Syllabus

BCSC 163: Syllabus

Fall 2024

Welcome to class! In this class, we’ll be learning to think about writing as a cognitive activity. What goes on in writers’ minds when they write and in readers’ minds when they read? Can learning about what goes on in both writers’ and readers’ minds help writers make their writing more effective? We will delve into the cognitive processes underlying writing and reading: how writers generate ideas, translate those ideas into words and sentences, organize those sentences into arguments, and do all of this while managing things like spelling and typing, and how readers actually interpret the message being conveyed by a piece of writing. We’ll also explore the extent to which research in cognitive science can inform what we do as writers by experimenting on ourselves with research-grounded strategies.

Time & Location

Tuesdays and Thursdays: 2:00pm-3:15pm in LeChase 122

(Note: if needed, I will have Zoom running in the classroom)

Personnel

Dr. Whitney Gegg-Harrison (she/they)
What to call me: You can simply call me “Whitney”, or you can call me “Dr. Gegg-Harrison”. Use whichever feels comfortable for you.

How to contact me: via email: whitney.gegg.harrison@gmail.com

Where to find me:
My physical office: Rush Rhees G-121H. I’m at the end of the hall in the WSAP space closest to “Connections” Café. On Mondays and Wednesdays, I typically work from home and am only available on Zoom.

My Zoom office/classroom: This is the virtual room we’ll use for online meetings. It is also where we’ll meet for class if I end up needing to teach remotely for any reason (e.g. if my child’s school closes).

My office hours: Thursdays from 3:30-4:30pm and Fridays from 11:30am-12:30pm. Also by appointment (see next bullet point)

To schedule a 1x1 meeting with me: Visit my Calendly Scheduler

Course Goals

Through this course, you will:

  • Gain a basic understanding of the cognitive processes involved in writing and reading, such as memory and attention
  • Gain hands-on experience with some of the methods used to study the cognitive processes involved in writing and reading
  • Use your own experiences as a writer and reader to generate hypotheses about the cognitive processes involved, and experiment on yourself using some of the methods we’ll be exploring
  • Learn to read and interpret research from cognitive scientists and writing studies researchers
  • Learn to ask good questions about cognition and writing: in particular, learning what kinds of questions are even answerable with different types of experimental methods, and what method would be appropriate for a particular question.
  • And...have fun! Writing is awesome, and so is cognitive science, and putting the two together should be a great experience. My goal is to make our classroom one of playful exploration.

How to prepare for classes

Come to class having read everything that is assigned for that class period, and having completed any assignments that are assigned for that class period. You’ll find readings and assignments on the Schedule/Checklist, as well as in each of the Blackboard Ultra Module Folders. Be ready for discussion! Please know that this class respects and welcomes students of all backgrounds and abilities, and that I invite you to talk with me about any concern or situation that affects your ability to participate in class or complete your academic work successfully.

Using the schedule/checklist

The schedule/checklist is a Google Spreadsheet where I have broken the class down into individual activities, such that each reading, assignment, and class has its own “checkbox”; this is intended to help you make sure you’re on track. I also provide an estimate of how much time you should plan to spend on each activity. This is of course just an estimate, but if you are finding that you are spending a LOT more time on readings/activities than is listed on the schedule, please reach out to me!

How I’ll communicate with the class

All of my communications to the class as a whole will come through Blackboard Ultra’s Announcements. These will show up on our “Announcements” page in our class Blackboard, and will also come to your UR email address. Check your email regularly!

What if you need to miss a class?

If you need to miss a class session, you need to make up the missed material by doing the following within 3 days of the missed class (if that is not possible due to documented illness/emergency, please make sure that you reach out to me so that we can work out a plan):

  1. Check the class notes/handouts for the day you missed, and if possible, also check in with a peer about what you missed.
  2. Complete the in-class activities as described in the class notes.
  3. After the first 2 steps are complete: Email me. Let me know what you got from reading the class notes/handouts/checking in with a peer. Then, share your responses to the in-class activities. Then you can ask any remaining questions.

Classroom Community Expectations

Respect, Curiosity, Generosity, and Kindness

Please don’t be our “Patient Zero”! We should do everything we can to keep each other safe. As a higher-risk individual, I will be wearing a mask while teaching for the foreseeable future regardless of what the university’s masking requirements are, and welcome others to join me. If you are sick (any kind of sick, not just COVID!): I want you to take care of yourself AND avoid spreading it. Just send me an email to let me know that you’re not able to come to class due to illness, and if you feel up to it, you can ask me to turn Zoom on during the class so that you can listen along. All of the materials will be on Google Drive, and you can follow the instructions for making up a missed class (see page 2). If you need a little more time because sickness is slowing you down, just ask - I can almost always grant you that, as long as you keep me updated.

During discussions (both in person and online): We aren’t always going to agree, and there’s nothing wrong with that; we don’t all share the same experiences or backgrounds! But this does mean that we need to approach discussions respectfully. It’s important to listen (or read) as well as to speak (or write), and if you notice that you’re doing too much of one or the other during a particular discussion, try to bring them into balance. Make substantive, productive comments. Aim to say what you have to say with respect and kindness, and to interpret what others have said through a lens of curiosity and generosity. This class should be a brave space: a space where we are open to taking risks, where we expect to be uncomfortable sometimes, but we do not ignore anyone’s physical, social, or emotional needs.

Technology: We’re going to be using technology quite a bit during class, and I encourage you to bring a device that will allow you to access Google Drive. Sometimes, we might even chase down an idea or try to answer a question by doing a quick web search - this kind of connectivity can really bring a lot of value to a class! BUT: it can also bring a lot of distraction, both to you and to the rest of the class. Show respect by refraining from extraneous activity on your device(s) during class, and by putting your device(s) away during times when I ask you to.

Openness to feedback: This goes in both directions - I’ll be giving you feedback, of course, because I’m your professor and my job is to ensure that you get the feedback you need to help you learn, and you’ll learn best if you’re open to receiving that kind of feedback. And I will be the best instructor for you if I am open to YOUR feedback, and what that means is that if something isn’t working well in the class, I want to hear about it so that I can make it better. Please don’t be afraid to reach out to me!

Sharing and responding to peer writing: Sharing writing with readers and receiving feedback from them is one of the only ways writers can really learn how their writing is working for readers. We will frequently share drafts for peer feedback in this class. This is something that I know can feel very vulnerable! Be brave, and remember that any piece of published writing you have ever read has been through many rounds of this kind of feedback. The job of a first draft is to be written, not to be perfect. In fact, no paper’s job is to be perfect - only to work well, given the writer’s audience and purpose.

As the writer, share the best work you can, knowing that the feedback you’ll get will help you make it better; try to be curious about what your readers will experience as they read it.
As the reader, offer whatever criticism you have with kindness and generosity, and stay curious about what the writer might have been trying to do.

How is this class graded?

CONTRACT GRADING: This class uses a Contract and Final Portfolio as the basis for grading; you earn at least a B by meeting all of the basic requirements for the course and can earn even higher grades by submitting particularly high-quality work as part of your Final Portfolio. Breaches of the contract will result in lower grades.

You are guaranteed a final grade of “B” if you meet the following basic requirements for the course (these basically boil down to “do all of the work and be a good classmate”):

  • Be on time, prepared for, and engaged in all class meetings, discussions, and activities.
  • Complete all reading assignments on time
  • Complete all parts of all Writing & Thinking Activity assignments on time
  • Complete all portions of the Research Project on time
  • Submit each Cognition & Writing Concepts Set on time, then revise them as needed for Final Portfolio
  • Demonstrate understanding of key concepts via your Cognition & Writing Concepts Assignments (receiving a final grade of C or higher)
  • Give thoughtful peer feedback during the Research Project
  • Sustain effort and investment on your Research Project; be thoughtful with each required portion (the proposal, the annotated bibliography and literature review, the paper itself, and the presentations) and make substantive revisions when needed — extending or changing the thinking or organization, not just polishing/sentence-level editing.
  • Participate in at least 1 “Special Interest Topics” presentation
  • Give a Final Presentation of your research project
  • Produce polished, copy-edited, non-plagiarized writing for every element of your Final Portfolio (and obviously, don’t plagiarize in your Writing & Thinking Activities, either, but at least one of those will actually REQUIRE you not to polish/copy-edit!)

Notice that you earn the grade of B entirely on the basis of what you do. This does not derive in any way from my judgment about the quality of your writing (beyond the requirement that it meet the outcome criteria standards set by the WSAP). If I feel you have gone above and beyond these minimum requirements, you may earn as high as B+ purely on the basis of what you DO.

Grades higher than B (or B+), however, do rest on my judgment of quality. Every piece of writing that you submit as part of your portfolio will have received feedback from me and from your peers, and we’ll have workshops throughout the semester aimed at helping you develop the skills and strategies you need to produce clear, coherent, and interesting academic writing. We’ll be making revision the central goal for writing in this course, with the hope of supporting each of you in learning to produce high-quality writing.

Grades lower than B are the result of “Contract Breaches”: failures to meet the basic requirements. On the following page, you’ll find an explanation of minor breaches and major breaches. In many cases, you can avoid breaches by communicating with me; I’m happy to help you when you’re having problems meeting expectations and can often grant extensions in advance (when I can reasonably do so without negatively impacting your peers) or help you figure out strategies for meeting expectations, but I cannot help you if I don’t know you need help!

How breaches affect your grade

  • 1 Major breach = a 1/3rd letter grade deduction from the final course grade. For example, a B would become a B- if you had 1 Major breach.
  • 3 Minor breaches = 1 Major breach. This means that you can incur a couple of minor breaches without any grade penalties, and in this way, minor breaches serve as a kind of “warning system”.

Minor Breaches: These represent relatively minor issues.

  • Being noticeably late to in-person class meetings more than twice (you get a couple “freebies”)
  • Submitting any part of a Writing & Thinking Notebook or any other assignment late (up to one week; any later becomes a major breach unless an alternate plan is arranged)
  • Failing to participate in an online discussion (e.g. Perusall or Discussion Boards)
  • Failing to submit the preparatory materials for your group’s “Special Interest Topics” presentation on time
  • Doing a “crappy” job of a Writing & Thinking Notebook assignment or any other assignment (these can be “unbreached” by re-doing the work to meet expectations - I will let you know if your work is not meeting expectations and work out a plan with you)

Major Breaches: These represent issues that impact peers or significantly impact your ability to meet the learning goals for the class.

  • Turning in an assignment more than one week late.
  • Not turning Research Project drafts in on time for Peer Response (this can be converted to a minor breach by visiting the writing center about your draft and writing a reflection about the feedback received; this must be done within 1 week of the draft's due date)
  • Not completing peer response for your peers' Research Project drafts on time (this can be converted to a minor breach by doing it within 1 week of the Peer Response due date)
  • Missing class without working out a plan with me for keeping up with the work (see Attendance and Class Participation, above)
  • Failing to participate in at least one “Special Interest Topics” presentation group
  • Failing to revise work for the Final Portfolio, or turning in work that earns below a C
  • Turning in any part of the Final Portfolio late

What kinds of assignments will you be asked to do?

Readings on Perusall: Each week, there will be readings (and sometimes viewings or podcasts) assigned to each class period, and you’ll find these on our course Perusall page. Perusall provides “social annotation” tools: in essence, each document becomes its own discussion board. Your job is to complete the reading, making at least a couple of comments as you go, and engaging with your peers. The process makes reading a lot more fun, because you can see what your classmates are thinking about the text, and you can ask questions and get answers while you’re reading.

Writing & Thinking Notebook: These short assignments will be aimed at giving you practice at thinking like a Cognition & Writing researcher, and will ask you to do various types of writing and also THINK about that writing. We’ll use this notebook to explore our own processes, and also to document our processes as we build toward the Research Project. There are no exams in this class, so these activities are one of my ways of assessing your ability to understand and integrate the concepts we discuss in class, and the Notebook will be one part of your Final Portfolio.

Cognition & Writing Concepts Assignments: These are the closest thing this class has to an exam; they’re an opportunity for you to demonstrate your understanding of the concepts we’ll be discussing. You’ll complete 3 of these assignments during the first half of the semester in your Writing & Thinking Notebook. You’ll get feedback on your submissions, and will use that feedback to revise your answers for the Final Portfolio.

Research Project: The “capstone” project for the class is a research project in which you will explore existing research on a topic of your choosing (related to cognition and writing, of course!) and either propose new research to address a particular “gap” or propose a potential practical application of the research you’ve explored; you’ll have the choice of “writing a paper” or “creating a thing”. As part of this project, you will produce a Proposal, a set of Annotated Sources, a Literature Review, and a Research Project. You will also participate in a Final Presentation in a “mini-conference” that we’ll hold at the end of the semester.

Final Portfolio: This is the assignment that you’ll submit at the end of the semester, and it is on the basis of this assignment that you can earn grades above and beyond the contract baseline of B. It will consist of your completed Writing & Thinking Notebook, including revised versions of your Cognition & Writing Concepts Assignments, along with a final, polished version of your Research Project.

Special Interest Topics: Because there is SO much that we could talk about in relation to cognition and writing, and not enough time to cover all of it, I’m leaving part of the schedule open to special interest topics. Each of you will participate in at least one of these special interest topics by preparing a (small) set of readings with notes, and running a session of class (or putting together a Voicethread) with activities and discussions. I’ll be prepared to help provide any necessary background, but the bulk of the presenting and discussion-leading will be done by you!

Academic Honesty Policies

It is through our own honesty and our trust in others’ honesty that we can learn from each other and work together to create new knowledge. For this reason, when dishonesty enters our community, we put in question all of the work we do and undermine our ability to bring new knowledge and good to the world. In this course, you will be learning appropriate conventions for engaging with and citing the work of others, and I will work with you to make sure you know what you need to do in order to submit work that meets expectations for originality and proper citation.

What is “plagiarism”? Plagiarism is the use of an idea, phrase, or other material from a written or spoken source without signaling and providing a “pathway” to the source at the place of use in a work for which you claim authorship. Examples include: the misrepresentation of sources used in a work for which you claim authorship; the improper use of course materials in a work for which you claim authorship; the use of papers that are purchased and turned in as your own work; submission of written work such as laboratory reports, computer programs, or papers, which have been copied from the work of other students, with or without their knowledge and consent. You can avoid the risk of plagiarism in written work or oral presentations by clearly indicating the source of any idea or wording that you did not produce, either in footnotes or in the paper or presentation itself, and in a list of references (e.g., bibliography or works cited page). Sources must be given regardless of whether the idea, phrase or other material is quoted directly, paraphrased or summarized in your own words. Direct quotes must always be placed in quotation marks in addition to the other citation information that is required. (This definition of plagiarism was adapted from the definition developed by the Writing, Speaking, and Argument Program at the University of Rochester; see honesty policy.

In all cases of suspected plagiarism or other forms of academic dishonesty, the College's procedures and policies governing academic honesty will be followed. This pertains to all work in writing courses, including (but not limited to) rough drafts, final drafts, presentations, multimodal projects, and informal writing assignments. As required by College policy, all instances of academic dishonesty are reported to the College Board of Academic Honesty. Complete College honesty policy (PDF). In cases where academic dishonesty has been established, the typical penalties for a first event in a WSAP course are as follows (in cases of particularly egregious dishonest behavior, the penalty may be more severe; in addition, when a case is decided through the Board Resolution process, then the AS&E Academic Honesty Policy sanctioning guidelines will be followed):

  • An incident of dishonesty in Writing & Thinking Activities, Cognition & Writing Concepts Assignment, or Research Project drafts results in a 1/3-letter grade reduction in the final course grade (essentially, this represents a major breach of the course contract)
  • For final portfolio: dishonesty means that the work fails to meet assignment criteria and will be graded with this in mind and in accordance with the syllabus policies, and the course grade may not be higher than C-.

Working with Others Honestly and Honorably: Unless otherwise specified, I encourage discussion of work related to Writing & Thinking Activities and the Research Project and other class activities, as explained in “Academic Integrity: Understanding how to Give and Receive Help When Writing Papers (PDF).” However, unless I indicate that work may be completed in groups, I expect you to complete work individually and acknowledge peers or others who have contributed substantive ideas.

What if the “Other” is AI or other technology? There are a number of apps and tools (AI-based and otherwise) that may be useful to you as a writer, but it’s important to make sure that you are using them in ways that are ethical and that do not compromise your own learning or the development of your writing skills but instead help you deepen your understanding of what you’re doing when you write. If you think of these tools as tech-based “peers”, this can help you understand when and how to use them ethically. Remember: the principle is that YOU need to be the one making decisions about everything in your writing. For example:

  • Since it’s not academically honest to use a peer’s summary or paraphrase of a text as if it’s your own in your writing, it is also not academically honest to use a summary or paraphrase generated by an AI paraphrasing tool as if it’s your own in your writing.
  • Since it’s not academically honest to hand a document to a peer to “correct it” without any input from you, it’s also not academically honest to hand a document to Grammarly (or another grammar checker/editing software) to make changes without considering each suggestion and deciding for yourself whether to take it. (But if you are making thoughtful decisions about the suggestions, it’s fine to use tools like Grammarly!)
  • Since it’s not academically honest to hand a paper written in Spanish or Chinese or any other language to a friend who then translates it into English for you before you turn it in, it also isn’t academically honest to turn in a paper that you wrote in some other language and then had a translation app translate into English for you. (But it’s fine to use tools to look up a particular word or phrase so that you can understand it better!)
  • Since it’s not academically honest to use the ideas that a peer developed without citing them in your paper, it’s also not academically honest to use ideas that you got from an AI tool like ChatGPT without citing them. (Read my longer note about AI tools [Google Doc])

In many cases, there are ways to use these tools ethically, honestly, and productively, and we’ll be exploring those approaches in class this semester. As a general rule, whether or not a tool is permitted, and for what purposes, is going to depend on the learning goals of the class. For example:

  • If my learning goal was to have you memorize how to write an APA-style citation and to be able to write one by hand, then it wouldn’t be permissible for you to use a reference manager that generates citations. Since that actually isn’t my goal, the use of reference managers is permissible and even encouraged in my class - I’ll teach you about them!
  • In a language learning class, translation software might be absolutely prohibited, because it conflicts with the learning goals for that class. This class is not about language learning per se, but I do want you to learn how to wield English effectively as a writer, and there are ethical ways to use translation tools to improve these skills - talk to me about this!

In short, it is up to you as a student to do your “due diligence” in all of your classes and ask the professor about their learning goals and the acceptability of such tools, especially if it’s not made clear in the syllabus. If you do use an AI tool as part of your writing for an assignment in this class: I expect you to cite the tool used, and I also expect you to explain how it was used in your Writer’s Memo(s) and other relevant Writing & Thinking Notebook entries. Failure to fully and accurately do so will result in a Major Breach (as it is an academic honesty violation).

Resources for Support

WRITING RESOURCES: If you’d like to work more on your writing or feel you need additional support, I highly recommend that you visit the Writing and Speaking Center. The Center provides help to writers at all stages of the writing process (from brainstorming to drafting to revising), and also can support you in developing your speaking skills. You can sign up for a 50-minute long appointment with an experienced graduate student writing consultant on the WSAP website; you can even schedule “standing appointments” with a particular consultant and meet with them every week for extra writing support. You are also encouraged to visit the undergraduate Writing Fellows, who can offer you peer feedback and are available for both walk-in and appointment hours. More information on available writing resources

DISABILITY RESOURCES: If you have a disability for which you may be requesting an academic accommodation, you are encouraged to contact both me and the Office of Disability Resources. In order to provide disability-related accommodations, I do need to have documentation from the Office of Disability Resources. They won’t share any information with me about the nature of your disability, only the kinds of accommodations you need. You are always welcome to talk with me about how to adapt the accommodations you receive to our class, which operates fairly differently than many classes on campus.

STUDY SKILLS RESOURCES: If you feel that you need additional assistance with things like time management and study skills, please feel free to contact the Learning Center at (585) 275-9049 or visit their website.

BASIC NEEDS: If you are struggling with basic needs (food, clothing, housing, etc), please reach out to the Basic Needs Hub. The support they provide, while somewhat limited, does not need to be repaid.

CARE Referrals: You can always speak with me about challenges you are experiencing within and outside of the classroom so that I may submit a CARE Referral on your behalf (you can also submit one on your own behalf!). The CARE network administrator shares information only with staff who need to know it in order to help you. I care about your success and am committed to my role in helping you get connected to appropriate campus resources.

A note on grading/feedback: As an instructor, I don’t like assigning grades any more than you, as students, probably like being graded. My goal as your instructor is to help you become a stronger, more confident, and more effective writer and thinker, and supporting you towards that is always my aim when I give you feedback. What this means in practical terms is that even A-level papers will get both positive and critical feedback (because there’s no such thing as a “perfect” paper!) and you should not consider my feedback to be a simple “checklist” of things you need to “fix” in order to get an A (though taking this feedback into account can certainly improve your grade!). I feel strongly that focusing on grades often interferes with the goal I have of making you stronger, more confident writers, but because I must also assign you a final grade, I aim to have very clear evaluation criteria for each assignment, and I invite respectful questions regarding those criteria at any time. I want to help you succeed in this course!