The first Writing Workshop unit introduces students to the concept of academic writing as a conversation and to writing as a process. Instructors build on the fellow-led analytical reading session on Sunday to help students locate, interpret, and articulate an author’s idea (i.e., what They Say).
Identify academic argument as a conversation with an author/authors
Understand how to draw connections between different types of texts
Articulate the phases of the writing process
Apply concepts learned to current texts to do the following:
Identify passages that are interesting, complicated, promising, etc.
Articulate the author’s idea, making an initial claim about the author’s reasoning
Below are required readings that students complete the night before and discuss in their study groups with fellows and in a seminar with faculty. Students also have the newest edition (6th) of They Say/I Say: The Moves That Matter in Academic Writing, so instructors should consider assigning reading from this text in class.
Allen, Danielle. Our Declaration: A Reading of the Declaration of Independence in Defense of Equality.
New York: W. W. Norton & Co., 2014. (pp. 21- 38; 42-44; 72-78; 85-88).
Tocqueville, Alexis de. Democracy in America. Translated by Harvey C. Mansfield and Delba Winthrop.
Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 2000. (pp. 3-15; 45-55).
Students will have attended a seminar in the morning titled, The Ideal of American Democracy, during which they will have discussed the above readings. Students also will have had the following fellow-led sessions:
Study group to discuss above readings in preparation for seminar
College Success session on mindset
College Success session on note-taking and analytical reading
As you plan for teaching the first Writing Workshop, it's important to recognize that WSP students come from diverse backgrounds and have different levels of experience in the classroom–some have had college-level courses while others haven’t been in a classroom for some time.
Writing instructors provide a core service in our academic boot camps by ensuring that WSP participants learn about and practice college-level writing in a real-life setting. This experience helps to instill confidence and prompt motivation to pursue higher education. Your role is, ultimately, to be yourself; to share your expertise with participants and to run the class like you would with traditional college students. We highly encourage you to find ways to connect with participants and to share any advice you have for them as they transition from military service to higher education.
