Rethink/Revise ENGL489 Advanced Portfolio Workshop
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LEE TORDA 310 Tillinghast Hall Bridgewater State University 508.531.2436 [email protected] www.leetorda.com NOTE: All classes, student meetings, and open student hours (office hours) this semester will be held virtually via Zoom. Need to make an during a time that is not an open student hour? appointment? Let me know you want to meet by adding yourself to my google.doc appointment calendar here: https://goo.gl/3CqLf and I will send you a zoom link for the time you sign up for. |
Spring 2021 Open Hours for students (office hours):
T&R 11:00-12:30 W 11:00-12:00 F 3:00-4:00 and by appointment. Click here to attend ANY of the Open Hour for Students Zoom sessions listen above. HOW TO ATTEND ZOOM CLASS Click here to attend ENGL 301 Writing & the Teaching of Writing Click here to attend ENGL 344 Young Adult Literature Click here to attend ENGL 489 Advanced Portfolio workshop. |
Overview. Presumably, you are nearing the end of your academic career and your career as a student writer. With some luck and much effort, chances are you are a much better writer than you were a few years ago. Maybe not much better, but certainly different. More savvy. That's the beginning of much better. This project is your chance to show the ways you've changed as a writer--primarily and probably most importantly to show that to yourself.
And, of course, long-haul revision is a part of a writer's life. Writers often return to old pieces of writing--sometimes days or weeks or months later, but sometimes, rather famously, years later. This is, again, an aspect of writing that often gets little space in a student's writing life. This assignment asks you to consider revision in the long form. It is, as I say, a chance to see for yourself the ways you've improved as a writer and as someone who understands the genre they are writing in better than they once did.
Details. During the first half of the semester, you will take stock of where your skills are. You will spend time re-thinking and then revising a piece of writing from earlier in your college career. You should select a text that you believe in, but it does not have to be entirely successful in its current iteration. It should be something you wrote for a class, but it doesn't need to be something you wrote in English (for instance, if you are in education and you want to rewrite a teaching philosophy or an assignment). You should expect to spend some time thinking about what worked and what didn’t, considering how well-crafted the piece is, how professional a version it is (rather than a student version). We will spend some time in class looking at ways to advance the text. You will workshop the piece more than once in small groups in class. The final, revised piece will make up the bulk of your midterm portfolio. You will also have time to reflect on the success of this revision in the portfolio.
Here are all the texts you'll produce as part of this assignment:
1. You need to get a copy of the original. If it has comments on it, mores the better, but it's not absolutely necessary.
2. You will write a short, 500 word reflection on the state of the revision right now. You'll need to write about the following:
5. A 300-500 word reflection on the changes and relative success of those changes that this piece has undergone. In this reflection, you should:
Revthink/Revise workshopping
As explained on the workshopping page on this site, you will participate in small group workshops that will be arranged once I know who is revising what. You'll work with others writing in a similar genre. Your responsibility as a group member is to attend the workshops and come prepared to workshop whoever is being workshopped that day. You should bring a copy of their draft with in-text comments on it and two copies of your typed end-comments--one for the writer and one to turn in to me.
How will you make the material available to me and to other readers while still making clear how you revised to me in the portfolio. Because this is an online class, you will need to develop a sort of electronic portfolio. If possible, you might consider using one google.doc to house all of your work--so your in-process drafts, your reflections, and your final project. However, you might find that it is easier for your to demonstrate your various revisions by keeping separate MSword documents or separate google.docs. You will need to decide that for yourself, and I will work with you to help you make decisions about how best to keep your material. What is important is twofold: 1) you need to be able to document revision so it's important that you make it possible for me to see the various revisions you've made over time and not just a final finished product (when working in a google.doc, it can be hard to remember to save a version instead of just going in and editing the existing document) and 2) you need to be able to make it possible for your classmates to read and respond to your drafts for worskhopping. One solution to this could be to have a "workshop draft" version of your piece. And a version that you work on yourself. You could turn in both of those documents and it would show me a the range of work and revision you've done.
EVALUATION
The revise/rethink assignment, which makes up the bulk of your midterm portfolio, is worth 20% of your grade.
In order to earn a "B" grade for that 20% you must:
In order to earn an A for the 20% of your grade determined by revise/rethink & midterm portfolio you must:
In order to earn a C for the 20% of your grade determined by revise/rethink & midterm portfolio you must:
And, of course, long-haul revision is a part of a writer's life. Writers often return to old pieces of writing--sometimes days or weeks or months later, but sometimes, rather famously, years later. This is, again, an aspect of writing that often gets little space in a student's writing life. This assignment asks you to consider revision in the long form. It is, as I say, a chance to see for yourself the ways you've improved as a writer and as someone who understands the genre they are writing in better than they once did.
Details. During the first half of the semester, you will take stock of where your skills are. You will spend time re-thinking and then revising a piece of writing from earlier in your college career. You should select a text that you believe in, but it does not have to be entirely successful in its current iteration. It should be something you wrote for a class, but it doesn't need to be something you wrote in English (for instance, if you are in education and you want to rewrite a teaching philosophy or an assignment). You should expect to spend some time thinking about what worked and what didn’t, considering how well-crafted the piece is, how professional a version it is (rather than a student version). We will spend some time in class looking at ways to advance the text. You will workshop the piece more than once in small groups in class. The final, revised piece will make up the bulk of your midterm portfolio. You will also have time to reflect on the success of this revision in the portfolio.
Here are all the texts you'll produce as part of this assignment:
1. You need to get a copy of the original. If it has comments on it, mores the better, but it's not absolutely necessary.
2. You will write a short, 500 word reflection on the state of the revision right now. You'll need to write about the following:
- when and where you wrote it,
- why it still appeals to you as a project to revise,
- what is strong and working about the piece
- what is less strong and not working about the piece--so what you want your readers to help you figure out
- What critique was useful to you in thinking about where the project is heading
- What critique did you think was interesting but not really useful to your project right now
- What your plan for revision is now that you've gotten feedback.
5. A 300-500 word reflection on the changes and relative success of those changes that this piece has undergone. In this reflection, you should:
- identify what you've changed and why
- identify how this has improved or not improved the piece in your opinion
- what work you still think there is to be done--or not
- what this revision demonstrates to you what you've learned about writing and about yourself as a writer at this point.
Revthink/Revise workshopping
As explained on the workshopping page on this site, you will participate in small group workshops that will be arranged once I know who is revising what. You'll work with others writing in a similar genre. Your responsibility as a group member is to attend the workshops and come prepared to workshop whoever is being workshopped that day. You should bring a copy of their draft with in-text comments on it and two copies of your typed end-comments--one for the writer and one to turn in to me.
How will you make the material available to me and to other readers while still making clear how you revised to me in the portfolio. Because this is an online class, you will need to develop a sort of electronic portfolio. If possible, you might consider using one google.doc to house all of your work--so your in-process drafts, your reflections, and your final project. However, you might find that it is easier for your to demonstrate your various revisions by keeping separate MSword documents or separate google.docs. You will need to decide that for yourself, and I will work with you to help you make decisions about how best to keep your material. What is important is twofold: 1) you need to be able to document revision so it's important that you make it possible for me to see the various revisions you've made over time and not just a final finished product (when working in a google.doc, it can be hard to remember to save a version instead of just going in and editing the existing document) and 2) you need to be able to make it possible for your classmates to read and respond to your drafts for worskhopping. One solution to this could be to have a "workshop draft" version of your piece. And a version that you work on yourself. You could turn in both of those documents and it would show me a the range of work and revision you've done.
EVALUATION
The revise/rethink assignment, which makes up the bulk of your midterm portfolio, is worth 20% of your grade.
In order to earn a "B" grade for that 20% you must:
- Turn in all five of the texts identified above in your midterm portfolio
- Attend and Participate in the revise/rethink workshops. If you can't be physically present, please make sure that you are a solid workshop group member and get your feedback to your writer.
- Turn in your comments to the writers in your small workshop group.
In order to earn an A for the 20% of your grade determined by revise/rethink & midterm portfolio you must:
- Do all of the things required of the B grade
- Turn in material that shows you've given real thought and work to the revision process, even if the revision is not as successful as you hoped it would be.
- Be an excellent workshop member, giving thoughtful, useful critique to your fellow writers.
In order to earn a C for the 20% of your grade determined by revise/rethink & midterm portfolio you must:
- Turn in all five of the texts identified above in your midterm portfolio