Unit 1 discussion
Introductions
Welcome to English 110! . Since we are not available to chat
face-to-face, you can introduce yourself in this first discussion board about
the concept of home..
Pico Iyer gave a TED Talk about this concept called Where is
Home. Please watch the video. He makes the argument that people now travel and
may have many homes. Home for Iyer has become more of a feeling than
necessarily a specific place.
Watch Video
Pico Iyer: Where is home?
User: n/a – Added: 7/17/13
YouTube URL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3m6dV7Xo3Vc
For your initial post-
In one paragraph please answer this question: What is one
place that you have travelled to that has felt like home for you? Please
describe that place using the senses. Including what you see, what you hear,
what something feels like (physical touch), what something smells like, and
what something tastes like.
In a second paragraph please share a story with the class of
an experience you had in this place. Try to also use description and the five
senses to make this story come alive for your classmates.
When you write using the senses to describe a place or an
experience, you are using descriptive writing. This is the first writing style
that we are exploring in this course. We will examine this style in more detail
in Unit 2.
For your peer responses-
Consider the places that your classmates described and their
stories. Did you feel like you were there with your classmates at this place?
Could any details have been added to the description? Did you want any more
sensory description in their posts?
Unit 2 discussion
Object Description
One key component of descriptive writing is showing the
reader something rather than telling the reader. For example, I could tell you
that I was cold. Or, I could show you: I shivered, rubbing my hands together.
Tiny flakes of snow fell from the sky, landing on my already red, wet nose.
When you describe something, the key is to remember to use as many of the five
senses as possible.
For this post, you will be describing a household object for
the class. The object should be something that you use everyday either in the
kitchen or living room. In one paragraph, show the class what that object is
using the five senses (sight, sound, touch, smell, and taste). Please do not
state specifically what the object is in your paragraph. The point of this
exercise is for the class to be able to figure out the object through your
description.
In your two response posts, first state what object you
think the person is describing. How effective was the writer in describing the
object? What additional details would you like to see added to the description?
Unit 3 discussion
Evaluating Movies
Sometimes when you evaluate something, you will have to also
compare and contrast different aspects of what you are evaluating. You can
compare/contrast by either using point-by-point format (by topic) or block
format (by overall subject). For this discussion board, we are going to focus
on point-by-point organization to evaluate two movies.
In point-by-point format you organize the essay with
paragraphs focused on one topic. You
then compare/contrast the two movies according to one topic per paragraph. For
example:
Topic One
Movie 1
Movie 2
Topic Two
Movie 1
Movie 2
Many movies have been remade or a new franchise has been
started with the movies again. For example, consider how many different
versions of Batman have been created. In this discussion, you will create two
paragraphs that compare and contrast either an original movie and a remake OR
an older movie and a newer movie. Evaluate the movies by selecting two specific
topics to answer the question: Which of the two movies was better?
Organization/Plot
Acting
Dialogue
Theme/Meaning
Setting
Music/Audio
In your responses to your classmates, let them know if you
were convinced by them of which movie was better. Why or why not?
The following document will help you understand effective
organization for your comparison and contrast writing in this discussion. You
should focus on the first two sections of the resource, Compare and Contrast
and Organization Method. The other sections, Thesis Statement and Audience can
be referred to in the future if you are asked to write a compare and contrast
essay in other courses.
Unit 4 discussion
Paraphrasing
In the previous unit, you worked on direct quoting. In this
discussion board, you willl continue to practice writing objectively by
bringing in evidence from an outside source to support your point. You will
support that point with facts from the below video. Do not include a direct
quote from the video. You need to put the information into your own words
(paraphrase) and then include an in-text citation for that information.
Unit 3 had you considering the author’s purpose in writing
an article you will be evaluating in this unit. In this discussion, we will
consider something that you do every day: having a conversation with other
people. Many of the rules of having a conversation can also be applied to
writing. An essay is in many ways a conversation between the writer and the
reader.
Watch Video
10 ways to have a better conversation | Celeste Headlee
User: n/a – Added: 3/8/16
YouTube URL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R1vskiVDwl4
Based on the information in the video, answer the following
question by supporting your answer with information from the video in one
paragraph:
Which of the ten rules of conversation that Celeste Headly
describes in the video do you find to be the most necessary when having a
conversation with people? Please note that you cannot answer this question
without paraphrasing the video, so make sure to include an in-text citation
after the paraphrase.
Paste the following APA-formatted reference at the end of
your post. Headlee, C. (2016, March). 10
ways to have a better conversation. . TedxTalks. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R1vskiVDwl4
In your responses to classmates’ posts, state how well the
paraphrase with in-text citation is presented and formatted within their
paragraphs. How well did your classmate paraphrase information from the video?
Provide feedback to your classmates to help them use paraphrasing more
effectively.
Unit 5 discussion
The Pros and Cons of
Your Argument
In this discussion board, you will begin writing your
Argumentative Writing Assignment by submitting the introduction to your essay.
Your Argumentative Writing Assignment must answer one of the questions below:
Competitive Sports
Why or why not should children participate in competitive
sports?
Technology Dependency
Why or why not has American society become too dependent on
technology?
Standardized Testing
How effective is standardized testing in predicting how well
students will do in school?
The introduction is literally the opening of your essay.
Imagine that you are watching a really good movie. Why was it so good? Chances
are that the movie hooked you from the beginning. You also want to hook your
reader from the start of your essay. Pay special attention to the first
sentence you use in your essay. Try to engage the readers with that sentence.
Then, set up what your essay will be focusing on. Briefly explain your topics
and anything else the reader needs to know before he or she moves into the rest
of your essay. Finally, end the introduction with a thesis statement that
illustrates your argument as well as your topics.
For your peer response posts-
Please respond to at least two of your peers’ introduction.
How engaged were you from the start of the introduction? Were you hooked by
what your classmate wrote? What parts can be expanded upon? What areas in the
introduction were not clear? What did you find particularly effective about the
introduction?
Unit 6 discussion
Credible Sources
Throughout the research process, you will be finding sources
to support your argument for your Argumentative Writing Assignment. Reviewing
these sources for bias and credibility is very important.
So, how do you find a reliable, academic, and scholarly
source? Please review this short explanation of scholarly sources:
Finding Scholarly Sources (pp. 33-34)
For your initial post, find one source that would support
your position for the topic you have selected to write about for the
Argumentative Writing Assignment. The source should be scholarly and academic
in nature. Write a one paragraph summary of the source, and include an in-text
citation, and reference. Refer back to the Citing Sources pdf resource in Unit
3 for information on summarizing. You might also want to review the information
on credible sources in the Critiquing a Source pdf in Unit 4 and the Researching
chapter listed in Unit 5.
For your two responses, read through your peers’ initial
posts and answer the following:
What is the main idea in the source?
Is the source credible? Why or why not?
Is the source biased? Why or why not?
Unit 7 discussion
Revision and Writing
Advice
You should be in the middle of revising your essay to hand
in at the end of this unit. The idea behind revision is to create a polished
piece of work. All writers have to revise their work at some point, and most
writers have developed their own method for revision. “‘My Pencils Outlast
Their Erasers’: Great Writers on the Art of Revision” is an article in The
Atlantic that features quotes from famous writers on revision.
For your initial post-
Describe in one paragraph which quote resonated with you the
most. How does the quote reflect your own revision process? Make sure to
include proper citations with a corresponding reference for any direct quote.
In a second paragraph, consider what you plan to revise
within your own essay. What do you think you need to revise in your essay? Why
do you need to revise it? What is your plan for that revision?
For your two response posts, please answer the following-
What was your reaction to the quote your classmate selected
from the article?
What advice would you give your classmate as he or she works
on the essay revision?
Unit 8 discussion
Writing Journey
Reflection
You have completed your writing journey for this course, so
now is the time to take a look back at your experience. Discuss how your
writing has evolved over the course of this class. What is the most challenging
thing you have encountered in this class? How did you deal with and overcome
that challenge? Finally, ask the class
at least one question about writing you still have.
In your two classmate responses answer the question your
classmate asked about writing.
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