Weeks 16 & 17: The End

Class,

Your final ENG 215 assignment requires you to try something new. Instead of completing a draft of an essay that's to remain in word processor form, you'll be writing with attention to multimedia presentation.

How do you finalize an essay that reads with the interest and charisma of modern blog writing? One way to create that type of interest is to include visual data. Think, as you write, about what kind of images you could use that would add texture, information, and persuasion to your essay. After finalizing a draft on a word processing program, you'll copy and paste the text into a blog post, then re-format it to look professional and persuasive. Choose, also, a voice and style that works in the context of a blog post. Skim popular blogs on the internet to become acquainted with blog writing about news or issues, as a way of becoming familiar with strong ways to craft your essay. Focus on editing. Your post should be worthy of publication before it's uploaded to the blog.

Your full assignment instructions can be located under "Tuesday, November 30th" on your calendar. To clarify the instructions, I have several more points. For one, since blog writing is rarely (if ever) double-spaced, you ought not leave your text double-spaced when copied from word processor to post. Do cite your research in Works Cited, but choose formatting that looks good on the webpage. For instance, you might choose to use a smaller font or a different font to distinguish the text of the essay from the citations. Also, be sure to cite your image sources. Since a minimum of 3 sources and 3 images are required for this assignment, it's likely that you will have 6 citations or more. If you have any other questions for clarification, send me an email and I'll be happy to reply.

By tomorrow night, everyone should post a completed rough draft of your final essay. On Wednesday or Thursday, you can offer peer review to your group members so they can continue to edit their work.

Anytime after Thursday, and until Tuesday, December 7th (there's an error on your calendar that says Tuesday is the 8th), you are welcome to post your final essay to your blog. By Tuesday the 7th, remember to visit Blackboard's Discussion Board to post your HW assignment for the final day. Besides posting your final essay project to your blog, you will post a reflection letter and an appreciations letter to Discussion Board. The former will be a note to yourself, and the latter will be a note to the class. Details appear under "Tuesday, December 7th" on your course calendar. You may also have received a course evaluation form via email; filling these out will give the university a sense of my effort this semester. Please take the time to submit the course evaluation, and thanks for that.

As you finish out the semester, I'd like to thank you for sharing your wonderful writing with me. I hope your practice of expository academic writing in this course gives you confidence with writing in future courses. I also wish you the best of luck with finals.

Happy Holidays and enjoy a well deserved Winter Break!

Sincerely,
Professor Patel

Week 15: Mining the Blogs

Hi class

Welcome to the final unit of the course!

All semester long, you've crafted blog posts about various interesting topics. Only three of these posts were revised into complete essay assignments, though many more posts had tremendous potential to be further developed. The final project gives all of you an opportunity to retrieve yet another of these blog posts and revise it to completion.

To begin, you'll receive the opportunity to thoroughly read the blogs of two classmates. (View the "Unit 4 Peer Groups" listing on our class blog site to learn about who you'll be working with.) After reading your group members' blogs in their entirety, you'll be able to leave precise, helpful feedback in the form of "Greatest Hits". Your "Greatest Hits" posts for each team member will reflect, for them, their strengths of writing. You can also let your group members know what questions you still have in regards to their favorite posts. These "Greatest Hits" posts will help your group members recognize their accomplishments, and might help them as they seek to choose a single post to develop for the final project. Both of your "Greatest Hits" posts should be three paragraphs long (5-6 sentences per paragraph) and should reference at least three specific posts by title.

You yourself will also get to read the two "Greatest Hits" posts presented about your blog by each of your group members. In reading these posts, reflect on your strengths as a writer, and on your opportunity to develop any one of your posts for the final assignment. Seeing what peer readers enjoyed reading might help you to learn about which post to choose as a rough basis for Project 4.

You have no assignment due on Thursday due to the Thanksgiving holiday. Enjoy your time off!

Have a very happy Thanksgiving!

Next week, you'll continue work towards accomplishing your final project.

By this evening, everyone should have received an email with feedback about their final drafts of Essay 3. Grades for Essay 3 have now been posted to Gradebook on Blackboard and are available for viewing.

I appreciate your hard work as we complete the semester and look forward to reading your final writing. Good luck! I'm available if anyone has questions or concerns.

-AP

Week 12: Style and Persona

Hi Class :-)

I hope you're doing well as we approach the final stretch of the semester! I appreciate all of you for your effort and progress, and will continue making myself available via phone or during in-person appointments as needed.

Many posts from last week struck me as exciting for various reasons, but I'll point out just a few Greatest Hits:

As a historical account, Amara's post, "The Growth of Phoenix", reads clearly and objectively. I like the informative tone: http://amararodriguez.blogspot.com/2010/10/growth-of-phoenix.html

Read, also, Jessica's post, "Living in a Material World", which is a fair-minded analysis of the positive and negative cultural outcomes of living in a materialistic society. It already has the shape and organization techniques of academic essays, which makes it a great candidate for revision:
http://jlchee.blogspot.com/2010/10/26-october-2010-page-418-1.html

April's post, "American Italians", contains some heartfelt informal reflection about a topic of personal importance, which makes it enjoyable to read: http://aprilpage333.blogspot.com/2010/10/american-italians.html

Similarly, Tasha's "Can't Buy Me Love" is an enjoyable reflection on material culture:
http://tashasfinalenglishclass.blogspot.com/2010/10/cant-buy-me-love.html

Both April and Tasha's posts show the type of brainstorming-style reflective writing that, though it is not perfect for the purposes of academic argument writing, could reveal a seed of purpose to begin new writing. As pre-writing, it's both valuable and constructive.

This week, you'll continue reading and responding on the topic of Capital Economies.

Though the readings for this week come from disciplines that are related to the subject of economics, you'll notice that the writers to try to engage with a wide audience of readers - even those of us who aren't necessarily familiar with the language and purposes of Economics. Your first article, "Wall Street's Quant King: David Shaw's Secret Formulas Pile Up Money", describes a scenario that educates all kinds of readers about the shared qualities of computers and finance. Just as the writer, James Alley, is careful to be accessible and interesting in his use of tones, language, and information, you too should consider elements of style that make your content more interesting.

In writing, we often talk about a rhetorical concept called "ethos". Ethos refers to the writer's authority, and is descriptive of the way a writer conveys their thoughts. Developing a trustworthy, likeable, and accessible ethos - or persona - allows for a reader to feel that the writer is, in fact, an authority on the subject at hand. Without adequate ethos, a reader can easily dismiss a writer as incorrect, even if their claims are well-reasoned and their points speak truth.

In this week's readings, you'll get to see how writers make topics in math, economics, and computer science seem important and interesting to even readers like me, who are easily bored by such topics. ;-) You can learn a lot about the craft of writing from these articles. View how writers construct text in ways that make their topics approachable. Since all of you will be writing an essay about a topic in Capital Economies, you would do well to pay close attention to what you like about someone else's writing on the topic so you can apply similar techniques in your own work.

Continue to read, post, and develop your ideas this week. I realize the semester is getting busier and busier, but some of you are actually posting work that's less accomplished than previous writing. I encourage you to at least review and meet the basic guidelines for online class homework, even if you do find yourself strapped for time.

I look forward to reading your thoughts.

AP

Week 10: Introduction to Unit 3 (Capital Economies)

Hi Class

Today, we begin our third unit by focusing on articles written on the topic of Capital Economies. Interestingly enough, you will be reading a range of articles written about issues of capitalism and economics, yet none of them are from an Economics or Business perspective. Often, we assume there is only one field from which we can appropriately analyze certain topics. Your work with the past two units has proved to you that various disciplines have insight on single topics, and that there are perspectives from which any topic can become interesting. Consider, for instance, topics from our last unit: we may have assumed that there would be important ideas about marriage developed in the field of Sociology, but it may have been surprising to read articles from the perspective of the Sciences that made arguments about the naturalness of marriage. In this way, you'll be reading perspectives from various fields that weigh in, in legitimate ways, on issues that relate to Capital Economies, without narrowing our scope of inquiry to the fields of Business or Economics themselves.

To begin, you'll read literary accounts that develop descriptive and reflective insight about the nature of capitalism. On Tuesday, you will write your own narrative account, and might try to use an effective ironic tone as you craft your blog post (this can be hard to pull off, but it's fun to try). Personal narrative can sometimes be a persuasive tool that builds pathos for readers of academic writing, however, it's not acceptable to use personal narrative in all academic situations. You may want to check with professors on an assignment by assignment basis.

On Thursday, you'll read writing from the field of Popular Music Studies that discusses the corporatization of music. You may be surprised to learn about the power hierarchies that exist in the music industry and about ethical dilemmas that have arisen as a result.

I'll look forward to reading your thoughts on both. :-)

Also, remember to finish a revised copy of Essay 2. I contributed critique to your discussion board threads last night.

Some of you seem unclear about the quality or content of the essays that you're meant to write for this assignment. If you would like to view examples of writing that are best meeting the requirements of academic argument writing in their rough draft stage, view the essays written by Darien, Hilary, Amity, Jacqueline, and Amber. Though each of those essays could be improved, those five are currently displaying the level of thought and quality of writing that are typical of great student papers written for college courses. Reading those essays (along with my critique of them) as examples should help you become more familiar with the sort of writing strategy that you, too, should use.

I've noticed that students are a bit overwhelmed with their workload lately. For that reason, I'd like to grant all of you an extension with this particular paper. Feel free to turn it in anytime between today and Friday at noon, and it will be marked as an on-time submission. Hopefully this will help you during a stressful time in the semester. It was around this time last year that a student committed suicide on campus in the architecture building, and it's not uncommon that pressures of school become overwhelming for students through midterm and finals. I'm thinking of all of you and encourage you to prioritize your personal wellness. It's never wrong to seek out support, and even if you're doing generally well with the workload, perhaps you know of someone who could use the assistance of a counselor. Take care of yourselves, take care of each other, and be well as the semester finishes out.

Wishing you a beautiful week.

-AP

Week 8: What the Sciences Have to Say About Love

Hello class!

I hope you had a wonderful weekend. Mine was nice, and also involved some ENG 215 binge-grading. :-) Your grades for Essay 1 are now posted to the Grade Center on Blackboard. You should also have received critique via email; if you didn't, let me know and I will re-send the note. Review the critique and let me know if you have any questions so I can support you in doing the best possible job with Essay 2. Since we're mid-way through the semester, I understand if you'd like to check in with me once again, via phone or in-person, to learn about your progress.

As for last week's blog posts, they were a blast to read!

Here are some that caught my eye (Greatest Hits):

Mary's blog post describes a personal story in which there's a communication gap between herself and her brother. Since Tannen primarily details communication differences between couples who are romantically involved, it's interesting to read about similar differences in the context of a family relationship: http://siliboble.blogspot.com/2010/09/week-7-directed-free-write-pg-246.html.

Visit Jessica's blog for some wonderful analysis of a personal situation, based on her reading of Tannen. She includes specific details about a mundane event, which teaches us that Tannen's theories might hold water even in less-than-cataclysmic situations :
http://jlchee.blogspot.com/2010/09/28-september-2010-page-246-directed.html

See, also, Amity's post, which contains delightful storytelling and excellent writing. She integrates textbook sources seamlessly to create a masterful informal article all her own:
http://amity215.blogspot.com/2010/09/meet-me-halfway.html

As for the evolutionary biology perspective on love and marriage, there were so many interesting perspectives! Read Ricky's response before or after April's response to observe both argument and counterargument about the same topic.

Ricky: http://richardkriebel2.blogspot.com/2010/09/whats-up-with-marriage.html

April: http://aprilpage333.blogspot.com/2010/09/marriage-will-fight.html

This week, you'll continue to read scientific perspectives that argue about the nature of relationships. I find these accounts to be fascinating and hope you will too! Continue to read, write, and offer peer review on your blogs. I'm around if you could use some assistance.

Happy writing!

-AP

Week 7: Debriefing (How to Improve Your Work)

Hello class!

This week, you'll begin working with new peer groups. See the updated list on the margin of the blog.

Last week, most of you conveyed good comprehension of the articles you've been reading. I'm glad you are gaining in confidence with more rigorous reading material, and I encourage you to make sure you're producing analysis and original thought beyond summation of the texts you're reading, and that the connections you are making are clear, before posting your response. Also, make sure you specify which question you are answering when choosing between options.

Here are a few of the Greatest Hits from last week:

See Justin Vizcaino's review and analysis of the movie "Training Day", http://vizzyalexio.blogspot.com/2010/09/real-wild-men.html and Jackie Pridgett's review of "Kill Bill" http://jackie-alwaysdream.blogspot.com/2010/09/real-wild-women.html for examples of excellent gender studies analysis of film.

See Amara's post on "Technology and Family", http://amararodriguez.blogspot.com/2010/09/technology-and-family.html, which is an excellent example of writing that conveys comprehension of the reading and also offers original thought on the topic at hand.

If your own posts are not meeting the standards exampled above, you are getting less than full credit. It's not too late to improve your scores by writing better work.

This week, as you write your blog posts, I'd like you to focus on clarity, strong editing, and completeness. For your peer reviews, focus on honesty. When you choose to avoid pointing out areas of improvement to your classmates, you put their grade at risk AND lower your own chances at receiving full credit for the review.

As for your readings this week, they are some of my favorites of the semester. You'll read articles that pose theories about the communication gap between genders (and solutions for this problem), and you'll read some science-based perspectives about our mating habits (which reveal some surprising, yet potentially convincing, insight as to why we do what we do).

Enjoy the readings!

-AP

Week 6: The Chaos of Gender

Hi Class,

Today, I finished the final round of comments on your rough drafts. If you posted late, you won't find a note from me. This is in accordance with standards outlined on your syllabus and calendar that state that your classmates are not responsible to comment on late-posted work and that late-posted work counts as an absence. This policy keeps things simple for all of us and protects you from having to check in on multiple days of the week to peer review in the event that classmates post outside of the alotted time.

That being said, I do keep myself available to all of you, regardless of posting time, to respond to specific emailed questions about your papers. You could also utilize the Writing Center and Ask-a-Librarian if you'd like assistance.

I look forward to reading your final drafts! Good luck finishing them up.

This week, you'll begin to reflect on issues surrounding gender and sexuality. I think you'll enjoy these upcoming readings.

The current academic discourse surrounding gender and sexuality offers insight on both men AND women, on straight AND homosexual relationships. There's a common assumption that these areas of study generally correspond with women's studies or gay & lesbian studies only, but you'll find that plenty of research is available about heterosexual relationships and about men.

One major area of gender studies pertains to the study of communication and behavioral differences between men and women. Beginning in the 1980's, the academic study of gender difference in our culture gave way to a rise in "self help" books that sought to improve communication in relationships, such as "Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus" by John Gray. More recently, you may have heard of a book called "He's Jut Not That Into You" by Greg Behrendt and Liz Tuccillo, which translates, for confused single women, the actions and talk of men they are dating. Soon, you'll be reading an excerpt from one of these self-help author experts and I'll be curious to see what you have to say in reflection.

We'll also be reading perspectives about gender. Commonly, we take it for granted that all people belong to a certain gender, and that biological factors are a primary cause for difference between ourselves and "the other" sex. You may already be familiar with arguments that question the belief that there are only two genders, and that gender is a natural construction, but if not, you're in for a big surprise! You'll be interested to learn that new theories have been introduced which deliver evidence that perhaps gender is more often socially constructed than not, and that biologically speaking, everyone falls on a spectrum of gender, which accounts for variance. Yes, this is to say some scientists and theorists believe that even this very class is full of a variety of genders, not just what we call "men" and "women". Social scientists play an important role in this conversation. They decontruct gender and sexuality in ways that observe culturally imposed differences. Our first articles of the unit examine socially constructed roles that are presented in specific films. (You, too, will practice media analysis by choosing a movie that might be subject to similar critique.)

An umbrella question that I want you to keep in mind as we journey through this unit is, "What is the significance of examining gender and sexuality"? Often, readers find a practical purpose in discovering more about these issues, since we are innately social creatures. Read the articles then reflect on them by observing the world around you, your own experiences, and your personal sense of what's what. Though you can't argue theories made by experts by simply stating your own beliefs and opinions, you can find research that backs up your opinions to later create a persuasive argument essay.

Next week, I'll be posting your Unit 2 Peer Group lists and we'll continue to interact via blog.

Congratulations on successfully completing Unit 1! I appreciate the hard work you're putting into the class and in maintaining your beautiful blogs.

IF, for some reason, this unit felt difficult for you or if you don't think you're likely to succeed with this course, it's a good time to withdraw, with no penalty of a failing grade. And if you haven't met with or spoken with me yet, it's as good a time as any to schedule an appointment. I look forward to connecting with you!

Have a great week. :-)

-AP