Comp 1 - Digital Media Experience

& Online Spaces

Your Instructor

Instructor Contact Info

In this course, you will be engaging in:

• Weekly HW Reading Notes (Practice annotating/pulling important info from our content).
• In-Class Writing Exercises addressing the readings, project essays, and working with each other. Participation is a big part of composition and this class.
• Essays which show personal, narrative, analytical, argumentative, and evidence-driven growth throughout the semester. 
• Constructing and creating content beyond the written word and into multimodal spaces.
• FINAL GRADE NEEDS TO BE A "C" TO EARN CREDIT FROM THE COURSE.

Course Overview

• Kickstarter: This 5-10min. warm-up writing exercise will draw on content and idea generating, Elbow's Free-writing techniques, and responding to a prompt. 
• Discussion/Presentation on Readings/Topics: (5-10min) Your instructor will go over key insights from readings, ask questions, share content and get everyone ready for larger writing tasks. 
• Main Class Writing Activity: (15min) In Comp 1 you will be given in-class time to complete an activity connected to readings and major essays. Some of this time will be individual and some will be in groups. 
• Debrief (5min.) Sharing with class and instructor goes over any HW or upcoming assignments.

Course Structure (MW)

• Weekly Wrap-Ups: By the end of the week, we will finish up major in-class activities and devote time where needed to interaction with each others writing. Other content from week readings will be covered to give us better ways of applying ideas from course content.
• A.I. Friday Forum Topics!
  • ​Each Friday, we will devote attention towards the many uses of A.I., when to use it ethically, how to document it, and what we should know about its impact on writing, the workplace, and online spaces. We will practice using and accessing Boodlebox, CMU's one-stop shop for A.I. Tools. Each theme for the week will change!

Course Structure (A.I. Friday Forums!)

SNL - Problems with Literacy

• For MWF, you are allowed 6 SKIPS (2 weeks). If you are not in class, I mark a SKIP and keep track of these beginning Week 2.
• Unexcused Absence: Past 6 Skips, an X will be given for the day of absence which will impact your overall attendance %.
• Excused absences (you must email me BEFORE missing class):
  • Sickness/Illness
  • Family Emergency
  • Professional or Legal Obligation
  • CMU sanctioned events
• 5 minutes late = tardy; 5+ minutes late = absence

*Note: Regardless of the type of absence, YOU are still responsible for Due Dates and making arrangements with your instructor to make-up work you will be missing.

Course Policies - Attendance

• Late Work
  • As the instructor, I reserve the right to decide what can be made up and what cannot. Be advised there are In-Class Assignments/activities such as Peer Reviews that count towards participation and cannot be made up if absent.
  • ANY late assignment is subject to partial credit (HW, in-class, etc.) or half credit (major assignments).
  • Extensions are handled on a case-by-case basis unless instructor opts for a change in schedule collectively.

  • IMPORTANT: Email me and keep the line of communication open as to what is going on with you as this helps me understand your situation and determine whether you are able to make up your work or not.

Course Policies-cont.

In Summary, Plagiarism is taking another person, thing, or construct's work and claiming it as your own. Avoid this at all costs by:

• Always CITE your sources (MLA, APA) and show readers where you got your content from.
• LIMIT information or writing you are getting from A.I. Writing Tools or generators
• DO NOT Copy and Paste Content directly into your Word Doc WITHOUT CITATION (SOURCE), especially if it is your ESSAY.
• Have ideas of your own, not just relying on what sites, writers, or A.I. say.

A.I. Plagiarism can lead to major grade deductions, zeros, academic dishonesty forms, or even failing the course! If in doubt, ASK!

Academic Honesty and Avoiding Plagiarism

• Be respectful of one another during class conversation & interaction. A writing class needs productive/positive feedback and suggestions from each other.
• Food and Drink: Coffee and/or Energy Drinks permitted. Breakfast/nutrition bars okay.
• Earbud/Headphones/Phone policy: During class discussion or interaction, these need to be muted and/or turned off.
• Raise your hand to let me know if you need to leave.
• I want to promote a positive mental well-being in my class, and if there is something that impacts your presence, please let me know if you need to leave or can't make it. I want to help.
• I have posted office hours for a reason - Please stop by to visit if you have questions about the class or an assignment.

Course/Classroom Etiquette

For today, we will spend some time identifying "artifacts" that connect to our life story that you want to share with your fellow classmates. In today's discussion writing thread, you'll find two objectives:

• Individually: Compose in a solid paragraph or 2 your Introduction Post, sharing fun information about yourself, including background, skills, majors, pets, or future goals.
• Upload an "artifact" to your original post/reply: may be a photo, pet/travel related, skill-related, or URL link to content, organization, or club you follow or are interested in. You can post text or images in discussion thread *you may want to start in a Word doc or Pages Doc and then copy over to thread*

Show N' Tell Artifacts Activity

• What is the reading's main point? Is there an abstract or introduction?
• Are there changes in font? Bolded words, italicized words? These style choices can mean something to the reader.
• What happens when I look ahead? Find Section Headings and Subsections: these cue you in on a new material or a new idea ahead.
• What are strange or unfamiliar words or terms being used?
• What people, websites, or company organizations are named?
• STOP & CRITIQUE: This reminds me of... The article reading should also... In my experience with this...

Writing/Reading Note Techniques - Doc's Notes

• Grammar & Style are tools to better communicate with our audience - tools that we are controlling, rather than it controlling us; words help us accomplish our purpose for our audience (Hulst 87-88).
• Content vs. Context - Ask yourselves when writing:
  • What am I saying? How am I saying it? Why? And for whom? (does my information fit the situation?)

When I write do I have...

• Subject (the sentence is about...noun, pronoun)
  • Can I use "I" "My" in college writing? - The answer is yes!!
• Verbs (action words) - jumped, leaped, catapulted
• Adverbs (words that describe actions, e.g. boldly)
• Punctuation = (.) (,) (!) (?) (;) - end your sentence or thought

Writing Styles & Techniques - Doc's Notes

• Both Cassel & Hulst discuss what can happen to the meaning of a piece of writing when we don't observe certain rules of punctuation, grammar, and basic writing style. Let's take a look at some fun examples.

Writing Styles & Techniques - continued...

• What are Cassell's THREE strategies for "Reading like a Writer"? (5-6).
  • Strategy 1: Learning Explicitly
    • (Tip: Ask yourself - What are the rules for this writing assignment? What are the Do's and Don'ts?)
  • Strategy 2: Visual Reading
    • (Tip: Do my words, paragraphs, punctuation, or figures on the page flow well or are appealing?)
  • Strategy 3: Aural Reading
    • (Tip: Read out loud what you write - where do things sound wrong?)

Writing Styles & Techniques - continued...

"Who I Am" Scanvenger Activity

Our week 1 readings propose helpful insights into critical reading and writing strategies to consider when becoming better writers. To help you prepare your Week 1 notes, contribute to the class discussion thread.

• After looking at Ramsdall's article from earlier, spend some time with this or another main article: What is something important about writing, reading and thinking critically? Importantly, what do you want to improve on with writing? What areas or topics do you feel strong with versus areas that are more difficult?
• After you post your findings, take some time to look at other posts and reply to another student near you or under your post (What was their experience with writing? What similarities or differences do you notice?) Leave them a quick reply why you believe this matters to you as a writer.

In-Class Week 1: Writer's Techniques

Within any Writing Course you want to identify these things:

1. What content is MOST important to apply and use from readings and sources I'm using?

2. What is the instructor or writing prompt expecting from  me? What should my writing style be like (e.g. personal, rhetorical, compare/contrast, find evidence, persuade, inform etc.)

3. Do my ideas flow well from one paragraph to the next? Will my readers understand?

A.I. Friday Forums

A.I. + Writing Policy

Always CITE- like this (SOURCE) where info comes from.

A.I. Samples/Tutorial