ENGL 2W Syllabus

Here are some preliminary details about the course:

  • Course Theme: “Style as a Rhetorical Act”
  • Instructor: Dr. Shailen Mishra
  • Student hours: M/W 10:30-11:30 am, and by appointment; Parrish Hall W227; if you plan to stop by during the student hour, I would appreciate an email notification in advance.
  • Email: [email protected]

Course communications will primarily happen via your college email id. Make sure to check it regularly.

Table of Contents

Course Description

Style remains an elusive and controversial aspect of writing. Primarily because what constitutes style in a piece of writing is not easy to define (is style same as voice or tone?) and style is often conflated with the talent of the writer (meaning, a highly stylistic prose signals a highly talented writer). This course attempts to unpack and address such challenges with style and demonstrate that style matters. In our day-to-day communication, we make writing choices to exercise style, and these decisions have an impact on our communication and they make style a rhetorical act. Meaning, style is not an ornamental or embellishing part of communication; rather, it’s integral to communication and it manifests through deliberate rhetorical choices by the writer. This course will consist of reading and interpretation skills that will make you aware of the stylistic choices writers (including you) make in their writing. Alongside the development of a metacognitive mindset, you’ll undertake various writing exercises to experiment and refine your writing style. The primary textbook that we’ll use for the course will be Paul Butler’s The Writer’s Style: A Rhetorical Field Guide. Finally, there will be three writing assignments in this course, focused on developing style in public writing, digital writing, and academic writing (more details about the assignments provided below).

Schedule

Weekly schedule for the course is available for your review.

Texts

  • The Writer’s Style: A Rhetorical Field Guide by Paul Butler, First Edition, ISBN 978-1-60732-809-4. This is a required text and students are expected to purchase a copy.
  • Other readings in the course will come from scholarly journals, book chapters, and web sources, and they will be made available to you in html or pdf format.

Grade Distribution

Total course grade (100%) will be divided into several components:

  1. Writing projects (three in total): 75%
  2. Class participation & discussion posts: 15%
  3. Reflection assignments: 10%

One note on the grade distribution: commitment to the writing process will play a crucial role in this course and it is factored in the different stages involved in each writing assignment. It’s important that you complete all the components of each assignment, and pay attention to and document how your work evolves in stages.

Technology and Public Work

Please note that Moodle will remain our primary course interface, through which you’ll submit your assignment links and your grades will be made available. Apart from Moodle, you’re expected to learn/use a couple other learning and composing tools that might be new to you.

  1. Most of the digital readings I assign to you will happen via Perusall. You’ll find links to the Perusall page for the readings in the Moodle itself. But why am I asking you to learn this new tool and conduct our reading via it? Perusall is primarily a social annotation tool, meaning we read collaboratively as a class and share our comments/highlights on readings with each other. This collaboration and sharing will improve our engagement with the text, inform our class discussion, and help us build a shared and reciprocal understanding of rhetoric. There might be a bit of a learning curve at first but the tool is well-featured and documents, and I will supply a few videos at the start of the course get you off the ground. Here is an introductory video on Perusall titled: “How to Use Perusall - Get Started with Social Learning.”
  2. The other tool you will need to learn for the course is the notion.so app. This will be your primary composition tool for all the three projects in the course. Why am I asking you to learn this new tool and compose your writing in it? Notion allows you to compose multimodal narratives and publish them on the web easily. Since, you’re expected to incorporate or compose multimodal contents for your projects, I want us to use a writing tool that allows for both composing and publishing. For example, if you include a podcast or interactive chart in your essay, the “published” version of your essay should allow users to play the podcast or interact with the chart right in your essay. This will be hard to accomplish in Google Doc and MS Word, let alone when you submit this content in Moodle. An app like Notion solves these two problems for us seamlessly: a) you can include interactive digital content easily in your essay; b) publish your essay with the click of a few buttons. Additionally, I want you to develop a holistic understanding of writing and style, especially in our current digital and multimodal era: writing needs to be creative, multimodal, intentional, and design-oriented. Meaning, I want you to get out of a language-heavy way of thinking about writing and style, and see them as dynamic, aesthetical, and interactive. And an app like Notion can help us in that endeavor. Note that I am not endorsing Notion here; it’s a proprietary software, but so are Google and MS Word. Plus, you get enterprise access to Notion for free through your Swarthmore account. So please use your swarthmore.edu email id to create a free account with Notion. Here is an introductory tutorial on how to add and edit contents on a Notion page, like you would in a Google Doc page.

“Public” nature of your writing projects means that you’re expected to publish the final drafts of your three assignments on the internet. This requirement is a deliberate pedagogical move. As we’ll learn in the course, style is interconnected with the writing choices a writer makes. The fact that your audience can be anyone on the internet can have subtle or profound impact on your writing and stylistic choices. So the “public” nature of your writing projects is meant to be an opportunity to learn more about style.

Course Policies

Course expectations and policy details are shared below as a FAQ. If any question/concern is not answered then please use the comment feature to leave questions for me. For any personal concerns, email me.

  1. Can I get more details about the major writing assignments?
  2. What grade scale do you use?
  3. What constitutes the reflection assignments?
  4. Can you share more details about the class participation and discussion posts requirement?
  5. What writing assistance can I get in this course other than your help?
  6. Can I contact the Writing Center for extra writing help?
  7. What are the learning outcomes of this course?
  8. Do you have an attendance policy?
  9. Do you accept late work?
  10. What if I accidentally submit the wrong file to Moodle and realize it later?
  11. What’s the course policy on plagiarism and academic integrity?
  12. What’s your policy on the use of AI in this course?
  13. As a student with a disability what sort of accommodation policy can I expect?
  14. Is this course covered under sexual misconduct & Title IX protection?
  15. What other campus resources are available to me to succeed in this course and outside of it?

I, as your teacher, want you to succeed in this course and have a valuable learning experience. If there is anything bothering you in this course or anything going on in your personal life that’s preventing you from doing well, then please reach out to me. I’ll do my best to help.

Writing Assignments

There will be three major writing assignments in this course. More details for each project will be given in a separate handout at the start of the project.

  1. Style in public space: for this project, you’ll analyze examples of public writing done by a range of professionals (educators, scientists, journalists, independent researchers, economists, etc.) and you’ll write a Substack-style newsletter of 1200 words or more. You’ll be expected to include multimodal contents (audio, video, charts, etc.) for this project. Grade points: 20%
  2. Style in digital space: as part of this project, you’ll produce different digital texts and how style is exercised in them. Digital texts you’ll read will range from podcasts, videos, immersive essays, etc. You’ll produce a digital text of your choice and you’ll find examples of digital texts you can producing by visiting the file “Resources for Multimodal Text.” The length of your project will be determined by the type of the essay you’ll choose. For example, for a podcast, the expected length will be 10-12 minutes. So other digital texts will be of comparable length and it will be determined by discussion with each student. Grade points: 25%
  3. Style in academic space: readings will include academic texts from different disciplines; students will analyze the role of style in these texts and how academic/researchers assert their style alongside the expectations of their discipline. The project will culminate in an academic text of 2000 words with considerable experimentation in style. Students are expected to include multimodal contents (audio, video, charts, etc.) in their essay. Grade points: 30%

Grade Scale

The following grading scale will be used for writing assignments as well as final course grade:

  • 93-100 = A; 90-92 = A-;
  • 87-89 = B+; 83-86 = B; 80-82 = B-;
  • 77-79 = C+; 73-76 = C; 70-72 = C-;
  • 67-69 = D+; 63-66 = D; 60-62 = D-; 59-0 = F

When rounding up your final grade, I will follow the practice described on the website of amsi.org, which stands for Australian Mathematical Sciences Institute. For example, 92.4 will get rounded to 92 but 92.5 will get rounded to 93.

Reflection Assignments

Reflection will be a critical part of this course to assess your learning and develop metacognition. There will be three reflection assignments in total. Here are the details about the three reflection assignments:

  • You will complete a final reflection assignment at the end of the semester. As part of this reflection, you will develop a personal theory about style. Meaning, based on your learnings in the course, you will conceptualize a theory of style and how you plan to adapt that theory to the future writing contexts. The expected length of the reflection will be 3-pages long. (Points 4%)
  • Each writing project will be capped with a reflection assignment at the end. Each reflection will be about 2 pages long and carry 2% points. (Points 6%)

Class Participation & Discussion Posts

You are expected to take class discussion very seriously, and you are expected to read the assigned readings thoroughly and critically. Your class participation grade (15%) will depend on your participation in class and your level of engagement with assigned readings. Here is a generic template on how readings and in-class discussions will work:

  • Most of the course readings will take place via Perusall, in which we will add our questions and comments about the text that the class can see. Each of us will share at least 5 annotations and 2 replies per reading.
  • Each week a peer group will be in charge of leading the class discussion (the class will be divided into 3-4 peer groups called Learning Pods). Though this peer group will complete the reading on Perusall, they won’t be required to do the minimum annotations and replies expected from the rest of us. Rather, this peer group will help synthesize the rest of the class’s annotations and facilitate the in-class discussion that follows.
  • I have put together a document on how to use Perusall, how to annotate, and how your annotations will be graded. Please take a loot at these guidelines to set correct expectations for yourself and make the best use of Perusall. Note that your annotations in Perusall need to be completed at least an hour before the class start time so that the peer group leading the class discussion can read your annotations beforehand and come to class prepared to facilitate the class discussion.
  • The peer group facilitator will go over the class’s comments and questions and they will make a collage or list of selected annotations that they think capture the dominant themes and patters in the annotations, that advance our conversation on rhetoric, and that suitably place the class to meet the challenges of the writing projects.
  • The annotation collage that the peer group facilitator puts together will go into a discussion post in Moodle. The group will give the class some time to go over the collage and the group will give the class five minutes to write about key patterns and themes observable in the collage. This timed writing activity will be an individual exercise. Each student will post their response in Moodle.
  • We, as a class, will go over these written responses, and the peer group facilitator will then lead an open-ended discussion to hash out ideas, generate more questions, develop more synthesis, generate more dialogue, present more insights, and so on.
  • The class period will end with an instructor-assigned writing/learning activity, which will serve as a “transition point” between the reading/discussion for the day and to prepare for the reading or learning task ahead.

Writing Associates

This course will have embedded Writing Associates (WAs) to give you additional writing help. WAs take a course in Writing Pedagogy to prepare them to be effective peer tutors. They will work with the class, and with each student individually to strengthen their writing. You will be required to meet with your designated WA three times during the semester to help you revise your rough draft and to address your individual writing needs. These meetings are mandatory. Note: If you miss your scheduled meeting with WA, points will be deducted from the final draft. In due course, I will provide more information about WA conferences.

Extra Writing Help

The Writing Center at Swarthmore can be a great source for getting additional writing help. This service is free to all students. The Writing Center is located at Trotter Hall 120. At the Writing Center you can get pre-writing help, feedback on your written draft, and a potential reader for your work. I highly encourage you to avail of this service. If you need more persuasion on how the writing center can be highly beneficial, then check the essay “Why Visit Your Campus Writing Center?” by Ben Rafoth.

Learning Outcomes

The following learning outcomes will be prioritized in this course:

  • Reading skills: To engage in close reading of texts; develop the ability to read critically; read as a writer and rhetor; evaluate a text’s style and rhetorical effectiveness, and more importantly to read with openness to new ideas and new ways of seeing things.
  • Writing skills: To experiment with style; write on complex subjects with nuance, thoughtfulness, and dynamism; understand and theorize writing as a multifaceted activity; know your own writing process; experiment with your writing habits to develop adaptability; respond thoughtfully and constructively to the work of other writers; synthesize ideas from different readings and integrate your own ideas with others’; practice composing and revising over multiple drafts
  • Metacognition: To learn to reflect deeply upon your composition habits and practices; develop appreciation for writers as psycho-social beings; learn your own strengths and weaknesses as a writer; learn about your own stylistic choices and how the rhetorical context, your writerly identity, and your past experiences influence your style; learn to transfer your writing style to new and unfamiliar writing situations with strategic adaptation
  • Rhetorical knowledge: To develop a conceptual understanding of style; learn and theorize how style is contextual; learn the role that audience, genre, discourse community, body, emotions, ecology, culture, etc. play in the making of style; learn to develop style across modes of communication (linguistic, visual, aural, spatial, and gestural)
  • Multimodal literacy: To engage with linguistic as well as non-linguistic sources; create text, graphic, audio, video and interactive content when necessary; study the stylistic potential of multimodal contexts
  • Research: To maintain critical stance toward information sources of all types; develop versatile research strategies; choose and narrow a topic for research; gather and evaluate secondary sources through library databases and the internet; properly quote, paraphrase, and summarize from secondary sources; and utilize proper citation formats.
  • Open-mindedness snd critical thinking: To explore nuances and complexities in your logic, arguments, ideas and evidences; learn to engage with issues pertaining to social and environmental justice, citizenry, and civic life; attend to views/thoughts different from yours with empathy, patience, thoughtfulness and dialogue; challenge your existing assumptions; probe the intersectional nature of marginalization; act toward equity and justice

Attendance Policy

We will meet in-person on Mondays/Wednesdays on scheduled class time.

  • Attendance will be taken during each meeting. You can track your attendance via Moodle.
  • Please avoid arriving late for class or leaving early. If for any reason you need to do either, please check with me.
  • You’re allowed a maximum of 3 absences (excused or unexcused) over the course of the semester. Absences beyond that might result in a failing grade, unless the cause of absence is due to extenuating circumstances and you supply official documentation attesting the cause. Despite the cause of absence, students are expected to complete missed readings, discussion posts, and writing assignments.

Late Work

You’re allowed late submission for any two assignments. Think of it as a lifeline. Be it Rough Draft, Peer Review Draft, Final Draft, reflection assignment, or a discussion post, you’ve a 48-hour grace period from the deadline to submit your work. Please remember, you can use the lifeline only twice, no questions asked, and within 48 hours of the official deadline. And once you use the lifeline, late submissions might not be accepted.

Submitting Your Assignment

There will be no paper-based submission in this course. You’ll submit to Moodle the link to your Notion document, which must be published. Submissions such as reflection essays must be done via Moodle as a .pdf or .docx file. Please don’t submit assignments in .pages or .wps format, as I am not able to open them.

Plagiarism and Academic Integrity

Any work that you submit at any stage of the writing process—draft, thesis and outline, bibliography, discussion post, etc.—must be your own work. In addition, any words, ideas, or data that you borrow from other sources must be properly cited. Failure to do either of these can amount to plagiarism or violation of academic integrity. Penalties for such offenses can include major course penalties or possibly failure of the course and can result in reporting to the office of Dean of Student Life. The student handbook is your best guide to gain clarity on these academic policies.

Use of AI

I am highly skeptical of AI and its capabilities, when it comes to writing. I am still learning about AI and developing my thoughts on it and trying to figure out when and how to allow my students to use AI. But for this course, which is about exploring symbiotic relationship between emotions, ecology, body, rhetoric, and style, it will be counterproductive to offload your work to generative AI. Moreover, writing is about process, scaffolding one’s argument in stages, embracing the material realities of the writing process, becoming familiar with one’s own writing strengths and weaknesses, and experiencing the struggles of writing as a cognitive, embodied, and emotional act. Trying to sidestep these aspects of writing through generative AI defeats the purpose of taking a writing course. Moreover there are other risks to consider when using generative AI, as articulated by this note from the Writing Associates (WA) Program at Swarthmore:

AI literacy requires critical engagement with big-picture considerations. Accuracy: LLMs aren’t really intelligent; they are probabilistic models that mimic natural language without understanding. They can make things up and have no built-in fact-checker. Bias: AI models are built on enormous datasets and reflect the biases inherent in the texts and images on which they are trained. Their outputs can reflect and perpetuate those biases. Privacy: Information uploaded in queries, including personal identifiers, can sometimes be harvested back out, and uploading other people’s work can breach intellectual property law. Monetization: AI models are profit-driven endeavors. If a tool is free, you and/or your data are often the product. Environment: AI tools require massive amounts of electricity and water, contributing to global climate concerns.

In sum though, I am not imposing a total ban on the use of generative AI for the course; rather, I want to discourage you from using generative AI to complete any writing task or assigned reading for the course. There’s a crucial distinction here. The lack of complete ban means that there’s some room for negotiation and dialogue on the use of generative AI in case of certain learning activities. However, there’re a few important considerations: 1) First, I want you to be more proactive and forthcoming with me if you plan to use generative AI for a particular writing stage or learning activity. Think of it as obtaining permission first, before using generative AI. 2) The use of generative AI can be permissible in areas such as conducting research or generating an outline. 3) Informing me beforehand about your interest in using generative AI will NOT impact your grade and it will NOT impact my estimation of you. In fact, I will take your request as an opportunity to learn more about your learning needs and support you. 4) I may also route your request via Library and Academic Technology at SWAT who has an excellent document on how to enlist their service on responsible and ethical use of generative AI. 5) Finally, to be clear, the use of generative AI is NOT permissible to generate content for reading responses or writing assignments under any circumstances. Their use is only negotiable for pre-drafting or post-drafting stage.

Accommodation Policy

I want all students to have the best possible chance to succeed in this course and those include neurodiverse learners. If you believe you need accommodations for a disability or a chronic medical condition, please contact Student Disability Services via email at [email protected] to arrange an appointment to discuss your needs. As appropriate, the office will issue students with documented disabilities or medical conditions a formal Accommodations Letter. Since accommodations require early planning and are not retroactive, please contact Student Disability Services as soon as possible. For details about the accommodations process, visit the Student Disability Services website. You are also welcome to contact me, your instructor, privately to discuss your academic needs. However, all disability-related accommodations must be arranged, in advance, through Student Disability Services.

Sexual Misconduct & Title IX

As a Swarthmore employee, I’m required by law to report any disclosures of sexual assault or harassment to the Title IX Coordinator. These reports are private, but must include identifiable information about the victim. The reporting will include the date, time, location (on or off-campus) of assault, and whether or not the victim and/or perpetrator are Swarthmore students. Once the Title IX Coordinator receives a report, they will send the victim information about support and resources, and invite them to come in for assistance. While the College has an obligation to reach out to provide resources and assess campus safety, the victim is not required to participate in a meeting or possible investigation. More specific information and resources are available at Sexual Harassment/Assault Resources & Education.

Other Campus Resources

Swarthmore provides a range of resources for your personal excellence, well-being, and academic success. Please avail of these resources/services to succeed in this course and your academic career. If there is any source you’re aware of that you think your peers will benefit from but not listed here, please suggest them here using the comment feature.