Final Revision Assignment

Before I even begin to explain this assignment, please first remember that this final revision, simple as it may seem, is worth a whopping 200 points of your final grade, and should therefore NOT be underestimated. It’s a rather simple assignment. Pick your single favorite paragraph from your entire blog site (posts AND papers), copy it into a new post, skip a space, and then completely 100% rewrite that paragraph, from scratch. Skip another space, and, yes, rewrite it again, from scratch. Skip another space, and now TRANSITION into a second paragraph of original composition, continuing on a theme from the first, or embarking on a new, related one. Finally, skip one last space, and then completely 100% rewrite that paragraph, from scratch. So that’s 1 old, copied paragraph plus 4 new paragraphs. The only requirement is that all 5 paragraphs must be at least 150 words, so watch your word counts!!! Your grade on this assignment will depend almost entirely on how well you follow these instructions and, most importantly, how well you show a functional competence of the core instruction of this course: that writing is re-writing, that the best writing comes from a rigorously disciplined process, and that they can always be better (both the writing and the process). For those of you concerned about length, note, for reference, that this paragraph is precisely 245 words. Please email me at davidthorn@comcast.net if you have any questions or would like to brainstorm together.

Conference sign-up sheet

Conferences will take place next Wednesday and Thursday evenings, and we’ll meet in our classroom. If already in use, or if locked, we’ll meet in the Writing Center of the LARC (down the main hall about 100 yards and on the left, right side of the big room). Be sure to bring a hard copy of your final draft of the final revision assignment, and of course any brainstorms, notes, or other drafts that led to it. Bring any other work you’d like to discuss as well, and be prepared to review your blog site. To pick a time slot, simply make a comment to this post with your choice. First come, first served. Don’t forget to email me at davidthorn@comcast.net if you have any specific questions.

Tues. 5/12

5:30/40     Michelle

Wed. 5/13

5:40 (may be running late)     Drew

6:00     Ryan

6:20     Hannah    

6:40     TJ

7:00    Alaina

7:20     John Mackey

Thurs. 5/14

5:40 (may be running late)

6:00     John Lazanas

6:20     Jeremy

6:40     Andy

7:00     Kristina

7:20     Frank

7:40     Jess

8:00     Todd

8:20     Marshall

8:40

9:00

Last Class

6:00 – 6:15     Submit final drafts of Paper 3

6:15 – 6:40     BA11: What did you learn this semester? (Intentionally open-ended; write about anything you want!)

6:40 – 7:00     Review final revision assignment and choose appropriate post for revision

7:00 – 7:30     Instructor evaluations; conference sign-up; and continue above

7:30 – 7:40     BREAK

7:40 – 8:00     Semester review; what have we learned in comp 1? Discuss BA11 as well

8:00 – 8:05     Discuss E.B. White, “Once More to the Lake”

8:05 – 8:15     Read and discuss Robert Frost poems, “A Drummlin Woodchuck,” “The Road Not Taken,” and “Two Tramps in Mud Time”

8:15 – 8:45     Read and discuss Annie Dillard, “Living Like Weasels”

HW:

Final revision (hard copy & post) due in conference. Please clean up your blog site as well, since we’ll be discussing it in conference, at which point we’ll also be determining your final grade.

NOTE:

Final conferences should take between 5 and 15 minutes, depending on how much we have to discuss. Ideally, I’d like to help students highlight the strengths they’ve exhibited this past semester, and clearly identify areas for improvement as well.  Please be sure to contact me well in advance of your appointment if you cannot make it.