Digital Peer/Reader Review Sesh for WP#2

Folks,

Don't forget: this Monday, May 4th, we're meeting in SMSS 1304 for our Peer/Reader Review on WP#2.  We'll also be meeting in this computer lab on May 27th, June 1st, and June 3rd.

Why are we meeting there?  Glad you asked!  I'm a big fan of Google Doc-style collaborations -- I like how they allow users to (1) give/get instantaneous feedback, (2) use the "Insert Comments" feature, which can tie comments to specific pieces of text (words/phrases/sentences) and (3) provide more detailed feedback with the allotted time -- most folks, in my experiences, can type a hell of a lot faster than write "long hand."

I've been wanting to experimenting with using a Google Docs for Peer/Reader Review workshop, and this is the perfect chance.  Let's get super funky and use tech to help us communicate with each other more efficiently and, hopefully, effectively.   (PS: this won't be all digital; I'm going to leave 10-15 minutes for each group to chat at the end of class.)

To prepare for this Peer/Reader Review sesh, I need you to do a small amount of extra work ahead of time.  In addition to uploading your paper to Gauchospace, I need you to "turn" your paper into a Google Doc, make it editable (so that your classmates can provide feedback), and then share that link so your group members can access it.  Here are more details on each of those steps.

• To make your paper a Google Doc, you can do it in one of two ways. 

• Way #1: Upload your paper to Google Drive then convert it to a Google Doc.  You can do this by selecting "New" (look: upper-left), "File upload," and then once your MS Word doc successfully uploads, you can right click it and choose "Open With --> Google Docs."

• Way #2: Open up your paper (in the MS Word file) just like you were going to edit something in it, and then copy/paste it into a Google Doc.  

• To enable the commenting function on your Google Doc, click the blue "SHARE" icon inside your Google Doc.  Make sure that "Can Edit" is activated (instead of "Can View").  "Can Comment" will work OK too.

• Once you've done that, get the link!  (Your Google Doc is, essentially, its own little website.  Pretty cool, huh?)  As a double safeguard, I want you to post this link in two places: (1) this Google Doc link and (2) on your blog too, just to be safe.

I have high hopes for this, and I'm genuinely juiced up.  If/when all goes well, I think you'll find it more engaging, worthwhile, and effective than the "old school" Peer/Reader Review method.

I'll leave it at that for now.  I'll give an in-class demonstration on this too, so stay tuned.

Z

WP#2 - Draft - Testing, Testing

Writing 2rs,

Don't worry about this post.  I'm testing some stuff out...

WP#2 - Draft on Google Docs

"Moves!"

I.  Can't.  Wait.  To.  Teach.  This.  Lesson.
#omfg
#truestory

Whether you realized it or not -- and whether I, the writer, realized it or not -- I made some "moves" right there.  I tapped into my pop culture resources and used some informal conventions of the modern "millenial" generation to (1) reach you, my target audience, by writing a somewhat unusual teacher-to-student "hook" in the beginning (2) let you know that I'm honestly juiced up to teach this lesson... perhaps my enthusiasm for this will be contagious, and (3) let my hair down for a change.

Some other moves I made right there?

• put the key buzzword in boldface for added emphasis
• #'d that list so you realized that there were only a few things you had to get through
• #'d that list so that my punctuation (commas) would come across more clearly -- the #s allowed me to separate each "thing" without using commas.  By using #s, I can save my commas within each item/thing so you (probably) wouldn't confuse them as an additional unit/thing
• used the "rule of 3" (a cheap trick that most readers seem to enjoy)
• finished the list with a joke.  If I started that list with my "long hair joke," would it have been as effective?  Probably not -- punchlines usually work best at the end.

OK, so Writing Project #2 is coming up, which requires you to analyze and evaluate what's gained/lost between scholarly and non-academic texts.  To most effectively do this, I'd like you to consider each writer's moves -- what they're doing, how they're doing it, and whether you believe that it was effective.

By studying this, my hope is that you'll be able to detect writers' moves more clearly and, in doing so, consider adapting what you find to be effective.  Think of this as a way to open up your tool kit.

Ever hear of two musicians "jamming out"?  Well, this is essentially what you're doing as a (good) reader.  You're listening to what the writer/musician is trying to communicate, and if you like what they've done, feel free to "borrow that lick."  (But remember: if you're borrowing their ideas/research, you need to attribute that work to them in a citation!)

Blah blah blah.  Here are some videos that can help us start thinking about "moves."

#thisissocool

Genre Analysis of the "Rhetorical Situation"

Here's a great video that Dr. Mary Silva (a UCBS graduate from Education: Language, Literacy, and Composition Studies -- like I'll hopefully be sometime within the next 30 years...) put together.  I love it, and I hope you will too.

Side note: do you already feel like you're getting "hit over the head" with genre in this course?  Well, get used to it, my friends!  To become better writers, we've got to become better thinkers.  Thinking about the tenets of rhetoric -- audience, purpose, context -- as well as the different genres (and thus, conventions) in which they exist will help us do that.  Trust me, in Writing 2 we're shooting for your long-term writing development, and this approach is going to help you get there.

"In Defense of Rhetoric" Video

As we continue to build our genre awareness, it's important that we get a firm hold on the term "rhetoric."  Rhetoric goes hand-in-hand with genres, their conventions, and how writers choose to communicate their messages.

Horror Movies: More Practice with Genre and Conventions

Scenario: all of a sudden, you're sitting in the middle of a movie theater, watching a horror movie.  How do you know you're watching a horror movie?  What features/things about this movie make it a horror movie?

 After you jot down your predictions, let's put our hypotheses to the test!

The Shining

Psycho