Week 11.

Project 1

I have sent back your graded Project 1 papers this evening. Please note the revision instructions beneath your grade should you choose to revise. I will grade your revision as if it were a whole new paper and average to the two grades together for a final total grade for the project. So even if you scored low on the first paper, you still have an opportunity to improve your grade dramatically.

Some observations about the first paper:

  1. One of the most common issues I encountered was a lack of understanding of how to deal with sources — specifically with how to use quotes from those sources in your own writing. Please review this resource from Central European University for help with this. I have left a few comments and highlights on the page using Diigo. (link)
  2. Another common issue concerns Point of View. If you’ll remember from this assigned Writing Tip, it’s problematic in academic writing to use pronouns like ‘you’ and ‘we’ because they can potentially alienate the reader. In this case, however, you are directly addressing the reader (the donor), so there is a bit more leeway here. Still, some struggled to establish a consistent point of view, which is also problematic. When working on your revisions, it may be helpful to think of this paper as a letter (instead of an essay). For Project 2, the use of pronouns like ‘you’ and ‘we’ will not be appropriate given the context and style of the essay, so bear this in mind as you work on your final draft this week.

Reading

Formal Writing

1. So far (as of 9:45pm Sunday night) only Thu and Christine have successfully submitted their Project 2 drafts. If you tried submitting and were unable, please try again here. I would like to send out Peer Review instructions by tomorrow night.

2. Project 2 Final Draft is due NEXT Monday night, November 9.

Informal Writing
None for this week. Focus on finishing up your Final Draft for Project 2.

Notes

  • I will be updating BlackBoard Grades to reflect the last few weeks of assignments and Project 1. I will send out notice when I do.
  • I really enjoyed reading through the discussions of “Uncle Bobby’s Wedding.” Diigo is a great tool, and I hope to use it more this semester.
This was posted 2 years ago. Notes.