What Work Is: Working Alone, Working Together, Working It Out First-Year Seminar. FRS
121. Fall 2011. |
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policies & requirements |
Meeting Times: MWF1 11:00a-12:20pMeeting Place: Jensen 103Outcomes & AssessmentBy completing a First-Year Seminar, you should have improved understanding and ability in three areas: Liberal Arts Inquiry The Triad Introduction to the College & Strategies for Success Your accomplishment of these outcomes will be assessed primarily based on the multiple writing projects you complete in the class. I evaluate all writing based on a rubric covering: Thesis/Idea, Evidence & Analysis, Structure, and Language & Citation. I'll distribute and discuss this rubric further in class. Further assessment comes via my evaluation and your self-evaluation of your daily class participation in all course meetings and Transition Sessions. Final EvaluationYour final grade is based on your writing projects including 2 portfolios, the mid-term in-class essay, Writing/Thinking assignments, and your Daily Class Participation.
AttendanceYou are expected to be on-time, present, and prepared at all class meetings. However, since the world is an imperfect place, you are allowed 3 absences. Use them wisely, although the wisest student will use none. *Please contact me (preferrably via email) if you must miss class, and I will do my best to assist you with missed work (although your most immediate resource is your classmates). Absences in excess of 3 will lower your final grade. A note from the health center does change this fact, although exceptions may be made in cases of extended illness. Staying in contact with me is essential in such situations. Know that in every case you are responsible for missed work and assignments that are due. Shift work is never an excuse for missing class. Chronic lateness or early departure is equivalent to absence. Missing more than 6 class meetings is grounds for failure of the course. Reading & WritingYou will read a wide variety of texts in this course; you will conduct research both in the library and in the the field; and you will demonstrate your active understanding verbally in class and—substantially—in your writing. Reading each assignment is crucial. Still, many of these texts are subtle and difficult. Make notes. Underline. Question. Look up words you don't know. Make it your business to know the material well before class begins—but also bring your questions. Likewise, your writing for the course requires the sustained effort that will produce a complex and well-structured argument. Take advantage of the required drafts and in-class workshops. But also allot yourself the necessary time to compose and to revise. And if you're uncertain whether an idea you have will satisfy an assignment, come talk to me. Overall, the class asks you to sustain a high level of engagement over the course of the semester. Required Books
Also necessary
Supplementary reading Other readings will be made available as handouts or as link in the calendars. Always print out and bring these texts to class. We move quickly. Stay on top of the reading or you'll quickly slip behind. The Calendars indicate the required reading, provide links for online texts, and show any other preparation that is required for a given class. Check them often. Daily Class ParticipationYour participation in class will vary according to the day's objectives. For instance, your engagement with a lecture takes the form of active listening, note-taking, and/or asking questions. When we work in small groups you must be more self-directed in your contributions to the group and responsive to completing the task requested of you. Often the central work of the seminar will involve the discussion and anlysis of a text, a process of talking through, tracking, and debating the ideas and the rhetoric before us. Sometimes, if a text is particularly complex or if I have specific points to address, our mode of discussion will be more directed. Other times I'll look to you to identify the salient ideas and the peristent dilemmas. If you have a lot to say, I welcome it. But then part of your work will be to allow entry for others by simply listening. If you consider yourself more of a listener, then prepare yourself to raise a single point or ask one question every day. When everyone contributes we reach our deepest understanding of the material. In every case, effective class participation requires that you have read the material and come to class with the text in hand. In addition to my evaluation of your various participations in class, I'll ask you to evaluate yourself at mid-term and at the end of the semester. Your self-evaluations will help me determine your level of participation. I also take into account the timeliness of your assignments and the non-verbal engagement reflected in Daily Writing and other in-class work. Writing/Thinking17 times over the semester you'll be asked to come to class with a written response to the day's reading. Here, writing is thinking, and these response papers allow you a place to prepare for active participation in class. They will also show me that you have read the material. A good response is an informal but focused inquiry into specific aspects of the reading. It is not a summary of the material, although sometimes I may give you added direction (like, for instance a 100-word paraphrase). I am familiar with these works and don’t need a full synopsis; I'm eager to read your ideas about the texts. In addition to writing about the day's reading, you may use your daily writing to keep me up-to-date on any issues you are facing (housing, work crew, study concerns, major, career etc). For each issue, a possible solution should be included. Daily writing is due at the start of class without exception. Of the 17 opportunities to write a daily response, you need to complete 16 (you get 1 bye). Successful responses are thoughtful and focused; unsuccessful responses are superficial and meandering. Still, I encourage exploration and creativity; and you are welcome to raise more questions than you answer. NotebookGet some kind of notebook to help you collect your Writing/Thinking assignments and other work we do in class. This notebook repository will be a crucial resource when you work to build your portfolios as each portfolio asks you to return to previous work and re-think it. Writing ProjectsYou'll prepare multiple writing—and thinking and researching—projects this semester. Each of these asks you to craft an essay or a portfolio (in the How-To the project is a kind of portfolio as a complete book) that responds directly or indirecly to the recent reading and discussion—and which often includes some level of additional, outside research. The goals and requirements of each project are detailed on separate pages on this site and further explained in class. The Writing Projects:
Due dates for all projects and preliminary assignments (both in- and out-of-class) are essential for your success in this course. Observe them. Each assignment prepares you for the next step. All are required. Mid-Term In-Class EssayAt mid-term you will write an essay in-class. We will form the questions for this essay based on our reading during the first term: Voices from the Workplace and The History of Work. You will have a set of questions beforehand and will be encouraged to meet in study groups. On the day of the essay, you'll select one question from those offered, and you will have the entire class period to write. StyleAll drafts and revisions should be presented professionally in MLA format: 12pt black type, double-spaced, with 1" margins. Your last name and a page number should appear on every page. Do not make a cover page or use a fancy report cover. Secure with a staple; do not dog-ear the pages. Writing/Thinking pieces and in-class writing assignments may be handwritten but should be professionally presented (i.e. not pulled, crumpled, out of your back pocket, covered in pond water). WorkshopTied to each essay, we will meet as a workshop to talk about the specific issues of your draft that will assist you as you revise. The value of the workshop will increase with the quality of the draft you present. A Workshop Draft is no mere "rough draft"; if you work in the rough allow time to create a complete essay draft before the workshop deadline. Workshops also require you to be prepared with critique. Read, annotate, and follow any specific direction for workshop review prior to class. Essential DetailsDeadlines: Due dates for prelims, drafts, essays, and other assignments are strict. All assignments are due at the beginning of class. Late work will impact your grade. For final assignments, your grade will drop 1/3 of a grade for each class day it is late (e.g. a B- essay becomes a C+). Still, late is sometimes better than never. Don't let a project slip away from you. If you're worried or confused, talk to me. You may not skip any project and pass the course. I consider requests for extensions ONLY if you ask me more than 24 hours in advance of the deadline. Academic Integrity & Plagiarism: First-Year Seminar and the College affirm a culture of academic integrity among both faculty and students. You can affirm your academic integrity through responsible and proper use and citation of sources in your essays. All uncited content you submit for this course you declare to be your original work. The presentation of another's ideas or text as your own is the serious matter of plagiarism and will be pursued according to College policy. In this course, any plagiarism will result in failure of the assignment, and you will not be able to earn more than a D in the course. Most importantly, the issue of plagiarism requires that you take seriously your role as a scholar. It can be a challenge to navigate through an academic conversation, present others' ideas clearly, and find a space for your own. I'll provide more helpful information as we conduct research. The Writing Center (Lower Sunderland) also has many resources on writing with sources. Writing Center: Students can find peer tutors ready to assist with any writing assignment in the Writing Center, Lower Sunderland. In a conference, you will meet individually with a trained peer tutor who will help you start or revise any piece of writing. A peer tutor will not edit your paper for you; rather, she or he will read your draft with you and help you identify strengths and areas for improvement. Typical areas for discussion include organization, analysis, outside sources, sentence structure, and word choice. Some students come in before they start writing to brainstorm, select a topic, or generate a thesis. To schedule a writing conference, go to the WC homepage (http://www.warren-wilson.edu/~writingcenter/) or come by the Writing Center. It is best to make an appointment in advance, but you may also drop in to see if a tutor is available to work with you. Accommodation: Students with disabilities who believe that they may need accommodations in this class are encouraged to contact Deborah Braden, Educational Access Coordinator (Mitchell House, ext. 3791, dbraden@warren-wilson.edu), as soon as possible to ensure that appropriate accommodations can be implemented in a timely fashion. Student Support ResourcesFor assistance with study skills and habits: Lyn O’Hare For assistance in the writing process: Julie
Wilson For academic accommodations due to a disability: Deborah Braden For assistance with library research: Heather Stewart Harvey |
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