Syllabus

Writing 1 Syllabus

*** “You must not think that feeling is everything. Art is nothing without form."
--Gustave Flaubert, French novelist

Dr. Cissy Ross
Enroll Code: 48207
Time and place: MW 11 a.m.-12:50, Girvetz 2127

Office hours: Monday and Wednesday 2 to 3 p.m.; Thursday 10:30 to 11:30 p.m. and by appointment. Try to let me know at the end of class if you want to come by.
Office: South Hall 1510 (There are 3 people in this room. I’m in the middle space.)

Phone: (805) 893-2613. You can leave a message here only. This is not a direct line.
Email: cross@writing.ucsb.edu. I check my email daily, so this is the best way to contact me.

Drop box: If you need to leave papers after class hours, a drop box is located in front of South Hall 1520, or you may slide materials under the door after hours. I would prefer, however, that you email about such materials. Put any text in the body of the letter, not as an attachment.

Why are you taking this class?

This is a terrific learning opportunity for new students at the university. It is purposefully small class so we will have a chance to get to know each other better than in many of your other larger classes. In addition, it is a small class so we can support each other in a learning environment.

I don’t consider this a required class. College is optional, so it’s your choice to be in this class.

This is not an easy class, however; in fact, it will likely be one of the most difficult classes you take this year. Writing 1 in particular, is based on research that students must make a major intellectual shift as they move from high school to college writing. The work is not about memorizing facts; it is about using your ideas to create written arguments. It starts with reading texts closely; then forming your own ideas about them, and finally expressing them by using your own voice and academic formats.

Course requirements:
You will write a number of texts in different formats—response papers to readings, free writes in class, in-class essays and papers written out of class that are later revised and resubmitted.

At the conclusion of the course, students will write a final examination a timed essay in which students will respond to one or more readings that will be given to all students the last class period of the quarter. (It is called a common final because the same prompt is given to every student in all the Writing 1 sections.)

Required texts and supplies:
1. Class blog: http://writing1ucsb.blogspot.com/
You will be able to download the syllabus and many of the readings here.
2. A Writer’s Reference by Diana Hacker, sixth edition. Available at bookstore.
3. They Say: I Say: The Moves That Matter in Academic Writing, Gerald Graff and Cathy Birkenstein. Available at bookstore.
4. Starting Lines (a collection of student essays). Available at the bookstore.
5. A stapler
6. A manila folder to submit all drafts, peer review comments, final portfolio.
7. A thumbdrive to keep all drafts and essays.

Drop deadline:
The drop deadline (via Gold) for this course is Friday, Jan. 9 before 5 p.m.

Required writing and grades: (See note 1.)

You must get a C or higher to pass this class and advance onto other required writing classes, according to UC standards.

You are required to write 18 to 20 pages, or 6,500 words, in a number of different formats.

Essay 1: digital literacy: 20 percent
4 page essay, peer review, grade, revision and writer’s statement

Essay 4: visual literacy: satire and Obama cover: 20 percent
4 page essay, peer review, grade, revision and writer’s statement

Essay 3: in class essay 1: 10 percent
4 page essay, peer review, grade, revision and writer’s statement

Essay 4: in class essay 2: 10 percent

Homework: response papers, reflections on your writing process, etc.: 10

Attendance/participation: 15

Common final: 15 percent

Common final: At the conclusion of the course, students will write a common final examination, a timed essay in which students must respond to one or more readings that will be given to all students the last class period of the quarter. Students may be asked to synthesize two short readings or to analyze and respond to one longer reading. It will be held 8 to 10 p.m. on March 16.

The essays are not graded by me, but by a group of Writing 1 teachers. This means your essay quality has to “stand on its own merits”—rather than on the fact that I may know you have tried hard in class. Essays are scored according to the same guidelines as employed for the systemwide Analytic Writing Placement Test.

Other grade related issues:

*** “Eighty percent of success is showing up.”
--Woody Allen


Attendance:

You can miss 2 classes with no excuse. If you miss 3 classes, you’ll get C for attendance; miss 4 or more-F.

Attendance is taken every day. You really can’t make up the work that you miss in class. If you miss the discussions, your essays will be more difficult to write and your grades will suffer.

If you are absent, I am not responsible for telling you about the assignments or what you missed in class.

You must attend peer review day with a draft or you will receive no points for that portion of the assignment. That means a B grade will be reduced to a D; a C to an F, etc.

Do not be late for class. If you are late class more than twice, you will be marked absent. Same policy for leaving early.

Late papers will usually not be accepted. If a late paper is accepted, the grade is reduced one letter grade per day.


How to get along with the teacher:

1. It is my honor to be your teacher. I put a lot of effort into the class, and likewise, I expect you to put in a lot of effort into the class and be courteous to both me and your classmates.

2. It is important for you to create a support group for yourself within the class. Exchange email and/or telephone numbers with at least one other person. There are two reasons for this.

First of all, all writers need a good reader for their work besides themselves. Cultivate smart friends in all your classes.

Second, if you miss a class, you can contact a classmate and ask what you missed and what is due for the next class.

If you are sick or you have an emergency, however, it is best to email me before the class and let me know why you are missing class. If I don’t hear from you, I’ll assume you are a slacker. When you do return to class, check with me and turn in any missed work.

4. It is important for you to seek me out during office hours to discuss your work and your concerns. You will be required to meet with me at least once during the quarter, but you will benefit even more if you take the initiative to speak to me more often about assignments, their expectations, your expectations, and your individual work. The same holds true for all your classes. You need to make the effort for your professors to get to know you as an individual, not just a slot in a gradebook.

5. No cell phones. No texting.

6. No excuses for missed work such as “my computer crashed” and “my printer didn’t work.” Likewise, “I had to take care of my sick cat (boyfriend, roommate, etc.)” or (fill in the blank). I’m an experienced teacher, boss and parent—I’ve heard a lot of excuses—and even tried to use some, unsuccessfully--to get around personal responsibility. To avoid losing your work, email you drafts to yourself as you finish each page. Store all finished work on a thumbdrive.

7. Come prepared. Bring the readings, texts, paper, pencil.

Helpful services on campus:
Counseling & Career Services offers counseling for personal and career concerns, self-help information and connections to off-campus mental health resources. They also offer help in stress management. (893-4411) www.counseling.ucsb.edu
Campus Learning Assistance Services or CLAS has tutors to help you with your writing. Check out their schedule: www.clas.ucsb.edu/schedule/scheddi.pdf

Disabled Students Program: 
If you are a student with a disability and would like to discuss special accommodations, please contact me via email or speak to me after class or during office hours. This is important if you need extra time for the in-class essays or common final. Disabled Students Program: 893-2668; www.sa.ucsb.edu/dsp

Plagiarism:
Using someone else’s work in part or whole and portraying it as your own, even inadvertently, is a serious offense. Even in a culture when people take papers from the Internet, download movies and sample music clips, the penalties imposed by the university or by most employers for plagiarism are harsh and unforgiving. You could be asked to leave school or be fired from your job. Besides that, at the university, it’s not necessary to plagiarize: You are asked to display a range of ideas you have considered—just credit them to the different authors and then respond in your own words.

Note 1: The New York Times noted in a biography about the great poet Gerald Manley Hopkins that he once worked as a classics teacher, spending “after night poring over … exams, making scrupulous ‘quarter-point and eighth-point’ distinctions lest his pupils miss out on attending a university—“his eyes bleeding … the chamber pot overflowing… the fate of thousands of students in his hands.” After that experience, his death at 44 was a comfort. (“I am so happy” were the poet’s dying words.”)





Schedule

This schedule is subject to change. This is an overview of the quarter. Pay attention in class for updates.

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Introductions

First week: Jan. 5 and 7

Writing:
Personal narratives:
Something I wanted to learn
Letters of introduction

Readings:
1. Reading Like a Girl
2. Hacker MLA essay: Online monitoring, p. 409
3. They Say, I Say: Introduction and Chapter 1
4. Hacker: Planning to write: C1, p. 3-14

Lessons:
Common grammar mistakes quiz
Hacker handbook tour
Brainstorming
Response papers to readings
Quotes: What to quote, integrating quotes, MLA in-text quote format
Form of essays: Differences between academic and popular essays
Argument: Classical rhetorical themes: logical, emotional, moral appeals
Thesis statements

Jan. 5:
Review syllabus
Writing sample: Something You Wanted to Learn
Homework:
Reading Like a Girl
Reading in Hacker, Online Monitoring, p. 409
Write and e-mail Letter of Introduction

Jan. 7: TBA

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First unit-digital literacy


Second week: Jan 12 and 13

Readings:
1. Is Google Making You Stupid?
2. Google counterargument
3. Lazy Eyes: How We Read Online
4. Reading strategies for academic texts
5. They Say, I Say: Chapter 2
6. Hacker readings: TBA

Lessons:
20 most common errors in student papers
Grammar Festival of Knowledge, assignments for class presentations

Jan 12: TBA
Jan 14: TBA


Third week: Jan 21
Writing: First paper due
Reading: They Say, I Say: Chapter 3
Lessons: Grammar Festival of Knowledge: the comma P1

Jan. 19: Holiday, Martin Luther King’s birthday
Jan. 21: Draft of first paper due, peer review, do NOT be absent


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Second unit: visual literacy: satire and Obama cover


Fourth week: Jan. 25 and 28
Writing: First paper due
Readings:
1. How opinions are formed
2. They Say, I Say: Chapter 4
3. Political cartoons
4. Writing as a public activity
5. Jonathan Swift: A Modest Proposal
Lessons: Grammar Festival of knowledge: Unnecessary commas

Jan. 25: First paper due, do NOT be absent
Jan. 28: Beginning of second unit


Fifth week: Feb. 2 and 4
Readings: They Say, I Say: Chapter 5
Lessons: Grammar Festival of knowledge: Parallelism S1
Feb. 2: TBA
Feb 4: TBA


Sixth week: Feb. 9 and 11
Writing: Second paper due
Readings: They Say, I Say: Chapter 6
Lesson: Grammar Festival of Knowledge: Dangling modifiers, S3e., p. 103

Feb. 9: Draft of second paper due, peer review
Feb. 11: Second paper due


Seventh week: Feb. 16 and 18
Reading: They Say, I Say: Chapter 7
Lessons: Grammar Festival of Knowledge: Semicolon P3

Feb. 16: Holiday, President’s Day
Feb. 18: TBA

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Third unit: In-class practice exams

Eighth week: Feb. 23 and 25
Writing: 1st in-class essay
Readings: They Say, I Say: Chapter 8
Lessons: Grammar Festival of Knowledge: Shifts S4

Feb. 23: discuss reading for 1st in-class essay
Feb. 25: in-class essay

Ninth week: March 2 and 4
Writing: 2nd in-class essay
Reading: They Say, I Say: Chapter 9
Lesson: Grammar Festival of Knowledge: Problems with pronouns G3

Mar 2: discuss reading for 2nd in-class essay
Mar 4: 2nd in-class essay

Tenth week: March 9 and 11
Portfolio revisions

March 9: return 2nd in-class essay
March 11: TBA

March 16
8 to 10 a.m., Common final