Revising for Style: September 12, 2016

Focus: How can I strengthen the style of my essay?

Housekeeping Items:

• My feedback on your drafts is in all-caps. I apologize if it feels like I'm yelling at you.

• If your draft was not complete at the time I assessed it, you can complete it by midnight on Wednesday for credit; be sure to e-mail me. (After that, it's a final draft, for which you will receive a separate grade).

• Friday is the deadline for the final draft. It must be printed. If you are absent Friday, your final draft should still be in your Google folder, and you will bring a printed copy on Monday.

1. Warming up with ye ole Puritan words: Can you replace two of your words with Puritan lingo?

2. Offering you a top-secret packet; success guaranteed!

3. Trading essays and peer editing for grammar and style

Round 1: Grammar Police

• Check for comma/punctuation issues with a read aloud.
• Check for capitalization errors.
• Check for misspelled words that autocorrect won't fix (such as "affect" vs. "effect").
• Check for run-on sentences and sentence fragments.
• Anything else?

Round 2: Word Choice Cowboys (click HERE for slides and scroll to Slide 27)

4. Playing around with sentence variety using SAS Writer Reviser (also linked to my website)

• Log in (with Google account)
• Launch Resource
• Create Essay (copy and paste)

HW:
1. Continue working on your drafts. You will walk into class next Friday, Sep 16 with a hard copy of your final draft in your hands, and we also discuss publication options at this time. Please continue showing up for your conferences. Click HERE for a sneak peak of the Thursday night checklist.

2. If you have a copy of Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, start bringing it on Tuesday.

3. New: Find a journal that suits your personality. Leather-bound classic? Sketchbook? Graphing paper notebook? Start bringing it to class on Thursday. Sep 15. 

Revising for Content: September 9, 2016

Focus: How do we strengthen the content of our essays?

1. Warming up with the ground rules of peer editing

• Rule #1: Be honest, but kind. Build trust.

• Rule #2: The first eight minutes at each station will be quiet; the last two minutes will be for talking about your feedback.

• Rule #3: Phrase your feedback in a way that suggests what the author can/should try (rather than criticizing them for failures).

• Rule #4: Follow the steps carefully. There are only ten minutes at each station; work efficiently.

• Rule #5: Be generous with your feedback.

2. Rotating between the five editing stations

3. Wrapping up with goals for the weekend

HW:
1. Revise your essays based on today's peer feedback. You will want an updated draft on Monday for our final editing day on style.

2. We will begin Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close next Tuesday; if you have your own copy, start bringing it to class then.

3. Contact me if you need help!

Styling Up Your Opening and Closing Arguments: September 8, 2016

Focus: How do we open and close our essays in a compelling way?

Reminder: Today is the last day for drafting in class.

1. Warming up with a goal and a little image-inspired creative writing

2. Writing what you really want to get across in your intro and/or conclusion

• Roaming around in a quick gallery walk of each other's ideas and images

• Taking your creative writing skills and showing them off in your introduction and/or conclusion

3. Reminding you of your class guidelines as a source for great ideas for your introduction and conclusion

4. Drafting and conferencing, drafting and conferencing

5. Posting on today's class blog one thing you want addressed during peer-editing on Friday and Monday.

HW:
1. The complete rough draft is due before class TOMORROW, Friday, Sep 9.

• We will publish your final drafts in class on Friday, Sep 16.

2. If you haven't yet done so, please sign up for a conference by clicking here.

3. Wanna buy Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close? There's still time! We start next Tue.

Making Your Case: September 7, 2016

Focus: How do we use evidence to make our case?

1. Warming up with suspicious objects and using them to make a strong case

• The crime: The portable classroom has been stolen.

• The primary suspect: Ms. Leclaire

• The only piece of evidence: The utensil on your desk

• You have five minutes to make your case.

2. Offering you a brief mini lesson on using lead-outs to make your case (click HERE for slides)

• Taking the blank sheet of paper challenge with one of your numbers and one of your quotations.

3. Drafting and conferencing, drafting and conferencing

P.S. If you're needing more help with yesterday's lesson on lead-ins, click here for a student sample from last year with amazing lead-ins (highlighted for you).

HW:
1. By tomorrow, your body paragraphs should be largely completed. We will have some fun with introductions and conclusions in class tomorrow. 

• The complete rough draft is due before class this Friday, Sep 9.

• We will publish your final drafts in class on Friday, Sep 16.

2. If you haven't yet done so, please sign up for a conference by clicking here.

3. Wanna buy Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close? There's still time! We start in one week.

You've Been Drafted: September 6, 2016

Focus: What do we need to build a draft?

1. Warming up with a sample essay; does it meet our class-generated class guidelines?

• Paragraph by paragraph, highlight which techniques from our guidelines this writer uses.
• Line by line, talk through what one body paragraph does.

2. Offering you a brief mini lesson on using evidence: quoting, paraphrasing, and leading in (click HERE for the slides)

3. Using your annotated bibliographies for your cited evidence

Option 1: Try making a comment on each statistic/quotation/fact you might bring in.

• Will it be in quotations or paraphrased? 
• Are there any areas where you need to do some more research? Make yourself a note.

Option 2: Copy and paste directly into your outline or draft

• Either paraphrase or leave in quotations. 
• Go ahead and CITE it right now (will save you time later).

3. Drafting, drafting, drafting with a focus on using and leading into your evidence

HW:
1. By tomorrow, you should have at least one page of your draft completed. The complete draft is due before class this Friday.

2. If you haven't yet done so, please sign up for a conference by clicking here.

3. Wanna buy Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close? There's still time! We start in one week.

Solidifying Your Structure: Sep 2, 2016

Focus: How do I build a strong foundation for my essay?

1. Warming up: In small groups, form some class guidelines for the essay.

2. Thinking about the next best step for YOU--how might you find your way into this essay?

Option 1: Adding more reflection to your annotated bibliography/thinking through your research more critically/color coding your research until patterns emerge

Option 2: Typing a formal outline

Option 3: Drafting--start with your favorite part (intro? body paragraph?)

3. Sharing ideas and offering feedback

4. Returning to your essay with a few new ideas

HW:
1. Spend 30-60 minutes with this over the long weekend. On Tuesday, we all need to be in the drafting phase. By next Friday, Sep 9, you will need a complete draft.

2. Click HERE for a conference sign-up. Everyone needs to conference with me at least once; you can conference during the early drafting stages, the later drafting stages, or after the final draft is due. Think about at point in your writing routine you need the most one-on-one help.

3.  If it's in your budget or on your bookshelf, please acquire your own copy of Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer. We will start this book in about a week.

Making a Thesis: September 1, 2016

Focus: How do we develop a routine for building a structurally sound thesis?

Look over your annotated bibliography, form  Level 3 question, and write it on your dry erase tape.

My ex: Why is paranoia contagious?

1. Warming up with literal and metaphorical building

• Build a boat. What's the most important part about the structure of a boat?
• Build a tree. What's the most important part about the structure of a tree?
• Build a house. What's the most part about the structure of a house?

• Build an essay. What's the most important part about the structure of an essay?

2. Taking your ideas and figuring out how to build them into a structurally sound essay (in small groups of people)

• Help each other find structures for building an essay by generating a guideline sheet.

3. Shaping your structure

4. Making your thesis: Looking at your structure, develop a thesis that makes an argument, possibly by answering the question on your dry erase tape, and lays out the overall structure.

My Level 3 question from yesterday: Why is paranoia contagious?

My rough thesis: The events of Y2K expose that paranoia is most contagious when it's rooted in dependence on technology and fear of poverty.

HW:
1. If you haven't finished a rough draft of your thesis, please finish. If you prefer to have a typed, more detailed outline, please complete that tonight. If you prefer to start drafting, then start drafting. TOMORROW YOU SHOULD WALK IN KNOWING YOUR THESIS AND WHAT YOU WILL TALK ABOUT IN EACH OF YOUR BODY PARAGRAPHS.

2. Click HERE for a conference sign-up. Everyone needs to conference with me at least once; you can conference during the early drafting stages, the later drafting stages, or after the final draft is due. Think about at point in your writing routine you need the most one-on-one help.

3.  If it's in your budget or on your bookshelf, please acquire your own copy of Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer.