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ENG 3010 Common Syllabus Academic year 15/16

This document is organized into the following sections:I. Description of ENG 3010 (1-7)II. Syllabus Checklist (7)III. Assignment Descriptions (7-24)IV. Policies, Resources & Suggestions (24-28)

I. Description of ENG 3010

Department of English DescriptionInclude this section verbatim on syllabus.

Building on students’ diverse skills, ENG 3010 prepares students for reading, research, and writing in the disciplines and professions, particularly for Writing Intensive courses in the majors. To do so, it asks students to consider how research and writing are fundamentally shaped by the disciplinary and professional communities using them. Students analyze the kinds of texts, evidence, and writing conventions used in their own disciplinary or professional communities and consider how these items differ across communities. Thus students achieve key composition objectives: 1.) learn how the goals and expectations of specific communities shape texts and their functions; 2.) learn how writing constructs knowledge in the disciplines and professions; and 3.) develop a sustained research project that analyzes or undertakes writing in a discipline or profession.

To achieve these goals, the course places considerable emphasis on analytical and critical reading and writing as well as the development of research skills. It typically requires genres like the research proposal, literature review, research presentation, and researched argument and the use of varied technologies for research and writing. ENG 3010 follows a Writing Across the Curriculum (WAC) approach teaching Composition at the intermediate

ENG 3010 Common Syllabus

level. WAC approaches guide students to investigate writing in their fields and to develop a holistic awareness of communicative practices in their disciplinary discourse communities. In order to develop this awareness, ENG 3010 leads students to identify and analyze commonly used genres, writing conventions, and audience expectations in their disciplines. Then, based on this work, students develop a research proposal designed for readers in their own disciplines. Through group work, class discussions, and peer review, students consider how texts, research, and writing practices in their disciplines compare to those of other disciplines.

WSU Undergraduate Bulletin Description Include this section verbatim on syllabus.

Cr 3. Prereq: grade of C or better in ENG 1020 (or equivalent course) in reading, research and writing for upper-level students. Emphasis on conducting research by drawing from the sciences, social sciences, humanities, and professions in preparation for Writing Intensive courses in the majors.

Course Placement for ENG 3010Include this section verbatim, but feel free to replace forms of “student” with “you” and “your” as appropriate for your syllabus.

To enroll in ENG 3010, students must have completed their WSU Basic Composition (BC) requirement (ENG 1020 or equiv.) with a grade of C or better. Students who have not completed this requirement will be asked to drop the course.

General Education Designation Include this section verbatim on syllabus.

With a grade of C or better, ENG 3010 fulfills the General Education IC (Intermediate Composition) graduation requirement. Successful completion of an IC course with a grade of C or better is a prerequisite to enrolling in courses that fulfill the General Education WI graduation requirement (Writing Intensive Course in the Major).

More information on the General Education requirements is available from the Undergraduate Programs office: http://advising.wayne.edu/curr/gnd1.php

Learning OutcomesInclude this section verbatim on syllabus.

A passing grade in ENG3010 indicates that students are able to demonstrate the following course outcomes:

ReadAnalyze genres from the student’s discipline or profession, including their associated discourse community, audience(s), rhetorical situations, purposes, and strategies.

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http://advising.wayne.edu/curr/gnd1.php


WriteUse a flexible writing process and varied technologies to produce texts that address the expectations of the student’s disciplinary or professional discourse community in terms of claims, evidence, organization, format, style, rhetorical situation, strategies, and effects by drawing on an explicit understanding of the genre(s) being composed.

ResearchWrite research genres, use research methods, and conduct primary and secondary research to produce an extended research project relevant to the student's discipline or profession.

ReflectionUse reflective writing to describe developing knowledge about writing (especially writing in one’s discipline or profession) and about oneself as a writer (including one’s ability to plan, monitor, and evaluate one’s writing process and texts).

Required TextInclude this section verbatim on syllabus.

Miller-Cochran, Susan K., and Rochelle L. Rodrigo. The Wadsworth Guide to Research: Wayne State Edition. Boston, MA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning, 2015. ISBN: 9781305757899

Assignments Include this section verbatim unless you have received permission from the Director of Composition to teach alternative assignments.

Students are required to write 32 pages or more (approx. 8,000-9,000 words) in ENG 3010 (NOT including drafts and informal writing). However, reading responses, student-generated primary research artifacts, and other formalized “minor” assignments may count toward this goal. This course will feature a minimum of 4 major projects along with 1 multimodal presentation and less formal writing for in-class activities and homework. Students are required to submit at least 1 formal project that is between 10-15 pages in length, not including any associated requirements for works cited and/or reflective writing.

The major projects for the course are intended to scaffold together, building upon students’ emerging writing capacities, discourse community awareness, familiarity with a central research focus, and a body of written content. Taken together, these emerging competencies and artifacts should lead students to develop a longer, higher-stakes project which not only models and effective process for research and writing in their professional/disciplinary discourse communities, but also resembles an important genre of that community (the formal research proposal).

1. Research Guide (3-4 pages)

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2. Genre Analysis (4-5 pages)3. Literature Review (8-10 pages)4. Multimodal Presentation 5. Formal Research Proposal (10-15 pages)6. Reflective Letter (2-3 pages)

Project Formats and SubmissionTailor this section to fit your course policies.

Assignments must be typed, double-spaced, in 12-point Times New Roman typeface, with one-inch margins.

Please use students’ disciplinary formats for citations. Assignments must be submitted electronically through Blackboard. Please insert page numbers in the top, right-hand corner of your assignments.

Grading Include the first paragraph below verbatim and tailor the rest of this section to fit your grading policies and scale (the following is just an example).

ENG 3010 is usually graded on a points-based system. Students who earn 75% of the points or higher will fulfill WSU’s IC competency requirement. However, in order to pass the course, students must submit each major assignment prior to the next major assignment, and must complete all major assignments.

Grades on individual papers will be weighted as follows:

Reading Responses (10) 100ptsProject 1: Research Guide (3-4) 125ptsProject 2: Genre Analysis (4-5) 150ptsProject 3A: Literature Review (8-10) 175ptsProject 3B: Multimodal Presentation 50ptsProject 4: Research Proposal (10-15) 250ptsFinal Exam: Reflective Letter (2-3) 50pts (required to pass)Participation 100ptsTotal (1000pts)

Grading Scale:A 94-100%A- 90-93%B+ 87-89%B 84-86%B- 80-83%C+ 77-79%C 74-76% A grade of C or better fulfills theC- 70-73% General Education IC requirementD+ 67-69% and the prerequisite for General

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D 64-66% Education WI courses.D- 60-63%F 59% or less

Attendance PolicyAdapt this section to articulate your class policies, and see Section IV of this document for recommendations on attendance policies.

Enrollment in ENG 3010 is capped at 24 students. The English Department requires every student to attend at least one of the first two class sessions in order to maintain his or her place in the class. If you do not attend either of these sessions, you will be asked to drop the class; in this event, dropping the class is your responsibility.

Class attendance is required, and attendance will be taken at each class session. Arriving more than 20 minutes late will count as an absence. Attendance, preparedness, and active participation count as [X] percent of the final grade. However, students are allowed three total absences (10% of course meetings) during the semester without penalty. Absences exceeding 20% of course meetings (5+) will result in an automatic failure for the course.

Plagiarism PolicyAdapt this section to articulate your class policies, and see Section IV of this document for recommendations on plagiarism policies.

Plagiarism is the act of copying work from books, articles, and websites without citing and documenting the source. Plagiarism includes copying language, texts, and visuals without citation (e.g., cutting and pasting from websites). Plagiarism also includes submitting papers (or sections of papers) that were written by another person, including another student, or downloaded from the Internet. Plagiarism is a serious academic offense. It may result in a failing grade for the assignment or a failing grade for the course. Instructors are required to report all cases of plagiarism to the English Department. Information on plagiarism procedures is available in the Department.

Other Course PoliciesAdapt this section to articulate your class policies, and see Section IV of this document for recommendations on course policies.

Students will be asked to share writing and make photocopies for others in class. Students should ensure that all pagers, cell phones, watches, etc., won’t sound

during class time. Students should not take or make calls, text message, or otherwise use electronic devices during class, except to access course-related materials.

Students must contact the instructor in advance if work cannot be submitted by the due date. No comments will be provided for late work. The instructor will determine specific grade reductions based on timely prior notification, whether revised deadlines are met, and similar factors. Late work will be accepted and graded only if a new deadline is arranged with the instructor in advance.

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If a student misses the first two class sessions, s/he will be asked to drop the course to avoid a failing grade. Students may add the course during the first week of classes but not after that.

Students are expected to participate in peer review workshops. Missing a peer review workshop or failing to provide an adequate draft for review deducts 5 points from your final grade and counts as an absence for the course.

Likewise, students are expected to participate in class discussions, in-class group activities and exercises, and electronic short writing assignments via Blackboard or google sites. Participation in these activities is worth 100 pts (grade assessed for semester’s performance).

A grade of Incomplete will be issued only if the student has attended nearly all of the class sessions, submitted an Incomplete Contract (using the English Department’s recommended form) sign, and obtained the instructor’s signature on it.

Additional resources include the Academic Success Center http://www.success.wayne.edu and Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) http://www.caps.wayne.edu.

Warrior Writing, Research, and Technology (WRT) ZoneInclude this section verbatim.

The WRT Zone is a one stop resource center for writing, research, and technology. The WRT Zone provides individual tutoring consultations, research assistance from librarians, and technology consultations, all free of charge for graduate and undergraduate students at WSU. Tutoring sessions are run by undergraduate and graduate tutors and can last up to 50 minutes. Tutors can work with writing from all disciplines.

Tutoring sessions focus on a range of activities in the writing process – understanding the assignment, considering the audience, brainstorming, writing drafts, revising, editing, and preparing documentation. The WRT Zone is not an editing or proofreading service; rather, tutors work collaboratively with students to support them in developing relevant skills and knowledge, from developing an idea to editing for grammar and mechanics.

Librarian and technology support is a walk-in service. Consultants will work with students on a first come-first serve basis. Consultants provide support with the library database system, finding and evaluating sources, developing research strategies, organizing sources, and citations. Consultants will also provide technology support including, but not limited to: video editing, graphics creation, presentation building, audio recording, MS Office support, and dissertation formatting. The WRT Zone has several computers with the Adobe Creative Suite for students who want to work on multimedia projects. Our location is also equipped with two Whisper Rooms where students can work on multimedia projects in a more private and sound isolated environment.

To make a face-to-face or online appointment, consult the WRT Zone website: http://wrtzone.wayne.edu/

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http://wrtzone.wayne.edu/


For more information about the WRT Zone, please contact the Director, Jule Wallis (email: [email protected]).

Student Disability ServicesInclude this section verbatim.

Students who may need an accommodation based on the impact of a disability should contact the instructor privately to discuss specific needs. Additionally, the Student Disabilities Services Office coordinates reasonable accommodations for students with documented disabilities. The office is located in 1600 David Adamany Undergraduate Library and can be reached by phone at 313-577-1851. Please consult the SDS website for further information: http://studentdisability.wayne.edu.

II. Syllabus Checklist

Below is a checklist you can use to be sure that your syllabus features all of the required elements. Please also consult the ENG 3010 Syllabus Template in constructing your syllabus.

1. Instructor and Section Information 2. Department of English Description3. WSU Undergraduate Bulletin Description4. Course Placement for ENG 30105. General Education Designation 6. ENG 3010 Learning Outcomes7. Required and Recommended Texts8. Assignment Descriptions9. Project Formats and Submission10. Grading11. Attendance Policy12. Plagiarism Policy13. Other Course Policies14. Writing Center Information15. Disability Services Information

III. Assignment Descriptions

Project 1: Personal Research Guide

Introduction/Rationale The personal research guide is an opportunity for you to begin to explore a professional or disciplinary discourse community you are joining or intend to join. Using primary and secondary research methods, you will explore the literacies of the discourse community by identifying significant genres, key experts, important publications, professional organizations and conferences, online presence, commonly employed research methods in

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the field, major topical or conversational trends from the last 5-10 years, and broad disciplinary values. You will use this exploration of key disciplinary and/or professional literacies to begin to develop research questions about the discourse community.

Assignment Prompt Begin by identifying the disciplinary or professional discourse community you wish to enter and work through the knowledge you already have about the discourse community. Then, using Swales’ six characteristics of discourse communities as a heuristic (bulleted below) generate questions about the field’s purposes, discursive practices, genre conventions, etc. based on your knowledge gaps. What do you need to know or want to find out?

What are the “common public goals” of the discourse community? How do members of the discourse community share ideas and information with

each other? What kinds of ideas and information do members of the discourse community share

with each other? What genres does the discourse community use to accomplish its goals? What are some key features or examples of the lexis of the discourse community? What are the parameters of membership in this discourse community? Who are key

figures in the field?

From there, make contact with at least 1 working professional, scholar, or graduate student in the field to learn more about the key moves of this discourse community:

Interview a professional or academic in the field about key genres, commonly used research methods, recent major topics, important journal publications, professional organizations, web sources, and conferences. Follow up on that interview with your own research: (1) search for and review several examples of items mentioned in your interview and (2) research the topics or current events that are important in that discipline or profession.

(Optional) Talk to a WSU librarian about how members of a particular discipline might use various library resources when they conduct research or want to read in the field. Work through some keyword searches to learn how to use the databases as well as to discover journals, conference proceedings, and/or any other prominent resources the database supplies.

Your research guide should articulate at least three major communicative practices used by members of the discourse community to accomplish their goals. These goals should reflect, or at least connect to, reading, writing, and research values uncovered during your meeting with the expert you interview.

Minimum RequirementsOnce you have conducted your research and analysis, compose a 750-1000 word research guide that includes the following information:

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Swales’ six characteristics of discourse communities as a heuristic that organizes the information you’ve gathered and formats the guide for easy reference

A definition of the discourse community in terms of its “common public goals” as understood both by a practicing member as well as any professional organizations associated with the specific discourse community.

At least three major communicative practices used by members of the discourse community to accomplish the above goals.

A list of prominent “participatory mechanisms” or venues where members publish, share, and discuss information. This includes the field’s major journals, conferences, databases, and other forums for important conversations in the discipline.

A description of significant “mechanisms of intercommunication” or genres typically used by members of the discourse community to share, discuss, and critique new disciplinary information. This section should include specific examples, not just broad categories like “articles” or “websites” or general statements of topics like “issues in medicine.” Thus, for each genre described, students should reference a specific example and briefly highlight the major issues or topics addressed by the specific “mechanism” under review.

A description of contemporary major topics of conversation as well as any significant changes in your chosen field of study that have taken place over the last 5-10 years. This section should also identify a short list of the most important terms, acronyms, and key words that make up the disciplinary vernacular.

2-3 of your own research questions about the contemporary major topics of your discourse community (as identified above). These questions and their revisions will continue to drive your research over the course of the semester.

A bibliographic list of all pertinent resources you have uncovered during your search (even if uncited), using the citation method appropriate to the field.

An invention portfolio that shows how the project was composed over time by assembling all planning and drafting documents.

Learning ObjectivesResearch

Use primary and secondary research methods to discover key disciplinary or professional genres, research methods, organizations, topics, etc.

Write Describe key communicative practices using concrete evidence and examples from

research. Compose research questions that follow from this analysis and description. Work through careful revision and editing based on peer and teacher feedback and

the student’s own review of and reflection on a draft.

Due Date(s) For Major Project MilestonesWeek 1 (second meeting): Discuss “Discourse Community” (Swales and the Wikipedia article) and the Wadsworth Guide; develop research plans. Week 2: Discuss research experiences and questions and conduct peer response on drafts.Week 3: Final project due.

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Suggested Unit Readings Beaufort, Anne. "Operationalizing the concept of discourse community: A case study of one

institutional site of composing." Research in the Teaching of English (1997): 486-529.

"Discourse Community." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 25 Nov. 2014. Web. Harris, Joseph. "The idea of community in the study of writing." College Composition and

Communication (1989): 11-22.Porter, James E. "Intertextuality and the Discourse Community." Rhetoric Review 5.1 (1986): 34-47. Web.Wardle, Elizabeth. “Identity, Authority, and Learning to Write in New Workplaces.”

Enculturation 5.2 (2004): n. pag. Web. The Wadsworth Guide to Research Chapter 1: Research and the Rhetorical SituationChapter 4: “Conducting Research,” pgs. 69-70 Chapter 5: Conducting Primary Research

Evaluation: (Final Draft Rubric Template)

Excellent Acceptable

Emerging Not Evident

Content: Completion of major requirements listed above (Itemize)

Definition Mechanisms of Intercommunication etc. etc.

Professionalism: Attention to timeliness, formatting requirements, and submission protocols

Organization & Design: Purposeful rhetorical choices for the design, organization, and use of the guide are clearly evident

Clarity: Sentences exhibit clear meaning that is easy to read

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Project 2: Genre Analysis

Introduction/Rationale:In this project, you will be exploring how to read, analyze, and use the professional and scholarly genre of the peer-reviewed journal article. This project will provide you with experience that will help prepare you for writing and communicating within professional and scholarly discourse communities. This project builds off the work of Project 1 while at the same time preparing you for the more extensive research project you will conduct in future weeks.

Assignment Prompt:Building on your work in Project 1, you will first select one peer-reviewed article that we have read or will read in class from the Writing Studies discourse community. You will compare that article with one peer-reviewed article published in a professional community that you are interested in entering (i.e., your major) or learning more about. In class and with the assistance of library staff, you will identify representative peer-reviewed articles in the discourse community of your choice, choose one, and begin to perform an analysis of how the articles from the Writing Studies discourse community differ, overlap, and mirror the article you select from the discourse community of your choice. Your project will contain three major sections: Identification, Analysis, and Reflection. Below are some questions and suggestions that serve as possible prompts for writing each section, though it’s important to note that these are not the only questions available, and you will not have space to pursue them all.

IdentificationIn this section, identify the major conventions found in the peer-reviewed articles you have selected. What citation styles are used? What major sections are present and how are they identified and ordered? What sections are the most extensively written? What stylistic features are apparent (e.g., Does the writing utilize active or passive voice? What point of view is invoked?) Does the article include an abstract? Does the article include additional sections or features such as an acknowledgement or epigraph?

AnalysisIn this section, analyze how these major conventions indicate the ways this genre supports the goals of the discourse community or demonstrates the values of the discourse community. What do the different citation styles suggest about the values, goals, or agenda of the discourse communities? What do you think the different (or lack of) sections, order of sections, or size of sections indicate about the discourse communities? What do the different stylistic features of the texts begin to indicate about the values, goals, or agenda of the discourse community? How do additional features of the article add to the writing, and why might they be included in some articles but not others?

ReflectionIn this section, reflect on what you have learned through this analysis. What can you begin to say about discourse communities after having completed your analysis? How do genres

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(in this case the peer-reviewed article) help shape the values, goals, and agenda of discourse communities in general? Based on this limited sample size, what have you learned about discourse community and professional genres?

Learning Objectives:Read

Identify and describe common conventions of peer-reviewed articles within two different discourse communities.

Analyze and discuss similarities and differences in peer-reviewed article conventions, structures, styles, and other features.

Reflect Reflect on how genre conventions, features and strategies help shape and reveal the

values, goals, and agenda of discourse communities.Write

Work through careful revision and editing based on peer and teacher feedback and the student’s own review of and reflection on a draft.

Minimum Requirements: 4-5 pages (double spaced, standard, 12-point font, 1-inch margins) Identify, analyze, and reflect on two peer-reviewed journal articles as described in

the assignment prompt MLA or APA Style

Due Date(s) For Major Project Milestones:Week 3: Select and summarize two texts (two pages single spaced)Week 4: Submit a 2-3 page draft to instructor for written feedbackWeek 5: Submit final 4-5 page paper

Suggested Unit Readings:Bawarshi, Anis. “The Genre Function.” College English. 62.3 (2000): 335-360. Web.Carter, Michael. “Ways of Knowing, Doing, and Writing in the Disciplines.” College

Composition and Communication 58.3 (2007): 385-418. Web.Connors, Robert. “The Rhetoric of Citation Systems, Part II: Competing Epistemic Values in

Citation.” Rhetoric Review. 17.2 (1999): 219-245. Web.Devitt, Amy J., Anis Bawarshi, and Mary Jo Reiff. "Materiality and Genre in the Study of Discourse

Communities." College English 65.5 (2003): 541.Grant-Davie, Keith. "Rhetorical Situations and Their Constituents." Rhetoric Review 15.2 (1997): 264-

79. JSTOR. Web. Haas, Christina, and Linda Flower. "Rhetorical Reading Strategies and the Construction of Meaning."

College Composition and Communication 39.2 (1988): 167-183.MacDonald, Susan Peck. “A Method for Analyzing Sentence-Level Differences in Disciplinary

Knowledge Making.” Written Communication. 9.4 (1992): 533-569. Web.

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Miller, Carolyn. “Genre as Social Action.” Quarterly Journal of Speech. 70 (1984): 151-167. Web.

The Wadsworth Guide to Research Chapter 2: Writing ProcessesChapter 4: Finding Resources Through Secondary Research Chapter 6: Rhetorically Reading, Tracking, and Evaluating Resources


Your work will be evaluated according to the following criteria:

Excellent Acceptable Emerging Not Evident

Basic Content: Identifying significant conventions and structures apparent in texts from different discourse communities

Analysis: Analyzing and comparing genre conventions and rhetorical strategies between texts from different discourse communities

Application: Reflecting on the ways genre is shaped by the rhetorically situated community in which it resides

Organization & Design: Purposeful rhetorical choices for the processes of analysis, organization, and drafting are evident and adapted to communicate in a professional context


Professionalism: Attention to timeliness, formatting requirements, and submission protocols

Project Three (A): Literature Review

Introduction/RationaleWhen people conduct research in disciplinary and professional contexts, they do so in order to answer questions related to a specific need or problem. Literature reviews, as a

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research genre, collect, organize and synthesize the relevant secondary research in a systematic way that provides highly condensed and heavily documented information related to your particular question or problem. The primary purpose of the review is to provide your audience and/or collaborators with an overview of what experts have said about the problem or research question under investigation. This assignment requires you to move through the messy and recursive stages of researching, analyzing, organizing, and writing in order to draft a formal literature review. Throughout our work on this project, you will have to decide what information from which resources to include in your work. This will also require exercising your critical and creative thinking capabilities to draw parallels and connections between the problem/context of your question and information from the sources you find.

Assignment Prompt Literature reviews synthesize information, compare and contrast ideas, and clearly describe relationships between well-cited texts so that readers get a sense of a broader conversation and its importance to a particular discourse community. Literature reviews are organized topically with frequent citations and dense prose that is frequently signposted to help readers navigate both conceptual and structural complexity (we will unpack all this - don’t worry). Generally, you should show readers how experts have approached the problem or question, what has already been said about it, where contradictions or discrepancies occur, and what still needs be to learned about a topic.

To complete this project, we will move through several smaller, yet still formal scaffolding steps. Not only will these steps aid you in successfully researching and writing a literature review for this course, but when paired with critical reflection, they will also help you to devise a personal process for researching and writing literature reviews as well as more complex projects with larger stakes. You will begin by revising initial research questions about a topic of interest connected to your professional/academic discourse community. In order to answer these questions, you’ll need to find, follow, and organize a sustained research agenda consisting of multiple searches and myriad texts. Your first goal here is to secure one or two core sources, or launch texts, that significantly address your research questions. From those sources, you will continue to build your answers by forging a research path using the keywords, footnotes, and citations gleaned from your launch texts. Follow your research path through at least five iterations or “moves” for a total of 6 texts.

For each successful research move and corresponding text, you will compose a hybrid version of an annotated bibliography entry. These entries will help you to track and summarize the information you’re gathering as well as begin to establish relationships between ideas and texts. Each entry should both reflect on your research process as well as begin synthesizing your gathered information into useable prose for the literature review. Simultaneously, you will use information visualization, or concept mapping strategies to sort, evaluate, and compare your research materials by topic, position, or concept in order to analyze emerging relationships between authors’ ideas. The point of this prewriting exercise is to help you crystallize these relationships into broader categories, which will be used to structure the body of your literature review.

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Learning ObjectivesRead:

Develop advanced reading strategies (i.e. skimming, key word recognition, selective reading) to evaluate and choose secondary sources for further reading

Use information visualization and/or citation management strategies to track and organize larger disciplinary/professional conversations about a topic of interest.

Write: Deploy a flexible process for planning, drafting, and revising that responds to the

rhetorical contexts of different writing situations in academic and professional discourse communities

Emulate genre conventions of Literature Reviews such as synthesizing multiple sources, situating diverse perspectives, and reproducing the stylistic, formatting, and citation practices of specific academic/professional discourse communities

Research: Use advanced Boolean search protocols and keywords strategies to navigate library

research tools, article databases, and other scholarly/professional knowledge-bases in order to address clearly defined questions or problems of interest

Deploy a formal process for defining and revising a specific topic of inquiry (question or problem), research goals (outcomes and artifacts) as well as various ways of addressing those inquiries (methods and solutions).

Identify and emulate diverse research genres such as annotated bibliographies, research journals, and literature reviews

Reflect: Plan and evaluate appropriate procedures for researching and writing about topics

of inquiry for professional/academic audiences Identify and implement needed adjustments to research and writing processes and

products Describe, with predicted examples, how skills, procedures, and knowledge acquired

in this unit might apply to future contexts

Minimum RequirementsEach step in the process will include more specific instruction to help guide you through the process safely and securely. Such instructions will include more thorough descriptions, research and writing tips, structural guides, and examples for your reference. Below, I have listed the minimum requirements for submission, which means that if your project meets all of the conditions, it will be accepted and its quality will be assessed for a grade.

Invention Portfolio: All process elements completed, labelled, formatted, and assembled in order: Research Questions, Launch Texts, Annotated Bibliography & Graphic Organizer, Literature Review Prewriting & Rough Draft

Literature Review: o Disciplinary/Professional formattingo 2,000 - 2,500 words (excluding bibliography), double spacedo Features correct in-text and bibliographic citation of 8-10 scholarly sources

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o Uses section headings to organize and sign-post content for readers

Due Date(s) For Major Project MilestonesWeek 5 - Research Questions and PlanWeek 6 - “Launch Texts” and Research PathWeek 7 - Annotated Bibliography Week 7 - Information Visualization (Grids, Maps, and Trees)Week 8 (End) - Project 3 Rough DraftWeek 9 - Project 3 Submission Draft

Suggested Unit ReadingsBazerman, Charles. "A Relationship between Reading and Writing: The Conversational

Model." College English 41.6 (1980): 656-61. JSTOR. Web. Bolderston, Amanda. "Writing an Effective Literature Review." Journal of Medical Imaging

and Radiation Sciences 39.2 (2008): 86-92. Web.Emig, Janet. "Writing as a Mode of Learning." College Composition and Communication 28.2

(1977): 122-28. JSTOR. Web. Grant-Davie, Keith. "Rhetorical Situations and Their Constituents." Rhetoric Review 15.2

(1997): 264-79. Web.Haas, Christina, and Linda Flower. "Rhetorical Reading Strategies and the Construction of

Meaning." College Composition and Communication 39.2 (1988): 167-83. JSTOR. Web.

Sommers, Nancy. "Revision Strategies of Student Writers and Experienced Adult Writers." College Composition and Communication 31.4 (1980): 378-88. JSTOR. Web.

Zorn, T. "Improving The Writing Of Literature Reviews Through A Literature Integration Exercise." Business Communication Quarterly 69.2 (2006): 172-83. Web.

The Wadsworth Guide to Research Chapter 3: Identifying a TopicChapter 6: Rhetorically Reading, Tracking, and Evaluating Sources (REVIEW)Chapter 7: Understanding Plagiarism and Integrating Sources


Excellent

Acceptable Emerging Not Evident

Basic Content: Meeting Itemized demands of the project as described above. Demonstrating a body of research that is synthesized, developed, and supported with details where appropriate.

Purpose: The essay serves a clear research purpose and logically leads readers through

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intellectual moves that support its conclusions

Audience: Addresses a clear and authentic of audience. Situates the essay in ongoing professional/academic conversations.

Organization: The essay establishes clear relationships between the various sources AND the structural parts of the essay. The introduction establishes an exigence and guiding questions. Transitions between paragraphs and sections guide readers in understanding the scholarly conversation.


Presentation/Professionalism: Attention to timeliness, scaffolding, and submission protocols. The essay demonstrates academically acceptable Standard Written English, exhibits a minimum of grammatical or structural errors, and meets the basic formatting guidelines for the discourse community it is intended to serve.

Project Three (B): Multi-modal Presentation

Introduction/Rationale: Up to this point in the semester, you have reported on the research of others as you consider the types of research done by your discourse community, the ways particular genres work, and the claims your community makes about a particular topic. Your “Follow the Footnotes” assignment is allowing you to see how these various authors invoke context, structure meaning, and situate themselves linguistically. Now you want to begin considering how this work all fits together and practice putting this research into your own words. This assignment will allow you to reflect on things you have observed and use those to formulate more specific research questions. Things to consider: Do you see any gaps in the research you have read? What else would you like to know about the topic? How are researchers gathering their data? Are there other data retrieval methods that could be explored within this community? What kind of research would you like to do?

Assignment Prompt:

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For this assignment, you will be required to put together a 5 minute Ignite presentation (see Scott Berkun How to Ignite https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rRa1IPkBFbg). This presentation should highlight the main arguments being made in the research you have found. It should also explore the ways you want to see this research deepened. This presentation is a way for you to engage with your peer group about potential ways this topic could be explored further. You will also be required to write up 2 questions for each presenter in class- these questions should be substantive questions that help the presenter think about how he/she would want to frame their final research. You will be required to ask at least one presenter each day a question in class. You will also be required to post your questions to a discussion board post for each presenter.

Learning Objectives:Write

Use varied technologies to compose visual arguments/presentations appropriate to the professional and academic discourse community

Demonstrate emerging ideas from research in a non-linear fashion Respond to feedback and incorporate audience suggestions into revision strategies

Reflection Convert formal written genres into multi-modal ones by translating written

information into visual information Analyze audience characteristics and adjust revision/composition strategies to meet

their needs

Minimum Requirements: Length Requirement: 5 minutes, 20 image slides timed at 15 seconds each Image citations Research Requirement: synthesizes ongoing research to describe relevant context

and emerging ideas Must Introduce proposal idea Actively engage with audience questions, critiques, and comments Invention Portfolio:

Digital file of presentation Slide Annotations explaining why images were chosen, and how those were

the best representation of the ideas which you are exploring (total 1-2pgs of writing).

Q&A: Identify the 3-4 questions from classmates/instructor which were the most helpful. Explain why they are helpful AND how you plan to address those questions in Project 4

Due Date(s) For Major Project Milestones:TBD Presentations to be given while revising drafts for Project 3.

Suggested Unit Readings: Berkun, Scott. ""Why and How to Give an Ignite Talk"" YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rRa1IPkBFbg

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rRa1IPkBFbg


Greene, Stuart. "Mining Texts in Reading to Write." Journal of Advanced Composition 12.1 (1992): 151-70. JSTOR. Web.

Wardle, Elizabeth. "Identity, Authority, and Learning to Write in New Workplaces." Enculturation 5.2 (2004): http://www.enculturation.net/5_2/wardle.html

The Wadsworth Guide to Research Chapter 9: Selecting and Integrating EvidenceChapter 10: Sharing the Results



Basic Content: Completing itemized minimum requirements outlined above. Presents research-in-progress with hypothesized conclusions and proposal ideas.

Rhetorical Situation: The presentation specifically responds to elements of the rhetorical situation including audience, context, exigence, constraints, and genre (conference presentation/Ignite)

Audience: Represents research in progress to a diverse lay audience, and connects it to a larger purpose or emerging idea. Presenter directly addresses audience questions and concerns.

Organization/Clarity: Uses visual and verbal cues to organize and deliver the message in a clear, logical manner. Presentation exhibits clear meaning that is restrained and easy to follow

Presentation/Professionalism: Attention to timeliness, attire, socio-cultural sensibilities, and citation practices.

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Project Four: Research Proposal

Introduction/Rationale:This course builds upon assignments in order to make explicit your field’s disciplinary ways of knowing, doing, and writing. In each assignment leading up to this project, you have investigated your DC - its ways of knowing, doing, and writing - and you have begun research matching your DC’s ways of knowing and doing. By completing these assignments, you have found that academic genres are socially and rhetorically situated and always responding to communities of practice.

In this project, you will begin to try out your DC’s ways of knowing and doing by writing a research proposal. Using a hybrid of Swales’ “Creating a Research Space” (CARS) format, you will compile and revise work completed throughout the semester in order to write a formal research proposal. Your research proposal should research a problem that is relevant and common to your DC, and it should demonstrate your growing awareness of your DC’s methodology for research.

Using a scaffolding approach with low stakes assignments, students will draft and revise their writing in order to develop and “polish” their research proposals. Students will receive substantive feedback upon each “low stakes” assignment for help in developing their proposals. Finally, Students will be required to complete at least two student/instructor conferences.

Assignment Prompt:This project is compiled from six smaller “low stakes” assignments. First, drawing upon previous projects, you will draft an introduction to produce a rationale for your literature review and proposal. Second, once an introduction has been formulated, you will revise your literature review in order to: (a) further analyze whether your research provides adequate background on the research, and (b) show how your research problem fills a gap, and fits into ongoing conversations about the problem or issue. Third, you will draw upon your already gathered research materials in order to propose a “mock” methodology for addressing your research problem. The proposal must be at least “semi–realistic,” must include methodology appropriate to your DC, and must indicate how you would implement your methodology using discipline-specific methods. Finally, you will develop a Discussion section where you discuss the limitations, assumptions, validations, and significance of your research proposal for your DC and the discipline at large.

Learning ObjectivesRead

Draw upon your research question(s), drafting materials, and literature review to explain how your research fills a gap and fits into the research in your field

Write Compose a research proposal that uses primary and secondary research methods to

produce an extended research project relevant to the student's discipline or profession.

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Use a flexible writing process and varied technologies to produce texts that address the expectations of the student’s disciplinary or professional discourse community in terms of claims, evidence, organization, format, style, rhetorical situation, strategies, and effects by drawing on an explicit understanding of the genre(s) being composed.

Research Develop a research problem and rationale for a research proposal appropriate to

your field of study Research, analyze, and propose a methodology appropriate to your field of study as

well as a discussion of the outcome of that methodology Suggest a “semi–realistic” method for carrying out the proposed research project

including an explanation of how the method will be implemented:

Minimum Requirements: 10-15 pages Features common genre characteristics and structures of academic/professional

proposals Contains the following major sections:

o Introduction: Problem, Rationale, Research Questions, Key Definitions, and Literature Review

o Proposal & Methodology: Must be common in discipline and supported with references to secondary literature (Generated from Units 1 and 2)

o Discussion & Conclusion: Limitations, Assumptions, Validation and Significance of Research

Due Date(s) For Major Project Milestones:Week 9 - Draft of Introduction with questions to instructor following Swales CARS Week 10 - Revised introduction following Swales CARS (at least two double spaced pages)Week 10 - Cornell notes and color coding with revised literature reviewWeek 11- Draft of Proposal, Methodology and Discussion sections Week 12 - Final Draft: Due via blackboard

Suggested Unit Readings: "Introductions: CARS." Purdue Online Writing Lab. Purdue University, n.d. Web. 05 July 2015. <https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/994/03/>.Swales’ CARS Model Handout (.pdf)The Wadsworth Guide to ResearchChapter 8: Developing an ArgumentChapter 9: Selecting and Integrating EvidenceChapter 3: “Writing a Research Proposal” (REVIEW)



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Introduction: Follows template: Introduces the Topic, Defines key terms, provides a roadmap of the lit review, cites key sources and clearly features a research objective/statement.

Literature Review: Uses parallel structure to follow the introduction. Situates LR within a background of research (past, present, ongoing), and restates thesis/research statement to clearly show WHY the sources or the claims help to develop research. Integrates multiple sources to make claims without direct quotes.

Methodology & Methods: Draws upon (cites) previous secondary research to discuss a common disciplinary research approach and proposes (a) validated method(s) for addressing the specific research objective/questions

Proposal/Discussion: Provides clear, scaffolded details that enable other DC members to replicate the research. Solves the presented gap in the research using the proposed methodology and method. Discusses, in detail and with a clear sense of authorial voice, how the proposed project:

validates the research problem will feasibly address the research

objective/problem is constrained by limitations of scope,

frame, and other factors

Organization/Clarity: Uses parallel structure, road maps, and signposting throughout to help readers easily navigate through the intellectual moves of the writer. Moves from general to specific with each paragraph developing one clear, concise point. The relationship between paragraphs and their ideas is explicit.

Presentation/Professionalism: Academic/Professional Voice Grammar, Syntax, Spelling Formatting (APA/MLA) Citations and Use of Sources

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Project Five: Reflective Letter

Introduction/Rationale:In this letter your goal will be to reflect on the work you have completed throughout the course of the semester. In other words, you are being asked to think and write about your research and writing practices. A good way to begin framing your reflection letter is to think through the following questions:

1. Prior to this class, what did I know about writing and researching in my discipline?2. When enrolling in this course, what did I want to learn about writing and

researching in my discipline?3. What did I actually learn about writing and researching in my discipline?4. How have my own writing and researching practices changed throughout the

semester?

“Writing and research practices” include any part of the process we’ve been using this semester:

Brainstorming, organizing, and pre-writing strategies Drafting, scaffolding, and revising methods Narrowing topics, generating research questions, and framing scholarly

conversations Navigating databases, selecting and tracking resources, reading strategies Practices associated with genre and/or discourse community standards Much more

Feel free to discuss any of these practices (or others) in your reflection essay. In order to organize and connect the letter to our course in the most productive way possible, you will use the course learning objectives to guide your reflections. This doesn’t mean that your letter can, or even should reference the entirety of each learning objective for the course. Instead, choose one or two specific items from each objective that align most directly with your own experiences and growth throughout the course.

Assignment PromptBetween our last class meeting and the submission date, spend time brainstorming, pre-writing, and drafting a reflective letter that describes to me, in detail, how the course has helped to produce changes in your knowledge, skills, and practices as evidenced by the writing and researching you’ve completed throughout the semester. Letters should be addressed to me, and, while they are formatted as letters, they should be formal in both tone and structure. Letters should use your disciplinary formatting requirements (APA/MLA/Chicago/Turabian), double spaced, 12 point Times New Roman font with 1” margins.

You may choose to emphasize whatever specific skills, behaviors, or knowledge you wish, but, keeping in mind the objective of the letter, the following guidelines must be met:

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1) Make direct reference to at least two of the projects you wrote this semester – one of which must be the Formal Research Proposal. You may also reference any informal writing or class assignments we’ve done in the course. However, any activity, essay, journal, post, or reading MUST be somehow included as an artifact in your portfolio.

2) Have a clear goal for the reflection. In other words, be clear about what you feel you’ve achieved and how the work you’ve done in ENG 3010 has produced changes in your writing and researching. It is usually best to specifically show how you will use the skills/knowledge from this course to successfully work in other classes and your professional life outside of the classroom. Remember, it is not enough to simply claim you learned how to do something or achieved a learning objective – you must provide *evidence* of that achievement (See #1 above)!

3) Workshop your paper with your peers! Think about the multiple revision strategies we used throughout the semester and any other review strategies that will help you submit a paper that is organized, specific, and free of surface errors (grammar errors, spelling errors, formatting errors).

IV. Policies, Resources & Suggestions

1. Desk Copies2. Ordering Texts3. Revision4. Blackboard CMS5. Class Attendance6. Grading 7. Plagiarism8. Syllabus Submission9. Requests for Overrides10. Instructor Absences

Desk CopiesDesk copies of all required or recommended texts are available in the Department of English. Most books are on the shelves next to the Composition Program office.

Ordering TextsThe WSU Barnes and Noble bookstore keeps the required and recommended texts for ENG 1010 in stock so there is no need to submit an additional order form to the bookstore unless you have had an additional required text approved.

RevisionRevisions are to be built into most or all of the major assignments. Students should submit drafts and receive comments from the instructor, and possibly peers, before submitting a final draft. Instructors are encouraged, but not required to allow students to revise one paper or project after students have submitted a “final” draft and received a grade. To earn

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an improved grade, students should demonstrate substantial revision involving one or more of the following: a WRT Zone conference, conference with instructor, revision memo, or the use of Word’s track changes and comment features to mark and describe revisions.

Instructors may also require students to submit a reflective letter explaining how they used these methods to reflect on their draft and make changes, or instructors may require that students submit a prerequisite memo with plans for revision before allowing students to submit a revision. In the letter or memo, students might discuss their planning process, how they monitored their writing process, and/or how they evaluated their current draft.

Blackboard CMSAll sections of ENG 3010 must maintain a Blackboard site for the purposes of 1) posting the syllabus and some assigned materials (e.g. readings, assignments sheets) and 2) having students submit (i.e. upload) assignments. Instructors are also required to maintain a Grade Book in Blackboard.

Wayne State students are familiar with Blackboard, and surveys indicate that they appreciate Blackboard sites for their courses and use them actively (especially the Grade Center). If you are not familiar with Blackboard, please sign up for one of the OTL’s several workshops on using Blackboard (http://www.otl.wayne.edu). Feel free to use a WordPress, Wiki, or other site as the main site for your course and to link it to Blackboard. Use Blackboard to post copyrighted material to meet fair use guidelines.

Class AttendanceTo provide students with an appropriate gauge of their progress in the course and discourage students from disputing course grades, instructors should include in the syllabus an attendance policy that sets explicit limits on absences and that specifies the percentage of the final grade contributed by attendance, preparedness, and participation. To minimize the risk of inappropriate grade inflation, instructors may wish to set this percentage at 10% or less. Instructors are strongly encouraged to require students to demonstrate preparedness and active participation to earn credit for attendance. In addition to awarding credit for attendance, instructors are strongly encouraged to penalize absence, for instance, by indicating that final grades drop by half a mark for each absence after three and that students will fail the course after five absences.

Grading Grades in ENG 3010 convey important information about students’ level of preparation for future courses and future writing situations. This information is key to several audiences: students, who use it to gauge whether to seek additional support; students’ future instructors, who use it to evaluate students’ readiness to engage in the work required for their courses; advisors, who use it to guide students’ registration and other academic decision-making; and University administrators, who use it in conjunction with other information, such as students’ grades in Writing Intensive courses, to assess how effectively Composition Program courses prepare students to succeed in subsequent

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courses. Therefore consistency of grading across sections is crucial for grades to convey accurate information to these audiences.

Because a “C” in ENG 3010 is required for students to enroll in their Writing Intensive courses, a final grade of “C” or above in the course indicates that the student has clearly achieved all the learning outcomes of the course and is prepared to participate in complex disciplinary research and writing situations. A non-passing final grade ENG 3010 indicates that the student has not achieved the learning outcomes of the course and needs to repeat the course to be prepared to write successfully in their WI courses and majors.

It is important to note that not passing a student in ENG 3010 is not an absolute failure or a ticket to dismissal from the University. It simply reflects the student’s need to repeat the course in order to be prepared for successful writing in other courses. There are some repeating students in most sections of ENG 3010 each term. The goal in grading is to avoid grade inflation, which sends students forward to future courses without the preparation required for them to succeed, while enabling as many students as possible to achieve “C”-level or better proficiency in the ENG 3010 learning outcomes.

Other Suggestions for Grading:1. Make assignments challenging. If assignments are too easy, especially at the beginning of the term, instructors may find themselves giving high grades that have the cumulative effect of an inflated course grade.

3. Grade written work, not effort. While of course it’s important to provide motivation by positively acknowledging students’ efforts, grades should reflect achievement and preparation for work at the next level, rather than effort invested.

4. Grade with a rubric. Rubrics help establish the focus and consistency of grading.

5. Grade conservatively at the beginning of the course. This makes it easier to use the entire grading scale as the term goes on, especially for the later papers.

7. Make attendance and participation worth 9% of the grade at most and penalize students for inadequate attendance and/or participation, so that these cannot be the determining factor for passing the course.

8. Leverage students’ interest in grades. Students in any class are often highly motivated by grades, so help students to understand the quality of work required to achieve their desired grades.

Student Evaluation of Teaching Scores and GradingInstructors, especially part-time faculty, are sometimes concerned about the relationship between grading and Student Evaluation of Teaching (SET) scores. English Department administrators are aware that students sometimes rate instructors in rigorous required courses lower than they may deserve. In the Department, decisions about staffing are never made solely or primarily on the basis of SET scores.

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Using Rubrics in Grading For major assignments instructors should use a rubric for grading. The rubric should be included on the assignment sheet and ideally should indicate how the assignment supports students’ work toward course learning outcomes. Using rubrics for grading gives students the evaluation criteria for a particular assignment as well as a specific idea of the standards for writing in upper-level college courses. Using rubrics helps instructors achieve consistency and efficiency in grading by focusing on selected criteria that grow steadily more complex over the course of the term. Rubrics also help combat grade inflation. Final grades on papers should reflect the quality of writing, not the amount of effort expended.

Please see the sample grading rubrics included in the assignment sequence or at the Teaching Resource Website: <http://waynestatecomposition.com/>. Rubrics should be assignment-specific. Instructors may develop their own rubrics for assignments. A rubric can be designed in many forms, including a point system, a series of statements or questions, a checklist, etc. Some instructors design assignment rubrics in collaboration with the students.

PlagiarismStudents in ENG 3010 should be taught how to avoid plagiarism, either deliberate or inadvertent. The Wadsworth Guide has sections on using sources effectively and appropriately. The most effective way to prevent plagiarism is to use the assignment sequence that builds cumulatively and requires students require students to submit each component for feedback before moving on to the next. The same is true of assignments that use concepts from readings and tasks specific to a particular ENG 3010 section. Each syllabus should include the instructor’s written plagiarism policy. (Please see the English Department Syllabus Checklist and Policy Information handouts that are distributed at the beginning of each term). All cases of plagiarism should be discussed with the Assistant to the Associate Chair in the English Department. A first case of plagiarism typically does not result in departmental action beyond the instructor’s plagiarism policy, but the Department keeps records to track repeat plagiarism offenses, which must be reported to the WSU Dean of Students Office. To prevent and detect plagiarism, instructors may wish to review all major assignments with SafeAssign on Blackboard. If you are not familiar with SafeAssign, please sign up for an introductory training on Deterring and Detecting Plagiarism with SafeAssign at the WSU OTL [Office for Teaching and Learning]: http://www.otl.wayne.edu

Syllabus SubmissionPer WSU policy, all instructors are required to submit a copy of their ENG 3010 syllabus to the Department of English (see the Syllabus Checklist). ENG 3010 syllabi will be reviewed within the English Department to check for the required elements of the current common syllabus.

Requests for OverridesInstructors should not feel pressured to add students over the limit and should consider carefully whether to do so, given the time commitment required for commenting and

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conferencing effectively. Instructors also should not feel pressured to add students or allow enrolled students to join the class after the class has met more than two times. The Department of English has a policy stating, “Students who do not attend one of the first two class sessions of an English course may be required to drop the course.” This policy appears on the online Schedule of Courses webpage, and it is displayed in the English Department.

Instructor AbsencesIf you will miss a class session for any reason (from professional travel to an emergency), please notify your students via Blackboard email or text messaging. Notify the Director of Composition at [email protected] for planned absences and the reason for being absent; notify the English Department for unplanned absences by calling or leaving a message at the front desk (313-577-2450) including your name, date, class information, and reason for absence.

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