Date

Topics and Readings

Assignment

Week 1

Sept 9-11

Course goals, requirements, resources

Learning styles (VARK questionnaire)
http://www.vark-learn.com/

Handout: "In the Hay”

-Describe yourself as a student and writer

Week 2

Sept 14-18

-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

Written responses to readings

Essay 1 due for peer review Sept 25

Week 3

Sept 21-25

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

-Writing dialog; using quotations and parenthetical citations

-Peer review

Written responses to readings

Week 4

Sept 28- Oct 2

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

Ellen Goodman, "The Company Man" 99

Essay 1 Revision due Sept 28

Week 5

Oct 5-9

Brent Staples, “Black Men and Public Space" 193

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

MLA Works Cited list and parenthetical citations

Written responses to readings

Week 6 

Oct 14-16

Oct 12 Columbus Day

-Peer Review

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

Essay 2  due for peer review Oct 16

Revision due Oct 19

Week 7

Oct 19-23

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

-Developing an argument and rhetorical appeals

Written responses to readings

Week 8

Oct 26-30

Jo Goodwin Parker, "What Is Poverty?" 95

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

Essay 3-draft due Oct 30

Revision due Nov 4

Week 9

Nov 2-6

Essay 3 Argument/Persuasion

-Internet and Library Research strategies

All Souls

Revise essay 3

Compose questions for research essay

Topic due Nov 13

Week 10

Nov 9, 13

Nov 11: Veterans Day

Handouts: -Summarizing and paraphrasing (handout)

Sample bibliography (MLA format)

All Souls

Library Orientation Nov 13

Prepare annotated bibliography

Week 11 

Nov 16-20

All Souls

Nov. 20, 12:00 noon

Michael Patrick MacDonald speaks to students

Annotated bibliography due Nov 23

Week 12

Nov 23-25

Bibliography due

Source summary due

Nov 26-29

Thanksgiving break

Week 13

Nov 30-Dec 4

Source summary due for peer review Nov 30

Prepare research project report

Student-teacher conferences as needed

Research essay project due Dec. 4

Week 14 

Dec 7-11

Report on research project / oral reading of best work

Prepare assessment

Week 15

Dec 14

Self-assessment essay due

Final evaluations:
11:00 am class: Wednesday, December 16, 11:30-1:30

12:00 pm class:  Thursday,  December 17,  2:00-4:00