Special Concerns

Course Content in 201

It is important to keep in mind that 201 is not a "content course." We offer the course under numerous topic headings, and this is 'content'. However, students need not "know" Ethnic Identities, Popular Culture, or Issues in the Law to get out of 201. What they "know" about the course topic will be contained principally in their research project. We use the "content" as a way to get students to learn what we teach in the course - research and research writing. A student needs to know how to define a research project, conduct library and Internet research, and write a 10-15 page analytic essay.

Students do need to understand the material that they work with in their own essays (reading comprehension), and so they will actually learn more than "writing skills." But they can take a sociology or psychology course on race and ethnicity or popular culture, or can major in political science and learn about legal issues and war if they are interested in "knowing" about those topics. Keep this point in mind as you select readings for the course. It is enough to give the students 6-8 readings for the entire term. This will give them something to work with in the early essays, will help introduce them to the topic, and will underscore the fact that 201 is a research and writing skills course. Also, if you find yourself frustrated that your students "just don't understand" a particular issue in the readings, ask whether you are focusing your efforts in the appropriate place. It matters that they don't understand if the issue is central to their essay. But if the issue is merely tangential to their essay (even though it may be central in a course on your particular topic), let it go.

Expanding the Conceptual Language for 201

In 201, we often use the language of "frame" and "case" to help teach students what we are looking for in the research essay. Framing material refers to sources that help to "theorize," "conceptualize," or otherwise examine the particular research topic a student selects. Case material is the source material a student analyzes in her research essay. We now believe that the language of "case" is hindering our efforts to help students explore viable topics and to ensure that 201 teaches students research writing skills that are applicable beyond English.

For the record, a student need not select a "case text" as the topic for her research essay in order to have a viable topic. Sometimes a student's topic will be a case in itself (an essay that examines The Color Purple, for example). In this instance we might say that a student's topic is her "case," and this is fine. But the social and biological sciences are full of narrow topics that use texts to help analyze a particular topic without being about a particular "cast text." Our students should be permitted and even encouraged to explore topics of this sort and to use texts in this manner. It is our job as instructors to help each student locate a narrowly defined topic that fits with his or her particular research interest within the broad contours of the section topic. This may or may not involve the selection of a single 'case text'. An essay that examines the science and marketing of Vitamin-C, for example, can be a very good research topic for which there is no single case text. One of my students recently wrote an outstanding essay on just this topic. Her "case material" included orange juice and cough drop advertisements, scientific journal articles, and books on vitamins.

We now realize that all too often we define "case" so narrowly that we lead students to research projects in which they have little interest, that as graders we fail to see the analysis in a final essay because the "case" cannot be pinned down to a single text, and that we ultimately miss the mark of the course by failing to enable students to cultivate research, reading, and writing skills that will be most useful in the university.

Responding to fears of failure and withdrawals

201 has historically had a drop-out problem in part because of students' anxieties about the difficulty of writing the long research paper, which can seem as daunting to them at the outset as the dissertation seems to us. Students from all colleges except for University College may withdraw from the course during the regular withdrawal period, which is not true for Basic Composition or Expository Writing I. So if you find that by midterm your class has dwindled somewhat, don't take it personally!

Since small classes can be discouraging for students and teachers alike, it's worthwhile to do some PR work near the beginning of the semester. Please remind students that if they stick with the course they will most likely (statistically) earn a passing grade or better. The failure rate in 201 is comprised almost entirely of students who don't participate in the drafting process. In fact, there is a higher percentage of "A's" and "B+'s" in 201 than in any other Rutgers writing class. Help students approach the class in a step-by-step, procedural manner. At the beginning of each week, clearly outline that week's objectives.

Without giving students a false illusion of their skills or their progress, we can use the first two papers to encourage them about their probability of success. Create a reasonably attainable level of difficulty in each of the early assignments and emphasize the places where they succeed while offering them a single prioritized and individualized goal for the next paper. Additionally, working toward research topics from the beginning of the course helps to maintain student interest. Once students commit to a manageable project, they are much more likely to stay in the course.

Most importantly, it is imperative that we identify students at risk of failing the course well before the final draft of the research essay comes in. The solution is not to read every draft of the research essay. This overburdens instructors, undermines peer revision, and compromises one of the course goals - the independence of the research project. The last 'rough' draft you comment on should be graded in a way that lets the student know where she or he stands. Students who are still not 'framing' their topic with conceptual material need to know specifically what they must do to earn a passing grade. One contributor to the failure rate is the TF. Students whose work is not quite passing have received one more draft to get to passing level work. Unfortunately, very few students ever revise the essay for a passing grade. We are working on a two-pronged solution to this problem. In the short run, students eligible for a TF grade at the end of the semester will have a support structure in which to complete their work. We will sign them up for 096, writing center tutoring, where they will work with an experienced teacher to complete their work. In the long run, we are working to revise 201 in ways that will make the TF unnecessary.

Controlling Absences

One of the most urgent concerns for many 201 instructors is minimizing absences. The attendance policy is the same as for any other Writing Program course: students who are absent more than four class periods risk failure. Remember that this is not because we arbitrarily dismiss students who miss more than four classes, for any reason, but because students with excessive absences are unable to participate fully in the class and to complete assigned work. This is perhaps even more true of 201, since students working on longer, individualized projects require the structure of classroom workshops, conferences, and discussion in order to stay on track.

There are some 201 students who erroneously believe that they may complete the research essay on their own. There are several proven strategies for minimizing this "correspondence course" mentality on the part of such students:

1. Clearly demonstrate, using sample essays and the checklist for evaluating 201 research essays, the difference between research reports/papers they may have written for other kinds of classes, and the analytical research essay they must write for your class.
2. Make classes relevant to the research problems students are encountering at that particular phase of their projects.
3. Schedule alternating group conferences during class so that you may work more closely with students on their specific projects. The groups who aren't meeting with you on those days should be sent to the library.
4. Assure students that there is not one recorded case in the history of 201 of even the strongest writers completing the research essay on their own, without benefit of the drafting process, peer comments, instructor guidance, and classroom workshops.