Spring 2015 Notebook Assignments
Notebook 1 (Discussion Post)
Introduce yourself to your classmates, sharing something about your life in school and something about your life outside of school. Also, consider and discuss a few things in regards to your expectations of this class:
· What is your previous experience with English? Like it? Yes/no? Why?
· Do you enjoy writing? Why/why not?
· What is your experience with online classes?
· Include a paragraph that discusses how you believe you can be successful in this online English class
Then come back and post greetings to at least two other classmates
Notebook 2: Considering Your Writing Experience (ch. 1)
“For Exploration” pgs 3-4
Take some time to think about and list all the kinds of writing that you do. Obviously, you’ll want to include such traditional print and handwritten texts as essays, class notes, letters, and shopping and “to do” lists. You’ll also want to inventory the many forms of online writing that you do, such as instant messaging, tweeting, posting on Facebook or commenting on blogs, and writing reviews, and writing reviews on Amazon.com or other sites. Are design elements and visual images more important to some kinds of writing that you do than to others?
Now turn your attention to the media you use to write. In writing essays for your classes, do you first brainstorm and write rough drafts in pencil or pen and then revise at your computer, or do you write entirely on your computer or laptop—or do you switch back and forth, depending on the project and situation? When you write at the computer, how many programs do you typically have open, and how often do you move back and forth from , say, the Web, email, or instant messaging as y ou compose? Does your cell phone play a role in your writing? Do you ever incorporate photos (yours or others) into other texts, whether emails or essays?
Take a few more minutes to reflect on what you have written. What insights have you gained from this reflection?
Notebook 3: Considering Rhetorical Sensitivity (chapter 1)
“For Thought, Discussion and Writing” pg 17
Take some time to reflect on your understanding of the terms rhetoric and rhetorical sensitivity. You may find it helpful to recall an incident in your daily life when you were called on to demonstrate rhetorical sensitivity. Write a paragraph describing this incident. Then write a paragraph stating your current understanding of these terms. Finally, write one or two questions you still have about rhetoric and rhetorical sensitivity.
Notebook 4: Literacy Reflections (chapter 3)
Practice invention strategy--freewriting
Who am I as a reader? Writer? Learner
Take some time to reflect on your own assumptions about writing and your experiences as a writer. Set aside at least half an hour, and respond in writing to the following questions. As you do so, be sure to reflect on both your academic and your personal writing and reading experiences.
Notebook 5: Literacy Narrative Invention Work (chapter 11)
Who am I as a citizen? Community member? What is my life’s work?
Practice invention strategy—brainstorm?
Notebook 6: Exploring Rhetorical Situations (chapter 4)
“For Exploration” pg 56
Imagine that you need to compose the following texts:
· An application for an internship in your major
· A flyer for a march you are organizing to protest a tuition increase
· Your response to a film that you viewed in class, posted to an online discussion board
· A substantial research-based essay for a class you are taking
Spend a few minutes thinking about how you would approach these different writing situations, and write a brief description of each, using the following questions:
· What is your role as writer? Your purpose for writing?
· What image of yourself do you wish to present? How will you create this image?
· How will your readers influence your writing?
· How will the medium you use affect your communication?
· What role, if any should images, graphics, and multimedia play
Notebook 7: Analyzing the Rhetorical Situation
Read the following texts Loeb texts
then consider the rhetorical situation for each. Respond to the following questions:
· What is the location and date of publication for each text?
· Who is the intended audience for each text? (List as much information as you can.)
· How would you describe the tone of each text?
· What kinds of examples are used in each text, and what function do they serve?
· What relationship is established in each text between writer and reader, and what cues signal this relationship?
· How would you describe the persona, or image of the writer, in each text?
Notebook 8: Critical Reading Guide
Complete the critical reading guide below during lab session 5 then submit it here online.
Critical Reading Guide Declaration of Independence.docx
Notebook 9: Critical Reading Guide
Complete a Critical Reading Guide.docx for "I Am Adam Lanza's Mother". Be sure to utilize the lab if you need help working through the guide.
Notebook 10: Critical Reading Guide
Complete a Critical Reading Guide.docx for your selected text for the rhetorical analysis essay: Readings For Rhetorical Analysis Essay
Notebook 11--Reflection and Revision
What is revision? Why do writers revise? What revisions do you plan to make for the 2nd draft of your rhetorical analysis essay?
Notebook 12: Roles of the Researcher
Discuss the various stages of research and the role of the researcher within that stage:
· Researcher-explorer
· Researcher-gatherer
· Researcher-evaluator
· Researcher-creator
Why is it important to think about these shifting roles/purposes when conducting academic research? View the remaining weeks of the semester in Canvas—which assignments seem connected to researcher-explorer? To researcher-gatherer? To researcher-evaluator? To researcher-creator?
Notebook 13 Research Plan
Research and Planning Guide
1. What do you already know about your issue?
2. What questions do you have about your issue?
3. Who is interested in this issue?
4. Where do people read, write, talk, or hear about this issue?
5. Where will you look to find your secondary sources?
6. Are you going to conduct primary research? If so, where? How?
7. Create a timeline/schedule for completing your research
Notebook 14 Evaluation Sources 1-4
Locate FOUR sources for your issue exploration essay topic; evaluate each according to the following criteria:
· Source: What type of source is it (scholarly journal article, popular journal article, website, newspaper article, blog post, etc…) Is the source reliable?
· Author: Who is the author? What is the author’s background? What are the author’s qualifications?
· Bias: What particular biases do you detect? What accounts for these biases? Is the author forthcoming about his/her biases?
· Timeliness: How current is the source?
· Evidence: What type of evidence is used? Where does the evidence come from?
· Advertizing: Is advertizing prominent? If so, how might the presence of the advertising impact the content of the source? The readers of the source?
Notebook 15 Evaluation Sources 5-8
Locate FOUR additional sources for your issue exploration essay topic; evaluate each according to the following criteria:
· Source: What type of source is it (scholarly journal article, popular journal article, website, newspaper article, blog post, etc…) Is the source reliable?
· Author: Who is the author? What is the author’s background? What are the author’s qualifications?
· Bias: What particular biases do you detect? What accounts for these biases? Is the author forthcoming about his/her biases?
· Timeliness: How current is the source?
· Evidence: What type of evidence is used? Where does the evidence come from?
· Advertizing: Is advertizing prominent? If so, how might the presence of the advertising impact the content of the source? The readers of the source?
Notebook 16 Annotated Bibliography (Make this worth more points)
Create an annotated bibliography of the sources you’ve used as you have explored your topic/issue. (You need at least 8 sources, but may have more.) Each annotated bibliography entry should include the following:
· Correct MLA citation of the source (utilize your text, citationmachine.net, or the references tool in Word)
· One – two paragraph summary of the source
· One – two paragraph response to the source (What did you think of the source? What did you agree with? Disagree with? What questions did it cause you to ask? What intertextual connections did you make? Etc…)
Notebook 17: Issue Exploration Invention Work
Complete the Issue Exploration Essay Invention Work.docx during lab 11, then submit it online
Notebook 18 Open Letter
Using “An Open Letter to My Son at College” as an example, write a letter to future students who will be taking English 1010 as an online course. Be sure that your letter includes the main concepts you learned in English 1010 as well as your advice for how to be successful in this course. Think about your audience—What will be most helpful to them? What do you wish you’d known at the beginning of the semester? If another student asked you to describe what English 1010 is like, what would you tell them? If another student asked you to describe what the online plus model is like, what would you tell them? Be sure that your letter reflects both audience and genre awareness. Your letter should be formatted as either a personal or a business letter. Keep in mind that your letter will be shared with future students
Optional Component: If you’d like, you may also submit suggestions for revision to the instructors. What revisions would you advise making to English 1010 Online Plus in order for future students to have the best possible experience? Keep in mind that your instructors’ goal is to continually strengthen the course to best meet student needs; therefore, feedback from students is highly valued.