Find an outline of expected discussions and assignments for Professor Walia’s face to face English Composition course.
| Date | In-class | Assignments |
| 8/28 | Blog: review course page; annotate using hypothes.is Discuss: Why writing about writing? Apply: Mapping and connecting all of our writing selves |
Read Chee’s “Annie Dillard and the Writing Life”
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| 8/30 | Blog: Review requirements of final research project.Post a reflection. Discuss: hooks picture book and the paragraph Apply: write a paragraph |
Read “Sponsors of Literacy” by Deborah Brandt and watch Harriet the Spy
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| 9/4 | Blog: Who is your literacy sponsor? Discuss: Harriet the Spy, Sponsors, and summaries Apply: write a summary of Harriet the Spy |
Read your assigned children’s book and Rose’s “Rigid Rules” |
| 9/6 | Blog: Rewrite a concept or a lesson taken from Rose’s essay for a children’s book. Discuss: Analysis and the angle Apply: Compose an analysis of your children’s book. Be sure your analysis includes a clear angle |
Read “Draw me a word, write me a picture” by Thomas Newkirk |
| 9/13 | Blog: Using what you’ve learned from Newkirk’s article, perform an analysis of the assigned child’s drawing Discuss: Newkirk’s article, literacy narrative and reflection Apply: Pre-writing towards literacy narrative assignment |
Read “Past Experiences” by Petersen and complete outline
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| 9/20 | Discuss: Petersen’s article Writing: Using the outline, begin writing towards your literacy narrative |
Keep writing your literacy narrative, final draft due next class!
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| 9/25 | Read: “What’s the Question?” Discuss: what is data? (define: trends, surveys, questionnaires) Activity: craft a questionnaire/survey that you believe will tell you something about literacy, writing, or college; share this survey with the entire class |
Review results of your survey, come to class with five trends.
Try your best to create quantitative statements using the results: X% of students said Y. Read “Writing for their Lives” |
| 9/27 | Blog: Report on a trend you’ve uncovered through your questionnaire. What makes this trend so powerful? What problem/solution does this trend reveal? What more research might you conduct given the results? Discuss: “Writing for their Lives” and synthesis Apply: Comment on a colleagues’ questionnaire post. Indicate what connections their trends have with yours. |
Read excerpt from Locomotion and “The Need for Care” |
| 10/2 | Blog: Craft a paragraph that synthesizes the assigned readings. Discuss: Elbow and Locomotion and integrating quotes Apply: Craft a paragraph in which you integrate a quote from any of the assigned readings |
Finish reading Locomotion |
| 10/4 | Blog: Letter to Lonnie Discussion: Evidence: history, testimony, observations Apply: With your groupmates, post links to pieces of evidence about your given literacy movement. |
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| 10/9 | Virtual work: work towards your literacy campaign project
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| 10/11 | Virtual work: work towards your literacy campaign project
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| 10/16 | Blog: Comment on another group’s literacy campaign project Read: “Why is NY Condoning Illiteracy” and “Investing in Adult Literacy”Discuss: Finding a point of synthesis in readings |
Read Greene’s “Argument” article |
| 10/18 | Blog: Pick an argument happening right now either in politics, popular culture, or elsewhere. What does this conversation look like? Who is talking? What are the major points? If you could join in on the conversation, what might you say? Discuss: Rhetoric and thesis statementApply: Identify three “texts” that you “read” on a daily basis. Describe each “text” in terms of the rhetorical reading strategies you use. |
Read “Intertextuality and the Discourse Community” by James E. Porter
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| 10/23 | Blog: How is plagiarism different from Porter’s ideas of intertextuality? Why do you think plagiarism is such a pervasive issue in academia given what Porter says about “original” ideas?
Discussion: APA and Porter; The Argument: Logos, Pathos, Ethos Apply: X is the best musical artist of all time. OR Y is the best borough in NYC. Pick one of the arguments above and convince your reader by using logos, pathos, and ethos. |
Read your colleagues’ blog posts. Comment on at least one with three reasons you either agree or disagree with their argument. (Don’t repeat reasons they’ve already given)
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| 10/25 | Read: Getting on the Right Side of it by Kynard
Let’s Argue: Is the Research Paper a valuable assignment for college students?
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Read Hyland’s “From Disciplinary Discourses” and “The House that Hova Built” |
| 10/30 | Blog: What genre of writing is Smith’s article? If you were to describe the rules of this genre using only Smith’s article, what would they include?
Discuss: Conventions of writing, HOVA article, conventions of the “diss track” |
Read Lamont Hill’s “Stakes is High” and bring in a piece of writing you’re interested in using for your Disciplinary Writing Project
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| 11/1 | Discuss: Hill’s article
In-class writing: Work on Disciplinary Writing Project |
Keep working on your disciplinary writing project, it is due next class! |
| 11/6 | Read: “If Black English isn’t a language, then tell me, what is?”
Let’s Argue: What’s the value of Standard American English? |
Read excerpt of Matilda
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| 11/8 | Blog: Analyze Matilda using a writing concept we’ve discussed in class
Discuss: Matilda; Auto-ethnography |
Read excerpt of Matilda and sample auto-ethnography #1 by Penzato
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| 11/13 | Discuss: Matilda, Penzato
Writing: Write towards auto-ethnography |
Read excerpt of Matilda and sample auto ethnography #2 by Perry |
| 11/15 | Discuss: Matilda, Perry
Writing: Write towards auto- ethnography |
Read excerpt of Matilda and Sondra Perl’s “Composing”
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| 11/20 | Discuss: Matilda
Writing: Write towards auto-ethnography |
Read excerpt of Matilda |
| 11/27 | Discuss: Matilda
Writing: Write towards auto-ethnography |
Read excerpt of Matilda |
| 11/29 | Discuss: Matilda
Writing: Write towards auto-ethnography |
Finish your auto-ethnography before meeting with Professor Walia for conferences |
| 12/4 | Conferences | |
| 12/6 | Conferences | |
| 12/11 | Final blog post and goodbyes… |
