Documents and Handouts

Directions

The documents are posted in two different formats: .pdf and .doc. Click the appropriate link (D/L) to download the version of your choice. You will be linked to a Box.net page, and there you should select “download” to save the document to your computer.

If you have any questions about how to access documents, please stop by during office hours.

[Note: As the semester starts moving along, these links to documents will go live.]

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Important Course Documents

Document Description .pdf .doc .xls
Syllabus All the course policies, grading details, and course information D/L N/A D/L
Semester Reading and Assignment Schedule Lists all the day-to-day course activities. You’ll need this to be prepared for each class. D/L N/A D/L
Semester Reading and Assignment Schedule (Updated to include page numbers for newer editions of course textbooks) Lists all the day-to-day course activities. You’ll need this to be prepared for each class plus newer edition page numbers are listed in parentheses. D/L N/A D/L
Semester Reading and Assignment Schedule (Updated to accommodate for my absences from class) Lists all the day-to-day course activities. You’ll need this to be prepared for each class plus newer edition page numbers are listed in parentheses. D/L N/A D/L

After you’ve downloaded a copy of the syllabus and semester schedule, click on “Turnitin.com” at the top of the website. Follow the directions there to register for your section of Turnitin.com.
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Writing Assignments From Class

Click here for a list of the assigned work from class.
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Documents and Handouts

Pre-Unit Exploratory Readings Link
Barrie, Emma. “The Roommate Diaries.” Link
The Beloit College Mindset List Link
Stephens, Philip. “Absolutely Nothing More Than Meets the Eye.” Link
Alleyne, Richard. “Zombies Would Most Likely Wipe Out Human Civilisation If They Really Existed, Claim Scientists.” Link
Various. “The Most Disappointing Summer Blockbusters of All Time.” Link
Ruane, Michael. “Newly Minted Cadets Celebrate Accomplishments.” Link
“Junk Food, Taxes, and the Market Solution.” Link
William Deresiewicz, “The End of Solitude.” Link
“Virtual Medical Training Comes to Second Life.” Link

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Unit I – Prospectus .pdf .doc
Paper Assignment D/L D/L
Peer Review Handout D/L D/L
Grading Rubric D/L D/L
Example Essay – Formatting D/L D/L
Example Essay One D/L D/L
Example Essay Two D/L D/L

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Unit II – Annotated Bibliography .pdf .doc
Paper Assignment D/L D/L
Peer Review Handout D/L D/L
Grading Rubric D/L D/L
Example Essay – Formatting D/L D/L
Double Entry Journaling D/L D/L
20 Questions Pre-Writing D/L D/L
Chart Note Taking D/L *.xls

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Unit III – Argument .pdf .doc
Paper Assignment D/L D/L
Peer Review Handout D/L D/L
Grading Rubric D/L D/L
Example Essay – Formatting D/L D/L
Example Essay One D/L D/L
Example Essay Two D/L D/L

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Unit IV – Counter-Arguments .pdf .doc
Paper Assignment D/L D/L
Peer Review Handout D/L D/L
Grading Rubric D/L D/L
Example Essay – Formatting D/L D/L
Example Essay One D/L D/L
Example Essay Two D/L D/L

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Unit V – Final Project .pdf .doc
Paper Assignment D/L D/L
Peer Review Handout D/L D/L
Grading Rubric D/L D/L
Example Essay – Formatting D/L D/L
Example Essay One D/L D/L
Example Essay Two D/L D/L

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PowerPoint Notes

Date Download? Topics Activities
9/1 D/L General Introductions Introductions.  Review of course resources.
9/3 D/L Pre-Unit Explanation of syllabus.  Discussion about course activities.  Exploratory writing.
9/8 D/L Pre-Unit Discussion about writing process.  Exploratory writing.
9/10 D/L Pre-Unit Discussion about defining research topics.  More exploratory album.
9/15 D/L Unit I Introduction Discussion about academic argument and first paper project.  Pre-writing for prospectus.
9/17 D/L Activities to help narrow scope of project. Pre-writing chart making and group “dialoging.”
9/22 D/L Example Essays Discussion about grading rubric and example essays.  Pre-writing for prospectus.
9/24 D/L Peer Review Review of peer review guidelines.  Example peer review.  Time for peer review.
9/29 D/L Revision and Editing Instruction/Workshop Definition of revision and editing.  Revision of introduction and conclusions.  Editing for comma errors.
10/1 D/L Unit II Intro., Pre-Writing, Library Resources Evaluation of Unit I.  Introduction to Unit II.  More about researching.  Discussion about note-taking.  Pre-writing.
10/6 N/A No Class Incapacitated instructor
10/8 N/A No Class Incapacitated instructor
10/13 D/L Researching, Online Resources Demonstration of online resources.  Note-taking techniques.
10/15 D/L More about annotations “How-to” create an annotation.  “How-to” create perfect MLA citations.
10/20 D/L Revision and Editing Introductory elements and commas.  Eliminating extra prose.  Formatting the an. bib.
10/22 D/L Unit III Intro., Pre-Writing, Example Essays Introduction to new unit.  Introduction to argument.  Discussion about example essays.  Pre-writing for unit III.
10/27 D/L Claims Syllogistic regularity.  Pre-writing for claims.  Connecting source materials to your prose.  Crafting authority.
10/29 D/L
Warrants and Support
Connecting the correct information to a specific claim.  Audience analysis.  Warranting connections.
11/3 D/L R & E Instruction/Peer Review Review of revision and editing goals.  Revising for order, and editing for sentence connection.
11/5 D/L R & E Workshop Apply techniques to drafts.
11/10 D/L Unit IV Intro., Example Essays, Pre-Writing Discussion about the need to counter-arguments.  Discussion about example essays.  Short writing assignment for quiz grade.  Pre-Writing for Unit IV.
11/12 D/L Crafting Rebuttals Crafting rebuttals based on the kinds of claims.  Writing Assignment.  Pre-writing for Unit IV.
11/12* D/L Writing TBA
11/17 D/L Peer Review Review peer review guidelines.  Review unit goals.  Time to review 3 essays.
11/19* D/L Revision and Editing Review revision and editing goals and guidelines.  Pruning your drafts.
11/26 D/L Unit V Intro. Review of course goals and personal goals for the course.  Discussion about final unit.  Discussion about example essays.
11/24 D/L Writing Workshop TBA
12/1 D/L No Class Thanksgiving Holiday
12/3 D/L Writing Workshop TBA
12/8 D/L Writing Workshop TBA
12/10 D/L Final Project Due Final Project due in class
12/14-12/18 No Class No Class Final Exam Week – No Final Exam in this Course.
      .
       

Writing Writing Assignments from Class

Remember, at the end of each unit, I’ll collect an assignment or two from each unit – either an assignment from the reading and assignment schedule or one of the writing assignments from class – to assess your homework grade for the unit.  This means that you will need to save all your work from class.  Use this list to be sure that you’re caught up with all the short writing assignments.

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  • Pre-Unit – Exploratory writings about various reading assignments; the point of these assignments was to help you explore potential topics for your research projects.  These writing assignments won’t be perfect essays; rather, they’ll reflect thought, consideration, and various fragments related to the readings.  If I collect one of the assignments as a homework grade at the end of the unit, I’ll be looking for development – not writing perfection.
    • 3 September 2009
    • 8 September 2009
    • 10 September 2009

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  • Unit I – Prospectus
    • Pre-writing assignments
      • 15 September 2009
        • Free-writing loops.  In this assignment, you write a possible paper idea on the top of a clean sheet of paper.  You free-write about that idea for ten or fifteen minutes.  Then, read through what you’ve written looking for something worth exploring.  Write that new idea on the top of a clean sheet of paper and free-write for ten minutes more.  Repeat.  This pre-writing assignment works well to help you consider potential directions for a research project.
      • 17 September 2009
        • Chart-making.  In this activity, you use the paper assignment parameters to shape your pre-writing tasks.  Create a chart with two columns: one side for the teacher’s expectations and the other side for your notes.  As you fill in the various expectations from your teacher on the one side, fill in the corresponding notes on the other side.  How will you meet those expectations?  What kinds of notes or ideas have you already developed that will help you meet the teachers’ expectations?
        • The Conversation.  In this activity, you write your research proposition, thesis, or idea at the top of a sheet of paper.  You then exchange your paper with as many other peers as possible.  On each paper, you write any questions or comments you have about the research proposition.  Repeat this process until you’ve collected (or reviewed) about 15-20 project ideas.  You can then use the questions your peers posed as a why to help you define your project topic.
    • Drafting/Writing Assignments
      • 24 September 2009
        • Peer Review Draft.  Your peer review draft should be at minimum half of the required word limit.  The draft won’t be perfect, but it should demonstrate a good faith effort to begin writing the paper project.  Further, it should have at least three responses from your peers in any of my 201 courses.
    • Revision and Editing Assignments
      • 29 September 2009
        • Revision and Editing Draft.  This should be a revised version of your peer review draft that reflects the re-writing work you complete.  In addition to any re-writing work you normally do, I should be able to see that you have tried the techniques we discussed during class.

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  • Unit II – Annotated Bibliography
  • In addition to the assignments listed on your reading/assignment schedule, you should also have the following assignments from class.  I’ll collect one of these assignments on the due-date to reflect your homework grade for the unit.
  • Further, I don’t have specific dates for each of the assignments as every class completed the assignments on very different schedules (class cancellations made the schedule all wonky).
    • Pre-Writing Assignments – you should have somewhere in your notes these assignments
      • 20 Questions – this is an assignment where you use classical topoi to help you think about your research topic from many different angles.  The pre-writing assignment is helpful when you’re stuck for research ideas.
      • Chart-making as planning – this is an activity that should help you get started in research and keep your notes organized.  You can find more specific notes about the charts in this post.
    • Drafting/Writing Assignments
      • Double check homework schedule for the other assignments!
    • Revision and Editing Assignments
      • 20 October 2009
        • Revision and Editing Draft – In addition to any re-writing work you normally do, I should be able to see that you have tried the techniques we discussed during class.

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  • Unit III Activities
  • In addition to the assignments listed on your reading/assignment schedule, you should also have the following assignments from class.  I’ll collect one of these assignments on the due-date to reflect your homework grade for the unit.
  • Pre-writing
    • 27 October 2009
      • Complete Sentence List-Making I – make a list of the claims that you’ll need in order for your readers to accept your argument.  Think of this as a casual outline.
    • 29 October 2009
      • Complete Sentence List-Making II – add to your list of claims by writing down the support you plan to use in order to develop your project.  This sort of pre-writing activity works well if you’re done with your research but you’re unsure about the direction of your project.
  • Drafting/Writing Assignments
    • Double check homework schedule for the other assignments!
    • 3 November 2009
      • Peer Review – You should have responded to three different drafts from class, and you should have three copies of your draft with your peer responses.
  • Re-writing
    • 5 November 2009
      • Revision and Editing Draft – In addition to any re-writing work you normally do, I should be able to see that you have tried the techniques we discussed during class.