Expository Writing » assignments

Final Portfolio

comprhet — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 00:24:42 +0000

Due: Monday, 4/28

Please compile your end-of-the-year portfolio in the following order. Each individual draft should be stapled separately. The entirety of all the drafts and reflections and writing prompts (aka your portfolio) should be bound with a large binder clip (please no folders, binders, envelopes, rubber bands, etc. — one simple binder clip will suffice).

1. Essay #3 — final draft Portfolio Piece
2. Essay #3, draft #1 with comments
3. Any material from the revision circuit that is not written on your draft
4. Dialogue with source
5. Writing prompts/exercises in response to your blog entries
6. Essay #2 — final draft Portfolio Piece
7. Essay #2, optional draft #2
8. Essay #2, draft #1 with comments
9. Response to your writing — use of sources — from (They Say/I Say)
10. Self evaluation — 1-2 double-spaced pages telling me how you think you’ve done in course and grading yourself. Explain why you feel that is the grade you should get.

You will be graded, in part, on substantial and thoughtful revisions, so be sure your final portfolio pieces have really evolved from the first draft you wrote. In addition, I will be looking at the inclusion of each of the required texts and how they’ve met the assignment guidelines, which generally include a central point or thesis; the evolution of that thesis; adequate support through example/evidence; and strong use of language, making for a readable essay.

Presentation

comprhet — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 00:17:01 +0000

due: Monday 4/28 and Wednesday 4/30

5 – 7 minutes

Next week you will be presenting one of your three papers to the class in the form of an oral presentation. You can choose any of the three papers. You won’t be reading word-for-word, but rather presenting the class with a summary of your main point(s) and supporting evidence. What do you most want your audience to know about what you’ve written? Plan to speak from notes or note cards that are marked and highlighted to help you make eye contact with your audience, while also keeping your place in the presentation.

Presentations will be in the five-paragraph type format that you’ve been asked to avoid all semester.

I. Introduction: Get your audience’s attention with something interesting, insightful, and vivid. Make the purpose and main point of your presentation clear.

II. Main ideas: Here you can explain an example or a couple pieces of evidence you looked at in your paper. Explain what affect this evidence had on your argument or main idea(supported it, illustrated it, added to it, complicated it, etc.).

III. Conclusion: Summarize the topic and main idea(s). Close in a memorable way (give the audience “food for thought,” a vivid image, an anecdote, etc.).

For example
Essay 1 — Open with the scene or start in the middle of the action. Fill in the details of the story. Summarize its importance to you.

Essay 2 — Present your interpretation of Crash. Give one or two representative examples from the film that you explain in connection with your argument. End with your most refined version of your thesis.

Essay 3 — Introduce your topic. Open with an example or anecdote that illustrates this topic and what you want to say about it. Give evidence from your paper that contributes to making your point. Reiterate your point and leave your audience with something to think about.

Remember to:
Present yourself with confidence.

Use eye contact and gestures where appropriate.

Use voice inflection.

Avoid distracting mannerisms — playing with hair, tapping feet, clicking pen, etc.

Be prepared to answer any questions.

essay assignment #3

comprhet — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 13:16:36 +0000

Essay #3: Cultural Criticism/Commentary/Academic Essay

3-5pp.
due: Wednesday 4/16

(E.g. Nickel and Dimed, “Virtual Gangstas Coming to a Suburban House Near You”, “The Empire of Images in Our World of Bodies”, “Essential Play”)

Your topic (taken from the blogging you’ve done this semester) must be a “thorny” one–one that is complex and for which there is no easy answer or solution. You should be able to see the value of arguments on various “sides” of the issue. Writing this essay should help you clarify your ideas on the issue and help you to recognize the difficulties involved in finding any stable answer(s). Do not select a thesis for which you believe you know the “truth” and have a “ready answer”; instead, allow your paper to be driven by inquiry. Ideas must be developed, explored, examined, analyzed, researched, and complex. You must try to construct fresh insight about the material studied.

In crafting the essay, pay careful attention to your narrative strategies (thinking about the texts we’ve read in class and the “moves” these authors have made):

* choices in narration–utilizing first or third person or mixed narration
* setting(s) as establishing a context for your essay
* incorporating research–finding material that both supports and tests your thinking
Required Sources (these are minimums)
–1 web-based source (another blog, online magazine, web page, etc.)
–2 scholarly journal articles
–1 book
* providing a clear sense of the intention and overall meaning of your piece while avoiding didacticism

Conference week activity

comprhet — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 16:28:58 +0000

due: Wednesday 3/26 in class

Your final paper (essay #3) is going to be a researched essay which develops its thesis out of the thinking you’ve been doing on the theme of your blog throughout this semester. This paper should represent the culmination of that writing and thinking and represent an argument that has begun to emerge from your blogging.

In light of that, I want to you begin reviewing your blog posts and the comments you’ve received.

1. Find one comment in your blog that disagrees with something you wrote in your post. Write down a summary of the commenter’s argument alongside a summary of your own perspective/take/stance.
2. Find one blog post that you’ve written in which you find yourself either agreeing with or disagreeing with a source you’ve found on the web (or in the newspaper, a magazine, textbook, any outside source…). Describe either the similarities or differences in perspective.
3. Find one blog post that either doesn’t have any reponses to it or has no conflicting responses to it, and formulate an objection. Play the role of the “naysayer” and write down (and develop) that opposing argument.

Can you see an argument beginning to emerge? What would you most like to say about your topic? What do you most want readers to know? Begin for formulate a working thesis (this is a tentative thesis). Include this on the bottom or back of the page describing the various discussions taking place on your blog and bring to class on Wednesday. E-mail me with any questions.

essay assignment #2

comprhet — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 12:40:17 +0000

This film is (*really*) about…

That is your prompt for this essay.

Find (at least) one source (a “they say”) that has something to say about this film (or something to say about film in general that you can apply to a reading of this film). Introduce what your source says into your essay. Now you have an “I say” and a “they say.” (Use Part I of your text for suggestions and templates).

Argue your reading of the film with as much evidence as you can find, but also allow whatever “they say” to complicate and evolve your own thesis. (I find the template on pg. 8 to be a good one for this).

Refine your thesis based on your source(s), and provide evidence accounting for your refined thesis.

Conclude with the most evolved and precise version of your argument, as well as an overview of how you got from point A (reading A) to point B (reading B).

Components of mid-term portfolio

comprhet — Mon, 18 Feb 2008 14:42:00 +0000

Please compile your mid-term portfolio in the following order. Each individual draft should be stapled separately. The entirety of all the drafts, writing prompts, and any brainstorming (aka your portfolio) should be bound with a large binder clip (please no folders, binders, envelopes, rubber bands, etc. — one simple binder clip will suffice).

1. Essay #1 — final draft Portfolio Piece
2. Essay #1, draft #2 — all new language
3. Three writing prompts
4. Essay #1, draft #1 with comments

You will be graded, in part, on substantial and thoughtful revisions, so be sure your final portfolio pieces have really evolved from the first draft you wrote. In addition, I will be looking at the inclusion of each of the required texts and how they’ve met the assignment guidelines.

Draft #2 of essay #1

comprhet — Sun, 17 Feb 2008 20:39:39 +0000

Your second draft of your personal narrative essay will be the same idea, topic, story, event, etc., but it will use all new language! In other words, I don’t want to recognize the second draft immediately upon seeing it; I don’t want to be reading the same draft that I did the first time around. Again, you’re telling the same story — just find a way to tell it differently!

Second draft components:
• Start in the middle of a scene with action or description.
• Use all new language (One suggestion: start with a blank screen and paste one resonant sentence from draft one or from one of your writing prompts to the top of the screen; start there).
• Have a strong sense of place/setting
• Work in your character sketch from #2 above.
• Try the present tense for at least one scene.
• Don’t forget the insight and reflection into the significance of your story

You’ll be putting the final version of this essay together for the mid-term portfolio. This will require a careful process of sorting and selecting from drafts one and two. Your final version will be carefully crafted and edited to reflect your best work.

Writing prompts for personal narrative essay draft #2
These prompts are to guide you in generating new material for you second draft. Choose three and aim for a full page for each (your choice — to be handed in with your mid-term portfolio).

1) Setting
First write a new scene that is pure description of a place that’s important to your story. Where is your story taking place (a football field, a tattoo parlor, an ocean, a hospital room)? Take yourself out of this and pretend you’re behind a video camera and you’re filming this place. What do you see? What do you hear? What do you smell? What are the textures and colors? Work on evoking a very specific “scene” for your reader.

Skip a few lines and write another paragraph. Where is this place? What happens in this place? What’s your relationship with this place? Why is this place important?

2) Character sketch
First write a description of a person who is central to your place (a coach, a friend, a parent, a pet?). Take yourself out of this too. How would you describe this person to someone who doesn’t know them? What are their distinctive traits or characteristics? How would you recognize them in a crowd or at a distance? What objects do you associate with them?

Next, skip a few lines and write another paragraph. What’s your relationship with this person? What specific moments stand out for you when you think about this person? Why are they important to your personal narrative?

3) Indelible moments
Make a long list of important moments, images, and instances that come to mind when you think about your story. You’ve worked on this before, but add to it! Now choose three that you haven’t yet written about. Highlight them and for each one write a new “scene” in the present tense.

4) Use a couple of the prompts below to write a new paragraph:
• I know how to…
• I believe…
• I am a…
• Most people think_________________about (you or your topic), but what they don’t know is_______________________.
• I expected ____________________, but ____________________ happened.

5) Investigation and inquiry:
• Make a list of specific things that your readers wanted to know more about.
• Make a list of specific things that you want to explore further.
• Come up with three specific examples that weren’t in your first draft.
• Find three specific pieces of information that you couldn’t initially remember in retelling your story and ask a friend or family member for help in reconstructing that scene in your essay. Write them an e-mail or call them up on the phone!

6) Show; Don’t Tell:
Find moments in your first draft where you’ve written phrases like — “I love it” or “It’s the best” or “It’s indescribable.” Show your readers what you mean. Use simile, metaphor and strong images to describe the “indescribable.” Explain why you “love it” and show through clear example. Compare the “best” day of school or “best” event in your life to other “great” objects, moments, etc.

(assignment adapted from Professor Megan Fulwiler, College of St. Rose)

Digital assignment #7: Search Engines and RSS

comprhet — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 16:42:46 +0000

Complete this assignment by Monday 2/18, and I can answer any questions you have in class.

1. Open up your Google Reader. In a separate tab to go blogpulse’s advanced search option.

2. In the “search for” line choose “exact phrase” and enter in the theme of your blog.

3. Click go.

4. Click on the orange XML rectangle (get feed for this search) that appears above the search results.

5. Copy the URL from the address bar.

6. In Google Reader click on “add subscription” and paste in the URL. The results of the search should appear in your Google Reader.

7. Go to Google News.

8. Click on the Advanced news search link (toward the right side of the screen).

9. In the exact phrase line enter the theme of your blog.

10. Click on Google search, and when you get your results, click on the RSS link at the left-hand side of the screen.

11. Follow steps 5 – 6.

Wiki and workshop information

comprhet — Sun, 03 Feb 2008 21:49:18 +0000

The class wiki for ENG105 section 01 can be found here.

The class wiki for ENG105 section 18 can be found here.

1. Follow the link to the wiki for your class section and use your invite key to log in. Use your first and last name (and e-mail). Find your group and click on the link.

When it is your turn to post your essay to be workshopped:

2. Click on “create a new page” in the box to the right-hand side of your screen.

3. Give your page a name (like Jenn’s Essay #1 or the title of your essay #1 — just be sure to include the number of the essay). Click “create new page” at the bottom of the box.

4. Paste your essay in its entirety into the text box provided and click save.

5. At this point you’ll need to get back to the home page for your group. To do this: click the home tab and click on your group link.

6. Once there, click on the edit page tab, and under Essay Drafts you’ll want to type the name of your essay (again, indicating the number essay that it is). Highlight this and click on the link option in the editor section of the box.

7. Under “link to wiki page” is a pull down menu; choose the title you gave to your essay/page, and a link will be created. Click on save.

8. Now all group members should have access to your essay via the link on the group’s home page. If you have problems with this, please let me know right away. Your essay should be posted by class time on the day the essay is due.

Guidelines for workshopping a peer’s text:

Click on the title of the essay first and read it through. Go back over it again with a careful eye.

• What did you find the meaning of this essay to be? What is its central point or thesis?
• What did you find worked well about this paper? What were its strengths?
• What details stood out the most? What was memorable?
• How would you describe the voice or tone of the paper?
• Were there any areas that left you confused? That didn’t make sense?
• Did I meet the assignment guidelines?
• What would you like to see more of?

• Look for: the central idea/thesis, what works well, points where you’re confused, memorable details (use the questions above as a guide).
Tell the author what you find to be the central idea (thesis) of the essay.
• Be specific. Not just – this was good, bad, or I liked this piece – but what specifically worked about the piece – point to specific part of the text (through summary) and try your best to explain why and how it worked well.
Use the comments tab at the top of the essay page to leave specific feedback for the author:

Vague, Unhelpful Criticism–> Specific, Constructive Criticism
“I don’t like this example” → The example in paragraph five doesn’t fit with the topic sentence. Is there a stronger example you could use? (Or suggest one).
“This sounds bad” → The language you use in paragraph four sounds different than the language in the rest of the paper. You might consider working toward a more consistent use of vocabulary.
“These paragraphs don’t flow” → Paragraph two doesn’t seem to set up the ideas that follow in paragraph three. You might reorganize them.

You can also use the comments section to feed off the comments of others (in other words, agree, disagree, etc. with their feedback and opinions on the piece).

If you have edits that you want to make directly to the text, you can do so by clicking on the edit page tab. Your changes, additions, etc. will be recorded so that the author of the piece can see what you’ve done.

RSS application for Myspace and Facebook users

comprhet — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 14:57:01 +0000

For Facebook users:
1. Browse applications in Facebook for “simply RSS” (you can do a search for this). If you don’t know how to do this, click on edit next to Applications in your profile. Next, click browse more applications. Do a search for simply RSS.

2. Click on “simply RSS” and add this application.

3. Skip the send invitation and click on “add feed to begin”.

4. In the box where it asks for the URL of the feed, copy the URL http://eng105.edublogs.org/ for the class blog site and add /feed after .org, so it looks like this: http://eng105.edublogs.org/feed

5. Click add.

6. Voila! Updates to our class blog can now be seen each time you log-in to Facebook.

For Myspace users:
1. Go to SpringWidgets

2. In the box labeled feed URLs there will be a sample feed listed the (feed.feedburner.com), delete that and put in its place: http://eng105.edublogs.org/feed

3. Click the little blue plus sign to the upper right of the box. At this point you should see the sample feed in box to the right change to postings from our class blog site (this assignment should appear, for example).

4. Under Share Your Widget, click on the little myspace symbol (blue people). This will give you the code.

5. Copy and paste this code into your Myspace profile (for example, in your “about me” section).

6. Voila! Updates to our class blog can now be seen each time you log-in to Myspace