The 11 March edition of the local free newspaper, Style, had an article on the controversy around the new PTA President in Richmond. What's interesting are the statistics offered on the differences between the Richmond City schools and those in the surrounding counties. If any of y'all are looking for local examples of education reform, inequity, and class, then you could do much, much worse than this article.
To find the article (and others on the state of the Richmond City schools), start here:
http://www.styleweekly.com/advanced-search.asp
Search city schools.
Thursday, April 10, 2008
Link to the _Washington Post_ Article
Jen said I'd forgotten to put the link in for the Washington Post article on the world recongnized violin player pretending to be a street musician. Here it is:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/04/AR2007040401721.html
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/04/AR2007040401721.html
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
Make sure to read all the posts this week.
Today, I've posted several posts, make sure to read them, especially the one on the review and writing you need to accomplish this week.
On Writing Conclusions.
Try memorizing a longish list, and you will be able to remember the first and last elements almost at once; but, it will take you multiple passes through the list to get the bulk of the material and remember it in the order it was presented. The upshot is conclusions are one of the few elements you can hope a casual reader will remember; so, you use them to make the main points you want your reader to remember.
Even though conclusions are necessary, they are often difficult to write. I write conclusions by answering a few questions and remembering a few tactics often used. Here are the questions:
Here are some dos and don'ts which are useful:
Even though conclusions are necessary, they are often difficult to write. I write conclusions by answering a few questions and remembering a few tactics often used. Here are the questions:
- "So what?" or, as one of my past math professor's said, "Why should you give a damn?" The main purpose of a conclusion is to answer these questions and demonstrate to your reader why your thesis--the stance you take on your topic--is useful or meaningful. In a usual paper, you've just spent the body developing good reasons for your reader to believe your thesis. In your conclusion, you explain why your thesis matters, how accepting your thesis will enrich the reader's life, or explain why your thesis is important.
- "What new perspective have I offered on my topic?" Readers often read to gain a new perspective or outside viewpoint on a topic; so, one of the things you can do with a conclusion is to pose questions that follow from accepting your thesis and which you don't have time to develop in your paper.
- "What do I need to say to finish the story I began in my introduction?" I am fond of using a story to hook my reader and lead them toward my thesis statement. This tactic gives me a ready framework for a conclusion. My introduction sets up a story that explains why the topic I'm addressing is important. My body develops my take on the topic, and my conclusion then "finishes" the story I began in the introduction. I think of this approach as the "OK. Here's the moral of the story" approach.
- "How will the future be changed if my thesis is true?" If I've just spent the body of my paper proving a problem exists or suggesting a solution, then I build on this shared ground to predict the future outcomes of my thesis being true.
- "What do I want my reader to do?" Good writers write to change the beliefs and behavior of their audience; so, I often write with a desired behavior in mind. I challenge the reader to change their behavior with a move like, "OK. You've got little choice but to believe my thesis, so you now know that these actions are necessary as a result."
- "What can I do to complete the circle?" If you think of your paper as a circle which begins with your hook and moves through your thesis and body, then it makes sense to bring your reader full circle by returning to your introduction. The tactic of finishing the story I mentioned above is a variation on this tactic. If you begin with a description or a scenario, then you can end with the same description or scenario as seen through the lens of your thesis being true.
Here are some dos and don'ts which are useful:
- Don't just restate your main points or your thesis in short papers. Student writers often want to just restate their thesis and the main points of the body. Such summary is a useful tactic for the conclusion of long papers where the reader may have been distracted from your main point by subsequent points you raise, and you have more than one paragraph in which to write your conclusion. Having said this, in a short paper--like the five paragraph academic essay or an in class short essay--readers aren't going to get lost in the four or five paragraphs you've just written. Just summarizing what you've said is a tad insulting. Instead, you can use the tactic of reminding your reader of your main points fit into a larger picture.
- Don't introduce a new argument. The body of your paper is where you introduce reasons to believe your thesis. The conclusion is where you synthesize your main points and show why your thesis is important. Remember, there is a subtle but very important difference between proving your thesis to be true and discussing why it matters.
- Do pick out and echo key terms or ideas or images. One method of bringing your reader full circle without just repeating your thesis and main points is simply using key terms, ideas, or images from your paper in your conclusion.
- Do think about ending with a quotation from the research you have done.
- Do think about suggesting further research which is necessary.
- Do focus on your thesis and its importance.
- Don't focus on minor point brand new reasons to believe your thesis. It's easy to get enamored by one's own words, but conclusions are about the broad picture. If your conclusion focuses on a minor point you bring up rather than on your thesis, your reader may well get lost.
- Don't apologize. Readers read authors, that is, AUTHORities on a topic; so, don't apologize or say, "This is just my opinion, but..." or "Others may believe differently, but..." or "I'm no expert, but..." I used to collect a quarter from students who apologized for what they say. You are the author of your essay. What you have to say is important, or you wouldn't be saying it and asking your reader to read it.
Online article on tea...
Here's an online article on tea:
http://www.portfolio.com/culture-lifestyle/culture-inc/food-drink/2008/04/07/Gourmet-Tea-Guide#page1
http://www.portfolio.com/culture-lifestyle/culture-inc/food-drink/2008/04/07/Gourmet-Tea-Guide#page1
Monday, April 7, 2008
Assignments Due Sunday, 20 April
We are coming into the final few weeks of the course. This past week, I had you write a draft cover letter--like the one which will be the first element of your class portfolio--in which you evaluated your performance in the course and argued for a grade based on this performance.
This week, I want you to review the course and the material you have learned. Please, please, please take the time to make this review as past experience has shown those who do so create much, much stronger and, hence, more successful final portfolios.
Here's what you should cover in your review:
1. Chapters 1-7 of Writing for College, Writing for Life.
2. The blog.
3. Any of the reading you haven't done, do it now; this will prove one of your final chances.
4. As you read, update your writing inventory with any information that is new to you. If you need to, change the claims you make or the examples you use in your writing inventory; and, then re-read your writing inventory as evidence of what you have learned and what you have learned to apply this semester.
5. If you haven't already, go to bubbl.us and set up an account. Create a mind-map of the *major* lessons *you* have learned this semester. Under each lesson (bubble) list the evidence you can use to support a case for what you claim to have learned. To do this assignment properly, you need to go back and review what you've written this semester and think about how you might use it in your portfolio to support the claims you'll make about what you learned. This mind map will serve as a pre-writing exercise for the final version of your portfolio cover letter, and you can include it in your portfolio evidence section as evidence of what you've learned this semester. In this mindmap, be as complete as possible.
Just to clear up a few of points of logistics:
1. Create your portfolio as a long google document. Share it with me--prof.brandon@gmail.com. You can share it with classmates. This is a good way for you to learn what others are putting into their portfolios, how they are constructing their arguments, and how they've organized the content. It is also a good way to receive feedback from readers in the class you've come to trust; BUT, you are not required to share your portfolio or cover letter with anyone but me.
2. Remember your portfolio will contain:
a. a cover letter in which you will describe the major lessons you've learned. In this explanation, you will use the vocabulary you've learned to discuss and analyze your writing and you will argue for a grade. If you've turned in assignments late or haven't done assignments, here's also the place where you will explain and ask that I don't dock your participation grade (40%). I won't promise to buy your argument. If I do buy it or not will depend on its quality and the evidence you bring to bare. However, I do promise to give everything you say a fair hearing and to think about it before I assign you a final grade.
b. a writing inventory in which you discuss each of the learning outcomes for the course in terms of what you have learned and what you take each outcome to mean and/or discuss. Couch this discussion in terms of your of writing. In other words, I want you to use your own writing--particularly that which you include in the evidence section of the portfolio--as the source of examples you use to illustrate what you have to say about each outcome.
c. an evidence section that contains writing you've done this semester. Note: you are not to include ALL the writing you have done. Include writing you use to support the claims and discussion taking place in the cover letter and in the writing inventory. Pick and choose what you include. Part of what I'm judging is how and how well you pick and present your evidence. Also remember, don't just include final papers. Part of what you've been learning is process writing; so, think about including prewriting, early drafts and revisions, and proofreading copy.
3. Your portfolio should be over twenty pages in length but should not exceed thirty five pages. A page is considered the text which will fit into an 8 1/2 by 11 inch typed page, which is double spaced and whose text appears in a standard 12 point Times New Roman font.
4. Everything in your portfolio will appear in a single, long google document. Make sure to mark each new section.
5. Please use the following template to name your document: "ENG112 FirstName LastName Final Portfolio."
As always, write with questions.
This week, I want you to review the course and the material you have learned. Please, please, please take the time to make this review as past experience has shown those who do so create much, much stronger and, hence, more successful final portfolios.
Here's what you should cover in your review:
1. Chapters 1-7 of Writing for College, Writing for Life.
2. The blog.
3. Any of the reading you haven't done, do it now; this will prove one of your final chances.
4. As you read, update your writing inventory with any information that is new to you. If you need to, change the claims you make or the examples you use in your writing inventory; and, then re-read your writing inventory as evidence of what you have learned and what you have learned to apply this semester.
5. If you haven't already, go to bubbl.us and set up an account. Create a mind-map of the *major* lessons *you* have learned this semester. Under each lesson (bubble) list the evidence you can use to support a case for what you claim to have learned. To do this assignment properly, you need to go back and review what you've written this semester and think about how you might use it in your portfolio to support the claims you'll make about what you learned. This mind map will serve as a pre-writing exercise for the final version of your portfolio cover letter, and you can include it in your portfolio evidence section as evidence of what you've learned this semester. In this mindmap, be as complete as possible.
Just to clear up a few of points of logistics:
1. Create your portfolio as a long google document. Share it with me--prof.brandon@gmail.com. You can share it with classmates. This is a good way for you to learn what others are putting into their portfolios, how they are constructing their arguments, and how they've organized the content. It is also a good way to receive feedback from readers in the class you've come to trust; BUT, you are not required to share your portfolio or cover letter with anyone but me.
2. Remember your portfolio will contain:
a. a cover letter in which you will describe the major lessons you've learned. In this explanation, you will use the vocabulary you've learned to discuss and analyze your writing and you will argue for a grade. If you've turned in assignments late or haven't done assignments, here's also the place where you will explain and ask that I don't dock your participation grade (40%). I won't promise to buy your argument. If I do buy it or not will depend on its quality and the evidence you bring to bare. However, I do promise to give everything you say a fair hearing and to think about it before I assign you a final grade.
b. a writing inventory in which you discuss each of the learning outcomes for the course in terms of what you have learned and what you take each outcome to mean and/or discuss. Couch this discussion in terms of your of writing. In other words, I want you to use your own writing--particularly that which you include in the evidence section of the portfolio--as the source of examples you use to illustrate what you have to say about each outcome.
c. an evidence section that contains writing you've done this semester. Note: you are not to include ALL the writing you have done. Include writing you use to support the claims and discussion taking place in the cover letter and in the writing inventory. Pick and choose what you include. Part of what I'm judging is how and how well you pick and present your evidence. Also remember, don't just include final papers. Part of what you've been learning is process writing; so, think about including prewriting, early drafts and revisions, and proofreading copy.
3. Your portfolio should be over twenty pages in length but should not exceed thirty five pages. A page is considered the text which will fit into an 8 1/2 by 11 inch typed page, which is double spaced and whose text appears in a standard 12 point Times New Roman font.
4. Everything in your portfolio will appear in a single, long google document. Make sure to mark each new section.
5. Please use the following template to name your document: "ENG112 FirstName LastName Final Portfolio."
As always, write with questions.
Rules of Evidence: File Under Knowledge of Conventions
Just as discourse communities share conventions of genre, voice, tone, diction, etc., each has its own ideas about what kind and amount of evidence justifies a conclusion. Think, for instance, of what it takes to prove to a woman's support group and a court of law that a husband has committed adultery. You need to discover the rules of evidence for any discourse community you wish to join. Why? Logos and ethos based arguments heavily depend on evidence to support them. If you don't use enough evidence or don't employ the right type, then the credibility of your arguments suffers or, in the worse case, might be destroyed.
Academic discourse has fairly rigorous standards of evidence, because the outside community often bases their opinion and actions on the knowledge we create and propagate. As a student, you might find these rigorous standards finicky, but you want your doctors to know what is enough evidence to decide what your disease is and not make mistakes. You want engineers to know (and not just think or believe) that the steel and concrete used to make a bridge is up to the daily load of traffic over it. In other words, you don't want folks making critical decision to have slack rules of evidence.
Part of developing an academic voice is learning what rules of evidence, that is what types and amount, are sufficient for the discipline you are studying to draw a conclusion. Those of us in English might be able to construct Shakespeare's life from the scant pieces of evidence on which we have to draw, but you don't want folks using these same rules to convict you of murder.
Here are some words we use to describe and talk about evidence. Learn them:
Academic discourse has fairly rigorous standards of evidence, because the outside community often bases their opinion and actions on the knowledge we create and propagate. As a student, you might find these rigorous standards finicky, but you want your doctors to know what is enough evidence to decide what your disease is and not make mistakes. You want engineers to know (and not just think or believe) that the steel and concrete used to make a bridge is up to the daily load of traffic over it. In other words, you don't want folks making critical decision to have slack rules of evidence.
Part of developing an academic voice is learning what rules of evidence, that is what types and amount, are sufficient for the discipline you are studying to draw a conclusion. Those of us in English might be able to construct Shakespeare's life from the scant pieces of evidence on which we have to draw, but you don't want folks using these same rules to convict you of murder.
Here are some words we use to describe and talk about evidence. Learn them:
- opinion
- hearsay
- authenticity
- physical evidence
- relevance
- germane
- authentic
- expert
- sufficient
- enough
- lack of
- sufficiency
- eye-witness
- primary
- secondary
- biased
- source of
- documented
- refereed
- long standing
- degree of certainty
- smoking gun
- circumstantial
- empirical
- qualitative
- verifiable
- quantified
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