Project #2 revision and Project #3 draft cover letters

For Project #2:

What’s different about your finished version?

How does it meet the assignment requirements now?

How does this version respond to or incorporate my suggestions?

Any thoughts about the kind of feedback I provided? What worked and what didn’t?

What grade does this new finished version deserve, based on the grading rubric? Consider all 4 categories in the rubric.

For Project #3:

What have you accomplished for this draft?

What work still needs to be done? Be thorough, since this will help me see your vision for your project.

How has this become a topic you’re interested in?

What feedback do you want from me to move you from draft to finished product?

How much more time do you think you need to devote to Project #3?

What grade do you think you have already earned? What grade are you aiming for with the revised version that you’ll submit next?

Class Notes 10/29: (re)Outlining Project #3

use our senses: what are all the different sensory experiences you have there on site? be detailed! Definitely *sight, maybe also *touch, *sound or its absence, or a soundtrack you layered on to the juxtaposition, *smell, *taste?

[think about time of day, time of year, climate, weather, etc]

Use your photograph as well as the experience of being on location

well-organized essay: organize your ideas into paragraphs!

900-1200 words: use this as a guide to get a sense of scope, to drive your revision, but not to make your language awkward and repetitive

make a claim: this is your argument. It comes at the beginning of your work (usually end of first paragraph) and you express it as a thesis statement. Then you bring your ideas back to this point throughout.

juxtapose/compare the elements: the bulk of the writing, very detailed, think about organizing your comparison into a point-by-point or block format or some combination of the two.

use 2 quotations: use these to support your claim, or to push against to make your claim. Your ideas are primary, theirs are secondary, so not in the introduction. Better to include these as you’re making your argument/doing the comparison, though there is a way to bring one (maybe both) quotations into your conclusion–this is much trickier.

You can refer to the ideas from these quotations throughout your project.

OUTLINE:

Write a rough draft of your outline of Project #3. Be as specific as possible.

Section 1: Introduction with claim

Section 2: Describe the sensory experience at the location [this could be divided into each point in your comparison]

OR describe where the location is, or where it is in relation to City Tech OR the story it tells you, OR why it’s important

Judge for yourself: how important is it to include things like 1-how to get there; 2-story it tells you; 3-why it is important to you; 4-sensory experience

Section3:(point 1) time frame of the two elements of the juxtaposition

 

Another possibility:

Introduction

similarities

differences

(point 1, point 2, point3, in different sections)

more about juxtaposition

conclusion

 

OR

Introduction

More about juxtaposition/claim (here or after more comparison) Q might go here

point 1

(element 1)

(element 2)

Q might go here

point 2

(element 1)

(element 2)

Q might go here

point 3

(element 1)

(element 2)

point 4

(element 1)

(element 2)

Draft to submit for comments (to guide future revision): 10/31

Class notes: Juxtapositions, 10/24

view from BNY
Photo by Khaleel Holgate

nature (plants, mist and clouds)

erosion

old buildings

new buildings

skyscrapers

human-made

textures

pattern

light

colors: color rich in the foreground, greyscale in the background

juxtaposition of: fence and bridge; buildings in foreground and background

Where is the viewer’s focus? what is the viewer’s vantage point?

what frames the image?

 

How do we organize Project #3?

introductory paragraph with the thesis statement–that claim or argument you’re making. Start with your topic and narrow down to the juxtaposition and what you want to say about it. [this might not be the first paragraph you write!]

Berko’s main idea, which is the proposal of the researchers working on building the app: “Small interventions in your everyday routine can generate a more comprehensive urban experience.” This comes at the end of her article, but our claims will be presented initially in the introduction. In the conclusion, we’ll be able to answer “so what” about our claim–why does it matter, or to whom, or what’s interesting about it, etc.

 

Do you use I or not? first-person vs third-person response

comparisons: block format or point-by-point

in point-by point, you highlight different points of comparison and address them individually for each element in the comparison. Sometimes you need to do some of each.

What are different aspects of the juxtaposition? aim to have perhaps 3-5 points of comparison

juxtaposition of buildings
photo by Airy (E.N.)

juxtaposing residential and commercial: building height; materials (and the effects of those materials), architectural and decorative style

What are the 3-5 elements you will use to compare the two parts of your juxtaposition?

how can you find these 3-5 elements? Brainstorm! Write down everything you see–be detailed–and start to see the points of intersection.

Reading “Reading Lucy” and more

To start class, let’s write about our Project #3 subjects:

Why have you chosen this subject in particular—what about it is striking to you? What story does it tell you? What would you want to know more about (although conducting this research is not part of this project!).

Jennifer Egan writes about a writing and research project in “Reading Lucy.” We can use her essay to consider how outside information can inform our writing. We can also think about how it represents a different kind of overlap and juxtaposition.

Where does Egan use outside information?

What kind of outside information does she use?

How does she incorporate it?

What is its effect?

Class notes from 9/26

Reflecting on “Our Senses”:

1-In a focused free-write that your classmates will read and respond to, write about your experience of visiting the Cooper Hewitt Museum for our field trip. Your response could

  • focus on one aspect of the exhibit
  • focus on the experience of visiting a museum
  • focus on the experience of learning outside of the classroom
  • compare your experience to another experience at a museum
  • compare your experience to learning in the classroom
  • something else.

2-Comment on the response passed to you. Do this by

  • adding to what the author wrote, or
  • contrasting what the author wrote, or
  • a little bit of both
  • or, ask questions for clarification, for provoking thought, for getting the work back on track.

3-Comment: did the comment add to your understanding, thoughts, the conversation? Was it helpful?

4-Comment as for Comment 2

5-Comment: what in the initial freewrite worked well, and would have made for a better start to the conversation?

  • getting specific would be helpful (eg, what senses were engaged)
  • more detail
  • more connections to outside
  • more comparison across works in the exhibit or across exhibits
  • more versatile: more instruction, ask writers to do more in their posts
  • ask questions

6-Comment: what in the comments worked well, and what would have made for a better continuation to the conversation?

  • ask more questions
  • variety in questions, responses–don’t repeat what someone else has done
  • more controversy! drama! push more!
  • come back to and look forward to all of our materials and experiences

 

ENG 1101: Class notes

How do we annotate a text?

  • highlighter: important words; phrases you can use as evidence; words you don’t understand; main idea or main argument
  • notes in the margin: summary; make connections; definitions of words you learned; your opinions/ideas in conversation (or argument!) with the author’s; questions (clarification OR springboard)
  • underline
  • double underline
  • squiggly line
  • star
  • bracket: something you agree with or want to call attention to, etc
  • + and – for pros and cons
  • circle: words to look up; key terms
  • arrows: addendum to margin notes; connect ideas across the page
  • notes at the end

What are our ground rules for collaboration?

  • clear communication
  • ask questions
  • make sure everyone understands you
  • time management
  • be open to different ideas
  • roles: work an equal amount, but not all in the same modes
  • challenge ourselves
  • teamwork: we all bring different strengths together to reach our goals
  • enjoy
  • be respectful

Look at avatars on the OpenLab.

  • what do you think individual members’ avatars represent? groups’ avatars?
  • first look at the image, then at the profile