Portfolio Drop Off!

How you will feel after dropping off your portfolio

How you will feel if you don't...

 Folks:

This is the end.

Drop off your portfolios in my office (COAS/ARHU 270A) before 11:30am today, May 1st.

Please DO NOT leave your portfolio in my box; there is no guarantee that I'll get it and this is too big of a grade to take a chance like that. Plus, there are evil, portfolio stealing gnomes that wander these halls. Be on the safe side; turn your portfolio into me personally.

And have a great summer! Woot woot! Life long and prosper, punks! :D

Compocon

Lots of cool stuff, but no, no dancing mice

Just a reminder, today we're meeting in the ARHU lobby for class to check out Compocon. Please make sure to sign in with me. It's a good time to relax, check out some 1302 projects, and mingle with other students.

See you there!

Portfolio Requirements

Folks:

All portfolios are due on Wednesday, May 1st. This will be our last day together ::cue tiny violin music::

Your portfolio is hefty. It's a big piece of your grade (60%!). Be sure to go a good job with it.


Your portfolio must include:



1. Graded copies of stages 1-5 with my comments. If you've misplaced my comments, then instead of including this, you'll need to write a one page reflection on your revision process (what you've changed and why) for each missing paper.

2. Your original Stage VI -- of course, without my comments. This will be your pre-peer review version. 

3. Revised and edited copies of stages 1-6.

4. Your public document for stage V (A copy, link, or brief description if there was just one original and you already turned it in)

Please be sure you're turning in polished work. At this point, I will be looking at grammar, spelling, punctuation, and formatting in addition to content. Many students have asked if MLA formatting is required. The short of my answer is "yes" -- UNLESS you have a reason for not using MLA. For example, if, throughout the semester, your writing has been focused on a science discipline, you may choose to use APA instead. Maybe your essays are all about how MLA ruined your life D-: in which case, it would make sense to use something else.

So in other words, if you don't use MLA, be sure to articulate WHY you've made the rhetorical decision not to.

 How you decide to present this information to me is entirely up to you. As long as it is presented in a way that your audience (me!) can easily make sense of your work, you'll be in good shape. Is turning in a big pile of crumpled/unstapled and messy papers audience centered? I'm thinking no.

You are being graded on the quality of your finished product and the rhetorical effectiveness of your writing.

May the force be with you! Make it so! For Durotar!

Stop! It's (Almost) Grammar Time!

If you get this reference, you're old (aka awesome) like me

As we finish up our Stage V presentations and our Stage VI peer review sessions, it's just about that time of the writing process where we begin editing.

One way I recommend going about editing your papers is to take them to the University Writing Center (in the library). They're super apt at finding all your wonderful spelling, punctuation and usage errors, so give them a try!

One other thing we'll be doing in class is having Mini-Lessons on pesky grammar skills that I've noticed (by reading your papers of course) you might be having trouble with. For extra credit, why don't you volunteer to teach the class about one of these? Your lesson will have to include:

 1. An explanation of the rules
 2. an activity to reinforce it with the class.

You should expect to spend between 10-15 minutes. Volunteers who successfully present a "Grammar Time" lesson will receive 5 points to their final grade. It's pretty generous, I know.

Up for grabs:

Monday April 22nd

1.Then vs. Than
2. Identifying and Correcting Run-On Sentences
3. Properly Using Quotation Marks
4. Their, There, and They're (Oh my!)

Wednesday, April 24th

1. Using Semi Colons
2. To, Too, and Two
3. You're vs. Your
4. Apostrophes

I'll be sending around a sign-up sheet in class. If you're seeing this and want to reserve one, let me know by shooting me an email or leaving a comment below.

By the way, I WILL be looking at spelling/grammar/usage MLA business when it comes to your final portfolios. So please, do proofread. 

Stage VI

Our last essay!

To show my thanks to you for being awesome students, I am assigning you an equally awesome essay assignment -- STAGE VI.

Don't forget to review specific directions under the writing assignments tab. BUT, once you've reviewed those, check out these review questions. Again, these are not only the peer review questions you'll be addressing once we return from our break, but they're also the questions I'll be asking whilst grading your papers.

1. Narrative -- How does the essay illustrate who the author was as a writer coming in to 1301? Does the narrative address the struggles/difficulties of the course, or lack their of? How did the author overcome their struggles?
2. Vivid Details -- The key to a successful stage VI is all about specifics. How does the author incorporate specific detail into their essay? Do they quote specific readings? Give examples from class discussion? Refer back to their essays?
3. Discourse -- How does the author situate their development as a writer within the greater discourse of writing studies?
4. Significance -- How does the author articulate the significance of their development and journey? What was the outcome of it all, and why is it important? What does it mean for their future as a writer/student/person in the world?

And if that's not enough direction, wouldn't you like to see an example?

 Example of an A paper, though, of course, this is only one of a million different ways to earn an A on this assignment.

Thoughts on Stage V

We've got some mighty hefty workdays ahead of us, kiddos!

On that note, I know some of you are wondering and weary about the grading procedures for Stage V. There are three elements to your Stage V project --

Your Public Document (5 points possible)
Your Reflective Essay (5 points possible now, 5 additional when turned in with the portfolio at the end of the semester)
Your Presentation (5 points possible)

Lemmie break it down for you.


For the "Public Document" you'll be graded on this scale:

Rhetorically Smart (Full five points -- document demonstrates an awareness of audience, purpose, and form. It is also complete and polished)
Rhetorically Aware (Four Points -- document demonstrates an awareness of audience, purpose and form, but is either unfinished/unpolished, or could have been approached in a more effective manner).
Rhetorically Average (Three points -- document is missing one of the crucial elements -- audience, purpose, context!)
Rhetorically Dull (Two Points -- document is missing two elements! and/or is unfinished/sloppy)
Rhetorical Fail (One point -- you know where this is going)


For the Reflective Essay:

This is your chance to prove to me how rhetorically smart your document is. There are a few ways to approach this:

1. A cover letter as a guide to your public document explaining all of it's rhetorical awesomeness
2. An essay that articulates WHY your public document deserves an A
3.  A narrative explaining how you came about the idea for your project, outlining your decisions and why you made them.

But of course, these are only suggestions.

Here are the questions I'll be asking myself while grading. You can think of these as peer review questions if you'd like to get feedback from a partner (or me!):

1. How does the author describe the public document in their essay? There should be enough detail to get an idea of what is being described.

2. How does the author address the document's purpose? In other words, why was the public document created? Does the author give reasons for choosing this purpose?

3. How does the author address the document's audience? The audience should be a specific, targeted group of people. Are there any secondary audiences? How are they addressed? Does the author give reasons for choosing this specific audience?

4. How does the author define rhetorical effectiveness, in relation to their document? How do they justify their choices as a author in terms of genre, form, content, etc?

5. How does the author bring research (inquiry) into their discussion of their document? A works cited page should also be included.

This is the loose rubric I'll be using when grading your reflective document.

And finally, the presentation:

1. Does the presenter effectively use their alotted time?
2. Does the presenter communicate with the audience? (I.e -- voice, body language, tone, etc)
3. Content of the presentation -- does the presenter go in depth in describing their document? How do they explain their rhetorical decisions to the audience?

As I mentioned in class, during the alotted "work days" I'll be in my office, available to look at drafts or bounce ideas off of. The following are our alotted work days and the times I'm available in my office (COAS 270A)

Friday, April 5th 8:45am-11:45
Monday, April 8th 8:45 -- 11:45

Come visit me. Bring a draft! Or food. :-3

Our Presentation Schedule:

Wednesday, April 10th (Like a boss)

8:45

1. Alex
2. Xavier
3. Irving
4.
5. Michael

9:45
1. Brenda
2. Stephanie
3. Sarah
4. Jorge
5. Alan

Friday, April 12th

8:45
1.
2. Josselyn
3. Merly
4.
5.

9:45
1. Eduardo
2. Nayibe
3. Manuel
4. Yolitza
5. Michael

Monday, April15th

8:45
1. Rigo
2. Eli
3. Angelica
4. Jocelyn H
5. Carlos

9:45
1. Courtney
2. Melissa
3. Ana
4. Juan
5. Victor

Wednesday, April 17th

8:45
1. Victoria
2. Vanessa
3. Liani
4. Precious
5. Linda

9:45
1. Erick
2. Juan
3. Orestes
4. Josie
5. Pedro

Friday, April 19th
Julio

ATTENDANCE IS MANDATORY DURING PRESENTATION DAYS! It's for a grade :-)


ADDED IN: Extra point to the first person to find business cat's typo :-X

Going Public?

Not easy, but you can do it!

Before we begin Stage V, I'd like to pause for a moment and reflect on writing. What does it mean to be "rhetorically smart?"

Let's take a look at some video examples. Do you think these are rhetorically smart videos?

http://www.commoncraft.com/video/plagiarism

http://youtu.be/m6ZKVdKTWww

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2220675/Gangnam-style-Georgia-congressman-John-Lewis-stars-latest-parody.html 
http://youtu.be/o6G3nwhPuR4

http://www.commoncraft.com/video/zombies

Your assignment:

Find an example of a public document with an audience similar to your own and write an analysis of it. How might you use what you learned from this analysis in your own plans for Stage V?

If you need some more direction, feel free to address the following questions:

• What made you choose this particular document?
• Who was the intended audience and how could you tell?
• What was the purpose of the document? How successful do you think the document was in reaching its purpose?
• What does it get "rhetorically right?"
•  How does it fail?
• What can YOU take away from this document when creating your own?

Your analysis should be about one page, typed, double spaced. Please also bring a copy, link, or picture of the public document you've decided to analyze.

Due Wednesday, April 3rd

Conference Days



Don't stand me up! >:O

From Friday, March 22nd -- Friday March 29th, we will be having one-to-one conference meetings in my office during classtime. During this meeting, you'll be receiving feedback on your Stage IV. It's also a great opportunity to ask questions!

The good news? You're only responsible to come during your appointment. Because these meetings will take place during classtime, we will not be meeting formally as a group. Use this time to make revisions on your papers and continue your research.

Please make your appointment and come on time (early is better, even!). You will be receiving a grade for our conference meeting, and because of the volume of students I have, it is NOT possible to reschedule if you miss your appointment. If, BEFORE YOUR APPOINTMENT, you need to change times or expect you might be late, EMAIL ME BEFOREHAND to see if it's POSSIBLE to make adjustments to our schedule. Because these meetings are during regularly scheduled class time, you should be able to make it. DON'T STAND ME UP!

Location: COAS (ARHU) 270A. My office is near the elevators on the 2nd floor, and my name is on my door.

8:45

Friday, March 22nd

8:35 -- AVAILABLE
8:45 -- Irving
8:55 -- Josselyn A
9:05 -- Xavier
9:15 -- Alex
9:25 -- Gloria

Monday, March 25th

8:35 -- Vanessa
8:45 -- Merly
8:55 -- Jocelyn H
9:05 -- Linda
9:15 -- Eli
9:25 -- Michael


Wednesday, March 27th

8:35 --  Liani
8:45 -- Sara
8:55 -- Victoria
9:05 -- Julio
9:15 -- Angelica
9:25 -- Rigo
9:35 --Courtney

9:45

Friday, March 22nd

9:45 -- Josie
9:55 --  Nayibe
10:05 --  Yolitza
10:15 --  Manuel
10:25 -- Orestes
10:40 -- Jorge
10:50 -- Juan M.
11:00 -- Erick

Monday, March 25th

9:35 -- Alan S.
9:45 -- Ana
9:55 --  Stephanie
10:05 -- Michael
10:15 -- Sarah
10:25 -- Victor
10:35 --Carlos

Wednesday, March 27th

9:35 -- Eduardo
9:45 -- Brenda
9:55 -- Pedro
10:05 -- Juan I
10:15 -- Samantha
10:25 -- Kimberly
10:35 -- Melissa

Stage IV Peer Review Questions

Not a good example of the feedback you'll be giving/receiving

These are the same questions I'll be asking myself when I'm grading your papers. So here are some places to begin with your peer review discussions!

1. What question is the author setting out to answer? How does the author tie their question back to the discussions we've been having in this class (discourse)? Are those connections apparent?

2. What type of inquiry does the author engage in? Does the author clearly illustrate this? How does the author tie their inquiry back to their question? Do they analyze, or just paraphrase? How might this be improved?

3. What claim does the author make, in relation to their question? Is the claim original? How does the author support their claims? How does the author articulate the importance and significance of their claim? In other words, so what?

4. How does the author give formal credit to their sources? Check for parenthetical citations and a works cited page.

Good Research?

Are you really now?

• Don't get distracted
• Read rhetorically
• Use "good" sources (scholarly reviewed)
• Use sources from both "sides"
• Don't procrastinate -- it leads to patch writing/plagiarism
• Cite and paraphrase properly
• Research something that interests you!
• Try to avoid bias.
• Be open minded, consider other points of view
• Know what you're looking for. Have a topic in mind, but don't be too narrow.
• If you need help, ask (your professors, tutors, peers, librarians).

Kantz Reflective Assignment

Hopefully after reading Kantz, you no longer feel like this about research!

Well kiddos, once you we get through Kantz this week, we're done with our readings for the semester. How does THAT feel?

This is a good time to stop and pause for reflection. While reading Kantz (or, after, if you've already gotten through it) I want you to think about your own writing and research process and write a one page reflection on it. Use Kantz as a context.

If you need a little more direction, here's a "prompt" :

Write about your experiences with the stage assignments using Kantz as your context. Are YOU writing/reading/researching rhetorically? Use textual evidence and personal examples to support your claim.

Your reflection will be a minimum of one page, double spaced, typed.

Due:

Friday March 8th (yay! day before spring break!)

Adding in:

Just in case you need some more direction! Here's some more explanation; take it if you need it, leave if you don't ;)

For Friday you're to write a personal reflection on your research process. Are you encountering similar problems to Shirley? How does your research process relate to Kantz's theories of rhetorical reading and developing a claim? You'll write about your own experiences, but use Kantz as context. For example, perhaps you're having trouble finding those "gaps" Kantz talks about in your sources. Explain what that is, what you're doing, and the difficulty you're encountering. That's just one way to tackle it. It's a pretty open ended assignment. Basically -- I just want to see you relating your experiences to Kantz's theories and reflecting on them.

Interesting Things

This makes me -_-

Ever surf the web and find something interesting?

It happens to the best of us. Here's an article I found that might be relevant to some of your research Qs. It's also pretty interesting (in case, you know, you've ever wanted to rationalize an irrational love for video games, like... errr... me).

Ten Surprising Truths

If you happen to stumble upon an article you'd like to share, you're welcome to post it here in the comments section. Perhaps it can help someone with their research. In celebration of mindless surfing! /prof. hoerth

Research?

8:45

Fact -- Something that can be proven
Something that people agree on
Set in stone? But can be disproven

Opinion -- Something that you believe in (a theory)
A person's thought in regards to an object, place or idea

Claim -- Something that you declare without evidence or proof (research)

Argument -- The opposing of a supposed fact
The reasons why you think someone might be wrong
A disagreement

Research -- Looking in depth of information
Some type of revelation, the expansion of an idea
Finding something out (an investigation)



9:45

Fact -- Something that you can prove
Something known and proven to be true, supported by evidence
A proven statement

Opinion -- Ones own idea or thought
A theory of ones own interpretation
A belief you can't prove

Claim -- Statement made from a combination of factual and questionable ideas
Your own opinion but with facts to back it up

Argument -- Two opposing ideas
A debate between two claims
Includes a premise and a conclusion
Discussion that has differing opinions

Research -- The gathering of evidence to support a claim

Stage III Example

Feel like that kitty over there >>>>> ?

Maybe Stage III is really getting you down. Some students have expressed confusion to me this week, so in the interest of hopefully alleviating some of that, I've given an example here. This example isn't perfect -- the research question is biased and there aren't enough secondary source annotations, but it should give you a general idea of how to go about this assignment.

The reason I hate giving examples is because I want you to come up with your own solution to these problems -- to develop your own writing style rather than emmulate someone else. So I hope you'll keep this in mind; there are a million different ways to approach the Stage III research proposal assignment, and this is just one example of one way that worked (at least a little bit). You don't HAVE to approach the assignment in the same way as this student did. You do HAVE to have all the information requested on the "Stage Assignments" tab.

Hope this helps.

HERE IS THE EXAMPLE.

Sommers and Lamott Assignment

Does Lamott revise like a boss?

Sommers' article outlines how experienced writers revise vs. student writers. Lamott describes her revision process for us. Based on Sommers' definition of experienced vs. student writers, which do you think she would classify Lamott as?

Respond to this question and give evidence from both articles to support your claim. Use at least one quote and one paraphrase (and you'll also need a works cited). Use MLA format and please type your response.

Due Wednesday, Feb. 27th.

A few reminders:

On Wednesday, we'll be meeting in the library (Classroom #1). On Friday, I'm giving you all a workday to get some progress on your Stage III (no class).

Developing Your Research Question

Having trouble honing down your research question?

Why not post it here and see if your peers can help? I'll be popping in, too, for advice and guidance.

Feel free to ask anything research related in the comments section. This will be a good opportunity for us to share our thoughts/ideas/concerns/complaints about that smelly old professor, etc...

You can also discuss your ideas for primary/secondary research, audience, potential purposes/forms. The possibilities are endless!
 
Extra points available IF you're particularly helpful to someone else.

Mustache not required to participate.

Rose Comparisons

I think you all did a marvelous job with the Rose/Downs and Wardle/Flower/Neubert mind maps. Here are a few examples from earlier this week:

Downs and Wardle go out of their way to explain what good writing is. But this group, in my 8:45 class, decided to take a different approach and explain what "bad writing" is using all four articles so far this semester. It IS a vicious cycle, isn't it?

I think this group did a great job, too. They depicted the "writing rules" on a scroll, with "reading" and "writing" under the whip. Downs and Wardle suggest escaping from the writing rules, which is why they're, happy? I asked them why Flower was under the whip, and one member responded that rhetorical reading felt like it was rule based, too. What do you all think?

I liked this one, too. It shows how the writing rules are the cause of writer's block (and he's a Rose!), and how Downs and Wardle's approach would be a possible way to dispel it. This was from my 9:45 course.

Anyway, there were many more great examples of this, but I think these three were particularly informative examples. Let's keep thinking about conceptions of these articles, how they're related in discourse, and how we can join in on the conversation.

Great work, everyone!

Feel free to comment on the pictures below (or complain about why your depiction was so much better and should have been posted :-p)


Thanks to Gloria and Alan for sending me these pictures!

Thoughts on Stage II

As you're revising your Stage II's and writing up your PQP critiques, here are a few things to consider:

1. What claim is the author making about the construct? Is the claim clear from the context of the paper (Remember -- a claim can be like a hypothesis, your particular theory about a construct)?

2. How does the author incorporate inquiry into their investigation? If using primary research, how does the author connect the research back to his/her claim (to prove, support, or disprove). If using secondary research, how do the quotes, paraphrases and discussions included connect back to the chosen claim?

3. How does the essay exist within the discourse we've been having in class and in the readings? What original thought/analysis does it add to the greater conversations going on around us?

4. Who was the essay written for? What is its purpose? Are these questions answered by the context of the essay? If not, indicate areas where the author could clarify these questions for you as a reader.

HINT HINT HINT! These are the questions I'll be considering while I'm grading your Stage IIs! Feel free to post questions below.

Downs and Wardle/Flower Reponse Assignment

We've now read two academic articles (D&W and H&F), and they're pretty challenging beasts. I think we should all be pretty proud of ourselves for getting through them. But we're certainly not stopping here!

Here's your assignment:

 Practice putting yourself in conversation with both our readings. Write a paragraph in which you tell us what you think each article is saying, to what degree you agree with their positions, and how these two readings might be connected with each other. Include at least one direct quote, and one indirect paraphrase. Include citations, using MLA format citations for both articles. If you need help with citations, visit the writing center or noodletools.com

Why MLA, you might ask? The audience for this particular response is academia -- i.e, professors, students, and academics who are reading this work.  It's all about making rhetorical choices with our writing based on audience and content, but you already knew that didn't you? :)

If you need some help with MLA formatting, here's a link to an MLA formatted paper:

Also from The Owl, here's how to do an in text citation (you'll need to include this whether you're paraphrasing or quoting directly):

Citing a Work by Multiple Authors (This works for us because both texts have multiple authors)

For a source with three or fewer authors, list the authors' last names in the text or in the parenthetical citation:

Smith, Yang, and Moore argue that tougher gun control is not needed in the United States (76). -- a paraphrase

The authors state "Tighter gun control in the United States erodes Second Amendment rights" (Smith, Yang, and Moore 76).  -- a direct quote

And I'm so generous, I've included (in the syllabus) the MLA formatted citations for both articles. All you'll have to do is copy and paste them into a Works Cited page. Oh I know, I'm far too nice.

This is due WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 6TH

Have fun (but not too much!)

Thoughts on Stage I

While you're revising your paper, here are a few things for you to consider (these are the guided discussion questions from our peer review session and ::hint hint hint:: what I'm going to be looking for while grading).

1. What story is told in the essay? Does the narrative connect to the author's development as a reader/writer/learner?

2. Does the author include vivid details? Do these details contribute to the narrative in a meaningful way?

3. What significance does the essay have to your literacy i.e -- who you are as a writer today? Is this signficance implied or stated?

4. What connection does the narrative have to D&W or our class discussions? Is this connection clear to the reader? (This is going to distinguish an A paper from all others)


Feel free to pose any questions you have below. 

First Reading Assignment of the Semester

Courage Wolf is right. Keep going!

 It sure was a pleasure meeting everyone in class!

I thought I'd post the first assignment here on the blog, for those of you all who want to get an early start on this weekend's reading assignment.

You'll find the article here.

I know it's a tough reading assignment, but it's important information, too! Understand that you will likely have to go through the article at least twice to get a good grasp at what it's saying. That's totally normal. I had to reread it, and this is my "subject!" 

You'll need to have it printed out and brought to class by Friday of week 1.

By Wednesday, you'll need to have read the article and type up a response that addresses the following questions (on page minimum, double space, typed).

1.     What did you expect 1301 to be about, to be like? What do you think about it so far having only survived one meeting? What do D&W want 1301 to be and do for students (and even teachers)?

2.     What are the reasons D&W discuss to support a "writing studies" approach, and what are the misconceptions they are fighting against? What other approaches to this class can you imagine? What do you think a college writing class should be?     

3.     According to D&W, what does scholarly inquiry involve? And what does writing involve/look like?      

4.     Do you recognize Jack and/or Stephanie (in yourself, in others)? How would you characterize yourself as a student just starting 1301, as a writer, as a reader, as a person trying to make sense of this class right now? How would your story of 1301 begin from your perspective?

You can answer these questions however you'd like, either in a response paper or addressed one by one.

Please bring this to class for a daily grade (again, Wednesday!)

By the way, feel free to discuss Downs and Wardle below. Do you have any questions as you're reading? What are your thoughts on the article? You're welcome to pose them below (and perhaps earn extra credit if your comment is thoughtful/helpful to others).

Welcome to English 1301!

Howdy folks! Welcome to English 1301. Before we get started, why not check out the course syllabus?