ENG 101-- Exploration & Authorship: An Inquiry-Based Writing Course
John Jay College of Criminal Justice, Fall 2017
Course Theme—Literacy, Culture, and Identity
“Language is also a place of struggle.”
bell hooks, “Choosing the Margin as a Space of Radical Openness”
“Don't test my mouth
They say the truth is my sound”
Solange, “Don’t Touch My Hair” (A Seat at the Table)
Course Description:
In this class, we willexplore the role that literacy plays in all of our lives. We will consider literacy in a broad, inclusive way--not just as academic reading and writing, but as all sorts of modes of communication across languages and media. In doing so, we will emphasize on questions such as: What is literacy? What is code switching? What does it mean to be “literate” across different settings and communities? How are literacy practices—the ways in which we communicate—connected to aspects of identity such as culture, race, gender, class and/or nationality? How do issues such as technology and privilege complicate our literacy practices?
To answer these questions, you will complete several related assignments that culminate in the completion of an inquiry-driven research paper. “Inquiry driven” means that rather than writing say, a five-paragraph thesis-driven paper, you will instead explore a question related to literacy or communication in your paper, and can be creative with its form. At the end of the semester, you will compile all of these assignments into a portfolio, which will show the progress you’ve made.
Throughout the course, we will be looking at a mix of text-based readings, videos and music to think through the relationship between literacy and identity. We will also be reading each other’s writing frequently in class and through our shared class GoogleDrive: writing is not something that is done in a vacuum, but as part of a community.
Materials
→ Regular access to a reliable internet connection (This could be a personal computer, tablet, or other device; or a computer lab here at John Jay.)
→ A Gmail account to grant you access to our class’ Google Drive, which contains all readings and handouts. (If you don’t have a free account, you can make one when I invite you via an email to access our class’ Drive folder. We’ll also discuss how to make an account in class.)
→ A notebook, laptop, tablet, or other device you can write with and bring to every class. You’ll record daily writing exercises here throughout the semester, which I’ll collect periodically.
Daily Course Requirements
** Note: more information about these requirements is/will be available on our course Google Drive. We’ll also discuss each assignment further in class. **
Readings:
Since the topics of this class are writing and communication themselves, we’ll be reading some scholarly articles from the field of composition studies, which focuses on writing, literacy and communication. We’ll also read newspaper editorials and creative-nonfiction essays discussing related ideas. Lastly, you will be reading a lot of each other’s writing inside and outside class.
Readings will be made available via the course Google Drive folder, and/or rarely by email or in print in class. You can see which readings are assigned for each date in the weekly schedule.
Journal entries:
Reading shouldn’t be something you do passively; as writers ourselves, we’re always in conversation with the other authors we’re reading and with our peers. As such, you will post journal entries in your student folder on Google Drive twelve times throughout the semester, which will ask you to answer questions about the readings or to make connections, to comment on a peer’s journal entry, etc. Read more about how to write your journal entries here.
Discussion Leaders:
Each week, a group of two to three of you will lead a class discussion about topics and themes brought up in the readings. We will sign up for these dates in class and they’ll be posted on the course Google Drive folder. On your assigned week, please be prepared to offer your insights about the readings and to encourage your classmates to participate in the discussion through pre-prepared questions.See instructions on how to lead discussions and the discussion leader schedule here.
Classwork:
This course requires active participation - not only during discussions, but also in completing group work and in-class writing activities. Many days of class will start or contain writing activities (especially informal “free writing” and reflective writing, which we’ll discuss).
This class will involve a good deal of group work. Of particular importance to the goals of this course are peer reviews session, through which you’ll not only receive input on your own writing, but will develop skills as an editor, responder, and reader.
Major assignments:
** Again: more information about each assignment is/will be available on our course Google Drive folder and we’ll discuss the assignments further in class. **
Literacy Narrative:
This is an of a specific experience related to literacy in your own life. Using course readings and videos as inspiration, think about a past encounterwith literacy outside of school and describe how that encounter influenced you.
Annotated Bibliography:
A beginning reference list of five or more sources you’ll use in your final inquiry project. Citations should be in APA format. You’ll also include a paragraph after each entry describing your reasoning for using that particular source.
Interview:
For this assignment, you’ll interview a person (a source) regarding the chosen topic of your inquiry project and record it in video or audio format. You’ll need to use this interview as a source in your Final Inquiry Project.
Digital Proposal:
An online proposal built using Prezi or a platform of your choice. The proposal uses text, images and video to engage your audience about what your project is, how you will feasibly complete it, and why it’s important.
Outline:
This is a new sketch of your final project and an opportunity to rethink your first draft’s structure. You’ll make an outline of a brief description of each paragraph in your paper. In class, we will reorganize and modify your outlines, and you’ll change your paragraphs accordingly.
Final Inquiry Project:
This project is based on the topic addressed in your proposal and uses sources including those you gathered for your annotated bibliography and your scripted interview. As an inquiry-driven writing project, you will exploring a question rather than making an argument based on a thesis statement. Your topic will relate in some way to writing/literacy/communication/media and identity.
Final Portfolio:
This is a representation of the work you’ve done over the course of the semester. You will choose from all of your major assignments, other writing, and journal entries to compile your portfolio. Your Final Reflection Narrative will be an integral part of the portfolio, acting as a guide for readers.
Final Reflection Narrative:
As you design your final portfolio, you will create a commentary describing the rhetorical choices you made in designing the portfolio and how your writing has progressed throughout the semester.
Evaluation Policies:
Major assignments:
I won’t give you a grade on drafts of papers -- how can I grade you on something that is a work in progress? Instead, I’ll give comments and suggestions on early drafts and expect you to incorporate them into revised versions of the assignments.
→ Failure to turn in any assigned draft of any assignment results in a 25-point deduction from your final grade for that assignment.
You can improve your grade on any assignment by revising it and handing in the revision with your final portfolio at the end of the semester. If you don’t revise by the time you hand in your final portfolio, your grade stays the same. To improve your chances of bringing up your grade during the revision process, pay close attention to the comments I make on your assignments and use resources like the Writing Center and my Office Hours.
A note on late (or missing) assignments:
→ For each day an assignment is late, I’ll deduct 10 points from the assignment’s final grade. After five days, I’ll no longer accept the paper and you’ll get a zero on the assignment.
Journal Entries:
Your journal entries on Google Drive will be graded based on how many posts you make and the thoughtfulness and thoroughness of your responses.
Peer review:
Your peer review grade is based on how thoughtfully and thoroughly you complete your peer review sheets, as well as your participation during peer review sessions.
In-Class Writing:
Your in-class writing grade is a substantial part of your Community Engagement grade. I will evaluate in-class writing based on completion, as well as full participation and engagement in writing activities.
Final portfolio:
In calculating your final grade, I will look over all the documents included in your portfolio to see the progress you’ve made throughout the semester. I will evaluate the portfolio based on its comprehensiveness or completeness and the content of your final self-reflection letter.
Attendance/class commitment/community involvement:
Your attendance (including absences, late arrivals, and early departures), active participation in class discussion and peer workshops, attentiveness (i.e. your willingness to turn avoid social media and texting for the duration of our class), and overall commitment to our class as a community of writers will also be taken into consideration. (See Attendance Policy below.)
Final Grade Points breakdown:
o Literacy Narrative Assignment – 100 points
o Annotated Bibliography – 100 points
o Proposal – 100 points
o Scripted Interview – 100 points
o Outline – 50 points
o Final Inquiry Project – 200 points
o Final Portfolio – 170 points
o Final Reflective Narrative – 100 points
o Journal Entries – 120 points (10 points per entry)
o Peer review – 30 points (10 points per session
o Discussion leading – 20 points
o Community involvement: discussion/in-class writing participation & attendance – 120 points
→Total possible points: 1200
Grade scale:
⦿ A = 1116 or better ⦿ A- = 1080-1115⦿ B+ = 1045-1079 ⦿ B = 996-1044 ⦿ B- = 960-995
⦿ C+ = 925-959 ⦿ C = 876-924 ⦿ C- = 840-875
⦿ D+ = 805-839 ⦿ D = 756-804 ⦿ D- = 720-755
⦿ F = 719 or less
Attendance/Lateness Policy:
It’s amazing how quickly a college course can fly by—our semester is only a bit more than 15 weeks, and we only see each other on Tuesdays and Thursdays. As such, we need to do all we can to use our class time wisely to make this course as worthwhile and fruitful as possible. Out of respect for your education, classmates, and instructor, please make every effort to be present—both physically and mentally—for every class.
John Jay’s absence policy is that you’re allowed up to four absences. For the first absence you do not lose any points.For the next three absences, you lose 10 point each. For classes missed beyond that, you lose 25 points eachand are in danger of failing the course. I don’t distinguish between excused and unexcused absences.
Lateness also affects your grade: two late arrivals (arriving five or more minutes after the start of class) equal an absence.
If you miss class or part of class, please look at the day’s class agenda/notes on the Google Drive, and/or check in with a classmate or me about what you missed.
Ethics/Plagiarism Statement:
CUNY’s Policy on Academic Integrity is as follows:
“Plagiarism is the act of presenting another person’s ideas, research or writings as your own. The following are some examples of plagiarism, but by no means is it an exhaustive list:
-Copying another person’s actual words without the use of quotation marks and footnotes attributing the words to their source;
-Presenting another person’s ideas or theories in your own words without acknowledging the source;
-Using information that is not common knowledge without acknowledging the sources;
-Failing to acknowledge collaborators on homework and laboratory assignments.
Internet plagiarism includes submitting downloaded term papers or parts of term papers, paraphrasing or copying information from the Internet without citing the source, and ‘cutting and pasting’ from various sources without proper attribution.”
You can find out more about CUNY’s policies on academic integrity in the John Jay Undergraduate Bulletin or at: .
Intentional plagiarism will result in an automatic “F” in the course, and may bring about more serious consequences via the John Jay administration. If you have any questions about what does or doesn’t count as plagiarism, please get in touch with me before submitting your assignment.
Other Information:
Turning in assignments & getting feedback:
All assignments should be turned in electronically via Google Drive. For this course, you need to develop a working knowledge of Google Drive. You must do your work on Google Docs and save your assignments to your shared folder by the due date.
However, if you’re confused about using Google Docs or unsure if your work was correctly saved to the Drive, please email your assignment to me. You should also come to Office Hours, where I can walk you through how to submit assignments via GoogleDrive to moving forward.
The purpose of Google Docs in this class is to facilitate and encourage the writing process as a constant, recursive, and communal activity. This means that you will be asked to share documents you have created yourself at various stages of the writing process with me and other students for peer review. I will be using the Comments function in Google Docs to give you feedback on assignments. Google Docs automatically tracks your progress in version history, so I’ll be able to see the writing, revising, and drafting process you used and make comments and suggestions based on your writing process and not merely your product.
I also expect you to be prepared to discuss your writing in class, which requires you to have your writing in front of you. To do this, you could print your writing, or bring a laptop, tablet, or other device to class. I’m not picky about how you view your papers as long as you have them with you in class when we discuss them.
Classroom etiquette:
I promise not to check my phone, social media accounts, email, etc. during class out of respect for all of you and your time; please do the same for me. For this semester, we’re part of a community, and I hope that you take that seriously by working with me to make our classroom an active and encouraging learning environment.
Office Hours
I hold Office Hours on a drop-in basis (i.e. you don’t need to sign up) every Wednesday after class, from 4:30-5:30 pm, in room 7.63.40 NB. If you can’t make this hour or want to meet another time, get in touch with me by email or in person before/after class so we can set up a meeting.
I strongly recommend you visit Office Hours; they’re a great opportunity for you to discuss your progress in the course, get support or suggestions about writing, or chat about projects or ideas.
Extra Credit Opportunity: You earn 5 class points each time you attend Office Hours. (You can get up to 25 extra credit points total throughout the semester from tutoring and/or Office Hours.)
Tutoring:
I am a huge fan of writing centers—I’ve worked at a few of them and have seen how helpful they can be for your development as a confident student and a writer. Although I won’t make Writing Center visits mandatory, I strongly encourage you to make use of John Jay’s Center.
I recommend that you visit the Writing Center sooner rather than later to begin a building relationship with a tutor now; it can be amazingly helpful to have a person outside of class give you advice and some encouragement throughout the term.
Extra Credit Opportunity: You can earn 5 points each time you visit the writing center for a tutoring session. (You can get up to 25 extra credit points total throughout the semester from tutoring and/or Office Hours.) Be sure to ask your tutor for proof of attendance.
Accessibility Policy:
In compliance with the American Disability Act of 1990 (ADA) and with Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, John Jay is committed to ensuring educational parity and accommodations for all students with documented disabilities and/or medical conditions. I recommend that all students with disabilities explore support services and register with the Office of Accessibility Services in room L.66.00. For more information and assistance call (212) 237-8031 or email the director at . I am here to help, and try to make my classes as accessible as I can; please don’t hesitate to ask for any accommodations you may need.
The Lloyd Sealy Library:
The John Jay library is an invaluable resource to you this semester – on campus and online. A librarian will be visiting our class during the semester to discuss options for your research. However, you should take the time to explore the library building and website on your own in order to familiarize yourself with its services.
You can find the library’s main website at:. The librarians have also put together a helpful guide for English 101 students:guides.lib.jjay.cuny.edu/eng101.