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.

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.

Also, if you are doing a draft #2 of your “Crash”essay, be sure to attach draft 1 before turning it in on Monday.

See you then!

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

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.

Feel free to let me know if I’ve missed any.

QUALITIES OF EFFECTIVE WRITING

–attention to length – staying concise while still making your point clear
–attention to how the writer situates him/herself
–strong imagery
–use of realistic dialogue
–relatable to the reader
–personal
–character development
–draw readers in with specific details, making them a part of your story
–movement, change occurs (plot — rising and falling action)
–self-reflection
–expression of coming of age, growth takes place
–creative title
–careful use of details that appeal to and/or evoke emotion
–in-depth descriptions
–attending to both the positive and negative aspects of the story and/or central idea (thesis)
–juxtaposition
–has a life lesson
–including backstory
–use of humor (if relevant or appropriate)
–strong grammar/mechanics makes the piece readable (or easy to read)
–has a sense of immediacy
–has a flow
–a clear thesis (that appears at both the beginning and the end)
–challenges the reader

1. Go to wordpress.com

2. Click on “Get a Wordpress Blog now”

3. Choose a username. Please note that this username will become part of the URL for your blog. For example, the username for this blog is eng105, and the URL is www.eng105.edublogs.org. In other words choose something that isn’t overly complex, is easy to remember, and is a little bit unique and/or “catchy.”

4. Enter email address; check yes to “the terms of service;” and choose “gimme a blog!”

5. On the next screen, create a title for your blog and click Signup.

6. Go to your email and activate your blog.

7. Login; click on your blog name/link on the right-hand side of your screen. This will take you to what is called your “Dashboard”–this is the place from which you control your blog–writing posts, making edits, changing the look of your blog, etc.

8. Click on “Presentation” and then choose a theme. This is what your blog will look like.

9. You now have a blog, and I need the URL or blog address. Again, this should look like www.username.wordpress.com. Your blog address appears at the top of browser screen in the Address or URL line. Please copy this address and email it to me (by Tuesday at 5pm). Remember to follow the guidelines for emails as stated in the syllabus — include your section in the subject line of the e-mail.

For a brief tour of/tutorial on your new wordpress blog, click here

10. To change your password go to Users and Update password.