Warren Writing 10A - Spring 1996

Warren Writing 10A
Spring 1996

Rachel D. Shaw
Office:
rshaw @ ucsd.edu
PHONE (to be used only between 10am and 8pm)
Both telephone and e-mail correspondence should be limited to work-related concerns.

Welcome to Warren Writing 10A!
Warren writing courses are intended to introduce students to the practice of argumentation and exploratory writing through the use of writing workshops. They are offered only for Pass/No Pass baccalaureate credit; the purpose of this is to encourage you to experiment with language, topics, and forms in a supportive intellectual environment. It is widely believed that in the absence of competition for grades, many students feel free to take the kinds of intellectual risks that can make writing an integral part of their education and their lives.

REQUIRED TEXTS:

• Warren Writing 10A Reader, available at Cal Copy, 3211 Holiday Court ,Village La Jolla Drive, 452-9949. This is near Cost Plus.
• The Little, Brown writing handbook, available in Groundworks, in the Old Student Center.
• You are also required to provide multiple COPIES of your writing for workshop purposes, and should budget accordingly.
• 2 letter-size manila folders, with your name on the tab at the top.

COURSE REQUIREMENTS AND POLICIES:

REGULAR ATTENDANCE IS MANDATORY.
Students missing more than 4 hours of class WILL NOT PASS, despite any other work that they may do. Daily attendance will be taken, and it should be noted that TARDIES DO ADD UP.
Further, the program requires that each student write at least 8,000 words each quarter, or about 30 pages. This includes revisions, which may be assigned even if not noted specifically on this syllabus. If all assignments meet the minimum page requirements, this should not be a problem.

PAPERS:

Papers must be turned in on time, and in sufficient quantities for workshopping.
In the interest of legibility, and appropriate academic conduct,
papers that fail to meet the following criteria will not be accepted, and will be treated as if late:

In-class:
• Please use black or blue ink, not pencil, crayon, pink, red, green, or purple ink, etc.
• If you use felt tip, please write on only one side of the paper.
• If your handwriting is difficult to read, consider writing on every other line.
• Your name should appear in the upper-right-hand corner, with the date.

Take-home:
• All take-home essays must be typed.
• Text should be 12 point, right-justified, and double-spaced.
• Margins should be 1” on all sides, and no larger.
• Your name should appear in the upper-right-hand corner with the date, assignment, & revision number. Example:

Pat Doe
April 1, 1996
Assignment Z, #4

• The paper must be stapled in the upper-left-hand corner.
• Each paper should have a title, but do not use separate title pages. Effective titles will give the reader some idea as to the content and purpose of your essays.
• Black ink is required, and faded printer ribbons should be changed.
• Double-sided printing, if possible, is encouraged.
• Use of recycled paper is also encouraged.
• Do not use folders, especially those made of plastic with the slide on the edge.

Copies
• Copies made for workshop purposes may be single- or double-sided, but they must be legible.
• You must make sufficient copies for each workshop. Unless otherwise noted, assume that you will need to make copies for yourself, your instructor (me), and the rest of the class.

STUDENT PORTFOLIOS:

• It is department policy that I keep a portfolio of each student’s work. This portfolio will be filed in the Warren Writing Office at the end of the quarter, and will serve as a record of your work. In addition, each student is expected to maintain their own portfolio. At the bare minimum, you should have at least one printed copy of each piece of your work, with or without comments, in your folder. You are encouraged to make copies of comments, as well.

At the end of this syllabus is a table of contents to help keep track of your assignments and portfolio. Please use it.

NOTE: You will have one week after each assignment is returned to read and copy any comments made by fellow students and by me; at that time, the original paper and comments must be returned to me. At the end of the quarter, I will check everyone’s portfolio, so please keep yours neat and up to date!

Spring 1996 Schedule

WEEK 1) April 1-5
Day 1
Introduction to course and each other.
Assignment A due in-class.
Day 2
Discussion of “Argumentation” and workshop on papers.
Assignment B due.
Manila folder due.
Section preference essay due.

WEEK 2) April 8-12
Day 3
Discussion of “Language and Reality” and workshop on C.1.
Assignment C.1 due.
Day 4
Discussion of “Language and Reality” and continued workshop on C.1.

WEEK 3) April 15-19
Day 5
Discussion of “Language and Reality” and workshop on C.2.
Assignment C.2 due.
Day 6
Discussion of “Posture Maketh the Man” and workshop on D and E.
Assignment D due.
Assignment E due.

WEEK 4) April 22-26
Day 7
Discussion of “Posture Maketh the Man” and workshop on F.1.
Assignment F.1 due.
Day 8
Discussion of “Posture Maketh the Man” and continued workshop on F.1.

WEEK 5) April 29-May3
Day 9
Discussion of “Posture Maketh the Man” and workshop on F.2.
Assignment F.2 due.

CONFERENCES May 1-3, 6. NO CLASS ON MAY 2.
Conference attendance is mandatory. Conferences will be held in my office unless otherwise noted.
Self-Evaluation due.

WEEK 6) May 6-10
Day 11
Discussion of presentations and workshop on G.
Assignment G due.
Day 12
Workshop on presentations in section groups.

WEEK 7) May 13-17: PRESENTATIONS
Day 13
First half of presentations.
Presentation outline and statement of purpose due.
Day 14
Remainder of presentations.
Discussion of presentations.

WEEK 8) May 20-24
Day 15
Discussion of “Exemplary Individuals” and workshop on H.1.
Assignment H.1 due.
Day 16
Discussion of “Exemplary Individuals” and continued workshop on H.1.

WEEK 9) May 27-31
Day 17
Discussion of “Exemplary Individuals” and workshop on H.2.
Assignment H.2 due.
Day 18
Discussion of “Exemplary Individuals” and continued workshop on H.2.

WEEK 10) June 3-7
Day 19
Discussion of quarter and workshop on I.
Assignment I due.
Day 20
Portfolio check-in.
THIS IS THE LAST DAY TO RETURN PAPERS.
Self-Address Stamped Envelopes for end-of-year evaluations due.
Party?!
DESCRIPTION OF ASSIGNMENTS

It is strongly advised that you read ahead. For assignments G, H.1, and H.2, in particular, if you do not start the required reading early in the quarter, it will be difficult to complete the assignments on time. It takes more than one night to effectively read a section’s worth of essays!

Remember, make enough copies for the entire class, including yourself and the instructor.
(Unless otherwise noted)

(A) In-class. Interview your neighbor. Take notes so that you can introduce your new friend to the rest of the class. Write a brief essay describing your interview and your neighbor. (1-2 handwritten pages) One copy for instructor.

Section Preferences essay. Describe your first and second choices for your discussion section (Representing AIDS, Representing Race and Ethnicity, and Representing Gender and Sexuality). Then write a brief paragraph for each explaining why you would like to be in that particular section. (1-2 pages) One copy for instructor.

(B) Read the essay titled “Argumentation” in the reader. Summarize what you take to be the primary argument about argumentation in this essay. (2 pages)

(C.1) Read the essay titled “Language and Reality” in the reader. Summarize what you take to be the primary argument in “Language and Reality.” (2 pages)

(C.2) Using the comments received in workshop, and your own re-reading, revise C.1. (2 pages)

(D) Read Stephen J. Gould’s “Posture Maketh the Man.” Summarize what you take to be the primary argument in Stephen J. Gould’s “Posture Maketh the Man.” (2-3 pages)

(E) Reread Gould’s essay and identify a specific use of language (as discussed in “Language and Reality”), and discuss how it contributes to his construction of reality. (1-2 pages)

(F.1) Summary is prerequisite to evaluating the effectiveness of arguments. Building on your work in (D) and (E), discuss how well you think Gould has made his case. (5-6 pages)

(F.2) Using the comments received in workshop, and your own re-reading, revise F.1. (5-6 pages)

(G) Read the materials in your section (Representing AIDS, Representing Gender & Sexuality, or Representing Race & Ethnicity.) Write an essay in which you discuss how the arguments of three or more writers in your representation section require you to make a more complex argument about a particular topic or issue. (4-6 pages)

Self-Evaluation. Write one paragraph evaluating each of the following: a) your performance in workshops; b) your ability to understand, critique, and use the course readings; c) your writing style, grammar, organization, etc. and 1-2 paragraphs evaluating your use and understanding of claims, grounds, warrants, and qualifiers. Finally, write a concluding paragraph identifying areas that need work or should be developed during the remainder of the quarter. (2-3 pages) One copy for instructor.

(H) Read the “Exemplary Individual” essay in your section. Then consider and respond to the following: A commitment to full and open argumentation is a measure of the vitality of a democratic society. Often writers who exemplify this practice shift the parameters of public discussion. Identify a shift made by the exemplary writer in your section (for example: a change in the language used to pose a problem; a reexamination of a widely held assumption; a redefinition of public responsibility and policy), and discuss its implications for the presentations you’ve heard. Do the topics presented in these discussions cause you to rethink the argument(s) made by your Exemplary Individual? Do the argument(s) of the Exemplary Individual cause you to rethink the topics presented in the presentations? Explain. (4-6 pages)

(H.2) Using the comments received in workshop, and your own re-reading, revise H.1. (4-6 pages)

(I) Re-read the essay(s) “Argumentation” and/or “Language and Reality.” Substitute an example of your own for one in “Argumentation” or “Language and Reality” that you argue would be as or more effective. (1 page)

PORTFOLIO: Do you have a copy of each assignment you received? Have you returned all original copies, with comments, to me? Have you completed each assignment? Is your table of contents up to date? Is everything neat, tidy, stapled...? Is it in a manila folder?

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