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:

• Editing and Proofreading tips and skim Appendix B of Markel.
• FAQs on the Google Drive system.

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.

Readings for July 17

For today’s session, please read the following:

• Information on conducting research and chapter 5 of Markel.
• Details on documentation in Appendix A of Markel.
• Example table of kinds of Writing Done by a College English Instructor.

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.

• 

  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.

• Post the share link to your drafts in the forums by 9 AM on Monday.
• Respond to two students in the forums by 11:55 PM on Monday.
• Revise your Project based on the feedback and turn in your project by 11:55 PM on Tuesday.

Posting Your Drafts for Project 2

1. Follow the instructions in Step 1 of How do I use Google Drive for peer review? to set up sharing permissions for your documents. You need to share your draft with “Anyone with the link” or “People at Virginia Tech with the link” so that we can read your work.

2. Go to your topic in the Project 2: Analysis of Writing in Your Field board in the forums. You’ll use the same topic where you posted basic information about your field.
3. Share the link to your table in Google Docs. You can follow these instructions to make your link in the forum post clickable.
4. If you have any specific concerns that you want your readers to consider, add a note on that as well.
5. Be sure to Preview your forum post to make sure everything shows up the way you want it to, and then Submit your message.

Replying to Project 2 Drafts

Next, you will reply to the posts of some of your classmates:

1. Review the instructions in Step 2 of How do I use Google Drive for peer review? to learn how to use the Comment features in Google Drive.

2. Go to the Project 2: Analysis of Writing in Your Field board in the forums, and read the drafts of at least two of your classmates and add a reply with advice and encouragement (more below).
   • Find one post that no other student has replied to (so that we can be sure everyone gets a reply).
   • Find a second post that has only one other student reply.

3. Use the Share link to go to your classmate’s draft on Google Drive and do the following:

   • Check the title of the document, and add a comment to tell your partner if it is clear and effective.
   • If you notice any spelling errors, punctuation errors, or typos, mark them as you read, but please focus more on the content rather than editing.
   • Add comments on the content of the draft. Comment on at least three things your classmate does well and at least three things that your classmate could improve on. It’s fine to include more than the minimum number of comments. Refer to the ideas from the readings as appropriate.

4. Go back to the forums and add a reply to your classmate’s topic and add an overall comment in the forums that sums up what you thought of the bio(s) and gives your classmate some encouragement.

Reviewing the Comments You Received

Once you have finished adding comments to your classmates’ projects, return to your own draft, read the comments that your classmates have given you, and add replies as appropriate. For instance, you might thank your partner for catching an error, ask your partner for more detail on feedback you don’t understand, or share a revision and ask your partner if it is an improvement. Your goal is to reply by 11:55 PM Monday night so that your classmate can use the information to revise.

Readings for July 16

For today’s session, please read the following:

• Details on effective graphics and chapter 8 of Markel.
• Information on kinds of correspondence and chapter 9 of Markel.
• Review the FAQs on using graphics for additional information.

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.

• 

  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. 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.

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

For today’s session, please read the following:

• The assignment for Project 2.
• Information on using tables in Google Docs (9m 42s of videos, on Lynda.com, free with VT Login).
• Details on document design and chapter 7 of Markel.

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.)

• Go 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.