Comprehensive Notes: Writing Studies Course Overview (Transcript-Based)

Overview and core purpose of the course

• Writing in the real world has explicit purposes (e.g., texting a friend to go to the gym or to lunch, or texting your mom about something) and is motivated by real tasks and audiences. In school writing, the purpose often feels unclear or oriented toward practice rather than a practical outcome.
• This course aims to treat writing as a serious, purposeful activity across contexts and disciplines, with a no-judgment environment where you can grow and gain confidence by the end of the semester.
• Writing is not monolithic: there are many ways to write, and styles differ by discipline and situation. The course emphasizes flexibility and adaptability to different rhetorical situations.
• The instructor frames the course as a broader communication course (reading, writing, watching, listening, and even playing), not just a traditional five-essay sequence.
• The course includes hands-on practice with drafting, rhetoric, research, and documentation, building toward more sophisticated writing across contexts.

Ice-break and early logistics

• Ice-break activity: students think about favorite things to read, watch, listen to, or play; the activity emphasizes multimodal communication as a form of writing and meaning-making.
• Activity to mingle and find peers who share similar interests.
• Led Zeppelin is used as a mood/setup cue during the session.

Writing pods and collaborative work

• On Friday, the class will form writing pods (approximately the same size as current table groups).
• There will be 4 writing pods in total.
• Pods are the group you’ll work with every Friday to workshop and get feedback on projects and drafts, especially for the narrative project.
• For other projects, pods may be used less, but the narrative project relies heavily on pod feedback.
• You may work solo on any project, or collaborate with other students (the narrative project is typically solo; others can be done with 1–several partners).

Course structure: major projects and sequencing

• There are three broad phases of major projects across the semester:
  • $1$: Literacy narrative (Project 1)
  • $2$: Rhetoric unit with two mini projects (Mini Project 1 and Mini Project 2)
  • $3$: A final major project, a research project
• Literacy narrative (Project 1)
  • Start with a story about yourself—something you’re literate in or good at (e.g., football, guitar, language, travel, cooking).
  • Then you can tell any story you want: you can invent, embellish, or adapt; genres may include horror, sci-fi, etc., and you could turn it into a poem.
  • Word limit: a maximum of $1000$ words (you can go shorter, but exceeding it risks reader disengagement since the readers are your classmates).
• Rhetoric unit: two mini projects
  • Mini Project 1: Analyze an existing text
  • In our course, a "text" is any act of communication. Examples include album covers, music videos, T-shirts, stickers, product labeling, restaurant interiors, courtroom closing arguments, or other designed experiences.
  • The goal is to analyze what the design and rhetoric of the chosen text communicate to its audience.
  • Mini Project 2: Create a new text concept
  • You conceptualize a new text (not necessarily fully produced). GenAI can be used to help generate concepts or visuals.
  • Examples students have proposed include: the next album cover for a favorite artist, a hypothetical NFL expansion (e.g., a team for Canada with logos and jerseys), a restaurant menu for a future business, or similar creative concepts.
  • Collaboration: you can work with others or do it solo.
• Final major project: Research project
  • You pick a topic you care about and want to learn more about; the project can cover nearly anything that interests you.
  • Past examples included woodworking and finishing different kinds of wood; the key is choosing something you’re genuinely curious about and learning from it.
  • The project emphasizes deep inquiry and producing new understanding in your area of interest.

Context and rationale for the course within the curriculum

• About two decades ago, the course structure changed significantly: the previous model resembled a traditional English class (e.g., reading Beowulf, writing papers) that didn’t align with most students’ future fields (nursing, sciences, business, etc.).
• The shift: writing is important in every field, including math, science, and business; thus, the curriculum was redesigned to emphasize writing across the curriculum (WAC) and later, writing in the disciplines (WID).
• The program progression:
  • Year 1: This course (writing-intensive, RC) and related introductory content.
  • Year 2: Intro to WAC (Writing Across the Curriculum) for broader writing practices in various contexts.
  • Year 3: WID (Writing in the Disciplines) taught by faculty within your major (e.g., nursing, biochemistry, education).
  • Year 4: Capstone where writing becomes a larger, integrative project.
• The overarching goal is to help you understand how to write across different situations in your future profession and to cultivate strategies for effective communication.

Readings, textbook access, and online components

• Course materials are available on the Azure Learn page (book: Voices for Change).
• Access issues and troubleshooting:
  • Some students may have trouble signing in via Google; alternatives include using a PDF version of articles.
  • If access problems persist, the instructor will provide alternatives and support, including PDFs and direct email access.
• Assignments related to reading/viewing for Fridays will include a short article (about $3$ pages) and a short video (about $10$ minutes).
• The gradebook and course materials will be set up over the weekend to provide clarity on deadlines and expectations.

Conferences and grading

• Conferences: Approximately $3$ one-on-one meetings per semester, offered over Zoom or in the instructor’s office (Second Floor).
  • Each conference is about $15$ minutes and is your dedicated time to discuss questions, progress, and feedback.
  • Scheduling requires a bit of advance planning because the instructor has to meet with all students (roughly 90+ students), which may require cancellations of some class periods—so plan ahead.
• Grading and feedback:
  • The instructor will explain grading more fully on Friday.
  • Part of Friday’s tasks involves replying to an article (≈$3$ pages) or a short video (≈$10$ minutes) to prepare for discussion.
  • Expect a more complete explanation of the gradebook and rubrics after setup.

In-class activity: Course Core Questions

• The instructor introduces “Course Core Questions” as a recurring weekly activity tied to the course schedule.
  • Each week is themed around a central idea in writing studies (e.g., what counts as good writing).
  • At the start of the semester, students answer these questions with no external research: be honest about what you think and know, even if you don’t know a term or concept yet.
  • The idea is to revisit these questions at the end of the semester to measure growth and shifts in thinking.
• The activity emphasizes multimodality and how students perceive terms like multimodal writing, which comes up in discussion (a student notes this term during the course).

Practical and logistical notes

• Orientation and scheduling: Orientation sessions can be long (e.g., a full day), and there were conversations about the length and format (e.g., eight hours or six hours in some versions).
• The instructor highlights that the course is designed to be highly relevant to future careers by connecting writing to real-world tasks and disciplinary work.
• Audience and accessibility: materials aim to be accessible (e.g., alternative text formats like PDFs) so all students can engage with core readings and activities.
• Student anecdotes and class interactions: the transcript includes informal banter and personal connections (e.g., the Led Zeppelin cue, a lighthearted misrecognition about a student’s twin), illustrating a responsive, student-centered classroom culture.

Key takeaways for exam preparation

• Writing has purpose across contexts; school writing should teach adaptability to real-world rhetorical situations.
• The course structure centers on three major project phases: a literacy narrative, two mini rhetoric projects, and a final research project, with collaboration options via writing pods.
• The rationale for the course is grounded in the idea that writing is essential in all disciplines and careers, not just in traditional English classes.
• You will engage with both analysis of existing texts and creation of new texts (including concept work with GenAI), emphasizing both critical reading and creative production.
• Reading/viewing assignments for Fridays, with a focus on concise, page-limited material (roughly $3$ pages) and short videos (roughly $10$ minutes).
• Regular one-on-one conferences (about $15$ minutes, about $3$ times per semester) are a core part of feedback and progress tracking.
• The course uses a weekly, theme-based structure (e.g., what counts as good writing) and a baseline at the start to measure growth by semester end.
• Access to materials may require troubleshooting; alternatives (PDFs) are available, and support will be provided as needed.

Quick reference: key numbers (LaTeX format)

• Literacy narrative word limit: $1000$ words
• Writing pods: $4$ pods
• Major project count: $3$ major projects
• Mini projects in rhetoric unit: $2$ mini projects
• Final major project: $1$ research project
• Orientation length scenarios discussed: $8$ hours, $6$ hours
• Conferences per semester: $3$ times per semester
• Conference duration: $15$ minutes
• Reading pages for Friday: about $3$ pages
• Video length for Friday: about $10$ minutes
• Topic progression years: $2$ years to reach WAC, $3$rd year WID, $4$th year capstone
• Access and sign-in notes: troubleshooting for Google sign-in; alternatives include a PDF version
• Class size reference: about $90$–$100$ students
• Historical shift: about $20$ years ago
• Notable example topics mentioned: Led Zeppelin, NFL expansion concepts, album covers, logos, restaurant menus (illustrative examples for Mini Project 2)

If you’d like, I can reorganize these notes by topic or convert sections into a study checklist or flashcards. Also tell me if you prefer a tighter summary focusing only on major points, or if you want a deeper dive into any single project description and its expected deliverables.