Blog Archives

Reminders for Thursday, February 3rd

1/31/2011

For Thursday's class, please read the article "Introducing Students to Disciplinary Genres: The Role of the General Composition Course." This can be found on the Readings page of the course website in PDF form. There will be a quiz on this reading at the beginning of Thursday's class.

As you might be able to tell from the title, this article will introduce you to the main disciplinary genres of academic writing, and the rest of our course will look at the specific conventions of these genres. This is probably the most important article (not reading) that you will read all semester.

There will also be a formal written assignment for this reading, which you will be required to complete at home and turn in on Thursday. (You can find this assignment on the Readings page, underneath the article.) The homework can be either hand-written or typed up. Completing the homework assignment should also help you pull out the main ideas of the article, which should help you with the quiz.

NB: The article can by strangely worded at times. Don't get bogged down in the odd phrasing; instead try to focus on the main ideas/concepts. Remember: supporting details and examples are secondary to the main ideas!

Reminders for Tuesday, February 1st

1/31/2011

For tomorrow's class, please remember to:

(1) Bring your journals to class for
     --the open note Uber-Quiz (which you will want to hang on to in order to study for
    the final exam)
     --the journal check (I will not be checking for grammar or correctness; I will just be
    looking to see if you have
    all of the writing prompts/homework that I haven't taken up; you will receive a letter
    grade which will be a
    part of your participation grade)

(2) Have everything you need in order to turn in Project I at the end of class
    --remember to print out the checklist, fill it out, and sign the Honor Pledge at the
    bottom
    --have everything from this unit gathered together -- including your annotated article,
    any rough drafts, your peer review sheets, etc.
    --have everything together in a folder (preferably with pockets) -- not a binder,
    please!

(3) Add money to your WolfPrint account if you would like to print out the final draft of your paper and/or your cover letter in class tomorrow. This option is designed to allow you one last chance to read over your paper and ask me any questions you may have.

Reminders for Friday, January 28th 2011

1/27/2011

For class tomorrow, please remember to:

(1) Print out the Project I Peer Review sheet from the Unit I Page and bring it to class with you. This is essential for the Peer Review.

(2) Bring a copy of your rough draft of Project I to class. This draft may be printed double-sided or on scrap paper or with 1.5 spacing if you so choose.

**Please remember that you must have a complete copy of your draft in order to participate in the Peer Review and that participation in the peer review is essential. If you do not have a draft, you will be counted absent for the day, and if you do not have a peer review sheet, you will lose one full letter grade on your final draft. Participation in the peer review is essential.

Notes for Project I

1/25/2011

Just some things that have come up regarding Project I, which are probably useful for all of you:

(1) Project I should have a Works Cited page. You will need to provide a bibliographic entry for your article, since you are directly quoting/paraphrasing/summarizing from it. You may have more than one entry -- for example, if you provide background information, you will need to cite where you found your statistics/facts/quotes.

(2) You must provide in-text (or in-line) citations for all of the information which you summarize and paraphrase as well as the information which you directly quote. Since you are presenting the author's ideas and not your own, it is essential that you properly cite this information. Otherwise it is plagiarism, however unintentional it may be!!

(3) In your introduction, you should provide some brief background about your author. You do not have to do an extensive internet search. When a person has an article accepted for publication, they are almost always required to submit a brief bio about themselves, one which explains why they are deemed qualified to speak/write as an expert on their topic. The bio normally includes where they work, where they went to school, what their degree is in; this helps separate them from Joe Smith off-the-street who is just rambling his opinions away on his blog. The bio is normally found on either the first or last page of the article. You should attempt to integrate this information as neatly as you can, making sure it connects to the introductory strategy you choose to use.

(4) Remember that the thesis statement for Project I is a statement or idea, not a persuasive argument or a stance. While you may disagree with your author in your response (in essence, arguing with them), you are not making an overall argument (for example, trying to persuade your audience that the symbols, allusions, and metaphors in The Scarlet Letter all underscore the theme of adultery.)

An "argumentative" thesis statement can be argued with -- someone can disagree with you and offer up their own argument or opinion instead (for example, that the symbols, allusions and metaphors in The Scarlet Letter underscore the theme of religion). Project I asks you to be neutral and objective, to report your author's argument as fairly as possible. Your response merely responds to this argument.

(5) My office hours are 10-11, MTRF and also by appointment. If you'd like to meet to discuss your paper, please feel free to email me and set up a time. (Please do not just email me your paper and ask me to read it and give you feedback. This is not as helpful as meeting one-on-one and discussing your paper in person!)

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to ask!

Reminders for Thursday, January 27th

1/25/2011

For class on Thursday, please remember to read Chapters 4 & 5 in They Say / I Say (pgs. 55-77) on Ways to Respond & Distinguishing what They Say From What You Say.

Keep the hard copy of your article for Project I on hand as well, and be sure to finish the in-class activity from Tuesday's class - the rhetorical analysis of your Project I article, which involves identifying introductory & concluding strategies as well as identifying authorial tags in your article. (You will find the .doc file on the Unit I page, titled Project I Article Analysis Questions.) The more you familiarize yourself with the conventions of academic writing, the easier it will be to adopt them in your own writing. (You're familiar enough with music that if you had to write the lyrics of a country song you'd wouldn't include things like "deuces," "shorty" or "patron," since you know them to be the conventions of R&B/rap music; you'd include things like how your heart is broken and your dog doesn't love you.)

Also, remember that you will need to have a complete rough draft of Project I for Friday's class, the guided Peer Review.

Reminders for Tuesday, January 25th

1/24/2011

Keep in mind that for tomorrow's class you should:

--Read pages 261-271 in the NFG on Beginning and Ending. Pay particular attention to the strategies the NFG recommends.

--Bring a hard copy of the article you are using for Project I to class. You will need this for your in-class activity.

--Remember that in class on Friday January 28th we will be having a guided Peer Review of Project I. Participation in this Peer Review is essential and mandatory. Keep in mind that if you do not have a complete rough draft for the Peer Review, you will not be allowed to stay in class that day, and this will count as an absence and will also negatively affect your grade for Project I.

Reminders for January 24th

1/21/2011

For Monday:

--Please finish the in-class activity from Thursday's class using the text "What's The Matter With Kids Today?" You can find the list of pre-writing questions on the Unit I page. Remember: these questions are also useful if you need help getting started on your draft for Project I! You will need to have a rough draft for class next Friday (Jan. 28th)!

--Read Part I of They Say I Say -- pages 19-51, dealing with "What Others Are Saying" & "Art of Summarizing" & "Art of Quoting."
--Also, you will need to bring a hard copy of your article for Project I to class on Monday. We will be using it for an in-class assignment. (This does also mean that you should have read at least part, if not all, of it by then.)

--Watch the commercials on TV. We will continued with the ad "scavenger hunt" on Monday.

Have a fantastic weekend!

Reminders For January 21st

1/20/2011

In order to prepare for Friday's class, you should:

--Download and read the "Logos-Ethos-Pathos" PDF, which can be found on the Readings page of the website. Remember that there will be a quiz on this information, so be sure to read carefully, paying attention to the main ideas and bolded words.

--Also, the Pre-Writing questions used in today's class are now available as a Word Doc on the Project I page. More details on this will be provided in tomorrow's class.

Reminders for January 20th

1/19/2011

In order to prepare for class on Thursday, you should:

--Read pages 352-366 in the Norton Field Guide. Also read the handout (word document) on Critical Reading Strategies available on the Readings page. There WILL be a quiz on this reading. Be sure to pay attention to bolded/emphasized words.

--Read "Thinking Outside The Idiot Box" and "What's The Matter With Kids Today," both of which are available on the Readings page. We will be using these readings for an in-class assignment.

Enjoy your Wednesday off and I will see you in class on Thursday!

Reminders for Friday, January 14th 2011

1/14/2011

Over the weekend, please download and read over the Topic Selection sheet for Projects I & II -- available on the Unit I Page.

If you are curious about the articles listed there, you may access them from the library's webpage. To do this, visit the library's homepage at www.lib.ncsu.edu. In the "Search" box at the top of the page, click the "Articles" tab, and enter the name of the article you'd like to find. On the search results webpage, find your article, checking to make sure that the author and title are an EXACT match. Click on the title (you may need to log-in using your Unity account at this time). Occasionally there is a 360 Link page that will prompt you to select either the article or the journal; select the article. If you are not taken directly to the article, you may need to search for a link that says "Get PDF" or "Access Article in PDF."

Remember: you are more than welcome to suggest your own topics for Projects I & II. If you choose this option, please let me know as soon as possible so that I can look over your articles.

Also, look ahead to the reading that is due for Thursday; you might want to get a jump start on it.

There will be no class on Monday due to the MLK holiday, so we will meet again on Tuesday. Have a fantastic weekend!