Assignments for Week 3: 21-27 January

Reading:

Read Chapter 2, "Reading Critically for College and Life," and chapter 3, "Writing to Discover and Learn."

Tasks:

Set up a personal blog. To set up your blog:

1) Log onto your google account, and use the service line--the one with the "more" link--to find the link to "Blogger." Follow that link to set up the blogger service.
2) You will find yourself at this page:

https://www.blogger.com/start

My suggestion is to take the time to "Take a Quick Tour."
3) Follow the link "Create Your Blog Now." Since you are logged into your google account, you'll find yourself at this page:

http://www.blogger.com/create-blog.g

When asked for the name of the blog, try using this format: "YourLastNameWritingJournal."
4) Once the name for your blog is accepted, you'll be asked to choose a template. The template will govern the appearance of your blog. You pick one by clicking on the little circle next to the name and hitting "Continue."
5) If you find yourself on a page saying: "Your blog has been created!," you're ready to start posting; so, follow the "Start Posting" link. This link will open up a page allowing you to create and edit a blog post. It looks a lot like editing page for google docs, and you can use it in the same way.
6) Type in a short welcome post. Use the title "Welcome to My Writing Journal." The rest of the message I leave up to you. When you are done drafting and editing your post, hit "Publish Post."
7) Next time you need to create a post, you can sign into your google account and navigate to the blogger service, and you'll be taken to the Blogger Dashboard. Once there, you have the option of viewing your blog, creating new posts, changing the layout, etc.

As always, if you have problems, write or call with them. I'm here to help.

Writing:

OK, you now have a brand spanking new blog, and you've read chapters two and three of _Writing for College, Writing for Life._ These chapters discuss tactics for reading actively and using writing as a means of learning better. In particular, you'll find on page 32 and following a discussion of "Starting Your Writer's Journal," "Writing Effective Summaries," and "Synthesizing Information in Readings." Also review pages 47-54 on keeping a "Vocabulary Journal" and on using your journal to make connections to your daily life.

Consider your blog a writer's journal, and a place where you read actively.

Here's where writing comes in:

When you read a chapter, I want you to create a post for your blog where you write a kind of mashup of the following: write a "Minute Paper" (p. 49), summarize (p. 35-39) and/or paraphrase (p. 53-4) the major points of the chapter, and connect what you've learned to your daily life (p. 47). This genre of writing is called a "Reading Response," and you'll do a number of them for different classes before you graduate. You can even find articles online on the genre which discuss the genre's ins and outs. Weekly reading responses are usually one page, single spaced. I still use this genre when I read difficult texts. I also want you to keep an ongoing post (you can go back and edit blog posts) where you define the terms being used in the reading in your own words (see "Vocabulary Journal," pages 47-8). You should update your blog with a new posts and new vocabulary each week.

What you are learning to do is to use writing as a means of improving your learning. Because it's in a blog format, once you share your blog web address with me and the rest of the class, the class and I will have the option of learning from your posts. Making weekly posts on the reading forces you to practice the summary, paraphrasing, and synthesis skills you're learning. Finally, your blog gives me a means of making sure you do the reading without having to do things like frequent pop quizzes. More importantly, it allows me to see if you are getting the terms and content of the course. Most importantly, it provides you one additional means through which you can learn how to learn, and this last is the most important lesson you'll take away from college.

As always, write with any concerns, problems, or questions.