John

Tiedemann writ 1122

Email: John.Tiedemann@du.edu section 33: TR 12:00–1:50, Sturm 454
Office hours: Wed., 2–4; Thurs., 4–6 section 74: TR 2:00–3:50, Sturm 412
Book an appointment: goo.gl/GkfDgQ Blog: http://1122imagine-argue.blogspot.com/
Office: AAC 380U

• writ 1122: imagination & argumentation..

 THE CLASS
In this section of WRIT 1122, you’ll develop the full range of your creative and critical powers through
a series of writing exercises that ask you to exercise your imagination and your powers of
argumentation in equal measure. By writing everything from television pitches to courtroom
speeches, radio stories to magazine essays, you’ll learn how to combine critical thinking and
creativity to write compellingly across a diverse array of situations.
Some of our time in class will be spent discussing readings and viewings, but most of it will be devoted
to drafting and revising a series of short pieces based upon what the Greeks called the
progymnasmata: i.e., writing exercises designed to give practice in the argumentative, storytelling,
and other writerly skills needed to intervene effectively in public discourse. You will practice adapting
old tales for new audiences, turning news stories into gripping fictions, taking stances on public
debates, painting vivid pictures in words, and more.
You will draft and revise one these writing exercises each week, selecting from among six drafts the
four that you’ll turn in for a final grade.
You will also help one another to develop your work, providing suggestions for revision to your peers.
At the end of the course, you will write a reflection upon the work you’ve done all quarter, thus
demonstrating and consolidating what you’ve learned.

TEXTS
All assignments will be posted on our course blog: http://1122imagine-argue.blogspot.com/. You do
not need to purchase a textbook for this class.
However, your own texts are a central element of our class — so please bring your laptop to every
class meeting.
 GOALS AND FORMAT
• Goals
The goal of WRIT 1122 is to teach you strategies vital to writing across a variety of different situations.
You will be introduced to fundamental principles of rhetorical analysis and rhetorical practice, to
techniques for using readings and other source materials effectively, and to methods for generating,
revising, and editing your texts. You will receive sustained practice in writing, with feedback from your
classmates and me, resulting in several polished texts by quarter’s end.
• Class-time
Writing well take practice, practice, and more practice. So we’ll typically spend half of our class time
in discussion and the other half writing. The writing portion of class may involve responding to a
prompt, completing an exercise, drafting or revising, or helping each other in small groups. You can
also expect to spend approximately four or more hours each week working at home. Finally,
because a quality composition results from many revisions, you will revise each of your exercises
severally, with guidance from your classmates and me.
• Conferences
Each of you will meet with me individually for two required conferences, where we’ll discuss your
work. I’ll send around a sign-up sheet the week before the conferences take place. These
conferences are required and you’ll receive a grade for the preparation you do beforehand. Each
conference is worth 50 points toward your final grade.
Apart from the required conferences, I’m also available to meet by appointment between 2 and 4
on Wednesdays and between 4 and 6 on Thursdays. To make an appointment to meet with me on a
Wednesday or Thursday, please fill out the Doodle poll on the “Meeting with me” page on our blog. If
the Wednesday and Thursday hours don’t work, then please send me an email
(John.Tiedemann@du.edu) letting me know all the times you’re free (before 6 p.m., M–F) during the
week you’d like to meet.
 POLICIES
• Participation
For each class meeting, you will receive up to five points toward your final grade: up to 2 for the work
you complete at home and up to three for your participation in class.
Ø Homework: All writing assignments are to be posted on Google Drive and shared with me by the
start of class on the day they’re due. A student will receive 2 points for posting a complete and
manifestly thoughtful draft of the assignment. S/he will receive no more than 1 point for posting a
draft that is incomplete or seems to be hastily composed. And a student will receive no points
should s/he fail to post and share an assignment when it is due.
Ø Class discussion: A student will receive 3 points for the day when s/he makes more than one
meaningful contribution to that day’s discussion. (By a “meaningful contribution” I mean a
contribution that’s on topic, thoughtful, and fully elaborated). S/he will receive 2 points when s/he
contributes only once or when his/her contributions aren’t fully formed. S/he will receive one point
if s/he attends class without speaking up. Students will receive no points if they fail to attend class,
or distract their classmates, or if they waste valuable class time checking email, facebook, etc.
• Attendance
As the above indicates, there are no “excused” absences from class. If you miss class, you will not
receive credit for class discussion for that day.
• Late Work
Assignments are due when they are due. Drafts that come in late will receive 0 points and will not
receive written feedback from me.
• Technology in the classroom
You’ll need to use your laptop in class, but you are not to use it except to work — so no surfing the
web, no email, social media, etc. You are also not permitted to record class in any way. And, before
class starts, you are to turn off your phone, put it away, and leave it there. I won’t be reminding
students to observe these rules. If a student breaks them, I’ll simply deduct their participation points
for the day. If a student breaks them repeatedly, we’ll need to discuss whether they are better off
taking the class at a later date, when they’ve matured.
• Civility and Tolerance
The Writing Program affirms DU’s Code of Student Conduct (http://www.du.edu/ccs/code.html),
which in part “expects students to recognize the strength of personal differences while respecting
institutional values.” Because writing courses rely heavily on interactions between all members of the
class, students and faculty must act in a manner respectful of different positions and perspectives. A
student who behaves in an uncivil or intolerant manner will be asked to stop and/or formally repri-
manded and/or subject to action by the Office of Citizenship and Community Standards.
Becoming educated requires encountering new ideas and information, some of which may conflict
with an individual’s existing knowledge or perspectives. I expect students to engage such materials
thoughtfully, in ways that reflect the values and mission of the University of Denver.
• Plagiarism
The Writing Program follows the Council of Writing Program Administrators policy “Defining and Avoid-
ing Plagiarism,” which states, “In an instructional setting, plagiarism occurs when a writer deliberately
uses someone else’s language, ideas, or other original (not common-knowledge) material without
acknowledging its source” (http://wpacouncil.org/node/9). DU’s Honor Code also maintains that all
members of the University must responsibly use the work of others. Students who have plagiarized a
project will receive an F on that project, and the professor will inform the Director of Writing and the
Office of Community and Citizenship Standards, which may take further action. Any documented
acts of plagiarism after the first may be subject to more severe actions.
• Accommodations for Students with Disabilities
The Writing Program will provide reasonable accommodations to every student who has a disability
that has been documented by The University of Denver Disability Services Program
(http://www.du.edu/studentlife/disability/ or 303.871.2455).
• Email
I usually respond to email within a day or two during the week, less quickly on weekends. Students
who email me by 11:37 a.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2018, with the message “With great power comes
great responsibility” will receive 10 extra credit points.
 GRADES
I’ll give you suggestions for revision and a provisional grade on each draft you turn in. You’ll select
four exercises of the six you’ll write to revise for a final grade. The grade for each exercise will rise, fall,
or stay the same depending upon how effectively you revise it. Final drafts of all four revised exercises
are due to me via Google Docs by midnight on Thursday, March 15.

In addition to grades for exercises, you will also receive a grade for your final reflective essay, for class
participation, and for the work you do to prepare for required conferences with me. Here’s the
breakdown:

Revised exercises: 150 points each x 4 = 600 points

Reflective essay: 200 points x 1 = 200 points
Class participation: 5 points per class x 20 = 100 points
Conferences: 50 points per conference x 2 = 100 points
TOTAL 1000 points
And here’s the scale I’ll use to calculate your final grade for the course:
A 930-1000
A- 900-929
B+ 870-899
B 830-869
B- 800-829
C+ 770-799
C 730-769
C- 700-729
D+ 670-699
D 630-669
D- 600-629
F 0–599
 CALENDAR
Detailed descriptions of each day’s work will appear on our blog: http://1122imagine-argue.blogspot.com/
W1 R Jan. 4 Introduction to the course and Exercise 1: Based on a true story.
W2 T Jan. 9 First draft of Exercise 1 due.
R Jan. 11 Revised draft of Exercise 1 due.
Introduction to Exercise 2: Based on a True Story.
W3 T Jan. 16 First draft of Exercise 2 due.
R Jan. 18 Revised draft of Exercise 2 due.
Introduction to exercise 3: Picture this.
W4 T Jan. 23 First draft of Exercise 3 due.
R Jan. 25 Revised draft of Exercise 3 due.
Introduction to conference 1 assignment.
W5 T Jan. 30 Class cancelled for conferences.
R Feb. 1 Class cancelled for conferences.
W6 T Feb. 6 Introduction to Exercise 4: This I believe.
R Feb. 8 First draft of Exercise 4 due. Introduction to Exercise 5: I object!
W7 T Feb. 13 First draft of Exercise 5 due.
R Feb. 15 Introduction to exercise 6: More perfect unions.
W8 T Feb. 20 First draft of Exercise 6 due.
R Feb. 22 Revised draft of Exercise 6 due.
Introduction to conference 2 assignment.
W9 T Feb. 27 Class cancelled for conferences.
R March 1 Class cancelled for conferences.
W10 T March 6 Revisions and reflections
R March 8 Revisions and reflections
W11 T March 13 Revisions and reflections
FINAL DRAFTS DUE ON GOOGLE DRIVE BY 11:59 P.M. ON SATURDAY, MARCH 17.