Course Syllabus

Department of Languages, Faculty of Applied Arts

King Mongkut’s University of Technology North Bangkok

Program in Translation for Education and Business

815406 Research and Report Writing

Semester: 1/2008

Class schedule: Thursday, 9-12 a.m.; Friday, 1-4 p.m.

Instructor: Karnchanoke Wattanasin, Ph.D.

Faculty of Applied Arts Bldg, Rm. 402

Office Hours: Thursday 1-3 p.m. or by appointment

(For contact information, please refer to the hard copy of the syllabus.)

Course Description

This course focuses primarily on the development of students’ skills in writing in English. Students will be exposed to a myriad of writing practices, ranging from expressive to academic writing, as well as reading texts pertaining to writing and translation research (TR). Major course activities include reading, class discussion, writing essays, peer review of students’ writing, and conferencing with the instructor. Students will read articles and chapters, and write to express their thoughts and to comment on the texts they have read.

Objectives

In this course, students will:

1. Learn and practice writing skills that will help them to write;
2. Read texts pertaining to writing and translation research and comments on the texts; and
3. Write multiple drafts of essays and reports based on their reading and class discussions, and a proposal for a translation research.

Evaluation

The assessment of this course is principally based on students’ on-line evaluation-free journals at http://815406.blogspot.com/, essay writing and submission, and class participation. Class essays include:

1. Weekly on-line journal entries discussing the reading they are assigned, at least one double-spaced A4 page in length. All journal entries must be submitted 3 days prior to each class.
2. 6 Reflection essays (Rs): 1-2 double-spaced pages each.
3. 5 Academic essays (As): 2-3-page academic essays. For two of these academic essays, students are required to read and discuss one qualitative translation research paper and one quantitative translation research paper of their choice. Each A essay must be accompanied by an abstract of the research being discussed.

If a date is not specified by the instructor for a revision of each composition, students are required to revise and submit the text after they receive feedback from the instructor and/or peers. Hard copies are required for all primary drafts, while final drafts may be submitted electronically. Students are also required to make multiple hard copies for their classmates for peer review. During the last week of class, each student will submit his/her portfolio—a collection of written works he/she has completed during the semester, which includes both first and final drafts of: 6 on-line journals, R6 and 3 other Rs, and the research proposal (A5) and 3 other As. There is no midterm or final examination. Evaluation is divided into:

Participation and on-line journal entries	28%
Individual essay submission and revision	22%
Research proposal	20%
Portfolio	30%
Total	100%

Readings

Carnicelli, T. A. (1980). The writing conference: A one-to-one conversation. In T. R. Donovan & B. W. McClelland (Eds.). Eight approaches to teaching composition (pp. 101-131). Urbana, IL: NCTE.

Elbow, P. (2000). Everyone can write. New York: Oxford university Press.

Flower, L. (1979). Writer-based prose: A cognitive basis for problems in writing. College English, 41, 19-37, Reprinted in Leeds, B. (Ed.). (1996). Writing in a second language: Insights from first and second language teaching and research. New Jersey: Longman.)

Hayakawa, S. I. & Hayakawa, A. R. (1990). Language in thought and action. San Diego: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Publishers.

Horton, S. R. (1982). Thinking through writing. Baltimore: The John Hopkins University Press.

Huff, R. & Kline, C. R., Jr. (1987). The contemporary writing curriculum. New York: Teachers College Press.

Mittan, R. (1989). The peer review process: Harnessing students’ communicative power. In D. M. Johnson & D. H. Roen (Eds.). Richness in writing. New York: Longman.

Murray, D. M. (1982). Teaching the other self: The writer’s first reader. College Composition and Communication, 33, 140-147.

Murray, D. M. (2004). The craft of revision (5^th edition). Canada: Thomson Heinle.

Perl, S. (1980). Understanding composing. Reprinted in S. Perl (Ed.). Landmark essays on writing process (pp. 99-105). CA: Hermagoras Press.

Rose, M. (1980). Rigid rules, inflexible plans, and the stifling of language: A cognitivist analysis of writer’s block. Reprinted in S. Perl (Ed.). Landmark essays on writing process (pp. 85-97). CA: Hermagoras Press.

Williams, J. M. (1990). Style. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.

Course Outline

Week/ Date	Discussion Topic(s)/ Skills/ In-class Writing	Assignment(s) Due/ Homework (HW)
1 Friday Jun 6	Course orientation R1.1 An essay about yourself	None HW: Read Horton (1982) and write your comments on-line.
2 Thursday Jun 12	Writing as a vehicle for thinking and discovery of ideas Writer’s blocks/Pre-writing activities I R2.1 Writing and translation	R1.1 HW: Read Huff & Kline (1987) and comment.
3 Friday Jun 20	Journal writing Pre-writing activities II R3.1 Find a topic of your choice and write “expressively” then “transactionally.”	R2.1 HW: Read Rose (1980) and comment.
4 Thursday Jun 26 (1-4 pm)	Writer’s block Pre-writing activities III A1.1 Summary and discussion of the reading in relation to your writing problems and successes	R3.1 HW: Read Perl (1980) and comment.
5 Friday Jul 4	Writing as a process: Multiple-draft writing Citing sources I: Quoting A1.2 (Revision of A1.1)	A1.1 HW: Read Murray (1982) and comment.
6 Thursday Jul 10	A writer’s two selves Citing sources II: Paraphrasing A2.1 Paraphrases from the reading	A1.2 HW: For next week’s journal entry, discuss what you think qualitative translation research is.
7 Monday Jul 14	No reading, each student reading a TR in preparation for their in-class writing. Citing sources III: Summarizing A3.1 Summary of a qualitative TR.	A2.1 HW: Read Mittan (1989) and comment.
8 Thursday Jul 24	Peer review Revision I: Peer review Peer review of A3.1	A3.1 HW: Read Carnicelli (1980) and comment.
Jul 28-1	No class (Midterm week)	None
9 Friday Aug 8	Conferencing Revision II: Teacher feedback & conferencing R4.1 Problems with conferencing and teacher feedback	A3.2 HW: Read Williams (1990) and comment.
10 Thursday Aug 14	Cohesion and coherence Revision III: Outlines and organization R5.1 An essay on the process of your translation	R4.1 HW: For next week’s journal entry, discuss what you think quantitative translation research is.
11 Friday Aug 22	No reading, each student reading a TR in preparation for their in-class writing. A4.1 Summary of a quantitative TR.	R5.1 HW: Read Flower (1979) and comment.
12 Thursday Aug 28	Writer-based and reader-based prose Peer review of A4.1	A4.1 HW: Read Hayakawa & Hayakawa (1990) and comment.
13 Friday Sept 5	Ladder of abstraction A5.1 Proposal for your TR	A4.2 HW: Read Murray (2004) and comment.
14 Thursday Sept 11	Editing Peer review of A5.1	A5.1 HW: - Read Elbow (2000) and comment. - Write R6 Reflection on this course and on writing
15 Friday Sept 19	Voice	Portfolio