A student asked his Zen master how long it would take to reach enlightenment. “Ten years,” the master said. But, the student persisted, what if he studied very hard? “Then 20 years,” the master responded. Surprised, the student asked how long it would take if he worked very, very hard and became the most dedicated student in the Ashram. “In that case, 30 years,” the master replied. His explanation: “If you have one eye on how close you are to achieving your goal, that leaves only one eye for your task.”
The most important thing for you to take away from this class (and it is something I will repeat over and over again over the course of the semester) is that writing is a labor-intensive and iterative process. Writing is work, and how much your writing improves over the course of the semester depends entirely on how much work you are willing to put in. In other words, there is no such thing as an inherently gifted writer. A strong writer is merely a writer who is comfortable being vulnerable, sharing her work and receiving feedback openly, and who has the resilience to revisit and revise, revisit and revise, revisit and revise.
I’ve designed this class in such a way that allows for you to engage with the process of writing. In theory, you will only write two, short research papers but you will write multiple drafts of those papers before you hand in the final draft. I will give you ample time to revise and rewrite and drastically rework them so that you hand in work that best reflects your writing, so that you can hand in writing you are proud of, and have had the time to watch evolve. I’ve designed the assessment or grading methods of this class so that it rewards all the labor you put into your writing, so that it rewards the process, and not just the final product.
The only difference between me and you in this class is the amount of time and labor I’ve dedicated to the craft of writing, critical thinking, and research. I ask you to see me not as an authority figure who has a magical box of letters that I pass out as rewards for good work, but as a more experienced team member, a guide, or a coach. Your goal in this class is not to impress me or your peers with your writing; nor is it to 'figure out as quickly as possible what it is I want and start manipulating your writing so that it satisfies me.'
In other words I'm asking all of us to change our perspective, so that we see this not as a traditional class; rather, we participate in this course as we would participate in a writing workshop we've committed to. Let's discuss what this means.
I’ve designed this class in such a way that allows for you to engage with the process of writing. In theory, you will only write two, short research papers but you will write multiple drafts of those papers before you hand in the final draft. I will give you ample time to revise and rewrite and drastically rework them so that you hand in work that best reflects your writing, so that you can hand in writing you are proud of, and have had the time to watch evolve. I’ve designed the assessment or grading methods of this class so that it rewards all the labor you put into your writing, so that it rewards the process, and not just the final product.
The only difference between me and you in this class is the amount of time and labor I’ve dedicated to the craft of writing, critical thinking, and research. I ask you to see me not as an authority figure who has a magical box of letters that I pass out as rewards for good work, but as a more experienced team member, a guide, or a coach. Your goal in this class is not to impress me or your peers with your writing; nor is it to 'figure out as quickly as possible what it is I want and start manipulating your writing so that it satisfies me.'
In other words I'm asking all of us to change our perspective, so that we see this not as a traditional class; rather, we participate in this course as we would participate in a writing workshop we've committed to. Let's discuss what this means.
For decades now, researchers have stressed that grades dampen creativity, courage, and enthusiasm; they foster competitive environments, instead of collaborative ones; and, they cause students to focus on teachers’ expectations more than their own work and progress. It is also evident, both based on research and our own personal experiences, that we do our best work when we are excited about the subject matter, when we feel like we are in control of the work, and when we are given the space to be creative. To foster an environment that allows for creativity, collaboration, and most importantly, failure (without punishment), you will never see a single letter grade on any of your work. In fact, the grading system in this course is labor-based.
You will be given only one grade— the grade on your final transcript— and that grade has nothing to do with what I think about your writing. Rather, it will reflect only the amount of work you have put into your writing.
One of the most important characteristics of a workshop (as opposed to the class) is that while you are responsible for yourself, you are also responsible to one another. That means that you recognize that your participation in this class is crucial to the learning experience of your classmates, and their participation is crucial to your learning. As such, the requirements of this course are designed so that it values 1) your commitment to your growth as a writer and 2) your commitment to your classmates growth as writers. Keep this mind as we continue.
You will be given only one grade— the grade on your final transcript— and that grade has nothing to do with what I think about your writing. Rather, it will reflect only the amount of work you have put into your writing.
One of the most important characteristics of a workshop (as opposed to the class) is that while you are responsible for yourself, you are also responsible to one another. That means that you recognize that your participation in this class is crucial to the learning experience of your classmates, and their participation is crucial to your learning. As such, the requirements of this course are designed so that it values 1) your commitment to your growth as a writer and 2) your commitment to your classmates growth as writers. Keep this mind as we continue.
How Grading Works:*
The default grade for the course is a “B”. In short, if you do all that is asked of you in the manner and spirit it is asked, if you work through the processes we establish and the work we assign ourselves during the semester, if you do all the labor asked of you, then you’ll get a “B” course grade. It will not matter what I or your colleagues think of your writing, only that you are listening to our feedback compassionately. We may disagree or misunderstand your writing, but if you put in the labor, you are guaranteed a B course grade. If you miss class (do not participate fully), turn in assignments late, forget to do assignments, or do less labor than what is expected of you, etc., you will get a lower course grade.
“B” Grades: You are guaranteed a course grade of “B” if you meet all of the following conditions.
“B” Grades: You are guaranteed a course grade of “B” if you meet all of the following conditions.
- Participation.
- Attendance: You agree to attend all classes, and arrive on time. You are allowed two unexcused absences, and can walk into class late 1-2 times in a semester. Any other absences must be excused and consistent tardiness will hurt your grade.
- Discussion: You agree to actively participate in discussions. If, for any reason, you find it difficult to participate in class, you must come see me as soon as possible so that we can address this. Active participation in discussion is a requirement for a default grade.
- Materials: You agree to bring hard copies of the assigned readings to class.
- Work Completion.
- You agree to turn in properly and on time all work and assignments expected of you in the spirit they are assigned, which means you’ll complete all of the labor instructions for each assignment.
- On the days we peer edit, you must bring your work. No exceptions.
- Once a semester, you may receive a 48-hour extension on a major assignment. You must ask for this extension 24 hours before you breach the contract in writing. The assignment must be turned in within 48 hours after the extension. Otherwise, it will be considered an ignored assignment.
- All Work/Labor and writing needs to meet the following conditions:
- Complete and On Time. You agree to turn in on time and in the appropriate manner complete essays, writing, or other labor assigned that meet all of our agreed upon expectations.
- Revisions. By revision, I do not mean editing. There is a difference between “scalpel revisions,” which is also referred to as editing, and “structural revisions.” We will discuss this further in class. What you need to know for the purposes of grading is that your revisions will most likely require serious structural overhauls of your work. Your piece will change drastically, and it will require a lot more work than just line editing. Be prepared for the kind of labor that accompanies drastic reworking of a piece.
- Copy Editing. When the job is for the final publication of a draft, your work must be well copy edited – that is, you must spend significant time in your labor process to look just at spelling and grammar. It's fine to get help in copy editing. (Copy editing doesn’t count on drafts before the final portfolio or first drafts).
Raising Your Grade:
Now, if you'd like to raise your grade, you can choose to do additional labor.
Completion of two of these assignments will raise your grade by .3 points or 1/3 of a grade.
Full instructions will be available for all of these assignments
EMAIL ME FOR LABOR INSTRUCTIONS FOR ANY OF THESE ASSIGNMENTS
So, say, you meet the conditions for a B-contract grade (3.0) and you want to work towards an A. You can do so by completing the following:
PLEASE NOTE: YOU CAN ONLY RECEIVE AN A IF YOU KEEP A DEFAULT B. Otherwise, the highest grade you can receive is an A-.
The following will result in failure in the class:
Completion of two of these assignments will raise your grade by .3 points or 1/3 of a grade.
Full instructions will be available for all of these assignments
EMAIL ME FOR LABOR INSTRUCTIONS FOR ANY OF THESE ASSIGNMENTS
- Creative project that captures the Muslim-American experience: If you identify as Muslim, then you are welcome to capture your own experience in a creative way. This may be via sketches, music, choreography, a short story, spoken word, etc. You will then present this briefly to the class. If you don't identify as Muslim, this project will be challenging, but by no means impossible. We have to ensure that you maintain the integrity of the experience/project. You will likely have to collaborate with a Muslim colleague or friend, and create something with them, or you can visit a mosque or Muslim event, and see if there's some way you can capture an experience without speaking on behalf of Muslims. If you're interested in this option, you should meet with me often so we can discuss the project and how best to execute it.
- Learning about Islam: Read one of the books or watch one of the documentaries on the bibliography I will give you, and write a written report on what you've learned. You will then present what you've learned for the class in a 10-15 minute presentation.
- Additional feedback on a completed draft: Providing written feedback for a colleague who is not in your writing group by meeting with them outside of class for 30-45 minutes. And then, writing a full response to the piece, briefly reporting on the conversation for the class. (max 2)
- Responses to mini writing: Thorough feedback given to student on a mini writing assignment, either from a Class Discussion post or a mini project. The form of this feedback will loosely follow Peter Elbow's guidelines for feedback in Writing Without Teachers. (max 2)
- Completion of a revision plan for Paper 1
- Completion of a revision plan for Paper 2
- Completion of a full revision of Paper 1
- Completion of a full revision of Paper 2
So, say, you meet the conditions for a B-contract grade (3.0) and you want to work towards an A. You can do so by completing the following:
- Completion of revision plan Paper 1 & Paper 2 (3.3)
- Completion of one additional feedback, and moderating class discussion (3.6)
- Completion of one full revision and on response to mini-writing (4.0)
PLEASE NOTE: YOU CAN ONLY RECEIVE AN A IF YOU KEEP A DEFAULT B. Otherwise, the highest grade you can receive is an A-.
The following will result in failure in the class:
- Not turning in one of the two final papers.
- Failure to complete more than half of the assignments.
- Regular, unexcused absences.
Your job is to honor your craft.
My job is to teach you how.
Your commitment is to yourself and to your work.
My commitment is to your process and growth as writers and critical thinkers.