English 3020: Writing and Community

Course Syllabus, Winter 2014

Christopher Susak er5356@wayne.edu T/Th 1:25 PM 2:50 PM

9306 Maccabees, 5057 Woodward Office hours: Tuesday 11-1 &3-5; Wednesday 11-2 Email replies within 48 hours, Mon. Fri. 335 State Hall

Course Description
In this course, youll spend the semester serving your fellow community members at an organization specifically designed to address real, practical needs in Detroit. This semester-long commitment will be the focus of your reading, writing, and other assignments. Heres what you need to know: What is service-learning? Service-learning combines hands-on experience in a community setting with academic work related to the community site. Unlike volunteers, service-learners are getting as much you give: you offer something of value to the community site where you participate, and in return, you get the chance to develop several kinds of skills, including academic skills like researching, analyzing scholarly texts, and writing, as well as practical skills like understanding and negotiating with people from different backgrounds and working effectively with organizations. Why service-learning? Because it combines doing with critical analysis of what and why youre doing, service-learning is one of the most effective ways to promote long-term learning. Learning research shows that people grasp and retain new knowledge to some extent when they see or hear it, more when they write about it, even more when they apply it, and most of all when they teach it to someone else. Youll get the chance to do all of these in your service project for the course. Research shows that taking a service-learning course is linked to a slight increase in grades in all courses, increased academic involvement, and more interaction with instructors. Service-learning also provides authentic scenarios for doing research and writing for both academic and public audiences. How does this course fit into the WSU curriculum? ENG 3020 builds on students diverse skills, preparing you for reading, research, and writing in upper-level college courses. ENG 3020 also prepares you for the Writing Intensive course youll need to take in your major. It does so by asking you to consider how research and writing take places across the university in the broad disciplinary and interdisciplinary patterns of the sciences, social sciences, humanities, and professions. The overarching goals of the course are (1) to have you read materials from different disciplines across the university; (2) to introduce you to the ways writing constructs
ENG 3020: Writing and Community Winter 2014, 1 of 12

knowledge in the sciences, social sciences, humanities, and professions; (3) to develop a sustained project that integrates academic research, critical analysis and argumentation, and legitimate community engagement. To achieve these goals, the course places considerable emphasis on analytical and critical reading and writing; the development of both primary and secondary research skills; the genres of analysis, literature review, research presentation, and researched argument; and the use of multiple technologies for research and writing.

Learning Objectives
To develop and practice analytical strategies for reading academic texts across a range of disciplines To develop and practice strategies for describing and evaluating such texts claims, evidence, and rhetorical design To recognize and use key conventions of academic writing employed across disciplines To extend and practice skills in using such texts to support the writers own argument To develop primary and secondary research skills needed to produce an academic argument To write an extended academic argument by drawing effectively on different types of sources, both primary and secondary To draw on primary and secondary academic sources to draft texts for public audiences (e.g., white papers, program announcements) To extend knowledge of writing process strategies and how to adapt them to different disciplinary and public writing contexts

Service-Learning Projects
For your service commitment, youll choose one of several different community sites. Representatives from the community sites will visit our class to discuss the different service project options. Your service projects should begin during the first week of February; however, YOU are responsible for setting up orientation times and a consistent schedule with our community partner. You are required to complete AT LEAST 20 hours of service work at your community site. For most of you, the 20 hours should probably work out to about two to three hours of service work per week, but youll work out individual schedules with your community site contact person. Youll be graded on this portion of the course based on demonstrated completion of your service hours and an evaluation youll ask your community site staff person to complete.
Required materials: A Copy of The Wayne Writer Regular access to computer with internet ENG 3020: Writing and Community Winter 2014, 2 of 12

 A Facebook Account A dictionary Dedicated place for saving all work, readings, etc. for this class over the entire semester Writing utensils Spiral notebook (or a binder and paper used only for this class)

The rest of the course texts will either be made available through weekly folders on Blackboard or handed out in class. Please print all texts and bring them to class. I may provide some other texts as handouts. Also, please set aside $35 - $40 for printing and photocopying your drafts, academic sources for your papers, etc.

Assignments
Please note that most written assignments will be due on Sunday evenings. Because the English Department requires all assignments be submitted through SafeAssign, the plagiarism detection software in Blackboard, I will accept only papers submitted in this way. Go to the Content section of Blackboard and find the appropriate SafeAssign Link for submitting each assignment.

Writing Assignments
Specific assignment details and rubrics will be discussed as they are assigned

Weekly blog posts/Responses, 10 posts, 10 point per post, 100 points total Each post must be one or two paragraphs (250-500 Words) on a main topic related to the weeks readings. Purpose of the blog is to generate discussion in and out of class on issues of interest. These, and any ensuing discussion will be posted publicly online. Fieldnote Journal, 10 entries, 20 points per entry, 200 points total Each entry must be at least one single-spaced page (double space between paragraphs) that describes your observations and experiences in and around your service site. Journals will be collected at the end of each unit for grading. Case Study Paper, 200 points This is a 6-8 page paper in which you analyze the various forces affecting one or more people you have been working with over the semester. The purpose is to analyze your site and represent urban issues as you observed and experienced them in the service site, and to make sense of this experience through the course readings and your own primary and secondary research. Must include proper in-text citation and a Works Cited page in proper MLA style.
Literature Review 200 Points This is a 6-8 page paper in which you review current research related to your sites characteristics, an issue or problem that emerges from your ongoing analyses, and most importantly, your research questions in response to the above. This assignment will not only help you to more carefully define and discuss community issues, but also strategies for addressing those issues as explored offered by other scholars/professionals.

Researched Proposal Argument, 250 points

ENG 3020: Writing and Community Winter 2014, 3 of 12

This is a 12-18 page paper in which you present the social issue youve been researching at your site as well as your literature review and your proposed argument for addressing that issue within the context of your site and its community. We will discuss the particulars of argument format and strategies in detail during class. Must include proper in-text citation and a Works Cited page in MLA style.

Research Presentation, 50 points This is a 10-minute multi-media presentation reporting to the class the major findings from your re-search paper, plus 5 minutes for questions from your classmates and instructor.
Final Project, 150 points Your final project must make a practical contribution to your community site. The final project requires at least four pages of writing (or 500 words) designed and drafted in consultation with me as well as your community partner. Youll need to propose and get approval on the following items: what your project will contribute to the community site; what writing will be completed; by what dates youll submit drafts and other materials; what criteria will be used to evaluate drafts; and what materials youll submit, in what format, at the end of the semester to document your projects contribution.

Thank-you/Goodbye Letter, 10 points This is a one-half page single-spaced letter thanking your service site contact person or saying good-bye to mentees or other service site participants. In either case, the letter should be very concrete, listing several specific examples. Participation, 40 points Points will be awarded for positive, engaged participation in our class (including in-class writing, homework etc.) and at your site location, as well as for attending scheduled conferences with me Extra Credit Opportunities: Receive 20 points for five or more additional hours devoted to service at one of our course sites.

Writing Assistance
Ill comment substantively on the first draft of each major paper you submit, and Ill be glad to talk with you about revising during that process. We will also conduct peer review sessions and workshop activities throughout the entirety of the course. Failure to bring drafting materials to class on assigned workshop days will count as an absence. As the semester progresses, I will also hold mandatory conferences with each student where we will review specific assignment outcomes, the scaffolded development of larger research projects, the trajectory of your writing, and your own learning process. I also encourage you to seek feedback from a Writing Center tutor (2310 UGL, 313-577-2544), or strong writers you know from outside class. In some cases, I may require you to visit the Writing Center for one or more sessions. In those cases, Ill require verification of your visit(s) and summaries of the work you did. The Writing Center (2nd floor, UGL) provides individual tutoring consultations free of charge for students at Wayne State University. Undergraduate students in General Education courses, including composition courses, receive priority for tutoring appointments. The Writing Center serves as a resource for writers, providing tutoring sessions on the range of activities in the writing process
ENG 3020: Writing and Community Winter 2014, 4 of 12

considering the audience, analyzing the assignment or genre, brainstorming, researching, writing drafts, revising, editing, and preparing documentation. The Writing Center is not an editing or proofreading service; rather, students are guided as they engage collaboratively in the process of academic writing, from developing an idea to correctly citing sources. To make an appointment, consult the Writing Center website: http://www.clas.wayne.edu/writing/.

Project Formats
Typed, double spaced, 12-point type, with one-inch margins, submitted electronically through Blackboard, using SafeAssign. Please use MLA or APA format for citations. For questions regarding discipline specific formatting, please see me ahead of time Revisions: You must highlight all new and changed material to receive credit.)

Course Policies
ALL Policies are subject to change with due notice. Attendance and participation count: after 3 missed classes, your grade will drop 1/2 mark for each additional missed class. If you miss five classes, fall too far behind, repeatedly come unprepared, disrupt class, or repeatedly arrive late or leave early, Ill ask you to drop the course. Please arrive on time, with all your materials, and stay for the full class. Repeated late arrivals, early departures, unpreparedness, or lack of participation will reduce your class participation grade. Ill determine specific grade reductions based on the extent of tardiness, early departures, and/or unpreparedness. Be ready to share your ideas, questions, and writing with other people in class. Make sure all pagers, cell phones, watches, etc., wont sound during class time. Please do not take or make calls, text message, or otherwise use electronic devices for personal use during class! Late blog posts will not be graded. If you need to submit work late, check with me in advance. I dont comment on late work. Ill determine specific grade reductions on a case-by-case basis depending on timely prior notification, whether revised deadlines are met, and similar factors. I will accept and grade other late work only if you arrange a new deadline with me in advance. If you miss the first two class sessions, Ill ask you to drop. You may add the course during the first week of classes but not after that. With a grade of C or better, this course satisfies the general education requirement for intermediate composition (IC). To meet university criteria for fulfilling this requirement, the course includes writing assignments totaling at least 32 pages/8,000 or more words. There is no final exam.
ENG 3020: Writing and Community Winter 2014, 5 of 12

You can get a grade of Incomplete only if youve attended nearly all of the class sessions and if you submit an Incomplete Contract (using the English Departments recommended form) that you and I both approve and sign. If you feel that you may need an accommodation based on the impact of a disability, please feel free to contact me privately to discuss your specific needs. Additionally, the Student Disabilities Services Office coordinates reasonable accommodations for students with documented disabilities. The Office is located in 1600 David Adamany Undergraduate Library, phone: 313-577-1851/577-3335 (TTD). http://studentdisability.wayne.edu Additional resources include the Academic Success Center http://www.success.wayne.edu and Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) http://www.caps.wayne.edu.

Grammar Help
Go to <http://owl.english.purdue.edu/>, which is the Purdue Online Writing Labs Web site. Look for the link to The Purdue Online Writing Lab. Click it and then follow the link on the right side of the page to Grammar and Mechanics.

Plagiarism
Its important to understand what plagiarism is and the penalties for it because in the worst-case scenario, you can be expelled from WSU. Heres what it is: You submit someone elses work as your own this could be a paper you buy from the internet, another students work, a journal article, etc.; You pick and choose pieces from various sources without crediting those sources for instance, you cut and paste language from several Web sites into your paper without using quotation marks and/or explaining which language came from which sources; You paraphrase someone elses work without crediting the author. Plagiarism includes copying language, texts, or visuals without citation. Heres what to do to avoid plagiarism: Always use quotation marks and fully identify your source when using someone elses exact words, whether those words come from a printed source, a Web site, another students paper, etc. When paraphrasing someone elses language, be sure to indicate all language youve borrowed and identify the source fully. Remember that when youre including facts or ideas in your writing, only common knowledge doesnt require you to cite a source. An example of common knowledge is that George Washington was the first president of the U.S. View the UGL module on plagiarism: http://www.lib.wayne.edu/services/instruction/searchpath/mod6/04ENG 3020: Writing and Community Winter 2014, 6 of 12

plagiarism.html. If you have more questions, complete the tutorial on plagiarism available through the Writing Center: http://www.clas.wane.edu/writing. When in doubt, ask your instructor!

These are the policies and penalties related to plagiarism: All papers in ENG 3020 will be submitted to SafeAssign in Blackboard. SafeAssign includes in its database papers previously written by WSU students, as well as papers plagiarized from print or Internet sources. SafeAssign searches all papers submitted to determine how much content was drawn from these and nearly all other Internet sources. All papers submitted to SafeAssign become part of the WSU database. Youll receive no credit for work that appears to include plagiarized sections. Well discuss what you did to compose the paper and how you were thinking about it. Then well consider what next step is appropriate. This could range from arranging for you to correct or make up the work, to earn a substantially lower course grade, or to drop the class. Per English Department policy, all cases of plagiarism will be reported to the Department. Information about plagiarism procedures is available in the Department. If I think youve knowingly acted in bad faith, Ill assign a failing grade for the course and inform the English Department Chair, the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Dean, your colleges Dean, and the WSU Judicial Officer. Student Disabilities Services If you feel that you may need an accommodation based on the impact of a disability, please feel free to contact me privately to discuss your specific needs. Additionally, the Student Disabilities Services Office coordinates reasonable accommodations for students with documented disabilities. The Office is located in 1600 David Adamany Undergraduate Library, phone: 313577-1851/577-3365 (TTY). http://studentdisability.wayne.edu WSU Resources for Students Adamany Undergraduate Library http://www.lib.wayne.edu/info/maps/ugl.php Academic Success Center http://www.success.wayne.edu/ Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) http://www.caps.wayne.edu

ENG 3020: Writing and Community Winter 2014, 7 of 12

Date

Class Plans

Reading Due

Writing Due

1/14/14

Week 1: Rhetoric and Community Literacy -Rhetorical Overview Genre, Audience, Kairos, Rhetorical Triangle/ Rhetorical Situation (EPL/Author, Audience, Text), purpose, exigence, Discourse Community Outline purpose of writing genres for this class. Discuss FB use. What is Community Literacy?

1/16/14

Community Literacy Peck, Flower, Higgins

1/21/14

Week 2: Rhetoric, Research, and Service Learning Theoretical Roots of Service-Learning Giles & Eyler Ch1: Why Research The Wadsworth Guide The Rhetorical Situation - Bitzer

1/23/14

Rhetoric and Community Action

RR: Connections between RS and TRSL

1/28/14

Week 3: Scenes and Situations Community Partner Get started on Presentations Reading for Thursday Revisiting Scene, Situation, and Genre Maybe move this to next week? Chapter 1: Understanding Scenes of Writing WW Chapter 10: Reading and Writing within Public Scenes
ENG 3020: Writing and Community Winter 2014, 8 of 12

1/30/14

Date 2/4/14

Class Plans

Reading Due

Writing Due Summary/Response to Mirriam and Emerson Observation and Notation System

Week 4: Primary Research Observations and Field Being a Careful Notes: How TO Observer Mirriam Writing Ethnographic Fieldnotes Emerson Interviewing Macrorie

2/6/14

Developing Sound Review Questions and taking them beyond literal answers

Interview with scholar from your field (dept)

2/11/14

2/13/14

2/18/14

Conducting Effective Interviews Mirriam Week 5: Community Analysis Analyzing forces impacting The Elephant in Comparing and urban issues the Living Room Contrasting Haycock different views on Community, Education, and Economic Mobility Analyzing forces impacting Neighborhoods Comparing and urban issues. Comparing and and the BlackContrasting Contrasting different White Mobility different views on viewpoints on the same Gap Sharkey Community, issues. Education, and Growing Gaps Economic Mobility - Maxwell Week 6: Community Analysis (part 2) st 1 half: Rough Draft TBD 2/16/14 Site Workshop Analysis Rough Draft DUE via email nd 2 half: Analysis, Topics, and Problems Ch. 3 Identifying a Topic The Wadsworth Guide 1st set of Fieldnotes - Site Analysis: minimum of 2 entries

2/20/14

ENG 3020: Writing and Community Winter 2014, 9 of 12

Date 2/25/14

Class Plans

Reading Due

Writing Due Case Study: Site Analysis DUE 2/23/14

Week 7: Secondary Research Discuss Critical and different Chapter 4: types of reading Critical Reading Process WW Review Library and database searches Submit Article Summaries Present 3-5 minutes on types of problems/questions explored, argument style, and types of evidence used in your discipline 2 Academic Articles from your field

2/27/14

Summary of articles Presentation on argument style, and types of evidence used RR: How might you use the ideas from our readings to construct your own Literature Review? Describe/plan your process.

3/4/14

Week 8: Writing Process and Genres Defining Problems and Chapter 3: Mapping Conversations Mapping a Conversation WW Improving the Writing of Literature Reviews Zorn & Campbell

3/6/14

NO CLASS MEETING SPEND TIME AT SITES SCHEDULE APPTS. W/SUSAK SPRING BREAK!!!!! Week 9: Writing Process and Genres RD Workshop

3/11 3/13 3/18/14

Literature Review RD DUE: 3/16/14

3/20/14

NO CLASS MEETING SPEND TIME AT SITES SCHEDULE APPTS. W/SUSAK

ENG 3020: Writing and Community Winter 2014, 10 of 12

Date 3/25/14

Class Plans

Reading Due

Writing Due Literature Review DUE 3/23/14

3/27/14

Week 10: Writing Process and Genres Assemble into groups, begin Ch. 5 Writing an compiling resources, and Argument AND brainstorming for Addressing pgs 202-214 in Community Challenges The Wayne Writer NO CLASS MEETING SPEND TIME AT SITES SCHEDULE APPTS. W/SUSAK Week 11: Group meetings and miniconferences in class. NO CLASS MEETING SPEND TIME AT SITES SCHEDULE APPTS. W/SUSAK Week 12:

4/1/14

TBD

4/3/14

4/8/14

RD Workshop

Researched Argument RD DUE: HARD COPY x2 brought to class 1 for peer review and 1 for me.

4/10/14

NO CLASS MEETING SPEND TIME AT SITES SCHEDULE APPTS. W/SUSAK

ENG 3020: Writing and Community Winter 2014, 11 of 12

Week 13/14: 4/15/14 Presentations and Final Projects DUE

4/17/14

Presentations and Final Projects DUE

4/24/14

FINAL EXAM PERIOD Presentations and Final Projects DUE

Portfolios DUE by 11:59pm 4/24/14

ENG 3020: Writing and Community Winter 2014, 12 of 12