Designing a Writing 2
Writing 2 centers around the critical thinking and writing within a field of study.
Instructors of Writing 2 courses may expect that students enter their courses with an understanding of effective writing process, the ability to construct an argument supported by specific evidence, critical thinking skills, an understanding of rhetorical situations (audience, message, purpose, etc.), a basic ability to do library research in order to find supporting materials, and the ability to accurately document sources in at least one citation style.
Writing 2 courses are expected to use and reinforce the lexicon of writing terminology developed in Writing 1.
Course Title and Description
Course titles should include the designation Writing 2 and a subtitle (e.g., Writing 2: Writing in the Arts).
Course descriptions will vary but will include language similar to the following:
In Writing 2: Writing for Social Justice, students will critically assess the writing styles, questions, and arguments of journalism, communication studies, and political science [include at least one discipline], in order to better understand what is considered persuasive and effective writing in the humanities. Students will respond to and evaluate writing, methodologies, ideas, and arguments and practice rhetorical strategies being employed in their own field.
Requirements for Students
- Participation in a peer writing group for workshops in and/or outside of class
- A source analysis assignment such as an annotated bibliography or a literature review (see below for suggestions)
- An assessment of an argument or debate in the student’s discipline (within the larger field of study being discussed)
- An extended argument in the field, drawing on the kind of knowledge that is persuasive to the field and using an appropriate documentation style
- Three drafts of the assessment and extended argument
- Suggested total amount of writing: 8,000+ words (about 32 pages) of drafts including 2,500 words (about 10 pages) of final product
Information Literacy Competencies
This course will reinforce and build upon information literacy competencies developed in Writing 1 (selection of topics, determination of type of information needed, search tools and techniques, evaluation of information and sources for authorship, relevance, and currency, importance of citations, and avoiding plagiarism) by providing instruction in the following:
- More sophisticated search techniques (e.g. Boolean operators, truncation, subject headings, etc.)
- Subject-specific databases
- Discipline-specific documentation style and class discussion of why different disciplines use different document styles
Instructors are encouraged to consult with a librarian for additional resources on information literacy.
Other Details
Consistency of terms
In an attempt to establish and encourage a consistent vocabulary of writing and rhetoric terms across the university, thereby allowing for more transferability of writing skills between courses in all disciplines, instructors in this course will make use of a shared list of writing terms and definitions available in the Writing Program lexicon.
Relationship to other courses
Writing 1: The Art & Craft of Writing is a prerequisite for Writing 2: Genre, Evidence, & Persuasion, which is a prerequisite for Writing 3: Writing in the Disciplines.
Writing 2 may be required for a major, but this is cautioned against because it may be problematic for students who switch or transfer into the major during their sophomore or junior years.
Enrollment limit
Enrollment may not exceed 22 students.
Attendance policy
Due to the interactive nature of the course, attendance is required.
Scheduling
- Class should meet 2 or 3 days per week in order to accommodate process assignments.
- Up to 4 classes may be cancelled for conferences.
Suggested Assignments
Assignments will vary based on the discipline(s) being assessed and practiced, but instructors may choose to include assignments such as the following:
A source analysis (required)
- Write an annotated bibliography in which students assess the usefulness and effectiveness of sources
- Write a journal or blog in which students metacognitively reflect on knowledge creation and persuasion in the field
- Write a literature review
- Write a section of a grant proposal (real or imagined) that outlines and evaluates research that has been done previously
An extended argument in the field (required)
- Choose a specific journal and write an argument according to the journal’s style requirements and for the specific audience
- Form panels and write and present conference-style papers
- Write a traditional thesis-driven paper
An assessment of an argument or debate (required)
- Offer a group or individual presentation
- Create a website with significant copy
- Write a counterargument to a scholarly argument
- Debate in writing or aloud with a peer
Become familiar with the academic writing styles, persuasion techniques, and questions of the field
- Offer group presentations on sub-disciplines and writing styles of the field
- Write short assessments of relevant journals
- Write a discourse community assessment
- Write a process analysis explaining how experts in the field do some aspect of their work
- Write academic blog posts geared toward scholars in the student’s field
Texts
Texts will fall under three categories:
1. Each course should center around a solid writing-focused text that includes instruction on evidence and persuasion, which could be about the course’s field(s)—Writing in the Sciences: Exploring Conventions of Scientific Discourse (Penrose & Katz, 2010), for example—or a more general text on writing across the curriculum such as one of the following:
Writing and Reading Across the Curriculum (Behrens & Rosen, 2012)
The Norton Field Guide to Writing (Bullock, 2013)
From Inquiry to Academic Writing (Greene & Lidinsky, 2015)
Oxford Guide to Effective Argument and Critical Thinking (Swatridge, 2014)
An Insider's Guide to Academic Writing: A Rhetoric and Reader (Miller-Cochran, 2015)
The Argument Handbook (Peters, 2018)