Although you want to read this page online in order to explore links, consider printing these instructions and then check each step when completed.

Online Activities for Week 7

(Tip: the page links in the table of contents below is to help jump to a specific task in this assignment.  I suggest you read through the page first and use the table when you need to review a specific section.)

As your Syllabus states, ten percent of your grade is based on the online activities  and practice writing that we'll call Online Activities/Writing Exercises.

You might also review "Why are we doing online activities?" on the chat session page.

  • For week 7, we're going to include
  • Writer's Café
  • Bring to class...
  • Activity letter

Do note that the order I present these may vary from week to week, depending on what we're doing. 

Done___

 

Step 1: Post in Writer's Café.

Before class on Wednesday, post in Writer's Café the following:

  • Share a TV or movie story.
  • In other words, tell us about a time when something involving TV or movies was particularly significant, odd, compelling, bizarre, monumental or such in your life.
  • The story can be from your childhood or from last night.  But it should be very narrow, and should potentially interest others.
  • Here's an example:
When I was four years old, one summer day I stood in my friend's garage, alone, watching the wringer washer machine* clean a load of clothes. (Yeah, so it was a dull summer!)

I had seen a Casper, the Friendly Ghost episode, in which our hero squeezed through the ringers of such a contraption. I glanced at my left hand and thought, why not?

Well, I found out why not.

I stuck my fingers in, and realized that didn't feel good, so I tried to pull them out.

But I couldn't.

Instead the rollers slowly swallowed my fingers, then my palm, then slurped down my forearm.

I began to wail, continuing to pull as hard as I could, while the machine growled and shook.

Just as my elbow was being sucked in, my friend's father flew out of the house, hit a lever and popped up the top ringer. He then scooped me up and ran me home.

My mom  rushed me to emergency. No bones were broken.  However, much of the skin from my arm had been ripped off so that it looked like raw hamburger.  And it had to be slowly bathed in a brown antiseptic that burned horribly.

That was the day I found out I wasn't a ghost!

*For those who have little experience with these, wringer washers don't have a spin cycle to take out the excess water from the clothes.  Instead they have two rollers, kind of like rolling pins, one on top of the other, that spin slowly.  You stick the soggy clothes into the rollers, which squeeze the water out. Click here, if you would like to see a picture of one.
Done___

Step 2: Bring to class...
  Underline at least two passages in CC from Ehrenreich, Kubey and Csikszentmihalyi, or Pollack, 1-2 sentences in length each, and from at lest two of our articles (in other words, don't get both passages from the same article). Be prepared to explain what is significant, interesting or curious about your chosen passages.
 

Step 3: Post another response in Writer's Café.

NOTE: Complete by Thursday midnight in order to earn full credit.

Discuss the passage you decided to write about during class on Wednesday.

Follow closely the following steps: this is practice for using sources in your essay following MLA style.

Done___

 
  • First: Present the quotation, using MLA parenthetic citation (see LPH 65+). Here's an example from ID, "Revising Drafts: Writing Is Revising":
M. Garrett Bauman says, "Experienced writers--whether they publish essays, write business reports, or compose senior theses--know that 'revision' means 're-seeing.' A writer is simply not doing the job if re-seeing is limited to fussing over spelling and a few surface blemishes. That's amateurish. You must re-see and re-feel the entire paper, back down to its roots" (123).
Done___

 
  • Second: Explain how the writer uses the passage you choose. Is this the main point of the article? Is this a statement to show why those who disagree with the author are wrong? Is this part of the introduction or body of the discussion? In other words, show us the context of the passage--the part this quotation plays--so that we can see how it fits within the overall point of the article.
With our example quotation, we could say that Bauman is defining the term revision, to show us how it is much broader than simply editing and proofreading. This quotation we find in his overview of revision--later in the chapter, he explains some of the myths and realities of revision, and then several techniques that we can use to "resee" our writing, by reviewing our work for major changes in ideas and details, then dealing with secondary matters, such as organization and style.
Done___

 
  • Third: Explain how you might use this passage in your paper.
  • Is this an example of a position that supports what you might want to us give us insight about, or
    • is it an example of a different viewpoint than yours that you want to show is too narrow, ignoring your experience?
  • Does the author of the quotation present effective evidence to support the point he or she is making?

In other words, show us why you find this quotation significant.

Done___

 

Step 4: Read class member postings and reply to them.

  • You can agree, disagree, question, qualify what your fellow class members say.
  • However, you also need to explain why you think so, again with support from your own experiences and observations, or from the authors we read this week.

You will need to respond to other class members at least twice to fulfill attendance requirements. 

Though you may enjoy responding more frequently.

And you will find yourself writing a stronger letter and earning more points with fuller participation.

Also, see step 5: those who have responses chosen by class members as interesting and insightful will earn more points for their online activities letter.
Done___

 

Step 5: Write Online Activity letter:

Tell me about your experience with the online conversation in the Writer's Café discussing our reading and viewing about TV and movies.

And choose one response in the Writer's Café from another class member that you think was particularly interesting, thoughtful, or insightful, and explain why you think so.

  • It can either be an initial response, a TV/movie story, the response to the Frontline video, or a reply a class member made to someone else.
  • Make sure to include the class member's name.

I would also like you to include quotations from the Writer's Café.  You should be able to copy text from Firefox or Internet Explorer from the Edit pull down menu.

However, please do not simply copy and paste entire postings, so that your letter ends up a string of quotations.
  • Instead, reserve quotation for when class members or you say something particularly well, and you want to give me a sense of the "voice" presented in Angel.

In other words, the goal of the letter is to tell me what you experienced with and learned from the interaction with each other.

  • Use quotation, summary and paraphrase to back up what you're saying in the letter.
  • And make sure to use names, so it is clear about whom you are writing.
Done___

 

Step 6: Send online activities letter

Use the letter drop box found at Pages & Workspaces>Course Calendar and workspaces>Week 7.

Also--do not send the letter through the prewriting drop box.

These letters are due by Saturday midnight, 10/13/07.

  • It is true that you have a 24 hour grace period for the letter (see the syllabus about our late policy) but this doesn't extend to the online activities. The discussion forum activities cannot be completed past Saturday midnight. Otherwise, you will be counted absent.
See week 5 explanations for attendance and grading, if you need a refresher.
If you have any questions, don't hesitate to call me or e-mail me. My phone number and office hours are right above the Table of Contents on the Online Syllabus. I do have voice mail for my phone if I'm not in.

Also, I will be available during my office hours by phone, in person, through email, and on AOL Instant Messenger (my user name: profdan1032)  if you want to talk about the assignments. (If you want to meet at some other time, contact me and we can arrange such.)

[Calendar] [Syllabus] [Angel] [What's New]

Writer's Café 
initial response		 Writer's Café 
initial response II		 Writer's Café
read & reply
Activity
letter		 Send
letter		  

Mbox.gif (512 bytes) Click on image to email instructor.

Created by Dan Holt 10/6/1997
Revised 15 Oct 2007 01:55 PM -0400