Connection & Alienation
The Virtual Self
Multi-tasking, Divided Attention, and "being on pause"
Technology and its effects on Parenting
Technology and its effects on our Relationships
The use of technology and how we write, read, and communicate
The uses of technology: socializing, shopping, learning, planning, entertainment
Internet: Friend or Foe?
The benefits and consequences of technology
Safety Issues (texting while driving, online predators, "web rage")
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Paper # 2: Life with Online and Mobile Technology
Paper # 2: Joining A Conversation about the WWW, mobile devices, and the way they affect our lives.
Paper Schedule:
W 9/30: Paper Assigned
M 10/5: Prewriting / Plan / Working Thesis
M 10/12 : Draft (clean, typed copy)
M: 10/21: Revised Paper due
Your purpose in this essay is to state and explain a position in response to Amy Goldwasser‘s “What's the Matter with Kids Today“ and/or Sherry Turkle‘s “Can You Hear Me Now?” You should first explore the topic and determine your position or point of view (you may use some of the methods suggested in TSIS and WR). Your exploration should lead you to a working thesis (5c, WR) and a plan to develop that thesis (5d, WR). Please bring your working thesis and plan to class on 10/5. After we review these plans in class, you will write a first draft. Your first draft is due on 10/7. I will return your draft the following week. The final draft, revised in light of the feedback you get from me and from your own careful review (ch. 7 WR), is due on 10/21.
Length: 2.5-4 pages, proofread, double spaced and stapled
What I am looking for:
Analysis of the Goldwasser's and\or Turkle's Argument (what is the argument and how does it work?)
Introduction stating your main point (thesis)
Introduction should include an adequate summary of the conversation you are joining
Body Paragraphs presenting evidence that supports, illustrates, and explains your main point
Conclusion that restates your main point and evidence
Backing up your ideas with examples, specifics, quotes, personal experience or other evidence rather than summarizing
Specifics – not generalizations
Quotes from the text (include at least 3)
Consideration of the issues covered in your WR
Attention to language, grammar, and mechanics
Evidence of Critical Reading and Thinking
Original thought / Independent intellectual effort
Essay Title
Paper Schedule:
W 9/30: Paper Assigned
M 10/5: Prewriting / Plan / Working Thesis
M 10/12 : Draft (clean, typed copy)
M: 10/21: Revised Paper due
Your purpose in this essay is to state and explain a position in response to Amy Goldwasser‘s “What's the Matter with Kids Today“ and/or Sherry Turkle‘s “Can You Hear Me Now?” You should first explore the topic and determine your position or point of view (you may use some of the methods suggested in TSIS and WR). Your exploration should lead you to a working thesis (5c, WR) and a plan to develop that thesis (5d, WR). Please bring your working thesis and plan to class on 10/5. After we review these plans in class, you will write a first draft. Your first draft is due on 10/7. I will return your draft the following week. The final draft, revised in light of the feedback you get from me and from your own careful review (ch. 7 WR), is due on 10/21.
Length: 2.5-4 pages, proofread, double spaced and stapled
What I am looking for:
Analysis of the Goldwasser's and\or Turkle's Argument (what is the argument and how does it work?)
Introduction stating your main point (thesis)
Introduction should include an adequate summary of the conversation you are joining
Body Paragraphs presenting evidence that supports, illustrates, and explains your main point
Conclusion that restates your main point and evidence
Backing up your ideas with examples, specifics, quotes, personal experience or other evidence rather than summarizing
Specifics – not generalizations
Quotes from the text (include at least 3)
Consideration of the issues covered in your WR
Attention to language, grammar, and mechanics
Evidence of Critical Reading and Thinking
Original thought / Independent intellectual effort
Essay Title
Monday, September 28, 2009
Self-Review: Quick Diction Edit (in-class 9/28)
1. Read your essay and consider your AUDIENCE (college, academic). Look for any words or phrases that are slang (such as "cool"), colloquial words and expressions (such as "fixing to"), and cliches (such as "easier said than done" and "better late than never"). Circle these words and phrases. After you have read through the entire paper, replace any slang or colloquial words or expressions with standard written English. Replace any cliches with original expressions.
2. CONCEPT NOUNS: Nouns that express a concept are commonly used in bad writing instead of verbs that tell what someone did. For example: "The common reaction is incredulous laughter" or "Bemused cynicism isn't the only response to the old system" or "The current campus hostility is a symptom of the change." What is so eerie is that these sentences have no people in them. They have no working verbs, and they contain abstractions that the reader can't visualize. Turn these cold sentences around. Get people doing things. For example: "Most people just laugh with disbelief" or "Some people respond to the old system by turning cynical; others say..."
(the above paraphrase of a passage from William Zinsser's On Writing Well)
Go back through your essay and underline and concept nouns that you used in your essay. Replace them or rewrite the sentences so that you "get people doing things."
3. Read the paper again and draw boxes around general or blah nouns and adjectives. Look especially for general nouns such as "thing," "aspect,"and "kind," and adjectives that describe size and appearance, such as "large," "small," and "nice." After you have boxed in these general words and replace them with more lively, concrete synonyms. You may use a thesaurus.
4. Read the paper again and circle all forms of the verb "to be" (be, am, is, are, was, were, being, been). Replace at least 1/2 the verbs with more lively verbs (sometimes this will require that you reword the sentence).
5. Read the paper again and draw brackets around the expletives "there is" and "there are" whenever you see them at the beginning of a sentence. Reword these sentences to eliminate the expletives.
6. Give the paper a last read for diction, and underline any biased language -- sexist, racist, or otherwise prejudiced. Replace any biased words or phrases you discover.
2. CONCEPT NOUNS: Nouns that express a concept are commonly used in bad writing instead of verbs that tell what someone did. For example: "The common reaction is incredulous laughter" or "Bemused cynicism isn't the only response to the old system" or "The current campus hostility is a symptom of the change." What is so eerie is that these sentences have no people in them. They have no working verbs, and they contain abstractions that the reader can't visualize. Turn these cold sentences around. Get people doing things. For example: "Most people just laugh with disbelief" or "Some people respond to the old system by turning cynical; others say..."
(the above paraphrase of a passage from William Zinsser's On Writing Well)
Go back through your essay and underline and concept nouns that you used in your essay. Replace them or rewrite the sentences so that you "get people doing things."
3. Read the paper again and draw boxes around general or blah nouns and adjectives. Look especially for general nouns such as "thing," "aspect,"and "kind," and adjectives that describe size and appearance, such as "large," "small," and "nice." After you have boxed in these general words and replace them with more lively, concrete synonyms. You may use a thesaurus.
4. Read the paper again and circle all forms of the verb "to be" (be, am, is, are, was, were, being, been). Replace at least 1/2 the verbs with more lively verbs (sometimes this will require that you reword the sentence).
5. Read the paper again and draw brackets around the expletives "there is" and "there are" whenever you see them at the beginning of a sentence. Reword these sentences to eliminate the expletives.
6. Give the paper a last read for diction, and underline any biased language -- sexist, racist, or otherwise prejudiced. Replace any biased words or phrases you discover.
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Conferences Next Week (Monday 9/21 and Wednesday 9/23)
Reminder: We will not meet as a class next week. Instead, you will attend a 15 minute individual conference.
Please be on time for your conference.
Please bring a copy of your rough draft and your journal.
The conference will be a conversation about your paper and your participation in the class.
We can also discuss any concerns or questions.
I'm looking forward to meeting with you!
Please be on time for your conference.
Please bring a copy of your rough draft and your journal.
The conference will be a conversation about your paper and your participation in the class.
We can also discuss any concerns or questions.
I'm looking forward to meeting with you!
Monday, September 14, 2009
Peer Review Questions
- Overall impression. Read through the entire draft quickly. What is your main impression? What strikes you as the draft’s strongest and weakest features?
- Carefully reread the opening paragraph.
-Underline the thesis. Circle any words that are vague or could be more specific.
- Write the thesis word for word.
-does it make a claim?
- is it specific?
- is it manageable?
-does it contribute to the conversation?
- Rewrite the thesis in your own words.
-Based on the introduction, what are you most interested in hearing more about?
- Does the introduction adequately summarize the conversation? In other words, does it introduce at least one of the essays, state that essay’s main point, and respond to it?
- Reread the entire paper, paying particular attention to the body paragraphs
-identify the topic sentences
-do the topic sentence relate to the thesis?
-write the topic of the paragraph in the margin of the paper next to the paragraph
-do the paragraphs stay on topic?
-do any of the paragraphs seem to ramble, cover too many points, or fail to provide evidence or specifics? Explain.
-does the writer effectively integrate quotes into the essay?
5. Read the conclusion. Does the essay end effectively by restating or reviewing the thesis? Do you feel like the writer has proved his or her claim? Does it give you a sense of completion? Do you feel like the writer has adequately participated in the conversation?
6. Add anything else that you think the writer should know.
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Self-Review (due Monday, 9/14)
- Write the thesis word for word.
- What is effective about the thesis? Explain.
- is it specific?
- is it manageable?
- does it contain a claim or assertion?
- is it significant?
- What would you change about the thesis?
- Rewrite the thesis
Examine the plan
- Suggest any elements the author left out that should be included in the plan for the essay.
- Are there any elements that should be excluded from the plan?
- Is the order of topics appropriate for the essay? Can you suggest a better order?
- What is the most interesting aspect of the plan?
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Paper # 1
Paper # 1: Joining A Conversation
Paper Schedule:
W 9/2: Paper Assigned
W 9/9: Prewriting / Plan / Working Thesis
M 9/14: Draft (clean, typed copy)
M: 9/26: Revised Paper due
Your purpose in this essay is to state and explain a position or point of view in response to Steven Johnson‘s “Watching TV Makes You Smarter“ and/or Dana Stevens‘s “Thinking Outside the Idiot Box.” You should first explore the topic and determine your position or point of view (you may use some of the methods suggested in TSIS and WR). Your exploration should lead you to a working thesis (5c, WR) and a plan to develop that thesis (5d, WR). Please bring your working thesis and plan to class on 9/9. After we review these plans in class, you will write a first draft. Your first draft is due on 9/14. I will return your draft the following week. The final draft, revised in light of the feedback you get from me and from your own careful review (ch. 7 WR), is due on 9/26.
Length: 2.5-4 pages, proofread, double spaced and stapled
Introduction stating your main point (thesis)
Introduction should include an adequate summary of the conversation you are joining
Body Paragraph presenting evidence that supports, illustrates, and explains your main point
Body Paragraphs include a topic sentence that connects to the thesis
Conclusion that restates your main point and evidence
Backing up your ideas with examples rather than summarizing
Specifics – not generalizations
Quotes from the text (include at least 3)
Consideration of the issues covered in your WR
Attention to language, grammar, and mechanics
Original thought / Independent intellectual effort
Essay Title
Paper Schedule:
W 9/2: Paper Assigned
W 9/9: Prewriting / Plan / Working Thesis
M 9/14: Draft (clean, typed copy)
M: 9/26: Revised Paper due
Your purpose in this essay is to state and explain a position or point of view in response to Steven Johnson‘s “Watching TV Makes You Smarter“ and/or Dana Stevens‘s “Thinking Outside the Idiot Box.” You should first explore the topic and determine your position or point of view (you may use some of the methods suggested in TSIS and WR). Your exploration should lead you to a working thesis (5c, WR) and a plan to develop that thesis (5d, WR). Please bring your working thesis and plan to class on 9/9. After we review these plans in class, you will write a first draft. Your first draft is due on 9/14. I will return your draft the following week. The final draft, revised in light of the feedback you get from me and from your own careful review (ch. 7 WR), is due on 9/26.
Length: 2.5-4 pages, proofread, double spaced and stapled
Introduction stating your main point (thesis)
Introduction should include an adequate summary of the conversation you are joining
Body Paragraph presenting evidence that supports, illustrates, and explains your main point
Body Paragraphs include a topic sentence that connects to the thesis
Conclusion that restates your main point and evidence
Backing up your ideas with examples rather than summarizing
Specifics – not generalizations
Quotes from the text (include at least 3)
Consideration of the issues covered in your WR
Attention to language, grammar, and mechanics
Original thought / Independent intellectual effort
Essay Title
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