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Composition II @ City Tech

High contrast image of vintage bubblegum pink typewriter

WRITING FOR THE PUBLIC

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In this course, students examine, not only who they are as individual writers, but how their voice fits into the world.  What do they have to say, who do they want to say that to, and what is the best way to say it? This means that we look at the many many ways we use language (and how that changes depending on the situation) as well as the different media we write in in 2022.

The curriculum for this course stems from the student-centered principles of Transformative Learning in the Humanities (TLH) and is also is part of the New York City College of Technology’s Model Course Curriculum program, meaning that this curriculum and all support materials, including website shells are available to all faculty teaching Comp II at City Tech. We also have a professional development in place to help faculty prepare to teach this course and the first course in the sequence, Comp I.

In the course, students compose a number of low-stakes assignments, all in service of (or scaffolding for) three major unit projects.  These units are:

UNIT ONE: PORTRAIT OF A WORD

An image of graffiti, pixelated.

In this unit, students write about the language of a community they are a part of.  They do this by focusing on one particular word or phrase that is of particular importance to this community. This can’t be a word accessible to all communities, like “love,” or “family,” but should be an insider word that some people can use to be part of the group and others can’t. Some examples: bet, Gucci, wildin’, fuku, boricua, m’ija, survivor (as opposed to victim) and so on. 
In the essay, writers discuss not only what the word means, but what it tells us about the community. Writers also focus on concrete, significant detail, writing scenes that show us the word (and community) in action. Read more on the Portrait of a Word assignment here 

UNIT TWO: FINDING YOUR BEAT (THE FEATURE ARTICLE)

In Unit Two, students write a feature article suitable for a longform newspaper feature section like those in the New York Times, or a magazine.  Instead of just writing on any old topic that pops into their heads, students find their “beat” or their “brand,” a particular topic on which they have some expertise. With this as a starting point, they do some research– in library databases and on popular sites (wherever will have the best resources for the subject at hand). We also ask them to do some “field research,” that is, to do an interview, a site visit, or some other on-the ground research that will give them more direct knowledge of the topic.  Students have written on such diverse topics as: how exercise can help lessen pain, why a young New Yorker might want to own a car, the taboos surrounding talking about women’s health and how K-pop helps young people discover a sense of self, among others! Read more on the “Finding your Beat” Assignment here. 

UNIT THREE: NEW AUDIENCE, NEW GENRE

Unit Three is the assignment you will be providing feedback on here, but it is a revision of either Unit One or Two.  That is, in Unit Three, writers re-vision one of their previous units, which are written as “alphabetic texts” (more traditional essays) into a different genre– something that still uses words, but also uses sound or images as well. The purpose here is to reach new audience– either a group of fourth graders, a group of CUNY students, or a group of artists.  With this in mind, it is of utmost importance that the writer choose a genre that will reach that audience.  A powerpoint might not be the best way to reach fourth graders.  A textbook might not be the best way to reach artists.  Read more on the New Audience Assignment HERE 

This is where we ask for your feedback!  So far, students have proposals.  You will have access to their original text, their plan, their chosen audience, and in many cases, some outside reference material (a mentor text or an image–something they’re trying to emulate.  To provide feedback or see what we’re up to, please click on Blogs from Composition II here!