Okay, here's what I'm thinking for comp I now: Beginning with a question of the day to get them writing each class; after a couple of weeks, ask them to generate questions and I'll pull them from a hat or something Journals I collect once a week (folders, not notebooks) Personal essay, with guided prompts... Continue Reading →
Mental note. . .
Don't forget about Jones' argument chapter in Writing Spaces next semester. . .
A few more teaching notes
Maybe it's not just me. . . replace journal with "informal responses" that students turn in when they are due as homework in 1213. Keep the journal in 1113, but make sure to collect it every week. Require journals to be folders instead of notebooks, though the responses can be either typed or handwritten. move rhetorical... Continue Reading →
Thoughts for next semester OR: what I’ve learned so far. . .
These are mostly notes to help me plan for next semester, so this post will probably be incomprehensible to other people. ENG 1113: Assignment sequencing: personal essay, op-ed text, rhetorical analysis, in-class exam, revision. the rhetorical analysis assignment has been quite difficult for students this semester. rhetorical analysis is a good bridge assignment to 1213,... Continue Reading →
What to do?
I have a student. No surprise there. I actually have about 100 students this semester. But there's something else going on with this student: she seems so sad. All the time. At first, it seemed to be a mixture of hostility and sadness, and I felt like that hostility was directed toward me specifically. She... Continue Reading →
Interesting
This is an interesting example of what I would call a "digital essay," for obvious reasons. . .something to teach with, just maybe? Or maybe I can figure out a Google map of my own for an interchapter of my dissertation. Maybe.
And now, some quotes I found particularly interesting from these surveys
Question 1: "Why did you enroll in ENG 225 (required for major, wanted more composition courses, etc.)?" I wanted to enroll in a course that would give me more experience with different writing styles Cuz [sic] it was required, had I better understood the format of the course, I would have signed up for personal... Continue Reading →
Initial observations from the 225 surveys
12/16 (17) students filled out survey-approximately 1/3 left at least one question blank, and the questions left blank most often were the definitions. Most people took it because it was required by their major/program; 1 person took it on the recommendation of a pre-law adviser; a few people took it to develop their writing skills... Continue Reading →
So. . .
it's been awhile. I am a bad graduate student. Or maybe I'm typical. Either way, NO PROGRESS. D'oh. What have I been doing? Teaching last semester: ENG 225 was great, ENG 111 I'm not sure of. Hopefully, my thoughts and feelings about 225 will be reflected in the surveys that were distributed and some of... Continue Reading →
Thought
for those of us interested in "new media" or "computers and writing," computers and composition," whatever you want to call it. . . From Frank D'Angelo's textbook Process and Thought in Composition (1977, 1980). The first line of the first section ("The Importance of Writing") of the first chapter ("Preliminary Considerations"): "Despite the claims of... Continue Reading →
essaying the plains 