8 September 2010 Agenda

Attendance

Expectations for hybrid First-Year Composition

Key syllabus points & tech issues

Role of Twitter in WRA 110.744

What is college writing?

Projects 1 & 2 & issues from homework

Next steps: hitting the library

http://aristotlejulep.com/wra110

• Our course website and home base

• We (probably) won’t be using ANGEL.

• Why “Aristotle julep”?• Anagram of my name. Julie Rose Platt = Aristotle Julep• Aristotle is one of the fathers of rhetoric.• A julep is a sweet drink. The word “julep” comes from

the Persian word “gulab” meaning “rosewater.”

Twitter in WRA 110.744

• Analogy: If our class is a book, think of Twitter as a kind of “virtual margin” for notes, doodles, etc.

• I’ll give you short Twitter assignments each week. You are required to complete these, and to follow me and your classmates.

• You’re welcome to Tweet as much as you want and follow whomever you want. Explore!

Entering the Conversation

They Say, I Say• “The underlying structure of academic writing—and

of responsible public discourse—resides not just in stating our own ideas, but in listening closely to others around us, summarizing their views in a way that they will recognize, and responding with our own ideas in kind. Broadly speaking, academic writing is argumentative writing, and we believe that to argue well you need to do more than assert your own ideas. You need to enter a conversation, using what others say (or might say) as a launching pad or sounding board for your own ideas.”

• - Gerald Graff and Cathy Birkenstein

Old School: Writing for the Teacher

Writing in college is more than just writing papers for an audience of one.

You are writing so that your voice can be heard in the midst of a much larger conversation in which many have participated before you and in which many will participate after you are gone.

Writing for a Wider Audience• Begin with a good inquiry question

• First find out what others are saying about the topic before deciding on a thesis statement

• Once you find out what the experts are saying, construct a central argument and think it through

• In your writing, incorporate what others are saying by responding to those who might disagree with you and using what others say as evidence to assert your claims

• Be sure to cite all your sources accurately

Old School: Revision is Just Editing

Revising a paper does not mean that you simply fix the bad grammar, poor structure, or confusing parts.

When you revise in your writing, not only do you fix problematic parts of the paper, but you revise previous ideas, attitudes, and arguments.

If I just fix the parts my teacher marked in red, I’ll get an A on this!

Revising College Writing

Revising can involve editing a text to fix grammar

When you revise a paper, you also revise your ideas so that they flow more easily or make more sense

Revision might also include changing the structure of your paper, reorganizing quotations, or even refocusing your thesis statement

Revision takes time and can result in substantial changes to your paper…for the better

Old School: A Good Essay Is Always Arranged as a Five

Paragraph Theme

Effective Arrangement Can Take Many Forms

• There is no “right” or “wrong” way to arrange the ideas in your paper, as long as it follows a logical progression and works as a, effective and cohesive piece

• Finding an effective arrangement may take many revisions to achieve

• The way you arrange your argument, your sources, your examples, etc. can greatly impact the overall impression that your writing leaves on your audience

Old School: Invention is Just Prewriting

Freewriting!Bubble Graph!

Lists! Venn Diagram!

Coming up with ideas to put into your writing can happen in a variety of ways. There is no set list of techniques for an author to use in order to gather and organize ideas.

There are many ways to invent a text. Likewise, there are many ways to invent ideas. Invention is more than just prewriting. A text can use several strategies to invent just as it can invent a variety of strategies.

Rethinking Invention• Invention is discovery. It’s what gets you on the page,

but may not involve prewriting or even any writing at all

• But, when inventing a new piece of writing, you might try the old prewriting techniques to help you discover new ideas and to organize them

• Many things can be invented in a text, from the core argument to a revising of an old conversation

Old School: Literacy is Being Able to Read and Write

Literacy used to be discussed only in the context of reading and writing.

Today literacy is being explored as a more ubiquitous, broad, and diverse topic. Literacy can encompass many forms of communication, personal expression, and interpretation. One can be literate in more than just textual understanding.

Literacy! Literacy!

Literacy!

What is Literacy?• Literacies in plural

• Culture and literacy

• Literacy in academic disciplines and careers

• Technology and literacy

Old School: The Writing Process is Always Linear

Prewriting

Rough Draft

Revision

Editing

Final Paper

Writing is Recursive and Epistemic

• One can begin and end the writing process with any component of the process. It does not necessarily run linearly

• A writer might cycle through or choose to revisit one or more components of the process before finishing a piece. This means it is recursive (goes in a circle)

• In addition to being recursive, writing is epistemic—it produces knowledge

• Writing leads to ideas, not the other way around

Works Cited• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:MBC_1950s_classroom.jpg,

http://www.time.com/time/photogallery/0,29307,1838306_1759875,00.html, http://www.episcopalarchives.org/Afro-Anglican_history/exhibit/divergence/black_colleges2.php, http://www.bookpatrol.net/2009/05/book-limo.html, http://www.archives.kingsimages.net/exhibitions/studentdays/chelseacollege/development/chelsea-poly.cfm, http://www.lib.mcg.edu/history/nursing.php, http://www.washjeff.edu/uploadedImages/Academic_Affairs/Technology/Digital_Archive_Showcase/Band1950_001.jpg, http://www.doaneacademy.org/about_us_historic_timeline.php, http://www.armstrong.edu/75th/index/75th_armstrongs_greatest_generation_1939_1950, http://nearbycafe.com/artandphoto/photocritic/?p=3392, http://www.fashionistazlife.com/Trey-Songz-Does-1950s-Fashion-New-Complex-Spread-7955134

• Adapted from of Janet Bartholomew of MSU