Megan Paslawski

mpaslawski@gc.cuny.edu
Office: KL 365, Tu 1:45-2:45

ENGL 110W: 46834

RZ: Tu/Th 10:05-11:55
Fall 2014
College Writing I

In this course, we will explore ways in which writers have experienced, described, and
conveyed the idea of memory. With the help of autobiographies, memoirs, science fiction, and
essays, we will examine these writers' tactics while asking ourselves questions about the
purpose and meaning of invoking the concept of "memory" in texts.
Some questions we will consider include the role of a writer in recording memories,
how trauma affects the creation and sharing of memory, what it means to use memories as
political testimony, what happens to our identities when we suppress memories, and why
people say that memory lies. These questions, coupled with analysis of the techniques our
chosen authors use to engage with the concept of memory, will help students in the
production of their own projects of writing memory. Through essays and in-class writing
assignments, we will explore the mechanics of recording memories, theorizing about
memories, and engaging in academic arguments about the meaning of memory. In this way,
we will come to understand our academic work as part of a dialogue with other writers whose
work ensures that we remember them.
Course Objectives
1) To introduce students to the conventions of academic writing.
2) To familiarize students with academic research methods and resources.
3) To equip students with the tools of critical assessment, close reading and critical
thinking.
4) To impart an understanding of writing as a process of careful choice, construction,
articulation and revision.
Required Texts
The coursepack required for this class is available on Blackboard. You will also need a copy of
Zami: A New Spelling of My Name by Audre Lorde, A.D.: New Orleans After the Deluge by
Josh Neufeld, and The MLA Handbook (7th edition).
Assignment Expectations
All assignments are due IN CLASS at the beginning of class unless you have a
documented emergency or previously made other arrangements with me. I do not accept
late work without prior permission; all extensions must be arranged at least 48 hours in
advance (though the "documented emergency" clause applies here as well). Here are some
examples of acceptable documentation: a note on official letterhead from a doctor, a mental
health professional, or a funeral officiant who confirms your familys loss. Please do not
approach me with late assignments unless you have this documentation.

Your essays must be in doublespaced Times New Roman, size 12. Margins must not
exceed 1 inch. I will notice if you increase the size of all the punctuation marks in an effort to
take up space or if you triplespace. As always, I expect you to behave with the integrity of
scholars instead of resorting to cheap dodges to avoid required work.
Grading
10%: Class participation. Class participation demands that students thoughtfully respond to
readings and their classmates in discussion, ask questions, and otherwise demonstrate their
engagement with the class. It also requires that students consistently come to class, a point
that apparently is not as self-explanatory as I once thought.
10%: Pop Quizzes
25%: Autobiography
25%: Annotated Bibliography
30%: Final Essay
Assignments
1) Autobiography (6-7 pages)
Using Audre Lordes Zami: A New Spelling of My Name as an example, write a
potential chapter of your autobiography. As in Lordes work, your own story should illuminate
a larger truth about the world; it should be a biomythology.
2) Annotated Bibliography (4-5 pages)
As Josh Neufeld did in A.D., chose an event of cultural/historical importance that
occurred in your lifetime. Prepare an annotated bibliography that sheds light on an
underreported aspect of this event and the reason(s) you think it might be less known.
Your annotated bibliography should consist of five citations; only one of these citations
can be an internet source. The remaining four must be journal articles, book chapters, and
books. Three of these sources must be in print form.
Then prepare one-paragraph annotations for each of your sources. These annotations should
consist of:
A) 3-5 sentences that summarize the source's contents
B) 3-5 sentences that cite and explain the relevance of important quotations
C) 3-5 sentences that demonstrate why this source proves the existence of your
narrative.
3) Final Essay (5-6 pages)
To be discussed.
Grading Criteria (by Professor Jason Tougaw, Queens College, Dept. of English)

When I evaluate your formal assignments, I am looking for inventive ideas expressed
in engaging prose. Your writing should both please and enlighten readers and give them a
sense of why your project is importantwhy what you have to say needs to be said. I evaluate
the words on the page, rather than potential, improvement, or effort. The work you put into
an assignment will most certainly be evident in the completed essay. The grading criteria
below reflect the general standards to which I hold essays. Plusses and minuses represent
shades of difference. However, no description can capture the full range of elements that
make a piece of writing strong (or weak). My feedback on your writing will give you both
more concrete and more thorough explanations of the standards by which I evaluate it.
An A range essay is both ambitious and successful. It presents and develops focused and
compelling set of ideas with grace, confidence, and control. It integrates and responds to
sources subtly and persuasively.
A B range essay is one that is ambitious but only partially successful, or one that achieves
modest aims well. A B essay must contain focused ideas, but these ideas may not be
particularly complex, or may not be presented or supported well at every point. It integrates
sources efficiently, if not always gracefully.
A C range essay has significant problems articulating and presenting its central ideas,
though it is usually focused and coherent. Such essays often lack clarity and use source
material in simple ways, without significant analysis or insight.
A D range essay fails to grapple seriously with either ideas or texts, or fails to address the
expectations of the assignment. A D essay distinguishes itself from a failing essay by
showing moments of promise, such as emerging, though not sufficiently developed or
articulated ideas. D essays do not use sources well, though there may some effort to do so.
An F essay does not grapple with either ideas or texts, or does not address the expectations of
the assignment. It is often unfocused or incoherent.
Writing Center
Located in Kiely Hall 229, the Writing Center employs tutors trained to help you revise your
writing at various stages. If you believe you need additional help with your writing, or if I ask
you to set up a regular meeting with a tutor, you should make an appointment at least one
week prior to when an assignment is due. You can also get online help by visiting their
website at http://qcpages.qc.edu/ qcwsw.
Note about Special Accommodation
If you have a learning, sensory, or physical reason for special accommodation in this class,
contact the Office of Special Services in 171 Kiely Hall at 718-997-5870 and please inform me.
Note about Electronic Devices

I have better things to do than call out texters, Facebookers, and other practitioners of
immature behavior, but your rudeness will be noted when I consider the quality of your
participation, which is worth 10% of your final grade.
Plagiarism
Plagiarism involves passing off someone else's work as your own. You will fail any
assignments in which you plagiarize, so please make sure to ask if you have any doubts about
what constitutes plagiarism. Other consequences may include a meeting with the Dean of
Students or failing the entire course.
Course Calendar
8/27: Introductions
9/2: Paul Connerton, Seven Types of Forgetting
9/4: Sidonie Smith and Julia Watson, A Toolkit: 24 Strategies for Reading Life Narratives
9/9: Audre Lorde, Zami
9/11: Audre Lorde, Zami
9/16: Audre Lorde, Zami
9/18: Audre Lorde, Zami
9/23: NO CLASS
9/25: NO CLASS
9/30: Writing Workshop Day
10/2: AUTOBIOGRAPHY DUE
10/7: MLA Handbook, p.8-38
10/9: Josh Neufeld, A.D.
10/14: Josh Neufeld, A.D.
10/16: Josh Neufeld, A.D.
10/21: Library Day

10/23: Joanne Garde-Hansen, Using Media to Make Memories

10/28: Bibliography Workshop
10/30: ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY DUE
11/4: Philip K. Dick, We Can Remember It for You Wholesale
11/6: Tillie Olsen, I Stand Here Ironing
11/11: Guy de Maupassant, A Dead Womans Secret
11/13: Mark Twain, The Private History of a Campaign that Failed
11/18: MLA Handbook, p.3-7, 41-60
11/20: Julie Stephens, Our Remembered Selves
11/25: Dylan Thomas, A Childs Christmas in Wales
FINAL PAPER PROPOSALS DUE
11/27: NO CLASS
12/2: Leonard Newman and Roy F. Baumeister, Toward an Explanation of the UFO
Abduction Phenomenon
12/4: Writing Workshop
12/9: Writing Workshop
12/11: FINAL ESSAY DUE
LAST DAY OF CLASS