Dear class,

A note to say that I’ve emailed feedback on your Lens-Exhibit pairings to your City Tech emails.  Some general thoughts:

-Ensure that your exhibit is *specific,* *distinct* from the lens author’s subject matter, and *Internet-related.* Specificity prevents vague generalizations about “technology”; choosing a topic that’s *distinct from* (though obviously related to) Carr or Shirky’s topics prevents a mere recap/summary of the original articles; and writing about something *Internet-related* prevents you from drifting off-topic.

-Ask yourself how your exhibit incites debate or controversy.  It’s easy to write an essay that simply expresses your initial opinion; work to address the counterargument.

-Utilize the Lens Essay Outline Template to organize your thoughts!  Tightening paragraph-to-paragraph organization is a skill that we all could improve on in this unit.

Best wishes for your writing.  Please see the previous Announcement for more details.

Sincerely,

Professor Kwong

Dear class,

Thanks for your participation today.  A reminder to post your blog about your lens exhibit pairing by the end of today.  Make a case for why that particular pairing interests you.  You don’t need a fully fleshed out argument at this point, but you do need some kind of motive.

Also, a note that I’ve posted the Lens Essay assignment description, as well as the outline exercise from today’s class, under Handouts.

Best,

Professor Kwong

Hi class,

Thanks for your hard work today.  As I said, I will return your Rhetorical Analysis essays, as well as your midterms, next week.

For homework…

1. Read + Annotate Shirky, “Is The Internet Making Us Smarter?” (45 mins-1 hr). Scan or take a picture of any two pages from the essay, with your annotations in the margins.  Include the page where you think Shirky states his thesis.  Submit here by 10 am on Monday, March 27.

2. Blog Post #5: Due Monday at 10 am.  Write about how either Shirky or Carr showed you something about the Internet that you wouldn’t otherwise see.  Make specific reference to one of their concepts. Use this opportunity to practice the writing principles we have discussed in class: guiding the reader, shaping within a sentence, and shaping your language between sentences.   Never underestimate the value of using connecting words like “However,” “In addition,” or “Therefore”!
3.  Bring Carr, Shirky, AND an article on a potential exhibit to class on Monday 3/27. I’ve included definitions of lens and exhibit below for your reference.

Lens: a concept, key term, or critical framework that has explanatory power.

Exhibit: an object of analysis, for which you need a lens.

best,

Professor Kwong

Hi all,

Thanks for your hard work during the midterm today, and during our writing lab.  I hope the taste of Chuck Berry gave you some historical, musical, and grammatical insight!

For homework, please finish reading Nicholas Carr’s “Is Google Making Us Stupid?” We will be devoting all of Wednesday to discussing it.  Continue to use our notes from today’s and last week’s class as a guide.  Furthermore, please scan or take a picture of any two pages from Carr’s article, with your annotations in the margins.  Include the page where you think Carr states his thesis.  Submit here by 10 am on Wednesday, March 22.

Finally, this week only, I will have to change my office hours to 3-4. Please see me during that time frame if you would like to speak.

Best,

Professor Kwong

Hi all,

A note to say that the midterm reading has been posted online, for those who were not present on Wednesday.  Please read, make notes, and brainstorm about how you might respond to the article in written form.  You must bring your copy of the reading to the midterm on Monday.

See you on Monday! Please consult the previous Announcement for more details about Homework.

best,

Professor Kwong