In fact, you don't need much for this course! There is no textbook; all required readings are free and will be available within a program called Perusall (accessed via Canvas).  Here's what you do need:

• Access to a computer at home and a laptop you can bring to class often. 

• Internet connection at home for browsing Canvas and submitting assignments.

For resources to help navigating wifi services on campus and getting loans for laptops, see UCD’s Student Resources: https://keepteaching.ucdavis.edu/student-resources/need-wi-fi. 

Engagement

Consistent engagement is essential to your success in UWP 7. We will be meeting in person, so let’s work together to create an engaging and lively class atmosphere. There will also be work required in the digital world of Canvas, and engagement in this space is important too. Your success both in-person and online is dependent on your timely completion of assignments in the order in which they are assigned to be completed. 

I expect each student to responsibly engage in all in-person discussions and activities as well as online homework and major writing assignments. This includes things like:

• Arriving on time to class sessions

• Participating actively and respectfully in small and larger group discussions

• Keeping on task and complete activities in a timely manner

• Avoiding distractions from devices – use these only for class-related purposes

• Meeting deadlines

• Communicating promptly and professionally about any challenges

• Contacting your peers about missed work when you are absent 

Respectful and helpful feedback

One crucial part of active and respectful engagement in UWP 7 will happen during writing workshops when we provide feedback to one another. Feedback is crucial to all writers. Writers need readers who pay attention to what they’ve written and think about that writing on different levels—both the level of ideas and the level of mechanics and style. You will receive feedback from different sources regularly: from peers, from me, and from writing specialists and tutors at the Writing Center (https://writingcenter.ucdavis.edu/). You should always receive that feedback in a spirit of learning and growth just as you should always give feedback to others in collegial and supportive ways. 

Building inclusive classroom communities at UC Davis

UC Davis is committed to fostering a classroom environment that is safe and intellectually challenging for all students, regardless of race, ethnicity, documentation status, gender identity, sexual orientation, (dis)ability, language, nationality, or religion. As with all of your classes here at UCD, our class will honor the UC Davis Principles of Community (https://diversity.ucdavis.edu/principles-community). In our class discussions and online posts, it’s possible that you’ll strongly disagree with a classmate or with me, and that’s what healthy intellectual debate is all about. On the other hand, these disagreements or other conversations should never devolve into inappropriate or discriminatory comments toward anyone in our classroom community. Additionally, pronouns are linguistic tools that we use to refer to people (i.e. they/them/theirs, she/her/hers, he/him/his). Because pronouns in English are often associated with gender identity, using each other’s correct pronouns is an important way to show respect to each other and create a learning environment that is inclusive to trans*and gender-non-conforming scholars.

Language diversity

At UC Davis we are fortunate to find ourselves in a diverse learning environment where we encounter a range of linguistic backgrounds and levels of English proficiency. This learning environment reflects the globalized nature of communication in today’s world. Because we live in a global world, members of this class have diverse language backgrounds. The ELW program recognizes that academic language acquisition takes many years, and that there is not a single, “correct” English but rather language varieties within the U.S as well as different dialects of global Englishes. American academic English is itself a type of dialect. Like spoken accents, written accents do not represent intelligence, ability, or accomplishment and will not result in lower grades.

We will practice academic writing in UWP 7, particularly investigating how academic writing is premised upon forwarding conversations and creating new knowledge and understandings. A key part of academic writing, then, is presenting and responding to ongoing conversations, often in the form of referencing existing publications that we call "sources." Integrating sources into your writing is an essential skill for college writers because it is how you join ongoing conversations, learn from them, and contribute to them. Therefore, it is essential that you learn how to ethically and transparently use sources in your academic writing including but also beyond citation practices. 

At the same time, UC Davis takes academic honesty very seriously, as do I. The  UC Davis Code of Academic Conduct (https://ossja.ucdavis.edu/code-academic-conduct) outlines the responsibilities of both students and faculty. The work you submit for this class must be your own original work. I will not tolerate academic dishonesty of any kind. Academic dishonesty includes neglecting to cite source material properly, copying another person’s work, turning in someone else’s work as your own, having someone else write part or all of your paper, allowing someone else to turn in something you have written, etc. If you are unsure how to integrate or document a source, please ask. 

You are not allowed to post any of my course materials to any website -- period. Doing so is an infringement of copyright standards and a violation of University policy. It is generally not difficult to figure out who posted my materials to such a site, and I do report those individuals to the Office of Student Support and Judicial Affairs (OSSJA: https://ossja.ucdavis.edu/).

More about Academic Integrity

The UC Davis Code of Academic Conduct exists to support high standards of behavior and to ensure fair evaluation of student learning. Students who violate the Code of Academic Conduct are subject to disciplinary sanctions that include censure, probation, deferred separation, suspension or dismissal from the University of California. You should read about the different practices that are tied to the code of academic conduct here: https://ossja.ucdavis.edu/code-academic-conduct. One form of academic misconduct related to academic integrity is plagiarism, a topic we will discuss at length in this course.

Plagiarism is defined by the UC Davis Office of Student Support and Judicial Affairs (OSSJA) as:

using the words or ideas of another without giving appropriate credit. Even if a student paraphrases an idea in his/her own words, the source must still be cited. If exact words are used, the student must put the words in quotation marks and cite the source. Students are responsible for knowing what plagiarism is and not doing it. Be particularly careful about copying and pasting information from the internet - materials used from internet sources must be quoted and cited just like information from other sources. Students must also be aware that copying or adapting pictures, charts, computer programs or code, music, or data without citing sources and indicating that the material has been copied or adapted is plagiarism. It may also be copyright infringement, which is a violation of the law.

When an academic integrity violation occurs, referrals are made by faculty to OSSAJ which then investigates the allegation. 

Use of Generative AI Writing Tools

Learning to use AI in productive, responsible, and ethical ways to support writing processes is an emerging literacy skill, one that we will begin to cultivate in this course through introductory readings and guided activities. The use of generative AI writing tools (such as ChatGPT, GrammarlyGO, GPT-3, GPT-4, Elicit, BERT, or others) to support you as a writer is only allowed in this class when we discuss a particular tool and you are invited to use the tool strategically as part of the assignment. The use of feedback-oriented AI writing tools (such as the basic Grammarly Google docs plugin, the “Spelling and grammar check” Tool within Google docs, etc.) are permitted in this course.

In order to demonstrate that your written work is your original creation, we will do all our composing in Google Docs. This is a word processing program that is free to UC Davis students. When working in Google Docs, a record is made of your composition process - this will allow me to see that you have been creating your own work. This is also a method you can use in the future to protect yourself against potential allegations of generative AI use (if such use is not allowed). It enables you to prove the originality of your work. As we are in uncertain and tumultuous times with respect to AI use in composition, and the acceptance of AI compositions varies not only across campus, but also across disciplines and industries, it's important that we learn to navigate it carefully and transparently together. 

We will discuss and practice a range of generative and feedback-oriented AI uses in this course, but we will do so in a guided manner. Refer to each assignment for permitted uses of AI.