ENGL 109 F22 Hancock

English 109: Introduction to Academic Writing 

Instructor: Michael Hancock michael.hancock@uwaterloo.ca Lecture: 1:00-2:20 T Th Location: UTD 201

Office Hours: Thursdays 3-4 (virtually, by appointment—just send me an email, and we'll set up a Zoom call. Also available by appointment at other times)

Office: 369 HH (but I'm not always there, so email first!)

Course Description

This course teaches students the skills they require to write in an acceptable, academic manner. We will address issues of style, argument, and the presentation of information. Above all, the course is designed to teach the practices needed to participate in written discourse in an academic environment. Frequent written exercises and participation in oral discussions will be required. We will be studying the foundations of writing, including issues of grammar, basic sentence construction, and proper citation.

We will also be performing more complicated critical thinking processes, such as the construction and assessment of an essay, personal reflections, comparison of contrasting arguments, and original research. In fact, the small scale grammar and big scale composition are closely related: the foundations of writing require the ability to think critically about what you are writing, and critical thinking is significantly degraded without the ability to present your ideas in a clear and precise manner. There will also be an emphasis on assessing contemporary media artifacts, such as podcasts, social media, and YouTube videos. Ideally, this course should be more than fulfilling an English credit; it should be the development of skills valuable to both an learning-oriented career and thinking deeply about what we encounter in our everyday lives.

Learning Objectives

By the end of the course, students will have been introduced and be expected to successfully demonstrate some of the following skills, which will correspond to the course's major assignments:

• To organize their thoughts into a personal reflection that examines their past (reflection paper)
• To apply these organizational skills in the composition and analysis of structured arguments (writing assignments)
• To be able to summarize a given argument for meaning and provide meaningful discussion on its merits and fallacies in class (participation)
• To be able to compare and contrast opposing or overlapping views on a given structure (comparison essay)
• To assess and describe existing research for a given research topic (annotated bibliography)
• To construct a well-ordered argument concerning a given research topic (research essay)

Suggested Text

Ruszkiewicsz, John J. and Jay T. Dolmage. How to Write Anything: A Guide and Reference with Readings. Bedford/St. Martin's, 2019. (Or some equivalent handbook on composition, grammar, and MLA use)

*This is a very quick turnaround, so submitting on the next following school day, after the break, would be fine.

Weekly Readings

For most weeks, one lecture will be on issues of writing and one will involve a close study of or more videos, podcasts, or readings relating to the topic for the week. As such, students are expected to come to class prepared for discussion, and having gone through the assigned texts (In English studies, “text” can refer to anything we analyse, not just the written words!). Students are encouraged to make their own suggestions for possible texts as well; if there is a text that I think is of high enough quality, I may substitute it into the course, or suggest it for the assignments. The purpose of these texts and the subsequent discussions is to develop critical analytical skills. We're going to take the composition skills we learn in the more writing-focused class, and explore how we can apply them. Students are not only to respond to the content of the texts, but also to their structure, and how that structure supports (or fails to support) the larger piece. The readings will cover a wide variety of topics, sometimes controversial; if you feel uncomfortable discussing a particular topic in a classroom setting, please let me know, and we can talk about alternatives. Similarly, while contentious opinions are permitted and to an extent encouraged, students are instructed to remain civil, and to be aware that no hateful or abusive language will be tolerated.

Participation – 15%

Your participation consists of two main parts—draft posting and feedback, and participation during in- class discussion.

Part of the participation mark will be participation in all three of our draft classes. For these classes, you are to bring a full draft of your assignment to class (or rather, post it to the class discussion board). And by full draft, that means at least 2/3 of its prose portion length written out (and Works Cited and title page don't count towards that length), with a point form for the rest of the paper, and a Works Cited page, when relevant. You are also to read and comment on at least two other students' paper, under a format that will be discussed later. The participation mark here depends both on submitting a proper draft, and commenting in detail in your feedback. If you have some sort of emergency, exceptions are possible, but they must be granted by me in advance of the draft submission deadline.

Additionally, there will be a classroom participation component. Occasionally, students will be given be small assignments involving minor exercises and activities that are conducted in class. Students will not be graded on these assignments, but completion will contribute to participation mark. The participation mark will also be a measure of participation in classroom discussions. If you feel uncomfortable participating in such discussions, that’s fine—not everyone excels under the same conditions, and there are certainly circumstances where I’m not comfortable speaking in group situations either. Instead, post your response to the course discussion board online. Ideally, your course participation will be a combination of posting to the discussion board and talking in class.

Attendance -- I will be keeping track of attendance for the in-person classes, and using it to gauge leeway when it comes to extensions and other such issues. Further, you can’t participate if you’re not present (unless, again, you’ve made other arrangements). If you miss more than three classes over the term, you should post to the discussion board in response to class exercises for the classes you've missed over the three. So for example, if you miss four classes, you would required to post for at least one of those four. This posting is in addition to any posting you want to do to boost participation.

As students, you are under a lot of pressure and will not always be able to attend class; I recognize that, and would appreciate a head’s up if you can’t make it class, particularly for multiple absences or a continual lateness. If you're ill or have any reason to suspect that you might have COVID—I hope this goes without saying, but don't come to class! Your own health comes first, and there will never be any penalty for taking the responsible choice of self-isolation. If you can't make it to an in-person class, let me know, and we'll find a way to make up for it, and get you the information you need.

Assignments

Further information regarding each of the four major assignments—the reflection, the comparison essay, the annotated bibliography, and the research essay—will be provided on LEARN. In essence, each one has you approach critical arguments in different ways. For the reflection, you are showing your ability to accurately interrogate your experience and present it a coherent fashion. For the comparison, you are demonstrating that you can show how two arguments differ or build on each other. For the annotated bibliography, you are compiling a set of critical perspectives around a subject. And for the research essay, you are putting all of these skills together to construct your own, unique argument. The concept behind these assignments is called scaffolding: like the scaffolding of a building, each assignment will give you skills that will help with the next one.

Reflection essay: students provide a brief reflection on a past event that was important for their personal development.

Comparison Essay: Students argue some thesis based on two of the texts from the course.

Annotated Bibliography: Students present an annotated list of sources, five academic and three non- academic, related to a topic chosen for the research essay.

Research Essay: Students argue a topic based in part on the readings and in part on independent research, optionally/ideally using the sources gathered in the annotated bibliography.

Late assignments will be deducted 2% per school day. However, I will be generous with extensions, provided they are asked for 24 hours before the assignment is due, and a draft of required length is brought (when appropriate) to peer review days.

Schedule

Topics: fear of technology, science fiction and language, construction of fantasy, food and politics, superheroes, horror stories, satire, race in Canada, games and play, digital media, risk, cartoons and propaganda.

Course Policies

Course policies are essentially based on respectful communication and setting clear expectations. If something about the course, be it an assignment or policy, is not clear to you please write me and we will sort the issue. Please take the time to read the syllabus and the assignments carefully and ask me questions if you’re not sure about something. A syllabus functions as a kind of agreement between instructor and student: I'll do my best to maintain what's stated here and not change anything without your input, or at least knowledge. But in addition to being a contract, it is a resource and connects you to resources both in the classroom and around campus. I want to make this course as useful to you as possible, and that means clearly communicating our expectations of each other and making sure everyone is on the same page.

Accessibility Statement

The AccessAbility Services office, located on the first floor of the Needles Hall extension (NH 1401), collaborates with all academic departments to arrange appropriate accommodations for students with disabilities without compromising the academic integrity of the curriculum. If you require academic accommodations to lessen the impact of your disability, please register with the AS office at the beginning of each academic term.

Mental Health Support

All of us need a support system. The faculty and staff in Arts encourage students to seek out mental health supports if they are needed.

On Campus

• Counselling Services: 519-888-4567 ext 32655
• MATES: one-to-one peer support program offered by Federation of Students (FEDS) and Counselling Services
• Health Services Emergency service: located across the creek form Student Life Centre

Off campus, 24/7

• Good2Talk: Free confidential help line for post-secondary students. Phone: 1-866-925-5454
• Grand River Hospital: Emergency care for mental health crisis. Phone: 519-749-433 ext. 6880
• Here 24/7: Mental Health and Crisis Service Team. Phone: 1-844-437-3247
• OK2BME: set of support services for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or questioning teens in Water- loo. Phone: 519-884-0000 extension 213

Full details can be found online at the Faculty of ARTS website Download UWaterloo and regional mental health resources (PDF)

Download the WatSafe app to your phone to quickly access mental health support information

Territorial Acknowledgement

We acknowledge that we are living and working on the traditional territory of the Attawandaron (also known as Neutral), Anishinaabe and Haudenosaunee peoples. The University of Waterloo is situated on the Haldimand Tract, the land promised to the Six Nations that includes 10 kilometres on each side of the Grand River.

For more information about the purpose of territorial acknowledgments, please see the CAUT Guide to Acknowledging Traditional Territory (PDF).

Academic freedom at the University of Waterloo

Policy 33, Ethical Behaviour states, as one of its general principles (Section 1), “The University supports academic freedom for all members of the University community. Academic freedom carries with it the duty to use that freedom in a manner consistent with the scholarly obligation to base teaching and research on an honest and ethical quest for knowledge. In the context of this policy, 'academic freedom' refers to academic activities, including teaching and scholarship, as is articulated in the principles set out in the Memorandum of Agreement between the FAUW and the University of Waterloo, 1998 (Article 6). The academic environment which fosters free debate may from time to time include the presentation or discussion of unpopular opinions or controversial material. Such material shall be dealt with as openly, respectfully and sensitively as possible.” This definition is repeated in Policies 70 and 71, and in the Memorandum of Agreement, Section 6.

Emergencies and Absences

In the event of a major campus emergency, course requirements, deadlines and grading percentages are subject to changes that may be necessitated by a revised semester calendar or other circumstances beyond the instructor’s control. Relevant changes to this course will be posted onto the course website or can be obtained by contacting the instructor via email. You are expected to read your @uwaterloo.ca email on a frequent basis. Personal emergencies should be communicated to me as soon as possible, but attend first to you and your family’s well-being. Whatever happens to be your particular situation is not my business and all I need to know is there was a medical emergency. You do not need to provide any details. For extended absences I would like a note from a doctor, but again no details about why you were away ever need to be provided in these notes and you do not need to disclose the reason to me.

Grade Concerns and Incompletes

Should your grades concern you then you must speak with me within the first 3/4 of the term; the last quarter of the term will not provide sufficient time to markedly improve your final grade. Finally, I will not grant an incomplete in the course; if you have concerns about completing your term please write to me as soon as possible.

Academic Honesty

All work in this course should be original. Any material that you paraphrase or quote must be cited