Assignments
This page provides an overview of the work that contributes to your final course grade, and connects you to descriptions for those projects and workshops through the links below. (Note that no descriptive detail appears on SVSU Canvas for any of these assignments.) I activate assignment pages as we need them, so do not worry if you cannot access all of the descriptions at the beginning of the semester.
Your course grade is computed from the points you earn on 4 projects and 16 workshops. Combined, these assignments total 2200 points.
You can read more about grading and what factors might influence your grade on the Policies page.
Projects
I use the term projects to categorize assignments that are significant undertakings, and that require development and refinement time that may span several weeks of the semester. You will complete 4 projects this semester that collectively contribute 1400 possible points to your course grade.
These projects represent connected pairs of challenges. Projects 1 and 4 (Writing Habits, Strategies, & Technologies and Reflections on the Journey) present your ongoing examination of and reflection upon your journey as a writer/thinker/creator to SVSU and during the Fall 2022 semester. Projects 2 and 3 (Analysis: Issues and Arguments and Analysis: People, Positions, & Values) present your examination of a contemporary conversation about an issue that is significant to a community.
Each project description details several elements of the work, including design requirements, hints and tips, and submission guidelines. Use the links below to access those descriptions.
- Writing Habits, Strategies, & Technologies (WHST). 250 points, 1000 words. The WHST project serves two purposes: (1) to describe and examine the approaches to writing challenges that have defined your personal, professional, and academic experiences prior to enrolling in this course; and (2) to provide a space for preliminary reflection upon those experiences. The WHST is challenging because it emphasizes both detailed reporting and careful reflection.
- Analysis: Issues and Stakes (AIS). 250 points, 1250 words. The AIS project presents your examination of a significant contemporary conversation. Your discussion will frame the core issues that define that conversation and the stakes that make it significant. The AIS is challenging because it requires you to identify the points of difference / contention in a community exchange, and to frame the core arguments fairly and accurately.
- Analysis: People, Positions, & Values (APPV). 450 points, 1500 to 2000 words. The APPV project presents the evolution of your analytical work on a community conversation. Building upon elements you developed in the AIS project, you examine the key voices in the conversation, including the arguments that define their positions and values they represent. The project culminates in your assessment of the quality and effectiveness of these elements. The APPV is challenging because it requires respectful representation of people, positions, and values, and careful analysis of quality in these same areas of inquiry.
- Reflections on the Journey (RotJ). 450 points, 1500 to 2000 words. The RotJ builds upon the WHST project to include examination of your ongoing explorations of and reflections upon writing processes. At the core of this discussion is the journey map research you conduct throughout the semester. The RotJ is challenging because it requires a combination of description, analysis, and reflection in the primary written components of the project, as well as awareness of visual design strategies to effectively communicate your semester-long writing journey.
Workshops
I use the term workshops to categorize assignments that are smaller scale than projects, work that can be completed in the space of a single class session, or within the space of a single class week. The concepts, strategies, and practices examined through workshops build and reinforce your working knowledge of writing strategies for the course. You will complete 16 workshops this semester that collectively contribute 800 possible points to your course grade. Each workshop will result in a summary report or other submission.
Each workshop description details several elements of the work, including design and discussion requirements, and submission guidelines. I will provide links to some of these assignments below during the semester. Some may not require an extensive description, and in such cases will depend upon our in-class discussions and activities.
- Writing Habits, Strategies, & Technologies. 50 points. Discussion, analysis, and reflection upon writing habits, strategies, and technologies.
- Journey Mapping Research Strategies. 50 points. Exploration of processes and strategies for journey mapping research methods.
- Library Strategies 1. 50 points. Preparation for library research.
- Stakeholder Analysis. 50 points. Examination of the stakes and stakeholders in contemporary exchanges.
- Reading & Analysis 1. 50 points. Exploration of strategies for critical reading and analysis of source materials.
- Library Strategies 2. 50 points. Conducting library research. Note: we meet in SVSU's Zahnow Library for this workshop.
- Peer Review 1. 50 points. Conducting peer review of project drafts: Writing Habits, Strategies, & Technologies.
- Editing & Revision 1. 50 points. Exploration of strategies for editing and revising written work, with emphasis on arguments and structures.
- Reading & Analysis 2. 50 points. Exploration of strategies for critical reading and analysis of source materials.
- Working With Sources 1. 50 points. Exploration of strategies for integrating source material into arguments.
- Journey Mapping Reflection & Design. 50 points. Examination of strategies for organizing and constructing journey maps.
- Peer Review 2. 50 points. Conducting peer review of project drafts: Analysis: Issues and Stakes.
- Editing & Revision 2. 50 points. Exploration of strategies for editing and revising written work, with emphasis on sentence- and paragraph-level expression.
- Peer Review 3. 50 points. Conducting peer review of project drafts: Reflections on the Journey.
- Working With Sources 2. 50 points. Exploration of strategies for integrating source material into arguments.
- Peer Review 4. 50 points. Conducting peer review of project drafts: Analysis: People, Positions, & Values.