Category: Announcements

Category: Unit 2

WRITE: Write a blog post (approx. 400 words) in which you introduce your research question. You may find your topic anywhere– from Unit One to the blog posts we wrote last week, to your peers’ blog posts! (It’s really okay if two people write about the same topic– I promise you.) 

What is important here– and I can’t stress this enough– is that you research something you want to know more about, not something you think you already know the answer to.  You may be curious to know why there are so few African American ballerinas in major companies, or you may want to know how much “housing projects” have changed in New York since James Baldwin wrote “A Talk to Teachers” in 1963, or you may want to know what we really learn from playing computer games.  Just be curious. REMEMBER YOU MUST GET YOUR TOPIC APPROVED BY ME! 

Write it in question form (it can’t be a yes-or-no question, though) You must cover all of the questions in bold:

• Why are you interested in this question?  (Feel free to talk about your own personal experience with the topic, or to tell an anecdote about your experience with this subject matter) 
• What do you expect to find in your research? (Why do you expect to find this?) Remember that it’s okay to be wrong– you might find a completely different answer than the one you intended to find. You won’t get marked down for that! 

Spend some time on this– because this will serve as the first draft of the introduction for your annotated bibliography!

Category: Unit 2

Category: Unit 1

Part 1

Many times, students don’t know the rules when it comes to writing emails to professors. This isn’t their fault! There are so many rules, how could a person keep track? That’s why I want you to practice this extremely important genre of writing. First, watch this slide show about emailing a professor, and then write me an email either: 

1. Asking me a question about Unit 1. This can be a question you have about the assignment or about your essay in particular or
2. Explaining to me how your essay is going. 

If you have something else you want to talk about, feel free to write about that. These topics are really just there to give you ideas. Do your best to follow all the guidelines given in the handout! If you don’t get it right, that’s okay, but give it a shot.  

 

Part 2

READ AND ANNOTATE: Shitty First Drafts, Anne Lamott 

WRITE: A Less Shitty First Draft of UNIT ONE. At least 800 words. Pay attention to your paragraphs! Remember that you can use anything we have already written in this unit if you want. All low-stakes assignments are to help you write the major papers!

PRINT: Print your draft and bring to class for Peer Review.

Category: Unit 1

Category: Unit 1

Part 1

READ AND ANNOTATE : Olivarez, “Maybe I Could Save Myself by Writing”  (or else, this PDF version)

READ AND ANNOTATE: “The Fourth of July” by Audre Lorde 

WRITE: (250 Words)  So far in this unit, we have read three examples from the genre of the “education narrative.”  Your first essay assignment in this class will be to write in this genre yourself.  So in this discussion forum, I’d like us to have a conversation about what the features of this genre are. Please discuss some of the following:

• What, from what you’ve seen so far, are the “ingredients” (also known as “conventions”) of the education narrative genre?
• What do you think might be a place to get started with your own education narrative?
• What are your questions or concerns about writing an education narrative of your own?
• If you like, you can also feel free to share an educational experience you had and ask for feedback from your colleagues (and me) to see if we think that might be a solid place to begin writing.

Part 2

• THINK: Think of one specific incident that changed your views on education. Picture the scene 
• REVIEW : Please review the slideshow we watched in class about what paragraphs are. You can find it HERE
• WRITE: a blog post of at least two distinct paragraphs describing one specific incident that changed your views on education using Concrete, Significant detail. The incident you described in class will be a great place to start.

Category: Unit 1