Glossary Project: Due Weekly, 12 times this semester
Throughout the semester, we will place a great deal of importance on defining words, both terminology that will help us describe, analyze, and discuss our reading and writing, and vocabulary that will help us better understand the material we encounter. To complete this assignment, you will choose a word that you encounter in our assigned readings, on the course site, in our class discussions, or in research materials for this course, and write a blog post in which you do the following:
- include only the word in the subject line of the post
- in the post, provide the word and its part of speech (noun, verb, adjective, etc)
- define the word you have chosen, making sure you’re using the most appropriate definition, which might not be the first one listed in the dictionary
- cite the source of your definition–I recommend Merriam-Webster’s dictionary, although you might need to consult a different kind of dictionary depending on the word (e.g. a field-specific dictionary, an urban dictionary, a foreign language dictionary, etc)
- identify where you encountered the word (specify the page of a particular reading, date of the class discussion, title of the handout, etc) and quote the passage (or paraphrase if you can’t quote someone’s speech)
- explain for the readers of our site the written or spoken passage now that you understand the word. It is not acceptable to merely write “Now I understand the passage because I understand what this word means.” If you do, you will not get credit for that entry.
- (optional but encouraged) include links and images that help your classmates understand the word or the context
- choose the category that labels your entry in the right sidebar (if your posts are not labeled with the correct category, I won’t see them to give you credit for them)
These posts will contribute to a shared glossary for our course, available from the blog menu. Since I expect you to look up any words you don’t know, and to read all blog posts, any glossary entries can appear on quizzes or exams. You are expected to post a minimum of one glossary entry per week. Omitting any part of the required information will negatively affect the grade you receive as part of your blogging grade.
You will need to write a final post to reflect back on the glossary entries you’ve completed this semester.
Final Post:Â
Please write a post that includes the following information:
- Give it a title
- Choose the category Glossary Reflection
- In the post, make a list of the 12 or more words that you included in your glossary–-just the words in a list.
- Then write a reflection about the glossary assignment for the semester. Think about how it affected your reading process, your comprehension, your coordination with classmates for this crowd-sourced project, etc. This should be approximately 250-300 words.
