Hi everyone! I wanted to drop a line here to say a few things about the reading “How to Read like a Writer” by Mike Bunn– as well as a few other things that came up in class last Weds.  First of all, even though many people did not do this homework, the people who did do it did a fantastic job!  I wanted to point out a few things people said that are valuable to think about in our own writing: First, Raleek pointed out that even though Bunn said we need quiet to read, some people do better with music blasting– this is true.  Different people pay attention in different ways– it’s your job to figure out what the best environment is for you to pay attention.  Carmen (and others) pointed out that she learned how to write better by reading more.  This is an excellent observation– all the studies on writing show just this: we can do all the teaching of grammar we want, but honestly, the best way to learn how to write (and to learn grammar,) is by reading– and the good news is you can read whatever you want. The more interested you are in it, the better!  Yadira points out that in high school, teachers assigned essays to see if you guys had done the reading.  That might be true, but that is definitely a boring way to write.  That is not why I’m assigning essays here– believe it or not, I’m assigning essays because I want to know what you have to say, and I’m hoping to help you learn to express yourselves better– both in and out of school.

Last week, we talked about various “Englishes” and I mentioned that “Standard Written English” (sometimes called SWE) is not superior to other forms of English, like Spanglish, or African American Vernacular English (AAVE, or Ebonics) or Patois.  This is definitely true.  I do want you guys to know that if you WANT to learn Standard Written English, I can help you with that.  I’m here to help you.

Next week’s homework is below.  Again, I suggest you come to class on Monday– but don’t come in late, because I can’t fill you in if you come in once the exercise has started.  Zoom link is the same.