Thursday, September 23, 2004
Thesis Statements (PLEASE READ THIS POST!)
I can't believe I forgot to mention this in class today, but those of you who have not submitted a thesis statement for your Unit 1 project to me by email need to do so IMMEDIATELY! Also, those of you whose thesis statements I sent back for revisions need to revise them and send them back to me IMMEDIATELY!
Your thesis battle assignment is due next Tuesday, and while I may have to be a little bit flexible on that you certainly won't score any points with me by failing to even have a functioning thesis statement submitted to me by the end of this week.
I can't believe I forgot to mention this in class today, but those of you who have not submitted a thesis statement for your Unit 1 project to me by email need to do so IMMEDIATELY! Also, those of you whose thesis statements I sent back for revisions need to revise them and send them back to me IMMEDIATELY!
Your thesis battle assignment is due next Tuesday, and while I may have to be a little bit flexible on that you certainly won't score any points with me by failing to even have a functioning thesis statement submitted to me by the end of this week.
Draft Workshops
As I mentioned in class, I want to experiment a bit with the form of our draft workshops so you can devote more time to each others' papers. Here's what we decided to do today:
1. Each person will spend the time in class reading one of your group member's papers and composing two questions/suggestions/issues for the author to think about. This can be something as narrow as a specific suggestion like "try reverse outlining this paper because it seems disorganized" or a question as vague as "your paper seems biased toward the Kerry side; how might how change the paper to sound less biased?" If you want to work together with the author to compose these suggestions that would be great, but there does need to be a written record of what was accomplished in the workshop.
2. You will then take the paper you read in class home and answer the draft workshop form questions for that paper on your blog. You can also feel free to add other comments to your post or to write notes on the paper (just make sure to give it back to the person next class). For Thursday draft workshops let's say the answers to the draft workshop form must be posted by Sunday evening.
We'll talk on Tuesday's class about how this is going. One of the most immediate problems I see is that this system may not work for Tuesday draft workshops as it would be difficult for people to get the workshop questions answered and still leave time for the author to work on the paper before Thursday's workshop. However, we'll talk about that next week. In the meantime just give this method a try and see how it works.
Also, if you did not have a draft in class today and did not exchange with one of your group members you can't complete this assignment.
As I mentioned in class, I want to experiment a bit with the form of our draft workshops so you can devote more time to each others' papers. Here's what we decided to do today:
1. Each person will spend the time in class reading one of your group member's papers and composing two questions/suggestions/issues for the author to think about. This can be something as narrow as a specific suggestion like "try reverse outlining this paper because it seems disorganized" or a question as vague as "your paper seems biased toward the Kerry side; how might how change the paper to sound less biased?" If you want to work together with the author to compose these suggestions that would be great, but there does need to be a written record of what was accomplished in the workshop.
2. You will then take the paper you read in class home and answer the draft workshop form questions for that paper on your blog. You can also feel free to add other comments to your post or to write notes on the paper (just make sure to give it back to the person next class). For Thursday draft workshops let's say the answers to the draft workshop form must be posted by Sunday evening.
We'll talk on Tuesday's class about how this is going. One of the most immediate problems I see is that this system may not work for Tuesday draft workshops as it would be difficult for people to get the workshop questions answered and still leave time for the author to work on the paper before Thursday's workshop. However, we'll talk about that next week. In the meantime just give this method a try and see how it works.
Also, if you did not have a draft in class today and did not exchange with one of your group members you can't complete this assignment.
Class Discussion Today
I think that we had a really interesting discussion in class today, and the only thing I regret is that due to time constraints we didn't really get to summarize our points. I'm going to attempt a short summary of what I took away from today's discussion below, but I highly encourage the debate that we were having in class to continue in the comments section of this post. Also, if anyone else wants to add to this summary please leave a comment as it would really help out everyone.
The basic question I believe we were asking in class was this: if we are to assume that all writing is inherently biased, what variables within our writing can be adjusted to change the level of bias perceived by the reader so that it is appropriate to the rhetorical situation:
· Using/not using the writer's voice to present controversial propositions. One of the main things we noticed about the cnn.com piece was that only patently uncontroversial statements were presented as fact by the author (e.g. "the nation's attention turned to terrorism," "The [terror] alert was somber," etc.), while the johnkerry.com article tended to present highly controversal statements as facts.
· Using/not using expert commentary from both sides. The use of analysis from both liberal and conservative think tanks seemed to make the cnn.com piece seem less biased to most people.
· The use of polling data is almost always suspicious.
· Giving equal time to both sides of the issue. Though we seemed to decide this was less important than some of the concerns above, only talking about one side of an issue, however reportorially, can create the feeling of bias.
This is just what I remember from the class eight hours later, so please add to this list in the comments.
I think that we had a really interesting discussion in class today, and the only thing I regret is that due to time constraints we didn't really get to summarize our points. I'm going to attempt a short summary of what I took away from today's discussion below, but I highly encourage the debate that we were having in class to continue in the comments section of this post. Also, if anyone else wants to add to this summary please leave a comment as it would really help out everyone.
The basic question I believe we were asking in class was this: if we are to assume that all writing is inherently biased, what variables within our writing can be adjusted to change the level of bias perceived by the reader so that it is appropriate to the rhetorical situation:
· Using/not using the writer's voice to present controversial propositions. One of the main things we noticed about the cnn.com piece was that only patently uncontroversial statements were presented as fact by the author (e.g. "the nation's attention turned to terrorism," "The [terror] alert was somber," etc.), while the johnkerry.com article tended to present highly controversal statements as facts.
· Using/not using expert commentary from both sides. The use of analysis from both liberal and conservative think tanks seemed to make the cnn.com piece seem less biased to most people.
· The use of polling data is almost always suspicious.
· Giving equal time to both sides of the issue. Though we seemed to decide this was less important than some of the concerns above, only talking about one side of an issue, however reportorially, can create the feeling of bias.
This is just what I remember from the class eight hours later, so please add to this list in the comments.
Tuesday, September 21, 2004
Blog Assignment Week 5
I really enjoyed reading everyone's blog assignments for week four. It's amazing how many of you write in your dorm room, though I guess that based on the level of organization in some of your first drafts it's not difficult to believe you wrote your first draft while sitting in front of the television. I suspect that one paragraph wasn't really enough to get into the assignment that asked you to play with voice, but a few of you seemed to come up with interesting things nonetheless.
As usual, this week you have two assignments. Both must be completed before class time on Tuesday, September 28.
For your first assignment, I would like to hear all of you write a bit about your feelings on politics, the upcoming Presidential election in particular. I know that talking about your political beliefs can be difficult for some people, but I'd like you to give it a try. If you have strong opinions on a certain issue, then share them. If you feel disconnected from, intimidated by, or if you just don't really care about politics (I know I have all of those feelings some, if not most, of the time) give some thought to exploring why. If you need to take a couple of posts to work through your thoughts on this issue, feel free; by now all of you have a pretty good idea of what a blog is, so do your best to join that discourse community.
Your second assignment, of course, are the much-talked-about thesis statement battles. Over the next week I will email each of you a thesis statement and a web site address. Post this thesis statement and a link to the web site on your blog immediately. Either in the email in which you get your thesis statement or in a separate email shortly thereafter, I will give you the name of another student in the class whose thesis statement I would like you to attack. In the comment section of the post with the thesis statement and link, propose an argument against the thesis statement. If you believe the author's understanding of the audience is faulty, attack that; if you believe the author's suggestions for the blog are inadequate or could potentially alienate members of the blog's current audience, attack that. Once an attack comment has been posted against the thesis you posted to your web site, do your best to defend it. Each participant in the thesis battle should post at least two substantial (i.e. 150+ words) comments debating the thesis statement's argument. If you want to keep debating, feel free, but two substantial comments is the bare minimum.
Note: Your should not be debating the merits of the post as a thesis statement, you should be using the thesis statement as a spark to ignite an argument about how this particular blog could be better (sort of like the format of the McLaughlin Group TV show if you've ever seen that or the parody of it on Saturday Night Live). If you'd like to debate the merits of the argument as a thesis feel free to do so, but wait until after you've fulfilled the requirements of the blog assignment.
I really enjoyed reading everyone's blog assignments for week four. It's amazing how many of you write in your dorm room, though I guess that based on the level of organization in some of your first drafts it's not difficult to believe you wrote your first draft while sitting in front of the television. I suspect that one paragraph wasn't really enough to get into the assignment that asked you to play with voice, but a few of you seemed to come up with interesting things nonetheless.
As usual, this week you have two assignments. Both must be completed before class time on Tuesday, September 28.
For your first assignment, I would like to hear all of you write a bit about your feelings on politics, the upcoming Presidential election in particular. I know that talking about your political beliefs can be difficult for some people, but I'd like you to give it a try. If you have strong opinions on a certain issue, then share them. If you feel disconnected from, intimidated by, or if you just don't really care about politics (I know I have all of those feelings some, if not most, of the time) give some thought to exploring why. If you need to take a couple of posts to work through your thoughts on this issue, feel free; by now all of you have a pretty good idea of what a blog is, so do your best to join that discourse community.
Your second assignment, of course, are the much-talked-about thesis statement battles. Over the next week I will email each of you a thesis statement and a web site address. Post this thesis statement and a link to the web site on your blog immediately. Either in the email in which you get your thesis statement or in a separate email shortly thereafter, I will give you the name of another student in the class whose thesis statement I would like you to attack. In the comment section of the post with the thesis statement and link, propose an argument against the thesis statement. If you believe the author's understanding of the audience is faulty, attack that; if you believe the author's suggestions for the blog are inadequate or could potentially alienate members of the blog's current audience, attack that. Once an attack comment has been posted against the thesis you posted to your web site, do your best to defend it. Each participant in the thesis battle should post at least two substantial (i.e. 150+ words) comments debating the thesis statement's argument. If you want to keep debating, feel free, but two substantial comments is the bare minimum.
Note: Your should not be debating the merits of the post as a thesis statement, you should be using the thesis statement as a spark to ignite an argument about how this particular blog could be better (sort of like the format of the McLaughlin Group TV show if you've ever seen that or the parody of it on Saturday Night Live). If you'd like to debate the merits of the argument as a thesis feel free to do so, but wait until after you've fulfilled the requirements of the blog assignment.
Monday, September 20, 2004
Rubric for Unit 1 Portfolios
Class,
As I promised a few of you last week, here is the rubric I will use to evaluate your unit 1 portfolios. Each of you will receive a sheet of paper evaluating your performance in each of these areas as well as your letter grade and any other pertinent comments. If you have any questions about these criteria please feel free to email me or visit me during office hours.
· Student revises all drafts thoroughly and aggressively.
· Student participates well in class (arrives on time, participates in class discussions, etc.).
· Student completes all work on time, including blog assignments.
· Student performs effectively in draft workshops.
· Student displays a well-developed understanding of thesis statements.
· Student displays a competent set of analytical skills.
· Student makes use of varied pre-writing strategies.
· Student’s final drafts are free of excess verbage, spelling errors and other grammatical mistakes.
· Student’s completed plagiarism exercises display an understanding of how to identify and correct plagiarism.
Note: these criteria are listed in order of importance, with the most factors that count most at the top of the list and the fcotrs that count least at the bottom.
Class,
As I promised a few of you last week, here is the rubric I will use to evaluate your unit 1 portfolios. Each of you will receive a sheet of paper evaluating your performance in each of these areas as well as your letter grade and any other pertinent comments. If you have any questions about these criteria please feel free to email me or visit me during office hours.
· Student revises all drafts thoroughly and aggressively.
· Student participates well in class (arrives on time, participates in class discussions, etc.).
· Student completes all work on time, including blog assignments.
· Student performs effectively in draft workshops.
· Student displays a well-developed understanding of thesis statements.
· Student displays a competent set of analytical skills.
· Student makes use of varied pre-writing strategies.
· Student’s final drafts are free of excess verbage, spelling errors and other grammatical mistakes.
· Student’s completed plagiarism exercises display an understanding of how to identify and correct plagiarism.
Note: these criteria are listed in order of importance, with the most factors that count most at the top of the list and the fcotrs that count least at the bottom.
Library Tutorial
Sorry, guys, I totally forgot to post this last week. If you haven't already, please complete the library's online tutorial before class time on Tuesday:
http://www.lib.unc.edu/instruct/tutorial/
And don't forget, we're meeting in Davis Library room 247, not in our normal classroom!
Sorry, guys, I totally forgot to post this last week. If you haven't already, please complete the library's online tutorial before class time on Tuesday:
http://www.lib.unc.edu/instruct/tutorial/
And don't forget, we're meeting in Davis Library room 247, not in our normal classroom!
