AF: Ready, Set...Commence Blogging

You will become a blogger this year. Writing for an authentic audience who has expectations of you is excellent practice for writers and thinkers.  You must be clear; you must discuss things that merit discussion; you must make sense. If you cannot write clearly, no one will really be able to respond to you.  When you cannot make yourself understood, you are effectively silenced, no longer a part of the ongoing conversation and exchange in the world of ideas.

“If thought corrupts language, then language can also corrupt thought.”  —George Orwell

The basic ground rules:

1. If you have not already, you will need to create a Google account.  It’s easy and free.  I suggest that you create an email address that is simple and professional; standard on most college campuses and in corporate settings is your first initial, followed by your last name: You must sign each post with your real name.
2. Absolutely, positively no flaming.  You may question one another, ask for clarification, admit that you don’t understand what somebody is talking about, add a point that you believe somebody has missed, but you must NOT attack people.  Challenge ideas, ask for clarity, but do not bash one another.  If I have to censor you for this, expect one warning; the second time, your access to the blog will be blocked and I’ll simply enter a zero for this part of the assignment.
3. Please do not waste our time or bandwidth with “Me too!” and “I agree with you!” responses.  Such posts are ANNOYING.  If you agree or disagree, EXPLAIN yourself.

Round 1: What’s Next?, Peter Elbow and the Personal Statement

You’ve received the texts for this unit.  Read and annotate them with thought and careful consideration.  You’ve also read your chapter of Peter Elbow’s Writing With Power.  These will be the primary sources for your discussion starters.

Basically Fine Performance

Write one post— that is, you have to originate a conversation. When you start a conversation, refer directly to which of the texts you are reading and the question you want to raise.  Give us enough information so we can orient ourselves and figure out what you are talking about.  Use your questions generated from the handout of texts and even make connections to outside sources (if you’re ambitious, use any part of Peter Elbow’s Writing With Power, too!) to start a conversation for the rest of the class to consider.

These conversation starters should be between 400-450 words long.  Anything shorter will not be effective.  

Respond to Two Classmates

You must respond to someone else’s conversation at two times.  You may also respond to a response.  Good conversations can become quite lengthy.  Your responses should also be complete thoughts, fully explained.  I don’t want to get all nit-picky on word counts; just don’t go overboard (rambling is never a good idea), and make sure you say enough to make a point.

I’d like to see you involved over a course of several days; all blog work posted in one day subverts the spirit of open discussion, so will receive half credit.  We have approximately three weeks left for this unit; don’t jam the work into one or two days. Good writing comes from a thoughtful place; poor writing is almost always superficial.

Let’s see a lively exchange of ideas!  If you are confused, go to your classmates for help.  If you see something on television, online or in the newspaper that relates to what we are working on, share it.  And watch for my posts — when I see something that I want to share with you, I go to the blog with it.

If you’re curious to see how a class blog looks, you can read an example from Ms. Fletcher’s AP English 11 summer homework blog from this year.  Familiarize yourself with how a blog works: Explore; orient yourself with the format and how to post; understand how the posts are catalogued; browse a few entries and the responses to those threads.  Keep in mind that not all student posts and responses met Ms. Fletcher’s expectations.

Feel free to email me with questions or problems; that’s what I’m here for.  I honestly don’t mind; however, I may redirect many of your questions back to the blog.