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Michigan State University

WRA 150: Evolution of American Thought (055)
T/R 12:40-2:30 in 335A Case Hall

Instructor:
Email: ramossan@msu.edu or ramossf@vcu.edu
Office: 301 Bessey Hall
Office Hours: W 11am-1pm; by appointment

Course Description: As part of the general education requirement, Tier I Writing
contributes to the Michigan State University mission by focusing on inquiry-based
teaching and learning that encourages students to begin to understand themselves
as:
Contributing members of MSUs community of scholars,
Committed to asking important questions and to seeking rich
responses to those questions, and
Developing skills, knowledge, and attitudes that improve the quality
of life for self and others through scholarly, social, and professional
activities.

Much of our time in class will be spent writing, reading one anothers writing, and
providing each other with thoughtful feedback. This semester we will seek not only
to improve our writing skills, but also to explore the concepts of identity, culture,
and power and the ways in which they are shaped and interpreted through the
practice of inquiry.
With these things in mind, I encourage you to think of our classroom as a distinct
community. This course will work against the idea that writing is something done in
isolation, which means that in order to be successful in this course you will need to
actively engage your classmates both inside and outside of class. We should view
our classmates as resources and community members who can help us accomplish
the goals of the course. Finally, remember that I am here as your teacher both to
challenge you and to help you. Please do not be hesitant to shoot me an email if you
have a question, or schedule an in-person meeting with me.
Assignments: There are five major projects in this course: four essays and one
alternative form of presentation/ Remix project. Overall grade distribution will
occur as follows:

Project #1: Learning Memoir 10%
Project #2: Cultural Artifact Analysis 15%
Project #3: Disciplinary Literacies 20%
Project #4 Remix Project 15%
Project #5 Revising Literacies 20%
Classroom participation and Peer Reviews 20%

Brief Descriptions of Major Projects

1) Learning memoir: Youll examine past and present events and practices
associated with learning and discover how you relate to them now.

2) Cultural artifact analysis: Youll analyze an object in the world in order to
explore the nature of the culture that produced it.

3) Disciplinary literacies project: You will inquire into the nature of a literacy
that interests you in order to discover how it works.

4) Remix project: You will repurpose one of your previous essays for a new
medium, shifting your purpose, in order to see more clearly what youve
been doing and why.

5) Revising literacies project: You will examine and expound upon your
trajectory throughout the semester as a student in this course.

Assessment Policy: I will provide a great deal of feedback for early versions of your
projects in order to help you get prepared for the final draft. As a result, I will
provide highly limited feedback on final drafts, unless you come to me individually
with specific questions. At the beginning of each unit, we will work together to build
a rubric, which I will then take into consideration when I am assessing your work.

Completion of Assignments: The Tier I Program requires that students produce a
significant amount of writing to fulfill their Tier I requirement. You must complete
all major assignments to fulfill the Tier I Writing requirement and receive a passing
grade in this course.

Late Assignments: Assignments will lose 5% of their overall grade for every day
past the due date that they are turned in. If you know in advance that meeting a
particular deadline will not be possible for you, get in contact with me.

Participation & Peer Review: Throughout the semester we will continue to build
the community of our classroom. We need to be able to share our ideas with one
another both through writing and classroom discussion. This is what the class is.
There are many ways to participate, though, such as: class discussion, feedback to
peers, meetings with me, emailing me, etc.

Attendance: All courses in the Tier I Writing Program are designed to be highly
interactive and collaborative. Attendance at all class periods is expected. If you need
to miss a class, contact me in advance. If you miss a class, it is your responsibility to
contact me and/or a classmate in order to get caught up on what you have missed.
After two absences, you will begin to lose participation points.

Lateness: Class begins on time, and an arrival more that 5 minutes after the start of
class counts as lateness. If you are late three times, this counts as one absence.

Required texts:
-Reading and Writing Literacies (MSU Edition), edited by Nancy C. DeJoy, Collin
Craig, et al.
-The Curious Researcher, by Bruce Ballenger
-The Little Brown Handbook, by Jane E. Aaron

Accommodations for Students with Disabilities: This course is open to all
students who meet the academic requirement for participation. Any student who
has a need for accommodation based on the impact of a disability should contact the
instructor privately to discuss the specific situation as soon as possible. Students
with disabilities should contact the Resource Center for Persons with Disabilities to
establish reasonable accommodations.

Resources:
Writing center: writing.msu.edu
University ombudsman: msu.edu/~ombud
Counseling center: counseling.msu.edu
Resource center for persons with disabilities: rcpd.msu.edu

Plagiarism: Plagiarism is using words or ideas from another source as if they were
your own. In other words, plagiarism is presenting work as your own when it
contains ideas or language that are not your own. Plagiarism is a serious violation of
academic integrity and will be met with serious consequences. My penalty for
plagiarism will be either immediate failure on the plagiarized assignment or
immediate failure in the course.

Here is MSUs academic integrity policy
(https://www.msu.edu/~ombud/academic-integrity/index.html ):
1.00 PROTECTION OF SCHOLARSHIP AND GRADES The principles of truth
and honesty are fundamental to the educational process and the academic
integrity of the University; therefore, no student shall:
1.01 claim or submit the academic work of another as ones own.
1.02 procure, provide, accept or use any materials containing
questions or answers to any examination or assignment without
proper authorization.
1.03 complete or attempt to complete any assignment or examination
for another individual without proper authorization.
1.04 allow any examination or assignment to be completed for
oneself, in part or in total, by another without proper authorization.
1.05 alter, tamper with, appropriate, destroy or otherwise interfere
with the research, resources, or other academic work of another
person.
1.06 fabricate or falsify data or results.
*Final Exam period will be Th 12/11, 12:45-2:45pm*