This week we will begin to discuss the writing process. The cornerstones of college composition is that "writing is a process" and that "writing is revision." In high school you most likely wrote essays and you most likely wrote them in a single sitting. If drafting or revising were required of you, you probably fixed a comma or a run on sentence. College writing will require more of you than just these simple edits. In this class you will be required to provide the following in your final portfolio: a copy of your invention exercises; a polished working draft; peer review; revision activities; an editing log; and a writer's memo. Wednesday's reading from Rules for Writers explains this writing process in much more detail.
In addition to this, we will also be finishing the chapter on schooling and working on how to summarize.
Monday:
No class. Labor Day. Kiss a worker in celebration! Use the extra day to get ahead on your Wednesday reading. Don't save it for Tuesday night.
Wednesday:
Robert Putnam, Our Kids, 158-90
Rules for Writers, 1-17, 19-22, 76-77
Check your COC e-mail account
Friday:
First TLC Workshop/GLA must be completed.
Wednesday Study Questions:
DIRECTIONS (READ ME): Throughout our term, I will assign
you study questions. These questions are due at the beginning of class
and must be typed with a proper header. You
must be prepared to hand these in at the beginning of class. In
other words, answers handwritten during class will not be accepted.
Unless I state otherwise, your answers should be about a paragraph
long. When dealing with primary texts, you should quote directly from
the text using MLA standards. Our discussions in class will stem from
your answers to these questions. You need only to write one paragraph
in response to these questions and you should formulate it in the
"paraburger" format outlined in "How to Write a Successful Paper."
1. According to Rules for Writers, what makes for a good summary?
2. Explain the writing process in your own words.
3. Summarize today's reading from Our Kids in a single paragraph. Think about what details to include and which to exclude. What would a reader unfamiliar with the text need to know? Whatever you do, don't be like this kid.
