Author Archives: Jody R. Rosen

Advice for final exam

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Based on reading practice final exams:

  • be sure to include the author’s name in the introduction
  • be sure to include the article’s name in the introduction
  • identify the focus, or even the claim or argument, not just the topic.
  • give at least one example from the reading
  • give at least one example from your experience
  • when referring to the author: 1st time, full name; subsequent times, just last name
  • no need to take the time to use white-out–just cross out.

For the day of the final:

  • bring the reading with you!
  • mark up the reading so you know what’s where and what you think about it
  • look up any words you needed to understand better
  • sleep
  • eat breakfast
  • come to lab (10:00-10:50) to brainstorm how to use the 75 minutes of the exam most effectively
  • come to class (11:30-12:45) to write the exam

Anticipated topics for questions:

  • more specific: pro/con about having wi-fi in coffee shop? does it take away from interpersonal communication?
  • more general: are people too engrossed in technology?

Project #4 Cover Letter

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Now that you’ve completed Project #4, please reflect on your writing in a letter addressed to me. Include in that letter:

  • What are you most proud of in your Project #4 work?
  • What challenged you most in Project #4
  • How does this project reflect what you have learned as a writer this semester?
  • Did this project connect to your interests–academic or otherwise–and if so, how?
  • Is there anything else I should know about your work or about you as a writer or as a student?

 

Copy editing and final revisions

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Introduction: not too general! think local!

Conclusion

Thesis statement: do you have one? is it relevant?

Flow: eliminate fluff for the sake of flow. Does every sentence belong? and belong there?

Sentence structure:

  • run-ons
    • comma splices
  • fragments
  • I-sentences
  • The-sentences
  • repetitive patterns
  • passive vs. active
  • verb “to be”

Grammar:

  • Commas: listen for pauses!
  • semicolon: do you use them?
  • colon: what follows is as an example of what you’ve just written
  • quotation marks: make sure you have “open and closed” and your punctuation appropriately inside (.,?!) or outside (:;?!) (parenthetical citation)

Usage:

  • check out the Frequently Confused Words (their/there/they’re; two/too/to; use /used to)
  • affect/effect

Final polish

  • Typos
  • use spell check
  • capitalization
  • give your project a title
  • tag it final
  • categorize it Project #4
  • Due: WEDNESDAY AT THE START OF LAB! THAT’S 10am!

 

 

Project #4 peer review

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To begin our peer review, read your classmate’s introduction. Answer the following two questions:

  1. Is it clear what the theme of the route is?
  2. What is the thesis statement? Identify it, and also put it in your own words.

Continue reading.

If the project does not yet have an introduction, read the draft and offer your insight into what the theme is and what the thesis statement is (the two questions above).

Whether the project has an introduction yet or not, use the thesis statement you have identified as a map to the rest of the project. Does each paragraph fit within that thesis statement? If not, how can you expand it or revise it to make it work? Or, how could you alter the focus of the paragraph to make it work?

For each draft you read, write an outline of what is there and what needs to be added that the author can take home to use while revising. This outline should be specific!

Walking/Mapping Apps

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In class on Wednesday, we talked about the various ways we let ourselves go off-course when we walk to or from City Tech from the various modes of transportation that get us nearby. We also talked about thinking of how technology can alter the experience.

To generate ideas about digital tools that can be helpful to alter, improve, or shape the walking experience, look for a walking app or mapping app and consider some tools it provides that we might want in our imagined tool.

In a comment on this post, include the name of the app, a link to what you read about it, and a brief description of some element of it or tool it provides that would be beneficial to our imagined tool. How would you imagine using that tool?

For example, I found an app that uses a smartphone’s camera to help identify tree species. Leafsnap lets users take photos of leaves and uses facial recognition software to identify the tree based on leaf-shape characteristics. The nature enthusiast in me wants to take a walk in a park and figure out what trees line the path of my walk.

 

 

Cover Letter for Project #3

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In class, we’ll reflect on Project #3 by 1-each reviewing your work using the ENG 1101/1121 Grading Rubric, and then 2- by writing a cover letter for the work you posted on our site.

In your cover letter, please reflect on your process and write about the following (in any order you wish):

  • What are you most proud of in Project #3?
  • What challenged you the most in Project #3?
  • Did you meet the requirements of the assignment?
  • If you had another few hours to work on your project, what would you change?
  • How did Project #3 compare to the previous two projects in terms of time?
  • How was your work method or product different than for either of the two previous projects (not including the differences in the assignments themselves)?
  • If you could have changed the assignment, how would you have changed it? What would you insist on not changing?
  • Did this project connect to your interests–academic or otherwise–and if so, how?
  • Is there anything else I should know about your work or about you as a writer or as a student?

My comments to you will again come in the form of a letter in response to your cover letter, so it is helpful to me to read about how you work and what you think of your work.