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Writing 121: Written Reasoning as Discovery and Inquiry
CRN 15867 · Peterson Hall 102 · MWF 10:00 - 10:50 am
Instructor Contact Office Hours
Ndinda Kioko Email: PLC 220
Phone number: 6-1314 11.00 am– 12.00 pm M
11.00 am– 1.00 pm W
and by appointment
Course Description
Writing 121 is an introduction to argumentative writing and critical inquiry. For this course, an “argument” is not a debate in which one side wins and the other loses, but instead a form of intellectual inquiry in which participants propose different answers to questions at issue and explain the logic behind those answers. The resulting dialogue gives all participants the opportunity to reconsider and refine their own reasons and positions. We will create this sort of discourse community in our class, using the assigned readings to uncover and discuss questions at issue, and then address these questions in written essays.
Composition Program Learning Outcomes
Upon completion of this course, students should be able to achieve the following outcomes:
1. Write essays that develop and respond to a significant question that is relevant to the context in which it is written and appropriate for the audience to which it is addressed.
2. Provide logical answers to questions at issue and develop lines of reasoning in support of those answers, while taking into account and responding to objections or competing answers and lines of reasoning.
3. Write an essay that is unified around a main claim, proceeds in a logical way, and consists of cohesive paragraphs that separate and connect ideas effectively.
4. Produce written work that displays adherence to the conventions of academic writing, including control of grammar, spelling, word usage, syntax, and punctuation; appropriate tone, style, diction, and register; proper formatting, use, and documentation of sources.
5. Improve the content and organization of an essay draft in a revision process, both by reevaluating the reasoning and context of the essay and by responding to critiques from peers and instructors.
Textbooks
Language: A Reader for Writers, Gita DasBender
Reading, Reasoning, and Writing (RRW), James Crosswhite
Canvas
Check @uoregon.edu e-mail and Canvas at least once a day during the term.
While you are enrolled in my class, you must select “Notify me Right Away” for announcements and Conversations (Go to Canvas >Account >Settings > Notifications)
Grading
· Essay Cycles 75%
o Essay #1 25%
Reading analysis 5%
Question at issue assignment 5%
Essay 1.2 15%
o Essay #2 50%
Reading analysis 10 %
Question at issue assignment 10%
Essay 2.2 30%
· Class Participation 10%
· Peer Reviews 10%
· Reflection/Final Portfolio 5%
Essay Cycles 1 & 2 (75%)
The course will include two essay cycles, each comprising of a Reading Analysis, a Question @ Issue essay, and an argumentative essay drafted and revised between two versions (x.1 and x.2). First drafts of the argumentative essay are expected to be complete.
· Reading Analysis (500-600 words): This formal writing assignment asks students to engage deeply and critically with at least one of the reading selections in each essay cycle. The assignment will focus on critical and sympathetic reading: summarizing, putting readings in conversation with one another, and/or analyzing a short passage of the reading carefully. This assignment will prepare students to incorporate sources ethically, i.e., doing justice to the whole piece, even if the focus is only on an excerpt.
· Question at Issue Essay (1000 words): This assignment prompts students to discover, explore, and develop a robust question at issue. It serves as the transition between close reading and students’ first formal essay (.1); as such, students should write about a question at issue they are considering for the full argumentative essay. The Question at Issue Essay provides an opportunity for students to explore possible responses and their chosen question’s potential for developing into an argumentative essay.
· Argumentative Essays .1 and .2 (1500-2000 words): The apex of each essay cycle is a complete, formal academic essay that develops a thesis in enthymematic form. The thesis should answer the question posed in the Question at Issue Essay. The essay should present an argument in support of that thesis that ethically draws support from, and considers alternative perspectives contained in, the cycle readings. Students should strive to write in a way that demonstrates attention and respect for their audience.
Further instructions for essay content and requirements will be provided in class and posted on Canvas.
Class Participation (10%)
This class emphasizes the communication of ideas both in writing and in discussion, so your active participation in class is essential. You will have a homework assignment due for almost each class session), which prepares you to participate fully in class activities, which may include discussions, in-class writing, small group work or peer reviews. Full and informed involvement in all of these activities will count toward your participation grade. Absences can count against your participation grade. Coming to class unprepared can count against your participation grade.
Peer Reviews (10%)
As part of the essay cycle process, you will read each other’s essays and provide constructive and thoughtful written feedback to be used in the revision process. In addition to submitting peer reviews to the authors in your group, you will also submit a copy to me, which will count toward your peer review grade. Peer reviews will follow the guidelines of a prompt, which will be handed out and discussed in class.
Reflection and Final Portfolio (5%)
You will write initial and final formal reflective essays that will be included in the final portfolio at the end of the term. You will also write midterm, in-class reflections with the completion of each formal essay cycle. Specific instructions for these assignments will be available during the term. Final Portfolios will also include the final version of one argumentative essay. Be sure to keep all work related to the formal essays for inclusion in a final portfolio. Further instructions for portfolios will also be provided later in the term.
Format for Typed Work:
The following simple formatting steps will help ensure that you meet the minimum requirements for written assignments. A failure to meet the word count or to properly format and cite sources may significantly lower the assignment grade. Your essay must meet the following:
1) Meet the minimum word count
2) Have one-inch margins (Note, some versions of Word have a default setting of 1” by 1.25”. Please change this.)
3) Double-spaced
4) Stapled
5) In Times New Roman 12-point font
6) Upper left corner of 1st page:
a. your name
b. my name (Ndinda Kioko)
c. course number (ex: WR 121), assignment description (ex. Essay 1.1)
d. date
7) Last name and page number in upper right corner of all pages. In Word, you can do this by selecting “insert page number” and then typing your name next to the numeral (ex. Smith 4)
8) For applicable formal essays (Reading Analyses, Question at Issue Assignments, and .1 and .2 Essays), document your sources and use correct citation format (it is your responsibility to consult the MLA 8th Edition PDF supplement and our class notes for correct format)
9) For all formal essays (Introductory and Final Reflective Essays, Reading Analyses, Question at Issue Assignments, and .1 and .2 Essays), include a relevant, original title, centered at the top of the page in 12-point font. Do not bold or italicize titles.
10) Proofread and spell-check
11) Remove all extra spaces between paragraphs and after the title. The paper should be uniformly double-spaced.
E Handbooks: The following electronic handbooks will be available for grammar and citation reference during this course. You can find all of these handbooks on the Library Resource link of the Canvas course site:
Purdue OWL (https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/)
UNC Writing Center Handouts (http://writingcenter.unc.edu/handouts/)
Writing for Success (http://open.lib.umn.edu/writingforsuccess/)
NOTE: Does not reflect the most recent MLA edition (8th). Refer to Purdue OWL for citation information.
Revision: This course emphasizes revision between drafts as a key aspect of the writing process, and all essay cycles require you to complete a full first and second draft. For the purposes of this course, revision means a significant rewrite that displays substantial extended thinking about your topic. A revision does not just mean editing or fixing grammatical errors, although this is expected as well. Papers that do not display thoughtful revision between drafts will not earn revision credit.
Note: I am always willing to talk with you about grades, but you must come to office hours or make an appointment outside of class with me. I will not discuss grades immediately before or after class. Should you wish to contest a grade, then I ask that you compose a 500-word justification that offers a thoughtful and detailed counterargument to the feedback that you received from me on the assignment.
COURSE POLICIES
Registration Statement: The only way to add this class is through DuckWeb. The last day to add this or any writing classis the Friday of week one.
Prerequisites: A satisfactory SAT-verbal score is required for placement in WR 121. Students who enroll in a course for which they have not met the prerequisites will be notified and dropped by the English Department. It is recommended that international students who have been placed into the AEIS writing courses complete those courses in their entirety before enrolling in WR 121. Academic advisors can assist students who have questions about WR 121 placement. See also the University of Oregon General Bulletin.
Academic Honesty: All work submitted in this course must be your own and be written exclusively for this course, which means you may not submit papers or portions of papers you have written for any other course. The use of sources (ideas, quotations, paraphrases) must be properly documented. Please refer to the Composition Program’s e-handbook resources as well as the Student Conduct Code on the Office of Student Conduct and Community Standards website. In cases where academic misconduct has been clearly established, the award of up to an F for the final course grade is the standard practice of the Composition Program. Please see me if you have any questions about your use of sources.
Incomplete: The Director of Composition must approve requests for the grade "Incomplete" in advance of the end of the quarter. Such approval will be granted only in cases when some minor but essential aspect of the course cannot be completed by students through unforeseen circumstances beyond their control.
Access: The University of Oregon is working to create inclusive learning environments. Please notify me in week one if there are aspects of the instruction or design of this course that result in disability-related barriers to your participation. You may also wish to contact the Accessible Education Center in 164 Oregon Hall at 541-346-1155 or .
Observance of Religious Holidays: Students who observe their religious holidays at times when academic requirements conflict with those observances must inform instructors in advance of the holiday. Students are responsible for making up missed work according to a schedule determined with the teacher.
Attendance: Attendance is required. You may miss the equivalent of one week of class meetings for any reason – I do not distinguish between excused and unexcused absences. Additional absences will each lower your course grade by 1/3. For example, the first additional absence after one week of absences will reduce a B- to a C+, the second additional absence will reduce a B- to a C, and so on. Please notify me ahead of time if you must miss class, will be late, or leave class early. You are responsible for anything you miss if you are not in class. Any absence after two full weeks of missed class may result in course failure. Any absence after three full weeks of missed class will result in course failure.
Schedule of Class Activities and of Assignments
*This schedule of assignments is subject to minor changes, all of which I will announce in class, via email, and/or on Canvas.
Week / Day/Date / Reading Due / Assignment Due1 / M – 9/25 / Introductions and syllabus overview / In Class: Student Survey
W – 9/27 / RRW (pg1-4) “How to Read
F – 9/29 / Language: “I Won’t Hire People Who Use Poor Grammar. Here’s Why” (pg 102-104) / Initial Self-Reflection Essay due on Canvas by 6 p.m.
2 / M – 10/2 / RRW 4-8; “How to Reason: Questions”
W – 10/4 / Language: “R Grammar Gaffes Ruining the Language? Maybe Not” (pg 115-117)
F – 10/6 / Language: “We Are All Writers Now” (pg 92-94) / Cycle 1: Critical Reading Essay due by 6:00pm via CANVAS
3 / M – 10/9
W– 10/11 / RRW: 8-12 “How to Reason: Claims” / Cycle 1: Question at Issue Essay due by 6:00pm via CANVAS
F – 10/13
4 / M - 10/16 / RRW: 12-20 “How to Write”
W– 10/18 / Essay 1.1 due by 6:00pm via CANVAS
F – 10/20 / RRW: 20 “Revising”
5 / M - 10/23
W – 10/25 / Class cancelled for conferences
F – 10/27 / Class cancelled for conferences / Essay 1.2 due by 6:00pm via CANVAS
6 / M– 10/30 / Language: “When the Media is a Disaster” Rebecca Solnit (pg 237-244)
W – 11/1
F – 11/3 / Cycle 2 Critical Reading Essay due by 6:00pm via CANVAS
7 / M – 11/6 / Language: “Why the Whole “Poor Africa” thing Isn’t cool” (pg 164 – 167)
W – 11/8
F – 11/10 / Review RRW: 8-12 “How to Reason”
8 / M– 11/13 / Language: “Why Being a Jerk at Work Pays” (141-144) / Cycle 2 Question at Issue Essay due by 6:00pm via CANVAS
W– 11/15
F – 11/17 / Review RRW: 12-20
9 / M– 11/20 / Essay 2.1 due by 6:00pm via CANVAS
W– 11/22 / NO CLASS. Happy Thanksgiving
F – 11/24 / NO CLASS. Happy Thanksgiving!
10 / M– 11/27 / Review RRW: 20 “How to Revise”
W– 11/29
F – 12/1 / Essay 2.2 due by 6:00pm via CANVAS
Finals Week / Final reflections and portfolios due on Canvas
An Additional Recourse for Your Success:
Email Your Classmates:
In the space below, write down the email contact information for at least two of your classmates. When you have a quick question about something we did in class, something on the syllabus, or an unclear assignment, you may wish to check with a classmate or two before you check with me.
1. Name: ______Email: ______
2. Name: ______Email: ______
WR 121 College Composition I
Kioko