109 W20 Rickert

University of Waterloo

English Language and Literature

ENGL 109: Introduction to Academic Writing

Winter 2020
MW 1pm-2:20pm, EV3 3406

Instructor: Jenn Rickert
Email: jrickert@uwaterloo.ca
Office: EC1, Pod 1332B (The Games Institute)
Office Hours: (MW) 3pm-4:30pm (or by appointment)

Course description:

The course will explore a variety of issues in academic writing such as style, argument, and the presentation of information. We are going to be writing, like, frequently and nearly constantly, and about everything. Let me say that again: you will be writing in class every day, and some of what you write, you will hand in, or use to work on later for something else to hand in.

This course is focused around the theme of power and knowledge, so: truth, facts, evidence, argument, point of view, and persuasion. We are going to be reading and writing particularly about how truth claims are made, how evidence is used to support these claims, and how arguments are made persuasive with technique as well as facts.

Academic writing, like all writing, takes place in contexts where expertise is more or less valued, facts are more or less debatable, and where being knowledgeable can make you powerful, but where sometimes (maybe more often than we would hope) being powerful means you get to decide what constitutes knowledge.

Course learning outcomes:

The design of the content and schedule of the course is determined by our goals of considering how writing creates or obscures “power” and/or “knowledge,” and of becoming stronger academic writers in a university setting. More formally, the course aims to:

• Help you to think critically and communicate effectively

• Learn and practice a variety of strategies for inventing, drafting, and editing texts

• Learn and practice writing in a variety of academic genres

• Learn to read critically

• Learn to write persuasively by effectively employing elements of formal argumentation

• Help you give and receive useful feedback on writing for the purposes of revision

• Learn and practice communicating to a variety of academic audiences

This course is reading intensive, writing intensive, and participation intensive: I expect you to do the readings, show up, and take part.

Required and Recommended Texts:

The following text is required for the course. Bring it to class. It is available for purchase at the W Store in South Campus Hall. Or order it for $2 cheaper from Amazon.

John J. Ruszkiewicz and Jay T. Dolmage. How to Write Anything: A Guide and Reference With Readings. 4th edition. Bedford St. Martin’s, 2019.

We have a course website: it is available through LEARN. You must access this site regularly: this is where links to readings not in the textbooks are located, as well as copies of all the handouts. Group work will go here. Grades live here.

Assignments and Mark Distribution:

The following are the graded components of the course:

Detailed handouts available online describe what is expected of you from each assignment; please read these carefully and refer to them as you complete the assignments.

Each assignment has a series of due dates associated with it: here, we engage in process-based writing, and each stage of the process, being essential, to the production of good writing, counts.

This class is an inclusive space:

The university mandates that I say this: “Note for Students with Disabilities:

The AccessAbility Services office (AS), located in Needles Hall, Room 1401, collaborates with all academic departments to arrange appropriate accommodations for students with disabilities without compromising the academic integrity of the curriculum. If you require academic accommodations to lessen the impact of your disability, please register with the AS office at the beginning of each academic term.”

But what is really important is this: I strive to make my classes accessible to whatever student happens to cross the threshold. Everyone has a right to the full experience of the university education they have earned by admission and/or tuition payment. Night owls, English learners, introverts, rebels, loud-talkers, assault survivors, grieving students, anime fans but only like the subs and not the dubs, injured students, disabled students, people with dial up internet, people who wear sunglasses indoors because it’s, like, too much. If there’s something you need to help you succeed, let me know. If something in this document is freaking you out, let’s talk. If you’re registered with AccessAbility Services (man, that’s a LOT of paperwork to fill out!!!!) you can for sure have them send me whatever. Let me help you out here.

Technology Policies:

Email policy: Email is fast, but it is not instant. I will read your emails within 1 business day, and I will respond within 2 business days. I’m trying to limit email and encourage you to do the same in order to better foster work/life balance. In the very least I recommend, turn off the notifications and only check it at specific times. We all need boundaries! I do not address major questions of substance (“Can you explain why I got that grade on my paper, because my mom thinks I’m a genius?”) in emails, but will use it to make appointments with you (“Can you meet with me on Wednesday to discuss your feedback on my paper?”).

Email policy, part 2: Email is a professional communication medium. Be professional in your communications: use your university email as otherwise it’ll probably get stuck in my spam filter. Make sure your address includes your name. Write respectfully.

Device/Technology policy: Mostly, we talk and write about stuff. With each other. In real time and face to face. There is almost no lecturing in this course, but lots of in-class exercises, group work, and thinking-out-loud. Bring your laptop: we write online, alone and in groups, and sometimes collectively. We have lids-up time (use the computer), but also lids-down time (no computer).

We have a definite no non-class-work-during-class policy. Please refrain from using your cell phone for any reason, save for an emergency. If you must text or call due to an emergency, please leave the classroom to do so and return when finished.

Participation, Absence, and Late Policies:

Attendance is vital to your success in this course. If you choose not to attend, you will be missing in-class exercises upon which some of your grades will depend. Participation is 20% of your course grade! And it’s the easiest grade to get! Just come to class and try a little! There are no ‘makeups’ for this work. You get one “freebie” absence, and any other must be excused.

Participation grades are assessed according to the following criteria: attends; stays awake during class; does not engage in online shopping / shitposting / meme generation / software development during class; participates fully in group and class discussion; collaborates meaningfully in the production of shared documents and resources for class; shows evidence of having read assigned material; listens and speaks respectfully to others. Approximately as follows:

• 12% attendance (.5% per class over 12 weeks, not including the first class and the ‘freebie’ absence)

• 8% Class engagement and meaningful contributions, e.g.:

  • Working with your group during collaboration time, thoughtful remarks raised in class, and filling in the class notes during your group’s assigned week on Google Docs.

• Participation weights adjust in accordance with the add/drop date if you join the class late, don’t worry!

Assignments are due as noted on the assignment sheets and on the LEARN calendar; unless prior arrangements are made late assignments will lose 10% per day late, counting weekends. Assignments more than three days late will not be accepted without documentation or explanation. If you think that you will have a conflict around one of the assigned dates please reach out to me ASAP so we can coordinate something. Life happens, just be sure to stay in contact.

Rights and Responsibilities:

Every member of this class—instructor as well as students—has rights and responsibilities to ensure a pleasant and productive experience for all. Here are some more specific expectations for this course:

You will:

• Know the university policies that govern your behaviour

• Attend all scheduled classes

• Arrive with assigned reading and writing completed, and with appropriate materials in hand

• Participate actively in your own learning, while respecting the rights of others to learn as well: this means active listening as well as active speaking

• Give thoughtful consideration to instructor feedback on written and oral work

I will:

• Adhere to the university policies that govern my behaviour

• Attend all scheduled classes

• Make myself available for consultation in person and over email

• Return assignments within 2 weeks

• Provide helpful and respectful feedback on your work

On academic dishonesty: it is a serious offense to appropriate the intellectual labour of another to yourself. Plagiarism consists of using someone else’s words or ideas without proper attribution. I expect that the work you submit in this course will be the product of your own labour, and that your research sources will be scrupulously documented. If you have any concerns or questions about appropriate practice, you are sincerely encouraged to come discuss this with me—I would really like to help.

On academic dishonesty and intellectual property: be aware that this course contains the intellectual property of the instructor—me. Intellectual property includes items such as:

• Lecture content, spoken and written (and any audio/video recording thereof);

• Lecture handouts, presentations, and other materials prepared for the course (e.g., PowerPoint slides);

• Work protected by copyright (e.g., any work authored by the instructor or TA or used by the instructor or TA with permission of the copyright owner).

Course materials are used to enhance your educational experience. However, sharing this intellectual property without permission is a violation of intellectual property rights. Also, please alert me if you become aware of intellectual property belonging to others (past or present) circulating, particularly online.

Academic Integrity

• In order to maintain a culture of academic integrity, members of the University of Waterloo community are expected to promote honesty, trust, fairness, respect and responsibility. See the UWaterloo Academic Integrity Webpage for more information.

Grievance

• A student who believes that a decision affecting some aspect of his/her university life has been unfair or unreasonable may have grounds for initiating a grievance. Read Policy 70, Student Petitions and Grievances, Section 4. When in doubt please be certain to contact the department’s administrative assistant who will provide further assistance.

Discipline

• A student is expected to know what constitutes academic integrity to avoid committing academic offenses and to take responsibility for his/her actions. A student who is unsure whether an action constitutes an offense, or who needs help in learning how to avoid offenses (e.g., plagiarism, cheating) or about “rules” for group work/collaboration should seek guidance from the course professor, academic advisor, or the undergraduate associate dean. For information on categories of offenses and types of penalties, students should refer to Policy 71, Student Discipline.

For typical penalties check Guidelines for the Assessment of Penalties.

Appeals

• A decision made or penalty imposed under Policy 70, Student Petitions and Grievances (other than a petition) or Policy 71, Student Discipline may be appealed if there is a ground. A student who believes he/she has a ground for an appeal should refer to Policy 72, Student Appeals.

Mental Health Support

All of us need a support system. The faculty and staff in Arts encourage students to seek out mental health supports if they are needed.

On Campus --

• Counselling Services: counselling.services@uwaterloo.ca / 519-888-4567 Ext 32655

• MATES: one-to-one peer support program offered by Federation of Students (FEDS) and Counselling Services.

• Health Services Emergency service: located across the creek from Student Life Centre

Off Campus, 24/7 --

• Good2Talk: Free confidential help line for post-secondary students. Phone: 1- 866-925- 5454

• Grand River Hospital: Emergency care for mental health crisis. Phone: 519- 749-433 ext. 6880

• Here 24/7: Mental Health and Crisis Service Team. Phone: 1-844-437-3247

• OK2BME: set of support services for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or questioning teens in Waterloo. Phone: 519-884-0000 extension 213.

Full details can be found online at the Faculty of Arts Website. Download UWaterloo and regional mental health resources. Download the WatSafe app to your phone to quickly access mental health support information.

Schedule:

Note: Listed below are the textbook readings and all the assignment due dates. There will be readings, also, that are only available on LEARN—these are updated weekly, so you will need to check the website very regularly to make sure you are reading all the assigned primary materials (basically, the stuff we are going to fight about in class.)

6 January:

• Read: (the syllabus, probs after class)

• Process writing: What people don’t understand about this thing I know a lot about that I do / make / read / consume on the Internet

• Homework: Read the syllabus: identify the one piece of information that seems the most important to you, write it down, and explain briefly why you think it’s the most important (to you, or in general). Email it to me through LEARN by Wednesday, Jan 8th, 8am. In that same email, send me your writing self-assessment we worked on in class.

Internet Explanation:

8 January:

• Read: Ch 2 Defining Genres and Purpose, 3 Claiming Topics ,4 Imagining Audiences (pp 12-25)

• Read Eddo Stern, “Warcrack for the Hordes: Why Warcraft Owns the World” (pp 661-669)

• Process writing Audience and purpose? What is the difference between what I know and what I want my audience to know? What do I need to explain?

13 January:

• Read: Ch 9 Explanations (pp 65-88)

• Read: Ch 33 Levels of Style (pp 368-374)

• Process writing How can I be persuasive and convincing? What extra material might I need to cite or provide? How can I organize the whole thing to work best?

15 January:

• Read: Ch 34 Clear and Vigorous Writing, Ch 35 Inclusive Writing (pp 375-386)

• Read: Ch 38 Memorable Openings and Closings, Ch 39 Informative Titles (pp395-401)

• Due: One page of Internet Explanation, for discussion and revision

20 January:

• Read: Ch 42 Designing Print and Online Documents (pp 417-425)

• Read: Ch 32 Overcoming Writer’s Block (pp 362-365)

• Read: Matt Daniels, “Where New Slang Comes From” (pp 648-660)

• Process writing: let’s design some documents semantically as well as visually!

22 January:

• Read: Ch 36 Purposeful Paragraphs, Ch 37 Strategic Transitions (pp 387-394)

• Process writing: Rewrite a paragraph from your Internet Explanation draft. Rewrite some transitions between sentences, paragraphs, and ideas. Share this with others.

27 January:

• Read: Ch 30 Revising, Editing and Proofreading, Ch 31 Peer Editing (pp 350-359)

• Due: Full draft of Internet Explanation, for workshopping

Fact-Check Report:

29 January:

• Read: Web Literacy Part 1: Four Strategies and a Habit

• Read: Ch 25 Smart Reading, Ch 26 Critical Thinking

• Process writing: Brainstorm questionable internet “facts”

3 February:

• Due: Final copy of Internet Explanation, to hand in

• Read: Ch 8 Reports (pp 38-52)

• Read: Web Literacy Part 2: Look for Previous Work

• Read: Instagram hoax material (short articles on Learn)

• Process writing: Choose an issue for Fact-Check Report; begin research

5 February:

• Read: Web Literacy Part 3: Go Upstream

• Read: Ch 17 Annotated Bibliographies (pp 251-257)

• Process writing Exercises from Web Literacy guide; further research on fact check topic: annotate bad sources and annotate good sources.

10 February:

• Library Workshop, Dana Porter LIB 329

12 February:

• Read: Web Literacy Part 4: Read Laterally (first half)

• Due: Annotated list of 8 sources for Fact-Check Report

• Process writing: begin drafting text of Fact-Check Report

-- READING WEEK--

24 February:

• Read: Web Literacy Part 4: Read Laterally (second half)

• Due: Full draft of Fact-Check Report, for workshopping

Evidence-based Argument:

26 February:

• Read: Ch 10 Arguments (only pp 89-99)

• Read: Ryan Young, “Self-Driving Cars: A Reality Check”

• Read: Paul Argenti, “Corporate Ethics in the Era of Millennials” (pp 672-676)

• Read: Daniel Engber, “Glutton Intolerance” (pp 686-691)

• Process writing: Considering what we want to argue for or against, and assessing what might make a good topic

2 March:

• Read: Ch 43 Beginning Research, Ch 45 Finding Print and Online Resources, Ch 46 Evaluating Sources, Ch 48 Annotating Sources (about 20 pages total)

• Due: Final copy of Fact-Check Report, to hand in

• Process writing: Topic for and response to argument that needs evidence

4 March:

• Read: Ch 10 Arguments (pp 99-106), Ch 27 Shaping a Thesis, Ch 28 Strategies of Development, Ch 29 Outlining (pp 333-349)

• Process writing: Generating ideas about a thesis, an outline, an organization, a research plan, a revision plan, a binge-watch plan, possibly a crying and melodramatic Snapchat plan.

9 March:

• Read: Ch 49 Summarizing Sources, Ch 50 Paraphrasing Sources, Ch 51 Incorporating Sources into Your Work (pp

• Due: Annotated list of 8 sources for Evidence-Based Argument, for workshopping

11 March:

• Due: Full draft of Evidence-Based Argument, for workshopping

Self-Evaluation:

16 March:

• Read: Ch 15 Essays (pp 221-241), Ch 23 Personal Statements (pp 304-310)

• Due: Final copy of Evidence-Based Argument, to hand in

18 March:

• Read: Online readings on Dunning-Kruger Effect

• Process writing Brainstorm for Self-Evaluation, dig through accumulated notes and journal entries to remind yourself what happened and how you felt and what you learned

23 March:

• Read: Lynda Barry, “Lost and Found” (pp 808-814)

• Process writing Freewriting for Self-Evaluation, start putting together a sense of narrative and genre: Tragedy? Comedy? Bildungsroman? Cautionary tale? Thriller? Mystery?

25 March:

• Read: Ta-Nehisi Coates, “Acting French” (pp 818-829)

• Due: Draft of introduction to Self-Evaluation, for workshopping

30 March:

• Process writing: work period on Self-Evaluation

1 April:

• Due: Final copy of Self-Evaluation, to hand in.