ENGLISH 306:
EXPOSITORY WRITING
Section 4, Spring Quarter 2009 • UH262 • TR 12-1:50 p.m.
Professor J. Rhodes
[email protected] • 909-537-5026 • UH 301.22
Spring 2009 Office Hours: TR 2-3 p.m.; Wed. 12-4 p.m.; and by
appointment.
REQUIRED TEXTS
Ballenger, Bruce. The Curious Researcher: A Guide to Writing Research
Papers. 6th ed. New York: Pearson, 2009.
Graff, Gerald, and Cathy Birkenstein. They Say/I Say: The Moves That Matter
in Academic Writing. New York: Norton, 2006.
Sontag, Susan. Where the Stress Falls. New York: Picador, 2002.
Other readings online or on reserve (TBA)
COURSE DESCRIPTION
English 306 prepares you for the writing requirements of your upper-division
coursework. To that end, it emphasizes writing as a form of learning,
communication, and subjectivity; in short, the course focuses on how we use
language to make ourselves part of the ongoing textual conversation that is life. Who are you, as
a writer? How does writing figure in your different communities—of work, home, friends, school,
etc.? How do writers and critics shape and interpret their communities and cultures? In order to
explore these questions, we’ll spend a lot of time reading, thinking, discussing, arguing, critiquing,
and re-thinking—in other words, we’ll spend a lot of time writing, which is all of these things.
We will focus on developing and fine-tuning writing strategies at each stage of your writing
process, from idea generation to drafting to revision—and back again. Please be aware that this
is an upper-division writing course; I expect you already to have a clear sense of the basics of
style (grammar, spelling, punctuation, etc.).
COURSE REQUIREMENTS
Your course grade will be based on the following written assignments:
•
Weekly 1-Page Responses (15%). Due each Tuesday at the beginning of class. Using
Margaret Woodworth’s “rhetorical précis” (look it up!) as a model, you will summarize and
then respond to one of our readings each week. Worth 1.5% each, for a total of 20%.
•
Three 4- to 6-Page Papers (45%). Paper 1 is due Thursday, April 23; paper 2 is due
Thursday, May 14; and paper 3 is due Tuesday, June 2. Each paper is worth 15% of your
final grade. When you turn in your paper, you will also post a one-paragraph summary of
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your work to your “Homepage” on Blackboard. Late papers, if accepted, will be graded
one half-grade lower (A to A-, for example) for each day (not class) they are late.
•
Final Portfolio (40%). Due Tuesday, June 16. Your final portfolio will include:
‣
Revisions of papers 1, 2, and 3;
‣
the last graded version of papers 1, 2, and 3 for comparison
‣
paper #4--an expansion of one of your three papers that incorporates further
research; and
‣
a cover letter that explains how the contents of your portfolio demonstrate your
achievement as a writer this quarter.
Papers are due in class on the date assigned. Late papers will be graded one step lower (A to A-,
for example) for each day (not class) they are late.
POLICIES
It is your responsibility to read and be familiar with University policies on academic honesty,
course registration, and course withdrawal as published in the 2008-09 University bulletin.
ADA Compliance: If you need accommodation for a disability in order to participate in this class,
please call Services to Students with Disabilities at 909-537-5238 or TDD 909-537-5242. The
SSD Office is located in UH 183.
Attendance: You are allowed only three absences over the quarter; upon the fourth unexcused
absence, your final grade will drop one full letter for each absence. You are still responsible for
class assignments on days you are absent. Contact a classmate about activities and
assignments, and ask a friend to deliver to me—on time—any work due on the day of your
absence. If you miss a peer critique day, you need to make it up by asking your classmates to
read your draft outside class (you will need suggestions from at least two readers for each peer
critique day missed). I do not accept projects that have not been peer-reviewed by your
classmates—no exceptions.
Blackboard/Email: Check your csusb.edu email account and our course Blackboard site at
least three times each week. It is your responsibility to remain informed about course
assignments, scheduling, or other information delivered to you via Blackboard or csusb.edu
email.
Completion of Projects: All major projects must be completed in order to pass the course. If
you fail to complete any of the major projects, you will fail the course.
Conferences: My office hours are for you! Come see me at least once this quarter (and I reserve
the right to request your presence at my office from time to time).
Late Work: Even if you’ve got a good reason, late work is a nuisance for both of us, and it throws
things off-schedule. If you must turn in a late paper: the grade for any given paper will be docked
1/3 of a letter grade for each day (not class period) it is late.
Plagiarism: Do your own work and make sure you give proper credit to your sources! If you’re
unsure about whether you should cite somebody, ask me. Any incident of plagiarism will result in
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an “F” for the assignment; depending on the seriousness of the plagiarism, you may receive an
“F” for the course and/or be suspended from the university.
Revision: I encourage you to revise your papers until they effectively show why you care about
your topic and, more importantly, why your audience should. Each of the three shorter papers
may be revised for higher grades; you must, however, turn in the revision (with the original paper
attached) no later than one week after you receive your original graded paper. Please note that
“revision” means more than cosmetic cleanup of typographical errors and spelling mistakes. Your
papers should demonstrate your ability to write a thoughtful, effective exploration of a well-chosen
topic—mechanical perfection is not enough to pass the course.
SCHEDULE FOR THE FIRST ESSAY ASSIGNMENT
T 04/07: Sontag, “Against Interpretation” (http://www.coldbacon.com/writing/
sontag-againstinterpretation.html)
Th 04/09:
Sontag, “Writing as Reading” (263-67);
Sontag, “On Style” (http://lemming.mahost.org/library/onstyle.htm)
Ballenger, “Introduction” (1-25)
A good idea for next week’s discussion: Watch Southland on NBC at 10
p.m.
T 04/14:
RESPONSE #1 DUE
Continued discussion of Sontag’s “On Style,” “Against Interpretation,” and
“Writing as Reading”
Ballenger, chapter 1 (27-59); do exercise 1.3 and bring results to class on
Thursday.
Th 04/16: Sontag, “A Century of Cinema” (117-22);
Early movies: Lumière brothers, Méliès, Edison (on youtube.com)
Ballenger, exercise 1.4 (in class)
T April 21: ROUGH DRAFT DUE
RESPONSE #2 DUE
Graff and Birkenstein, chapter 1 (1-20); do exercise 2 and bring to class
Th 04/23: REVISED DRAFT DUE
T 04/28: FINAL DRAFTS DUE
RESPONSE #3 DUE
Sontag, “The Pleasure of the Image” (142-50)
Sontag, “A Photograph is Not an Opinion. Or is it?” (238-51)
ENG 306.08 (Spring 2009) 3