Notes/Lectures
November 17, 2008
- Letter to Editor Workshop
- Comma Review/Grammar Workshop
- APA “Translation” Due
November 14, 2008
- Letter to the Editor
- APA Questions
November 12, 2008
- Discuss APA
- Darfur paper due
November 10, 2008
- Discuss Rough Drafts
- Discuss Writing in the World Projects
November 7, 2008
- Class canceled
November 5, 2008
- Precepting
November 3, 2008
- Peer Critique
October 31, 2008
- Darfur Quiz
- Halloween!
October 27, 2008
- Discuss class’ inability to post at a reasonable hour.
- Distribute thesis comments.
- Work on Introductions.
- Discuss Writing in the World Projects.
October 13, 2008
- Discuss Not on Our Watch
- Comma Powerpoint
- Discuss Webpages and Study-guide Question.
- Collect Comma Quizzes.
October 10, 2008
- Discuss Not on Our Watch
- Comma Powerpoint
October 8, 2008
- Service Learning Check-up
- Discuss Not on Our Watch
- Discuss Presidential Debate
October 6, 2008
- Darfur Survey
- Backdrop to Darfur
- Essay due by 5:00 pm to J101E
October 3, 2008
- Peer Critique
- Discuss Works Cited Page
October 1, 2008
Top Seven Conclusion List:
1.) Full Circle Conclusion: Here a writer intentionally returns to something that was in the introduction or the beginning of the paper and adds or expands on it in the conclusion.
2.) The Surprise/Turn Conclusion: Here a writer offers a twist at the end of the essay. As if the whole paper was building up for this final moment.
3.) Frame/Warped Perception of Reality Conclusion: Here a writer uses some type of frame, like a dream or a flashback, to set up the whole essay and the conclusion.
4.) The Look Ahead Conclusion: Here the writer takes the reader beyond the scope and time frame of what the essay discusses.
5.) Offer a Recommendation or Call to Action Conclusion: The writer urges readers to take specific steps that follow logically from your thesis.
6.) Broader Implication Conclusion: The writer points to larger issues not fully addressed in the essay, without introducing fully new issues/ideas.
7.) Fact, Quotation, Anecdote, Example Conclusion: The writer uses one of these to particularly illustrate his/her thesis and end with a flourish.
To Avoid………..
1.) Do not directly restate your thesis! It makes your essay sound dull and mechanical.
2.) Avoid standard phrases, like “To sum up,” and “In conclusion.”
3.) Avoid introducing entirely new points in your conclusion. Major points belong in the body of your essay.
4.) Avoid apologizing for yourself. Don’t tell me that “I’m just a student”.
5.) Avoid softening or reversing your stance at the end. Don’t back down from the points you’ve made. Trust your work.
September 29, 2008
- Discuss Introductions
- Discuss Patterns of Development
- Self-Critique of Draft Essay:
1.) What is the main idea of each paragraph?
2.) Do any of your paragraphs have more than one main idea? Be sure to mark it now so that you remember to fix it later!
3.) See if you have transitions between each paragraph. Are they smooth or do you need to improve some? Mark down the ones that need improvement.
4.) Go through each paragraph and write down which patterns of development you already used.
5.) Identify which patterns you could use in each paragraph to expand your ideas. Write these down.
September 24, 2008
- Guest lecturer Professor Marcello Spinella.
- Collected Introductions, Ordinary Lives of Engagement Questions, and Reviewed Homework
September 22, 2008
- Summary, Paraphrase, and Quotation Quiz
- Discuss Top Titles and Introductions.
- Discuss How to Write a Kick-*** Introduction
- Address Arrangement/Organization Issues
September 17, 2008
- Reviewed Thesis & Paragraphing
- Reviewed homework
- Objective vs. Subjective Description
September 15, 2008
- Evaluating Sources
- Review Run-on Homework
- Discuss Thesis Statements
September 12, 2008
- Listen to Felt Sense
- Parts of Speech Activity
September 10, 2008
• Review Steps to Quality Writing
• Discuss Felt Sense and Gendlin’s theories of body-based knowledge
• Listen to Part 1 of Perlman’s Felt Sense
• Parts of Speech
September 8, 2008
• Regarding your homework, which aspects did you choose to discuss? Why did you choose these? Why do you and how can you improve upon these aspects?
• Discuss how writing is a skill, like playing the guitar, learning to dance, etc. Survey class’ skills.
• Discuss first three Steps to Quality Writing
- Steps to Quality Writing1. Think (shower, car, over lunch)2. Assess the Writing Situationa. Subjectb. Sources: personal, direct observation, interviews, readingc. Purpose: to inform, persuade, analyze, argue, recommend, express feeling, entertain, provoke thought, request, summarize, call readers to action, etc.
d. Audience: individual, group, specialized, business, academic (better to make-up a specific person)
e. Length
f. Reviewers/Deadlines: peer critique, tutoring3. Prewriting (moving from the general to the specific and generating ideas)
a. Freewrite: 10-15 minutes of uninterrupted, uncensored writing on the topic, allowing yourself to acknowledge any other thoughts that come to mind and moving on.
b. Brainstorm/Listing: 2-3 minutes of listing on the given topic.
c. Looping: Circle 3-5 aspects from your initial freewrite and listing that are most interesting/intriguing to you. Freewrite on each of these for 10-15 apiece (total 30-75 minutes).
d. Clustering: Visual outline that shows the connections between your ideas, allowing you to see what areas need more development and where transitions may occur naturally.
September 5, 2008
- Avoid the obvious.
Take the less usual side.
Avoid abstraction, stay specific.
Cut the fluff! Use Roberts’ example.
Make a stand. Don’t beat around the bush. Act like you know what you’re talking about.
Avoiding ready-made language and clichés.
Use the precise right word, eg. Hot vs. Steamy vs. Muggy.
Consider the connotations of words.
Avoid colorless words: nice, good, cool, bad.
• Share student definitions of Quality Writing
• Share examples of Quality Writing
September 3, 2008
• Introduction
• Attendance
• Syllabus/Rules
• Ice-breaker
• Goal Box
Write a short letter to yourself. What do you want yourself to remember at the end of this semester? Write down your goals for this class. Write down your academic, social, and personal goals. Write a description of the person you want to be at the end of this semester.
• Discussion of Using a Planner
• Discussion of Quality Reading/Note-taking
• Pre-Course Questionnaire
• Discuss Homework
