The Crime Scene Analysis is coming due. This project is fairly comprehensive, so I want to make sure everyone is aware of everything that needs to be taken care of.
First, make sure you evaluate your partner using the Partner Evaluation Form. This is a required part of the project, and you need to complete it before the upcoming holiday. It's not very long, so it shouldn't take more than 2-3 minutes to complete.
The Crime Scene Analysis Essay:
The point of the essay (as described on the back of the instruction sheet given to you and the assignment sheet) is to write an essay with a recommendation to the district attorney. The recommendation can be to arrest an individual and charge him/her with a particular crime, and then support the assertion with the evidence discovered and the forensic tests performed.
However, if you don't have evidence of someone who did it, you can make a recommendation that a certain person did not kill Catherine, and then provide the evidence and forensics that support this.
You must make the strongest recommendation possible, keeping in mind that the District Attorney will decide to use this information in his case.
You must also remember to provide at least 3 sources in your essay (you must cite in the text and have a works cited page) in MLA format.
You will be turning in quite a bit. You must have (in this order): your essay, timeline, works cited, and detective journal in one file. Failure to turn all of these in can result in losing a letter grade or more from your project.
Lastly, there is an opportunity for extra credit. If you complete the Pembrooke Murder Survey, giving your feedback on the simulation, I will send you a copy of Response 21, a purely extra credit response.
Monday, April 15, 2013
Thursday, April 4, 2013
Professor Portugal's Eng 102s
Professor Portugal will be unable to finish out the semester, and I will be taking over your instruction until the end. I know this will be an upheaval for many, and I will do my best to minimize the chaos.
First, the syllabus is the syllabus. I don't plan to change the assignments for the class in any way. The assignment breakdown of points will remain what it is for the remainder of the semester.
The schedule for the class will remain largely unchanged, though there may be some shifts here and there as the last couple of weeks have put the class a little behind, but I won't make any drastic changes, and I will make sure the changes are announced in class and on this website.
Now, there will be some few changes. I only accept assignments electronically, but NOT through email. Assignments will be turned in using this blog website under the tab Submit Assignments.
Before doing so, you MUST read about naming your files
Also, I will need everyone to register in order to get an ID number.
Click on your class to fill out the registration form:
Eng 102 9:00-9:50 am
Eng 102 10:00-10:50 am
First, the syllabus is the syllabus. I don't plan to change the assignments for the class in any way. The assignment breakdown of points will remain what it is for the remainder of the semester.
The schedule for the class will remain largely unchanged, though there may be some shifts here and there as the last couple of weeks have put the class a little behind, but I won't make any drastic changes, and I will make sure the changes are announced in class and on this website.
Now, there will be some few changes. I only accept assignments electronically, but NOT through email. Assignments will be turned in using this blog website under the tab Submit Assignments.
Before doing so, you MUST read about naming your files
Also, I will need everyone to register in order to get an ID number.
Click on your class to fill out the registration form:
Eng 102 9:00-9:50 am
Eng 102 10:00-10:50 am
Monday, March 18, 2013
Assignments online
For the
remainder of the semester, we will be using a new policy regarding the
responses. This is not optional. All students must use this new policy.
All assignments
will now be turned in using the link and form found on the blog under the
submit assignments tab, which also has an easier interface.
When you
submit files, you must name your files using this pattern:
(Class nickname) R#(response number) (Identification number).rtf
Ex: Homer R4 115
Each
student will be assigned an identification number (which will be emailed to you
or you can get it from me in-person). Do not lose this number as it is used in
the file name. More information (which you should read) on file names here.
Barcode
labels will no longer be handed out in class. They are no longer necessary.
Instead,
all responses will be released online via a twitter feed from @A3Prof. If you
use twitter, you can follow this account to get the updates. If you do not,
don’t worry. On the blog is a box showing the Twitter feed. New Responses will
be tweeted when available including a link to the response.
All
responses are now due before the class start time. To make this clear,
responses that are turned in a minute after class begins will be rejected
automatically. If class begins at 8:00, responses turned in at 8:01 or later
are rejected. The files you send are time-stamped the moment they are received,
so I know the exact time they are submitted. Please do not delay until the last
minute in sending me your responses.
Not turning
in responses are still the equivalent of missing class, and you can be dropped
from the course for not turning in responses.
All responses will be graded
electronically with my comments and grade. The responses will be emailed back
to the students in the form of a .pdf file. Students must have software such as
adobe acrobat (link) or other pdf reader (link to pdf x-change) (link to
others) to open the file. This software is generally free for viewing pdf
files.
In order to
email the response to you, I need your email address as supplied you’re your
grade report registration. If you have not registered, do so immediately or you will not get assignments returned to you.
Make sure this is an address that you check often and can receive attachments.
Wednesday, February 27, 2013
Free tutoring by PC English teachers
The English department has set up a lab where students can get help with their writing. Various teachers, including me, will be available to give help with writing assignments. The schedule is odd, but is as follows:
Spring 2013 Lab Hours
The bold indicates one of my shifts, so if you want help specifically from me, you can get at these times.
This is not to replace my office hours. I still remain available for appointments if you need to meet with me for whatever reason, but you will always be able to find me in the lab for tutoring at those times and dates.
Spring 2013 Lab Hours
| Day | Hours | Room |
| Monday | 12:00-3:00 PM | B327 |
| Tuesday | 12:00-3:00 PM | B302 |
| Tuesday | 2:30-5:30 PM | B125 |
| Wednesday | 12:00-3:00 PM | B327 |
| Thursday | 2:30-5:30 PM | B125 |
The bold indicates one of my shifts, so if you want help specifically from me, you can get at these times.
This is not to replace my office hours. I still remain available for appointments if you need to meet with me for whatever reason, but you will always be able to find me in the lab for tutoring at those times and dates.
Thursday, August 30, 2012
Essays and Point of View
1st Person POV is indicated by the 1st Person pronouns: I, me, we, us, my, mine, our, ours, myself, ourselves.
The 1st Person POV is probably the easiest and most natural POV to use. The author is able to freely relate his ideas and stance via his own perspective. 1st Person POV is best suited for use in personal narratives, where the experience of the author is relevant to the points made.
A side effect of this is that the perspective can only reflect the personal opinion of the author. For an essay which is trying to present some kind of argument or analysis, the opinions are automatically tainted as being only personal, and not of much use. Unless the author has a great deal of authority (such as advanced degrees in the subject) the 1st Person POV will actually detract from the points.
2nd Person POV is recognized by the 2nd Person pronouns: you, your, yourself.
The 2nd person is generally used sparingly alongside one of the other POVs. It can almost never be used exclusively on its own. 2nd Person is used most frequently by teachers or those who would have need to use the imperative tense (for giving commands). Its only use is to command someone. The POV is extremely limited, which is why it relies on using the other POVs to convey most of its meaning.
2nd Person is directed towards the reader. It relies on telling the reader what to think tries to relate experiences based on the idea of a shared, common experience: "You know how you feel when you don't want to get up in the morning?" The difficulty is that people have different experiences, so often relying on the shared experience simply doesn't work, leaving the reader feeling alienated. Furthermore, many people can feel resentful at constantly being told what to think and do.
2nd Person is really not useful in any kind of argumentative or analytical paper because it alienates the reader.
3rd Person POV is recognized by the 3rd Person pronouns: he/she/it, him, her, they, theirs, his/hers/its, them, himself, herself, itself, themselves.
3rd Person is a distant POV. It is used in a more general way. It doesn't have the personal connection that 1st Person does, nor does it address the audience like 2nd Person. 3rd Person can seem less potent because of these failings, but, when properly utilized, 3rd Person can be quite powerful.
3rd Person does this by relying on objectivity. The perspective is not that of the author's personal view. The wishes of the author are also not imposed on the reader like in 2nd Person. In third person, the material is what's most important. In essays, the ideas and evidence need to come through most strongly. Those are the elements which will persuade readers. The ideas can stand on their own, seemingly like facts. So instead of "I believe red meat should be banned . . ." the author can simply write "Red meat should be banned . . ."
Personal anecdotes can still be presented as well, but without the constant interruption of the author's presence. Removing the 1st Person allows the reader to bring themselves into the essay, while the ideas and facts are related in an objective manner. Removing 2nd Person keeps the reader from feeling put upon and needing to react to what they're being told.
Writing in 3rd Person is often difficult at first. Simply removing the 1st and 2nd doesn't always work. Also, authors can end up sounding rather pompous with phrasings such as "one can see." It's best to avoid such a phrase altogether and move to the second half of the thought. Also, it's not good for the author to refer to him or herself in the third person such "The author will." Skip these and move on to the ideas, which are what's important.
The best advice is simply to be aware of the pronouns. Train yourself to recognize when you use certain pronouns, and to know that you need to replace them. Also, your word processor's find (or search) feature can be quite useful in eliminating the 1st and 2nd Person.
The 1st Person POV is probably the easiest and most natural POV to use. The author is able to freely relate his ideas and stance via his own perspective. 1st Person POV is best suited for use in personal narratives, where the experience of the author is relevant to the points made.
A side effect of this is that the perspective can only reflect the personal opinion of the author. For an essay which is trying to present some kind of argument or analysis, the opinions are automatically tainted as being only personal, and not of much use. Unless the author has a great deal of authority (such as advanced degrees in the subject) the 1st Person POV will actually detract from the points.
2nd Person POV is recognized by the 2nd Person pronouns: you, your, yourself.
The 2nd person is generally used sparingly alongside one of the other POVs. It can almost never be used exclusively on its own. 2nd Person is used most frequently by teachers or those who would have need to use the imperative tense (for giving commands). Its only use is to command someone. The POV is extremely limited, which is why it relies on using the other POVs to convey most of its meaning.
2nd Person is directed towards the reader. It relies on telling the reader what to think tries to relate experiences based on the idea of a shared, common experience: "You know how you feel when you don't want to get up in the morning?" The difficulty is that people have different experiences, so often relying on the shared experience simply doesn't work, leaving the reader feeling alienated. Furthermore, many people can feel resentful at constantly being told what to think and do.
2nd Person is really not useful in any kind of argumentative or analytical paper because it alienates the reader.
3rd Person POV is recognized by the 3rd Person pronouns: he/she/it, him, her, they, theirs, his/hers/its, them, himself, herself, itself, themselves.
3rd Person is a distant POV. It is used in a more general way. It doesn't have the personal connection that 1st Person does, nor does it address the audience like 2nd Person. 3rd Person can seem less potent because of these failings, but, when properly utilized, 3rd Person can be quite powerful.
3rd Person does this by relying on objectivity. The perspective is not that of the author's personal view. The wishes of the author are also not imposed on the reader like in 2nd Person. In third person, the material is what's most important. In essays, the ideas and evidence need to come through most strongly. Those are the elements which will persuade readers. The ideas can stand on their own, seemingly like facts. So instead of "I believe red meat should be banned . . ." the author can simply write "Red meat should be banned . . ."
Personal anecdotes can still be presented as well, but without the constant interruption of the author's presence. Removing the 1st Person allows the reader to bring themselves into the essay, while the ideas and facts are related in an objective manner. Removing 2nd Person keeps the reader from feeling put upon and needing to react to what they're being told.
Writing in 3rd Person is often difficult at first. Simply removing the 1st and 2nd doesn't always work. Also, authors can end up sounding rather pompous with phrasings such as "one can see." It's best to avoid such a phrase altogether and move to the second half of the thought. Also, it's not good for the author to refer to him or herself in the third person such "The author will." Skip these and move on to the ideas, which are what's important.
The best advice is simply to be aware of the pronouns. Train yourself to recognize when you use certain pronouns, and to know that you need to replace them. Also, your word processor's find (or search) feature can be quite useful in eliminating the 1st and 2nd Person.
Monday, January 16, 2012
The First Day
The first day of class. Mostly it will consist of locating classrooms, finding seats next to students you believe share common interests, obtaining syllabi, and go through the "getting to know" activities.
No matter what your reaction to that first day, there's something else that should go on, and not just paying attention to syllabus policies. The classes you are in, the teachers in them, are all there for a purpose. The wildcard, though, is you.
Why are you, as a student, in the class? What are your goals? What do you hope to obtain from this class? What are you willing to do in this class? How important is one class related to another?
These are important questions. They deserve answers right away. The answers will shape your entire semester. Sit down. Give it some thought. Find your answers before the semester takes on a life of its own.
No matter what your reaction to that first day, there's something else that should go on, and not just paying attention to syllabus policies. The classes you are in, the teachers in them, are all there for a purpose. The wildcard, though, is you.
Why are you, as a student, in the class? What are your goals? What do you hope to obtain from this class? What are you willing to do in this class? How important is one class related to another?
These are important questions. They deserve answers right away. The answers will shape your entire semester. Sit down. Give it some thought. Find your answers before the semester takes on a life of its own.
Friday, September 23, 2011
Word Processor Skills
Like it or not, we live in the electronic age. This brings with it certain advantages and disadvantages over what college writing was like in the past. Gone are the days when the only means to type an essay were on bulky electric typewriters in library basements because of the intense noise they produced. Typing on one of these machines was tedious. There were no font choices. The only extant font was courier. All formatting had to be done manually: Headers typed on every page, page numbers, and word wrap did not exist (though the better typewriters would beep to let you know you were near the edge of the page so you could move to the next line or quickly hyphenate your word). If a single mistake was made, you had to rip out the sheet and type it again.
Today's computers, internet, and printers come with their own challenges: Document file formats, too many font choices, document styles, images, graphics, watermarks, tables, charts, and endless numbers of features can overwhelm. And let's not even mention printer and email difficulties.
Unfortunately, there's a harsh truth in all of this. As students, it's your responsibility to learn your word processor. You are responsible for completing assignments as instructed, and difficulties with the technology are not a valid excuse. So in addition to learning how to write, argue, and analyze, you must also learn how to use your word processor. Many of these features actually make essay writing easier, taking the hassle out of such tasks as headers and page numbers. Below is a list of features you must know how to use.
I strongly encourage everyone to experiment and search out how to do employ these features before you have need of them. Trying to figure out these features in the late hours of the night before an essay is due is not the time to learn about your word processor.
Today's computers, internet, and printers come with their own challenges: Document file formats, too many font choices, document styles, images, graphics, watermarks, tables, charts, and endless numbers of features can overwhelm. And let's not even mention printer and email difficulties.
Unfortunately, there's a harsh truth in all of this. As students, it's your responsibility to learn your word processor. You are responsible for completing assignments as instructed, and difficulties with the technology are not a valid excuse. So in addition to learning how to write, argue, and analyze, you must also learn how to use your word processor. Many of these features actually make essay writing easier, taking the hassle out of such tasks as headers and page numbers. Below is a list of features you must know how to use.
- Line spacing
- Page spacing
- Insert a page break
- Disable widowing/orphaning
- Margins
- Font selection
- Hanging indent
- Headers
- Insert footnote
- Page numbers
- Word count
- Spell check
- Save as different file format
I strongly encourage everyone to experiment and search out how to do employ these features before you have need of them. Trying to figure out these features in the late hours of the night before an essay is due is not the time to learn about your word processor.
Sunday, September 11, 2011
Dropbox
Ever forgotten to print out an assignment the day it's due? Ever meant to print it on campus but forgot your flash drive or to email the file to yourself? Ever had your computer completely crash and be unable to access that research paper on the hard drive?
Just like the dog eating your homework, these are not valid excuses as to why you cannot turn in your assignment. Technical problems are part of every day life, and if you fall victim to them, there's nothing any of your teachers can do about it.
However, there's a way to plan for these eventualities, with a file-syncing service. I give you Dropbox. Dropbox automatically synchronizes files online so you always have an up-to-date copy accessible at any time. It can be accessed anywhere there's an internet connection, and you don't have to be super tech savvy to use it.
Go to their website here to find out more information about dropbox. New users start with 2 gb of storage space, but if you use this link you will receive an extra 250 mb of space. It doesn't end there. Check out this article at Lifehacker for many other ways to gain free space at Dropbox.
Dropbox isn't the only file-syncing service, but it is probably the easiest and friendliest to use. You are free to use whatever service you like, or none at all, but when one of the above situations happens to you, you must live with the consequences.
Just like the dog eating your homework, these are not valid excuses as to why you cannot turn in your assignment. Technical problems are part of every day life, and if you fall victim to them, there's nothing any of your teachers can do about it.
However, there's a way to plan for these eventualities, with a file-syncing service. I give you Dropbox. Dropbox automatically synchronizes files online so you always have an up-to-date copy accessible at any time. It can be accessed anywhere there's an internet connection, and you don't have to be super tech savvy to use it.
Go to their website here to find out more information about dropbox. New users start with 2 gb of storage space, but if you use this link you will receive an extra 250 mb of space. It doesn't end there. Check out this article at Lifehacker for many other ways to gain free space at Dropbox.
Dropbox isn't the only file-syncing service, but it is probably the easiest and friendliest to use. You are free to use whatever service you like, or none at all, but when one of the above situations happens to you, you must live with the consequences.
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Crw 150: Conflicts
Here are the blog posts I would like you to read about conflicts. It's a great little series of posts all by the same author, who gives some very sound advice about conflict and fight scenes in particular.
Why Would You Kick the Sh!t out of Your Characters
Reason, Stakes & Cost
Combat Scene: Zero Draft
Revising that Fight part 1
Revising that Fight part 2
Why Would You Kick the Sh!t out of Your Characters
Reason, Stakes & Cost
Combat Scene: Zero Draft
Revising that Fight part 1
Revising that Fight part 2
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Crw 150 Conference CDs
Thanks to PC's wonderful librarians, a selection of the Desert Dreams 2010 Writing conference workshops are now on Reserve at the PC Library. All you need to do is simply bring ID (school or driver's license) to the circulation desk and explain the item is on reserve for the class. Items can be checked out for 1 week. Since they are on reserve, there is a $.50 per hour late charge, so make sure you get it back on time.
The following CDs are part of the collection:
Walking on the Wild Side: Writing Erotica/Fantasy
Demystifying the Plot and Subplot
Editor/Agent Panel (I highly recommend this one)
Working With the Dead
Social Networking Media for Authors
I Feel Witty, Oh So Witty
Building Suspense
Sex and the Single Title
Watching the Detectives
The How-To of Voice
The Good, The Bad, The Unforgettable: Creating Characters
A little more information and ordering information (for those interested) can be found here: Desert Dreams 2010. There are other workshops that I did not order, as well as other conferences you can search through for workshops.
If there is enough interest in certain workshops, I can see about approaching the library to purchase those as well.
The following CDs are part of the collection:
Walking on the Wild Side: Writing Erotica/Fantasy
Demystifying the Plot and Subplot
Editor/Agent Panel (I highly recommend this one)
Working With the Dead
Social Networking Media for Authors
I Feel Witty, Oh So Witty
Building Suspense
Sex and the Single Title
Watching the Detectives
The How-To of Voice
The Good, The Bad, The Unforgettable: Creating Characters
A little more information and ordering information (for those interested) can be found here: Desert Dreams 2010. There are other workshops that I did not order, as well as other conferences you can search through for workshops.
If there is enough interest in certain workshops, I can see about approaching the library to purchase those as well.
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