Course Recap for Monday, September 26

What Makes a Good Story Part II
We watched a clip from the movie Up! and discuss the reasons why the events of the clip made a good story.  According to our discussion, a good story should

• Show not tell
• Have good relatable characters and storylines/themes
• Always be interesting/never repetitive
• Appeal to emotions

We looked for examples of these attributes in the Engkent and Sedaris piece and then we looked for them in the sample literacy narratives (see Class links).  We talked about what each narrative did well and how each narrative could improve.

Homework

• Rough Draft of Literacy Narrative Due Wed, 9/28-Make sure it is a completed draft.

Potential Blog Post Topic

• One of the reasons that Engkent's mother chooses not to learn to speak English is because she does not find it necessary.  How necessary is it for Engkent's mother to learn English? What would be the benefits for her learning English? What might be the limitations for her learning English?

Course Recap for Wednesday, September 21

Defining Literacy: Exploring the Meanings of Different Words in Different Contexts
We talked about Elaine Richardson's piece "My Ill Literacy Narrative: Growing up Black, Po and A Girl in the Hood."  In this we saw how she redefined commonly used phrases, terms, and actions based on her experience growing up.  We explored how certain terms and phrases can mean different things to you depending upon your own subject position.  For instance, the ladies in the class talked about the phrase "Hey Baby" which many men see as an appropriate even flattering way of approaching a woman and how they find it offensive because of the sexual connotations it holds.  Richardson explored this theory even more explaining how there's a difference in the meaning of the phrase based on who's using it.  When an adult white male says this phrase to young black female it he is exerting his power as the dominant male in a patriarchal society and marking her as a sexual object.  All of this from two little words.

Afterwards we all wrote about instances when we experienced some form of miscommunication due to someone's lack of knowledge of the other person's subject position or their life experiences.  Again we looked at how factors such as where you're from, what you believe, how you grew up, or simply what you know can change the meanings of certain words and/or phrases.

How Can We Apply the Reading to Our Own Writing
We pointed out two things that we really liked about Richardson's piece that we would like to see in each other's writing:

• Focus:  Richardson's piece had a clear focus.  Every anecdote she included served the purpose of her narrative.  It stayed on track.
• Clarity:  Richardson always made sure that the reader understood exactly what she had learned from her different experiences.  She gave clear explanations for each of her of anecdotes.

The things we didn't like about her writing included the fact that she sometimes used generalizations and that her language sometimes alienated the reader.

Homework

• Where I'm From Narrative Due Thursday 9/21 by noon
• Blog Posts  Due Thursday 9/21 and Sunday 9/25 (I will no longer post reminders for blog posts.  A blog post is due every Thursday and Sunday by 4pm)
• Read "Why My Mother Can't Speak English" by Garry Engkent pgs 32-39 and "Me Talk Pretty One Day" by David Sedaris pgs 64-69 for Monday 9/26
• Literacy Narrative Rough Draft Due Wednesday 9/28 ( Make sure you at least start thinking about what you want to write about this weekend and where you may want to go with your narrative.)

Possible Blog Post Topics

• Compare your experience writing your Where I'm From poem and your Where I'm From narrative.  Was it easier for you to write in one genre than it was for the other.  What did you like about one genre versus the other? What did you learn from this experience?
• What were your own personal reactions to the reading for today.  You can talk about your initial feelings here.  How do you feel about the way Richardson created her own meaning for different phrases and experiences based on her race, gender, and class?  Have you had any similar experiences?  

Course Recap for Monday, September 19

Poem vs. Story
We discussed the differences between how the setting was described in "Where I'm From" by George Ella Lyons and Decoded by Jay-Z.  We talked about how the story was able to use more in-depth details and the purpose of the description of the setting was to help set up the events the story was going to describe.  Erica described a poem as a story condensed. I then gave you the task of transforming your poems into stories.  If Erica is correct than your stories should be expanded versions of your poems.

What Makes a Good Story
We all agreed that the vivid imagery of Decoded helped draw us in.  We also agreed that the story's universal themes of overcoming the odds to achieve goals, finding life's passion, and striving to be the best helped us relate to the story.  Anya commented that her lack of knowledge of the author's world drew her into the story and made her want to learn more.  From our discussion we can conclude that a vivid setting with lots of details, universal themes, and information on a world the reader may not know about all make good stories.

Literacy
I introduced you to Project 1:Literacy Narrative (see Class documents) and we discussed literacy and what makes a person illiterate.  We agreed that bad grammar, colloquialisms, lack of intelligence, bad spelling, lack of education, and sounding dumb were all signs of illiteracy in an academic setting.  However, we also acknowledged that there are situations where someone may display these attributes and still be considered literate such as text messaging and certain online situations.

The N-Word
We then talked about the N-word and whether or not we would feel comfortable using it when discussing upcoming texts that feature the word.  We all agreed that as long as the word is being used in context of the reading that we were okay with using it.

Homework

• Where I'm From Story (1 page double spaced 12 point font Times New Roman) Due Thurs, September 22 at noon
• Read "My Ill Literacy Narrative: Growing Up Black, Po and a Girl, in the Hood" by Elaine Richardson pgs 41-62 (Just skim pages 41-48) for Wed, September 21

Course Recap for Wednesday, September 14

Blogs
We created your blogs in class. You all wrote your first blog post where you briefly introduced yourself and then you learned how to add gadgets to your blog page.  You created a Favorite Links gadget where you listed the class blog and the blogs you found over the weekend.

Details, Details, Details
After we set up your blogs we took a look at the poem, "Where I'm From" by George Ella Lyons (see Class Documents on the right hand side).  We examined how she was able to tell us about her hometown by using very specific details that brought up different images and emotions.  We talked about how this use of language helps readers relate to the piece.

Afterward, you made a list of all the things that reminded you of home.  Then you took one of the more general things from your list and broke them down into more specific details.  For instance, I took Pizza Papalis and broke it down to "best pizza in the D," "high school hangout," "half days,"and "first date." By giving these specific details about Pizza Papalis, I was able to let the class know exactly what Pizza Papalis is and why it is important to me.

Homework

• Your first blog post will be a poem about where you're from.  It is due Sunday, September 18 at 4pm.
• Read p 1-17 of Decoded by Jay-Z.  See link on the right hand side of page.

Course Recap for Monday, September 12

Rhetorical Situations
We discussed in class rhetorical situations defining it as any moment you attempt to use language to communicate a message.  We discussed the various factors that help us decide how we will act in a given rhetorical situation.  These included:

• genre (kind of writing)
• audience
• purpose
• tone (attitude)
• voice (sound)
• context (outside influences, environment, time, place)
• media (print, electronic, spoken)
• design (look)

Afterwards we analyzed several common forms of writing that we perform in our daily lives such as text messages, Facebook comments, and notes to self.

Blog
I introduced you to our class blog and informed you that this would be the place to go if you missed class or needed a quick refresher on the last class' lesson.  All handouts and homework assignments will be posted on this blog along with a brief summary of each class. You were informed that you will also be keeping a blog this semester.  See the blog assignment sheet posted on the right hand side of the page.  Your first blog post is due Sunday, September 18.  You will be expected to write two blogs a week one due every Sunday and Thursday by 4.  You can also earn extra credit by responding to your classmates blog posts or by posting more than two blogs a week.  We ran out of time and was unable to set up your blogs.  This is probably how we will begin class today.  We voted on a title of the blog and even though "Blogging Western Style" was the winner, I made the executive decision to change it to the runner-up "3NGLI$H 1050."

This blog is specifically for our English class and our class explores different types writing including text speech which makes "3NGLI$H 1050" a fitting title.  We also have to take into consideration our potential audience.  For the most part we will probably be the only people who view the blog, but it is open to the public and if anyone outside of our class happens to view the blog we want them to be able to tell what they're getting into based on the title.  "Blogging Western Style" was too general.

Homework

• Purchase book and copy card (Due Wednesday 9/14)

Welcome to English 1050! + Course Recap for Wednesday September 7

Welcome to English 1050!
I am Micealaya (Mickey) Moses, your instructor.  Please take time to save this blog into your favorites/bookmarks folder as I will provide weekly updates, course recaps, and all course documents through this site. I am excited to work with all of you this semester! Please don't hesitate to contact me with any questions.  My e-mail is m5moses@wmich.edu.  I am also available for to meet with you an hour right after every class and by appointment.  In this class you will learn how to think like a writer, a skill you already possess in some capacity.  We will read and discuss various texts and you will hopefully leave this class with the ability to write in both academic and "real world" settings.


Course Syllabus and Course Expectations
We read through the syllabus in class and talked about the things you would have to do to succeed in this course. Please be sure to review the entire syllabus (posted on the right side of the blog) on your own, but here a few of the finer points, the things that are essential to your success in this class:

• Attendance and participation are extremely important. You are expected to be in class on-time on a regular basis and to participate in all class activities and discussions.
• Late work is highly discouraged.  Please get in the habit now of turning things in when they are due.
• I am here to help you but I can't do anything for you if I don't know something is wrong. Please do not hesitate to ask questions if you are confused.  Again I can meet with you during office hours or by appointment to discuss things you may be struggling with.  Also please inform me in a timely matter if you're going to miss class.
• Please be courteous.  Disruptive behavior is distracting and counterproductive to our class.

Writing Sample
After reading over the syllabus you all submitted a writing sample to me.   You wrote about your relationship with writing.  You talked about what you liked and didn't like about writing, what you hoped to learn in the class, and the last piece of writing you created.  We may refer to these in class Monday.



Homework

• Think of a title for our class blog. (Due Monday 9/12)
• Bring in the link to a blog that interests you. (Due Monday 9/12)
• Purchase the book and $5 Copy Card. (Due Wednesday 9/14)