Want to take a really short, seven question survey to help out your peers? Here is the link!
Monday, October 26: In Class: Paragraph Purpose, movement, the Unessay, blog posts/Talk about blog #7; Work Day HW: Work on Forums HW: Blog Post #7 Wednesday, October 28: In Class: Presentation Skills and Good Writing; Incorporating sources; Work Day HW: Work on Forums HW: Blog Post #7, due before class on Friday Friday, October 30: In Class: Researching a genre or medium of composition; Presentation Rubric; Work Day HW: Get started on Blog #8 Blog #8: Research a genre or medium of composition in which you are interested in working for your second unessay. What are the conventions of that genre? What are common layouts? What are common themes? Who are common audiences? These are not hard and fast rules; it is okay to "break the rules of the genre" (when writers say this, it generally a compliment), but like they say, to break the rules, you gotta know the rules. I might edit to say you should probably know the rules, because there are those rare birds who need not pay attention to rules and conventions, but it's always safe to assume you're not one of those people until experience proves you otherwise. This should be posted by class time Friday, November 6 tag: blog 8 Ahhhh! Three day weekend. Hope it was rejuvenating for everyone. I continued to plug away on your unessays. I apologize that your feedback is not as speedy as I would like it to be, but I want to make sure to give thorough thought and consideration to each piece of work you've produced. Many of these are just outstanding and I'm enjoying being able to read/view/listen to them. In other news, today is National Day of Writing (insert celebratory hoots and hollers!!). To commemorate this sacred day why don't you head over to the Gonzaga Writing Center and schedule an appointment to work on a blog post. I rarely/almost never do this, but I'm feeling festive, you can earn one point of extra credit on a blog post for working with the writing center on one of your next couple of posts. Okay, enough of that. Let's get to the week Monday, October 19:
In Class: No CLASS--Founder's Day HW: Work on Forum/Blog Post #6 Wednesday, October 21: In Class: Sign up for Presentations; Primary Research; Conferences/Work Day: Today you should be coming with a research plan as a group, mapping out your plan. HW: Work on Forum/Blog Post #6-due tomorrow by class time Friday, October 23: In Class: Synthesis Skills-Entering the Conversation; Conferences/Work Day HW: Blog # 7: Blog #7: This forum is basically a literature review in the form of a presentation. You might have already done a literature review in high school, and you will surely do one in one of your classes at GU. A literature review in economics looks very differernt from one in biology, but each focuses on many of the same skills, one of which is synthsis. Check out this informative eLecture from Harvard on Synthesizing Sources, then choose two sources with which to complete a synthesis. Since a synthesis is so different from a summary, feel free to use one of the articles from last week. This should be uploaded by class time Friday, October 30th Tag: blog#7, forum (+your group topic) "So, are you two out of the honeymoon period?" a friend asks me and my husband this weekend. Let's call him John. "I totally am," I say, "It happened about a week or two ago, actually." "I'm not quite there, yet," my husband adds with a big smile, "but I can feel it coming." John, needless to say, is very confused. Does the luster of a relationship wear off so suddenly? Just all the sudden; something you could put on the calendar. And although it makes sense that one person could be out of the honeymoon phase first, isn't a little cold/mean/awkward to admit it? Especially in a social situation? Yeah, it would be, but John is talking about our relationship and my husband, who is also a teacher, and I are talking about something entirely different. When we discuss the honeymoon period, it is always in terms of our classes. Every semester, the honeymoon period ends. In my experience as both a student and teacher, it normally coincides with the returning of the first papers and tests. It effects teachers, students, and administrators alike. And although it happens every semester, I think Freshman hit the honeymoon wall hardest. So, you might be there. I am there. It's hard to keep up energy as we enter this second half of the semester, especially as the weather changes and Thanksgiving break seems far away. But let's try! I know I'm excited to see what you all come up with in your forums. That is keeping me excited. And! I think acknowledging it helps. If you're still feeling lovey-eyed over school, good for you! Don't lose it! Here's the week: Monday, October 12: In Class: Introduce Forum Prompt; How to choose a good topic; get in groups; talk about library day HW: Work on Blog Post #5, due on Friday, October 16th before class time Wednesday, October 14: In Class: Meet in basement of Foley Library HW: Complete part one of the handout, "Develop and Research my Research Question" HW: Work on Blog Post #5, due on Friday, October 19th before class time Friday, October 16: In Class: Meet in basement of Foley Library HW: Blog Post #6 Blog Post #6: Whether it's a movie, a funny story, or an article, I'm sure you have all summarized something before. This week's blog post is pretty strait-forward. First, remind yourself of how to write a summary by reading through this handout on what a good summary does. Don't skip this! I'll be using it as the grading criteria.
Next, find one important source that you might use for your forum. Choose either a "True Summary" or "Interpretive Summary" and then summarize your article (these are terms from the short handout linked above). Make sure to cite your source along with whether you've chosen "True" or "Interpretive." This is due before class on Friday, October 23 Tag: blog#6, forum (+your group topic) Hey all! Help a student out and take this survey.
It shouldn't take very long, and it's the right thing to do, you know, karmically. Monday, October 5: In Class: Turning work in on Blackboard; Peer Review HW: Work on "Unessay". Final Draft Due on Wednesday, October 7 in class HW: Work on Blog Post #4, due on Friday, October 9th before class time Wednesday, October 7: In Class: Unessay due today! Upload on Blackboard or bring hard copy to class! Share circle; Do you want to work in the same groups or new groups? HW: Work on Blog Post #4, due on Friday, October 9th before class time Friday, October 9: In Class: Talk about rest of semester; Introduce Forum Prompt HW: Complete Blog #5 by Friday, October 16th before class time. Blog Post #5: The places we occupy often signifies underlying power dynamics. Listen to this 5 minute podcast on Check Cashing Stores to see what I mean. The authors of this podcast apply these analysis of payday loan "stores" to an argument about how banks can better serve a wider clientele, and I am not asking you to take this extra step. I am asking you do the first part, go somewhere and analyze how the place is working with a special emphasis on this question: how is the design empowering or dis-empowering the different people who use this space?
IT might be helpful to first make a list of who uses the space. For example, if I were analyzing a classroom, I would want to note that the people who use a classroom are students and teachers, usually quite a few students and one or two teachers. Then I would want to see what is in the room besides those people: chairs, desks, whiteboard, technology, flooring, windows, ect. You get the idea. Here are some questions to get you going: Who is using it? What is the purpose of the space? What does it look like? What does it feel like? How might it be different with different design elements? Who benefits from certain design elements? Who comes up short? Should you include images? Again, these questions are merely to get you thinking; you do not have to respond to them all, and please do not just answer them in the order they're asked. You should use them as a jumping off point to a compelling blog post that your peers want to read. Feel free to use cited outside sources (you can hyperlink them). Post this blog on your class blog with the category tags: "blog 5 " |
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Kate Reed, your English Composition Instructor |