Professor Andrea A. Lunsford Time: M/W @ 11:00 - 12:15
Office: 223 Margaret Jacks Hall (460) Place: Encina 202
Phone: 723-0682 Office Hours: T @ 9:00 - 11:00;
Fax: 723-0631 by appointment
Email: lunsford@stanford.edu
Class listserv: TBA
Professor Shirley Brice Heath Time: M/W@ 11:00 - 12:15
Office: 414 Margaret Jacks Hall (460) Place: Encina 108
Phone: 723-3316 Office Hours: T @ 9:00 - 11:00;
Fax: 493-8582 by appointment
Email: sbheath@stanford.edu
Class listserv: TBA
The goals of Stanford's first-year writing courses are simple to state: to guide you in writing strong academic and research-based arguments, using principles that will enable you to enter courses in many fields, analyze the discourses you find there and, on the basis of that analysis, begin to participate effectively in these other discourses, whether written or oral. More specifically, Writing 3 focuses attention on carrying out significant research and using it as the basis for a polished and persuasive research-based essay.
Where there is language, there is rhetoric;
where there is rhetoric, there is persuasion..
- Kenneth Burke
This intensive first-year writing course provides a small group of students an opportunity to engage in critical reading and writing aimed at producing a major research-based argument on individual topics to be identified and refined in consultation with me. During this term, we will focus on the art and practice of rhetoric, one of the trivium of subjects taught, in the Western world, from the time of Plato to the present day. Rhetoric is one of the oldest of disciplines, yet many today think of it only in relation to its use in the popular press as "mere" rhetoric. We will develop our own definitions of the term as we explore the powerful uses of rhetoric in analyzing and producing discourse in any field of study.
This term, these two classes are paired; we will occasionally meet together. In addition, each of you will exchange drafts and other class-related work with one student in the partner class.
Plato, Phaedrus. Trans. James H. Nichols. Ithaca: Cornell UP, 1998.
Covino, William A. The Elements of Persuasion. Boston: Allyn and Bacon, 1998.
Tey, Josephine. The Daughter of Time. New York: Simon and Schuster / Scribner, 1995.
Lunsford, Andrea and John Ruszkiewicz. Everything's an Argument. New York: Bedford
St. Martin's, 1999.
Lunsford, Andrea. The Everyday Writer, 2nd ed. New York: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2001.
[Handbook]
Additional handouts from time to time.
(Assignment sheets with specific instructions for each of your assignments will be distributed during the first weeks of class. Please create a three-hold punch notebook into which you can place all your handouts. You are responsible for keeping up with these!)
Reading: The course schedule below details the reading assignments for our course. Reading
assignments should be completed before the class on which they are scheduled.
Writing: Your work during this term will begin with your choice of a research topic, which we will refine together and which you will pursue throughout this quarter. Most of your assignments will be directly related to the completion of the final draft of your research-based argument, a 10- to 13-page exploration of a significant topic. Along the way, you will also prepare a number of shorter assignments (2-3 pages each):
8. Group Presentation-due 11/13
Writer's Notebook: This notebook is intended to serve two purposes. First, in it you will keep a
record of the work you do this term: notes on the progress of your research; questions
that puzzle you; explorations of ideas for future research; notes to yourself on develop-
ment of your writing abilities; and any personal reflections you want to add regarding any of your work in this or other courses. Second, from time to time we will ask that you post
a passage from your Writer's Notebook to our listserv, a passage chosen because it is particularly thoughtful, provocative, challenging, or humorous. Plan to choose a notebook at the bookstore right away (it can be the same one you use for keeping track of handouts) and begin entering notes after our first class.
Class Listserv: We will have a listserv available only to members of our classes. On several
occasions (Oct. 11, Oct. 30, and Nov. 13) you will post a passage you choose from your
Writer's Notebook and you will be expected to respond to several of these postings. On
other occasions, you will post your assignments and drafts to the listserv; you need
respond only to your partner in the other class.
Speaking: At the end of term-either 12/4 or 12/6, you will make a brief oral presentation based on your research-based essay.
Portfolio: At the end of term, you will submit final revisions of your research-based essay,
revisions of at least five other assignments, and a letter analyzing the work you have done
in our class. Due 12/4.
Class Workshops: On the second day of class, we will divide into workshop groups (or three members each) that will work together throughout the term on drafts of assignments. These workshops will allow you to present and defend your argument to knowledgeable peers and to sharpen the argumentative edge of your essay. Your active participation in these workshops is crucial to the success of our classes.
Conferences: You will schedule at least three conferences with your professor to discuss your writing progress and work together on your research-based essay.
Throughout the term, we will provide evaluative response to your writing, in written and oral comments and in tentative grades. As a result, you should always know where you stand in the course. Final grades will be awarded on the basis of your Portfolio, using the following criteria:
A Excellent. Work in the Portfolio is of outstanding quality: stylistically engaging, effectively organized, cogently argued, based on sophisticated understanding and use of sources, and showing clear distinction in content and in execution.
B Very good. Work in the portfolio is of very good quality: engaging, clearly organized and argued, based on good understanding and use of sources, and showing some distinction in content and execution.
C Adequate. Work in the portfolio is all complete and shows competence, though it is not always engaging. Organization, argument, use of sources are all adequate but the work lacks distinction in content and execution.
D Poor. Work in the portfolio is not complete. Writing is not engaging or well organized; understanding of argument and use of sources not sufficiently evident.
NC No credit. Work in the portfolio is incomplete and/or of unacceptable quality.
Attendance: This is an intensive and highly interactive class. Your attendance is thus of
great importance to your colleagues and to the professor. We expect you to be present at every class meeting. If you do miss a class, we will contact you immediately: red alert. A second absence will seriously affect your grade.
Promptness: Our class time is limited to two 75-minute meetings per week; each session will
be packed with information and activities. We expect all of us to be in class on time and
ready to begin work. (Please do not bring beepers or cell phones to class.)
Due Dates: We will not accept late assignments unless we have given permission, in writing, for an extension.
Intellectual Property: See Chapter 19 of Everything's an Argument for a discussion of issues
related to intellectual property, copyright, and plagiarism. Issues of intellectual property,
especially as they relate to the Net and Web, are a special interest of Lunsford's; let her know if you would be interested in talking about these issues or in conducting research in this area.
Us! We are looking forward to working with each of you. We'll respond as promptly as possible to all notes, calls, or email messages.
The Library: Please take one of the library tours during the first few days of classes. In
addition, refer to the Beginning Library Research site at <http://www-sul.stanford.edu/ guides/beglib.html> for an overview of resources. Your work in the Stanford libraries
and archives will be crucial to your success in this course, so the sooner you begin to
familiarize yourself with these resources, the better.
First-Year Writing Tutorials See Christine Holbo, Building 460, Room 330. Sign-up for tutorials will be posted next to her office door.
Center for Teaching and Learning For oral presentation skills, see the CTL speaking
Center on the 4th floor of Sweet Hall, or email johnnyb@stanford.edu. See also the
CTL website at <http://www.ctl.stanford.edu>.
The Ombud: Call the University Mediation Center at 723-3862. These services are
available for all Stanford students who need help with disputes or misunderstandings
related to classes, grades, teachers, and so on.
Disability Resource Center: 123 Meyer Library, MC 3094. Call 723-1066 and/or see the
website at <http://www.stanford.edu/group/DRC>. Students who have a disability that
may necessitate an academic accommodation or the use of auxiliary aids and services in
a class must initiate the request with the Disability Resource Center (DRC). The DRC
will evaluate the request along with the required documentation, recommend appropriate
accommodations, and prepare a verification letter dated in the current academic term in
which the request is being made. Please contact the DRC as soon as possible; timely
notice is needed to arrange for appropriate accommodations. The DRC is located at
123 Meyer Library (phone 723-1066 Voice; 725-1067 TTY).
Counseling Services: For help with personal problems or other difficulties such as stress,
anxiety, depression, and so on, call 723-3785; fax 725-2887. Evenings and weekends
call 723-3785. 2nd floor of Cowell Student Health, 670 E. Campus Dr.
Computing Facilities. As a first step, see the Residential Computing website at
<http://rescomp2.stanford.edu/>. You will need to have email set up immediately in
order to access our class listserv: lunsford3@lists.stanford.edu.
Sexual Harassment Policy Office: Building 310, room 201. Call 723-1583, email harass@stanford.edu, or see the website at <http://www.stanford.edu/group/SexHarass>.
Week One
Wed. 9/27
Week Two
Mon. 10/2
Wed. 10/4
Week Three
Mon. 10/9
Wed. 10/11
Week Four
Mon. 10/16
Wed. 10/18
3 copies)
Week Five
Mon. 10/23
Wed. 10/25
Week Six
Mon. 10/30
Wed. 11/1
Week Seven
Mon. 11/6
Wed. 11/8
Week Eight
Mon. 11/13
Wed. 11/15
Week Nine
Mon. 11/20
Wed. 11/22
Week Ten
Mon. 11/27
Wed. 11/29
Week Eleven
Mon. 12/4
Wed. 12/6
Class Party: To be announced!