Writer’s Blog Prompt #5
English 110 In Retrospect…
DUE: Wednesday, March 3; please comment on at least five of your peers’ blog by Monday, March 8. We will not have time to do it in class this round. (To receive credit, you must both post your own blog AND comment. And I’ll be checking since we’re not having any in-class time to do this!) ☺
The purpose of this post is to reflect on your writing experience this quarter and to expand the audience of your blog.
1. Format this blog as a letter to students taking English 110 next quarter.
2. Spend time reflecting on your own experience as a writer, and look to your First Day Writing and Blog Prompt 1 to remember your thoughts about writing and the course theme the beginning of the quarter. (You submitted the First Day Writing to the Carmen Dropbox, so you can find it there.)
3. As you write the letter, think carefully about the audience of new English 110 students and consider the following questions if you need guidelines
• What do they need to know to be successful in these assignments?
• What did you do that worked well and what would you do differently?
• What specific examples or stories from your experience this quarter might help illuminate your process as a writer?
And, remember, I would love to be able to show these to future students, if you’d give me permission. (You might recall that I showed you all my students’ letters from last quarter.) So make them effective, helpful, and honest letters.
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Monday, February 15, 2010
Blog Post #4--the prompt
Writer’s Blog Prompt #4
The Transition to Commonplace
DUE: Wednesday, February 17—please have it posted before class time, as we’ll be referring to blog posts IN CLASS. We will comment during class, though, so no need to worry about that step for now.
Discuss your ideas and plans about how you will re-imagine your project as you write for Commonplace. Feel free to address some of these questions. (Or, just ignore them and write!)
• As you’ve read Commonplace articles, what have you noticed? What are some of the characteristics of the writing that gets published on Commonplace?
• How do you think this piece might be both similar to and different from your RAP? In other words, how might you extend the inquiry of your RAP, but radically re-imagine your topic, ideas, argument, etc. for the public, college student audience of Commonplace?
• How can you make your topic timely, compelling, and relevant?
• How will you deal with your sources, both primary and secondary?
• Who do you envision as the “ideal audience” for your work?
• How might you frame the introduction to your article to really hook readers?
• How would you powerfully conclude it?
• What do you believe your work could bring to the Commonplace community? How might you be able to add to what’s already there? Do you want to see a change in the type of writing that Commonplace values? If so, explain why!
• What sort of advice might you want from people who read and comment on your blog? How can they help you?
The Transition to Commonplace
DUE: Wednesday, February 17—please have it posted before class time, as we’ll be referring to blog posts IN CLASS. We will comment during class, though, so no need to worry about that step for now.
Discuss your ideas and plans about how you will re-imagine your project as you write for Commonplace. Feel free to address some of these questions. (Or, just ignore them and write!)
• As you’ve read Commonplace articles, what have you noticed? What are some of the characteristics of the writing that gets published on Commonplace?
• How do you think this piece might be both similar to and different from your RAP? In other words, how might you extend the inquiry of your RAP, but radically re-imagine your topic, ideas, argument, etc. for the public, college student audience of Commonplace?
• How can you make your topic timely, compelling, and relevant?
• How will you deal with your sources, both primary and secondary?
• Who do you envision as the “ideal audience” for your work?
• How might you frame the introduction to your article to really hook readers?
• How would you powerfully conclude it?
• What do you believe your work could bring to the Commonplace community? How might you be able to add to what’s already there? Do you want to see a change in the type of writing that Commonplace values? If so, explain why!
• What sort of advice might you want from people who read and comment on your blog? How can they help you?
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
the elusive thesis
My entire life, as both a teacher and student, I have learned about thesis statements. When I was in high school, the thesis statement was pretty formulaic. It was one sentence that went at the end of your introductory paragraph. A lot of times, there might be an outline given for a paper, amd there was a fill in the blank thing for your thesis statement. I knew that these thesis statements were supposed to be, like the biggest frickin' deal in your whole paper. I also learned that you were supposed to repeat it, in different words, at the end of the paper.
When I went to college, people talked less about the thesis statement. Paper were supposed to have a point...they were supposed to mean something. I think that's what the thesis statement was in college for me, but we didn't use that terminology as often. I was an education major, and maybe writing in that discipline was a little different???
In graduate school, the thesis, for me, is all about making an argument. And an argument that builds on existing research. Also, my argument can evolve and go in different directions in my paper. My thesis statement doesn't have to encompass it all. But it should still be there--and I should still get to it early.
As a teacher, thesis statements are more important to me than ever. But I've become less rigid about what makes a thesis statement and where it should go. I'm more open minded about. Yes, I think you need one. But I think it can look a lot of different ways.
WA confirms a lot of what I already know. But it also articulates it in a new way for me. I love the idea of an evolving thesis, and I like that, even in a final paper, my thesis might still change. I also appreciate that I don't need to throw out evidence that doesn't conform to my original thinking. A good thesis expands and morphs to account for this evidence. I like that WA seems to embrace a complex thesis--it doesn't let it be one simple sentence at the end of the intro paragraph. I also enjoy the way WA breaks down the thesis statements that don't work so well--like ones that are too broad, or don't actually say anything, or perhaps just fall back on cliches. I do this a lot in my own writing, and I see it happen to students, too. It's awesome the WA offers us language to talk about that.
I still fear that WA might want to be a little too formulaic aboutt the thesis statement--like with their six-step process for developing it. So I'm less in love with that part, though I see how it might be helpful to some folks.
When I went to college, people talked less about the thesis statement. Paper were supposed to have a point...they were supposed to mean something. I think that's what the thesis statement was in college for me, but we didn't use that terminology as often. I was an education major, and maybe writing in that discipline was a little different???
In graduate school, the thesis, for me, is all about making an argument. And an argument that builds on existing research. Also, my argument can evolve and go in different directions in my paper. My thesis statement doesn't have to encompass it all. But it should still be there--and I should still get to it early.
As a teacher, thesis statements are more important to me than ever. But I've become less rigid about what makes a thesis statement and where it should go. I'm more open minded about. Yes, I think you need one. But I think it can look a lot of different ways.
WA confirms a lot of what I already know. But it also articulates it in a new way for me. I love the idea of an evolving thesis, and I like that, even in a final paper, my thesis might still change. I also appreciate that I don't need to throw out evidence that doesn't conform to my original thinking. A good thesis expands and morphs to account for this evidence. I like that WA seems to embrace a complex thesis--it doesn't let it be one simple sentence at the end of the intro paragraph. I also enjoy the way WA breaks down the thesis statements that don't work so well--like ones that are too broad, or don't actually say anything, or perhaps just fall back on cliches. I do this a lot in my own writing, and I see it happen to students, too. It's awesome the WA offers us language to talk about that.
I still fear that WA might want to be a little too formulaic aboutt the thesis statement--like with their six-step process for developing it. So I'm less in love with that part, though I see how it might be helpful to some folks.
Blog Post #3--the prompt
Writer’s Blog Prompt #3
Reflecting on Revision
OR
Your Pick
DUE: Wednesday, February 10—please have it posted before class time, as we’ll be referring to blog posts IN CLASS. We will comment during class, though, so no need to worry about that step for now.
This post offers you a couple of options. You only need to complete one of them.
Option 1:
The goal of this post is to encourage you to think a little bit about how far you’ve come on your ARP…and where it might go in the future! Even more, you can share insights with your peers that might very well help them with their own writing.
Think about the various drafts you have completed of your academic research project, and answer some (or all!) of these questions. Remember to write in a way consistent with the blogging voice you’ve established so far—so really make these questions your own!
• How has your writing process on your ARP been both similar to and different from your other writing experiences?
• What has changed about your project? What has been added? What’s been removed? Why did you make those decisions?
• How did you go about revising your work? What strategies of revision worked for you? What was especially challenging?
• In a perfect world, what would you still like to revise about your paper?
• And, as we look toward our upcoming work on Commonplace, how might you re-imagine and revise your work for that public audience? What could you focus on? What might you leave in? What might get booted? How might your tone change? In short, how will you make your academic topic timely, relevant, and compelling for a public audience?
Option 2:
It’s your blog. Write what you want. This is your chance to blog about anything and everything that’s important to you. Go get ‘em, tiger.
Reflecting on Revision
OR
Your Pick
DUE: Wednesday, February 10—please have it posted before class time, as we’ll be referring to blog posts IN CLASS. We will comment during class, though, so no need to worry about that step for now.
This post offers you a couple of options. You only need to complete one of them.
Option 1:
The goal of this post is to encourage you to think a little bit about how far you’ve come on your ARP…and where it might go in the future! Even more, you can share insights with your peers that might very well help them with their own writing.
Think about the various drafts you have completed of your academic research project, and answer some (or all!) of these questions. Remember to write in a way consistent with the blogging voice you’ve established so far—so really make these questions your own!
• How has your writing process on your ARP been both similar to and different from your other writing experiences?
• What has changed about your project? What has been added? What’s been removed? Why did you make those decisions?
• How did you go about revising your work? What strategies of revision worked for you? What was especially challenging?
• In a perfect world, what would you still like to revise about your paper?
• And, as we look toward our upcoming work on Commonplace, how might you re-imagine and revise your work for that public audience? What could you focus on? What might you leave in? What might get booted? How might your tone change? In short, how will you make your academic topic timely, relevant, and compelling for a public audience?
Option 2:
It’s your blog. Write what you want. This is your chance to blog about anything and everything that’s important to you. Go get ‘em, tiger.
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