syllabus

components

assignments
   & handouts

resources

policies

miscellany

A.  The Researched Essay: 

• At least four substantial drafts PLUS the final draft.  NOTE:  keep all drafts returned with instructor's comments for inclusion in the final portfolio and for your own edification.
• A writer's memo attached to each draft (see Guide 72-75)
• The final draft should have 8-10 different sources, with a balance of types (i.e., archival (print--primary, secondary), field research, electronic, etc.)  Use either APA or MLA documentation.

Format:  All drafts should be typed, double spaced, and have one-inch margins.  Use a 12-point font (Times or Times New Roman) and please number your pages (by hand, if need be).  The final draft should be 6,000 words (somewhere in the ballpark of 18-20 pages)  See Guide 14 for further details.

Spelling and usage errors aren't especially significant in early drafts unless they interfere with your ability to convey meaning.  In later drafts, they become much more significant; in final drafts, they are critical.  Make it a habit to proofread:  don't rely on (though do use) your computer's spell check and grammar guide.  The computer won't recognize they're as a misspelled word when you meant to write their.  Save your work often, giving each draft a new name.  Remember to make backup copies.

B.  The Writer's Notebook:  (see Guide 24-27) 

General note:  Please keep your notebook organized.  Each entry should be dated and in chronological order.  Bring your work to class.

You should divide your writer's notebook into four sections:

1. Reading Responses:  Include here the essays we discuss in class.  Most will come from the list of online essays  <www.has.vcu.edu/writing/eng200/read200.htm>  (if you've forgotten the ID and password, please email me at s2snherb@titan.vcu.edu)  Print these so you have a hard copy that you can mark up.  Include also your responses to the readings.  As in English 101, you read to learn to write and to think.  For every reading assignment in Gutkind, I expect you to summarize the chapter and to make note of what you think his main point(s) is/are.  For the assigned essays, I expect you to:  1) summarize the reading briefly; and do at least two of the following:  1) discuss the structure of the essay and examine its organization; 2) discuss the role of research/outside sources in the essay; 3) discuss the stylistic lessons you learned from the reading; 4) discuss your response(s) to the reading.  I will collect reading responses at the beginning of class on the day the essay is due to have been read.  Written responses should be, at minimum, two pages (typed:  doublespace; handwritten: single)  Understand that, to do a good, thoughtful job with the written responses, these essays require at least two close readings.  For best results, let some time elapse between readings. 
2. Daily Writing:  In this area, you'll develop your writing habit.  Sometimes, I'll assign a topic for you to write about, but more often this will be a place where you should record your thoughts, observations, and ideas.  You can use this section to develop your essay (treating the daily writing specifically as a tool to advance yourself in the course) or use it like a journal.  Either way, feel free to play around with your thinking and allow essay ideas to emerge.  min. 250 words daily. 
3. Research Log:  (see Guide 101-106)  Here, you'll record your research forays, exercises, findings, evaluations.  In the beginning of the semester, you'll use this section to record your findings for specific "research tasks" that I'll assign.  Later, this portion of your journal will become your footwork for your annotated bibliography.  You will consider print texts as primary, secondary, tertiary; you'll explore the Web; you'll learn how to access electronic sources of information.  You'll also learn different methods for gathering primary research:  observation, interview, survey, and immersion, to name a few.  The early goal is to get you thinking about how to find information/knowledge you might want and need, then how to evaluate what you find.  Later in the semester, these tasks will be based more on what you as a writer need to discover and learn for your own project.  Keep detailed notes about where you find information, your analysis of a source, and the important points from a source.  This log contains your breadcrumbs.  Leave a good trail so you don't get lost. 
4. Class notes:  Here, you will take down notes from class discussions, organize handouts, record any in-class writing, etc.  You might want to keep the returned drafts of your essay in this section, also. 

C.  The Annotated Bibliography  (see Guide 107-108) 

As you "read around" on your topic, you will create a trail of research which I can follow via your annotated bibliography.  We'll discuss this project in more depth as the class proceeds.  I strongly recommend that you work with the annotated bibliography on a computer so that, later, when you need to rank your findings, you can move the bibliographic entries easily.

D.  Peer Writing Groups  (see Guide 48-53) 

The backbone of this course is the workshop.  You will be working in groups of three or four, and these workshops are critically important.  Through them, you'll learn how to respond to another person's writing as it evolves, to see your own writing through a stranger's eyes, and to offer useful, constructive criticism about a draft that will not only help your fellow writer move forward with his/her work, but also enable you to understand your own writing more thoroughly.  Your job is not to judge drafts or to correct "surface" errors (grammar, punctuation, etc.)  Rather, you should respond to the writing by discussing such things as the effect the writing had on you--where you are particularly bored, confused, engaged--and to raise other questions that help the writer re-see opportunities for clarification, focus, or expansion.  You will be expected to attend all workshop sessions.  Be on time, prepared to give substantial feedback.

E.  Class Participation and Engagement: 

• regular and timely attendance
• thoughtful preparation for and engagement with class discussions
• compliance with the rough draft schedule
• timely, responsible participation in your peer writing groups
• thoughtful written responses to peer drafts

Grading 

Individual drafts will not be graded, but you will receive feedback from me and from your peer writing group on each draft.  All drafts and assignments must be completed for you to pass this course.  See evaluation criteria in The Guide, 79-80.  Your final grade will be determined as follows: