Week 8 (Oct. 18 – Oct. 24)

Table of contents

To-do and Weekly Schedule

Midterm

  • Make an appointment with Dr. D, using the scheduling page
  • At least 24hrs before your appointment, send in a reflection (as a Google Doc) using the following prompts (or look at the Google Doc)
    • Max. 2 pages!
    • We will use this reflection as the basis for our conversation to determine your mid-term grade, and set objectives for the second part of the semester.

Midterm Reflection (Reflection 2)

Look back on the work you did for the course so far:

  • writing on your blog, and other writing in connection with the course (from freewrites to drafts for any assignments)
  • commenting on blogs
  • preparing for class
  • being an active participant in small groups and/or the large group
  • other ways of participating

How have you grown as a student and team member of this learning community? As a writer? What are you doing differently now compared to the start of the semester? How have you challenged yourself? Substantiate with concrete examples. 

E.g not “I participate in class discussions”, but “In the discussion about origins of tea, through interactions in our small group I realized I misinterpreted a part of the text by Wilkinson; by listening with an open mind to xx [ideally insert name of fellow student!], I learned that I need to slow down when preparing the readings for the course, and…” [continue as desired/required to illustrate your growth…]

What do you see as opportunities for growth in the second half of the semester? What do you identify as realistic objectives to achieve by the end of the semester for your writing? Be as specific as possible.

E.g. submitting for review a revised version of blog post X; helping to maintain the Zotero group library to make up for missed participation opportunities in the first half of the semester (or more specific: cleaning up metadata and adding notes and tags for two entries every week); starting a daily writing practice to help me overcome writing anxiety,…

Based on the above self-assessment, what is according to you a reasonable grade for your work in the course so far? 

Make sure you can back up your claim with supporting evidence why you feel this is a fair assessment of your work. Note that the midterm grade in this course does not have any bearing on your final grade.

Tuesday

The ability to provide constructive feedback to your peers is an essential skill to develop during your college career, and it will serve you well in your professional life after graduation. Peer feedback is at least as useful as feedback from me and/or Brianna!

Bring two printed copies of your draft to class, and two different colors of pen, and your laptop/tablet (in case of handwriting worries). We will provide the rest!

Thursday

In-class writing time: use the feedback you received to rewrite your essay, and use the time in class to consult with others or write.

Remember to consult the variety of tools and resources at your disposal on our Course Resources page for writing!

Sunday

Submit the rewritten version of your essay ready for review:

  • Submit as a Google Doc, with commenting access for Brianna and Dr. D
  • a 3-5 page essay
  • with a “full scholarly apparatus” (that means: footnotes and a bibliography, and in our class we use the Chicago Notes and Bibliography Style, 17th edition)
  • Reminder of the starter packs and the essay description from week 6

Slides

  • Tuesday, Why footnotes? –> includes “anatomy of a footnote” at the end.

Where to get help