ENG-494
SEMINAR IN WRITING AND TUTORING, Spring 2003
Section
1873 Tu/Th 11:15-12:35, 113 Humanities
Professor Unger
OFFICE: 392
Humanities, 518.442.2633
OFFICE HOURS: Tu/Th
E-MAIL:
DonUnger@hotmail.com
Coursepack
Available at Shipmates in
English 494 is a Seminar in Writing
and Tutoring. It is designed to assist
you in exploring issues related to these twin processes with an eye toward
seeing whether or not you wish to pursue tutoring in the
The structure of this course is
designed to reinforce a few basic points:
1.
You are not expected to get things perfect on your first attempt.
2. You are
responsible to each other and to yourselves, as much as or more than to me, for
how you do in the course.
3. You have input into how things get done.
To
these ends:
1.
You will often be required to work in stages and you will receive
feedback on your drafts. In most cases,
the most extensive feedback will be on the rough drafts; for the most part, you
will simply receive a grade on the final drafts, unless you request a
conference to discuss the papers in greater detail.
2.
Both in the draft process and in other parts of the course, you will be
giving each other feedback and working interactively. This does not mean that I will step out of
the process. It does mean that I will
sometimes step back. Process is more
important than product; what you work through collectively is ultimately more
important than what you produce.
3.
There are a number of places on the syllabus–the most obvious being
those marked “open
topic” and “course analysis”–that provide an opportunity for you
to provide input into how things are going and to offer suggestions as to how
things might be changed; mid-semester, there will also be mid-term conferences,
unofficial mid-term grades and an opportunity for you to fill out
anonymous course evaluations, which supplement the usual end of term forms.
Some
Administrative Details:
Attendance: Regular class
attendance is expected. You have two
allotted absences, which require no explanation. Thereafter, unexcused absences will lower
your grade (half a grade for each absence).
Coming to class too late or insufficiently prepared to meaningfully participate counts as an absence.
Participation: As a great
deal of class time will be spent in a variety of interactive formats, active
participation is essential. In order to
participate meaningfully, it is essential that you do the required work,
including the reading, and do it on time.
Notebooks: Students are
required to keep a notebook, including thoughts on assigned readings,
preliminary work on essays and comments or questions generated by class
discussion. Students may be asked to
read notebook entries aloud in large or small group discussions, or to use them
in a variety of in-class exercises.
Notebooks may be collected at any time during the term. All notebooks will be turned in at the end of
the term as part of the final portfolio.
Students who are keeping up with the work should find that they are
writing a minimum of five pages per week in their notebooks.
Plagiarism: Any student
who plagiarizes, or assists other students in so doing, will fail the course and be further
dealt with according to university guidelines.
A good deal of collaboration is encouraged in and out of class; failing
to acknowledge sources or willfully misrepresenting work, however, is not
acceptable.
Grades: Short
Assignment grades will be checks, with pluses and minuses. Grades on the papers will be letter grades,
also with pluses and minuses. Course
grades will be letter grades per university guidelines. While grading should not be competitive, it is
reasonable to want larger context for your grades. For that reason, when I return graded
assignments, I will generally give a list (anonymous, of course) of how many
grades of each type were given for that assignment. The following should make clear what is
required to attain each grade:
A: Understood
the assignment and was able to reinterpret it, adding a high degree of personal
style and insight. Essentially
without mechanical flaws.
B: Understood and
was able to reinterpret the assignment.
Went beyond the minimum the assignment called for. Better than average from a mechanical
point of view.
C: Reasonable
understanding of the assignment. Visible effort to fulfill the requirements of the assignment. Adequate level of
mechanical competence.
D: Flawed
understanding of the assignment. Some evidence of a good faith effort to understand and complete the
assignment. High
number of mechanical errors.
F: Clear that the
assignment was not understood. No
serious effort made to understand or complete the assignment. Very high number of
mechanical errors.
NG: On rare occasions—if a paper shows that work has been
done but it doesn’t fit the assignment, for example—I will give a “No Grade,”
which means the assignment must be re-written and re-submitted.
Grade
Calculation
Your
final grades will be weighted, as follows:
70%
Writing assignments
(90% long assignments, 10% short
assignments)
20%
Class Participation
10%
Notebooks
Access
to the instructor: You are encouraged to bring any and all
questions or problems that you have about or with the class to me. My office hours, e-mail address, and office
phone number are on the first page of this syllabus (email is always best–and
fastest). Within the first couple of
weeks of the term, I will also distribute a phone and e-mail sheet to
facilitate communication among members of the class.
Seminar in Writing and Tutoring
|
Date |
Topic |
Assignment |
|
Th/23
Jan. |
Course
Introduction |
|
|
Tu/28
Jan. |
Workshop |
Paper
#1 Draft A |
|
Th/30
Jan. |
Conferences |
Paper
#1 Draft B |
|
Tu/4
Feb. |
Writing
Process |
Paper
#1 Final Draft |
|
Thu/6
Feb. |
Workshop |
Paper
#2 Draft A |
|
Tu/11
Feb. |
“The
Idea of a |
Paper
#2 Final Draft |
|
Thu/13
Feb. |
Writing
and Identity |
Baca
and Jordan Readings |
|
Tu/18
Feb. |
Technology
and How We Communicate |
|
|
Thu/20
Feb. |
Observation
Reports |
Observation
Report #1 |
|
Tu/25
Feb. |
Process
Redux |
Murphy
(2nd) & Murray (2nd) |
|
Thu/27
Feb. |
Open
Topic |
|
|
|
SPRING BREAK |
|
|
Tu/11
Mar. |
Who’s
In Charge? |
Brooks
and Lunsford Readings |
|
Thu/13
Mar. |
Disability
Issues: Guest Speaker |
|
|
Tu/18
Mar. |
Boundary
Questions |
Murphy,
“Psychoanalytics” |
|
Thu/20
Mar. |
Psychological
Issues: Guest Speaker |
|
|
Tu/25
Mar. |
Observation
Reports |
Observation
Report #2 |
|
Thu/27
Mar. |
How
to Not Teach Grammar |
|
|
Tu/1
Apr. |
Open
Topic |
|
|
Thu/3
Apr. |
Perspective
of a First Year Tutor: Guest Speaker |
Murphy
(3) |
|
Tu/8
Apr. |
Proposals
for Paper #3 |
|
|
Thu/10
Apr. |
ESL
Issues |
Harris
and Powers |
|
Tu/15
Apr. |
Workshop |
Draft
of Paper #3 |
|
Tu/22
Apr. |
Observation
Reports |
Observation
Report #3 |
|
Thu/24
Apr. |
ESL Redux |
Lu
and Shen Readings |
|
Tu/29
Apr. |
Tutorial
Debriefings |
|
|
Thu/1
May. |
Open
Topic |
|
|
Tu/6
May. |
Course
Analysis |
Final
Portfolio |
Course Requirements
Three
Short Papers (ca. 1000 wds. each):
The first to be
discussed and assigned in the first class.
The second to be
an ethnography which follows and explains the writing and revision process via
which the first paper was written and revised. You will have produced several drafts of the
first paper, having: workshopped the paper with your
fellow students; conferenced with me over the paper;
and had a
The third paper will be an analysis
of a past experience that you’ve had with the teaching of writing.
Four
Observation Reports (ca. 400-600 wds.):
In the first three you will observe
A
Brief Grammar Presentation:
Each member of the class, will make a brief presentation on an issue of grammar or style with an accompanying write-up.