Post 7; "Tuning, Tying, and Training Texts: Metaphors for Revision"

Read "Tuning, Tying, and Training Texts: Metaphors for Revision" (WAW 252).

Do any of the metaphors use that Tomlinson describes for revision seem true to your experience? Would you use any of them? Are there others that you use?

Now think about practices of revision that occur on Wikipedia. What can we learn about revision by examining the "View History"and "Discussion" tabs in any given article? How do these pages enrich our understanding of the composing processes of the article?

Post 250 words to your blog by Sunday 3:00 p.m.

Finishing Up Project 1

Hi all,

I've signed us up for the lab for the rest of this week.

Tomorrow, we'll work on putting final touches on the articles in order to "go live" / publish.

You can take until Thursday before class to do the reading and respond to the prompt.
Notice the word length is 250. Make this a substantial, well-written post and it should help you in the long run with Project 2.

Thursday we'll meet in the lab again. We'll spend the first 15 minutes or so commenting on each others' blogs, so make sure you have Post 6 done by Thursday morning. I'm also thinking it might be fun to try a Blackboard Collaboration Session (Chat) since we'll be in the lab, anyway. What do you think?

The final due date for Project 1 is Thursday. Email me a link to your article page or, if the page isn't available, print out a copy of your article as it would look in Wikipedia (From your user page, for instance). If you're worried about deletion, you might print out the article page from the entry immediately after you "go live." User the print function in your browser rather than copy/paste to MS Word. Let me know if you have any questions.

Matt

Class Cancelled Monday 9/26

No Class today. We'll push everything back a day so you don't have anything new due. Just make sure you have submitted your articles for review. Email me with any questions. If you want to get a head start on the week, you can begin reading for Wednesday. There's a blog post requirement below this announcement due Wednesday. Tomorrow, we'll be discussing the final article submission due date for Project 1, the new schedule for the next few weeks, and the Project 2 assignment.

My apologies for any inconvenience this late cancellation has caused,

Matt

Post 6; Chapter 2 Intro and "Toward a Composing Model of Reading"

Read the Chapter 2 Intro (170-173) and "Toward a Composing Model of Reading" (174-187).

Then reflect on your writing process during the Wikipedia article assignment. Did you use each of the five functions Tierney and Pearson describe? How did these functions correspond with the actual process of writing? In other words, describe your writing process using the functions explored by Tierney and Pearson. 250 words before class Wednesday 9/28.

Submit For Review

Don't forget. Your should submit your article for review before class on Monday.

Submit for review. If you would like feedback on your article, or if you don't want to register an account, your article will be created in project space and will be reviewed by another editor before being created.

Do this by going through the Article Wizard until you get to the last page (6. End) and enter your article's title in the Submit for Review option space. This will take you to a page where you can input your code. Just copy/ paste from your user space. If you're editing an existing page (Katie), make sure to make all your edits public by Monday morning. Email me if you have any problems. If you missed class today (Max and Chris) make sure you're keeping up with the work and that you e-mail me if you don't understand how to submit for review. DO NOT GO LIVE with the article until you have heard back from the review.

Also, make sure you check out the Drawing Board this weekend. It looks like a few of you have already gotten responses. I would follow the advice you get here.

Have a good weekend,

Matt

Post 4; "Intertextuality and the Discourse Community"

If Porter is right about intertextuality and its effects on originality, then his article must not be "original," and he must not be writing as an "autonomous individual." How do these ideas challenges Donald Murray's assertion that "all writing is autobiographical"?

Post 150 words on your blog before class Thursday.

Project 1 Grading Rubric Draft

Grading Criteria

+Exceeds / meets assignment length requirement (750-100 words)
+Exceeds / meets assignment source requirement ( 3-5 sources)
+ Sources are chosen with a rhetorical awareness of their reliability, verifiable content, independent angle, and reputation. See Article Wizard / Sources.
+ Sources are incorporated with summary, paraphrase and quoting. Quotes are set up with signal phrases and parenthetical references.
+Article's writing emulates an encylopedic style: is neutral, objective, third-person.+Article's content provides useful, significant, notable information about the topic.
+Article's organization effectively guides the reader to different sections.
+Article makes use of an image to increase topic's notability.



An article in the A range expertly fulfills between 7-8 of the criteria
An article in the B range effectively fulfills between 5-6 of the criteria
An article in t he C range ad

Publish Post

equately fulfills between 3-4 of the criteria
An article in the D range adequately fulfills between 1-2 of the criteria
A failing article meets none of the criteria

Post 4; "Intertextuality and the Discourse Community"

If Porter is right about intertextuality and its effects on originality, then his article must not be "original," and he must not be writing as an "autonomous individual." How do these ideas challenges Donald Murray's assertion that "all writing is autobiographical"?

Post 150 words on your blog before class Thursday.

Composing with Wikipedia: The Peer Review

1. Read your partner's draft on their user page thoroughly, noting any sources they're planning on using.

2. Go to the Wikipedia Drawing Board and create a report for your partner's planned article

Please include an article title, some details about the topic, and why you think an article is merited (that is, why a subject is notable). You should provide at least a couple of links (to demonstrate that there are reliable sources for such an article).

Sign the report in your partner's name.


After creating the report, compose an email to be sent to your partner and CC'd to me (mv115510) in which you respond to the following prompts.

Style:

1. How well does the author adopt a neutral, third person style? Are there any lapses in which the article is presented in subjective or first-person terms? Is the information presented in a neutral, unbiased way? How might this area be improved. Point to specific places that might need revision and places that you feel are well-written.


Notability:

A topic is notable if it has been the subject of multiple, non-trivial published works from sources that are reliable and independent of the subject itself and of each other. All topics must meet a minimum threshold of notability in order for an article on that topic to be included in Wikipedia. This requirement ensures that there exists enough source material to write a verifiable, encyclopedic article about the topic.

2. Is the topic notable? Does the author provide enough sources to show that the topic is notable? If not, where might they continue their research?


Sources: Information on Wikipedia must be reliable and verifiable.

Facts, viewpoints, theories, and arguments may only be included in articles if they have already been published by reliable and reputable sources. Sources should have a reputation for fact-checking and accuracy, and be independent of the subject. Citing sources is one of the core elements of Wikipedia and is official policy for every article on Wikipedia. Any unsourced material may be challenged and removed. For academic subjects, the sources should preferably be peer reviewed. Sources should also be appropriate to the claims made; for example, outlandish claims need very strong sources. If you're not sure if your sources are good enough, look at Wikipedia:Reliable sources, and if you're still not sure, you can ask at the Reliable Sources Noticeboard.

3. Consider your partner's sources. Do they meet Wikipedia criteria or are they questionable? Why? What other sources might the author consider using?


Content:

The content of the article should provide useful information without violating copyright. The author should write about the subject by summarizing other sources in his/her own words. Quotations may also be used but should be appropriately formatted with signal phrases and parenthetical references. The content should be organized with section titles. Finally, the content should avoid engaging in "puffery." Puffery is when an article attempts to exaggerate the notability of its subject. Puffery only serves to reduce the neutrality of the article and so it should be avoided.

4. Evaluate the content of your partner's draft. Is it written in a way that doesn't violate copyright laws? Does the author quote effectively? Is the content organized effectively? Does the author avoid puffery?



5. What's the best aspect of this article? Why? What needs the most work?

Wikipedia: Drawing Board

Hi All,

I'm looking at the Wikipedia Drawing Board tonight. It's a place to post your article topic ideas and what you would include in the article as well as any sources you're thinking of using. This is a great place to get some feedback from people who are more experienced than me with the way things happen on the encyclopedia. I should have told you about this last week, but if you post on there before class Wednesday, I'll give out extra credit worth one full homework assignment (4 points). You'll also get some good feedback. Let me know if you're having problems figuring out how to do it or have any questions.

Matt

Schedule Changes

1. No Class tomorrow (Tues. 9/20)

2. Peer Review will be held Wednesday (9/21). Write a draft of your article that incorporates source material and section titles and paste it to your user page. To access your user page, log in and click on your name in the top right hand side of the page. You'll need to click "create" on the toolbar then paste your content in the box below. You can use this page to preview how your article would look on the encyclopedia. But make sure you hit "save page" once you're done with the draft. This is the page your peer reviewer will read and give you feedback on.

It's essential that you both attend and be prepared for this session. Email me if you're lost or confused or have questions. I want to help you!

3. We'll discuss "Intertextuality and the Discourse Community" on Thursday. I'll have a writing prompt up sometime tonight or tomorrow. I'd also like to get your feedback on a rubric (assessment sheet) for Project 1. So I'll have something drafted that I bring in.

4. Final Articles will be due on Monday (9/26) now instead of Thursday.

Post 3; "All Writing is Autobiography"

Remember that one of the goals of the editors for Chapter 1 in Writing About Writing is to help you consider constructs about writing that poorly describe how writing actually works. What construct is Murray asking you to reconsider? How might we apply his ideas to the kinds of writing we find on Wikipedia, or any encylclopedia?

Post 150 words on your blog before Sunday at 2:00pm and respond to 2 classmates' posts before class Tuesday morning.

Reading Requirement for Thursday 9/15

Before class on Thursday, read through the Wikipedia editing tutorial. Be sure to visit all the sections, though you can skim the last three.

Introduction

Editing

Formatting

Wikipedia links

Citing sources

Talk pages

Keep in mind

Registration

Wrap-up

You might also want to experiment with editing in the sandbox. If you've settled on a topic, look for an article which you can use as a model to create your own. If you still need a topic, keep searching and thinking. I'd like everyone to settle on something before the end of class Thursday. We'll watch an editing tutorial video in class begin compiling sources.

Post 3; "Rhetorical Situations and Their Constituents"

After reading "Rhetorical Situations and Their Constituents," compose a post that answers the following questions using summary and quotations from Grant-Davie: What is a rhetorical situation and what are its constituents? How can these constituents be defined? What is a compound rhetorical situation? (Make sure you're introducing quotations with a signal phrase.)

Next, in your own opinion, how is it useful for college student writers like yourself to be aware of the rhetorical situation and the constraints it creates?

Post 250 words on your blog before class Wednesday 9/14. Responses to other students' posts not required.

Reading Requirement for Tuesday 9/13

Before class on Tuesday, please read "Wikipedia: Your first article" and "Notability." These pages will give you a good sense of how to go about creating your article and what topics are appropriate. Want to explore some more? Check out the Article Wizard.

We'll work in class on finding suitable topics using these pages:"Requested Articles" and "Most Wanted Articles" It's important as well that we remember that we're constrained somewhat by the formal requirements of the assignment: 750-1000 words; (3-5) sources; Photographic Element.

"The Phenomenology of Error" Link

For those of you who still don't have the book, you can find the article on-line at: http://www.stthomasu.ca/~hunt/williams.htm.Good luck with the reading. Also, I changed "homeworks" to "posts". "Homework" has such a negative connotation, don't you think?

Post 2

In "The Phenomenology of Error," Joseph M. Williams argues that writing errors should be seen as "social constructs." What does he mean by this? Further, how might we apply this realization to the negative reception of Wikipedia and its characterization as inaccurate and error-prone? A 2005 study of Wikipedia's accuracy found that "Wikipedia scientific articles came close to the level of accuracy in Encyclopædia Britannica and had a similar rate of "serious errors" ("Reliability of Wikipedia"). If we trust this research, why is Wikipedia being subjected to so much criticism while Britannica remains mostly undisputed? Can Williams help us answer this question?



Post 250 words on your blog before Sunday noon and respond to 2 classmates' posts before class Tuesday morning.

Tentative Schedule: Weeks 1-3

Week 1
9/6 Syllabus Review - Course Goals and Policies,

9/7 Icebreakers / Account Creations: Wikipedia / Blogger / Email

9/8 Project 1 Assignment ; Study Description and Consent Forms; Read “The Charms of Wikipedia”

Week 2

9/12 Read Chapter 1 Intro and "The Phenomenology of Error” (34 in WAW) ; Read “[Know it All]”; Discussion: Orthodoxy, Error and Wikipedia

9/13 Read “[First Article] , ” “Notability” ; Article Topic Selection Workshop in Class

9/14 Read “Rhetorical Situations and Their Constituents” (101 in WAW) Discussion: Constraints of Wikipedia Article ; Genre and Encyclopedic Neutrality

9/15 Read “Tutorial” ; Workshop: Compiling Sources; Watch Tutorial Video

Week 3

9/19 Read “All Writing is Autobiography” (56 in WAW) ; Discussion: Is writing a social or individual act?

9/20 Peer Review Project 1; “Citation Templates”

9/21Read “Intertextuality and the Discourse Community” (86 in WAW)

9/22 Final Article Due

Post 1

Finish and type up on word processor for homework before Wednesday's class-save to flash drive and bring to class or e-mail to yourself.



1) Write an introduction to yourself (which will eventually end up on your blog) in which you accomplish the following:

Introduce yourself (your major, hometown, anything about yourself you’d like to share)
Discuss briefly your experience in an earlier composition course such as ENG 151.

What was most rewarding? Least? What could made the class more effective, interesting, or challenging.

React to my course design (you might review the syllabus to do this). How does it differ your past experience with composition courses or any course.

End by discussing your hopes and apprehensions from the course. What do you want to gain from 308J? What are you worried about?

2) Respond to two of your classmates posts.

We’ll start drafting today. You might want to type these up in MS. Word tonight or tomorrow. Then once we have blogs set up, you can copy/paste the assignment into your own blog. Posts and responses due before class Thursday.


Posts should be around 300 words. We’ll see how it goes with responses, but they should be meaningful.

Welcome to Writing & Rhetoric II

The blog component of this course will allow us a forum to share our writing outside of the classroom. Each of you will create your own blogs on which you post responses to various homework prompts, as well as drafts of some of the major projects. You'll also be expected to read and comment on other students' work. Stay posted for Homework Assignment 1. Furthermore, we should all be thinking throughout the course how online spaces like blogs change the way we feel, think, and normally perform academic writing. I'm looking forward to a terrific quarter with you.

-Matt