Blog #12

Blog #12: Writing Center Internship (Final?) Reflection and Final Portfolio Preparation

Due Friday, April 5th, by 11am (or soon after your WC Internship) Responses to your Peer Group due the following Monday by 11am
Reminder: Portfolio workshop days for the next two weeks; please bring your laptops or let me know if you need to borrow one.

Note: If you have completed at least 10 sessions in the Writing Center, this can be your final blog.  Otherwise, you will need to post a blog #13 (and perhaps #14) as you reflect on the rest of your Writing Center sessions.

Two parts to this blog:

Part 1: Reflection (possibly your final reflection) on Writing Center Internship (or submit a piece of writing that you have revised and discuss your revisions)

Final Reflection on Writing Center Internship: In addition to reflecting on this week's Writing Center Internship, write a paragraph or two summarizing and reflecting on your entire internship experience.  Please apply at least a part of your experience to an actual piece of writing (in other words, you'll need to say that you learned about "x" in the WC, and here in Paper Y you applied that knowledge).  Please don't just say that you became a better writer.  Instead, we're looking for how you actually applied what you were learning. If you're in 302, you can post your paper for 302.

 

If you're not ready for your final reflection yet, the directions remain the same as always: Please describe what you did for your Internship this week: the writing you saw, the students you worked with, the concepts you discussed, etc. As before, you'll need to reflect on your experiences and how they will help you revise your writing. Below are the guiding questions to help you reflect on what you learn:

• What you learned as a tutor
• What you notice about other students’ writing
• What you notice about the writing of multilingual writers
• What you notice about your own writing
• The language of tutors and writers
• Insights about language, academic writing, or tutoring
• How you helped other writers
• How other writers helped you

Part 2: Final Portfolio Preparation

For this space, please generate a brief, but specific list of writing issues that you worked on this semester. 

Possibilities (don't be limited by this list):
Revision strategies
Brainstorming strategies
Peer Review strategies
Sentence-level revision
Eliminating redundancies
Streamlining sentences
Active or passive voice
Audience awareness
Others?

To help you, please identify 3-5 pieces of writing that you might possibly include in your final portfolio.  Remember that your goal is to show how you've revised all semester. 

Response: For your response, you should help your partners clarify or expand on their possible portfolio topics.

Blog #11

Blog #11: Writing Center Internship Reflection and Presentation Preparation

Due Friday, March 29th, by 11am (or soon after your WC Internship) Responses to your Peer Group due the following Sunday by midnight
Reminder: We present to Georgia on Monday--be prepared!!

Two parts to this blog:

Part 1: Reflection on Writing Center Internship (or submit a piece of writing that you have revised and discuss your revisions)

Writing Center Internship: Please describe what you did for your Internship this week: the writing you saw, the students you worked with, the concepts you discussed, etc. As before, you'll need to reflect on your experiences and how they will help you revise your writing. Below are the guiding questions to help you reflect on what you learn:

• What you learned as a tutor
• What you notice about other students’ writing
• What you notice about the writing of multilingual writers
• What you notice about your own writing
• The language of tutors and writers
• Insights about language, academic writing, or tutoring
• How you helped other writers
• How other writers helped you

Part 2: Community Partner Draft Annotations

For this space, please paste your project (or at least the text you have written for this project).  Below write a paragraph outlining what you will say during your presentation:

Consider these points (but don't think of these items as a list!):
*Audience
*Purpose
*Goals for project (what action you hope people will take)
*Ways Second Chance Animal could use your materials
*Format rationale
*Design choices
*Revisions of Second Chance Animal's original text (and why)
*Questions for Georgia
*What you learned from the project

This is a brief presentation (about 2-3 minutes in length), but please prepare for it.  Practice presenting your project out loud several times before Monday.  Be sure to have print copies and electronic copies for Monday (post your final draft to Angel).

Response: For your response, you should help your partners clarify or expand on their project--especially so you all know what your group members are saying.

Blog #10

Blog #10: Writing Center Internship Reflection and Community Partner Progress Report

Due Friday, March 22nd, by 11am (or soon after your WC Internship)
Responses to your Peer Group due the following Monday by 11am
Reminder: We meet on Monday in the  classroom--please bring your laptops.

 

Two parts to this blog:

Part 1: Reflection on Writing Center Internship (or submit a piece of writing that you have revised)

Writing Center Internship: Please describe what you did for your Internship this week: the writing you saw, the students you worked with, the concepts you discussed, etc. As before, you'll need to reflect on your experiences and how they will help you revise your writing. Below are the guiding questions to help you reflect on what you learn:

• What you learned as a tutor
• What you notice about other students’ writing
• What you notice about the writing of multilingual writers
• What you notice about your own writing
• The language of tutors and writers
• Insights about language, academic writing, or tutoring
• How you helped other writers
• How other writers helped you

Part 2: Community Partner Draft Annotations

For this space, please paste at least a paragraph of text from the project you are working on.  Then write a second paragraph telling us what you think is strong and what you feel needs to still be revised in this text.  Please be as specific as possible (in other words, feel free to focus on one sentence or part of a sentence).

 

Response: For your response, you should continue the conversation your group member started in Part 2. Respond specifically to the text they wrote and write out some suggested revisions.  Also, identify other areas of the text that were strong and/or areas that still might confuse you as a reader.

 

Blog #9

Blog #9: Writing Center Internship Reflection and Community Partner Progress Report

Due Friday, March 8th, by 11am (or soon after your WC Internship) 
No Responses this week due to Spring Break (although you may want to look over your group members' blogs to make sure you are all on the same page) 

Reminder: We meet the Monday after break in the classroom to update Georgia on our progress.
 

Two parts to this blog:

Part 1: Reflection on Writing Center Internship (or submit a piece of writing that you have revised) 

 

Writing Center Internship: Please describe what you did for your Internship this week: the writing you saw, the students you worked with, the concepts you discussed, etc. As before, you'll need to reflect on your experiences and how they will help you revise your writing. Below are the guiding questions to help you reflect on what you learn:

 

• What you learned as a tutor
• What you notice about other students’ writing
• What you notice about the writing of multilingual writers
• What you notice about your own writing
• The language of tutors and writers 
• Insights about language, academic writing, or tutoring
• How you helped other writers
• How other writers helped you

 

Part 2: Community Partner Progress Report

Please write a paragraph or two on your progress so far:

• What specifically have you done/written?
• What work will you need to do to be ready to present to Georgia on 3/18?
• What questions do you have for Georgia for your presentation?
• What work will you need to do to finish the project by 4/1?
• What support do you need from me (Beth)?

Blog #8

Blog #8: Community Partner Brainstorming and Writing Center Internship Reflection

Due Friday, March 1st, by 11am (or soon after your WC Internship)
Responses to your Peer Group due the following Monday by 11am
Reminder: We meet on Monday in the AML.
 

Two parts to this blog, to give you more time to respond to your partners:

Part 1: Reflection on Writing Center Internship (or submit your midterm reflection paper for English 302)

 

Writing Center Internship: Please describe what you did for your Internship this week: the writing you saw, the students you worked with, the concepts you discussed, etc. As before, you'll need to reflect on your experiences and how they will help you revise your writing. Below are the guiding questions to help you reflect on what you learn:

 

• What you learned as a tutor
• What you notice about other students’ writing
• What you notice about the writing of multilingual writers
• What you notice about your own writing
• The language of tutors and writers 
• Insights about language, academic writing, or tutoring
• How you helped other writers
• How other writers helped you

You may also use this space to reflect on the option Writing Center Tutor Training.

 

Part 2: Community Partner Projects

Fundraising group: Kaycee, Morgan, and Taylor

Poster/flier group: Michael, Lenard, and Jake
Educational tri-fold group: Kyle, Cody, and Josh
 

(Jordan—pick a group/project and then respond to the members in your group)

 

Questions for Part 2: What writing will you be responsible for with this project?  To answer this question, please write up what you worked on in class (also see questions below), what questions you have, who your audience is, what your purpose is, what research you will need to do, etc.  Your goal here is to go beyond what you already discussed in class, so be sure to go into some detail.  You can also use this space to suggest new ideas to your group members.  Of course, not everything has to be set in stone yet, so brainstorming is fine.  But do emphasize what writing/revising you as part of a group might/will do for this project.

 Community Partner:

2^nd Chance Animal; Georgia Martinell, Founder and Executive Director

Website – www.2ndchanceanimal.org

Twitter - @2ndchanceanimal

Facebook – Second Chance Animal Pullman

  

Response: For your response, you should continue the conversation your group member started in Part 2. Examples:

 

• What new ideas might you suggest that will help your group think about this project?
• What possible problems with the idea/project have you thought of (including possible ways of addressing those problems)?
• What additional questions do you have for the group, Georgia, and or me (Beth)?

Due: Respond to everyone in your peer group, (excluding yourself this time) by Monday morning at 11am.

 
Length: At least a paragraph—really use this space to keep brainstorming and/or refining ideas, so that on Monday you can get right to work in the AML.

Blog #7

Blog #7: Community Partner Brainstorming and Writing Center Internship Reflection

Due Friday, February 22nd, by 11am (or soon after your WC Internship)

Responses to your Peer Group due the following Monday by 11am

 

Reminder: We meet on Monday in CUB L43 to talk with 2nd Chance Animal!

 

Three parts to this blog:

Part 1: Reflection on Writing Center Internship (or keep revising your Jr. Writing Portfolio piece)

Writing Center Internship: Please describe what you did for your Internship this week: the writing you saw, the students you worked with, the concepts you discussed, etc. As before, you'll need to reflect on your experiences and how they will help you revise your writing. Below are the guiding questions to help you reflect on what you learn:

• What you learned as a tutor
• What you notice about other students’ writing
• What you notice about the writing of multilingual writers
• What you notice about your own writing
• The language of tutors and writers
• Insights about language, academic writing, or tutoring
• How you helped other writers
• How other writers helped you

If no students came to the Writing Center during your hour, then use this space to continue revising your Jr. Writing Portfolo or other piece of writing (see Part 2 below). Paste the original here, and then then revision; be sure to reflect on the changes and what you still want to work on.

 

Part 2: Community Partner Brainstorming

Community Partner:

2^nd Chance Animal; Georgia Martinell, Founder and Executive Director

Website - 2ndchanceanimal.org
Twitter - @2ndchanceanimal
Facebook – Second Chance Animal Pullman

Possible Projects:

 ·         Cats vs. Dogs Penny Wars Donation Jars

·         PSA’s for radio and newspapers

·         Flyers to post in the community and tri-folds to pass out at fund-raising events about what we do, our mission, pictures of the animals we have helped, contact information, etc.
·         Educational pamphlets about chained dogs, keeping animals outside or locked in a cars in extreme heat or cold conditions, the importance of spaying/neutering, etc.
·         Fund-raiser of any kind

Guiding questions for Part 2

Analyze your potential project for 2^nd Chance Animal.  Briefly discuss yourself as an audience member.  What part of 2^nd Chance Animal’s current materials do you find most effective?  Where might you suggest revisions/updates?  What questions do you have for Georgia?  What brainstorming ideas do you have?  Fundraising ideas?  What additional research might you have to do?  What do you hope to get out of this experience?

Notes from Class:

• Rhetoric is the art of persuasion.  How can we persuade the audience to meet 2^nd Chance Animal’s purpose?
• Logos (logic)—statistics, facts
• Ethos (Credibility) –research, cite sources
• Pathos (Emotion) –pictures of animals, sad, humor
• Purpose 
• Audience—college students, non-animal lovers, community members.  Others?
• Medium (best medium for your purpose)
• Topics: training, responsibility, patience, time, $, dangerous, neglect, health, animals supporting people, statistics, spaying and neutering, adopting from shelter, volunteering at shelter, donating money

Part 3: Revision of Previous Blog 
Choose a short section from your previous blog; then choose any concept that we've worked on in class.  Revise this short section according to your chosen concept and briefly reflect on how your revision improved the piece of writing.

Response: For your response, you should 1) continue the conversation the author started in Part 2. You should also 2) try to comment on their revised sentences in Part 3. Examples:

 

• Why do you think the revised paragraph is an improvement over the original paragraph?
• Can you suggest another revision?
• Can you suggest other ideas for Community Partner Project?

Due: Respond to everyone in your peer group, including yourself (for your own blog, either respond to one or both of your peers' responses or simply revise another part of your initial post), by Monday morning at 11am.

Length: Again, a paragraph is good. Try to work on choosing the right verbs and eliminating bulky modifiers in your response AND/OR having a variety of simple, compound, and complex sentences (feel free to use the strikethrough option to show us your revision process).

Blog #6

Blog #6: Reading Response and Writing Center Internship Reflection
Due Friday, February 15th, by 11am (or soon after your WC Internship)
Responses to your Peer Group due the following Monday by 11am

New Peer Groups for Responding:

Michael	Jordan	Josh
Jake	Morgan	Lenard
Kaycee	Kyle	Taylor
Cody

Three parts to this blog:

Part 1: Reflection on Writing Center Internship (or revise your Letter to the Editor)

Writing Center Internship: Please describe what you did for your Internship this week: the writing you saw, the students you worked with, the concepts you discussed, etc. As before, you'll need to reflect on your experiences and how they will help you revise your writing. Below are the guiding questions to help you reflect on what you learn:

• What you learned as a tutor
• What you notice about other students’ writing
• What you notice about the writing of multilingual writers
• What you notice about your own writing
• The language of tutors and writers
• Insights about language, academic writing, or tutoring
• How you helped other writers
• How other writers helped you

If no students came to the Writing Center during your hour, then use this space to revise a second part of your Jr. Writing Portfolo or other piece of writing (see Part 2 below). Paste the original here, and then then revision; be sure to reflect on the changes and what you still want to work on.


Part 2: Revision of Jr. Writing Portfolio or Previous Piece of Writing
Select a relatively short piece of writing from either your Jr. Writing Portfolio or another previous piece of writing (try to pick something that you have some interest in revising). The goal is to pick a piece of writing that was written a while ago, so you have some distance. Then paste a paragraph or two from this piece of writing and apply the concepts from Chapter 6 (use strikethrough or bold text when you make changes, so we can see the revisions). Focus on making connections between all your sentences.


Part 3: Reading Response to Ch. 6, pp. 37-41 of Style 
"Given the dynamics of written communication, the burden of clarity rests squarely on the writer. One way to bear that burden gracefully is to make clear and explicit connections between sentences and paragraphs" (p. 37).

Now reflect on how the concepts in Chapter 6 helped you as you revised your Jr. Writing Portfolio.  What did you change and why?  What did you keep and why?  What else from what we've learned in class did you revise?  Is there any part of this chapter that confuses you? As always, the more details you can give, the more helpful your responses will be to us and to you.

Length: For your reading response section, again aim for about 250 words or 2-3 paragraphs.

Response: For your response, you should 1) continue the conversation the author started in Part 2. You should also 2) try to comment on their revised sentences in Part 3. Examples:

• Why do you think the revised paragraph is an improvement over the original paragraph?
• Can you suggest another revision?
• Where is an example of two or more sentences where the author successfull demonstrates the concepts presented in Ch. 6?

Due: Respond to everyone in your (New!) peer  group, including yourself (for your own blog, either respond to one or both of your peers' responses or simply revise another part of your initial post), by Monday morning at 11am.

Length: Again, a paragraph is good. Try to work on choosing the right verbs and eliminating bulky modifiers in your response AND/OR having a variety of simple, compound, and complex sentences (feel free to use the strikethrough option to show us your revision process).

Blog #5

Blog #5: Reading Response and Writing Center Internship Reflection
Due Friday, February 8th, by 11am (or soon after your WC Internship)
Responses to your Peer Group due the following Monday by 11am

Since I had to cancel class on Wednesday, please turn any revisions of your Letter to the Editor into Revision #1 Dropbox for Monday.  Thanks, Beth.

Three parts to this blog:

Part 1: Reflection on Writing Center Internship (or revise your Letter to the Editor)

Writing Center Internship: Please describe what you did for your Internship this week: the writing you saw, the students you worked with, the concepts you discussed, etc. As before, you'll need to reflect on your experiences and how they will help you revise your writing. Below are the guiding questions to help you reflect on what you learn:

• What you learned as a tutor
• What you notice about other students’ writing
• What you notice about the writing of multilingual writers
• What you notice about your own writing
• The language of tutors and writers
• Insights about language, academic writing, or tutoring
• How you helped other writers
• How other writers helped you

If no students came to the Writing Center during your hour, then use this space to revise your Letter to the Editor.  Paste the original here, and then then revision; be sure to reflect on the changes and what you still want to work on.


Part 2: Reading Response to Ch. 5, of Style
Sorry, no headnote this time, as I'm working from home, and my textbook is at the office.  But I know this chapter dealt with eliminating some of the "clutter" from our writing.  I myself tend to "clutter up" my writing when I don't want to sound very forceful or when I'm speaking to someone higher up: (if you don't mind, could you please do x when you have a minute?).  But when I need to get right to the point, I need to revise all that clutter out: please do x by y. 

Here's are the directions you usally get, only relative vague this time:For this section, paste a paragraph from a previous piece of your writing (or part of your Letter), and apply the concepts from Chapter 5. 

Additionally, how will the concepts in Chapter 5 help you as you revise your current writing? Is there any part of this chapter that confuses you? As always, the more details you can give, the more helpful your responses will be to us and to you.

Length: For your reading response section, again aim for about 250 words or 2-3 paragraphs.


Part 3: Revision of Last Week's Blog
After reflecting on how the chapter in Style will help you with your writing, revise two or three of the sentences your wrote for last week's blog. Specifically, try to revise a sentence that applies to the concepts discussed in Ch. 5.   After you revise your sentences, write a brief rationale of why your revision helped you experiment with the guidelines in Ch. 5.


Response: For your response, you should 1) continue the conversation the author started in Part 2. You should also 2) try to comment on their revised sentences in Part 3. Examples:

• Why do you think the revised sentence is an improvement over the original sentence?
• Can you suggest another revision?
• Where is an example of a sentence where the author successfull demonstrates the concepts presented in Ch. 5? 

 
Due: Respond to everyone in your peer group, including yourself (for your own blog, either respond to one or both of your peers' responses or simply revise another part of your initial post), by Monday morning at 11am.

Length: Again, a paragraph is good. Try to work on choosing the right verbs and eliminating bulky modifiers in your response AND/OR having a variety of simple, compound, and complex sentences (feel free to use the strikethrough option to show us your revision process).

Blog #4

Blog #4: Reading Response and Writing Center Internship Reflection
Due Friday, February 1st, by 11am (or soon after your WC Internship) 
Responses to your Peer Group due the following Monday by 11am (Reminder: Meet Monday, 2/4, in the AML)

Three parts to this blog:

Part 1: Reflection on Writing Center Internship (or begin drafting your Letter to the Editor)

Writing Center Internship: Please describe what you did for your Internship this week: the writing you saw, the students you worked with, the concepts you discussed, etc. As before, you'll need to reflect on your experiences and how they will help you revise your writing.  Below are the guiding questions to help you reflect on what you learn: 

• What you learned as a tutor
• What you notice about other students’ writing
• What you notice about the writing of multilingual writers
• What you notice about your own writing
• The language of tutors and writers
• Insights about language, academic writing, or tutoring
• How you helped other writers
• How other writers helped you

If no students came to the Writing Center during your hour, then use this space to continue brainstorming ideas for our upcoming Letter to the Editor assignment (or a letter of complaint or praise).  As we did in class, read one or more news articles from this past week and brainstorm responses to the issue(s).  Aim for at least 10 minutes of brainstorming.


Part 2: Reading Response to Ch. 4, pp. 19-26 of Style

"[W]e're constantly choosing between active and passive forms whenever we speak or write.  Revision allows us to reconsider these decisions" (p.21)

For this section, paste a paragraph from a previous piece of your writing, and identify whether your verbs are in the active or passive voice.  Then reflect, based on what you learned in the chapter, why your current voice (active or passive) works well for your purpose, or if you need to revise. 

Additionally, how will the concept of active and passive voice help you as you revise your current writing?  Is there any part of this chapter that confuses you?  As always, the more details you can give, the more helpful your responses will be to us and to you.

Length: For your reading response section, again aim for about 250 words or 2-3 paragraphs. 


Part 3: Revision of Last Week's Blog
After reflecting on how the chapter in Style will help you with your writing, revise two or three of the sentences your wrote for last week's blog.  Specifically, try to revise a sentence from passive to active voice (or active to passive) as a way to emphasize your main point, as discussed in Ch. 4.  After you revise your sentences, write a brief rationale of why your revision helped you experiment with the guidelines in Ch. 4.


Response:  For your response, you should 1) continue the conversation the author started in Part 2.  You should also 2) try to comment on their revised sentences in Part 3.  Examples:

• Why do you think the revised sentence is an improvement over the original sentence? 
• Can you suggest another revision?  
• Where is an example of a sentence where the author successfull demonstrates the concepts presented in Ch. 4? 

Due: Respond to everyone in your peer group, including yourself (for your own blog, either respond to one or both of your peers' responses or simply revise another part of your initial post), by Monday morning at 11am.

Length: Again, a paragraph is good.  Try to work on choosing the right verbs and eliminating bulky modifiers in your response AND/OR having a variety of simple, compound, and complex sentences (feel free to use the strikethrough option to show us your revision process).

Blog #3

Blog #3: Reading Response and Writing Center Internship Reflection
Due Friday, January 25th, at 11am (Reminder: This is the first week of your Writing Center Internship.)

Three parts to this blog:

Part 1: Reflection on Writing Center Internship (or Continue Revising your Cover Letter)

Writing Center Internship: Starting with this (or the next) blog, please describe what you did for your Internship this week. In addition, you'll need to reflect on your experiences and how they will help you revise your writing.  Below are some guiding questions to help you reflect on what you learn: 

• What you learned as a tutor
• What you notice about other students’ writing
• What you notice about the writing of multilingual writers
• What you notice about your own writing
• The language of tutors and writers
• Insights about language, academic writing, or tutoring
• How you helped other writers
• How other writers helped you

If you have not yet started your Internship, please paste both your original and revised drafts of your cover letter and describe the revisions you made and to what purpose (but remember that you'll also need to post your drafts to Angel according to the due dates in the syllabus).

Part 2: Reading Response to Ch. 3 of Style

 "[V]erbs, complements, and modifiers are more than grammatical categories; they're also useful revision tools" (p.15)

Take some time to rReflect on each of the three main concepts in this chapter: verbs, complements, and modifiers (to start, see the questions at the bottom of p. 15 will help you get started).   How will these concepts help you as you continue to revise your cover letter?  As always, the more details you can give, the more helpful your responses will be to us and to you.

Length: For your reading response section, again aim for about 250 words or 2-3 paragraphs (you could do one paragraph per concept). 


Part 3: Revision of Part 1 or Part 2
After reflecting on how the chapter in Style will help you with your writing, revise two or three of the sentences your wrote for Part 1 (or Part 2).  Specifically, try to apply the concept of choosing the most "active" verb for your sentence, as discussed in Ch. 3.  After you revise your sentences, write a brief rationale of why your revision helped you experiment with the guidelines in Ch. 3.


Response:  For your response, you should 1) continue the conversation the author started in Part 2.  You should also 2) try to comment on their revised sentences in Part 3.  Examples:

• Why do you think the revised sentence is an improvement over the original sentence? 
• Can you suggest another revision?  
• How does the revision follow the guiding questions on the bottom of p. 15?

Due: Respond to everyone in your peer group, including yourself (for your own blog, either respond to one or both of your peers' responses or simply revise another part of your initial post), by Monday morning at 11am.

Length: Again, a paragraph is good.  Try to work on choosing the right verbs and eliminating bulky modifiers in your response(feel free to use the strikethrough option to show us your revision process).

Blog #2

Blog #2: Reading Response and Draft of Cover Letter
Due Friday, January 18th, at 11am (Reminder: We meet in the AML, Avery 101, on Friday.  Be sure to have an electronic or print copy of your résumé.)

Three parts to this blog:

Part 1: Initial DRAFT of Cover Letter
Draft at least one paragraph of a cover letter for a future job (or grad school or anything else for which you might need to apply).  We'll continue drafting and revising in class on Friday.  If you have a specific job ad (description of grad school, etc.), please bring that to class, too.

Note: Remember that this is a revision class, so feel free to use all or part of a cover letter that you've already written--just be sure to identify when you wrote it and for what class (if any). 

Part 2: Reading Response to Preface, Ch. 1, and/or Ch. 2 of Style
Select 1-2 concepts from the reading that were particularly useful or interesting for you.  How will these concepts help you as you draft and revise your cover letter?  If no concepts seemed helpful, why not?  As always, the more details you can give, the more helpful your responses will be to us and to you.

Length: For your reading response section, again aim for about 250 words or 2-3 paragraphs (you could do one paragraph per chapter). 

Part 3: Revision of Part 1
After reflecting on how the chapters in Style will help you with your writing, revise one or two of the sentences your wrote for Part 1 (or Part 2).  Specifically, try to apply the concept of choosing the most "active" verb for your sentence, as discussed in Ch. 2.  Keep experimenting with colons, semicolons, and dashes, if applicable to this first paragraph of your cover letter.


Response:  For your response, you should continue the conversation the author started in Part 2.  You should also try to comment on their revised sentences in Part 3.  Examples:

• Why do you think the revised sentence is an improvement over the original sentence? 
•  Do you have another suggestion for revision? 
• Can you suggest another revision? 

(Just wanted to model that revising for active verbs like the book suggests takes some time--it's definitely a different step than drafting.)

Due: Respond to everyone in your peer group, including yourself (for your own blog, either respond to one or both of your peers' responses or simply revise another part of your initial post), by Monday morning at 11am (although no class that day due to MLK Holiday).

Length: Again, a paragraph is good.  Try to work on either active verbs (feel free to use the strikethrough option to show us your revision process) or colons/semicolons/dashes in your response.

Welcome to English 304

Blog #1: Reading Response and Self Assessment Blog
Due Wednesday, January 9th, at 11am

Create your own Blogger account for our course, and email me your blog's address (by Tuesday, January 8th, at 11am, please).

Two parts to this blog:

Part 1: Reading Response
Reflect briefly on Toni-Lee Capossela's chapters on Peer Tutoring. We're reading this piece both to prepare you for your Writing Center Internship and for peer review in class. What 1-2 concepts do you want to reflect on and for what purpose? Remember that the entire class is your audience. We'll discuss the reading further in class on Wednesday.

Part 2: Assessment 1.0
Post all or part of the Assessment 1.0 that we wrote in class on Monday (if you revise, label it Assessment 1.1).

Guiding Questions:

• What type of writing do you currently do?  (Can include academic, professional, and personal)
• All people have contexts where the quality of their writing is more or less important to them--in which contexts does the quality of your writing matter most to you?
• Describe your current drafting and revisionn process.  What works for you and what doesn't?
• What do you consider to be your strengths in writing?  What types of comments to various readers make that support these strengths? (Faculty, friends, supervisors, etc.)
• Whta do you consider to be your weaknesses or revision points?  What feedback have you received as support?
• What do you want to work on this semester?

For all questions, the more details you can give, the more helpful your responses will be to us and to you.


Length: As with all our assignments, the genre and purpose should drive the length. In addition to your Assessment 1.0, try to take at least 250-500 words to respond to the Capossela reading.

Response: We'll look at the blogs in class on Wednesday and discuss possible ways of responding. Normally, you'll need to respond to your peer group by Monday morning at 11am (most blogs will be due Fridays by 11am).

NOTE: See my blog for the most recent blog assignment information. We will typically have a blog posting once per week, but I reserve the right to increase or decrease the frequency depending on the needs of the class. The blog is for blog assignments only; the rest of the course materials may be found on Angel.