to the schedule of readings and assignments
syllabus: This syllabus may be updated as the semester goes on. We may post updated versions that indicate readings, discussion plans, and reference materials. However, every component of your grade is shown here at the beginning. If you're reading this on a piece of paper, please refer to the date and time of printing (at the bottom of each page) to see when the version you are holding was printed. For continuous updates look on line at http://www.uta.edu/english/tim/courses/5389f11/5389main.html
course description and student learning outcomes: This seminar investigates problems and approaches to teaching composition and reading to first-year college students. Readings concentrate on current theories of composition, reading, and critical thinking. Although the course is specifically oriented towards training new graduate teaching assistants at UTA, it is possible to adapt material to other courses and other levels of instruction. Students will learn how to/be able to:
Descriptions of Major Assignments with Due Dates:
I. Summary-Responses. You will need to respond to specified articles/essays (those that are asterisked* in the schedule below). Summary responses are DUE on 8 December. Incomplete assignments will not receive full credit. Write approximately 1-page-long (DS) summary responses. Be sure to have the following three parts in each of your summary-responses:
II. Complete the major ENGL 1301 assignments:
III. Observe an ENGL 1301 or ENGL 1302 class and write a brief (2 pages DS) report on the observation. DUE 17 November.
IV. Reflective Paper. DUE 1 December: Consider the following questions throughout the semester, and write an essay (5-7 pages DS) that reflects on them. On 1 December, you will also give a five-minute presentation based on this reflective paper.
V. Literature Review. DUE 8 December. Starting with the Works Cited list of a recent scholarly article in composition studies, build a 10-item annotated bibliography of very recent scholarly sources, centered on a well-focussed problem in the field. Then, write a five-page review of the content of the bibliography, as if you were going to proceed to write a 25- 30-page scholarly article making a contribution to the current discussion of the problem. Get as far as posing a coherent "I Say" statement in response to the "They Say": but stop before elaborating your "I Say" into a fully-argued professional paper. (Nothing prevents you from taking the project further some day, for an academic conference or with an eye to submission for publication.) On 8 December, you will also give a five-minute presentation based on this literature review.
grading: Your grade for the course will be based on your satisfactory completion of all five categories of major assignments (see descriptions & due dates above). This course is guided but ungraded: you will receive extensive feedback throughout the course, but you will not receive letter grades until the end of the semester. All GTAs must successfully complete the course in order to continue assistantships/fellowships in the spring. No incompletes will be given.
attendance policy: Regular and prompt attendance are indications of professionalism and reliability. Missing class and/or coming to class late will jeopardize your grade and/or your assistantship.
drop policy: A grade of W may be assigned if a student chooses to withdraw from a class after Census date, but prior to the last date to drop posted in the University’s Academic Calendar. However, the grade of W is not automatically awarded. Graduate Students must consult with their Graduate Advisor before withdrawing from a class. Further, graduate students must secure the permission of their instructors and be passing the course (have a grade of A, B, C or P) at the time they intend to withdraw to receive a grade of W.
academic dishonesty policy: It is the philosophy of The University of Texas at Arlington that academic dishonesty is a completely unacceptable mode of conduct and will not be tolerated in any form. All persons involved in academic dishonesty will be disciplined in accordance with University regulations and procedures. Discipline may include suspension or expulsion from the University. "Scholastic dishonesty includes but is not limited to cheating, plagiarism, collusion, the submission for credit of any work or materials that are attributable in whole or in part to another person, any act designed to give unfair advantage to a student or the attempt to commit such acts." [Regents' Rules and Regulations, Part One, Chapter Vi, Section 3, Subsection 3.2, Subdivision 3.22]
disability policy: The University of Texas at Arlington is on record as being committed to both the spirit and letter of federal equal opportunity legislation; reference Public Law 93112--The Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended. With the passage of new federal legislation entitled Americans with Disabilities Act - (ADA), pursuant to section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, there is renewed focus on providing this population with the same opportunities enjoyed by all citizens. As faculty members, we are required by law to provide "reasonable accommodation" to students with disabilities, so as not to discriminate on the basis of that disability. Student responsibility primarily rests with informing faculty at the beginning of the semester and in providing authorized documentation through designated administrative channels.
student success: The University of Texas at Arlington supports a variety of student success programs to help you connect with the University and achieve academic success. They include learning assistance, developmental education, advising and mentoring, admission and transition, and federally funded programs. Students requiring assistance academically, personally, or socially should contact the Office of Student Success Programs at 817-272-6107 for more information and appropriate referrals.
schedule of readings and assignments
All readings and assignments are DUE by the start of class on the date listed.
25 August Welcome and introduction, preview assignments and course calendar. Opening exercises.
1 September What Is Composition? READINGS: Lindemann Chs. 1-3. Bartholomae, "Inventing the University"*; Bitzer, "The Rhetorical Situation"*; Hairston, "The Winds of Change"*; Horner & Trimbur, "English Only and US College Composition"*. Assign Discourse Community Analysis.
8 September What Is Composition, Anyway? READINGS: Lindemann Chs. 4-6. Berlin, "Rhetoric and Ideology"*; Fulkerson, "Composition at the Turn"*; Rose, "The Language of Exclusion"*; Ruszkiewicz, "Advocacy in the Writing Classroom"*; Strickland, "Taking Dictation"*. Peer Review of Discourse Community Analysis.
15 September Reading Processes. READINGS: Birnbaum, "Reflective Thought"*; Rabinowitz, "Against Close Reading"*; Wilson and Anderson, "What They Don't Know Will Hurt Them"*; Wood, "College Reading Instruction"*; They Say I Say Chs. 1-3. Discourse Community Analysis DUE.
22 September Writing Processes. READINGS: Lindemann Chs. 7-8; Booth, "The Rhetorical Stance"*; Emig, "Writing as a Mode of Learning"*; George, "From Analysis to Design"*; They Say I Say Chs. 4-7. Assign Rhetorical Analysis.
29 September Writing Processes Redux. READINGS: Lindemann Chs. 8-12. Bartholomae, "Writing with Teachers"*; Elbow, "Being a Writer"*; Rose, "Rigid Rules"*; Sommers, "Revision Strategies"*; They Say I Say Chs. 8-10. Peer Review of Rhetorical Analysis.
6 October Responding to Student Writing. READINGS: Lindemann Chs. 13-14; Freire, "Banking Concept"*; Levy, "Cynicism"*; Murray, "The Listening Eye"*; Porter, "Pedagogy of Charity"*; Skorczewski, "Everybody Has Their Own Ideas"*; Smith, "Genre of the End Comment"*; Sommers, "Responding to Student Writing"*. Rhetorical Analysis DUE.
13 October Grading. READINGS: Bloom, "Why I (Used To) Hate to Give Grades"*; Elbow, "Ranking, Evaluating, and Liking"*. Assign Synthesis.
20 October The One Book Program. READINGS: Skloot, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. Peer Review of Synthesis.
27 October Library, Writing Center, and UTA First-Year English. Synthesis DUE.
3 November Authorship. READINGS: (All from Howard & Robillard): Robillard & Howard, "Introduction: Plagiarisms"*; Eodice, "Man Bites Dog"*; Robillard, "Situating Plagiarism"*; Day, "Time Is Not on Our Side"*; Carrick, "Where There's Smoke"*; Jamieson, "One Size Does Not Fit All"*. Assign Reflective Paper.
10 November Authorship (the sequel). READINGS: (from Blackboard): Ritter, "Buying In"*; (from Howard & Robillard): Howard, "Plagiarizing (from)"*; Fountain & Fitzgerald, "Thou Shalt Not Plagiarize"*; Thompson & Pennycook, "Intertextuality"*; Anson, "We Never Wanted to Be Cops:"*; Yancey, "Beyond Plagiarism"*; Horner, "Plagiarism, Difference, and Power"*. Assign Literature Review.
17 November Classroom Management. READINGS: Farber, "Teaching and Presence"*; Guillory, "The Very Idea of Pedagogy"*; Toner, "Pedagogical Ethics"*; They Say I Say Chs. 11-14. Teaching Observation DUE.
24 November THANKSGIVING
1 December Diverse Populations. READINGS: Land & Whitley, "Evaluating Second-Language Essays"*; Moss & Walters, "Rethinking Diversity"*; Price, "Accessing Disability"*; Rothgery, "So What Do We Do Now?"*. Reflective Paper DUE (with presentations).
8 December Summary-Responses DUE. Literature Review DUE (with presentations).