Writing Titles

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There are many ways to argue. The first place you begin to argue is in your title. Your title forecasts what you are writing about, your disposition toward the problematic questions raised by your topic, and more. 

Titles can be serious, playful, allusive, and provocative. Your content (what you have written) should help determine the nature of your title.

Some common ways of generating creative titles include:

1. Reference (allusion) a famous literary or popular text. (hint: If I read even ONE take on "To Be or Not to Be," i will literally die. This one has been done to death, so please avoid "To Smoke or Not to Smoke," "To Text or Not to Text," and so on). There are so many compelling cultural texts to play with in generating creative titles -- go beyond this familiar old take. Think about favorite novels, films, TV shows, series, etc. Can you play on the popular title "Breaking Bad"? or "Dancing With the Stars"? What's your thing? It's likely that by starting there, you will be able to create a title that gets at your vibe in the essay and is true to your vision.
2. Verbal Wordplay. Is there a pun or creative new spelling? Is there fusion term for your topic? (example: "bingewatching," "hypertasking," etc.)? Go there!
3. Use strategies from this list of helpful tips for generating creative titles. Play! Make it work to advance your argument and compel your readers!

Note: If you want to think about the value of titles, look at some of your favorite website's home pages. How effective are they at compelling you to enter and spend time there? Just LOOK at all the tricks they are using to get and keep you!! You might also look at this site, devoted to famous movie stills! So much visual rhetoric, working so hard! Shadows! Fonts! Layering! Dramatic poses!!

be creative. have fun.

Integrating Sources

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Many of you need to work on "set-up" or the "framing" of your source material, the stuff you are using to make and support your argument.

I have referred to this practice with several examples, since the beginning of the semester. I hope you have been taking notes and attempting to put my teaching into practice.

Now that we are nearing the conclusion of our time to work on the Rational Argument, I want to share a resource from Harvard University. This helpful guide should show you very clearly many of the practices I'm needing to see at play in your essay.

Please spend time reading this, reading the whole thing, slowly and carefully. It is a very detailed resource, with examples and explanatory bubbles (bubbles!) 

Take note of where you see places in your essay that could benefit from one or more of the kinds of advice at the Harvard document. Then, edit for that passage. 

In most cases, these edits will be about Integrating Sources, use of Signal Phrases (or "Attributive Tags"), Topic Sentences, and Citation. These are very important matters in terms of clear Documentation (honesty, integrity), and Syntax (the "flow" of your essay, readability).

Follow the link at the word "resource" in sentence 1 of paragraph 3 of this post. Or, look for the "Integrating Sources" link under "Resources" at this blog.

You can do it!!

common trends & helpful tips ...

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I wrote up a list of tips to help you. I created it based upon the fine work i've been seeing. Most of you are doing well, and these tips want simply to help you refine the work. Keep going!

slacktivism and ...

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Still struggling? Find a source that explores the meanings of slacktivism and argue from there. EXPLAIN through your strong, reliable sources. Try to connect to your particular interest, but even a simple argument that seeks to define the complexities of slacktivism may do. 

so much stuff on Google Scholar!

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In attempting to help one student think about valuable sources for his essay, I found a lot of great sources on Google Scholar. This reminds me, generally, to remind you to be sure that you DEFINE "SLACKTIVISM" ... or whatever your key terms may be (i.e., "social media"). Define by USING sources, not a dictionary. 

My Google Scholar search, for example, pointed me to this book (see left), which is sure to have some interesting claims and effective appeals. One great thing about some of the sources I found is that many pages are available for access, perhaps even enough to get a good sense of the work and to use it as a resource (in the event that you cannot find a full text of full pdf of the work).  

Be flexible! Be creative in your research! Don't give up! Don't wait for me to do it for you; YOU can do this!! 

Have fun ... 

don't forget pop culture references!!

Let's start an anonymous club, we can sit close in the dark.
Come round to mine, we can swap clothes and drink wine all night.
Turn your phone off friend, you're amongst friends and we don't need no interruptions.
Leave your shoes at the door, along with your troubles.

Let's start an anonymous club, I'll make us name badges with question marks.
Come round to mine, we can swap clothes and drink wine all night.
Turn your phone off friend, you"re amongst friends and we don"t need no interruptions.
Leave your shoes at the door, along with your troubles.

Thank you for cooking for me, I had a really nice evening, just you and me.

Jen insists that we buy organic vegetables
And I must admit that I was a little skeptical at first
A little pesticide can't hurt

Never having too much money, I get the cheap stuff at the supermarket
But they're all pumped up with the shit
A friend told me that they stick nicotine in the apples

If you can't see me, I can't see you
If you can't see me, I can't see you

Heading down the Highway Hume
Somewhere at the end of June
Taxidermied kangaroos are littered on the shoulders
A possum Jackson Pollack is painted on the tar
Sometimes I think a single sneeze could be the end of us
My hay-fever is turning up, just swerved into a passing truck
Big business overtaking
Without indicating
He passes on the right, been driving through the night
To bring us the best price

If you can't see me, I can't see you
If you can't see me, I can't see you

More people die on the road than they do in the ocean
Maybe we should mull over culling cars instead of sharks
Or just lock them up in parks where we can go and view them
There's a bypass over Holbrook now
Paid for with burgers no doubt
I've lost count of all the cows
There'll be no salad sandwiches
The law of averages says we'll stop in the next town
Where petrol price is down...
What do I know anyhow?

If you can't see me, I can't see you
If you can't see me, I can't see you
If you can't see me, I can't see you
If you can't see me, I can't see you

remember 2 collect files 4 multimodal work (like this!)

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please consider leaving a comment! 

Remember to begin collecting images, video, and audio ... and maybe storyboarding your Multimoda Microtheme. Here is a great clip one might use.

quote sammies!

rational argument samples!!

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yes, today! free samples! they've been there, lurking in the sidebars. but NOW!! you can take a moment to look over some of the sample rational arguments posted at the blog. 

oh sure, you can go with the VERY ROUTINE (kinda dull) option, but how about reading a sample from a former student of mine, the lovely Ashley Nelson, who has so graciously allowed us to review her work?!! 

@ right, you will find both an early and revised version of Ashley's essay. keep in mind that she was not in a themed course, so her topic has little to do with slacktivism (as your essay will!). it's just such a solid essay -- fun, interesting, full of Ashley's voice, and very balanced in its approach to explore the problem and look at a variety of perspectives. 

do yourself a favor! read the samples!! 

happy drafting, and happy halloween!!

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We are just beginning to work on the development of a Rational Argument (see prompt @ the course blog). Recall that I added the initial component of finding an image -- from your daily life, not necessarily downloaded) as a point of departure for your thinking. Wednesday, we did some work discussing how to evolve the image into a research question by using the structure of the Microtheme to get us thinking in a focused but generous way. Continue this work today.

Here is a Critical Reminder: Some of you shared very interesting pictures, but I was not in every case sure that they had to do with our course theme of "Slacktivism" and related questions about smartphones, digital technology, social media, and screen culture. You should change course if you are not on this path. 

I was hoping that your found image might "connect" you to some thinking about our digitally mediated lives. If not, get going (sans image) with a slacktivism related question. So many things to choose from!! Political uses of social media; cultural uprisings and response, charities and social causes, connectedness and/vs ambivalence that may be related to the speed and ease of changing focus from one minute to the next (so "thinking" about poverty, for example, is easily dispensed). Open your search with a big, fat Google search. USE Wikipedia! Just start finding ideas. Collect links to articles, images, videos, anything that seems relevant to your thinking. We can sort it out in our process.

For Monday, you should have your image, a rough version of a Microtheme that begins to get after your potential research question, and AT LEAST one article from a very highly reputable source (an academic journal article or book is the ideal, but a NYT story or book review could do, as could key information from websites that are specifically focused upon the issue -- think "Doctors Without Borders" website for info on the refugee crisis). You should be able to tell us the key info from your article by having prepared a basic summary of it before Monday's class. Bring a copy to hand in, along with the draft of your Microtheme.

Write a blog post that identifies the direction you are taking. Be as polished as you can be, adding references to your sources (as you find them -- so you might, for example, avoid "publishing" but simply saving as a "draft" until Monday).

Remember -- truly engaged research should follow your genuine interest in the spirit of inquiry, NOT as a hunt for everyone who agrees with your initial bias. Stay open to improvisation, play, worry, and discovery!

people in public space

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reminder: notes for doc submission

doc prep notes

Common Pointers for Revision (Doc Projects)

image by Allie Brosh (Hyperbole and a Half)

1. Be sure to use the documentary conventions discussed in class this week. That is, set up information shared from your film's chronology (timeline) with references to WHAT THE FILM DOES. More specifically, you might intro paragraphs with phrases such as "The next scene features" ... or "Animated recreation footage next reveals how Andy was 'jumped' while riding his bike across a steel bridge." Were you to use that last example, you might then go on to fill in details using present tense verbs to simply describe what the characters are doing in that scene. So, " ... across a steel bridge. Five young men appear to struggle to go through Andy's wallet, pull off his backpack, and generally rough him up." Or, "The next scene features voiceover describing Spurlock's interview with a school's cafeteria staff. Through voiceover accompanying footage from the cafeteria filled with students, Spurlock reports that many kids bring lunches but end up ordering fries."
2. Most drafts need MLA formatting attention. See the "MLA Map" and the "Purdue OWL on MLA" links for this template-driven information. You might also appreciate the "MLA Walk Thru" link, which literally walks you through setting up and formatting your MLA style paper.
3.  Avoid review/opinion and references to "we" or "viewers." Turn that into sentences that describe WHAT THE FILM DOES. The film's action (or rhetoric) is what your summary is chronicling.
4. Take your time to draft and revise ... take breathers. Give yourself space to get it right.
5. For your blog posts, be sure to focus simply on what this documentary work is teaching you and specifically what you have learned about summary writing. Refer to the "blog post" and "blog comments" guidelines infographics, linked just above the syllabus, @ right. (note, the author is Dr. Nathaniel Rivers of St. Louis University, and he has graciously allowed us to use his lovely images -- though take note that at least one colorful term appears).
6. You got this! 

let's think about this plan ...

posting a video

i am writing this text in the "Compose" field. i am setting up to tell you how to post a video. So, here goes:

1.) Find the video you want to share,
2.) Select the "share" option (often represented with this symbol "<").
3.) Copy the "Embed" code.
4.) Come to your post space, and switch to"HTML" field,'
5.) Paste in the code,
6.) Switch back to Compose mode to make changes to the layout (unless you are a code ninja, in which case, go for it).
7.). Publish!

Here is an example, offered lovingly by Alex:

The code looks like this: <iframe width="420" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Cft0pr7lIWA" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> ...

BUT WAIT. YOU ARE STILL IN THE COMPOSE FIELD. Go paste that text (code) into the HTML field, then pop back over to Compose to see how it looks and address layout. YOU CAN DO IT, and if you, we'll all be blessed (again, thank you, Alex!) with this:


Have fun. Write thoughtfully ... and consider adding an image or video to your post (see the BLOG ideas post, below).

i'll just leave this here ... have a good weekend!

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this is a test. a boring test. i am going to put an image here because this is so so boring without it.

Let's start simple ...

1.) Come to class.
2.) Write early; revise often.
3.) Don't cheat.
4.) Make something cool.

Sounds easy, right? We can make it work, but you must make that choice. I provide detailed information on how to make that choice via our schedule, our sequence of assignments, helpful resources, course documents, and ongoing activities. 

You should follow up reading this post by reading "the legal" (aka "syllabus"), @ right. Pay special attention to course policies. Read carefully, and if you think you can work within the structure of my course policies, stay. Alternatively, you might consider another section. If you decide to stay, begin to get familiar with how it works, mostly via this blog and through Blackboard (Bb) announcements.

What's This?

This is the course blog, a portal for assignments, tips, encouragement, community-building, and generally helpful resources. Because I can link everything here, you will not need to purchase a textbook for this course (you're welcome!). I will also use Bb only to coordinate class information (@announcements), but for the most part, this is the place. 

Your work will be featured at this blog. You will post reflective writing and drafts at a blog you will create that will be linked at a blogroll, @ right. We will create blogs in class, and you will be using your design skills and emerging design sensitivities as we compose. The idea is that we are sharing our thoughts and bringing them to a community for consideration. Most writers share in this way. Most knowledge evolves in this way, and it's not always pretty, so make an effort to be polite and respectful of your peers, supporting one another as you grow more skilled and confident. Write with care, in all venues. All writing is a kind of performance, public writing, especially so. With this in mind, I'd like to encourage you to avoid rants or attacks. Most of all, I want to use the course blog and your individual blogs to help each and every student to feel a part of our writing community.

Essential Concepts

The work of this course should be relatively easy for you because you already know a lot of what I am going to teach you. You know it from your life experience and immersion in literate culture(s), and this could mean that this knowledge is very general and maybe something you don't think about very conscientiously. We're going to bring it into the light for contemplation and practice. Essentially, I am going to reanimate three key concepts, about which you may already have some deep knowledge. They are:

1. Claims require evidence.
2. Meaning has context.
3. Writing is revision.

With the evolving skills you develop, you will develop productively flexible strategies for making wise rhetorical choices in staging and performing well. This class focuses particularly upon a range of skills routinely used by academic writers, but these skills apply in any rhetorical situation.

You need to be diligent about keeping up, do thoughtful work, and not allow yourself to be lazy about your writing. We will work in class, but you should count on doing at least 3 hours of writing outside of class, each week. The Lewis University Catalog suggests that "You are expected to do at least 2 hours outside of class for every hour in class," so as you can see, asking for 3 is generous and perhaps more realistic. Time it out carefully; break it up over time, always do thoughtful work. No problem.

Course Requirements
(w/ policies)

1. Attendance = mandatory. 5 absences allowed (for contingencies, not "freebies" + no explanation is required/desired; simply rejoin when you're ready, but keep up as best you can). 
2. If you miss class, contact a peer, check @announcements, or the calendar.
3. Attention (ideally, cell phones off).
4. Preparation (all homework, revised drafts ready @ start of each class period, readings completed, blog entries made, and so on).
5. Respectful participation (a general willingness to be present with the class, with your peers; demonstrate a clear understanding of the course structure and content).
6. Completion of each major Writing Project and homework assignment.
7. Passing grade of C- or better on each major Writing Project.
8. Observation of all course policies.

(image: http://www.learningtoloveyoumore.com/reports/63/rim_jieun.php)

"this is water" (David Foster Wallace)

for thinking about your revolutionary habits of mind ...

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You are going to be a blogger! So exciting, right?! Maybe you already have a blog, but do create a new one to use specifically as part of this class. Here's how:

1. Create a Gmail account separate from your Lewis gmail account (you are able to create more than one Gmail account). Go to Gmail.com, and sign up for a new one. Be sure to write down your new username and password. Please choose a username that is appropriate for a university course and one that is as close to your actual name as is possible.
2. To create your blog, you may do one of two things. You may choose from your apps (the icon looks like like a small grid @ the upper right of your Gmail page). Scroll until you see the icon for "Blogger," and choose it. You may go straight to Blogger.com to start.
3. Choose "create a blog," and 
4. Follow the tutorial. 
5. You can make all sorts of interesting design choices by selecting "Design" from the upper right of the main blog page. Or, you can begin designing by using the menus you will see at your "My Blogs" page (clicking the Blogger icon will take you directly there). 
6. Choose "Customize" to see all options. 
7. Choose wisely, and remember that good design depends upon *readability* ... a good amount of "white space" (clear space for legible text). Try to avoid the temptation to overcrowd your blog with images (though do choose one/some, something that reflects your disposition to the class, to writing). Also, choose fonts and colors carefully and in ways that will help your readers read your posts clearly. And provide captions for your images (creating hyperlink to source pages), or a "Works Cited" at the bottom of your posts.
8. Finally, send your new Gmail account address to kyburzbl@lewisu.edu, and also send your blog's URL (web address in the topmost address bar) to kyburzbl@lewisu.edu. Your blog's URL is not the same as your Google account's profile address. Set up your blog, maybe publish a test post, and hit "publish." Then, copy the web address (URL) and send to me. I will then add you to the blogroll. Voilà!

Now, how to locate your Blogger Blog's URL (web address):

1. Go to your Blogger Blog.
2. Go to "Dashboard."
3. Go to "Settings."
4. Go to "Publishing." There, you should find your blog's URL. If you have not specified one (if the field that says "Blogspot address" is blank), go ahead and give your blog a name. Choose wisely so that you emit a sense of self that seems appropriate for this course blog. That is, if you call it, "I Don't Want to Blog But My Dumb Teacher is Making Me Do This," ... well, ... that's ... do I need to say it? (hint: begins with "D").

Here, I share some blogging moves you will need to make :

1. Post thoughtful entries that reflect upon the work we are doing in class. For example,
2. Challenges you've encountered (overcome?!) with an assignment,
3. Questions about course content. Say, a discussion about a text we are exploring that begins by expressing points of interest, challenges to understanding, remaining questions that class discussion did not address.
4. Interesting findings from your viewing of the Documentary Project doc you screen (coming soon!). Eventually, you will post from your guided reflection for the Documentary Project (1 of the 6 questions listed in that assignment prompt), or maybe you'll generally update the class on the nature of the film (kinda like a review).
5. Technical questions.  Maybe you are facing obstacles regarding design choices for your blog. Perhaps you'd like to ask for feedback on the layout? colors? fonts? Check for readability? Maybe your title is questionable -- too snarky? too serious? Get some feedback!
6. Give feedback. Maybe you could set up a specific group of bloggers to form a supportive feedback circle. Or, you could choose randomly each week -- pic a blog and give thoughtful, detailed comments.
7. Post an image or video that has your curiosity. Write reflectively about the image/video -- what is it that is intriguing? problematic? pleasurable? funny? odd? 
8. Provide links to the original sources, and use this as practice for MLA formatting -- look it up at the Purdue OWL -- under "References," @ left -- and get some practice finding and citing different kinds of sources.

For your first blog post, 

1. You need to be sure to have your Blogger Blog set up, your URL sent to me, and 
2. You need to follow up by checking the Blogroll to see that you are listed (if not, contact me a.s.a.p.). 
3. Choose 2 of the 8 listed activities, listed directly above this list, and get to it!