Syllabus

Introduction to College Writing
Human//Nature

Spring 2009 – 52-1101-05
T, R 2 – 3:20pm
Room: Congress 419

Christopher Ankney
cankney  @  colum.edu
office hours: T, R, 11am - 12:15pm, (or by appointment)
office: Congress 527

“Human nature is potentially aggressive and destructive and potentially orderly and constructive”
— Margaret Mead

"Seven blunders of the world that lead to violence: wealth without work, pleasure without conscience, knowledge without character, commerce without morality, science without humanity, worship without sacrifice, politics without principle."
— Mahatma Gandhi

Course Description: Introduction to College Writing is exactly that: an introduction to writing in college. There is no one, single way to write in college; writing in college takes a variety of forms and is done for a variety of audiences and purposes. However, one significant feature of writing in college (arguably distinct from other kinds of journalistic or creative writing) is that writing in college always takes place in the context of other texts. Therefore, reading substantial, at times difficult, texts plays a dominant role in ICW. As such, ICW provides generous support while it immerses students into the full, rewarding experience of writing in college: grappling with complicated ideas, participating in a community of thinkers, and producing one’s own substantial texts in response. Instruction on the smaller units of written language—paragraphs, sentences, grammatical constructions—is not an end in itself in ICW, but is a part of the larger, richer process of producing one’s own substantial texts. By teaching students the practices, habits, and expectations associated with writing in college, ICW helps them negotiate the transition into college, and positions them for success, both in college and beyond.

Objectives: Students who succeed in ICW will be able to …

1. Produce substantial written texts in response to a variety of exigencies.
2. Accomplish substantial reading assignments.
3. Receive and address feedback on their work.
4. Meet expectations for college-level participation in classroom activities.

Required Texts:

*A Long Way Gone by Ishmael Beah
*Notebook for class notes and writing exercises
*Access to Oasis
*Blogger account

E-mailing Papers: Major assignments may be handed in via e-mail, unless otherwise notified. For each paper, you will be given printed guidelines with more detailed requirements. When sending by e-mail, as assigned, name your file this way: your last name_first name_assignment name_college writing

For example, if your name is John Smith and you are handing in Response Paper 1, name your file as such: smith_john_response paper 1_college writing

*And very importantly, save your file as a .doc or .rtf file, otherwise your paper cannot be opened and graded!
Coursework (1000 total possible points):

Writing Center: Each student is required by this course to make use of the weekly sessions (you must attend at least 10 out of the 15 sessions) in the writing center located in 618 South Michigan (1st Floor). Each time you visit the WC, you are to email me (cankney@colum.edu) a detailed session report. The sessions only count if you worked on ICW coursework. Be aware, that tutors are required by the program to send session reports, too. For students, the session reports will be factored into your grade, and must be clear with good detail about what work was accomplished. 10 sessions required, 10 points/sessions report emailed=100 points

Essays: Obviously! We will write a series of essays ranging in tone and purpose from personal narration, to a more formal research essay as well as a more theoretical, thought provoking essay of your own design. Three (3) essays, 100 points/essay=300 points

Final Project/Visual Presentation: Along with the final of the 3 essays, you will be expected to create a companion-piece media that you will present to the class in the last weeks of the course. What is meant by “companion-piece media”? Well, the media part refers to making something physical, something artistic that communicates an idea inspired by course readings and discussions. This piece goes along with the Inquiry Essay and is the visual response to the inquiry explored in this final essay. Total=100 points

A Long Way Gone: Paired with this course is the memoir A Long Way Gone, by Ishmael Beah. We will read this during the course of the semester, and it will influence our essay topics, class discussion and personal lives (I hope). Along with just reading and discussing, we will write considerably about the topics introduced in this memoir both in essay form as well as in class and in blog forums which each of us will create to share our ideas with the larger public also studying Beah’s work. 10 blog postings required, 25 points/blog posting=250 points

Homework and Quizzes: Each class day, some homework will be assigned. You will have some reading and/or writing to do every day. Some of the homework will be collected, some will be posted on your blog or emailed to me directly, and some homework will be for your own personal use (i.e. I will not collect it, but it will be absolutely necessary for your participation in class). Quizzes will be issued as needed if homework is not kept up-to-date by the entire class. Homework will vary in point value, but will add up to 250 points by the end of the course.

Grading Scale*:

1000 – 895 points A
894 – 795 B
794 – 695 C
695 – 600 D
599 – below F

*Note that a +/- scale will be used. Other factors will be used to determine “close calls.”

Class Policies:

Late Work: Late work is not accepted. There are no exceptions to this policy as this course largely builds off of previous assignments, and most assignments are essentially prerequisites for the assignments that follow. If, for any reason, you miss a class when an assignment is due, it is your responsibility to email your work to me by the end of the school day. If you are worried about any single assignment and your ability to finish it on time, do not hesitate to talk to me about it. Often you will find that we will be able to work everything out just fine.

Participation and Academic Pursuit: As mentioned above in the projects and assignments section, it is absolutely critical to the success of this class that students are present both mentally and physically. If you cannot be present for a class, regardless of the reason, it is your responsibility as the student to get Oasis and/or email me for information about what happened that class meeting. Always assume that if you miss a class, you did, in fact, miss something. Students who miss more than 4 classes may be dropped from the course – see Attendance Policy for further explanation of absences and tardies.

I expect EVERY student to come to class prepared. The class will only be as strong as the students want it to be. The course’s success depends on healthy discussion of the texts, and your ability to ask questions to further your own learning.

Cell Phones and Such: Students are expected to silence and put away all cell phones, headphones and other like devices unless specifically using the device for an in-class project. The same goes for laptops. While students are welcome to bring in personal computers to take notes, students should also take care to close and/or put away laptops during class discussions.

Academic Integrity: Cheating results in automatic failure of assignment, at minimum; possibly failure for the course. Also, you may be reported to the department for further penalization. Intentionally passing off another’s work, words, ideas as your own without giving credit is inexcusable and unethical.

Here is what the program has to say, just for further clarification: Academic dishonesty of any sort is not tolerated in this class. If any student is found guilty of academic dishonesty, he or she will fail the assignment outright and may also be required to meet with the department chair or be dropped from the course. I have copied a segment from the Student Handbook that helps to explain Academic Dishonesty, but please see the following link for a full description:

http://cms.colum.edu/student_handbook/policies_procedures/academic_integrity/

For present purposes, “academic dishonesty” is understood as the appropriation and representation of another’s work as one’s own, whether such appropriation includes all or part of the other’s work or whether it comprises all or part of what is represented as one’s own work (plagiarism). Appropriate citation avoids this form of dishonesty. In addition, “academic dishonesty” includes cheating in any form, the falsification of academic documents, or the falsification of works or references for use in class or other academic circumstances. When such dishonesty is discovered, the consequences to the student can be severe.

Attendance: You have four absences during the semester, excused or un-excused. After that, you either fail the course or your final grade will be reduced at least one letter grade. Also note, every four tardies will equal one absence.

Weekly Calendar*

*Note that the syllabus may be amended during the semester as the instructor sees fit, to optimize academic success…

Below is a brief outline of what we will accomplish, and does not include supplemental readings. Also, the memoir has conservatively assigned to fill out the semester, but it is my hope that we will be able to finish a complete first reading of A Long Way Gone much earlier, so that we can read some smaller-but-related texts.


ICW – Ankney, Spring 2009

ALWG= A Long Way Gone

Week Readings, Exercises and Deadlines

Week 1 (1/27, 29) Introductions and diagnostic; begin work on simple sentences

Week 2 (2/3, 5) Continue on with simple sentences; complex sentences; start ALWG—blog established (chapter 1)

Week 3 (2/10, 12) Complex sentences; ALWG 2-5
Start personal narrative;

Week 4 (2/17, 19) Begin work on paragraphs; ALWG 6-7

Week 5 (2/24, 26) Writing process; draft of narrative; ALWG 8-10

Week 6 (3/3, 5) Peer Workshop; ALWG 11

Week 7 (3/10, 12) Narrative due; Research discussion, start work on research essay; ALWG 12-14

Week 8 (3/17, 19) Midterm Conferences; ALWG 15 blog

Spring Break (3/24, 26) Keep working on research essay and ALWG 16-17

Week 9 (3/31, 4/2) Workshop; work day

Week 10 (4/7, 9) Research essay due; ALWG 18-19

Week 11 (4/14, 16) ALWG 20-21; end discussion

Week 12 (4/21, 23) Start Inquiry essay, Conferences

Week 13 (4/28, 30) Workshop/re-draft

Week 14 (5/5, 7) Presentations

Week 15 (5/12, 14) Presentations; Inquiry essay due