May 30

First, we did a writing into the day about voice.  (See slide 34 on the PowerPoint.)

Then, we went over MLA formatting.  You need the following:

• ·      Double space (make sure to check the box that says “Don’t add spacing between paragraphs of the same styles”).
• ·      Times New Roman 12 pt font
• ·      1 inch margins (Note: Versions of MS Word that are newer than 2003 will default to 1 X 1.25 inch margins.  You need to go in an change it.)
• ·      In the top margin of the page on the right, you need your last name and page number.  The header should be Times New Roman 12 pt font as well.
• ·      At the top of the page on the right (not in the margin), you need a heading with the following information:

o   Your name

o   Instructor’s name (Megan Keaton)

o   Course (ENG 111-06)

o   The date the draft is due

§  The date should be written with the day first, then month, then year.  (4 June 2013)

§  Make sure to change the date on each draft

·      The heading needs to be double-spaced.

·      After the heading, hit enter once and write the title in the center.  The title should be Times New Roman 12 pt font.  It should not be bolded, italicized or underlined.

·      After the title, hit enter once and begin writing the paper.

Your first page should look like this:

Paragraph taken from http://grammar.about.com/od/developingparagraphs/a/confessionsslob.htm

Then we discussed in small groups the questions on slide 35 of the PowerPoint.  We read the sentence on slide 36 and took one minute to rewrite it in our own words.  We did the same with the sentence on slide 37.  Then, we talked about which sentence is better for academic writing.  Most students agreed that sentence two is better because it is clear.  Some students, thought, argued that the first sentence is better because it sounds more sophisticated and seems to give more detail.

To begin thinking about audience, we wrote down three names of people in our lives that exist in different circles.  For example, someone might have written the name of their best friend, the name of a parent and the name of their boss.  Megan told a story that ended in a person needing to be bailed out of jail and in need of clothing.  The class had to write text message to each of the three people explaining that they need to be picked up from jail, given money and brought clothing.  Several people shared their hypothetical texts.  For individual writing, we answered the questions on slide 40 of the PowerPoint.

Finally, we looked at an effective example of a daybook reflection post and talked about why it is effective.  This example is on Moodle.

Homework:

• Read “Responding – Really Responding – to Other Students’ Writing” (on Moodle)
• Post a daybook reflection to your blog before Monday’s class
• Start drafting your Definition Essay
• Bring handout (on Moodle) on Monday

May 29

First, we completed the writing into the day about “rules” for a thesis (see PowerPoint slide 32).

Together, we created a class list of “rules” on the board.

• Controlling/main idea
• Proving a point or explaining an idea
• Should be a more broad statement
• Should be at the beginning of the paper at the end of the introduction
• Educated theory
• Be a single statement (even if it is two sentences)
• Explanation of an idea
• Can be a fact or an opinion
• It appears at the beginning of the introductory paragraph
• It needs to be a more specific statement.
• It needs to be broad but give a specific direction.
• States an intention or purpose
• It has three points in it (for a five-paragraph essay)
• It’s an argumentative statement
• You can start with “What I’m trying to say is” and then take that part away later
• It provides direction for the paper
• Sometimes the thesis is delayed to the middle or end of the paper
• It can be restated in the conclusion
• It can appear anywhere in the paper
• It should make an assertion
• You need it when you write an essay
• You don’t need a thesis for a narrative or descriptive essay
• You don’t need it for a personal essay
• You don’t need it for a letter
• You should restate your thesis every so often
• It gives your reader an idea about what he/she will be reading
• Sometimes the thesis is implied isn’t of directly stated

How might you use or not use a thesis to write the definition essay that is coming up?

• You can leave out a direct thesis and put in your different points in the introduction.
• When you use your attention grabber, you can throw in a thesis based off what you are trying to define in the paper.
• You can use topic sentences.
• Your thesis will be your arguments.
• You can write more of an opinion.

How does what you believe about a thesis affect the way you write?

• It affects how many body paragraphs you have if you think you need three points.
• It affects how you go about explaining your ideas in your paper.
• It affects how you will be writing your essay based off how you view your thesis.
• It affects the organization of your paper.  It gives you an outline.
• It affects how your paper flows.  The reader will get confused if you don’t have a good organization.
• It’s a main focus that you always return to.  It’s a reference point.

Then, we discussed the questions on slide 33 of the PowerPoint.

• Using you or your sounds like you are talking to the reader.  The reader might become offended.
• It’s very direct.  It’s unprofessional.
• You are telling the reader what to believe.
• It’s disrespecting the reader because you aren’t letting them form his/her own opinion.
• It implies that the reader should feel a certain way.
• You can replace "you" with “one.” 

• Yes, you can use first person when you are using an example.
• You can use it when you are giving an example of yourself.
• Some assignments call for a personal viewpoint.
• You can use it when you are saying “As I was doing my research…”
• Inappropriate is “I think…”
• If you’re doing anything based on fact, you shouldn’t use first person. 
• Teachers say that first person isn’t necessary because it is inferred that it is you saying it because you are writing it.
• The person can overuse the word “I” or “me.”

We got into four small groups and scanned through the first 5-6 pages of a professional article.  Each group was assigned one article.  As the groups read through the articles, they paid attention to when the authors did or did not use first person.  We tried to figure out when authors choose to use first person and for what reasons.  In whole group, we had the following discussion:

• Every time the author used the word “I,” it was referring to what he wanted to present in the article.
• Used first person during examples.
• All the uses of first person it was more personalized.  It was like he was trying to pull the reader into how he feels about a certain topic.
• When they were referring to introduction of the topic, they don’t use first person.
• When he was trying to engage the readers more, he used second person to present his point of view.
• The writer used “I” to present a personal feeling.  He used it to make the reading more general to a group of people. Sometimes he used “we” to refer to the two authors and other times it was referring to the readers. 

Why can professionals use second person but you aren’t supposed to as a student?

• With their professional level, they know how to appropriately use second person and back it up.  They have given themselves grounds to do it.
• As students, we aren’t ready to use second person.  You need to walk before you can crawl.
• We are capable of using it.  Why not teach us how to use first and second person effectively and appropriately?
• You don’t have to be a professional to learn how to write like that.
• Structure can become an impediment.
• We should be able to learn whatever we need to learn as material is being presented.

Homework:

• Read "Finding Your Voice" by Anne Lamott (on Moodle).

May 28

For writing into the day, we responded to the weekend's reading.  Then, we talked about the structure of the five paragraph essay and wrote it on the board:

Introduction

• Attention grabber
• Details – Background/ points you’re going to make
• Thesis/Hypothesis

Paragraph 1

• Topic sentence
• Information to support the topic sentence/Statements
• Concluding statement/Transition sentence

Paragraph 2

• Topic sentence
• Information to support the topic sentence/Statements
• Concluding statement/Transition sentence

Paragraph 3

• Topic sentence
• Information to support the topic sentence/Statements
• Concluding statement/Transition sentence

Conclusion

• Summary
• Restate thesis

In small groups, we discussed the questions on slide 27 of the PowerPoint.  In whole group, we had the following discussion:

• I used it in high school.  The senior exit is a research paper, which we did as a five-paragraph essay so the paper was organized and they know what we are talking about. 
• It is a challenging writing level because it pushes students to think through before writing something down.  Writing something with five paragraphs is not easy.  Most people can think of ideas, but not express themselves on paper.
• Teachers use it to teach you organization in your paper.  A lot of times you are al over the place.  But it teaches you to break down what you’re talking about and make it more structure.
• They use it because they have to.  They may have their own way of thinking about what is a good way to structure it to write something, but they have to teach the uniform of writing to pass the writing test.
• The five-paragraph essay is the generic outline to give you structure.  The five-paragraph essay would just keep it to five paragraphs.  If you have a longer paper due, five paragraphs won’t work but it gives you a general guide to use – introduction, conclusion and the good stuff in the middle.
• It lets teachers know what to look for.  They can look through it easily and make sure you can follow direction.
• It’s a guideline to follow when we write.  We aren’t going to use all the information we gather.  If we don’t have a guideline, we will include things we don’t need to include and not stay on topic.  If you grab a reader’s attention, they will keep reading the paper.
• You will use the same structure but you use more than five paragraphs. So teachers use it to teach you the basic structure, but then you can deviate from it. 
• There isn’t a limit you can use in a paper.  There is a limit in a five paragraph essay is.
• If you have a ten-page paper, you aren’t going to use the five-paragraph structure because you aren’t going to use only five paragraphs for ten pages.
• A paragraph is a thought.  Once you’re done with the thought, you move to a new paragraph.
• The five-paragraph essay is used when the teacher has certain values.  If they let you use more or less than five, they have different values.
• The reading for the weekend says that in college you are free to write, but in high school the system says you have to worry about the five-paragraph essay.
• What teachers say:
•  “The five paragraph essay will help you with your research.”
•  “We have to teach it so you have to follow it.”
• Was it irrelevant to learn?
•  No, it’s a tool to help.  It’s a crutch.
•  It’s a good opening to organizing your essay, but you’re not always going to follow the same guidelines depending on how many pages you have to write or what your topic is.  It is a good structure to start with and then you can expand it more.
•  It’s like the ABCs to write.
• It is irrelevant because if you can teach someone what you need to put in the introduction, the body and the conclusion, they are automatically going to go to the five paragraphs.  Then, when they get to college they’re going to have to learn how to write all over again on their own because they won’t be able to use five paragraphs for ten pages.
•  They should take the five paragraphs out of it and just focus on how to write the essay and how to stay on topic.
• We get caught up in the five paragraphs.
• In itself, as an introductory tool, you can use that and then they hopefully teach you other ways to write and other forms.  In its essence, it works, but you’re writing has to evolve from that point.
• You could teach the basic structure- introduction, body and conclusion and just how to stay on topic.
• In high school, teachers want to teach you on thing and then move to the next thing.  So you learn the five paragraphs and then move to something else.
• Teachers give us the tools, but it is our responsibility to find other ways it works for us.  We have to be critical thinkers.
• Teachers should teach critically.  They need to get away from NCLB.  They need the fundamentals of the subject and then the students can excel.
• Is the five-paragraph essay ineffective as far as critical thinking?
• If you use it as a cookie cutter, then yes.
• If you use it every single time, yes.
•  It can still be an effective structure.  I hook the reader at the beginning.  Throughout the paper, I allude back to the hook.  Then I hit the reader with the hook again at the very end.
•  You can’t plug and chug.  You have to think about what you’re writing.
• Discussion allows us to be critical thinkers.  When we get to writing, we should be ready to because of the discussion.  Megan isn’t telling us what to write.

We completed independent writing about the questions on slide 28 of the PowerPoint.  We concluded with the following discussion:

• What I was taught is that you put your thoughts on paper and then you organize it from there.  You stick to the subject, start with the introduction, and stick to your topic from there.
• I group my topics based on what I want to talk about.
• We all feel comfortable starting at the beginning. I start with a topic sentence and the reasons I can support the idea or give examples. I know I need to be coherent and relevant to what I am writing.  You know someone knows what he is doing if his writing is coherent. 
• It varies based on the subject matter.  Different subjects will require different organizations.  There isn’t a standard process you can always use.
• It’s times when I am not even thinking about writing that I think of good things to write.  It’s not a check list you have to go through every time.  If you know your topic, marinate on it. Think about how you can introduce it.  Research it if you don’t know much about it so you can sound credible.  But you don’t sit down and think about how you are going to organize it.  Even within the writing, things come to you.  It’s not always going to be this structure.
• I organize according to the level of important.  I let it flow like a good conversation.  The conversation is different according to your audience.  What is the main concern for me might not be the same concern for someone else.  I organize it based on who I am writing for.
• You start a new paragraph when you go into a new subtopic. If we are talking about computers, you move to a new paragraph when you start talking about the mouse instead of talking about the monitor.
• I use an outline to organize the information I already gathered.  That’s how I know when I need a new paragraph.
• Once you have a topic, then you have a subtopic.  When you say something different, you know it is time to start with a new paragraph; it’s a new subtopic.  If you are talking about a desk, you will start by talking about the desk as a whole.  Then you can move to the tabletop of the desk and then move to the legs.  Each new detail is a new paragraph.
• If you are talking about a phone on the table and then talking about the table, it is two topics.
• I get everything down that I have about a topic.  Then I transition between paragraphs.
• When I was a young writer, I would drag on and write too much.  I have enough in the paragraph but I know I have more I can say about it.  You need to be to the point, back the statement and then move on.
• I view each paragraph as a point I want to make.  Once I’ve completed that full thought, it offers a natural transition into the next point because it’s the next logical step.
• Once you meet the requirements, you know you are done.  You might decide based on how many sentences the teacher says you have to have.
• The original process is important.  If it isn’t interesting to you, it’s not going to be interesting to the reader.  You have to think of yourself as a reader of your paper. 
• You are writing for your audience.  It might be boring to me but interesting to my audience.

Homework:

The following readings can be found in Models for Writers:

• Read "Simplicity" on pages 176-179.
• Read "Map Your Organization" on pages 17-18.
• Read "Thesis" on pages 81-83.

*Note: The homework is different than what is listed in the daily syllabus.  I changed the homework based on what we accomplished in class.