All Purpose Materials for Teaching Writing

These materials are useful in a broad set of contexts and can be introduced at different parts of the semester. Includes pre-reading, advice on group work, class discussion strategies, rhetorical reading, charting, drafting, peer review, metadiscourse, teaching with visual texts, etc

Bean et al on Reading Rhetorically, plus Thonney on Academic Writing 

• Excerpts from chapters 1-2 and chapter 4 of Bean et al's Reading Rhetorically (password protected)
• John Bean's  "Helping Students Read Difficult Texts" (password protected)
• Teresa Thonney's article "Teaching the Conventions of Academic Discourse." (password protected)  

The Writing Spaces Textbook

Writing Spaces: Readings on Writing, Volumes 1 and 2, is a peer-reviewed open textbook series for the writing classroom. The two volumes are at http://writingspaces.org/essays and http://writingspaces.org/volume2 Many of the chapters fit our pedagogy well, and can help with many elements of teaching RWS100, particularly pre-reading, critical/rhetorical reading, charting, reflecting, and rhetorical analysis. Here are some sample chapters: 

• “What Is “Academic” Writing?” by L. Lennie Irvin.  http://writingspaces.org/sites/default/files/irvin--what-is-academic-writing.pdf 
• “Ten Ways To Think About Writing: Metaphoric Musings for College Writing Students, by E. Shelley Reid. http://writingspaces.org/sites/default/files/reid--ten-ways-to-think.pdf (from 
• “Reflective Writing and the Revision Process: What Were You Thinking?” by Sandra L. Giles http://writingspaces.org/essays/reflective-writing-and-the-revision 
• “Backpacks vs. Briefcases: Steps toward Rhetorical Analysis” by Laura Bolin Carroll http://writingspaces.org/sites/default/files/carroll--backpacks-vs-briefcases.pdf
• “Annoying Ways People Use Sources,” by Kyle D. Stedman. This could be used to supplement They Say/I Say on quotations.  http://writingspaces.org/sites/default/files/stedman--annoying-ways.pdf
• Finding the Good Argument OR Why Bother With Logic? by Rebecca Jones. Useful background on approaches to argument, plus some activities. Also introduces evaluating strengths of claims (may be too advanced)http://writingspaces.org/sites/default/files/jones--finding-the-good-argument.pdf 
• “Looking for Trouble: Finding Your Way into a Writing Assignment” by Catherine Savini  http://writingspaces.org/sites/default/files/savini--looking-for-trouble.pdf 
• Reading Games: Strategies for Reading Scholarly Sources by Karen Rosenberg http://writingspaces.org/rosenberg--reading-games

Lunsford et al's Everyone's An Author

This text will be published by Norton in August 2012. It looks useful. Advanced copies of two chapters are available. They are chapter 13, "Analyzing Arguments" and 

chapter 9, "Let's Take a Closer Look: Writing Analytically." We will try to get desk copies for teachers who'd like to try this text out. 

Icebreakers and All Purpose Activities to do in Class

• Icebreakers - doing introductions on first day of class.
• All purpose activities to do in class
• Keeping a portfolio

   

Making College Writing Work

• 31 Ways to Make College Papers Work (Handout that lists the myriad ways that first-year students can improve their early papers. It was derived from a list of repeated comments that occurred during a recent bout of commenting on first papers.Nancy Fox)
• Description of the differences between writing in high school and college as this relates to thinking about argument. Detailed analysis written by Ann Johns.

Introduction to Rhetoric, Argument and Key Terms

• Intro to Rhetoric, Argument & Key Terms. Some quotations describing rhetoric, the value of studying argument and the importance of writing to learning. Also, key terms - PACES (project, argument, claims, evidence, strategies) etc.
• Introduction to 100, the lower division writing program, and materials for introducing rhetoric - fairly large powerpoint file from TA orientation.

Prereading, charting, rhetorical reading, critical reading and analysis

• A large file full of materials and handouts on pre-reading, rhetorical reading, critical reading, and charting
• Analysis and critical reading: questions to pose to any text

Discussion Work and Group Work

• How to manage class discussion and carry out various forms of group work.

Strategies & Ethos, Pathos, Logos, Metadiscourse

• Handout and lesson plan for teaching ethos, pathos and logos.
• Handout:  "Ethos, pathos, logos - 3 ways of persuading an adudience." By Dr. John Edlund, Cal Poly Pomona and remixed by folks at CSULA. 
• Intro to rhetorical strategies in verbal and visual texts.
• How to Discuss Metadiscourse 
• Metadiscourse Handout with examples and analysis

Style, Grammar, Mechanics  

• Grammar & Mechanics - the most common problems & how to fix them
• Resources on Grammar & Mechanics - from the RWS100 collection 

• A compilation of Jim Garret's notes, exercises and glosses on Williams' Style, Ten Lessons in Clarity and Grace. There's a lot of generally useful advice you can use in class without having to refer to the Williams text. You can find the full collection (CSU LA), along with other style and grammar-related  materials at http://www.calstatela.edu/academic/english/cresources.php

   

Drafting and Peer Review

• How to integrate sources in sentences
• Using They Say/I Say to help with drafting
• Using the Precis materials to draft papers
• Precis form. An updated version of the same, plus an example.
• Pitching Peer review to students - how to sell it to them.
• Peer Review workshop instructions 
• Peer Review Worksheets: Peer Groups - Whole Essay Workshop (Project 1A, 1B, Project 2), Stations, Extended (also great for self-review)
• How to write conclusions (overhead)

Avoiding Student Problems and RWS Plagiarism Policy

• Managing student problems - Glen McClish's list of common problems and ways of preventing them
• RWS Plagiarism Policy - how to identify and avoid plagiarism, what you should do if you suspect it, and what the new policy guidelines are. By Glen McClish.

Researching, Finding/Evaluating Sources, Creating an Annotated Bibliography, and Avoiding Plagiarism

• Teaching students about research, finding and evaluating sources, creating an annotated bibliography, and avoiding plagiarism. By Emma Lee Whitworth, with editorial assistance from Michael Underwood and Julie Williams.

Some Visual Rhetoric Lesson Plans

• Visual Rhetoric Lesson Plans