ENGL 109 F22 Irwin

English 109 Introduction to Academic Writing

Everyday Arguments for Mathematicians

Fall 2022

T/TH 11:30-12:50 HH138

Instructor: Ashley Irwin

Email:  a3irwin@uwaterloo.ca

Virtual Office Hours: By appointment

Territorial Acknowledgment

I would like to acknowledge that we are on the traditional territory of the Attawandaron (Neutral), Anishnaabeg, and Haudenosaunee peoples. The University of Waterloo is situated on the Haldimand Tract, land promised and given to Six Nations, which includes six miles on each side of the Grand River.

I would like to acknowledge that Canada has a 200 year-long history of enslaving Black and Indigenous people and that this past has reverberations in the present. I recognize that my Black and Indigenous students are discriminated against in terms of access to housing, education, employment, and justice under the law. I commit myself, as an educator, to fighting systemic racism within and beyond the walls of our educational institution.

Course Description

Let’s face it. Not everyone loves writing. In fact, some of us even hate it and recoil in horror each time we hear the word “essay.” This semester, we will learn that writing doesn’t need to be the bane of our existences. This course is specifically designed to appeal to mathematically minded students and to help them apply their practical skills and rationality to the realm of academic writing. We will learn strategies for conducting research and evaluating sources, and we’ll explore concepts in rhetoric, composition, and argumentation to deliver presentations and construct analyses and essays. We will cultivate a collaborative atmosphere where we will work together to alleviate communication and writing-related anxieties.

Course Objectives

• To help you to think critically and communicate effectively
• To learn and practice a variety of strategies for inventing, drafting, and editing texts
• To learn and practice writing in a variety of academic genres
• To learn to read critically
• To learn to write persuasively by effectively employing elements of formal argumentation
• To help you give and receive useful feedback on writing for the purposes of revision
• To learn and practice communicating to a variety of academic audiences

Readings

There are no required texts for this course.

Assignments

• 10% Participation/In-class Assignments
• 20% Group Presentation
• 25% Rhetorical Analysis
• 20% Essay Proposal and Literature Review
• 25% Persuasive Essay

Class Participation/In-Class Assignments 10%

Due Date: Ongoing

Participation is one key to success in this course. You will receive marks for your course engagement as well as your professional and courteous communication, for submitting in-class assignments, contributing to group work, and participating in peer review sessions. Participation can also take the form of verbally contributing to class discussion and or placing digital responses to course content in the Participation dropbox. It is very important that you treat classmates with respect, listening carefully, and responding in a generous manner. Sexist, ablest, homophobic, transphobic, and racist comments of any kind will not be tolerated.

Group Presentation 20%

Due Dates: Thursday, September 29

Tuesday, October 4

For this assignment, you will work together in small groups to convince me that math is…well…cool. In a 7-10-minute presentation, you will use the power of description to summarize a mathematical concept that intrigues your group. You will then have to rely upon your characters (ethos) to boost the credibility of your group, you will have to appeal to my sense of reason (logos) to convince me of the practicality of your concept, and most difficult of all, you’ll have to appeal to my emotions (pathos) to get me to care and to convince me that math is cool. Your group can decide to deliver your presentation live, in front of the class, or you can choose to pre-record your presentation, and post it privately to YouTube. Each member of the group must also submit a group member evaluation. Evaluations will be taken into consideration when I calculate participation grades.

Rhetorical Analysis 25%

Peer Review: Tuesday, October 25

Due Date: Thursday, October 27

For this assignment, you will be asked to write a 5 paragraph (2.5 paged) essay that analyzes an advertisement according to the Toulmin style of argumentation. You will have to identify the target audience, uncover any biases present in the ad, analyze the rhetorical appeals, and identify any fallacies present.

Essay Proposal and Literature Review 20%

Peer Review: Tuesday, November 15

Due Date: Thursday, November 17

For this assignment, you will propose a topic and begin your research for your persuasive essay. You may choose any topic as long as it is a source of passion for you. For your proposal, you will share your thesis and discussion points, as well as a counter argument and refutation. For your Literature Review, you will collect five academic research sources, compare, contrast, and evaluate them against your work.

Persuasive Essay 25%

Peer Review: Thursday, December 1

Due Date: Tuesday, December 6

For this assignment, you will write the essay that you proposed and researched for your previous assignment. Your essay will include a three-story thesis, body paragraphs, a counter argument, a refutation, and a conclusion. Personal experiences, anecdotes, and code meshing and switching are welcomed and encouraged.

Grading

Resources for Students

Accommodations

We will all need some accommodations in this class because we all learn differently. If you need specific accommodations, let me know. Your success in this course is important to me, and I will work with you to ensure that you have the means of accessing class information, ways to take part in class activities, and avenues for fair assessment of your coursework. The University of Waterloo has a long-standing commitment to support the participation and access to university programs, services, and facilities by persons with all types of disabilities. AccessAbility Services 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 AccessAbility Services at the beginning of each academic term.

Mental Health

Your mental health is extremely important, and we all experience varying degrees of mental health concerns at some point in our lives. University is a very stressful environment, and if you are feeling unwell, please know that you are not alone. I am not, by any means, an expert, but if you approach me with a mental health concern, you can be sure that I will take your issue very seriously and will point you in the direction of help. The following is a list of resources available for students experiencing mental health difficulties:

On Campus

• Counselling Services: counselling.services@uwaterloo.ca / 519-888-4567 ext. 32655
• MATES: one-to-one peer support program offered by the Waterloo Undergraduate Student Association (WUSA) and Counselling Services

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: 519-749-4300 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 Waterloo. Phone: 519-884-0000 extension 213

Full details can be found online on 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

Access the Mental Health widget on Learn

Chosen/Preferred First Name

Do you want professors to call you by a different first name? Take a minute now to verify or tell us your chosen/preferred first name by logging into WatIAM.

Your chosen/preferred first name listed in WatIAM will be used broadly across campus (e.g., LEARN, Quest, WaterlooWorks, WatCard, etc.). Note: Your legal first name will always be used on certain official documents. For more details, visit Updating Personal Information.

Important notes for name changes:

• If you included a preferred name on your OUAC application, it will be used as your chosen/preferred name unless you make a change now.
• If you don’t provide a chosen/preferred name, your legal first name will continue to be used.

Writing and Communication Centre

The Writing and Communication Centre (WCC) works with students as they develop their ideas, draft, and revise. Writing and Communication specialists offer one-on-one support in planning assignments, synthesizing, and citing research, organizing papers and reports, designing presentations and e-portfolios, and revising for clarity and coherence. Please note that communication specialists guide you to see your work as readers would. They can teach you revising skills and strategies but will not change or correct your work for you. To book an appointment, please visit www.uwaterloo.ca/wcc.

Student Success Office

The Student Success Office provides academic and personal development services, resources for international students, as well as study abroad and exchange support. They aim to create a vibrant student experience and help students achieve personal and professional goals. For more information, please visit https://uwaterloo.ca/student-success/student-success-office-sign, or reach them by phone at 519-888-4567 ext. 84410.

Course Policies Contacting Me

Please do not hesitate to contact me to discuss your writing, to seek assistance or clarification, or to raise questions/concerns pertaining to coursework. I am readily available via email. Although

I will be checking my email often, I do require 24 hours to respond. If you would like to arrange a virtual meeting, please send me an email and we’ll set up a time and date.

General Assignment Guidelines

Your written work must follow APA guidelines. For an excellent APA style guide visit The Owl at Purdue website. Please utilize 12-point Times New Roman font, and double space your work. Assignments must be submitted online via Learn and inserted into their corresponding Dropboxes in PDF or DOC. Please note: I cannot open any other file type on my computer. All late assignments will be subjected to late marks unless an extension has been granted. Please see below for more information.

Late Work

Late work will be accepted without penalty if prior permission has been granted. If you fear that you will not be able to submit your assignments on time, please ask me for an extension-I am very flexible with deadlines as long as you contact me in a timely manner. If an extension is needed, please contact me before the submission deadline. Late work will be penalized 5% per day, including weekends.

University Policies

Academic Integrity

In order to maintain a culture of academic integrity, members of the University of Waterloo are expected to promote honesty, trust, fairness, respect, and responsibility. Check the Office of Academic Integrity website for more information.

Discipline

A student is expected to know what constitutes academic integrity to avoid committing an academic offence, and to take responsibility for his/her actions. [Check the Office of Academic Integrity for more information.] A student who is unsure whether an action constitutes an offence, or who needs help in learning how to avoid offences (e.g., plagiarism, cheating) or about “rules” for group work/collaboration should seek guidance from the course instructor, academic advisor, or the undergraduate associate dean. For information on categories of offences and types of penalties, students should refer to Policy 71, Student Discipline. For typical penalties, check Guidelines for the Assessment of Penalties.

Grievance

A student who believes that a decision affecting some aspect of his/her university life has been unfair or unreasonable may have grounds for initiating a grievance. Read Policy 70, Student Petitions and Grievances, Section 4. When in doubt, please be certain to contact the department’s administrative assistant who will provide further assistance.

Appeals

A decision made or penalty imposed under Policy 70, Student Petitions and Grievances (other than a petition) or Policy 71, Student Discipline may be appealed if there is a ground. A student who believes he/she/they has/have a ground for an appeal should refer to Policy 72, Student Appeals.

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.

Course Schedule