assignments ENGL 226 Writing About Writing: PARTNER INTERVIEW
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Overview
Every class needs an icebreaker, even though everyone absolutely hates them. So just to try to make it a little more awful--no, kidding, really, to to try to make it more useful, our icebreaker is meant to help you help you to see the process for how most of the assignments in our class will go (it also will show you what you'll need to do for the paper you will write in the second half of the semester). And, of course, it will help you to make a connection with at least one other person in our class and, also, to just generally know the people you will spend the next 15 weeks with--because we all have a story, and those stories affect who we are and how we react and participate in any given situation including a class.
Once you've completed this assignment, I will post your partner introduction to our class website on a "class profile page." I'll ask each of you for a picture of yourself--or some image that you want to represent you. This is a way for all of us to know who the other person is a little bit better. It's a way to bridge the virtual gap that our online class creates.
Details
In order to write this short introduction of your partner you have to gather two kinds of information then you've got to put it together into a mini-essay.
You'll have time in class to work on this with your partner. You'll be randomly assigned. You'll have a chance to do a little workshopping on your paper. And, as I said above, I'll post it to our class website, and ask you for an image to accompany the profile that your partner writes about you.
Additionally, you'll use this bio on your own evolving portfolio website that you are working in this class. It will be the first thing you post.
Format Rules
How this will impact your grade
Turning in your partner portfolio will count as a free reading journal. So it gives you a week to skip a reading journal with no penalty towards your grade. You can also use it to make up for an absence if you accumulated absences that will affect your final grade. You can pick what you use it for, one or the other.
Every class needs an icebreaker, even though everyone absolutely hates them. So just to try to make it a little more awful--no, kidding, really, to to try to make it more useful, our icebreaker is meant to help you help you to see the process for how most of the assignments in our class will go (it also will show you what you'll need to do for the paper you will write in the second half of the semester). And, of course, it will help you to make a connection with at least one other person in our class and, also, to just generally know the people you will spend the next 15 weeks with--because we all have a story, and those stories affect who we are and how we react and participate in any given situation including a class.
Once you've completed this assignment, I will post your partner introduction to our class website on a "class profile page." I'll ask each of you for a picture of yourself--or some image that you want to represent you. This is a way for all of us to know who the other person is a little bit better. It's a way to bridge the virtual gap that our online class creates.
Details
In order to write this short introduction of your partner you have to gather two kinds of information then you've got to put it together into a mini-essay.
- Basic Facts. These are the easiest things to get out of a person. Things like when you were born and where. If you have siblings. Where you went to high school. Favorites: food, movie, TV show, book, whatever. Hobbies. Dumb interesting facts. Major. Thing they can't stand the smell of. This isn't a complete list, but, you know what I mean. You want to know just the kinds of things that identify a person.
- A story or two that really tells you something about who this person is. This is much harder. People are often super bad about telling stories about themselves. You might ask your partner to tell you a story that their family or friends always tells about themselves. That can be a good place to start. Proudest moment story? Most embarrassing moment story? Best school story? Worst? Story that involves adventure? Story that is about summer time stuff? Stories about you and your family?
Here's the thing: at first, this part is going to be hard, but once you get started you'll get some good stories and that will form the basis of your introduction. Because that is the key to this assignment: you want to tell a story about your partner that tells the class something about who they are, what they care about, what matters to them, etc. - Once you've gathered enough stuff about your partner, write a 250 word introduction of your partner. That's not very long at all. It can't really be longer because the introduction should be interesting to a reader who is reading this on the web. It should focus on one or maybe two stories about this person and it should revolve around a thesis--a main idea or main point--about what you've learned about this person and how this story proves this main point.
You'll have time in class to work on this with your partner. You'll be randomly assigned. You'll have a chance to do a little workshopping on your paper. And, as I said above, I'll post it to our class website, and ask you for an image to accompany the profile that your partner writes about you.
Additionally, you'll use this bio on your own evolving portfolio website that you are working in this class. It will be the first thing you post.
Format Rules
- For the purposes of the workshop, double-space your writing and bring a hard copy to class.
- When it is time to turn in your final draft: Be ready to post your 250 word introduction of your partner along with a .jpeg image of you to this google form: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1q_2qpBIEDmOEOy-S7ZO5xf7F74WD3trKiP2OX1aKtms/edit
How this will impact your grade
Turning in your partner portfolio will count as a free reading journal. So it gives you a week to skip a reading journal with no penalty towards your grade. You can also use it to make up for an absence if you accumulated absences that will affect your final grade. You can pick what you use it for, one or the other.