University of Colorado at Boulder

University of Colorado at Boulder

University of Colorado at Boulder

Program for Writing and Rhetoric

WRTG 1150: First Year Writing and Rhetoric, Fall 2008

MWF 12:00 –12:50, Sec. 029, DUAN G1B39

Instructor:Tobin von der NuellOffice: TemporaryBuilding #1 (TB1), Room 02A

Telephone:Office: (303) 492-4396 (+ voice-mail)Home: (303) 772-5178

Before you opt to E-mail, phone me. Call my office only during my office hours; all other times, call me at home—leave a message and I will return your call as quickly as I can. Please feel free to phone me at home anytime between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. My E-mail address is . If you do E-mail, please consider your audience—your writing instructor—and proceed accordingly.

Office Hours:MW 12:51-2:30, and by appointment

Required Texts:Your papers, with copies for classmates as assigned. (Be sure to budget for copying.)

Course Packet

Knowing Words, Program for Writing and Rhetoric

They Say, I Say, Gerald Graff

Using Sources Effectively, Robert Harris

Miscellaneous handouts

A “college-level” dictionary and thesaurus

A “college-level” handbook, such as The Brief Penguin Handbook, Lester Faigley

Overview:This course will prepare you to participate in academic discussion and larger civic debate. It will focus first on critical reading skills, and then on analysis and argument, broadly conceived as the making and defending of inferences persuasive to various audiences (discourse communities). It will also introduce you to the fundamentals of the research process and to some basic technologies useful for academic work. The purpose of this course is to help you develop your ability to critically read; critically think; and write clear, interesting, persuasive, logically organized, and thesis-driven essays. We will do this by focusing on the three modes of academic rhetoric: description, analysis, and argument. Developing these skills is not easy. It takes practice.

Writing Process:This course will ask that you practice writing often, in and out of class. Our practice of writing will assume that we think through writing, that writing is a form of communication rather than a set of rules, and that all writing can be revised. In this course, we will view writing as an activity which helps us generate our own ideas and consider the ideas of others; as a form of communication through which we can explain our ideas to others; and as an ongoing process through which we develop, revise, and often alter our ideas and make more effective our presentation of those ideas.

Assignments:You will complete 2 or 3 short papers, 2 longer papers, an annotated bibliography and several short assignments over the course of the semester. In addition to these major components, you will complete a number of shorter, sometimes impromptu, assignments: written responses to readings, quizzes on readings, grammar/vocabulary quizzes, and reviews of your peers’ work, for example. These assignments will be administered only once, so be sure to be in class. Any assignments completed outside of class should be typed and double-spaced. Please do assigned readings ahead of time and be ready for either class discussion or in-class writing exercises on the assigned readings for a particular day.

Semester Overview:

Unit One—Weeks 1-5

  1. Summary—Active critical reading; a demonstration in writing that we are reading actively and, more important, accurately. Short assignment (one well thought out, well-crafted paragraph). No workshops.
  2. Inferences—Drawing conclusions from “data” as we actively avoid “banking,” the taking in and spitting back of direct facts. This skill requires an ability to critically read and critically think, as we learn to derive conclusions and to reason.
  3. Editorial Cartoon—Applying the drawing of inferences of a closed data set to defend an arguable position, a thesis. Must consider counter evidence. One workshop each. A few paragraphs (1-2 pages). This assignment builds directly from the last two skills, and it demands of us an ability to reason with the inferences we draw. The presentation of that reasoning will require critical writing skills and synthesis to allow our readers to understand the “thinking on the page,” the analysis. The counter evidence will help us to shape and defend a coherent argument.
  4. They Say, You Say—How do you respond to what various people have recently said about various topics. I want to learn your views not by having you give me a string of facts (a history lesson), but by you working through the facts to tell me what they imply and how you might use those implications to defend your position. What “they say” will begin the data set, and you will add to it with your own knowledge and/or research. This type of data set, of course, is much more ambiguous than the last few we have worked with, and will require a certain mastery of all the skills we’ve used thus far. This assignment will be in the form of an essay, editorial or letter (2 to 4 pages). Two workshops each.

Unit Two—Weeks 6-9

  1. Personal Narrative—Finding voice and finding means to use that voice to teach or persuade not through analysis per se, but through story elements, narrative. Two workshops each for a 4-5 page narrative.
  2. Library Tutorials and Library Seminar—Elements to help prepare you to research well. This element of the course is intended to help us begin to master information literacy and information acquisition. In this information age, there is so much “stuff” that we can quickly retrieve. But where is the good “stuff,” and how do we know how and where to find it? And how can we be sure “stuff” is, in fact, good—credible, reliable, accurate information?

Unit Three—Weeks 10-16

  1. Research Project—Applying all we have done in the course into one large assignment that will also incorporate research. You will write a 7-10 page paper and create an annotated bibliography. Three workshops each. The bibliography is a means for us to demonstrate our abilities with critical reading, summary, and information literacy, and the paper allows us to demonstrate our abilities to shape an argument for a specific audience, be academic, professional, or civic, and to reason well through analysis (inferences), synthesis and critical writing.

During all three units, we will discuss and review grammar, spelling, and punctuation; style; diction; audience; tone.

Course Format:This course will be taught as a workshop. This means that much of our class time will be spent in the reflective process of analyzing, evaluating and discussing your essays. The goal of the workshop approach is threefold: to teach you how to analyze and critique the work of others; to give you the kind of criticism you need to improve your essays; and, ultimately, to model for you the kind of critical analysis you should subject your writing to after you leave this class. Students are expected to come to class prepared to join in class discussions (without being called on) and to offer helpful analyses that demonstrate insightful, close readings of their peers’ papers.

Course Policies &

Procedures: This course is process-oriented, not content-oriented. Accordingly, attendance, promptness, and preparedness are essential to doing well in the course. Late or incomplete assignments, a passive approach to class activities, and frequent absences or lateness, even early in the semester, will affect your final grade because they will interrupt and impede your practice of writing. To pass this course, you must keep up with the required reading; participate in class discussions and keep up with written exercises; help your fellow students practice writing by reading, editing, and offering detailed critiques of their writing; submit all the writing assignments listed on the class schedule on the dates each is due; arrive in class on time; and attend class regularly. Absences, lateness, and an unwillingness to participate in class will adversely affect your grade, as I will subtract for these lapses. Turning in late assignments and neglecting to do the reading will inevitably affect the quality of your work.

Class participation, including participation in discussion, in-class writing exercises, and workshop critiques, counts for 15% of your final grade; it is an essential component of the course.

Because this course is structured as a writing workshop, it is imperative that you consistently attend class (always arriving on time with a positive attitude) to make the class worthwhile for yourself and others. Each absence after your third will lower your final grade by a third (B+ to B, for example). I DO NOT distinguish between unexcused and excused absences—if you are here, you’re here; if not, not. (Note: If you will be absent due to religious observance, I ask that you let me know about beforehand; there is, of course, no penalty for exercising a right to religious observance as long as I know about it prior to the absence.) Recognize that this class begins sharply on the hour; two late arrivals (or departures) will constitute one absence. There are very few valid reasons for being late to class. I will not repeat any announcements I may have made or hand you anything I handed to those who came to class on time, as this takes time away from our work. It will be, therefore, YOUR RESPONSIBILITY to find out what I’ve said or distributed to the class. Furthermore, being absent does not entitle you to be non-active in the next class session’s activities; partner up with classmates to get copies of all distributed handouts and general sense of what we did in your absence.

I will only accept writing assignments in hard copy; emailed assignments will not be accepted. Because late and incomplete assignments will not receive as much attention and feedback as assignments handed in on time do, not being prompt with your assignments will inevitably mean less improvement in your writing, which may adversely affect your grade. Likewise, the reading assignments are intended to give you a sense of the conversation in which you will be participating, and to serve, in some cases, as models of academic, civic, and descriptive writing. Neglecting to do the reading will impair your ability to understand the conversation which you will be asked to enter, which will make writing within these conversations more difficult, which may adversely affect your grade. I strongly encourage you to take responsibility for keeping up with your reading and writing assignments.

Paper Formats/

Formalities:We will establish a schedule for reviewing your papers. Unless otherwise instructed, you must submit copies of all drafts so that each class member receives a copy. All papers are due the class period before their scheduled review dates. If your paper is not distributed to the class at that time, it will not be reviewed until your turn comes up again in the next rotation. Any exception to this rule shall be made at my discretion.

All work prepared outside of class is to be typed with 1.5 spacing in Times New Roman 12-point font. To minimize paper use, print on both sides of the paper and do not include a cover/title page. Please number your drafts so we can distinguish between various versions. To my copy, please attach a copy of the previous draft and my previous comments.

Workshops:Rules of the Game:

1.Arrive on time to class, especially on the days that you are handing out a draft. I want to spend no more than five minutes setting up for the next class’s workshop. Please keep in mind that the unfortunate can and will happen—lost and broken discs, printer problems, long lines for printer/copier use, etc. Do not gamble; print your copies the night before, if you must.

  1. Do not skip workshops; no paper has ever improved by missed workshops.
  2. Although I will not intentionally downgrade you for a missed workshop, I will not accept a “final draft” of a paper I have not seen previous drafts of.
  3. If you distribute a draft but fail to attend the workshop, your paper will go to the bottom of the pile. If time permits, we will workshop the paper in your absence; however, I tend to want to give more time to the authors present.
  4. Office hours are a supplement to, not a replacement of, workshops; DO NOT expect me to give you a private workshop because you missed class.

Your Obligations:

  1. You must come to class prepared; I will not allow you to “prep” papers during the workshops. Guilty parties will be asked to leave and marked absent for the day.
  2. You will prepare ALL papers to be workshopped. You will spend greater time on the papers for which you are a primary critic, but you will prep them all with written comments. Your goal will be to offer at least one useful comment for each paper.
  3. You will print your name at the bottom of each draft.

Grading Criteria:Grading in PWR is rigorous. You are not predestined to receive a C, but neither are you guaranteed a B- or better for “improvement” or “effort” or for merely completing assignments. Good papers require effort, and papers that are diligently revised usually improve; but each paper is graded on its final quality. While grading of written work can never be as objective as that of a SCANTRON, remember that I am on your side. My goal is to help you improve your writing, your thinking on paper. I can do that only through honest feedback. I encourage you to focus not on a grade, but on what you can learn about writing.

Criteria for evaluating papers include clarity, logic, substance, originality, mechanical correctness, and stylistic grace. Preliminary drafts will not be graded.

All papers will be graded by letter:

A=Excellent; outstanding

B= Good; superior

C=Average

D=Below average, but passing

F=Not passing

  • A paper needn’t be perfect to warrant an ‘A.’ In fact, there’s probably no such thing as a perfect argument/analysis or perfect paper. However, some papers are beautifully written and force the reader to change his mind, to reconsider his position on an issue, or accept a new insight as sound. Those papers will receive an ‘A.’ (Excellent in content, form and style; unusually substantive and original; imaginative; resourceful in supporting evidence; logically sound; persuasive; stylistically clear and free from mechanical errors.)
  • A ‘B’ paper will be superior work. The essay needs to be quite persuasive, but if it contains problems with grammar, mechanics, and sentence-structure, it doesn’t merit an ‘A.’ A B-paper may be an A-paper in need of some polishing, or it may lack a key component. (Good with no major flaws; interesting, sharply focused, solidly supported, marked by above average thought and expression; smooth and clear style, and clearly directed at a particular audience; generally clean in grammar.)
  • I consider a ‘C’ to be a commendable grade. ‘C’ means average; it does not mean “poor.” You will get a C if your paper has numerous problems with grammar, mechanics, and sentence structure. A C-paper needs to have a clear structure, though, and it needs to take a clear position and offer some support. (Reasonably competent; formally complete, focused, developed, and balanced; lacking in originality or significance of effective development of ideas, or marred by distracting errors in grammar; may contain a mixture of strengths and weaknesses.)
  • A ‘D’ paper contains even more mechanical problems and makes little attempt to deal with the issue and thesis at hand. (Substantially incomplete in content, form or proof; disorganized, illogical, confusing, unfocused; marked by pervasive errors or burdened with irrelevancies that impair readability.)
  • An ‘F’ paper contains so many errors that it can’t be understood. A paper will receive an F if it does not fulfill the assignment guidelines or deadlines. (Incoherent or disastrously flawed; unfocused and formless, devoid of proof or rendered unreadable by elementary errors in grammar, punctuation, spelling, or mechanics; or plagiarized* in whole or in part; NEVER TURNED IN, OR LATE.)
  • I often tell students that papers are graded by the Lapsang Souchang method. After reading an A-paper, I say, “That paper deserves a glass of fine Lapsang.” After reading a B-paper, I nod my head approvingly, but do not feel that celebration is called for. While reading a C-paper, I wonder if I need a glass of Lapsang in order to get through the paper. While reading a D-paper, I go for the Souchang by the time I’ve completed the first paragraph. An F-paper can be read only after one has some really strong Souchang; otherwise, the reader develops nervous tics.
  • Grading writing assignments is always a tricky business. It’s not like math tests. In the latter, everyone agrees that 2+2=4 (in base 10, at any rate), but in the former, not everyone agrees about what constitutes good writing. If everyone agreed, we wouldn’t have so many excellent manuscripts being rejected by one publisher after another before finally being accepted. I make every attempt to grade fairly, and in the end I will stand by my judgments. On the other hand, discussion about your grade(s) can be a fruitful process as it forces both of us to think carefully about how we are evaluating written work. Grades reflect evaluation, and evaluation is central to the writing process. One of the goals of the course is to enable you to evaluate your own writing accurately and honestly. Hopefully we can use the grading process to help us achieve this goal.

*Plagiarism: Papers that fail to provide full documentation of information taken from outside sources, unless that material is considered common knowledge, will receive an ‘F.’ All students of the University of Colorado at Boulder are responsible for knowing and adhering to the academic integrity policy of this institution. Violations of this policy may include: cheating, plagiarism, aid of academic dishonesty, fabrication, lying, bribery, and threatening behavior. All incidents of academic misconduct shall be reported to the Honor Code Council (; 303-725-2273). Students who are found to be in violation of the academic integrity policy will be subject to both academic sanctions from the faculty member and non-academic sanctions (including but not limited to university probation, suspension, or expulsion). Other information on the Honor Code can be found at