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WELCOME TO COLLEGE WRITING R4B: Reading, Composition, and Research! with Carmen Acevedo Butcher, PhD I go by Carmen (she/her) The Meme and the Human: Digital Literacies ● Fall 22 ● 4 Units 23867/Sec16=Tu & Th 9:30am-11:00am PT ● 32533/Sec25=Tu & Th 12:30pm-2:00pm PT Zoom Office hours/Email first: Tu & Th, 11am 12pm & by appt cabutcher(at)berkeley.edu ● College Writing Programs: 510-642-5570 ● Office: Wheeler M14 To attend class: Add 5739025587 at the end of https://berkeley.zoom.us/j/ Students on the roll who do not attend the FIRST CLASS and who do not reach out PRIOR TO THE FIRST CLASS are dropped from the course since we have waitlist students. Free Required Textbooks With assistance from Cal librarians, I gained you FREE unlimited access to all books needed: You receive FREE ACCESS Title of Texts for CW R4B Authors & Publishers, Date https://tinyurl.com/R4Bfieldguide You are here: a field guide for navigating polarized speech, conspiracy theories, and our polluted media landscape Phillips, Whitney, & Milner, Ryan M. MIT Press, 2021 https://tinyurl.com/R4BMemes Memes in digital culture Shifman, Limor MIT Press, 2014 https://tinyurl.com/R4Bcraft Craft of research Booth, Wayne C., et al. U of Chicago Press, 2016 https://tinyurl.com/R4BCanvas Digital course reader Diverse authors Important Dates to put in your calendars on class Day 1, and add alerts: Monday, Dec 5: your Chiang Research Festival presentation Monday, Dec 12, at noon (lunchtime), your Final Research Project is due
Carmen’s Office Zoom at the same link as classroom’s Office TuTh 11:00am 12:00pm & by appointment To meet, email Carmen first, to ensure 6 students aren’t arriving all at once! I open Zoom to meet with students who emailed me. I don’t sit with Zoom open, to avoid sitting in front of a blank screen. Email me when you want to make an appointment for a 15 minute conference. When you email, give me a few days/times that work for your busy schedule. I enjoy meeting with students some 8+ hours a week. If you’d like a conference, email me 2+ days before you want to meet. Last minute requests are less possible as a semester passes, student demand increases, and a day’s hours stay the same. Day 1 Pro Tip: Cal Library hosts drop in workshops (schedule is here) Register in and receive an Exit Ticket to confirm attendance. You can also chat with a librarian 24/7 with library staff.
advance,
hours are
Without low stakes assignments, school is like an athlete who never practices, just plays games (badly) or a pianist who never plays scales, just turns up to play the concert (badly). I played basketball & softball. I know.
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“Do you mean BUSY WORK?” No. I do not.
With low-stakes assignments that build up your skill muscles:
LOW-STAKES ASSIGNMENTS
Keeping Up Is Key
Our Canvas modules keep you on track. Low stakes assignments help you practice, AND avoid procrastination. These step by step assignments due regularly help you with time management. You can accomplish much, one step at a time. This course has goals set by University standards, and I want to see you become a more confident communicator, more listening to your identity, more successful in your goals, and a stronger community. Take a deep breath. Consider: Who are you, and what does research mean to you?
This 4 unit College Writing R4B satisfies the 2nd half of Berkeley’s Reading & Composition requirement. The University requires it be taken for a letter grade not P/NP. C- is pass. Grading chart is here. The extra, 4th unit for a meets-3-hours-weekly course is University acknowledgment that writing research take time and revision, and patience, feedback, and persistence. Berkeley Senate sets an expected University time investment for CW R4B: The University expects students each week to spend at least 2 hours outside class for every hour spent in class. For this 4-unit class that means students should spend at least 8 hours each week outside of class reading, writing, revising, and researching, in order to become proficient in complex research skills. Put that 8 hours in your schedule now. See Cal Academic Senate Guidelines here. We focus on reading, writing, and research as recursive processes and as conversations. You write in stages. You read actively. You revise regularly. You develop longer projects. You learn to integrate / synthesize your research into arguments. You synthesize sources into cohesive essays with level-3 thesis statements. You do not write book reports in R4B. You give a multimodal presentation. You craft a research project you care about. You practice thesis making as an act of discovery. You expect that your initial research thesis will change. And it does. This is not a lecture course. You’re expected to be actively engaged with the material and each other. Come prepared. In class and online discussions, be ready to discuss the readings and your writing and research. Be ready to pose questions and make observations that will help you, us, and your classmates be illuminated. To help you gain Cal standards of excellence, you have a Library Research Notebook. It makes your research question concrete as you learn how to navigate library databases. You also have other activities and exercises for navigating Cal’s vast library resources. I also highly recommend you make an appointment with a librarian. They love to meet with you!
3 An 8-Hour Weekly Outside-Class Time Investment is expected by the University for successful completion of CW R4B
Our Course Description Reflect on technological change, existential devastation by greed of our sacred earth, and other worldwide crises: What does it mean to be human? We also analyze motivations for communicating in memes, their links to human identity, and their polysemous nature inviting diverse audiences to interpret them differently. Becoming more savvy digital citizens, we look at memes’ techno social features, function in phatic communities, genres, (unwritten) rules of meme related conduct, and whether the connections memes create are more important than their content. We explore best research practices and the myriad ways Cal’s libraries and librarians empower these. You focus on a key issue, topic, or question of your choice and engage in process based research to build an articulate, sound digital portfolio of inquiry that includes an abstract, annotated bibliography, research essay, works cited, and research presentation, among other assignments.
iii) Post on Weebly whenever you see: Projects % Engagement: peer reviews, project drafts, discussion comments, 30% workshopping, & community building activities Weebly Digital Portfolio Website: regular posts during semester, form & content 10% Consistent Digital Writing: on Canvas discussion forums & other writing 10%
c) Weebly | Digital Portfolio site: You create a Weebly portfolio (or use another platform of your choice), and, eventually, add several static pages for your finished projects as they emerge.
a) bCourses Discussion Forums: Responses to shared Readings, interesting resources you find, low stakes skills-muscle-building assignments, and more.
i) On Weebly, you regularly post freewrites, brainstorming, drafts, self-assessments, useful images / video / links / social media, and etc. as a blog (or however you wish).
Tools
Major ProjectProjects:1:Multimodal Expository Essay, includes Prep & Revision 10% Project 2: Prospectus Essay for Final Research Project 3, incl. Focus Groups, 15% draft annotated bibliography, draft works cited, Library Research Notebook, Library Exercises Final Research Project 3: Multimodal Expository Research Project, includes 25% abstract, revised prospectus essay, 8 10 page double spaced research essay, revised annotated bibliography, revised/expanded works cited, Chiang Festival slidedeck, and self reflection
b) bCourses Assignments: Submit links to your Weebly site for Assignments due. See below.
ii) On the larger site, you post final versions of Projects 1, 2, and 3, as well as an introductory note / video.
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5 Projects Overview
Engaged participation, peer review, project drafts, workshopping, community building 30% This course is a writing course. You should be writing in it weekly. If you do the assignments, and keep up, you will be writing a lot weekly. Please note the importance placed on your consistent writing a minimum of twice a week. Writing is a muscle. With regular practice in a structured, supportive community, you absolutely grow by the end of the semester. Low stakes assignments build muscles like weightlifting does, little by little, with regular application. They are like sets and reps in that way. Please have a healthy mindset toward them as research and writing muscle builders. They are as far from busy work as an Olympic athlete is from an eggplant. The athlete has muscles built up through disciplined weight lifting. The other is just a purple egg shaped plant. I disliked busy work as a student struggling with undiagnosed dyslexia, so I don’t give it. I give you work that builds your skills, your knowledge, and your confidence. I check in with you at key moments, via the Gradebook and in class, if you start to fall behind on digital and in person engagement — but ultimately, if writing is a muscle, consistency is up to you! I strongly encourage you to get into the habit of simply scheduling writing time twice a week.
Weebly Digital Portfolio Website 10% Robust Weebly site with 3 specific pages dedicated to Projects 1, 2, and 3, a table of contents, and overall rhetorically effective and easy-to-navigate design, using a range of modes. Why? Making, navigating, and writing on your own Weebly site are lifeskills everyone needs. It also helps you strengthen your honoring of your voice and your self awareness and confidence.
1. Throughout the semester, you gather useful brainstorming, research, images, video, audio, text from credible sources, archived on your Weebly site — and also provide links and context/analysis re: leading experts and debates in the topics you find intriguing. (Feel free to use another free platform as well. See me if you’re unsure! Don’t pay. There are many free ones!)
This essay must include 1200 to 1500 words of essay plus images, links, and other modes. Turn in all of these 3 ways: Upload an MS Doc/x file to Canvas, post the Weebly link in the comments on Canvas, & post Project 1 on your Weebly site + always have a backup copy on computer & on google drive. As grounding for Project 1, you read from our FREE Course Reader. You’re invited to add to its Google doc! So far, our themes for discussion include, and you may add to these: Who are you? What does it mean to be human? Why does it matter that you know who you are in order to be a effective researcher? What students’ work is in the CW R4B Research Hall of Fame? What is research? What is bias? How do we evaluate internet sources? Do we go looking for sources or do they come looking for us? What does it mean to be human? Who are you? What is extremism? What is racism? How does the internet affect both? What does it mean to be an antiracist? Why do memes matter? Are we humemes?
3. Final grade reflects consistent, strong work throughout the semester at every stage of project development. The website also reflects engaging rhetorical choices using various modes (visual, audio, textual, color, typography, links), that help immerse us in the course themes of memes, social media, technology, digital literacies, and what it means to be human.
2. By the end, the landing page for your website will have a short intro and table of contents, along with drop down menus, for each of your completed projects and the research reflection. Give us brief context for what’s in the overall site. These are posted in a Weebly Forum so you can see what classmates / colleagues are developing too. Introduce yourself there if you wish!
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Consistent Digital Writing, via online discussion forums & other writing 10% Save your digital writing on your computer, the Cloud, a USB memory stick, and/or etc. (your choice, but do backup everything because every semester someone loses some documents if they don’t). Post all writing on bCourses / Canvas, also post the Weebly URL in the Comments on that Canvas assignment page, and post the work on Weebly. There you have a chance to revise Canvas assignments and reconceive your ideas, see their evolution via revision’s “reseeing.” Don’t upload a wrong (“edit”) link for Weebly, making it inaccessible.
NOTE: These course evaluation guidelines apply only to those students who submit their work complete and on time. Assignments must be done sequentially, since research is a recursive process that builds on itself, and the assignments must be done in the order they are given in the Canvas modules, in order to gain credit for them.
Major Projects Project 1 | Multimodal Expository Essay 10%
Some initial jumping off points and guiding principles for all CW R4B writing & research:
i. Start to gather specific passages and dig into them. What's there that resists easy answers? You can use your Weebly site to post your work in progress. It’s a place for you to “think” in unpolished form as well as a place to post your final polished work.
Through Discussions online and in class, we practice integrating / synthesizing multiple sources, some of which you’ll find yourself, as a vehicle for exploring the complexities of the larger discussions underway in our culture and in our classroom.
You can choose which of our core themes will be your focus/focuses. Then start to make the topic/s your own. Find concepts that intrigue you personally and ask questions based on evidence you find. Contribute what you find during our classroom conversations. Let these fact based, evidence-rich findings drive our discussions. And always be respectful to yourself and to each other.
iii. Your goal is not to narrowly argue one position [x is bad // progress is inevitable] as to explore a big picture question. Search, based on evidence and reflection, so that you are writing this essay to arrive somewhere surprising and unexpected.
ii. What connections and reflection require outside research?
Project 2 | Prospectus Essay for Final Research Project 3, incl. Focus Groups, 15% draft annotated bibliography, draft works cited, Library Research Notebook, Library Exercises
iv. Weigh many sides of the issue with ethos (credible sources and facts), add a new angle or dimension to the debate, and bring your own perspective to bear as you join the discussion. What does this topic or issue mean to you? Honor your voice. In 1200 1500 words of text plus including other modes that make the essay multimodal, you practice paraphrasing credible sources, and you also practice effective quotation with citation, synthesis, contextual hyperlinks, use of image/video/audio with citation, close analysis, and evidence-based reflection. Your Project 1 should advance your own sustained argument. Points are deducted if students do not make this a multimodal essay with meaningful, integral images, hyperlinks, and other features.
Choose To Do Research That Matters To You
The prospectus essay supporting your Final Research Project 3 must be uploaded in 3 ways: an MS Doc/x file to Canvas, a Weebly link in the comments on Canvas, & as Project 2 on your Weebly site. Always have backup copy on computer & google drive. Project 2 helps you begin conceptualizing your Final Research Project 3. So, for possible topics, also hop over to the information on Project 3 in the syllabus on the next page. The prospectus essay includes your research question and other facets as outlined here Prospectus Essay & on Canvas for a
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8 prospectus, and it includes your draft annotated bibliography, draft works cited, Library Research Notebook, & Library Exercises, also Focus Group activities. These Project 2 assignments help you develop your research skills while they scaffold the material you might use for Project 3 (the Final Research Project). Here are the components to Project 2: ● Prospectus Essay ● Draft Annotated Bibliography (5 entries) ● Draft Works Cited (3 scholarly entries) ● Thoughtful Forums responses, followed by your own research on new sources of evidence (text + multimodal) to any questions from our Course Reader (part of the larger Digital Writing grade) or to a question you discover as important to you ● Library Research Notebook ● Library Exercises ● Focus Groups These activities help you with these research essential skills: 1) Keyword Combos + Finding Articles for a General Audience (Hunting the Databases) 2) Book Research Old School 3) Prospectus Brainstorming on Weebly 4) Searching for Scholarly Sources 5) Digital Searches for Primary Sources (Library of Congress, Bancroft, Calisphere) = you at Cal! Project 3 | Multimodal / Digital Research Project 25%
Upload your final research essay itself on Canvas as a single MS Word doc (that’s in case Weebly has difficulties); post that Weebly link to bCourses Assignment, & also post your Project 3 on your Weebly site. Always have a backup copy on computer & on google drive.
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This 8 to 10 page (double spaced), 3000 to 4000 word Final Research Essay be as an MS Doc/x file to Canvas, a Weebly link in the comments on Canvas, & as Project 3 on your Weebly site. Upload ALL components on Canvas AND post them all to your Weebly site: Project 3’s 8 10 page double spaced research essay, its abstract, revised prospectus essay, revised annotated bibliography, revised/expanded works cited, Chiang Festival slidedeck, and Project 3 self reflection. The Project 3 Multimodal / Digital Research Project essay must include meaningful, credible images, links, and other modes, or full points cannot be earned
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Note: A 3000-to-4000-word research essay is ~10 double-spaced pages of the content of your argument/text/research essay itself (that’s NOT counting works cited, NOT counting annotated bibliography, ETC.). See the abundant examples provided you of model student work.
Organizational psychologist Adam Grant says Impostor syndrome means: “I don't know what I'm doing. It's only a matter of time until everyone finds out." BUT growth mindset means: "I don't know what I'm doing yet. It's only a matter of time until I figure it out." The highest form of selfconfidence is believing in your ability to learn. Notice. It takes an investment of your time. Possible topics might include problematizing / an exploration of the hidden culture of… AnalyzingAI internet content for facts over fake news / information CellAntiracismphones and the rewiring of the human mind Climate crises and technology Conspiracy theories CRISPR and the future of medicine Dating & interpersonal connection DigitalDeepfakesidentity & troll subcultures eMedicine
Your final multimodal / digital research project 3 will be driven by themes and questions that are genuinely interesting for you. Please read that again. Don’t research and write for me. Research and write for you. Honor your voice. Try to give some boundaries to your search for interesting materials by connecting them with a thoughtful concept, and then branch off through brainstorming about a few of the most interesting avenues for you as a writer. But do know. Research does take time. No doubt about that.
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Revise and narrow your topic down to a focused research question that explores an issue you’d like to explore for a month (or more). Don’t pick a question you could write a book on! Narrow it. Then conduct research to try to come to an answer to that question, and write an essay documenting what you find and giving your perspective on the subject you’ve chosen.
The place to begin is identify one or more topics of interest to you. Then start hunting for information about the topic(s) to see what’s out there, and whether the source material furthers your interest, leads to revisions in your topic focus, or causes you to choose an entirely different topic for your project. The Library Research Notebook that I designed for you helps you do this activity well. The dog meme above is student made and expresses the feeling WE ALL HAVE when doing research. We get that “I’m overwhelmed” feeling. EVERYONE DOES. Keep going!
10 Environmental & climate crisis issues & . . . Facebook and other social media and privacy infringements Facial recognition tools, policing and race Gender complexity Genetic research and privacy issues Immigration, demographic shifts, and politics Machine Learning Medical ethics issues Memes and humans: What does it mean to be human during our digital revolution? Memes and politics, social issues, weather/fire alerts and other civic announcements Mental Predictivewellness/personalized genetic medicine & human modification Public health in the time of COVID Quantum computing’s influence on society Remote education and access Simulation engineering Social media & . . . Sports and brain trauma Sustainable architecture Virtual WearableRealitytechnology and personal monitoring What does it mean to be human? Again: Choose To Do Research That Matters To You Hierarchy of Thinking Styles Adapted from Adam Grant Final Research Project 3 Components 1. Abstract (written after you finish Project 3, but comes first in the Project 3 order) 2. Final draft of your research essay (3000-4000 words of text, ~10 double-spaced pages) 3. Revised/Expanded Works Cited in MLA style. a. Cite at least 7 well-integrated written sources in your final essay. b. Include a minimum of 3 well-integrated, meaningful multimodal sources (not just 3 decorative photos). 4. Final revised annotated bibliography 5. Research reflection (as a brief essay or digital artifact; see details in 9) below) 6. Research notes (gathered along the way notes and library exercises posted on Weebly) 7. Preliminary draft/s with comments from peers (uploaded gradually to Weebly) 8. Other supplemental materials (if any) you deem useful to include e.g. artifacts, visual documents, materials from your Chiang oral presentation, etc., uploaded to Weebly
o what are best materials to consult and why they’ll be credible/useful?
Drafting Elements for Final Research Project 3
o what interests you? what do you care about?
You undertake a Library Research Notebook and several “Library Exercises” to get you underway on your search for a variety of sources for your essay so that you can credibly report on your topic. You’ll post your findings and brainstorming on your Weebly site. There is some flexibility in the nature of the sources that you choose based on which topic you settle on, but you should try to find sources of different types as best you can. Don’t find/use all books. Don’t find/use all journal articles. ETC. All of your sources must be credible, or you lower the credibility and validity of your work (and in the professional realm, one would also lose credibility). In writing your research essay, as a baseline you should cite at least 7 well integrated written sources — but you’re welcome to use many more. Please note, more sources do not however automatically mean a better integration of the sources within your argument!
1) Research Prospectus – Brainstorming, Draft, Revision(s) of Proposal
o a specific question you hope to explore?
o who are you imagining as your intended audience (uninformed/neutral/opposed)?
Brainstorm:
o a topic you plan to pursue in your career?
o if you’d like, list some self imposed due dates for completing various tasks
2) Sources for your Project // Library Exercises + Your Own Research
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For the first stage of your research project, brainstorm, listing a few topics and/or questions that you might like to pursue. You do this work in the Library Research Notebook and elsewhere on Canvas. These can be relatively broad topics or more focused questions or subject areas. List as many as you like, but at a minimum, list three you’re truly interested in. At this point, you are not committed to pursuing any of these in your final project. You are indicating some initial interests.
Each element is intended to help you develop a researcher’s skillset and a stronger final project. We build these elements gradually, all semester long.
A meme to all of those who made our journeys possible!
Many moving pieces are due in R4B (and in academic research). We do them because it’s what the University requires and more importantly because they are best practices for researchers/writers/presenters.
4) Focus Groups
You can keep notes in Weebly site entries or a google doc, but you should clearly document your notes on each of your key sources, keep track of bibliographic information and page numbers for quotes, clearly distinguishing which parts of your notes are quotes from a source, and which parts are paraphrases, summaries, or your own comments on the source. Protect yourself from accidental plagiarism! In general, an important takeaway is learning how to manage your source materials — many people feel overwhelmed otherwise. One way students like and have used is PowerNotes; it has a free option that allows 1 free project and a 20 page OCR limit.
3) Research Notes
The annotated bibliography is different from a works cited. Simply, an annotated bibliography is "annotated" with two paragraphs of description per entry On the other hand, the works cited is a list of the works/sources you "cited" in your research project; thus, a works cited only lists the bibliographic information for sources you actually cited in your final research essay. Sometimes a researcher has entries/sources in an annotated bibliography that they are including because they want to remember that these particular sources were not useful to them, and why.
Thus, an annotated bibliography is a document that not only lists all sources you read during your research, even if you didn’t use them in your essay, but also summarizes and evaluates them. (If you write a short note on your Weebly site about each source as you go, gradually you’ll gain core material for an annotated bibliography. Then, all you have to do to prepare your works cited is cut out some of the information and note what you actually used in the final version.)
You need to keep notes starting NOW on useful sources so you can keep yourself organized.
5) Annotated Bibliography | 5 sources | See Prospectus Essay “Annotated Bibliography” information & model student work
Pro Tips for annotated bibliographies: First include the source in MLA hanging indent style.
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These will meet for you to discuss your proposed Project 3 topic that you will develop. You’ll have activities in class that help you with the following aspects of the research process: ● what your research question is ● what your preliminary working thesis (or hypothesis) is ● what you will be arguing in answer to that research question ● a brief overview of your research so far o what kinds of sources you’re finding & o perhaps most importantly, what you’d like help or feedback on from classmates
Being organized is over half the job of a researcher! Make sure you’ve documented those sources well AS YOU GO. Ultimately, make the writing of your essays an easier process for yourself. While the temptation may be to just copy/paste key passages and dump them in one running file, you’ll need to be a bit more careful.
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B. 2 Annotated Bibliography Entries Used in Another Research Project 3: Bryne, Kevin. “The Tautology of Blackface and the Objectification of Racism: A ‘How-To’ Guide.” The European Legacy, vol. 21, no. 7, 6 July 2016, pp. 664 674., doi:10.1080/10848770.2016.1200275.KevinByrneisanassistantprofessorof theater studies in the School of Theater, Film, and Television at the University of Arizona and an editorial board member of the Journal of American Drama and Theater. Byrne’s analysis of blackface takes a materialist approach on how blackface perpetuates racist thought and oppression through early technological forms of media, such as film and radio. He references German philosopher Theodor W. Adorno’s critiques on mass cultural products and entertainment to demonstrate how blackface reproduces and circulates in media within society, and how that contributes to sustaining racial hegemony. I used Bryne’s analysis in my paper to give context on the origins and evolution of blackface, and its role in society as an agent of racism. I also referenced Adorno to demonstrate how minstrel blackface consistently survived within entertainment culture, normalizing messages of black inferiority in its uses
1. The first paragraph should summarize the source’s main topics, ideas, claims, and evidence. In it you should also identify who the author(s) of the piece are and his/her/their 2.credentials.Thesecond paragraph should evaluate the source’s reliability, persuasiveness, and bias, comparing the source to the others in your bibliography and stating how helpful the source was to you during your research and composing process.
A. 1 Annotated Bibliography Entry from a Research Project 3: An example of an entry with a source the student researcher decided not to use. Assoune, Alex. “8 Big Reasons Why Sustainable Fashion Is Expensive.” Panaprium, Panaprium, 21 Aug. 2020, https://www.panaprium.com/blogs/i/sustainable fashion expensive Alex Assoune is the founder, owner, and Chief Executive Officer of Panaprium (a sustainable fashion brand). He discusses how sustainability fashion focuses more on timeless pieces that will last longer than fast fashion pieces therefore are more costly. He points out the main 8 reasons why sustainable fashion is expensive: Raw material costs, Costly manufacturing, Timeless design, Recycling is expensive, No greenwash, Certified materials and processes, Support to nonprofits, and ethical supply chains. I don’t believe that this article will be super effective in my research paper. The author is someone who is trying to sell their product for their own profit. While he may have real points, I can look elsewhere for more credible information. When reviewing his credentials, it seems that there are other sources that don’t have the agenda of trying to convince someone to shop at their store.
I used Dr. Kanai’s arguments to support my analysis of how the subjects of these memes are overused in digital blackface without regard for the subjects’ humanity, and to illustrate how the subject, creator, and consumer in memetic participation is structured unequally. Do you feel that you have read so very many sources that you are not using in your research essay 3? That is research. It’s expected. For your annotated bibliography, pick 5 to reflect your efforts to find sources of a variety of types (books, refereed articles, news articles, videos, graphs, etc.).
7) Research Essay Draft
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Kanai, Akane. “Sociality and Classification: Reading Gender, Race, and Class in a Humorous Meme.” Social Media + Society, 12 Oct. 2016, pp. 1 12., doi:10.1177/2056305116672884. Akane Kanai, PhD is an associate lecturer in social theory at the University of Newcastle, Australia. Dr. Kanai’s analysis of memes and reaction GIFs from the Tumblr blog
The annotated bibliography is evaluated on quality and diversity of scholarly sources (peer reviewed or otherwise credible see me with questions), as well as on strength of descriptions for 1. and 2. above, and clarity of writing plus academic register. Don’t reuse the same authors.
Note: Remember that, on the other hand, your works cited must have 7 written sources minimum, and these 7 written sources are ones you cited, used well, and synthesized in your argument for Project 3. These 7 or more written sources must be diverse, a mix of types and all credible. At least 4 of these 7 sources must be scholarly sources. It will also have an additional set of multimodal sources, including a minimum of 3 meaningful multimodal sources.
WhatShouldWeCallMe, shows us how the usage of these messages are based on a young, white feminist “everyday” experience. She proposes the term “spectatorial girlfriendship” to describe the lens a reader needs to understand the texts of memes based on their set of gendered, classed, and raced knowledges. She further argues how the bodies of these memes are reproduced with no consideration of their historical, political or social contexts.
A minimum of 6 pages of essay, your research essay draft includes MLA in-text citations, a works cited, and all MLA-formatted. Points are deducted if the rough draft merely skims the surface without showing any cohesive essay attempt. The draft should show evidence of a developing essay with substantial early paragraphs containing credible, in-text cited evidence and an emerging argument. The draft should be clearly written and have an essay shape (introductory
6) Outline or Storyboard or MindMap
Using one of the suggested formats detailed in The Craft of Research for either an outline (pages 175ff.) or a storyboard (pages 132ff.), put together a picture of your plan for your preliminary draft and put on your Weebly site. You can also make up to 3 editable mind map boards free on LucidSpark here. The “ff.” simply means “and following pages, too.”
9) Chiang Festival Presentation with Slidedeck on Zoom (10 12 minutes) During any given presentation, you will have one of three roles to play: (1) engaging presenter, (2) attentive audience member, or (3) excellent, respectful notetaker / responder. If you’re presenting, your role is obvious. When you’re an audience member, you should be writing down any questions or comments that arise for you as the presenter is speaking. After the presentation, there will be a 6-minute Q&A where the responder and other audience members have a chance to offer comments or ask questions of the presenter. When you’re notetaker/responder, you take notes on the presentation, collect any additional comments that you hear, and then put those notes in clear summary form in an email to the presenter. You as
PSA: DON’T SNATCH DUBIOUS, SKETCH QUOTES OFF THE INTERNET! VET EVERY QUOTE! Find a credible source for each. Maya Angelou, Albert Einstein, and Abraham Lincoln DID NOT SAY ALL THOSE THINGS ABOUT DAISIES AND DANCING!
15 paragraph and several body paragraphs). Points are deducted for instead of a draft a mere compilation of notes, an outline, and/or paragraphs that do not use or cite sources, or if the works cited is missing. Your essay may and will change always, but this draft should show well the developing research argument.
8) Abstract (must include Key Words) Your abstract will be a brief, focused (paragraph long) summary of the most important aspects of your essay. It should be 150 words. Though it’s the first thing that will appear for readers in your final project page, you should wait until you’ve almost completed your final draft (at least everything except proofreading) before writing your abstract. As you search for articles in the library databases, you will probably see lots of examples of abstracts, particularly for articles appearing in academic journals. Also, check out pages 197-199 in The Craft of Research for suggestions on different ways of structuring abstracts; you can use those as models for yours. Our Weebly R4B pages include several samples of past model student work, with abstracts here. Include key words so other researchers can find it. Think #what’syourtopic. #yourthesisinbriefform. #whatwordswilldrawthemin. #whyshouldtheycare.
Remember: multimodality is not just decoration — every piece of evidence should be focused and persuasive; design (sequence and juxtaposition) is a rhetorical move; and whenever possible, analysis of evidence is important, whether text, image, video, sound, etc.
● iMovie (layering images and video with voiceover, exported to YouTube): o http://www.apple.com/imovie/
● Voicethread (narrated presentations): http://voicethread.com
● What was useful and interesting about the process? This reflection is about your research process, and how you’ve developed as a writer, reader, and thinker over 15 weeks.
● YouTube (uploading raw video reflection — consider digital privacy / identity issues): https://www.youtube.com
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● What discoveries did you make?
Alternative, Digital Approach to the Research Reflection: You have the option of completing this portion of the assignment by creating a digital artifact that expresses your reflections about your research process. Instead of writing the reflection above, you can choose to reflect in a format that is designed expressly to be engaged with on the Internet, and combines some mixture of at least two of the following: text, images, sound, video, and links. It’s multimodal!
o As inspiration see Insta’s Ich bin Sophie Scholl
● What steps did you take that were especially helpful?
● Instagram (video / image / text in visually driven chunks): http://instagram.com
● Prezi (animated presentations): http://prezi.com
● SoundCloud (uploading audio reflection): https://soundcloud.com
● What choices did you make?
● What roadblocks did you encounter?
After you’ve completed your research essay 3, write a reflection or make a digital artifact that focuses on the process of your research over the course of this semester.
10) Research Self Reflection: Short Essay or Digital Artifact This brief self-assessment is a one-page double-spaced reflection on what you've learned about research in general, your research in particular, and you as a researcher this semester.
● Google Slides (free digital slidedeck): http://slides.google.com/
responder have 6 minutes to offer comments, ask questions, and offer suggestions to help presenters test and refine their ideas. Be sure to write your email addresses in the breakout group’s Chat so others in the group can send comments. Any email should be sent within 24 hours of the presentation. Someone else will then do the same for you when you are presenting.
In addition to the tools already available on your Weebly writing platform, here are possible sites for platforms you could try out / model after, if you do a digital artifact research reflection.
Charlene Conrad Liebau Library Prize for Undergraduate Research!
times a
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times a month! Other
Erinn Wong’s Award-Winning Research on Digital Blackface average 520 month & downloaded 176 Class Resources https://cabutcher.weebly.com/ https://carmenbutcher.tumblr.com/
The 3 major projects given you here in this syllabus, please note, are required by the University of all CW R4B students. They are designed to contribute to your skills as a world-class researcher. The first two major projects help you develop reading, writing, research, and presentation skills for crafting arguments that require authentic researching and then synthesizing other writers’ ideas preparation for the longer research essay. You do not write any book reports. Instead, approach research as a conversation with your sources. Ethically attribute your sources to support your argument, and view your argument as a contribution to a larger academic conversation in diverse arenas like scholarly books, articles, blogs, Twitter, and conferences. For model work, read Berkeley Library Prize winners Erinn Wong is one of my former students. See work also by other former students here. See what students like you can do when they have very good questions, when they research what means most a lot to them, when they invest 8 hours per week to it, and when they center who they are as their research starting point!
Our readings and writings develop a rhetorically informed awareness of how technology is changing us and how it functions in our lives, including memes, AI, and connections social media create as being more important than or as important as their content. We analyze texts and other media to deepen our understanding of broader cultural phenomena and explore what it means to be human (and a researcher) in the digital age of climate crisis and other crises.
17 ● Storybird (story & art platform): http://storybird.com/ ● Pixton (comics): https://edu.pixton.com/solo/ Course Theme and Goals
❖
Read on
❖ Academic Register, see 2 short videos: Formal Register & On Academic Writing.
❖ Academic Discourse Guide w Index of Templates: They Say/I Say.
❖ OWL at Purdue Online Writing Lab is a good resource. Course Policies
❖ Chiang Research Festival is Monday, Dec 5!
I don’t make a big show of it, so you will likely not know it, but I do keep regular notes so I know who comes to class, who arrives on time, and who stays the whole class. It helps me know how best to help you. Regular and on time attendance is expected. Your success in this course depends on your actively being here. Do your best to be organized and caffeinated (or sugar
2. Be professional. I respect you. You respect each other and me. Be on time to class. Turn work in on time. Stay the whole class. Do your work. Please avoid “cute” behavior in class; instead, intelligent humor is appreciated, while mutual respect, kindness, professionalism, communityfocus, community contributions, and hard smart work are especially appreciated. Turn in professional-looking work. Your essays should be well-conceived, well-written, and wellformatted. They should look like you care about your work. Revise. Proofread. For any in-class work, write legibly so classmates can read it. Email without using informal abbreviations like btw, yolo, and thx, among others. Always write in and practice the more formal, sinewy academic register. Do not use contractions (“don’t”), and do not use the informal “you.”
❖ Dictionary: Merriam Webster is best and is what professional writers use when writing to publish. Also, the OED is prized for etymological and other lexicographical uses.
❖ Absolutely Awesome UC Berkeley Library Guide to Writing a Research Essay
❖ bCourses.edu: Additional reading is available through bCourses/Canvas. I also add texts you suggest as resonant and/or relevant! And you add to our Editable Course Reader.
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❖ Berkeley Level Up empowers us to “level up” our information technology skills and our understanding of the ever-shifting e-landscape, helping us be digitally literate.
1. Robust engagement and respectful class conversations are expected and required.
❖ Cal guides to using the libraries. Berkeley has 20+ libraries on campus: map. Three special ones are Doe Memorial, Moffitt, and Morrison. Doe is the main library. It has the Main (Gardner) Stacks with awesome moveable shelves and lots of quiet places to study. Doe Level B-East is a designated silent study area. Walk from Doe to Moffitt underground, helpful when it rains. Moffitt is the undergraduate library, with “Buzz” 4th floor (4 making noise) and “Hush,” “take the 5th” floor (quiet study). The Free Speech Movement Café is in Moffitt. Morrison is a recreational, no electronics reading room, a beautiful space for reading.
● Wholesale copying of passages from works of others into your homework, essay, research essay / project, or dissertation without acknowledgement.
● Using the views, opinions, or insights of another without acknowledgement.
In all of your assignments, including your homework or drafts of essays, you may use words or ideas written by other individuals in publications, web sites, or other sources, but only with proper attribution (MLA style). If you are not clear about the expectations for completing an assignment or taking a test or examination, ask your instructor beforehand. Keep in mind that as a member of the campus community, you are expected to demonstrate integrity in all of your academic work. The consequences of cheating and academic dishonesty including a formal discipline file, possible loss of future internship, scholarship, or employment opportunities, and denial of admission to graduate school are simply not worth it. (I’ve adapted here an excellent passage by my colleague Ryan Sloan, summing up well why we give credit when using others’ ideas and Theresearch.)College
Writing Programs has a zero tolerance policy regarding plagiarism. Students who submit plagiarized work will be subject to consequences ranging from a grade of “F” on the assignment to suspension from the University. See the Berkeley Writing website for information, and please review this information from The Division of Student Affairs, Office of Student Conduct, “Definitions & Examples of Academic Misconduct” and from “Academic Integrity.”
Here you are, and congratulations again on being a member of an academic community at one of the world’s leading research universities. Berkeley creates knowledge that has a lasting impact in the world of ideas and on others’ lives. More and more people are waking up to realize that knowledge can come from an undergraduate essay just as well as the lab of an internationally known professor. An academic community values the balance between the free flow of ideas and respect for the intellectual property of others. Researchers only use others’ research with permission. Scholars always use citations. Professors cannot circulate or publish student essays without the writer's permission. Students cannot circulate or post materials (handouts, exams, syllabi, or any class materials) from their classes without the written permission of the instructor.
19 boosted or well rested AND hydrated with water). Also, to be clear, attendance is not the same as engagement, which can refer to online feedback in Forums, smart observations in Chat, as well as great verbal observations in class.
3. Do not plagiarize. Plagiarism comes from a Latin word plaga that means “snare, hunting net” and a plagiarius was “a kidnapper.” Plagiarism is a kind of kidnapping of someone else’s or of one’s own earlier work.
Plagiarism is defined as use of intellectual material produced by another person without acknowledging its source, and includes, for example:
● Paraphrasing another person’s characteristic or original phraseology, metaphor, or other literary device without acknowledgement.
6. Turn in each essay on time, or it is late. You are required to upload all work to bCourses. Do not send work to my bMail. All work must be submitted on Canvas. Emailed work is considered late until submitted on Canvas. Your high-stakes assignments include: Project 1, Project 2, and Project 3. For details, see 7. next please.
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Note: Always include parenthetical (in text) citations and references even in early drafts to avoid charges of plagiarism and to keep yourself from sliding down a slippery slope towards unintentional plagiarism. Save each revision as a separate document. Go to our class Weebly site to learn how to avoid plagiarism: How To Not Plagiarize
● Practicing self plagiarism, which is submitting work for credit in this course that you have already submitted in another course or used at another time, unless you have prior written permission to re use it in this course from this instructor
5. University of California policy states that passing CW R4B requires a minimum of thirty two (32) double spaced pages, about 8,000 words. In addition to multimodal expository essays and a longer final research essay, you do rough drafts, short analyses, exercises, freewriting, reading responses, peer editing, discussion forums, and other writing work deemed helpful, so by completing the assigned work well, you fulfill the requirements.
● Not giving “proper attribution,” meaning that you have not identified the original source, page numbers (if given), publication information, and the words or ideas that you have reproduced or used in your assignment, including drafts and homework assignments
7. Each day any high-stakes work is late costs a letter grade of ten points. Do not skip class because you have not finished an essay. If you experience illness or family emergency, please contact me as soon as possible. As Projects 1, 2, and 3 are all based on assignments that build on each other, they must all be created sequentially in order to earn credit. Additionally, as the Final Research Project 3 is created from work written throughout the semester, that work must be written throughout the semester. A student is not allowed to create its pieces during the last part of the term. R4B is a process oriented, product crafting reading writing researching course, so it is not possible to pass the class by turning in a stack of essays nor do a bunch of low-stakes assignments at the end.
All course materials (e.g. outlines, handouts, syllabi, quizzes, surveys, exams, essays, assignments, PowerPoint presentations, lectures, screencasts, video and audio recordings, photos, model student work, etc.) are proprietary of the instructor (or of former students). Students are prohibited from posting or selling any such course materials without the express written permission of the professor teaching this course. To do so is a violation of the UC Berkeley Honor 4.code.Observe our Privacy Rules.
CLICK HERE TO GO TO OUR WEEBLY CLASS SITE ON HOW TO WRITE WELL!
9. The Final Research Project 3 is due at noon on the Monday of finals week: Dec. 12. It constitutes the final exam for the course. It cannot be turned in late. Passing R4B requires it.
10. Low stakes assignments should also be turned in on time so you keep in the flow of the course work, which builds on itself as it builds community and your research muscles. Upload all low stakes work to bCourses to be read and evaluated. Students are given a kind week’s window of 5 days of grace for slightly reduced points of minus one point per partial day or per day late, up to 5 points for low stakes assignments; past this generous 5 day’s window, the low-stakes assignment is no longer open, and zero points are possible. As the semester ends, work is not accepted past the last assignments’ due dates. No previous assignment can be turned in past the last class meeting, which is the “Formal Classes End” date on the University academic calendar.
12. Engagement plus completion of all essays, assigned work, and multimodal research presentations are required for a passing grade. Note the length requirements for written work, and the required elements for the research project. Missing pages or elements (e.g., works cited) can lower a work’s grade.
13. Turn cell phones off during class. Keep them out of sight. This classroom has so many fascinating people in it! We can learn from each other. Texting, web browsing, Snapchatting, Facebooking, Instagramming, buying socks off Amazing during class, or using electronics for any
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11. Make a copy of your work before you submit it to Canvas and to Weebly. Keep copies of all work. Keep copies digitally on a flash drive and hard drives. Cloud keep copies if you can.
8. Drafts must be completed on time. We peer edit on dates that drafts are due. Peer editing is a significant part of writing’s recursive process; thus, students who do not participate in it miss assignment points. Note: A draft is not an outline nor is it a few pages or a page of chaotic notes. Outlines and notes gain no points. This course emphasizes the importance of writing as a process (see the use of the term “recursive” in this syllabus). This means, in part, that you’ll be writing drafts of each of your major essays, planning and writing in stages, leaving yourself room for discovery, re-thinking, revision, and editing. This is more than simply a way to prevent procrastination; this is the way successful writers go about writing. Failure to turn in preliminary drafts of your projects on the days assigned will lower a final grade, both for that essay and for the course (see “Grading” below). Even if you’ve overslept or you only have an incomplete draft, show up to class anyway and keep in touch with me! Also, unless you have arranged otherwise with me because of truly extenuating circumstances, essays turned in late will be marked down by a letter grade or 10 points for each class day they are late. The final essay/research project, which is due shortly after the last day of class and constitutes the final exam for the course, cannot be turned in late.
16. Attend student conferences on time. Come prepared. Have a few prioritized questions for our discussion. Have a draft. A student conference is not an editing session. Students arriving unprepared are asked to come back when ready. If other students are waiting, be courteous, and ask your most important question/s. If you must cancel an appointment, email me in advance. Then another student can take it.
22 activity unless designated by the instructor is not allowed. Doing so during class can lower an engagement grade.
17. Give thoughtful, diplomatic, and honest critique of each other’s writing. Merely commenting, “This writing is super!” is not helpful. This course is a workshop. Your peer editing counts toward your final grade. I carefully read the comments you put on other students’ work. If you are providing inadequate feedback, course requirements are not being fulfilled. Try asking questions kindly during peer reviews.
19. A goal is for us to become a community. We start with politeness. We are kind in our interactions. We listen. We do not talk when someone else is talking. Mutual respect leads to student success. I am an advocate for the dignity of all people. If you have any questions, at any time, please see me or email me, or ask during class.
14. I use the bMail address you have with the university. Check it twice daily. Check your email before and after every class. Your bCourses Announcements include updated homework, class announcements, and other important information. Also configure bCourses to send announcements to your preferred email. You are responsible for reading and for knowing what is in all bMails.
18. Contact me or see me beforehand about any potential problems you encounter in life, as this time in history is stressful for all. If you are going on a University sanctioned field trip, leadership trip, sport event, etc. and will miss class, turn in work early to avoid earning a 0. Please notify me by email by the second week of the term about any known or potential times such as for religious observances, graduate or medical school interviews, or verified team activities, and please provide specific dates. Please take the initiative so we can work together to help keep you in the flow. A student may be dropped from the class for excessive non engagement. Please keep in contact with me so I can help you thrive.
15. We also focus on quality reading which means reading closely and re reading and taking notes. You must complete the required reading before you come to class each day. You’ll be expected to respond to everything you read either in writing or in discussion, or very likely both so coming to class without having completed the reading not only means that you’ll be unprepared, it can also lower your grade (not to mention the quality of our class discussions). Again: Read. Keep up with the reading daily. Complete all readings on time. Do not fall behind. Part of your engagement grade depends on your intelligent contributions to class discussions and on work done in class. Reading is the backbone of the class. I am a very kind teacher, but I do notice when a student is not reading and keeping up. It’s very hard not to notice for a teacher who cares and is seasoned in the profession.
20. I am an advocate for all students. That extends after this course is over. In my career, so far I have written 3,300 letters of recommendation for some 1,000 students. Students email me to say, “I got in!” “I got the job!” “I’m going to Princeton for grad school!” Or “Come have dinner at Alumni Hall because I’m going to Cal for grad school!” Writing letters for good students is one of the most important aspects of my teaching. I see each class as the beginning of a joyful long term community for all involved. Because I am fortunate to teach seminar style CWP courses, the opportunity to talk and to become acquainted increases. That can in turn inform a much better and more detailed future letter of recommendation! Ask former students.
21. Really revise. Truly be open to changing your research question or thesis. Expect deadends in research and keep going. Get a librarian’s help. Some students believe that just spending a lot of time “revising” by “moving words around on paper” or “adding more sources” warrants a good grade or an improved one. If I say to my editor, who suggests changes to a book I’m writing: “But I spent SO much time on this book!” she would smile kindly and hand me her suggestions (and likely wonder why I am saying that). In real life writing, like for a news outlet or for a publisher, just expending hours of effort does not make for an engaging article or essay. Cosmetic changes are not real revision, and shallow “changes” are not enough to bring an essay’s quality or grade up. Revision means really changing an argument to be more sinewy, more organized, more synthesized, more relevant, and stronger in writing style. Any former level of “A” writing you experienced must be superseded by a new higher level to empower Cal standard success, now, and in your career and beyond. For what revision really means, see Nancy Sommers’s “Revision Strategies” on our Weebly website “Writing Resources” page. To sum up: Come to class. Be on time. Stay the whole time. Do the work. Be respectful. Make community. Leave dancing. Digital Course Reader / bCourses Modules I try at every turn to save students money. The course reader is not one you buy. Instead, you “build” on the bCourses resources already gathered by compiling a number of articles and handouts as we read them, keeping them in an organized fashion. All of these articles, videos, and links are in the “Editable Course Reader” document as well as in the Modules on WithbCourses.berkeley.edu.eacharticleonbCourses,
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annotate the article with your notes on what might be useful. Have those annotated notes with you in class on the day we discuss the reading (often this will already be our bCourses Discussions Forum work).
Getting Support Beyond Academics (Food, Housing, Finances, Counseling, etc.)
● Active use of a good online grammar/usage/citation/style guide for finding and documenting sources, such as Diana Hacker’s Research & Documentation site
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● Regular access to the class bCourses page (http://bcourses.berkeley.edu). Teachers are able to see a student’s engagement time on Canvas. I rarely check it, but will if I find that a student is struggling. It helps me know if an issue exists with time management, and I will meet with a student to see what I can do to help.
● An active UCB email account that you check regularly.
Supplies and Materials Needed
● Laptop/tablet — since the work that we do is largely digital, having access to a laptop or tablet will be very helpful. I recommend UCB’s free laptop and wifi hotspot loan program at Student Technology Equity Program (STEP).
● Again, some means of electronically backing up all of your written work separate from your computer (your free cloud based Google bDrive, or a USB jump drive, works well). Seriously: back up all written work, and do it compulsively. Every semester a student loses a major chunk of their work.
For an overview of a few of the resources available to you on campus, check out the link on our bCourses page under the “University Resources” module and on our Weebly class site. And, again, please ask me! Also in my email signature: If you or a friend are experiencing financial, food, housing, or other challenges, get support & services at BASICNEEDS.BERKELEY.EDU & Mental Wellness Handbook at https://tinyurl.com/calbewell
While my primary focus is on your work in this course, I recognize that the few hours we spend together each week don’t happen in a vacuum, and other stressors in life can affect your performance and focus. If you’d like support in addition to academic services, whether help with food, housing, counseling, or other matters, please don’t hesitate to ask me for direction. You don’t have to share personal details with me, just what I can do to help you with resources, etc.
bCourses Discussions: These forums are for us to share interesting information we find online, to ask questions, to start discussions, or to participate in existing discussions. Making regular contributions to online Discussions bolsters your engagement grade. As the course goes along, when you find information (about writing, reading, research, course themes, strange and interesting current events, or even silly but fascinating memes) that you want to share and link us to, or if you have questions or comments that you think the class would find useful or interesting, you can post it in any one of the Discussions.
Grading Overview and Rubric
Class bCourses Site / Canvas We have a course page on bCourses.berkeley.edu. Here you’ll find electronic copies of this syllabus, all low-stakes assignments, major essay assignments, links to readings and handouts, and course announcements, including up-to-date schedules for what’s due each day in class.
Grades are significant, but they are not the best aspect to focus on for the best learning experience. Focus your energies daily on developing as a reader and writer. A good grade can organically grow from that. Your writing is graded on its argument, degree of source synthesis, credibility of sources, and concise academic-register style. See the “Grading Rubric” below for details. Also, you are a wonder. You are not your grades, even the good grades. I’m thankful for you, and please remember that you are of inestimable worth and grades cannot evaluate you. Note: I do not grade on a curve. You are not competing with one other. Focus on your work and on doing your best, and try to help each other through peer reviews and discussions. If everyone’s effort and quality of work merits an “A,” there will be 17 “A’s.” Or there could be none. I judge each student’s work by an objective university/departmental standard, not against work by other people in the same class. See “Grading Rubric for CW R4B Writing” included in this syllabus. Note: Error, mistake, wrong, and correct are not part of my perspective or way of living / being. See the “Beyond Mistakes Mindset” on our Weebly website. Additional Help Contact Me The fastest, best way is by email. I have no campus voicemail. I like hearing from my students and always respond to your email within 24 hours, if not more quickly. Sometimes on weekends or holidays it may take a little longer. If you have a question about an assignment, please check the syllabus first. Also check bCourses for announcements or assignments before you email me.
Regular bCourses Submissions: All work must be posted on Canvas. Also on Canvas, submit links to individual pages on your Weebly site with your ongoing writing, findings, & more. Look in the individual Assignments for the link on the top right called ‘Submit Assignment.’ Also be sure to set notifications, and check your Berkeley.edu email daily, since any official communications from me sent to the whole class through bCourses will come to your Berkeley account unless you’ve arranged to forward that account to one you use more regularly.
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You may find the answer to your question in one of those places, and that will save you valuable Freetime.
Your rights and responsibilities are important. Please consult the Berkeley Campus Code of Student Conduct for more information.
term counseling for academic, career, and personal issues. There is no charge to get started, and all registered students can access services regardless of their insurance plan. Contact the University Health Services (UHS) Tang Center is located at 2222 Bancroft Way #4300, with phone number (510) 642 9494. For hours and other information, please see online here. Satellite offices also exist to make it easier for students to access counseling, and the Let’s Talk Program provides easy access to informal, brief, drop in consultations with counselors from UC Berkeley’s Counseling and Psychological Services (CPS). The UHS website reminds us: “No problem is too big or too small.”
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The Berkeley Disabled Students’ Program (DSP) webpage promotes an inclusive environment for students with disabilities by supporting them with appropriate accommodations and services to achieve their individual academic goals. The DSP is dedicated to supporting students and to working with the campus community to remove barriers to educational access because an accessible environment universally benefits everyone. As American disability rights activist Ed Roberts observes, “Our number one issue is still old attitudes towards us, and those old attitudes see us as helpless and unable. . . . [D]isability can make you very strong and very able.” The application process can be started online here. Or call (510) 642 0518 to make a DSP BerkeleyCounselingappointment.Servicesalsooffersshort
Disabled Students’ Program
AcademicTutoringSupport
Click here for information about signing up for a tutoring appointment. The SLC tutor can help you with any stage of the writing process, including idea generation, drafting, or revision; however, tutors are not available to proofread your essays. When visiting a tutor, you always want to have available working drafts and any assignment sheets that will inform the tutor of the essay’s guidelines and objectives. The residence halls each have an academic center with drop-in writing tutoring. Hours vary by location, so check with your residence hall for more information. Offcampus students can use the tutoring services at the SLC.
Services (5 Residence Halls); Athletic Study Center for student athletes; the Student Learning Center (SLC) in the Cesar Chavez Student Center on Lower Sproul Plaza provides tutors for College Writing course students who sign up at the beginning of the term. Signing up for a tutor is recommended, even if you do not feel that you need one at this time.
Student Rights and Responsibilities
UC Berkeley has an alert and warning service, WarnMe/Nixle, for students, staff, and faculty. Find out more here. Other information on emergency preparedness is here A FINAL NOTE
This course is going to be a lot of work, but I also think you will find it rewarding, and at times dare we say it? fun. If you don’t understand something or if you feel otherwise overwhelmed, please come talk to me, either during our regular office hours or make an appointment to talk another time.
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The essay enhances the texts under analysis and ideas discussed in class rather than merely repeating them. The writer paraphrases and quotes sources well, integrating them seamlessly, and cites in text using MLA formatting. To articulate the thesis, the author presents supporting points and explores, explains, and interprets concrete evidence such as facts, statistics, examples, authoritative testimony, and any documented experiences, among others. The introduction creates a clear map of the argument as well as a complex relationship between context, audience, the writer’s approach to the topic, and the thesis. The conclusion is much mor than a cogent summary of the essay’s argument and major points; it avoids repetition to remind the reader why this topic is important, it leaves an interesting final impression, and it may even create a desire in the reader to learn more about the topic.
The essay has clear, concise, precise, varied, and engaging language in the academic register. Sentences vary in length and in ways that advance meaning. Grammar and usage support sense rather than create opacity. The essay features first-rate professional, academic MLA style in overall formatting, in-text citations, and works cited. The quality of the research/scholarship is excellent. All additional required components of the Final Research Project are present and superlative in content, writing, and formatting (these sections include the Research Reflection, Abstract, Research Essay of required length and with Works Cited, Annotated Bibliography, and Research Prospectus).
Safety and Emergency Preparedness
A: The A research essay consistently shows an excellent level of critical engagement with the subject and strong, well synthesized research. Its clear, relevant argument has compelling development rather than a formulaic approach. You advance a sustained line of reasoning supported by persuasive evidence and presents counterarguments where appropriate. This insightful essay grapples with thought provoking, complex ideas. It does not read like a book report nor a summary of various sources but rather as if the author (you!) is (are) in conversation with credible research, and using it to support your arguments. The project’s primary, secondary, and/or tertiary sources are solid, diverse, and effective.
Following UC Berkeley College Writing Programs department standards for academic writing, thi rubric helps you see what to value and practice as you read, research, converse with your sources and each other, cite sources, and explore your research question/s. Write clearly, in the academic register. Honor your voice, and also be reader centric. Your goal is articulating a stron argument that you care about and crafting it with well-synthesized, cogent evidence from credible diverse sources. The words error, mistake, wrong, and correct do not appear here. See “Beyond Mistakes Mindset” for why.
Rubric for CW R4B Writing
D or F: The D or F research essays may be extremely problematic in several of the areas mentioned above: conception (the writer’s understanding of the text or subject may be inaccurate skewed, or illogical); evidence (unpersuasive, counterproductive, minimal, non-scholarly); structure (erratic or overly mechanical); language (imprecise or repetitive word choice; minimal sentence variety; major weaknesses in grammar or usage; other weaknesses that obscure the meaning the writer is trying to convey). Or they do not come close to addressing the expectations of the assignment (see A Research Essay above). The scholarship is weak.
Some required components of the research essay and project are missing (these section include the Research Reflection, Abstract, Research Essay of required length and with Works Cited, Annotated Bibliography, and Research Prospectus). Any writer who plagiarizes will earn an “F” on the essay, and possibly in the course (as described in the plagiarism section in the syllabus and on the CWP webpage).
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B: The B research essay aims high and achieves many of its aims. Its ideas are solid and developed with critical engagement, but some require more analysis. Other areas that may need improvement include these: Parts of the essay may not fit with the thesis; the research itself may have lacunae; evidence may be insufficiently explored; context may be inadequate; concrete examples may be deficient; the scholarship may lack strength, depth, and/or diversity; sources may not be integrated smoothly; and/or the research may need more synthesis so that the primary, secondary, and/or tertiary sources become a cohesive argument.
These weaknesses create questions in the reader’s mind and require the reader to make connections or transitions that the writer should have made clear. The essay may also have som weaknesses in grammar, diction, or syntax, but they do not interfere too significantly with the meaning that the writer is conveying. Sometimes a B essay will achieve all of its aims but may contain rather routine reasoning. The B essay does not reach as high as the A. Its limitations ma be conceptual, and it may show weaknesses in organization. The scholarship is good. The essay has good MLA formatting, in text citations, and works cited, and all additional required components of the Final Research Project (see A Research Essay above) are present and good.
C: The C research essay has problems in one of the following areas: conception (the main argument is vague or presented in a way that is hard to understand); structure (confusing); evidence (an overall dearth of evidence, insufficient or weak concrete examples, a lack of scholarly sources, weak integration of research, unconvincing synthesis of evidence, and/or a weak use of facts so that connections among the ideas and evidence are not made, are presented without context, or add up to platitudes or generalizations); and language (sentences are awkward syntactically, dependent on unexplained abstractions, redundant or imprecise in word choice, and/or informal in tone). The essay is repetitive or may touch on several ideas without developing them sufficiently Significant weaknesses in grammar, diction, topic sentences, paragraphing, transitions, and punctuation may exist. The scholarship is of fair quality. MLA formatting, in text citations, works cited, and all additional required components of the research essay and project are mostly present and of fair quality (see A Research Essay above). Sometimes a C essay is written without major problems but is a summary (more book report like) rather than an analysis. C is passing in CW R4B.
29 Grading Scale GRADE PTS/UNIT % DESCRIPTION A-A 3.74.0 94 100% 90 93% Excellent / Highest passing grade [An "A+", when awarded at instructor's discretion, marks extraordinary achievement, but receives no grade point credit above the grade of A.] BBB+- 2.73.03.3 87 89% 84 86% 80 83% Good / Above-average passing grade CCC+ 1.72.02.3 77 79% 74 76% 70 73% Fair / Average passing grade DDD+ 0.71.01.3 67 69% 64 66% 60 63% Lowest passing grade F 0.0 Below 60%Not passing
