wp home > junior year writing > sourcebook for instructors > women's studies 391w

WOST 391W: Writing for Women's Studies Majors

Kirsten Isgro, Fall 2006

Course Description
This junior-year writing course provides fundamental instruction in critical thinking and composition techniques as well as the process of research and documentation necessary for academic and professional contexts. The aim of this course is to acquaint students with the many genres and styles of writing and research practices expected from Seniors and graduates of the Women’s Studies major.  WOST 391W is structured around a set of readings selected to represent a large variety of stylistic approaches including scholarly writings in a number of fields, cultural text (e.g. film, book, music, art) reviews/critiques, journal writing, letters to the editor, zines, web pages, personal and self-reflexive prose, and conference abstracts/reports.  Readings will be selected from academic, professional, and public contexts, and assignments will facilitate skill development in critical reading, thinking, writing, and research.

To bring substantive coherence to the course, we will focus on readings by authors that present the political, ideological, personal, and cultural positionings of feminisms.   Some of the readings are from feminists who, over the last thirty years, have helped define and shape our understandings of feminism; other readings are  from self-defined anti-feminists who challenge feminism both in principle and in practice.  For our purposes throughout the semester we will be asking the main question:  What does feminism look like in the 21st century?  I pose this question to guide us through our readings, personal reflections, writing assignments and class discussions. I also ask this question to Women’s Studies majors, who, as part of larger disparate communities, are the voices of feminism.  The underlying objective of asking this question for WOST 391W is the belief that both writing and feminism matter; the written word is intricately related to how one negotiates with self and others in the past, present, and future. 

Course Objectives
The goal of this course is to hone your writing abilities in response to a variety of contexts and audiences.  WOST 391W is divided into five modules:  writing (autobiographical) prose; summarizing arguments; evaluating arguments; writing as politics; and building research and writing skills in Women’s Studies. Through producing multiple written assignments of differing lengths and purposes, we will work together to meet the following goals:

Course Materials

Texts are available at Food for Thought Bookstore, 106 North Pleasant Street, Amherst.  Colonize This! is also being held at the Reserve Desk, Du Bois Library. 

Course Requirements
The pre-requisite for this junior-year writing course is Englwrit 112/113 or an approved transfer course for first-year writing. The junior-year requirement can only be met with a course in a student's major.  

Please read the Code of Student Conduct and especially the regulations pertaining to academic honesty, grading, attendance, examinations, and absences due to religious observance  (http://www.umass.edu/dean_students/code_conduct).   We will pay strict attention to these.

Writing Projects
This course combines “low stakes” writing assignments (writing exercises that are reviewed but not graded, including multiple in-class writing assignments and journal entries submitted online) and “high stakes” writing (formal written papers). The assignments include: five formal written papers, a series of in-class writing exercises, an annotated bibliography, an abstract, and peer reviews/edits.  Check the syllabus for due dates for individual assignments.  (More on Projects in Assignments Section.)

Peer Review/Attendance/Participation
Your physical presence along with your active participation makes up a sizable portion of your grade in this course.  It is critical that you attend class in order to understand assignments, ask questions about project requirements, and review peer work. You are expected to complete assigned readings before the session in which it is scheduled and come to class prepared to discuss the main points and ask/answer relevant questions.  There will be various homework and in-class activities throughout the semester, which will include submitting an online journal entry (minimum 250 word entry, 5 entries total of your choosing) and reviewing and carefully editing your colleagues’ work.  Throughout the semester, you will be required to write about the course readings, do some online research and take initiative in classroom discussion. You will not be allowed to make up these exercises, so choose your absences wisely. 

Writing Portfolios
Each formal writing assignment must be submitted in portfolio form (notes or outlines made en route to your first draft, the first draft, the peer response, the final draft). This provides a means of avoiding charges of plagiarism, and a way of documenting positively your writing progress.  The Writing Portfolio will also include any submitted and graded journal entries from the semester.  You will hand in the portfolio on the last day of class for a final grade; all work will be returned to you. 

Student Conferences
Learning to write benefits from close reading and one-on-one discussion of your work. As such, during Fridays of weeks #10 and 11 we will schedule student-teacher conferences to discuss progress in the course, work through major assignments and discuss the development of your writing.  These conferences will also give us the chance to begin thinking about possibilities for your final cultural text analysis project.  

Grading

Grade scale: A (94-100), A- (92-93.5), B+ (90-91.5), B (82-89.5), B- (80-81.5), C+ (78-79.5), C (70-77.5), C- (68-69.5), D+ (66-67.5), D (58-65.5), D- (50.5-57.5), F (0-50) 

Course Policies

1. Attendance: Attendance is necessary since new information about assignments will be presented every class, and various pieces of the writing process will be discussed. Participation is worth 10% of your final grade.  This attendance requirement safeguards against unnecessary repetition of the lessons as well as any surprises in the grades your papers will receive: when you attend, you will know the details of each assignment, and therefore you will be clear on what is expected.  If you are ill or otherwise impaired, or have an athletic event notify me in advance and provide appropriate written documentation. If you celebrate specific religious holidays that conflict with class, please inform me prior to your absence to make specific arrangements. You are allocated three unexcused absences for the semester without penalty.  Your final grade will be deducted by 5 points for every additional class missed past 3 unexcused/undocumented absences. Students who miss more than six (6) classes during the semester will fail.

2. Preparedness: It is imperative that readings be done before class, that you think about these readings, and that you are prepared to contribute to a discussion about them.

3. Deadlines: All assignments are due at the beginning of class on the date set in the class schedule. If your paper is not ready at that time, it is a late paper. Your ideas deserve the time required for careful organization, clarity, and sophistication, so plan ahead.  Other than your five (5) journal entries, electronic paper submissions will not be accepted. 

4. Rewrites:  Students will be expected to write drafts of the main graded assignments for this course to be shared with instructor and peers.  Substantial revisions of drafts are an intregal aspect of the writing process.  However, you may rewrite any or all of your final essays to achieve the grade you desire, provided that the following requirements are met:

5. Paper Format: Typed, double-space, 12-point font, one-inch margins, page numbers. Papers are to be stapled. If the pages are not stapled, I will not read or grade your paper. I expect you to use the spell check function on your word processing program. In general, you should always have someone proofread your work before handing it in; if you have particular trouble with spelling, grammar and syntax, a proofreader is a must.  All formal writing assignments must have a coherent, original thesis and support for your argument. Students must incorporate proper in-text and bibliographical citation of sources according to the Modern Language Association (MLA) or American Psychological Association (APA) citation style. 

6. Plagiarism: I assume that students are generally honest.  However, necessary action will be taken against students who commit plagiarism and academic dishonesty in compliance with official University guidelines.  All projects must be your own and must be original to WOST391W, Fall 2006. Submissions of content from other courses will not be accepted. In this course, plagiarism carries the grade of F for the assignment as well as the course. For proper citation of text and ideas that are not your own, please refer to your course book, writer’s reference, or see me.  For the definition of “plagiarism” adopted in this class, and for procedures concerning academic dishonesty, see sections I and II, “Academic Honesty,” in the UMass Amherst Code of Student Conduct. Find it here: http://www.umass.edu/dean_students/code_conduct/acad_honest.htm.

7. Unique Needs: Please be sure to notify me in the first two weeks of class if you have needs that require specific accommodations. Obviously this class requires you to pay attention to your writing skills so let me know if you have special learning or writing needs.

8. UMass Writing Center, Bartlett Hall 303A : The Writing Center provides one-on-one assistance to writers at every stage of the writing process. For those students who are having specific difficulties, consultation with the Writing Center staff is highly recommended. At times I may refer students for particular problems. The Writing Center offers drop-in service (http://writingprogram.hfa.umass.edu/writingcenter). They may be reached at writingcenter@acad.umass.edu.

Available online at http://www.umass.edu/wost/syllabi/fall06/391W.pdf

 

UMail / UDrive / Spark / Spire