March 2008 Archives

Foreword, Intro, Apostrophes (to 67). Write 2 separate agenda items.

WB 2-2 Sonnet.doc

Update: I'm actually uploading the worksheet (which isn't all that complex -- analyze one sonnet and write your own. I wanted to give you some good guidance, however).

Think of this as an expansion of your previous portfolio. Demonstrate your willingness to revise (drawing from feedback from peers, from classroom instruction, your own research, and from me).

See handouts on Top 5 Resume Tips; content; presentation.

This time, I am also asking for a cover letter and writing sample.

1. Write an original poem -- something that you are willing to revise.
   
2. Include a brief analysis that demonstrates your ability to apply concepts you have learned from Hamilton, the workbooks, and our study of assigned readings.

Poems are meant to be read, not weighed, so I resist giving a minimum word count... nevertheless, I'd like to see about 300 words total. 

I think it's unlikely that you'll be able to get 290 words of good analysis out of a 10-word poem, and if you submit a 290-word poem, I doubt a 10-word analysis will do it justice.

This assignment isn't meant to pass judgment on your poetic talent; rather, I want to see evidence that you know what kinds of effects poems can achieve, that you can set out to reach a specific effect, and that you can state a case for how effectively your poem meets that effect.  (I will share with you a poem I wrote that was an utter failure. You can tell me whether you think it's worth revising at all.)

Desmond, John. "Flannery O'Connor's Misfit and the Mystery of Evil." Renascence: Essays on Values in Literature 56 (2004): 129-37. [Demonstrating that you can look this source up in the library is part of the assignment.

Bring a printout to class.

Before class, choose two or three pages from the article, and

1. Highlight all the author's claims (the non-obvious statement the author wants to defend) in one color.
2. Highlight all the author's evidence (quotations from O'Connor and from scholars writing about O'Connor) in another color.
3. Identify an opposing or alternate view (an idea that challenges the author's claims).
   

You can use two different colored pens, or you can underline claims and circle evidence, or draw bunnies next to one and rainbows next to the other... the point is that I want you to think about the relationship between claims and evidence.

Same as all the other exercises (revise your work and post an essay calling my attention to the most significant changes) except that there is no online peer-review activity.

Write a reflective essay synthesizing what you have learned from Lemire, job ads, your interviews, class discussions, and your own research.

I'm leaving the arrangement of your portfolio up to you, with three exceptions.

1. Begin with a half-page personal statement that clearly states your entrepreneurial goal for the portfolio. (Are you looking ahead to your dream job, the job you expect to get when you graduate from SHU, a part-time or internship job you want to get this summer or this fall, or something else entirely?)
2. A table of contents (following the personal statement)
   
3. A polished draft of your latest resume.
4. Some people may want to submit a writing sample, or a lesson plan, or something else appropriate to their intended job. I invite you to use this opportunity to get feedback on your developing professional identity.
   

In a single file, upload all your materials to Turnitin.com.

(I had previously asked for a printout for myself and one for peer review.... but now I think we'll try to save paper instead. If you don't have an electronic version of a job ad or some other material, you may submit the printout to me with a hand-written note explaining what it's for... just don't forget to add your name to it.)

Update... yeah, a table of contents doesn't make a whole lot of sense if you don't have too much in your portfolio, but by asking you to inclue one, I'm hoping you'll consider what else MIGHT be in your portfolio to flesh it out more and make you more competitive for whatever your goals are.  There's another entrepreneurial portfolio due in a few weeks, so you'll have time to think of what else you can put into it.

Bring a printout of your portfolio.

There won't be an online peer review activity. You will review each other's materials in class, and you will write a short informal essay (during class time) summarizing what you learned, and applying it to your own writing process. (What did you learn, and what will you do with what you learned?)

Skim through to the end.

Choose any two chapters that are most relevant to your career goals. Write separate reflection papers (one half-page each, as usual) on each of your chosen chapters. (You don't need to focus specifically on either of the last two chapters unless you want to. Make these reflections useful for you, personally, as you plan your reflective essay for Ex 1-4.)

Come to class today, ready to talk about the concrete steps you plan to take in order to meet your career goals. Emphasize how your goals have changed recently.

Finish the book.

Revision: Revise Ex 1-3, drawing on feedback you received from your peers. Submit the revision in slot 12a.

Reflection: Write a brief essay that calls my attention to the most important changes you made. Make a claim about your own revisions, and support your claim (by quoting passages from your rough draft and your revision, comments that you received from peers or from me, helpful guidelines you found in your assigned readings, during class, or online). Upload your reflection into slot 12-WR1.

Skim these chapters. For your response, choose two that interest you most.

Read sections one and two.

I'm adding this just to remind you that, as will all Exercises, there is a peer-review activity in Turnitin.com.  It should be available 

Interview someone in a career that interests you.

This should be a short essay, emphasizing what you learned. (I am not that interested in seeing a list of questions you e-mailed and what your source typed back.)

Between WB 1-8 and WB 1-9, you should have one source who can help you learn about the outside world, and one source who knows about resources here at SHU.