Writing 3 Class Notes -- October 24

Greetings!

We had a good and productive class this week.  This is a hard-working group of students!

We've been working hard on ACT/SAT writing test questions, so we took a break for something more light-hearted.  For our Quick Write this week, we used cards from a game entitled "Man Bites Dog."  Each student got 6 cards; a noun, adjective, adverb, or verb was on each card.  They object of the game is to develop a headline using those words.  For our writing exercise, they not only created headlines, but wrote a news story to go with it. Once again, we had some creative endeavors.  I love those first minutes of class when their heads are bent down towards their papers, and their pens or pencils are working quickly.

We discussed how the students are progressing on their research papers.  I think it's helpful to do this as a group.  Many times one student asks a question that others are wondering about, too.  Most of them are needing to do more research and increase the quantity of material which they are presenting in their papers.  As I read through the rough drafts last week, I gave some ideas for expansion of their topic.

Re-organizing is also a common task at this point.  Thanks to computers and word processing software, editing and reformatting does not mean having to re-type the entire paper.  Many parents remember the days of typewriters, carbon paper, and "white out."  Do you think we can convince our children that they have it so much easier?

As a class we brainstormed a bit about what the presentation portion of their work could look like.  Some topics may lend themselves more easily to this than others.  Their presentation needs to have two components:  an oral presentation and a visual aspect.  For the oral presentation, we discussed that they can either give the primary points of their paper or choose one section that is representative of the whole.  For the visual part, they can bring in charts, maps, poster, pictures, etc.  They can also put together a PowerPoint presentation.

We also looked at some examples of MLA formating.  On the newest version of Microsoft Word, the reference dropdown menu gives you boxes to fill in and then formats it according to the MLA styling for you. (Again, kids these days have it so much easier than we had it.)  If you're working with another word processing software, a handbook will give the exact formatting.  Another help is the Son of Citation website.  Web pages can be confusing to cite; this site is especially helpful for that.  Some college professors like this website and encourage their students to use it.  Others consider it "cheating."  Since my goal is to have students learn this format, they can use it .... but there may be a test to see if they really know it!

Next week we'll discuss some specifics regarding writing styles and editing paragraphs and sentences.

Assignments for next week:

-- Presentation plan --- something to hand in!

-- Continue working on the rough draft

Keep up the good work!

Mrs. Prichard

Helpful Blog Entries:

This week's blog

Citing Sources

Plagiarism 

Helpful MLA Websites

Helpful MLA Citation Sites

Research papers are challenging.  Not only are you required to come up with an original, thought-provoking thesis, but you have to research primary and secondary sources for enough information to back up your position.  And on top of that, you need to use your sources with integrity and give credit to those who are experts on your topic.  And if that's not enough, you need to follow specific guidelines for letting your reader know where you found this information.  Whew!!

Below is a list of helpful websites that will help with the MLA format.

Son of Citation Machine:  This website does the formating for you.  Type in the essential information, click on "Make Citation" and it gives you the entry that you can copy and paste into your paper.  Some college professors encourage their students to use this so that they have the correct format.  Others consider it cheating and the lazy student's way out.  I don't mind if students use it because I feel it's part of the learning process.

Easy Bib:  This site is similar to Son of Citation.  Like the above site, I think these are especially helpful with non-traditional sources.  Citing books with one author is not difficult.  Other print and non-print forms are challenging.

Purdue OWL:  One of my favorite writing resources is the Purdue Online Writing Lab.  If you go to the homepage, you will find just about any topic related to writing essays.

MLA formating videocast:  This Youtube video helps students format their papers.  It refers to Microsoft Word 2007. Some students already know a lot about using Word; others have parents who can help.  This is a helpful video if this information is needed.

MLA Works Cited videocast:  Another Purdue OWL video specific to the Works Cited page.

Durham College MLA style:  This is a longer video, but it's very complete!  In fact, I'd really like everyone to take the 30 minutes and give this video a careful "listen."

These are only a few websites.  If you need more help, google "MLA citation," and you will find a plethora of options.

Writing 3 Class Notes -- October 17

Greetings!

We had a great class today.  This is a wonderful group of students and I have enjoyed every class time with them. 

Today we took some time with ACT writing prompts.  I divided the class into 2 groups, boys and girls.  They could choose their groups question and were to brainstorm how they might answer the question.  They then presented their ideas to the other group and fielded questions and other ideas.  We had a lengthy discussion about whether girls and boys should have combined or separate class rooms. We also talked about whether a person should be content with who they are or should try to better himself.  Lots of great critical thinking going on!

Our primary discussion was focused on the rough drafts that they had handed in last week.  Firstly, I need to say that they are doing a lot of hard work.  I'm very proud of them and was delighted to read through these first drafts of these research papers.  I read this draft for content and organization (with a few grammatical corrections thrown in "for free.")  Each student had a page of individual notes and one of general comments about revising their papers.  Some papers need more material and to be expanded.  I gave some ideas and suggestions for this.  Some papers need some reorganization, and I also gave some suggestions in this area.  If a student has any questions about the remarks that I've made, he/she should be sure to send me an e-mail.

Writing a research paper is a rather convoluted process.  It's a cycle of planning, researching, and writing and then starting over again.  It's important that they not get discouraged if it feels as if they are taking some steps backward, especially if they need to do some more research or some re-organizing. 

A note to parents:  Check in with your student to see how he/she is progressing.  You may be needed as a sounding board for ideas or for proofreading sections.   

Assignments for Next Week:
-- Write an initial Presentation Plan
-- Continue to work on revising the rough drafts
-- Continue to work on Works Cited page

Have a great week!
Mrs. Prichard

Writing 3 Class Notes -- October 10

Greetings!

Once again, we had a great Writing 1 class.  I really enjoy working with this group of student.  Since I had a lot planned today, our Quick Write was brief.  Using the first line from Dickens's A Tale of Two Cities, "It was the best of times; it was the worst of times," they were to write the first line of the great novels they plan to write.  Or the last line. Or the title.  Even in brevity, they were creative.

We also took time to go over another ACT Writing Test prompt.  This question concerned whether uniforms improved a learning environment or denied a students freedom of expression.  We looked at this question from a different angle; whether than discussing the pros or cons of uniforms, I had them think about how a learning environment is affected.  I also had them think about how they might weigh a good learning environment against freedom of expression.

We are at Step 20 in our process of writing the research papers.  We discussed the rough drafts which were handed in yesterday.  We also discussed at lengths the Peer Edits.  Each student drew another student's names and will read through those papers this week.  Our primary focus is the content and organization of these papers.  Each student has a rubric to use for evaluating and making students. 

Peer Editing Assignments:

Danial has Amanda's paper

Ruth Ann has Lukes's paper

Elise has Drew's paper

Alayna has Elise's paper

Noah has Alayna's paper

Luke has Daniel's paper

Drew has Noah's paper

Amanda has Ruth Ann's paper

Some students need to e-mail copies of their rough drafts.  Please send them ASAP.

Drew to me; I will then send it to Elise.

Luke to me.

Amanda to me; I will then send it to Daniel

Ruth Ann to me; I will then send it to Amanda

Assignments for Next Week:

-- Complete the Peer Edit of your classmates paper.

-- Read handouts on Citing Sources

-- First draft of Works Cited page

-- Read handouts and websites for the MLA format.

It's time to get out the hats and mittens!  Enjoy the weekend.

Mrs. Prichard

Writing 3 Class Notes -- October 3

Greetings!
My apologies for the later-than-usual class notes.  Some weeks just seem to be busier than others.

In lieu of a light-hearted Quick Write, we took time with one of the ACT writing questions.  This question asked the students to respond to the idea of whether or not high school should be increased to 5 years giving students more time for academic work, community involvement, and extra-curricular activities.  As we've worked through some of the sample ACT or SAT questions, we discuss strategies for brainstorming ideas and them organization.  Rather than work all together, I divided the students into 2 groups to do their own brainstorming and organizing.  Both groups did a great job thinking seriously and critically about the question, coming up with valid points for each side of the argument, and organizing their ideas into a chart.
Discussed MLA styling, plagiarism, presentation plan.

This week, they handed in the Detailed Outlines for their papers.  Some were more detailed than others, but we discussed that outlines will continue to develop and even change as they write.  Next week, the first Rough Draft is due.  They will write 2 rough drafts for this paper; for this one, I will be looking specifically for content and organization.  In other words, is the content presented logically and is there enough information to support the claims and thesis?  I may mark the occasional grammatical error, but that won't be the focus of this paper.  By the second rough draft, the content/ information and the organization should be in good shape, and I will read for mechanics.

The two steps of the paper that we discussed this week were MLA citations and the initial plan for the presentation.  The MLA formatting can be a challenging topic, and I anticipate that we'll cover it a number of times.  Also, what information and ideas must be cited is often unclear for writers.  I will have more information on that for them.  If time permits, I'll send them some links that will be helpful before the class next week.

Assignment for Next Week:

-- Rough Draft #1!

Have a great weekend!

Mrs. Prichard