Category: Unit 1 (Page 2 of 3)

Unit 1 Reflection

FORMAT:  Please include the word count on the top of the page. Use Times New Roman 12 point font. Double Space! 

A Unit Reflection asks you to reflect or look back at the unit and think deeply about the readings, the major project, and the short writing assignments you completed.Think about what each of our mentor authors taught us and what we learned from  our different writing assignments, both short and long!

Guiding Questions

You do not have to answer each question, but rather use them as a guide or inspiration as you reflect or look back on the unit!

• Discuss what you learned about yourself as a writer and a reader in the process of writing your Portrait of a Word Analytical Essay. For example, what part did you find the most challenging? Or the most successful? Did you try anything new like revising with a specific focus?
• Which of the readings, if any, influenced you or inspired you? Explain the influence, USE SPECIFIC examples.  
• The focus of Unit 1 was on the power of words in our lives and in our communities. It was also on the Rhetorical Situation (audience, purpose), and genre, what did you find interesting? What did you learn? What would you still like to learn more about?
• Words: Words matter. They matter in our communities and in our lives. The words we choose matter. What is something that you took away from this unit about the power of words in our lives and our communities?
• What are your thoughts on the experience in general? Was it a useful learning experience? What specific skills or perspectives did you acquire as a result?
• How could you transfer something you learned in unit 1 to other aspects of your life both in City Tech and outside of City Tech?
• Is there anything else you want me to know about you as a writer or reader or your work in this class?

Name _________________

Portrait of a Word Worksheet

1. What is your COMMUNITY? 

2. What is your Word/ Phrase?

3. Describe WHY the word/ phrase is important to you and your community.  Does it provide information about your way of communicating, your values, your beliefs, your “identity kit” etc.? 

4. What was your first experience of this word/ phrase?  What was your first impression of its meaning? Has its meaning changed for you over time? 

5. Is there a way using this word correctly indicates membership in the community? Who is allowed to use this word and who is not? Or how does this word change when people from outside the  community use the word? Who do you think needs to know about this word? What do they need to know? Why?

Name _______________

Project 1: STEP 1: Choose and Introduce Your (discourse) Community Handout

Choose a (discourse) community that you are a member of. 

Think about the rules of a discourse community that Dan Meltzer explained as you introduce your community.  

1. A Broadly agreed upon set of common public goals 
2. Mechanism of intercommunication among its members 
3. Use of these communication mechanisms to provide information and feedback 
4. One or more genres that help further the goals of the discourse community  
5. A specific lexis (specialized language) 
6. A threshold level of expert members 

Does your community meet these criteria? DESCRIBE! EXPLAIN! PROVE!

Introduce your community to outsiders.  

Introduce your community. Describe it. 

What details do outsiders need to know? Think particularly about the criteria of a discourse community that we have looked at.  

Describe for an outsider the rules of the Community, how you gain entry (if you can!), the group’s values and beliefs. Is there a unique “identity kit”? Do they have a unique way of communicating? 

Write an introduction to your community. It should be about 250 words. It might be helpful to FOCUS on the SPECIFIC LEXIS (specialized language) and other unique criteria.