Blog Post MakeUp

Any made-up blog posts must be COMPLETED by the last day of classes, 12/11 by 5:20 pm. 

There are two ways to make up lost blog post points. You can ONLY choose one of the two:

1. You can go back and complete any missed blog posts for half-credit. This means you can earn UP TO 5 points for each made-up post. I recommend this method particularly for those of you who have missed more than two posts on time.
2. You can, for a full ten points, write a new blog post. This post must be 4-5 paragraphs and be about writing and technology. You need to find an article online that relates to writing and technology in some way and then write both a summary of the article and an analysis in which you critique the article and any arguments it makes, as well as describe how it applies to anything we have learned in class this semester. Your blog post must link to the article you found at the beginning of the post.

Again, you can only choose one of the above options. And if you are all caught up on your blog posts on time, no need to worry about this at all. If you have any questions, please ask me asap.

Blog Post #8: Reflection Writing

Blog Post DUE Thurs. 12/3 – 4:30 pm

In order to get more practice writing reflectively, I would like every person to write 3-4 paragraphs answering ONE of the questions below:

1. When you think about your past as a reader and writer, what person or set of people have been the biggest influence on your reading and/or writing (positive or negative)? Why?
2. What is the writing assignment you have been most proud of in your entire life? Why?
3. What is the writing assignment you have been least proud of in your entire life? Why?
4. Is there a particular book or other piece of media that has a had a major influence on you as a reader, writer, or person? What was it? Why was it so influential?

Remember that good reflection writing uses a questioning or tentative tone and strong details. Good reflections should not only be informative and entertaining but should leave the reader with something to think about, as well. You shouldn’t necessarily “know” all of your answers when you write a reflection. A reflection is partly a thinking-through process of writing.

 

Blog Post #7: Grant Writing

Blog post DUE Tues. 11/10 – 4:30 pm

The website grantspace.org keeps a wonderful collection of real grant samples here: http://grantspace.org/tools/sample-documents

For this blog post assignment, pick one of the grant samples to read (feel free to pick one related to your own interests. And make sure you read one that is a full proposal – not just a cover letter or budget. Read the grant example and write a blog post of 3-4 paragraphs that does the following:

• Summarizes what the grant proposal is about and what the proposed money will be used for
• Discusses how the grant proposal does or does not meet your expectations of the genre
• Describes how it is similar to the proposals we are writing for this class
• Describes it is different from the proposals we are writing

I want you to be detailed and to consider our proposal assignment throughout your process of writing this post. Consider the difficulties of reading a grant proposal when removed from the context of the grant itself. Consider what it was that made these grant proposals successful. I highly recommend reading the great commentary that goes along with each grant proposal. You might also consider how this site itself could be considered a writing resource. My goal is that this post assignment will help you better understand the genre conventions of grant proposal writing.

Blog Post #6: Plagiarism and Remix

Blog post DUE Thursday 10/29 – 4:30 pm

After reading the Jonathan Lethem essay “The Ecstasy of Influence,” please write a 3-4 paragraph blog post that addresses ONE of the themes below. Please use details and examples to strengthen your response, and please engage directly with the essay.

1. One of the claims Lethem seems to make in this essay is that nothing is truly original. He uses several examples to back this up. Do you agree with this statement? Why or why not?
2. Lethem talks about remix in this essay, and it is often said that we currently live in a “remix culture.” What is a remix culture? What do you think it means to be in a remix culture?
3. The form of this essay is very interesting because the structure and notes section are both part of Lethem’s larger argument. Does this form match his argument, and how? Is it important for writers to use structure as a way to make their point?
4. Technology plays an important role in Lethem’s argument. Do you think that technology is changing the way we think about copyright and plagiarism? Why/why not, and how?

I would also like everyone to comment on at least TWO other people’s blog posts before 4:30 pm on Friday 10/30. You must comment on others’ blogs to receive the full points for this post assignment. 

Blog Post #5: Research

Blog post DUE Tuesday 10/20 – 4:30 pm

After reading Ch. 4 of Compose, Design, Advocate, I want you to consider your past research experiences, as well as the advice the textbook provides. In a blog post of 3-4 full paragraphs, please discuss and describe: a) your past experiences with doing research (particularly research done for a paper); b) what you do and don’t like about the advice for research CDA provides; and c) and what you consider to be hard and easy about research.

Keep these questions in mind as you write (but DON’T explicitly answer them one-by-one; remember you are writing an informal mini-essay, not simply taking a quiz):

1. What past research projects have you done? How did you do that research?
2. What research tools or methods do you use the most? Why?
3. What do you consider easy about research? Why? Conversely: What do you consider difficult about research? Why?
4. What advice or tips does the textbook give that you like or dislike? Why do you find this advice helpful or not?

Blog Post #4: Post-Analysis Reflection and Resources

Blog post DUE Monday 10/5 – 4:30 pm

Now that you have finished your first major assignment for the course, a rhetorical analysis of a website, I want you to reflect on what resources you used as you wrote about the paper and what resources you would have liked to have had. Think of this as a bridge between the analysis and our next project, a web development grant. This blog post should allow you room to consider 1) what type of online resources are already out there for composition students, and 2) what types of resources there should be more of for comp. students.

Please write this post as a semi-formal piece of writing, with multiple paragraphs and some kind of internal organization. Remember that the questions I pose in the prompt are NOT to be answered one-by-one, but rather meant to be generative, to get you thinking about how to answer the prompt.

Questions to consider:

1. What was hard and/or easy about completing your analysis? What types of feedback did you take into account as you worked on your final draft?
2. What online or in-person resources did you use as you completed this writing assignment? How did you use them, and at what point in your process? Be specific and detailed.
3. What online or in-person resources would have been helpful as you completed this assignment? How would you use these “dream” sources? Again, be specific and detailed.

Blog Post #3: Peer Review

Post Due: Thursday 9/24 – 4:30 pm

Following our peer review session in class on Tuesday 9/22, you will write a brief reflection about the experience using these questions as a guide:

1.  In what ways was this peer review session different from your past experiences with peer review?  For those of you who have never done anything like peer review before, what surprised you about this new experience?

2.  What did you learn about your writing and your analysis draft during peer review?  What did you learn as a reader?

3.  What did you enjoy or find interesting about this peer review?  What did you not enjoy or find difficult?

4.  How is peer review similar to or different from our weekly conference sessions?  Why do you think those similarities or differences exist?

5.  What was most helpful about peer review?  Would you be open to doing this again for this class or another class?

Please remember to be specific and detailed, and make sure that your reflective blog post is respectful (don’t name names if you don’t want to; it’s up to you).

Blog Post #2: Bad Websites

Note: Do not begin this assignment until we begin it in class on Monday 9/14. 

Due: Wednesday 9/16 – 4:30 pm

Pick a website from the list below:

http://fengshui.about.com/od/thebasics/qt/fengshui.htm
http://www.warrens.net/index.html
http://www.animalliberationfront.com/
http://shainakasztelan.com/
http://www.pennyjuice.com/htmlversion/whoispj.htm
http://www.leoneck.ch/en/
http://www.highcallingcockers.com/
http://www.thebestdivebar.com/
http://www.angelfire.com/theforce/haunted/hauntedplacesofindiana.htm
http://www.rudgwicksteamshow.co.uk/
http://anselme.homestead.com/AFPHAITI.html
http://www.lingscars.com/
http://www.beyonce-illuminati.com/
http://www.historianofthefuture.com/
http://www.computersbycampus.com/tech_tips.htm
http://www.clubfever.biz/main.html

Once you have picked a website and have spent some time investigating it, answer the following questions in a blog post (make sure to include the link to the website you chose):

1. What do you think the purpose and the audience of the site are? What rhetorical appeals are being used?

2. Select 3-5 major problems that, in your opinion, should be changed. Be sure to click around and test the navigation of the site.

3. Write a bit about the effects this site may have on the audience’s ability to view it.  What does it enable or prevent?  Reference the problems you identified above.

4. What elements of CRAP are (or are not) being used here?

Blog Post Assignment #1

Audience and Rhetorical Situation Visualization Activity

For this blog assignment, you will take photos or video clips that you think capture some aspect of your experience at Purdue. You need to gather AT LEAST 3 photos for EACH of the below question categories. You will also need to write a short caption for each photo. Add the pictures to your blog post via the “Add Media” button and don’t forget to add captions when you do so. I will demonstrate how to do this in class on Thursday 9/3.

1. How would you capture Purdue for your parents?
2. How would you capture Purdue for your friends that have gone to other colleges?
3. How would you capture Purdue for Mitch Daniels or some other member of campus administration?

This post is DUE at the start of class on Tues. 9/8. We will discuss these posts in class that day as we begin our discussion of visual rhetoric.