Writing & Rhetoric (WR 13100-17) Fall 2013Jeffrey L. Bain-ConkinTR 11:00-12:15Coleman-Morse 201

Office: 300 O’Shaughnessy HallOffice Hours: Friday 1:00-5:00, before and after class, and other times (by appointment)E-mail: jconkin@nd.edu

Course DescriptionWriting and Rhetoric is designed to help students learn how to identify an issue amid conflicting points of view and craft an argument based on various sources of information. The course stresses the identification and analysis of potential counter-arguments and aims to develop skills for writing a research proposal, for conducting original research, and for using print and electronic resources from the library.

Course Objectives1) Recognize the arguments that surround us in media every day.

a) Examine myriad sources.b) Evaluate the goals of these arguments.c) Determine intended audiences.

2) Articulate what makes arguments effective.a) Appreciate various forms.b) Understand appropriate content.c) Comprehend ethics of “Writing and Rhetoric.”

3) Form arguments using a variety of media.a) Craft theses and appreciate rhetorical situations.b) Research others’ arguments.c) Support claims using evidence.d) Anticipate objections and alternatives.e) Make appropriate conclusions for imagined audiences.

4) Understand the creative process and its component steps.a) Brainstorm well.b) Freewrite and Draft.c) Rewrite.d) Edit and Format.

Course Materials (REQUIRED)The Craft of Research (Third Edition)                         Wayne C. Booth; Gregory G. Colomb; Joseph M. Williams                         Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2008.

1

ISBN: 978-0-226-06566-3

Fresh Writing (Volume 13)Matthew Capdevielle, ed.Hayden-McNeil, 2012. ISBN: 978-0-738-05175-8

Course Materials (RECOMMENDED)A Pocket Style Manual with 2009 MLA and 2010 APA Updates (Fifth Edition)

Diana HackerBedford/St. MartinsISBN: 978-0-312-66480-0

A laptop (with wireless capability) or tablet is strongly recommended

Notre Dame email account (checked daily)Scribd accountTumblr account

Participation and Attendance Policy:I expect students to attend every class, but understand that sicknesses and other obligations occur. Therefore, students can miss three (3) class meetings with no penalty to their participation grade (see below). Officially-excused absences do not count for the three class meetings. One (1) point will disappear from a student’s participation grade (still below) for each additional absence.

Participation comprises the “subjective” aspect of grading. Coming to class, asking questions, giving evidence of reading the assigned materials, will make borderline grades more likely to go up. Tardiness, sulking, surliness, lack of preparation, sleeping in class, will make borderline grades more likely to remain fixed.

Regarding assignments and examinations, providing excuses for absences is the responsibility of the student, as is obtaining any material covered during the missed class.A list of acceptable excuses appears somewhere official, I’m sure. Please let me know in advance if you will miss an examination or assignment because of an excused absence.

Due dates for assignments remain as posted for students with unexcused absences. Each weekday late will result in the loss of one-third of one letter grade for the assignment. (For example, a paper due on Friday that would have received an “A-” automatically becomes a “B+” before Monday at 11:59 pm) These late penalties remain in effect even after the student submits a revised draft.

Course Cancellation Policy:In the unlikely event that the instructor needs to cancel class, he will notify students via email (or, in emergencies, someone will post a notice on the door). Ultimately, students should not wait more than ten (10) minutes before leaving in the classroom. The

2

instructor will provide his completed discussion and reading notes from the missed class as well as review missed materials upon students’ requests.

Assignments and Grade Breakdown*All assignments will be individually completed unless instructor approves group work.*Instructor will provide assignment sheets for Portfolio assignments detailing expectations.

Exams: Zero examinations in this course (You’re welcome)

Participation: 5%See above for attendance and participation requirements.

Workshops: 5%1) Presenting at workshop.2) Participating in others’ workshop (attending, contributing comments).

Informal Writing: 10%1) Blog/discussion-board entries, of which students will choose three (3) for

grading. Grades determined by thoughtfulness and relevance to topic.2) In-class exercises.

Portfolio: 80%Narrative Essay: 20%

1000 wordsRhetorical Analysis: 20%

1200 wordsResearch Paper: 20%

2500 wordsPresentation: 20%

Portfolio System and DeadlinesAll grades under the “Portfolio” component of the grading breakdown are “in pencil” until the final due date: 12 December at 11:59 pm. Deadlines for the initial drafts appear in the Course Schedule (see below).

Students therefore have the opportunity to rewrite all assignments under the “Portfolio” category and re-submit them for a new grade. Note: grades are not guaranteed to improve, though rewrites using professorial, workshop, and peer-review comments should raise grades. Also, late penalties for initial drafts remain in effect for later draft grades. (For example, a paper that originally was one weekday late can only get an A-, no matter how improved the newest draft is.)

Resubmission Process:1. Revise the assignment, possibly using instructor and peer feedback.

3

*Note: due to the instructor’s grading style of “prioritization,” even making all suggested changes will not guarantee an “A.”*Note: there is a chance your resubmission could receive a lower grade.

2. Post the new assignment as a new entry on your Tumblr blog. Title it something like “revised assignment X.”3. Email the instructor with:

a. notice of resubmission’s existenceb. list/description of changes made to the assignment

4. The instructor will respond with either a new grade, or encouragement to change even more of the draft.

Required University Writing Center and Student-Teacher ConferencesStudents must visit the Writing Center (Coleman-Morse 203) once over the course of the semester. The Writing Center is most effective for larger issues of structure, organization, transitions, et cetera. Although they accept drop-in students, it encourages scheduling appointments. During a class session, a Writing Center tutor will come and explain the appointment process.

The visit to the Writing Center must happen prior to Fall Break. Bring your assignment with you! (Or post it to the N: drive.) After visiting the Writing Center, post a 120-word reaction to your experience. What did you expect? Did the visit change your perception of the Writing Center? Will you go again?

Students must visit the instructors’ office hours twice during the semester: once before the break, and once after the break. Students should schedule an appointment with the instructor in advance. When scheduling an appointment, students should briefly state what they hope to accomplish during the conference. For example, students may use these conferences to improve essays for the portfolio submission or complain about the instructor’s (lack of) fashion sense.

Academic Honesty Policy:All Notre Dame students pledge the following at their matriculation and sign multiple statements each semester, though—despite rumors—almost never in blood:

“As a Member of the Notre Dame community, I will not participate in or tolerate academic dishonesty.”

Depending on the nature of the offense and the extent of dishonesty within an assignment/exam, penalties will range from a zero of the assignment/exam to failure of the course.

(The following appears in an adapted form through permission from Professor Bill Svelmoe of Saint Mary’s College):

Plagiarism is the most serious academic offense a student or faculty member can commit. It is the passing off of another’s ideas or words as one’s own; in effect, it is theft. Plagiarism destroys the educational process itself, inasmuch as education requires that students do the hard work of thinking and forming their own ideas and then sharing those

4

ideas with others. The plagiarist shows disrespect not only for those from whom she steals and for those to whom she presents the plagiarized work, but also for herself. She is, in effect, saying that she is incapable of doing her own work, or that she is too lazy to give proper credit to those from whom she borrows.

Students plagiarize primarily as a failure of time management, not character. Therefore, this course includes breaking assignments into component parts, requiring students to plan ahead for what appear to be unwieldy and intimidating projects. Students who still find themselves trawling the interweb at the eleventh hour angling to plagiarize should politely request an extension. Nearly always granted, these “new” due dates and accompanying penalties—if any—emerge from an agreement between student and instructor.

Plagiarism undercuts the trust that is essential in any community of learning.  It will destroy the relationship between instructors and students, making a semester’s course feel like an eternity. Post-plagiarism, the classroom experience becomes awkward for everyone. Future encounters on campus require students flee the instructor by hiding in garbage cans, nearby classrooms, or behind sculptures. Students wishing not to be embarrassed by banana peels on their clothes, by interrupting random classes, or by mocking squirrels should simply avoid plagiarism.

For all of these reasons, the University of Notre Dame maintains an academic honesty policy. Accordingly, I treat incidents of plagiarism very seriously. At minimum, a student whose work is discovered to be plagiarized will fail the assignment in question. If, in my estimation, the student plagiarized with the deliberate intent to deceive, the student will fail the course, not just the assignment. In keeping with the official policy, I will report instances of plagiarism to appropriate administrators.

It is every student’s responsibility to be aware of what plagiarism is and to learn how to document their work correctly. I will go over these procedures in class and am always available to answer questions. Never let the pressures of academia lead you into dishonesty. Character is more important than what may seem more obvious measures of success.

Statement on Students with Disabilities:“The University of Notre Dame does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national or ethnic origin, sex, disability, veteran status or age in the administration of any of its educational programs, admissions policies, scholarship and loan programs, athletic and other school-administered programs or in employment. “The University has designated the Director of its Office of Institutional Equity to handle all inquiries regarding its efforts to comply with and carry out its responsibilities under Title IX and under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. The Title IX and Section 504 coordinator may be contacted as follows: Director Office of Institutional Equity 414 Grace Hall (574) 631-0444”

Course Schedule

5

Note: Due Dates (**) apply to 11:59 pm (South Bend time) of the noted date, even for those students with unexcused absences. The student is responsible for posting her/his materials (and double-checking availability).

Week One: Beginnings27 August Syllabus, etc.29 August How to Read

99% invisible on “Sounds of Artificial World

Week Two: Audiences and Situations (Work on Narrative Essays)3 September Internet Memes and Audiences5 September Narrative Theory and Sample Narratives

Week Three: Introductions10 September First Paragraphs12 September Audio Narrative Introduction and Technologies

**Narrative Script Due 11:59 pm

Week Four: Arguments, Theses, Topics17 September Dissecting and Assembling Arguments19 September How to choose a good topic

**Narrative Essay Due 11:59 pm

Week Five: Organization and Conclusions24 September Organization26 September Conclusions

**Topics/Theses (Research Paper) Due 11:59 pm

Week Six: Literacy1 October Rhetoric Analyses3 October NO CLASS

Week Seven: More Analysis8 October Rhetoric of Space and the Built Environment10 October Rhetorical Analyses

** Rhetorical Analysis Draft Due 11:59 pm

Week Eight: Sources and Evaluation15 October Finding Sources (Library)17 October Evaluating Sources (Library)

22-24 October NO CLASS Fall Break

Week Nine: Presentations29 October Sample visual presentations and technologies

6

**Annotated Bibliography of five sources (Research Paper) due 11:59 pm

31 October Work on Presentations

Week Ten: Presentations5 November Presentations

**Presentation due 11:59 pm7 November Presentations

Week Eleven: Research Papers12 November Research Papers14 November Revision Process

Weeks 12-14: Nothin’ but Workshops19 November Practice Workshop and Real Workshop

**Research Paper Draft Due (11:59 pm)21 November Workshop

26 November Workshop28 November NO CLASS Thanksgiving Break

3 December Workshop5 December Workshop

Week Fifteen: Teary Farewells10 December Workshop12 December **Portfolios due 11:59 pm (more tears)

7