此入門課程介紹如何寫適合社會大眾閱讀的文章，尤以經個人敘述寫成的文章為主。也就是說，學生透過對真實人物的觀察及訪問，紀錄與現代美國大眾息息相關的文化活動。在接下來的數週內，我們將會讀到不少探討現今大眾文化問題的真實故事，這些作品都是一些作家、科學家、哲學家、詩人、文學學者及許多各行各業人嘔心瀝血之作。這些文章討論到許多現今社會中的流行話題，文中以自述或回憶的方式詳細闡釋爭端、地位，甚或細微的觀察。而當學生的你也將依這些文章的體裁，大量寫作，寫作的同時須注意自己寫作的目的及目標讀者的期望。同上.

此課程的目標為共同創辦一本線上雜誌，報導美國的普及文化，供世界各地的民眾上網閱讀。課堂上每個人需將自己寫的文章拿出來討論，依據同學的意見與建議修改自己與他人的文章，以便發表於線上雜誌。班上同學將分為編輯組、設計組、行銷組等，編輯組負責挑選要發表的文章，設計組設計雜誌的格式，行銷組則負責雜誌的宣傳活動。在這個學期裡，每個人都須大量的寫作與修改文章、參與寫作研討、討論指定閱讀作業與製作發行線上雜誌。除了班上同學的作品，第二期的《文化衝擊！》將刊載南波士頓奧德賽公立高中學生的文章。班上每一位同學都要以電子郵件和奧德賽中學的學生交換彼此所寫的文章，課堂之外還會辦一到兩次的研習班，幫奧德賽的學生及班上同學準備好要發表於線上雜誌的文章。如此辛勞的成果是什麼呢？一本線上雜誌，以及每一位參與者的作品。

有一位寫作老師說過：「文章自寫作中產生」，也就是說，要成為一位優秀作家，除了閉門造車之外，還要閱讀及思考他人的作品。大量的寫作練習，加上閱讀他人的作品，不僅啟發我們寫作的動機，同時也提供寫作的題材。本課程將雙管齊下，藉由大量的閱讀與寫作幫助我們更加了解自己寫作的弱點。

我已訂了一本有關普及文化的文章選集《美國生活實錄：普及文化作品選讀》(Signs of Life in the USA: Readings on Popular Culture for Writers)，第三版當作這堂課的基本教材。有需要的話，我會發一些講義，當作補充教材，我們也會評論、閱讀其它線上雜誌。我另外訂了一本工具書《寫作入門》(Easy Writer)，不過你也可使用自己喜歡的工具書，但請先讓我過目。寫作中心的網站上有Leslie C. Perelman, James Paradis, and Edward Barrett (麻省理工學院寫作研究中心的教授) 編著的《梅菲爾德科技寫作手冊》(The Mayfield Handbook of Technical and Scientific Writing)，大部份你所需要的參考資料，如寫作格式、習慣用語及資料引用來源都收錄於本書，若有任何引用的資料須寫出來源，請使用MLA之寫法。最後，相當重要的是你必須準備一本好字典，如《美國傳世字典》(The American Heritage Dictionary)(或譯為《新世紀經典美國大辭典》。

這堂課的主要教材之一即為學生所寫的文章以及大家對這些作品的意見，我們將會花不少時間在研習討論課，以便學習觀摩他人的作品並給予意見。研習討論課的目的是讓學生學會，以讀者的身份對班上同學的作品提出審慎周詳的意見，除點出作品的優點外，也要給予建設性的建議讓作品更好。研習討論課上提出的作品仍屬於創作階段，同學要依照讀者（包括我）的意見加以修改、精練、潤飾你所選的文章，最後才交給我評分。

要寫得好，在閱讀時就必須要相當的專注謹慎並思考所讀的作品。此堂課主要的課業之一即仔細閱讀所有指定的教材以及同學們的作品。所有的指定閱讀教材及其他同學的作品都必須在研習討論課前看完，並在課堂結尾時提出意見。為了督促同學將該看的文章按時看完，偶而我會要求你們在課堂上寫作文。除此之外，這個學期中，將有一兩次上台做口頭報告的機會，一次是個人正式報告，另一次是小組主持課堂討論。

另外，準備一本筆記本，以便隨手寫下讀書心得、問題、對書中含意的暸解以及自己的感想，這樣可以幫助你對所讀的作品有更深入的瞭解。大部份的筆記會在課堂外寫，偶而才會在課堂上寫。寫筆記可以讓你對所讀的文章有更深入的了解，並為課堂討論作準備，及醞釀寫作靈感。我會不定期抽查筆記，所以務必帶著筆記本來上課。下星期我會發給大家有關做筆記的要點說明。

在這堂課裡，同學們所寫的作品大多是適合社會大眾閱讀的文章，這些作品可能會收錄在我們的線上雜誌。你必須定期繳交作文，並把修改潤飾過的文章放進個人作品集中，至少要有20頁，於學期末交給我。另外每個人要交兩篇指定題目的作文，每篇約5-6頁（之後會有詳盡的介紹），除此之外還要再交兩篇各約5-6頁的文章，繳交日期可以從我列出的日期中挑選。你可以在我規定的範圍內選擇自己要寫的題目，當然如果有需要，我也很樂意協助同學挑選主題。寫作研習討論課時全班將一起討論同學的所有作品，偶而也須一對一或分組來找我討論如何修改文章。每人至少要有一篇作品達到班上其他同學及我的標準，才能在我們的雜誌裡發表。

因課程安排得很緊湊，請同學務必準時交作業，除非真的遇上緊急事故， 如果有，應立即通知我，每個人每學期只能有一次因緊急事故遲交的機會。

在這堂課裡，你不只要寫，還要閱讀其他同學的作品並提供意見。同學一定要出席，還要做好充分的課前準備以參與討論指定閱讀作業與研習討論課。遲到過久或太常遲到都會視為缺席，若因緊急事故而不能來上課，必須儘快通知我，三次無故不到，扣學期成績；五次無故不到，視為停修；研習討論課不到，視為兩次缺席。千萬別無故缺席，準時來上課，做好課前準備並參與課堂活動。
* Editor: The word “withdraw” is called 棄選 or 停修, I think it’s better to use the latter based on the circumstance stated here.

我會以審慎認真的態度評量同學的作品，學期末時請交個人作品集，其中包括同學的所有作品，還有至少20頁已修改潤飾過的文章以及讀書心得筆記，作為我打學期分數的依據。其它的評分標準則有:個人作品集內所有文章的整體品質、學期表現有否努力不懈、作品修改的完善度、課堂討論與活動的參與感、對班上的貢獻以及對其他同學作品提供意見時是否用心。我隨時樂意和同學聊聊你的作品及表現。

學期成績C以上的，會得到CI，如果按照舊制的寫作標準（大三和大四生），拿到Ｂ－以上的成績，即通過寫作課的第一階段，如果成績為Ｃ，我將視情況看你是否可以通過第一階段。成績為Ｄ或Ｆ，即沒有通過第一階段。

只要完成所有規定的事項（作業、文章修改、筆記、課堂上寫作、指定閱讀）並達到標準，學期成績保證可以及格。

在與一位科學家朋友聊天時，她形容自己的工作是「嚴肅的遊戲」，這句話震撼了我，我想「嚴肅的遊戲」應是具挑戰性又具吸引力的，需要我們投入精力、熱情、專注與毅力的，我希望我們能將這樣的精神加入這學期寫作實驗課裡。我們要勤奮寫作，但同時又從中得到樂趣。我深信要得到最好的學習成效，必須樂在其中。我隨時歡迎同學提出問題和建議，我保證會用心傾聽，並以認真尊重的態度對待每一位同學及其作品。我期望看到教學相長的學習環境，並希望大家有個愉快、豐收的學期。

This course is an introduction to writing prose for a public audience-specifically, prose grounded in, but not confined to, personal narrative. That is, you will write essays that engage elements and aspects of contemporary American popular culture and that do so via a vivid personal voice and presence. In the coming weeks we will read a number of articles that address current issues in popular culture along with essays, pieces of carefully-crafted nonfiction, by writers, scientists, philosophers, poets, historians, literary scholars, and many others. These essays will address a great many subjects from the contemporary world, using personal narrative and memoir to launch and elaborate an argument or position or refined observation. And you yourselves will write a great deal in the variety of forms that the essay genre embraces, attending always to the ways your purpose in writing and your intended audience shape what and how you write.

The focus of our collaborative work will be to create an online magazine of nonfiction writing on American popular culture that we will post on the web for the worldwide reading public to enjoy. You will write essays, offer them in class workshops for response and suggestions, and then revise and edit your own and each other's work for publication in our magazine. Members of the class will serve on editorial boards to decide what gets published, on design teams to create and format the magazine, and on marketing teams to publicize it. Frequent writing and revision, class workshops, discussion of assigned reading, and production work on the group's magazine will constitute our work together throughout the semester. In addition to the writing of members of the class, this second volume of Culture Shock! will feature writing by students from a Boston public high school, the Odyssey School in South Boston. Each of you will be partnered via email with a student from the high school with whom you will exchange writing, and we will have one or two workshops outside of class for the high school students as well as members of our class, so that you can help those students get their work ready for publication in our magazine. The fruit of our labors? An online magazine, and publication for everyone involved.

Another writing teacher once wrote, 「Writing emerges from writing.」 That is to say, we become capable writers both by writing ourselves and by reading and reflecting on the writing others have done. Reading what other writers have written, along with the frequent practice of writing, is what inspires us to write and helps us have something to say. We will, then, do a great deal of reading as well as writing in this section as we strive to understand better what is at stake when we set ourselves to the task of writing.

For the primary reading text for the course, I have ordered copies of an anthology of writings on popular culture, Signs of Life in the USA: Readings on Popular Culture for Writers, Third Edition. I will supplement the selections in the anthology with handouts as necessary, appropriate, or desirable. We will also review and read from other online magazines. In addition, I have ordered a handbook for the course, Easy Writer, but if you have another favorite, you're welcome to use it; just please check with me. The Mayfield Handbook of Technical and Scientific Writing by Leslie C. Perelman, James Paradis, and Edward Barrett (all of MIT's Writing Program), is available to you online through the Writing Center website and contains most of the information you will need for reference--matters of format and conventional correctness, and citing sources when your writing calls for documenting them. When citation of sources is called for, we will use the MLA in-text citation system in this section. Finally, it is crucial that you have ready access to a good college dictionary, such as The American Heritage Dictionary.

One of the primary texts for the course will be the writing all of you do and what all of us have to say about that writing. We will spend a good bit of time in class workshops, learning from and responding to the writing done by members of the class. Your purpose in those workshops will be to support each other's writing efforts by offering careful and thoughtful responses as readers, pointing out the writer's successes and offering constructive suggestions for improving the work. What you submit to the workshops will be understood to be work in progress; you will use the responses of readers (including me) to revise, refine, and polish selected pieces of your writing before submitting a final version to be graded.

Writing successfully depends to a great degree upon your ability to read with scrupulous care, attention, and insight. Careful reading of all assigned material, including workshop submissions by students in the class, will be one of the foundations of your work for the course. You will be expected to have completed all assigned reading on the day a text is discussed in class and to prepare for class workshops by reading carefully and attentively the work other class members have submitted and writing a response to the writer which you will give to him or her at the conclusion of the workshop. Occasional brief and informal in-class writing will help you stay disciplined about getting the reading done on time. In addition, there will be a couple of occasions over the semester for you to make brief oral presentations to the class-one formal, individual presentation and one group to lead class discussion.

To help you engage more deeply with the reading you do, you will keep a Reader's Notebook-a place for you to write informally to explore the reading, raise questions, follow up on implications, record your responses. Most of the notebook writing will be done outside class, but our occasional in-class writing will also be part of your notebook. The purpose of the notebook is to use writing as a way to engage more deeply with the reading, to prepare you for class discussion, and to generate ideas for further writing. I will collect the notebooks at random, a few at a time, so please always bring your notebook to class with you. I will give you a handout next week that explains the process of keeping the notebook in greater detail.

The more public writing you will do for the course-that is, the writing that is aimed at a public audience and that might be included in our online magazine-will be essays which you will submit on a regular basis throughout the semester, and which you will collect in a portfolio of revised and polished writing, at least 20 pages, to submit at the end of the semester. There will be two directed assignments when all of you will be working on a similar kind of essay; in addition to those two essays of about 5-6 pages each (more about them later), you must submit two other essays of approximately 5-6 pages each. You will choose submission dates from the list of possible dates I will give you. Within the parameters of an assignment, you will be free to choose what you want to write about. I will, of course, be happy to help you find a subject if you need that help. All of your essays will be discussed in class workshops with other members of the class; you will also meet with me from time to time in individual or small-group conferences to discuss revision possibilities. At least one of your essays must meet your peers' and my standards for inclusion in our magazine.

Our schedule is tight, so all written work must be handed in on time. No exceptions, unless for real and serious emergencies, in which case you should get in touch with me at once. Extensions for will be emergencies granted only once per student per semester.

Your responsibility in the class is to be not only a writer, but also a reader and responder for other members of the class community. It is essential, then, that you attend class faithfully and come to each class fully prepared to participate in discussions of assigned reading and in writing workshops. Lateness for class, if extreme or chronic, will be counted as an absence. You must notify me as soon as possible when a real and serious emergency keeps you from attending class. More than three unexcused absences will result in your course grade being lowered; more than five will result in your being withdrawn from the course. Missing class on a day when you have work up for workshop discussion will count as two absences. So don't take casual cuts, and come to class faithfully and on time and prepared to participate fully in class activities.

I will evaluate your work by responding as carefully and thoughtfully as I can to all the writing you do for the class. At the end of the semester, you will submit to me a portfolio containing all the writing you have done for the course, including at least 20 pages of revised and polished essays and your reader's notebook, so that I can assign you a grade for the course. In deciding on semester grades, I will consider the overall quality of all the written work you submit in your portfolio, the degree and consistency of your effort throughout the semester, the success you demonstrate in revising your work, how actively you participated in class discussion and activities and the quality of your classroom contributions, and how well you served as a reader and responder for other writers in the class. I will of course be happy to talk with you at any time about your work and your progress in the course.

Passing the course with a C or better will give you CI credit. If you are under the old writing requirement (juniors and seniors) receiving a B- or better in the course means that you pass Phase I of the Writing Requirement. If you receive a C in the course, there will be a case-by-case decision about whether you have passed Phase I. Receiving a D or F means that you have not passed Phase I.

All required work (assignments and assigned revisions, notebook and in-class writing, reading assignments) must be completed satisfactorily in order to receive a passing grade for the course.

In conversation, a friend of mine once characterized her work as a scientist as 「serious play.」 The phrase has stuck with me; 「serious play,」 I think, should be both challenging and inviting, and it should command our energy, enthusiasm, attention, and commitment. The phrase characterizes the spirit in which I hope we will enter into our experiments with writing this semester. We will work very hard together, but I hope we will enjoy ourselves too-I am a firm believer that people learn best when they do. I'm always open to questions and suggestions; I promise to listen attentively and to treat you and your work with seriousness and respect; and I look forward to our learning from each other and to a pleasant and productive semester.