EXPOSITORY WRITING 481/ENGLISH 399

Teaching and Tutoring Writing Across the Disciplines

Spring 1999

Mr. Podis

King 139, x8612;

email: len.podis@oberlin.edu

Office Hours: Mon., 11:00&endash;12:00 and

Thurs., 2:00&endash;3:00 p.m. or by appointment

Course Objectives:

• to train you to be a helpful and effective writing tutor
• to give you practice in responding to student writing
• to introduce you to the fields of composition studies and writing pedagogy
• to encourage you to reflect on your own writing habits and processes

Requirements:

1. regular attendance (no more than 2 absences without just cause, please; I insist on this not because I want to cultivate orderly or submissive behavior, but because the partici-patory-style inquiry methods of the course require that everyone be present to participate)
2. assigned readings on pedagogy and writing theory&emdash;see schedule below
3. a reading journal due in class every Tuesday (except the first week's is due Thurs., 2/11)
4. in-class discussion of assigned readings and of sample student essays
5. tutoring work: at the drop-in desk in Mudd, for a writing intensive course, or both
6. an essay (7&endash;10 pages) to be drafted and revised over the first half of the semester (assignment suggestions will be given later); final draft due in class on Thursday, Mar. 18
7. an essay (10&endash;12 pages) on any subject related to the course, to be drafted and revised during the second half of the semester (final draft due Tuesday, May 18)
8. a workshop-style presentation to the class, focusing on the draft-in-progress of your 10&endash;12 pp essay&emdash;presentations should be about a half hour in length (I'll circulate a sign-up sheet after spring break so that we can schedule the presentations)

Texts:

Working with Student Writers: Essays on Tutoring and Teaching, edited by Podis/Podis (The book is currently in press, so I will distribute the appropriate section of the manuscript proofs each week as we work our way through the schedule.)

Cross-Talk in Comp Theory: A Reader , edited by Victor Villanueva, Jr. (get at Co-op)

Lives on the Boundary: A Moving Account of the Struggles and Achievements of America's Educational Underclass, by Mike Rose (get at Co-op)

Also: selected handouts (mainly articles from professional journals and tutors' course essays received too late for inclusion in WSW) will be distributed according to the schedule below.

Note: There is a fee of $20.00 to defray the cost of photocopying the manuscript of Working with Student Writers and the handouts of articles from scholarly journals. Please pay Mrs. Pollard, the Expository Writing Program administrative assistant (most mornings she's in King 139 and most afternoons she's in Rice 16&emdash;Stenographic Services).

Week 1: February 9 & 11

Tues., Feb. 9&emdash;INTRODUCTIONS & ORGANIZATIONAL MATTERS

For our next class, please read the selections listed for Thurs., Feb. 11 and write your first journal entry for class this Thursday. Also, please complete the questionnaire handed out in class today and bring it with you on Thursday.

(In general, I would ask you to try to do the coming week's reading over the weekend, or at least in time for the Tuesday class each week so that you will be prepared to write your journal entry to bring to class each Tuesday. I will usually collect your journals at the end of class on Tuesdays so that I can respond to them and return them to you at the Thursday class each week.)

Thurs., Feb. 11&emdash;ADVICE ON PEER TUTORING

Readings (to be read for today's class)

In the manuscript ofWorking with Student Writers (hereafter WSW):

1. "Introduction" (pp. 1&endash;7 of the manuscript)

2. Section I. "Tutoring Writing: Practical Advice" (pp. 9&endash;14)

3. "Working at the Drop-In Center," by Katie Gilmartin (pp. 15&endash;21)

(Please bring first journal entry and completed questionnaire to class&emdash;I will ask you to read excerpts from these as a way of initiating discussion on issues of importance.)

Note: We will also try to do some practice tutoring in class next week, and we should discuss how we want to approach that today (e.g., should we ask some veteran tutors to come and do some tutoring demonstrations, or practice tutoring each other, or both?)

Week 2: February 16 & 18

MORE ADVICE ON PEER TUTORING/WRITING AS A PROCESS

Readings (to be read for this week's classes, preferably by Tuesday's class)

InWSW:

1. "On Working with a Class," by Tisha Turk (pp.23&endash;32)

2. "Speaking the Written Voice," by Alicia Koundakjian (pp. 33&endash;37)

In Cross-Talk in Comp Theory (hereafter CT):

3. "The 'Given' in Our Conversations: The Writing Process" (pp. 1&endash;2)

4. "Teach Writing as a Process Not Product," by Donald M. Murray (pp. 3&endash;6)

Handouts:

5. "I'm Just a Lowly Student, Not a Writer," by Melissa Ross

6. "Joe says, 'Communication, what kind of communication?" by Charlotte Byrd

 

Note: The second journal entry is due in class on Tuesday, February 16.

Also: This week we will attempt to do some practice tutoring in class

Week 3: February 23 & 25

PERSPECTIVES ON PEER TUTORING/COMPOSING AND REVISING

Readings

In WSW:

1. Section II. "Perspectives on Peer Tutoring" (pp. 39&endash;44)

2. "Training Peer Tutors for the Writing Lab," by Leonard A. Podis (pp. 45&endash;51)

3. "Peer Tutors and Institutional Authority," by Jeremiah Dyehouse (pp. 53&endash;57)

4. "Peer Tutors: What the Teacher Can Learn," by Leonard A. Podis (pp.59&endash;65)

In CT:

5. "Writing as a Mode of Learning," by Janet Emig (pp. 7&endash;15)

6. "Revision Strategies of Student Writers and Experienced Adult Writers," by Nancy Sommers (pp. 43&endash;54)

Handout:

7. "Tutoring Writing: Healing or What?" by Diane Stelzer Morrow

Note: The 7&endash;10 pp. paper will be assigned next week. Final version due Thurs., Mar. 18.

Week 4: March 2 & 4

FACILITATING & RESPONDING TO STUDENT WRITING/WORKING WITH ESL STUDENTS

Readings

In WSW:

1. Section III. "Facilitating and Responding to Student Writing" (pp. 67&endash;72)

2. "'Like, it was, you know what I mean?': Conversational vs. Presentational Speech in Student Academic Discourse," by Emily Fawcett (pp. 73&endash;83)

3. "Improving Our Responses to Student Writing: A Process-Oriented Approach," by JoAnne M. Podis and Leonard A. Podis (85&endash;94)

4. "The Dilemmas of Grading," by Noelle Howey (pp. 95&endash;100)

Handouts:

5. "Ranking, Evaluating, and Liking," by Peter Elbow

6. "Strangers in Academia: The Experiences of Faculty and ESL Students Across the Curriculum," by Vivian Zamel

Note: Tutor each other in class on the 7&endash;10pp. essay, this week & next week

Week 5: March 9 & 11

WRITING IN THE CLASSROOM/FORM AND GRAMMAR

Readings

In WSW:

1. Section IV. "Writing in the Classroom: Approaches and Methods" (pp. 101&endash;106)

2. "Perspectives on the Writing Classroom," by Leonard A. Podis (pp. 107&endash;116)

3. "No Answers: Interrogating 'Truth' in Writing," by Noelle Howey (pp. 117&endash;121)

4. "Identifying and Teaching Rhetorical Plans for Arrangement," by JoAnne M. Podis and Leonard A. Podis (pp. 123&endash;137)

In CT:

5. "Grammar, Grammars, and the Teaching of Grammar," by Patrick Hartwell (pp. 183&endash;211)

Handout:

6. "The Phenomenology of Error," by Joseph M. Williams

Note: Continue tutoring each other in class on the 7&endash;10pp. essay this week.

Week 6: March 16 & 18

WRITER'S BLOCK AND AUTHORITY ISSUES/TEACHING GRAMMAR

Readings

In WSW:

1. Section V. "Writer's Block and Authority" (pp.139&endash;142)

2. "Learning from Writer's Block," by Jenny Love (pp. 143&endash;150)

3. "Consciousness, Frustration, and Power: The Making of Contextual Writer's Block," by Miriam Axel-Lute (pp. 151&endash;168)

4. "Authority Issues in Online Instruction," by JoAnne M. Podis (pp.169&endash;178)

Handouts:

5. "From Silence to Words: Writing as Struggle," by Min-Zhan Lu

6. "Glazed Looks and Panic Attacks: The Challenge of Teaching Grammar to Basic Education Students" by Kate Daloz

Note: 7&endash;10 pp. essay is due in class on Thursday, March 18

Week 7: March 23 & 25

*******Spring Break*******

Week 8: March 30 & April 1

DISCOURSE COMMUNITIES: ISSUES & PROBLEMS, PART I

Readings

In WSW:

1. Section VI. "Discourse Communities: Issues and Problems" (pp. 179&endash;184)

2. "Scientific Writing: What's So Difficult About It Anyway?" by Anita Stone (pp. 185&endash;192)

3. "Defining a Persona Within the Boundaries of Academic Discourse, or God, I Sound Like a Pretentious Ass," by Elizabeth Schambelan (pp. 193&endash;198)

4. "Traveling the Middle Ground: Bridging the Dichotomies Between Academic and Personal Discourse," by Holly Thompson (pp. 199&endash;206)

In CT:

5. "Inventing the University," by David Bartholomae (pp. 589&endash;619)

Handout:

6. "Reflections on Academic Discourse," by Peter Elbow

Note: In this week's journal, please include an entry that offers a midterm evaluation of the course. We will talk about your views of the course and discuss possible changes to make.

Week 9: April 6 & 8

DISCOURSE COMMUNITIES: ISSUES & PROBLEMS, PART II

Readings

In WSW: No readings in this text this week.

In CT:

1. "Writing with Teachers," by David Bartholomae (pp. 479&endash;488)

2. "Being a Writer vs. Being an Academic: A Conflict in Goals," by Peter Elbow (pp. 489&endash;500)

3. "Interchanges: Responses to Bartholomae and Elbow" (pp. 501&endash;509)

In Lives on the Boundary, by Mike Rose: Chapters 1 and 6 (If you have the time and inclination, please read Chapters 2, 3, 4, and 5, too). Next week, we will read 7 & 8.

Note: 10-12 pp. essay will be assigned this week (final draft due May 18)

Also: Sign up for workshop presentations

Week 10: April 13 & 15

EMPOWERING MARGINALIZED LEARNERS

Readings

In WSW:

1. Section VII. "Empowering Marginalized Learners" (pp. 207&endash;212)

2. "My Hidden Class Consciousness," by Monica Bielski (pp. 213&endash;220)

3. "Writing in Academia: The Politics of Style," by Virginia Pryor (pp. 221&endash;227)

4. "Writing Tutors and Dyslexic Tutees: Is There Something Special We Should Know?" by Jennifer Wewers (pp. 229&endash;237)

In CT:

5. "Diving In: An Introduction to Basic Writing," by Mina Shaughnessy (pp. 289&endash;295).

Also: In Lives on the Boundary, by Mike Rose: Read Chapters 7 and 8.

Note: Tutor each other in class on the 10&endash;12pp. essay, this week & next week

Week 11: April 20 & 22

CHALLENGING TRADITIONAL APPROACHES

Readings

In WSW:

1. Section VIII. "Politics of Literacy: Challenging Traditional Approaches" (pp. 239&endash;242)

2. "How Much to Tell? The Role of the Teacher in the Politicized Classroom," by Jennifer Breen (pp. 243&endash;250)

3. "On the Use of 'I' in Academic Writing," by Samantha Sansevere (pp. 251&endash;260)

4. "My Paper," by Alice Peterson (pp. 261&endash;266)

Handouts:

5. "Between the Drafts," by Nancy Sommers

6. "Accommodating Struggle," by Jennifer M. Love

Week 12: April 27 & 29

IDEOLOGY AND THE TEACHING OF WRITING

Readings

In WSW: No readings in this text this week.

In CT:

1. "Rhetoric and Ideology in the Writing Class," by James Berlin (pp. 679&endash;699)

2. "Contact Zones" and English Studies," by Patricia Bizzell (pp. 735&endash;742)

3. "Diversity, Ideology, and Teaching Writing," by Maxine Hairston (pp. 659&endash;675)

Handouts:

4. "Counterstatement: Responses to Maxine Hairston," by John Trumbur et al.

5. "Discourse and Diversity: Experimental Writing within the Academy," by Lillian Bridwell-Bowles

6. "Fault Lines in the Contact Zone," by Richard E. Miller

Week 13: May 4 & 6

IDENTITY ISSUES IN THE TEACHING OF WRITING

Readings

In WSW:

1. Section IX. "Identity Issues in the Teaching of Writing" (pp. 267&endash;270)

2. "Caught Between Skin Color and Dialect: A Non-Essentialist View of the Use of Black English," by Monica Anthony (pp. 271&endash;283)

3. "'The Me Experience': Composing as a Man," by Donovan Hohn (pp. 285&endash;299)

4. "Writing Inside Out: Issues of Sexual Identity in the Writing Classroom," by Rebecca Phares and David Schwam (pp. 301&endash;314)

In CT:

5. "Composing as a Woman," by Elizabeth A. Flynn (pp. 549&endash;563)

Handout:

6. "The Nervous System," by Richard E. Miller

Week 14: May 11 & 13

PROBLEMS AND ISSUES IN ENGLISH AND COMPOSITION STUDIES

Readings

In WSW:

1. Section X. "Problems and Issues in English and Composition Studies" (pp. 315&endash;318)

2. "No Voice, No Vote: The Politics of Basic Writing," by Lauren Podis (pp. 319&endash;324)

3. "Stuck in Composition: Two Anecdotes from the 112th MLA Convention," by Leonard A. Podis (pp. 325&endash;327)

4. "Contextualizing the Debates: A Historical View of Expository Writing," by Grace Chang (pp. 329&endash;336)

Handouts:

5. "The Wyoming Conference Resolution Opposing Unfair Salaries and Working Conditions for Post-Secondary Teachers of Writing," Linda R. Robertson et al.

In CT:

6. "The Language of Exclusion," by Mike Rose (pp. 525&endash;547)

Final draft of 10&endash;12 pp. essay due (King 139) Tuesday, May 18