ENGLISH 2 (005) / RESEARCH WRITING
Spring 2006 (first half-semester
course: January 29-March 22)
| Professor: Sandra Jamieson | http://www.depts.drew.edu/engl/sjamieso/ |
| Contact: (email): sjamieso@drew.edu | (office): 973.408.3499 (home): 908.757.1051 |
| Class meetings: Mon & Wed 11:00-12:15 p.m. | BC 18................................................................................................................. |
| Office: S.W. Bowne 118, | Mon. & Wed., 12:30-2:00; Tues., 4:00-6:00; and by appt |
| Virtual Office Hours: TBA. | IM screen name: "ProfJamieson" |
English 2 is
designed as a
writing workshop where you will learn strategies for writing academic
papers,
conducting and writing up research, and improving your overall writing
skills. The course will focus on academic
writing,
beginning with what academic writers must do before they write a
research
paper: you will learn how to use the Internet to build a base of
background
knowledge on a new subject; how to develop in-depth research questions
based on
a general knowledge of a subject; how to read and annotate
discipline-specific
texts; how to evaluate, summarize,
synthesize, and analyze a range of different print and electronic texts; how to analyze a topic/assignment and
use all that you know to respond to it; how to focus your knowledge and
organize your ideas; and how to focus a topic for research. You will select a research topic, find
sources, and practice the skills you learn in the course by compiling
an
annotated bibliography and a comparison of sources. Next you will learn
how to
refine your relationship with your audience and structure a piece of
writing
accordingly. As you read the texts you have selected for your research,
you
will practice summary, analysis, classification, synthesis, and
comparison by
writing about that material. This
will lead you to the major component of the course: a 10-page thesis-driven
research paper.
Finally, you will take the research you did for the paper and refocus
it for a
different audience and purpose.
At each
stage of the
process you will learn how to evaluate your own writing and that of
others,
making you a more effective editor and writer. As you become more of an
expert
writer, you will learn how to understand the writings of others more
fully: how
to perceive their thesis, analyze the assumptions they make about their
audience, and follow their overall patterns of organization.
If you do the
work in this
class, ENGL 2 will:
1)
Build
on your ability to imagine topics and questions for further research as
you
read and consider material in different classes and as you go about
your daily
life;
2)
Increase
the precision of your thoughts by helping you to use primary and
secondary
resources to develop and support theories and explore responses to them;
3)
Expand
your library research skills and expertise using the print books,
journals, and
documents, and online databases and resources appropriate for
college-level
research papers;
4)
Increase
the flexibility of your writing by providing strategies to help you
generate,
expand, organize, and draft ideas and information into effective papers;
5)
Facilitate
your entry into the academic discourse community and invite you to join
the
ongoing print conversation about your topic using an effective prose
style and
articulation of ideas, and also to join an active research community
through
class discussion and collaboration;
6)
Strengthen
your ability to correctly and ethically use ideas and information
gathered
through research and indicate that use so others may build on your
research;
7)
Develop
your ability to refocus information and texts for different audiences
and
purposes and use scholarly research for non-academic purposes;
8)
Enhance
your technological skills both in basic word processing and in the
creation of
web pages, brochures, slides, or other mixed media documents
We will measure
these
outcomes in your formal and informal writing, class participation and
presentations, and the final portfolio, and your grade for the course
will be
based upon them.
Anson, Chris,
Robert
Schwegler, and Marcia Muth. The Longman Writer's Companion. Longman, 2006
Please also buy:
* a good dictionary--the
heavier the better,
* pens of several colors (at least one
green, purple or red),
* two plain loose
paper manila
folders to hold portfolio work, and for handing in work.
Our main text
will be
your writing, so you must bring all of the handouts and homework
assignments
for Engl. 2 and all of the work you have done on them to every
class and
conference. You must also save all
of your computer work in the k:drive, in your F:drive, and on your
hard drive
or a flash drive/memory stick. (computer failure is not an
acceptable
excuse for lost or incomplete work in this class. Don't take any risks).
You
will write something for
every class, and there is one major paper, but there are several parts
to the
final project. The first asks you to annotate possible sources for your
paper;
the second asks you to compare four sources on your topic; the third
invites
you to present brief definitions of your topic for a variety of
audiences; the
fourth is the research paper; and the fifth is the information from the
research paper refocused to meet a different audience and purpose. Each
assignment will be handed in on the due dates indicated on the
schedule, and
any revisions will be handed in along with the drafts and other work in
a
portfolio at the end of the class.
| Grade breakdown: | .................................................................................................. |
| Research, annotated bibliography, drafts, notes, comparison of sources: | 20% of the final grade |
| Academic research paper: | 50% of the final grade |
| Refocused
research for another purpose and brief definitions: |
15% of the final grade |
| Participation
in class discussion and workshops: |
15% of the final grade |
Like any
community, the classroom community
requires work to create and maintain, and there are consequences for
those who
in any way undermine this community or fail to do their share of the
work
necessary to maintain it. These consequences will be felt by all
because the
classroom community will not work if students do not make it work. They
will
also be felt by the individual responsible. Students must attend class,
be
prepared for class, be willing to share their ideas, and be respectful
of the
ideas of others. Lack of respect for classmates will not be tolerated
in this
class.
The larger
academic
community depends on the generation of and willingness to share and
discuss
ideas in dialog and in written texts. For this reason, plagiarism will
not be
tolerated in those seeking to remain in the academic community. (Please see Drew's "Academic Integrity
Policy" if you are unsure what it means to use sources correctly, and The
Longman Writer's Companion to correctly
create works cited lists and bibliographies.)
This is college,
so I
should not have to post classroom management rules you should have
learned in
elementary school. If you are unsure how we expect college students to
behave,
it is your responsibility to ask. If I find I have accidentally strayed
into an
elementary class, I will be happy to post the most draconian of rules.
DonÕt
make me do that!
There are many
resources you can use as you work
on the papers for this class. The following are recommended:
* General
resources for Writers: http://www.users.drew.edu/sjamieso/Webresources.html
* For papers
that use comparison: http://www.users.drew.edu/sjamieso/resources/Comparison.html
* For
research proposals: http://www.users.drew.edu/sjamieso/research_proposal.html
* For
annotated bibliographies: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/general/gl_annotatedbib.html
* For
revision and editing: http://www.users.drew.edu/sjamieso/12stepediting.htm
* The writing
center for personalized guidance
in your writing: http://www.therichco.com/wconline/drew/schedule/
* How to
create ePortfolios: http://www.depts.drew.edu/composition/ePortfolios/creation.html
* Visual
literacy and design: http://www.
WARNING:
Students get exactly the same amount
of learning out of a writing class as the amount of effort they put in.
This puts the onus on you--if you don't
put anything in, you won't get anything out (except a bad grade).