Assignment 4

English 101: Introduction to College Writing – Spring 2013

Assignment 4: explaining choices as strategies with rhetorical analysis (context, audience, and purpose)

1.     Create a blog post and call it Assignment 4.

2.     Based on class-work and your own re- reading of “Standing By,” write a longer, well-developed blog post in which you connect your initial sense of what Sedaris’ context, audience, and purpose might be and explain them in relation to each other. Addressing the following questions should help you do this:

a.     What in the world around Sedaris and his readers could be motivating him to write what he has written?

b.     What is it about the time he is living in? What historical events or changes are shaping how he sees the world and thus what his purpose is and what he wants to do with his writing?

c.     How does the way he sees the world he is in fit with the ways he sees/imagines his readers and what about them he wants to touch, reach, effect? What might he be trying to accomplish? What might he want the people who read this article to take away from it?

d.     What is it about his readers that leads him to have the purpose he seems to have, given the time he is writing in? And why try to accomplish that through a magazine article, instead of some other medium?

3.      Next, create another blog post and call it Assignment 4: Choices. Write a paragraph each for four or five of your observations from above that explain them as choices. For each observation, ask yourself:

a.     Why might Sedaris have made this choice?

b.     How might this choice further his purpose?

c.     Given what he seems concerned about in the world around him, and what he sees in his audience, why might Sedaris have chosen to do this?

d.     What effects do you think this choice might have on his readers?

e.     How does this choice relate to the other choices you discuss? Or does it not at all? How do you think they are or are not connected?

4.     Publish these posts and bring your course texts to our next class meeting.

Assignment 3

English 101: Introduction to College Writing – Spring 2013

Assignment 3: using rhetorical analysis to make preliminary observations about a text

1.     Read David Sedaris’ “Standing By” on pages 275-277 in the First Year Composition Reader.

2.     As you read, take notes on a separate sheet of paper.

a.     These notes should indicate what you find surprising, interesting, difficult, confusing, striking, or noteworthy.

b.     You might also note any words, distinctions, assertions, or questions in the text, or anything about the arrangement of the parts of the article that stands out to you for any reason.

c.     You also might note what doesn’t stand out: what seems natural to you in the text, unsurprising, or just how things are? Noting what you take for granted can also help you understand how and why you interpret a text as you do.

d.     Be sure to mark those places in the text. These references will help you participate in class discussions and compose your essay about Sedaris’ essay.

3.     Create a blog post and title it Sedaris’ “Standing By”. Write a brief summary of the essay. Make sure to use proper MLA citation (in-text citations and a works cited). In order to write an effective summary, you will want to explain the essay to someone who has never read it. The challenge is to be thorough and succinct at the same time.

4.     When you’re done reading, summarizing, and taking notes, create another blog post and title it Assignment 3. Then carefully read back over your notes and any markings you’ve made on the text. Based on your reading of the article and your notes, write three or more developed paragraphs describing your reaction to this article, including what ideas you have about it. Consider the following:

a.     Why do you think Sedaris might have composed this text?

b.     What questions or ideas does Sedaris raise? Where do you see this?

c.     What do you think he might have hoped readers would feel, think, or do while and after reading? What makes you think that?

5.     At the end of this post, include one or two questions for you and your colleagues to pursue in class discussion.

     6. Publish these posts and bring your course texts to our next class meeting.

Assignment 2

English 101: Introduction to College Writing – Spring 2013

Assignment 2: situating yourself in English 101

1.     Please read all of the Student Guide, the Course Description, and your class syllabus. As you read, mark those places in the texts that seem surprising, interesting, confusing, difficult, striking, or noteworthy. In addition, you should use the margins to write questions and comments about these documents.

2.     Create a blog post and title it Assignment 2. Based on your notes, comments, and questions, write a few paragraphs in which you describe your impression of this course, using specific examples from the Student Guide. Consider the following:

a.     What do you expect from this class?

b.     Do not hesitate to be critical of what you read and have heard about this course, but be careful to distinguish what you have heard about the course from what you expect based on what you have read in the course materials.

c.     Consider how being a writer in English 101 might relate to being a writer in other situations.

3.     Finally, include in your blog post any questions or concerns you have about the class, its policies, procedures, and expectations, based on the first class and your reading of the course materials. As you write down a question or concern, explain why it is a question or concern.

4.      Publish your post and bring your books to our next class meeting.

Assignment 1: Introduction

Our class blog will be located at: www.uwmeng101.blogspot.com. You can also access this link if you go to the D2L page for this class. Assignments and news for this class will be found on the class blog rather than D2L. Be sure to bookmark this page for easy (and regular) access.

1.     Create a blog with Blogger.com. If you are not sure how to do this, follow the instructions found on the back of this sheet.

2.      Once your blog is created, email me the link to your blog. I will create a blog roll on the class blog so others can access yours.

3.     Create a post and title it “Introduction”. Then write an introduction to your classmates so they can get to know you better. Feel free to include pictures, videos, gifs, different fonts and colors, or whatever you want to express yourself. (But keep it respectful and appropriate.) Consider some of the following questions/topics below to get you started:

a.     Include your name and where you’re from.

b.     Tell us about your family or pets.

c.     What do you like to do in your free time?

d.     If you had one wish, what would you wish for?

e.     What is your favorite thing about Milwaukee or Wisconsin?

f.      Describe your field of study and professional goals. What led you to choose your major/goals?

g.     What is the best class you’ve ever taken? Why?

h.     Describe your background as a writer and reader. What kinds of writing did you do during high school, for work, or for yourself? What kinds of reading to you enjoy most?

i.      Compose a simile that reflects your personal view of writing: “For me, writing is like…”

j.      What are your biggest fears or concerns about college-level writing?

k.     Describe the goals you have for this class or how you’d like to improve your writing skills.

l.      What kind of learning environment do you need?

m.   What else should your classmates know about you?

4.     Publish this post. Bring your course texts to our next class meeting.

Welcome to English 101!

Welcome to English 101 and welcome to our class blog! This blog will work in place of D2L, so be sure to check here for updates, important information, and assignments. You can access this blog via D2L, but I suggest bookmarking it for easy and regular access. 

The English Department at UWM describes this course in the following way:

The course focuses on reading as well as writing because almost all academic work is in one way or another a response to, as well as a call for, reading: academics compose in response to what they have read, and they expect others to read what they’ve composed and then to respond in some form...

For instance, we use writing generally as a means to learn and to inquire critically into subject matters and issues that concern us and others; we also use writing generally to communicate to others what we have learned and what matters to us about what we have learned. More specifically, though, each text you compose will have a purpose (or purposes) of its own, something specific that you want to learn, communicate, or accomplish with your writing. (Course Description)

The description touches on something we often don't think about when we write grocery lists, tweets, emails to our grandmas, or Facebook statuses: we always write with a specific goal in mind. Our goal this semester is to examine and analyze the choices we—and others—make when composing in order to achieve a certain goal depending on our audience, context, and purpose. By analyzing these choices, we can work to improve not only our writing but also the way that we approach the composition process.

My goal is that our classroom atmosphere is similar to the early coffee shops in Europe where intellectuals met to discuss books, writing, politics, and ideas.

Let's think of coming to class like this:

And maybe we'll have some of these moments:

Or even these moments are ok, because we'll be thinking hard and all:

But let's hope we can avoid this kind of class period:

Let me know if you have any questions about this class. I look forward to working with you this semester.

Works Cited

A Very Potter Musical—Malfoy. 2009. GIF file. 
Course Description. UWM English Department. 2013. Print. 
Glenn Drunk at Golden Globes. 2013. GIF file. 
Hobbit Adventure. 2012. GIF file.
Lindsay as Bored Liz. 2012. GIF file.