Grammar Girl on How to Write a Sentence

As you begin the push for your research papers, I thought this link to Grammar Girl's tip about How to Write a Sentence might prove helpful:

http://www.quickanddirtytips.com/education/writing/how-to-write-a-sentence-infographic

Have a great weekend! Happy writing!

Study Guide for Tomorrow's Quiz

Chapter 7

1. "Making the implicit explicit" - The idea behind this is to state as much as possible about the assumptions made as an author so the reader does not lose your point based on ambiguity.

2. "What goes wrong in using a thesis is the result of a writer leaping too quickly to a generalization ... and treating evidence only as something to be mustered in support of that idea." - This points to a practice of collecting data first and using that data to formulate a thesis later.

3. Unsubstantiated claims - This is the mistake that writers will make of putting out the conclusion of some evidence while omitting the evidence. Doing this deprives the reader of the details which could clarify the conclusion.

4. Distinguishing evidence from claims - This is something that the reading suggests that we do in order to make sure that a claim we make is not an unsubstantiated claim.

5. What counts as evidence? - This focuses on two questions we should ask ourselves before using a piece of information as evidence for our claims: First, is the information relevant? Second, is the information colored by the point of view?

Chapter 5

1. "Binaries are dangerous ... they perpetuate reductive thinking" - This underlines that using binaries often paints an issue as something that is black and white, when in reality it may be far from it.

2. Analyze and Define Key Terms - By making sure that the definitions of important words are clear, we can reduce ambiguity and make sure that our argument is properly framed. 

3. Simple Cause/Complex Effect Error - The section on this error pointed out that boiling your entire issue down to a single cause will lead you to ignoring a wealth of other information and viewpoints. 

4. Substitute "To what extent?" for "either/or" - By using "to what extent?", you end up looking at both sides of the argument and finding valid points for both sides. This will lead you to favor one side over the other as opposed to completely supporting one side while completely opposing the other. 

5. Problems with Debate-Style Argument - This section points out that arguing does not necessarily imply opposition, but rather implies reasoning and attempting to understand other viewpoints. However, those who enter with the mindset that they will be arguing an issue often fall into the trap of assuming this means opposition to the other point or points of view.

Library Research Guide

http://lewisu.libguides.com/servicelearning

Here is the link for the Research Guide for Service Learning that Andrew showed us during the Library Research Workshop on Friday. 

Survey Link

http://kwiksurveys.com/app/rendersurvey.asp?sid=qcn9xwsph25edql502322&refer=

Introductions that Tell a Story

Here is a sample from a student paper that does a great job 

"telling the story" of the ad for the introduction. 

"Envision a typical white collar worker, running for their commuter train, amidst the cold, harsh, wintery mix of snow and frigid temperatures; barely boarding the train before the doors close and the train begins its journey to the destination where this worker endeavors the stress of daily life in the workforce. As the strained worker locates a seat, settles in, then opens the magazine for the mundane trip to the office, an advertisement for Cunard Cruise Lines is the first page this person views. The image illustrates a cruise ship in the distant ocean blue pristine waters; a cruise line steward is walking in the water to the sandy shores carrying a tray with a single glass filled with what appears to be champagne, directed toward a woman lounging on a comfortable raft, embracing the warm sun, as her fingers gently touch the sandy shores beneath the raft she is resting on. Her poise exhibits a sense of tranquility, contentment, relaxation and satisfaction, as she displays her serene effortless grin of utopia. There is a caption above the image, “Our philosophy on staffing: one crew member per every whim.”  This advertisement influences us to believe that if one books a cruise with Cunard Cruise Line, your vacation will be pure ecstasy, with the added bonus of your private steward who will walk from the ship to deliver a glass of champagne to you, as you bask in the sun, and forget about the stressors in life in the serenity of the tranquil atmosphere."

Rhetorical Analysis of a Space Blog

After you write your description (a paragraph or two) of the space, make sure post it to your blog. You can do what I did right here and just take a picture of your "Data and Interpretation" chart and a picture of your paragraph or two and post those pictures to the blog. Or, you can type it up all nice and neat. Any way is fine, just get it up on your blog so we can review them in class on Friday.

Blog: Describe Your Service Experience

·      Explain the mission statement of the organization you volunteered service for and describe some background about the organization. Provide dates and statistics. If available, post a link to the organization website. *Note, just linking to the website does not substitute for your description. Also, make sure you use quotes and cite your sources in your posting.

·      When did this experience take place? (Date, time, how long?) Where did it take place?

·      Who else was there? Who wasn’t there?

·      What did I do? What did others do? What actions did I/we take? What did I/we communicate?

·      Who didn’t speak or act? Did I/others laugh, cry, make a face, complain, criticize, argue, smile, etc?

·      If you want to take pictures of yourself in action to post on your blog, make sure you have permission from the organization (and any one included in the picture) to do so.

·      Identify and describe one effective interaction (e.g. positive, helpful) with someone during your service experience. Who talked the most? What kinds of statements were made? What were you talking about? Who ended the interaction and why?

·      What did you learn from your Service Experience? What questions do you still have? Would you do this Service Experience again? Why, or why not? Explain.

Upcoming Service Opportunities in University Ministry

Feed My Starving Children

Package meals for hungry children overseas.

Wednesday, February 18th – 2:30-4:30pm

(leave campus at 1:30pm, return by 5:30pm)

**If you would like to sign up for a service project, please email Sabrina Poulin at

ortmansa@lewisu.edu or call 815-836-5617 with

your name, what service project you’d like to do, your cell phone number, and your student ID number.**

Hurry, because spots fill up quickly!  Transportation is provided for all service projects

Rhetorical Analysis

Watch the following video and identify the target audience for this commercial. Then, identify examples of appeals to

• ETHOS, 
• PATHO, and 
• LOGOS.

 Be specific in your description of the examples and in your explanation as to how the appeal is appealing to its audience.

Since we will not be meeting today, I thought I would post this short (5 minute) video clip for you to watch and respond to on your blogs.

The first option is to reflect on the following: Have you ever had a "magical black man" moment in your life? Consider a time when you were not doing well at something and someone persuaded you not to pursue that anymore. You can discuss the person or focus on the event. It could be a sporting event, a bad grade, when you were young or old. Was there ever a time you really wanted to be good at something but it just wasn't happening for you? Was it because you felt you could never succeed? Did you decide to continue with it, or did you quit?

The second option is to reflect on the following: Think about the end of the clip. Have you ever had to let go of something in your past in order to move on? What did you have to let go of? What did you gain by letting go of that thing?

Remember, these posts are public, so compose your post with that in mind. Keep your writing appropriate for your audience (instructor, peers, and perhaps others on Blogger who might find your blog). This writing exercise is designed to get us all to start thinking about "revision." One of the scariest part of revision is being willing to listen to feedback that might make us uncomfortable (like the "magical black man" in the clip) or question our abilities. But more often than not once we confront those feelings and are willing to move forward, success can be as simple as just starting over with a clean, blank slate. We just have to be willing to discard the notebook filled with stuff that isn't working for us anymore.

I hope you enjoy this assignment. Feel free to adapt the prompts to best suit your needs. I look forward to reading your posts.

Email Etiquette

Image from Rosanne Gain 

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/20140826202644-23685995-the-lost-art-of-email-etiquette

For Friday, everyone should post an original example (written by you) of one good email and bad email contacting a professor about an absence, grade change, or technology issue. Students are encouraged to have fun with this assignment. Remember, this is just a writing exercise. Do not actually send the email to any professors.

Make sure you have all of your posts up on your blog. You should have:

• Examples of sentences from the "Declaration of Independence"
• The Passage-Based Focused Freewrite from MLK's "A Letter from Birmingham Jail"
• The Email Etiquette Exercise: One good, one bad

I look forward to seeing you on Friday!

How to Make a Blog!

Blog Design Instructions

(based on handout by dr. bonnie kyburz)

http://www.gabrielweinberg.com/blog/images/blogging.jpg

We will be sharing our experiences in College Writing with one another through blog writing. Throughout the semester, I will be assigning specific posts to write. But before you start posting, you need to create a blog. Here’s how to get started:

1.     Create a gmail account separate from your Lewis University gmail account. Gmail allows you to create more than one account. Simply go to gmail.com and sign up for a new account. Be sure to write down your new username and password. Also, make sure you select a username that is appropriate for a university course and one that is as close to your actual name as possible.

2.     To create the blog, you may choose from your apps (the icon looks like a small grid @ the upper right of your gmail page. Scroll until you see the icon for “Blogger” and choose it. Or, you may go straight to blogger.com to start.

3.     Choose “Create a blog.”

4.     Follow the tutorial.

5.     You can make all sorts of interesting design choices by selecting “Design” from the upper right of the main blog page. Or, you can begin designing by using the menus you will see at your “My Blogs” page (clicking the Blogger icon will directly take you there).

6.     Choose “Customize” to see all options.

7.     Choose wisely and remember that good design depends upon “readability.” Try to avoid the temptation to overcrowd your blog with images, though do choose one/some that reflects something about who you are. Make sure to include a good amount of “white space” (clear space for legible text). Also, choose fonts and colors carefully and in ways that will help your readers read your posts clearly. And provide captions for your images (creating hyperlink to source pages), or a “Works Cited” at the bottom of your posts.

8.     Finally, send your blog’s URL (web address in the topmost address bar) to waltsda@lewisu.edu. Your blog’s URL is not the same as your Google account’s profile address. Set up your blog, maybe publish a test post, and hit “publish.” Then, copy the web address (URL) and send to me. I will then add you to the blogroll. All done! Ready to start blogging.

How to locate your Blogger Blog’s URL (web address):

1.     Go to your Blogger Blog.

2.     Go to “Dashboard.”

3.     Go to “Settings.”

4.     Go to “Publishing.” There, you should find your blog’s URL. If you have not specified one (if the field says “Blogspot address” is blank), go ahead and give your blog a name. Choose wisely so that you emit a sense of self that seems appropriate for this course blog.

Now that your blog is up and running, here are some blogging moves to make. Post thoughtful entries that reflect upon the work we are doing in class. Such as:

1.     Challenges you’ve encountered (and overcome?) with an assignment.

2.     Questions about course content. Say, a discussion about a text we are exploring that begins by expressing points of interest, challenges to understanding remaining question that class discussions did not address.

3.     Interesting findings from your research and other homework assignments.

4.     Technical questions. Maybe you are facing obstacles regarding design choices for your blog. Perhaps you’d like to ask for feedback on the layout? Colors? Fonts? Check for readability? Maybe your title is questionable—too snarky? Too serious? Get some feedback!

5.     Give feedback. Maybe you could set up a specific group of bloggers to form a supportive feedback circle. Or, you could choose randomly each week—pic a blog and give thoughtful, detailed comments.

6.     Post an image or video that has you curious. Write reflectively about the image/video—what is it that is intriguing? Problematic? Pleasurable? Funny? Odd?

7.     Provide links to the original sources, and use this as practice for MLA formatting—look it up at the Purdue OWL under “References” @ left—and get some practice finding and citing different kinds of sources.

For your first blog post

1.     You need to be sure you have your Blogger Blog set up and your URL sent to me at waltsda@lewisu.edu.

2.     You also need to follow up by checking the Blogroll to see that you are listed. Please give me 24-48 hours after sending your email with the URL to get you posted, but after that time please contact me if you don’t see your name listed.

3.     Choose one of the seven thoughtful, reflective options listed above (challenges, questions, findings, etc.). Happy blogging!