Thanks to the COM352 students for contributing a bunch of new pages! I'll be moving these pages into the main area of the wiki soon.

From UMassWiki

Students explain (among other things) why the teacher picked a quote by James Carey to open the course wiki: quiz one results.

Results: quiz two.

Update on Homework due Tuesday, Feb 20.

“Few of us think in sustained ways about why we might take a certain position on an issue or why we might hold certain values rather than others. Writing can serve as a way to inquire into our own histories to better understand ourselves. Such an understanding can help make us better writers because we can then explain to others the background behind our thinking. Many times when we read texts that might be confusing, we are not reacting to the difficulty of the ideas themselves. We are just as often confused or dismayed by how a writer is presenting those ideas and why she interprets them differently from the way we already think. As a result, writers who can make the background of their thinking more apparent are usually more successful” (p. 2).

“Effective writers…create and/or interpret the situations available for writing – they think about why their text might be needed in the larger ‘conversation’ on a topic and how it might affect the way others think about their subject matter” (p. xviii).

The Text-Wrestling Book

Donna LeCourt, et al.

Dubuque: Kendall Hunt, 2005.

Lesson Plans and Homework

22 February 2007
20 February 2007
15 February 2007
13 February 2007
8 Febuary 2007
6 Febuary 2007
1 Febuary 2007
30 January 2007

Identity Narrative (Unit 1)

The English Department has, over the years, refined five different formal assignment criteria for this particular personal essay. It is an essay in that there should be some "point"; it is a narrative in the sense that your life needs to provide the support for that point.

Here are descriptions of the five formal choices for your identity narrative/essay:

“The Contexts that Make Me” or

“The Self as Writer” or

“The Self in Contradiction” or

“Blowing Things Into Proportion” or

“My Self in Words”

Syllabus and Grading Policy

The general requirements and syllabus for all sections of English 112, including this one (#71) are available from the English Department's webpage. The required course texts are listed, along with an introduction, goals, and philosophy of this course.

The specific grading schema for Section 71 is two tiered. Half the credit revolves around points you lose for not doing the basic assignments and other commonly accepted elements of being a committed learner. The other half of credit involves the actual quality of your writing, with a particular emphasis on improvement.

more on curriculum

The University Senate authorized a committee of faculty to spend all of last year reviewing the Writing Program. I pulled out a few excerpts: Writing Program Background.

inclement weather

Will UMass close?

Announcements

Chance to be Published

The last day to submit essays for next year's Anthology of Student Writing is March 15. The English Department will only accept the essays along with the signed permission slip from your instructor. steph (COM) 13:44, 6 February 2007 (EST)

Play

The instructor occasionally writes about teaching (you!) in her weblog: reflexivity].

too cool for school

I wrote about you being too cool for school. (Actually, I am already impressed with your potential as writers. This is good.) :-) steph (COM) 09:13, 7 February 2007 (EST)

Writing Center

A message from Director, Pat Zukowski:

Please inform your students about the Writing Center and share its hours and locations with them. The Learning Commons Writing Center will open on February 12, 2006. Hours are from 10:00 am - 10:00 pm, Monday - Wednesday; 10:00 am - 7:00 pm, Thursdays, and 2:00 pm - 7:00 pm on Sundays. The Learning Commons Writing Center is located on the Main floor of the DuBois Library near the Calipari Room.

All graduate and undergraduate students are welcome to bring any type of writing they are working on to share with our trained instructors. We also assist students with a wide variety of application letters and personal statements. Visitors to the center should bring both a paper copy AND an electronic version on diskette or CD.

Note: the link to The Learning Center includes additional helpful information about the library's array of resources and support services. steph (COM) 11:43, 5 February 2007 (EST)

A Forum for Feedback

Brainchild of last semester's stellar wiki-team of Martel, Chalek, and Kinzler:

Course Quotes

Day 1: James Carey
Day 4: Text-Wrestling

Quizzes

Quiz 1 was assigned on Day 2 about "a proposed course wiki."
Quiz 1 Results
Quiz 2 Prep
Quiz 2 Results
Quiz 3

The Instructor

Find out more about the teacher from her UMassWiki user page.

Homepage Archives

First Homepage built from Day 1-Day 4 (January 3- to February 9, 2007)