ENGL 344: You've got Questions?

TORDA'S SPRING 2023 TEACHING SITE

ENGL 344: You've got Questions?

9/4/2022

I've Got Answers (hopefully. . .)

If I don't have the answers immediately, I'll get them for you. This space will exist all semester long. Please use it to post general questions about class, about assignments, etc. Let's not make this all about me either. If you read a question on this list and know the answer, please don't hesitate to answer a classmate. Let's help each other out this semester.

How to post: Hit the "comment" button, follow the prompts in the dialogue box, hit submit. Easy as easy can be. I'll respond at least once a week, if not more often.

Of course you can still email questions/concerns of a more personal nature, but do try to use this space for more general questions. It will get your question answered faster and you have to know that if you have that question so does everyone else.

35 Comments

Patricia Diaz

9/10/2022 03:54:52 pm

Good evening! I was reading through the book club journal assignment description and I have a quick question! How many people are approximately going to be per group? Would this assignments be targeted for small group of people (2 people) or for a bigger one (more than 2)?

9/21/2022 02:38:24 pm

I just sent out the book club group emails. Book clubs are five people. There are five groups total.

Allie Gallahue

9/11/2022 07:55:10 pm

Hello!
For the book club journal assignment, are we going to be responsible for electing a person in the group to summarize each week or will there be some sort of schedule so we know who should be doing it that week?

9/21/2022 02:40:16 pm

Good question Allie. I'm going to suggest that you just go in the order of names listed at the top of the google doc. So, in your book club group (I just sent out the book club google doc links) you would be a respondent not next week, which will be the first official journal since I couldn't get it together for this week, but the week after. Adam Fernandes, who is also in your group, would be the first person since he was first on the list.

Christina Lynne Carter

9/13/2022 08:45:58 am

Good afternoon,
I was reading about the Pecha Kucha assignment and am slightly confused about it. In the policies section you mention that it is our only group project, and that we will be working with our book club, but when I click on the assignment for the detail it states that we can work independently or in groups of two. I'm wondering if it is required that we work in groups, or can we work independently?

9/21/2022 02:41:31 pm

I need to update that assignment page to indicate that you will be working with your book club group exclusively and not independently or in twos. But the pecha kucha assignment is not until after midterm and when we get to it I will be giving you more information and help and samples in the class update.

Allison Raposo

9/13/2022 08:46:28 am

Good afternoon! Is the first journal submission due tonight?

Jenivieve

9/14/2022 07:49:19 am

Hi,

Do we get told who will be the summarizer for the Reading Journals? Also, when will we be getting assigned those groups? Thanks!

9/21/2022 02:42:14 pm

So groups just got sent out and if you read my answer above, you'll see how I suggest you manage the summarizer job.

Catie Mullen

9/14/2022 09:30:31 am

Hello,

I was reading through the class policies and had a question regarding the "A"s and "U"s. If I submitted an assignment on Friday (before the Tuesday deadline) and you graded it on Monday and emailed me that I was given a "U," then I would be able to re-do the assignment based on your comments before the Tuesday deadline? I just wanted to confirm I had the right information!

9/21/2022 02:50:12 pm

First, if you got a U, I would tell you you got a U in a private email to you. And assuming you posted by the deadline (doesn't have to be early), you can revise it whenever you are ready to revise it. In other words, the turn around time isn't tied to the next week specifically. I've had folks turn in U revisions from the start of the semester in a final portfolio and I still except them.

Keep in mind two things: 1) most students don't get any Us all semester and 2) you don't have to repost an assignment you get a U on. I'm the only one who will know if you got a U. The revision only need be emailed directly to me.

One other thing: at the same time, I don't tell you if you work is is an "A" for acceptable every week. I only will tell you if you got a U. So if you don't hear from me, you are fine. Three times a semester, I will send you, in email, what I have recorded in my grade book for As and Us. Typically I include it with comments from another assignment. So you'll be aware of what I've got and what I'm missing (if any) that way.

Finally, each week when I send out the class update, what you should probably notice is that I quote and refer to your posts when I'm responding. If I don't reference your work one week or another, that's OK. That's not a big deal. If I NEVER mention you, then something might be up. But if I never mention you, you are probably getting Us, in which case you will already know that from emails from me.

OK one more thing. I'm fairly easy going about all of this for the first third of the semester. And, as I've said elsewhere, I try to build in ways for you to give yourself breaks over the course of the semester (the syllabus check in, the profile, an upcoming assignment using the profiles). After the fifth week of class, I tend to be a little more strict about what is acceptable and what I will accept as late work.

But, again, believe me when I tell you, if you are not doing well, I will tell you. I'm a pretty easy grader. I just give you a lot of work to make up for the fact that I am an easy grader.

Meaghan Cook

9/17/2022 10:33:02 am

Good afternoon!

Just a general question on how the reading journal will be organized. Is there a template included or are we free-writing? If we are free-writing, is there a particular method of organization you recommend to keep each posting separate and successfully summarize them?

9/21/2022 02:50:56 pm

See my instructions on your google doc (just mailed out) and see the assignment itself. These are pretty short entries and the focus should be on literary analysis.

Alexa Delling

9/18/2022 01:04:30 pm

Hello!

I know a few people have already asked about reading journals for this week and I was wondering as well if they are starting to be due this week. Thanks!!

9/21/2022 02:51:14 pm

See previous comments

Megan Moore

9/19/2022 04:46:08 am

Hello! How are we going to be notified of our "A" and "U" grades (via email, as a comment on our posts, etc.)? Also, will we be explicitly notified of "A" grades, or just the "U"s?

9/21/2022 02:51:51 pm

See previous comments to Catie Mullen

Nicole Shepard

9/19/2022 10:37:27 am

Hello! When will we know who is the respondent for the teaching discussion post? Will you just notify the two-three people who are the respondents at the beginning of each week?

9/21/2022 02:52:19 pm

See my comments to Jenivieve.

celeste barbosa

9/20/2022 08:05:18 am

Hello!
How do we know what will be our reading assignments for our Reading Journals and when will be find our groups?

9/21/2022 02:52:47 pm

Just sent out.

Chloe Devine

9/20/2022 04:25:53 pm

Hi. Like many of my classmates, I am wondering when we will be receiving our book club email or at least know who is in our group. Thanks!

9/21/2022 02:52:56 pm

Just sent out

Adam J Fernandes

9/21/2022 04:40:13 am

When will we know our Reading Journal groups?

9/21/2022 02:53:42 pm

Adam, I just sent out these emails today.

Jenivieve

9/26/2022 11:30:33 am

Will we receive feedback from you too before submitting our final flash memoir? Or will that solely be from our journal members.

10/8/2022 03:17:07 pm

You'll get feedback from your groupmates this round. Then I will give you feedback when you send the draft to me. You will not be required to revise unless you want to.

Catie Mullen

9/27/2022 11:37:27 am

Hi!

When should we post the respondent/summarization? I know the due date for posting in the book club doc is on Tuesdays, so when should the respondent do the summary by? What happens if not all group members respond by Tuesday night?

10/8/2022 03:16:31 pm

I think I wrote that I hope your classmates are thoughtful about posting so that the respondents have time to post before the midnight deadline. But I know that doesn't always happen. So I am lenient about that. It typically also takes me a few days to actually read the book club journals (I just got through the past two weeks worth of posting) so that should give the respondents a few days to get caught up. As long as folks make a good faith effort to respond, it'll be fine.

Allie Gallahue

10/2/2022 08:35:12 pm

Hi!
I'm having trouble finding the instructions for the class scavenger hunt due this week. Was it posted somewhere else?

Megan Moore

10/3/2022 06:57:24 am

For the flash memoir assignment, the assignment page says we need to write about our five favorite classmates' memoirs in order to receive and A. Should we include this in the doc we send you with our memoir?

Megan Moore

10/3/2022 11:29:39 am

So sorry, I hit the wrong button!

10/8/2022 03:10:57 pm

Hi Allie--

So it took some folks a good while to actually post their profiles and their pics. So I'm behind getting this ready. That's why I keep moving the assignment to later in the semester. But it's a three day weekend and so I am hoping that by the end of it, that page will be complete and the assignment sent out.

Megan Moore

10/3/2022 06:58:20 am

Hello! For the flash memoir assignment, the assignment page says we need to write about our five favorite classmates' memoirs in order to receive and A. Should we include this in the doc we send you with our memoir?

10/8/2022 03:04:22 pm

Hi Megan--

You'll only be able to do this part of the assignment once everyone has sent me their memoirs and I've posted them. As soon as that's ready, I'll alert class and folks can read their colleagues' pieces. Folks will have the chance to comment directly on their colleagues' memoirs on the discussion board.