Final R&C Class!

Dear Students, Here we are at the end of the semester. Time flies! We're going to watch and discuss a short animated film in the final class session, The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore by William Joyce. This animated film, made by a small studio in Lousiana, won many awards, including the prestigious Academy Award (a/k/a the "Oscar") for an animated short in 2011. A children's book and app were released a year later.

What is the "message" of this story? What does it have to say about the place of reading and writing in our culture? Do you agree? Why or why not?

Revising, Editing, Proofreading: What's the Difference

 

I often think that revision deals primarily with global issues within the piece of writing. It's not about sentences and words, but about essay structure, argument, and evidence. You might have a little bit of revision to complete before proofreading your essays for the final portfolio submission. However, most of you are going to want to be concerned with proofreading (which is sometimes called copyediting). Makes sure you have all the little things in order: sentence fragments and run-ons, grammar, spelling, punctuation, formatting, etc.

This blog post does a fairly good job of explaining the differences.

End of the Semester: Final Assignment(s)

 

Revision Portfolio: Due no later than Friday, December 10th at 11:59 pm. This assignment is worth 10 points.

Revise and edit these five pieces:

a)  "First short essay" (due Sep 9)

b) "The Last Leaf" & Genre (due Sep 23)

c) "Literary Analysis" Hughes or Gilman (Oct 21)

d) "The Future of Reading" MLA (due Nov 16)

e) "500 Words, Anything Goes (due Nov 23)

Rename your files as follows: 

yourlastname_last leaf.docx

Bring your laptops for the next two class periods. We'll be working in class on this. 

Questions?   csmith@dcad.edu

Language Unleashed, Unbridled, Free

This is a really straightforward assignment: Write anything (new) that you please. Make it something that you want to share with the class. This text should be around 500 words. If you need more words, go for it. If you're short of 450 words, keep writing. HAVE FUN. Tell jokes, be serious, speak the truth, get political, get apolitical. It's all your choice. We're going to share our writing with the entire class as a treat for our Thanksgiving class next Tuesday.  This assignment is worth ten points. Make sure you proofread carefully.  Questions? csmith@dcad.edu.

Upload to Populi no later than Tuesday, Nov 30, at 3:00 pm. 

New Cell Phone and Laptop Policy

 

No cell phones, no laptops.

For our remaining seven (!) classes, we're going to try something different. Patrick Winston is right. Cell phones and laptops from now until the end of the semester are prohibited in this class. This is the new default position. If we are doing some kind of exercise that requires your phone or computer, then I will let you know. 

If you break this rule and I see you on your phone or computer, then I'll ask you to leave the class and go to the Writers Studio for the remainder of the class. At the conclusion of class, around 4:35-4:45, meet me in my office to explain the situation. OK?

Thanks, Casey

PS: If there is some kind of dire emergency that requires you to use your phone or computer, please excuse yourself and do your business in the hall. Come back when you're finished. 

MLA Works Cited Page: Casey's Guide

 

Check out my brand-new guide for a no-tears MLA "Works Cited" page.

 This document can also be found on the "Files" tab on our Populi page.

Homework for Thursday, November 11: Finished, complete, and accurate MLA Works Cited Page

 For Thursday's class, upload your Works Cited page to Populi. It should have at least three citations. Send questions to csmith@dcad.edu