University Writing Program

Contractual Elements

• Required Language
• Required Grading Percentages
• Class Policies Agreement Form (DOCX)
• Student Takeaways (DOCX)

Fall 2023 Schedule Templates & Calendars

• Monday-Wednesday
• Monday-Wednesday-Thursday
• Tuesday-Thursday
• Tuesday-Friday
• All Days
•  Zotero Workshop Schedule, Fall 2023 — All UWS students must take this library workshop
• Wall Calendar: DOCX — PDF

Sample Syllabi

• UWS Syllabus Archive
  
• Business Ethics | Lisa Rourke | Spring 2023
• Biology of Morality | Elissa Jacobs | Spring 2023
• Storytelling in Business | Katrin Fischer | Spring 2023
• Sex and Advertising | Doug Kirshen | Spring 2023
• Contract Grading syllabi piloted in Spring 2023:
  • Everyday Emergency | Ethan King | Spring 2023
  • Darwinian Dating | Elissa Jacobs | Spring 2023

For questions and information about the UWP's use of LATTE,  contact Doug Kirshen, UWP Administrator, or UWP@brandeis.edu or 781-736-6UWP.  

Essential Functions

• LATTE Login: latte.brandeis.edu
• Load the UWS Shell from BOX
• Backup and Restore —Video — move a course from a previous semester into your current shell
• Install Your Headshot & Upload Your Syllabus — Note: Links to the syllabus in the UWS shell must be manually linked to the uploaded file and relinked when revised syllabi are uploaded. Check the Syllabus icon and link at the top of the page and the Getting Started section.
• Set up Your Questionaire 
• Announcements —pre-installed; automatically emails instuctor posts to students
• Appointments (YouTube)  — A Google Calendar feature for scheduling student conferences
• Request Course Videos
  

• Learn LATTE Course 

  • Combine Course Sections Into a Metacourse —recommended for instructors teaching more than one section of the same course. Write to help@brandeis.edu to request your metacourse.

  • Text Editing

  • Upload Your Syllabus —Note: links to the syllabus in the UWS shell (including Getting Started) must be manually linked to the uploaded file and relinked when revised syllabi are uploaded.

  • Make Your Course Available to Students —required at least one week before semester begins

  • Assignments — for turning in drafts, final papers, research proposals, etc.; options to restrict submissions by file type; organizes submissions and allows you to download them in one zip file

  • Forums for Class Discussions — often used in UWS as way to turn in Pre-Drafts

    • See also: Sort and Filter Posts — retrieve a student's posts from all forums 

LATTE Support at Brandeis

• Help Desk: Goldfarb Library—check walk-in hours
• Help Request form or 781-736-HELP (6-4357) or help@brandeis.edu 
• For complex problems, requst an appointment with a LATTE specialist: latte@brandeis.edu

Moodle Support

The underlying software of LATTE is Moodle, and you can search moodle.org or elsewhere online for documentation. There is particularly good Moodle Support at UMass Amherst.

The lens essay is a 6- to 7-page assignment in which students are asked to apply a theoretical "lens" text to a primary text; they do this in order to interpret or "re-see" the primary text in a new light and to arrive at new insights that they wouldn't otherwise have come to.

Teaching the Lens Essay

• Introducing the Lens — Amy Easton-Flake
• Explaining Motive — Nick Van Kley

Sample Assignment Sequences
Including Pre-Draft and Paper Instructions

• Stories of Illness — Lisa Rourke
• Love: When, Where, How?— Martha Lagace
  
• Patrick Kindig Racial Differences and the Senses (DOCX) — Patrick Kindig

Handouts and Exercises

• Lens Essay Overview for Students  — (DOCX | PDF)
• Using a Theoretical Lens to Support Your Claims —Elissa Jacobs
• Lens Game — Elissa Jacobs
• Lens Exercise — Painting: L'Angélus, Jean-François Millet. Lens: religious vs. Marxist
• Lens Exercise —Poem: "The Applicant." Lens: "Critically Queer," Judith Butler.
• Lens Exercise — Poem: "The Death of Marilyn Monroe." Lens: Ways of Seeing, John Berger. 
• Peer Review Instructions (DOCX)
• Peer Review Instructions (DOCX) — Paige Eggebrecht
• Ten Lens Commandments — Doug Kirshen
• Searching for Dissonance in the Lens Paper—Avoiding the Matching Exercise, from Writing Analytically
• Shitty First Drafts (PDF)

See Also: Responding to Student Work, Below

See the Responding to Student Work pane on this for Grading, Commenting, Conferencing, and Peer Review, all of which of course pertains to the Lens Essay.

Sample Lens Essays from Write Now!

• "A Living Document with Dead Ideals" (Sam Ackerman | UWS 8b: The American Dream)
• "The Relative Truth" (Sydney Carim | UWS 42b: Images of Africa)
• "Soldiers on the Street: How Insecurity Can Justify Authoritarianism" (Jacob Knauer | UWS 15b: Utopias/Dystopias)
• "Condemnation of Female Hunger" (Carina J. Luo | UWS 16a: Sex and Advertising)
• "What Is a Nation?" (Markia Neufville | UWS 41b: Huddled Masses: Immigrants in America)
• Write Now! paper index 

See Also

SElections from the UWS ExeRCISE BOOK

The Comparative Genre Analysis (CGA) unit asks students to compare writing styles in 3-4 articles from different genres to identify – and understand the reasons for – commonalities and differences between the disciplines. This prepares students to read scholarship in multiple disciplines and teaches them to be aware of their own stylistic and formal writing choices.

• Article Selection Guidelines
  

Handouts

Transfer / Writing in the Disciplines

The 10- to 12-page research essay builds on the lens essay as it asks students to use multiple lenses and engage in close reading to make an original argument. As the first part of the research process, students prepare a research proposal (graded on completion) that includes their assessment of the literature on the topic, their proposed methodology, an annotated bibliography, and a weekly timeline.

Assignment Sequences

• Sample Research Unit Assignment Sequence — includes instuctions for Pre-Drafts, Research Proposal, and Research Paper — Martha Lagase
• Research Proposal Instructions — Patrick Kindig
  

Finding a Topic

• Paper Topic: Group Exercise —Elissa Jacobs [DOCX]  [GDOC]
• Articulating Your Research Project

Finding and Organizing Sources

• Getting Started
• Locating Sources at Brandeis
• Research Help
• Reference Tools
• Zotero
• Citation Systems and Formatting — Library Research Guide 

Evaluating Sources

• Harvard Guide to Using Sources 
• Evaluating Online Information — scholarship, news, websites, social media — Library Research Guide 
• Scholarly vs. Non-Scholarly Journal Articles (DOCX | PDF)
• Scholarly, Popular, and Industry Sources — adapted by Doug Kirshen
• Major Types of Scholarly Sources (PDF) — Doug Kirshen
• Evaluating Journals: Impact and More —Library Research Guide 
• How to Skim a Book or Article
• Is This Book Relevant to My Research? — Presentation — Infographic (PDF) 
• Is This Article Relevant to My Research? — Presentation—Infographic (PDF) 
• Source Information Form — Doug Kirshen
• How to Read a Science Paper (DOCX | PDF)
• Assessing Sources Exercise (DOCX | PDF) — Catherine Scott
• Assessing a Literature Review Exercise (DOCX | PDF) — Catherine Scott

Integrating Sources

• Integrating Sources — Hacker, Diana & Nancy Sommers, Rules for Writers, 8th ed.
• Active Verbs for Discussing Ideas —  (DOCX | PDF)
• They Say I Say —Adapted from Graf, Birkenstein, & Durst, 2006
• What to Do with Sources (excerpt from Writing Analytically)
• Quoting, Paraphrasing, and Summarizing — Purdue OWL
• Summary, Paraphrase, and Quotation in Context —Purdue OWL in-class exercise
• Integrating Quotation or Paraphrase from Outside Sources — Lisa Rourke
• Research Paragraph Analysis

Research Presentations

• General Guidelines—Lisa Rourke
• Sample Presentation—Murad Berdyklychev
• Using Zoom for Student Presentations—Bofang Li

See Also

RESEARCH PAPERS AND PROPOSALS FROM WRITE NOW!

selections from the uws exercise book & Writing Center 

Style and Citation Guides

• Citation Systems and Formatting
• APA Format and Style Guide at Purdue OWL
• MLA Format and Style Guide at Purdue OWL
• MLA quick guide and Practice Template — MLA Style Center

Avoiding Plagiarism

• Avoiding Plagiarism Handout [DOCX]
• MLA Style Center: Plagiarism and Academic Dishonesty
• Avoiding Plagiarism — Harvard Guide to Using Sources
• Plagiarism Infographic [PDF] — Emily Meyers, UCONN
• Test your Plagiarism Detection Skills—Cornell
• Plagiarism Tutorial and Games/Quiz — Elissa Jacobs
• Plagiarism Jeopardy — Elissa Jacobs
• Mosaic Plagiarism Slides [PPT]
  • Exercise [DOCX]
  • Exercise Answer [DOCX]
  • Exercise Sources [PDF]
• Paraphrase: Write It in Your Own Words — Purdue OWL

As part of the Brandeis Core, the First Year Experience includes activities that provide UWS students foundational experiences in the intellectual life of the University.

Critical Conversations

Critical Conversations are public discussions on a key theme featuring two or more faculty from different disciplines and a third faculty moderator. They are intended to build first year cohort identity and introduce students to Brandeis’ intellectual and scholarly discourse. UWS students are required to attend at least one or view a recording of the event, and they are usually provided with a prompt to write a brief response essay.

• Schedule and Descriptions
• Critical Conversation Information Sheet (DOCX)
• Critical Conversation Assignment Template (DOCX) — Includes response prompts

Experiential Learning

At least one Experiential Learning activity is a UWS requirement. These assignments occur on campus and are chosen or designed by the instructor. You could choose a lecture or performance listed on the Brandeis Events Calendar or at the Mandel Center for the Humanites for your class to attend and discuss. Other possibilites include:

• Small Group Discussions 
• Brandeis Scavenger Hunt
• Visit the University Archives
• Interview a Professor
• Explore a Course

• Elements of the Academic Essay —Gordon Harvey
• Elements of the Academic Essay — adapted by Elissa Jacobs

Thesis

• Tips for Writing an Effective Thesis Statement
• Weak and Strong Thesis Statements
• Thesis Statements — Queen's University
• Five Kinds of Weak Thesis Statement and How to Fix Them — Writing Analytically
• Making a Thesis Evolve
• See also: UWS Exercise Book, pp. 13-34.

Motive

• Asking an Analytical Question — adapted from Kerry Walk
• Idea and Motive — adapted from Kerry Walk
• Explaining Motive — Nick Van Kley
• Motivation — adapted from Joseph Williams
• See also: UWS Exercise Book, pp. 35-54.

Evidence and Analysis

• UWS Exercise Book, pp. 56-104.

Structure and Stiching

• Structure Exercieses—Amy Easton-Flake
• Revising Drafts — UNC Writing Center
• Building a Snowman — (JPG | PDF)
• Structure Infographic (PDF) — Allison Giannotti
• Transitions — Queen's University

• UWS Exercise Book: Structure & Transition pp. 106-139.

Introductions and Conclusions

• Introduction Paragraphs, adapted from Yale Writing Center
• Introductions, UNC Writing Center
• Ineffective introductions
• Introductions
• Conclusion Paragraphs, adapted from Yale Writing Center
• Conclusions, UNC Writing Center
• Conclusion ideas
• Conclusions (quick tips)
• See also: UWS Exercise Book, pp. 140-165.

Titles and Openers

• How Do I Write a Great Title? 
• Opener/Hook/Prelude 
• Openers from Award-Winning Brandeis Student Papers
• See also UWS Exercise Book: Openers, pp. 141-143, 148-150.  

General Resources

• Purdue OWL
• UNC Writing Center — Tips and Tools
• Purdue OWL Exercises  — grammar, punctuation, sentences, etc.

Formating a Paper

• APA Student Paper Format  — Purdue OWL
• APA Sample Student Paper — Purdue OWL
• APA Student Paper Template — creates a new DOCX file in Google Drive; download to edit it in MS Word
• MLA Format and Style Guide  — Purdue OWL

• MLA Sample Paper — Purdue OWL

Sentences

• Sentence Patterns — UNC Writing Center
• Basic Sentence Types and Modifying Phrases — Scott Moore
• Attending to Style: Basic Principles of the Sentence — Washington University

• Sentence Building — Queen's University

Paragraphing

• Paragraphs — UNC Writing Center
• Introduction Paragraphs  — Yale Writing Center — video
• Body Paragraphs — Yale Writing Center — video
• Topic Sentences (SLIDES / PPT)
• Conclusion Paragraphs — Yale Writing Center — video

Punctuation

• Punctuation Cheat Sheet — Doug Kirshen
• Punctuation Exercises — Purdue OWL
• Comma Rules and Practice — Lisa Rourke
• Comma, Semicolon, Dash, Parentheses, Brackets — Hacker, Rules for Writers, 5th ed.
• Quotation Marks  — Hacker & Somers, Rules for Writers, 8th ed.
• Quoting and Formatting Quotations — UNC Writing Center

Structure & Stiching

• Structure Exercieses—Amy Easton-Flake
• Revising Drafts — UNC Writing Center
• Building a Snowman — (JPG | PDF)
• Structure Infographic (PDF) — Allison Giannotti
• UWS Exercise Book: Structure & Transition pp. 106-139.

Revision

• Reverse Outlining—revision and restructure technique
• Revising Drafts — UNC Writing Center

Editing

• Self-editing checklist — Queen's University
• Eliminating wordiness— Queen's University
• Tone: Write like a scholar — Queen's University

See Also:

selections from THE UWS EXERCISE BOOK

Grading

• Grading Philosophy
• UWS Grading Rubric

• Assignment-Specific Guidelines and Checklist

• Grading Tips

Commenting

• Commenting on Student Writing
• Sample Final Draft Comments

Conferencing

• Helpful Strategies —Nick Van Kley
• Reflections — Adam Rutledge
• Using the Appointments Feature on Google Calendar (video)
  
  

Peer Review

• Peer Review Instructions (DOCX)
• Peer Review Instructions (DOCX) — Paige Eggebrecht
• Suggestions for Peer Review — Adam Rutledge
• "Beyond Critique: Alternative Ways for Writers to Respond to Other Writers" (PDF). Rosenwasser, David, and Jill Stephen.  Writing Analytically, Eighth edition. Cengage, 2019, 136-40. Also in UWP Faculty Library and Brandeis Library: PE1408. R69 2019 

For Instructors: Facilitating Participation

• Icebreaker Questions and Ideas (DOCX | PDF)
• Learning about Learning (in a Writing Class) (DOCX | PDF)
• The Thoughts and Questions Method – "It Changes Everything!" The Simple Change that Fundamentally Alters Teaching and Learning — Dan Pearlman — (DOCX | PDF)
• Tips for Leading a Classroom Discussion (DOCX | PDF)
• Tips for Leading Discussion — Brandeis CTL
• Tips for Teaching International Students (DOCX | PDF)

For Students: Reading, Studying, Participating

• Student Study Habits Survey — Texas A&M — (PDF)
• 10 Rules of Good Studying — Barbara Oakley — (PDF)
• Speak Up: How to Talk in Class — Interactive Lessons — Queen's University
• Reading and Notetaking — Queen's University

For Students: Managing Your Writing & Overcoming Obstacles

The following online guides and tutorials from Queens University in Canada offer assignment strategies and address common stumbling blocks for first-year students, including those who struggle in UWS:

Managing your Writing

Overcoming Obstacles

• Focus and Concentration
• Motivation and Procrastination 
• Perfectionism
• Time Management
• Academic Stress
• Language: See English Language Programs

Most Often Recommended

• Academic Advising 
• Brandeis Counseling Center (BCC) — brandeis.edu/counseling/
• Health Center— brandeis.edu/health/
• English Language Programs (ELP) — tutoring for English Language Learners 
• Research Help — Reserach Help Desk, Goldfarb Library
• Student Accessibility Support (SAS)
• Technology Help Desk  — Goldfarb Library
• Writing Center — brandeis.edu/writingcenter  — Goldfarb Library

Failing or Struggling Students

• Inform Lisa Rourke and cc Lisa on all correspondence 
• Academic Advising — email their advisor 
  • Academic Performance Report Form 
  • Mid-Semester Performance Alert 

Students in Crisis

• EMERGENCY: 781-736-3333 —Brandeis Public Safety
• Support at Brandeis — brandeis.edu/support
• Care Team — brandeis.edu/care 
• Brandeis Counseling Center (BCC) — brandeis.edu/counseling
• Prevention, Advocacy & Resource Center (PARC) — sexual assault, dating violence, stalking
• Chaplaincy 

UWP Faculty Library, Rabb 205

Books are in the UWP Office, Rabb Graduate Center 205. Please sign them out when borrowing. Some items are also in the Brandeis Library—click call number to request. See also: Zotero Shared Library.

Pedagogy

• AI and Writing. Dobrin, Sidney I., 2023 (Brandeis Library purchase requst only)
• Cross-Talk in Comp Theory: a Reader. 3rd edn. Eds. Villanueva, Victor, and Kristin L. Arola. NCTE, 2011. See: Full Table of Contents. Selections:
  • "Teach Writing as a Process, Not Product." Murray, Donald M.  (PDF), pp. 3-6.
  • "Writing as a Mode of Learning." Emig, Janet.  (PDF), pp. 7-16.
  • "A Discourse-Centered Rhetoric of the Paragraph.  Paul C. Rodgers, Jr. (PDF), 175.
  • "The Frequency and Placement of Topic Sentences in Expository Prose. Richard Braddock.  (PDF), 189.
  • "Grammar, Grammars, and the Teaching of Grammar." Patrick Hartwell. (PDF), 205.
  • "Contemporary Composition: The Major Pedagogical Theories." James A. Berlin. (PDF), 235.

• Linguistic Justice on Campus: Pedagogy and Advocacy for Multilingual Students. Schreiber, Brooke R., et al., editors.  Multilingual Matters, 2022. Online Access Only.
• "Process Pedagogy." Lad Tobin, 2001. (PDF)
• Writing Across Contexts: Transfer, Composition, and Sites of Writing. Kathleen Yancey et al., 2014. Online Access.

Transfer: Writing in the Disciplines

• Decoding the Disciplines: Helping Students Learn Disciplinary Thinking. Pace &. Middendorf, 2004.
  
• The Elements of Teaching Writing: for Instructors in All Disciplines. Gottschalk & Hjortshoj, 2004.
• A TA’s Guide for Teaching Writing in All Disciplines. Hedengren, Beth Finch. 2004.
• Writing in Anthropology: A Brief Guide. Brown, Shan-Estelle. Oxford UP, 2017. GN307.7 B76 2017
• Writing in Biology: A Brief Guide. Roldan, Leslie. Oxford UP, 2016. QH304.R65 2016
• Writing History : A Guide for Students. Oxford UP. In Brandeis Library ONLY— D16.S864 2021 — D16.S864 1999
• Writing in Music: A Brief Guide. Rogers, Lynne. Oxford UP, 2020. ML3797. R64 2020
• Writing in the Life Sciences. Greene, Laurence S. Oxford UP, 2010. — R118 .G74 2010
• Writing Philosophy: A Student’s Guide to Reading and Writing Philosophy Essays. Oxford UP, 2018 — B52.7 .V38 2018
• Writing in Political Science: A Brief Guide. LaVaque-Manty, Danielle. Oxford UP, 2015. JA86. L38 2015
• Writing in the Social Sciences. Muller, Jake, 2015. PE1479.S62 M85 2015
• Writing in Sociology: A Brief Guide. Moskovitz, Cary. Oxford UP, 2017. QH304. R65 2016

Textbooks & Handbooks

• Convergences: Themes, Texts, and Images for Composition: 3rd edn. Atwan, Robert., 2009.
• The Craft of Research. 4th ed. Booth, Colomb, Williams, & FitzGerald , 2016. Online Access. 
  
• Envision: Writing and Researching Arguments. 5th edn, 2018.
• Everyday Arguments. 3rd edn, 2009.
• MLA Handbook, 9th (2021). Online Access Only. Includes Citation, Punctuation, Inclusive Language, Plagiarism, Annotated Bibliographies, and Quoting and Paraphrasing Sources. See also: MLA Style Center.
• MLA Handbook, 7^th
• Mosaics: Reading and Writing Sentences. 4th edn., 2012.
• Rules for Writers, Instructor's Edition. Hacker, Diana, and Nancy Somers. 9th edition, Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2018. Various editions, instructor’s edition, exercises book. PE1408 .H277 2004
• Seeing and Writing 2 and 4 with teacher’s guides. McQuade, Donald, and Christine McQuade. 
• Style: Ten Lessons in Clarity and Grace, 10^th and 12^th editions. Joseph Williams et al.
• They Say / I Say. Graff, Gerald and Cathy Birkenstein. PE1431 .G73 2021. Brandeis Library has several editions. 
• Writing Analytically. 8th ed.,Rosenwasser, David, and Jill Stephen. Cengage, 2019. PE1408. R69 2019
• Writing Analytically. 4th ed., 2006.  In Brandeis Library only. PE1408.R69 2006
• Writing in Response 2nd Ed. 2016 Parfitt, Matthew. with teacher's guide. 
• Writing Worth Reading and teacher’s guide. Packer, Nancy Huddleston and John Timpane.

Online Resources

• A Guide to Rhetoric, Genre, and Success in First-Year Writing, Melanie Gagich & Emilie Zickel (open access resource) [what is the quality level?]
  
• Handouts and Exercises [mostly writing center handouts--consolidate?]
  
• Open-Access Resources (OAR) for Students [what is the quality level?]
• UWS Exercise Book
  
• Write Now!