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University Writing (WRIT 1301)
University of Minnesota Course Syllabus
J. Ritterson, CiS English 12, English Department, Edison High School
jritterson@mpls.k12.mn.us, [612] 414-3064, Office hours: Tues. and Wed. 3:15 to 4:00 p.m.
Course description: College in the Schools (CiS) English is two courses in one. The container course is English 12, which fulfills the required credit for graduation from Edison High School. Through frequent practice and study of writing, University Writing (WRIT 1301), a University of Minnesota course which earns four college credits in addition to the English 12 high school credits, introduces students to typical university writing practices, including an emphasis on developing well-researched, properly cited papers. University Writing fulfills the first-year composition requirement. Introduction to Literature (ENGL 1001W) is the second half of the CiS English year. Successful completion of both semesters meets the high school graduation requirement and earns grades consistent with performance expectations for high school seniors.
Activities in University Writing include but are not limited to: introduction to academic genres of reading and writing; critical reading and analysis of writing for rhetorical principles of audience, purpose, and argumentative strategies; emphasis on performing research with electronic and print library; and sequenced readings and writing, with a researched paper as major assignment.
Members of the class will practice using writing to develop, refine, and communicate ideas in academic contexts. Students should expect to write formally and informally, produce multiple drafts, read and respond to each other’s drafts, and revise, edit, and proofread. In addition students will share their writing with others in the class, receive responses from others, and read and respond carefully to the work of others.
All of this means that the class is structured around writing activities, discussion of reading and writing, and group work of various kinds. Students need to be active participants in this course, and help insure the success of the course for all by making positive contributions to activities, assignments, and discussion.
Goals and Objectives:
¯ Develop a process of writing
® control prewriting and planning strategies to arrive at a focused topic
® produce an outline or prospectus for a researched paper
® craft thesis statements that indicate a clear position on a topic and tie the paper together
® develop a topic through clearly structured paragraphs and the whole paper so that ideas are fully explained, assertions are backed up, supporting evidence is sufficient and claims are credible
® through the sequence of assignments, develop a body of knowledge and growing perspective on a topic
¯ Explore diverse contexts and styles of reading and writing
® communicate their ideas and those of others to specific audiences
® write in appropriate academic genres and computer media to communicate with different audiences
® make choices in their own writing and articulate other options
¯ Practice disciplines of research and study
® identify an author’s audience, purpose, argument, and assumptions (i.e., critical reading) in an analysis paper or class discussion
® locate and evaluate relevant scholarly and popular sources on a research topic using library resources
® properly and ethically use MLA or APA documentation format for in-text and external bibliographic citations of scholarly, popular, and electronic sources
® consistently follow standards of written, edited English
¯ Function successfully in college level course work as they gain momentum toward a successful post-secondary experience.
Class format: The format of the course is somewhat different from what high school students may be accustomed to. Classroom work will fall into three types: lecture/discussion, small group peer review and guided individual activities and work time. Lecture will constitute a small but significant part through which students will receive new information, assignments and perceived areas of correction and improvement. Discussion is intended to clarify and deepen student understanding. Small group peer review is an opportunity to share feedback with peers, and a time to compare and discuss various writing strategies. This use of time must be much deeper and more generative than simple grammatical editing. Guided individual work time may include brief writing activities, teacher feedback, research or simply writing time. Students are responsible for making good use of all three types of work to further student learning and develop their writing facility.
As a college course, we must assume a certain level of skill that students possess by their choice of participating in the class. This means that this course will not address needs a student might have to "catch up," at least not during class time. Students needing additional help in these areas should expect to spend time after school with the teacher or mentors, or use the University’s online Writing Center [http://writing.umn.edu/]. Above average reading comprehension, and writing skills are just a few of the assumptions that I have about the students' abilities in this class.
You are expected to be attentive in this class, to ask questions if you do not understand something, and to participate in class discussions. You are also expected to listen respectfully to other students and to me when we are speaking. Expressed racism, sexism, homophobia, classism, ageism, and other forms of bigotry or derogatory speech are unacceptable in this or any class. You are here to learn. Learn not to judge.
While this class is much more supported than an on campus class might be, it is a college course.
Assessment: Assessment falls into four broad areas for this course.
I. Writer’s Notebook: Quality notebook entries are essential to the course. In addition to allowing student writers a way to display thoughts and interactions with texts, theirs and others’, they provide material for class discussion and for the papers students must write. To earn full credit, students must have seven entries of at least one hand-written page each week. Entries must be readable, but need not be edited, finished writing. Entries should be clearly marked and dated, and every page must have the student’s name clearly visible.
Notebook entries may contain class notes, ideas and draft passages for the student’s upcoming writing assignments. Wonderings and reflections represent true learning and earn writers better scores. Students should keep in-class writing activities in their notebook. They should write in response to others’ writing, small group conversations and class lessons and activities. Students should not keep the writer’s notebook as a journal, though journal writing outside of class in certainly encouraged.
Notebooks must be kept in a loose-leaf, three-ring binder (no spiral bound notebooks). I may collect as yet unchecked pages at any time for scoring. Students must keep their notebooks current and bring them to class every day, or they may lose credit. Credit is based on the number of good entries received upon request. Good entries include completeness, samples and reflection. Completeness requires that the page count be as assigned and that all the class notes, group activities and whole class activities have been included. This suggests the importance of attendance. Samples of one’s own writing and perhaps samples of the writing of others that is being critiqued or studied as a model will be expected. Reflection should occur regularly. One can allow a few minutes for reflections at the end of each class, or after class, daily or less often. Frequency and regularity however are the keys to success here and establish strong scholastic habits.
II. Participation: Active participation on the part of each student is expected. Asking clarifying questions during lecture, and asking and answering questions and putting forth new ideas and observations related to the assigned topics during discussions are all good forms of participation. The highest scoring students ask questions and present ideas that show original, insightful thinking, not simply rephrasing the thoughts of others. Having notebooks out and writing in them during class contributes to participation and will enhance the quality of notebook entries and discussion.
Occasionally, small groups will be asked to present to the others the conclusions of their discussions. This is participation under the microscope; everyone in the group will be assessed individually based on their active and intellectual contributions to the presentation.
III. Attendance: In order to participate, students must be in attendance. Therefore, in accordance with University’s First-Year Writing Program has developed a class attendance policy:
Excused absences include illness as verified by a parent’s or doctor's note, death in the immediate family, jury duty, military service, religious observances, and participation in officially scheduled Edison High School. Excused absences do not include vacations, transportation problems, or employment. In case of an excused absence, you must notify your instructor of your excuse preferably before you miss class, but no later than the day of return.
Missing the equivalent of one week or more of class with unexcused absences may result in a lower grade. Missing the equivalent of three weeks or more with unexcused absences may result in failing the course. In some cases, an excessive number of absences, even if they are excused, may result in a lower grade.
A student absent for any reason is responsible for all material and activities missed in class. Students must check with the instructor to find out was missed.
Students are responsible for coming to class on time. Tardiness may be considered equivalent to unexcused absences. In addition, a student who is unable to function adequately in class (e.g., falling asleep or attending without appropriate materials or assignments) may be considered to have unexcused absences.
IV. Papers: Five major papers, four practice writings and a portfolio will be required of all during this course. A portfolio presentation1 is required of all registered students at the end of the semester. Papers, using course format expectations, may be turned in electronically2, or in printed form. All written work, including all drafts, must be kept by the student in a course portfolio. This too may be electronic or printed and must be presented with the final paper at the end of the course. Without the complete portfolio, the student’s work for the course is considered incomplete and will result in a significantly lower course grade.
In all papers, clarity of expression and accuracy of language are unconditionally expected. Quality is determined by effective communication of source knowledge and deep and original thought. You will therefore be expected to write clearly and accurately. I will reject papers that do not meet basic standards of accurate writing, and clear and appropriate modes of expression. It is too difficult or impossible to grasp the full content and purpose of what is being expressed, if papers are too burdensome to read at even a surface level. In addition to using accurate spelling, rich vocabulary, Standard English construction, varied sentences, and sensible paragraphing, expect to have or quickly gain command of the writing elements of:
purpose
audience
voice
argumentation
evidentiary support and
rhetorical structure
Students must be ready to move beyond the basic writing skills.
This is a college writing course. At the college level, just "writing" is of little value. The fact that a student has simply written his or her thoughts about something makes little difference to the class or the student’s grade. Instead, students are expected to be fluent in a range of writing expectations of very different forms and purposes. Students will need to demonstrate more than a superficial understanding of these writing forms. They will actually have to say something worth reading by educated readers, which will be enhanced and/or clarified by the choice of forms in which papers are written. How well instructors are entertained, informed or persuaded will in many cases be the hinging point of your college grades. How one writes is the gateway to what one has to say. That’s what writing is about.
1 The final presentation project may be in a medium other than writing and will only be required of registered University students.
2 Please use a standard word processing format, MS Word, MSWorks, Word Perfect and OpenOffice.org (free). GoogleDocs,, Claris Works and Apple Works are unacceptable formats.
Week | Writing assigned | Writing due | Writing strategy fundamentals | Writing component fundamentals | Hot words | Dartmouth Project | Write for College |
1 | Introduction | | Overview of the what and how of college writing | Strengths and work styles assessment | | | |
2 | Practice writing course objectives assigned | Start Notebook | Writing in the narrative form:
How to write narrative
Reading for tension, “The Lottery”
Writing a personal narrative | Developing groups and group working procedures, and giving and getting constructive feedback | 1 | 0 | The Writing Process, pp. 001 – 045 |
3 | Personal narrative (2-3 pages) assigned | Practice writing - course objectives (5 points) due | Integrating vocabulary into writing | 2 | 1 | Personal Writing, pp. 147 – 161 |
4 | Critical analysis - Non-Fiction assigned | Personal narrative (2-3 pages) (15 points) due | Writing in the non-fiction form:
How to write non-fiction (Zinsser) | Use of analogies, metaphor and other comparisons | 3 | 2 | The Basic Elements of Writing, pp. 047 – 127 |
5 | | Notebook check and Participation tally #1
(15 points) due | Forms of Criticism:
Reading criticism for structure | Building sentence skills for precision, clarity and interest.
Sentence manipulation and combining. | 4 | 3 |
6 | Critical analysis - Literature
Practice writing - review assigned | Critical analysis - Non-Fiction (15 points) due | Writing criticism of non-fiction (Lincoln's Second Inaugural) | 5 | 4 | Writing about Literature, pp. 249 – 283 |
7 | Read and discuss for critical analysis | Practice writing - review (5 points) due | Writing criticism of fiction: | 6 | 5 |
8 | | | | | Report Writing, pp. 164 – 186 |
9 | Ethnography assigned | Critical analysis
(20 points) due
Notebook check and Participation tally #2
(15 points) due | What is Ethnography | 7 | 6 |
Week | Writing assigned | Writing due | Writing strategy fundamentals | Writing component fundamentals | Hot words | Dartmouth Project | Write for College |
10 | Practice writing – description of a culture essay assigned | | Researching an ethnography | Paragraphs, bi-weekly paragraphs (Tues. and Thur.) | | | Analytical Writing, pp. 189 – 221 |
11 | | Practice writing – description of a culture essay (5 points) due | Field notes for ethnography | 8 | 7 |
12 | | | Writing an ethnography | 9 | 8 | Re: also – The Research Center, pp. 285 - 472 |
13 | | Notebook check and Participation tally #3
(15 points) due | Examine common forms of college writing for structure and style. | | |
14 | Trends analysis assigned | Ethnography (25 points) due | Identifying trends | 10 | 9 | |
15 | Practice writing - futurism assigned | | Resources for research and recording research | 11 | | |
16 | | Practice writing - futurism (5 points) due | Organizing research into an argument | | 12 | | |
Winter Break |
17 | | Notebook check and Participation tally #4
(15 points) due | Writing a research report | | 13 | | |
18 | | | | | 14 | | |
19 | Reflection – Portfolio (20 points);
Trends analysis (25 points) due | | | | | |
Writers Workbook assignments |
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ü Ongoing Weekly practice beginning week two. Get a Hot Words pack to complete by week's end. Use one every week with 4 or five days. Use time in class (first fifteen minutes) on last day of week to review words.
ü 10 Dartmouth Writing Project lessons on revision and the writing process given to read on a Friday, to be read and considered over the weekend. Writing activities to be completed and reviewed in class (first fifteen minutes) Monday
Tentative major writing assignments:
Writing assignment | Initial objectives |
Personal narrative (15 pts.) | Write in the narrative mode Write with purpose Show command of audience and voice Show command of effective use of sentences Establish practice of multiple revisions Establish practice of peer consultation |
Critical analysis
Non-fiction 15 pts.)
Fiction (20 pts.) | Write in the mode of critical analysis Write with purpose Justify variation of traditional format Show command of organizational skills Show command of effective argumentation Write using a strong thesis (argument) Develop an argument with salient evidence and rhetorical structures. |
Ethnography (25 pts.) | Write an extended ethnographic research paper Write with purpose Demonstrate knowledge of a specific scientific report format Collect, sort and analyze primary research data Discover and explicate binding characteristics of some social group. Employ various modes in a single document |
Trend analysis (25 pts.) | Write about an observed sociological pattern Write with purpose Develop an appropriate reporting format Collect, sort and analyze secondary research data Discover, analyze and explicate one or more sociometric patterns in contemporary society Postulate a cause for the “trend” Demonstrate command of MLA or APA citation and bibliographic formats |
*Plagiarism is the deceptive use of someone else's words or ideas as if they were your own. Plagiarism is theft of intellectual property. When you refer to someone else’s words or ideas, be sure to cite your reference to avoid unintentional plagiarism. In this University of Minnesota course, the consequences for plagiarism include failure and removal from the course. Plagiarism includes submitting a paper:
o written by means of inappropriate collaboration;
o written by you for another course, submitted without the permission of both instructors;
o purchased, downloaded, or cut and pasted from the Internet;
o or that fails to properly acknowledge all of its sources through standard citations;
o paraphrasing but not citing words or ideas.
[For more ideas and resources, see: http://writing.umn.edu/tww/plagiarism/index.html]
*Extra Work (Sometimes Called "Extra Credit"): The College of Liberal Arts does not permit students to submit extra work in an attempt to raise their grade unless the instructor has specified at the outset of the course that such opportunities are afforded to all students. In this class, they are not.
*Student Writing Support: Students can get one-to-one-consultations on any course paper or writing project at Student Writing Support. Student Writing Support has several campus locations, including the main location in 15 Nicholson Hall. You are strongly encourage to use this resource.
[See http://writing.umn.edu/sws/index.htm for details about locations, appointments, and online consultations.]
Grading:
ü 14% Participation
ü 16% Notebooks
ü 60% Papers
ü 10% Portfolio
Criteria:
A | Achievement that is outstanding relative to the level necessary to meet course requirements. |
B | Achievement that is significantly above the level necessary to meet course requirements. |
C | Achievement that meets the course requirements in every respect. |
D | Achievement worthy of credit, even though it fails to meet course requirements fully |
I | (Incomplete) Assigned at the discretion of the instructor when, due to extraordinary circumstances, e.g., hospitalization, a student is prevented from completing the work of the course on time. Requires a written agreement between instructor and student. |
F | Represents failure (or no credit) and signifies that the work was either (1) completed but at a level of achievement that is not worthy of credit or (2) was not completed, and there was no agreement between the instructor and the student that the student would be awarded an I (see also I). |
*Note: This is U of M course grade information. Students also earn a separate and perhaps different Minneapolis Public Schools grade for English 12
Required materials:
· Three-ring binder for use in this course only (1½” or 2” should work)
· College ruled loose-leave notebook paper
· Sturdy folder or similar container for the portfolio of class work and handouts
· Internet access and an email address (an email address is provided by the U of M to registered students)
Texts:
Write for College: A Student Handbook by Patrick Sebranek, Great Source Education Group (April 30, 2007) ISBN-13: 978-0669000313, will be provided.
On Writing Well, 30th Anniversary Edition: A Classic Guide to Writing Non-Fiction, by William Zinsser, Collins, Harper Collins Publ. (2006) ISBN-13: 978-0060891541, some pages will be copied. I advise buying and reading this book.
The Elements of Style, 4th Ed. by William Strunk Jr. and E. B. White [Charlotte’s Web], Longman (August 2, 1999) ISBN-13: 978-0205309023. I advise buying and reading this book.
Student Handbook: Get your student handbook online at the College of Continuing Education website.
[http://www.cce.umn.edu/cis/students/handbook/index.html]
*Work load: One credit represents an average of two to three hours of learning effort over fifteen weeks (about 30 to 45 hours per credit) necessary for an average student to achieve an average grade in the course. This means that, as this is a 4 credit course, you could expect to put in 120 to 180 hours in the classroom and outside class. Expect to spend 5 to 8 hours per week on course work outside this class time.
You should expect to register with the University of Minnesota in order to earn college credit. We will do this in class. Privacy is maintained in this process and protected under law. Students 18 or older have a legal right to their own school related data and the release of that right for any others. The University extends that right to protection to all of their registrants.
*Canceling or adding U of M courses: Deadlines and procedures for canceling/adding courses as a U of M student are available in a separate handout. These dates are incredibly important. They cannot be changed or adjusted. You must be aware of them.
*Classroom diversity: We are by definition a diverse group. Diversity is a strength in our society at large and here at Edison High School. In this class, you must maintain an open mind to the differences around you. Place positive value on those differences. Points of view may be actively argued by speakers and are to be respected. We are essentially fair-minded individuals working to enlarge our thinking about ideas and people.
You are expected to be attentive in this class, to ask questions if you do not understand something, and to participate in class discussions. You are also expected to listen respectfully to other students and to me when we are speaking. Expressed racism, sexism, homophobia, classism, ageism, and other forms of bigotry or derogatory speech are unacceptable in this or any class. You are here to learn. Learn not to judge.
*Issues of disability: I will make reasonable accommodation, in accordance with the Americans with Disability Act (ADA), for students with various kinds of disability, visible or invisible. I request that you see me during the first week of classes if this applies to you, so that such accommodations may be made in a timely fashion. You may need to present a letter confirming the disability. If you would like formal assistance through the University of Minnesota, contact the Office of Disability Services at 612-624-4037.
Students with disabilities that might hinder their ability to participate in the full range of class activities should contact Disability Services at the University of Minnesota for assistance. The number is 612-624-4037.
*“Insider” information: Success here should not be any more difficult than success anywhere else. The same expectations apply in CiS English as apply in all of my classes, because they are standards of academic and social behavior that may be valued in anyone. We will discuss these during the first week of class.
Academic Expectations | Behavior Expectations |
Try - Be willing to try; learning follows effort. If you think you can’t do it, surprise yourself. | Be respectful of yourself and others - Listen to others; live outside yourself as well as within. |
Ask – Ask for help and clarification. No one knows everything. Show you’re smart enough to know what you don’t know. | Be prepared to learn - Have learning materials. Have done reading before it’s needed. Have your notebook out and open. |
Plan - Schedule your time and pace yourself. There are online tools to help you do this. | Be on time - Have assignments in on time. Be in the room at seat on time. |
Follow Through - The job is never done and learning never stops. Don’t settle for less than your best quality work every time! | Take responsibility for your actions - Accept the consequences for your actions, positive and negative. Your work and your grade are yours. |
Think - Listen, read and watch carefully. Don’t miss a thing. Assume nothing. Get the evidence if not the proof. Allow for many possible paths to success. Be able to say why you made the choice you did. Learning is a result of thinking! | Build community - Express the importance of the group and others in word and action. Cooperation at all levels is highly valued. Real success takes a group effort. |