FAQs
Why do I have to take a writing class?
You’ll be developing your writing skills throughout college and beyond. In college, you’ll frequently be asked to write essays on a variety of topics in a variety of styles. 101 should give you a strong foundation in many of these styles, as well as giving you a specific place to focus solely on your writing rather than the other content of a course.
After college, you will implement your writing skills in the work place. The 21st century workplace is distinct from that of the 20th century because you will be composing in a variety of forms. I themed this class around Digital Humanism and digital composition because I want to give you a foundation in composing texts for the environment you might occupy in the workplace. You may become a small business owner and want to design your own website. You may be working in a lab and want to communicate your findings to the public via a blog. You may be asked to write a researched proposal that is uploaded to a company website.
Beyond the pure application of writing skills, you should also think of writing as a thinking tool that will help you hone your ideas, arguments, and insights. Writing out your reasoning can help you shore up weak places in an argument, and writing out your feelings or concerns can help you better manage them.
Finally, whether you’re coming into this class nervous or confident, your writing will improve because writing is a learned skill that improves with practice. No one is a perfect writer. I become a better writer every year, and so can you if you devote a little time to it.
What is the point of writing essays?
After college, you may never be asked to write an essay again. So why do you have to write so many now? Essays have a variety of functions, but the most important for professors is their ability to gauge deeper learning. Unlike multiple choice and short answer tests, essays help professors assess whether or not a student is synthesizing information and is able to apply that information in new situations.
Essays are also a measure of communicative ability. If you learn something but can’t explain it in a clear and effective way, the knowledge you hold can’t really be used. Essays help you develop your ability to communicate and to make connections between different pools of knowledge (also known as “literacies”).
Each of the essays in this class represent a genre of writing that will be important at some point in college, and will likely appear after college in a different form. For example, in Unit 2 on analysis, you will have to write analytical essays in other classes. Perhaps more importantly, for the rest of your life you will be called upon to analyze political candidates, advertisements, films, products, and even the behavior of other people. You may never write another analytical essay after college, but the essay helps you focus and develop your analytical abilities for use in other situations.
How will my writing be assessed?
I have been teaching writing for a decade, and I am always happy to explain the meaning of marks or comments on papers. As to content, please consult the rubric on the back of this page—this is the standard used in the English department by all professors teaching 101. While I will not pass back a rubric with every shorter assignment, I will complete a rubric in addition to my comments with longer essays so that you can clearly see where you need to spend more time and where your strengths lay.
A Writing and Critical Thinking Rubric
Problem and Thesis
The Goal: the writer identifies a significant problem or question and clearly presents his or her position on that problem. This position or “thesis” emerges early in the paper and expresses an arguable claim. It strikes a balance between asserting too much (making claims the writer can’t possibly prove) and asserting too little (making claims that are obvious or self-evident).
Emerging Developing Achieving
Evidence and Counter-Evidence
The Goal: the writer supports the thesis with appropriate and persuasive detail. There is ample and adequate evidence for each claim made. The writer devotes time to explaining the relevance of the evidence to the developing argument, and, when appropriate, addresses other salient perspectives—the reservations and counter-arguments of readers who may not share the writer’s point of view. The writer addresses those counter-arguments in an explicit and fair-handed way.
Emerging Developing Achieving
Organization and Coherence
The Goal: organization is the internal scaffolding of an essay. In an effective essay, organization supports the reader through the turns or moves of the essay, linking each new point to the larger picture and providing a logical, step-by-step integrity to the piece as a whole. Strong writers use transition sentences to look both backward and forward, introducing each new point in the developing argument and positioning that point in relation to previous paragraphs.
Emerging Developing Achieving
Style and Writing Conventions
The Goal: the language of the essay is precise and appropriate to the audience and subject. Sentences are concise, clear and coherent. There’s a sense of the writer’s presence in the language and phrasing—a feeling of voice, energy, personality, and conviction. Grammar and punctuation help to clarify meaning by following standard conventions. Necessary citation and documentation follows the format appropriate to the discipline.
Emerging Developing Achieving
Why do I have to take a writing class?
You’ll be developing your writing skills throughout college and beyond. In college, you’ll frequently be asked to write essays on a variety of topics in a variety of styles. 101 should give you a strong foundation in many of these styles, as well as giving you a specific place to focus solely on your writing rather than the other content of a course.
After college, you will implement your writing skills in the work place. The 21st century workplace is distinct from that of the 20th century because you will be composing in a variety of forms. I themed this class around Digital Humanism and digital composition because I want to give you a foundation in composing texts for the environment you might occupy in the workplace. You may become a small business owner and want to design your own website. You may be working in a lab and want to communicate your findings to the public via a blog. You may be asked to write a researched proposal that is uploaded to a company website.
Beyond the pure application of writing skills, you should also think of writing as a thinking tool that will help you hone your ideas, arguments, and insights. Writing out your reasoning can help you shore up weak places in an argument, and writing out your feelings or concerns can help you better manage them.
Finally, whether you’re coming into this class nervous or confident, your writing will improve because writing is a learned skill that improves with practice. No one is a perfect writer. I become a better writer every year, and so can you if you devote a little time to it.
What is the point of writing essays?
After college, you may never be asked to write an essay again. So why do you have to write so many now? Essays have a variety of functions, but the most important for professors is their ability to gauge deeper learning. Unlike multiple choice and short answer tests, essays help professors assess whether or not a student is synthesizing information and is able to apply that information in new situations.
Essays are also a measure of communicative ability. If you learn something but can’t explain it in a clear and effective way, the knowledge you hold can’t really be used. Essays help you develop your ability to communicate and to make connections between different pools of knowledge (also known as “literacies”).
Each of the essays in this class represent a genre of writing that will be important at some point in college, and will likely appear after college in a different form. For example, in Unit 2 on analysis, you will have to write analytical essays in other classes. Perhaps more importantly, for the rest of your life you will be called upon to analyze political candidates, advertisements, films, products, and even the behavior of other people. You may never write another analytical essay after college, but the essay helps you focus and develop your analytical abilities for use in other situations.
How will my writing be assessed?
I have been teaching writing for a decade, and I am always happy to explain the meaning of marks or comments on papers. As to content, please consult the rubric on the back of this page—this is the standard used in the English department by all professors teaching 101. While I will not pass back a rubric with every shorter assignment, I will complete a rubric in addition to my comments with longer essays so that you can clearly see where you need to spend more time and where your strengths lay.
A Writing and Critical Thinking Rubric
Problem and Thesis
The Goal: the writer identifies a significant problem or question and clearly presents his or her position on that problem. This position or “thesis” emerges early in the paper and expresses an arguable claim. It strikes a balance between asserting too much (making claims the writer can’t possibly prove) and asserting too little (making claims that are obvious or self-evident).
Emerging Developing Achieving
Evidence and Counter-Evidence
The Goal: the writer supports the thesis with appropriate and persuasive detail. There is ample and adequate evidence for each claim made. The writer devotes time to explaining the relevance of the evidence to the developing argument, and, when appropriate, addresses other salient perspectives—the reservations and counter-arguments of readers who may not share the writer’s point of view. The writer addresses those counter-arguments in an explicit and fair-handed way.
Emerging Developing Achieving
Organization and Coherence
The Goal: organization is the internal scaffolding of an essay. In an effective essay, organization supports the reader through the turns or moves of the essay, linking each new point to the larger picture and providing a logical, step-by-step integrity to the piece as a whole. Strong writers use transition sentences to look both backward and forward, introducing each new point in the developing argument and positioning that point in relation to previous paragraphs.
Emerging Developing Achieving
Style and Writing Conventions
The Goal: the language of the essay is precise and appropriate to the audience and subject. Sentences are concise, clear and coherent. There’s a sense of the writer’s presence in the language and phrasing—a feeling of voice, energy, personality, and conviction. Grammar and punctuation help to clarify meaning by following standard conventions. Necessary citation and documentation follows the format appropriate to the discipline.
Emerging Developing Achieving
