WRIT 101: Foundations of Academic Discourse (TT)

Welcome

This course introduces students to the fundamentals of academic writing. Students explore informative, evaluative, analytical, synthesis, and argumentative/persuasive writing, learning how to develop their thinking and writing through the use of various rhetorical strategies. The course also examines writing as a process, encouraging students to develop productive writing strategies that can be adapted to various academic and professional writing contexts. A key goal of the course involves dispelling the myth that good writers are born, not made. Most professional writers explain that their best work happens in the revision stage after a concentrated effort to re-envision and reshape the raw material of an early draft. Following their lead, this course will focus on all stages of the writing process, from invention strategies and idea development, to drafting and feedback, to revising for improved content and organization, to editing for grammar and style. In preparation for research writing required in many other courses, this course will introduce students to the basics of critical thinking and information literacy.

Right now you may view education and this class in the context of the marketplace; perhaps you want to exchange money and homework (as little of both as possible) for a grade that will maximize your earning potential. What I believe, however, is that real learning about words—both received (read) and given (spoken or written)—can occur only when we get past this contractual model. This is because language is a gift that originated in the divine community and has been given to human communities. So while many of the words that bombard us today are intended to provoke buying and selling, these functions do not exhaust the power of language. Thus my hope is that you will have the opportunity this semester to learn more deeply that language is a gift offered in community, a gift I encourage you to receive and actively practice.

Assignments

Required Texts

  • Bullock, Brody, and Weinberg. The Little Seagull Handbook. 4th Ed. W.W. Norton & Company, 2021. With InQuizitive access code (or must buy access separately with a credit card).
  • The Office of Assertion: An Art of Rhetoric for the Academic Essay, by Scott Crider.  ISBN: 9781932236453
  • Caring for Words in a Culture of Lies, by Marilyn Chandler McEntyre. ISBN: 9780802848642

Course Calendar (sections H, I, and J)

This schedule is subject to change. Section H meets in HAL 111 from 8-9:15. Section I meets in HAL 111 on TT from 9:30-10:45. Section J meets in HAL 111 on TT from 11:00-12:15.

Week 1

  • Tuesday 1/23: Introduction
  • Thursday 1/25: read Office of Assertion (OA) chapter 1 “Introduction: Rhetoric as the Liberal Art of Soul-Leading in Writing”; read Little Seagull Handbook (LSH) W-2 Academic Contexts; Complete InQuisitive “Editing the Errors that Matter” (due by 1/27)

Week 2

  • Tuesday 1/30: read Aristotle, excerpt from Nicomachean Ethics; bring printed copy of your summary, which should be approximately 200 words; follow the guidelines in LSH W-12b, pgs 87-88 for summarizing
  • Thursday 2/1: read MacIntyre, chapter 14 from After Virtue; bring a printed copy of your summary; response to “Love Words” from Caring for Words in a Culture of Lies due

Week 3

  • Tuesday 2/6: read LSH W-3 Reading Strategies; Library session 1–here are the instructions from the librarians for this meeting; response to “Why Worry about Words?” due
  • Thursday 2/8: read Vallor, excerpt from Technology and the Virtues; bring a printed copy of your summary

Week 4

  • Tuesday 2/13: Discuss ChatGPT
  • Thursday 2/15: bring a completed copy of your Informative Essay for peer review; download peer review form; read LSH R-4 Integrating Sources, Avoiding Plagiarism.
    • Informative Essay is due by midnight on Saturday the 17th to learning.gcc.edu.
    • You can see the rubric I’ll use to grade your essay here.

Week 5

  • Tuesday 2/20: no class–schedule a meeting with me to grade your first essay in person. Bring two (2) printed copies of your essay with you to our meeting.
    • Response to “Tell the Truth” due
    • The first section of InQuisitive modules due
  • Thursday 2/22: no class–grading conferences

Week 6

  • Tuesday 3/5: read Smith, excerpt from Desiring the Kingdom (this book is also on reserve at Buhl Library); response to “Don’t Tolerate Lies” due
  • Thursday 3/7: read OA chapter 2 “Invention: The Discovery of Arguments”; response to “Read Well” due; read LSH R-1

Week 7

  • Tuesday 3/12: read OA chapter 3 “Organization: The Desire for Design”
  • Thursday 3/14: read OA chapter 4 “Style: Words and Sentences”; Academic Journal Article Assignment due; response to “Stay in Conversation” due

Week 8

  • Tuesday 3/19: Annotated Bibliography due; read OA 5 “Re-visioning: Products and Processes”; response to “Share Stories”
  • Thursday 3/21: bring a completed draft of your Persuasive Essay for peer review; peer review sheet; your Persuasive Essay is due to learning.gcc by midnight on the 23rd. Bring a hard copy by my office by noon on Monday the 25th. The second section of InQuisitive modules is due on the 23rd as well.

Week 9

  • Tuesday 3/26: no class (Christian Wiman)
  • Thursday 3/28: Easter Break

Week 10

  • Tuesday 4/2: intro to Synthesis essay; read excerpt from Jacobs, How to Think (PDF here); response to “Love the Long Sentence”
  • Thursday 4/4: Library Day 2; response to “Practice Poetry”

Week 11

  • Tuesday 4/9: group topic proposal due; read the excerpt from Aquinas in the Summa Assignment; response to “Attend to Translation”
  • Thursday 4/11: discussion of sample special issues; submit keyword form

Week 12

Week 13

  • Tuesday 4/23: read OA 6 “Conclusion: Rhetoric as the Office of Assertion”; response to “Pray”
  • Thursday 4/25: group meetings on journal project

Week 14

  • Tuesday 4/30: group meetings on journal project; response to “Cherish Silence”
  • Thursday 5/2: bring completed Synthesis Essay for peer review; the third section of InQuisitive modules is due; download peer review sheet

Week 15

  • Tuesday 5/7: bring completed Synthesis Essay for peer review; Synthesis Essay due along with group project by midnight on 5/9.
  • The final for Section H will be on Monday, May. 13 from 6-8 pm.
  • The final for Section I will be on Tuesday, May. 14 from 1-3 pm.
  • The final for Section J will be on Tuesday, May 14 from 6-8 pm.