Week 1 Welcome to AUSB and WRIT 310

10/5/2014 8:39:00 PM

agenda
introductions (attendance, the course, me, you)
syllabus
sakai
social justice
music
for next week

introductions

Attendance
o names/nicknames
o pronunciation correct?

This Guy
o Philly teacher: jr high, high (art school/ghetto), temple.
o tennis coach
o rejected novelist
o ucsb grad student --- Comp Studies
o TA at UCSB in the Communication Dept and Writing Program
o WC Director at Antioch

Expectations for Classroom Culture

o #1 Listen (everyone start talkingcan you hear each other?)
o Be respectful of others. (Thats no bullshit, either!)
o Be resourceful (Use your classmates as resources)
o Freedom of expression
o ASK QUESTIONS
o Be prepared

o Try your best

o Have fun
o Smile and laugh

interview your group members then introduce them to the class

(30-40min)
o is this really important? yes, its huge!
o for this class to work as well as it can, we need to see/understand each
other as individuals. as people.

so what should you find out?

name/grade
why ausb?
whats their concentration? why?
current job? future career goals?
fave band? album? song? book? movie?
3 things that are cool, to you
fave quote
exchange contact info!!!! (emails, phone#)

break!

10 minute break. be back at

syllabus

Part 1, individual
o take 5-10 minutes to read through it and
o while youre reading it, jot down:
3 questions you have about it
the 3 most important things in the course

Part 2, in groups
o in your groups, share your observations

Part 3, as a class
o in 5 minutes, Ill explain the course in my own words
o if you still have any questions left over, please ask me!

sakai

quick run-down of how to access our course page in sakai

social justice

now lets really get you started on your end-of-quarter projects (everything we
do in here will, hopefully, build)

q1: so, what is social justice? (journal exercise!)

q2: antioch university is a social justice institutionwhat does that mean?

the official prompt for

paper #1 sakai

Discuss prompt
activity on breaking down ugly-looking prompts (re-space)

music

Im going to play some songs for ~2 minutes each (feel free to sing along)
o as theyre playing, think about the music and the lyrics
o jot down your thoughts along the way
o when theyre all done, try to consider the questions: what binds these
songs together? what about them makes them fall into the X music
category?

Your Cheating Heart

o http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BdAfoZrAnHQ
o http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/hankwilliams/yourcheatinheart.htm

Coal Miners Daughter

o http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f9eHp7JJgq8
o http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/lorettalynn/coalminersdaughter.html

Whiskey River
o http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0k9SjMpAxRM
o http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/willienelson/whiskeyriver.html

I Am a Man of Constant Sorrow

o http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YZtgZ5fHOuU
o http://www.stlyrics.com/lyrics/obrotherwhereartthou/iamamanofconst
antsorrow.htm

genre

just like they do in music or movies, textual genres exist in the writing world too
what are some genres that youre familiar with? name some!

how do you know a piece of writing is the genre that it is? what makes that
genre that genre??

for next week

paper
o 1, submit your paper to sakai before our next meeting

readings
o 2, read the assigned articles

3, take notes on the readings, bring questions, etc

Week 2!

10/5/2014 8:39:00 PM

agenda
journal qs
paper #1 debriefing
weekly tips
text-as-pig
readings
social justice
emails
for next week

journal questions

q1: writing process

o how did you write your paper? what, exactly, did you do? be as specific
as possible. when did you do it? why did you do it that way?

q2: genre
o try to define genre in your own words. think back to last weeks class
and the dirk navigating genres reading. (some of these terms are very
complicatedits OK if you dont fully understand the first week that i
introduce them. learning takes time.)

q3: new writing world terms

o what new terms/ideas from this weeks readings did you find interesting?
why? what were they and what do they mean to you?

ok, so why did we have to write that

paper?

the papers you submitted are going to be used as assessment tools for the
university.

schools need to measure their students writing development throughout their

education to determine if/how theyre improving.

Antioch has decided to use this Week 1 Academic Writing 310 paper as Point
A. Point B will be your final capstone paper (the last paper you write in the
BA program).

these two papers will be assessed/measured to see what kind of writing you
produced when you entered Antioch and what kind of writing you could produce
by the time you graduated.

important!
o I fought very hard to make this assignment relevant to the course and not
some waste-your-time assignment!
o although I wont be grading this assignment, my hope is that you can
use it as an exploratory paper to think through (1) what is social justice?
and (2) what your interests might be for our other course projects. it can
also be used as a way for us to jumpstart conversations about how we
write.
o in these ways, the paper is super relevant and not, at all, a waste of time.
o

weekly process tip:

reverse outline
o this is a writing strategy you can use on your own
o first off: whats an outline? (write down your thoughts! if theres a
question on this lesson plan thing, I want you writing down the questions
and answers! were going to be doing a bunch of writing in this class, so
get used to it! )
o now: whats a reverse outline?
next to each paragraph, jot down the 1 or 2 major ideas that each
paragraph is about OR write 1 sentence or ~10 words about

what each paragraph is about

its a way to turn what youve written BACK INTO an outline

format

o how could creating a reverse outline improve a piece of writing?

o quick activity.

weekly writing tip #1:

______ placeholders _______
weekly writing tip #2:
the oxford comma

in a series of thingsie, Im going to Trader Joes to buy apples, oranges, lemons

and garlicyouve probably been taught that you dont need a comma in the
last spot.

that may be trueyou dont need a comma in the last spotbut it makes for
much clearer writing. my advice: separate every item with a comma

john, paul, george and ringo

john, paul, george, and ringo

text-as-pig (lab dissection)

I want you to start seeing all of the little ingredients that make up a piece of
writing. I also want to boost our language/vocabulary about writing.

so: what writing things are in your paper? what stuff is it made up of?

think back to biology class: dissect your paper like its a frog or a pig. if you look
inside it, what can you find?

revisiting the readings

understanding rhetoric (the comic book)

everythings an argument

take 5 minutes and jot down the 3 most important take-aways from the
readings.

once youre done, take another 5 minutes and tell me what part of the readings
was the most interesting to you. why was it so interesting?

think/pair/share

cool video on the making of understanding rhetoric:

o http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KFzC2WSSDVM

beer bottles-as-arguments

take a look at these beer bottles what kind of argument could they be
making?

chalk talk on the readings

heres what I want you to come away with

another great video:
o http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BYMUCz9bHAs&feature=youtu.be&h
d=1

and another one:

o (science of persuasion)
o http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cFdCzN7RYbw

why did you make us read those

chapters?

great question! hear me out

I want you to get a broad overview of the writing world. I want you to see how
its everywhere, in pretty much everything that we do.

I also want you to gain familiarity with the major language/vocabulary that
writing specialists use to study writing. (in most college courses that you take,
instructors are going to want you to use the language of the course to demonstrate
that you get this stuff.)

I also want you to start thinking about questions you might ask your
interviewee. remember: your interview questions can be tied to the writing
artifacts and the person-as-a-writer.

social justice breakdown

lets think more about what that means and what it can mean
what are some topics you wrote about in your papers?

o group activity: Id like each group to put their answers on the white
board, please. Id also like you to be prepared to briefly chat with the
class about it.

social justice organizations/careers

lets brainstorm some social justice organizations and careers looking forward
to our future projects in this course, what other social justice/organizations
careers are out there?

lets start with local ones. (it will probably be easier to collect writing artifacts
from local folks and then interview them about it.)

the emails that youre writing for

this class

whats the purpose of the email that well be writing next week? (ie, our next
assignment?)

who is your audience going to be?

how should you address them and what kind of tone should you take?
what kinds of conventions do you think you should use in your email?
whats your goal for this email?
how can you best accomplish that?

some background research on your

interviewee/organization

before you write up your email, spend some time looking up information about
your interviewee and the organization they work for

this will help you decide (1) if you really want to dig into this area and (2)
whether you have the right contact person (there might be someone else that
you could interview in the organization who is a better fit for what you want to
do)

at the very least, check out their websites ABOUT/ ABOUT US page.

for next week

readings:
o

writing due:
o draft of email to potential interviewee/writing-artifact-holder

other:
o sign up on google doc for your organization/contact person

Week 3 Emails and Professional Communication10/5/2014 8:39:00 PM

agenda
journal qs
weekly tips
readings
email-as-genre
co-created rubric
for next week

journal questions

q1:
o what was the easiest/hardest part of this email draft assignment for
you? could you elaborate/speculate on why?

q2:
o what kind(s) of background research did you do to write this email (to a
real, live, actual human being!)? be specific. why did you do that/those
things?

weekly process tip #1:

re-read your emails before
clicking send!
o whenever Im writing super formal/high stakes emails, I usually leave
my audiences email address out until then end.
o why? so I dont hit SEND by accident and before Im totally done writing
and re-reading what Ive written.

weekly process tip #2:

copy/paste a tough sentence 3x
o this is another writing strategy you can use on your own
o suppose that youre stuck on the wording/phrasing of a sentence
(happens all the time to me). instead of using a placeholderie, last
weeks tiptry finishing the sentence or complete thought, even if you
dont love it. then, copy and paste that sentence 3x.
o re-word it, re-phrase it, re-structure it, do whatever you want to do
experiment with it!then see which one you like the best.

weekly process tip #3:

write yourself notes to self
with insert comments

aaaaand another writing strategy you can use on your own

here are some examples of me using this (I use it all the time)

weekly writing tip #1:

hyphens (-) vs dashes ()

Hyphens
o http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g0WptlLlhfU
o super adjectives before the noun!
o basically, it combines multiple words into one grammatical unit

Dashes

o http://writingcenter.unc.edu/handouts/semi-colons-colons-and-dashes/
o a way to add more detailed information within the middle of a sentence
(without disrupting the flow of the whole sentence or making it too
wordy)
o usually works best in the middle of a sentence, but you can also use in at
the start or at the end

http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2014/10/seattle-micro-housingboom-111874.html?hp=pm_1#.VEUizIvF_Rd

http://www.politico.com/story/2014/10/tom-cotton-mark-pryor-debatearkansas-senate-2014-111893.html?hp=f3

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/19/opinion/sunday/does-everythinghappen-for-a-reason.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&module=ccolumn-top-span-region&region=c-column-top-span-region&WT.nav=c-columntop-span-region&_r=1

weekly writing tip #2:

commas
o http://writingcenter.unc.edu/handouts/commas/

about research

empirical vs library
o whats research?
o whats library research?
o whats empirical research?
o what kind(s) of research do we have to do for our final 310 paper?

revisiting the readings

(think/pair/share activity
then chalk talk)
o excellence in business communication
o understanding rhetoric (the comic book)

1st: what parts of the readings were the most interesting to you. why?

jot down the 3 most important take-aways from excellence.

jot down the 3 most important take-aways from understanding rhetoric.

email-as-genre

how is an email its own genre?

what writing things make it unique as a piece of writing?

(standard conventions)
o brainstorm!

how can emails be different form each other?

real, good emails

take 5 minutes to look through the emails you brought with you to class.
(and if you didnt bring one, thats okplease work with a partner nearby.)

what made this email good? what about it was effective?

what conventions did the writer use?

to whom was this email written? (who was the audience?)

by whom was this email written? what is/was their role with the person(s) that
they wrote to?

what was the purpose of the email? what was it trying to accomplish?

*think/pair/share activity

co-created rubric for email

quick chat about grading

there are 3 basic approaches to the assessment (grading) of writing, and I

think that you should understand what they are!
o holistic
o analytic
o primary trait

ok, so as your instructor, what writing features (primary traits) should I be

looking for in your email? what things should be in your email? take 3-5
minutes to jot down your answer.

think/pair/share

technology tips for gmail

how to change your font

how to make a signature
how to add a hyperlink
how to add bulletpoints

peer review on your email drafts

(last 20-30 min)

Im going to post what I brought to class and what I think you should be looking
for, and Im also going to post what you just came up with!

google doc sign up reminder

dont forget to sign up (the link is on the To Do email that I sent last week)

for next week (a lot)

your email:
o make revisions/edits to it, then send it out RIGHT AWAY.
(ie, by tomorrow!)

readings:
o Everythings an Argument, Ch 6: Rhetorical Analysis (pp. 90-119)
o Everythings an Argument, Ch 17: Finding Evidence (pp. 395-409)

writing due:
o artifact analysis
that means you need to collect your writing artifacts as soon as
possible!!
that means you need to send out your email even sooner!

other:
o sign up on google doc for your organization/contact person

potential problem/solution

q: what if the person that I email (1) doesnt get back to me or (2) isnt willing to
help me out with the interview/artifacts?
o answer: find someone else in the organization or find a similar
organization.

q: what if that doesnt work out?

o a: let me know and well make a plan.

Artifact Analysis-to-Interview Questions

10/5/2014 8:39:00 PM

agenda
journal qs
tips
conventions
readings
video
artifact
interview questions
for next week

journal questions

q1:
o what makes a good question? what makes a bad question? why?

q2:
o think of a really good question someone asked you recentlywhat made
it such a good question?

weekly process tip #1:

no more 1-shot shebang for
medium/high-stakes pieces!
o if you want your writing to improve, do NOT write it in one sitting
o take your time, let the writing simmer, come back to it even if its half
an hour after you think youre done
o give your eyes a break, then come back to it.
o for low-stakes pieceslike an email to a friendyou probably dont need
to worry about this!

weekly process tip #2:

email your work to yourself as
an attachment
o this way youll never lose your work and you can access it from anywhere
(as long as theres internet connection)
o Google Docs is another way of doing this!

weekly process tip #3:

read your work aloud when
youre editing/revising

hearing your own voice read what youve written can help you catch errors
things that dont sound correct or things that you actually meant to write!

voice brain writing voice

weekly writing tip #1:

who/whom

when do you use who and when do you use whom?

o well, a trick to understanding this is thinking about prepositions
about, to, for, by, for, under, above

weekly writing tip #2:

whats a complete sentence?!
o http://writingcenter.unc.edu/handouts/sentence-patterns/
o http://writingcenter.unc.edu/handouts/fragments-and-run-ons/
o

weekly writing tip #3:

commas
o http://writingcenter.unc.edu/handouts/commas/

revisiting the major terms/idea in

the course thus far

what are some of the major course concepts that weve been discussing over the
past 4 weeks?
o this is fodder for your interview questions
o this is also fodder for what you want to write your paper about

conventions of the horror movie

genre

I want us to have the word conventions in our bag of writing world terms
conventions is a word that describes the rules or patterns of something
conventions usually goes hand-in-hand with genre

if you were at a horror movie theater, how would you know you were watching a
horror movie?

so what are the conventions of a horror movie genre?

o clips!
o http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CMbI7DmLCNI
o http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8VP5jEAP3K4

conventions of a written genre

what were the conventions of our email genre? (and, specifically, our email
request sub-genre)

conventions genre
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lyiIm4E8q14

revisiting the readings

Everythings an Argument, Ch 6: Rhetorical Analysis (pp. 90-119)

Everythings an Argument, Ch 17: Finding Evidence (pp. 395-409)

on your own, what were the 3 most important take-aways from each chapter
in groups of 3, come up with your greatest hits!

revisiting rhetoric: video

why are we watching this?

o 1, to reinforce some of the course terminology/concepts
o 2, to give you ideas for questions you can ask your contact
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BYMUCz9bHAs&feature=youtu.be&h
d=1

your questions about these artifacts

confusion questions
o what questions do you have about your artifacts so farie, things that
you arent sure about? something in/about the artifact that you find
confusing?

curiosity questions
o what do you want to find out about these artifacts?

artifact group work*

45 minutes

in teams of 3 1 person at a time

o 1, give some background/context on the organization and/or contact
person
o 2, show your group members your artifacts
o 3, describe what you think each artifact is, its genre, its writing features
o 4, then, as a group, consider:
what questions could be asked about each artifact from a studying
writing/rhetoric perspective?
come up with 2-3 specific, original questions per artifact!

I basically want you to help each other think through the writing artifacts that
youve collected, and I also want you to learn from each other (so pay attention
to what others are saying and what theyre thinking about!)

genre analysis video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lyiIm4E8q14

for next week

change to syllabus!
o (and Im probably switching the final paper and reflection paper, though
were not there yet)

writing due:
o interview questionsdraft!
bring 2 printed copies to class!!
also bring your writing artifacts!!

Prepping for Our Interviews!

10/5/2014 8:39:00 PM

agenda (150 min)

journal qs (10 min)
weekly tips (15 min)
interviewing: brief overview + effective strategies (30 min)
readings (20)
activity: feedback/peer review (45 min)
thesis statements (20 min)
evals (5-10)
for next week

journal questions

q1
o on a scale of 1-10, how do you feel about where you are in this coursein
terms of your progress?
10= I feel GREAT! Im right where I should be!
1= Im soooooooooo far behind, and I dont know if I can catch up

q2
o
o
o
o

why do you feel that way?

whats working for you?
whats not working for you?
whats stressing you out/ giving you anxiety?

q3
o on a scale of 1-10, how challenging is this course for you?

10= SUPER challenging

1= this is a breeze!

weekly process tip #1:

 draw out a mind map/cluster

example
this can help you to see potential connections between your ideas!

weekly process tip #2:

freewrite

example.

this can also help you to see potential connections between your ideas!
its almost a way of unlocking whats hidden somewhere in your brain.
essentially, a freewrite is a quick ~3-minute writing on a topic/question
without any concern about goodness or punctuation or anything thats going to
be evaluated by someone

youre free to write whatever it is that comes to your mind

weekly process tip #3:

inventory of ignorance!

anyone ever work in retail? ie, a clothing store?

what did inventory mean?
take stock of what you KNOW about a topic and what you DONT KNOW!
this can help you generate questions and find focus in future papers

example.

writing tip #1
parallelism

Similarity of structure in a pair or series of related words, phrases, or clauses.

(Also called parallel structure.)

use grammatically equal sentence elements to express two or more matching ideas
or items in a series.

why is this a tip?

o parallelism helps your reader make the job of reading easier
o our eyes/brains seem to prefer being able to anticipate patterns

worksheet on it
check out parallelism in resumes

o Incorrect: The candidate's goals include winning the election, a

national health program, and the educational system.

o Revised: The candidate's goals include winning the election, enacting a

national health program, and improving the educational system.

from
http://monroecollege.libguides.com/content.php?pid=348756&si
d=3403455

could you please tell me again:

why are we doing these interviews?

I want you to find out more in-depth information about these writing artifacts
o what do the people who produce/interpret them think about them?
o do they consider the rhetorical issues that weve been discussing? why or
why not?
o what sorts of genres do they have to produce/interpret in order to do
their jobs?
o what sorts of writing processes do they go through when theyre writing?
o whats good writing in their field? why? (based on what reasons?)

this information is empirical data that should supplement your ultimate

argument/claim for your final paper.

interview techniques and concepts

(ps, when you write about your interviews in the final
paper, Id like you to use some of this language.)

major types of interview qs

o grand tour
starting off easy and broad
take me through your X (ie, day)
tell me about what you do here
tell me about your role in this organization

open-ended questions allow people to answer

questions on their own terms

o prefatory statements
providing information before your question that might help your
informant/contact provide a better answer
give a statistic
define genre
o follow-ups/probes
to dig deeper into their response get more information

elaboration
clarification

o ask singular questions (one at a time!)

o other types (worksheet)

tie-ins to anthropology and learning about other cultures

o one way to think about interviewing is to use a popular phrase thats
used in anthropology: make the familiar strange.
o Nacirema article and activity
read this individually
then, in groups, discuss what you think this was about

strategies for successful interviewing

o shake your informants hand and introduce yourself!
o establish rapport
o make eye contact but dont make constant/nonstop eye contact
taking some notes while your informant is answering your
questions is a way to break up the constant eye contact
this way they dont feel super-pressured
o with their permission, record the interview so that you dont lose any
data
use your iphone
use a laptop
I can let you borrow my old-school cassette tape recording
device
o the best interviews, I believe, are like conversations -- feel free to let your
interview naturally flow like a conversation

if you wind up jumping around your order of interview

questions, thats OK! make sure to check off whats being covered.
(ie, if you were supposed to be on Q#3, but your informant is
answering #7, thats OKjust put a check mark next to #7 so you
dont ask it twice!)

o know your questions: study your questions and be sure that you actually
know what youre asking!

be able to define/explain any potentially confusing terms that

youre using! (ie, artifact, genre)

o if youre insure about what your informant is saying, try

recasting/rewording their response and asking them if thats an accurate
interpretation
o if your informant doesnt understand what you are saying, consider
trying a different door asking the question in a different way
o send your contact/informant a follow-up thank you note!!!
this is a part of the email(s) assignment, and Im expecting it to
be in your portfolio
in this brief message, make sure to tell them what you learned
and/or found most interesting

strategies for responding to help

others think!

talking about writing can be very difficult for most folks, so you might have to
help your informants to think through their responses

this resource can help you do that.

my advice:
o 1, use this to polish up your final interview questionnaire
o 2, study this to help your interview go smoother

PS: this is one of the Writing Centers go-to resources!

readings

think/pair/share

what was important? what were the take-aways?

pre-peer review on your interview

questions!!!

OK, so whats going to be in a good interview questionnaire?

o ie, what are the key ingredients to having a good set of questions for this
interview?

lets brainstorm together!

peer review on your interview

questions!!!

(30 min)
in groups of 3, heres the plan:
o step 1: each person takes 2 minutes to describe the organization that
their writing artifacts came from
o step 2: take a look at your group member #1s artifacts and write 5
questions that you have about their artifacts (that they could use for their
interview)
o step 3: check out their interview questions and provide feedback
which questions do you like? why?
which questions are you confused about? why?
how do you think about their organization?

based on these questions, what does it seem like the interviewee is

interested in finding out about? (this can be more than 1 thing)

o steps 4 and 5: repeat steps #2 and 3 for your other group member
(group member #2s)

due next week:

2 or 3 potential thesis
statements with your major

your final paper is essentially a research-based (library + empirical)

argumentative piece
o your job is to claim something about writinghow it
functions/exists/plays out in the real world
then youll need to back up this claim with evidence (your writing
artifacts + interview data + course readings)

so, in a way, youre creating a research question and the answer to that question!
o your thesis statement is, basically, your 1-sentence answer to your
overall research question

beneath each thesis statement, list how you would support this claim/argument.
o ie, whats your evidence>?

to carve out your thesis statement, consider these questions:

o what can I say about these artifacts?
o what did my contact/informant have to say about them?

google doc sign up for our

1-on-1 conferences during Week 7
(11/17 11/21)

remember: class is canceled this week so that we can each meet individually!
Im expecting you to use the remaining class to work on your rough drafts!!!
https://docs.google.com/a/antioch.edu/document/d/1kn4eshD6jTWYWvL64A
_nZ518g6GEjr7LdmNn6IVFEis/edit?usp=sharing
o Im going to email this link to you on ~Wednesday

evals

time to give me the axe!

for next week

readings:
o (Note: these readings will be useful for your potential thesis statements
due next week!)
o

Everythings an Argument, Ch 16:

Academic Arguments (pp. 367-394)

Understanding Rhetoric, Issue 4:

Arguable Assertions (pp. 148-159)

Shitty Rough Drafts (Lamott, pp. 21-27)

o They Say, I Say, Ch 7:

So What? Who Cares? Saying Why it Matters (pp. 92-99)

writing due:
o sample thesis statements + evidence/reasons (for how you would
support your main argument)!

Thesis Statements and Paper Prep

10/5/2014 8:39:00 PM

agenda
journal qs
weekly tips
group work: reading take-aways & metaphors
supplementary thesis statement lecture and activity
peer review/feedback
conferences
for next week

journal questions

q1, 2, and 3:
o what did you learn from this interviewing experience, specifically as it
pertains to
the act of interviewing?
understanding more about the study of writing/rhetoric?
thinking through your final paper?

weekly process tip #1:

visit our awesome Writing
Center tutors

my staff kicks ass

theyre really smart and theyre really cool people

I dont want to make you schedule a tutoring appointment, but I can confidently
say that I think its worth your time

weekly process tip #2:

 set up a time to talk with

each other about your ideas

in person on the phone via video chat through email

remember: talking about your ideas can help you write about your ideas more
clearly. why? because most people make more connections when they talk
compared to when they write

and writing is all about making connections between your ideas!

weekly writing tip #1:

italics.

for emphasis to make something stand out

when using words, phrases, or letters presented as linguistic examples

(to refer to a word as a word)

o The word word is a very interesting word.
(Which one should be italicized?)
o "Every word she writes is a lie, including and and the."
(Mary McCarthy on Lillian Hellman)
o

Kids learn words such as play and game when...

Many exotic words begin with the letter x, such as

Introduction of new key technical term or label

o

The term zone of proximal development means...

Adolescents labeled high risk should...

(writingcenter.waldenu.edu)

(from http://writingcenter.waldenu.edu)

when using Titles of Most Things

o Italicize the titles of magazines, books, newspapers, academic journals,

films, television shows, long poems, plays, operas, musical albums, works
of art, websites.
o (from Purdue OWL)

when using foreign words/phrases

o Foreign words used in English are sometimes italicized, sometimes not,
depending on how common they are. For instance, you would italicize
your bte noire and your Weltanschauung, but not your croissant or your
rsum. When in doubt, consult a dictionary or usage guide.
o (from http://practicaltypography.com/bold-or-italic.html)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italic_type
http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/italics.htm

"Think of italics as butterflies that might swoop across the page, allow them to
flit about, land here and there, softly; gently; don't treat them as a blanket that
must spread itself across the entire page. The butterfly approach will bring a
dash of color; the blanket approach will darken everything."
(William Noble, Noble's Book of Writing Blunders (and How to Avoid Them).
Writer's Digest Books, 2006)

Note:
o I <3 italics, and I use them a lot in my personal writing and my emails
o however, Id advise you to not over-do italics in formal academic papers

revisiting the readings

Ill assign each group one of these readings below. I want you to consider:
1. What are the 5 take-aways from each reading?
2. How can these readings help us understand thesis statements?
3. What advice do these readings offer us for writing more effective arguments?

1.

Everythings an Argument, Ch 16, Part 1

Academic Arguments (pp. 367-373)

2.

Everythings an Argument, Ch 16, Part 2

Academic Arguments (pp. 373-379)

3.

Understanding Rhetoric, Issue 4:

Arguable Assertions (pp. 148-159)

4.

Shitty Rough Drafts (Lamott, pp. 21-27)

5. They Say, I Say, Ch 7:

So What? Who Cares? Saying Why it Matters (pp. 92-99)

2 thesis statement worksheets

lets go over these together!

more group work!

2 parts
1. why is a thesis statement important? whats the value of having one in a
paper?
2. as a group, come up with 2-3 metaphors to help us think about (1) what a
thesis statement is and/or (2) how to effectively use a thesis statements in
your paper
a. ps: you cant use a map/roadmap!
b. bonus points if you can come up with a metaphor for the idea of using a
working thesis statement

working thesis statement

think of this as an always-in-progress thesis statement!

your thesis statement can change at any pointthink of it as being flexible!

my favorite metaphors
for thinking about thesis statements

picture frame (photography)

o frame theory

anchor (sailing)

scope

small group peer review on thesis

statements

heres what Id like you to do

1. explain
2.
3.
4.

reminder:1-on-1 conference sign up

remember: theres no class next week

you and I are meeting 1-on-1 to make sure youre on the right path!
sign up for your 15-minute block!

what should I bring to the 1-on-1

conferences?

bring your plan

o your latest thesis statement
o how, specifically, youre going to support it
o the structure of your paper, paragraph by paragraph
o some paragraphs!
o any questions that you have!
o print 2 copies one for me and one for you!

for next week

readings:
o Everythings an Argument, Ch 20: Plagiarism and Academic Identity (pp.
436 - 445)

writing due:
o bring your plan for your paper! (see above)

1-on-1 Conferences

no class!

10/5/2014 8:39:00 PM

Peer Review of Rough Drafts!

10/5/2014 8:39:00 PM

agenda
journal qs (7)
reflection (15)
weekly tips (30)
Stedman/sources activity (40)
highlighting; #ing paragraphs (10)
calibration
peer review! (60)
co-created rubrics
for next week

journal questions (7 min)

named 3-5 things youve learned so far in this course? (it can be anything!)
how, exactly, has that impacted your thinking/writing/researching?
o (PS: youre getting started on your metacognitive essay! )

reflections (15 min)

what does it mean to reflect?

what would make a good reflection paper?
why even reflect in the first place? whats the point?
what things should be in our metacognitive reflection essays?
o (lets come up with a co-created rubric)
o
o
o
o

metacognitive reflection paper.

o what have you learned in this course?
o how did you learn those things?
o why is learning that important?

Sister Yanows how to write a reflection resource

weekly writing tip #1

instead of the author says

Lunsford (2013) says, Everythings an argument.

Dirk (2010) says, Learning about genres and how they function is more important than
mastering one particular genre.

what are some other VERBS we can use instead of SAYS?

o well, lets think about what they might be actually be saying. Is it a statement?
Is it a question? Is it something in between?
o brainstorm some other action verbs to use besides says

Lunsford _______, Everythings an argument (2013, p.4)

o proposes, contends, argues, suggests, claims, states

o questions, interrogates, doubts, considers

weekly writing tip #2

[brackets]

Brackets allow you, as a writer, to:

o change a word/phrase in a quote (but not alter its meaning)

1, you can add a piece of information that might help the reader better
understand your usage of the quote

2, you can also change verb tenses

Suppose you have a direct citation like this one:

o Dirk suggests, Learning about genres and how they function is more important than
mastering one particular genre (2010, p. 2)

you can change part of the quote by using brackets.

Dirk suggests, Learning about genres [in a writing course] and how they
function is more important than mastering one particular genre (2010, p. 2)

Dirk suggests, Learning about [the conventions of] genres and how they
function is more important than mastering one particular genre (2010, p. 2)

Dirk suggests, Learning about genres and how they function is more
important than [only focusing on] one particular genre (2010, p. 2)

weekly writing tip #3

hedged language

If I put $100 on 2 different bets:

o bet #1: The Philadelphia Eagles will win the game.
o bet #2: The Philadelphia Eagles will win the game by 14 points.

Which of these is the safer bet?

Using hedged language is like making that safer bet. You might win less moneyyou
might not sound 100% absolutely positive of your argumentbut youre making a wiser
move.

When youre doing social science research (Communication, Education, Composition,

Sociology, Psychology), youre essentially studying people. Its really hard to know
what goes in inside of people and why they do the things that they do. Thats why its
wise to hedge most of your claims.
o claim #1: Zack is happy when hes teaching.
o claim #2: Zack seems to be happy when hes teaching.

How are these two claims different?

Which is the safer claim?

(Whats a generalization?)

Hedging our claims also prevents us from over-generalizingthat is, from not making
sweeping conclusions about everybody or everything . Hedged language is a way for us
to show that we dont know everything about a given phenomena.

Here are some examples of non-hedged claims

o Teenage pregnancies occur because teenagers are not well educated in
practicing safe sex.
o Teenage girls who become pregnant will not finish high school, stay poor, and
their children will continue in their parents footsteps.

Here are hedged versions of these claims

o Teenage pregnancies can occur because teenagers are not well educated in
practicing safe sex.
o Teenage girls who become pregnant are more likely to not finish high school,
become or stay poor, and continue in their parents footsteps.

UNCs Writing Center Handout on Hedge/Qualifiers

o http://writingcenter.unc.edu/handouts/qualifiers/

weekly writing tip #4

behold, the beauty of topic
sentences!

a clear TOPIC SENTENCE should control your paragraphs and key the reader in
on what the paragraph is about

weekly writing tip #5

use the quote sandwich to integrate
sources in your academic papers

you dont ALWAYS have to do this!

this is NOT a rule!
but its effective!

activity on the Stedman article:

annoying ways that people use
sources
(~20 min for part 1,
20 minutes to share)
o In groups, I want you to.

re-read/review each section with your group

create a skit that embodies the idea (something that can help bring it to
life so that we remember what it is)

explain the connection to us afterwards

(a 3-minute presentation, tops)

Armadillo Roadkill (p. 244)

Dating Spiderman (p. 246)
Uncle Barry and His Encylopedia of Useless Information (p.
247)

Am I in the Right Movie? (p. 249)

I Cant Find the Stupid Link (p. 250)
I Swear I Did Some Research (p. 252)

suggested structure of the paper

INTRO
CONTEXT/BACKGROUND
ANALYSIS
CONCLUSION

questions about any of this?

question:
for the final paper, should we be using more
direct citations (quoting the source) or paraphrasing?
o both!
o dont quote super-long passagesit takes up way too much space and it gives
most readers the impressions that youre being lazy.

co-created rubric/checklist for

final paper

so what should be in this final paper?

what should be in this metacognitive reflection essay?

highlight:

color #1:
o your thesis statement

o the main idea of each paragraph in the ANALYSIS section that supports your
thesis statement

color #2:
o your tie-ins to course readings
o ie, citations from the readings and/or the sources

color #3:
o your interview dataonly highlight your informants words

peer review on your rough drafts

lets rock this out!

for next week

writing due
o rough draft of metacognitive reflection
o 2nd rough draft of your final paper

bring 2 printouts of each

(that means 4 printouts total!)

reading due
o none

responding to student writing (RSW)

what makes effective feedback to writing

what are various ways you can provide feedback to someones writing
what writing things can be commented onie, what could you make a comment
about?

our homegrown resource

practice on commenting

APA Formatting; Peer Review Part 2

10/5/2014 8:39:00 PM

agenda
journal qs
weekly tips (20)
APA lesson (30)
co-created criteria for final paper + reflection (15)
peer review on final papers (60 min)
peer review on reflection essays (30 min)
for next week

journal questions

what do you like about your paper so far? whats working?

what dont you like so much? what are you struggling with?
what do you still have questions about? (its perfectly OK, normal, and good to have
questions!)

my feedback to your final rough drafts

it makes a helluva lot more sense for me to give you feedback on your last ROUGH
DRAFT before your FINAL copythat way you can use my comments more
effectively

sometime today or tomorrow, consider your group members feedback from, make
some edits/revisions to your work, then email your paper to me!

you have until Wednesday afternoon to email me your paper as an attachment

weekly writing tip #1

where to put the period (.) when
youre using citations

(this will help you with your paper!)

Dirk suggests, Learning about genres and how they function is more important than
mastering one particular genre (2010, p. 2)

where does the end-of-sentence period go?

weekly writing tip #1:

be resourceful!

here on outie, after this classhow could you find out writing
tips/rules/conventions/examples when (not if!) you need to???

APA Formatting/Style Lesson

this will be a strict APA lesson so that you know the rules for your future courses

overview
handout/activity
CCC + APA resource

in groups, co-created rubric/checklist for

final paper + metacognitive reflection

with your group members, create a list of the key ingredients for the final paper and for
the metacognitive reflection essay/letter?

what should be in each of them?

what writing tips or process tips from weeks 1-9 could you incorporate?

what APA conventions do you think should be in there?

once we come up with a collective list and talk about it, Ill add my 2 cents to it, and
then Ill use this when I read/respond to your papers.

highlighting activity

1st, please # each of your paragraphs. (this will make it easier to reference your peer
review commentsie, in paragraph #4, I wasnt sure what the main purpose of the
paragraph was))

color #1:
o step 1,

the main idea of each paragraph in the ANALYSIS section that

supports your thesis statement

**do not highlight sentencesonly the key word or phrase within each
paragraph

o step 2, now highlight your thesis statement in the same color.

o step 3, consider this question:

do the key word/phrases/ideas that you highlighted in your body

paragraphs support your thesis statement?? (they need to!)

color #2:
o highlight other peoples words: your informants, mine, tie-ins to the course
readings

color #3:

o highlight your wordsie, your analysis and your insight.

compare colors #2 and #3: does it seem like you struck a good balance? is there of
your analysis (color #3) than other peoples analysis (color #2)?

Peer Review,
Part 1: Final Paper
Part 2: Reflection
o 2-sided worksheet
o in groups of 3, Id like you to read/respond to your group members work as a
reader

preview for next week:

what should the portfolio look like?

what should be in it?

2 options
o old school folder
o weebly

show my old Temple students portfolios

class pic next week?

quick showntell
glory days

well, you guys game? you dont have to be! (really.)

for next week (our last class!)

portfolio how-to (website creation!)

bring anything else that youd like to work on
graduating tutors/students are coming to impart their AUSB wisdom

your portfolio is due next Wednesday, December 10th

Last Class!

10/5/2014 8:39:00 PM

get bret smith the lit agents book if its still around
sell them on the digital portfolio? a footprint?
agenda
journal qs
weekly tips
advice from graduating BA students
portfolio checklist
weebly how-to

journal questions

whats something you want to know about Antiochabout being a BA student? About
the curriculum, about teachers, about courses?

have you ever Googled yourself? if so, what comes up?

in the future, when someone Googles you, what would you want to come up?

AUSB-related advice from graduating

students

Rosemary Schwartz

Suzannah Taylor

portfolio

handout (I emailed you this last week)

to review, here are the component parts of what Im going to be looking for

weebly tutorial for online portfolios

ok, so heres how to make this!

Im going to run through a step-by-step process of how to make your own weebly site

remember our be resourceful writing tip from last week? well, if youre having trouble
making your weebly today/tomorrow, then be resourceful!
o go to Google for some tips
o check out some YouTube videos

heads up, re: me teaching here

im (probably) teaching a business
writing course in the spring 15
quarter
o the genres that wed cover are:

resume
cover letter
positive news messages
negative news messages
business proposal

o Im also working on a pitch to teach a writing about art course.

o and creative writing

course survey/informal evals?

___

free stuff
Im moving this weekend, so does
anybody want a
o futon
o small couch
o bikes
o clothes

formal evals

for the school

i can stick around til 11 if you

want/need me

..

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10/5/2014 8:39:00 PM

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