In teaching Everything Bad is Good for You, I rely fairly heavily on the text of the book itself, so a lot of the assignments are based directly off of the separate sections. With that in mind, I try to allow a lot of time for reading discussions and in-class writings that evaluate reading comprehension to ensure that students have all of the pieces they need before they begin writing their formal papers. Below are the different units I use for this course including writing assignments and reading requirements.
For a more detailed suggestion of course planning, you may find the general syllabi templates useful.
UNIT 1
Readings: Everything Bad is Good for You p. 1-14
“How to Write a Summary”
Writing Emphasis: Summarizing
UNIT 2
Readings: Everything Bad is Good for You p. 17-62
“This is What Candy Crush Saga Does to Your Brain” by Dana Smith
Writing Emphasis: Audience and Development
UNIT 3
Readings: Everything Bad is Good for You p. 62-115
Treme Season 1 Episode 1 (could also be replaced with any contemporary television drama)
Cupcake Wars (any episode; could also be replaced with any contemporary reality competition show)
Writing Emphasis: Clarity and Comprehension
UNIT 4
Readings: Everything Bad is Good for You p. 116-124
Writing Emphasis: Organization/Introductions and Conclusions
UNIT 5
Readings: Everything Bad is Good for You p. 125-199
Writing Emphasis: Grammar and Syntax
Paper 5: For the final paper, I ask students to reflect on what they have learned in the class, focusing on both what they have learned about pop culture and its cognitive impacts and what they’ve learned about writing. I ask that they reference specific assignments to illustrate changes in perspective, changes in writing habits, and goals for the future.