Class Notes

Peer Review for Project 2

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This is the post for Monday, July 20, 2015.

Today you will share your draft for Project 2 with the class. You will follow the same process that you used for Project 1.

Readings for July 20

For this week, please review the following, as necessary:

Work for July 20

  • Complete the peer review activities (full instructions):
    • Post the share link to your draft for Project 1 in the forums by 9 AM.
    • Respond to two students in the forums.
    • Revise your Project based on the feedback.

  • You will submit the share link to your project along with your transmittal memo on Tuesday. Remember that you have a two-day grace period if you need an extension. We begin Project 3 on Wednesday.


 
Last updated on Friday, July 17, 2015

Class Notes

Research and Documentation

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This is the post for Friday, July 17, 2015.

Readings for July 17

Tablet, showing a text on screen (indicating a reading)For today’s session, please read the following:

Work for July 17

  • Keep working on your research and writing for project 2. Use the example table of kinds of Writing Done by a College English Instructor to guide your work. Feel free to change the columns or rearrange them to fit your field. You can even add a column if you want. If you use information from outside sources, be sure to add a column for documentation.

  • See the formatting and grammar tips below to help arrange your table. You will post a share link to your table on Monday for peer review. Your project is due on Tuesday.

  • Hand-drawn open book icon

    Go to Tests & Quizzes in Scholar, and complete the reading quiz on Chapter 5 of Markel by 11:55 PM today, July 17. See the policies for quizzes on the course logistics page.

  • If you have any questions about the assignment, post them in the Questions about Project 2 topic in the forum.

  • When I’ll reply to any questions: I leave on a road trip to Salt Lake City for a convention tomorrow. I’ll be on the road from Saturday to Tuesday. There may be delays in responses to email, but I will be sure to respond within 24 hours.

Hand-drawn icon of an old-style skeleton key, indicating a key to successKey Formatting and Grammar Tips

  • Use short fragments as you fill in your table. Don’t worry about writing in full sentences. Focus on clear and concise language.

  • Make sure that all the cells in a column use parallel grammatical structures. In basic terms, parallel structures are structures that match.

    • If you start with a verb, be sure all the items in the column start with a verb.
    • If you are using a noun phrase in a column, make sure that all the items in the column start with a noun phrase.
    • If there is a period at the end of one item in a column, make sure there is a period at the end of every row in the column.

  • Get a larger writing space by changing your document to landscape orientation and changing the paper size to legal (8.5" by 14"). To change these settings, go to the File menu, then choose Page setup…

  • Please set the cells of your table to vertically align to the top. This is my personal preference because I have trouble reading tables otherwise. To change the alignment of your table, select the entire table, and then go to the Table menu, and choose Table Properties… Change the Cell vertical alignment to Top.


 
Last updated on Thursday, July 16, 2015

Class Notes

Correspondence and Graphics

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This is the post for Thursday, July 16, 2015.

Readings for July 16

Tablet, showing a text on screen (indicating a reading)For today’s session, please read the following:

Work for July 16

  • As I grade projects, I release them immediately. You may get an email message when they are released, depending upon your settings in Scholar. If you are unfamiliar with Scholar, you can use these instructions to learn how to find feedback on your Assignments.

  • Hand-drawn open book icon

    Go to Tests & Quizzes in Scholar, and complete the reading quizzes on Chapter 8 and 9 of Markel by 11:55 PM on Friday, July 17. See the policies for quizzes on the course logistics page.

  • If you have any questions about the assignment, post them in the Questions about Project 2 topic in the forum.

  • Post some information about your field in the forums to continue the work on your project:

    1. Go to the Project 2: Analysis of Writing in Your Field forum.
    2. Conversation bubbles, as from a comic strip (indicating forum activities)Create a New Topic, and use a subject line that includes your name (or nickname) and your career/field. I would create “Traci, college writing instructor.” Be specific with your career/field. For example, don’t say, “Computer Science,” if you could say, “Android Game Development.”
    3. In the body of your message, tell us a little bit about the field and how you ended up in it. Aim for a few sentences.
    4. Next, tell us a little bit about your experience with writing in your field. Have you done lots of writing? Have you watched others? Again, you just need a few sentences.
    5. Reply to a classmate’s post, offering suggestions and encouragement. Choose a post that no one else has replied to so that we can be sure everyone gets a response.
    6. (Optional) Write a second reply to someone else. Use the career info in the subject line to find someone in a field similar to your own if you can. Again, offer suggestions and encouragement.

 


 
Last updated on Thursday, July 16, 2015

Class Notes

Overview of Project 2: Analysis of Your Field

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This is the post for Wednesday, July 15, 2015.

Many of you have already turned in your first project. If you are taking advantage of the grace period, you should have your work in my 11:55 PM July 16. Today, we move on to Project 2.

Readings for July 15

Tablet, showing a text on screen (indicating a reading)For today’s session, please read the following:

Work for July 15

  • Get started on your second project by gathering a preliminary list of the kinds of writing done in your field.
    • Brainstorm a list of all of the kinds of writing you can think of that people in your field do.
    • Do some basic research by searching for job descriptions and noting the kinds of writing and communication that they mention.
    • Browse through the table of contents for Part IV of Markel (Chapter 9 to 15) and add any kinds of writing you missed. (NOTE:
      You are NOT limited to the kinds of writing in Markel. Consider the book one resource, but not your only resource.)

  • Hand-drawn open book iconGo to Tests & Quizzes in Scholar, and complete the reading quiz on Chapter 7 of Markel by 11:55 PM on Friday, July 17. See the policies for quizzes on the course logistics page.

  • If you have any questions about the assignment, post them in the Questions about Project 2 topic in the forum.


 
Last updated on Wednesday, July 15, 2015

Class Notes

Submitting Project 1

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This is the post for Tuesday, July 14, 2015.

Today you will submit your first project. Project 1 is due by 11:55 PM tonight.

If you need an extension, take advantage of the no-penalty, no-questions-asked grace period, which ends Thursday night at 11:55 PM. If your work is not submitted by the end of the grace period, you earn a zero.

Readings for July 14

For today’s session, please read (or review) the following:

Work for July 14

There are two parts to submitting Project 1:

  • Writing your transmittal memo.
    As I explained in the assignment, the transmittal memo is your chance to tell me anything you want me to know about your project. I will read your memo before I read your bio.

  • Sharing your project link.
    For this project, your transmittal memo will give me the link to your biography statement on Google Drive.

Writing Your Transmittal Memo and Submitting Your Project

Follow these instructions to submit your work:

  1. Go to the Assignments tab on the left menu in Scholar.
  2. Choose “P1: Professional Bio Statement.”
  3. Scroll down to the text box below the headings Submission and Assignment Text. You will write your transmittal memo in this box. (Alternately, you can write in a word processor and copy/paste your text into this box.)
  4. Add your memo headers (To, From, Subject, and Date). For your transmittal memo, you’ll use the following:
    • Address your memo to me (Traci) and from you (use your name).
    • Add a subject line that indicates this is your transmittal memo and which project it is for.
    • Add the current date.
  5. Insert a horizontal divider line under the headers (using the button indicated with the red arrow in the image below):
    Insert Horizontal Line button in Scholar
  6. Introduce your project:
    • Explain who the audience for your statement(s) is and where you are imagining that the bio will be published. Tell me whatever I need to know to understand the information you have included and the tone you have used.
    • Tell me anything else you want me to know about the bio, including the content, the layout and design, and any images you included.
    • Explain what grade have you aimed for and how well you think you met your goals.
  7. Make sure that your document is a Google Doc (and not a PDF or Word Docx file). See the tips below for information on how to convert your files if necessary.
  8. Add the Share link to the document on your Google Drive. Use the instructions for how to get the Share link on the FAQ site if you are unsure how to share documents (see the tips below).
  9. Agree to the Honor Code by clicking the checkbox at the bottom of the page in Scholar. You cannot finish submitting the project without clicking that checkbox.
  10. Submit your Project, and save a copy of the confirmation and submission ID. If something goes wrong in Scholar, you can contact 4HELP with that information.

Tips on Using Google Drive

The FAQ site has step-by-step instructions for tasks you will complete with your Google Drive, including converting your document if you have worked in another word processor, adding comments, and sharing your documents are all included.

To make sure that you can submit your first project smoothly, pay attention to the following FAQs:

Note that if your documents are in the wrong format or the permissions do not allow me to comment, I will return your work ungraded.


 
Last updated on Monday, July 13, 2015

Class Notes

Peer Review for Project 1

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This is the post for Monday, July 13, 2015.

Today you will complete peer review for the first project.

Readings for July 13

For today’s session, please read the following:

Work for July 13

  • Complete the peer review activities (full instructions):
    • Post the link to your drafts for Project 1 in the forums.
    • Respond to two students in the forums.
    • Revise your Project based on the feedback.

  • You will submit the Google share link to your document along with your transmittal memo on Tuesday. Remember that you have a two-day grace period if you need an extension. We begin Project 2 on Wednesday.

Optional

To get to know your classmates a bit better, read through the remaining bio statements that are posted. If you notice anything you want to comment on, feel free to post additional replies.


 
Last updated on Monday, July 13, 2015