Thursday, April 27: Draft 1.2 and Writing Review

Hi there class,

First off, here's the link to the final lesson: Lesson 14. You're almost through this semester--only two assignments left! 

• Draft 1.2 (due 5/2)
• Writing Review (due 5/9)
• Either of these can be completed at ANY time, so you could be done with course work for this class whenever you choose to submit

Reminder: Open Tutoring is offered again this week Mon. (5/1) from 5-7pm. I highly suggest attending (or scheduling an appointment with the University Writing Center sometime this week--call soon, because appointment times fill up quickly).

MAKE SURE that your draft has incorporated the revisions you've been working on and any changes suggested by previous graders. As stated in the syllabus, if your draft 1.1 and 1.2 are over 90% similar, the highest grade I can give you is a zero. To double check your percentage before submitting, you can use a website like this one: Paper Comparison Checker.

This DOES NOT mean that you should ONLY change 10% of your paper. Your grade will suffer if your graders notice that you did not apply previous grader commentary to your new draft. Don't be afraid to make significant revisions.

Writing Review:

• Description: Write a 400 - 550 word reflection on what you have learned about academic writing and what you understand about it that wasn’t clear to you before. Look back at your assignments and commentary, class notes, and in-class activities. Also, if you attended study sessions, worked with your instructor during office hours, or used the onsite or online University Writing Center, discuss the role of those in your review.
• Develop a thesis that helps your readers understand what you will focus on in the review. Then, give specific examples that help you illustrate your thesis. For example, you can discuss specifically what you have learned about summarizing and paraphrasing texts, about analyzing texts, as well as what kinds of challenges those tasks posed for you. You should also discuss what you have learned about grammar and mechanics that has helped you become a stronger writer in that respect. In addition, you should also talk about other learning experiences you’ve encountered during the course. Finally, you should discuss how the work you’ve done in 1301 has or has not transferred to the writing you have been asked to do in other courses this semester.
• You may use first-person pronouns in this review, but keep in mind that the language and tone of the review should be professional.

What the assignment does NOT ask for:

• Complaints about grades
• What you disliked about the class
• Complaints about RaiderWriter
• These are things that should have been addressed in your course evaluation during class today, not within the assignment.
• Keep in mind--this is for a grade

Homework:

• Reading:
• St. Martin's Handbook: 4m "Reflecting on Your Writing," pgs. 92-3.
• Draft 1.2 (5/2)
• Next week's class: I still have to take attendance, so show up, sign in, and ask any questions you have about the course. Also, we'll be completing course evaluations during next week's class time, so be thinking about any commentary you'd like to write up.
• Writing Review (5/9)

That's it! See you all next week, and let me know if you have any questions.

Thursday, April 20: Sentence-Level Revision

Hi all!

Link to today's lesson: Lesson 13.

Today we discussed the editing/proofreading phase of writing--something that most of you are fairly comfortable with. We reviewed Andrea Lunsford's "Twenty Most Common Errors Made by Undergraduates," which should help you to catch some of those more pesky mistakes that everyone makes while writing. We also looked at ways to make your writing more concise, cutting out excess "fluff" material that does nothing to help you get to your point.

Homework:

• Reading: 
• St. Martin's Handbook: Chapters 44-49, "Confusing Shifts," "Parallelism," Comma Splices and Fused Sentences," Sentence Fragments," "Modifier Placement," Consistent and Complete Structures"; Chapters 51-52, "Coordination and Subordination," "Sentence Variety" pp.626-658, 665-677
• BA9 
• Open Tutoring Sessions: Monday 5/1

Brief Assignment #9:

• For this assignment, use the guidelines from Chapters 4, 5, 50, and 53 in the St. Martin’s Handbook to revise a substantial body paragraph (i.e. at least 4 sentences in length) from your Draft 1.1.
• These revisions can include grammatical edits/changes to sentence structure, but they also should include major revisions you've been making to your analysis.
• Paste the original paragraph from your 1.1 draft into the assignment so that your instructor will be able to compare the original with your revision.
• Finally, write a short summary and evaluation of your revisions. 
• Identify and explain which strategies you used in revision and explain these revisions achieve your purpose for the paper. 
• Also let readers know here which paragraph, your original or the revision, is the strongest and why you believe that to be so.

The total length of the analysis should be 350-500 words, NOT including the original and revised body paragraphs.

That should be all for now. Have a good week!

Thursday, April 13: Revising Introduction and Conclusion

Hello all!

Here's today's lesson: Lesson 12. We're zooming through the rest of the semester; next week we will tackle sentence-level revisions, and then we will move on to our draft 1.2 and writing review. The end is near!

As we discussed in class, we're working on revising our introductions and/or conclusions to draft 1.1 this week. Keep in mind, a good introduction:
(1) attracts the reader's attention and
(2) presents the topic and makes a comment on it.
A good conclusion:
(1) leaves readers satisfied that a full discussion has taken place and
(2) helps readers to know what they have learned.

In class today, we evaluated some sample introductions and conclusions as well: Worksheet.

Homework:

• Reading:
• St. Martin's Handbook: Chapters 4i, 4k-l, 5a-b, 5d-e, "Revising Paragraphs Sentences, Words, and Tone," "Editing," "Proofreading the Final Draft"; Chapters 50 and 53, "Concise Writing," "Memorable Prose" pp. 82, 87-92, 661-664, 678-685
• BA8
• Bring a HARD COPY of your most recent draft to class (or if you don't bring a hard copy, you MUST know how to use "Track Changes" on your laptop)

Brief Assignment #8:

Purpose: The introductory paragraph of a document plays a key role in how readers respond to the entire text. In this assignment, you will attempt a revision of your introduction to Draft 1.1. Keep in mind that your original introduction may remain the better of your two efforts.
Description: Your completed assignment should contain the following:

• A copy of your original introduction
• Your revised introduction
• A short summary and evaluation of your revisions, in which you identify and explain what you changed and why

The total length of the analysis should be 300-400 words, NOT including the original and revised introductions.

That should be all for now! Have a great week, and let me know if you have any questions.

Thursday, April 6: Planning Revision

Hello, everyone!

First off, here's today's lesson: Lesson 11. If you missed class, you should look through the presentation for jumping off points for potential revisions, as well as how to incorporate feedback into your revision plan.

This week, we're moving toward taking our peer/grader feedback and creating a plan for future revisions. Remember, you will be rewriting for your draft 1.2--you want to begin to "re-envision" your paper and the different choices you are free to make in your writing.

Approach your feedback in stages. Let yourself read directly through all your commentary, and then let it simmer for a while. Then, come back to your paper ready to work--ready to make a plan of action for changes you intend to make to your draft.

As stated in class, you will most likely apply peer feedback differently than grader feedback. At times, you get to decide which suggestions you will apply.

Remember, SAVE YOUR ORIGINAL DRAFT. Future assignments will want both original and revised copies of your work.

BA7:

Purpose: In BA6, you identified the elements that needed revision in someone else’s paper. In this assignment, you will do the same thing for your paper.

Description:

• First, write a short summary of the strengths and weaknesses of your current draft. 
• Using instructor feedback, peer critiques, and your own analysis, identify the specific elements that work well for your intended reader and those that do not.
• Next, write a plan of action. 
• Begin by identifying three specific areas or elements from your draft that you intend to revise and explain why you chose each one. 
• Then, using the recommendations from chapters 6 (see pp. 117-127) and 10 from First-Year Writing and chapter 4 of the St. Martin’s Handbook, explain the steps you will take to revise each one. 
• For example, if a particular paragraph is too vague for your reader, what are you going to have to do to make it more specific? If your topic sentences do not represent the main idea of each body paragraph, what will you do in order to better understand the main idea of each paragraph prior to revising each topic sentence?

This should be submitted in an essay of 500-650 words.

Homework:

• Readings: 
• First-Year Writing: Ch 17 pp 329-342
• St. Martin's Handbook: Chapters 4f, 4h, 5g, "Revising Thesis and Support, "Revising the Title, Introduction, and Conclusion," "Writing Special Purpose Paragraphs" pp. 80-82, 112-17
• BA7

That should be all for now. Have a good week!

Thursday, March 30: Peer Critiques

Hello all!

First off, here's today's lesson: Lesson 10. You have submitted your first draft (yay!), and we're moving on to revision. (If you have not yet submitted your draft, you need to get it in as soon as possible. The rest of our assignments are based on revising that draft, so not having it in will immediately put you behind).

This week, we focused on peer critiques (which will be due on Tuesday). You will anonymously critique two drafts submitted by your classmates through RaiderWriter.

Peer Critiques (as listed on RaiderWriter):

• For each critique, you will introduce the draft, summarize its main points, assess and respond to the author's presentation, and offer conclusions about the effectiveness of the analysis. Remember to speak as specifically as possible about the draft, quoting from it when necessary. Each critique will be 400 - 500 words in length.
• Text for Analysis/Thesis: Identify the writer's thesis and then evaluate it for effectiveness. 
• Determine whether the writer has selected a particular text to analyze and whether or not the thesis indicates that the writer will complete a rhetorical analysis of the text. 
• Discuss whether the thesis is specific enough and of appropriate scope for this analysis. For example, a thesis that states that an author uses ethos, pathos, and logos in their text is NOT specific enough for a rhetorical analysis. 
• Explain why or why not, and provide suggestions for the writer to help improve the thesis, if necessary.
• Quality and Specificity of Analysis: Evaluate the writer’s analysis. 
• Does the writer select specific quotations from the text to discuss? What are these quotations, and what does the writer have to say about them? 
• Does the writer seem to effectively analyze, or does the draft read more as a summary or paraphrasing of parts of the text being analyzed, or does the writer end up arguing about the content, rather than the structure and presentation of the text?
• Overall Essay Structure: Comment on the overall structure of the essay. For example, explain in detail whether or not the paragraphs are presented in a logical and persuasive way. 
• Does the writer provide a clear introduction, body and conclusion? 
• Does each paragraph begin with a clear topic sentence and transition into the next paragraph? Provide examples that are particularly effective or areas that need more improvement.

Technical Difficulties:

• Keep in mind that you do have two critiques due.
• Each critique is 400-500 words
• Within RaiderWriter, you'll open up "1.1a," and you must hit "Submit Now" or else it won't appear.
• RaiderWriter only saves that draft for you for 48 hours. If you open one and leave it for too long, you'll get a new paper next time. Try to finish your critique in one go.
• Know that, if you're giving a good peer review, you may not even get through their whole paper before hitting the word limit.

Homework:

• Reading:
• First-Year Writing: Ch 6 pp. 118-124
• St. Martin's Handbook: Chapter 4 pp. 64-93
• Peer Critiques

That should be all for now!

Thursday, March 23: Rhetorical Analysis (Draft 1.1)

Hello all,

First off, here's a link to today's lesson: Lesson 9.

I hope that the workshopping we did in class today gave you some good ideas/directions for any major changes you'll make to your draft before it's due on Tuesday. Keep in mind, this paper should be fully formed when you turn it in--you are not just submitting a fleshed-out outline or a really "rough" draft. You should have a thorough introduction, body paragraphs with sufficient analysis, a conclusion, and a works cited page at the end of your document.

Also, please note that when you submit the draft on RaiderWriter, you should: copy and paste the text into the text box AND attach the actual Microsoft Word document. If you have any technical difficulties, remember to email me a copy of the draft before the due date so I at least have it on file.

DRAFT 1.1--From RAIDERWRITER:

• After selecting your text and critically reading it, you will determine the writer’s purpose and intended audience for the text.
• Once you have determined these elements, you will begin to analyze the text so as to determine the specific strategies (rhetorical choices) the writer uses to achieve his or her purpose and to meet the needs of the audience. 
• For example, you might choose to look at such elements as the types of evidence a writer puts forward and how he or she does so. Ask yourself if the writer uses evidence from sources, or if he or she tells stories from personal experience. 
• Examine the sentence structures and word choice. How do these contribute to the author’s purpose? 
• Evaluate the overall tone of the text, and determine how it does or does not contribute to the way in which it communicates to its audience. 
• After you determine what these strategies or rhetorical choices are, consider how well these strategies (rhetorical choices) actually work. 
• As a result of this assignment, you should be able to take these skills and transfer them to any reading you are asked to do in college, and you should see an improvement in your ability to read and comprehend any text.

Although this is an initial draft, it should be carefully edited and written in a professional tone. Please use MLA format for both your in-text citations and your works cited in this draft.
Your draft should be 1200 words in length.  

Homework

• Reading: 
• St. Martin's Handbook: Chapter 4a, 4c-e, "Rereading Your Draft," "Getting the Most from Peer Reviewers' Comments," "Learning from Instructor Comments," "Revising with Peer and Instructor Comments"; Chapters 27, 28, 30, "Writing to the World," "Language that Builds Common Ground," "Word Choice" (pp. 27-28, 30, 64-66, 76-79, 354-359, 360-366, 374-385) 
• First-Year Writing: Chapter 6 (pp. 121-125)
• Draft 1.1 due Tuesday
• (Optional) Open Tutoring Session on Monday (3/27) from 5-7pm. ENGL/PHIL 352 or 353.

Thursday, March 9: Revision

Hello all!

First off, here's today's lesson: Lesson 8.

For today's class, we discussed where you are in the writing process for your draft 1.1, and we also discussed how revision is *not* the same thing as editing/proofreading.

Remember, in revision, you should start out by giving yourself some distance from your first draft, and then you focus on rereading for conveyed meaning, recalling your own purpose in writing your draft, reconsidering your rhetorical stance, considering your audience, and evaluating your organization. These are big picture issues that you want to get squared away before you work on smaller details through editing (you don't want to do all that work editing only to find you need to change directions on a big idea of your paper, right?). Again, these steps in the writing process basically ensure that you are conveying exactly what you mean to convey about a topic--that you are expressing your argument effectively.

I encourage you to keep looking at the differences in the sample drafts from draft 1.1 to 1.2 in the back of your book (pgs. 471, 478). Look for the author's identification of audience/purpose and rhetorical choices, organization of ideas, adherence to the assignment, etc. (other big picture ideas).

Homework:

• Reading: St. Martin's, Ch. 2 (pgs. 23-39)
• Bring a HARD COPY of your working rhetorical analysis to class after spring break (Draft 1.1 assignment is on RaiderWriter under the syllabus--take a look at it and make sure that you adhere to the assignment). The due date for your rhetorical analysis is coming up (March 28th), so you need to begin drafting! 
• You have already done a good chunk of the work here--you have gathered information, identified audience/purpose, structured a thesis statement, and you have even started a bit of analysis here and there. I am asking you to take your first swing at putting this into paper format. 
• BA6

Brief Assignment #6:

Description: To complete this assignment, you will read the initial draft provided on RaiderWriter and then write an initial paragraph in which you discuss the problems that you see in the current draft. 

Next, read the revised draft and write another paragraph in which you discuss:
1) Whether the problems that you saw in the first draft were addressed.
2) Whether the revisions fixed other issues that you hadn’t noticed in the draft.
3) Why the revisions are or are not an improvement over the first draft.

If you believe other revisions should be made to the draft, conclude your assignment with an explanation of what those are and how the revisions should be made.

Your discussion should be 500 - 650 words in length.

Let me know if you have any further questions. Have a great spring break!

Thursday, March 2: Integrating and Evaluating Quotations

Hello all!

It was good to see all your smiling faces in person today. Here's the link to today's lesson: Lesson 7.

This week is about finding some support for your paper and thinking about how to integrate that support into your writing. Although you have picked out rhetorical choices and examples of them(BA3), here you are looking to begin analyzing (i.e. how does the author effectively reach his/her audience through his/her use of these rhetorical choices?).

Remember, your thesis is saying that the writer is making rhetorical choices in order to make an argument. Therefore, your included quotations should be based on showing *HOW* these rhetorical choices are working on a specific audience, so avoid picking a quote just because it "sounds good" or "it shows the author's message/main idea really well."  Instead, look to find quotations that truly represent the rhetorical choice you're going to analyze. Then, show how these rhetorical choices are working to leverage the audience toward the author's purpose.

You can always look at the student samples in the back of the FYW textbook if you need some guidance.

Your homework this week is BA5:

*This post has been updated with new information*

Description:  Begin by writing your working thesis (the one from Brief Assignment 4 or a revision of it) at the top of your assignment.
Then, consider which rhetorical choices you’ve identified in this text represent some of the most significant choices made by the author.
Select a minimum of five examples from the article that exemplify the two or three choices you plan to analyze in your upcoming draft. Write a brief assessment (minimum of 100 words) of why each example would be useful to you in composing your draft. Your assessment of each example should include your answers to the following questions:

• Are you quoting the author directly, or referring to a source that the author quoted in the text?
• Where will this example fit in your draft’s organization? Consider whether it will be part of an early or late body paragraph? Part of the introduction? Part of the conclusion? Why?
• How does it demonstrate the points you are trying to make about the author's writing?

Your analysis, not counting the quotations, should be 500-650 words.

NOTE: You may find that in identifying and evaluating your quotations, you will modify and improve your working thesis statement.  In other words, you may find quotes for rhetorical devices that are stronger than the devices you previously chose to use.

That should be all for now! Have a good week!

Thursday, February 23: Thesis Statements

Hello all!

Thank you for your patience again this week with the substitute--I really appreciate everyone's work effort and good attitudes! I should be back in class next week, so I look forward to seeing you all again.

Here's a link to today's lesson: Lesson 6.

Today in class, you discussed thesis statements. I know this is an apprehensive subject for plenty of you, because thesis statements look different for different kind of papers, so it's hard to nail down exactly what it looks like. However, one thing you can always hold onto when writing a thesis is that a thesis, regardless of the subject you are writing about, always defines your purpose in writing your paper.

I listed several examples of what a thesis looks like for a rhetorical analysis on today's presentation in the link above. In a rhetorical analysis, you are going to be taking a position on whether or not the author's rhetorical choices are effective for the author's specific intended audience. A working thesis will typically have these elements:

• Author's name
• Title of article (in quotes)
• Who the intended audience is
• What the intended purpose is
• BRIEF listing of rhetorical choices

Please know that your thesis will most likely change over time (which is why we call it a "working thesis"). You may decide to shift positions, list a more specific audience or purpose, relabel rhetorical choices, etc. Also, as you begin actually writing your introduction for your analysis, you will be able to amend some of necessary elements of a working thesis (for instance, if you've already introduced the article's title in the introduction, you won't necessarily need to re-state the article title in your thesis). For now, though, your working thesis should really have all of these elements.

Some of you have mentioned that you struggle identifying a specific audience for texts. I suggest looking for purpose first; figure out the author's main message... what change does the author want to bring about? Why are they writing in the first place? (Also, keep in mind that many of us tend to fall back on the claim that the author hopes "to inform" his/her audience of something... Far more likely, though, in each of these articles the author is aiming "to persuade" or "to convince" someone. If you detect any sort of bias--any action the author is trying to get the audience to take--the author is aiming to persuade). From there, you should ask yourself, who can make the change that the author wants? Who is in a position to fix the problem? The answer to that question is most likely the audience. Also, be sure to look at where the article was published. Do a little background research on the context--this can also point you toward audience.

As for rhetorical choices, some of you have been picking out really interesting choices that an author makes, but struggling to label it. This is common. Again, don't try to force a label that doesn't truly fit. If you recognize that Dillon uses pieces of badly written emails, you might call this an "illustration." If you struggle with these labels, you're welcome to email me about it, or I also highly recommend visiting the University Writing Center. 

Homework:

• Readings:
• St. Martin's Handbook: Chapter 3f-g, "Planning," "Drafting"  (pgs. 54-63)
• First-Year Writing: Ch. 18  and Ch. 22 (pgs. 343-353, 407-414)
• BA4

Brief Assignment #4:

In this assignment, you will continue your preparation for writing your rhetorical analysis by writing thesis statements suitable for it. Using three texts specified by your classroom instructor (Dillon, Cangialosi, and Pipher):

1) Identify the audience and purpose of each text and explain what those are in about 75-100 words 

2) Create a thesis statement for a rhetorical analysis of each text.

Remember that to successfully create your thesis statements, you will need to read these texts carefully (and, usually, several times) so that you thoroughly understand the audience, purpose, and content of the texts.

Texts for your thesis statements:

Sam Dillon, "What Corporate America Can’t Build:  A Sentence"

Karen Cangialosi, "Healing Through the Written Word"

Mary Pipher, "Writing to Connect"

That should be it for now! Let me know if you have any questions, and have a great week!

Thursday, February 16: Critical Reading cont.

Hello class!

I hope today went well; I heard good things from my substitute, and I want to thank you all for your patience and hard work while I am recovering! You may have a substitute again next week, as I am told that I need surgery to realign my broken bone.

Here is a link to today's lesson: Lesson 5.

Today, you discussed what it means to analyze: the practice of taking apart and parsing the meaning/effectiveness of an argument (or any piece of writing, really).  You also talked about how WHAT someone is arguing may not be nearly as important as HOW that person is choosing to argue their point. As you talked about, analysis is not simply summarizing the argument, nor is it a chance for you to refer briefly to the writing and then rant about your own opinions on the topic; it is a chance for you to pick apart the author's methodology. Again, you should be asking, Was this really the best choice to make to convince the audience? Why or why not?

The group work activity today was intended to make you get more familiar with the text you are going to be writing your analysis over. Hang onto your answers and begin thinking about ways to incorporate them into your paper.

Homework:

• Reading
• St. Martin's:  Chs. 8 and 13
• FYW:  Ch. 6 (pgs. 119-152)
• For this week, you do not have a BA, BUT you do have a Writing Reflection assignment that is due TO ME (not through RaiderWriter) via email by Tuesday, 11:59pm.

Writing Reflection

Write a brief reflection--Two paragraphs, 300-400 words. Discuss:

(1) Which concepts in the course do you have a strong

understanding of?

(2) Which concepts are you struggling with?

• Look back through previous lectures on the blog or previous assignments on RaiderWriter
• Email this to your instructor (Emma.Sutton@ttu.edu) by Tuesday, 11:59pm.

Please let me know if you have any more questions! Though I am not available in office hours currently, I am more than happy to answer questions via email. Have a good week!

Thursday, February 9: Critical Reading and Rhetorical Devices

Hi class,

Here's the link to this morning's presentation: Lesson 4.

Also, here's a link to the list of rhetorical devices that we discussed in class: Common Rhetorical Choices. BUT--keep in mind that these are BY NO MEANS the ONLY rhetorical choices you can make in your writing. As we've said several times, there are literally millions of choices you can make in your writing. Therefore, if you're noticing a pattern in an author's work, but you aren't sure what to call that choice, you can make your own label for it. Don't try to force a piece of writing into a label that doesn't fit. We'll work throughout the semester on tightening up some of these labels as well.

As you move forward, concentrate on reading critically, questioning the author/content/overall message of the text that you are analyzing. Your goal is to look deeper at a text. Come at the text with a certain amount of skepticism, and don't take it at face value. More so, always be thinking of an author's specific audience when looking at the choices s/he makes. What change is the author trying to impact? Who can make these changes? Is the author making smart choices in order to reach these people?

We also discussed ethos/pathos/logos more in depth. Should you have missed class, catch up by looking through this morning's presentation. Remember, ethos/pathos/logos are not rhetorical choices; instead, they are pathways rhetorical choices take.

Also, please note that your first (optional) Open Tutoring sessions are coming up:

• BA3: Monday, Feb. 13, 5-7pm (in ENGL/PHIL 352 or 353)
• BA4: Monday, Feb. 27, 5-7pm

Homework:

• Reading:
• St. Martin's:
• Chapter 3a-3c, "Exploring a Topic," "Narrowing a Topic," "Drafting a Working Thesis"
• Chapter 10h, "Moving from Hypothesis to Working Thesis"
• Chapter 15a, "Refining Your Plans" (pgs. 40-49, 198, 250-252)
• First-Year Writing: Ch 2 (pgs. 30-36)
• BA3
• (Open Tutoring session--Monday Feb. 13, 5-7pm)

Basic Assignment #3:

For this brief assignment, using the text you will analyze for your Draft 1.1 (either Dillon's, Cangialosi's, or Pipher's articles), please do the following:

·        Identify the audience and purpose of the piece. Be as specific as possible and support your identification with a brief explanation (100-200 words).

·        Identify and briefly explain, in your own words, at least five significant and evident rhetorical choices the writer employs to reach this audience and achieve his or her purpose. Give at least two examples of each, and be sure to cite where you find each example (Author's-last-name page-number).

That's all for now! Let me know if you have any questions.

Thursday, February 2: Summary and Paraphrase

Good afternoon, all!

Here's the link to today's presentation: Lesson 3.

I hope that those of you who have come down with the flu begin feeling better soon! Please email me if you have any further questions not answered in today's post.

We covered the basics of summary and paraphrase in class today, meaning we discussed (1) the differences between the two and (2) how each are used in academic writing. We looked at what makes a good summary/paraphrase and what makes a bad summary/paraphrase. If you missed class, make sure to review the presentation posted above, as well as your readings that were due today (these include guidelines/checklists that you should look over before and after composing a summary or paraphrase).

Remember:

• A summary is when you condense a text. Summaries can be different lengths depending on what you're using them for, but they generally should encompass the entirety of the original author's message. Make sure that you understand the text so that you can present it accurately.
• A paraphrase is when you restate an author's words to put them in your own words. Remember that a paraphrase will be as long or longer than the original text, and you should make sure that you are accurately representing the original's message.

Homework:

• Readings:
• FYW: Ch. 4 (pgs. 69-100)
• St. Martin's Handbook (pgs. 124-139)
• BA2

Brief Assignment #2: Please do both parts and clearly label each.

Part One, Article Summaries

Your instructor will tell you which article from your First-Year Writing textbook you will use for your summaries. 

(Pick one of the three articles: Dillon's "What Corporate America Can't Build," Cangialosi's "Healing through the Written Word," or Pipher's "Writing to Connect." (All are in Ch. 23 of your FYW textbook). Start thinking of which article you would like to write your rhetorical analysis over and work with that article). 

You will write two different summaries of the assigned article. The first summary will be a single sentence in length. The next summary will be five sentences in length. Strategies for completing both will be discussed in class. Before turning in your summaries, please make sure you label them as either "One Sentence Summary" or "Five Sentence Summary."

Part Two, Paraphrase

After you’ve completed your summaries, you will paraphrase a brief passage selected by your instructor. 

(Paraphrase paragraph six of Atul Gawande's "A Lifesaving Checklist"--pgs. 99-100 in FYW.)

Your goal in this portion of the assignment is to restate the ideas of the passage in your own words and do so in a way that is readable and understandable. Label this final portion of the assignment as "Paraphrase." If your instructor gives you more than one passage to choose from, make sure you add the author's name and page number of the passage to your label.

As always, BA2 is due on Tuesday night, before 11:59pm.

That should be it for now! Should you have any questions, email me or come by office hours. 

Thursday, January 26: Reading Rhetorically

Hi class,

Here's the link to today's presentation: Lesson 2.

So, today we talked about how to tackle a text the first time you come face-to-face with it. This concept is the basis for the entirety of the rest of the semester, so we'll be building off these ideas from now on. I encourage you, if you did not read the Dillon, Cangialosi, or Pipher articles very carefully for this week's class, to take a second and more detailed look at these texts. More so, start thinking about which one you might like to work with for your rhetorical analysis.

I am emailing a link to those of you who told me that you were not able to get logged into RaiderWriter yet. If you did not approach me about this problem, PLEASE email me about getting logged in. Your BA1 was due last Tuesday night, and I expect each and every one of you to get into the system and get your assignment submitted. Know that every day your assignment is late, a penalty is applied by the RaiderWriter system.

You DO NOT have a BA due this Tuesday night... Yay! However, you do have readings to complete for next week (as listed on the presentation):


FYW:

• Ch. 1 (pgs. 1-16) 
• Ch. 6 (pgs. 129-133)
• Ch. 2 (pgs. 17-37)
• Ch. 3 (pgs. 39-49 and 54-68)

St. Martin's Handbook:

• Ch. 1 "Expectations for College Writing"
• Ch. 20a "Reading Texts in the Humanities" (pgs. 14-22)
• Pgs. 300-301
• Ch. 13c-d "Paraphrases" and "Summaries"
• Pgs. 236-237

That should be it for now! Email me if you have any questions.

Thursday, January 19: Introduction to 1301

Hi all. First off, here is the link to this morning's presentation: Lesson 1

I really enjoyed meeting you all this morning. I think we've got a pretty smooth start into class this semester. If you have received your RaiderWriter email, please log on and familiarize yourself with the system. 

(For Section 027): If you do not receive the email in the next 48 hours, please try this link to reset your password and see if you can get logged in: RaiderWriter. If you still can't, email me, and we'll figure it out.

(For Section 028): I will let you know when you have been inputted into the RaiderWriter system. Once that happens, you should receive the welcome email. Please let me know if you do not receive the RaiderWriter email then, and I will work with you from there.

(For BOTH sections): Please do not hesitate to start working on BA1, even if you have yet to log into the system. Also, BE SURE to save copies of EVERY ASSIGNMENT to your own computer/flashdrive/etc. as a back-up to RaiderWriter. I strongly suggest doing your assignments in a Word document first, then copying and pasting it into RaiderWriter to submit. 

Books: 
First Year Writing can be purchased at Varsity, B&N, Double T, etc. 

St. Martin's Handbook is an e-book that is good for 4 years and will help you with writing in your TTU career. B&N and other bookstores will have a *code* to purchase online but you can also go directly to REDSHELF to purchase. Make sure you purchase the TTU Custom Edition.  Just search "St. Martin's Handbook Texas Tech" and it will come right up.

Remember, I am going to do a book check next week for your FYW textbook--please remember to purchase it by then and bring it to class.

Assignments:
Below are your assignments for the week. Remember, readings are due before class and your online assignments are due on Tuesdays, before 11:59pm.

Readings

• FYW: 
• Course Policies
• Articles from Ch. 23
• "What Corporate America Can't Build--A Sentence" by Sam Dillon
• "Healing through the Written Word" by Karen Cangialosi
• "Writing to Connect" by Mary Pipher
• St. Martin's e-handbook:
• pgs. v-iii, xxvi-xxix, 1-11

 BA1 Instructions (to be turned in *on Raider Writer*)

Objective: To enable you to discuss your prior academic writing experiences and gain practice in some of the reading and writing skills covered in the course.

Purpose: BA1 has two parts. Part one is designed to give you an opportunity to tell your instructor about your prior writing experiences and discuss what you see as your strengths and weaknesses as a writer. Part two gives you an opportunity to “get your feet wet” as you practice the type of critical reading and writing expected in college.

Description: To complete Part one, answer each of the following questions in paragraph form, being as specific as possible as you discuss each topic: 
What is your experience with academic writing? What types of writing have you done in the last few years—you might discuss high school, college-level, or workplace writing, for example. 
What do you think your strengths are as a writer? Your weaknesses? (Note that your e-handbook provides descriptions of many writing strengths and problems—refer to it if you need to in discussing your particular abilities). What are your goals for this class? 

Part two consists of three different letters written by a college student. Depending on the first letter of your last name, read one of the three .pdf files linked to this assignment. 
If your last name begins with A – I, read “Letter One” 
If your last name begins with J – O, read “Letter Two” 
If your last name begins with P – Z, read “Letter Three” 

After reading the letter, write a paragraph in which you explain the purpose and audience for the letter. Be sure to identify some of the choices the writer made and explain how her choices allowed her to effectively communicate her message to her intended audience. 

Your response to this assignment should be 400-600 words in length for both parts.

That should do it for now! I enjoyed you all in class today, and I'm looking forward to a great semester. Email me if you have any questions.

Welcome to ENGL 1301 at TTU--Spring 2017

Hello and welcome to English 1301! This blog will be used to host agendas and lecture notes for sections 027 and 028 of ENGL 1301 at Texas Tech University. Please refer to this blog first for any questions you might have.

This is an informational blog (an easy place for you to go to get instructions). However, this blog is not designed as a method of communication back to me. If you have questions, send an email or request an appointment (via the "Contact Info" tab at the top of this page). All assignments are completed through Raider Writer.

You can access my Classroom Policies and the Syllabus at the above tab.

Books: 
First Year Writing can be purchased at Varsity, B&N, Double T, etc. Make sure that it is the current 2016-17 edition.

St. Martin's Handbook is an e-book that is good for 4 years and will help you with writing in your TTU career. B&N and other bookstores will have a *code* to purchase online but you can also go directly to REDSHELF to purchase. Make sure you purchase the TTU Custom Edition.  Just search "St. Martin's Handbook Texas Tech" and it will come right up.