• What are the different expectations and interpretations that different audiences might have of a text?
• How can a writer imagine an audience?
• What kinds of information about the "world" must we have in order to imagine diverse audiences and their probable reading/interpretative strategies?
• What are the risks of imagining audience (or: what kinds of stereotypes and assumptions do we carry about groups of people on which we might base our assumptions of audience?).
• How can we increase our awareness of different reading/interpretative groups (audiences) and their different knowledges and perceptions?

What I Expect From You:

• An extensive writing log/journal that records the writing issues we define in class, your progress and process as a writer, your strengths and weaknesses and strategies for meeting the writing requirements of the class.
• Active participation in class discussion.  (This includes E-mail responses to the class list with ideas, thoughts, questions, emotions about the writing issues raised from our readings.)
• 4 short (2-3 pages) and one long (6-8 pages) formal papers. These assignments will be determined partly by the context of class reading/thinking; in this sense, the class's responses to and evaluations of the readings are as important as the reading itself.  Our discussion is, in fact, an important "text" of the class! In part, I will direct these writings so that they form an assignment sequence designed to help you progressively develop your writing voice, awareness of your own process as a writer, your      analytical and argumentative skills.
• A final exam that defines your progress as a writer

• We will be doing a great deal of writing for this class.  Our informal writing, such as class E-mail, postings to the class Forum, and the Writing Workshop Wrap-ups, count as 20% of the course grade.
• The bulk of the course grade, 70%, will be determined by the formal writing assignments.  Thus, the grade breakdown is as follows:
• 20% -- Informal Writing (including discussion board postings, e-mail, quizzes, and workshops)
• 10% -- Final Exam
• 70% -- Formal Writing Assignments

• As you keep your writing log, pay attention to how your writing is changing, how you as a writer are evolving.
• Towards the middle of the semester, you should find that you are making fewer of the errors that you were making at the beginning of the term.
• Your final exam will be an essay evaluating your progress as a writer throughout the semester; this essay must cite specific writing issues on which you have worked, how you addressed them, and what kinds of issues you still have left to address.

Readings/Texts

• Our readings for this class are divided between the articles in the course packet, which you get from me, Internet readings, and and excerpts from Carter and Gradin's Writing as Reflective Action.  It is important that you keep up with the readings and complete each day's quiz/writing log assignments for the readings.
• You will also need the Blair Handbook; a good portion of our work will use the support web site for this handbook at http://cw.prenhall.com/bookbind/public_html/pubbooks/fulwiler/-
• You will need a college level dictionary; I also have handbooks and dictionaries available online at http://www2.gasou.edu:80/facstaff/lamy/tools.html. 

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1. Take 2-3 minutes to freewrite about what you think is the most important scene in the film; describe the scene and then interpret it (i.e., what do you think this scene means, what does it say about the TRC and its work?)
2. Exchange this freewrite with your partner; read each other's freewrites and use them to discuss your reactions to the film.  Follow the rules of civility we have laid down for public discussion : =)
3. After reading your partner's freewrite, log into Blackboard and post to the discussion board a brief (paragraph or so) comparison of the differences or similarities between the way in which you responded to the film and the way in which you perceive your partner to have responded.
4. Label your Freewrite RN #5, part 1 and keep this to turn in at the end of the semester with your entire Reading Notebook, which is 20% of your grade.
5. Label the Discussion Board Posting RN #5 part 2 -- print this and keep it in your notebook with part 1 of RN #5

1. From your Reading Notebooks #1- 5, choose what you think is the most important issue/idea/ topic from Long Night's Journey.
2. Briefly describe one or two scenes from the film that make the point you want to develop in your Response Paper.
3. Think through your position -- "position" here means your stance, the point that you are making about this film -- and write one or two lines about how others might see this point/issue differently.
4. Brainstorm this topic... what must you say in order to persuade or inform your readers?
5. Develop a thesis statement that sums up each of the ideas/issues you have so far noted.

Order the points in your brainstorm-- what must you discuss first, second, third, and so on?

Reading Notebook Entry #7
Review today's workshop paper and decide:

1. Does this paper have good points but need more proof (concrete detail)?  Good detail but needs to draw more conclusions?
2. What is the thesis?  Does is specifically define what the paper will be talking about?  Can we improve the thesis in any way?

Organization: The thesis paragraph needs to lay out the major points the paper will make, and the paper needs to make those points in the order in which they are described in the thesis paragraph.  Each paragraph needs a good topic sentence that specifically defines the thesis point the paragraph is explaining, and every sentence in the paragraph needs to directly develop the topic sentence

Reading Notebook Entry #9
After reviewing the final project explanation, brainstorm possible identity narratives that you might want to explore.  What function do these narratives serve?  Is there a difference between the narrative "lived reality."  Does the narrative mask or enable something in our culture?  What are the ways in which this narrative might speak of epistemic violence?

Reading Notebook Entry #11
E-mail me an progress report for your final project.  What have you completed so far?  What do you have left?  What help do you still need?  What is your revision plan?  Label this email subject heading "RN #11: I will reply to this email, and you must print my reply, with your original text, out and include it in your RN submissions when you turn the portfolio in at the end of the semester.

Reading Notebook Entry #12
In a very brief paragraph, explain the identity narrative you are analzying for your final project, the problem with the narrative (i.e., the cultural violence associated with the narrative), and the counter-narrative you propose (i.e., how would you revise the narrative, or tell the story differently)

Reading Notebook #13
This is your last entry.  This log is intended to help you organize your revision notebook, to jump-start your final editing/revision for your final project, and to prepare you for the final exam.  In short, this is what you do:

1. Review each of the writing assignments we have done for this class.  Make sure you have all of your paperwork together.  Beginning with the summary paper and working all the way through the final project, review your first drafts, the comments from you peer review, my critique on the paper you submitted for my evaluation, my notes on the writing issues check list I returned with your paper.  Make a list of each of the writing issues identified for your paper, when and how your worked on the issue, what you learned (i.e., what actually helped you understand the writing problem... a conference? reviewing your handbook?  using online resources?), and when you revised
2. From your lists, format a readable and clear chart for me.
3. Write a paragraph explaining how well you think you revised each paper, what your best work is and why, and what was most help in your writing and revision process.  Assess yourself as a writer-- where do you think you are and what do you still have left to do.
4. Tell me what grade level you think your final project is at and why.

Paragraph expaling how well you revised each paper, best work and why, what strategies you learned most from, final project assessment
 

What grade level do you think your final project is at?
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

-------------------------------------------------------------- notes/under revision

Writing Log #5
Writing Log #10
Writing Log #10 is your last entry-- remember, the writing logs must be in your revision notebook with all of the work for this class-- they are 10% of your grade!
This log is intended to help you organize your revision notebook, to jump-start your final editing/revision for your final project, and to prepare you for the final exam.  In short, this is what you do:

1. Review each of the writing assignments we have done for this class.  Make sure you have all of your paperwork together.  Beginning with the summary paper and working all the way through the final project, review your first drafts, the comments from you peer review, my critique on the paper you submitted for my evaluation, my notes on the writing issues check list I returned with your paper.  Make a list of each of the writing issues identified for your paper, when and how your worked on the issue, what you learned (i.e., what actually helped you understand the writing problem... a conference? reviewing your handbook?  using online resources?), and when you revised
2. From your lists, format a readable and clear chart for me.
3. Write a paragraph explaining how well you think you revised each paper, what your best work is and why, and what was most help in your writing and revision process.  Assess yourself as a writer-- where do you think you are and what do you still have left to do.
4. Tell me what grade level you think your final project is at and why.

Writing Log # 10 Date Writing Progress/Revision Summary

What grade level do you think your final project is
at?