Date

Topics and Readings

Assignment

Week 1

Sept 14

·         Course goals, requirements, resources

·         VARK Learning styles questionnaire

http://www.vark-learn.com/

·         Handout: "In the Hay”

·         Narrative essay structure

-Describe yourself as a student and writer

Week 2

Sept 21

·         Narration as argument; using concrete images

·         Saving files, file formats (RTF)

·         Scott R. Sanders, "The Men We Carry in Our Minds" 168

·         Sandra Cisneros, "Only Daughter" 414

Essay 1 due for peer review Sep 28

Revision due Oct 5

Week 3

Sept 28

·         Judith Ortiz Cofer,
“A Partial Remembrance of a Puerto Rican Childhood” 52

·         Susan Sontag, “Women’s Beauty: Put Down or Power Source?” 92

·         Writing dialog; using quotations and parenthetical citations

Written responses to readings

Revise essay 1

Week 4

Oct 5

Oct 12
Columbus Day

·         Ellen Goodman, "The Company Man" 99

·         Brent Staples, “Black Men and Public Space" 193

Essay 2  due for peer review Oct 19

Revision due Oct 26

Week 5

Oct 19

·         Peer review

·         Martin Gansberg,
“37 Who Saw Murder Didn’t Call the Police” 19

·         MLA Works Cited list and parenthetical citations

Written responses to readings

Revise essay 2

Week 6 

Oct 26

·         Naomi Shahib Nye, "To Any Would-Be Terrorists" 363

Written responses to readings

Week 7

Nov 2

·         Barbara D.Whitehead,
"Where Have All the Parents Gone?" 222

·         Developing an argument and rhetorical appeals

Essay 3-draft due Nov 9

Revision due Nov 16

Week 8

Nov 9

·         Peer review

·         Jo Goodwin Parker, "What Is Poverty?" 95

·         M. P. MacDonald, All Souls: A Family Story from Southie

Revise essay 3

Week 9

Nov 16

·         Essay 3 Argument/Persuasion due

·         -Internet and Library research

·         All Souls

·         Nov. 20, 12:00 noon

Michael Patrick MacDonald speaks to students

Compose questions for research essay

Week 10

Nov 23

·         Research strategies

·         Library Orientation

·         Summarizing and paraphrasing

·         Sample bibliography (MLA format)

·         All Souls

Prepare annotated bibliography due Nov 30

Week 11 

Nov 30

·         All Souls

·         Bibliography due

·         Student-teacher conferences as needed

Research report due Dec 7

Week 12

Dec 7

·         Oral report on research project

Review essays for self assessment

Week 13

Dec 14

·         Complete self-assessment essay

·         Oral reading of best work

Week 14 

Dec 21

Final evaluation