Reminder about Tuesday’s class

07Dec09

Hi, everyone:

A reminder of what we’re doing in class tomorrow, Tuesday, Dec. 8.

Bring copies of your paper in its current state for peer group discussion. Bring sufficient copies for everyone in your peer group, as well as a copy for me.

We’ll take some time at the beginning of class for reading the papers in your peer group.

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Schedule for rest of semester

25Nov09

As we worked out in class last time, here is the flight plan on in to the terminal:

Tuesday, Dec. 1 — I will return your graded drafts. Peer groups will meet to discuss the copies of your draft you handed out to group members in class. If you were not in class, please email your draft to the other members of your group, and ask them to email their draft to you. Look over the drafts during Thanksgiving break so you can make helpful suggestions.

Thursday, Dec. 3: We will watch the first two-thirds of the movie “Shattered Glass.”

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Looking ahead to Thanksgiving

11Nov09

Hi, everybody —

Here’s a tentative schedule that will take us through Thanksgiving.

Thursday of this week, Nov. 12, we’ll finish the writing mechanics review lecture, focusing on commas. Then there will be another ungraded quiz on all the writing mechanics material we covered. Both lectures are posted, so please review them. After you’ve taken the quiz we’ll go over it in class on the overhead.

Also, we’ll spend some time talking about how to formulate a good thesis statement for your final paper.

In addition, I’ll pass around a signup sheet for a 20-minute individual conference with me on your final paper topic and the exploration of the topic you’ve done so far. I plan to be on campus all day on Thursday, Nov. 19, for those conferences, which will be in a conference room that I’ll reserve.

Tuesday, Nov. 17: I’ll post a model argument paper on The Writing Life

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Reminder: Your book review is due Tuesday

08Nov09

Hi, everybody,
I hope your book review is going well this weekend. Remember that it is due in class on Tuesday, hard copy, double-spaced and about 400 words long. The author, title, publisher and date of publication should be at the top of the page and do not count as part of the 400 words.
See you Tuesday.
Dr. P.

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Thursday: Group discussion of book review draft

04Nov09

This Thursday, please bring in enough copies of your book review draft to share with members of your small discussion group. We’ll spend most or all of the class period in discussion groups. Please respond to these questions on each book review.

A. What are the strengths of this review? For example, was it easy to read, well organized, clear?

B. What was the book’s takeaway point? What questions do you have for the reviewer about that takeaway?

C. How could the review be improved?

D. Do you see any flaws in spelling, grammar or sentence structure?

A reminder that the deadline for turning your book review in to me has been extended to Tuesday, Nov. 10.

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Looking ahead to Week 10

02Nov09

Hi, everybody.

Last Thursday’s lecture on writing mechanics got a little rushed at the end, so we’ll start class Tuesday by dealing with any questions you may have. Please review the lecture, which is posted on the “Lectures” page.

Then we’ll have a test.

Relax. It will be an ungraded exercise, to give you some feedback on how well you understand the writing mechanics lecture.

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Writing Mechanics lecture is posted

29Oct09

Today’s lecture on Writing Mechanics is posted on the lectures page, if you’d like to preview it before class.

I thought our discussion Tuesday was useful — particularly your comments about how the marijuana debate exercise can help you write a better argument paper.

You identified a number of important points: Both sides in the argument had merit; we should respect worthy opponents; we should avoid setting up and knocking down straw men; we should carefully choose and evaluate the sources of our information, and try for the most credible sources.

I didn’t take notes, so does anyone have anything else to add?

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WWII effort to encourage hemp farming

22Oct09

This is the video address of the film that Manuel brought to my attention. It’s about 10 minutes long and is worth a look.

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One more thought on MJ health risks

21Oct09

I thought we had a really good discussion Tuesday about the pros and cons of marijuana legalization from a health effect perspective.

The discussion gave me an opportunity to point out some things about the use of scientific studies in deciding public policy issues.

1) Conflict in scientific studies is the norm, not the exception. It’s to be expected, because of the nature of scientific inquiry. Although some science is “cooked,” most isn’t, and conflicting studies shouldn’t be taken as an indication that scientists are dishonest or that the science is useless.

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Take advantage of chance to revise

20Oct09

With the first set of revisions graded, I have to report to you that about half the class did not take advantage of the opportunity to revise. This includes several students with lackluster grades.

In my experience, few instructors allow revision. I do, and here’s why.

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