Understanding Lesson 19, and an Extra Credit Pledge

Dear Class,

Some of the directions on the Lesson 19 page are confusing. Please allow me to explain a few things to help you out:

 

During Lesson 19, you will:

1. Read the Lesson 19 directions and submission page.
2. Check out the Orwell vs. Huxley sheet.
3. Review my Synthesis PowerPoint from Lesson 6 Notes from Sister Bowen / Q&A, if you haven't already gone through it.
4. Read the Synthesis Assignment sheet (found in the Required Papers folder)
5. Select two articles from among all the articles we have read for class to use in your synthesis paper. The only requirement is that you do not select the article you wrote about in your analysis essay as one of the two articles. Any other articles we have read for class are fair game.
6. Once you have selected the two articles you will write about in your synthesis essay, you will begin drafting your synthesis essay. You should write summaries for both articles. (If you already wrote a summary for one or both of the articles for previous lessons, these summaries can serve as drafts.) Just make sure that you follow summary conventions (introducing the author, author credentials, title, and main point of the essay in the first sentence and maintaining third person voice throughout your summaries, keeping your summaries short--each under 250 words).
7. After summarizing the two texts, you are asked to analyze them. The Lesson 19 directions say you can look to the discussion boards about the various writings for inspiration. But you are told not to be as expansive in your analysis for the synthesis essay as you were in the analysis essay--you can focus on just one appeal in each text, if you like. You don't need to cover the logos, ethos, and pathos of both of your articles. Of course, provide source support from your texts to demonstrate your claims.
8. Then, you outline your synthesis points: you don't need to write this section in paragraph form yet. You can note similarities between the texts you are addressing, as well as differences. Contemplate your synthesis question: what are you hoping to answer in your synthesis essay? What do the texts say that relates to your question? What do the texts inspire you to do? What specific passages inspire you?
9. Post your very rough synthesis draft (including the summaries, analysis sections and synthesis points) in Synthesis Paper - Drafts.
10. Complete the mid-course evaluation.

I realize many of you may feel overwhelmed about the work you need to do in this lesson, but remember that you're getting a chance to show off your ability to summarize, analyze, and synthesize. You're using great skills!

 

Finally, I'm offering an extra credit opportunity that runs from today through next Saturday (so it will span 9 days). After A) reviewing your analysis essay score (using the rubric to understand the assessment); B) watching my video feedback on your essay; and C) reviewing your analysis essay one more time, with the feedback in mind; D) please write a pledge. In your pledge, please detail what you will do to make your next essay, the synthesis essay, as strong as it can be. What have you learned from the writing process so far in class, and what will you strengthen for this next essay? I cannot wait to read your pledge!

 

Just email your pledge to me before next Saturday night and I will award you 5 extra points on your Lesson 19 submission. These 5 points can make up for a missed assignment, or several points missed on previous assignments, or they can give you a little boost as we embark in a new unit in class.

 

I am growing from reading your work, and I look forward to seeing what you will write next! I plan to be done grading analysis essays by Saturday morning. Will you please email me if you have any questions or concerns, or post in the Q&A space? I really want to help you succeed.

 

Love,

Welcome to Week 6!

Dear Class,

Week 6 has started out with a bang for me. It is my 5-year-old's birthday, and a lot has happened: she woke up earlier than usual; we let her have friends over, and then took her to McDonald's to have a lunch date with her dad--she cried at McDonald's when two girls told her she couldn't play with them on the slide; my two-year-old had a tantrum in the library; my son got a "ticket" in school for mooning his friends (Where did he learn that?!); and I have quite a bit of schoolwork to wedge into nap times and bed times this week. Each of my children has cried during the past 4 hours--this really is an extraordinary day! Does anyone else have some crazy Monday or weekend stories? I'd love to hear them!

 

This week, as you'll know from reading my Notes from Sister Bowen / Q&A, will start off gently enough, but Lesson 19 will be brutal. Make sure you get started on your work today so you have enough time to get all the writing done in Lesson 19.

 

A final academic note: I have graded everything you have submitted other than your analysis essays, and I have offered feedback on everything. Some of you persist in using first person writing in your summaries, and others still inject personal commentaries into the summary text. I will keep docking points for stepping outside the bounds of good summary writing every time I catch it because I want you to become excellent writers who can modify writing to suit specific guidelines. To review excellent summary writing, go to my Lesson 4 Notes from Sister Bowen / Q&A and click on the attachment regarding summary writing.

 

I have been pondering what to share with you as I have reviewed the General Conference talks throughout the last several days. The quote that keeps coming back to me is "What e'er thou art, act well thy part." As we are all working and striving through our BYU-I experience, we need divine help to reach our potential.

 

When you signed up for this class, you essentially said, "Yes! I can do this! And I will do it as well as I can!" Good luck as you do your very best, and know that I am working hard right along with you, expecting your very best in every lesson. Enjoy this video about the "Whate'er thou art" stone and its meaning. I talk about it in the Notes from Sister Bowen / Q&A this week.

 

Love,

Sister Bowen

Are You Ready to Submit???

Dear Class,

Remember that you need to submit your final analysis essay by tomorrow (Saturday) night, before 11:59 pm. Directions regarding how to submit your essay can be found in Lesson 16. You will also post your Lesson 16 submission by Saturday night. So what can you do to make sure your essay is ready?

1) Pray for inspiration to know how to make your essay as strong as possible.

2) Be sure to read the Analysis paper guidelines

3) Review the rubric I emailed you at midweek, which shows how I will score your essay.

4) Run your essay through WriteClick.

5) Read your essay aloud.

6) If you still feel worried about your essay, let one more person read through it to identify any last minute fixes that need to be made.

I am proud of you, and of your hard work. I look forward to seeing what you wrote. I will grade your analysis essays by NEXT Saturday night.

Love,

Sister Bowen

Midweek Email Regarding Rubric and Sample Feedback

Dear Class,

 

I wanted to provide a few resources to help you:

1) I have attached the analysis rubric, with my notes in red serving as reminders in each category.

2) I have attached a student analysis with feedback on it. While some of you have provided detailed feedback in your peer reviews, other have only provided a few quick sentences and encouragement. Remember that it should take you about 25 minutes to provide meaningful feedback for your partner. It took 25 minutes for me to provide feedback on the sample essay.

Let me know if you have any questions. I am here to help, and I want you to succeed!

Love,

Sister Bowen

Week 5 Lesson Notes

Notes from Instructor - Week 5

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 Dear Class,

Here are somethings to keep in mind as you work throughout the week:

 

Lesson 14:

• A few of you have expressed confusion about the differences between the abstract, introduction, and conclusion. For some extra help distinguishing sections, please click on Purdue OWL's APA formatting website here. I use this website constantly, and it can help you differentiate the different parts of an essay formatted in APA.
• Your partner assignments are posted on your Analysis Paper - Revised discussion board.(Well, they will be before Monday morning. I won't assign partners until after the Saturday night deadline to post essay drafts.)
• Really do plan on spending at least 25 minutes evaluating your partner's paper. You are tasked with helping your partner make his/her paper as great as it can be, so be thorough.
• On the submission page, please be specific about your concerns. If you say "No concerns at this time," that is fine. But if you're really worried about your abstract and want me to take a look at it, just ask! I am happy to help you, especially when you want specific feedback.

Lesson 15:

• Remember that I will be in my virtual office at 2 pm MT on Wednesday, and I would love to help you in my office. Click here to join me. If you would like to set up a meeting at another time, please email me or post below in the Q&A board, and we can set up an alternate meeting time.
• Personally, I like to end one task and THEN move to the next. If you feel like your analysis paper is ready for submission, submit it now (directions regarding how to submit your essay are on the Lesson 16 main page). Then, you can spend time doing the rest of the work for this lesson in the Arguments text.

Lesson 16:

• I'm still deciding whether or not to put you in small groups for this D-board work. I like having you have access to all of your classmates' contributions, but I don't want you to feel like you have absolutely nothing to contribute if you are one of the last students to post. Any preferences--just post below in the Q&A. I'll decide by Monday night.

I love you and appreciate you. Keep working hard, and walking the talk!

Love,

Sister Bowen

Week 4 Lesson Notes

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Notes from Instructor - Week 4

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Dear Class,

You survived a very grueling Week 3 in our class! As you will remember, this class material is very new--only two sections of students--50 students and 1 teacher--have ever worked through this material before. It is exciting to complete all the readings and see your submissions and peer reviews--to see what we are being exposed to in this class, and see how we do with what we're being presented. This is a "true" college course, and it requires our time and attention.

I am including some documents here for your review, which will help you as you keep working to strengthen your Analysis essay. First, go here to view the student sample Analysis. Second, please review the Writing a Summary PowerPoint (attached below), and see how it helps you strengthen your own summary. Third, refer back to my Logos, Ethos, Pathos Presentation, which I posted in your discussion board last week (also attached below). Are you on track????

After working through those materials, let's proceed to the Week 4 work ahead:

Lesson 11:

Regarding the discussion board work: A few students have mentioned in their lesson submissions that they have a hard time providing 150 words of feedback--and their peers aren't providing that much feedback. Here's my response: don't sweat the 150 words--work to serve each peer, honoring the golden rule. What kind of feedback would help you the most? Offer, with love and care, the best kind of feedback you can give. If you want to set your watch timer for 5 minutes as you provide feedback--so you know you give your classmate your time--go for it. But the word count matters less than your effort to serve your brother or sister. When you are asked on the submission page whether you gave a 150 word response, say "Yes" if you read your peer's work carefully, and gave your classmate your time and care in a thoughtful response.

Here is a video I created showing you how to download and use WriteClick. It looks like a great tool!

Lesson 12:

The instructions in Lesson 12 invite you to go to your Arguments textbook and click on Handbook 5. When you click on our Arguments text, Handbook 5 is found in the folder called "5 Editing For Style." It's on pages 682-691.

The APA chapter mentioned in this lesson is found in the Arguments table of contents labelled "59 APA Documentation and Formatting".

Stand by for more help contacting the tutors through MyLab.

Lesson 13:

The editing checklist is thorough. I looked up widow line (a single line of a paragraph at the bottom of a page or column) and orphan line (same thing) (http://www.youthedesigner.com/2007/09/22/design-terms/). Also, remember to post your very best version of your draft in the Analysis--Revised discussion board. Whereas you were grouped alphabetically for previous lessons, you are now grouped round-robin to ensure that you are with a partner who has never before seen your work. Remember to post your draft as an attachment, and double check that your attachment opens easily.

That's all I have for now. I have never seen a college class that allows so much time--and requires so much attention to detail--to prepare an essay, and I am excited to see the resulting papers!

Love,

Sister Bowen

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Q&A

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Students may use this space to post questions or comments about things relevant to this week's lessons.

Week 3 Notes

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Notes from Sister Bowen - Week 3

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Dear Class,

Welcome to Week 3! Please read through all of my notes at the start of the week, and then jump back in for a refresher, if necessary, at the start of each lesson.

Regarding Lesson 8 (Logos):

•  Make sure to read "Love is a Fallacy" before viewing the Logical Fallacies PowerPoint. It's clever and funny, but it also grounds you in logical reasoning as well as any dry text book ever could. This version may be a bit more readable than the version in The Way of Wisdom.
• Also, power through your Lesson 5 reading in Arguments. I recommend reading it sitting up:).
• Examine the submission page when you begin Lesson 8, so there are no surprises. For example, you are graded on whether or not you read all the articles your group mates examined. Knowing expectations will help you complete this lesson well.

Regarding Lesson 9 (Ethos):

Here is an "Ethos" passage from our Arguments text that is music to my English ears: "Ethos is often conveyed. . . through the tone and style of the message, and even through the message's professional appearance on paper or screen, including correct grammar, flawless proofreading, and appropriate formats for citations and bibliography" (p. 60). When I read your work, I look to see how much care and preparation you put in. The grammar, proofreading, and formatting all show me how much you care about your work. Make sure all of your essays show your care.

Regarding Lesson 10 (Pathos):

The thesis statement material in the grammar section is a good starting point, but you could spend hours studying effective thesis statements. For more help regarding thesis statements, go to Student Resources>Writing>The Writing Process>Developing a Working Thesis. After you have spent more time researching and writing, you'll be ready to refine your thesis. For now, let it grow naturally out of the things you are learning. 

 

On to more general points:

You may have noticed that I did not grade materials as quickly during the last week. I was out of town from Wednesday until Sunday, on my very first trip to Disneyland and Sea World. But I am back now, and eager to catch up on grading. I hope to complete all grading by Wednesday of this week.

Love,

Sister Bowen</

Regarding Summary Writing, and My Office Hour

Dear Class, As I have graded Lesson 5 submissions, I have seen that many students did not write their summaries according to the guidelines in the Writing a Summary PowerPoint in Lesson 5. If you already submitted your Lesson 5 work and received a less than perfect score, you may email me a revised summary by Tuesday evening for more credit. You will need to become masterful at summarizing, so it is a great idea to perfect the craft now. Also, I am hosting my office hour tomorrow at 1 pm, MT, in my virtual office, rather than on Wednesday at 2, MT. This is because I will be in a car driving to California during my regular office hour! To come visit me and ask questions or share concerns, click here and you will be invited to click that you are a guest, type your full name, and click "Enter Room." I'll be there! I'm pleased with the good work you have done so far. I hope this class is stretching you and helping you grow. I'd love hear about it in the Q & A discussion board this week! Love, Sister Bowen