While I hope that many people will read and use this book outside of a class context, for those who are interested in using it in a class context, I’ve mapped out some possible routes through the book that may apply to specific courses with specific objectives.
These are just blueprints, open to adjustment and interpretation, reflective of how I’ve used these assignments in my own career. If I’ve learned one thing from teaching, it’s that the plan is only the beginning, and the best courses rise from paying specific attention to the needs of the students one is working with. Necessary adjustments are highly encouraged.
This route follows a path (or paths) that I would use myself in a first-year writing course (what used to be called “freshman composition”) with a traditional or academic focus. It’s designed to give students experience with the full range of the writer’s practice while also making sure to introduce them to specific skills of research and source citation, which may be expected as part of the curriculum.
WEEK 1 |
Before We Begin |
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WEEKS 2–4 |
The Writer’s Practice |
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WEEK 5 |
Skills Drills |
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WEEKS 6–7 |
Analytical Experiences Choose One: Who Are We? (Rhetorical Analysis of a Commercial) Or |
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WEEKS 8–9 |
Argument Experiences |
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WEEKS 10–11 |
Argument Experiences cont. Argument as Conversation Choose One: Is a Hot Dog a Sandwich? (Impossible Argument) Or |
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WEEKS 11–15 |
Argument Experiences cont. |
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WEEK 16 |
Reflection Who Are You Now? (As a Writer) (This Is the End . . . of This Book) |
Over my years of teaching first-year writing, I’ve grown more and more frustrated with an experience bound by a “research paper.” I’m convinced asking students to go from zero to a fully formed and well-researched topic that is then turned into a finished argument in the span of four to five weeks (which may be a generous amount of time) is a nearly impossible task. I’ll put it this way: I would not have thrived on some of my own past assignments. I’ve found the “Why Am I So Angry?” (Problem/Solution Argument) approach a good way to include researched argument without running afoul of too many difficulties, but I also am a proponent of first-year writing curricula that stop short of requiring students to write that final argument. By eliminating the final paper, I’ve found that the depth of thinking and research students do on their topics can be much improved, since they’re spending less time and energy fretting about turning in the big final project.
If you’re an instructor looking for a different way of engaging in the kinds of thinking students must practice to be good academic researchers, this route may be of interest.
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WEEK 1 |
Before We Begin |
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WEEKS 2–4 |
The Writer’s Practice |
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WEEK 5–7 |
Skills Drills If It Isn’t True, Why Do People Believe It? (Conspiracy Theory Analysis) |
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WEEKS 8–10 |
Analytical Experiences Choose One: Who Are We? (Rhetorical Analysis of a Commercial) Or What’s So Funny? (Rhetorical Analysis of a Work of Humor) Choose One: What’s Going to Happen? (Playing the Pundit) Or What If . . . ? (Alternate History) Or |
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WEEKS 11–12 |
Argument Experiences |
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WEEK 13 |
Argument Experiences cont. |
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WEEKS 14–15 |
Argument Experiences cont. Hey, Whaddaya Know? (Trivia Questions and Annotated Bibliography) |
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WEEK 16 |
Reflection Who Are You Now? (As a Writer) (This Is the End . . . of This Book) |
If I had total freedom, unencumbered by curricular guidelines or other external forces, this is the sequence I would use for a first-year writing course. This results in students writing more total words as well as tackling a greater variety of assignments.
In this kind of sequence, the grading/assessment is more focused on the production and process and reflection portions of the experiences than on judging the assignments using traditional grading. The goal is to get students writing as much as possible and to build on their base of knowledge and experience from one assignment to another.
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WEEK 1 |
Before We Begin |
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WEEK 2 |
The Writer’s Practice |
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WEEKS 3–5 |
Skills Drills Where Did You Go? (Sense Memory) |
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WEEK 6 |
Having Some Fun or |
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WEEKS 7–8 |
Understanding the World Why Should I Trust This? (Understanding Sources) What’s Going to Happen? (Playing the Pundit) or What If . . . ? (Alternate History) or |
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WEEKS 9–11 |
Argument Fun Are You Trying to Make Me Angry? (Conflict Letter) How Can I Help You Help Me? (Solution Letter) Choose one: Is a Hot Dog a Sandwich? (Impossible Argument) or |
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WEEK 11 |
Circling Back The Right Word v. the Almost Right Word (Thinking about Sentences) |
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WEEKS 12–15 |
Reflection Who Is This Special Person? (Tribute) What Should I Do? (Advice to Someone Else) Who Are You Now? (As a Writer) (This Is the End . . . of This Book) |