Week 8

As I wrote this week's blog title, I surprised myself at the fact that we are half way done and much of the heavy work of starting is now over.  What we face now is not dropping our expectations or energy.  We need to do everything in our power to remain attentive and to stir our creativity to higher levels.

I read "Who Are You" essays most weekend long.  This is the hardest part of my job; it takes a whole lot of concentration to sit for hours on end and read only 25 essays.  Having to put that much effort seven times in order to finish all of my classes is a marathon like endeavor.  What keeps me going is a desire to see you "get it."  This is the most gratifying aspect of any teacher's life.   Satisfaction in teaching/learning is ephemeral; it flutters around us like a beautiful butterfly.  When I see this beautiful creature, I notice.  This weekend I was graced with many moments where  what I read made me very satisfied.  I would say that a good 90% of you listened very carefully to my instructions and attempted the best way you could to put your best possible effort with your essays.  I can't ask for a better feeling than reading through a paper and feeling awe.  That happened multiple times this weekend!

This takes us to our second essay.  You are free in this assignment to come up with your own topic and are challenged to make this second text even better than the first.  Here's what you need to keep in mind with this assignment:

1. Choosing a very limited topic is critical for the paper to have focus and power.  
2. The topic needs to come from the writing you have been doing in your notebooks.
3. The topic may not be researched in anyway outside of your own personal experience.  I don't want a research paper of any sort.
4. The topic should be something you care about passionately and are willing to spend a good amount of time writing for someone else.
5. The writing in this paper may use a number of different approaches, including narration, exposition, description, and persuasion.
6. The essay should be at least 800-words and should not follow the standard five-paragraph approach made popular by tests like the FCAT.  
7. As many of you saw from your visits to my office for writing conferences, writing a good paper involves conversations we often have with ourselves and, if we can, with others.  It also takes multiple drafts and careful consideration of the balance between content and structure to have the essentials of a good paper.  All of this demands a good use of time management!  Procrastination is not your friend.
8. Taking time to revise and edit very carefully is a last and important step in the writing process. Again, there are many resources that can help you.  The first one happens to be your group mates who by now I hope are more like friends than mere ENC 1101 acquaintances.  The other invaluable resource is our Writing Center (Rm. 2207).  The tutors are writing professionals eager to help you. 
9. The essay is due 10/1 for MW classes, 11/1 for TR classes, and 11/2 for MWF classes.  The essay will need to be turned in both as a hard copy and also in Turnitin.

Your experience writing the first essay should help you in your approach to your essay.  As you go about the writing process, please do a notebook entry on what advice you would have liked to have received eight weeks ago with the first essay.  As you write this advice down, consider what other students have said about writing and how your own insights and theirs can help you with big Essay #2 (400 pts).

At the Environmental Center last week I was able to scan through your writer's notebooks.  I was happy to see the variety and also the great effort that many of you put into this tool.  I snapped some pictures of pages and took off any personal references.  I like the messy creativity behind the effort.

Notebook Magic from Week 7

I mention the notebook because I want you to continue writing as much as possible.  At a minimum you should be writing about 500-700 words per week.  Remember that this note that you are reading is part of my love letter to you and I expect a response!

Extra Credit Opportunities

Online Writing Conference (35 pts)

1. Gather members of your group.  If you can't convince everyone, don't worry;  the group minimum  for this project is 2; the max is 4. 
2. Everyone who is participating should upload her essay into Google Docs. This is important as it will allow you to share your documents easily with one another.  You have access to all of these Google products through your MDC email account.
3. Have everyone learn how to participate in a Google Hangout and record the session using Hangouts on Air.
4. Determine a time when everyone can meet online to discuss each of the essays.
5. Have each person share her essay and ask for feedback.  The feedback should focus on the structure, content, and quality of the essay.
6. Send the link to your Youtube recording of the session as a response to this post.  Do so by Monday October 29.

Writing Center

The Writing Center (Rm. 2207) is an incredible resource to help you in your writing process, especially revision and editing.  A session at the Writing Center will earn you 15 points.