Blog #4

Weekly Blog due Monday, Oct. 3rd by 11:59pm.
Task 1: Summarize and Respond to an Academic Article
On Blackboard, you’ll find an article entitled “The Place of World Englishes in Composition” by Suresh Canagarajah.  Read the section entitled “The Implications of Globalizing English” (bottom of p. 587 to the top of page 594) for this blog response. For the written portion of your blog, do three things: 1) summarize the major points of this section of the article (assume your audience is someone who hasn’t read the article, so make this section fairly in-depth), 2) comment on what you learned, 3) discuss why this information may be important to consider for a middle school/high school Language Arts class.  Think not just about who your students may be, but who they will communicate with in the future and what kinds of texts they may read.  Canagarajah is framing this article for the college classroom, so we’ll need to adjust this for our target audience.   Remember: I told you in class that this article is written in “high theory,” so you may need to read the section a few times to understand what he’s saying (in other words, no complaining on your blog that it was difficult to understand!).

Length: About 500-750 words.

Task 2: Incorporate the Pattern(s)-of-the-Week

Pattern 1: A complex sentence (independent clause and dependent clause joined by a subordinating conjunction).  For this pattern, try to include your dependent clause in the middle, like this: Beth, although she does loads of homework each night, is sadly still behind in her courses [complex sentence with the dependent clause after the main subject; the placement of the dependent clause here introduces you to “Beth” and her effort before stating the main problem in the rest of the independent clause].  Pay attention to where this “in-the-middle” clause works well and where it would make more sense either before or after the independent clause.

Pattern 2: Asides set off by dashes or parentheses.  EX: My family (to my irritation) insists we do x this weekend [an aside set off by parentheses; I used parentheses to whisper, yet acknowledge that I was irritated—but didn't use dashes as I did not want to unduly emphasize my irritation].  Notice how this is not a complex sentence because “to my irritation” doesn’t have a subject-verb hookup required of a clause. 

Pattern 3: Intentional use of SRTOL for an academic purpose.  Here’s an example from Canagarajah: “Therefore, I am tempted to ask in Babu English, ‘Honored Sirs and Madams, I humbly beseech you, which language am I a native of?’” (p.589).  Notice how Canagarajah uses both of his own languages, “Standard” English and Babu English—both of which he is clearly an expert in—in this example and lets the reader know what he’s up to.  If you use this pattern, don’t “adopt” or use a language variety that you wouldn’t claim as your own.  But do feel free to interpret SRTOL broadly here.  For example, incorporating more “informal” language, textspeak, swear words (!), etc. would be fine—if done with a rhetorical purpose (don’t just swear for the heck of it).

P.S. Remember: Don't confuse dashes with hyphens!  A dash—at least most of the time—is longer and has no spaces around it.  A hyphen is a create-a-new-word piece of punctuation, and is much shorter than the dash (but still with no spaces around it).  You unfortunately can't substitute the two.

Task 3: Respond to Two Blogs | Explain the Grammar
Respond to two students’ posts by 11:59pm on Wednesday, Oct. 5th. In your response, you’ll do three things: 1) respond to the content of the author’s post, 2) comment on how effectively the author incorporated the pattern(s) (this is the place where you practice explaining the grammar to someone else, even if they got the pattern right), and 3) suggest another place in the text where the author might effectively experiment with the pattern(s). Be sure to write out your suggestion in your response, not just suggest it in general terms.

This time, respond to the two students who are in the third & fourth spot below you on the list. And as always, if someone is a bit late in posting their blog, just go to the next person on the list.

Blog #3

Weekly Blog due Monday, Sept 26^th by 11:59pm.

Task 1: Summarize and Respond to a Grammar Article
Read the article “Sudden Possibilities,” on Blackboard, pp. 31-33, including the “Ten Alternatives to a Typical Daily Oral Language Exercise,” p. 37 (same article, all by Darren Crovitz).  For the written portion, do three things: 1) respond to Crovitz’s points on “Error Analysis” and DOL, 2), write/research sample sentences/activities for your group’s Alternative to a typical DOL exercise (p. 37), and 3) briefly discuss what you hope the students will learn from your lesson.  Refer to authentic texts (e.g., young adult lit, ads, newspapers) to help you.  (And remember—be prepared to teach your Alternative to DOL lesson with your group on Wednesday!)

Length: About 500-750 words.

Task 2: Incorporate Pattern(s)-of-the-Week

Patterns-of-the-Week

Pattern 1: A compound sentence, correctly punctuated with a comma before the coordinating conjunction. EX: I have finished commenting on your papers, so please read my comments. [two independent clauses joined with a comma+FANBOYS/ Coordinating Conjunction to form a compound sentence]. I encourage/challenge you to use a coordinating conjunction other than "and" (unless you know you need to work on ", and" in compound sentences).

Pattern 2: A rhetorical fragment, boldly punctuated without a comma after the starting coordinating conjunction. EX: I wish I could say that I am caught up with my work. Yet I can't. [rhetorical fragment beginning with a coordinating conjunction; used to emphasize my exhaustion]

Pattern 3: A list without the final “and” (or other coordinating conjunction) OR a list with all “ands” and no commas.  EX: The snow was falling thick, white, fast. OR The snow was falling thick and white and fast [list without final “and”—or with all “ands” and no commas—to indicate that the list could continue or to emphasize the magnitude of the snowstorm.  Thanks to Marcus for providing this example!].

Task 3: Respond to Two Blogs | Explain the Grammar
Respond to two students’ posts by 11:59pm on Wednesday, Sept 28th. In your response, you’ll do three things: 1) respond to the content of the author’s post, 2) comment on how effectively the author incorporated the pattern(s) (this is the place where you practice explaining the grammar to someone else, even if they got the pattern right), and 3) suggest another place in the text where the author might effectively experiment with the pattern(s). Be sure to write out your suggestion in your response, not just suggest it in general terms.

Respond to the two students who are above you in our list of grammar blogs.  And as always, if someone is a bit late in posting their blog, just go to the next person on the list.

Blog #2

Weekly Blog due Wednesday, Sept. 7^th at 10 a.m.

Respond to 2 Peers' Blogs by Friday, Sept. 9^th at 11:59 p.m. (see instructions below).

Announcement: The English Education Information meeting is on Thursday, Sept. 8th at 3pm in the Bundy.  If you want to apply to the T&L program either this semester or next, I recommend going.  Also, remember to read the selected sections in Nitty-Gritty Grammar for Wednesday's class.

Task 1: Summarize and Respond to Our Assigned Reading
Write 500-750 words in response to this question: How do Christensen (her article is on Blackboard) and Ch. 1 & 2 of Grammar Alive! challenge (or confirm) your understanding of what it means to teach grammar?  Be sure to relate the two texts in some way. Please be sure to practice either MLA- or APA-style in-text citations.

Task 2: Incorporate the Pattern(s)-of-the-Week
As you write or revise your response, ensure that you experiment with at least one of the patterns-of-the-week below—or play with all three! Please put your pattern-of-the-week sentence(s) in bold, followed by brackets that identify the pattern (example below). Please end (or begin) your response by letting us know why you're experimenting with your chosen pattern(s). Include some brief commentary on this process: how well you thought you incorporated your pattern, what you're working on, what you're learning, and/or a question for clarification.

Patterns-of-the-Week
Pattern 1: Use of the dash—or parenthetical dash—to emphasize an important point.

Pattern 2: Use of the ellipses to indicate some type of emotion: hesitation, suspense, . . . or disagreement.

Pattern 3: Two closely related sentences joined by a semicolon.

Include an example of the pattern in bold, followed by explanation in brackets, like this: Be sure to experiment with your punctuation this semester; errors are a sign of growth [two closely connected sentences joined by a semicolon].

Task 3: Respond to Two Blogs | Explain the Grammar
Respond to two students’ posts by Friday, Sept. 9^th, at 11:59 pm. In your response, you’ll do three things: 1) respond to the content of the author’s post, 2) comment on how effectively the author incorporated the pattern(s) (this is the place where you practice explaining the grammar to someone else, even if they got the pattern right), and 3) suggest another place in the text where the author might effectively experiment with the pattern(s). Be sure to write out your suggestion in your response, not just suggest it in general terms.

Respond to the two students who are below you in our list of grammar blogs. Those at the end of the list should loop back to the top (i.e., William should respond to Alys and Ben).  If the two people below you on the list haven’t posted to their blog, just go to the next person on the list—no need to ask for permission to respond to someone else.  You will need to be signed in to Blogger in order to respond.  If your online name does not contain your real first name, please also sign your response with your real name (so you can get credit for responding).

Welcome to English 326! | Blog #1

1. Overview of Grammar Blog Assignment

As explained in the syllabus, please create a blog through blogger.com just for this course (or a blog you share with just English 325/YAL). Once you've created your own Blogger account for our course, email me your blog's address to my WSU email, so I can post links to all the blogs here (please include a short note, rather than just the link, so your email doesn't go to my junk mail). Note: Your blog address will be something like "nameyoucreated.blogspot.com".  It won't be a random string of words and numbers (that's your Dashboard address, and not something you can share with others).  If you're new to blogging, remember to select "New Post" each time you want to blog.  If you select "New Blog" you're actually going to have to create a new blog address each time--and I won't be able to see your stuff.  Also, please choose a background that is easy to read (a black background with white font is really hard for me to read).

Most weeks, you will post a response to an academic article from either the Blackboard site or the March 2011 volume of the English Journal (accessed via www.wsulibs.wsu.edu). Compose approximately 500-750 words of text.  Other weeks, you’ll post material that you have previously written or are working on for another class. (Give a brief introductory paragraph for context, so we know what you’re working on and what type of feedback you might like.) Regardless of the specific blog prompt, you’ll always experiment with the Pattern(s)-of-the-Week. Include the pattern in bold, followed by brackets that identify the pattern.

Like this: “Be sure to experiment with your punctuation this semester; errors are a sign of growth [two closely connected independent clauses joined by a semicolon]. Consult my blog for the Pattern-of-the-Week.

Finally, most weeks you will need to respond to two other people’s blogs.  Comment on both their content and on how effectively they incorporated the patterns (this is the place where you practice explaining the grammar to someone else, even if they got the pattern right). Additionally, suggest another place in the text where they might effectively experiment with the pattern.  I’ll assign your response partners each week.  Remember, the goal is to experiment with your writing and to practice explaining the grammar, so that you really know your stuff by the end of the semester. I recommend you first write (and save) your blog in Word, as you may want to use your blogs for your final portfolio.

NOTE: See current blogs for most recent assignment information!

2. Your First Blog Assignment
Blog #1 Self Assessment Blog Due Monday, August 29th by 10am: write about 500 words (single-spaced, with line breaks between paragraphs for readability on the web) on this question: What grammar and punctuation issues do you, as a writer, want to focus on this semester?  

Remember, you don’t just have to describe things that you “don’t get”—you can also point to things that you’d like to experiment with.  Please, no more than three issues. Be as specific as possible. Do cite examples from any of your written work to SHOW us what you mean; otherwise, make up example sentences to illustrate your points. Additionally, you may identify one or two of your favorite sentence patterns.

Pattern-of-the-Week: Not yet. Wait for next week.
Response: No response necessary for this first posting.


3. My Sample Self-Assessment Blog (your tone/approach can be different--this is just one way to approach this assignment)
This semester, I really want to work on my sentence variety in my academic and professional writing. Specifically, I need to look at my use of the complex sentence structure. Because so much of my writing is via email, where tone is often difficult to read, I think I subconsciously write complex sentences so I don’t sound too terse or upset (case in point). I need to vary my sentence structure. I need to experiment with the simple sentence. (Two more cases in point.) Most specifically, I need to make sure my points don’t get lost. (Hmmm, lots of "I need" statements--purposeful repetition or lack of word variety?) The other day, my colleague and I were drafting a grant proposal, and he verbally provided me with this great start to a sentence: “A vital missing link to these services . . .” I love the energy of "vital" to help us describe our dilemma. However, after revision, I realize that the sentence turned into this beauty: “Before the formation of CLASP, the directors of these units recognized that a vital missing link to these services was one-to-one faculty interaction.” Clearly, I need to keep revising, since the best part of the sentence is now muddled in the middle, unable to rhetorically affect any reader. Instead, it is now just part of one more complex sentence.

All long sentences aren’t necessarily complex, of course, but my tendency to write longer sentences also occasionally causes me to “misconnect” the subject and verb. For example, I just wrote this lovely sentence today as part of the grant proposal: “On their own, each of the four advising units that participate in CLASP provide comprehensive academic support services to students, . . .” Once I take the time to connect the subject with the verb, I realize that they don’t agree—and I have noticed this pattern a lot recently, so I need to pay attention. Again, email may be the culprit, as we tend to read emails as quickly as we write them, but in my example I notice that I was probably also thinking of “units” as the subject, rather than as the object of the preposition.

In terms of punctuation, I’d like to examine my love of the dash. I use the dash in nearly every email I send out. The dash signals strength, but too many again contribute to my tendency to muddle my strengths in the middle of sentences. I think if I reduced my use of the dashes to when they are really powerful, they really will be “heard.”  For experimentation purposes, I’d like to start using the “pipe” ( | ), as I’ve seen it used in titles (as in “Developing a Question | Starting a Dialogue”).  I like how it shows a relationship between items in a way that the semicolon doesn't allow for.