What is this assignment? 

This assignment asks you to choose a chapter of Bad Ideas About Writing that interests you and to write an e-mail to the chapter’s author to offer a critical analysis to them.

A critical analysis doesn’t necessarily mean that you’re criticizing their chapter—though it could mean that. Instead, it means that you are closely reading their work, breaking apart several of the claims that they make, and then making an argument about each of these claims. 

This might mean that you are agreeing with something that the author claims, and then using a personal experience from your life as “support” or “evidence” for what the author is saying. It might also mean that sometimes you disagree with the author, and you use evidence from your life to push back. Or it might mean that while you agreed with something that an author said, you wanted them to say more, so you’re using your experiences to extend or expand their point. Many students will use a combination of these approaches. 

What learning goals will I practice during this assignment?

The work that you’ll do in class and for weekly work in this unit, and this assignment itself, will particularly focus on helping you to develop or practice the following learning goals for English 110:

• Produce writing that responds appropriately to a variety of rhetorical situations with a particular focus on academic argumentation.
• Learn / practice reading strategies to summarize, synthesize, analyze, and critique other people’s arguments and ideas fairly.
• Produce writing that shows how writers may navigate the diverse processes of composing including revision and collaboration
• Take ownership of your work and gain an understanding of your own voice, style, and strengths

How have students in previous classes approached this assignment?

Many students in previous classes have written to Steven Alvarez about bilingual education to reflect on their own experiences of learning English.

Students have written to Patricia Dunn, reflecting on their experiences of learning grammar in writing classes, or they’ve written to Jennifer Mott-Smith to talk about their experiences with plagiarism accusations.

Some students have disagreed with Scott Warnock’s claim that texting and other forms of digital writing don’t harm students’ literacy outcomes, or they’ve agreed with Anjali Pattanayak that there are multiple ways to speak and write in English that are equally valid. You’ll notice that some of the chapters that students respond to are not chapters that we will read together in class. And that’s OK!

Do I have to use one of the chapters that we read in class for this assignment? 

Many students have find it easier to use a chapter that we discuss in class, or at least a chapter that they’ve previously written about in one of the Weekly Work assignments. This way, you can get some feedback on your summary first. However, you can use any chapter from Bad Ideas About Writing that interests you. Here is a link to the full book. 

If you are thinking about using a chapter that we don’t cover together, consider completing a Personal Reflection or a Reading Guide on that chapter during Unit 1 when you complete weekly work so that you can get some feedback on your ideas before you begin drafting. 

What are the requirements for this assignment? 

To meet full requirements on this assignment, please do all 10 of the following things: 

1. Summarize one chapter of Bad Ideas About Writing in a way that makes it clear that you’ve understood the major claims of the chapter enough to explain them back to the author.  
2. List any points of agreement or disagreement, and illustrate them using specific personal experiences you have had that supports the author’s argument or expands the author’s argument (i.e. give details of your experience, and do not just state your opinion). You must discuss at least two SEPARATE claims from the chapter, though you’re welcome to discuss more claims than that. 
3. Draft should contain a paragraph that explains some ideas for future research that relate to the chapter’s topic. 
4. Produce a first draft of no fewer than 750 words (3 pages). The word count should be JUST for the body of the draft itself, and not the heading, title, or any Works Cited list that you use. It can be longer than this.
5. The first draft should be submitted using the Assignment Submission Form, and each box on the form must be fully completed. Select “First Draft of Assignment 1” when the forms asks you what you are submitting in order to open up the correct boxes.
6. Produce a peer review for another person’s draft. If someone doesn’t produce a peer review for you, this is OK. You can still meet this requirement as long as you review someone else’s draft. If your partner doesn’t give you a draft in time, you can review one of the sample essays.  
7. The peer review should be submitted using the Peer Review Submission Form. Each box on the form is thoroughly completed.
8. Produce a final draft of no fewer than 1,000 words (4 pages). It’s OK if it’s longer than that. 
9. The final draft should be submitted using the Assignment Submission Form.
10. Each box on the form must be thoroughly completed. Select “Final Draft of Assignment 1” when the forms asks you what you are submitting in order to open up the correct boxes.

Remember: you are allowed to resubmit this paper as many times as it takes to meet all the requirements that you want to meet for the grade that you’re trying to earn. If you don’t meet them the first time, because this kind of writing is unfamiliar to you, that’s OK! Unlike for weekly work, for major assignments, you can resubmit your final draft up until the final day of classes.

Deadlines

All deadlines for this paper and links to the submission forms you’ll use to turn everything in can also be found on the course schedule. But here they are again: 

Thursday, March 2nd: First Draft Due

The first draft of Assignment 1: E-mail To the Author is due tonight by 11:59pm. .Please submit it through the assignment submission form, and please also bring a copy with you to class, or make sure that you have a shareable, electronic copy available.

Tuesday, March 7th: Peer Review Due

Peer review is due tonight by 11:59pm

Thursday, March 9th: Final Draft Due

Final draft of the essay is due tonight by 11:59pm.