John Tiedemann writ 1633:

Email: John.Tiedemann@du.edu Advanced Writing & Research

Winter 2021
Office hours: By appointment on Zoom, MW 10:00–11:50 p.m.
M and W, between 4:00–6:00 p.m. Other Unless otherwise announced, we’ll meet in in the
times, too. Email me to make a Zoom Centennial Classroom in Centennial Towers on Mondays
appointment. and on Zoom on Wednesdays.

• writ 1633: persons, places, things...

 THE CLASS
One of the great challenges — and great joys — of doing sustained research is the opportunity it
presents to discover the full depth, richness, and complexity of just one single object of study. In this
section of WRIT 1633, you’ll explore that joy and challenge, devoting the quarter to researching and
writing about the significance of a single person, place, or thing, in order to create a digital longform
nonfiction text about it.

Much of our time in class will be spent discussing examples of such texts, but the majority of our time
will be devoted to creating texts of our own. We’ll conduct our research and writing in stages, with
more research taking place during the first half of the quarter and more writing during the second.

The end result of your efforts will be the creation of a text of which you can truly be proud, because it
will likely be very different from anything you’ve created before. Along the way, you’ll develop
research and writing skills that you’ll be able to use in classes across campus as well as in the world
beyond.

TEXTS
Copies of (or links to) all of our readings will be provided on Canvas.

Your own texts are also a central element of this class. So please be prepared to share them with your
classmates for discussion. And know that you will eventually share them online, where they may be
read by a potentially much wider audience.
 GOALS AND FORMAT
• Goals
By the time students gets to college, they have likely had experience writing research reports, literary
analyses, position papers, and perhaps some fiction or poetry or journalism, too. But many will not
have had the opportunity to combine those skills — e.g., the critical skills that go into writing, say, a
policy analysis and the creative skills that go into composing, say, a short story — to make something
genuinely original. One goal of this class is to give you practice combining critical and creative skills.
Another goal is to give you practice doing a variety of forms of research, e.g., participant-
observation, reportage, and library research. A third goal is to give you practice developing for
yourself the structures that your writing will take, rather than relying on prefabricated patterns (e.g.,
the 5-paragraph essay). Finally, it is a goal of this class to give you practice not only in editing your
work (i.e., identifying and correcting errors and infelicities), but in truly revising it: i.e., working within a
writing process where you discover what you want to say over time, in stages, seeing and realizing
new and exciting possibilities in what you’ve written as you continue to write and rewrite.

• Class time, Zoom time, and homework

Some of our time in class will be spent discussing assigned readings together, but most of our time will
be devoted to drafting and revising our own writing, as well as providing feedback to each other.
What’s more, you can also expect to spend approximately four hours each week, and perhaps more,
working on your own, outside of class time. Finally, because a quality piece of writing results from many
revisions, you will write in stages and revise with guidance from me and your classmates. That said,
when we meet on Zoom on Wednesdays, the emphasis will typically be on writing; when we meet in
person on Mondays the emphasis will be on sharing and reflecting on what we’ve written.

• Conferences
Each of you will meet with me ifor two one-on-one conferences, where we’ll discuss strategies for
revising 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.
I’m also available to meet on Zoom by appointment between 4:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m. on Mondays
and Wednesdays. (I can usually find other days to meet, too.) The best way to make an appointment
is to email me at least 2 days in advance, or to check in after class.
 POLICIES
• Participation
For each class meeting, you will receive up to five points toward your final grade:
Ø Homework: All writing assignments are to be posted to Canvas 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.
(By “manifestly thoughtful” I mean clear, coherent, and on topic.) They will receive zero points
should they fail to share the assignment when it’s due.
Ø Class discussion: A student will receive 3 points for the day when they make more than one
thoughtful, thoughtful, fully elaborated contribution to discussion. They will receive 2 points when
they contribute only once or when contributions aren’t fully formed. They will receive one point if
they attend class but don’t speak. A student will receive no points if they fail to attend class, if
they distract their classmates, or if they waste valuable class time by checking email, Facebook,
etc., or otherwise disengaging from class.

• Attendance
Missed classes: 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 (though you can still receive credit for the
day’s homework by posting it on time).
• Late Work
Assignments are due when they are due. Late drafts will not receive feedback from me and will be
lowered by 5 points for each day they're late.
• Email
I usually respond to email within a day or two during the week, less often on weekends.
• 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 Student Conduct. 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 I will inform the Executive Director of Writing and the Office
of Student Conduct, 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).
• Technology in the classroom
Obviously, you’ll need your laptop for class, whether online or in person. But you are only to use it to
work — so no surfing the web, no email, no 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.
 GRADES
I’ll give you suggestions for revision and a provisional grade at each stage of the drafting process.
Those provisional grades will change depending upon how effectively you revise. You have until a
week after you’ve received a provisional grade to revise it. The final draft of your project is due by
noon on Friday, June 14.
Here’s your total grade breakdown:
Stage 1 draft: 100 points
Stage 2 draft: 100 points
Stage 3 draft: 100 points
Class presentation: 100 points
Final and complete draft: 200 points
Reflective essay: 200 points
Class participation: 5 points per class x 20 = 100 points
Conference prep: 50 points per conference x 2 = 100 points
TOTAL 1000 points
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
M Jan. 11 Centennial: Introduction
W Jan. 13 Zoom: 2 readings: Jason Fagone, “Jerry and Marge Go Large;” and Chavie Lieber,
“A Higher Purpose.”
M Jan. 18 NO CLASS – MLK Day
W Jan. 20 Zoom: A reading: Mariah Blake, “Welcome to Beautiful Parkersburg, West Virginia.
• Stage 1 draft due
M Jan. 28 Centennial: Sharing our drafts.
W Jan. 30 Zoom: Conducting library research.
M Feb. 1 Centennial: Stage 2 draft due.
W Feb. 3 Zoom: Studio time. (John will be on Zoom, ready to chat. Come visit!)
M Feb. 8 First conference week (by appointment on Zoom)
W Feb. 10 First conference week (by appointment on Zoom)
M Feb. 15 Centennial: A reading: Alison Gopnik, “How an 18th-Century Philosopher Helped
Solve My Midlife Crisis.”
W Feb. 17 Zoom: Studio time. (John will be on Zoom, ready to chat. Come visit!)
M Feb. 22 Centennial; Stage 3 draft due
W Feb. 24 Zoom: Studio time. (John will be on Zoom, ready to chat.)
M March 1 Centennial (John will be on Zoom, ready to chat.)
W March 3 Zoom: Complete draft due
M March 8 Second conference week
W March 10 Second conference week
M March 15 Centennial: Presentations and reflections
W March 17 Zoom: Studio time. (John will be on Zoom, ready to chat. Come visit!)

ALL FINAL WORK DUE ON CANVAS BY 10:00 A.M. ON FRIDAY, MARCH 19.