R. Dollieslager's English 111, Fall 2012

Thomas Nelson Community College

So, what did YOU learn about writing this semester?

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Last updated 11/29/2012, 7:20 a.m.

Mon. 8/27
In-class: Draft the group survival essay

Weds. 8/29
In class: 1] Read these literacy narratives written by two of my Summer English 111 students, and be prepard to discuss the following questions in small groups:

Which essay is better, if either? Why? Provide evidence to support your opinion.

• Gabrielle Green: https://sites.google.com/a/email.vccs.edu/the-fail-corner/home/literacy-narrative
• Alannah Odom: https://sites.google.com/a/email.vccs.edu/alannah-odom/home/salt-covered-stories

2] Freewriting: "35" minutes to a Literacy Narrative.

Writing assignments for Wednesday, 9/5:
Individual essay #1: The Literacy Narrative. Length 600-750 words. Use your in-class freewrites, or go in another dierction altogether, per the posted suggestions on the Norton Field Guide to Writing site. Due at the start of class on Wednesday, 9/5
My Class Archives page has links to students webfolios from Summer 2012, which include literacy narratives. Read others for more ideas.

Grading criteria for all essays. Use this page as a self-check before turning in your paper.

Weds. 9/5
In-class group activity: Edit and do a practice errors analysis on the survivors paper, using the handbook section of the Norton Field Guide to Writing.
Due at the end of class today: Place your practice errors analysis, however much of it is done if it is not completely finished, in my mailbox in room 855 downstairs in Templin Hall. This should be your original marked draft, with the errors numbered in colored ink, the corrected copy with corrections numbers in colored ink, and your error analysis document itself, describing the rules that apply to each of your numbered correctinos.

Writing assignments for Monday, 9/10:
Preparing to edit essay #1: Based on the punctuation and grammar conventions you were not strong on during the practice go to our electronic Handbook's exercises section and work three lessons in the areas you did not knoow well. Then edit your essays for those corrections before you turn it in on Tuesday. You may bring it for me to read early and make revisioin suggestinon on during my Monday face to face office hours, 10:30-2:00. Check your TNCC email account. I about to post information about your grades for the survival group paper and parctice errors analysis project.
Individual essay #1: Carefully edit The Literacy Narrative. Turn it in at the start of class on Monday. Make it perfect between now and Monday. Just perfect; that's all. It doesn't have to be better than perfect.

Mon. 9/10
In-class activity: 1] Using the Norton Field Guide's exercises. This stuff is really, really cool!! 2] Lecture/discussion: "Introduction to your Brain" Reading, researching, taking notes and writing about the brain. Goal: You will write an owner's manual for your brain once we are done discussing and researching how it works. This is a great series of lessons, the most important thing I can teach you. Today's agenda: NHLP, the Natural Human Learning process.

Writing and Reading assignments for Wednesday, 9/12:
Draft two paragraphs: 1] Summarize the six stages of the NHLP according to Dr. Smilkstein's research. 2] Draft a second paragraph showing how you learned __________ (whatever skill, activity, or body of knowledge your discussed in class), following the six stages of the NHLP. In other words, why did you start to learn this material, how did you begin practicing, do advnced practice, know you reached skillfullness, how you refined the skill, what you do with it now that you've mastered it.
Read an overview of the MLA documentation conventions. Be prepared for a quiz on what sources are documented, how we document sources, why we document sources, when we document sources, and where we document sources.

Weds. 9/12
In-class activity: 1] Group activity (30 minutes): Use the Norton Field Guide's MLA documentation conventions section to [a] show how to cite the paragraph summarizing Smilkstein's NHLP stages (the original sources is photocopied in the handout packet for your group work); and [b] correctly format the works cited entry for the source (the book's "facing page," i.e., the inside title page, is included in your packet.) 2] Lesson on neurons and synaptic firing

Additional resource: (Son of) Citation Machine

Writing and Reading assignments for Monday, 9/17:
1] Draft a paragraph: Describe how neurons are similar to trees in their structure and development
2] Revise the two paragraphs that were due today, and include the correct parenthetical citation and works cited entry for the paragraph which summarizes the NHLP from Smilkstein's book.

Mon. 9/17
In-class activity: 1] Discuss syllabus completion, 2] discuss base groups, 3] discuss professionalism/professional communication skills, 4] discuss revisions/editing of literacy narratives. 5] Begin the errors analysis.

Grading criteria for all essays. Use this page as a self-check before turning in your paper.

Note: If you are revising/rewriting/restarting the literacy narrative for Thursday, this time, follow the instructions; and read some sample literacy narratives from summer 2012:

• Gabrielle Green: https://sites.google.com/a/email.vccs.edu/the-fail-corner/home/literacy-narrative
• Alannah Odom: https://sites.google.com/a/email.vccs.edu/alannah-odom/home/salt-covered-stories
• Here are more examples of literacy narratives. (Some aren't so great.)

Weds. 9/19
In-class activity: 1] Continue brain development lecture: synaptic firing (starts with slide 7)

Assignment for Monday 9/24: 1] Bring to class the 7 paragraphs you have written on brain development. (here are the instructions, recapped, for all 7) You will have a revsing workshop in class on Monday. 2] Sometime today (Monday, 9/24) copy both of your documented summary paragraphs into one file, and send them to me as an email attachment in either MS Word or .rtf (Rich Text Format) so that I will be able to open them and grade them to give back to you in class on Wednesday so that you can make any corrections or revision I have marked.

Assignment for Wednesday, 9/26: We will do the final revising/editing workshop in class on Weds., and you will turn in the researched paper at the end of class.

Mon. 10/1
In-class activity: 1] Discuss punctuation and grammar: Big deal or not? 2] Finish loose ends on the brain essay and get the rest of these papers submitted.

Assignment for Wednesday, 10/3:
Read these instructions on writing summaries and this short article on Emotional Intelligence.
Think about and be ready to discuss situations when you wish you had been more aware of the concept of emotional intelligence.

Weds. 10/3
In-class activity: 1] Discuss summary-writing and practice writing summaries.

Video Resource: Daniel Goleman (developer of the concept of EI) discusses Emotional Intelligence.

Assignment for Monday, 10/8:
Revise and correctly document the summary which your group drafted in class. These will be submitted individually for a grade on Monday.
View the Goleman video at the link above and take notes about E.I. so that you fully understand the concept.
Look for examples of behaviors which exhibit emotional intelligence, or the lack thereof, in face-to-face situations (perhaps at your workplace, at home, in social settings); OR on television (e.g., the presidential debates tonight, a favorite TV show); OR online (I saw more video titles about E.I. when I found the Goleman video.
Draft a paragraph describing the situation and discussing why it exhibits Emotional Intelligence or exhibits a lack of Emotional Intelligence.

• Revise and correctly document the E.I. article summary which your group began drafting in class last week. I will grade these paragraphs in class on Wednesday while you are drafting your next essay, so you MUST have the summary paragraph or earn 0 out of 3 points possible for this summary.
• View the Goleman video and take notes about E.I. so that you fully understand the concept.
• Look for examples of behaviors which exhibit emotional intelligence, or the lack thereof, in face-to-face situations (perhaps at your workplace, at home, in social settings); OR on television (e.g., a news analysis program, a favorite TV show); OR online (I saw more video titles about E.I. when I found the Goleman video).
  • Following is an interesting example from Youtube that we can discuss in class: Terry Tate, Office Linebacker. ;-)
  • Or these two scenes from the popular TV show, The Office:
    • The new boss (red plaid shirt) has his staff together for a "team building" experience
    • The Wheel of Chores
• Draft a paragraph describing the situation you have chosen to analyze and discussing why it exhibits Emotional Intelligence or exhibits a lack of Emotional Intelligence. in the analysis, be sure to indicate which characteristics or aspects of E.I. are evident (or are evidently lacking).

Weds. 10/10
In-class activity: 1] Turn in your summary of the Emotional Intelligence article, 2] discuss the paragraphs which describe EI behaviors you have witnessed or behaviors which exemplify the lack of EI., and 3] begin composing your Emotional Intelligence essay.

Assignment for Monday, 10/15/12:
Follow my instructions for writing a researched essay on Emotional Intelligence. It is due at the beginning of class on Monday, 10/15.

Assignments for Wednesday, 10/17/12:
1st, the errors analysis for the brain essay will be done a bit differently. Use the Norton online handbook to ascertain the nature of the error and to read about it (for example, P-1a, S-3, S5a, etc.) Prepare for editing by doing exercises from the handbook's lessons on the specific editing errors you are having problems with. When you have determined what the error is and understand how to fix it, do so. Then write a paragraph describing the nature of each of the types of error which I listed at the top of your marked essay. For example, you may describe what a comma splice is, how to identify it, ways to correct it, and why you chose to correct your comma splice errors on this paper in the way that you corrected them. So this time, you are discussing the types of errors you make, instead of each individual error. Then, correct your errors on the draft that I have already marked, using a colored ink pen or colored pencil so that I can quickly see the corrections you have made. Turn in that marked-up draft and your paragraphs discussing the error and how/why you corrected it the way you did. Do NOT give me corrected copy of your essay, however, just the drafts that both you and I have already marked on.

2nd, after doing your prep work and your errors analysis, finish your Emotional Intelligence essay--without repeating the same errors in it!! Let's get rid of those errors.

Weds. 10/17
In-class 1] Editing lessons activity: "Sources of Error/Sources for Corrections" using the G.G.W., W.W. Norton's handbook exercises, and Perfect Copy to understand and eliminate editing errors. 2] Making mid-term course corrections: How are you doing? How am I doing? What do we need to do differently? More of?

Assignments for Monday, 10/22/12: 1] Turn in the errors analysis of the brain essay. 2] Diving deeper into the whys and hows of documenting academic writing.
This is what we will research and study next, so you need to be well prepared for class on Monday. (Note: I have very freely borrowed for this assignment from Jeff Karon, English professor at U. of South Florida, who wrote about it in "A Positive Solution for Plagiarism" published in the most recent edition of The Chronicle of Higher Education. I'm just providing my sources folks. I don't want y'all to accuse me of plagiarizing. ;-) Most of what follows below is copied verbatim from his article since I could duplicate his instructions and information but probably couldn't improve on it. So, thanks, Professor Karon.):

"I want you to start by investigating and reading resources on the Web assembled by experts on the subject such as Nick Carbone, a new-media consultant for Bedford/St. Martin's, and Bruce Leland, a professor emeritus at Western Illinois University. (Knowing that you will be writing about this topic eventually . . .) Take (good) notes on the readings, especially on how both authors are unhappy with standard approaches to preventing plagiarism and academic dishonesty. Pay special attention to Carbone's discussion of Dos and Don'ts, a list he developed after deciding that his previous approaches to fighting plagiarism adopted an inappropriate tone, and to Leland's extensive list of resources that instructors can use to deal with plagiarism." (The foregoing was lifted from Karon's article. The parentheses are mine. Mr. D.)

You will want to read this article also, about a NYU professor who got himself in a bit of hot water for blogging about why he was no longer going to even pursue cheaters.

I will collect your notes for a grade, though not equivalent to an essay grade, so take good notes. At the bottom of the page from Carbone's blog, take the ensuing link to read the whole article. (It's only two pages.) Become knowledgeable. Arm yourself with knowledge. Our class discussion will focus on what plagiarism is, why it's such a big deal in academia, how to avoid it, why to avoid it. In our next phase of researching plagiarism, we will read about Turnitin.com and such detection sites, and you will analyze a paper-mill research paper. You will also do presentations on what to cite, when to cite, how to cite--all those cool things that I wrote on the board in class on Wednesday. Woo hoo! But we will talk about how to do the graded assignments about plagiarism before I assign them.

• OWL links
• Norton Field Guide

We will get back to today's agenda on Wednesday, so everything that was due today is due on Weds. (You got a reprieve!)

Weds. 10/24
In-class activity: Presentations were done today from the following groups: Whys, Whens, Whats. the "quotes, paraphrases & summaries" group and the "works cited info" group deliver on Monday.

Assignments for Monday, 10/29/12: Y'all (most of y'all) are up to date on the assignments I've made for you, but I'm not up to date on getting them all back, so I'm pulling in the reins on myself. I need to get your work from this past week back to you before we forge ahead to the next graded assignments, so I am not loading you with additional work to do for Eng. 111. If you are behind on anything or did not get things turned in today that were due this week, contact me. dollier@tncc.edu

Weds. 10/31
In-class activity: 1] What is good website design? Here are some of the purposes that you may have for your webfolio, per class discussion today. 3] Group activity: Let's look at Eng. 111 webfolios from the recent past and discuss what's good and what's not so good. Summer 2011 and Summer 2012

Assignment for Monday, 11/5/12: Discuss the two best and the two worst web sites from the Summer 2011 and 2012 webfolios (appx. 300-400 words, about a page to a page and a half). This won't be formally graded as an essay, but it will be awarded points.

Weds. 11/7
In-class activity: 1] Presentations: The "quotes, paraphrases & summaries" group and the "works cited info" group deliver today. 2] Discuss progress and share tips on how to make a web site using Google applications. 3] Preview critical reading assignment for next week

Weds. 11/28
In-class activity: 1] Discuss narration/narrative essays. 2] Discuss defining moments and your timeline to generate essay topics.

Assignments for Monday, 12/3/12:

1. Write a paragraph telling me what you think about summarizing from written texts as compared to summarizing the story from viewing the video. It's not to be graded, but it is important to ME, so I will appreciate that.
2. Read the narratives and the advice about writing narratives from the Guide to Grammar and Writing. Take note especially of how Jeffrey Taylor relates his story about the sacred grove. He starts with a bit of "telling" but once we meet the characters in the story, there are only descriptive details, no more exposition, no more "telling." He "shows" the readers what happens. The story is driven solely on the dialog and the descriptive details (but mostly by dialog). Nonetheless, even though Taylor never really tells us how he feels about the reverend and the caretaker, his opinions of the two men are very clear: He feels almost an affinity with one and a great disdain for the other.
3. Draft your defining moment narrative (or a "life lesson learned" if you need to scale back the magnitude having never had a "defining moment"), incorporating the best elements and the best advice from the GGW's section on writing narratives. We will work WITH the narratives in class, but not ON them, so make sure you have drafted the entire thing before you come to class.

Mon. 12/3
In-class activity: 1] Turn in your "Defining Moment" essay. 2] Discuss best things learned in English 111 this semester. 3] Preview Goanimate lesson on editing for sentence fragments. 4] Register with Youtube and Goanimate. 5] Share some webfolio tips and treasures and accomplishments (as time permits)

Assignment for Wednesday, 12/5/12: Develop your Goanimate lesson

Weds. 12/5
Basegroup technology sharing workshop: 1] As a group, view each member's Goanimate lesson and provide feedback, suggestions, advice. 2] As a group, preview each member's webfolio and proofread for necessary edits or corrections, as well as good design and navigation features. 3] Compile indices of the Goanimate lessons and the webfolio URLs.

Due today: Goanimate lesson posted and its URL included in your webfolio by the end of class
Due by Monday 12/10, noon: Webfolio will be graded after 12 p.m., so you have until noon next Monday to make any improvements.

Test schedules for finals week: http://tncc.edu/students/student-resources/exam-schedules/

Here is a direct link to the help pages for building Google Sites: http://support.google.com/sites/?hl=en

Weds. 12/10. NOTE: We meet from 1:30 until 4 for our final.
In-class: 1] I will return your "Defining Moment" essay and the summaries. Decide which of your two summaries you want to post in your webfolio--or you may post both if you want to. We won't try to weave them into the final paper. 2] Present your webfolio and Goanimate lesson. 3] Write course evaluations: http://tncceval.com. Folks, it is really, really important to your professors that you fill out course evaluations for all your classes, so please do. My colleagues and I appreciate it.

Semester is over. Go forth and seek your future. Step on the gas, and wipe that tear away!

I've really enjoyed spending some time with everyone this semester. Folks like y'all make me so happy that I have a job like this one. You have been a great class with a lot of class! As Garrison Keillor says: "Be well. Do good work. Keep in touch."

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