Blog Post #5

Writer’s Blog Prompt #5

English 110 In Retrospect…

DUE: Thursday, May 27.

The purpose of this post is to reflect on your writing experience this quarter and to expand the audience of your blog.

1. Format this blog as a letter to students taking English 110 next quarter.

2. Spend time reflecting on your own experience as a writer, and look to your First Day Writing and Blog Prompt 1 to remember your thoughts about writing and the course theme the beginning of the quarter. (You submitted the First Day Writing to the Carmen Dropbox, so you can find it there.)

3. As you write the letter, think carefully about the audience of new English 110 students and consider the following questions if you need guidelines
• What do they need to know to be successful in these assignments?
• What did you do that worked well and what would you do differently?
• What specific examples or stories from your experience this quarter might help illuminate your process as a writer?

And, remember, I would love to be able to show these to future students, if you’d give me permission. So make them effective, helpful, and honest letters.

finalizing a paper

When I write, most of the mistakes I make are pretty careless. And, when they end up in my "final" paper, it's because I haven't taken the time to go through the editing steps I need. First, I need to read my own paper...like several times. I also need to do this a day or two after I have finished it. I can't re-read it right away, or I don't catch my mistakes at all. Then, I really need to have someone else read it, too, as I tend to read right over my errors. (I don't always do this step, as my papers are long, as I feel like it's a lot to ask to have someone read it.) I also like to read my work out loud--to myself or, even better, to someone else. Somehow, I catch more mistakes that way, and it helps weird/awkward phrasing stand out. It also helps if I read line by line, blocking the rest of the paper with another sheet that's a different color. This keeps my eyes from wandering, and I focus on individual words. Sometimes I wish I would just take advantage of the writing center, as I work there, and have someone there help me with my finishing touches. But I usually forget, or I get too nervous about my work to do this.

Blog Post #4--due Thursday, May 13

The Transition to Commonplace

DUE: Thursday, May 13—please have it posted before class time, as we’ll be referring to blog posts IN CLASS. We will comment during class, though, so no need to worry about that step for now.

Discuss your ideas and plans about how you will re-imagine your project as you write for Commonplace. Feel free to address some of these questions. (Or, just ignore them and write!)

• As you’ve read Commonplace articles, what have you noticed? What are some of the characteristics of the writing that gets published on Commonplace?
• How do you think this piece might be both similar to and different from your RAP? In other words, how might you extend the inquiry of your RAP, but radically re-imagine your topic, ideas, argument, etc. for the public, college student audience of Commonplace?
• How can you make your topic timely, compelling, and relevant?
• How will you deal with your sources, both primary and secondary?
• Who do you envision as the “ideal audience” for your work?
• How might you frame the introduction to your article to really hook readers?
• How would you powerfully conclude it?
• What do you believe your work could bring to the Commonplace community? How might you be able to add to what’s already there? Do you want to see a change in the type of writing that Commonplace values? If so, explain why!
• What sort of advice might you want from people who read and comment on your blog? How can they help you?