You have some reading and reflecting assignments to complete before we meet on Monday. They will keep you thinking about the process of writing, the process of critiquing (and of learning from criticism), and of how we are mapping out our semester. When I ask you to write, I mean in your Notebook/Journal unless otherwise specified.

Go to our READINGS page and you will find a free pdf of Anne Lamott’s book Bird by Bird. The chapters on which we will be focusing are “Perfectionism” and “Shitty First Drafts.” Read both of them for next class and write short reflections on them in your notebook. What did you think of what she had to say? Do you agree? What has been your own experience in these areas? No length limit or minimum. Title this page in your notebook “Anne Lamott” and “Reflections” and the date. (You are certainly welcome to read the whole book, should you desire, but these are the chapters I am assigning.)

On Wednesday we discussed a few different ways of assessing grades on written papers. Please reflect in your notebook and tell me in at least 2 paragraphs minimum what your impressions were of the grading guidelines we discussed — ranging from the Departmental Guidelines to complete Student Self Assessment. Feel free to bring in your own ideas. Feel free to tell me how you were assessed in the past, and what you wish you could change. (You have a printout of the English Dept. Grading Guidelines which we read aloud in class; and my Standard Rubric is on the dropdown Gradings menu, above, directly under ASSIGNMENTS.)

Also for Wednesday, go to our ASSIGNMENTS page and familiarize yourself with what our learning plan is this semester. In particular, you should look at this document that gives you an Overview of this semester. Take a few moments to tell me in your notebook that you did read it.