I just finished posting grades for everyone on emuonline, and before I ride off into the sunset (or sled off, as it were), I thought I’d pass a few last thoughts:
I thought that both the second short essays and the final were pretty good, and I have to say that I personally feel better about this arrangement than what I’ve done in the past. What I mean is I think that there are more opportunities for success and better chances for students to learn and engage with this stuff with several shorter projects rather than one big one (e.g., a final “seminar” paper). If you have thoughts on that, I’d be curious to hear what they are.
Overall, I thought folks handled the final well. I don’t make any comments on them, mainly because my goal at this stage is the same as yours: I want to finish. But if you have any questions or concerns about the grade on your final or the overall grade for the class, please know that I would be happy to talk with you about it in the winter term. I am always willing to over your grade and try to explain things as best I can.
Sooner than later, I’ll be taking down the various comments/posts on the English 505 web site, mostly in preparation for the next time I teach the class, which will likely be in 2012 (I think Derek Mueller is scheduled to teach it in the Fall 2011 term). So, if there are any comments, posts, etc. that you are particularly interested in keeping in some fashion, go and copy them now.
I think that’s about it.
You’ve been a great group to work with, and I hope you thought the class was as interesting as I did. I’ll be starting on as the writing program coordinator in January, which means I’ll probably be working with many of you on things like offering advice, programs of study, etc. And of course, I’m also teaching other classes (English 444 in the winter term), directing projects, and generally hanging around. So for those of you continuing on (I think that’s all of you, right?), I am sure I will see you again in the new year.
I wanted to pass along a quick “heads up” update on how things are progressing this finals week and as the “End of Time” approaches:
I haven’t heard much from folks about the final, so I’m going to assume that’s going okay. Accurate, I hope? In any event, if you do have any questions or concerns about it, by all means, contact me and ask. That’s why I get paid the big bucks.
I just finished commenting on the revisions that folks did of the first projects and posted them back to emuonline, so if you did a revision (and you know who you are!), go ahead and look. Along these lines, I also just opened up the dropbox for the final. Up next: audio comments on your second rhetorical analysis essays. Which leads me to my next and last point:
You of course have until Friday to hand in your finals (remember! 5 PM Michigan time on December 17!). When you hand in your Final, I will hand back your second rhetorical analysis with my comments– though I should point out I probably won’t be done commenting on these until Thursday evening, so if you hand in the Final early, you might have to wait a bit.
I know you’re all busy working on/thinking about peer review for the second short rhetorical analysis (as you should be doing!), but the final is coming along very soon, too. So, what are your thoughts on that? What sorts of questions can you imagine including?
A couple of thoughts to get you going:
As I mentioned at the beginning of the term and as clear in the syllabus, this final is actually worth a fair amount, 30% of the final grade, or the same as the two short rhetorical analysis essays. So for those of you who have been in some of my previous classes, the stakes of this final are quite a bit higher than they are for courses like English 516.
It’s a comprehensive final– everything we’ve read and discussed is fair game.
I haven’t decided this yet, but the format will probably involve four essay questions, one (or two? I’m not sure) longer questions that everyone has to answer, and two (or three) shorter essay questions where there will be a choice of options.
Regardless, the length of these essay answers will be strictly enforced and the aim is for preciseness in language (e.g., not a lot of “filler” here) with lots of citations/references to readings. The long essays will probably be capped at 500 words (about 2 typed pages) and the shorter essays will probably capped at 250 words.
Finally, while I make no promises about using any of your suggestions for test questions or areas of the test, I would say you’re better off making suggestions to me than not. So suggest away.
What do you all think? What questions do you have about the process, and what questions might you want to see on the final?
First, as a few of you have already mentioned and/or emailed me about, the revision of the first project is actually due Monday and not Friday as I posted on Friday night. My bad, though it probably would have been a good idea for me to make that deadline Friday so that folks would have that out of the way before they got into the draft of the second analysis.
Second, be mindful of the schedule for this peer review: begin Monday (or early Tuesday), finish Wednesday (or early Thursday), and the final version needs to be posted to the emuonline dropbox for the second rhetorical analysis no later than midnight Friday, December 10. Then what will happen is on Friday (probably before midnight), I will post/make available the final for the course. The final will be due on Friday, December 17, and when you turn it in, I’ll have the audio comments on the second project available for your enjoyment and reflection.
Okay, more about this peer review after the “continued” part.
Just a reminder about where we’re heading as the class starts to enter into the last stretch of things:
Friday, December 3 at midnight (or so) your revisions on the first project are due. I’m sure by the time you’re reading this, you know that. Be sure to have them posted! Hand them in to the emuonline web site
Saturday, December 4 at 5 pm at The Corner, we’ll meet (informally, unofficially) at The Corner to talk about the second short writing project and the final, and of course anything else that comes up. See you then!
On Monday of next week, we’ll begin peer review on these second projects– I’ll set up groups by some time on Sunday at the latest.
By Wednesday of next week, you need to wrap up your peer review on the second project. Also, by about this date, be sure to let me know what grade for participation you have earned for the second part of the term!
Friday, December 10, your second short rhetorical analysis is due! You need to post the revised and final version of your second rhetorical analysis to emuonline by this date.
Also on Friday, December 10, I will post the final for your to start contemplating an writing.
Friday, December 17, is the “end of time” for the course, meaning that’s when the final is due, and it’s also the last day you can possibly turn in anything else for the class.
First off, the winner of the doodle poll for the last casual (but always informational and fun) get together of the term will be Saturday, 5 PM, at The Corner. A tough call, but it was the winner in the voting by a nose. We will be discussing the second short writing project, some general ideas for the final, and anything else that comes up. Of course it is not a required event, but come if you can. And if you want to email me, sit down with me and/or skype with me to talk about any of these upcoming topics, please do so.
Second, I wanted to let you all know that I will be catching up very soon on various class related things. I’ve fallen behind in my own readings/participation here both because of a crushing number of meetings with students and colleagues, and also because today was the every semester “Celebration of Student Writing.” This is for our English 121 program (aka “freshman comp”). I put together a short video that my students shot and I edited that I thought I’d share here.
Just a quick reminder to vote on the latest Doodle poll to schedule our informal get-together this week at The Corner to talk about the second project and the final and such. Right now, the winning times are on Friday at 5 pm and on Saturday. I’m not completely sure about this, but I think my personal preference is for Saturday at 4 or so. But I’m pretty sure I am still available at 5 pm for that Friday.
In any event, only six of you have voted, so for the rest of you: please do vote, even if it means none of the times work for you (so I at least know for sure that there are some folks who aren’t going to make it under any circumstances).
Finally in our readings on visual rhetoric, gender, and beyond, there’s Anne Frances Wysocki’s “The Sticky Embrace of Beauty: On Some Formal Relations in Teaching About the Visual Aspects of Texts.” I have to say that this is an essay that I teach in English 516 and English 444, and I am teaching it here at the suggestion of my colleague and “resident visual rhetoric expert” Nancy Allen. It’s one of my favs, though I do appreciate that this is a complicated piece.
Here’s where to discuss Cynthia L. Selfe’s “Lest We Think the Revolution is a Revolution: Images of Technology and the Nature of Change.” Like the Hawisher and Sullivan chapter, this one too is a bit dated and not squarely about our topic of the week. Still, I think the basic premise, an analysis of how “technology” is depicted through images in advertisements. Continued…
About English 505: Rhetoric of Science and Technology
English 505: Rhetoric of Science and Technology is a course offered as part of Eastern Michigan University’s Masters Program in Written Communication. The course is for technical communicators, writing teachers, and those interested in the history of writing and in language theory.
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