Course Syllabus
Writing 50: Writing and the Research Process
"Work and the Twenty-First Century"
Winter 2007
EnrlCd: 47670
Instructor: Chris Dean
Class
Meeting Days: Tuesday and Thursday
3:00-4:50 p.m.
Class Location: HSSB 1207
Office Location: Girvetz 1314
Office Hours
Monday: 3-5 p.m.
Tuesday: 11-12 noon
Wednesday: 3-5 p.m.
And By Appointment
Phone: 203-313-1343
Email: cdean@writing.ucsb.edu
Required Textbooks
ˇ
Course
Reader: Available from Graphic Arts in
ˇ
An academic handbook
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The
class website, located at http://www.uweb.ucsb.edu/faculty/dean/Writing50-Sum06.html.
Drop Deadline
The last day to drop Writing 50 is
on Friday, January 12, 2007 at 6:45 p.m.
You can drop the course via Gold. Students who miss the drop deadline
must petition the Writing Program director to drop,
and requests are not easily granted.
Course Description
and Contribution
The
You will
learn how move from initial thoughts (a research proposal); to field and
library research (including surveys and working with online databases); to
writing a draft (which is always open to change); to finalizing your writing (creating
a final draft); to, finally, presenting your research to your colleagues in a
sharp, polished way. Ultimately, the
goal here is simple: for you to
understand how to research, to write
from research
that you are interested in¸ and then to present your research in a way
that you will be proud of—via a PowerPoint presentation and a final paper.
Finally,
I believe that research, and learning about how to do it, should be fun,
engaging, and rewarding. Therefore, I
will work as hard as I can to make class interesting (via the use of computers,
debates, presentations, and even online games).
In return, I ask this one little thing:
do not allow yourself to be bored.
You will be writing about a future career or course of graduate study in
this class—and you will choose what you research, so please, by all that’s holy,
make sure that your topic does not bore you. I guarantee that if you are not bored, then I
will not be bored.
Outcomes
After taking Writing 50, you
should be able to:
1.
Conduct
a significant independent research project, including developing questions;
designing and planning research; analyzing, contrasting and synthesizing
multiple primary and secondary sources; and drawing conclusions.
2.
Recognize
differences among disciplinary approaches to a topic.
3.
Analyze
the theoretical and disciplinary perspectives and rhetorical strategies
underlying texts through critical reading and thinking.
4.
Identify
and use the full range of university library services.
5.
Use
both general and specialized catalogs, indices, and bibliographies.
6.
Build
discipline-specific search strategies.
7.
Conduct
Web-based research efficiently and selectively.
8.
Locate
books, reference texts, journal articles, and other resources in the library.
9.
Distinguish
among various types of sources--such as primary and secondary, popular and
peer-reviewed, reference and circulating--as they evaluate those sources.
10.
Integrate,
cite, and document sources correctly.
11.
Offer
generously and receive readily assistance in collaborative projects.
12.
Present
the results of their research in a poised and professional manner without the
fear of public speaking.
13.
See
a bridge between the world within academe and the world beyond it.
Online access to course
materials
The syllabus, schedule, assignments,
readings, and resources for the course can be found on the Web @ http://www.uweb.ucsb.edu/faculty/dean.
Grading
ˇ
Attendance
and Participation: Since this is a class where attendance is a
necessity (due to peer feedback, in-class activities, out of class conferences,
and in-class writing assignments), I will take roll. In addition, your drafts and your
participation will factor into this part of the grade. In addition, to do well in this area of the
class you need to keep your absences to two absences in conferences or
class. We will meet two times outside of
class to conduct one-on-one conferences.
This will be an opportunity for you to ask questions about papers, the
conduct of the class, and even more far ranging questions, like
“What’s the secret to a happy life?” (The answer to this, by the by, is
chocolate—lots of chocolate.)
o Percentage of Grade: 15%
ˇ
Résumé: You will actually
create a real live résumé that will allow you to look for work. If you ever
wondered if your work in a writing class mattered, wonder no more. You will write a résumé that will be letter perfect. The résumé is a document that you can use
repeatedly as you actually apply for jobs you want to hold.
o Percentage
of Final Grade: 10%
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Research Proposal and Research Question:
Contrary to popular belief, research is not about having a result in
mind and then finding research that supports your presupposed ideas about a
topic. No my friends, research is really
about coming up with a question that you want to pursue and following it
through in a way that makes sense. Thus,
for this assignment, you will write out a research question, plot out an
approach, and even do a little preliminary research to see what you actually
want to discover, not prove. You will also narrow down a topic so that
is manageable. Thus, you will not do
your research on “becoming a lawyer”; you will narrow your topic to
looking at something particular about becoming a lawyer—such as what does
a lawyer actually need to study in law school to be ready to get a job after
law school.
o Percentage
of Final Grade: 5%
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Information Interview or Survey: Transcription and Abstract or
Questionnaire. You will need, for your
research, to talk to a live human being about what a career or course of study
is all about. To accomplish this, you
will interview a professional in a field that you are interested in, and you
will transcribe his/her comments. Also,
you will write up an abstract of what he or she says. (The abstract being a central part of many
academic texts.) This information will
be directly relevant to your research report.
This interview should be part
of your final paper and presentation.
o Percentage
of Final Grade: 5%
ˇ
Research Blog or Notebook: A key thing that you must do in research is to
actually write about the sources that you find.
This is the first step toward creating a good PowerPoint and a fine
paper. Thus, you will create notes, via
a blog or a notebook, for each of your 10-15 sources that you will
use. Each entry must
have the following: a date, a full
bibliographic entry, and a page worth of notes, with references to specific
page numbers. There is an example of a
blog (an electronic means of keeping notes) located at http://researchblogchris.blogspot.com/. Whatever form you use, you must keep it up to
date and have it ready to be checked prior to giving your
presentation and prior to turning in your final paper.
o Percentage
of Final Grade: 15%
ˇ
PowerPoint Presentation: To
work in the 21st century is to be assured of three things: death, taxes, and having to do a
PowerPoint. Thus, you will learn how to
create a PowerPoint Presentation—based on the research that you have done
on your topic—and present said PowerPoint to the class. This maybe your first PowerPoint
presentation, but it will not be your last.
Also, as a side note, these things are totally fun to put together.
o Percentage
of Final Grade: 10%
ˇ
Final Researched Essay:
This is a 10-15 page piece (with at least ten different sources in your
works cited/references), and it will not
be a regurgitation of your research. You
will get to choose from several formats for your piece, but they will all
involve you reflecting, thinking, and
doing more than simply throwing out facts.
Your paper must have a purpose and a point to it—past
“this is what I learned.”
This is the major assignment of
the class, and the percentage of the grade that is tied to this piece
reflects this. Rest assured you will
have lots of time to work on this, and I will do everything in my power to help
you write a fine paper.
o Percentage
of Final Grade: 40%
Additional Help
I strongly
encourage you to get help with your writing from friends, family, and the
tutors (which you pay for through tuition and student fees) from CLAS (Campus
Learning Assistance Services). CLAS is
located just across from South Hall.
Their physical locations are Buildings 300 and 477, and you can see more
about CLAS by checking out their website located at http://www.clas.ucsb.edu/Info.htm. Remember every good writer uses others to
help them make their writing better. You
can also call and set up an appointment with CLAS by calling893-3269. There are also two other organizations on
campus that might prove helpful to you, and they are Counseling & Career
Services (893-4411) and Disabled Students Program (DSP) (893-2668). Counseling and Career Services can help you
many questions you might have as a student and person, and DSP is a place that
can help you if you have a documented disability that might impinge on your
ability to academic work at UCSB.
Notice to
Students with Disabilities
If you are a student
with a documented disability and would like to discuss special accommodations,
please contact me during office hours, after class, or in whatever way would be
best for you to talk to me privately.[1]
Rewrites
You can rewrite any piece for this class. All rewrites, though, are due by the last day
of class. I will not accept rewrites
after out last class meeting, so do not ask me to.
Plagiarism
As my colleague and
officemate Professor Doug Bradley writes, “Plagiarism is the copying of a
part or whole of another person’s work while representing the work as
your own; it is an extremely serious academic offense.” (Read more of Professor Bradley’s views
on plagiarism at http://www.1startists.com/courses/writ2e/syllabus.html.) The best way to avoid plagiarism is to cite all
the sources you use in a paper correctly and never ever try to pass off
someone else’s writing as your own—period. I will teach you everything I know about
properly citing sources, so that you will never face charges of unintentional
plagiarism, but I have no patience with people who engage in intentional
plagiarism. Plagiarism offenses are
treated seriously by the University, and may result in failure of the paper and
of the course, in addition to further potential sanctions by the Student
Faculty Conduct Committee.
Access to an
email account
You will have one
by virtue of being a UCSB student, but make sure that you know how to use
umail—since this is the email I will be using for you in this class.
Our Moodle Site
For course, we will
be using a Moodle site to conduct discussions, crate threaded discussions, and
other things. The moodle site is located
at http:// moodle.id.ucsb.edu/.
Storage
Since we will be working
in a computer lab quite a bit, you need to make sure that you have something
(like a jump drive) to store your work on.
Make sure that you bring your computer storage device to every class we have in the lab.
Final Note
I teach writing
because I love it, and I also teach because I care about students. I want you to succeed in this class, and I
also want us all to learn how to research in ways that will, I hope, strike you
as fun. I’m serious about a lot of
things (being on time, late work, and even making sure that résumés are free of
grammatical errors); however, I believe that learning about researching and
writing is fun too. My hope is that you
will exit this class having written something you are proud to have written,
that you will be a more confident researcher and writer, and that you will have
laughed and learned while laughing.
Giving Credit Where Credit is Due
Many thanks to Paul
Rogers, Doug Bradley, Michael Petraca, and Brian Loftus in helping me think
through this course. Particular thanks
to Paul and Michael for their syllabi, which have helped me construct the very
syllabus you have before you. (Remember
friends: we must all acknowledge the
sources that inspire us to write.)
Course Calendar For Writing 50 (TR 3-4:50 p.m.)
(The Calendar is subject to
change at the discretion of the instructor.)
Week One: What it Means to Work in the 21st
Century—an Overview
TUESDAY:
1-9-07 (Meet in HSSB 1207)
ˇ
ˇ
Writing:
What do I like to do
and why?
ˇ
Class Activities: Introductions,
in-class reading, in-class writing.
THURSDAY:
1-11-07 (Meet in HSSB 1207)
ˇ
ˇ
Class Activities: In-class
writing, discussion of texts, “What do you Want from Life”
exercise, and brainstorming for possible careers and courses of study to
research.
Last
day to drop a writing course is Friday, Jan. 12, 2006 at 6:45 p.m. on Gold
Week Two: What it Means to Work in the 21st
Century—an Overview and Beginning Research
TUESDAY:
1-16-07 (Meet in Gaviota-Phelps Computer
Lab, Phelps Hall 1529)
ˇ
ˇ
Class Activities: Work
on writing. Gig discussion. Introduction to computers.
THURSDAY:
1-18-07 (Meet in Gaviota-Phelps Computer
Lab, Phelps Hall 1529)
ˇ
ˇ
Writing:
First Draft of Research Proposal Due:
Research Proposal, three sources, and introduction.
ˇ
Class Activities: In-class
writing, discussion of Reich, and work on research.
Week Three: Your Friend the Computer and Beginning Research
CONFERENCE WEEK
TUESDAY:
1-23-07 (Meet in Gaviota-Phelps Computer
Lab, Phelps Hall 1529)
ˇ
ˇ
Class Activities: In-class
writing, editing work, and discussion of Nickel
and Dimed reading. ALSO, SIGN-UP FOR CONFERENCES.
THURSDAY:
1-25-07 (Meet in Gaviota-Phelps Computer
Lab, Phelps Hall 1529)
ˇ
ˇ
Writing:
Final draft of research proposal due today.
ˇ
Class Activities: In-class
writing, peer review of research proposal, more preliminary research, and
designing interviews and surveys.
Week Four: Research and the Libarry
TUESDAY:
1-30-07 (Meet in Gaviota-Phelps Computer
Lab, Phelps Hall 1529)
ˇ
ˇ
Writing:
FIND AN INTEREVIEW SUBJECT OR CREATE SURVEY. DRAFT OF QUESTIONS OR SURVEY DUE ON TUESDAY
2-5-07.
ˇ
Class Activities: In-class
writing, designing interviews and surveys, citation work, something fun with
Youtube.
THURSDAY:
2-1-07 (Meet in Library)
ˇ
ˇ
Class Activities: Library
Assignment, Research Notes, Library Qand A.
Week Five: The Library and Drafting
TUESDAY:
2-6-07 (Meet in Gaviota-Phelps Computer
Lab, Phelps Hall 1529)
ˇ
ˇ
Writing:
Questions for interview or survey due today.
ˇ
Class Activities: In-class
writing, peer review of survey or interview questions, work on research
project, and note-taking work.
THURSDAY:
2-8-07 (Meet in Gaviota-Phelps Computer
Lab, Phelps Hall 1529)
ˇ
ˇ
Writing:
Work on survey or interview write up—FINAL DRAFT DUE ON TUESDAY
2-12-07.
ˇ
Class Activities: In-class
writing, research questions and concerns, research time, and writing exercises
designed to get you writing.
Week Six: Writing and Presentations
TUESDAY:
2-13-07(Meet in Gaviota-Phelps Computer
Lab, Phelps Hall 1529)
ˇ
ˇ
Writing:
Final draft of survey or interview due today.
ˇ
Class Activities: Peer
review of interview, PowerPoint samples, PowerPoint exercise, Check in on
research. Introduction to final essay.
THURSDAY:
2-15-07 (Meet in Gaviota-Phelps Computer
Lab, Phelps Hall 1529)
ˇ
ˇ
Assignment:
First four to six presentations
(extra credit for those who go first). Viewing of really cool
PowerPoint in class. PowerPoint
work.
Week Seven: Writing and Presentations
TUESDAY:
2-20-07 (Meet in Gaviota-Phelps Computer
Lab, Phelps Hall 1529)
ˇ
ˇ
Class Activities: Presentations: Work
with sample essay. PowerPoint work. Writing exercises.
THURSDAY:
2-22-07 (Meet in Gaviota-Phelps Computer
Lab, Phelps Hall 1529)
ˇ
ˇ
Class Activities: Presentations. Work
with sample essay. Work with sample essay. Drafting of essay. Sign
up for conferences with Chris.
Week Eight: Writing and Presentations
CONFERENCE WEEK
TUESDAY:
2-27-07 (Meet in Gaviota-Phelps Computer
Lab, Phelps Hall 1529)
ˇ
ˇ
Class Activities: Presentations.
THURSDAY:
3-1-07 (Meet in Gaviota-Phelps Computer
Lab, Phelps Hall 1529)
ˇ
ˇ
Writing:
First Draft of Researched Essay (10-15
pages, complete works cited, and all notes).
ˇ
Class Activities: Presentations. Peer
review.
Week Nine: Writing and
Presentations
TUESDAY:
3-6-07 (Meet in Gaviota-Phelps Computer
Lab, Phelps Hall 1529)
ˇ
ˇ
Class Activities: Presentations.
Resume and cover letter work.
THURSDAY:
3-8-07 (Meet in Gaviota-Phelps Computer
Lab, Phelps Hall 1529)
ˇ
ˇ
Writing: First draft of
resume and cover letter.
ˇ
Class Activities: Bring 21 copies of resume for workshop. Mock interviewing. Dicussion on the “job hunt.
Week Ten: Writing and Wrapping Up
TUESDAY:
3-13-07 (Meet in Gaviota-Phelps Computer
Lab, Phelps Hall 1529)
ˇ
ˇ
Class Activities: Resume
and cover letter work. Evaluations.
THURSDAY:
3-15-07 (Meet in HSSB 1207)
ˇ
Reading
ˇ Writing: All rewrites due today. Final draft of resume and cover letter. Bring latest version of your paper to class.
ˇ
Class Activities: Peer review of rewritings. Work on resume and cover letter. Reminder of when to pick up materials and
grades.
Final paper due by 5 p.m. at Chris’ Office on
Monday 3/18/07.
On
the date of our final, you will be pick up your final papers and final grades.