202A Syllabus PDF

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English 202A: Writing in the Social Sciences Course: English 202A-012 Time: MWF 2:30-3:20 PM Location: 223 Thomas Name: Max Larson Office: 29 Burrowes Email: [email protected] Office Hours: Tuesday 10:30 – 12:30 @ Zoom (https://psu.zoom.us/my/loadedonloaded) Wednesday 1:20-2:20 @ office (above) Five Syllabus Statements Required by the Program in Writing and Rhetoric Academic Integrity Academic integrity is the pursuit of scholarly activity in an open, honest and responsible manner. Academic integrity is a basic guiding principle for all academic activity at The Pennsylvania State University, and all members of the University community are expected to act in accordance with this principle. Consistent with this expectation, the University’s Code of Conduct states that all students should act with personal integrity, respect other students’ dignity, rights and property, and help create and maintain an environment in which all can succeed through the fruits of their efforts. Academic integrity includes a commitment by all members of the University community not to engage in or tolerate acts of falsification, misrepresentation or deception. Such acts of dishonesty violate the fundamental ethical principles of the University community and compromise the worth of work completed by others.

Accessibility: Disability Accommodation Penn State welcomes students with disabilities into the University’s educational programs. Every Penn State campus has an office for students with disabilities. The Student Disability Resources Web site provides contact information for every Penn State campus (equity.psu.edu/student-disability-resources/ disability-coordinator). For further information, please visit the Student Disability Resources website at equity.psu.edu/sdr. In order to receive consideration for reasonable accommodations, you must contact the appropriate disability services office at the campus where you are officially enrolled, participate in an intake interview, and provide documentation (equity.psu.edu/student-disability-resources/applying-forservices). If the documentation supports your request for reasonable accommodations, your campus’s disability services office will provide you with an accommodation letter. Please share this letter with your instructors and discuss the accommodations with them as early in your courses as possible. You must follow this process for every semester that you request accommodations.

Education Equity: Bias Reporting Penn State takes great pride to foster a diverse and inclusive environment for students, faculty, and

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staff. Acts of intolerance, discrimination, or harassment due to age, ancestry, color, disability, gender, gender identity, national origin, race, religious belief, sexual orientation, or veteran status are not tolerated and can be reported through Educational Equity via the Report Bias webpage (equity.psu.edu/ reportbias/).

Counseling and Psychological Services Many students at Penn State face personal challenges or have psychological needs that may interfere with their academic progress, social development, or emotional wellbeing. The university offers a variety of confidential services to help you through difficult times, including individual and group counseling, crisis intervention, consultations, online chats, and mental health screenings. These services are provided by staff who welcome all students and embrace a philosophy respectful of clients’ cultural and religious backgrounds, and sensitive to differences in race, ability, gender identity and sexual orientation. Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS): 814-863-0395, studentaffairs.psu.edu/counseling/ Penn State Crisis Line (24 hours/7 days/week): 877-229-6400 Crisis Text Line (24 hours/7 days/week): Text LIONS to 741741 Standards of Classroom Behavior Classroom behavior should always reflect the essential Penn State values of civility, integrity, and respect for the dignity and rights of others. As such, the classroom space should be safe, orderly, and positive—free from disruptions, disorderly conduct, and harassment as defined in the University Code of Conduct (studentaffairs.psu.edu/support-safety-conduct/student-conduct/code-conduct). The University Code of Conduct defines disruption “as an action or combination of actions by one or more individuals that unreasonably interferes with, hinders, obstructs, or prevents the operation of the University or infringes on the rights of others to freely participate in its programs and services;” disorderly conduct includes but is not limited to “creating unreasonable noise; pushing and shoving; creating a physically hazardous or physically offensive condition;” and harassment may include “directing physical or verbal conduct at an individual…; subjecting a person or group of persons to unwanted physical contact or threat of such; or engaging in a course of conduct, including following the person without proper authority (e.g., stalking), under circumstances which would cause a reasonable person to fear for his or her safety or the safety of others or to suffer emotional distress” (Section IV, B). The course instructor has the authority to request that any disruptive students leave the class for the class period. If disruptive behavior continues in subsequent class periods, a complaint may be filed with the Office of Student Conduct, which may result in the student being dismissed from class until University procedures have been completed. Any student with concerns or questions as to this policy should contact the Director of the Program in Writing and Rhetoric.

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Course Description English 202A will introduce you to the genres of writing typically produced by professional social scientists. These genres include research proposals, literature reviews, and research reports. The course is designed to help you express your ideas and research in a coherent piece of writing, from the initial formulation of your research question, to a synthetic study of previous research on this question, and then in a final report on research that you have personally conducted. By the end of the semester you will have taken the preliminary steps toward producing legitimate “knowledge” in your field. Not only will you begin to cultivate a position of authority on your particular question, but, more importantly, you will be able to use your writing to communicate this authority within and across a community of your scholarly peers. While discussing and practicing the various genres used by social scientists, we will focus on some of the more common forms of social science research: experiments, interviews, observations, and surveys. We will also prepare a set of career development documents (cover letters and resumés, or personal statements and CVs) that will be targeted toward two specific job or graduate school applications. The goal is to provide you with a variety of writing and research strategies to help you develop your own identity as a social scientist. Course Goals - Become comfortable with a systematic approach to the writing process (brainstorming, drafting, revising). - Learn how to identify and explore issues in the social sciences. - Improve critical reading skills. - Develop and implement approaches to social science research. - Learn how to filter and synthesize collected information for developing a convincing logical argument. - Learn how to situate personal ideas and research within an existing scholarly conversation. - Learn how to write ethically and responsibly, which includes using appropriate conventions to document a variety of sources. - Gain experience with evaluating the work of others during peer review. Required Text Writing in the social sciences: English 202A (2nd edition) ISBN: 1-269-41731-2 This is a Pearson custom edition for Penn State University that draws from: Friedman, S. & Steinberg, S. (1989). Writing and thinking in the social sciences. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. Lester, J. D. & Lester, Jr. J. D. (2006). Writing research papers in the social sciences. New York: Pearson/Longman.

Major Assignments You will complete a sequenced writing project consisting of the following four major assignments: Research Proposal: identify a topic or question that interests you. This can be something that relates to your personal experiences, your hobbies/interests, or something that has been discussed in your classes in your major. In this proposal, you should demonstrate a preliminary understanding of the topic (via secondary source readings as well as personal experience if applicable), and discuss viable approaches to study this topic in State College. Ideally you will be able to make an argument for why your question is worth asking, in terms of both potential impact and feasibility.

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Literature Review: you will read, summarize, and comment on articles that researchers have written about your chosen topic. Your literature review will place these previous studies in conversation with one another, articulating the relationships between them. Then you will offer a critique of these previous studies, or you will identify a gap in the literature that you want to explore in more detail. You also need to argue for your choice of research method based on the literature review. Findings Report: this will be a report of observations, interviews, surveys, or an experiment that you have conducted to investigate your topic. You can use one of these methods or a combination of them to study the topic. You will identify the major findings of your study and use the data you collected to support these findings. In addition to submitting a report, you will present your findings to the class in order to receive feedback from both the instructor and your peers. Research Report: You will use a questions-evidence-answers schema to structure your final research report. The report needs to include the following sections: introduction, literature review, methodology, findings, discussion, and conclusion. The discussion section will require you to insert your own voice into the scholarly conversation outlined in the literature review. In addition to this sequenced project, you will also prepare a set of career development documents for employment/postgraduate purposes: Resumés and Cover Letters, or CVs and Personal Statements: You will find five job postings or graduate school applications that you would like to respond to, conduct research on the companies/programs to familiarize yourself with them, and ultimately select two positions/programs to pursue. Then you will write two one-page resumés tailored to the positions you have selected and two one-page cover letters (potentially longer if it is a personal statement) explaining your strengths to the specific audience under consideration. Materials Many of the materials you will need for this class will depend upon your own choices for the research process. However, at the very least you will need to bring a pen/pencil as well as material to write on for every class. I am not very particular about what you write on—notebook paper, plain white paper, scrap paper, the back of a piece of cardboard—but it should be something that you are comfortable with handing in at the end of class. Bring readings to class for the days that they are assigned. I don't care if you print the readings or bring them on a laptop, but many sessions will require you to refer to the readings at length, so find a way to have them available for class. It doesn't bother me if students use laptops or even cell phones in class. However, if I see that you are dedicating too much class time to reading text messages or browsing websites, or if you otherwise become disengaged from the conversation, it will be reflected in your participation grade.

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Grades Grades are calculated from a composite of eight major items throughout the semester: Assignment

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Research Proposal (900 words)

10

Literature Review (1500 words)

15

Findings Report (1200 words)

15

Presentation of Findings (8-10 minutes)

15

Research Report (3200 words)

20

Career Development Package

10

Short Writing Assignments

5

Class Participation

10

All grades will be assigned on an alphabetical scale in correspondence with Penn State's GPA distribution, as identified below: A

4.00

C

2.00

A-

3.67

C-

1.67

B+ 3.33

D+ 1.33

B

3.00

D

1.00

B-

2.67

F

0.00

C+ 2.33 You must complete all of the assignments in order to pass the course. Late work will be accepted with a penalty of one movement down the GPA scale per class session (e.g. one day late would turn a B paper into a B-). The writing assignments are sequenced, and each new paper builds upon the last, so it is imperative that you avoid falling behind. If you feel you are falling behind I will try my best to help you, but you must meet with me to discuss your problems/concerns. If you are falling behind but I don't know about it, I cannot do much to help you. All papers will be due in class on the day indicated in the schedule, and no later. The first draft will not be graded, but may be collected and considered for your participation grade. Furthermore, I will not accept the second draft of a paper that has not been peer reviewed. Second drafts will be evaluated on the basis of content and organization, with special considerations made for exceptionally apt/inapt vocabulary, grammar, or conventions. Specific grading criteria will be provided on assignment sheets. If you are unclear about the expectations for an assignment, feel free to come speak with me. But bear in mind: students often ask me to look over their writing, which I am happy to do, but be direct (and strategic) about the guidance you're looking for. Please do not send me an email with your entire draft and a message that says, “Can you tell me what you think?” Cold reading rough drafts is an ineffective use of not just my time, but yours as well. If you would like me to look at your writing, please include specific questions, specific concerns, some particular points of struggle or something you were trying to accomplish—perhaps in relation to the expectations as identified on the assignment sheet. This will

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allow me to provide much more focused feedback, and will prevent me from railing off a thousand suggestions that may not help or interest you. All papers should be typed in black ink on letter-sized paper. All papers should be in Times New Roman font, size 12, with one-inch margins. Attendance and Participation You are expected to attend every class every day, and to have your work with you in class. Course instruction depends on your active participation, so your presence is required. Attendance will be taken every class period, and each student will be allowed three (3) absences. You do not need to provide an explanation for any of your first three absences, but use these absences carefully, because any absence beyond the third will negatively impact your grade—immediately. Attendance is taken at the beginning of class, so if you show up late, you may be marked as absent due to sheer human error. If you show up late to class, it is your responsibility to make sure you have been marked present. If you are consistently late, it will affect your participation grade. If you happen to miss class, it is your responsibility to get assignments, complete any work, and submit any papers. Peer Review Since peer review sessions require a whole new dimension of engagement with your peers, a missed peer review session will count as two (2) absences unless arrangements are made with me ahead of time. If you flip through the course schedule, you will see that quite a few class sessions are dedicated to peer review. Cumulatively, this amounts to a lot of time spent reading and commenting on each other's work. This time will be taken very seriously and should never be wasted. Peer review is your one opportunity to help your classmates, to have your classmates help you, to grow as both a giver and receiver of criticism—it is the one day when you hold your peers' success in your hands. Show up prepared to participate, and bring a substantial version of your draft. If you show up with a draft shorter than three (3) full pages, you may be asked to leave. Anything less would be a waste of your and your partner's time. Of course, your rough draft does not need to be polished. It might have gaps, which you can explain to your partner, or even use as an opportunity to ask for input/advice. But you must give your partner something to work with. Failure to take peer review seriously will be detrimental to your participation grade. Office Hours, Conferences, and Correspondence A conference period is scheduled for each of the four major assignments. You are required to attend at least one of these conferences during the semester, although you should feel free to sign up for more than one if you find them helpful. In order to make these conferences as useful as possible, please come with specific questions formulated about your paper. Office hours are listed at the top of the syllabus, but can also be made by appointment. If you can't make it to any of the available office hours, do not let that be an obstacle to meeting with me. Each student will be working on a different project, and some of the individualized instruction necessary for these projects will only be possible during one-on-one meetings. We dedicate ample time throughout the semester for face-to-face conferences, but I am always happy to discuss your project beyond what has been allotted in the syllabus. If you are feeling confused, concerned, overwhelmed, or, conversely, if you're feeling particularly ambitious, please meet with me.

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Course Schedule

Key: Reading = read for the day listed, bring text to class Due = due on the day listed, bring assignment to class Assign = assigned on the day listed, nothing is due

Week 1 (8/23) Monday Wednesday Friday

Introduction to the course Reading: Social Science as a Distinct Form of Inquiry (Friedman & Steinberg) Assign: Take Social Scientist Perspectives Reading: The Logical Structure of Social Science Writing (Friedman & Steinberg) Due: Take Social Scientist Perspectives Assign: Research Proposal Discuss: Research Topics

Week 2 (8/30) Monday Wednesday Friday

Reading: The Experiment (Friedman & Steinberg) Reading: Sample experiment essay (Canvas) Reading: The Interview (Friedman & Steinberg)

Week 3 (9/6) Monday Wednesday Friday

No Class: Labor Day Reading: Sample survey/interview essay (Canvas) Reading: Observation (Friedman & Steinberg)

Week 4 (9/13) Monday Wednesday

Friday

Reading: Sample ethnographic essay (Canvas) Reading: Writing from Research (Lester & Lester) Reading: Sample Research Proposal (Canvas) Discuss: Research Proposal Peer Review Due: Research Proposal Draft 1

Week 5 (9/20) Monday

Reading: Writing the Review of Literature on a Topic (Lester & Lester) Reading: Sample Literature Review (Canvas) Assign: Literature Review

Wednesday

Conferences and additional office hours to discuss research proposal

Friday

Discuss: Literature Review, format and research strategies pt. 1 Assign: Bibliography analysis Due: Research Proposal Draft 2

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Week 6 (9/27) Monday Wednesday

Friday

Discuss: Literature Review, format and research strategies pt. 2 Due: Bibliography analysis Reading: Blending Reference Material Into Your Report (Lester & Lester) Skim: Preparing the References List (Lester & Lester) Discuss: Career Development Project Assign: ...