Narrative Composition
2016.11.29 through 2016.12.08
Weeks 14 and 15 of the semester, we wrapped up work on our final interview-based paper and got feedback on our draft about a meaningful place. Your final drafts from both chapters 4 and 5 should be handed in Week 16 before you take your final exam. Please make sure they are printed in 12 point font (Times New Roman preferred), double-spaced, with your name, class day and time, and a title included on the first page.
Also, please make sure to staple both papers together individually; do not staple both papers together.
In our final class session week 15, we talked about some readings in Chapter 6 that dealt with traditional vs. modern attitudes toward family and life in general.
See you at the exam. Let me know if you have any questions I can help with or just want to talk, now or in the future.
Thanks for a great class!
JBH
2016.11.22 & 11.24
At the beginning of class, students handed in the final draft of their first essay from Chapter four for feedback before grading.
Then we talked about our experiences with step 6 of Task 5.2 on page 148 and listed some DOs and DON'Ts of interviewing. Next, we talked about the second reading in the chapter, "Unfinished Interview," and about our own family experiences related to food and history. Also, we talked and thought about coming up with a thesis statement, working on Tasks 5.3 and 5.4.
For next week's class, please complete your interview and go carefully through the instructions on pages 153 through 157 for writing your essay and post it to the class blog by class time. Focus on interviewing and writing this week; you DO NOT have to have your paper in by early deadline on this assignment. We will give each other feedback and make a plan for revision after next week's class session.
2016.11.08 through 11.17
The first week of this period (11.08 & 11.10) was spent wrapping up Chapter four in the text. Students also got scores and feedback for their major assignment through the first half of the semester. During the second session this period (11.15 &11.17), we completed the final draft of our writing assignments from Chapter 4 and started working on Chapter 5, which focuses on Oral History.
The sessions 11.15 and 11.17 covered these topics:
1. Asked students to bring hard copies next week of Chapter 4 final draft
2. Talked about interviewing as a research tool, and went over first reading, “A Reward from Buddha” in first hour. Thought and wrote about the oldest living member of our family.
3. Interviewing: Page 146-148 – Task 5.1 in class, Task 5.2 is homework, along with thinking about this chapter’s essay assignment on page 153. Choose Option 1 or 2 for next week’s class and be prepared to start working on your topic. If you want to get ahead on it, no one is stopping you.
4. Bring a hard copy of your write-up from practice session (Task 5.2) to talk about in next week’s class.
5. Please read ahead. I’m sure we’ll at least want to talk about readings 2, 4, and 5.
6. Don’t forget to bring a hard copy of your Chapter 4 essay for feedback from me. This will NOT be graded until later, but I will be glad to give you any suggestions I can.
See you in class!
JBH
2016.11.01 and 11.03
We continued discussing the readings from Chapter 4 in class, along with looking at student writing on the class blog. After going over the blog, we moved on to talk about the Chapter 4 essay assignment and feedback procedures. We worked on an exercise demonstrating best practices for giving constructive feedback with enough detail to be helpful to our classmates.
For next week, please complete your Chapter 4 Essay first draft and post it to the class blog by the early class deadline. Please give useful suggestions to your classmates on their writing using the form on pages 120 and 121.
See you in class!
JBH
2016.10.25 & 27
This week we got back to work and hit the book again, dipping our toes into the first reading in Chapter 4, which focuses on writing about places. We discussed our feedback on papers so far, the reading, and worked on a few tasks in the chapter.
For next week, please complete task 4.2 and 4.4 and post your results to the class blog. Look over what other people have written for brainstorming purposes and feel free to give feedback to improve your homework score.
Please look over the readings and the essay assignment also, and be ready to discuss the readings in class. We will start working on the first draft of the chapter 4 essay next week after we meet.
See you in class!
JBH
2016.10.18
Exam Week Advice
Hey all!
I've been looking over lots of student writing and have been trying to help people be more descriptive about people, as we talked about in class with EQuIP. But I realize that it's hard to figure out how to describe things, especially people, without some kind of model or template to guide you. Check out this page for ideas about how to describe people. You don't have to tell your reader everything, but if you can give your readers a few specific details that are important about the person you are describing, we will be able to "see" the person in our minds much more clearly. Give it a try!
I also noticed some general trends that we talk about on papers and made some notes linked here. Maybe they will help or maybe they need more explanation. Titles are important too.
See you in class next week, and don't forget to bring your hard copies of the Chapter 2 and Chapter 3 essays with you. Double-spaced, 12 point Times New Roman font please.
JBH
2016.10.11 and 10.13
In class this week, we took a slight detour after comparing our ideas about Task 3.2.
The instructor shared a PowerPoint presentation with exercises about including specific details and examples in to make our writing more interesting and meaningful.
Next week is Week 8, and we WILL be writing an essay exam in class. While you cannot "study" for a general writing exam, you can think about your strategy. If you want to prepare for the exam, perhaps the best way to do that is to look at an IELTS or TOEFL essay prep site such as http://www.ieltsbuddy.com/ielts-writing-questions.html
And although we will be having an exam instead of regular class next week, the essay writing from Chapter 3 will continue. Please work through more of the readings and questions from Chapter 3 on your own and complete Tasks 3.3 and 3.4 on pages and 76. Post complete responses to question 3 from Task 3.3 and question 1 from Task 3.4 to the class blog for your classmates to review. Metaphors and similes are useful writing tools in addition to specific details and examples.
Also, please post the first draft of the Chapter 3 essay assigned on page 77 by the regular early deadline for your class this week (Sunday noon/10-16 for the Tuesday class and Tuesday noon/10-18 for the Thursday class). Be sure to read the instructions for the essay completely on pages 77 and 78. Before class time of exam week, you should also have commented on two classmates' first drafts of the Chapter 3 essay, using the guidelines on pages 90 and 91. Please be sure to thoroughly read the Written Peer Response instructions on pages 79 through 82.
Your final draft of this essay will be due before we meet in class Oct. 25th and 27th. Please bring hard copies of your final drafts of both essays -- Chapter 2 and Chapter 3 -- to class with you week 9. Remember to also edit your essay carefully, keeping in mind the instructions on pages 82 through 86. Please be sure to double space your papers.
Good luck on your exams!
JBH
2016.10.04 and 10.06
This week we looked at Chapter 3, starting out with a look at My Grandmother. My grandmother? No, the first story in the chapter, though the paper about my grandmother might be an interesting example for later when we write about oral history in Chapter 5.
We also looked at the second reading and discussed it, along with some student writing on the class blog, and were reminded that even if our drafts are finished, there might still be room for improvement. Work will be graded for quality after Midterm Week, and again, at the end of the semester.
We also looked at Tasks 3.1 and 3.2, and were left with 3.2 as a homework assignment. Please post at least 200 words addressing Task 3.2 on the class blog by your class early deadline, and comment on two of your classmates' writing before we meet next week. Remember to include lots of SPECIFIC DETAILS in your Task 3.2 writing, which we will talk more about in class. On the blog, general comments about the good points or suggested improvements are fine again. Try to make your comments a kind of classroom conversation starter.
See you in class,
JBH
2016.09.27 and 09.29
In class, we worked more on Chapter 2.
We ...
1. Discussed Chapter 2, Reading 5 questions in pairs and with the whole class
2. Gave each other face-to-face peer response on our Experience Essay first draft (page 53).
3. Worked with partners on the Time Chunk exercise (pages 46-48).
4. Looked over the Discussion questions on Reading 6 (pages 41-44).
For next week, please complete a final draft and post it as a comment under your first draft. If it's too long to post as one comment, break it up. Also, please move ahead to Chapter 3, reading the first two readings and be ready to discuss them in class.
2016.09.20 and 09.22
As we move on into Week 5, after getting caught up after Chuseok, here's what we need to be doing.
First, make sure you have read and discussed/thought about the questions from readings 1, 2 and 5 in Chapter 2. You should pay particular attention to the italicized suggestion before the reading to help build ideas that may be useful for connecting what you see in the readings to give you ideas for writing about your own life.
Next, if you haven't done so yet in class, please look closely and think about Task 2.1 on pages 44 and 45 in the text. Please write your own memory chain of your own and develop it into a brief story, following the instructions on ages 45 and 46. Post your story on the blog and comment on two classmates' stories.
Then, after you've developed a few ideas, please look over the essay assignment and writing tips on pages 50 and 51 and write a first draft. Post your draft to the blog and bring a hard copy to class Sept. 27/29 to share with classmates. Class early deadlines apply for posting both this writing and the memory chain. Comments need to be completed on the blog by the time we meet in class.
Also, please use the Oral Peer Response suggestions to guide your thinking for commenting on the blog. That means you should use Item 3, a through e on page 53 for commenting on your classmates' writing.
When we meet 9-27/9-29 as a class, we will be looking at Reading 5 (and maybe 6), giving each other more peer response face-to-face, and looking at more tasks in Chapter 2 before we go on to complete a final draft.
See you in class!
JBH
Chuseok Week (Looking ahead to 2016.09.20 and 09.22)
In class on Tuesday, we began looking together at Chapter 2, which focuses on experiences in our own lives. We looked at the first reading, "Learning How to Cook," and discussed it, along with the Memory Chain activity on pages 44 and 45. I asked the class to go through Task 2.1 and Task 2.2 thoroughly, writing their own memory chain by following the directions at the bottom of page 45 and the top of page 46. Please post your draft response to Task 4.2, #5, on page 46 to the class blog so we can talk about it in class. Please comment on two classmates' drafts before class time.
Although the Thursday class didn't look at the first reading yet, I would still like you to go through the Memory Chain activity on your own and post a draft response to Task 4.2, #5, as well as comment on two classmates' responses.
We will continue looking at Chapter 2 the week after Chuseok, moving toward writing a draft of the essay assignment on page 50.
See you in class!
JBH
2016.09.06 & 09.08
1. To start off this week, we got to know each other using last week’s survey (on pages 4. 5, and 6). We got ready to share what we learned by writing up our thoughts.
2. Now, take a look at Thinking About Writing on pages 8 and 9. You’ve already read the student writings about writing, right? (Read aloud to refresh our memory)
3. Go through the freewriting exercise (talk about freewriting) and discussion (#2 on page 9). Freewrite about writing.
4. Continue with blog entry instructions (see below).
5. Share about your attitudes/experiences with writing on the blog. For ideas about what to write, see Exercise 2 (pg. 11) and your class freewriting/discussion. Please email a thorough response to the blog. Like all assigned writings, save a draft as a Microsoft Word for your records. I will be asking for hard copies of some assignments in the future.
Please post your writing to the blog two full days before class time (before 12 noon Sunday for Tuesday class; before 12 noon Tuesday for Thursday class). Comments need to be posted to the blog before class time.
For this week, your comment to classmates can be a simple response to the content of the blog. What did you think about what your classmate wrote? Respond to two blog entries so everyone hears from two classmates. In future, I will give more detailed instructions about how to give feedback on writing.
Reminder: Homework for next week: blog entry by class deadline (by 12 noon Sunday for Tuesday class; before 12 noon Tuesday for Thursday class BEFORE class), feedback before class time; pre-read and be ready to discuss Readings 1, 2 and 3 in chapter 2. You may also want to look ahead at some of the Tasks in the chapter, which we will be doing in class.
See you in class,
JBH
Tuesday Class Thursday Class
A. Emailing Blog Posts & Making Comments
1. Write something wonderful.
2. Copy the document into the text part of an email message.
(Subject line=Student name/Assignment label/Class Day & Time)
3. Send e-mail to profjbh.“secret word”@blogger.com
4. E-mail appears like magic!
5. Go to your class blog site and give feedback as a comment to the blog post.
REMEMBER:
• Be sure to save after you’ve finished writing.• Include your name on whatever you
post if you want credit for it.
• Check after you have finished to make sure it appears on the blog.
Thanks!
JBH
B. Commenting on the Blog ...
You need to select an identity under "comment as." You can choose "anonymous,"
but don't forget to include your name in the comment itself.
After you have written your comment in the comment box, there are two buttons, one to "publish," and one to "preview." If you want to preview it, go ahead. Either way, please make sure your comment is okay before publishing. When you are ready to finalize your comment, select the "publish" button.
You may want to try to comment on my first post under my two comments to test the system before you comment on a classmate's paper while you are figuring out the steps.
Have fun, and let me know if there are problems.
JBH
1. To start off this week, we got to know each other using last week’s survey (on pages 4. 5, and 6). We got ready to share what we learned by writing up our thoughts.
2. Now, take a look at Thinking About Writing on pages 8 and 9. You’ve already read the student writings about writing, right? (Read aloud to refresh our memory)
3. Go through the freewriting exercise (talk about freewriting) and discussion (#2 on page 9). Freewrite about writing.
4. Continue with blog entry instructions (see below).
5. Share about your attitudes/experiences with writing on the blog. For ideas about what to write, see Exercise 2 (pg. 11) and your class freewriting/discussion. Please email a thorough response to the blog. Like all assigned writings, save a draft as a Microsoft Word for your records. I will be asking for hard copies of some assignments in the future.
Please post your writing to the blog two full days before class time (before 12 noon Sunday for Tuesday class; before 12 noon Tuesday for Thursday class). Comments need to be posted to the blog before class time.
For this week, your comment to classmates can be a simple response to the content of the blog. What did you think about what your classmate wrote? Respond to two blog entries so everyone hears from two classmates. In future, I will give more detailed instructions about how to give feedback on writing.
Reminder: Homework for next week: blog entry by class deadline (by 12 noon Sunday for Tuesday class; before 12 noon Tuesday for Thursday class BEFORE class), feedback before class time; pre-read and be ready to discuss Readings 1, 2 and 3 in chapter 2. You may also want to look ahead at some of the Tasks in the chapter, which we will be doing in class.
See you in class,
JBH
Tuesday Class Thursday Class
A. Emailing Blog Posts & Making Comments
1. Write something wonderful.
2. Copy the document into the text part of an email message.
(Subject line=Student name/Assignment label/Class Day & Time)
3. Send e-mail to profjbh.“secret word”@blogger.com
4. E-mail appears like magic!
5. Go to your class blog site and give feedback as a comment to the blog post.
REMEMBER:
• Be sure to save after you’ve finished writing.• Include your name on whatever you
post if you want credit for it.
• Check after you have finished to make sure it appears on the blog.
Thanks!
JBH
B. Commenting on the Blog ...
You need to select an identity under "comment as." You can choose "anonymous,"
but don't forget to include your name in the comment itself.
After you have written your comment in the comment box, there are two buttons, one to "publish," and one to "preview." If you want to preview it, go ahead. Either way, please make sure your comment is okay before publishing. When you are ready to finalize your comment, select the "publish" button.
You may want to try to comment on my first post under my two comments to test the system before you comment on a classmate's paper while you are figuring out the steps.
Have fun, and let me know if there are problems.
JBH
2016.08.30
The first week's session consisted of introductions and a brief class outline.
The textbook for this course will be In Our Own Words: Student Writers at Work, 3rd Ed., by Rebecca Mlynarczyk and Steven Haber, Cambridge University Press. It is available in the HUFS bookstore.
Please pre-read and give some thought to all questions in the book in Part I, Starting Out, as soon as possible. Please be ready to discuss the interview questions in class on pages 4 and 5 and bring your typed answers to the survey on pages 24 and 25 when we meet again next week.
We will be talking about Unit 1 and how to write and share our work with classmates online when we meet again next week.
Thanks, and see you in class!
JBH
