November 2008 Archives

No Class

Exercises completed before this date will count towards your final grade.

Now that the semester is almost over, I'm not calling the next revision of Individual Learning Plan a "plan" anymore -- it's time to start looking back and assessing your accomplishments.

This is 3-4 page essay.  Like any essay, come up with a thesis statement that makes a specific, debatable claim, and back up your claim with evidence (in the form of very brief, direct quotations from your work, reading assignments, the comments I leave on your papers, etc.).

This is really Individual Learning Plan draft 5, but we have to give it a new name, since there isn't any time left to "plan" your individual learning.

For guidance, take a look at my comments on ILP3 and ILP4, noting that the evaluation rubric asks you to make explicit reference to how your results on the MyCompLab pre-test guided your choice of additional MyCompLab exercises.

Argue against a thesis that you promoted in a previous submission. (You don't have to argue against Ex 3-2 -- you could choose a different exercise; at any rate, tell me what exercise you're arguing against, so I can review your previous argument.)

No Class

Length: 2-3 pages. Persuade your reader by presenting the pro and con.

Title: Include the topic and your precise opinion.

Introduction: You might begin with a brief anecdote, a quotation, a definition, or something else your reader needs to know up front. You might also begin right away with your thesis statement.

While you may write it last, the first thing your reader encounters should be a thesis paragraph that lays out your blueprint. (Are you going to give all your reasons AGAINST, then all your reasons FOR, and then synthesize in a conclusion? Are you going to say the issue hinges on three factors -- such as personal, social, and professional preferences, and then give the pro and con for each factor? Will you need to begin with a paragraph that sets the scene, defines terms, or emphasizes the stakes?)

Make sure you have written an introduction that includes a reasoning blueprint, or a road map, or at least a list of your main points -- something that will help the reader understand where each part fits in the overall scheme of your paper.

Body: You may not know what shape your paper will take until after you've drafted it, but before you submit the draft, make sure the body of your paper follows the plan you laid out in the introduction. (It may be easier to change the introduction to match whatever body you end up writing.)

1) Print out your revised Paper 1, and add hand-written annotations that respond to my comments. You don't need to answer every single question that I ask, but please do take the opportunity to continue the conversation that's been going on between us as you develop your writing skills.

2) At the bottom (or on the back) of the last page, write a few sentences about what have you learned from the process of writing Paper 1, that will help you to try something different, avoid something unhelpful, or otherwise improve the quality of Paper 2.

3) What are the last five MyCompLab exercises that you completed, why did you choose each one, and what score did you get?  Demonstrate that your MyCompLab work is proceeding according to the concrete and realistic goals you have set for yourself in your ILP, responding to what you learned from your MyCompLab pre-test.  You can type or hand-write this part of the exercise.

4) What are the next five MyCompLab exercises that you plan to do, why did you choose each one, and what score do you hope you will receive?  Demonstrate that your MyCompLab plans are geared towards the concrete and realistic goals you have set for yourself in your ILP.  You can type or hand-write this part of the exercise.

5) Staple all these pages together. If you use a paperclip instead, please put a page number and your name on every page.  (You may put them in a pocket folder if you wish, but please DO NOT insert individual pages into plastic page protectors -- I want to be able to flip through your submissions and make quick hand-written comments, and I can't do that if the pages are sealed inside plastic.)

(Moved from Oct 30)