(Subject to change. Check course blog for most updated schedule.)

Week One – Introduction
Mon. 8/27: Introduce syllabus and course overview. Provide alternate contact info. Writing samples and collaborative writing exercise.
Wed. 8/29: HOMEWORK DUE: Review assigned Syllabus section and Grading Contract. Bring in two questions about each document. Add the Google folder I will be sharing with you to your Google Drive.
IN CLASS: Syllabus quiz and discussion. Negotiating the Grading Contract and setting personal goals for our writing. What is important for our class? What does “success” mean to us, and what do we want to take away from this class?

Part I – What’s Your Problem?

Week Two
Mon. 9/3: NO CLASS (Happy Labor Day!) HOMEWORK DUE: Catherine Ramsdell, “Storytelling, Narration, and The Who I Am Story” and Amy Tan, “Mother Tongue.” Create blog for reading responses this semester.
Wed. 9/5: HOMEWORK DUE: Bring in signed Grading Contract signature page. Read Gloria Anzaldua, “How to Tame a Wild Tongue” and Steve Lessner and Collin Craig, “‘Finding Your Way In’: Invention as Inquiry Based Learning in First Year Writing.” Blog post due by 8am.
IN CLASS: Discuss reading. Discuss “the personal is the political” and JL Austin. What is your problem, and what is your connection to it? What do personal narratives do, and what do they look/sound like? How can college writing become a tool for thinking about what’s important to us? Introduction to Assignment #1.

Week Three
Mon. 9/10: HOMEWORK DUE: Losh and Alexander, Introduction and  Issue 3, “Writing Identities” and Anne Lamott, “Shitty First Drafts.” Blog post due by 8am.
IN CLASS: Discuss reading. Why are “shitty first drafts” important to the writing process? And what can they look like? What are your pre-writing habits?  Pre-writing exercises. Exercises in McWhorter Ch. 5 and 6.
Wed. 9/12: HOMEWORK DUE: First draft of Assignment #1 due.
IN CLASS: Go over peer review process. What makes a good peer review? Examples of peer review comments. Discuss focus, “thesis statements,” and main ideas. Main idea exercise.

Week Four
Mon. 9/17: HOMEWORK DUE: Losh and Alexander, “Issue 1: Why Rhetoric?”
IN CLASS: Discuss reading and new terminology. How do we turn personal experiences into action in writing? In class writing. Discuss drafting process. What makes a good revision? Revising exercise.
Wed. 9/19: HOMEWORK DUE:  Second draft of Assignment #1 due.
IN CLASS: Sign up for individual conferences. Why conferences? Watch rhetorical appeals clip. Discuss rhetorical appeals and action.

Part II – How are People Talking About It?

Week Five
Mon. 9/24: HOMEWORK DUE:  Individual conference #1 Laura Bolin Carroll, “Backpacks vs. Briefcases: Steps toward Rhetorical Analysis.” Blog post due by 8am.
IN CLASS: No class meeting. Conferences held in my office (Brotherton 213).
Wed. 9/26: HOMEWORK DUE:  Final draft of Assignment #1 due.
IN CLASS: Reflective writing. Discuss Monday’s reading and blog posts. Rhetorical analysis and appeals exercise. Examples of rhetorical analysis in the popular media. Introduce assignment #2.

Week Six
Mon. 10/1: HOMEWORK DUE: First draft of Assignment #2 due.
IN CLASS: Peer review. Sign up for second conference. Rhetorical analysis exercises and examples. How does style and tone, and other rhetorical choices, impact a message? The importance of small details in rhetorical analysis. Building connections between individual texts and “big picture ideas.”
Wed. 10/3: HOMEWORK DUE: Blog post due by 8am. Listen to This American Life, “Tell Me I’m Fat” (or read the transcript). Listen to the Intro, Act One, and Act Five.
IN CLASS: Discuss podcast. In class writing. Discuss rhetorically analyzing websites. Web analysis exercise.

Week Seven
Mon. 10/8: HOMEWORK DUE: Second draft of Assignment #2 due by regular class time.
IN CLASS: NO CLASS and NO CONFERENCES. (Dr. Andersen is at a conference.) Dr. Andersen will give written feedback on all second drafts. Please review her comments, and respond with any questions.
Wed. 10/10: HOMEWORK DUE:  Read Losh and Alexander, “Issue 5: Composing Together.” Blog post due by 8am.
IN CLASS: NO CLASS. (Dr. Andersen is at a conference.) Read notes posted on course website. Answer exercise questions and post in your in-class writing folder. Complete the library research survey posted on the website.

*Please note: Dr. Andersen will be on campus Sunday, October 14th from 12pm until 5pm. If you would like to meet with her that day to discuss Assignment #2, and/or any questions you have about rhetorical analysis or the materials posted online over the past week, please stop by her office (Brotherton 213).

Week Eight
Mon. 10/15: HOMEWORK DUE: Final draft of Assignment #2 due.
IN CLASS: Reflective writing. Introduce Assignment #3. What makes a source “reliable”? Academic sources vs. Google. Choosing a source that’s right for your project. Annotated bibliographies as a genre.
Wed. 10/17: HOMEWORK DUE: Elizabeth Losh and Jonathan Alexander, “Issue 6: Research – More than Detective Work.” Blog post due by 8am.
IN CLASS: Library day – Sara Purifoy from Taylor Memorial Library will run the class. Discuss reading.

Week Nine
Mon. 10/22: HOMEWORK DUE: First draft of Assignment #3 due.
IN CLASS:  Rhetoric and research. Primary vs. secondary sources. Research exercise. Peer review.
Wed. 10/24: HOMEWORK DUE: Justin Elliott and Laura Sullivan, “How the Red Cross Raised Half a Billion Dollars for Haiti ­and Built Six Homes.”
IN CLASS: Discuss reading. Discuss citation. Why is citation important? Why use different types of sources? Rhetorical choices and citation. In class writing.

Part III – What are You Going to Do about It?

Week Ten
Mon. 10/29: HOMEWORK DUE: Second draft of Assignment #3 due.
IN CLASS: Discuss plagiarism. What does it mean to plagiarize in the age of the “share”? Plagiarizing exercise.
Wed. 10/31: HOMEWORK DUE: Individual conference #3 Read Losh and Alexander, “Issue #4: Argument Beyond Pro and Con.” Blog post due by 8am.
IN CLASS: No class meeting. Conferences held in my office (Brotherton 213).

Week Eleven
Mon. 11/5: HOMEWORK DUE: Final draft of Assignment #3 due. Election Day is tomorrow (Tuesday 11/6) – Go vote!!!
IN CLASS: Reflective writing. Reviewing source integration and citations. Discuss Wednesday’s reading and blog posts. Introduce Assignment #4. Brainstorming exercises: Who is your audience? What do you want to say to them about your topic? What action do you want your project to take? What rhetorical choices will meet those goals effectively?
Wed. 11/7: HOMEWORK DUE:Read Wysocki and Lynch. Blog post due by 8am.
IN CLASS:  Discuss reading. What is “multimodality”? And how is it (most likely) already part of our personal rhetorics? Multimodal composing exercise.

Week Twelve
Mon. 11/12: HOMEWORK DUE: Draft 1A of Assignment #4 due. Please type this draft in document #10 in your shared folder.
IN CLASS: Peer review. Rhetoric, action, and multimodality. Finishing in-class videos from 11/7. What does digital media do for local activists? Online search and analysis exercise. How might you use similar tactics in your final project?
Wed. 11/14: HOMEWORK DUE: Draft 2A of Assignment #4 due. Please type this draft in document #11 in your shared folder.
IN CLASS: How does sentence and paragraph structure affect our rhetoric? What makes a sentence “clear” or “good” or “nice” in different composing contexts? Beautiful sentence exercise.

Week Thirteen
Mon. 11/19: HOMEWORK DUE: Individual conference #4. Draft 1B of Assignment #4 due. Please type this draft, or include a link to this draft, in document #10 in your shared folder. Read Losh and Alexander, “Issue 7: Rethinking Revision.” Blog post due by 8am.

IN CLASS: No class meeting. Conferences held in my office (Brotherton 213).
Wed. 11/21: NO CLASS (Happy Thanksgiving!)  

Week Fourteen
Mon. 11/26: HOMEWORK DUE: Draft 2B of Assignment #4 due. Please type this draft, or include a link to this draft, in document #11 in your shared folder.
IN CLASS: Reflective writing. Introduce oral presentation. Introduce portfolio and reflective narrative. Final self-evaluation of blog posts.
Wed. 11/28: HOMEWORK DUE: Final draft of Assignment #4 due. Please make sure all components (the statement of purpose/design plan and the project itself) are typed, or linked to, in document #12 in your shared folder.
IN CLASS: What makes a good oral presentation? What do we need to consider about our audience for this presentation? Rhetorically analyzing portfolio examples. Making your portfolio a meaningful through savvy rhetorical choices. In class time to work on revisions and portfolios. (Now is the time to seek out technical help! I’ll be available both in class and afterwards for this.)

Week Fifteen
Mon. 12/3: HOMEWORK DUE: Oral Presentations due.
IN CLASS: Oral presentations during class.
Wed. 12/5: HOMEWORK DUE: Oral Presentations due.
IN CLASS: Oral presentations during class.

Week Sixteen – Course Conclusion
Mon. 12/10: HOMEWORK DUE: Portfolio review day. Portfolio should be 75% done!
IN CLASS: Peer review of Final Portfolios and Final Reflective Narratives. Final self-assessments. In class time to work on revisions and portfolios. (Now is the time to seek out technical help! I’ll be available both in class and afterwards for this.)
Wed. 12/12: HOMEWORK DUE: Final Portfolio and Final Reflective Narrative due.
IN CLASS: In-class time to finish up portfolio and turn it in, or to speak with me individually. Portfolios due by the end of the class period – no exceptions.