Glossary Project

Glossary Project: Due weekly, 14 times this semester, for COMD 1100 and ENG 1101

Throughout the semester, we will place a great deal of importance on defining words, both terminology that will help us describe, analyze, and discuss our observations, readings, discussions, writing, and design work and vocabulary that will help us better understand the materials we encounter. To complete this project, each week you will choose a word that you encounter in assigned readings, in course documents, on the course site, in our class or office-hour discussions, or in research materials for this course, and write a blog post in which you do the following:

1. include only the word in the subject line of the post
2. in the post, start by including the word again and its part of speech (noun, verb, adjective, etc)
3. add the definition, making sure you’re using the most appropriate definition, which might not be the first one listed in the dictionary
4. link to and cite the source of your definition–in general I recommend Merriam-Webster’s dictionary, although you might need to consult a different kind of dictionary depending on the word (e.g. a field-specific dictionary, an urban dictionary, a foreign language dictionary, etc)
5. identify where you encountered the word (specify the page of a particular reading, date of the class discussion, title of the handout, etc)
6. quote the passage (or paraphrase if you can’t accurately quote someone’s spoken language). The quotation or paraphrase should include more than just the sentence the word is in–a sentence before and after that sentence at a minimum is probably necessary to give appropriate context
7. explain for the readers of our site (us, plus visitors) the written or spoken passage now that you understand the word. Understanding the word might also help you understand the tone of the passage. In your own words, state what the author or speaker conveys. If you need to define more than one word in the passage, please do, in a separate post. It is not acceptable to merely write “Now I understand the passage because I understand what this word means.” If you do, you will not get credit for that entry.
8. (optional but encouraged) include links and images that help your classmates understand the word or the context
9. choose the category Glossary in the right sidebar (if your posts are not in the Glossary category, I won’t see them to give you credit for them)
10. add tags to your post that reflect the topic you wrote about. Include a tag based on where you encountered the word (such as the title of a reading), etc, that will help us organize and reflect on the glossary as it grows.

These posts will contribute to a shared glossary for our course, available from the site’s menu. You are expected to post a minimum of one glossary entry per week (excluding finals week). Omitting any part of the required information will negatively affect the grade you receive. If you have any questions, please contact me, or ask in class or on our site. This project will become part of  our Ways of Seeing shared project.

A written glossary wrap-up will be completed at midsemester and the end of the semester.