·       Diagnostic Essay

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·       Overview of Writing for the Social Sciences

Discussion Post #1 — Write a brief summary of King’s main points and analyze one idea that interests or confuses you.

·       Discuss King

·       Review Essay #1 Assignment

·       Peer Interviews

ESSAY #1 SUBJECT DESCRIPTION DUE

·       Writing Activity: Looking at Subcultures

·       Workshop: Investigating Insider vs. Outsider Perspectives

Discussion Post #2 — Write a short response to Baldwin’s essay that addresses the following questions:

1.     What cultural information does the article include?

2.     What kind of questions might a fieldworker ask to further uncover the culture the article describes?

3.     What other sources of information might a fieldworker use to penetrate the insider perspective?

·       Writing Activity: Engaging the Ethnographic Perspective

·       Workshop: Researching People

ESSAY #1 INTERVIEW QUESTIONS DUE

·       Peer Review: Interview Questions

·       Workshop: Interview Strategies

Discussion Post #3 — Read “Solange, the Polymathic Cultural Force” by Ayana Mathis, write a response to Mathis’ profile that addresses the following questions

1.     What cultural information does the article include?

2.     How was the background information chosen helpful in understanding the story?

3.     How did she describe the subject to make them come to life?

·       Workshop: Using Character, Setting, and Theme to Create a Portrait

·       Writing Activity: Writing a Verbal Portrait

ESSAY #1 INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPT DUE

·       Workshop: Understanding Rhetoric

·       Writing Activity: Analyzing Your Interview Skills

ESSAY #1 FINAL DRAFT + REFLECTION DUE

·       Writing Activity: Exploratory Writing

Discussion Post #4: Choose a public place (park, restaurant, church, coffee shop, etc.) to conduct a non-participant observation. Plan to spend at least one hour observing and taking notes. Record as many details, informational and personal, as you can about what you experience. Write a brief summary of what you observe noting any patterns or themes.

·       Workshop: Notetaking Strategies

·       Peer Review: Observation Notes

ESSAY #2 SUBJECT DESCRIPTION DUE

·       Workshop: Researching Online Communities

Discussion Post #5: Reread the excerpt from Gloria Naylor’s Mama Day (pg. 103-109). Write a short response describing your process of reading the text. Questions to consider:

1.     What other books have you read or movies have you seen that this excerpt reminds you of? In what ways?

2.     How do your previous reading experiences affect the way you appreciate Naylor’s writing? How would you describe Naylor’s style?

3.     What stood out for you? Which characters interested you the most, and why? In your second reading, what did you discover that you missed the first time?

·       Workshop: Positioning Yourself

·       Writing Activity: Unlearning Your Privilege

ESSAY #2 OBSERVATION FIELD NOTES DUE

·       Writing Activity: Questioning Your Field Notes

·       Peer Review: Observation Field Notes

Discussion Post #6: Re-read “Shitty First Drafts” (pg. 354-357), Write a brief summary of Lamott’s main points and analyze one idea that interests or confuses you.

·       Workshop: Analyzing Your Field Notes

·       Writing Activity: Exploratory Freewriting

ESSAY #2 FIRST DRAFT DUE

ESSAY #2 FINAL DRAFT + REFLECTION DUE

·       Review Essay #3 Assignment

·       Workshop: CCNY Academic Databases

*Note class will meet in the cITy TECH Center

ESSAY #3 RESEARCH TOPIC REFLECTION DUE

·       Workshop: What makes a good research question?

Discussion Post #7: Write a short reflection on your research progress. Questions to consider:

1.     What credible sources have you found so far? How do they effectively answer your research question?

2.     Were there any sources you found while conducting your research that you decided to exclude? Why?

3.     Are there any source you are still unsure about using? What about the source makes you uncertain?

4.     What’s missing in your research? What information are you still seeking from other sources?

·       Peer Review: Research in Progress

·       Workshop: The Annotated Bibliography

ESSAY #3 ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY DUE

·       Workshop: Writing a Literature Review

ESSAY #3 FIRST DRAFT DUE 

Read “Writers on Revising” by Joe Moxley

Discussion Post #8: Write a reverse outline of your first draft following the steps below:

1.     Number the paragraphs of your paper.

2.     On a separate sheet of paper, list the number of paragraphs in your paper, giving a line or two for each number

3.     Turn to your paper, read the first paragraph, and write on your list the main point you make in this paragraph. If you can’t summarize the content of a paragraph, you probably have multiple ideas in play in that paragraph that may need revising; note each of the ideas expressed in the paragraph.

4.     Do the same for each paragraph of your paper in your essay.

BTC one hard copy of Essay #3 First Draft for revision workshop

·       Peer Review: Reverse Outline

·       Workshop: The Revision Process

ESSAY #3 FINAL DRAFT + REFLECTION DUE 

·       Workshop: Academic Commons

*Note class will meet in the cITy TECH Center

·       Lauren Heng: https://laursmedium.commons.gc.cuny.edu/

·       Saiful Islam: https://saifreshmancomp.commons.gc.cuny.edu/

·       Laura Link: https://learningwithlaura.commons.gc.cuny.edu

Select a sample portfolio and grade it according to the assignment rubric noting your rationale for your assessment.

·       Workshop: Theory of Writing

Discussion Post #9: Write a short reflection on your approach to writing. How do you prepare for written assignments/tasks? What do you need to know before you begin? What do you learn as you go through the process? How has this process changed (or not changed) over the course of the semester?

·       Peer Review: Theory of Writing

·       Workshop: Understanding Genres and the Rhetorical Situation

Discussion Post #10: Write a short reflection describing the genre you feel best represents your goals for your Self-Assessment Essay and then explain why you chose that genre.

·       Class Surveys

·       Discuss reading

·       Review CUNY Academic Commons Workshop