ENG 121: English Composition II: Mondays and Wednesdays 11 am to 12:40 pm, CA-308

 “There’s no such thing as perfect writing, just like there’s no such thing as perfect despair.” Haruki Murakami

 Professor Walia (Wall-ee-ah)

Carman Hall-Room 397

Office Hours: Wednesdays 9 am to 10:30 am

Email: dhipinder.walia@lehman.cuny.edu

Course Description: English 121 is a continuation of the work you have accomplished in ENG 111. ENG 121 will advance critical reading skills and essay development with an emphasis on writing analytical essays and papers based on research in various academic disciplines. Note: All students, unless exempted, must pass this course in fulfillment of the Common Core Requirement in English Composition. Students who take but do not pass this course should repeat it the following semester.

Your Professor’s Description of course: This semester, our focus will be on the autoethnography. An autoethnography is a particular type of research project that is interested in using the personal (the self) to answer a larger question about culture and society. We will spend a lot of time reading other autoethnographies to get a sense of how they use their personal experiences to answer larger questions and to strategize the structure and style of your own autoethnographies. I believe a key to writing autoethnographies (and really any kind of writing) is to have practice with writing about your own literacy practices; writing about place; writing about people; writing about history; writing with numbers and scientific concepts; writing criticisms; and writing feedback. Therefore, in addition to crafting three drafts of your autoethnography, you will be composing smaller pieces that give you this kind of practice.

We will go on multiple writing journeys. All will have a commitment to writing about research and research through writing. That is, research that we must find a way to communicate through writing and writing that actually becomes evidence/research of its own. We will also read works of nonfiction that help us answer the following questions: What does research involve? How can this kind of research inform our autoethnography? How can research challenge what we envision our autoethnography will look like?

Grade breakdown:

Attendance, in-class blog posts, quizzes (when necessary) 25%: It’s important to show up to class, yes, of course. It’s also important to participate in class discussion, duh. I’m also convinced in a writing composition course, it’s important to look at your participation as a feature of being in a writing community. This means I will also expect you to meet with me for individual conferences towards the end of the semester (and during office hours). Additionally, you should look at what your colleagues are writing/researching and comment on it either in person or on their post. Another important feature of a writing community is mentorship. Mentorship does not mean having answers to all of the writing dilemmas out there. Instead, valuable mentorship involves listening and sharing our own experiences with writing. All that being said, attendance is an integral part of participating in our writing community, so show up on time and ready to write!

Writing about/around/away from Final Project Blog Posts (40%): You will be required to submit seven (7) blog posts this semester. Each of these posts will be in a response to prompts I will provide. These posts will focus on seven different kinds of writing/research and are meant to help you as you work on your final project. The eight kinds of writing/research are: 1. Writing and process 2. Place writing 3. People Writing 4. Historical writing 5. Math and Science writing 6. Critique 7. Feedback

Draft #1 10%: You will submit a first draft of your autoethnography by February 24^th. This draft must be at least 3 pages. You will also be required to meet with me either virtually on 2/25 or in-person on 2/27 to discuss your first draft. This meeting is a part of your draft grade.

Draft #2 10%: You will submit a second draft of your autoethnography by Monday March 25^th. This draft must be at least 5 pages. Additionally, you will workshop your second draft with a partner. Participating in this workshop is a part of your draft grade. This workshop will be on Wednesday April 1^st.

Final Draft 15%: You will submit a final draft of your autoethnography by Wednesday May 1^st. This final draft must be at least 8 pages. Additionally, you will meet with me either virtually on May 6^th or in person on May 8^th. This meeting is a part of your final draft grade. I know the deadline seems early, but trust me, I have designed previous courses like this and students tend to like being done with their final project well before finals week.