Writing Center
Posted: January 25, 2012 Filed under: My Glog | Tags: Writing Center Leave a comment »I am re-posting here the announcement of Writing Center workshops and hours. We will be talking more about making use of this great writer’s resource for English 101 and any other class you have this semester. I particularly encourage you to think about using the Writing Center at earlier stages of your writing–not just at the end when something is due in a day or two. A visit to the Writing Center can also be effective after a writing assignment is completed: follow up on suggestions made by your professor; take your writer’s “to-do” list in there and get some help on one or two items.
Here is the relevant information:
Welcome back, Washington College Students!
Do you already have your first writing assignments on your mind? Well, as of Monday, January 30th the Writing Center in Goldstein 106 will be open for the Spring semester! We hope you’ll ease into your next writing project by booking a session at the Writing Center with one of our fantastic writing consultants. Our daytime hours are Monday through Friday, 10:30 to 5:30pm. The schedule is up and ready, so book an appointment today at http://writingcenter.washcoll.edu!
We even have a workshop dedicated to helping you get started! On Monday, February 6th we’ll offer our first Writing Workshop of the semester: ”Staring Down the Blank Page: The Writing Process Made Easier” at 4:00pm in Goldstein 117. For a full list of the semester’s workshops see the attached flyer, or visit us athttp://writingcenter.washcoll.edu/writingworkshops
Also on February 6th, we’ll start offering our drop-in evening hours, now at the Rose O’Neill Literary House! We’re super excited to have our evening hours housed in such an inviting and convenient location, and we think you’ll really enjoy the comfortable atmosphere (not to mention all the inspirational energy from the writers who have visited the Lit House in the past). Come see our Writing Consultants in the cozy and comfortable conference room on the 2nd floor for a quick question or full session, Monday throughThursday from 6:30 to 8:30. Note: since this Lit House is closed on Sundays, our Sunday hours will be in the Miller Library (also from 6:30 to 8:30).As always, we invite you to write in the Center in Goldstein, or settled in on a Lit House couch, so we’ll be right there to help when you get stuck or have a question.
We wish you great success this Spring, and we hope to see you soon!
The Washington College Writing CenterVisit us ONLINE! http://writingcenter.washcoll.edu/
Friend us on FACEBOOK! www.facebook.com/washcollwcenter
Follow us on TWITTER! @WashCollWCenter
Pay More Attention to that Man Behind the Curtain
Posted: January 17, 2012 Filed under: My Glog Leave a comment »
A famous and memorable scene from toward the end of The Wizard of Oz. As far as I recall, it is my earliest memory of watching a film. I recall great relief when the curtain is opened and we see a man, just a man, behind the curtain–nothing scary. There is an analogy to be pursued, I will argue this semester, with learning about writing and critical thinking–in particular, the kind of writing and thinking we do as academics.
Writing is also a kind of machine and invention (and film is yet another writing machine, as we will explore later in the term). Rhetoric is an art or technology (in the Greek sense, techne) of creating impressive image and sound and persuasion (think of the great and powerful Oz); but it is learned by focusing on what goes on behind the curtain, on getting better at knowing the tools to use and the levers to pull. So, we are going to pay more attention to the man and woman–and the moves, the rhetoric, the logic, the grammar–behind the curtain of the reading and writing we will be doing throughout the course.
Here is the clip from YouTube.
In the meantime, I invite you to explore this site (Comp|Post), get a sense of the kind of work you will be doing in English 101.
2.30 class: spring 2012 blogs
Posted: January 16, 2012 Filed under: Student Blogs 16 Comments »Put your name and copy your blog address into the Leave Reply box below. You can get to the blogs of other students by returning to this page (listed under the Category: Student Blogs).
1.30 class: spring 2012 blogs
Posted: January 16, 2012 Filed under: Student Blogs 11 Comments »Put your name and copy your blog address into the Leave Reply box below. You can get to the blogs of other students by returning to this page (listed under the Category: Student Blogs).
Workshop: Signals for argument
Posted: November 30, 2011 Filed under: My Glog | Tags: argument, counter-argument, graff Leave a comment »When you make an argument in writing you are participating in an ongoing conversation. One of the primary ways that conversation takes place in writing is when you quote other critics and views, bring them into your argument, and in some way work off them: come to terms, forward, counter, take an approach. Because this conversation is taking place in your writing, it is important that you clearly identify things such as: who is speaking, which part of the argument you agree with, where you would disagree. These signals are words and phrases that you can revise and edit into your essay. I adapt the following templates from the book They Say/I Say: The Moves that Matter in Academic Writing by Gerald Graff and Cathy Birkenstein.
Introducing Quotations: X states (argues, believes, asserts), “………..”
Explaining Quotations (a way to begin your follow up): In other words, X believes…..
Signaling Agreement/Disagreement
[Disagreeing with reasons] X’s claim that ___________ rests upon the questionable assumption that _________.
However, by focusing on ________, X overlooks the deeper problem of ___________.
[Agreeing with a difference] X’s view of ____ is useful because it sheds insight on the difficult problem of __________.
[Agreeing and Disagreeing] Although I agree with X up to a point, I cannot accept his overall conclusion that __________.
My feelings on the issue are mixed. I do support X’s position that ________, but I find Y’s argument about _________ equally persuasive.
Entertaining Objections
Of course, many will probably disagree with my assertion that _________.
Yet some readers may challenge my view that _______. Indeed, my own argument seems to ignore _________.
Yet is it always true that ________? Is it always the case, as I have been arguing, that __________?
Although I grant that _______, I still maintain that __________.
Useful Metacommentary (ways of talking more directly to your reader about your argument)
In other words, _________.
Essentially, I am arguing that _________.
My point is ________.
My conclusion, then, is that __________.
Saying why your argument matters (template for larger implications/resolution)
This argument has important consequences for the larger issue of ___________.
Although X may seem of concern to only a small group of _______, it should in fact concern anyone who cares about ________.
