Week Two: Day 2

Martin Luther King Day was a day off for my F2F class, so Week 2 began with a discussion forum related to Paul Robert's essay How to Say Nothing in 500 Words.

I found this video on the internet that talks about 500-word essays that high school students write which I thought went well with the article. I loved what the speaker in the video said about if we are bored with what we write, won't our reader be, too? Check out this video.



Here is the exercise that the students had to work on related to the Robert's essay and Brittany's outstanding responses.

1. Find a quote on the internet that will lead to an explanation and the claim that writing is hell


OR

Find a quote on the internet that will lead to the claim that writing is heaven. Be sure and credit the author of the quote.

2. Here is a dictionary definition of the word writer: A writer is a person who commits his or her thoughts, ideas, etc,, to writing. Write a humorous definition of the word writer.

3. Revisit the student essay, Why College Football Should be Abolished on pp. 317-318 and do the following:

a. Write a catchier title.

b. Write another reason why college football should be abolished that is not listed on pp. 317-318.

c. Write one sentence from the essay and then below it, write a more concise version in which you eliminate obvious padding.

d. Write a short lead in to the essay in which you attract the attention of your reader on the subject of abolishing college football. This is called opening with a 'POW'.

4. Reply to at least two of your peers using the sandwich critique (mention a strength, make a suggestion, end with some encouraging words).

ENC 1102 Composition II - CRN 11289

________________________________________



Brittany  Discussion Forum 2 Post

by Brittany  at 1/19/2010 10:14 PM

1. Writers write about what obsesses them. You draw those cards. I lost my mother when I was 14. My daughter died at the age of 6. I lost my faith as a Catholic. When I'm writing, the darkness is always there. I go where the pain is.

- Anne Rice

2. Writer – a person whose trashcan often overflows with crumpled papers.

3. a. Eradicating the Distraction… College Football.

b. College football influences student bodies to consume dangerous amounts of alcohol.

c. “In the olden times when people played football just for the fun of it, maybe college football was all right, but they do not play football just for the fun of it now as they used to in the old days”

“In the past people played football for their own enjoyment, currently this isn’t the case.”

d. “Win or lose, we still booze” is chanted throughout campuses on college football game days. Although this does sound enticing and can be exciting, it often leads to disastrous issues such as hospitalization, arrests, and even death. This is only one of the many issues college football influences or effects.



Re: Nick Manos discussion forum 2 post

by Brittany at 1/20/2010 12:38 PM

Nick, I loved your definition for writer I felt like it was pretty insightful. I also really liked your points on the amount of funding that goes into college football, that's definitely an extremely valid point. The one suggestion I have would be to try to think of a catchier title, but I know from my own experience doing this that it is an extremely hard task to do. Overall I thought your points supporting the funding fact were insightful and interesting.



Re: Timothy Milne - Discussion Forum 2 Post

by Brittany Ubaldini at 1/20/2010 9:45 PM

I liked your definition for writer, it was funny and very true. The suggestion I have would be to look deeper into why college football should be abolished as well as changing "could be" to "should be" in your first sentence of number three part b. Good job finding a quote to back up your claim!

Brittany is really thinking sideways and takes a different angle on an overused subject. She is using a "quote that stokes" for her lead in. Her using the Anne Rice quote about writers write about what obsesses them ties in with what I believe that students need to write about....their passions or obsessions. Requiring a specific subject for students to write about in their paper assignments doesn't make sense to me.

As we progress through the semester, I hope my students will feel confident enough to take risks, explore new territory, and write about what they are passionate about. We shall see.