Using your book + writing summaries

We spent the first part of class going over feedback to your baseline essays - and using your book (and the Purdue OWL) to look up HOW to respond to various writing issues.

We talked in some depth about the kind of reading, thinking and writing you need to do before you begin to draft your essays.  This is generally called the "prewriting" phase (so that is what you would use as a key word to search an index).  It is about gathering ideas, thinking about which ideas you might use and in what order, thinking about what parts of the text you are writing about you are going to want to refer to - and so on.

Some of the strategies you might use during prewriting include:
Figuring out what you have to write:   reading + taking notes on the text, reading the assignment sheet, jotting down the main ideas from the text, underlining/marking the text, defining terms, listing points from the text you might want to use, re-checking the assignment sheet, reading on the web (or in your textbook) about the genre you need to write (summary, response, analysis, argument, narrative, comparison, etc)

Brainstorming ideas (gathering material): freewriting; blindwriting; underlining the ideas you like in your freewriting and freewriting to those ideas; talking to anyone who will listen (or yourself - so long as it is out loud); checking out your topic on the internet; asking questions (who, what, when, where, why); comparing your topic to similar topics; list points and write details associated with each one, writing anything you associate with your topic, paraphrasing points from the text

Organizing your ideas: lists, cluster diagrams, mind maps, outlines,

You might move back and forth among these strategies several times as you write.

We spent the second half of class talking about George Lakoff and Mark Johnson's essay: Conceptual Metaphor in Everyday Language"  and about how to write a summary.  The assignment sheet for the summary is listed under Assignments, to the right.  Guidelines for writing a summary are listed under Tips for summaries, under Guidelines and Sample Essays.

Your assignment for Thursday is to write a summary of this text.  I would suggest doing some more careful reading - some listing + defining of key terms & main points AND some freewriting before you start to write your essay.

For Thursday: 
Read: HTWA Chapter 40, "Summarizing sources"
Write: Summary of Lakoff & Johnson

To receive credit, your summary is do in the course email as an attachment BEFORE class begins (9:30).  It doesn't need to be perfect.  Go as far as you can - even if it is very brainstormy - and turn it in.  We will work from where you are.

Bring your book to class.

Good luck!   And see you on Thursday.

Evaluating your work

The focus of today's class was on identifying + practicing the standards college instructors use to evaluate writing.  We discussed the criteria listed on the rubric for evaluating essays for college composition (posted to the right under "guides and sample papers" - and then you applied them to a series of sample essays.  You seem to have a good idea of what each requirement means - and you did a good job applying the criteria to the sample papers.  We were mostly in agreement.  The purpose of this exercise was to prepare you to evaluate your own writing = so you know the grade you will get + what you need to work on even before you receive teacher feedback.

I asked you to bring your books - but we ran out of time and didn't get to use them.  I meant to have some discussion about how you can use your books as a resource for working on your writing issues.  Bring them on Tuesday and we will look up some of the "how to" suggestions for working on your writing and see where the "directions" are in your book.

I previewed the first reading, George Lakoff & Mark Johnson's essay on Conceptual Metaphor in Everyday Language.  Evidently the document I have posted under readings does not open (or at least I couldn't get it to open) so I handed out hard copies of the reading in class. Those of you who missed class can pick up a copy in the English Department Mailroom (next the office CAS 301) => my mailbox has my name over it and the copies are there for you.  Also  - it is available online at The Journal of Philosophy.  http://www.wjh.harvard.edu/~mahesh/papers%20for%20julie/metaphor/2007-27.pdf   We are reading only the first two sections - pp 453 - 458 (the first two sections).

Homework:
Read: Lakoff & Johnson - Conceptual Metaphor in Everyday Language

Write:  FOR FRIDAY  Use to Rubric for evaluating College Composition Essays to grade your essay.  Write the score for each category at the top of your revised essay - and send the essay with the score to ENG1031@gmail.com as an attachment.  I will return your essay to you with feedback on how I would evaluate your work.  If we agree on the "grade" you can earn 5 extra credit points.

Take notes on Lakoff & Johnson (Write directly on the handout) = mark any words you are unclear on; mark any paragraphs or sentences that don't make sense, ask questions!  Make comments that connect their ideas to your experience.


What we will do on Tuesday
We will begin by discussing your diagnostic essays.  You will get a chance to read through a sample of the kind of feedback I give on your writing - and I will talk about what I see as the general areas we need to work on as a class.  Feedback for this essay is a little different than what you will get for the rest of your writing - but it will give you a general idea.

We will then talk about Lakoff & Johnson's essay, and discuss strategies for writing academic summaries.

Have a good weekend and see you on Tuesday.

Writing about writing & Diagnostic

Thanks for a great first class.  Today we got to know each other a little (I will be working on names for a while) and we reviewed the course materials.  I appreciate your cooperation in playing the game. -  Yeah, not everything is a success, but I think it was good enough.

You did some writing to think about who you are as a writer and how you feel about writing.  This is important because writing is more than one thing - and I am pretty sure all of you are good writers/communicators in some area of your life.  By thinking about your strengths and interests - you can bring some of that knowledge to the "school" writing you will be working on in this course.

I also asked you to write to me to tell me what you want to work on in this course.  I pointed out that probably most of the feedback you've gotten on school writing has been about "correctness" = mostly grammar.  Research on how writers write shows that all writers have "bad" grammar when they are working with material that they don't fully understand or can't find a way to relate to.  When writers have mastered the material - many of the grammar issues go a way.  Some writing issues you might want to work on:

• getting "blocked: 
• finding enough to say,
• staying on topic, 
• having so many ideas you don't know which ones to use
• strategies for organizing your writing
• having a clear idea what teachers want for particular kinds of assignments
• knowing what you need to work on (focus, organization or development) 
• specific strategies to help you sharpen your focus, strengthen organization, or develop more in-depth discussions
• understanding how teachers assign grades (so that you have a pretty good idea what grade you will get before you turn in your work)
• using paragraphs to build the overall structure of your essay
• writing introductions and conclusions
• making points that are important and interesting ( instead of obvious or a repetition of what was said in class)
• staying interested enough in school assignments to do your best work

Homework
Read: Look through HTWA
Write:
1.  Finish the email to me about what you want to work on in this course and send it to ENG1031@gmail.com
2.  Send me another email stating that you have read the syllabus and the calendar.  If you have any questions - or if you strongly disagree with any of the policies - write them into your email and we can talk.
3. Revise your Baseline essay according to the directions posted under assignments.

Also
Complete the Attitude Survey if you haven't done so already.
Activate your kean email.  You will be sending your assignments & I will be writing to you through Kean email. If you need your password, call the Office of Computer & Information Services (OCIS) at 737 6000, or visit their office over at Campus School East.