COLLEGE WRITING EXTENDED FALL 2024Haskell

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FALL 2024

COURSE DESCRIPTION

College Writing introduces students to the strategies and practices necessary to become a successful writer at the university level and beyond. As the required writing course for undergraduate students at Rutgers University–New Brunswick, College Writing challenges students to reflect upon and cultivate their strengths as readers and writers at this new stage of their educational careers. Students develop their critical reading abilities and written communication skills through meaningful writing projects of diverse genres, including multimodal composition.

College Writing is required of all students except those who are exempt through AP credit or transfer equivalency. (The College Writing core curricular requirement may also be satisfied by successful completion of 355:103, “Exposition & Argument,” or 355:104, “College Writing Extended.”)

COURSE OBJECTIVES

The overarching goal of the course is for students to develop habits of reading and writing that will allow them to respond successfully to the varied rhetorical challenges they will encounter in their future studies and in their lives beyond the university. Students will come to recognize the value of creativity and intellectual risk-taking in an interdisciplinary context while learning to appreciate writing as an instrument of critical thought as well as a means of communication.

Students who successfully complete College Writing will be able to:

Ø READ AS A WRITER. You will learn to identify different types of texts in relation to their purpose and audience. You will reflect on your own experiences as a reader and adapt writing strategies you encounter in your reading to make your own writing more effective.

Ø JOIN THE CONVERSATION. You will learn productive and responsible ways to engage the ideas of others while developing your own understanding about complex issues. You will practice evaluating and responding to sources critically and will learn to use evidence thoughtfully and in service of developing your own arguments and areas of inquiry.

Ø PRESENT IDEAS CREATIVELY. You will learn to consider the form. and structure of your written prose while also exploring the ways that images, videos, recorded sound, and other types of media can enrich the reader’s experience and convey ideas to a general audience.

Ø APPROACH WRITING AS A PROCESS. You will learn to practice the strategies and habits of successful writers, including drafting, revising, and responding to feedback. You will develop perseverance and resilience in the face of challenging writing tasks and approach those challenges as a member of a community of writers.

REQUIRED TEXTS

Students are not required to purchase a textbook for this course. All required reading will be provided in PDF format or hyperlink via Canvas. These materials will largely consist of the following:

Ø Readings posted on our course Canvas site;

Ø Grading rubric included in this syllabus and posted on our course Canvas site;

Ø Select student essays as part of peer-review and in-class exercises;

Ø Instructor comments on drafts.

COURSE REQUIREMENTS — OVERVIEW

Course Component	Percentage of Final Course Grade
Drafting, Revision, & Daily Assignments	20%
Project 1: Reflective Essay	20%
Project 2: Topic-Based Argumentative Essay	20%
Project 3: Argument Analysis	15%
Project 4: Multimodal Composition	25%

COURSE REQUIREMENTS — DETAILED BREAKDOWN

DRAFTING, REVISION, & DAILY ASSIGNMENTS (20% of final course grade)

Throughout the course, you will complete short idea-generating and reflective assignments as you work toward formal projects and as you develop your habits as a writer, which will lead to success in this and other courses. You will participate fully in the drafting and revision process for each assignment, much of which will take place during in-class time. Consistent attention to reading, analysis, drafting, and revision is needed to create a thoughtful and complex piece of writing. Developing regular practices for reading and writing will form. the basis of habits that will lead to success in this course and others.

An important component of the revision process in this course is peer review. The primary goal of peer review is to serve as a collaborative practice whereby students learn to claim their own authority in the writing process. Students learn to reflect on their own writing by reading and responding to writing produced by their peers.

FORMAL PROJECTS (80% of final course grade)

The following is an overview of the four formal projects students will complete in the course throughout the semester. Each project will incorporate the course’s four primary objectives (“read as a writer”; “join the conversation”; “present ideas creatively”; “approach writing as a process”). Specific details regarding each project will be provided in advance.  

PROJECT 1 Reflective Essay: Reading as a Writer

For your first writing project, you will write a reflective essay in response to an assigned reading. You will demonstrate a sophisticated understanding of the form. and rhetorical strategies of the assigned text as you practice writing strategies appropriate for intended text genre, audience, and purpose.

(20% of final course grade)

PROJECT 2 Argument Analysis: Exploring Complexity

For your third writing project, you will analyze the interplay of ideas from an assigned text and then apply those analytical skills to a text you discover about a topic that interests you. You will create a visual representation of the complex arguments and areas of inquiry in your text that takes multiple perspectives into account and meaningfully contextualizes the topic. This analysis will serve as a foundation for Project 4.

(15% of final course grade)

PROJECT 3 Topic-Based Argumentative Essay: Joining the Conversation 

For your second writing project, you will respond to multiple assigned texts on a contemporary topic of interest. By synthesizing your understanding of these readings with your own experience, you will contribute to an ongoing conversation about a specific problem related to the broader topic. You will demonstrate an understanding of using sources and will practice, in particula COLLEGE WRITING EXTENDED FALL 2024Haskell r, analysis, synthesis, summary, paraphrase, and the incorporation of quotations.

(20% of final course grade)

PROJECT 4 Multimodal Composition: Asking a Meaningful Question

For your fourth writing project, you will propose and explore a question that you want to think about carefully before you graduate from college. You will conduct independent research and identify multiple sources that address your question as you enrich and contextualize your understanding of your topic. You will present your findings in a composition that incorporates images, video, and other media, and you will have the option to publish your project online.  

(25% of final course grade) 

GRADING SCALE

The following is the grading scale used by the Writing Program to evaluate the course requirements detailed above and to determine final course grades. The Writing Program’s complete evaluative rubric for formal projects is available at the end of this syllabus and on the course Canvas site.

Level of Achievement	A	B+	B	C+	C	Non-passing
Corresponding Numeric Grade Range	90–100	87–89	80–86	77–79	70–76	69 & below

Note that this is a compressed version of the typical undergraduate grading scale to account for the fact that the Writing Program does not assign a grade of ‘D’ as a final course grade. Please note that students must submit ALL FOUR PROJECTS to pass College Writing. Additionally, please note the difference between the non-passing final grades of NC (No Credit) and F:

The NC is a non-passing grade designation for students who have exhibited progress and consistent participation in their first-year writing course but have not yet attained the benchmark of a C grade. An NC grade allows a student to re-take the course the following semester without penalty to their GPA.

The F is a non-passing grade designation for students who have stopped attending and/or failed to submit one or more formal projects. Unlike the NC grade, the F grade does factor into a student’s GPA. Students should consult their advising deans for additional information regarding replacing Fs in cumulative GPAs.

GRADING POLICIES

The following are additional College Writing grading policies:

Ø You must submit final drafts of all four formal projects to pass the course.

Ø The lowest passing grade for all formal projects and for the course is ‘C.’

The following are policies regarding extensions and late submission of project final drafts:

Ø All students may receive a no-questions-asked, two-day extension for the submission of ONE final draft. To receive this extension, you must email your instructor in advance of the due date.

Ø Emergencies and obstacles do arise, so you should contact your instructor sooner rather than later if you have concerns about meeting deadlines.

Ø Final drafts of projects submitted after their due date that have not received an extension will be subject to late penalties. In general, final drafts submitted up to one week after the deadline will receive a letter grade deduction, and final drafts submitted more than one week after the deadline will not be eligible for a passing grade.  

GENERAL POLICIES

ATTENDANCE

Advance completion of assigned readings, preparatory work, and participation in all class activities is required and will contribute directly to your “Drafting, Revision, & Daily Assignments” grade. All activities and their due dates will be posted in advance. After six missed class sessions and/or activities, you risk failing the class. Please note that the intensive nature of this course requires strong organization and time-management skills, and you are responsible for knowing what your assignments are and for completing them on time. (Resources regarding time-management skill development are available via the Rutgers Learning Centers.)

CANVAS & TECHNOLOGY  

Students will regularly check the course Canvas site and familiarize themselves with the features of Canvas and other online platforms used in course instruction. You will receive important course announcements through Canvas and at your Rutgers email address, so it is also important that you check that account regularly. All final projects must be submitted electronically via Canvas. Additionally, students are expected to have consistent and reliable access to the internet, so please reach out to discuss any potential technological limitations before they become problems.

WRITING CENTER TUTORING

The Writing Program offers FREE tutoring for students enrolled in College Writing, and I strongly encourage you to take advantage of this opportunity. Students who enroll in tutoring meet with the same tutor each week and have the opportunity to continue developing the skills required to succeed in this and other courses. Information about signing up for tutoring is available via the Rutgers Writing Centers website.

DISCUSSION, OFFICE HOURS, & COLLEGIALITY

Discussion requires every student to challenge themselves by asking questions and offering observations, ideas, and arguments in response to one another and to the instructor. You are not expected to know all the answers in advance, and you should never be afraid to ask a question! You should also take advantage of office hours, which allow you to continue the conversations begun in class and to get one-on-one help with any challenges you may encounter. Additionally, your classmates are your colleagues: mutual respect will better enable us to discuss and develop diverse opinions and create a dynamic intellectual community.

DROPPING COLLEGE WRITING

Students may not drop College Writing from their course schedules. This is true both during the semester’s initial Add/Drop period and later when students may withdraw from other courses with a ‘W’. College Writing is a course that must be taken each semester until it is completed. In rare cases of verifiable emergency, the Director or Executive Director of the Writing Program may grant permission for students to withdraw from the course, but only before the withdrawal deadline. 

If you have experienced an emergency or other extenuating circumstance, please make an appointment with the Office of the Dean of Students – Student Support area. That office can document your emergency and direct you to the appropriate resources in the Writing Program and elsewhere in the University. Please note that contacting the Office of the Dean of Students will not automatically result in permission to drop College Writing