University Writing Skills Syllabus

University Writing Skills

Course Description and Schedule (Subject to frequent revision!)

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General Description: Whether you think of yourself as an accomplished writer or an awkward one, this class is designed to help you improve your skills. In University Writing Skills we will...

treat writing as an intentional (purposeful) communicative act involving a writer, an audience, and a text. When we set out to produce a text, we have in mind an objective or purpose for writing (e.g. to evoke an image or feeling, to persuade, to explain), and an audience to whom we want to convey that message.
view reading and writing as complementary processes. Becoming a more attentive reader can help one become a more effective writer; conversely, paying attention to the writing process helps one to be a more sensitive and insightful reader.
approach writing in terms of traits that contribute to effective writing: ideas & development, organization, voice & tone, word choice, sentence fluency, conventions & presentation.
practice writing as a recursive process involving three phases: pre-writing, writing, and post-writing (sometimes referred to as re-writing).
produce texts of different types and lengths: paragraphs, letters, and essays.
practice a variety of writing strategies: description, narration, instructions, comparison/ contrast, cause and effect, definition, exemplification, analogy, argumentation.
work on paragraphing, linking constructions and transitions, content, organization, style and accuracy, paying special attention to those aspects in which the English tradition differs from the German tradition.
practice giving as well as receiving different kinds of feedback.
learn to identify the strengths and weaknesses of our own writing, build on the strengths and set clear goals for improving the weaknesses.

Course Requirements: To earn a Schein in this course, you must...

Keep a "Writer's Journal." Write in it regularly; aim for about ten minutes a day, preferably at the same time each day; use it to improve your fluency and hone your powers of observation.
Take an active part in the UWS_Forum discussion. Topics for discussion might include questions about and clarifications of homework assignments, content and writing-related aspects of reading selections (essay models), strategies and web sites you have found useful in working on your specific problem areas, or any other UWS-related matter. Keep the tone constructive, the topics relevant to UWS, and the language English, and other constraints shouldn't be necessary. I have registered those of you who gave me e-mail addresses that I could read and that worked.
Attend classes and tutorial sessions regularly and take an active part in class discussions (including electronic discussions) and group work.
Be ready and willing to give constructive feedback to fellow students and to listen to - or read - comments on your own work.
Complete weekly reading, writing, editing/revising assignments and exercises as listed below. Refer to the Author's Checklist before you hand in a writing assignment. Always list your current problem areas at the top of your paper, below the header information, but above the title of your text. The first version and one revision of each writing assignment are required. You may be asked to revise a writing assignment more than once, if needed, depending on the quality of the first revision. Revisions are to be turned in one week after you have gotten the paper back with my comments. Remember that revision is more than merely a matter of "correcting" word- and sentence-level errors that classmates or I point out. Content (ideas, organization), style (voice, sentence fluency and variety, register, transitions and linking constructions), and accuracy (spelling, punctuation, word choice, grammar and proofreading) are all important. And remember, too, that the time you spend carefully revising your manuscripts will help you produce better first versions in the future. When you submit written work, be sure to include the following information in the format illustrated below

Your Name
Your e-mail address
Your Matriculation Number
University Writing Skills 2-4 (or 2-5)
Sutherland
Date this version of this assignment is being handed in
Assignment name: (e.g. Classification)
Version number (e.g. Version 1)

Problem areas: (e.g. subject-verb agreement, sequence of
tenses, word order)

Title of your essay
(NOT the assignment name)

Complete the in-class timed writing exercise(s), including at least one revision
Complete all required quizzes and exercises.

Recommended books:

Jordan, R. R. Academic Writing Course: Study Skills in English, 3rd edition (Essex: Pearson Education Ltd., 1999). Available through Longman.
Bander, Robert G. American English Rhetoric: A Writing Program in English as a Second Language (New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1983 or later).

Other resources: UWS course pack, LLaU course pack, Mistakes Clinic, OWL and other Internet writing-related resources.

Semester Schedule:

First Class Meetings: April 11, 12
Last Class Meetings: Week of July 4
No class: May 16 (Whit Monday)
Class Meetings: April 11/12, 18/19, 25/26; May 2/3, 9/10, 23/24, 30/31; June 6/7, 13/14, 20/21, 27/28; July 4/5.
Timed Writing: Week of May 16.
Tutorials: Two hours of tutorial time will be available each week for each class. These tutorials are an essential part of the class and are intended to give each student an opportunity to meet individually with the instructor to address his or her specific questions regarding writing. Each student is required to attend at least six tutorial sessions over the course of the semester.

Week One:

General introduction
semester overview
standards
requirements
reading & writing
writing as process
editing vs revising
Key Traits approach
computers & writing
about tutorials

Week of April 11 - 15; class meetings April 12

General Introduction, Course requirements.

Writing Strategy Focus: Meaning and Structure.
Key Traits Focus: Overview
Discussion: Overview of semester; reading & writing as complementary processes; review of process approach to writing, pre-writing; freewriting, conceptual-mapping, blocking, outlining; "key traits" approach;
Activities: Write a letter in which you introduce yourself to your teacher (who are you, where are you from, what brought you to the University of Bremen, what motivated you to study English, what do you want to do with your degree when you finish, what did you learn about writing in school, what do you hope to learn in this class, etc.).
Reading: Required reading texts are available in the Copy Shop. Please be considerate of your fellow students; take good care of the materials; let me know immediately if you cannot locate a text. Read Rooney, "In and of Ourselves We Trust," an example of a text developed using Exemplification.
Writing: Plan and write one well-developed paragraph using examples (refer to page on Exemplification) to illustrate or refute your assertion; due date: .

Week Two:

exemplification

ideas
organization,
accuracy, conventions & presentation

Week of April 18 - 22; class meetings April 19

Writing Strategy Focus: Development using examples.
Key Traits Focus: Organization.
Discussion: Topic sentences; paragraph unity computers & writing; tutorials.
Activities: Mistakes Clinic Quick Check; Editor's Checklist
Reading: Model of (in Reader): Schoenbrun, "A Traffic Light Is a Brainless Machine," Rooney, "In and of Ourselves We Trust," Thurber, "Courtship Through the Ages." Morris, "Territorial Behaviour"
Writing: due: 30 April 2004. Refer to the Editing Checklist to make sure you have attended to all the necessary details before handing in your paper. Read about classification, then plan and write a five-paragraph essay on one of the suggested topics, using classification as the primary means of developing the essay.

Week Three:

self-assessment
goal-setting
plagiarism policy
English paragraphs topic sentences

classification

ideas,
organization,
accuracy,

Week of April 25 - 29; class meetings April 26

Writing Strategy Focus: Development using classification
Key Traits Focus: Ideas, organization, accuracy, conventions & presentation
Discussion: format & quality standards; requirements; plagiarism; self-assessment, goal-setting;
Activities: Identifying ideas, topic sentences, and supporting details; organizing information; good and bad paragraphs; reading aloud, visual thesaurus
Reading:
Writing: Use the Author's Checklist, paying special attention to paragraphing and transitions.
Other Tasks: 1) Complete the writing self-assessment grid, print out two copies, turn in one, keep the other.

Week Four:

writing essay exams
academic writing

timed writing

Week of May 2 - 6; class meetings May 3

Writing: Reading: Murray (read this one for content, i.e. advice on revision), "The Maker's Eye: Revising Your Own Manuscripts"; read the following as examples of comparison/contrast to prepare for next week's writing task: Twain, "Two Ways of Seeing a River," Rodriguez, "Aria."
Other Tasks: 1) Choose one of your weak areas to do some explicit remedial work on. Look for explanations and exercises on that problem area on an online writing lab or EFL/ESL web site. 2) Send me an e-mail to let me know what problem area you are working on, what resources you have found, where you have found them, and whether you think they have been helpful. 3) Do the paragraph reconstruction exercises (Growing an Avocado Tree, Momaday on the American West). Note: If you successfully completed the exercise on growing an avocado tree in LLaU, you do not have to repeat it. 4) Copy the sheets (2) on qualification and caution in academic writing (in the Copy Shop) and complete any exercises on the in-class handouts which we have not done in class.

Week Five:

Discussion of
reading selections
Visual Thesaurus
Q&A

comparison/contrast

organization
voice

Week of May 9 - 13: class meetings May 10

Writing Strategy Focus: Development using comparison/contrast
Key Traits Focus: Organization, voice
Reading: Wolfe, "O Rotten Gotham—Sliding Down the Behavioral Sink"
Writing: Plan and write a well-developed 3 to 5 paragraph essay using comparison and/or contrast as the primary means of development.
Other Tasks: 1) Choose one of your problem areas and follow the procedure outlined above for Week 4. 2) Prepare one or more texts as grammar exercises, following the instructions on the Generic Grammar Prescription Activity. 3) Show me your plan before you write your comparison/contrast paper.

Week Six:

revision
eliminating problem areas

comparison/contrast

sentence fluency

Week of May 16 - 20; class meetings May 17

Writing Strategy Focus: No new strategy.
Key Traits Focus: Sentence Fluency. Writing sentences that flow; using sentence length and syntax to reinforce (rather than subvert) meaning.
Reading: Short stories: "Tony's Story" (Silko), "The Killing of a State Cop" (Ortiz), "The Man to Send Rain Clouds" (Silko).
Writing: Timed writing (120 minutes, at a time and place of your choosing). You will be given a list of topics, from which you are to choose one on which to write an essay of about 350-450 words. Spend up to half an hour (30-40% of your time) on pre-writing activities (to collect ideas, select, organize, plan support), then write and revise. Remember the following:

You may bring and use a monolingual English dictionary, but no other materials in any form.
You may write your essay by hand or on the computer.
Provide proper heading information: name, class (UWS 2-3 or UWS 2-4), teacher's name, assignment (Timed Writing), version, date.
Leave a 4-5 cm margin on the right-hand side of the page for comments and marking codes.
Write the question that you have chosen to write on (e.g. Question 5: Why is the sky blue?). Start your essay with a new paragraph (remember to indent the first line).
Count the number of words you have written; do not include the header information, title, or question in this count. Put this number at the end of your essay.
Include the following text at the end of your essay: I hereby declare that this essay is my own work, that I have properly credited the source of any and all quoted or paraphrased material, and that I have not used any resources other than those explicitly permitted. Signed, <yourname>
Put your name on your pre-writing sheets and hand them in with your essay.
This assignment must be handed in (put in my pigeonhole) by Friday, 20 May. Note: My pigeonhole is now in the FB 10 mailroom.

No new task; choose one problem area to eliminate from your comparison/contrast paper before you hand it in; indicate this at the top of the paper by underlining that item in your "problem areas" list.
Other Tasks: Do the grammar prescription activity you prepared last week; do sentence fluency exercises (in-class handouts).

Week Seven:

Whit Holiday (Monday only)

writing about literature

sentence fluency
emphasis

Week of May 23 - 27; class meeting May 24

Writing Strategy Focus: Writing about literature; revising for emphasis; linking constructions.
Key Traits Focus: Sentence fluency. Using coordination, subordination, embedding, word order, etc.. Write economically and forcefully; communicate ideas effectively.
Reading: Murray, "The Maker's Eye: Revising Your Own Manuscripts"; Silko, "The Man to Send Rain Clouds" and "Tony's Story", Ortiz, "The Killing of a State Cop."
Writing: tba
Other Tasks: Revising for emphasis exercises; linking constructions exercise.

Week Eight:

timed writing
definition

definition

word choice

Week of May 30 - June 3; class meetings May 31

Writing Strategy Focus: Formal and informal definitions, operational definitions, paraphrasing as a form of definition, amplifying definitions.
Key Traits Focus: Word choice. Choosing words that convey the intended meaning and are appropriate to the context.
Reading: Winn, "Television Addiction."
Writing: 1) Write a one- or two-sentence formal definition. 2) Write a one- to three-paragraph extended definition (this may be an expanded version of your one-sentence formal definition), using various methods of amplification to explain, clarify, or illustrate the term, as appropriate. 3) Plan and write an essay which includes at least one formal or operational definition.
Other Tasks: Submit 3 essay questions and 3 short-answer questions on the three short stories you read last week.

Week Nine:

summarizing
paraphrasing
avoiding plagiarism

summarizing
paraphrasing

word choice
emphasis
exactness

Week of June 6 - 10; class meeting June 7

Writing Strategy Focus: Summarizing, paraphrasing, using secondary sources.
Key Traits Focus: Word choice for emphasis and for communicating meanings precisely.
Discussion: Writing about social history; using secondary sources, paraphrasing, summarizing, avoiding plagiarism.
Reading: Web pages on plagiarism, summarizing, and paraphrasing.
Writing: 1) Timed writing, 2) Paraphrasing Exercise, 3) Summary
Other Tasks: tba

Week Ten:

adjectives & adverbs
sequence of tenses

description
narration
process analysis

voice

Week of June 13 - 17; class meetings June 14

Writing Strategy Focus: Description, narration, process analysis. Analyze the process of writing an essay, then write a detailed description of that process.
Key Traits Focus: Developing your voice as a writer.
Reading: See web page on description. Additional material tba.
Writing: tba
Other Tasks: tba

Week Eleven:

tba

argumentation

voice
word choice

Week of June 20 - 24; class meetings June 21

Writing Strategy Focus: Development using argumentation as the primary strategy.
Key Traits Focus: Review voice and word choice.
Reading: Abbey, "The Damnation of a Canyon," Jefferson, "The Declaration of Independence"
Writing: Plan and write a well-developed, well-supported essay of at least 5-7 paragraphs, using logical argumentation as the primary strategy. Hand in the plan on Wednesday (Friday at the latest).
Other Tasks: tba

Week Twelve:

making a case
logic

argumentation

Review: sentence fluency & accuracy

Week of June 27 - July 1; class meetings June 28

Writing Strategy Focus: Making a case (argumentation) continued.
Key Traits Focus: Review sentence fluency and accuracy.
Reading: Swift, "A Modest Proposal," Walker, "In Search of Our Mothers' Gardens."
Writing: Hand in argumentation essay (Friday).
Other Tasks: tba

Week Thirteen:

summing up
looking ahead
class evaluation

cause and effect

tba

Week of July 4 - 7; class meetings July 5;

Writing Strategy Focus: Cause and effect.
Key Traits Focus: tba
Reading: tba
Writing: Write a three-paragraph text using cause and effect as the primary writing strategy. Refer to the table of linking constructions for useful linking words, but pay attention to consistency of register as well.
Other Tasks: Review self-assessments and my comments to evaluate your progress; assemble portfolio of second-semester writing.

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This page is maintained by Janet Sutherland
Last updated: 10 September 2005