ENC 1102: RHETORIC AND ACADEMIC RESEARCH
SECTION 04B3 T/R 8-9,9 MAT 10
The Rhetoric of Occupation
The metropolis is the site of biopolitical production because it is the space of the common, of people living together, sharing resources, communicating, exchanging goods and ideas
--Michael Hardt and Antonio Negri, Commonwealth
Instructor: Jacob T. Riley
Phone: 734-368-8015
Office Hours: TBA
ENC 1102: Rhetoric and Academic Research focuses on the essential stylistics of writing clearly and efficiently within the framework of argumentative research writing. You will learn how to formulate a coherent thesis and defend it logically with evidence drawn from research in your various fields. You will also learn how to work through the stages of planning, research, organizing, and revising your writing.
ENC 1102 will introduce you to techniques and forms of argument in a broad range of disciplines, including the humanities, social sciences, business, and natural sciences. To ground your investigations for the semester, the course will focus on a particular seminal theme. This course encourages students to investigate the relationship between writing and knowledge, and to discover how writing can create, rather than merely transmit, knowledge. Class discussions will reveal the complementary relationship between writing and research and demonstrate how persuasive techniques and genres vary from discipline to discipline. You will learn how writing effectively and correctly in your fields will help to integrate you as professionals into your “knowledge communities.”
Theme: Occupation
In order to focus our in-class activities, discussions, and research, the theme of this course will concern the rhetorical dimensions of the “Occupy Wall Street” movement. Your final research paper will explore some aspect of the “Occupy” movement or related topic. The particular ‘angle of vision’ you take on Occupy Wall Street will depend on your prospective major. Such a massive phenomenon can be studied from economic, social, cultural, psychological, anthropological, rhetorical (and more) angles. During the course, we will work together as a class by finding research, news articles, journal articles, images, media, etc. to help our understanding of the movement. I say “understand” because in no way am I trying to simply endorse the movement nor condemn it. Rather, our purpose will be to look at how various media present the movement.
Course Structure
In ENC 1102, we’ll cover the essential elements of writing clearly and persuasively. We’ll spend roughly the first third of the term focusing on persuasive writing principles, and then build incrementally towards a full research paper, from writing a summary, to an annotated bibliography, which will expand into a synthesis of critical sources, and then a full-scale research paper. Along the way, you will learn efficient library research techniques, correct documentation styles, and ways to avoid plagiarism. While the course does emphasize academic research and writing skills, assignments and discussions in ENC 1102 are designed to demonstrate that writing classes do not exist in a vacuum and that writing is not solely an academic enterprise. The critical thinking skills and efficient writing habits learned in this class will help to ensure your success both at college and in your future careers.
Required Texts
Ramage, John D., John C. Bean, and June Johnson. The Allyn and Bacon Guide to Writing. New York: Pearson, 2009.
Bartholomae, David. and Anthony Petrosky. Ways of Reading. 9th ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin, 2011.
ASSIGNMENTS AND GRADING
This is a portfolio class, which means that you will write a discovery draft that will be peer read, followed by a revised professional draft that will be graded by me, and finally revised version of the paper for your portfolio grade. During the semester, I will ask you to bring your working portfolio to conferences so that you do not get behind.
WRITING PROJECTS: 700 points—350 points for the discovery drafts (process) and 350 points for the final portfolio text (product). Professional Drafts are graded on their potential and completeness and potential and not on mechanical issues or cohesiveness. Quality of writing, which includes audience awareness, organization of thoughts, and editing, will be addressed in the final portfolio.
Summary (300 words) 20/20 Students will summarize an academic argument. Analysis (800 words) 40/40 To demonstrate critical reading and analysis, students will write a brief a detailed analysis of an academic argument. Synthesis of Literature (1200 words) 75/75 To demonstrate the skill of synthesizing information, students will analyze three essays and then synthesize them to demonstrate how they have reached an enlarged perspective on a specific topic. |
Research Prospectus/Presentations (400 words) 20/20 As a part of topic and thesis development, students write a brief proposal and present preliminary findings to the class. |
Annotated Bibliography of 15-20 sources (1200 words) 70/70 In preparation for the Research Paper, students will gather and annotate sources emphasizing their value for a particular research project. |
Research Paper (2700 words) 125/125 As the culmination of the course, the research paper will incorporate the skills of argumentation, summary, analysis, and synthesis that students have refined during the semester. In the paper, students will make a clear, specific, narrow argument about an arguable topic. The argument will be logos-based and supported with evidence in the form of facts, statistics, and/or quotations from experts in the field. Total—700 |
REFLECTIVE WRITING (50 points): I will ask you write a reflective paper for each major project that you will turn in with the professional draft of your papers. You will also write a reflective letter that will accompany your portfolio.
FINAL PRESENTATION (50 points): Oral or Visual Report
PEER REVIEWS (20 points each=100): Class participation grade will based on having complete drafts for each of the peer reviews during the semester. If you are absent on a peer review day or arrive without a draft, you will lose the points for that session.
Blog 100
Throughout the semester, you will be asked to compose blog posts on readings, visuals and/or questions raised in class. I may also ask you to find blogs and/or articles concerning our major theme. Create a blog using Google’s blogger service: www.blogger.com.
TOTAL 1000 pts.
REQUIREMENTS FOR AN “A” PORTFOLIO
√ Table of Contents
√ Introduction to the Portfolio
√ Two or more drafts including a final, polished draft, of each project (I, II, III, IV, V)
√ At least 10 research logs
√ Self-assessment of projects and participation; final reflective letter
√ Small group conferences
√ Conferences with me
√ Conversations with others in/out of class pertaining to work for class (i.e., copies of
e-mail)
√ Outside materials (research, interviews, books, articles, surveys, etc.)
√ Maturity of writing style and/or evidence of trying new writing styles
√ Evidence of writing that meets the “A” criteria
√ Documentation of class participation
√ Enhancements (graphics, charts, figures, artwork, poetry, short stories, use your
imagination)
√ Evidence of growth: willingness to take risks to profit from advice, to revise, to make
recommendations to others
REQUIREMENTS FOR A “B” PORTFOLIO
All of the requirements for an A with these exceptions:
√ Only assigned reaction/response papers
√ Less than two drafts of one or more of the projects
√ Fewer than 10 research logs
√ Limited outside materials/connections to outside world
√ Limited choices in trying new ways of writing
√ Evidence of writing that meets the “B” criteria
REQUIREMENTS FOR A “C” PORTFOLIO
All of the requirements for a B with these exceptions:
√ Minimal self-assessment
√ Minimal written assessment for and from others
√ No connections to outside work
√ Evidence of writing that meets the “C” criteria
Anything less than this minimum will be considered a failing portfolio
A detailed portfolio checklist will be given out toward the end of the semester. Remember, however, that ALL class materials will be required in the portfolio and should be maintained throughout the semester.
“A” Paper/Portfolio
Perhaps the principle characteristic of the “A” paper is its rich content. Some people describe that content as “meaty,” others as “dense,” still others as “packed.” The information delivered is such that one feels significantly taught by the author, sentence after sentence, paragraph after paragraph. The “A” paper is also marked by stylistic finesse: the title and opening paragraph are engaging; the transitions are artful; the phrasing is tight, fresh, and highly specific. The “A” paper, because of its careful organization and development, imparts a feeling of wholeness and unusual clarity. Sources will be well documented. Student presents the paper professionally and in proper MLA format.
“B” Paper/Portfolio
This paper is significantly more than competent. Besides being almost free of mechanical errors, the “B” paper delivers substantial information–that is, substantial in both quantity and interest-value. Its specific points are logically ordered, well developed, and unified around a clear organizing principle that is apparent early in the paper. The opening paragraph draws the reader in; the closing paragraph is both conclusive and thematically related to the opening. The transitions between the paragraphs are for the most part smooth; the sentence structures are pleasingly varied. The diction of the “B” paper is typically much more concise and precise than that found in the “C” paper. Occasionally, this diction even shows finesse and memorability. Work is presented professionally, and MLA format is followed.
“C” Paper/Portfolio
This paper is generally competent; it meets the assignment, has few mechanical errors, and is reasonably well-organized and developed. The actual information it delivers, however, seems thin and commonplace. One reason for that impression is that the ideas are typically cast in the form of vague generalizations that prompt the confused reader to ask marginally: “In every case?” “Exactly how large?” “Why?” “But how many?” Stylistically, the “C” paper has other shortcomings as well: the opening paragraph does little to draw the reader in; the final paragraph offers only a perfunctory wrap-up; the transitions between paragraphs are often bumpy; the sentences, besides being a bit choppy, tend to follow predictable (hence monotonous) subject-verb-object patterns; and the diction is marred by repetitions, redundancy, and imprecision. Sources are documented in MLA format but are presented in a stylistically uncertain manner. The “C” paper, then, while it gets the job done, lacks both imagination and intellectual rigor.
“D-F” Papers/Portfolios
Papers that do not reflect a passing level of effort or accomplishment. The papers do not respond to the assignment, have numerous mechanical errors, and are poorly organized. Writing seems perfunctory–not well thought out. Sentences do not progress in a logical order or do not follow accepted sentence structures. Student relies heavily upon clichès, slang, double-talk, or jargon. Student did not follow conventions of punctuation, grammar, and spelling. Paragraphs are not well developed. Ideas are not well supported. Student has not documented sources properly.
Portfolios that do not contain all requested elements will be assigned a zero and the student will have failed the class. Students who do not turn in all the required projects during the course of the semester will be assigned an “F” for the semester grade.
Grading Scale
A | 4.0 | 93-100% | 1162-1250 | C | 2.0 | 73-76 % | 912-961 |
A- | 3.67 | 90-92% | 1125-1161 | C- | 1.67 | 70-72% | 875-911 |
B+ | 3.33 | 87-89% | 1087-1124 | D+ | 1.33 | 67-69% | 837-874 |
B | 3.0 | 83-86% | 1037-1086 | D | 1.0 | 63-66% | 787-836 |
B- | 2.67 | 80-82% | 1000-1036 | D- | 0.67 | 60-62% | 750-786 |
C+ | 2.33 | 77-79% | 962-999 | E | 0.00 | 0-59% | 0-749 |
General Education Learning Outcomes
You must pass this course with a grade of C or better to receive credit for the 6,000-word University Writing Requirement (E6). You must turn in all papers to receive credit for writing 6,000 words. A grade of C or better satisfies the University's General Education Composition (C) requirement. You must pass with a grade of C or better if this course is to satisfy the CLAS requirement of a second course in Composition (C). If you
are not in CLAS, check the catalog or with your advisor to see if your college has other writing requirements.
COURSE POLICIES
Attendance & Tardiness
ENC 1102 is a participation-oriented, skills-based writing course, which means that you will build your skills incrementally and systematically in each class throughout the semester. Much of the learning that takes place is spontaneous and difficult to reproduce outside of class.
Please do not come late to class; arriving late disrupts the entire class. If you are more than 15 minutes late, you will be marked absent. Being tardy three times will equal one absence.
Consequently, the University Writing Program policy is that attendance is required. If you miss more than six periods during the semester, you will fail the entire course. The UWP exempts from this policy only those absences involving university-sponsored events, such as athletics and band, and religious holidays. Absences for illness or family emergencies will count toward your six allowed absences. If you are absent, it is still your responsibility to make yourself aware of all due dates. You are still responsible for turning assignments in on time. Save your absences for when you’re really ill.
Preparation
You are expected to be prepared for every class, including completing all reading and writing assignments on time. Failure to be prepared for or to contribute to in-class activities and discussion will affect your grade. Papers and drafts are due at the beginning of class. Late work, if accepted, will incur a grade penalty.
Mode of Submission
All papers must be in 12-point Times New Roman or Calibri font and double-spaced. All final drafts will be submitted via E-Learning. Your final drafts should be polished and presented in a professional manner. On all papers write your name, the assignment, and the word count at the top of the paper. When submitting a document, please name the file like this: NameAssignmentDraft#.doc (or .rtf). If it is the final draft, write “Final” instead of “Draft#”. For example, SmithRAdraft3.doc or SmithSynthFinal.rtf.
Plagiarism
Plagiarism is a serious violation of the Student Honor Code. The Honor Code prohibits and defines plagiarism as follows:
Plagiarism: A student shall not represent as the student’s own work all or any portion of the work of another. Plagiarism includes (but is not limited to):
a. Quoting oral or written materials, whether published or unpublished, without proper attribution.
b. Submitting a document or assignment which in whole or in part is identical or substantially identical to a document or assignment not authored by the student. (University of Florida, Student Honor Code,
University of Florida students are responsible for reading, understanding, and abiding by the entire Student
Honor Code.
All acts of plagiarism will result in failure of the assignment and may result in failure of the entire course. They will also be reported to the University. Plagiarism can occur even without any intention to deceive if
the student fails to know and employ proper documentation techniques. Unless otherwise indicated by the instructor for class group work, all work must be your own. Nothing written for another course will be accepted.
Academic Honesty
As a University of Florida student, your performance is governed by the UF Honor Code, available in its full form at http://www.registrar.ufl.edu/catalog/policies/students.html. The Honor Code requires Florida students to neither give nor receive unauthorized aid in completing all assignments. Violations include cheating,
plagiarism, bribery, and misrepresentation. Visit http://www.dso.ufl.edu/judicial/procedures/academicguide.php for more details. All acts of academic dishonesty will result in failure of the assignment and may result in failure of the entire course. They will also be reported to the University.
Graded Materials
Students are responsible for maintaining duplicate copies of all work submitted in this course and retaining all returned, graded work until the semester is over. Should the need arise for a re-submission of papers or a review of graded papers, it is the student's responsibility to have and to make available this material.
Classroom Behavior
Please keep in mind that students come from diverse cultural, economic, and ethnic backgrounds. Some of the texts we will discuss and write about engage controversial topics and opinions. Diverse student backgrounds combined with provocative texts require that you demonstrate respect for ideas that may differ from your own.
Students with Disabilities
The University of Florida complies with the Americans with Disabilities Act. Students requesting accommodation should contact the Students with Disabilities Office, Peabody 202. That office will provide documentation to the student who must then provide this documentation to the instructor when requesting accommodation.
Weekly Schedule (Tentative)
Week 1—January 10th
Tuesday— Review Syllabus, discuss “Occupy Wall Street”, Assign “Diagnostic Essay” on West’s Power
Thursday— Write Diagnostic Essay on Kanye West’s Power, allow notes
Week 2—January 17th
Tuesday—AB, Ch. 1 “Good Writing,” WR, 1-21 “Introduction”
Thursday—AB, Ch. 5, Continue discussion
Week 3—January 24rd
Tuesday—“Deep Play”—Clifford Geertz, AB, Ch. 2 “Wallowing in Complexity”
http://www.rochester.edu/college/psc/clarke/204/Geertz72.pdf, assign Summary/Analysis,
Thursday—Continue Geertz and AB Ch. 2
Week 4—January 31th
Tuesday AB Ch. 3, AB Ch. 11 “Analyzing Images”,
Thursday—Peer Review Summary/Analysis; Discovery Draft of Summary/Analysis due
Week 5—February 7th
Tuesday—AB Ch.5, “Seeing Rhetorically,” WR, 139-165 Berger—“Ways of Seeing,” Professional Draft Summary/Analysis DUE
Thursday—Continue “Ways of Seeing”
Week 6—February 14th
Tuesday—AB, “Analyzing and Synthesizing Ideas,” WR, Foucault, “Panopticism,” 279-314, Assign Synthesis
Thursday—Continue discussion of Foucault/Synthesis,
Week 7—February 21st
Tuesday—Reading TBA
Thursday— Discovery Draft of Synthesis DUE, peer review
Week 8—February 28th
Tuesday— Introduce Research paper, Assign Research Prospectus
Thursday— Topic Development Workshop Professional Draft Synthesis DUE
Week 9—March 6th SPRING BREAK!
Week 10—March 13th
Tuesday— Research Prospectus Presentations
Thursday—Research Prospectus Presentations (continued)
Week 11—March 20th
Tuesday— AB Ch. 20-22, Topic Development, Assign/Introduce Annotated Bibliography
Thursday—Library day
Week 12—March 27th
Tuesday— Assign Final Research Paper, Research Paper Examples
Thursday— Discovery Draft of Annotated Bibliography DUE; Peer Review A
Week 13—April 3rd
Tuesday—Titles, Introductions, Conclusions; Style Lecture, Professional Draft of Annotated Bibliography DUE
Thursday—Introduce Portfolio (?) TBA. . .
Week 14—April 10th
Tuesday—Conferences (see conference Sign up Sheet)
Thursday—Discovery Draft of Research Paper DUE; Peer Review
Week 15—April 17th
Tuesday—Final Presentations of Research Paper
Thursday- Final Presentations of Research Paper Professional Draft of Research Paper DUE
Week 16—April 24th
Tuesday—Last class, wrap-up, evaluations, Final Portfolios DUE
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