This is our first full week of business as usual– reading, blogging, regular assignments, and so forth. Hopefully you used the more relaxed pace to acclimate to your other classes and to get used to our routines. Many of you probably didn’t, so you’ll have to figure it out as you go. Blog throughout the week, when you have time around other assignments. DO NOT WAIT UNTIL SUNDAY NIGHT. This quarter, waiting until the last minute will result in lost points. When writing blogs, think of it as an opportunity to develop a sense of voice. Experiment, if you wish. Also, pay attention to mechanics and grammar. This doesn’t really work as writing practice if you don’t use the appropriate conventions of writing. This means capitalizing, punctuating, etc. This week’s assignment:

• Free post
• First quarter reflection- this should be include a plan for improvement this quarter. Be reflective and thoughtful about your work and learning, not complaining about the class.
• Reading post- find a student from Mr. Engholm’s class and ask them about the reading reflection work they did at the beginning of the year.  Find out what they learned about themselves as readers. Use their responses to your questions to prompt your own reflection. In this post, summarize your discussion and your own reflection about reading.
• 2 comments

So, yes, I’m asking you to reflect a bunch this week, but reflection and self-awareness are good traits to develop.

Three blogs and five comments this week:

• Detail how exactly you spend Monday and Tuesday working on your papers. Use it as a plan and a reflection.
• Free Post
• Presentation Reviews- Critique the proposal presentations. Be specific in your reviews. Also reflect on how you were persuaded and what you’d like to read, based on what you heard in the presentations.
• 5 comments – 1 free, 1 paper, 3 reviews.

Do not put this work off until the last minute. Finish by Sunday night.

This week, you are to revise your paper. Revisions at this point can still be major, if you need to research more or change some of your arguments. They should also concentrate, though, on editing. Look for vague or repetitive words, repetitive or confusing syntax, and careless errors. Make the language stronger and more interesting.  Check that your citations and Works Cited are correct. Fix any formatting errors. Correct all mechanical and grammatical issues. Begin this work immediately, even if you don’t have feedback from me yet. USE THE HANDOUTS AND EVALUATION GUIDE. Also, make this paper a real proposal, an authentic representation of your thoughts and suggestions, not just any old research paper.

Because you should be concentrating on your paper, there will be no blogging this week. Please read this post, though, and work carefully on your paper.

There will be no blogging this week, so that you can devote all of your time to writing the rough draft of your research paper. As I’ve explained in class, this paper must be as close to final as you can get it. For more details, consult the online assignment on the course page. It is due in hard copy on Friday, as well as uploaded to Turnitin.com. The rough draft will  be graded for quality and worth 75 points. We will begin to make our book selections for the year based on your rough drafts, so the main points, support, and argumentation must be complete. Please consult your handouts, especially the evaluation guide.

Instead of blogging, please post a comment in response to this blog post. Indicate your plan for ethical, efficient work on your paper this week.

Two posts and three comments this week. Make sure you are doing all of your required homework and research, as well as blogging.

• Research Log- Start a post and keep revising it throughout the week to track your research progress. Show all aspects of your research, from questions to getting ready to write.
• Free post
• 3 comments- 2 on research logs and 1 on free

Work on English EVERY NIGHT! Do these throughout the week.