Here's another productivity break for you all--one of my FAVORITE videos that i've seen lately. Enjoy, then get those papers done, then get some sleep! Don't be late for class tomorrow!
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Sunday, December 7, 2008
Because it is that time of the semester...
Everyone needs a good procrastination break. I recall reading studies about how 15 minute breaks and moments of humor or laughter can up productivity. So, here are some productivity boosters for all of you.
First, the sweetest love song ever written about Mario Kart ( surely, some of you are familiar with this already, but...it's nice to watch again.)
I'll post more throughout the week.
Hope those rough drafts are coming along nicely!
First, the sweetest love song ever written about Mario Kart ( surely, some of you are familiar with this already, but...it's nice to watch again.)
I'll post more throughout the week.
Hope those rough drafts are coming along nicely!
Sunday, November 2, 2008
National Novel Writing Month...
Perhaps you've heard that November is NaNoWriMo, or National Novel Writing Month. NaNoWriMo is a challenge to write a 50,000 word novel in one month. It's quite the challenge. I thought that, just for fun, I would present it to you all as a "writing prompt" for your blogs. Many bloggers choose to use their blogs for NaNoWriMo. If any of you were to actually complete your challenge (I've tried twice in the past...closest I came was just over 30,000 words...) I'd arrange some sort of prize.
Anyhow, if you're intrigued by this proposition, you can find out more at www.nanowrimo.org
It doesn't hurt to try! You might pen the next great american novel!
Anyhow, if you're intrigued by this proposition, you can find out more at www.nanowrimo.org
It doesn't hurt to try! You might pen the next great american novel!
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Lesson Plans coming soon...
Hey all, sorry to be posting this so late--I'm having a nightmare evening. Just before I started this entry, I was doing some banking...and noticed a brand new credit card in addition to my normal savings account. It seems as though somehow, an unauthorized credit card was opened in my name. NOT GOOD. SO...I've had a long night of phone calls and hold music so far. The good news is that everything seems to be stemming from a bank error rather than attempted fraud, and the questionable account was inactive and has been closed. AAAND, just to be safe, I've put a credit freeze on my ssn, now. Sweet Action. I know that we are in the online/paperless age with many things, but you guys, I can't stress to you enough, keep up on your personal info, be secure, and be vigilant! It's especially important for you all when places like UMD make security blunders like sending your SSN out in a brochure (perhaps you all, being freshmen, were spared this debacle over the summer. If this did effect you, I hope you shredded that DOTS brochure!)
So, the point. My apologies for a late posting of tomorrows plans. Here is the game plan for tomorrow's class.
In addition to the reading from AWH on Paragraphs (Chapter 5), I also want to talk about a short passage from EWR on Claims, Evidence and Analysis--for my 101X 2006 students, you know about this reading already. For my 101 0213 Students, this is a new reading--but it's only 2 pages, and we'll be able to go over it all in class, should you not see this post tonight. The concepts of both readings are similar.
In addition to talking about building good paragraphs, we'll be doing an activity to help us build good paragraphs. The class will be broken up into small groups. Each small group will be given a handout that contains a paper topic, and a list of sentences. These sentences will either be "claims" or "evidence." As a group, you must identify and label the sentences appropriately. THEN you must select ONE of the claims from your list, as well as an appropriate amount of corresponding evidence, and build a paragraph around that claim, utilizing the evidence as support, and, as a group, developing the needed analysis that ties it all together. Each groups handout will be unique, and many different paragraphs can be created from the handouts.
A sample draft of paper 2 will be distributed tomorrow via email. We will discuss this sample draft in class on Friday. It will be your responsibility to print and read this sample draft for class on Friday.
There will be no formal written homework due for class on Friday. In Friday's class, we'll be working on a worksheet in the computer lab to help us develop strong introductions and conclusions on our topic, and reiterating the requirements and expectations for paper 2. For Friday, we will be relying heavily on the TSIS readings.
See you all tomorrow!
-Natalie
So, the point. My apologies for a late posting of tomorrows plans. Here is the game plan for tomorrow's class.
In addition to the reading from AWH on Paragraphs (Chapter 5), I also want to talk about a short passage from EWR on Claims, Evidence and Analysis--for my 101X 2006 students, you know about this reading already. For my 101 0213 Students, this is a new reading--but it's only 2 pages, and we'll be able to go over it all in class, should you not see this post tonight. The concepts of both readings are similar.
In addition to talking about building good paragraphs, we'll be doing an activity to help us build good paragraphs. The class will be broken up into small groups. Each small group will be given a handout that contains a paper topic, and a list of sentences. These sentences will either be "claims" or "evidence." As a group, you must identify and label the sentences appropriately. THEN you must select ONE of the claims from your list, as well as an appropriate amount of corresponding evidence, and build a paragraph around that claim, utilizing the evidence as support, and, as a group, developing the needed analysis that ties it all together. Each groups handout will be unique, and many different paragraphs can be created from the handouts.
A sample draft of paper 2 will be distributed tomorrow via email. We will discuss this sample draft in class on Friday. It will be your responsibility to print and read this sample draft for class on Friday.
There will be no formal written homework due for class on Friday. In Friday's class, we'll be working on a worksheet in the computer lab to help us develop strong introductions and conclusions on our topic, and reiterating the requirements and expectations for paper 2. For Friday, we will be relying heavily on the TSIS readings.
See you all tomorrow!
-Natalie
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Academic Integrity: Don't Kidnap or Plunder any work, y'all.
In class tomorrow, we will be starting with a discussion of the "Avoiding Plagiarism" chapter in AWH.
Lecture topics:
1) What's the point of citations? Why do we need them anyway?
2) How does one cite? In-text citations vs. footnotes.
3) Everything Comes in Threes: The three rules for avoiding plagiarism.
4) How can we determine if something NEEDS a citation? What falls under "common knowledge?"
We will NOT as a class be discussing the "Causes of Plagiarism" section. I don't care why you might be tempted to plagiarize. The bottom line is DON'T do it.
We will then look over in-class the MLA citation guide in the AWH (Chapter 14) and doing a few practice citations together. After finishing some sample citations, we will break into groups of three (I will determine the groups) to do what I call the "Citations Scavenger Hunt." This will be a competition between the groups, with a prize awaiting the champion team.
Each team will receive a copy of an electronic document. This document is a sample student paper...and this poor student just doesn't have a clue about how to cite her sources. She's tried to use quotes and paraphrase, but she's done it all wrong--and right now, her paper is a whole mess of plagiarism. As a group, you will have the following tasks:
1) You will need to fix the formatting of the in-text citations and uses of quotes in her paper. This means you will have to make sure that things such as block formatting, ellipses and brackets are used appropriately, in addition to making sure the parenthetical citation is correct.
2) You will need to develop a works cited page for the document. Using the AWH as a guide, you'll need to make sure that all entries contain the proper information, and are in the proper format.
3) BUT to form this works cited page, you'll have to locate the materials...you'll have to determine which quote came from which original source. There will be several to choose from, and you'll have to look at clues in the student's paper and perhaps even use some google-fu to match the quotes to their original sources.
Once you've completed all of these tasks, you'll send the document to me. I'll check it over, and either accept it, or reject it due to errors. The first team to submit a perfect document wins.
This project will likely take up plenty of class time, so I do not plan on discussing the reading from TSIS in class tomorrow. If you have any questions about that reading assignment, please ask them at the start of class.
See you all tomorrow!
Lecture topics:
1) What's the point of citations? Why do we need them anyway?
2) How does one cite? In-text citations vs. footnotes.
3) Everything Comes in Threes: The three rules for avoiding plagiarism.
4) How can we determine if something NEEDS a citation? What falls under "common knowledge?"
We will NOT as a class be discussing the "Causes of Plagiarism" section. I don't care why you might be tempted to plagiarize. The bottom line is DON'T do it.
We will then look over in-class the MLA citation guide in the AWH (Chapter 14) and doing a few practice citations together. After finishing some sample citations, we will break into groups of three (I will determine the groups) to do what I call the "Citations Scavenger Hunt." This will be a competition between the groups, with a prize awaiting the champion team.
Each team will receive a copy of an electronic document. This document is a sample student paper...and this poor student just doesn't have a clue about how to cite her sources. She's tried to use quotes and paraphrase, but she's done it all wrong--and right now, her paper is a whole mess of plagiarism. As a group, you will have the following tasks:
1) You will need to fix the formatting of the in-text citations and uses of quotes in her paper. This means you will have to make sure that things such as block formatting, ellipses and brackets are used appropriately, in addition to making sure the parenthetical citation is correct.
2) You will need to develop a works cited page for the document. Using the AWH as a guide, you'll need to make sure that all entries contain the proper information, and are in the proper format.
3) BUT to form this works cited page, you'll have to locate the materials...you'll have to determine which quote came from which original source. There will be several to choose from, and you'll have to look at clues in the student's paper and perhaps even use some google-fu to match the quotes to their original sources.
Once you've completed all of these tasks, you'll send the document to me. I'll check it over, and either accept it, or reject it due to errors. The first team to submit a perfect document wins.
This project will likely take up plenty of class time, so I do not plan on discussing the reading from TSIS in class tomorrow. If you have any questions about that reading assignment, please ask them at the start of class.
See you all tomorrow!
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
The New Deal
So, I've been doing a lot of thinking about our class today, and trying to figure out a way to make the distribution of information more streamlined outside of class, and a way to make our lectures run more smoothly and effectively as well. Due to falling behind schedule a few weeks ago, I've been trying to cram more than I wanted into lessons in order to catch up, which has led to lessons that I find unsatisfying, overall. In an attempt to make our time in the classroom more effective, I'm going to try to add more structure to our class time. To do this, I'm going to do the following things:
1) I will post outlines of lesson plans on this blog for you to reference, made available no later than the evening before class. This way, you will have a general idea of what we'll (hope to) accomplish in class. We may not always get to everything on the lesson plan, but at least you'll know in advance what to expect. Of course, everything will be discussed in greater detail in class, but hopefully, this outline will help you 1) prepare properly for class 2) bring the proper materials to class and 3) have questions ready in advance, should you need clarification on a concept from the reading, lecture, or planned activities.
2)Sometimes, in preparation for future class activities, or in lieu of an in-class activity we didn't get to, I'll assign homework assignments in class. I will write these assignments on the board in the last 3 minutes of scheduled class time. In order to both assure that you receive these assignments, and as a measure of respect towards me, no students may start packing up their belongings until I have either written the homework on the board, OR announced that there is no special homework assignment. And, additionally, as a way of respecting your needs and schedules, students are allowed to remind me when we have reached the final moments of class time, since I have a tendency to loose track of time.
3) As a way to ensure that we are all focused and on the same page at the end of class, in class activities and group work will be completed BEFORE the final 5 minutes of class. This is a modification on my current method of lecture-then-activity, which often ends with people finishing up at different times, and drifting out of the classroom without any formal conclusion of class. Sometimes we will sandwich activities between parts of a lecture, other times, we will start with an activity. Again, hopefully, through your access to the lesson plans, you'll know what to expect in advance, and be prepared to break into activities more quickly, and with a better understanding of the assigned tasks.
4) I will primarily use this blog to disseminate information to the class, rather than ELMS. Assignment sheets will be available through ELMS, and weblinks will be posted both on Elms and in this blog.
I appreciate any feedback or further suggestions from you all.
1) I will post outlines of lesson plans on this blog for you to reference, made available no later than the evening before class. This way, you will have a general idea of what we'll (hope to) accomplish in class. We may not always get to everything on the lesson plan, but at least you'll know in advance what to expect. Of course, everything will be discussed in greater detail in class, but hopefully, this outline will help you 1) prepare properly for class 2) bring the proper materials to class and 3) have questions ready in advance, should you need clarification on a concept from the reading, lecture, or planned activities.
2)Sometimes, in preparation for future class activities, or in lieu of an in-class activity we didn't get to, I'll assign homework assignments in class. I will write these assignments on the board in the last 3 minutes of scheduled class time. In order to both assure that you receive these assignments, and as a measure of respect towards me, no students may start packing up their belongings until I have either written the homework on the board, OR announced that there is no special homework assignment. And, additionally, as a way of respecting your needs and schedules, students are allowed to remind me when we have reached the final moments of class time, since I have a tendency to loose track of time.
3) As a way to ensure that we are all focused and on the same page at the end of class, in class activities and group work will be completed BEFORE the final 5 minutes of class. This is a modification on my current method of lecture-then-activity, which often ends with people finishing up at different times, and drifting out of the classroom without any formal conclusion of class. Sometimes we will sandwich activities between parts of a lecture, other times, we will start with an activity. Again, hopefully, through your access to the lesson plans, you'll know what to expect in advance, and be prepared to break into activities more quickly, and with a better understanding of the assigned tasks.
4) I will primarily use this blog to disseminate information to the class, rather than ELMS. Assignment sheets will be available through ELMS, and weblinks will be posted both on Elms and in this blog.
I appreciate any feedback or further suggestions from you all.
Monday, October 6, 2008
For my 101 0213 Section ONLY
For 101 section 0213, here are the videos for your assignment. Choose one for your analysis.
(There are many of these Geico commercials--you can choose the celebrity you wish: the pips, joan rivers (love that one especially), charro, movie announcer guy, etc)
The analysis must be posted by 11:59pm on Wednesday. Comments on another student's analysis are due the following night at the same time.
(There are many of these Geico commercials--you can choose the celebrity you wish: the pips, joan rivers (love that one especially), charro, movie announcer guy, etc)
The analysis must be posted by 11:59pm on Wednesday. Comments on another student's analysis are due the following night at the same time.
Thursday, October 2, 2008
Rhetorical Analysis Blog assignment POSTPONED
Hey all in my 101 0213 section, I'm changing the due dates on the official rhetorical analysis blog assignment and pushing it all back a week or so. With Library Day Wednesday and a guest speaker tomorrow, I'm not going to have a chance to go over the concepts with you in class, and I'd prefer to present the assignment to you in person before it's due (I mean, it only seems fair, right?). So breathe easy tonight and know that you don't have any formal homework due for tomorrow.
Also, our speaker tomorrow is coming from the FairVote organization. If you want to find out a bit about the organization, you can check out their website.
www.fairvote.org
As for those of you in my 101X section, I'm looking forward to your presentations tomorrow!
See you tomorrow!
Also, our speaker tomorrow is coming from the FairVote organization. If you want to find out a bit about the organization, you can check out their website.
www.fairvote.org
As for those of you in my 101X section, I'm looking forward to your presentations tomorrow!
See you tomorrow!
Sunday, September 28, 2008
Online now for paper help!
Hello all! Just a reminder that I am now online to answer any last minute paper-related questions. My aol screenname is nataliecorbin101, and I'm also using msn messenger (for the first time ever! woohoo!)--the email address I use for msn is the same as my umd email--ndcorbin@umd.edu.
I'll be online for live chatting for another hour, until 11pm.
I'll be online for live chatting for another hour, until 11pm.
Friday, September 19, 2008
R.I.P. Wally
Wally passed away this morning. I woke up at 7 and he was in poor shape. By 7:20, he was gone. I feel pretty terrible right now.
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Wallace Bivouski
My goldfish, Wallace Bivouski, is ill. I know this may sound absurd to many of you. How does one even tell if a goldfish is ill? And who cares?
But before I address those questions, a little background info on my fish. He's been my trusted companion for the past 6 years. Yes, six years. In fact, he's likely older than that, since I "adopted" him. My friends, Eric and Jenny, got into an argument over what his name should be--Wally or Biv, and so it was settled that he'd be named both, hence Wallace Bivouski. He's been there with me through many highs and lows in my life--the wild parties when I lived in a Co-op and we hosted punk concerts in our living room, the two weeks of all-nighters that I pulled trying to finish my Thesis during my senior year of undergrad, the isolation when I first arrived in both Germany and Maryland (when he was someone I could always count on to be a good listener...). All these years, he's sat atop my desk, gazing down at me. When I enter a room, he swims over to greet me. He "dances" when I play good music (he especially likes the musical stylings of Cee-Lo) and he adores eating fresh green peas as a special treat. He's my special little guy and the only pet I've been able to have in recent years, and he's done a great job at being a companion. Watching him swim around brings me peace. And now, he is ill, and it really troubles me.
He's come down with a case of fin rot, which is a bacterial infection that does pretty much exactly what it sounds like it does--rots the fish's fins. It starts at the tips, causing them to look crinkly and frayed. He's got red streaks going up his tail. He's clearly unhappy, as he won't eat, and just sits near the bottom of his bowl. He won't swim, let alone dance (not even to Cee-Lo's "I'll Be Around") and he doesn't even glance at a single pea.
Tomorrow, I'm off to the pet store to purchase aquarium salt and antibiotics, in hopes of clearing this up. I've caught it in the early stages, so hopefully it will clear up quickly, and he'll be back to his old self in no time. Wish me luck in playing fish doctor.
But before I address those questions, a little background info on my fish. He's been my trusted companion for the past 6 years. Yes, six years. In fact, he's likely older than that, since I "adopted" him. My friends, Eric and Jenny, got into an argument over what his name should be--Wally or Biv, and so it was settled that he'd be named both, hence Wallace Bivouski. He's been there with me through many highs and lows in my life--the wild parties when I lived in a Co-op and we hosted punk concerts in our living room, the two weeks of all-nighters that I pulled trying to finish my Thesis during my senior year of undergrad, the isolation when I first arrived in both Germany and Maryland (when he was someone I could always count on to be a good listener...). All these years, he's sat atop my desk, gazing down at me. When I enter a room, he swims over to greet me. He "dances" when I play good music (he especially likes the musical stylings of Cee-Lo) and he adores eating fresh green peas as a special treat. He's my special little guy and the only pet I've been able to have in recent years, and he's done a great job at being a companion. Watching him swim around brings me peace. And now, he is ill, and it really troubles me.
He's come down with a case of fin rot, which is a bacterial infection that does pretty much exactly what it sounds like it does--rots the fish's fins. It starts at the tips, causing them to look crinkly and frayed. He's got red streaks going up his tail. He's clearly unhappy, as he won't eat, and just sits near the bottom of his bowl. He won't swim, let alone dance (not even to Cee-Lo's "I'll Be Around") and he doesn't even glance at a single pea.
Tomorrow, I'm off to the pet store to purchase aquarium salt and antibiotics, in hopes of clearing this up. I've caught it in the early stages, so hopefully it will clear up quickly, and he'll be back to his old self in no time. Wish me luck in playing fish doctor.
Some useful info
A few students have mentioned that they were confused about the assignment due on Friday. Your rough draft is NOT due Friday. A draft of an audience analysis is due on Friday, and on Wednesday we'll be going over how to write an audience analysis in class.
Friday, September 12, 2008
Diamondback editorial
To my 0213 section: In case you didn't receive the email, here is a link to the diamondback article I mentioned in class. Please read it for Monday, and be prepared to discuss your reactions to the article with the rest of the class.
http://media.www.diamondbackonline.com/media/storage/paper873/news/2008/09/11/Opinion/Book-A.Force.That.Gives.The.Campus.Meaning-3424235.shtml
To my 2006 Section of 101X- Feel free to check out the article as well!
http://media.www.diamondbackonline.com/media/storage/paper873/news/2008/09/11/Opinion/Book-A.Force.That.Gives.The.Campus.Meaning-3424235.shtml
To my 2006 Section of 101X- Feel free to check out the article as well!
Thursday, September 11, 2008
I'm a sucker for adorableness...
A few months ago, a friend of mine brought this youtube clip to my attention. It stars Minipan, the guinea pig, doing tricks. It's beyond cute.
Now, if any of you have ever owned a guinea pig before, you know how impressive Minipan's tricks are. Guinea pigs aren't the easiest animals to train.
Anyhow, this youtube clip led me to the Blog www.bunnykitten.com where minipan's owner posts about cute and adorable things, such as puppies defying the laws of gravity, and baby hippos (oh my gosh, the baby hippos!). I highly recommend checking it out.
Now, if any of you have ever owned a guinea pig before, you know how impressive Minipan's tricks are. Guinea pigs aren't the easiest animals to train.
Anyhow, this youtube clip led me to the Blog www.bunnykitten.com where minipan's owner posts about cute and adorable things, such as puppies defying the laws of gravity, and baby hippos (oh my gosh, the baby hippos!). I highly recommend checking it out.
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
Blog Labels
I'm going to start tagging/labeling each blog post that I make. I'll place most blogs into the following categories:
Useful Information- Stuff I think you need to know, including clarification of things I said in class, general announcements, etc.
Assignments- Formal and informal assignments.
Prompts-Optional writing prompts to help inspire your blogging. Useful for when you have writers block. You only have to do these if you feel like it.
Cheap thrills and time wasters- things I find entertaining on the web, procrastination tools, etc.
Mundane- everything else, as well as my own personal updates.
More categories may eventually be added. Links to the categories can be found on the left-hand side of my blog. The benefit of having these labels, is that you can sort and filter by label; click on the link for "assignments" and it will filter my blog so that you only see my assignment posts.
Useful Information- Stuff I think you need to know, including clarification of things I said in class, general announcements, etc.
Assignments- Formal and informal assignments.
Prompts-Optional writing prompts to help inspire your blogging. Useful for when you have writers block. You only have to do these if you feel like it.
Cheap thrills and time wasters- things I find entertaining on the web, procrastination tools, etc.
Mundane- everything else, as well as my own personal updates.
More categories may eventually be added. Links to the categories can be found on the left-hand side of my blog. The benefit of having these labels, is that you can sort and filter by label; click on the link for "assignments" and it will filter my blog so that you only see my assignment posts.
FYI!
To my students in ENGL 101, section 0213. I sent out a test email, and asked that you respond to it. Please check your email and do this as soon as you can. Be sure to check your spam folder too!
Thanks!
Thanks!
Monday, September 8, 2008
Anyone know anything about wasps/hornets/black stinging insects...?
So, the screen in my bedroom window is broken, and doesn't fit the window frame tightly. These past few days, I've noticed what appears to be a colony of wasps just chillin between the screen and windowpane. They just hang out in groups of 5 or so. They come and go like they own the place. I'm assuming they've built a nest...somewhere. Maybe in the wall. They don't seem to be able to get inside--at least, I've not found any in my room. But does anyone have any past experience with this sort of thing? Should I be concerned? Or should I just sorta let them be? They're reddish-black, about an inch long, and have mean looking stingers. My google-fu tells me that they may be the relatively gentle giant black wasp, but they may also be a type of hornet, which could swarm violently at things like loud noises or vibrations (better put away the sub woofer, i guess...) What would you do in this situation? (I should add that I may be allergic to them. I've never been stung by...anything, so I don't really know. Yes, I've really made it this far in life without EVER being stung by a bee.) Any advice would be welcome.
Sunday, September 7, 2008
I thought I'd play along...
1. Introduce yourself briefly. Where are you from? Where have you gone to school? What educational plans brought you to the University of Maryland, and what fields of learning or potential majors interest you at this stage in your academic career?
My name is Natalie Corbin, and I grew up in Kalamazoo, Michigan. I attended Kalamazoo Public Schools for kindergarten through high school, graduating from Loy Norrix High School...awhile ago. I attended Albion College, a small liberal arts school in Albion, MI, for undergrad, and had a double major in English and German (although, I did start out as a Biology major--o! how things can change!). While an undergrad, I also studied abroad at Universitaet Heidelberg, in Heidelberg, Germany. Upon graduating from Albion College, I received a Fulbright fellowship to return to Germany for a year to study at the University of Potsdam and teach English at the Friedrich-Wilhelm-von-Steuben Gesamtschule, where I taught 7th through 13th grade English. Upon returning to the U.S.A, I decided I wanted to pursue a masters degree. Now, I'm currently in my 2nd year of the Masters of Fine Arts program at UMD, with a focus in poetry. Next up, I plan to get my PhD...I'm going to basically be a student forever. My specific academic interests at this point are the American Sideshow and post-colonial/20th century literature, as well as Cold War era lit/everything. The further you go along in academia, the more specific (and generally trivial, though I prefer the word nuanced) your interests seem to become.
2. What kinds of writing have you done in high school? At UMD? At another college? Outside of a school setting?
Wow...ok. Lets go back in time here. High school is when I first became interested in poetry, and I wrote a lot of terrible emo poems back then. At Albion, I had a concentration in Creative Writing, and my undergraduate thesis was a collection of poems centered around the circus and themes of "otherness" (sounds fancy, right?). Additionally at Albion, I wrote many a research and term paper. My favorite writing project was a transcription of a 16th century religious tract, where I transcribed the poem into standard, modern English. Since the tract hadn't been transcribed before, I was able to publish my work and research my senior year, which...felt pretty good and important at the time. I'm still pretty proud of that work.
3. What steps do you usually follow when you write a paper? Do you outline? Revise? Compose on a word processor? What part of the writing process do you find easiest? What part do you find hardest?
I always start with a hand-written outline. Then, I flesh out the ideas in my outline on the computer, just typing as much as I can. Then, I look over what I've written and cut somethings, move other things around, etc. I do a lot of revision. Sometimes, just getting my ideas typed is the hardest part--in fact, I hate writing introductions. I think they're really difficult to do--especially if you aren't sure how your whole paper will look yet. I almost always write the introduction last for this reason.
4. What kind of writing has given you the most satisfaction?
Clearly, poetry. And blogging, too. I like just babbling on in cyberspace.
5. What is the longest or most challenging paper you have ever had to write? How did you go about preparing and writing it? What did you learn about writing from that experience?
Well, my undergraduate thesis was 30 pages--but 20 of those pages were poems. I've written a handful of 20 page papers at this point in my academic career. I feel like to keep going on those long papers, I need a really solid outline. Also, my trick is to type my papers single spaced, and then double space them when I run out of things to write--it usually surprises me how much I've written without realizing it.
6. What do you remember learning about writing from other courses or other writing experiences that you found useful?
My senior year as an undergraduate, I took a Literary Theory course with a very, very tough professor. I stayed up all night working on a paper, and then emailed it to her without my name on it, or properly formatting my works cited. She failed me on that paper. So...I learned (the very hard way) to always proofread and properly format my papers, no matter how tired I was. If you want to be taken seriously in the writing world, good editing and presentation is everything.
7. Assess your strengths and weaknesses as a writer. What are you good at? What aspects of your writing are you dissatisfied with?
I'd like to think I'm a decent poet. I was never really great at writing research papers when I was younger, but with practice, I've become at least comfortable with it. I'm absolutely terrible at writing formal letters/applications/etc. Writing the essays for my college applications, both for undergrad and grad school, was incredibly difficult for me. I always feel terribly cheesy and unoriginal when I have to write a cover letter or application.
8. What part of the writing process do you think you will need the most support with?
Since I'm the support, I'm going to skip this question...
9. If you had your choice of subjects for a research project, what issues or topics would you like to write about?
This semester, I'm planning on doing a project on the web comic "Achewood" for my seminar in Folklore. I'm also doing a lot of WW2-based research for my Graduate thesis, which centers around my Grandfather's experience as a prisoner of war in Germany.
10. What do you associate with the term argument? How do you feel about taking a course that focuses on argumentation?
You all are going to hear my talk about argument enough in class.
My name is Natalie Corbin, and I grew up in Kalamazoo, Michigan. I attended Kalamazoo Public Schools for kindergarten through high school, graduating from Loy Norrix High School...awhile ago. I attended Albion College, a small liberal arts school in Albion, MI, for undergrad, and had a double major in English and German (although, I did start out as a Biology major--o! how things can change!). While an undergrad, I also studied abroad at Universitaet Heidelberg, in Heidelberg, Germany. Upon graduating from Albion College, I received a Fulbright fellowship to return to Germany for a year to study at the University of Potsdam and teach English at the Friedrich-Wilhelm-von-Steuben Gesamtschule, where I taught 7th through 13th grade English. Upon returning to the U.S.A, I decided I wanted to pursue a masters degree. Now, I'm currently in my 2nd year of the Masters of Fine Arts program at UMD, with a focus in poetry. Next up, I plan to get my PhD...I'm going to basically be a student forever. My specific academic interests at this point are the American Sideshow and post-colonial/20th century literature, as well as Cold War era lit/everything. The further you go along in academia, the more specific (and generally trivial, though I prefer the word nuanced) your interests seem to become.
2. What kinds of writing have you done in high school? At UMD? At another college? Outside of a school setting?
Wow...ok. Lets go back in time here. High school is when I first became interested in poetry, and I wrote a lot of terrible emo poems back then. At Albion, I had a concentration in Creative Writing, and my undergraduate thesis was a collection of poems centered around the circus and themes of "otherness" (sounds fancy, right?). Additionally at Albion, I wrote many a research and term paper. My favorite writing project was a transcription of a 16th century religious tract, where I transcribed the poem into standard, modern English. Since the tract hadn't been transcribed before, I was able to publish my work and research my senior year, which...felt pretty good and important at the time. I'm still pretty proud of that work.
3. What steps do you usually follow when you write a paper? Do you outline? Revise? Compose on a word processor? What part of the writing process do you find easiest? What part do you find hardest?
I always start with a hand-written outline. Then, I flesh out the ideas in my outline on the computer, just typing as much as I can. Then, I look over what I've written and cut somethings, move other things around, etc. I do a lot of revision. Sometimes, just getting my ideas typed is the hardest part--in fact, I hate writing introductions. I think they're really difficult to do--especially if you aren't sure how your whole paper will look yet. I almost always write the introduction last for this reason.
4. What kind of writing has given you the most satisfaction?
Clearly, poetry. And blogging, too. I like just babbling on in cyberspace.
5. What is the longest or most challenging paper you have ever had to write? How did you go about preparing and writing it? What did you learn about writing from that experience?
Well, my undergraduate thesis was 30 pages--but 20 of those pages were poems. I've written a handful of 20 page papers at this point in my academic career. I feel like to keep going on those long papers, I need a really solid outline. Also, my trick is to type my papers single spaced, and then double space them when I run out of things to write--it usually surprises me how much I've written without realizing it.
6. What do you remember learning about writing from other courses or other writing experiences that you found useful?
My senior year as an undergraduate, I took a Literary Theory course with a very, very tough professor. I stayed up all night working on a paper, and then emailed it to her without my name on it, or properly formatting my works cited. She failed me on that paper. So...I learned (the very hard way) to always proofread and properly format my papers, no matter how tired I was. If you want to be taken seriously in the writing world, good editing and presentation is everything.
7. Assess your strengths and weaknesses as a writer. What are you good at? What aspects of your writing are you dissatisfied with?
I'd like to think I'm a decent poet. I was never really great at writing research papers when I was younger, but with practice, I've become at least comfortable with it. I'm absolutely terrible at writing formal letters/applications/etc. Writing the essays for my college applications, both for undergrad and grad school, was incredibly difficult for me. I always feel terribly cheesy and unoriginal when I have to write a cover letter or application.
8. What part of the writing process do you think you will need the most support with?
Since I'm the support, I'm going to skip this question...
9. If you had your choice of subjects for a research project, what issues or topics would you like to write about?
This semester, I'm planning on doing a project on the web comic "Achewood" for my seminar in Folklore. I'm also doing a lot of WW2-based research for my Graduate thesis, which centers around my Grandfather's experience as a prisoner of war in Germany.
10. What do you associate with the term argument? How do you feel about taking a course that focuses on argumentation?
You all are going to hear my talk about argument enough in class.
"Will Ms. Corbin count out word length?" The Poll.
Dan has posted a nice poll to his blog, asking you all to vote as to whether you think I'll count the words in your posts. Not to steal the fun of his poll, but I'll answer that question flat out, right now. No. No, I will not be spending my evenings counting the words in your blog posts. I don't need to. Why? Because I can tell if your posts are long enough just by looking at them. I'm THAT GOOD. Really.
But in all seriousness, I gave the word count as a loose guideline, or suggestion. 250 words is the length of two healthy paragraphs. It's not a lot of writing. If you seem to be close, you're clear. And, as I said, if you'd rather do shorter daily posts, that's fine too. The point I wanted to make with the word count suggestion was that I don't want people to misunderstand my expectations, and think that 3 one-sentence posts per week is ok for a "B"
Anyhow, sorry to skew Dan's poll results, but now you all know. Also, I'm enjoying reading through your blogs at this point, and you'll notice that on the left hand side of this blog, I've provided links to everyones' blogs. I recommend you all do this too. The option can be found under the Layout settings. I'll try to get around to posting a "how to" later this evening, but I encourage you all to poke around the site and see what settings and applications there are--feel free to format your blog however you'd like. My own webskills are relatively weak, so any tweaks you all make will probably put my blog to shame.
Hope everyone's having a great Sunday!
p.s. for the record, this post is 300 words long.
But in all seriousness, I gave the word count as a loose guideline, or suggestion. 250 words is the length of two healthy paragraphs. It's not a lot of writing. If you seem to be close, you're clear. And, as I said, if you'd rather do shorter daily posts, that's fine too. The point I wanted to make with the word count suggestion was that I don't want people to misunderstand my expectations, and think that 3 one-sentence posts per week is ok for a "B"
Anyhow, sorry to skew Dan's poll results, but now you all know. Also, I'm enjoying reading through your blogs at this point, and you'll notice that on the left hand side of this blog, I've provided links to everyones' blogs. I recommend you all do this too. The option can be found under the Layout settings. I'll try to get around to posting a "how to" later this evening, but I encourage you all to poke around the site and see what settings and applications there are--feel free to format your blog however you'd like. My own webskills are relatively weak, so any tweaks you all make will probably put my blog to shame.
Hope everyone's having a great Sunday!
p.s. for the record, this post is 300 words long.
Thursday, September 4, 2008
Your First Blog Assignment!
Dearest Students. Upon creating your blogs, please complete this survey/self-assessment as your first blog assignment. Please copy the survey, complete it, and post it to your blog by 11:59 PM Sunday, September 7th.
Best!
Natalie
Writing Autobiography and Self-Assessment
INSTRUCTIONS: Please share a little about yourself as a writer. Use the questions below as “invention” questions to stimulate your thinking, and post the answers to your blog. Write in complete sentences, using as many specific details as you can recall. At the same time, write quickly, without interrupting yourself to revise. This assignment calls for an informal, personal response, so it will not be graded for grammatical correctness. However, note that you may be sharing this information with the public through your blog, so it does need to be readable and not overly personal.
1. Introduce yourself briefly. Where are you from? Where have you gone to school? What educational plans brought you to the University of Maryland, and what fields of learning or potential majors interest you at this stage in your academic career?
2. What kinds of writing have you done in high school? At UMD? At another college? Outside of a school setting?
3. What steps do you usually follow when you write a paper? Do you outline? Revise? Compose on a word processor? What part of the writing process do you find easiest? What part do you find hardest?
4. What kind of writing has given you the most satisfaction?
5. What is the longest or most challenging paper you have ever had to write? How did you go about preparing and writing it? What did you learn about writing from that experience?
6. What do you remember learning about writing from other courses or other writing experiences that you found useful?
7. Assess your strengths and weaknesses as a writer. What are you good at? What aspects of your writing are you dissatisfied with?
8. What part of the writing process do you think you will need the most support with?
9. If you had your choice of subjects for a research project, what issues or topics would you like to write about?
10. What do you associate with the term argument? How do you feel about taking a course that focuses on argumentation?
Best!
Natalie
Writing Autobiography and Self-Assessment
INSTRUCTIONS: Please share a little about yourself as a writer. Use the questions below as “invention” questions to stimulate your thinking, and post the answers to your blog. Write in complete sentences, using as many specific details as you can recall. At the same time, write quickly, without interrupting yourself to revise. This assignment calls for an informal, personal response, so it will not be graded for grammatical correctness. However, note that you may be sharing this information with the public through your blog, so it does need to be readable and not overly personal.
1. Introduce yourself briefly. Where are you from? Where have you gone to school? What educational plans brought you to the University of Maryland, and what fields of learning or potential majors interest you at this stage in your academic career?
2. What kinds of writing have you done in high school? At UMD? At another college? Outside of a school setting?
3. What steps do you usually follow when you write a paper? Do you outline? Revise? Compose on a word processor? What part of the writing process do you find easiest? What part do you find hardest?
4. What kind of writing has given you the most satisfaction?
5. What is the longest or most challenging paper you have ever had to write? How did you go about preparing and writing it? What did you learn about writing from that experience?
6. What do you remember learning about writing from other courses or other writing experiences that you found useful?
7. Assess your strengths and weaknesses as a writer. What are you good at? What aspects of your writing are you dissatisfied with?
8. What part of the writing process do you think you will need the most support with?
9. If you had your choice of subjects for a research project, what issues or topics would you like to write about?
10. What do you associate with the term argument? How do you feel about taking a course that focuses on argumentation?
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Welcome!
Hello, hello! Welcome to my blog for English 101 at the University of Maryland. If you are one of my students, please link this blog to your own blog, since I will be using this blog to post prompts, assignments, and other useful information. I'll also throw some fun stuff in here, from time to time.
Let the blogging commence!
Let the blogging commence!
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