Course Description for EWRT002.15 Winter 2007[Printable version]
- Units: 5
- Call Number: 0906
- Schedule ID: EWRT-002-15
- Location: L31 & ATC 102
- Time: 12:30 to 2:40 p.m.
- Days: Mondays & Wednesdays
- Instructor: Mary Schultz
Prerequisite: English Writing 1A
Instructor Contact Information:
- Phone: (408) 864-8999 x3087 (Be warned that I don't always remember to check my phone messages!)
- Office Hours
- Wednesdays 2:40 to 3:15 in ATC102
- Tuesdays: 2:00 to 2:30 in ATC102
- I
am also happy to schedule individual conferences by appointment in person or online.
This course is designed to help
students develop critical thinking skills, and to apply them in reading and writing projects. The focus of the course in on academic (analytical, argumentative) writing based on the reading of complex texts. Outside research leading to analysis, comparison, self-reflection and synthesis will culminate in documented research papers.
Course Objectives:
Students will:
A. Read critically (including visual images and other nonverbal texts)
- Distinguish between direct perception and inference, between surface, "literal" reading and interpretation
- Recognize the interdependence of language and thinking
- Analyze relationships, organize information, and apply concepts
- Apply principles of argumentation
- Discover connections, patterns, and analogies that cut across conventional classification schemes and intellectual domains
- Recognize, compare, and evaluate alternative points of view, values, and meanings, including those of outside sources (from research)
B. Write clearly, logically, and self-reflectively
- Recognize the interdependence of reading writing
- Practice writing as a complex, cyclical process of discovery, planning, drafting, and revising
- Articulate analyses and interpretations
- Formulate arguments
- Integrate multiple sources and points of view in a documented, analytical research paper
Required Materials:
Online components:
- Register with Comment,
a web-based tool that allows students and teachers to share and respond
to writing projects. (Your registration code is bundled with your
purchase of The Everyday Writer.) (Buy Comment with The Everyday Writer online.)
- Computer, printer and internet access. (Access to computers is
available on campus in ATC 102 & 103, the Library, and the Open Media
Lab. Printing is
available on campus for 10 cents/page in the Open Media Lab.)
- Students will be required to become a member of my faculty website for access to course
announcements, readings and resources.
Coursework:
- Students will complete two writing assignment sequences,
each of which will culminate in a final research project.
- (10 points) Writing Assignment 1a: Response essay (1,000-1,500 words or 3-4 pages)
-
(20 points) Writing Assignment 1b: Research project (Definition) (1,500-2,500 words or 4-6 pages)
- (10 points) Writing Assignment 2a: "Treppengedanken" essay (1,000-1,500 words or 3-4 pages)
- (20 points) Writing Assignment 2b: Research project (Argumentative-Persuasive) (1,500-2,000 words or 4-6 pages)
- Weekly quizzes on assigned readings and group exercises (40 points)
Grade Computation:
A = 90-100 points
B = 80-89 points
C = 70-79 points
D = 60-69 points
F = below 60 points
Minimum Requirements to receive a passing grade for the course:
- No more than 3 absences.
- All coursework listed above must be completed. (No more than 3 group exercises/quizzes may be missed.)
- You
must receive passing grades (at least 14 out of 20 points) on Assignments 1b and 2b. Assignments which are not of passing quality (correctly formatted and documented, with no more than 3 errors in standard written English per page) may be
resubmitted for a passing grade provided you have received my
permission, and a working draft of the revised essay signed by a writing tutor
or peer editor (who has made substantive marginal comments on the
draft) is submitted along with the final revised writing project.
Course Policies:
Submission of formal writing assignments. You should upload the assignments to our Comment Class Home
before class on the day they are due.
Quizzes and
group exercises will be completed in class and may not be made up.
Late assignments (Not!).
I do not comment on, nor do I allow re-writes of assignments that are
not submitted on time, and I tend to be much less generous in grading
these assignments, unless you have talked to me about a revised
deadline before the due date, so talk to me first! Please
note that it may be very difficult to pass the class if you forfeit
your option to revise Assignments 1b and 2b by failing to meet the
initial due date.
Academic conventions.
Students will be encouraged to develop an effective writing
style, which in many cases means discovering or re-discovering their
natural, conversational “voices.” Students will focus on understanding
grammar, usage, diction and punctuation as tools for effective
communication, diagnosing their own and others’ errors as symptoms of
weak communication rather than transgressions against grammatical
“rules.” Effective writers know that effective communication requires
knowledge of the conventions under which their intended audience
operates. Because effective writing respects the standards of its
audience, formal essays for this class must meet minimum standards of
written academic English to receive a passing grade.
Attendance. If you miss more than two classes for any reason, I may drop you; if you miss more than three classes for any reason, I will drop you, even if the fourth absence is late in the quarter.
I’ll do my best to help you if you are having trouble getting yourself
to class, so talk to me before you start missing classes. If you do
miss a class, be sure to obtain any handout or assignment I gave out in
class, either from my website or from other students (get some
phone numbers!), and come to the next session fully prepared. Do not
skip a class because you don’t have an assignment to turn in when it’s
due. Come anyway. I’ll probably be nice about it, especially if you are
sufficiently tortured and contrite.
Pedagogical approach:
While your grade for the course will be based solely on the criteria listed above, the course’s pedagogy will be
process-oriented. Process-oriented pedagogy is based on the assumption
that an effective writing process is what leads to effective writing
products. Students will work on developing an efficient writing process
by analyzing and improving their reading, writing, and study habits and
strategies, and by seeking out and availing themselves of the many De
Anza support services available to them, when needed.
Plagiarism:
Plagiarism is a problem when students seek only to pass a course,
rather than achieve the goals of the course. It is a vexing problem for
the instructor since s/he is required to detect it, report it, and
penalize the student for it, all of which is a great waste of time, and
not fun for anyone, especially since it will automatically result in an
F on an assignment (and in serious cases will be reported to the Dean
of the Language Arts Division and will result in an F for the class).
If you are unsure, always err on the side of giving credit to your
sources.
Special Needs:
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