WRIT 2072 (Spring I 2006)

Daily Schedule

*PL = Public Literacy

T 1/17 Introduction to class
R 1/19

Discuss excerpt from Loeb's "Soul of a Citizen" (at www.soulofacitizen.org/articles/Utne%20Reader%20Excerpt.htm )
Discuss PL Chapters 1 and 2
Due:   Exercise 1 (personal experience of writing for change)
Complaint letter assigned

Writing as a Consumer

T 1/24 Discuss sample complaint letters
Discuss Lamott, "Shitty First Drafts," and Murray, "The Maker's Eye"; and handout on the writing process and rhetorical triangle
R 1/26 Due: Rhetorical analysis for complaint letter
T 1/31 Writing Workshop:   Complaint Letters (draft of letter due)
R 2/2

Discuss readings on corporate social responsibility and shareholder activism
Due: Exercise 2 (defining corporate social responsibility)
Corporate social responsibility (CSR) proposal assigned

T 2/7

Discuss Miller, "Is Persuasion Dead?", Pratkanis and Aronson, "Our Age of Propaganda", and other material on persuasive writing
Analyze examples of persuasive writing
Due: Final draft of complaint letter

Writing about Local Issues

R 2/9

Discuss PL Chapters 3-5 and "Writing with the Community"
Due: Exercise 3 (using local newspaper)
Letter to the editor/op-ed (including research requirements) assigned

T 2/14 Writing Workshop: SCR Proposal (draft of proposal due)
R 2/16

Practice interviewing
Discuss PL Chapter 6 and sample letters/opinion pieces
T 2/21

Guest speaker:   Don Corrigan
Due:   Final draft of SCR proposal

R 2/23 Due: Exercise 4 (analysis of community culture)
T 2/28

Writing Workshop:   Letters to the Editor/Op-Eds (draft of letter or op-ed due)

R 3/2

Discuss handout on solving community problems and proposal samples
Proposal addressing community issue assigned
T 3/7 Due: Final draft of letter to the editor or op-ed
Discuss Orwell, "Politics and the English Language"
Discuss principles of writing style
R 3/9 Discuss Lakoff, Don't Think of an Elephant

3/13 - 3/17 Spring Break

T 3/21

Continue discussion.
Due: Exercise 5 (applying Lakoff's ideas)

R 3/23 Writing Workshop:   Proposal

Writing about National Issues                                    

T 3/28

Discuss handouts on how to evaluate sources of information (including www.lib.purdue.edu/ugrl/staff/sharkey/interneteval/index.html)
Due: Exercise 6 (analyzing a web site)

R 3/30

Discuss Moyers, "Journalism and Democracy," and chapter from Rampton and Stauber's Trust Us, We're Experts
 Due: Final draft of proposal

T 4/4

Discuss "Media Views of an Issue"
Practice analyzing media representation of an issue

R 4/6

Discuss Jamieson, excerpt from Everything You Think You Know about Politics . . . And Why You're Wrong (handout)
Discuss how to research politician's voting records and sources of campaign funding
Due: Media Representation Analysis

T 4/11

Due: Exercise 7: report on your representative's record and funding sources
Writing Workshop: Letter to representative (draft of letter due)

R 4/13 Writing Workshop continued
T 4/18

Discuss Hutton and Phillips, "Tuning in to the World of Nonprofit Organizations, and PL Chapter 7
Due:   Final draft of letter to representative
R 4/20  

Discuss articles by Phil Agre:
·      "Designing Effective Action Alerts for the Internet":
polaris.gseis.ucla.edu/pagre/alerts.html
·      "Against Chain-Letter Petitions on the Internet": lchc.ucsd.edu/MCA/Mail/xmcamail.1996_04.dir/0099.html     
Discuss examples of e-mail/Internet issue campaigns

T 4/25 Discuss readings on Internet and democracy (handouts)
R 4/27 Writing Workshop:   Issue Campaign Documents
T 5/2 Writing Workshop:   Issue Campaign Documents   
R 5/4 Catch up
T 5/9

Final Exam Period:   10:30-12:30
Present issue campaign to class
Due: Final draft of issue campaign