🗓️ Schedule of Readings and Assignments
This schedule might change as we move through the semester so that I can respond to the needs of the class as we learn more about each other and our writing. I will always notify you in advance.
You can access the chapters that you should read by clicking on the links below. BIAW = from the book Bad Ideas About Writing.
🤝👩🏽💻💯 Unit 0: Introduction, Technology, and Assessment
In this unit, we’ll spend some time getting to know each other and the class. I will introduce Bad Ideas About Writing, the grading agreement, and the first assignment: E-mail To the Author. You’ll have a chance to ask questions about how policies and assessment will work, you’ll set some goals for yourself for this semester, and you’ll spend time learning how to complete and turn in assignments for this class.
Monday, January 31 (Please do these things BEFORE class. We are meeting in person today.)
Today’s topic: Introductions and how to succeed in English 110. We’ll spend some time getting to know each other and practice pronouncing each other’s names, and I’ll talk about the goals and the assignments you’ll do this semester.
- Fill out the pre-course survey before class.
- Sign up for Slack by following all of the instructions in this course site post.
- Sign up for Hypothes.is and add the Hypothes.is bookmarklet or Chrome extension to your browser.
Wednesday, February 2 (Please do these things BEFORE class. We are meeting online on Zoom today.)
Today’s topic: Introductions (continued) and the grading agreement for English 110.
- Complete any remaining tasks from Monday: the interactive syllabus survey, the Slack tasks, or signing up for Hypothes.is.
- Read “Grading Has Always Made Writing Better” from BIAW (Mitchell R. James, pp. 255-258, PDF). Practice using Hypothes.is to annotate it with questions, further explanations, or connections. If you need help with coming up with things to say, you might read this post with suggestions.
- Read the Grading Agreement for this class, including the Q&A after the chart.
- Watch Kaitlynn Lee’s Part 1 and Part 2 videos about the grading agreement for this class (this was about a different class that I teach, but the structure is similar.)
Monday, February 7 (In-Person Meeting)
Today’s topic: Introducing Unit 1 and Assignment 1
- Watch the Unit 1 and Assignment 1 introduction video.
- Read the Assignment 1 prompt. Annotate it using Hypothes.is.
- Read the descriptions of Unit 1’s weekly work. Annotate this with questions that you have using Hypothes.is. Which options look the most interesting to you? Which weekly work assignment do you want to try first?
Wednesday, February 9 (Meet on Zoom)
Today’s topic: Brief librarian visit, annotations and discussion questions + work time for Goals Assignment
- Read “First-Year Composition Prepares Students For Academic Writing” from BIAW (Tyler Branson, pp 18-23, PDF) and annotate it using Hypothes.is.
- If you need help with coming up with things to say, you might read this post with suggestions. We will discuss this chapter and your annotations in class today.
- Complete Goals Assignment by 11:59pm tonight. You will have some time to work on this in class today. This is something that you’ll return to at the midterm, and again at the end of the semester to check in on your progress.
💬✍🏿🧑🏻💻Unit 1: Bad Ideas About Who Good Writers Are
Should it be a priority for students to learn and master “standard” English in schools (and what is “standard” English anyway)? Does studying grammar make students’ writing better? In this unit, we’ll explore and complicate some ideas about “good” writing: who “good” writers are, and what “good” writing looks like. You’ll also practice some academic argumentation and reading strategies to summarize, synthesize, analyze, and critique other people’s arguments and ideas fairly.
Monday, February 14th (Meet in person)
Today’s topic: Summary skills
- Read “Official American English Is Best” from BIAW (Steven Alvarez, pp. 93-98, PDF).
- Read Sample Assignment 1 essay from a student. How does this student make claims about Alvarez’s chapter, and then support those claims with evidence from his life?
Wednesday, February 16th: Weekly Work Deadline #1
Today’s topic: Summary skills, cont’d.
- Read “Texting Ruins Students’ Grammar Skills” (Scott Warnock, pp. 301-307, PDF)
- Complete your first weekly work assignment by 11:59pm tonight. You can choose between the class recap, the reading guide, the personal reflection, or the discussion leader assignment this week. You can also take the Assignment 1 prompt to the Writing Center to discuss it and brainstorm about your ideas with a consultant.
Monday, February 21st
School holiday: no classes today
Wednesday, February 23rd: Weekly Work Deadline #2
Today’s topic: PEAS paragraphs and making claims with evidence
- Read “There Is One Correct Way of Writing and Speaking” (Anjali Pattanayak, pp. 82-87I , PDF)
- Tonight at 11:59pm is the second due date for Weekly Work. You can choose between the class recap, the reading guide, the personal reflection, the personal reflection REVISION, or the discussion leader assignment this week. You can also take the Assignment 1 prompt or a draft that you’ve gotten feedback on to the Writing Center to discuss it and brainstorm about your ideas with a consultant.
Monday, February 28th
Today’s topic: PEAS paragraphs and claims + evidence, cont’d.
- Read “Teaching Grammar Improves Writing” (Patricia Dunn, pp. 144-149, PDF).
- Read Sample Assignment essay from a student, “Grammar Instruction Does Not Help You Write Better.” Notice how this student makes claims and supports them with evidence from her life.
Wednesday, March 2nd: Weekly Work Deadline #3
Today’s topic: Revision
Read “Strong Writing and Writers Don’t Need Revision” (Laura Giovanelli, pp. 104-109, PDF).This reading has been cancelled to make more time to talk about the student sample essay from Monday.- Tonight at 11:59pm is the third due date for Weekly Work. You can choose between the class recap, the reading guide, the personal reflection, the personal reflection REVISION, or the discussion leader assignment this week. You can also take the Assignment 1 prompt or a draft that you’ve gotten feedback on to the Writing Center to discuss it and brainstorm about your ideas with a consultant.
Monday, March 7th: Catch Up Day / Final Weekly Work Submission
Today’s topic: Assignment 1 reminders, requesting feedback, and in-class work time
- Work on Assignment 1 to prepare for class time today. Please bring what you have with you to class on your device or print it out to bring it to class.
- Today is a catch-up day. It is the final day to submit any remaining weekly work for credit by 11:59pm tonight. If you have already submitted 3 weekly work assignments and your recap, and they have met requirements, you can use this time to work on Assignment 1.
- Read Feedback Menu and annotate it with your questions.
Wednesday, March 9th: First Draft Deadline
Today’s topic: Assignment 1 reminders + in-class work time
- The first draft of Assignment 1 is due tonight by 11:59pm. Use the assignment submission form to submit it.
- We will assign peer review partners, sign up for Assignment 1 / midterm conferences today in class, and work on peer review.
- Please note that the weekly work options that are now available to you have decreased. You can still visit the Writing Center, do the Share a Draft and Give Feedback option, recap a class, or shape a future class discussion. It is no longer an option to do the Reading Guide, the Personal Reflection, or the Personal Reflection Revision.
Monday, March 14th: Peer Review Deadline
Class canceled for remote conferences. Peer review is due by 11:59pm tonight. Use the Peer Review submission form to submit your review.
Wednesday, March 16th: Final Draft Deadline
Today’s topic: Revision strategies and revision work
- Work on your draft revisions for Assignment 1 to prepare for class today. We will also work on the midterm checking form during conference hour today. If you would like to skip conference hour, you can complete the midterm checkin form before class.
- Final draft of Assignment 1 is due tonight via the assignment submission form by 11:59pm.
🧑🏽🏫🏫👩🏼🎓Unit 2: Bad Ideas About Research and The Research Proposal
Building on the academic argumentation skills that you practiced in Unit 1, this unit will prepare you to do in-depth library research on a topic related to a Bad Idea About Writing. You’ll spend time developing a research question, researching your topic using the academic databases, synthesizing scholarly sources, and then reflecting on how you will share your research with a community outside of this class, or how you might conduct some primary research of your own in Unit 3.
Monday, March 21st: Unit 2 Set Up
Today’s topic: Setting up Unit 2 and Assignment 2
- Read Assignment 2: The Researched Proposal. Annotate it with your questions, comments, and thoughts.
- Read Assignment 3: The Community Essay. These assignments are linked. You will complete Assignment 2 in Unit 2, and you’ll complete Assignment 3 as your final exam for this class. Annotate it with your questions, comments, and thoughts.
- Read the Weekly Work options for Unit 2. Note that the options have changed. Which one(s) do you think that you want to try in this unit?
- Please make sure that you have turned in your mid-term check-in form by no later than tonight.
Wednesday, March 23rd: Weekly Work Deadline #1 (Library Workbook)
Today’s topic: Research questions and research vs. academic argumentation
- Read “Research Starts With Answers” from BIAW (Alison C. Witte, pp. 226-230, PDF)
- Complete exercise 1, exercise 4, and exercise 5 in the library workbook before tonight at 11:59pm. For exercise 4, please put the research assignment (Assignment 2) into your own words. What is it asking you to do? How will Assignment 2 relate to Assignment 3? Please copy and paste your answers to exercise 4 and exercise 5, and put them into an e-mail that you send to me at lindsey.albracht@qc.cuny.edu and also to Dr. Leila Walker (a QC librarian who will lead our workshop) at leila.walker@qc.cuny.edu. Also, please make sure to fill out the “focused research question” and the “key terms and concepts” section in exercise 5 with the ACTUAL research question that you’re thinking of using for Assignment 2 and not just a random question.
Monday, March 28th
Today’s topic: Plagiarism, paraphrasing, summarizing, and quoting
- Read “Plagiarism Deserves To Be Punished” from BIAW (Jennifer A. Mott-Smith, pp. 247-252)
- Browse through the MLA sample paper
Wednesday, March 30th – Weekly Work Deadline #2
- Today is the Library Workshop Day. Attendance in today’s class is strongly encouraged.
- UPDATE: The weekly work deadline for this week has been moved to Sunday at 11:59pm to give you some time to look for a scholarly source and to check with me to make sure that it’s scholarly before you complete the first research-related form. Remember that you need 3 research assignments to meet full requirements for Unit 2, so it would be a good idea to do a reading guide, a lateral reading guide, or a paraphrasing and quoting guide, but you may also select other weekly work.
Monday, April 4th
Today’s topic: Practice with reading scholarly sources
- You can annotate “How To Read Academic Papers Without Freaking Out” by activating the Hypothes.is plugin on your browser and changing your group to our class group.
Wednesday, April 6th – Weekly Work Deadline #3
Today’s topic: Plagiarism and citation practices
- Read Sample Student Assignment 2 and Sample Student Assignment 3. These are from the same student.
- Complete weekly work by tonight’s 11:59pm deadline. Remember that you need 3 research assignments to meet full requirements for Unit 2, so it would be a good idea to do a reading guide, a lateral reading guide, or a paraphrasing and quoting guide, or an early literature review, but you may also select other weekly work.
Monday, April 11th
Today’s topic: Literature reviews and synthesizing sources
Wednesday, April 13th – Weekly Work Deadline #4
Today’s topic: Literature reviews and synthesizing sources + connecting Assignment 2 and Assignment 3
- Complete weekly work by tonight’s 11:59pm deadline. Remember that you need 3 research assignments to meet full requirements for Unit 2, so it would be a good idea to do a reading guide, a lateral reading guide, or a paraphrasing and quoting guide, or an early literature review, but you may also select other weekly work.
- Read Sample Student Assignment 2 and the same student’s Sample Student Assignment 3.
Monday, April 18th
😎 No class — spring break 😎
Wednesday, April 20th
😎 No class – spring break 😎
Monday, April 25th – Work on Remaining Weekly Work
Today’s topic: Assignment 2 reminders + in-class work time
- Work on any remaining weekly work research assignments to prepare for class today. We will discuss the cancellation of Assignment 3 and what will take its place as well as the revised schedule.
- Today is a catch-up day. Wednesday night will be the final day to submit any remaining Reading Guides, Paraphrasing and Quoting guides, Synthesis Guides, or an Early Draft of a Literature Review for feedback and credit by 11:59pm tonight. If you have already submitted 4 weekly work assignments and three of them are research assignments, you can use this time to work on Assignment 2. You do not need to submit another weekly work assignment.
Wednesday, April 27 – Final Day To Submit Weekly Work
Today’s topic: Assignment 2 reminders + in-class work time
- Today is the final day you can submit new weekly work for Unit 2. Please work on any remaining weekly work research assignments to prepare for class today.
Monday, May 2 – First Draft of Assignment 2 Due Today + Set Up Peer Review and Conferences
- The first draft of Assignment 2 is due tonight by 11:59pm. Use the assignment submission form to submit it.
- Eid Mubarak! If you are celebrating Eid on Tuesday, May 3rd, but you will have a draft of Assignment 2 by Wednesday, please let me know ASAP so I can assign you to a peer review partner.
Wednesday, May 4 – Peer Review Due
Today’s topic: Revision strategies and revision work
- Peer review is due by 11:59pm tonight. Use the Peer Review submission form to submit your review. You may turn in this peer review up until Friday if you and your peer have agreed to this date.
Monday, May 9
The Community Essay has been cancelled. Today, we will be setting up the final reflective essay and doing some in-class drafting time.
Wednesday, May 11
Today, we will reflect on the class: what went well, what should change for next time, where you are in relation to the learning goals, and what you’d like to keep working on in future semesters.
Monday, May 16 – Final REVISION of Weekly Work
Today, we will celebrate the end of the semester and I’ll answer any final questions about the final reflection and the final draft of Assignment 2: The Research Proposal. This is also the last day that you can submit REVISIONS to weekly work. Please do not submit new weekly work for the first time.
Monday, May 23
The final draft of your Final Research Proposal and the final reflective essay are due via the submission form on Monday, May 23rd at 11:59pm. There is no exam for this class: it’s just this final draft.
