Ideas for class outing

Writers:

Please post your ideas for a class outing here. Also, days of the week that work best for you will help us to schedule the outing.

We look forward to your ideas!

Best,

Ricco

Setting Up Your Acct

Writers,

Technical savvy is useful, though not a requirement as a student in the First Year Writing Seminar. During the first part of FWS, you will learn to blog if you do not already. I would like you to read this helpful FAQ from an application that we will use called WordPress. It outlines the basics of blogging.

After you have read the FAQ, I would like you to set up your own account on WordPress. This will allow you to post to our FWS class website.

Finally, post a few comments below to let us know you’re registered and ready to post to our class blog.

Best,

Ricco

Exercise: What do you really believe? Part I

What Do You Think?In the space in front of each belief statement, write an “A” if you agree or a “D” if you disagree.______ Life is fair.______ Words can hurt.______ Police are your friends.______ What goes around comes around.______ How you act in a crisis shows who you really are.______ Love conquers all.______ An eye for an eye…______ People learn from their mistakes.______ You can’t depend on anyone else; you can only depend on yourself.______ If you smile long enough, you become happy.______ Miracles do happen.______ There is one special person for everyone.______ Money can’t buy happiness.______ Killing is wrong.______ Doing what’s right means obeying the law.Get into a small group and discuss your responses. Find one belief that is common to all of your group members. Share one personal story aloud that supports the statement.

Exercise: A narrative without words

Dear Writers:

How do we define narrative? Can a film with only images and sounds create a story?

In this short documentary by Sinisa Kukic entitled “Pump,” I’d like you to identify some of the commonly accepted elements of narrative: character, scene, conflict, plot, etc.

Does the author’s finished product, their revised film, concern itself more with self-expression or viewer involvement? What are your thoughts on the finished film? Post your response below.

Ricco

Assignment: “This I Believe” essay

Writers,This writing assignment compliments the responses you wrote to “This I Believe.” I would like you to draft your own essay about your beliefs. You may wish to focus on a single moment in which your beliefs were tested or established, as many of the writers we have read. The tone of this assignment should be more formal than a regular blog post.Here are some helpful tips in drafting your personal beliefs. I will give you the deadline for this assignment in class.Best,Ricco

Response: “This I Believe”

Writers, Go to the website of “This I Believe,” a series of crisp, concise essays articulating the beliefs of writers across the country. Post a brief, 500 word response to one of the essays below. After you have posted your response, I would like you to read through your classmate’s choice of “This I Believe” essays and resposes. Post comments to at least two other posts.Some questions to get you thinking: What is the writer’s general tone? How does the diction add or detract from their overall message?You’ll also want to pay close attention to the tools that each writer has pulled from his or her Writer’s Toolbox. How many tools (e.g. narrative, persuasion, opinion, analogy, etc) can you identify?We look forward to your thoughts. Ricco

Response: Monson (inter)textual analysis

The first part of this assignment is to read Ander Monson’s interactive essay, “Index for X and the Origin of Fires“. Post a 800-1,000 word response below.In your response, you may wish to identify the various kinds of texts used: written, audio, visual, etc. How do these different texts interact or clash? Do you feel your experience is heightened or lessened because of the different media used? How would the text vary if simply a written text? If we read “Index for X…” as a narrative, how would you describe the overall story?

Assignment: YouTube textual analysis

Writers,First, I would like you to view the YouTube video below:Second, I would like you to read psychologist Sonja Baumer’s analysis of the YouTube video below. Post your questions, disagreements, and comments about Baumer’s analysis (NOT the video itself). We will discuss Baumer’s analysis during class.The final part of this assignment will be to write a textual analysis of a YouTube video. Though the choice of video is up to you, there are a few parameters:- the video should merit social commentary (remember: just because the video makes you laugh does not mean that it deserves your scholarly analysis)- the video can not be one that you, your friends, or family created- the video can not be profane or explicitLike Baumer’s essay, you should view the YouTube video as a text, providing description when necessary, comparing and contrasting with appropriate texts, and providing meaning for your reader.Your textual analysis should be no more than 1500 words. I will give you a deadline for the draft in class.Best,Ricco

Why a class blog?

Hello, writers!

This semester, each of you will contribute to a class blog for EN010.04 First Year Writing Seminar. Our blog is a community space for sharing drafts, ideas about writing, and linking web materials that relate to the writing process.

So log on and give it a crack! We’re curious to read what’s on your mind as a writer and student at Boston College.

Best,

Ricco