The first of the required GE writing courses introduces students to academic composition. Students will engage in writing as a process, pre-drafting strategies, multiple drafts, peer review, and large and small-scale revisions. Students with ACT English scores between 17 and 28 must take 1010 before ENGL 2010; those with scores below 17 must enroll in ENGL 1010E. (Fall, Spring, Summer) [Graded (Standard Letter)]

Writing 1010 is the first of the required GE writing courses. In this course, we emphasize rhetorical skills and strategies for becoming successful academic writers. Through multiple drafts and different writing assignments, students learn to be confident, flexible, and resourceful writers. The writing skills and techniques we learn in 1010 are meant to make students comfortable with writing assignments in future courses in different disciplines as well. We will learn how to see “good writing” as something that transcends the fixed rules of grammar, style, and citation. This course will invite you to think of “good writing,” rather, as the product of practice, revision, and a willingness to approach new writing situations with curiosity and attention to context. Our goal is to cultivate skills, strategies, and habits of mind that will help you become a more effective writer and thinker. And, our goal is to help you enjoy writing and become a confident writer here at SUU and beyond.

The course introduces students to the meaningful use of scholarly resources in writing, provides a venue for students to further develop their critical thinking and research skills, and facilitates the transfer of these skills beyond their first year. No matter what pre-conceptions you have about “bad” versus “good” writing or what your prior experience with writing has looked like, this class will give you new tools to thrive as a writer. In my role as instructor, I will be enthusiastic, helpful, coach-like, and open-minded as we work together to develop your writing.

• Supplemental readings that will be posted to Canvas
• The OWL Purdue MLA Format Guide –

Written Communication

• Construct rhetorical arguments that demonstrate awareness of purpose, audience, and context
• Organize and use relevant and compelling content for specific rhetorical situations and audiences
• Use straightforward and relatively error-free language that conveys meaning to readers

Information Literacy

• Identify and locate credible and appropriate information for a rhetorical purpose
• Evaluate sources and attribute them appropriately according to a writing style

Critical Thinking

• Evaluate and interpret source material and readings using an analytic approach
• Analyze assumptions about evidence and argument in conjunction with the context of the rhetorical situation
• Compose arguments that demonstrate a clear reliance on logic and the ability to evaluate and prioritize evidence

Assignments and Grade Breakdown

• Paper 1 Writing Argument Essay — 15%
• Paper 2 Rhetorical Analysis Essay — 20%
• Paper 3 Persuasive Essay — 25%
• Reflective Rhetorical Analysis — 5%
• Reading Responses — 10%
• Peer Review — 10%
• Conferences — 5%
• Participation — 10%

Paper 1: Writing Argument Essay (15%) (2–3 pages)

For this essay, you will make an argument about writing: either a general argument about writing as a practice, discipline, and/or activity; or, an argument about your specific relationship to writing and/or your identity as a writer.

Paper 2: Rhetorical Analysis Essay (20%) (3–4 pages)

In this essay, you will choose an academic source on a topic of your choice and write a rhetorical analysis of it, taking into consideration the purpose, audience, and rhetorical strategies of your chosen source.

Paper 3: Persuasive Essay (25%) (5–6 pages)

Building on the topic that you chose for your second paper, this essay will build a persuasive argument about your topic. The goal is to develop a central claim about your topic, and to support and demonstrate this claim using at least four outside sources and your own rhetorical strategies.

Reflective Rhetorical Analysis (5%) (~2 pages)

A rhetorical analysis examines and explains how an author attempts to influence an audience. For this assignment, you will complete a short rhetorical analysis of your persuasive essay (essay 3). Your analysis should not simply paraphrase or summarize what you have said, but should provide a way of understanding how the text persuades its audience. This analysis will draw on readings from class to examine and explain your decisions and argumentative strategies in the essay you wrote.

Reading Responses (10%)

For each reading response, I would like you to write a brief, half-page (single-spaced) response addressing the following:

• Tell me one thing you know for certain from the reading.
• Tell me one thing you’d like to know more about from the reading.
• Tell me one thing you didn’t understand from the reading.

Your questions might deal with any part of the reading—a confusing example, a term from the text that struck you, an essay that intrigued you, etc. Each reading response is worth 2% of your grade. Late submissions (up to a week) will be accepted at half credit.

Peer Review (10%)

Our peer review workshops will be held for each major writing assignment. They will be a way to receive and give feedback on our work in order to revise for the final submission. You must bring a complete draft of your assignment to receive full credit for these sessions; partial credit will be given for partial drafts.

Conferences (5%)

Toward the end of the semester, we will set up one-on-one meetings to conference about your work in the class, your preparation for the final essay, and your future writing goals.

Participation (10%)

Participation includes attendance, discussion, in-class writing, group work, drafting, and revising. This grade will be determined by your regular attendance and participation in our class meetings. Please be sure to come to our meetings prepared and having done the readings. Readings are due the day they are listed; for example, you will come to our meeting on 1/12 having read “What is Academic Writing?”

Week 1

W 1/7
Course Introduction and Welcome

F 1/9
Course Introduction and Welcome Continued

Week 2

M 1/12
Read: “What is Academic Writing?”
Introduce Writing Argument Essay

W 1/14
Read: “How to Read Like a Writer”
Reading Response #1 Due

F 1/16
Writing Workshop

Week 3

M 1/19 – MLK Day - No Classes

W 1/21
Workshop on Writing Argument Essay

F 1/23
Read: “The Inspired Writer vs the Real Writer”
Workshop on MLA formatting
Reading Response #2 Due

Week 4

M 1/26
Due: Rough draft of Writing Argument Essay
In-class peer review

W 1/28
Read: “Finding the Good Argument OR Why Bother with Logic?”

F 1/30
Workshop Day
Due: Final Draft of Writing Argument Essay

Week 5

M 2/2
Introduce Rhetorical Analysis Essay
Read: “Reflective Writing and the Revision Process: What Were You Thinking?”

W 2/4
Choosing a Topic + Using the Library Workshops

F 2/6
Workshop Day

Week 6

M 2/9
Finding Sources Workshop
Read: “I Need You to Say “I”: Why First Person is Important in College Writing”
Reading Response #3 Due

W 2/11
Read: “Annoying Ways People Use Sources”

F 2/13
Workshop Day
Summaries of Sources Assignment Due

Week 7

M 2/16 – No Class – President’s Day

W 2/18 – No Class

Week 8

M 2/23
Rhetorical Analysis Workshop

W 2/25
Due: Rough Draft of Rhetorical Analysis Essay
In-class peer review

F 2/27
Due: Final Draft of Rhetorical Analysis Essay

Week 9

M 3/2
Introduce Persuasive Essay

W 3/4
Read: “Murder! Rhetorically Speaking”
Reading Response #4 Due

F 3/6
Workshop Day

Spring Break – No Class Meetings

Week 10

M 3/16
Writing persuasively workshop
Read: “Discourse Communities and Communities of Practice”
Reading Response #5 Due

W 3/18
Incorporating sources workshop
Read: “Wikipedia Is Good for You!?”

F 3/20
Workshop Day

Week 11

M 3/23
Outlining Workshop

W 3/25
Read: “Everything’s an Argument”

F 3/27
Workshop Day

Week 12

M 3/30
Conferences

W 4/1
Conferences

F 4/3
Workshop Day

Week 13

M 4/6
Conferences

W 4/8
Conferences

F 4/10
Workshop Day

Week 14

M 4/13
Due: Rough Draft of Persuasive Essay
In-class peer review

W 4/15
In-class review session (Last day of class)

Persuasive Essay + Reflective Rhetorical Analysis Due on Canvas April 20

Late Work Policy

I offer extensions without any grade penalty, but an extension request must be sent to me by email or Canvas message before the assignment is due. Work that is submitted late (with no extension request) will lose ten points per day that it is late, and will not be accepted after one week.

Grade Discussions

My goal is to always post your grades on Canvas within two weeks of an assignment’s submission. My policy for grade discussions/disputes is that they must happen in person (not over email) during my office hours or by appointment.

Your success and the success of this course depend on your active participation; therefore, your regular attendance is required. Be aware that a student whose absences are excessive may run the risk of receiving a lower grade or a failing grade, regardless of their performance in the class. You are allowed two unpenalized absences from class; every absence after that drops your total class grade by 5 points. Missing more than five classes puts you at risk for failing the class. If you miss a class, it is your responsibility to get the class notes from a classmate.

Please note: Zoom accommodations related to Covid restrictions for face-to-face classes have ended. There will be no live streaming or recording of class sessions.

Prerequisite(s)

ENGL 0990 or ACT English Subscore or Accuplacer Next Generation score - Prerequisite Min. Grade: C

Prerequisite Test (Min. Score)

ACT English Subscore (17) or Accuplacer Next Generation (250)

Registration Restriction(s)

Intensive English Program majors may not enroll

General Education Category

Written Communication

Essential Learning Outcomes Alignment