Project Advance

WRT 105: Writing Studio
Fall 2000
Mr. Romano

Welcome to Writing 105, Writing Studio I. As the title indicates, this first-year Syracuse course is designed as a studio, much like an artist's studio—a setting in which you write, read, and critique, as well as discuss and reflect on your writing, reading, and critiquing. This course will focus around a "Topic of Inquiry," an area for exploration that will provide you with a common focus for your work this first semester, even as it allows for each of you to pursue questions and concerns that interest you individually. The topic of inquiry for this first semester course will be "Defining My Place in the World." Through this topic, you will define such terms as "awareness," “purpose,” "isolation," and “interaction”; identify the environment in which you live; conduct a primary research project, defining self through the family; and look deeply into literature, exploring beyond the plot with the hope of examining the ways of mankind and problems of human existence.

In this workshop course, you will each be expected to take charge of your own intellectual growth and development. We will function as facilitators and as guides for you, but what you learn this semester will be your responsibility.

Texts Bartholomae, David and Petrosky, Anthony. Eds. Ways of Reading Beaty, Jerome and Hunter, J. Paul. Eds. New Worlds of Literature Conroy, Pat. Beach Music Shelley, Mary. Frankenstein Tan, Amy. The Kitchen God’s Wife Various supplemental texts Course Requirements / Important Dates: Four (4) formal papers: 60% ł The Personal Experience (750 words) ł final draft to be graded due on Tuesday, October 3 ł The Primary Research Paper (1750 words) ł final draft to be graded due on Thursday, November 30 ł The Literary Analysis (1000 words) ł final draft to be graded due on Monday, January 8 ł The Reflective Essay (500 words) ł final draft to be graded due on Thursday, January 18 Test Writing 10% Summer Journal Assignment 20% Informal writing, mini-papers, group 10% work, quizzes, preparation for class
Clarification of Course Requirements - The following items are Ramsey additions to the Student Manual: The ETS summary form outlines the relative value of papers; in short, the course has portfolio grades of different types. All papers receive letter grades. Ten percent of the course's grade consists of a subjective evaluation of student performance - see the card and the instructor's comments for further explanation. . Either instructor will grade any given paper. You may get a second evaluation from the alternate teacher at his/her convenience. . Conference time is available during period 6, the scheduled lab periods, any day, or at a time mutually convenient to the instructor and to you. You must arrange such conferencing time in advance. . At the teacher's discretion, you may select a paper to revise and rewrite in order to improve your overall grade. . The syllabus indicates the weeks in which formal and response papers are due; the instructor will announce specific due dates well in advance. If you are in school up to the day the paper is due and absent on the due date, you must arrange to have the paper delivered to your teacher's General Office mailbox on time (11:07 AM), or it is late. You take care of arranging any individual variations due to your extended legal absence from school. There is a one-letter grade penalty per assignment per day late, including weekends, since Saturday and Sunday are extra days to do work other students have turned in on time. Don't be late. . Final drafts must be beautifully neat, technically error-free pieces of work that exhibit some significant revision of earlier drafts. As such, grading standards for these pieces are considerably more stringent than those for the earlier drafts. If you type a neat copy of a rough draft, but do not pay attention to the teacher comments on that draft and do not revise the paper in some important way, the final paper will fail. Form Type, double-spaced, all final drafts, using one-inch margins all around. Each typed full page will contain about 250 words. Use word count in your word processor if you are uncertain as to your paper's length. Start your text one-third of the way down the first page to allow room for teacher comments. Do not number the first page, but number all the others in the upper right hand comer. Do not hand-write anything on the final draft, including page numbers and underlining. Do not use cover sheets of any kind, but do use a title page with the format explained in class and in Ramsey's Student Guide to Research Documentation. Print a second hard copy of your paper as a safeguard against loss, either electronic or paper. Staple the paper before coming to class. As the instructor directs, submit early drafts with the finished copy.
Inquiry Concerning the Self Discovery - You will begin the course by examining your own personal life experiences as data for use in your inquiry into personal growth and its meaning in both your world and the world at large. Week 1 ł September 6 – 8 (Labor Day Weekend) Course introduction, materials, and syllabus Reading: WRT 105 section of The Students Manual due Reading: Rodrigues' "The Achievement of Desire" in Ways of Readin Week 2 ł September 11 – 15 Reading: Rodrigues' "The Achievement of Desire" in Ways of Reading (cont.) Discussion: The personal experience Discussion: Revisit summer texts Group work: Acquiring tools for writing about a personal experience Diagnostic test: Punctuation, sentence structure, usage, and agreement Week 3 ł September 18 – 22 Summer reading: Testing day one Lecture: The writing process & writing the personal experience essay Writing: Finding the thesis in your haystack Group work: The Seminar Method Week 4 ł September 25 – 29 Group work: The Seminar Method Writing: Drafting the personal experience essay Writing: Peer editing in pairs Writing Under the Pressure of Time - You need to be able to write well in many different ways. Sometimes you will have to carefully plan and construct. Other times you will be called on to produce clear, readable texts quickly. This section of the course will help develop skills for writing quickly and clearly. Week 5 ł October 2 – 6 Summer reading: Testing day two Paper #1 due Tuesday, October 3 Lecture: Test essay writing Discussion: Unpacking the question Writing: Practice essay writing Week 6 ł 10 – 13 (Yom Kippur) Group work: Pairs grading pairs Writing: In-class test essay Observing Those around You - In this section of the course, you will be researching the "why" in daily occurrences that take place in the world around you. You will develop and apply the primary research skill of scripting in order to make your own generalizations and form your own conclusions. Week 7 ł October 16 – 20 Discussion: Revisit select passages from summer texts Writing: Focus on a generalization/conclusion made by either Jack or Pearl and explore their reasoning Lecture: Introduction to primary research and the ethnography Field work: Taping/scripting study halls, library, cafeteria, and locker rooms Discussion: Sharing observations using scripts as a bases Week 8 ł October 23 – 27 Discussion: Sharing observations using scripts as a bases Writing: (Mini-paper) Presenting your findings about how situational language differs by group and situation due Friday, October 29 at end of class (typed) Making Meaning through the Family Experience - In this section of the course, you will continue your exploration of human existence through your family history by designing and conducting a research project that includes primary research, as well as secondary research experiences. (This unit will include a visit to Ellis Island.) Week 9 ł October 30 – November 3 Discussion: Revisit select passages from summer texts Writing: What has each character learned about himself/herself? Lecture: Primary research & an introduction to the genealogy Discussion: The tools of primary research Writing: The Artifact: Telling the tale (Bring in a personal object) Discussion: Creating a survey Outside assignment: Read a work by an author from your particular cultural background Week 10 ł November 6- 8 (New Jersey Teachers Convention) Pair work: The personal interview Pair work: Creating the genealogical interview (Genealogical Society's question sheet) Discussion: The functions of personal writing & the memoir Writing: Creating a timeline of memories Week 11 ł November 13 – 17 Block lesson: Creating a working thesis & writing an introduction to the genealogy Writing: Drafting an introduction to the genealogy Pair work: Ten questions on your introduction Discussion: Using secondary research as support for primary research Library: Research into the immigration of your ethnic group (reference and Internet) Week 12 ł November 20 – 22 (Thanksgiving Weekend) Writing: Drafting the genealogy Group work: Using the Seminar Method on selections by the writer Film: Far and Away or Avalon Outside reading assignment: Frankenstein Week 13 ł November 27 – December 1 Film: Far and Away or Avalon Paper #2 due Thursday, November 30 Reading: In-class catch-up day - Frankenstein Examining the Ways of Mankind and Problems of Human Existence -You have used your own experiences to define self and inquire about your place in the world; you have used your powers of observation and analysis to explore the existence of others; and you have used secondary sources to inquire into a topic. Now you will turn to literature to see what insights you can gain into human existence and the nature of man. Week 14 ł December 4 – 8 Discussion: Examining the text within the context of time, culture, and author intent Reading: Frankenstein Lecture: The literary analysis Discussion: Analyzing a work within the historical context Week 15 ł December 11 – 15 Reading: Frankenstein Lecture: Incorporating some other text/criticism WebQuest: The Problems of Human Existence Discussion: Defining the writer's/main character's purpose Week 16 ł December 18 – 22 Group work: Presentation of WebQuest Reading: Frankenstein Discussion: Putting it all together Week 17 ł 2 – 5 (New Year’s Day) Reading: Frankenstein Conferencing: Individual papers Group work: Seminar Method Writing: Drafting the literary paper Examining your voyage through Writing 105: Writing Studio - In this final section of the course, you will explore your growth as a writer and as a citizen of the academic world. You will revisit each of the three essays you have written and use them as textual support for your observations of self. Week 18 ł January 8 – 12 Paper #3 due Monday, January 8 Discussion: Reflecting on Writing 105: Writing Studio I Individual work: Writing self-inventory Discussion: The thesis Week 19 ł January 15 – 19 Writing: Drafting the reflective essay Group work: The Seminar Method Paper #4 due Thursday, January 18 Congratulations!