Writing in the Disciplines: International Relation
Catalog Description
UWP 102D. Writing in the Disciplines: International Relations (4) Lecture/discussion-3 hours; extensive writing. Prerequisite: course 1 or English 3 or the equivalent and upper division standing. Open to majors in international relations or to students concurrently enrolled in an upper division course accepted for the major. Advanced instruction in writing in the discipline of international relations. GE credit: Wrt (cannot be used to satisfy a college or university composition requirement and GE writing experience simultaneously). -II (II.)
Course Goals
- To introduce students to the forms of discourse specific to the International Relations major and the various disciplines that comprise it
- To teach students to present their ideas persuasively, using the kinds of sources, forms of evidence, and types of analysis required by International Relations courses
- To teach students the conventions of writing and source citation within International Relations
- To give students practice and instruction in reading the literature of International Relations
- To teach students to assess the writing situation (audience, purpose, context) and plan an appropriate response
- To strengthen students' abilities to organize, draft, revise, and edit their own work
Entry Level
Students should have completed UWP 1 or ENL 3 or the equivalent and have upper division standing. Students should be majoring in International Relations or should be enrolled in an upper division course required for International Relations major. They should be familiar with the general principles of good writing, including organization, development, sentence structure, grammar, and punctuation.
Topical Outline
- Understanding the writing process: prewriting, drafting, revising; editing
- Analyzing typical rhetoric situations within International Relations and the various disciplines that comprise it (e.g., political science, history, economics, anthropology):
- Determining the writing purpose
- Analyzing the needs, interest and abilities of the audience
- Adapting one's writing to the situation
- Ascertaining the forms of discourse appropriate to international relations
- Analyzing focus, organization and style
- Critically reading the various literatures
- Learning the various conventions of writing for international relations courses
- Analyzing the nature of evidence
- Finding and using appropriate sources
- Reasoning and logic within international relations and related disciplines Documenting sources using approved forms
- Organizing and using stylistic conventions
- Developing an effective academic and professional writing style within the context of the discipline
- Being clear and specific
- Using verbs effectively
- Recognizing biases and presenting evidence fairly
- Using specialized terminology appropriately
- Writing clear and focused sentence
Grading Criteria
- The course will be graded by a letter grade.
- Grades will be based on the students' performance on in- and out-of-class writing assignments and on a final exam. Students will write a minimum of 6000 words; the number of assignments, assigned topics and weight of each assignment will vary according to the instructor. Typical assignments include research papers, review papers, critiques, policy analyses, proposals, and personal statements.
Reading
Text will vary according to the instructor, but will include literature representative of International Relations and various contributory disciplines and issues relevant to International Relations. Most sections will also use a style book such as C. Edward Goode's Mightier than the Sword: Powerful Writing in Class and on the Job
Explanation of Potential Course Overlap
UWP 102D does not overlap with any other course. It is distinguished from UWP 102A (Writing in the Disciplines), from other UWP 102s, from UWP 101 (Advanced Composition), and from other general advanced writing courses by its focus on the writing within a specific field and from other UWP 102 adjuncts by its focus on the writing required of international relations majors. UWP 102D is distinguished from the companion courses by its emphasis on instruction in writing rather than on the subject matter of the companion course.
Justification of Units
UWP 102D is a four-unit course, based on three hours per week of lecture/discussion. As with all upper-division writing classes, an additional unit of credit is justified by the significant amount of work that students must do outside of class time to plan, draft, and revise the 6000 or more words of required writing. In addition to this substantial written requirement, students will meet individually with the instructor for discussion and evaluation of their work. The estimated time of preparation of the writing assignments (research, consultation, drafting, and revision) is thirty hours, an amount consistent with Carnegie Rule guidelines.