SU 20 1

Instructor: Dr. Jacinta Yanders ENGLI 1102: English Composition II: “Writing
(aka Dr. J)
Pronouns: She/Her (what’s this in/and Culture”
about?)
Email: yandersj@cod.edu Hello! I'm willing to bet that few of you find the idea of a
research writing class exciting. I get it. But I'm hoping that in
Description and Objectives:
this class, we're able to improve on those feelings a bit. We
Builds upon the rhetoric,
reading, and writing concepts
live in a world that constantly bombards us with all sorts of
introduced in English claims. Becoming skilled researchers betters equips us to
Composition I by having interrogate and make sense of claims and their supporting
students compose inquiry- evidence (or lack thereof). We also live in a world in which
driven research projects. In their writing remains a key form of communication. Have you ever
research process, students find had a writing miscommunication with a friend, coworker, or
and select the most appropriate family member? Most people have. The work that we'll do in
sources to address research this class – particularly with respect to studying audience,
questions that are intended for purpose, and genre – has the power to reduce the likelihood
a discourse community. of such occurrences.
Students integrate sources
meaningfully for support and
present their findings via the
The subtitle of this class is "Writing in/and Culture" because
forms of media and genre that we’ll consider what it means to write to a real public audience
suit the project’s objectives in our culture as well as how writing shapes culture (and vice
versa). The materials we work with may address topics such
• Practice writing as a process as race, gender, class, etc. These topics are important facets
involving inquiry, research, of the culture we live in, and it's important to face them head
feedback, and revision on as we develop as writers. Writing can move people and
• Analyze a rhetorical situation change the world. And you know what's the wildest, most
within a discourse community important thing to know about that? It's not just the writing of
• Identify an issue relevant to a other people that can do this. It's yours too. You don't have to
discourse community, a
be believe me right now. We'll get there.
research question, a research
plan, and digital and/or print
media and genre(s) in which We're not in the business of producing "perfect" academic
to present research findings writing or the most grammatically correct writing in this class.
to an audience We are in the business of producing writing that you really
• Assess the feasibility of the care about, writing crafted with actual audiences in mind,
research inquiry writing that is energized and creative, and most importantly,
• Build a body of research in writing that means something. We'll study writers who
the various stages of the share their thoughts with the world and learn how to stitch
research process our own ideas and arguments into the discourses that
• Evaluate the credibility of a surround us. This isn't writing for a template, rubric, or test.
variety of sources
It's writing for freedom, toward justice, and with hope for a
• Analyze arguments presented
in sources
better world.
• Develop research-supported
arguments that address an
issue relevant to a discourse
community
• Use responses from
instructor(s) and peers as part
of the revision and editing
process
• Create researched print and/
or digital texts that respond to
rhetorical situations
• Use suitable methods of
citation
SU 20 2

Accessibility Dr. J’s Goals

We all have different learning needs. In designing this class, In addition to the catalogue
I've tried to account for many of those needs. We’ll complete objectives listed above, the
a mix of activities and assignments because people thrive in goals below represent I'd
different areas. We’ll also consume information in various like emphasize in our class.
modes to increase our collective comprehension. If there's These goals are not set in
some way in which your access and ability in this course stone and may change as
could additionally be supported, please let me know. In we move through the
order to receive accommodations from COD’s Center for semester. Once we start
Access and Accommodations, you can call them at interacting as a class, we
630-942-2154 or email them at access@cod.edu. If you’d may well determine there
like to learn more about what the Center does, check out are other goals we want to
their website: www.cod.edu/access. achieve. But this is where
I'd like us to start:
What You Need
• Course materials will be posted online in the Blackboard • Develop critical reading
modules each week and thinking skills
• You should have a dedicated notebook (or notebook • Understand functions of
section) for this class. Doesn’t matter whether it's digital or rhetoric and the rhetorical
analog. Use whatever suits you. situation
• Storage. I recommend having at least one type of physical • Understand how to
storage (flash drive, portable hard drive, etc) and one type identify and integrate
of cloud storage (Google Drive, Dropbox, etc). Device credible research into
failures are inevitable. They come for all of us eventually. writing
Save your work early, often, and in multiple places. • Develop structured
arguments backed by
Tech evidence and explanation
Blackboard (bb.cod.edu) is the central hub for this class. • Understand how culture
Check it on a regular basis. I don’t recommend using the shapes writing and vice
Blackboard mobile app unless you have to because it’s versa
prone to glitches. Each week, you'll be tasked with some • Share our thoughts
combination of reading, watching, listening, writing, and generously and
recording. To do all of this, you’ll need internet access. respectfully as a class and
Some of the material we’ll use in the class may need to be learn from one another
streamed, which usually
requires a strong internet Also, I organize all of my
connection. Because classes around four key
you'll have to record principles borrowed from
video/audio for some of Clint Smith III: Read
the class work, you also critically, write
need a camera-enabled consciously, tell your
device to do that on, truth.
whether it be a phone,
computer, or tablet. If Now here's your first
you've never done assignment: what do you
anything like that and it want to get from this class?
makes you nervous to think about, try not to worry too Write your answer down
much. I will provide support for any tech processes and somewhere. We'll come
software we'll be engaging in/with. Also, I’m always happy to back to this later in the
help track down any resources that might be needed in the semester and see how
event that you don’t have access to a device or something we're progressing toward
of that nature. achieving those goals.
SU 20 3
Basic Needs
It's really hard to focus on school work when you're also facing difficulties with having your
basic needs (such as food and shelter) met. I do not expect you to leave your humanity at the
metaphorical door for the sake of this class. I've created a Resources page on our course site
that includes campus and community resources that can assist with resolving such issues. If
you want help with communicating with any of these resources, please don't hesitate to ask. I
also want to note here that COD does require me (as well as the rest of your professors) to
report disclosures of sexual violence to our Title IX office. I want to be upfront about that
because while I absolutely do want to provide support in such instances, I also know that a
student may not wish to trigger an automatic report for various reasons, and I believe it's
important for you all to have that information before making the decision to disclose.

Communication
Besides the course work requirements, there are two primary ways in which you'll be able to
communicate with me. The first way is via email. You can find my email address on the first
page of this syllabus. You can also send me an email by going to the Send Email tab on our
course Blackboard page. Now a lot of people don't like email (I get it). You should definitely
still check your email daily, not just for communication from me, but also from your other profs
and COD in general. That being said, I'm also setting up a Discord server for our class. For
those unfamiliar, Discord is a chat app, and I've found that for many students, using a chat app
can be quite handy. We'll talk more about Discord during the first week of class. I tend to
respond to messages pretty quickly, but if you don't hear back, give me at least 24 hours
before trying again. I'm also available by appointment for video meetings if you're ever
interested in that. Like you, I have schedules, routines, and obligations that have to be
maneuvered, so make sure you give me some lead time if you want a video meeting.

Timeliness
Our assignments will have due dates, and you should aim to submit your work in accordance
with those due dates. Summer classes move quickly, and catching up later can be especially
challenging. I'm also less able to provide meaningful feedback the farther away we get from an
assignment’s due date. That being said, I’m amenable to extensions. Let me know as soon as
you think it's possible you might need more time, and remember that there's much less wiggle
room at the end of the semester. Try not to fall behind, but ALWAYS reach out if you do.

A Small Collection of Wise Words

• “Words mean things. Language constructs reality. Communication is political. Word choice
reflects intent. Language defines social problems & imagined solutions. In sum, words
mean things. Don’t let anyone tell you words don’t mean things.” - Sarah J. Jackson

• "I tell my students, 'When you get these jobs that you have been so brilliantly trained for, just
remember that your real job is that if you are free, you need to free somebody else. If you have
some power, then your job is to empower somebody else.'"- Toni Morrison

• "Just know that everyone’s writing is terrible. Until it’s not. No one’s stuff is right immediately.
You gotta work it. Refine it. Shape it. Spend time with it. It’s a relationship. Between you and
what comes from you. Not easy. Gonna be terrible before it’s not. And that’s okay." - Ava
DuVernay

• “Research is formalized curiosity. It is poking and prying with a purpose." - Zora Neale Hurston

• "We don’t come together to perform what we already know how to do. We come together to be
unlovely and take ourselves apart, in order to mutually construct even more difficult ideas. It’s
not supposed to be easy. The labor is what makes it beautiful.”- Kyla Wazana Tompkins
SU 20 4

How This Class Works

Some of you may have taken fully online courses previously, some may have experienced the
Spring 2020 emergency conversion, and some of you may be brand new to the world of online
education. Regardless of your familiarity with online learning, please know that I'm here to
support you. Here’s some things to know to get started:
• Asynchronous: This class will operate primarily asynchronously, which means we won't
have routine required class meetings. However, there will be one required individual
conference meeting and there may periodically be optional meetings and chats.
• Participation: For some of you, especially those new to online classes, asynchronicity can
be a bit jarring. The work of this class is designed for you to demonstrate your
understanding, and also to help foster community. To make this happen, we all have to
regularly engage with each others' questions and ideas. I know that being asked to do this
can sometimes feel inauthentic in online spaces, and I'm hoping that the opportunities I've
set in motion for our class move beyond that feeling of inauthenticity. If you have any
additional ideas about how we can develop our classroom community, please do share
them. Maybe you've taken an online class that did something else that worked really well,
and you think what they did would be a good fit for our class. We may not be able to do
everything, but I'm always open to new possibilities!
• Time Management: One place where I've seen students run into difficulty with online
classes has to do with time management. I recommend that you try to set aside
approximately 6-8 hours per week to do the work of this class. Think of this as the
combination of time you would spend in class if we were meeting face-to-face and time
that would typically be used for homework in that scenario. I strongly encourage you to
establish a routine for yourself (Google Calendar, planners, and to-do-list apps are your
friends). In my experience, this is crucial when operating outside of the traditional class
structure. I will include time estimates with your work each week, so you can have a better
sense of what you want to do and when you want to do it.
• Due Dates: Work for this class will typically be due three times a week (Monday,
Wednesday, and Friday). However, you will be able to work ahead for most tasks in a
given week. Each week's module will be opened at 12am on Monday of that week. I will
usually send Announcement emails on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays as well
• Language & Identity: You’ll find that I'm not extremely contrarian about most things, but
I am about this: There's no such thing as “correct” or “proper” English. There is a
thing that can be referred to as standardized English, which has been maintained by the
powers that be, but that isn't the only English or the “right” one. The Conference on
College Composition and Communication had it right in 1972 when they declared
that students have a right to their own language. They noted that "Language scholars
long ago denied that the myth of a standard American dialect has any validity" and "The
claim that any one dialect is unacceptable amounts to an attempt of one social group to
exert its dominance over another. Such a claim leads to false advice for speakers and
writers, and immoral advice for humans" and most importantly " A nation proud of its
diverse heritage and its cultural and racial variety will preserve its heritage of dialects."
I welcome the deliberate usage of language variation in our work. Also, in this class, you
can use "I." You can use personal narrative. You won't necessarily do all of these things all
the time, but we also don't need to avoid them just for the sake of avoiding them. You don't
need to give up your identity, your voice, or your persona to be in this class. We all have
something to bring to the class. For example, I'm a pop culture nerd. I can be silly,
sarcastic, and cheesy as all get out. Like all of you, I'm teeming with life experiences,
values, and beliefs, especially about human rights. This means you should not expect
me to be neutral or objective, just like I don't expect you to be neutral or objective. I do,
however, expect you to back up your claims with evidence and explantation. And I
challenge you to always strive to make your compositions interesting and alive. You have
stories in you that only you can tell. So tell them.
SU 20 5
Community
I tend to find it even more critical to be clear about the type of class community we want to
have when online than when face-to-face. The physical distance afforded by digital
communication sometimes brings out the absolute worst in people. While I generally expect
people to have a better handle on this in educational settings, there are some core principles
for our classroom community that I want to make clear:
• Throughout the semester, we may work with tough topics like race, sexuality,
socioeconomic status, gender, nationality, etc. You may have an emotional response to
something you see, read, or hear, which is perfectly normal (and often, the intention of the
filmmakers). Some ideas and beliefs may challenge your views and/or be contrary to your
experiences. I expect you to enter our discussions with respect and generosity. Doing so
enables our class to be the brave space it needs to be for people to share and for us all to
grow. Listen. Try not to jump to conclusions. Ask clarifying questions. Make sure you
understand what's actually being said before you formulate a response. We don't have to
agree about everything, but we do need to be able to listen to one another.
• I will always strive to give a heads up when media and readings we're engaging with
includes representations that I know can be traumatic, such as sexual violence, child
abuse, and representations of suicide. If there's a particular type of content beyond the
more commonly known ones that you'd like a heads up on, let me know.
• My classes operate on a fundamental agreement that we do not make space for racism,
ableism, transphobia, sexism, xenophobia, etc. None of that is productive, and it's very
disruptive to classroom communities (and, ya know, humanity in general). By remaining in
this class, I expect you to work with me in ensuring our class
is one in which compassion and care are at the forefront.
• Relatedly, how we address one another conveys respect.
For example, referring to me as Dr. Yanders or Dr. J or
Professor Yanders (my preferred names) rather than Ms.
Yanders or Mrs. Yanders is a matter of respect as is me
using the name you tell me you wish to use. I expect you to
refer to one another by the correct names, with the correct
pronunciations (if you don't know, you can typically find most
name pronunciations online), and with the correct pronouns.
• Last, but certainly not least, the devil does not need an
advocate.

A Few More Wise Words

“Labor is work the body does over time. Labor in the writing classroom is the
experience of languaging. No matter what our pedagogical assumptions are
about learning or literacy, about grades or how to evaluate student writing, we all take
for granted that our students must labor in order to learn. They must read or write,
take notes or discuss. All pedagogies ask students to labor, to do something in order
to gain something else. However, typical grading systems rarely account for students’
labor in any way...Because labor is neglected in such conventional grading systems,
they often are unfair to diverse groups of students. They
(labor-based grading contracts) open a space for practices that can fail or miss the
mark, allowing students the freedom to take risks, and try new things in their writing
without the fear of losing points or failing the course.”- Asao Inoue
SU 20 6
Assessment
Let's say we have two students who come into a writing class, and one has usually gotten
good grades in writing while the other has struggled to maintain a C average. After a semester
in the same class, the first student hasn't developed much, but they've been able to maintain
the same quality of work that they had
before they started the class.
Meanwhile, the second student still
struggles somewhat, but has put in
significant labor and shown ongoing
growth. Since they don't yet have the
same degree of mastery as the first
student, should the second student
receive a lower final grade simply
because they started the semester on a
different level? Should final grades
reflect what you do in a class or what
you already knew and were able to do
before the class? What if I told you that
letter grades actually do much more to
hinder learning than to support it? There
are many problems with the traditional
grading system (check out this slide
from Jesse Stommel).

In this class, we'll be using a labor-based approach. You won't receive letter grades on
individual submissions. Instead, each assigned task will be accompanied by a point value, with
30 total points earnable each week. Submissions that do what was asked will receive full
points. Submissions that don't will receive no points and are considered incomplete until the
submission is revised and requirements are met. For example, if you are asked to analyze a
film scene, and you turn in a summary rather than an analysis, you will receive no points for
the task until you submit a revised analysis. There will be no partial points given. As such,
points are earned by way of the completeness of your labor, rather than perceptions of quality.
If you do what's being asked, you'll get the credit. And if you need to make revisions, you can
still get the credit. The only ways to not get points are to not to do what's being asked (and not
revise) or to not turn anything at all. I will give feedback on some of the work you submit, and I
expect to see you applying the feedback you receive to future submissions. This is part of the
labor of the class.Please ask questions if you're unsure about any feedback.

Final grades will be based upon the following point scale:

A: 215-240 points
B: 191-214 points
C: 167-190 points
D: 143-166 points
F: 0-142 points

The goal here is to get away from the idea of a letter as the primary purpose of the class.
While grades do have real material consequences, they can't (or at least shouldn't be) our sole
motivation. When all that matters is the grade, course work tends to become an exercise in
landing a grade rather than an opportunity to really grapple with ideas, try new approaches,
and perhaps most importantly, have fun. We're not looking for paint-by-numbers work here.
Make everything you submit interesting, and make sure it matters to you, so that it can also
matter to your audience.
SU 20 7

Assignments and Course Overview

• Blog: The majority of the work you complete for this class will be housed in a blog you will
create during the first week of the semester. This means you’ll be writing for a real, public
audience. The posts you make in the blog will take a variety of forms throughout the
semester.
• Flipgrid: A portion of the work you complete each week will be in video/audio form and
posted to Flipgrid. We’ll talk more about how to use Flipgrid during the first week of class.
• Extended Writing Project: At the end of the semester, you will apply what you’ve been
learning throughout the semester to an extended piece of writing that demonstrates your
research writing capabilities
• Other Weekly Tasks: Nondescript, I know, but this is essentially a catch-all category for any
tasks that fall outside of the above categories. These tasks might include answering specific
questions, annotating readings, commenting on your classmates’ work, etc.

Module 1 - Getting Started

1. How should we approach this class?
2. Why does writing – especially
research writing – matter?

Module 2 - Research Writing

Fundamentals

1. Where does research originate from?

2. How do we grapple will complex
sources?
3. Who do we write for and why?
4. What makes an argument
persuasive?

Module 3 - Authority, Credibility, and Accountability

1. How do we identify credible sources?

2. How do we use sources to build our own credibility?
3. How do we give credit for the source material we use?
4. How do we make intentional choices about the sources we use?

Module 4 - Revision

1. How do we give, receive, and engage with feedback?

2. How do we develop and improve upon our writing?
3. How do we show what we know?