Section 1 (January-February)

Readings:
“Metaphorically Speaking” by James Geary (TED talk)
“See through Words” by Michael Erard
“The Trouble with Medicine’s Metaphors” by Dhruv Khullar

Paper 1 Due (“Free Draft”): February 12th
Paper 1 Due (“Formal Draft”): February 21st

 

Week 1—Introductions and Self-Assessment

January 17 (Thursday)

  • Introductions, Welcome to class
  • Syllabus
  • Best class and worst class
    • Expectations
    • Strategies
  • Exit prompt: Name/ Preferred Pronoun. Favorite book/story. Describe Fears or Hopes for this class.
  • For next class:
    • STEP ONE: Set a timer for fifteen minutes. Now, think of a problem or question that you need to “process” and free write in your notebook about this problem/question for the full 15 minutes. Do your best to think on the page. Keep that pen or pencil moving. Noone but you needs to read what you write. You can use these sentences to try to seek a solution or you can use these sentences to explore your thoughts/feelings about the problem. If your sentences wander, that’s okay. Try not to stress if you write a sentence like, “I don’t know what to write right now. I can hear my roommate chewing. She must be eating chips.”
    • STEP TWO: TYPE a formal-ish 3-4 paragraphs analyzing what you think about when you hear the phrase, “the writing process.” Please reference your experience freewriting in your response. While you do not necessarily need to share specifics about your problem, please be as specific as possible when you describe your experience. For example, you could write, “I found that it was difficult to focus on my problem. My attention continued to shift from my paper to my phone” or “I tried to better understand how I felt about my problem, but my sentences frequently contradicted themselves, and this made me confused,” or “I realized something new about my problem about ten minutes into the writing process.” Finally, please make sure that you address the role that you believe REVISION plays or could play in the writing process. Feel free to reference past writing experiences.
    • STEP 3: Practice sharing your Analysis with me as a Google Document (Labeled: NameSectionTitle)
    • Please bring your laptop to class on Tuesday and every class, hereafter

Week 2—Settling in and Engaging Text

January 22 (Tuesday)

  • Free write and class discussion. “What Makes for a good Conversation/Conversationalist?”
  • Brief Discussion
  • Active Reading (From Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain by Betty Edwards) (Video)
  • Start of Term Self-Assessment
  • For next class:
    • For next class:
      • Watch Metaphorically Speaking” by James Geary. Please print the transcript and bring to class–we will use the transcript in a class exercise. (Approx. 10 minutes)
      • Using as many descriptive words as possible, explain a metaphor that applies to your life. The metaphor could be personal, for example, “life is a road,” “the world is a stage,” etc. You could also explore metaphors that pertain to your career path or current discipline. Use Geary’s logic to identify the source and target of your metaphor. Do you feel that your metaphor gives you a more “vivid understanding” of your target? If so, in what ways? Is your metaphor synesthetic? Try to analyze the consequences of your choice metaphor. What expectations does it create? How does the metaphor empower and/or limit your thinking? (200-300 words. Printed.) (approx. 45 minutes)
      • EXTRA CREDIT OPPORTUNITY! Attend DR. ANGELA DAVIS‘s speech. Worth 6 bonus homework points. Identify, describe, and briefly analyze the purpose/effectiveness of any metaphors that you notice Davis use during her speech. (approx.. 300-500 words)
      • Please bring laptop to class Thursday! Setting up Blog in-class tutorial.

January 24 (Thursday)

  • FFM: Klinkinborg “Noticing” Free write
  • Setting up ePortfoilo tutorial
  • Active Reading Handout and James Geary’s Transcript
  • For next class:
    • Please bring James Geary’s Transcript to class!
    • Finish moving into your blog (est. time 15-30 minutes)
    • Print, Read, and Annotate “See through Words” by Michael Erard (Please refer to “Some Thoughts on Active Reading” as you annotate) (est. time: 45 minutes)
    • BLOG 1:
      • After you have read and marked Erard’s text, please choose two places that you noticed and expand your thoughts using the exploratory writing methods we worked on in class. In other words: choose two to three marginal comments that you make and “Follow The Thread.” Please incorporate an image of your annotated text into your blog (at least 3-5 pages). You may choose to handwrite or type your exploratory writing. The important thing is that your brainstorming session is legible as it appears on your blog. Don’t forget to categorize your blog post as ENG 110Remember to post your finished link as a comment on the class site (formatted BLOG 1: YOUR LINK)or you will not get credit for your work! Your class blogs should run around 200-300 words. (est. time: 45 minutes)  FOR SOME SUPER HELPFUL DIRECTION INSERTING APPROPRIATELY-SIZED IMAGES, PLEASE VISIT DIGISPACE’S: Help with pictures.
    • Please bring laptop and Erard to class

Week 3—The Changing Reality of the Text

January 29 (Tuesday)

  • Free write: Metaphor Designers Unite
  • Section E- Meet Writing Fellow
  • Discuss Active Reading Strategies in light of Erard’s essay
  • Individual-to-Small Group discussion about Erard and Geary
  • Hand out Prompt #1—Making Connections
  • For next class:
    • Reread Erard’s essay. Use a different color pen or pencil to layer your active reading notes, one on the other. Write Blog #2 (200-400 words) comparing your second reading experience with your first. Did you notice something new? Did you react differently to one of the author’s claims? Did you read something critically when, at first, you read it as a believer or vice versa? Finally, and most importantly, did “glossing the text” help you better understand a passage? If so, which, and to what extent? In your explanation, please include a hyperlink to at least one resource you used to “gloss the text.” Remember: when you’re “glossing the text,” you don’t need to be too particular about your source. Feel free to use Wikipedia or the Dictionary.com. Remember, you aren’t conducting research, just trying to clarify a reference or term that you can’t initially place.
    • Don’t forget to categorize your blog post as ENG 110Don’t forget to copy your link as comment onto class blog. (est. time: 60-90 minutes)
    • Please bring They Say/ I Say to class on Thursday

January 31 (Thursday)

  • Class Discussion: Rereading Erard. What’s the point?
  • BREAK
  • Summary: How to summarize
  • For next class:
    • Print, Read, and Annotate “The Trouble with Medicine’s Metaphors” by Dhruv Khullar (est. time 45 minutes)
    • For Blog #3:
      • STEP 1: Type a brief summary of “The Trouble with Medicine’s Metaphors” by Dhruv Khullar.  Keep in mind that you are writing what “they” say. Remember: Try to avoid a list summary. Your summary should serve your interests while remaining truthful to the text.
      • STEP 2: Now, please add what YOU say. Revisit the prompt and respond, using your own language and voicing your own opinions.
      • STEP 3: Finally, please choose one quote from each of our three texts that stands out to you as relevant to the conversation instigated by the prompt. After identifying the source use 1 sentence to explain why you chose each quote.
    • Don’t forget to categorize your blog post as ENG 110.
    • Don’t forget to paste a link to your blog as a comment into the class blog! (total est. time: 90 minutes)
      • Please bring laptop to class on Tuesday

Week 4—Revision as Process

February 5 (Tuesday)

    • Free Write and check-in
    • Discuss Dhruv Khullar’s “The Trouble with Medicine’s Metaphors”—Small Group, Large Group Discussion
    • BREAK
    • Making Connections: Synthesis and Meaning Making
  • For next class:
    • Read W-2 (Academic Contexts) and W-3 (Writing Processes) (pg. 6-16) in Little Seagull. Please bring book to class. We will work from this text in class. (Approx.. 30 minutes)
    • Blog #4:
    • Read Class Blog: Establishing Stakes and the Introductory Paragraph. Follow instructions. In the end, you will have composed a working introductory paragraph.
    • Please copy-and-paste your introductory paragraph as a comment into the class blog instead of a link to your finished blog. (Approx. 45-60 minutes)

February 7 (Thursday)

  • Free Write and Check-in
  • Favorite Writing Strategies
  • Little Seagull Discussion–What are the parts of an essay?
  • Introductory Paragraph, Casual Workshop
  • For next class:
    • Finish Free Draft with two questions and/or areas of focus. Due on Tuesday. Please bring 3 copies. *Take 2 volunteers for in class workshop.

Week 5—Peer Review 101

February 12 (Tuesday)

  • Free Draft Due! Exchange papers.
  • Peer Review Strategies and Assignment
  • In Class Workshops
  • BREAK
  • TRIAC and Barclay
  • For next class:
    • Prepare Peer Review. Remember to bring in 2 copies of your 150-word comment.
    • Blog #5: Please describe your experience prioritizing global edits over local edits. (total: 200-300 words)Don’t forget to post the link to your completed blog.
      • SPECIAL NOTE FOR SECTION E (8:00): As we discussed in class, you can choose to save a photo of one completed peer review to your phone, computer, or blog. The important thing is that you save at least one peer review for later retrieval.

February 14 (Thursday)

  • Peer Review
  • Peer Review Discussion
  • BREAK
  • How to Make a Revision Plan Strategy
    • Look at examples. (Liv’s, Teyha’s, Bri’s)
    • Read Peer Comments on your draft
    • Complete “Revision Plan Strategy” and post as Blog #6
  • For next class:
    • Please bring your Little Seagull to class on Tuesday. 
      • BLOG #6
      • Part 1: After reading Anne Lamott’s “Shitty First Drafts” (est. time: 15 minutes), take a minute to compare and contrast your own first draft (and the experience of writing it) with Lamott’s descriptions. What did you notice? Did anything surprise you about this short essay? Did anything offend you? (100-150 words) (est. time: 15 minutes)
      • Part 2: At the bottom of your post, please type/include your “Revision Plan Strategy”
      • REVISION PLAN STRATEGY

        (est. time 30 minutes)

        I would like you to take some minutes and reflect on your peer review experience. Return to your peer’s notes. Flip through your own. Now is the time to develop a strategy.

        Your strategy is the plan of action you will take to achieve your overall aim (Dictionary.com).

        Your strategy should include:

        1. Your goal (or goals), articulated in your own words
        2. The steps you plan to take to achieve this goal (in order of priority)
        3. What you see as your biggest challenge
        4. And what will you do if a challenge comes up that proves too difficult for you to solve on your own? In other words, what resources do you plan to use?

        You may share your strategy using video, audio, or written communication.

        Please note that written strategies should be between 200-400 words long. Audio and video strategies should last at least 2-3 minutes.

        Week 6—Writer as Driver

February 19 (Tuesday)

  • For next class:
    • Formal Paper 1 Due
    • Please bring They Say/I Say to class on Thursday

February 21 (Thursday)

    • Formal Paper 1 Due!
    • Multimodal 101
    • Interview about Narrative Project
    • They Say/I Say “The Art of Quoting” Exercise and/or Workshops
    • Claim and Evidence? Surprise game
    • For Next class:
      • Print, read, and annotate “Necessary Edges: Arts, Empathy, and Education” By Yo-Yo Ma (Please bring to class on Thursday)
      • Please upload at least 3-5 pages of your annotations to your Blog #7 and briefly reflect on how you feel you are achieving your annotation goals. (15-25 words)
      • Blog #7 (cont.): Revisit your notes on active reading and understanding context and do your best to describe each of the three contexts we’ve discussed in class. 1) What is the surrounding context for this essay? Where and when was it first published? Who wrote the essay, and what do you notice about the author’s bio? 2) What is the circumstantial context? What circumstances surround your personal reading experience? What is your purpose for reading this text? 3) Describe the intentional context. What is the rhetorical situation? What is the scope? What is the “so what?” Finally, please choose three unfamiliar words or references to gloss. Define or explain those terms in your blog.
    •  

Readings:
“Metaphorically Speaking” by James Geary (TED talk)
“See through Words” by Michael Erard
“The Trouble with Medicine’s Metaphors” by Dhruv Khullar