Assignment #14

In class on Friday, I'll hand out a set of quotations from various sources. They are meant to produce a paragraph on recruiting in sports.

Look at each quotation and write two or three sentences on each one. Would you use it in the paragraph? Why or why not? Would you paraphrase, summarize, or quote the passage? Why?

Please identify each passage by its author.

Tom Burns

Blog Assignment #13

Post a paragraph or two about the topic you have chosen for your research project? (Come on. Aren't you curious about what other class members are writing about?)

Try to state your point of view/ thesis on the topic, what specific aspects of it you are going to discuss, and how you are going to handle the argument. What are your main argumentative points? What counterclaims do you need to refute?

Tom Burns

Blog Assignment #12

By class time on Wednesday, 3-31-10, take a look at Exercise #32 (pp. 429ff) and blog a list of the main arguments for and against immigration based on the notes you see. Just make two lists, but try to read quickly through all the sources and find the pattern of arguments you see there. Try to construct a rough arrangements of the main arguments and how the pro and con arguments interact with each other.

Bring the book to class. We're going to try to turn this mess into a coherent argument. Don't fret about the mess. A research project always feels like an incoherent disaster at this stage.

Tom Burns

Blog Assignment #11

Sometime soon after Friday's class, describe the topic your group has chosen in as much detail as you can.

In a sentence or three, describe the topic of the wiki. Then, explain where you think your wiki ought to go. What is the purpose of writing a wiki on that topic? What sub-topics should it cover? What kinds of primary and secondary research will you have to do? (Will you need to interview people on campus? Who are they? Are there Internet or print sources at your disposal? What are they?)

Important: Do not consult with other group members about your post. The idea here is to see if you are all on the same page as far as the topic is concerned and to creatively freewrite about where you think the topic ought to develop. Your posts will give you something to talk about at your next meeting. ;-)

Tom Burns

Blog Assignment #10

For your next assignment, you will be writing wikis about some aspect of life at OWU. You'll be working in groups of three.

I'll be assigning those groups based on your shared interests. Thus, please post those OWU-related interests in fulfillment of this blog assignment ASAP, but at least before the end of spring break. Please come back to the blog periodically and see what other people have posted and use their responses to refine what you have to say.

Good luck! I hope you have a relaxing and pleasant break. I'll be spending a week on the Appalachian Trail in Maryland and Virginia.

Cordially,

Tom Burns

Blog Assignment #9

By class time on Wednesday (3/5), look over your previous essays and drafts and describe your typical sentence errors. Give examples from those essays. You might even want to look to older essays from high school or reflect on what previous teachers have told you about your sentence-level problems.

Don't be shy. As a good-faith effort, I will post myself. Yes, all writers have sentence-structure problems. Good writers learn to identify their typical errors and edit them out.

Cordially,

Tom Burns

Blog Assignment #8

Find the sample essay (pp. 245 - 46?) responding to the New York Times assignment. Read it and criticize it, noting both its effective and ineffective qualities. We'll discuss the essay during the second half of class on Wednesday, so what you're really trying to do (I hope) is generate something to say during the discussion of the essay.

Think in terms of all the positive qualities you might expect in an argumentative, multiple-source essay. Does the essay have a precise, restricted, and unified argumentative point of view. Do the paragraphs develop that thesis? Do its arguments support the thesis. Are those arguments developed with analysis and detailed evidence?

Cordially,

Tom Burns

P.S. Have you completed Blog Assignment #7 yet? If not, please do so ASAP. We'll talk about it during the first half of Wednesday's class.