Justin J. Bain
PhD Student in Composition and Cultural Rhetoric
Syracuse University
315-443-1412
jjbain@syr.edu
• Philosophy
• Writing 105
• Writing 205
• Writing 307
• Writing 110
Writing 205: Exploring Notions of Home
Writing 205 TTH 1:00-2:20 Huntington 105 Phone: x1412
Course Description
WRT 205 is designed to teach research as critical inquiry. That means you will be learning method and doing research out of a need and a desire to really know something.
205 works with the assumption that we live and write in an informationally rich environment. Due to this fact, we must learn to access information quickly from a variety of sources: online, database, library, interviews, surveys, etc. But getting information is not enough—we must also assess it critically and knowledgeably. As you do research for this class, it will be expected that you locate sources in relation to the complex and competing conversations and claims that generated them.
Through work on individual and collaborative projects, we will research the ways knowledge is constructed and communicated in various disciplines and professions. As a class, our topic of inquiry will be the idea of "home." What exactly home means will be a topic of discussion, writing, and analysis throughout the semester as we do research and share our ideas. To this end, we will investigate various research strategies, analyze concepts, read rhetorically, write formal and informal texts, work collaboratively, and assess our own writing and that of others.
Course Goals
WRT 205 builds on the skills and practices of WRT 105 by adding composing with/from sources, both traditional and online and both primary and secondary. In doing so, it provides a theoretical framework for writing and researching processes and for the potentials and problems of academic research. WRT 205 teaches the skills, conventions, and aims of critical research and writing:
• Students learn and analyze multiple research strategies
• Students collaborate as part of research and writing processes
• Students learns several genres of the research text
• Students do multi-media presentations of their work
• Students learn conventions of quotation and citation
• Students edit appropriate to genre and context
Course Texts and Materials
Bookmarks: A Guide to Research and Writing by John Ruszkiewicz and Janice R. Walker.
Course Reader at the Copy Center in Marshal Square Mall. I will inform you when this reader is ready for purchase.
Three articles online at the library:
1. "Building a Mystery: Alternative Research Writing and Academic Act of Seeking" by Robert Davis and Mark Shadle.
2. "Plagiarism, Policing, Pedagogy" by Rebecca Moore Howard
3. "Helping Students Use Textual Sources Persuasively" by Margaret Kantz
You should also be prepared to provide xerox copies of your work for everyone in the class at various times during the semester. Copy Services (Marshall Square Mall) and the library offer low cost, self-service copying. Plan on spending about $20 over the course of the semester.
Grading
Unit 1: Introduction to Critical Research
5 page essay10% Unit 2: Investigation of Research Strategies (focus on Sept 11)
Annotated Bibliography
Poster Session/Presentation20% Unit 3: Research Anthology (focus on shifting understandings of home)
Research Log
Reports on Research
Critical Review Essay
Final Anthology45% Unit 4: Individual Research Essay
Exploratory Essay (3 pages)
Annotated Bibliography (2 pages)
Essay Proposal
First Draft (5-6 pages)
Final Draft (5-6 pages plus Annotated Bibliography)25% Attendance and Participation
Attendance and active engagement in this course is crucial to your success. Absences affect classmates’ work as well as your own. If you have more than four absences your grade will be reduced one step (ie—B+ to B). If you have more than six absences your grade will be further reduced in accordance with work missed.
Tardiness is disrupting to both the class and the instructor. If you are between one and ten minutes late you are tardy. Two tardies equals one absence. If you are more than ten minutes late you are absent.
If you must miss a class, you are responsible for work assigned or missed. You should plan on contacting a classmate for missed work and assignments. Please realize, however, that class time cannot be made up.
Late Work
Late work will not be accepted for credit. Exceptions will be made for athletics and other appropriate school sanctioned activities. Please speak with me prior to any such events. Printer malfunctions, computer crashes, inoperable disks, etc, are not acceptable reasons for late or missing work.
Student Writing
All texts written in this course are designed to be shared with others in this course. It is understood that registration for and continued enrollment in this course constitutes permission by the student for the instructor to use any student work constructed as a result of said enrollment in the course.
Statement on Plagiarism
The academic community requires ethical behavior from all of its participants. For writers, this means that the work we claim as ours must truly be ours, not that of someone else. At the same time, we are not expected to come up with all new ideas. It is expected that we will build our thinking on that of others. We are expected, however, to credit others with their contributions and to clearly indicate the boundaries of our own thinking. Failure to do so, in the university in general and in this course in particular, will result in consequences for the offender, including lowered grades, failure, or dismissal.
Statement on Special Needs
If you know of anything that will influence your participation or the evaluation of your work in this course, please discuss it with me immediately. I will gladly consider how your situation will fit into our class, but I can’t do this if you remain silent.
Writing Consultants
Writing Consultants are available in the Writing Center on an appointment or drop-in basis for assistance with any stage f your writing. Visit the Writing Center (located in HBC) for more information.
Instructor’s Note
Our syllabus is only a projection and not written in stone. We may shift assignments around or change direction occasionally, as it seems appropriate, necessary, or interesting.