writings

| BLOGGER.COM |

DATE	WRITING ASSIGNMENT
due Nov. 24 before class	Formulate what your "thesis statement" will be. A thesis statement is also called a "hypothesis" and it is NOT a question. It is a statement of what you want to say, your message, your perspective, your opinion, what you want to prove, in your paper. It looks something like that: "Diets can help people lose weight but can also be harmful to people's health." "New regulations about travel and immigration cause people to travel less and read more." You can try SEVERAL thesis statements to see which one works the best for you. You don't have to decide TODAY which one is the best! Think of it as a newspaper's heading, a big title which gives a good idea of what your paper will discuss. Also think of it as a summary of your whole paper in ONE sentence! Play with words, think of their meanings, their connotations, the image they convey.
due by Nov. 21 before class!	After you read the Classical Argument chapter and texts, think about your own paper. What do you have to say and how will you say it? To help you think about this, try to answer the following questions: what is the issue(s) you are discussing? what position, belief, or opinion do you have about your topic? Why? has your opinion about your topic changed during this semester? How and why or why not? what other positions or perspectives can people have about your topic? do you want to prove something? If so, what and why? If not, why not? what arguments and evidences do you have to prove your point? if you think your opinion is the right one, how do you know? What makes your an "expert" about your topic? do you want to change people's points of view about something? If so, what and why and how? If not, why not? is your topic a controversial topic? Why or why not? how could someone contradict your opinion? What arguments would they give you? why would someone not agree with your perpective? what would you say if someone tried to contradict your arguments? what arguments do you have that will appeal to the ethos, logos, or pathos of the reader? Maybe it is difficult for you to answer those questions. That's ok, not all arguments are the same! Think about it and write about what you think on the blog. You will always need ARGUMENTS to support your research and your opinion, so try working through that.
due by 11/17	Write about: what you liked in this interview report projects what you didn't like about it what went well what didn't go well why you think your paper is good or not so good what you think you have learned by doing this assignment and what you wish you had learned more about. This entry will be graded and a part of your final grade for the interview project.
due by 10/30	Write a blog entry about the PROCESS of writing this comparison/contrast project: what you like or not about it, what is difficult, what is easy, what questions you have, if the examples and explanations in the book have helped you, if the conferences have helped you, what you would change if you had more time, what you think you did well, your strengths and weaknesses, etc. Also tell me what you have learned in this process and what you still feel you need to learn. Try to honestly evaluate the quality of your work so far, your efforts, and the amount of work you are putting in the project. This blog entry is GRADED (like all the other ones but even more. I want you to start THINKING. The grade for this entry will be part of the grade you will receive for this project)!
due by 10/02	Write a blog entry about the PROCESS of writing this second project: what you like or not about it, what is difficult, what is easy, what questions you have, if the examples and explanations in the book have helped you, if the conferences have helped you, what you would change if you had more time, what you think you did well, your strengths and weaknesses, etc. Also tell me what you have learned in this process and what you still feel you need to learn. Try to honestly evaluate the quality of your work so far, your efforts, and the amount of work you are putting in the project. This blog entry is GRADED (like all the other ones but even more. I want you to start THINKING. The grade for this entry will be part of the grade you will receive for project 2)!
due by 09/29	Write two or three paragraphs about something you have done in the past that you regret having done. Try to think of what would have happened if you had done things differently. Also write what you would do now if you had a chance to do it differently. Use the conditional as often as possible!
due by 09/22	Write a blog entry about first ideas for research, how it is going, what topics you are finding, what you think, problems and questions you have, the main topics and some sub-topics, where you will find the information, what you still need to figure out, etc. Make sure to write enough because after all, this is a WRITING class, and it's very important for you to think about your "process" of writing this paper. Also remember that these blog entries are graded!
due by 09/12	Write a blog entry about the PROCESS of writing this first project: what you like or not about it, what is difficult, what is easy, what questions you have, if the examples and explanations in the book have helped you, what you would change if you had more time, what you think you did well, your strengths and weaknesses, etc. Also tell me what you have learned in this process and what you still feel you need to learn. Try to honestly evaluate the quality of your work so far, your efforts,and the amount of work you are putting in the project.
due by 09/02	Write in the blog about your first week of the semester. How did it go? What kind of interesting experiences have you had this first week of school? Are you homesick? What have you learned about this campus, this school, this town, this state, this country? Do you like your new classes? Your new teachers? Do you have a lot of work? If other people have written before you, you can make comments about what they wrote, answer their questions, give them advice... You can also ask questions to other people in the class, give links of great pages you know, recommend a good CD or book... Start a discussion... This is YOUR page! Other than for specific assignments, feel free to write there ANY TIME you want!
08/26	Learn how to use the BLOG and write about yourself: who are you? What is interesting about you? Where are you from? Why are you here? What are you studying? What do you like to do? What do you not like? What else can you tell everyone about your family, your country, your studies, your interests, your future plans, etc.?