Welcome Intermediate Composition students!
Read the "Our purpose" post made on October 12 first. Then read the post on "Audience" made on October 18.
When posts are added to my blogspace, the most recent posts are at the top, so you will have to do some scrolling. Always check the top post for new information before you go into your own blogspace.
October 18, 2007
Audience
When writing online, you have a larger audience than you have ever had before. You are not writing papers for just me to read; you are writing them for your peers and whoever else happens upon your blog space.
Before writing, think carefully about your audience and how they will react to your thoughts on the topic at hand. If you are writing about obesity and how it is a terrible thing, keep in mind some people who read your blog may be obese themselves. If you are responding to a prompt question, keep in mind your readers don't know the prompt. Opening with "I don't agree with this because..." won't work, because your readers don't know what 'this' is. If you are writing about your novel, keep in mind that we haven't read your book. You are the expert on it and need to give enough information that we can all understand your personal responses to it and can therefore respond ourselves.
After writing, your audience will let you know what they were thinking about your post with comments on your blog. When making comments yourself, keep them brief and to the point. If your comment gets too long, it should be a post on your own blog space. Consider who is going to read your comment and also the writer of the original post. We wouldn't want to offend anyone.
Most importantly, just remember how big your audience is now. Plan ahead what you are writing. Choose words carefully. Give enough information so that readers from the outside will understand your writing. Organize your thoughts. Proofread for errors in grammar and mechanics. Consider your audience's viewpoints on a topic. All of these things we will continue to work on, but for now, we wouldn't want to sound uneducated or irresponsible in front of the whole world, would we?
Before writing, think carefully about your audience and how they will react to your thoughts on the topic at hand. If you are writing about obesity and how it is a terrible thing, keep in mind some people who read your blog may be obese themselves. If you are responding to a prompt question, keep in mind your readers don't know the prompt. Opening with "I don't agree with this because..." won't work, because your readers don't know what 'this' is. If you are writing about your novel, keep in mind that we haven't read your book. You are the expert on it and need to give enough information that we can all understand your personal responses to it and can therefore respond ourselves.
After writing, your audience will let you know what they were thinking about your post with comments on your blog. When making comments yourself, keep them brief and to the point. If your comment gets too long, it should be a post on your own blog space. Consider who is going to read your comment and also the writer of the original post. We wouldn't want to offend anyone.
Most importantly, just remember how big your audience is now. Plan ahead what you are writing. Choose words carefully. Give enough information so that readers from the outside will understand your writing. Organize your thoughts. Proofread for errors in grammar and mechanics. Consider your audience's viewpoints on a topic. All of these things we will continue to work on, but for now, we wouldn't want to sound uneducated or irresponsible in front of the whole world, would we?
October 12, 2007
Our purpose
Welcome to our new CyberSpace! It is here that we will give ourselves a public audience. Writers need a public audience to create relevancy and accountability. This space will be used primarily for two things.
First, it will be used to discuss the books we are reading. We will make posts about what is happening in our personal reading book (summary), ask questions about our book, make predictions, and respond to the book (make connections to our own lives). You will be able to read about 19 different books, and hopefully you will find yourself with a list of books you want to read.
Second, we will also make posts about controversial issues. We will use this space to publicly defend our position on issues we discuss in class - such as smoking in public places, abortion, obscenity, capital punishment, school, beauty, and censorship. It is on this public space that we need to think carefully about our thoughts, proofread and edit our writing, evaluate our sources and provide evidence for our beliefs. This will make us better writers!
To add another level of engagement, we will also comment on each other's posts. This will make our experience more like a discussion and promote collaboration.
First, it will be used to discuss the books we are reading. We will make posts about what is happening in our personal reading book (summary), ask questions about our book, make predictions, and respond to the book (make connections to our own lives). You will be able to read about 19 different books, and hopefully you will find yourself with a list of books you want to read.
Second, we will also make posts about controversial issues. We will use this space to publicly defend our position on issues we discuss in class - such as smoking in public places, abortion, obscenity, capital punishment, school, beauty, and censorship. It is on this public space that we need to think carefully about our thoughts, proofread and edit our writing, evaluate our sources and provide evidence for our beliefs. This will make us better writers!
To add another level of engagement, we will also comment on each other's posts. This will make our experience more like a discussion and promote collaboration.
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