WRT 109 Schedule 1, Fall 2004

Rebecca Moore Howard
Office: 237 HB Crouse
Office hours: Mondays 1-3; Thursdays 2:30-4; and by appointment
Telephone: 443-1620
E-mail: rehoward@syr.edu
Home page http://wrt-howard.syr.edu

Schedule of Assignments
WRT 109, Practices of Academic Writing


Fall 2004
Time: TTh 1-2:20
Place: 213B HB Crouse
Course website: http://wrt-howard.syr.edu/Syllabi/109F04/Syl109F04.html


Tuesday, August 30

In class:
  1. Syllabus distribution and review
  2. Contact information
  3. Overview of writing in the academy
  4. Informal written reflection on academic writing experiences
  5. Using the SU library databases

Thursday, September 1: Institutional representations of student plagiarism

Preparation for class:
  1. Write a 1- to 2-page informal narrative of an experience you have had with plagiarism--one in which you have been accused of plagiarism; in which you feel you crossed a line but were not caught; in which a friend was accused of plagiarism or crossed a line but was not caught; etc.
  2. Find and read your college's plagiarism policy. Print it out or (if it's online) copy down the URL.
  3. In the Harbrace Handbook, study the Preface (pp. xiii-xvii)
  4. In the Harbrace Handbook, study sections 9d-9e (pp. 183-190)
  5. In the syllabus for this course, study the plagiarism statement on the WRT 109 syllabus.
  6. Write a 1- to 2-page analysis of your college's plagiarism policy, the WRT 109 plagiarism statement, and the Harbrace instruction on using sources. In what ways are these texts helpful to you as a student writer? In what ways might they provide more or better information or guidance?
Bring to class:
  1. Your informal writing
  2. A printout of your college's plagiarism policy, or the URL for it
  3. The Harbrace Handbook
In class:
  1. The discursive construction of student writers and student plagiarism
  2. Using the SU library databases

Tuesday, September 7: Media representations of student plagiarism

Preparation for class: Of the following sources, analyze the four that have been assigned to you and be prepared to explain them to your classmates. Read as many more as you have time and interest for. A few of these are available as open Web sources; one I will email to you; and the rest you will access through SU library databases: search from the library homepage link to E-journals

International perspectives

  1. Birchard, Karen. "Canada's Simon Fraser U. Suspends 44 Students in Plagiarism Scandal." Chronicle of Higher Education 24 October 2002. 18 February 2003. This source is available to you through the SU library databases.
  2. Foster, Andrea. "Up to 14% of Australian University Students May Be Plagiarizing from Web, Study Suggests." Chronicle of Higher Education 20 November 2003 20 January 2003.
  3. "Plagiarism Soars at Universities." Aftenposten [Norway] 18 February 2004. .
  4. Xueqin, Jiang. "Chinese Academics Consider a 'Culture of Copying.'" The Chronicle of Higher Education (17 May 2002). Available through the SU library databases.

U.S. perspectives

  1. Boorstein, Michelle. "U-Va. Expels 48 Students After Plagiarism Probe." Washington Post (26 November 2002): B1. Available through the SU library databases.
  2. Dotinga, Randy. "Electronic Snoops Tackle Copiers." Wired News 2 April 2004.
  3. "'Epidemic' of Student Cheating?" BBC News 30 June 2004. 30 June 2004.
  4. Howard, Rob. "Sites Rescue Last-Minute Studiers." The Daily Orange [Syracuse University], 11 November 2003.
  5. Kates, Brian. "Can't Make Grade? Click on Cheat.com." New York Daily News 26 Dec. 2003. I'll email you a copy of this one.
  6. Leland, John. "Beyond File-Sharing, A Nation of Copiers." New York Times (14 September 2003): Sect. 9, p. 1. Available through the SU library databases.
  7. McCabe, Donald L. "Some Good News about Academic Integrity." Change 33.5 (2000): 32-38. Available through the SU library databases.
  8. McCabe, Donald L. and Linda Klebe Trevino. "What We Know about Cheating in College: Longitudinal Trends and Recent Developments." Change (January/February 1996): 29-33. Available through the SU library databases.
  9. Read, Brock. "News Organization at Brigham Young U. Returns Awards for Copied Web-Site Design." Chronicle of Higher Education 3 June 2003. Available through the SU library databases.
  10. Rimer, Sara. "A Campus Fad That's Being Copied: Internet Plagiarism Seems on the Rise." New York Times (3 September 2003): B7. Available through the SU library databases.
  11. Silverman, Gillian. "It's a Bird, It's a Plane, It's Plagiarism Buster!" Newsweek (15 July 2002): 12. Available through the SU library databases.
  12. Stevenson, Seth. "Adventures in Cheating: A Guide to Buying Term Papers Online." Slate 11 Dec. 2001.
  13. Wertheimer, Linda. "Analysis: Professor Donald McCabe from Rutgers University on Cheating Trends in American Colleges and Universities." National Public Radio, 17 February 2000. I'll email you a transcript of this.
  14. Wilogren, Jodi. "School Cheating Scandal Tests a Town's Values." New York Times (14 February 2002): A1. Available through the SU library databases.
  15. Witherspoon, Abigail. "This Pen for Hire: On Grinding Out Papers for College Students." Harper's (June 1995): 49-57. Available through the SU library databases.
  16. Zernike, Kate. "With Student Cheating on the Rise, More Colleges are Turning to Honor Codes." New York Times 2 November 2002: A10. Available through the SU library databases.

Commercial perspectives

  1. Foster, Andrea L. "Plagiarism-Detection Tool Creates Legal Quandary." The Chronicle of Higher Education (17 May 2002): A37. Available through the SU library databases.
  2. PowerResearcher. Uniting Networks, Inc.
  3. Schoolsucks.com.
  4. Turnitin.com.
  5. Young, Jeffrey R. "Anti-Plagiarism Experts Raise Questions about Services with Links to Sites Selling Papers." The Chronicle of Higher Education (12 March 2002).
Bring to class:
  1. Copies of your assigned readings
In class:
  1. Informal presentation and discussion of assigned sources
  2. Collaborative analysis of media representations of student writers and student plagiarists

Thursday, September 9: Media representations of student plagiarism, Part II

Preparation for class:
  1. Review the sources you were assigned for 9/7; browse some of those that you weren't assigned.
  2. Do some preliminary information writing in response to one or more of the following questions (which were generated in class on 9/7). You won't be asked to hand this in, but you may be asked to read it aloud in class.
    1. How do these sites & sources represent students, teachers, and university education?
    2. How much can we trust these sources?
    3. How is plagiarism defined in these sources?
    4. What is your definition of plagiarism?
    5. What emotions do these sources and sites want to evoke in readers?
    6. What does "these sources" mean?
    7. Why are these sites/messages important to us as students?
Bring to class:
  1. Harbrace handbook
  2. A printout of your assigned reading
  3. Your assigned writing
In class:
  1. Reports on assigned readings
  2. Discussion of assigned writing
  3. Collaborative drafting of first major writing assignment

Tuesday, September 14: Questioning representations of student plagiarism

Preparation for class:
  1. Read the first writing assignment and begin thinking about which question you will answer.
  2. Get acquainted with the Harbrace handbook: find a section that you think will be helpful to you as you work on the first writing assignment, and be prepared to explain it to the class.
  3. Of the following sources, analyze the four that have been assigned to you and be prepared to explain them to your classmates. Read as many more as you have time and interest for.
  4. Jana, Tom, Megan Sass: Baty, Phil. "Plagiarist Student to Sue University." The [London] Times 28 May 2004.
  5. Jana, Tom, Megan Sass: Dehnart, Andy. "The Web's Plagiarism Police." Salon 14 June 1999.
  6. Chris, Kim, Matt: Edmundson, Mark. "How Teachers Can Stop Cheaters." New York Times (9 September 2003): A29. Available through the SU library databases.
  7. Chris, Kim, Matt: Ellis, Christopher. "Students Turn Against Turnitin.com Service." The Retriever [University of Maryland Baltimore County] 17 February 2004.
  8. Heather, Christine, Nayda: Grinberg, Emanuella. "Student Wins Battle Against Plagiarism-Detection Requirement." CNN.com 21 January 2004.
  9. Heather, Christine, Nayda: Hunt, Russell A. "Four Reasons to Be Happy about Internet Plagiarism." Teaching Perspectives (St. Thomas University) 5 (December 2002): 1-5.
  10. Jackie, Lisa, Megan W.: Posner, Richard A. "On Plagiarism." Atlantic Monthly (April 2002): 23. This source is available to you through the SU library databases.
  11. Jackie, Lisa, Megan W.: Posner, Richard A. "The Truth about Plagiarism." New York Newsday 18 May 2003.
  12. Maggie, Darryl, David: Rosenfeld, Jesse. "Students Turned Off by Turnitin." The McGill [Canada] Daily 8 September 2003.
  13. Maggie, Darryl, David: Schmidt, Sarah. "Student Challenges Plagiarism Rules." Vancouver [Canada] Sun 16 October 2003. I'll email you a copy of this.
Bring to class:
  1. Harbrace handbook
  2. Printouts of your assigned sources
In class:
  1. Discussion of sources
  2. Discussion of Harbrace
  3. Thesis, evidence

Thursday, September 16 (Class will meet in 009 HB Crouse): Student authority on issues of student plagiarism

Preparation for class:
  1. Read Price, Margaret. "Beyond 'Gotcha!': Situating Plagiarism in Policy and Pedagogy." College Composition and Communication 54.1 (September 2002): 88-115. I'll send you a copy of this source.
  2. Draft your thesis for the first assignment.
  3. Make a list of reasons you believe the thesis you have drafted.
  4. Make a list of reasons you (or other reasonable, well-informed people) doubt the thesis you have drafted.
  5. Email your written homework to me by 10:00 a.m. 9/16.
Bring to class:
  1. A copy of Price
  2. Hardcopy of your written homework
  3. Harbrace handbook
In class:
  1. Building a thesis, gathering evidence, citing sources.
  2. Summary and analysis of Price

Tuesday, September 21: Crafting arguments

Preparation for class:
  1. Study Chapter 6, "Writing Arguments," in the Harbrace handbook
  2. Write a draft of your first paper.
Bring to class:
  1. 3 copies of your draft
  2. Harbrace handbook
In class:
  1. Practices of argument
  2. Peer workshop
  3. Hand in 1 copy of your draft

Thursday, September 23 (Class will meet in 009 HB Crouse): Revising arguments

Preparation for class:
  1. Using the feedback from class on 9/21, revise the draft of your argument.
  2. Email your written homework to me by 10:00 a.m. 9/23, and email it to yourself, as well.
Bring to class:
  • Hardcopy of your written assignment
  • Harbrace handbook In class: Revising arguments

    • Monday, September 27, 4:30 p.m.: Final draft due.



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    http://wrt-howard.syr.edu/Syllabi/109F04/109F04sched1.html