Lessons, Week of 16-20 September 2013

Week of 16-20 September 2013

 

English 1301

You and Mr. Hall

Monday / Wednesday and Tuesday / Thursday:

 

1.    Find a seat and begin writing in your journal, ten syllables per line. There is no down-time in this class.  Don’t wait to be told to begin; passivity is your enemy.

2.    Open your Orwellian telescreen to angryverbs.blogspot.com for your syllabus and lessons. Begin reading your notes and the assigned pages in Bedford. There is no down-time in this class. Don’t wait to be told to begin; passivity is your enemy.

3.    Roll call and administrivia

4.    Monday / Tuesday: Return last week’s quiz.  Debrief.  Do more than look at the grade and sigh (either in joy or in annoyance); listen to the debriefing and learn the right answers.

5.    Monday / Tuesday: Descriptive essay

A.   Pass your complete rough drafts around.  Don’t wait for roll call or a specific instruction to begin reading each other’s work.  Passivity is your enemy.

B.   Everyone in the class reads everyone else’s essay and writes useful comments in it.  “This very good” is not a useful comment; “You develop the topic of this paragraph nicely” is a useful comment.  Don’t neglect to note form; we are learning how to write professionally, and although the content in today’s assignment is meant to be interesting, it is for the purpose of developing your skilled use of a professional format.

C.   Your rough draft will be given a grade mostly on its mere existence, probably a 100 – and how easy can this be?  If your paper is not typed, not in MLA format, not complete, or if it is inadequate in any way, expect a well-earned zero. It should also be messy with your later corrections – those indicate that you are working.

D.   I will read every essay.  I will give you as much one-on-one assistance in class as I can, but there is little time.  I am also available before and after class.  I am not going to proof-read your paper, nor are any comments contractural – I will point out some problems and make suggestions only; you must build your final draft.

E.   Your final draft will be due NLT roll call (you are encouraged to turn it in earlier) on the first day of your class the week of 23 – 27 September.  No late papers will be accepted.  This pace is somewhat leisurely; due-dates will be closer as the term progresses.

6.    Wednesday / Thursday: Introduction to persuasive writing.  There is no preparation for this topic before class; focus on the final draft of your descriptive essay.

7.    Door prize!

8.    11:04 – go away.