Prose & Paragraphs
Week 12 & 13 (2017.05.17/05.24)
These weeks were devoted to working our way through the readings in Chapter 3, as well as the grammar and logic exercises for writing practice. We reviewed some drafts on the class blog on the big screen, going over strong points, areas that needed improvement, and language use before dipping our toes into Chapter 4. After looking over the Ant and the Grasshopper fable by Aesop and LaFontaine, we read an updated version of the fable where things turned out very differently from the usual moral of the story.
For next week, please complete reading and finish exercises in the rest of Chapter 4. Also, I have two writing tasks for you as well as feedback for classmates: First, on page 94 of the text, complete exercise B. Write your complete answer on the class blog and I encourage everyone to review other people's submissions. We will talk about the shared writing in class, so please bring a hard copy if you can. Also, please turn to page 109 and write the first draft of the essay assignment, to be posted on the class blog before this week's early deadline. Be sure to comment on two classmate's essay blog posts using the feedback suggestions on page 112. Please give it enough thought so you can make helpful comments, not just say "Good job."
Thanks,
JBH
Week 11 (2017.05.10)
In class this week, we talked our way through Unit 3, going over pages 63 to72. We covered different facets of friendship through reading, writing and discussion. We will continue in Unit 3 May 17th and look at grammar and logic, as well as talking about the first draft of the essay assignment on pages 80-83.
The instructor talked over some common problems from student papers in class. Some of those that affect many students are:
Article/preposition usage – a common problem that needs to be learned long-term. Don’t get too upset about challenges with prepositions and articles; it's a long-term learning process, but try to learn from every problem usage about the right way to do things on a case-by-case basis.
I strongly suggest using English language resources to help you work on this problem. A very good one is Grammar Girl. Check these pages: Prepositions and When to Use Articles Before Nouns.
While for the most part, grammar and vocab were pretty strong, a few people seem to really like to use language that is too formal or sounds impressive. And we still need to work on using lots of specific details and examples. Please don’t forget the PowerPoint presentation on EQuIP: Pinning It Down we went over a few weeks ago, and watch out for being too wordy or vague, or slipping into abstraction.
For example, I can tell you that my father was a very harsh disciplinarian
OR
I can tell you about the time I did something wrong when I was 14 and he kicked me in the rear so hard it shook my whole body, even my teeth, and I flew about three meters.
Which one makes a more vivid impression?
There are lots more common student writing problems to check out in my writing resources on this website here and here.
In class this week, we talked our way through Unit 3, going over pages 63 to72. We covered different facets of friendship through reading, writing and discussion. We will continue in Unit 3 May 17th and look at grammar and logic, as well as talking about the first draft of the essay assignment on pages 80-83.
Keep writing!
See you in class,
JBH
Keep w
Week 10 (2017.05.03)
In class, we continued in Unit 3, going over the shared writing task discussions on pages 63 and 66, and moving on to paraphrasing and basic essay organization on pages 68-72. The instructor continued to focus on the importance of including specific examples and concrete details in every kind of writing. Always prefer the specific to the abstract, or if you do write about something in abstract terms, include an example or definition to make your meaning clear.
We also returned papers with quality scores from the midterm evaluation, and the instructor gave students an idea of what those scores equated to in estimated grades. I will give everyone the highest grade I can justify, but because of relative grading, I will be required to give a grade of C to 35 percent of the students in this class at the end of the semester whether I like it or not.
I am usually available for conferences on Thursday between 2 and 4 p.m., Friday from 9 to 11:30 am., and Monday from 9 a.m. to 12 noon. Please ask for an appointment by email if you would like to talk about your writing at one of these times.
For next week, please complete the first draft of an essay as explained on pages 80 to 82 in the text by the class early deadline. Please give helpful feedback to two classmates following the instructions on page 83. We will be looking at student writing next week, as well as continuing to look at logic and grammar in Chapter 3.
See you in class,
JBH
Week 9 (2017.04.26)
We turned to the text first thing in class today, getting started on Chapter 3. We discussed Friendship using the discussion questions on pages 55 through 59, and started looking at the rest of the chapter before moving into a lesson on using specifics and details in our writing, Pinning it Down.
Please review the PowerPoint presentation linked in the above paragraph. We will not be meeting on the Buddha's Birthday holiday next week, but our work continues. Please post your written responses to the question I left you with in class today from the end of the PowerPoint presentation. Below is a reminder of that assignment:
--Here is a paragraph that is boring. Revise it with examples, quotations, illustrations or particular details (EQuIP) to make it more interesting and informative
Teachers
We meet a lot of teachers in our life. Some are good and some are bad. One teacher I really liked (or disliked). He taught us well (poorly) and helped us learn other things too. I am glad (not glad) he/she was my teacher.
--
—Your final version should be about 150 words…
Before we meet again on May 10th, please pre-read and answer all individual questions in Chapter 3. Please prepared completely and write your responses for Item B on page 63 and Item D on page 66. You need to do the readings and preliminary tasks completely before writing these response, which you will share with classmates in class.
Also, continue reading and answering questions until the end of Chapter 3. Choose a topic for your essay and be ready to begin writing your first draft quickly after we meet May 10th. We need to get two or three more essays completed by the end of the semester, and time is slipping by.
See you class!
JBH
Week 9 (2017.04.26)
We turned to the text first thing in class today, getting started on Chapter 3. We discussed Friendship using the discussion questions on pages 55 through 59, and started looking at the rest of the chapter before moving into a lesson on using specifics and details in our writing, Pinning it Down.
Please review the PowerPoint presentation linked in the above paragraph. We will not be meeting on the Buddha's Birthday holiday next week, but our work continues. Please post your written responses to the question I left you with in class today from the end of the PowerPoint presentation. Below is a reminder of that assignment:
--Here is a paragraph that is boring. Revise it with examples, quotations, illustrations or particular details (EQuIP) to make it more interesting and informative
Teachers
We meet a lot of teachers in our life. Some are good and some are bad. One teacher I really liked (or disliked). He taught us well (poorly) and helped us learn other things too. I am glad (not glad) he/she was my teacher.
--
—Your final version should be about 150 words…
Before we meet again on May 10th, please pre-read and answer all individual questions in Chapter 3. Please prepared completely and write your responses for Item B on page 63 and Item D on page 66. You need to do the readings and preliminary tasks completely before writing these response, which you will share with classmates in class.
Also, continue reading and answering questions until the end of Chapter 3. Choose a topic for your essay and be ready to begin writing your first draft quickly after we meet May 10th. We need to get two or three more essays completed by the end of the semester, and time is slipping by.
See you class!
JBH
Week 6 (2017.04.05)
This week we took a look at student writing on the class blog and gave some helpful feedback. Besides language use problems, which may differ from student to student, there are some general trends. One thing we should focus on is trying to use as many specific examples and details as we can in our writing, rather than general statements and abstractions. We will talk more about this when we meet Week 9.
Week 7, we are meeting for one-on-one sessions with the instructor in the classroom or in his office, following the schedule we created Week 6 in class. Tuesday and Thursday meetings are in my office (Main Building Room 404) and in the classroom on Wednesday. Please don't be late for your appointment and bring hard copies of both pieces of writing you will be submitting for a grade Week 8. I will give you suggestions for improving what you have written so you can make it better before it is graded.
Week 8, we will take a mid-term exam in class. I will give you a prompt and ask you to write in class on a topic related to the modern family. There is no need to study for the mid-term, because it tests your writing skills, not research on a particular topic. Just practice your writing. You will be able to answer the question with your own knowledge. I also want you to bring final drafts of both essays to be graded with you Week 8. Remember, 12-point font, double-spaced, make sure your name is on the paper, and include a title.
See you in class!
JBH
Week 6 (2017.04.05)
This week we took a look at student writing on the class blog and gave some helpful feedback. Besides language use problems, which may differ from student to student, there are some general trends. One thing we should focus on is trying to use as many specific examples and details as we can in our writing, rather than general statements and abstractions. We will talk more about this when we meet Week 9.
Week 7, we are meeting for one-on-one sessions with the instructor in the classroom or in his office, following the schedule we created Week 6 in class. Tuesday and Thursday meetings are in my office (Main Building Room 404) and in the classroom on Wednesday. Please don't be late for your appointment and bring hard copies of both pieces of writing you will be submitting for a grade Week 8. I will give you suggestions for improving what you have written so you can make it better before it is graded.
Week 8, we will take a mid-term exam in class. I will give you a prompt and ask you to write in class on a topic related to the modern family. There is no need to study for the mid-term, because it tests your writing skills, not research on a particular topic. Just practice your writing. You will be able to answer the question with your own knowledge. I also want you to bring final drafts of both essays to be graded with you Week 8. Remember, 12-point font, double-spaced, make sure your name is on the paper, and include a title.
See you in class!
JBH
Week 5 (2017.03.29)
Week 5 we started out by doing some writing about our Unit 2 readings and discussed the dangers of love and jealousy, talking about the questions on page 40. We then moved on to look at writing skills, starting with paraphrasing and summarizing, and moving on to different patterns of organization.
For this week, please continue to look at the examples of all the organizational patterns and then go on to complete the writing assignment on pages 52 and 53. Choose one of the five writing topics from Item A. on page 52 and build a first draft following the instructions in B., C., and D. Please email a complete (and revised) first draft to the class blog by the class early deadline and be sure to comment using the Paragraph Assessment checklist on page 54 before we meet next week. We will be looking at some writing from the class blog next week and complete the language exercises from page 47 through 50.
Thanks!
JBH
Week 3 & 4 (2017.03.15 & 2017.03.22)
In our Week 3 class session we discussed the exercises in Chapter 1 and talked about our writing ideas. We went through the text all the way up to writing our formal writing assignment on pages 24 and 25. We posted essays and gave each other feedback on the class blog.
Week 4 (3-22), we finished off the language exercises (fragments) in chapter 1 and moved on to chapter 2, where we talked about the first reading on pages 32-35. For homework this week, please continue looking for more detail along withthe questions onpage 35, and go through steps A, B, and C on page 36. Post your 20-minute response from Step B on the class blog before the class early deadline (midnight Sunday). Go to Step C to respond to two of your classmates before we meet March 29th.
After you have written your response for page 36, please continue to read, prepare for discussions, and answer exercise questions in the rest of Chapter 2. We will move on to write the essay assignment on page 52 and 53, so your thinking and preparation should be aiming toward that goal as you read and write this week.
See you in class!
JBH
Week 2 (2017.03.08)
We started off class with a bang this first real class session by writing a timed essay. After a short break to rest our hands, we then got deep into Chapter 1's readings on birth order. We read, wrote, and discussed our way to page 10 in the text, and stopped with a journal-writing demo following the instructions in Item A on page 10. For next week's class, please complete Item B (Shared Writing) and bring a typed copy to class with you so you can share it with classmates for peer feedback.
Also, please pre-read and answer all questions in the text through the rest of the chapter for our next class session. It's up to you how much you write to prepare for discussion questions, but you should be following the instructions. For example, on page 16, Item C asks you to mark any places inthe text that are still unclear to you. If you don't have marks in your text or on a piece of paper, you did not follow instructions and will lose homework credit. Item D instructs you to write for about 20 minutes on one or more of the questions that follow. You can't read what you wrote and get feedback if you didn't write anyting. Please follow instructions like these that ask you to write in your book or write your thoughts about a reading for comment. You are responsible for staying ahead of the class and responding to all questions/topics in your book or on a piece of paper.
We also went over the steps for posting entries to the blog by email and making comments on the class blog in class March 8th. The instructions we followed are linked here. Please post a main idea for your essay from Part 5, Item B and your thoughts about it to the blog. The deadline for posting your essay main ideas is 12 midnight Sunday night, March 12th.
Then, follow the instructions on page 24, Item C to give feedback to two classmates about their writing ideas. Write these responses before we meet next week. You may also want to make it a conversation by responding to classmates feedback. Please be honest and kind with your feedback, and don't take things too seriously if you are receiving feedback.
Step by Step:
1. Complete Item B on page 10, print and bring to class.
2. Pre-read and answer all questions in Chapter 1 for our next class. Be completely prepared for all discussion questions and write answers to all questions that ask you to write something BEFORE class time.
3. Post the main idea for your chapter 1 essay as outlined on page 24, Item B-2 before midnight March 12th.
4. Respond to two of your classmates' topic idea with helpful, thoughtful feedback.
The class blog is linked below.
See you in class!
JBH
Prose & Paragraphs Blog 2017 Spring

Week 1 (2017.03.01)
It might seem like this class lucked out with a holiday during our first week class session, but we are still getting started this week.
Please buy the book ASAP. ---------------------------------------------------->
It is available at the HUFS bookstore.
Then, please pre-read and pre-answer questions in Chapter 1 through page 23 before our March 8 class and be ready to discuss all the topics in class.
We will move on to the writing assignment in chapter 1 after our second class session, posting it online in a class blog and giving each other feedback on our writing. We will go over instructions for posting our writing and feedback to the blog when we meet next time.
See you in class!
JBH
Week 1 (2017.03.01)
It might seem like this class lucked out with a holiday during our first week class session, but we are still getting started this week.
Please buy the book ASAP. ---------------------------------------------------->
It is available at the HUFS bookstore.
Then, please pre-read and pre-answer questions in Chapter 1 through page 23 before our March 8 class and be ready to discuss all the topics in class.
We will move on to the writing assignment in chapter 1 after our second class session, posting it online in a class blog and giving each other feedback on our writing. We will go over instructions for posting our writing and feedback to the blog when we meet next time.
See you in class!
JBH