Advanced Composition: Writing in/and Communities

OVERVIEW

We are all members of communities, whether geographical or faith-based or familial or hobbyist or academic. Every community we participate in has its own way of thinking, talking, and writing. Literacy is at the heart of every community practice. Over the course of our ten weeks together, you will learn more about literacy and community, create texts that introduce us to communities of interest to you, and reflect on what you read, learn, and create.

(The official catalog description for this course: “An advanced writing course, emphasizing organization of essays, style, usage, rhetorical techniques, and rewriting and editing. Course includes discussion of effective prose, review of students' work, and individual consultations. Prerequisite: ENGL 101. Completion of ENGL 375 with a grade of C or better satisfies the University WEPT requirement.”)

COURSE OBJECTIVES

Over the course of the semester, students will

  • Understand discourse communities and their own participation in them.

  • Read and analyze a diverse set of texts.

  • Develop a project via multiple drafts.

  • Practice communicating in multiple mediums and/or genres

  • Learn to give and to act on productive feedback on works-in-progress.

  • Reflect on individual writing processes, approaches, and choices.

COURSE OUTCOMES

By the end of this course, students will be able to

  • Create texts (including multimodal texts) that demonstrate a clear purpose, respond to specific context, and/or address a particular audience.

  • Articulate their own writing and learning processes.

  • Integrate, synthesize, and cite relevant sources.

OVERVIEW OF WEEKLY MODULES

Each week you’ll be asked to do the following things:

  • Read something that helps provide context for our conversation for the week.

  • Watch/Listen to an intro video from me and a piece of media that informs our work for the week.

  • Write/Make/Create something. Often this will be part of your major assignment for the semester, “Exploring a Discourse Community.”

  • Respond to me and/or your peers via FlipGrid, Discussions, or elsewhere on Canvas.

  • Reflect on the things you’ve read, watched/listened to, made, and/or learned over the course of the week.

Because our class is fully online, each week will correspond to a module. There are 10 modules total. Because part of this class is getting feedback from me and from your peers, we’ll mostly follow a schedule of due dates that help spread the work of the class out over 10 weeks.

Modules will open each Monday, beginning Monday, June 1st. Due dates will be noted in Canvas under “Assignments” as well as on the “Syllabus” tab in Canvas. Most of the time, work for the class will be due on Wednesdays (by 11:59 pm PST) or on Sundays (by 11:59 pm PST).

REQUIRED BOOKS

There is no required book for this course; instead, I've provided links to those readings available on the open web. Any readings not linked on the reading schedule will be housed on Canvas.

MAJOR ASSIGNMENTS

Exploring a Discourse Community (Weeks 2-10)

Pre-project Proposal (Due Week 2)

Choose and describe two communities that you’re interested in writing about over the course of our class. Your description of each community should answer at least 4 of the following questions:

  1. What shared activity, interest, and/or identity unites the community?

  2. What are the goals of the community?

  3. What specific vocabulary is associated with the community? (In other words, what terms does a member of the community need to understand to be considered a competent member of the community?)

  4. What are some important events in the history of the community?

  5. Who are some of the leaders of the community? Why do they matter?

  6. What modes of communication does this community use (social media sites, message boards, newsletters, apps, blogs, meetings, IRC chat, etc.)? Which of these are most important?

  7. Why would you be interested in researching and writing about the community?

Please also select 2 or 3 sources per community that provide background on the community. (These sources don’t need to be formally cited in your answers to the above questions, though it’s always a good idea to keep track of where you get information.)

Part 1: Provide Background (Weeks 2-5)

  1. Compose a 500-750 word Community Profile: this description should use the questions from the proposal as a starting point and expand on those initial answers. Of the at least 4 sources you cite in this piece, at least 2 of the sources for this background should be written or compiled by members of the community. (You will submit a draft for peer review and my feedback before submitting the final draft. For your final draft, you will include a cover letter that explains the feedback you received and the revisions you made between drafts.)

  2. Create an infographic or other visualization that explains the most important information for outsiders to understand about the community. (Note here that the audience for your work is outsiders.)

Part 2: Tell me a story. (Weeks 5-8)

  1. Compose a 1200-1500 word Narrative that tells the story of an important person, thing, place, or event. You should use the background information you gathered in Part 1 to help provide context for the audience. Your goal is to create empathy, interest, and/or investment in the community from those outside the community. (You will submit a draft for peer review and my feedback before submitting the final draft. For your final draft, you will include a cover letter that explains the feedback you received and the revisions you made between drafts.)

  2. Create a brief (no more than 5 minutes) podcast segment (or other audio element) that focuses your audience on the key parts of the story you want to tell.

Part 3: Make an argument. (Weeks 8-10)

  1. Compose a 2000-2500 word argument that articulates the value of the community. Consider what those outside the community might see as the flaws or problems with the community and how the community might address those. Provide a call to action for your reader: how can the reader support the community or some specific project of value to the community? (You will submit a draft for peer review and my feedback before submitting the final draft. For your final draft, you will include a cover letter that explains the feedback you received and the revisions you made between drafts.)

  2. Create a video PSA (or other visual + audio element) that issues a call to action.

Midterm Reflection (Week 5) 

Compose a reflection of at least 500 words that articulates how well you feel you’re doing on each of the elements of the grading contract. What are you doing well? Where could you improve? How would you rate your performance to this point?

Final Reflection (Week 10)

Compose a reflection of at least 750 words that examines your work over the course of the semester, relates it to the elements of the grading contract, and assesses your overall performance in the class. How would you rate your performance? What would you have done differently? What advice might you offer to students who take this class next summer?

Final Portfolio (Week 10)

Create a web-based portfolio that features the elements of your discourse community project and reflects on your learning over the course of our class.

GRADING CONTRACT

This course emphasizes that writing is a process. We practice cycles of thinking, reading, composing, reviewing, soliciting feedback, revising, and then rethinking and rewriting. No work in this course is ever truly finished, so the goals of this course have less to do with finished products than with the work you do to read, write, rethink, and revise. Being successful in this course means engaging in the process and working to build the skills, approaches, and literacies that will serve you well in a variety of communication situations. 

All students in this class, regardless of writing comfort or ability, can pass this class. The default grade in this class, then, is a B. If you do what is asked of you, in a timely and thorough manner, engage with your peers, reflect on and revise your work, and improve your work over the course of the semester, you will earn a B. If you miss classwork, are disengaged, or fail to reflect upon and revise your work in response to feedback, you will earn a grade lower than a B.

Specifically, to earn a B in this course, you will

  1. Read and carefully respond to assigned course reading.

  2. Participate regularly via FlipGrid and in any Canvas Discussions.

  3. Meet due dates and writing criteria for all assignments in the course.

  4. Complete all informal, low-stakes writing assignments (including “Ongoing Reflection” posts, Discussions, and FlipGrid posts and responses).

  5. Give thoughtful, substantive feedback to your peers.

  6. Offer robust drafts at each stage of the process and for each part of the project.

  7. Make significant, substantive, and responsive revisions based on the feedback you receive from me and from your peers.

  8. Attend individual and/or small group conferences with me at least once during the course.

  9. Thoughtfully write and submit your midterm reflection.

  10. Thoughtfully write and submit your end-of-course reflection.

  11. Submit your final portfolio at the end of the term.

‘A’ grades will be based on the quality of your portfolio and how well it responds to (1) the criteria we establish for the portfolio and (2) the needs and expectations of the audience. During the final two weeks of the term, as a class, we will decide on A-level criteria for the portfolio.

(Also: I give extensions. Please ask for one if you need it.)

BASIC NEEDS SUPPORT

SSU has a number of resources to help you if you’re struggling with food or housing insecurity, including Lobo’s Pantry (https://www.facebook.com/LobosPantry/), emergency housing support (http://studentaffairs.sonoma.edu/emergency-housing-resources), and access to CalFresh (https://studentaffairs.sonoma.edu/student-resources/calfresh-outreach-program).

COUNSELING AND PSYCHOLOGICAL SERVICES (CAPS)

CAPS is a unit of the division of Student Affairs of Sonoma State University. CAPS offers confidential counseling to students experiencing personal problems that interfere with their academic progress, career or well-being. The CAPS website provides information only. Appointments are limited over the summer months as the majority of CAPS clinicians work only during the academic year. To see what services may be available to you, please call 707-664-2153, Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. or from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.

Please note that an on-call counselor is available 24/7 by calling our phone number at 707-664-2153 and following instructions to talk to a counselor immediately. 

CAPS has also put together a list of tips and resources to support you during the Coronavirus Pandemic: https://web.sonoma.edu/counselingctr/resources.html.