LinC 101
First Year Writing Course
Fall 2020
Course
Description and Objectives of the FYW Course
The First Year
Writing course (FYW) introduces students to academic literacy
practices central to success in any discipline at Moravian
College. The course is designed to help students transition to
college expectations, generate research questions, find and
evaluate sources, and make informed decisions about how to
best to achieve their purposes in various writing
situations. The subject area focus of each section of
FYW varies, but all sections are similar in their approach:
students develop the skills of critical reading, research,
argumentation, revision, and reflection; and students works
collaboratively with classmates, the instructor, and the
Writing Fellow to improve writing, build community, and
explore available campus resources to achieve academic and
personal success during their time at Moravian.
Course Outcomes
In First-Year Writing course, students will cultivate and apply critical thinking about the course topic in order to:
- Develop a clear and cohesive argument with persuasive appeals using evidence from critical reading and research.
- Implement, and subsequently reflect upon, writing strategies and conventions suited to a variety of purposes, audiences, and context-appropriate genres and media.
- Demonstrate ability to generate and pursue lines of inquiry; search, collect, and select sources appropriate to writing project(s); and document according to context-appropriate standards.
- Provide substantial and useful revision suggestions to other writers, and revise writing using responses from others writers, including classmates, Writing Fellows, Writing Center tutors, and instructor.
- Collaborate with faculty and Writing Fellows, and engage with the College community—students, faculty, and staff—to promote personal success at Moravian College.
- Reflect on learning to make interdisciplinary connections among course topic, education in the liberal arts, and both individual and community identity.
Instructor: Dr. Carl Salter
Office: Collier 221
Office Hours: T 10:30-11:40
campus phone -7920
email: salterc at moravian . eduCATION
Writing Fellow: Gabby Demchak
email: demchakg at moravian . eduCATION
Small Projects (Graded
on 100 point scale)
1) How
does it work: Letter You will write a letter to your
Aunt Gladys and answer a question
about how water works in our society. Cite your sources!
5% of
your grade. Due Sept
4.
Assignments
2) Favorite
bottled
water: Report
You will report on
your personal favorite bottled water, including who produces
it, where it comes from, how it is processed and distributed,
and its geographical distribution. It
definitely should not be an "everybody should drink
Brand X" advertisement/promotion. Cite your sources!
7% of
your grade. Due Oct 9.
3)
Water as a metaphorical vehicle. Business Memo You will write a memo
describing how water has been used in a metaphor to represent
the characteristics of something else, and how it could be
employed in a speech. How
has “water” or its common natural forms (ocean, river, lake,
rain) been used as a metaphor to represent good or bad
qualities of something else? Cite
your sources! 8% of your grade. Due
Oct 23.
Big Projects (Graded on 200 point scale using scoresheet)
1) River: Annotated
Bibliography and Poster
You will work with another student to create a poster about a major
world river. Cite your sources on the poster.
20% of
your grade.
1st Draft Oct 2 Due
Oct 16.
2) Water
Project: Annotated Bibliography and Paper You will write a report on
an historical water project:
a dam, a bridge, a sewer system, a canal, just to name a few
possibilities. 20% of
your grade. 1st
Draft Oct 30 Due Nov 20.
3) Water
and
Cooperation: Annotated Bibliography and Paper
You will write a report examining the challenge of cooperation
regarding the use of water.
Examine examples of cooperation in Fishman’s book The Big Thirst; which
do you find the most compelling?
What lessons do you draw about cooperation from
Fishman’s examples? Investigate other examples of
cooperation not in Fishman’s book. What structures and
modes or behavior do you believe will increase water
cooperation? 20% of
your grade. 1st
draft Nov 6 Due Dec 6.
Other Stuff (Graded
as
points to final grade)
Weekly
Reflections
on Canvas 10% Submit using
Assignments in Canvas. The assignment is open each
week from Sunday 7 pm to Monday 7 pm.
Participation
in three Extracurricular Events 5%
Final
Reflection 5%
Spreadsheet for Class Grade
(download)
Special Dates
During the semester we have scheduled one date for library for
instruction on literature research:
Tuesday Oct 6.
During the semester we
will have two presentations by local members of the community:
On Thursday, Sept 24, we will
hear Ed Boscola, Director of Bethlehem Water & Sewer,
discuss the Bethlehem City water supply.
On Friday, Nov 1 will talk about water use
by his business.
On Thursday Sept 3 at 7 pm,
Jonathan Safran Foer will present a webinar on his book, We
Are The Weather. This can count as one of your
extracurricular events.
Week
1
Course introduction: essay
projects, writing process, using the computer and network.
Facts about Water!
M
8/24 – F 8/28
Week
2
Rivers: River poster Assignment
Assemble Poster groups, read and annotate Asimov's essay
"Old Man River"
The Song "Old Man
River"
M
8/31 – F 9/4
Submit "How Does it Work"
letter to Aunt Gladys
Week
3 Friday:
Bring your
favorite bottled water to class.
M
9/7 – F 9/11
Week 4
Video:
Hidden City Civil Engineering Harbor
at Ostia:
Bethlehem's Water History Bethlehem's water supply Pictures
M
9/14 – F 9/18
Submit
sections of River Poster for review
Week 5
Thursday:
Ed
Boscola Bethlehem's Director of Water and Sewer
M 9/21 – F 9/25
Read,
reverse outline, annotate
The
Decline of "Big Soda"
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/04/upshot/soda-industry-struggles-as-consumer-tastes-change.html?_r=0
Week 6 Water Infrastructure and projects
M
9/28 – F 10/2 1st Draft
River Poster
Week
7
Tuesday
Kim Demyan Library Research:
Research Topics for Water Project
Music
and films: Singing in
the Rain Let the
River Run Bring me
Little Water, Sylvie
Waltzing Matilda Agua de Beber The Water is Wide Stormy Weather Cool Water
M
10/5 – F 10/9
Submit Favorite Bottled Water report
Week 8 The Big Thirst Discussion Annotate Thirst in Kenya
M
10/12 – F 10/16 Final Draft River Poster
Week 9 The Big Thirst DIscussion continued Poster Presentations on Friday!
M
10/19 – F 10/23 Submit Metaphor Business memo
M
10/26 – F 10/30 1st Draft: Water Project report
Week
11
M
11/2 – F 11/6 1st Draft: Water and
Cooperation report
Week 12
M
11/9– F 11/13
Week
13
M 11/16- F 11/20 Final Draft: Water Project report
Week 14 Thanksgiving Break WRF
M 11/23– F 11/27
Week 15 ONLINE Last Week of Class
M
11/30– F 12/4
Final Draft: Water & Cooperation
report
Week 16 Final Exam Week
M
12/7 – F 12/11 Submit reflections on extracurricular events.
Submit Final Reflection on Course.
This
is the college’s required freshman course on writing. Our goal is to help you understand that writing is a
process, and that you can improve your writing by developing
the process that suits your talents. Our focus
will be on the development of habits and strategies that will
help you write summaries, essays, and academic papers. I hope you will learn to approach
writing like professional writers.
In
all your formal writing—essays and final projects—the most
important qualities you are to learn and demonstrate are completeness,
commitment to your writing, and attention to the
writing process.
Prewriting specify different activities
such as cubing, idea maps, etc.
1st 5
2nd 3
3rd 2
Library Research
(Minimum of five citations) 10
Research Organization (Annotated bibliography) 15
Drafts each draft individually dated with word count1st 10
2nd w/ reflection 15
Inverse Outline and
revision plan 10
3rd w/
reflection
15
Please provide examples of the changes you make as you revise!
Final Draft 25
The Final draft should be a clean paper copy with score sheet attached and marked
Title, header, page
numbers clearly indicated per MLA format
Final reflection and future directions
Peer
Review
SII form
Workshop participation in
class
10
1st Student markup with SII out of class 5
2nd Student markup with SII out of
class 5
Writing Center Visits
Be sure your writing tutor has your
name and the name of the assignment!
1st date______
tutor_____ 10
2nd date______
tutor*_____ 10
* or Writing Fellow
Evaluation of Final Draft
Style 25
Content 25
Total Points for each
project 200
For The Big Thirst
As you read a chapter of The Big Thirst,
make notes, and ask yourself:
How does cooperation succeed (or fail) in stories Fishman
tells?
What insights did you gain about water scarcity and water
management?
What were the strengths
of the chapter? its weaknesses?
What examples of exciting, lucid writing did you
encounter? What was the best sentence in the
chapter?
What was the best enthymeme? Provide specific
examples.
If you are assigned a chapter, outline the chapter and email
me your outline! example
Include your choices for the five best sentences, best
enthymeme, and best metaphor.
Homework Assignments for Reading Rhetorically (RR)
What's due when in your Reflections
Submit using Assignments in
Canvas. The assignment is open each week from
Sunday 7 pm to Monday 7 pm.
Complete these by Monday Oct 10
Personal Writing
Assessment
the assignments for Chapters 1 - 3
from RR
AND 7-Day personal use of water
http://www.ciese.org/curriculum/drainproj/personalwateruse/
Describe a personal and emotional experience you had involving
water.
Where does your home get its water? Describe your hometown's
water supply.
Complete these by
Monday Nov 30
the assignments for Chapters 4 - 6 from RR
AND
Reflections on each chapter of The Big Thirst
Participate in three extracurricular events during the Fall
semester. In your reflection, please tell me what the
experience meant to you. Do not simply report what
you saw or did! Verify your participation by taking a
photo or screen shot of the event.
Additional
Resources for Water Topics
The class meets TRF 12:45
AM-1:45 PM (4th period) in PPHAC 117.
For the class room work and workshops to benefit you, your
regular and prompt attendance is crucial. Please be in your seat
with your day's work in front of you ready to start each day.
PPHAC 117 is just the right size for our class with COVID-19
restrictions. Be sure to wear a mask to class!
Academic Code of Conduct
All work that you submit or present as part of course assignments or requirements must be your original work unless otherwise expressly permitted by the instructor. This includes any work presented, be it in written, oral,or digital form or in any other technical or artistic medium. When you use the specific thoughts, ideas, writings, or expressions of another person, you must accompany each instance of use with some form of attribution to the source. Direct quotes from any source (including online sources) must be placed in quotation marks (or otherwise marked appropriately) and accompanied by proper citation, following the preferred bibliographic conventions of your department or instructor. In this class you will be using MLA. Student ignorance of bibliographic conventions and citation procedures is not a valid excuse for having committed plagiarism. To reiterate: When you use the work of another person, you must attribute the work to that person and its source, regardless of the genre or medium in which you are working. For example, photos that you include in a poster must have a citation.
Attendance
Attendance is mandatory. First-Year Writing Seminar is a course that includes engaged discussion, in-class writing, peer group work, and conferences. Therefore, students should not be late and should not miss class. Any in-class work missed as a result of tardiness or unexcused absence cannot be made up. Students enrolled in this course cannot miss more than a week of classes—three class meetings—without penalty. The penalty for three unexcused absences is a drop of one letter grade in your final grade. The fourth unexcused absence will result in course failure. You are responsible for all material assigned or covered in any class you miss, whether the absence is excused or not.
All holidays or special events observed by organized religions will be honored for those students who show affiliation with that particular religion. A dean’s note or other official Moravian College document justifies absences for Moravian functions but must be presented to your instructor before the scheduled event. Doctor’s appointments, job interviews, and other important appointments do not count as excused absences. If you have a legitimate conflict or an extreme emergency, discuss the situation with your instructor.
Class Conduct
Students in this class are encouraged to speak up and participate during class meetings.
Because the class represents a diversity of individual beliefs, backgrounds, and experiences, every member of this class must show respect for every other member of this class.
Additionally, all Moravian College students are responsible for upholding the Community Standards, as described in the Student Handbook:
You can familiarize yourself with all aspects of Moravian College’s Academic Code of Conduct here: https://www.moravian.
Late Work
Late work will not be accepted without penalty unless students make arrangements for an extension before the due date. Major assignments that are turned in late will incur a 5% penalty per 24-hour period.
Conferences
First-Year Writing Seminar instructors may cancel a class session to host individual or small group conferences. Students should come to conferences prepared to discuss their work. If your class has been cancelled to hold student-teacher conferences and you miss your assigned conference time, it may be counted as an absence by your instructor.
Peer Review
We improve as writers by responding to input from readers. To that end your essay drafts will go through extensive peer review. You are expected to take the input from your classmates seriously and respond to their feedback when you revise. You are likewise expected to take your job as a reviewer seriously. Critique others’ work as you wish to be critiqued. Treat each other with respect, and give helpful constructive criticism. Each of us has areas to improve in our writing.
Office Hours
You are encouraged to stop by during office hours or make an appointment with your instructor.
If my office door is open but I'm not inside, you'll probably find me in one of the chemistry labs, usually CHS 205.
Writing Fellow
The Writing Fellow for this FYWS section is Gabby Demchak. She is a great resource to help guide you through this transition to college life as well as to help you with your writing during the semester.
All FYW students are required to conduct and document their research. In addition to the physical resources available—books, magazines, journals, newspapers, and digital resources—Reeves Library has the invaluable resource of reference librarians. Our librarians are always interested in helping you with any questions you may have on research and resources. All sections of FYW attend a special library session to learn more about how to navigate the library’s many resources.
Writing Support and Academic Support
The Writing Center is a
resource for Moravian students. At the Writing Center, a
trained peer tutor will work individually with you on your
writing, at any point in the process from brainstorming to
editing. All FYW students visit the Writing Center at some
point during the semester to learn more about this resource
and/or to attend tutoring sessions. The Writing Center is
located on the second floor of Zinzendorf Hall, a building
that is not accessible to persons with mobility impairments.
If you need the services of the Writing Center, visit https://moravian.mywconline.com/
.
If you need other academic
support, such as assistance with time management, learning
strategies, or a tutor for a content area other than writing,
please contact the Student Success Program Coordinator at
610-625-7625.
Accommodations for Students with Disabilities
Moravian
College faculty are committed to providing a learning
environment free from gender discrimination and sexual
violence. Should a student disclose a concern of this nature,
the faculty member is obligated to inform the Title IX
Coordinator, who will assist the student in determining
resources for support and resolution. Fully confidential
reporting options include the Counseling Center, Health Center, and Religious Life
(chaplain). Survivors are encouraged to seek immediate
assistance by contacting the Advocates at (484)
764-9242. For more information, please visit www.moravian.edu/titleix.
Counseling
Counselors at the Counseling Center help students deal with the stresses of college life. They are a great resource for all students. You can give them a call at 610-861-1510 or stop by at 1301 Main Street.
Information contained in the course syllabus, other than the grade and absence policies, may be subject to change with reasonable advance notice, as deemed appropriate by the instructor.
It is within the instructor’s purview to apply qualitative judgment in determining grades for an assignment or for the course.
Writing Resources
Writing Center https://www.moravian.edu/writing/writing-center
Writing Center Resources
(Owl, Bedford)
https://www.moravian.edu/writing/online-writing-instruction
Writing Center First
Appointment
https://moravian.mywconline.com/register.php
Purdue online writing
https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/purdue_owl.html
Purdue
MLA page
Project Gutenberg
https://www.gutenberg.org/
Peter Elbow: Writing
with Power
Hacker, Diana. The
How to hold group discussion of writing
assignments
http://www.cs.moravian.edu/~csalter/group_discussion_guide.htm
Worksheets for group discussions
http://www.cs.moravian.edu/~csalter/diss_worksheet.htm
Instructions for Vocabulary
assignments
http://www.cs.moravian.edu/~csalter/Instructions%20for%20Vocabulary.htm
Instructions for Grammar Assignments
http://www.cs.moravian.edu/~csalter/Instructions%20for%20Usage%20Notes.htm
Writing as a Process
Writing is more than simply a report of what you know and see; it is also an important way of exploring a subject. Developing a finished piece of writing through time and involving the recursive process discussed below can deepen your understanding of the world and yourself in a way that reading and thinking by themselves cannot. By practicing writing in this way, we hope that you can eventually become your own teacher/editor and be able to use writing as a way of learning. Here is a brief overview of the usual process, based on what we know about how successful writers actually work.
Prewriting (or planning) is the work you do before composing and includes those important early decisions about purpose, audience, and style to. Prewriting also means reading, taking notes, talking to others, outlining, or freewriting—in other words, gathering together your information and thoughts.
Writing (or drafting or composing) those first words on a blank page is sometimes the most difficult step, often preceded by procrastination and anxiety that the writing will not work and that you might fail. Beginning writers should remember that it is neither natural nor possible for the words to come out just right the first time. Trying to make each sentence perfect before going to the next is one of the worst things to do. Writing takes time and often trial and error to become exact. Therefore, writing the first draft should be the fastest part of the process. You should write freely and without concern for style or mechanics in order to probe your ideas and let the act of writing help you discover what needs to be said. This first draft should be an open conversation between you and the writing. But for this conversation to move forward, you the writer must continue to put words on paper and respond to those words by writing more. Most any words will do to start the ball rolling, to set up this dialogue between you and the page. You are simply using writing to make yourself think in a sustained way about your topic. You are not even sure yet what you wish to say. What comes out may surprise you. But at least give yourself a chance to let your thoughts flow in writing without trying to make each sentence correct before going to the next.
Revising is the crucial stage. Indeed, it has often been said that good writing is rewriting. It is through multiple drafts that a piece of writing is developed to fulfill the writer’s purpose for a reader. You may add paragraphs and sentences while deleting old ones, or restyle flabby sentences and sharpen word choice now that the ideas are clearer. You may even trash much of what you have written in a first draft as your purpose and your sense of yourself in relation to your audience becomes sharper. Always ahead in revision are several opportunities to improve what you are working on.
Final editing and proofreading occur as you approach completion of a writing project. For the first time, the writer inspects and verifies the grammar and spelling and punctuation. Good writing is much more than good grammar, but for most academic essays, the two go together. So writers at this point become concerned that no spelling or grammatical blunder will interfere with a reader’s ability to understand and enjoy what was written.
You will not always have as much time as you would like for every essay. All of us, students and teachers alike, must learn to live within the limitations of this special version of life called college. But you can still practice this process of writing, learning to anticipate each stage and the writing problems that are a part of it. Someday your success will almost certainly depend, at least in part, on your ability to write meaningfully and to write with style. This semester is the time to start to get ready for that moment.