*Assignments*: 12:30

Wednesday, Dec. 12.

Feel free to email me this week and the beginning of finals week if you post drafts of Essays 4 or 5 that you would like feedback on. Any final drafts of pieces not in your portfolio may be posted on your blog through noon on Friday, Dec. 21.

Note that our final is scheduled for Monday, Dec. 17 at 12:45 pm in our regular classroom. If you miss the final, please email me and you can do it through email as late as Friday, Dec. 21. I will have results of portfolio at the final–you can email me this weekend if you’re curious earlier.

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Wednesday, Dec. 5.

For end of semester info about portfolios, see this post. Note that portfolio is due Thursday, Dec. 13 by 8 pm. Concentrate on the three pieces plus cover letter for now. Any additional essays that haven’t been graded or that you would like to revise must be turned in by Thursday, Dec, 20 at noon.

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Monday, Nov. 26.

Ethnography final draft due Friday, Nov. 30, to be emailed as attached file.

Essay 4 rough draft is due Wednesday, Dec. 5, to be posted on your blog. In addition to punctuality point for rough draft, I’ll give another punctuality point for students who post at least four sources on their blog by Wednesday, Nov. 30. (You may switch Essays 4 and 5 to do photo essay first, especially if you think you may want to put photo essay in your portfolio.)

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Monday, Nov. 19.

Ethnography peer review: Due Wednesday, Nov. 21.

Questions:

  • Is the level of detail sufficient to let you see what’s going on in the subculture? Does the author describe the fieldsite and seem to report on specific observations made at the site? What details work best? Where might details be added?
  • What seems to be the author’s focus? Identify the subculture described> What is the main point the author makes about this subculture?
  • Comment on the structure. Is the essay arranged chronologically, by subtopic, or by some other organizing principle? Is the structure consistent? Does it work well? What are other ways to organize the material that the author might want to consider?

Peer review partners:

  • Paige and Stephen
  • Caroline and Tori
  • Tyler, please do Noah’s; Noah,  do Lauren’s; Lauren, do Tyler’s

Reading assignments for Monday, Nov. 26.

Basics of argument (including info from first hyperlink from UNC), Finding arguable research topics, Structure of argument.

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Friday, Nov. 2.

Adjusted deadlines: The rough draft of Essay 3 will be posted on your blog by midnight, on Friday, Nov. 9. Final draft of Essay 2 is due Tuesday, Nov. 13, to be turned in on paper in class or emailed by midnight as an attached file. To share google cods, please use my gmail address: holly.pappas812@gmail.com. Please remember to format essay for paper: with your name, indented paragraphs, double-spaced text, Works Cited in separate page.

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Wednesday, Oct. 24.

Advance notice: Essay 3 rough draft will be due Wednesday, Nov. 7, to be posted on your blog.

By Friday, Oct. 26 post reading journal #4. You may also catch up if you have missed an earlier reading journal post (reading memoir post assigned 9/12 plus two additional posts0; I’ll accept these through the end of this weekend (Oct. 28).

Peer review of Essay 2. Due Friday, Oct. 26.

Please post your peer reviews both as comment on your partner’s blog and as a separate post on your own blog. (You will be assigned a partner only if your essay is completed. If your essay is not up now, let me know by email when you get it posted, and I will try to pair you up with someone else who is late in posting, but no guarantees.)

Questions:

  • Does the summary part of assignment fulfill requirements for effective summary as listed here? Explain why or why not, and identify specific places where you think revision could be one. I’ve tried to pair together people who’ve read the same article, but if you haven’t read your partner’s article, do the best you can. You may not be able to comment on accuracy or completeness of summary, but instead focus on whether the summary is clear, objective, and well-written. 
  • Identify the type of response(s) the author has used (connection to personal experience, analysis, agree/disagree, application or extension, etc.). Is the response thoughtful and well-developed? If ot, indicate places and strategies for improvement.
  • Are paragraphs focused (one clear main idea per paragraph) and coherent (logically ordered sentences)? If not, indicate any paragraphs that need revision.
  • Does the author use sources ethically, according to MLA guidelines? Check against the original article if you see any sentences or phrases that seem like unintentional plagiarism. Are sources cited properly?

Peer review partners: 

  • Caroline and Brooke (9:30 class)
  • Nick and Jeff (9:30 class)
  • Noah and Tyler L (9:30 class)
  • Lauren and Breanna (9:30 class)
  • Paige and Rob (9:30 class)
  • Angelina and Mike (9:30 class)

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Monday, Oct. 15.

Read Finding and evaluating sourcesand get started with Essay 2, rough draft due Monday, Oct. 22 to be posted on your blog .

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Wednesday, Oct. 10.

Deadline for Essay 1 is extended until midnight, Friday, Oct. 12. Please email essays, formatted “for paper” (with name, double-spacing, paragraph indents), as attached file in .docx, .pdf, or .rtf file. Note additional instructions in Oct. 3 assignment below.

Essay 2 rough draft will be due on your blog Monday, Oct. 22. Articles for text-wrestling can be found here.

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Wednesday, Oct. 3.

Before you start your revision of Essay 1, look over page on Revision; in particular, be sure to read the short essay “The Maker’s Eye” at the bottom of the page.

Final draft of Essay 1 is due next Wednesday, Oct. 10; please submit as attached file (in .docx, .pdf, or .pages) via email to my BCC address, holly.pappas@bristolcc.edu. I encourage you to also post on your blog as a new, separate post from rough draft. In addition, please post a short (250 words or so) reflective post on your revision process (what info did you use from peer review and my review and how? what changes did you make based on your own rereading of your essay?). This reflection should also make some connection to “The Maker’s Eye” essay as well.

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Monday, Oct. 1.

For Wed., Oct. 3 do a second reading journal post on your blog, following guidelines given in Keeping a Reading Journal.

Final draft of Essay 1 will be due Wednesday, Oct. 10 along with a short reflection on your revision process (more info to come on that). 

Rough draft of Essay 2 (text wrestling) will be due Wednesday, Oct. 17. Articles will be posted soon.

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Wednesday, Sept. 26.

For Monday, Oct. 1, do peer review of your partner’s essay following the instructions below. First,Read Thoughts on peer review(Also read over Writing summaries, most of which we talked about in class.)

Peer review partners:

  • Stephen and Tyler
  • Lauren and Paige
  • Mike and Noah
  • Braxton, please do Tori’s; Tori, do Caroline’s; and Caroline, do Braxton’s
  • Katrina and Robbie
  • Nick and Jeff (from 9:30 class)

Note that I have only assigned partners for those students who have posted their rough drafts. If you post your rough draft in the next few days, you may email me to let me know, and I will try to pair you up with another late student.

Read your partner’s essay, using links on the right, and answer the following questions both as a post on your partner’s blog and as a separate blog post on your own blog:

  • What seems to be the main “message” of the essay? What does the author seem to be saying about this experience/person/etc. that you can connect to on a more universal level? Point out any resonant lines that seem to have particular significance or emotional power (which may or may not be developed in the rest of the essay).
  • Consider the writer’s use of specific detail. Identify any particularly sharp, effective use of detail (by para. number or context, as in “I really get a clear picture of Uncle Eddie”). Indicate places where you think the writer might add more detail (either because something is unclear or could be made more vivid or engaging or understandable). If possible, include questions for the writer: “Could you give an example of a time when your gramma was cruel?”, “This seems to be the crucial scene of the essay. Maybe add some dialogue here?”)
  • How does the structure of the piece work? What is its time frame? Is the order of events clear? How well does the lead work to engage your attention? any suggestions for possible changes in order?
  • What is/are the most successful aspects of the draft? What/s working well? You might indicate a particular part of the essay (lead, fight scene, reflection at the end) or point to the author’s voice or tone, choice of subject matter, vivid descriptions, wonderful style, etc.

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Monday, Sept. 24.

For Wednesday, Sept. 26 read about reading: Why Writers Need to Read, How to Mark a Book, and Keeping a Reading Journal.

Find a short article that connects to your theme using resources given (or you can look for one yourself). Look for a substantive article that introduces ideas, presents an argument, raises questions, etc. (more than just a news article)–we’ll talk about this more in class. Read the article, and post a reading journal entry on your blog, following guidelines in Keeping a Reading Journal.

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Monday, Sept. 17.

Rough draft of Essay 1 is due Monday, Sept. 24 by midnight, to be posted on your blog.

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Wednesday, Sept. 12.

For Monday, Sept. 17, read Writing as interplay between the general and the specific , and do Writing Exercise: four sentences and a scene at the bottom of that page (post on your blog). 

Also for Monday, in preparation for Essay 1, read Why should anyone care about your life? and look over Memoir: samples to read to find a short, well-written memoir that fits your theme. Do not go to freeessays.com type sites that give sample student essays, but rather look for more polished writing by sites that are edited/curated or online sites associated with print journals. Please post a link to the essay you find as a third post on your blog (second for the week; third total), along with a three short paragraphs (the first paragraph should provide a short summary/description of the essay, the second your evaluation (why did you pick it? what do you like about it? did it give you any ideas you might use for your own memoir?), and the third your identification of what seems to be the “universal significance” of the essay (what does the essay seem to be saying that can connect to the experience of others, including yourself). This will be your first reading journal post.

Advance warning: Rough draft of Essay 1 will be due Monday, September 24 by midnight, to be posted on your blog.

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Wednesday, Sept. 5.

Work for the first week is given in detail in post Welcome to fall semester.

Short version: For Monday, Sept. 10, read info under the Intro tab at top of blog, set up your own blog and email me its URL, and do classmate snapshot.

For Wednesday, Sept. 12, read the article “Ten Ways to Think about Writing“, and post your writer’s autobiography on your blog. Look back at Choosing a theme, and read over assignments on right sidebar of blog; think about what theme you’d like to use for the course (in class Wednesday, you’ll be writing a proposal).