COLLEGE COMPOSITION I (WRI 120/CCI)

Bringing Food Home: From Local Agriculture to Personal Appetite

Rose McLarney
Office Hours: 10:00a.m.-11:00, 1:00-2:00, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays,
and by appointment.
Jensen 205
rmclarney@warren-wilson.edu

Syllabus
Course Materials_____________________________________________________________________
-The Norton Field Guide to Writing with Handbook, Second Edition, by Richard Bullock.
-The Gastronomical Me, by M.F.K. Fisher.
-Readings available through online classroom (which you are required to print and bring to class) .
-A three-ring binder in which to compile your readings.
-A journala bound book with lined paper to be used only for this class.
Course Description___________________________________________________________________
Tell me what kind of food you eat, and I will tell you what kind of man you are, and The destiny of
nations depends on the manner in which they are fed, are among the aphorisms asserted by BrillartSavarin in the 1800s. Well before the popularity of the local food movement or the development of
complex, industrial food systems, he knew that food choices were intimate matters and also had farreaching implications. In this course, we will consider local food in a variety of senses, studying social
movements related to ethical eating; regional foods grown in our mountainous Appalachian region; and
how culture and experience have formed your personal appetites. Our texts will range from research on
moonshine, to articles on organics, to MFK Fishers memoir, The Gastronomical Me.
Our examination of food will be a means to improve all aspects of your writing, including generating
ideas, organizing drafts, revising, and fulfilling the expectations of a particular kind of essay. You will
write in class most every day, academically and creatively, and complete four final papers: a research
essay, argumentative essay, profile, and memoir. We will share ideas in discussion and writing in peer
evaluations.
We will share food too. On Fridays, we will cultivate the classs own food culture and fellowship. Food is
a bodily experience best had firsthand. A good way to improve your writing is to write frequently. And
one of the best ways to overcome discomfort with writing is to share your work. So, we will eat in class,
write about the food, and read our writings aloud. For each Friday meeting, one student will be the cook
and bring food to share. In addition to food, classes will also involve other prompts, writing exercises, and
hands-on experiences, such as visiting the campus garden.
Outcomes____________________________________________________________________________
WRI 120: College Composition I (CCI) is a course that sets the foundations of the written expression and
argument that students will draw upon throughout their college writing careers. Specifically, upon the
completion of this course, students should have understanding and ability in these four areas of writing:

Rhetorical Knowledge
Understand and analyze specific rhetorical contexts, including recognizing purpose, topic, audience, and
author, as well as the writing's ethical, political, and cultural implications
Structure your writing to support a central idea through unity, coherence, and logical development
Write in several genres
Critical Thinking, Reading, and Writing
Use reading and writing reciprocally for inquiry, learning, thinking, and communicating
Integrate your own ideas with those of others
Processes
Recognize that it takes multiple drafts to create and complete a successful text
Develop flexible strategies for generating, revising, editing, and proof-reading
Use feedback from peer review and instructor comments to revise writing
Assess your own writing strengths and identify strategies for improvement through instructor
conference, peer review, and written evaluation.
Conventions
Use appropriate conventions in writing, including consistent voice, tone, diction, grammar, and
mechanics
Summarize, paraphrase, and quote from sources to maintain academic integrity and to develop and
support your own ideas
Grading_____________________________________________________________________________
-20% participation and preparation (class discussion and activities, peer review, sharing food)
-10% journal
-15% profile
-15% research essay
-15% argumentative essay
-15% memoir
-10% portfolio
*All assignments must be completedand be of passing qualityin order to pass to class.
Assignments__________________________________________________________________________
Essays
You will write 4 essays: a profile, a research essay, an argumentative essay, and a memoir. Each is
intended to help you develop a specific set of composition skills. Details on the assignments will be
provided in class.
You will submit outlines and drafts of essays, receive input on most essays from me and from your
classmates in peer reviews, and revise your work. You will have the opportunity to revise two of your
essays yet again for inclusion in your portfolio.
Use standard fonts and margins and moderate sized headings. Essays must meet minimum page lengths.
Only complete pages of text are counted.
Readings
Many of our readings will be available in the online classroom. Go to www.warren-wilson.edu, select the

Inside page (an option in the upper right), then Moodle (on the lower left). Login as you would for your
Warren Wilson email account. Select WRI 120 F05 College Composition I. From the drop down
menu, select the week, and youll see the reading assignments. You are responsible for accessing,
printing, and bringing readings to class.
Portfolio
The portfolio, due at the end of the semester, will contain 2 essays of your choice (profile, research, or
argumentative essays), the final version of your memoir, and a reflection on what you have learned during
the course. You will take the essays included in the portfolio through an additional process of revision,
and guide me through the portfolio, pointing me to the revisions youve made and describing your
progress. This guidance may take the form of a letter, notes and highlighting on the papers themselves, or
whatever creative methods will allow you to make a compelling case for what youve learned.
Save each version of each paper. (Dont save changes over your old versions.) Keep and back up the files.
You will need to refer back to the versions to create your portfolio.
Participation
Components of your participation grade include:
Preparedness and participation: Everyone must participate in discussion. If you have trouble talking in
groups, see me. You will not receive credit for attendance if you are not prepared. In-class activities are
required and should be completed in your journal. I give quizzes and call on students to assess
preparedness.
Journals: Record your responses to assigned readings, your in-class exercises, and your writings from
Friday classes in a journal. Clearly date and label your entries. You will not receive credit for
unidentifiable content. Journals will be taken up at announced and unannounced intervals.
Food: Every student will be assigned to bring food to class on one specific day. You may bring whatever
food item you choose. If the cost of bringing food to class is an obstacle, please dont hesitate let me
know. Foraged or inexpensive foods are welcome contributions.
Service: So youll get hands-on experience in growing food and a chance to be involved in the
community through food issues, the class will go on a service trip to Black Mountain Community
Gardens on Sunday, February 5. Reserve that day on your calendar.
Attendance____________________________________________________________________
Your attendance is expected at every class session. However, to accommodate illness and other issues,
you may miss as many as 3 classes if necessary. I do not accept sick notes; 3 absences are allowed,
regardless of the cause. Remember work is never an excuse for missing class, and you should schedule
medical appointments for hours when you are not in class. Lateness or early departure is equivalent to
absence. Absences in excess of 3 will reduce your final grade by one letter. Miss 6 or more classes and
you will fail the course.
Know that in every case you are responsible for missed work and assignments that are due.
Bring your texts with you to every classthis is a part of participation.
If winter weather makes it unsafe to travel to campus and we cannot hold class, I will try to keep the
course on schedule by emailing information and activities to your Warren Wilson email account. You are
responsible for accessing your Warren Wilson account and completing the assignments by the time the
class meets again.

Requirements for Assignments__________________________________________________________

Due dates for drafts, outlines, portfolios, etc. are detailed on the prospectus. Late assignments are not
generally accepted. In special, documented circumstances late assignments may be accepted, but in most
cases a letter grade will be deducted for each day past the original deadline.
All assignments must be typed and printed. Make a practice of printing your assignment the night before
class in case you encounter delays or problems. Do not email assignments.
Bring three copies of your essay for peer reviewsone for me, one for your reviewer, and one for your
own notes.
Academic Integrity and Plagiarism______________________________________________________
Plagiarism is unacceptable. If you plagiarize, you will receive a failing grade for the course. Properly cite
sources in all your work. Any content submitted without citation is assumed to be your original work.
Plagiarism includes copying words and phrases and presenting ideas or text from published sources,
websites, friends or other students, and elsewhere as your own. If you have questions about plagiarism,
always err on the side of caution and cite a source, and please see me or visit the Writing Center.
Writing Center_______________________________________________________________________
Tutors in the Writing Center are ready to assist you with any stage of any writing assignment. The Center
is especially valuable for students taking Composition because freshmen come to the college with very
different degrees of experience in writing. Whether you need to catch up on basic grammar, or want to
brainstorm a more exciting angle on an essay, the Center can help. In a conference at the Writing Center,
you will meet individually with a trained peer tutor who will help you start, revise, etc. A peer tutor will
not edit your paper for you; rather, she or he will read your draft with you and help you identify strengths
and areas for improvement. Typical areas for discussion include organization, analysis, outside sources,
sentence structure, and word choice. Some students come in before they start writing to select a topic or
generate a thesis.
To schedule a conference, visit http://www.warren-wilson.edu/~writingcenter/, come by the Writing
Center in lower Sunderland, or call x3003. It is best to make an appointment in advance, but you may also
drop in to see if a tutor is available to work with you.
Accommodation_______________________________________________________________________
Students with disabilities who believe that they may need accommodations in this class are encouraged to
contact Deborah Braden, Educational Access Coordinator (Dodge House, ext. 3791, dbraden@warrenwilson.edu), as soon as possible.

Course Prospectus
The prospectus is subject to change. I will notify you of any changes. Exercises not included on this
prospectus will often be assigned in class. They will be due when the next class meets.

Date

Class topic

Readings to be Discussed
(complete prior class)

Assignments Due

WEEK 1
Tue., Jan. 17
Thu., Jan. 19

Introduction
Profiles

Online:
-A Man of Taste
-Farmer profile
Field Guide:
-Profiles, 161-169

-Read the syllabus,

bring questions
-Food advertisement

-Purpose-Stance, 3-14;
Writing as Inquiry, 211-214
WEEK 2
Tue., Jan, 24

Drafting

Thu., Jan. 26

Plagiarism

Online:
-An old essay you
-How We Grow Food Reflects wrote.
Our Virtues and Vices
Field Guide:
-Drafting and Assessing Your
Own Writing, 226-234
Online:
-Moonshining as Fine Art
Field Guide:
-Synthesizing Ideas, 404-406;

Avoiding Plagiarism, 420-423

Fri., Jan. 27

The Gastronomical Us

WEEK 3
Tue., Jan. 31
Thu., Feb. 2

Peer Review
WNC Agriculture

WEEK 4
Tue., Feb. 7

Research

Thu., Feb. 9

MLA Citations

Fri., Feb. 10
WEEK 5
Tue., Feb. 14

The Gastronomical Us

Thu., Feb. 16

Library

Research Pitches

Online:
-Beating the Biscuits in
Appalachia
*Draft profile*
*Turn in journals*

Online:
-Growing Local
Field Guide:
REMEMBER OUR
- Getting Response, 235-239; SERVICE TRIP
Editing and Proofreading, 242- THIS SUNDAY
245; Guiding Your Reader, 272277.
Field Guide:
*Final profile*
Reporting Information, 59, 7181; Documentation, 425-427.
Online:
-Debbie Does Salad
Field Guide:
-Finding and Evaluating
Sources, 384-403.
Online:
-Forget Organic
Field Guide:

-MLA Style, 428-458

WEEK 6

Topic idea to share

Tue., Feb. 21

Food Labeling

Thu., Feb. 23

Peer Review

Fri., Feb. 24
WEEK 7
Tue., Feb. 28

The Gastronomical Us

Thu., Mar. 1
WEEK 8
Tue., Mar. 6

Research Day

Thu., Mar. 8

Term Wrap Up

Fri., Mar. 9

The Gastronomical Us

Online:
-Words / Meaning
Field Guide:

-MLA Style, 458-476

*Draft research
essay*

Conferences

Questions,
concerns, comments

Conferences

Online:
The Food Movement, Rising

*-Final research
essay*
-Questions,
concerns, comments
-Service reflection
*- Journals*
*-Service
reflection*

SPRING BREAK
Date

Class topic

Readings to be
Assignments
Discussed (complete prior Due
to the date listed)

WEEK 9
Tue., Mar. 20

Arguing

Online:
-Animal Liberation and
Vegetarianism OR Whaling
Field Guide:

Thu, Mar. 22
WEEK 10
Tue., Mar. 27

Choosing a Topic

-Arguing a Position, 83, 97110; Arguing, 283-299

Online:
-Men as Chickens

Essay pitch

Guest Speaker, Directors of Moodle:

Food Service
-Goodbye, Cryovac
-Revolution in the Cafeteria

Questions for
speakers

Thu., Mar. 29

Peer Review

*Draft
argumentative
essay*

Fri., Mar. 30
WEEK 11

The Gastronomical Us

Tue., Apr. 3

Memoir

The Gastronomical Me:

-Foreword- 48.
Field Guide:
-Memoir, 153, 157-160;

Generating Ideas, 219-225.

Thu., Apr. 5

Beginning/ Ending and POV The Gastronomical Me:

-49-95.
Field Guide:
-Beginning and Ending, 261271.

WEEK 12
Tue., Apr. 10

Detail and Dialogue

Thu., Apr. 12

Peer Review

Fri., Apr. 13

The Gastronomical Us

The Gastronomical Me:

Everyone Cooksevening
class

The Gastronomical Me:

WEEK 13
Tue., Apr. 17

Thu., Apr. 19

WEEK 14
Tue., Apr. 24

*Final
argumentative
essay*

The Gastronomical Me:

-96-133.
Field Guide:
-Describing, 324-332; Dialogue,
333-336 .

*Draft memoir*
-134-179.
-180-228.

The Gastronomical Me final The Gastronomical Me:

-129-252, and review the book.
discussion

Prepare for Author Visit

Thu. Apr. 26

Visit from Author Deborah

Madison

Fri., Apr. 27

The Gastronomical Us

WEEK 15
Tue., May 1

Exoticism and Belonging

Online:
Eating diary2
-About Deborah Madison
copies
(links to her website and
Wikipedia)
-3 of Deborah Madisons blog
posts of your choice
-3 of Deborah Madisons profilesRecipe and idea
of your choice
for blog post

* Journal *

Online:
-The Culinary Other
(Much of the piece is also
available via Google books.)
Library Reserves:

-India Shopping
(Much of the piece is also
available via Google books,
linked from Moodle.)

Thu., May 3

WEEK 16
Tue., May 8

Portfolio group work day

*FINAL
PORTFOLIO
DUE IN MY
OFFICE*

Class cookbook making and Online:

-Copies of 2
Excerpt from A Remembrance recipes for all: 1
semester wrap up
of Things Past
for a favorite
food, 1 for good
writing
-Art supplies