Matt King



WRIT 499: The Writers ProjectFall 2017Policy Statement – 2 Schedule – 5Assignments – 7 WRIT 499: The Writers ProjectFall 2017Professor: Matt King (he, him, his)Email: mrking@sbu.eduPhone: 716.375.2457Office Hours: Monday & Wednesday 2:30-4:00 and by appointmentOffice Location: Plassmann D6Class Website: and Creative Writing Major ObjectivesStudents will:Write effective texts in different genres and in multiple media to respond to a variety of professional and creative needs.Construct their own professional identities as writers, readers, and researchers who can make valuable contributions in a variety of professional settings.Interpret cultural, political, and historical situations using specific theories from rhetorical, literary, and writing studies.Display the ethical commitment of writers to improve society.Course DescriptionThe Writers Project gives students an experiential learning component to their education that allows them to see what it's like to work professionally in a writing-related context. Students serve as the editorial staff for an online literary magazine that will service not only St. Bonaventure, but also the wider community, with a special focus on servicing Western New York. Students will review submissions, copyedit/proof selections, work with writers to develop pieces, solicit pieces from established writers, and provide content of their own. Beyond editorial work, students will be involved with marketing/promoting the literary magazine, and they will be involved with the basic management of its technical components. 3 credits. [We wrote this description while proposing the PCW major, but we dropped the plans for a new online literary magazine (if you are interested in working on a literary journal, check out The Laurel here at Bonaventure). But the class still emphasizes professionalization and experiential learning. This is closer to the mark:]The Writers Project offers an opportunity for experiential learning and taking up writing as a practice for doing things in the world. Pushing ourselves beyond the confines of the classroom, we will approach writing as a professional skill and a tool for social action and community engagement. Framing our work as a “project” resonates on two levels: as a class, we will think of ourselves as a collection of writers taking on collaborative projects that achieve a broader vision with constituents beyond the classroom; as individuals, we will work to project ourselves – our skills, interests, passions, and investments – out into the world as we work with others beyond our classroom walls. Our work will involve communicating with project collaborators, producing writing toward the development of projects, making reports to the class on the progress of the projects, and doing readings that speak to this sort of collaborative and professional writing work.Course GoalsAs a capstone for the Professional and Creative Writing major, the course aims to prepare you for professional writing work while drawing on the range of capacities and strengths you have developed throughout your classes. Our course goals thus focus on three areas related to this transition beyond the classroom. Our attention to these goals will foreground ethical considerations as well, emphasizing what it means to be an ethical problem-solver, collaborator, and professional.Problem-solving. Framing writing as problem-solving helps us attend to the various challenges that arise while working on a writing project. These challenges multiply and intensify when writing involves working with others, seeking out access to people or technologies or funding, or adapting your work to the necessary and available means of publication. This class aims to make you a better problem-solver by putting you in situations that require problem-solving and helping you navigate them. Collaboration. Even if your future work does not involve working on a writing team or answering to a boss or team leader, writing in the professional world is inherently collaborative. Some writers work with agents, editors, publishers, and graphic designers. Some writers work with coauthors and interview subjects. Working as a writer will necessarily involve collaborating with others in some way. This class aims to make you a better collaborator by grounding our work in collaborative projects that require cooperation and effective communication.Professionalization. For our purposes, professionalization involves working to prepare your writing for professional audiences and situations. This includes concerns related to formality and polish but extends to the challenge of establishing a portfolio of writing work. This class aims to help you develop a professional portfolio through a series of supplemental writing assignments that ask you to reflect on your work and frame it in terms of your broader development, goals, and identity.Course TextsAll readings will be made available online as needed.GradingWe will be using the Learning Record for grading and assessment purposes this semester. The guidelines and procedures for working with the Learning Record, including policies on late work and attendance, are explained further on the course website. This assessment model puts a heavy emphasis on self-assessment and evaluation; while I will give you feedback on your work, I will not give you specific grades on any assignment, and you will make an argument for your semester grade based on the given criteria. Your main work this semester will fall into the following categories:Class participationProject workSupplemental writingDigital media literaciesStudent Success CenterRevising and responding to feedback will be an invaluable part of your development as a writer this semester. Toward this end, you are strongly encouraged to visit me during office hours or by appointment, and you are also strongly encouraged to visit the Student Success Center on the first floor of Plassmann Hall. Academic Integrity Academic dishonesty is inconsistent with the moral character expected of students in a University committed to the spiritual and intellectual growth of the whole person. It also subverts the academic process by distorting all measurements. A list of unacceptable practices and procedures to be followed in prosecuting cases of alleged academic dishonesty may be found in the Student Handbook and here.Students with Disabilities Students with disabilities who believe they may need accommodations in this class are encouraged to contact the Disability Support Services Office (Doyle 26, 716-375-2066) as soon as possible to better ensure that such accommodations are implemented in a timely fashion. Documentation from this office is required before accommodations can be made. Please see the official SBU Student with Disabilities policy here.EmailEmail will serve as an official means of communication for this class, and you should check the email account you have registered with the university regularly. Feel free to email me with your questions and concerns. Title IXTitle IX makes it clear that violence and harassment based on sex and gender are Civil Rights offenses subject to the same kinds of accountability and the same kinds of support applied to offenses against other protected categories such as race, national origin, etc. If you or someone you know has been harassed or assaulted, you can find the appropriate resources at the Health and Wellness Center or at the Campus Safety Office. For on-campus reporting, see the Title IX Coordinator (Sharon Burke, Director of Human Resources) and Residence Life Staff (RAs, RDs, and other professional staff). The University’s policy and procedures regarding gender-based and sexual misconduct can be found online.In the event of an emergency, call Campus Safety at 716-375-2525 or contact Nichole Gonzalez, Residential Living and Conduct, 716-375-2572, ngonzale@sbu.edu. Be aware that most university employees are mandated reporters.WRIT 101 – ScheduleDateMajor Due Dates; Homework (due day listed); In classM 8/28Introduction to CourseW 8/30Read Learning Record materials, assignments, and project descriptionsF 9/1Project Ideas dueM 9/4Learning Record Interview and Personal Reflection dueW 9/6Read “Crossing Battle Lines”; Battle Lines QuestionsF 9/8Project Proposals dueM 9/11Project Work/Supplemental Writing due; Zola Cao visitW 9/13Read Saunders, OlderF 9/15Discuss Project EthicsM 9/18Project Work/Supplemental Writing dueW 9/20Statement of Purpose dueF 9/22Project updatesM 9/25Project Work/Supplemental Writing due; Discuss LynchW 9/27Learning Record workF 9/29Project updatesM 10/2Project Work/Supplemental Writing dueW 10/4Read “Analyzing Multimodal Projects” and look at these sites (1, 2, 3); Professional website workF 10/6Project updatesW 10/11Discuss LR MidtermF 10/13Learning Record Midterm dueM 10/16Project Work/Supplemental Writing dueW 10/18Workshop projectsF 10/20Project updatesM 10/23Project Work/Supplemental Writing dueW 10/25Workshop projectsF 10/27Project updatesM 10/30Project Work/Supplemental Writing dueW 11/1Discuss calendars (see 1, 2, 3)F 11/3Project Update dueM 11/6Workshop projectsW 11/8Workshop projectsF 11/10Workshop projectsM 11/13Professional Website due for peer reviewsW 11/15Resume due for class workshopF 11/17Project updatesM 11/20Project Work/Supplemental Writing dueM 11/27Project Work/Supplemental Writing dueW 11/29Workshop projectsF 12/1Project updatesM 12/4Final Portfolio dueW 12/6ConferencesF 12/8Learning Record Final dueClass ParticipationWhile participation in class discussions and activities is important in any class, our class will be entirely driven by student participation. Many of our class sessions will function as project meetings where you will be responsible for updating the class on your progress, explaining plans for the future, addressing challenges and questions for the project, and helping your classmates think through their projects. We will also have opportunities to discuss and offer feedback on our writing and to use class time toward project development. You will share the responsibility for making class time productive, a responsibility that requires leadership, organization, and self-motivation.Digital Media LiteraciesIn addition to our main project work and supplementary writing, you may also have the opportunity to develop specific digital media literacies to enhance your professional skills. This work would largely be self-directed, although I would be happy to discuss your work with you and help how I can. You are particularly encouraged to take advantage of the resources at the Digital Media Center in the library. To provide evidence of your enhanced literacies and skills, you can produce relevant texts (a website, images, audio or video recordings, 3D objects, etc.) or write about your work and development. You are particularly encouraged to work with the following technologies and modes of digital production:Website Design (focusing on principles of design and/or coding)Image Production (working with the Adobe Creative Cloud)Audio ProductionVideo Production3D PrintersIf you are interested in developing other digital literacies or professional skill sets, let me know.Project WorkOur main work this semester will involve working on collaborative projects that meet the following criteria:Projects should involve some form of writing or digital production, allowing you to draw on skills and strengths developed through other courses you have taken.Projects should involve collaboration with others outside of class, whether an individual, multiple people, or an organization. You can also collaborate with others in class.You should be able to articulate a clear goal or purpose for the project. This purpose can be social, academic, or professional.You can work on a series of short projects or a larger project, but you should be able to complete the project within the scope of the semester.You will be responsible for developing the project, figuring out what work needs to be done, setting reasonable deadlines, and keeping the project on track in collaboration with your project members. The following assignments will help us develop project ideas and launch our projects.Project IdeasFor this assignment, you should develop five project ideas. You may not end up working on all these projects, but the ideas should give you a foundation to build on as we think about possibilities for the semester. Your project ideas should be submitted as an attachment or link via email no later than noon on Friday, September 1. Your work should address the following prompts for each idea:Describe the project. What would it involve? What is the goal of the project?What sort of collaboration would be involved? Who would you work with?How long do you think the project would take? What sort of steps would be involved?What technologies or resources would be necessary to complete the project?What would come out of the project? What are the deliverables and final products?Project ProposalThis assignment will follow the same approach as the Project Ideas assignment, but here you should focus on one project and develop your thoughts further. We produced the Project Ideas for brainstorming purposes; for the Project Proposal, you should articulate a vision of the project that gives us a clear sense for what you will be doing and what you will achieve. The proposal should be submitted as an attachment or link via email no later than noon on Friday, September 8. Your work should address the following prompts:Describe the project. What does it involve? What is the goal of the project?What sort of collaboration will be involved? Include a list of specific project members, including yourself, and describe everyone’s responsibilities.Give a specific timeline of events and deadlines for the project.Identify the technologies and resources necessary to complete the project and describe how they will be used.Identify the project deliverables, what will come out of the project. What products will come out of your writing and digital production work?Ongoing Project WorkYou will be responsible for submitting work at the beginning of each week demonstrating progress on your project. Beyond work for the project itself, you can work in the following directions as well:Project Research. You can enhance your project work by researching similar projects as reference points. In “Crossing Battle Lines,” we included research related to ARGs, rhetorical studies, gaming in education, and digital literacies, which offered a richer context for understanding and situating our project. You can do research relevant to your own project, both to generate project ideas and to enhance any reflective writing you do about your project.Project Updates. Writing updates serves as a way of documenting your progress and keeping people in the loop. Such updates can address what you have done throughout the past week, how things are progressing overall, and what the next steps are.Project Reflections. These will be more relevant once you complete a project, but you can take notes in this direction along the way. Such reflections can be relevant and helpful for professional audiences who are evaluating you as a potential employee or project member, for people taking up similar projects who want to learn from your experience, and for yourself. Such reflections should address the purpose of the project, any relevant contexts for the project (see Project Research above), project design, how the project unfolded and developed, what came out of the project, and conclusions or insights you reached from working on the project.Project UpdateThis assignment (minimum 800 words, submitted via email as an attachment) asks you to check in on your project progress, assessing where you are at and what you have left to do for the semester. You should approach this paper as a formal progress report like you would make at work to update colleagues or supervisors. You are welcome to draw on other writing you have done this semester (the project proposal, weekly updates, etc.). Your thinking should address the following prompts:What are the main goals of your project? What are you hoping to achieve? How has your understanding of the project and the project goals changed throughout the semester?To what extent have you achieved your project goals? What progress have you made on your project up to this point of the semester? What work has been completed, and how successful has this work been?What do you still need to achieve on the project between now and the end of the semester? What goals have not been addressed or achieved? What specific steps will you take to achieve these goals (include deadlines)?Supplemental WritingOur main course efforts will involve working on collaborative projects, but we will also produce writing that helps us reflect on our work and package it for professional audiences. You will be responsible for finishing this writing alongside your main project work.Professional PortfolioWebsite. A site that compiles, organizes, and comments upon your writing work and professional materials. You can use a website developed for another class or create a new one.CV/Resume. An overview of your educational and professional experiences.Statement of purpose. A statement of purpose will be particularly useful if you apply to graduate programs, but it can also help you articulate – both to yourself and a broader audience – who you are as a writer, what you’ve done and where you are headed. Following advice from people like Kendall Dunkelberg and Cady Vishniac, your statement of purpose should mainly tell us about your past (particularly in terms of academic experience and perhaps personal experience; emphasize what has shaped and prepared you as a writer), your present (current situation, recent work), and your writing (what you write about and why, the writing you are aiming to do into the future, your writing influences, what you have published).Project overviews. Similar to project reflections, such writing presents your project work to an outside audience, explaining the work you did on a given project and what you got out of it.Discussion of internships, extracurriculars, etc. Describe what you have done and how this work or experience has shaped you as a person and a writer.Learning RecordWe will be using the Learning Record for grading and assessment purposes this semester. This assessment model puts a heavy emphasis on self-assessment and evaluation; while I will be giving you feedback on your work, I will not give you specific grades on any assignment, and you will make an argument for your semester grade based on your development as a writer, thinker, and learner. The following links offer an overview of the main terms, concepts, and criteria you will use to assess and evaluate your development over the semester.Dimensions of LearningCourse StrandsGrading CriteriaAs we move through the semester, you will complete the following assignments and activities for the Learning Record:Interview and Personal ReflectionObservationsMidterm Reflection HYPERLINK "" Final ReflectionDimensions of LearningLearning theorists have argued that learning and development cannot be broken down into discrete and precise steps but is rather an organic process that unfolds in complex ways. Teaching and learning occur in dynamic environments where teachers, students, texts, technologies, concepts, social structures, and architectures interact. In our reflection papers, you will be documenting evidence of your development across six dimensions. These six dimensions cannot be “separated out” and treated individually; rather, they are dynamically interwoven. Our goals for a particular class should describe a trajectory of learning across multiple dimensions, and our measurements should be able to identify the paths taken by students and their progress from their individual starting points along that trajectory.Confidence and IndependenceThis dimension addresses your level of confidence and independence when facing learning challenges. It is not necessarily the case that “more is better.” For example, an overconfident student who has relied on faulty or underdeveloped skills and strategies can learn to seek help when facing an obstacle; an independent student can learn to work collaboratively. In both cases, students are developing along the dimension of confidence and independence.Skills and StrategiesSkills and strategies represent the “know-how” aspect of learning. When we speak of “performance” or “mastery,” we generally mean that learners have developed skills and strategies to function successfully in certain situations. Skills and strategies are not only specific to particular disciplines, but they often cross disciplinary boundaries. In a writing class, for example, students develop many skills and strategies involved in communicating and composing effectively.Knowledge and UnderstandingKnowledge and understanding refers to the “content” knowledge gained in particular subject areas and is the most familiar dimension, focusing on the “know-what” aspect of learning. In a psychology class, knowledge and understanding might answer a wide range of questions such as, What is Freud’s concept of ego? Who was Carl Jung? What is “behaviorism”? These are typical content questions. Knowledge and understanding includes what students are learning about topics; research methods; the theories, concepts, and practices of a discipline; the methods of organizing and presenting ideas to others; etc.Use of Prior and Emerging ExperienceThe use of prior and emerging experience involves learners’ abilities to draw on their own experience and connect it to their work. A crucial but often unrecognized dimension of learning is the capacity to make use of prior experience as well as emerging experience in new situations. In a math class, for example, students scaffold new knowledge through applying the principles and procedures they’ve already learned: algebra depends on the capacity to apply basic arithmetic procedures.ReflectionReflection refers to the developing awareness of the learner’s own learning process, as well as more analytical approaches to the subject being studied. When we speak of reflection as a crucial component of learning, we are referring to the learner’s ability to step back and consider a situation critically and analytically with growing insight into his or her own learning processes. For example, students in a history class examining fragmentary documents and researching an era or event use reflection to discover patterns in the evidence and construct a historical narrative. Learners draw on this capability to use what they are learning in other contexts, recognize the limitations or obstacles confronting them in a given situation, take advantage of their prior knowledge and experience, and strengthen their work.Creativity, Originality, ImaginationAs learners progress across the dimensions of learning, they generally become more playful and experimental, more creative in the expression of that learning. This is true not only in “creative” fields but in nearly all domains. In all fields, primary contributions at the highest levels are the result of creative or imaginative work. Even in the early stages of learning in a discipline, exploration and experimentation, taking new or unexpected perspectives, and playfulness should be recognized and encouraged as a natural part of the learning process. Among other things, it recognizes the value of creative experimentation even when the final result of the work may not succeed as intended.Course StrandsAs a capstone for the Professional and Creative Writing major, this course aims to prepare you for professional writing work while drawing on the range of capacities and strengths you have developed throughout your classes. Our course strands (which mirror the course goals) thus focus on three areas related to this transition beyond the classroom. Our attention to these goals will foreground ethical considerations as well, emphasizing what it means to be an ethical problem-solver, collaborator, and professional.Problem-solvingFraming writing as problem-solving helps us attend to the various challenges that arise while working on a writing project. These challenges multiply and intensify when writing involves working with others, seeking out access to people or technologies or funding, or adapting your work to the necessary and available means of publication. This class aims to make you a better problem-solver by putting you in situations that require problem-solving and helping you navigate them.CollaborationEven if your future work does not involve working on a writing team or answering to a boss or team leader, writing in the professional world is inherently collaborative. Some writers work with agents, editors, publishers, and graphic designers. Some writers work with coauthors and interview subjects. Working as a writer will necessarily involve collaborating with others in some way. This class aims to make you a better collaborator by grounding our work in collaborative projects that require cooperation and effective communication.ProfessionalizationFor our purposes, professionalization involves working to prepare your writing for professional audiences and situations. This includes concerns related to formality and polish but extends to the challenge of establishing a portfolio of writing work. This class aims to help you develop a professional portfolio through a series of supplemental writing assignments that ask you to reflect on your work and frame it in terms of your broader development, goals, and identity.Grading CriteriaWhen you make an argument for your grade in the Midterm and Final Reflections, you will use the following grading criteria. You are welcome to use the +/- system if your grade falls somewhere in between these categories.ARepresents excellent participation in all course activities and excellent quality work produced for the course. Evidence of significant development across the dimensions of learning and course strands. The Learning Record at this level demonstrates activity that goes significantly beyond the required course work.BRepresents good participation in all course activities and consistently high quality work. Evidence of significant development across the dimensions of learning and course strands.CRepresents acceptable participation in all course activities and generally good quality work. Evidence of some development across the dimensions of learning and course strands.DRepresents uneven participation in course activities and inconsistent quality work or some gaps in assigned work completed. Evidence of development across the dimensions of learning and course strands is partial or unclear.FRepresents minimal participation in course activities, serious gaps in assigned work completed, or very low quality in course work. Little to no evidence of development across the dimensions of learning and course strands.Late WorkWork deadlines will emerge out of the projects you develop, and it will be important to submit all work to your project collaborators on time. Late work affects the quality and success of your projects and can thus affect your grade.AttendanceYou are expected to attend class regularly, prepared to contribute to the conversations and activities for the day. If you are absent more than three times throughout the semester, you cannot get higher than a B+ for the course. If you are absent more than six times throughout the semester, you cannot pass the course. Tardiness can affect your attendance as well; every three times you are late to class counts as an absence.Interview and Personal ReflectionOur first Learning Record assignment aims to establish a baseline we can use to track your development across the semester. This assignment includes two parts: an interview with someone who knows you well and a personal reflection. Both parts should be compiled in a single document and emailed to me as an attachment or link. There is not a length requirement, but both parts should be substantial and specific.InterviewInterview another person who knows you well—for example, a parent or other family member, close friend, or teacher. The interview should focus on the person’s impressions of your development as a reader, writer, and thinker. For example, what are their thoughts on your strengths and weaknesses, your interests and disinterests, your progress and development over time or in different classes or situations? Your write-up should include the name of the interviewee, their relationship to you, the interview date, and a transcript of the interview or a summary with some specific quotes.Personal ReflectionReflect on your own development with reference to the dimensions of learning and course strands. For example, how would you describe your confidence and independence, your creativity and originality, and your problem-solving skills? Provide specific examples where applicable.ObservationsThe Midterm and Final Reflections for the Learning Record will ask you to reflect on your development throughout the semester. In order to support your self-assessment, you will need to provide evidence from your work and experience this semester. Much of this evidence will come from the project work and supplemental writing you do throughout the semester, but making observations about your learning and development will provide another source of evidence.This activity asks you to record observations you make about your learning throughout the semester, particularly with reference to the dimensions of learning and course strands. For example, if you have a meeting with a project-collaborator and have an experience of successful collaboration, make a note of it as an observation; if you have a moment of understanding during a class conversation, record it as an observation. Any experience you have that embodies a moment of learning or development can be observed and recorded as part of your Learning Record.To keep track of your observations, you should create a document that compiles them over time. For each observation, include the date and time, the context of the observation (where you were and what you were doing), and what exactly you observed. You should aim to make at least a few observations every week. Again, you will be able to use these observations as evidence to support your self-assessment and evaluation at the end of the semester.Midterm ReflectionThis assignment gives you an opportunity to reflect on the work you have done this semester and to think about ways you can continue to improve throughout the rest of the semester. This paper will not have a direct impact on your grade, but it will give you a sense for where you stand now and help you prepare for your Learning Record Final at the end of the semester. To complete the Midterm, you should complete the following steps.1) Look over the dimensions of learning and the course strands. These categories and concepts will give you a framework for thinking about your development this semester.2) Compile and look over all of the work you’ve done so far this semester: the initial Learning Record interview and personal reflection, project work, supplementary writing, observations, etc.3) Write a reflection (1400-2000 words) that examines and demonstrates your development so far this semester. Your paper should address the following questions and prompts.How have you developed with reference to the dimensions of learning and course strands? Keep in mind that development doesn’t have to be “positive.” Development can involve confusion, trying and failing, etc., just as much as it involves success. Be sure to point to specific examples from your work and observations to support and provide evidence for your development.Where was your work most and least successful this semester? What made this work particularly effective or ineffective? What were the main comments you received on your work, whether from project collaborators, peers, your instructor, or other outside help? What steps did you take to address these comments?How would you describe the efforts you made in this class? Consider both the amount of effort you put into the course and how productive and effective this effort was. How much time did you spend on different work? Which efforts felt most productive and effective? Least so?In your last paragraph, you should evaluate yourself using specific?grading criteria and explain the reasoning behind your evaluation. Give yourself a specific letter grade (feel free to use + or – grades if you fit between two different categories) and explain why this grade is appropriate. NOTE: The grade that you give yourself at this point will not affect your Learning Record Final. It will only give you a sense for where you stand at this point and what you can do to continue improving throughout the semester.4) Email your Learning Record Midterm to me.Final ReflectionThis assignment gives you an opportunity to reflect on the work you have done this semester and to assess and evaluate your learning and development. To complete the Final, you should address the following prompts.1) Look over the dimensions of learning and the course strands. These categories and concepts will give you a framework for thinking about your development this semester.2) Compile and look over all of the work you’ve done this semester: the initial Learning Record interview and personal reflection, the Learning Record Midterm, project work, supplementary writing, observations, etc.3) Write a reflection (1800-2500 words) that examines and demonstrates your development so far this semester. Your paper should address the following questions and prompts.How have you developed with reference to the dimensions of learning and course strands? Keep in mind that development doesn’t have to be “positive.” Development can involve confusion, trying and failing, etc., just as much as it involves success. Be sure to point to specific examples from your work and observations to support and provide evidence for your development.Where was your work most and least successful this semester? What made this work particularly effective or ineffective? What were the main comments you received on your work, whether from project collaborators, peers, your instructor, or other outside help? What steps did you take to address these comments?How would you describe the efforts you made in this class? Consider both the amount of effort you put into the course and how productive and effective this effort was. How much time did you spend on different work? Which efforts felt most productive and effective? Least so?In your last paragraph, you should evaluate yourself using specific?grading criteria and explain the reasoning behind your evaluation. Give yourself a specific letter grade (feel free to use + or – grades if you fit between two different categories) and explain why this grade is appropriate.4) Email your Learning Record Midterm to me. ................
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