Class #5 Post-Game

If you missed all or part of the class, the most important things we did were make an outline for the main/evidence/analysis/body/whatever-it's-called section of the research project, and then a calendar for completing the project that runs through to the last class on December 6. I'd like you to email me the calendars when you finish them.

Please also note the changes to the target deadlines on the right side of the blog.

Class #4 Post-Game and reminders for upcoming conferences

I will post more here soon; in particular I want to find some guidelines and a sample for the upcoming methodology section. For now, be aware that class will not meet again until October 25. If you haven't already signed up for a personal conference on Google Docs, please do so.

Ideally you would all meet the deadlines on the schedule to the right, but we have adjusted them somewhat from person to person. (Don't expect me to remember exactly how, ha ha.) The main thing is to get me as much as you can a day or two before our conference so that we can maximize its usefulness.

I also want you to complete today's final class exercise by emailing those 15 questions to your partner (about whatever part of the project you've been able to read so far), and then emailing me your 15 brief answers, or posting them here. For those of you who were interested to look at the second half of the document I showed you today, you can find it here.

Oh, and... I highly recommend that you attend the following lecture on the Mason campus if you are able to!

Lecture: Annie Leonard 

October 20, 2010 from 3:00 pm to 4:30 pm 

Johnson Center, Cinema 

"The Story of Stuff," presented by environmental activist and author Annie Leonard. Reception and book signing will follow.

Class #3 Post-Game and Reminders for Monday 10/4

Thanks to everyone for another vigorous discussion. I usually come home after this class and can't communicate besides nodding and grunting until at least Tuesday afternoon.  

Blog Post (by Thursday night 9/23)
-Identify one research source for "family," "friend," "enemy," "one night stand," "stranger," and "help wanted," and explain why they fit in these categories. (Post in comment reply below.)

Literature Review with Expanded Annotated Bibliography (by Wednesday night 9/29):
-Start with your 390 "background statement," or whatever that was called. Revise to indicate the most relevant literature from the different fields your project encompasses, and how those sources relate to your thesis. (See page 3 of course syllabus for a further description; you may not be able to hit the page target yet but do the best you can.) For the annotated bibliography part, try to make 10 new friends and dismiss 10 strangers malingering from last semester. (Submit by Google Docs, or if that doesn't work, email attachment.) If you are still working on your first draft Introduction/I.D.R., that needs to come first.  

We will have our next class meeting on Monday 10/4, and continue to discuss sources, what their function is in your essay, standards of proof in the disciplines, and hopefully quotation technique. 

Revised Introduction w/ I.D.R. Lit. Review w/ E.A.B. (10/10-10/20; deadline may be determined on an individual basis depending on when your conference is scheduled

Class #2 Post-Game and reminders for next Monday

I hope the latest class was helpful... I was completely exhausted by the end, so we must have been accomplishing something.

-If you were absent/late and missed the presentation about the Writing Center, be sure to check out their website.
-Turn in the first draft of your Introduction with Interdisciplinary Rationale if you haven't already done so. Google Docs is preferred, but email attachment is OK too. I'll start sending comments on Thursday unless you specifically instruct me to wait.
-Turn in your Mentor Meeting sheet if you haven't already done so. You can drop it to my office door in Enterprise 314 (note: the door says Linda Hemm because we're sharing). Or you can scan & email it.
-Read the Boix Mansilla / Duraising essay if you haven't already done so, and be prepared to discuss it. Click here for the PDF.
-Review Booth chapters 6-11

For upcoming assignments, please consult the updated schedule on the right side of the blog.

I feel like I'm forgetting something, though. Anyone care to straighten me out?

A Brief Thought

I've been commenting on your 390 project descriptions and how to turn them into 490 introductions, and I find myself writing one particular idea to all of you. It seems that both the audience and the purpose for this first section need to change. Formerly the audience was your faculty advisor and BIS teacher, and your purpose was to convince them that the project was viable and you had your act together. Now the audience is whoever you imagine to be reading your project when it's finished, which could be academics, professionals, or various stakeholders affected directly or indirectly by your intervention. That is quite, quite different. You basically have to imagine that the research has already been completed and that you are introducing it; formerly you said "this project will do XYZ" as a way to talk about your future. But now you are saying "this project will do XYZ" as a way to talk about the future of a reader, and that future is to continue reading through the rest of the project essay.

Now obviously it's hard to speak of a project that you just recently proposed as being already completed, but that's why this is a first draft. The truth is that in real academic and professional writing, the introduction is almost always the last part that you finish writing, even though it comes first for the reader. It is the most difficult and the most important. For now it's something of a placeholder and a way for you to conceptualize everything else that follows as best as you presently can. So there is a bit of fakery on your part in talking as if everything is completed and all there for the reader to proceed, but that's what you need to do for now. You might even convince yourself... so don't look down.

Class #1 Post-Game and upcoming work

Thanks for a lively discussion today! It was great meeting all of you. I'll see you all on the 13th, when we will meet again for class and also have a brief visit from a Writing Center pro to let you know more about that resource.

Late-Breaking Bulletin: Something I forgot to mention... you need to meet with your faculty advisor sometime before Monday Sep.13th, have him/her complete the form on page 10 of the syllabus, and bring it to class on the 13th.

Peer Groups: As arranged in the Monday 8/30 class... Malissa & Dayo, Elizabeth & Leanna, Rosemary & Jim. The latest pairing is Michele & Scott. I don't want to publish the contact info here, but please make sure you're in touch with your partner and already thinking about potentials ways/times to meet up.

Reminders:
-Be sure to write a test post to the previous blog entry so I know this works for you. Most of you have done so already. If you're having a problem with Blogger, email me or see me in Enterprise 314 on Wednesday from 18:00-19:00 or some other time you arrange.
-Be sure to share your completed 390 proposal (along with any other related documents) to me on Google Docs as soon as possible. I will try to give you some feedback on this by the end of the week. If you're having a problem with Google Docs, email me or see me in Enterprise 314 on Wednesday from 18:00-19:00 or some other time you arrange.
-If you didn't complete the background survey, please email me anything more I should know about you and your project.
-I will share you two sample BIS 490 research papers (completed). You need to evaluate them according to the assigned part of the rubric on pages 12-13 of the syllabus, and post your thoughts in reply to this blog entry by Tuesday the 7th at 22:00.
-For our next class meeting on Monday the 13th, read the Boix Mansilla and Duraising essay which will discuss in class.
-You should also write a first draft of your Introduction (with Interdisciplinary Rationale), using your 390 Project Description as a starting point. Share it to me and your partner on Google Docs by Monday the 13th at 18:00. See the assignment description on page 3 of the syllabus, the grading rubric on page 11, and the comments about your Project Description that I email you.

Welcome!

This is the course blog for our section of BIS 490. I will mainly use it to make announcements and adjustments to our schedule; you will use it to post your answers to any homework exercises I may give, and to extend our classroom discussion.

Click here to preview the course syllabus.

Please write a test post in the reply below so I can make sure the blog is working for everyone. I believe you can either use an existing Google/Gmail I.D. or make a Blogger I.D. Let me know if you have any difficulty and I can help. It would be best if your test post was some kind of question or comment about the syllabus. Read it carefully!

You can also get a jump on things by buying the assigned textbooks, which should all be in the bookstore. One note about that... don't buy the Strunk and White style guide even if it's marked required. This article echoes my dislike of that book.

I look forward to meeting all of you soon.