CWR1A: Cross-Cultural Conversation
CWR1A is a six-unit first-year accelerated reading and composition seminar on cross-cultural conversation. It engages the plasticity of our brains, a field researched and discovered by Marian Cleeves Diamond, Berkeley professor of integrative biology, Berkeley alum, founder of neuroscience, and scientist who studied Albert Einstein's brain. Cross-cultural conversations are important to me because my paternal Latino grandfather immigrated to the United States from Cuba, and my White mother is from rural south Georgia. For me, "diversity is home," as I describe in a 2017 article (Writing Across Berkeley). CWR1A has University requirements, both for its reading component and for its intensive writing and revising, and each class has a University limit of fourteen students. The seminar-size cultivates dialogue and community. This website shares the products of Cal students' engaged reading, discussions, and writing's "essence": revision (Zinsser 4).
Cal Students' Experiences in CWR1A
Initially, starting an essay was very difficult for me, mainly because I was not familiar with the revising process. I thought my first draft was supposed to be my only draft and that it had to be very good. Later on, I learned that revising is an endless recursive process and that it is very important for crafting a cohesive essay. I stopped overrating the process of starting to write an essay and overcame my fear of not producing a perfect first draft after we read in class Anne Lamott’s essay “The Shitty First Draft.” As I stopped worrying about the quality of my first draft, I started enjoying the recursive reading and writing processes as I saw how my arguments improved from one revision to another peer review workshop, and through a fishbowl and other discussion activities. My essays became stronger, and that boosted my confidence in the writing process; thus, I started looking forward to the next essay assignments. [These skills] will help me write research articles about Alzheimer's Disease . . . and construct engaging speeches in future. . . . As a prospective surgeon, I understand the importance of learning to write strong arguments. Even though I have improved my reading and writing skills in many ways, I still have a long way to go. As revising is an endless process, improving reading and writing skills are endless processes too. ~Meri Valimaki, Cal graduate
As a freshman, I was intimidated by the course requirements on writing, but taking these two classes with Dr. Butcher has absolutely laid a strong foundation for my academic growth. I learned to write with clarity while engaging my readers. Dr. Butcher guided me to revise my work multiple times. These helped me tremendously when creating exams questions as a TA and writing project reports for my Statistics and Linguistics classes in my junior and senior year. The habits I gained from her classes made me a better communicator. In addition, Dr. Butcher’s passion in writing and helping students has always inspired me to pour my energy and time into things that I care about.
Dr. Butcher was my first professor at Berkeley - and undoubtedly one of the most influential ones. She helped shape me into a very strong writer and communicator which are skills required to succeed in whichever careers you choose. As a data analyst at Google, communication and visualization are very important, and I’m sure that Dr. Butcher’s teachings have helped me immensely in this role. In addition, Dr. Butcher has a very strong passion for teaching and you can see that in her dedication to help review her student’s work countless times. She is also a very empathetic person who strives to understand and support all of her students from diverse backgrounds. As an international student from Thailand, I’m very glad to have been in her class and I can definitely feel the warmth and care from her throughout my first semester at Cal. I’m very proud to have Dr. Butcher as my first professor and I’m extremely glad to hear that the new generations of Cal students would be under the guidance and care of Dr. Butcher.
Carmen is without a doubt UC Berkeley's most inspiring professor. From the discussions that allowed us to voice our opinions while critically thinking to her morning writing exercises, every experience was invaluable. Two of the most notable learning points was Carmen telling me “Do not use words or phrases that are trite” and write/speak with clarity. As an engineer in the research field, these tips in writing have helped me be concise while presenting my thesis work and have proven to be a benefit when speaking with investors for my start-up. Aside from the integral portions of writing, Carmen also pushed me to believe in myself as a student. I feel at a school like Cal it is easy to get stuck in studying for your field alone, but she taught me how valuable my own story and other stories are. From a research and development standpoint (really in any field), these skills are vital for better understanding any problem you are coming against. You may also find that shared wisdom becomes transferable when completing a job because others' experiences will help you better work with everyone.
University Requirements for CWR1A Work
This intensive, accelerated course satisfies concurrently the UC Entry Level Writing Requirement and the first half (Part A) of the Reading & Composition Requirement. It offers students structured, sustained, and highly articulated practice in the recursive processes entailed in reading, critical analysis, and composing. Readings include imaginative, expository, and argumentative texts comparable in complexity to those encountered in the lower-division curriculum. Texts are chosen to represent views and perspectives of authors from diverse social and cultural backgrounds. Students read five thematically related book-length texts, or the equivalent, drawn from a range of genres, in addition to non-print sources. In response to these materials, they craft numerous short pieces leading up to three to five essays—works that include elements of narration, exposition, and argument. Students write a minimum of 40 pages of prose during this semester and they compose an annotated portfolio that showcases their best work. To pass the course, students must pass the department read of their final portfolio of essays at semester's end.