailbox of Beatrice Gordon, in LL B504 (note that the mailbox is located under Professor Gordon's name).
For each Writing Project, we want to electronically "publish" the best compositions from Stretch Program students, so close to when the final version of each Project is due we'll decide, together, on which paper(s) we'd like to publish. They'll end up on a website with the other "best" compositions, so this is a chance to show off your work . . . and they will automatically be entered in the Printer's Devil contest, too (see above).
Teachers note: please turn-in your students submissions to Greg Glau, Stretch Program coordinator and he will first publish them and then turn them over to the Printer's Devil contest.. Thanks.
Required writing:
Learning Logs (one percent each).............................................….....…........ 15%
In-class writing, at the beginning of class/participation grade......…........…...... 10%
Writing Project # 1: Microtheme posing a question......................…...............…15%
(Click here to see some sample student writing for this assignment)
Writing Project #2: two perspectives on a place…………………………….. 15%
(Click here to see some sample student writing for this assignment)
Reflection and analysis: where you've been, where you're heading.......………..10%
(Click here to see some sample student writing for this assignment)
Writing Project # 3: Autobiographical narrative w/significance
Final portfolio analysis.............................................................................……10%
(Click here to see some sample student writing for this assignment)
The first version of each essay will be discussed in small group workshops and I will comment on your writing in conference. You then will revise this essay into a final draft, often working through several workshop versions, using the suggestions you received as a starting point for the final version. Remember: writing is never "done" the first time; (re) vision means (re)seeing . . . (re)cognizing . . .
Please feel free to say anything you wish in class; I will. At the same time, I will respect you as adults and will expect you to treat the others in the class the same way. This might seem a minor point, but we will be doing a lot of commenting on each others' Writing Projects, and it's important to always be considerate as well as honest. I call on everyone equally, whether you raise your hand or not, so know in advance that you will be expected to talk in class. Finally, remember the 6 Ps.
Week One
Day 1: Tuesday, 1/19/99:
In-class: introductions; syllabus; in-class writing: tell me about a good writing experience you've had. What made your writing effective? How did you get your writing to do what you wanted it to do? Stretch Program explanation and handout.
Day 2: Thursday, 1/21/99:
assignments due: read 99-102 (all readings are from the Allyn and Bacon Guide to Writing); also LL#1: do #1 and #2, page 102
In-class: in-class journal writing: What in the world are you doing in WAC 101/107? Introductions #2; Cooperative learning and the goals for this class; reading vs. writing; questions on syllabus handout; discuss "Disease"; coop #3, page 102; assignment handout for the first writing project for the semester.
Week Two
Day 3: Tuesday, 1/26/99:
assignments due: read 105 (from "Reading Processes") - 112; also LL#2: part A: tell me about your own reading habits: what do you like to read? Why? What do you dislike reading? Why? How do you read (or plan to read) your college texts differently than you read, say, a magazine or newspaper? Part B: summarize "Two Ways of Seeing a River," page 86
in-class: in-class journal writing; discuss readings; questions on assignment handout; discuss/coop LL#2 (both parts)
Day 4: Thursday, 1/28/99:
assignments due: read 3-13; also LL#3: do #1, page 10
In-class: in-class journal writing; discuss readings, especially page 7; discuss differences in texts, page 13; go over Writing Project # 1 in detail; get started on early invention activities per assignment handout
Week Three
Day 5, Tuesday, 2/2/99:
assignments due: read 13-20; also LL#4: do the individual parts of the "For Writing and Discussion," page 16
In-class: in-class journal writing; Writing Center tutor visit; discuss readings, esp. pages 14 and 18; discuss/coop LL#4; go over Writing Project 1 assignment in detail; share invention activity with good comments only; get started on your list of possible topics; in-class journal writing: discuss WC comments (read logs); final prep for Writing Project 1; commenting criteria for Writing Project 1; other invention activities
Day 6, Thursday, 2/4/99:
assignments due: LL#5: Part A: tell me what you learned about the Writing Center. What seemed useful to you? What seemed a waste of time? Will you use the WC to help with your own writing this semester? Explain why or why not. Also part B: what do you think you might want to write about for Writing Project 1? List some details and anything else you can think of that you might want to include in your Writing Project; also read 21-35
In-class: meet at the Learning Resource Center, Student Services Building, 3rd floor, for a tour of the LRC
Week Four
Day 7, Tuesday, 2/9/99:
assignments due: Writing Project #1, version 1 (WP1 V1)
In-class: workshop Writing Project #1
Please note: if you do not have a workshop draft today, you will lose one letter grade from the final grade on this project
Day 8, Thursday, 2/11/99:
Assignments due: read 524-28; also WP#1 v2 (2 copies); also LL#6: tell me how you are feeling about writing this Writing Project. What is the best thing about your Writing Project? What would you like to spend more time on? If you had to select the best idea in the Writing Project, what would it be? The purpose of this learning log is to ask you to step back a little from your writing and study it and think about it.
In-class: in-class journal writing; discuss readings on peer review; workshop WP#1; set-up individual conferences
Note: Friday, 2/12/99: (unrestricted withdrawal deadline today)
Week Five
Day 9, Tuesday, 2/16/99: individual conferences in my office (LL C 345) These will give us a chance to talk about WP#1 and to make sure you're on the right track; also to see where my office is so you'll know where you can always come for help with your papers.
Day 10, Thursday, 2/18/99:
Assignments due: Writing Project #1 final version (15%) (2 copies--one is for an outside "minimal competency" reading); read 43-53; also LL#7: do "For Writing and Discussion," page 51
In-class: in-class journal writing; discuss/coop reading; do "For Writing and Discussion," page 48 individually and then collectively; discuss/coop LL#7 and report to the class; ABOR survey; get started on WP#2
Week Six
Day 11, Tuesday, 2/23/99:
assignments due: read 427-42; also LL#8: do 1,2,3, and 4, page 438-49; also LL#9: do "For Writing and Discussion," page 79; to get started adding complexity, do IA#7 in class
in-class: in-class journal writing; do "For Writing and Discussion," page 434; coop readings; discuss/coop LL #8; do IA # 1 in class; do IA #2 in class; questions on WP#2
Day 12, Thursday, 2/25/99:
assignments due: read 75-86; also: read 88-98; also LL#10: go and observe a possible place for Writing Project #2; see if you can describe it in such a way as you might to a blind person (see page 93 for advice on doing this); write down your description
In-class: in-class journal writing; discuss readings; work through the rhetorical analysis, page 81; go out and do IA # 4 during class & report; discuss/coop LL#10; discuss readings; do #5, page 92; final prep for Writing Project 2; commenting criteria; do IA # 5, and IA # 6 in class
Week Seven
Day 13, Tuesday, 3/2/99:
assignments due: Writing Project 2 version 1 (IA #8) (6 copies)
In-class: in-class journal writing: workshop Writing Project 2 per pages 96 and 97 & criteria we set up in class; do IA #9; set-up group conferences
Please note: if you do not have copies of your paper for your group members and bring them to class today, you cannot participate in the group conferences and thus will not only lose participation points but you'll also be counted absent for two classes (the two when we have conferences) . . . so be here with 6 copies of your paper.
Day 14, Thursday, 3/4/99: group conferences in our classroom
Week Eight
Day 15, Tuesday, 3/9/99: group conferences in our classroom
Day 16, Thursday, 3/11/99:
assignments due: Writing Project 2 version 2; also LL#11: tell me how you are feeling about writing this Writing Project. What is the best thing about your Writing Project? What would you like to spend more time on? If you had to select the best idea in the Writing Project, what would it be? The purpose of this learning log is to ask you to step back a little from your writing and study it and think about it; also IA #11: questions for your peer reviewers about Writing Project #2
In-class: in-class journal writing: workshop Writing Project 2; do IA # 9 in class on this new version
Week Nine
Day 17, Tuesday, 3/16/99 and Day 18, Thursday, 3/18/99: NO CLASS; SPRING BREAK
Week Ten
Day 19, Tuesday, 3/23/99:
assignments due: Writing Project 2 final (15%)
In-class: in-class journal writing; get started on Writing Project 3; get started on reflective portfolio and analysis; criteria for commenting
Day 20, Thursday, 3/25/99: no class (I'll be out of town at a conference)
Note: Friday, 4/2/99: (restricted withdrawal deadline today)
Week Eleven
Day 21, Tuesday, 3/30/99:
assignments due: "Partway through" reflective letter version 1
In-class: in-class journal writing; workshop reflective letter per "constructing a draft" on assignment handout; get started and questions on Writing Project 3
Day 22, Thursday, 4/1/99:
assignments due: reflective letter final (10%); also read 489-98; also do IA #1 for Writing Project 3
In-class: in-class journal writing: get started on Writing Project 3; do #1, page 484 and then discuss/coop; also #3, page 494: do and discuss/coop; do IA # 1, IA # 2, and IA # 3 in class
Week Twelve
Day 23, Tuesday, 4/6/99:
assignments due: read 138-45; also LL#13: do "For Writing and Discussion," page 142
In-class: in-class journal writing; discuss/coop readings; coop LL#13; do "For Writing and Discussion," page 144; catch-up; do IA # 4 in class; values discussion
Day 24, Thursday, 4/8/99:
assignments due: read 146-59; also LL#14: do "For Writing and Discussion," page 145
In-class: in-class journal writing; discuss/coop readings and LL#14; do #2 page 150; discuss "Thinking Critically" page 149, 152, 154; commenting criteria review for Writing Project 3
Week Thirteen
Day 25, Tuesday, 4/13/99:
assignments due: Writing Project 3 version 1 (IA #5)
In-class: in-class journal writing; workshop Writing Project 3 per IA #6
Day 26, Thursday, 4/15/99:
assignments due: Writing Project 3 version 2 (5%) (2 copies--one for me to read and grade and comment on); also: LL#15: tell me how you are feeling about writing this Writing Project. What is the best thing about your Writing Project? What would you like to spend more time on? If you had to select the best idea in the Writing Project, what would it be? The purpose of this learning log is to ask you to step back a little from your writing and study it and think about it.
In-class: in-class journal writing; workshop Writing Project 3 per page 158
Week Fourteen
Day 27, Tuesday, 4/20/99 and Day 28, Thursday, 4/22/99: individual conferences in my office
Week Fifteen
Day 29, Tuesday, 4/27/99
Assignments due: Writing Project 3 final (20%)
In-class: get started on end-of-semester portfolio reflection and revision plan
Day 30, Thursday, 4/29/99:
Assignments due: End-of-semester portfolio reflection and revision plan, version 1
In-class: workshop end-of-semester portfolio reflection and revision plan
Week Sixteen
Day 31, Tuesday, 5/5/99:
assignments due: End-of-semester portfolio reflection and revision plan final version (10%)
In-class: in-class journal writing: departmental evaluations
"values" questions
If you had to choose between a secure job with little satisfaction and a satisfying job with little satisfaction, which would you take?
Do you think it ought to be illegal to urinate on the US constitution? To burn the US flag? Why?
On a hot summer afternoon, while walking through a large parking lot, say at a mall, you see a dog suffering badly from the heat inside a locked car. What would you do?
Do you feel at ease going to dinner or to a movie by yourself?
If you could choose the sex and physical appearance of your soon-to-be born child, would you do so?
You know you will die of an incurable disease within three months. Would you allow yourself to be frozen within the week if you knew it would give you a modest chance of being revived in 1,000 years and living a greatly extended life?
Would you be willing to reduce your life expectancy by five years to become extremely attractive?
One day you're at the mall and notice your mother holding hands with a man who's not your father--he's clearly her lover. She runs over to you and begs you not to say anything to your father. What would you do?
Would you like to know the precise day of your death?
What do you value most in a relationship?
Would you be willing to commit perjury for a close friend?
Would $50,000 be enough money to induce you to take a healthy, loyal pet to the vet to be put to sleep?
If you saw someone cheating on a test, what would you do?
If you'd smoked marijuana as a college student and now were filling out an employment application asking if you'd ever used drugs, how would you respond? Assume you must sign an affidavit swearing that you're telling the truth.
If a policeman offered--for $50 in cash--to not write the speeding ticket for $80, would you pay him? What if you hadn't been speeding?
If you knew that all racial and ethnic discrimination in this country would disappear in 25 years, would you be pleased at the rapidity of the change or upset by its slowness?
Mid-term evaluation form
The purpose of this evaluation is to help us be more effective, so we can help you more. Please be honest in your answers. DO NOT put your name on your paper.
What is the best thing about this class?_________________________
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What is the worst thing about this class?________________________
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Do you feel your writing is improving? Why or why not?___________
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What can we do to make the class more effective for you?_________
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Do the grades you're getting seem
too high_________ too low_________ about right_________
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Are the comments we make on your papers useful?__________________
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What can we do to make my comments more effective?_______________
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Any other comments?______________________________________________
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