Last 3 Classes: Computer Labs

Writings 2rs,

First off: I was blown away with how thoughtful, creative, and at times, poetic your PB3As were.  Hat's off to you.  :)  Your PB3B responses to others' posts were equally thoughtful, helpful, encouraging, and useful.  I'm very, very happy with what you're doing right now.

OK, so on Monday, 3/2, we're meeting in our regular classroom for our Peer/Reader Review Workshop on your WP3 draft -- and that includes your self-analysis of the "moves" you made, so be sure to have that ready.  

For the next three classes after that, though, we're meeting in three different computer labs.  Here's where you need to go:

• Week 9: 
• Wednesday, 3/4 ~~~> SSMS 1304
• Week 10:
• Monday, 3/9 ~~~~~>  Phelps 1513
• Wednesday, 3/11 ~~~~~>  Phelps 1525  

During those three classes, we're going to be doing a lot of different work: 1-on-1 meetings to discuss your WP3 and any questions that you have, activities that address lower-order concerns, and metacognitive reflection exercises for your portfolios.  Bring any/all material that you can.  We're going to be revisiting the awesome work that you've done all quarter long.

Z

Artists' "Moves" and Framing Decisions

These videos can help us get at “rhetorical decisions” and “moves.”  They show artists describing their composing process—the artists lead us through their thoughts and their actions.  I want you to do the same thing in WP3 for your follow-up self-analysis, so while you watch these videos, I want you to consider:

• how do these artists describe what they’re doing?
• what things do the artists refer to while they describe their work?  what do they talk about?
• (in describing their moves, what have they brought into the conversation?  What else have they referenced?  Why?)

Bob Ross and His "Happy Trees"

4 (Disney) Artists Paint One Tree

"Moves!"

I.  Can't.  Wait.  To.  Teach.  This.  Lesson.
#omfg
#truestory

Whether you realized it or not -- and whether I, the writer, realized it or not -- I made some "moves" right there.  I tapped into my pop culture resources and used some informal conventions of the modern "millenial" generation to (1) reach you, my target audience, by writing a somewhat unusual teacher-to-student "hook" in the beginning (2) let you know that I'm honestly juiced up to teach this lesson... perhaps my enthusiasm for this will be contagious, and (3) let my hair down for a change.

Some other moves I made right there?

• put the key buzzword in boldface for added emphasis
• #'d that list so you realized that there were only a few things you had to get through
• #'d that list so that my punctuation (commas) would come across more clearly -- the #s allowed me to separate each "thing" without using commas.  By using #s, I can save my commas within each item/thing so you (probably) wouldn't confuse them as an additional unit/thing
• used the "rule of 3" (a cheap trick that most readers seem to enjoy)
• finished the list with a joke.  If I started that list with my "long hair joke," would it have been as effective?  Probably not -- punchlines usually work best at the end.

OK, so Writing Project #2 is coming up, which requires you to analyze and evaluate what's gained/lost between scholarly and non-academic texts.  To most effectively do this, I'd like you to consider each writer's moves -- what they're doing, how they're doing it, and whether you believe that it was effective.

By studying this, my hope is that you'll be able to detect writers' moves more clearly and, in doing so, consider adapting what you find to be effective.  Think of this as a way to open up your tool kit.

Ever hear of two musicians "jamming out"?  Well, this is essentially what you're doing as a (good) reader.  You're listening to what the writer/musician is trying to communicate, and if you like what they've done, feel free to "borrow that lick."  (But remember: if you're borrowing their ideas/research, you need to attribute that work to them in a citation!)

Blah blah blah.  Here are some videos that can help us start thinking about "moves."

#thisissocool

Recap of Library Session

I hope you found yesterday's library session useful.  I wanted to recap the important points/places from that meeting.

Here is the library homepage.  If/when you're logging on off-campus, make sure you click the "Login" tab in the upper-right hand corner and enter your UCSB ID/password.

Here is the individualized course site that Gary oh-so-kindly made for us.  I recommend using this while you're searching or articles you'd like to analyze for WP2.

Keep that one tip that Gary gave us in mind: put an * at the end of a word/phrase to make it a "wildcard." For instance, if you put in a search for COMMUNICAT*, it would turn up results for "communication," "communicated," and "communicating."  Does that matter?  Big-time!  Remember: computer search engines only search for the specific text that you search for.  In other words, most (all?) search engines don't know that "communication," "communicated," and "communicating" are all related forms of the same word.

Our beautiful library

"In Defense of Rhetoric" Video

As we continue to build our genre awareness, it's important that we get a firm hold on the term "rhetoric."  Rhetoric goes hand-in-hand with genres, their conventions, and how writers choose to communicate their messages.

Thinking About Genre Through Country Music

I wanted to post these videos to help you (re)consider the following questions which can, hopefully, help you to think about the relationship between genres and their conventions:

• what's the "glue" that binds these songs together? 
• what about them makes them fall into the “country music” category?
• at what points do they bend/blend into other genres (such as folk, blues, and bluegrass)?

"Your Cheating Heart"

Lyrics

"Coal Miner’s Daughter"

Lyrics

"Whiskey River"

Lyrics

"I Am a Man of Constant Sorrow"

Lyrics

Campus Map of Office Location: Gevirtz 2258

To eliminate any confusion: here's where my office is located.  I'm in Gevirtz 2258 (remember: that's not the same as Girvetz!).  I'll be here after our classes for an hour on both days, from 5 - 6 on Mondays and Wednesdays.

The name tag next to the door reads "Dr. Karen Lunsford" -- she's one of my advisors, so she's been kind enough to let me use her research office.  Also, sometimes the door doesn't stay open, so if it's closed, don't worry, I'll definitely be in there.  Give me a quick knock.

One last thing: please know that I'm more than happy to meet with you.  "Office hours" isn't my time; it's your time.  Swing by whenever you'd like for however long you'd like.

Sketch Animation Video of the Writing Process

I'm posting this video as part testing, testing, 1, 2, 3 and part I think you might dig this.  Throughout the quarter, I'll be adding a bunch of videos that tie in to various course concepts.  I hope that you'll find them useful.  :)