English 123 (Section 24): First-Year Writing Seminar
Fall 2014 | Dr. Terry Lee
123-14c TTH 11-12:15 Ratcliffe 200
123-22m TTH 3-4:15 Ratcliffe 200 Office: McMuran 201b | Office Hours: T Th 1:30-2:30, W 2-3
757-594-7686

tlee@cnu.edu

The syllabus is online at: www.risingpress.org/cnu

 

In this class...

   You're going to read about what's going on in the world as it happens. Our textbook is the Sunday New York Times, mostly from the "Sunday Review" section.

   You're going to interview several people on and/or off campus.

   We're going to talk a lot in this class about culture, social issues and topics in the news.

   Our focus in writing, per se, will be on exposition, interview, argument and research. We will be explaining things (exposition), interviewing people face-to-face and arguing an informed position.  In all of your writing, you will consult authoritative sources (research) to complicate and contextualize your work.

 

   Let's say that you enjoyed the New York Times Op-Ed essay on why algebra should no longer be required for everyone. You would do some research in education journals, in media such as the New York Times, The Chronicle of Higher Education, and other authoritative sources in databases such as ProQuest, as well as interview a local high school algebra teacher and a college math professor on campus. You begin your foray into this algebra project convinced that algebra should be banned. But maybe a funny thing happens during your wide reading and research. Maybe you decide that leaving college math instruction up to the folks at Toyota, at a new factory in Mississippi (this is true), is not such a good idea, after all. Armed with lots of reading and research, you disagree with Andrew Hacker's claim in "Is Algebra Necessary?" You are persuasive because a) you have an opinion, b) you have read widely and are informed and c) you assert a clear, focused thesis and support it well.

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Goals of the class (to reiterate, a bit more formally):

• To develop one's own informed, critical understanding and interpretation of complex texts, especially argument.

 

• To assert and support your own  informed opinion and/or assessment of texts in a thesis-driven essay.

 

• To develop research to support your writing in three genres—argument, exposition (researched backgrounders) and interviewing (gathering, analyzing and synthesizing information).

 

• To develop and use vocabulary appropriate to a given subject in a formal, academic essay. No slang. No colloquialisms.

 

• To develop writing habits for successful college writing, to include mastery of thesis development, grammar and sentence control and editing skills.

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Texts

• Sunday New York Times—online. You will be required to print out the essays and stories that we read together as a class and the stories that you write about.

Student's Guide to Writing College Papers, 4th ed., Turabian

 

How it will go

  Tuesdays—discussion, quizzes, in-class writing on readings from the Sunday New York Times, either readings that I assign in an email Sunday afternoon or, as the semester progresses, readings that you have picked yourself. Come with print-outs, with underlining and with a 50-word synopsis/summary of each reading. Typically, we'll do two readings.

   Thursdays—workshop in critical thinking, analysis and synthesis (pulling ideas together to make sense of them). In-class writing.

                      —Symposium Paper presentation and discussion. Up to five students per symposium present their work to the class in roundtable fashion. (See more details below under "Requirements.")

   sym·po·si·um

   [sim-poh-zee-uhm]

noun, plural sym·po·si·ums, sym·po·si·a  [-zee-uh]

1. a meeting or conference for the discussion of some subject, especially a meeting at which several speakers talk on or discuss a topic before an audience.

2. a collection of opinions expressed or articles contributed by several persons on a given subject or topic.

3. an account of a discussion meeting or of the conversation at it.

4. (in ancient Greece and Rome) a convivial meeting, usually following a dinner, for drinking and intellectual conversation.

5. (initial capital letter, italics ) a philosophical dialogue (4th century b.c.) by Plato, dealing with ideal love and the vision of absolute beauty.

 

 

Requirements

Three symposium papers—(300-500 words)  50%

    Symposia 1-3: Backgrounder Summary

    Symposia 4-6: Interview & Research

    Symposia 8-10: Argument

 You will present your symposium papers to your classmates, who will respond actively. Your 300-500-word symposium papers will be on topics that grow out of our Tuesday readings and your individual research. Formulate a working thesis and get my approval before writing the paper.

   Papers are typed, polished and proofread. Use 12-point Courier or Courier New, double-spaced. Include complete in-text, parenthetical citations and a Works Cited bibliography.

 

Unannounced Writing—25%

    Frequent, mostly in-class writing to include quizzes, Symposium paper responses and our Comprehensive Assessment during finals week.

 

Term paper—with revised rough draft (1,500 words) 25%

   This paper is the result of an entire semester of reading and thinking and, to be successful, it needs to develop throughout the semester as the result of work done in shorter writing assignments and the Symposium papers. That is, you will be using, building on and polishing your earlier work for the Term Paper.

   The paper will assert an arguable thesis which is supported by evidence from broad reading and research and may include face-to-face interviews, if they are relevant.

   Submit the paper in a paper folder with the final draft on top, with rough drafts, research notes in typescript or handwriting, any photocopies or print-outs you have.

 

• Successful Writing Skills

   You'll need to pay attention to developing clarity and appropriate diction (word choice), style and grammar in sentences and paragraphs. You'll need, furthermore, to be responsive to errors that I note in your writing. What does that mean? If I note that you have comma-spliced sentences, if I note that paragraphs are wordy or if I suggest that your thesis is weak or diffuse, I'll expect to see in your next work that you have worked demonstrably to improve. This is important.

 

• Help with Writing Outside of Class

   Come see me any time for help with your writing. You can also take advantage of the Writing Center for friendly help from a trained student writing consultant.

 

• Your Course Grade

   You need to earn a course grade of C- to get credit for fulfilling this component of the Liberal Learning Core.

 

Assignments

 

8/26—introduction

 

8/28

• New York Times readings

• "Shocking Truth about Piranhas," Richard Conniff

"Kale? Juicing? Trouble Ahead," Jennifer Berman

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9/2

• New York Times readings & workshop

• "Between Godliness & Godlessness," Frank Bruni

• "Losing Our Touch," Richard Kearney

• Turabian pp. 1-9

• Turabian pp. 89-98 Exposition: Writing a Backgrounder Summary

 

9/4

• New York Times readings

• "How to Help Men? By Helping Women," Coontz

• "The War on Women," Douthat

____________

9/9

• Two New York Times readings

• "Demanding More From College," Bruni

 • "When It's the Doctor Who Can't Let Go," Brown

• workshop

• Turabian pp. 10-25: Topic, Question, Significance

 

9/11

• symposium 1—Backgrounder Summary

____________

9/16

• symposium 2—Backgrounder summary

 

9/18

• New York Times readings

• "What Drives Success?"

• "Chinese Mothers?"

• Turabian pp. 26-39: Question the Obvious

____________

9/23

• symposium 3—Backgrounder Summary

• Bring hard copies of the Three Research Question assignment

• Turabian pp. 39-43 The Working Hypothesis

• Turabian pp. 44-62 Finding & Engaging Sources

 

9/25

symposium 3b—Backgrounder Summary

________

9/30

• "The Wilds of Education," Frank Bruni,

• symposium 4—Interview & Research

• workshop

• Turabian pp. 63-82 Planning & Developing your Argument

 

10/2

• symposium 5—Interview & Research

• workshop

• Turabian pp. 83-98 Drafting, Quoting & Paraphrasing

• Turabian pp. 99-103 Avoiding Plagiarism

____________

10/7

• symposium 6—Interview & Research

 

10/9

research workshop

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10/14

• spring break

 

10/16

____________

10/21

New York Times readings

• "The Fat Drug," Pagan Kennedy

• "Inheriting Stress, Inna Gaisler-Salomon

 

10/23

• workshop
____________

10/28

New York Times readings

 

10/30

• symposium 7—Let's Talk More About Argument

• workshop

____________

11/4

• Three substantive readings of your choice on your topic. Bring one 250-word summary of all three, including parenthetical citations and Works Cited bibliography.
• Turabian, Chapt. 22 "Punctuation"
Useful guide for comma use

• workshop

 

11/6

• symposium 8—Argument

• workshop

____________

11/11

• Three substantive readings of your choice on your topic. Bring one 250-word summary of all three, including parenthetical citations and Works Cited bibliography.

 

11/13

• symposium 9—Argument

• workshop

____________

11/18

• Three substantive readings of your choice on your topic. Bring one 250-word summary of all three, including parenthetical citations and Works Cited bibliography.

 

11/20

• symposium 10—Argument

____________

11/25

• conferences, reading and research

 

11/27

Thanksgiving break

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12/2

• conferences, reading and research
12/4
• conferences, reading and research

 

12/5

• Term Paper due in my office 3-5 p.m.

____________

12/9—No final exam. We will not meet.

 

Reading & Thinking Come First

    You're going to develop your critical thinking skills, and little else is as important as you look forward to a successful college experience and career beyond that. Actually, nothing else is as important.

   The ability to read widely and critically, and to think analytically and synthetically (to pull things together and make sense of them) is essential to success in both the academic and professional worlds.

 

   Writing, it turns out, is part of thinking. It helps you develop and refine your thinking. The ancient Greeks believed that we think, then express. That is, writing as expression suggests that we squeeze—ex-press—meaning, as we express juice out of an orange. But it doesn't work that way. Writing is a critical part of the thinking process because it allows us not only to shape and polish our thoughts, but to discover just what it is that we mean. Have you ever noticed that your thesis doesn't seem to pop out until the end of a rough draft? Right. That's discovery!

 

   So, thinking and writing are skills that we use synergistically to explore the world and—here is the pay-off—to make sense of it.

General Course Policies

 

Attendance

   Not Attending Class Can Result in Failure of Course.

   You may miss two classes without any penalty or consequence. You are responsible for the material covered, of course.

   Additional absences will result in reduction of your final course grade.

   That means that a "B" in all of your coursework can become a "C," if you have excessive absences. It also means that a passing grade for the course can become a failing grade for the course.

   In the case of an emergency, contact me as soon as possible. Emergency absences can be excused, and I may ask for documentation.

 

Coming Late to Class & Waltzing In and Out

   Walking in late is disruptive and counts as absence, as does walking in and out during class. If you have a special, documented need, let me know.

 

Office Hours

   My door is always open, and I am happy to see you during my office hours, as well as other times that I'm in my office. Drop by or call or e-mail to see if I'm in. You are welcome anytime to come by and talk about your class work in general, or about a specific reading or essay draft on which you are working. If you're just plain stumped about what a comma-spliced sentence is, come in for chat.

 

 Disabilities:

   In order for a student to receive an accommodation for a disability, that disability must be on record in the Dean of Students’ Office, 3rd Floor, David Student Union (DSU). If you believe that you have a disability, please contact Dr. Kevin Hughes, Dean of Students (594-7160) to discuss your needs. Dean Hughes will provide you with the necessary documentation to give to your professors.

   Students with documented disabilities are required to notify the instructor no later than the first day on which they require an accommodation (the first day of class is recommended), in private, if accommodation is needed. The instructor will provide students with disabilities with all reasonable accommodations, but students are not exempted from fulfilling the normal requirements of the course. Work completed before the student notifies the instructor of his/her disability may be counted toward the final grade at the sole discretion of the instructor.

 

Success:

   I want you to succeed in this course and at CNU. I encourage you to come see me during office hours or to schedule an appointment to discuss course content or to answer questions you have. If I become concerned about your course performance, attendance, engagement, or well-being, I will speak with you first. I also may submit a referral through our Captains Care Program. The referral will be received by the Center for Academic Success as well as other departments when appropriate (Counseling Services, Office of Student Engagement). If you are an athlete, the Athletic Academic Support Coordinator will be notified. Someone will contact you to help determine what will help you succeed. Please remember that this is a means for me to support you and help foster your success at CNU.

 

Academic Support:

   The Center for Academic Success offers free tutoring assistance for CNU students in several academic areas. Staff in the center offer individual assistance and/or workshops on various study strategies to help you perform your best in your courses. The center also houses the Alice F. Randall Writing Center. Writing consultants can help you at any stage of the writing process, from invention, to development of ideas, to polishing a final draft. The Center is not a proofreading service, but consultants can help you to recognize and find grammar and punctuation errors in your work as well as provide assistance with global tasks. Go as early in the writing process as you can, and go often!

   You may drop by the Center for Academic Success to request a tutor, meet with a writing consultant, pick up a schedule of workshops, or make an appointment to talk one-on-one with a University Fellow for Student Success. The Center is located in the Trible Library, second floor, room 240.

 

 Complete All Work

   You must complete all work by the last day of class to receive a passing grade.

 

Incompletes

   Given only in extraordinary circumstances. Plan to complete work by last day of class. Not completing the work results in an "F," not an "I."