Linda C. Macri
Department of English
2009
English 101 and Sustainability: How they fit together
English 101 is a course in academic writing. Students work throughout the semester to write an extended research paper on a topic of their choosing. Since 2004, the course has had a broad focus on civic engagement and the role of civic engagement in the university. Many instructors make this broad topic more specific by selecting a more narrow topic within that broad umbrella; focusing on sustainability would be an easy and effective adaptation to make to the course. Students in any section of English 101 come from a variety of academic disciplines and so any subject discussed in the course must be discussed in an interdisciplinary way; sustainability lends itself to such a cross-disciplinary approach.
As a studio course, English 101 focuses on the work that students produce throughout the semester. Readings in the course are selected by the instructor and are used as models for argument, for analysis, and as springboards for various types of discussion. One way to adapt English 101 to focus on sustainability would involve an instructor selecting readings on the topic (for example, selecting readings from a variety of disciplines to demonstrate both writing in a variety of disciplines and the way different disciplines approach the topic of civic engagement). From the readings on sustainability, students would have models for research of their own.
In English 101, students mold a research topic by beginning with some personal experience, broadly defined, and constructing an inquiry into the issue. We encourage students to see broader national issues as having local impact through a process of inquiry, and thus the idea of helping students study issues of sustainability by directing their inquiry to a topic such as the Chesapeake Watershed fits well with the curriculum already in place. To begin the invention process for a possible topic in the subject of sustainability, we could begin by asking students to consider the broad question “what are you sustaining in your life, with your choices and actions?” From this reflective inquiry, students would begin an engagement with the topic of sustainability.
English 101, Section xxxx: Introduction to Academic Writing
Sample Course Policies and Procedures
Instructor: Office Location:
Email: Office Phone:
Office Hour:
Purpose
English 101 has two primary goals. The first is to develop your skill in academic writing. Academic writing is a distinct kind of writing which involves considering the ideas and experiences of others as you take a stand on an issue. The course takes as a basic assumption that writing is a skill and that, like any skill, it can be improved through guided practice. The class is designed to give you that guidance and practice so that, no matter what level of skill you start with, you can improve the writing skills you have already acquired and, over the course of the semester, become a better, more confident writer. Specifically, you will
· explore the question of what constitutes a “fact” for specific purposes.
· work on analyzing your audience, and tailor your work for that audience.
· learn what it means to identify an issue to write about and to consider and reconsider that issue as you investigate it further,
· learn how to identify and make use of the available means of persuasion for your audience and topic,
· learn to use the best available means of support and expression for your audience and purpose.
In support of your goal of gaining greater control over the process of writing, you will learn a set of concepts and a vocabulary of language analysis and rhetorical strategy. The more you know about how language and persuasion work, the more features of style and argument you can recognize and use, and thus the better and more informed will be the choices you will be able to make in your own writing.
Over the course of the semester, through a series of linked assignments, we will consider how an academic discovers, inquires into, researches, and argues about an issue. We will focus our investigation on the topic of sustainability. The topic of sustainability may be engaged from a variety of angles; indeed, I’ve chosen it as a theme for the course because, as a broad topic, it offers us a way to investigate how different disciplines approach the same topic, from a variety of definitions to a range of arguments for action. We’ll begin by considering how different academic disciplines might define sustainability, and then continue to explore the categories of questions that arise in various disciplines on the subject of sustainability. I will ask you to consider your own definition of sustainability and consider what the term means to you by asking you what are you sustaining in a variety of situations and across a range of choices. Our readings for the course will connect us to various ways of understanding sustainability and give us a chance to learn what’s at issue in sustainability for various audiences, in various situations, at various times. And your research topics will connect your interests and your academic discipline to the topic of sustainability.
In addition to the general goals mentioned above, English 101 has the following specific goals:
1. to teach you the fundamentals of persuasion and suggest how these are adapted to a variety of special situations in academic writing;
2. to provide you with a variety of tactics for generating ideas about a topic;
3. to teach you systematic patterns of topic development and organization;
4. to help you meet the usage standards of the audience you are addressing;
5. to make you aware of word and sentence level stylistic options;
6. to teach you techniques for making your writing more coherent;
7. to help you develop strategies and techniques for revision that you will carry into other classes and contexts;
8. to teach you the academic conventions of incorporating and citing the words and ideas of others;
9. to increase your awareness of and ability to use research sources
10. to help you develop the habit of thinking critically both about ideas and about sources of information.
Course Requirements In Brief:
Improving your writing requires working simultaneously on different skills in different ways, so English 101 includes the following activities:
· Class participation – you are expected to come to class prepared and willing to contribute to the discussion.
· In-class writing (brainstorming, responses to reading, drafts of sections of papers). In-class writing will often, though not always, be collected and read, and it may count both as participation and as homework.
· Homework – homework will include responses to reading, worksheets to help you develop your papers, etc. Homework will be reviewed and graded. The evaluation will be based on two elements: how completely the work was done and how well it was done. Homework will be graded on a ten point scale, though some will be weighed as double or triple homework.
· Peer editing – you’ll be responsible for reading and responding to the work of your classmates.
· Formal assignments – will include papers and an extended journal assignment
Texts (required):
Engagements with Rhetoric: A Path to Academic Writing at the University of Maryland. Boston: Pearson,2008. [ISBN: 0-536-49832-6]
Graff, Gerald, and Cathy Birkenstein. They Say/I Say: The Moves that Matter in Academic Writing. New York: Norton, 2006. [ISBN: 0-393-92409-2]
Rosen, Leonard J. The Academic Writer’s Handbook. New York: Longman, 2006. [ISBN: 0-321-33831-6]
NOTE: Engagements with Rhetoric can be purchased in a package with the Rosen handbook using the following ISBN: 0-536-47258-0
Course Requirements in Detail:
1. Regular and punctual attendance. The writing you will do in English 101 will be based on skills you will develop and hone in class; for that reason, your attendance and participation will have a direct effect on your work and, ultimately, your grades. If you miss class for any reasons, it will be your responsibility to find out what you missed and how you can make up the work. Your participation grade and the quality of your work will suffer if you miss class. You are also expected to arrive on time; if you are late, you will disrupt class, and your participation grade will again suffer the consequences.
Unexcused, or “Discretionary” Absences: discretionary absences should be viewed not as “free days” but as days you may need to deal with emergencies, such as talking your little brother to the doctor, dealing with a flat tire, taking relatives to the airport, etc. You may miss two full weeks of class (six/four days) without substantial penalty—you will, however, lose participation and attendance points for those missed classes. For each unexcused absence after four, your final grade will be lowered by one full letter grade. This means that if you have an A average but have five or more unexcused absences, you will fail the course.
Excused Absences: The University excuses absences for certain reasons (illness, representing the University at certain events, religious observance, and the death of an immediate family member), provided the cause of absence is appropriately documented.
If you have, or will have, an excused absence (such as your mandatory presence at a University event), you must let me know ahead of time or as soon as possible. No absence is officially excused, however, until I have seen the documentation. Documentation must be presented no later than the first class period after your return to class—you have, in other words, one class day’s leeway to get your documentation in order. If you do not supply documentation within the specified time period, your absence will be regarded as unexcused. Please make one copy of your documentation for me to keep and keep another copy for your own records.
Religious Observances: The University's policy "Assignments and Attendance on Dates of Religious Observance" provides that students should not be penalized because of observances of their religious beliefs; students shall be given an opportunity, whenever feasible, to make up within a reasonable time any academic assignment that is missed because of individual participation in religious observances. Students are responsible for obtaining material missed during their absences. Furthermore, students have the responsibility to inform the instructor of any intended absences for religious observances in advance. The student should provide written notification to the professor within the first two weeks of the semester. The notification must identify the religious holiday(s) and the date(s).
Documentation Requirements to Justify an Excused Absence: Documentation must justify absence for the specific period missed: a vague statement that you were “under [a doctor’s] care during the week of X” won’t do. Ask your doctor to be specific about times and physical limitations. The Student Health Service will give out medical excuses only for long-term ailments. If you have an illness for which you went to the Student Health Service, contact me right away about how to present appropriate documentation.
If you must miss two class periods in a row, you must contact me before the second class period so we can begin thinking about how you will make up work.
2. Participation -- You are expected to be prepared for class and to participate in class discussions, to be able to respond to questions posed to you, to have drafts when they are due and to do in-class writing. Your participation in the class will be judged not only by me but also by your classmates. We’ll discuss how this will work in the few days of class, and after our discussion, I’ll put what we have agreed into writing as a class requirement.
3. Late Papers -- Papers are due at the beginning of class on the day they are due, otherwise they are late. LATE PAPERS will be marked down one letter grade per DAY late, including weekends. If you must hand a paper in late, you must also contact me the day the paper is due, so that I know when to expect your paper and we can make arrangements for delivery (whether you’ll give it to me in class, or deliver it to my office, etc.)
You are entitled to one “Late Paper” pass: for one draft or final paper due date, you can have a “pass”. If you choose to use this “pass” on the due date of a draft, you will not have to submit your draft for the paper and you won’t be penalized. If you choose to use the pass on the due date of a final paper, you will have until the next class meeting to submit the paper without being penalized. So a paper due on a Thursday, if you choose to use your one “pass” will be accepted the next Tuesday. The point of this is to accommodate any problems you have with your work load during the semester. You won’t need to explain to me why you don’t have the paper; just tell me at the beginning of class you are using your pass, and that’s it. But you only get one and you should use it wisely, because I will not accept excuses for late papers or drafts after your pass has been used. Also, if you use the pass for a draft, that doesn’t excuse you from being present in class to be a peer editor.
4. Writing Workshops. For each paper, we will have draft workshops before your papers are due. On the day of a draft workshop, you will be required to have a complete draft of your paper; if you do not have it in class that day (this includes not having it in class because you are absent), your final grade for that paper will be reduced by a letter grade – that is, an A paper will be a B paper if you didn’t have your draft. On draft days, you will look at each other’s papers and give constructive comments; you’ll also have the chance to ask me questions about the paper.