ENGLISH 101-xx: Introduction to College Writing

Instructor Name, Fall 2009

DAILY SCHEDULE FOR UNIT 2

Week / Tuesday / Thursday
Sept 21-25 /
  • Read Carmen Tieu’s argument on pgs 106-108 and write a short response listing her criteria, the types of evidence she uses, and how she responds to opposing viewpoints. What do you think of Tieu’s organizational strategy?
  • Read Chapter 14, “Evaluation Arguments,” 284-296
  • Prepare for a quiz asking one or more of the following questions:
  • What does the chapter mean by category and criteria?
  • Think of a TV show you enjoy. What is an example of placing this show in the smallest possible category? What are some criteria you might use to evaluate shows in this category?
  • What is the difference between a categorical and ethical evaluation argument?
  • Read and print out a copy of Assignment 2 (on Blackboard). You may want to combine the assignment and the sample evaluation arguments into one file for students to print.
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  • Read 296-307 and write a short response to questions 3&4 on page 303 and questions 1-5 on 306-307.
  • Bring in a review of a cultural artifact that you disagree with. The review should be well-written and provide specific criteria defending its evaluation.
  • Print out the handout on sample evaluation arguments. You may want to combine the assignment and the sample evaluation arguments into one file for students to print.
  • You may want to assign an additional reading here.

Rationale: Today you should try to provide some scaffolding to help students master the needed language to respond to opposing viewpoints.
We’ve skipped some earlier chapters discussing categories and criteria, so students may struggle with these concepts. Giving students a short, low-stakes application question to work on is a good way to bring misunderstandings to the fore.
  1. Go over Tieu’s argument, focusing on how she responds to opposition and on her refutation structure.
  2. Discuss how subordination can be used to respond to opposing viewpoints. Model specific how “Although,” “Despite,” and “However” can be used to respond to others.
  3. The brave may want to experiment with sentence-combining exercises.
  4. Review reading using examples students have generated from thinking about their favorite TV shows.
  5. Complete exercise on 290-291
  6. Go over the assignment
  7. If time, have students complete a 5-minute paper at the end of class.
/ Rationale: These readings should give students more practice identifying criteria. The hip-hop essay is also a model of excellent organization. Continue working on helping students respond to opposing viewpoints.
  1. Go over readings. In addition to the questions in the book, ask students to identify which type of structure on pgs 298-299 the writers of the two assigned essays use.
  2. If time, review ethical arguments and complete exercise on 295. Discuss which disciplines/ writing situations would be more likely to assign categorical evaluations vs. ethical arguments.
  3. Have students respond to the sample evaluation arguments & discuss how these paragraphs could be improved.
  4. Review some of the language for disagreeing with others. Then have students write model sentences disagreeing with the reviews they have brought in.
  5. Return Assignment 1 at the end of class.

Sept 28-
Oct 2 /
  • Print out and bring in 3 negative and 3 positive reviews of the cultural artifact you have chosen to evaluate. Write a short response to each review listing the major criteria the author uses for his or her evaluation.
  • Read “Using, Citing, and Documenting Sources,” 368-375
  • You may want to add additional assignments (such as a response to comments from paper 1)
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  • Assignment 2 due: Bring FOUR copies of your essay to class and upload a copy of your essay to the ASSINGMENT 2 folder on Blackboard.
  • Bring also a copy of your calendar and schedule to class so we can schedule conferences.

Rationale: Having students bring in and work with their sources in advance prevents last minute assignments and should improve their ability to see how the discussion of quotations is relevant to the paper they will be writing. This is also a good day to talk about the basics of citation style and get students to practice citing sources w/ the materials they brought in today.
You can do an in-class activity to model how to refute or concede claims and then have students practice by using this model to refute arguments in the reviews they have brought in.
  • Go over refutation structure
  • In class workshop on handling quotations—see the sample evaluation paragraphs for good and bad ways to handle quotations.
  • If you require MLA citation style, make sure you explain that it is discipline-specific.
  • Other possible activities for today include writing a response to your comments from paper 1; turning in a correctly formatted “works cited” list of all of the sources they have gathered; going over citation practices; assigning and analyzing additional readings
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  • Schedule conference appointments in class.
  • Begin peer review.

Oct 5-9 / Conferences
  • All conferences are in my office, Bingham Humanities xx.
  • Arrive 5 minutes early for your conference. If you are running late, call me at 852-xxxx.
  • Complete substantial peer reviews on your peers' drafts PRIOR to the conference. Be prepared to give substantial suggestions for revision.
  • Bring also to the conference a written response to my comments on paper one. What do you want to focus on improving on this paper? Write out questions you would like us to address in this conference.
  • Missed conferences will count as two absences.
  • You may bring a cassette tape to the conference to record the discussion of your draft (optional).
/ Conferences
Revised Evaluation essay due on Friday
Provide instructions for turning in essays