Class - Monday, Nov. 27, 2010

Class – Monday, Nov. 29, 2010

1.     Roll

2.     Survey (only for those absent last week):
http://www.quia.com/sv/481791.html

3.     Any Questions on BA9?

4.     Draft 1.2: Revised Rhetorical Analysis

Objective: To complete a final, polished draft of your analysis paper

Purpose: In the first half of the course, you honed your writing skills so as to prepare you for college level writing. You used all of these skills, (summarizing, paraphrasing, critical reading, constructing thesis statements, and using supporting material via quotations) throughout the writing of the initial draft of this assignment. Since completing Draft 1.1, you have written peer critiques and practiced revising various sections of the draft. This assignment asks you to put everything you’ve learned this semester together in writing a final draft of your rhetorical analysis.

Description: To complete this assignment, first evaluate your initial draft (Draft 1.1) by answering the following questions.

·         Did you select a text to analyze? Recall that you may either select an essay from Ch. 10 of your textbook, or another piece of writing from a scholarly journal, reputable newspaper or website. Your classroom instructor may also have suggestions for you as to appropriate texts to analyze.

·         Did you select your text and critically read it to determine the writer’s purpose and intended audience for the text? Do you have a good understanding of those elements?

·         Have you analyzed the text so as to determine the specific strategies the writer uses to achieve his or her purpose and to meet the needs of the audience. For example, you might have chosen to look at such elements as the types of evidence a writer puts forward and how he or she does so. Remember that you should have examined several strategies, including tone, word choice, and sentence structure.

·         After you determined what these strategies were used, you were to have considered how well these strategies actually worked.

If you have not completed any or all of the above, your revisions should start by addressing these concerns. If you did, your revisions might begin with adding additional discussion of the text, or they may begin with a close analysis of your own evidence, sentence structure, word choice, and tone. How could you improve the communication of your own points to your intended readers?

Your revised draft should be no more than 1500 words.

Given that this is a final draft, it should be proofread carefully to ensure that it is grammatically and mechanically correct. Please use MLA format for your works cited and your in-text citations.

5.     Questions?/How to fine tune edit your essay

-         Work Backwards

-         Sentence by Sentence

-         Diagram your essay

-         Writing Center

-         Peer Edits

6.     Grammar Jeopardy

7.     Class Evaluations

Important Reminders for Class Monday, Nov. 21, 2010

Hi, all,

Two quick reminders for class tomorrow:

1. We are meeting in the front library atrium (where the fountains are, on the side of the library facing the SUB) and will hold the entire class period in the library. I will take attendance there at 9:30. I will then give your instructions for the class period.

2. Please make sure to have a copy of your working Draft 1.1 with you during class tomorrow, whether it's a copy you can access online, on your laptop, on a USB storage drive, or even as a hard copy. Tomorrow's in-class assignment is an opportunity for you to work on your paper revisions -- for in-class credit, BA9, and in preparation for Draft 1.2. Please don't forget to bring along your copy!

Class - Monday, Nov. 22, 2010

Monday, 11/22/2010

1.     Meet in Atrium/Attendance/Announcements

2.     Complete survey (10 minutes):
SURVEY LINK - CLICK HERE

Please make sure to submit your answers!

3.     Revision Assignment:

·        Review E-Handbook Ch. 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41

·        Using the BA9 guidelines, Ch 42 of your E-Handbook, and comments from your two Draft 1.1 graders, work on Brief Assignment 9 procedures for paragraph 2 (your first body paragraph -- not part of the introduction) of your Draft 1.1 essay. If you do not finish within class time, email me what you have done (in the text of the email, not as an attachment please) at erin.trauth@ttu.edu OR (if you finish) submit it on Raider Writer by the end of the class period. Also, make sure to save this for yourself somewhere (in your email, on a USB hard drive, etc.) -- this editing can be used as your Draft 1.2 revision!
·    If you finish early -- please begin making revisions to paragraph 3 in your Draft 1.1. Again, please remember to save all of your work!

·        Check out with me before you leave. I’ll be in the atrium. You may check out with me anytime from 20 minutes until the end of class time until the end of actual class time.

·        The final draft of BA9 is due this Friday. Have a wonderful holiday!

Homework/BA9 Procedures:

Brief Assignment 9: Revisions at the Sentence Level

Reading 11: E-Handbook Ch. 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41

Objective: To demonstrate your ability to revise paragraphs at the sentence level

Purpose: When you revise papers, you begin by reexamining content and organization of the paper overall before moving to more specific concerns such as the thesis, introduction, and conclusion. Usually, one of the final steps involves revising the body paragraphs to ensure that they reflect your intended purpose and reach your intended audience. This final brief assignment will help you accomplish that. 

Description: For this assignment, use the guidelines from Chapter 42 in the e-handbook to revise a substantial body paragraph (i.e. at least 4 sentences in length) from your Draft 1.1. Use the section “Editing for emphasis and conciseness” to guide your revision. 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 new strategy you used from the textbook and explain how changing the strategies used in this paragraph will influence your readers’ response to your analysis. 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 this assignment should be 500 – 700 words, including the original body paragraph, the revised version, and the evaluation of those revisions.

Class Monday. Nov. 15, 2010

1. Roll

2. Questions on BA7?

3. Discussion: What are the purposes of conclusions? What should a good conclusion do? What are some techniques for concluding an essay?

4. Brief Assignment 8: Revisions of Conclusions

Reading 10: Textbook Ch. 3 Conclusions pp. 92-98

Objective: To develop new strategies for writing effective conclusions for academic papers and to expand your understanding of what makes an effective conclusion.

Purpose: The concluding 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 conclusion to Draft 1.1. Keep in mind that your original conclusion may remain the better of your two efforts.

Description: To complete this assignment, review the strategies for writing conclusions on pages 92-98. of your textbook. Then, copy and paste your original conclusion from your 1.1 draft and re-read it. In a brief sentence or two, identify and explain which of the strategies from the textbook you used in composing this conclusion. If you cannot identify one of these strategies in your conclusion, then describe the strategy you had in mind.

Next, revise your conclusion. You must incorporate a strategy from the textbook that is different from the structure your conclusion originally used.

Finally, write a short summary and evaluation of your revisions. Identify and explain which new strategy you used from the textbook and explain how changing the strategies used in your conclusion will influence your readers’ response to your analysis. Also let readers know here which conclusion, your original or the revision, is the strongest and why you believe that to be so.

The total length of this assignment should be 500 – 650 words, including the original conclusion, the revised version, and summary and justification.

5. Grammar Games, Continued

Week 10/11

Monday, Nov. 8, 2010

1.      Roll

2.      Questions about BA6?

3.      Discuss Ch. 3 Introductions – pgs. 77-83

4.      Revision of Sample Introduction – Group Activity and Voting

5.      Discuss BA 7

Brief Assignment 7: Revisions of Introductions

Reading 9: Textbook Ch. 3 Introductions pp. 77-83

Objective: To develop new strategies for writing effective introductions for academic papers and to expand your understanding of what makes an effective introduction.

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: To complete this assignment, review the strategies for writing introductions on pages 77-82 of your textbook. Then, copy and paste your original introduction from Draft 1.1 draft and re-read it. In a brief sentence or two, identify and explain which of the strategies from the textbook you used in composing this introduction. If you cannot identify one of these strategies in your introduction, then describe the strategy you had in mind.

Next, revise your introduction using one of the strategies from the textbook. Make sure that your new introduction is different from the one you wrote for your original introduction. Also make sure that you revise your thesis and focus of your draft, if necessary, in this new introduction.

Finally, write a short summary and evaluation of your revisions. Identify and explain which new strategy you used from the textbook and explain how this new strategy will influence your readers’ response to your analysis. Also let readers know which introduction, your original or the revision, is the strongest and why you believe that to be so.  

Total length of this assignment should be between 500 – 650 words, including the original introduction, the revised version, and summary and justification

6.      Grammar Games