Author: Kieran Reichert

Due by Wed. 2/17 @ 4PM:

READ:

• “Backpacks & Briefcases: Steps Toward Rhetorical Analysis” by Laura Bolin Carroll 
• “Mother Tongue” by Amy Tan

WRITE:  In this article, Carroll discusses the term genre at length, and describes how writing with genre in mind shapes what you write and how you write it. This week, I want you to write a post of at least 300 words describing a genre that you interact with a lot – it could be subway advertisements, comic books, YouTube vlogs, anything. The key is to choose something you know well. With that genre in mind, discuss what the conventions of that genre are – think about length, tone, language, medium, humor, etc. What makes your chosen genre the genre it is?

What genre is Amy Tan’s “Mother Tongue”?

Due Wednesday 2/10 by 4 PM:

READ: “Shitty First Drafts” by Anne Lamott. This is an easy piece to read through, so read it twice. While reading, annotate in the margins: How many steps does Lamott take to write one piece? What are they, in order?

WRITE: In a post of at least 200 words, respond to the following prompt and publish it in the “Process” category:

• Are your views on writing as a process changed having read “Shitty First Drafts”? How so? How does Lamott’s process compare/contrast with your own writing process?
• Given that she’s a professional writer and I’ve assigned her essay for you to read, we can conservatively assume that there’s something about her process that we can borrow. What steps in her process do you not currently use, but now would consider adding to your own?

There’s more work to be posted on Wednesday to be due on Monday 2/15, I just wanted to get this out so that we can get through all we need to on Wednesday in light of the schedule change.