Reviewing the Review Essays

Over the weekend you will read and annotate a classmate's Review draft. You will leave this classmate a comment on their blog that shares your insight into their essay. Use TSMGTW 437-439 to shape your comments. Comments are due Sunday by midnight.

You will also bring your marked and annotated copy of the draft to class for your peer on Monday.

Your response to these drafts is worth class points. Be sure you do this and bring them to class Monday.

These drafts will be turned in with your final essay.

Art Gallery Expedition

You should post your mini-review based on a piece of artwork from our trip to the gallery by midnight on Thursday.

Remember to begin your review with the formula thesis statement I gave you before entering the art gallery.

Research for Review

Begin researching the topic for your review essay.

You must research and post your findings in response to one question you recieved from a classmate today.

You should refer to pages 702-738 in TSGTW to help you in your research.

Best movies and Best Worst Movies

For your blog entry today:

Write a review of a movie of your choice. Pick a movie that you would award an Oscar to, or a movie that you would award a Razzie to. Write 3 paragraph justifying your evaluation. Your paragraphs should center around certain judging criteria (as discussed in class today) and you should use examples to effectively illustrate your claims. (ie: Princess Bride deserves a Razzie award because the set is so poorly constructed it bounces during the sword fighting scenes...)

Also post comments on two other blogs - try to find blogs you have not read before.

Be sure your post entries are detailed. Some of you have been slacking in this department. Step it up.

For Wednesday you should also read pages 422 - 428 in SMGTW. Come to class Wednesday knowing what subject you would like to write your review essay on.

Ethnographic Essay Drafts

-In class on Friday you should have switched drafts with two other people. Over the weekend you will respond to these drafts. You should annotate the drafts and then write a one page response designed to assist your classmate in the revision process. Use the "Critical Reading Guide" for Profile Essays on pp. 117-119 in TSMGTW as a guide in structuring your response.

Also, on your own blog, post one concern you have about your ethnographic essay. What are you struggling with? Then comment on the blogs of two people you have not responded to before.

** Remember to visit the Writing Center twice throughout the semester!

Revision Reading

After completing the assigned reading, post one paragraph from your CD assignment on your blog. Then work your way back through this paragraph thinking about the revision suggestions your received during peer review and about the revision guidelines given in TSMGTW. Post your revision of your paragraph.

Create a Blog Playlist

Using the on-line service, playlist.com, create a play-list with at least 2 of the songs from your CD assignment. You should then create a post with one paragraph for each of these songs detailing why and how this song represents you or some part of your life. You will surf your classmates' blogs and leave two responses to others' playlists.

Thinking about your soundtrack: Reading & Post Prompt

For Wednesday please read:
SMGTW: pp. 28-38

And respond to the reading by doing the following post. Remember, this is due Tuesday by midnight.

On page 37 there is an interesting discussion about Autobiographical Significance in writing, using Rick Bragg's essay "100 Miles Per hour, Upside Down and Sideways" as an example. As we discussed in class today, one of the most important earmarks of a well-told story is its sense of self analysis and its sense of honesty. Think of one of your life's defining moments (it may or may not be one you want to include on your CD assignment) In a blog post address the three points that The St. Martin's Guide To Writing asks you to about this event.

1. Showing and Telling
2. Remembered thoughts and feelings
3. Present perspectives

Reading and Post Prompts for Friday

Sorry to be posting these late.

Over the weekend please read pages 16-28 (Do not read 'choosing your own topic yet') in The St. Martin's Guide To Writing (TSMGTW).

Using your critical thinking skills, consider the example essays: "Calling Home" and "An American Childhood."

• What is happening in these stories on a literal level?

• Answer one "Analyzing Writing Strategies" question on page 25

• On pages 26 -27 TSMGTW lists several qualities of what makes a well-told story. Based on your own experience in reading, what would you add to this list to describe what other features effective stories have?

Reading & The Semester Pre-Essay

Tonight please read the "Preface For Students" and the "Introduction" to The St. Martin's Guide To Writing. The page numbers are xvii-xxxi (you may skim these pages, but be familiar with the organization and function of this book), and pages 1-4 (Read these thoroughly). You DO NOT have to create a post about this reading, however please come to class Friday prepared to discuss it.

Similar to the Pre-Test we took in class today, DSC requires English students to write a "Pre-Essay" for diagnostic purposes. By FRIDAY please type a 1-2 page double spaced essay on the following topic with the following guidelines:

TOPIC:
How do you, as an individual, best learn to write; and why is it important for you, individually, to learn to write effectively?

GUIDELINES:

• Remember to double space your essay
• You must incorporate 1 quotation from the St. Martin's Guide To Writing "Introduction" into your essay.
• Remember to put your name on your essay and STAPLE it before turning it in.
• Do not stress out about this assignment, it will be used to measure your writing ability as of right NOW. It does not need to be polished or perfect. Your most honest writing will most effectively show me what you struggle with as a writer so we can work to improve it over the course of the semester. You get full credit for simply doing this assignment.

Your First Post

For your first blog post think about the correlation between "The Arrowmaker" story discussed in class today and your current task of keeping an on-line blog. In what ways does keeping a blog require you to risk yourself in language? Why do you think that blogging and other on-line forms of communication have become so popular? After posting your own thoughts read and respond to 2 other classmates. Note - you must leave me a comment on this post so that I can link back to your new class blog. You can also link to your classmates blogs from my comment page.