Week 10: Monday, October 28th - Friday, November 1st
Goals for this Week
- Discuss
Issue Analysis Grids and HyperFolio worksheets
- Address
introductions, organization and development
- Read/review
a sample Issue Analysis essay (in the appendix)
- Workshop
Issue Analysis essays in class
Connection to Course Goals
If you decide to model your own sample essay
in class, you might also show students earlier drafts to illustrate the point
that effective writing involves a process of revision. You can also meet this goal
using the sample in the appendix if you discuss ways that the
"sample" student could make their paper stronger with revision. The
workshop reinforces students’ understanding of writing as a process and
contributes to the sense of community that writers need.
Required Reading and Assignments
·
Finish
the Issue Analysis Grids and HyperFolio worksheet
·
Bring
two polished drafts of your Issue Analysis Report to class for workshop
·
Read and
comment on at least one other students' Issue Analysis draft
·
Make
revisions to your Issue Analysis Report and prepare to turn in Portfolio 2
Potential Activities for this Week
Discuss Issue Analysis Grids and HyperFolio
worksheets (5 minutes): Briefly
address any concerns with these assignments and tell students that you won't
collect these until the portfolio is due because they will need them to write
their Issue Analysis essays.
Address introductions, organization and
development (10 min): By this
point, students are probably asking, "What should my report look
like?" In CO150, we generally try to avoid prescribing forms for
writing. We tell students that purpose and audience should guide the choices
they make; and that they should focus on questions like, "What am I trying
to accomplish in writing this? Who are my readers? What are their needs and
interests? How can I best reach them?" Yet, many students have only been
taught to write using forms, so they feel lost at sea when writing for a
purpose. Here are a few points to address for those who need more direction.
Explain that this is only one way to
approach this assignment. Creative individuals with a strong sense of purpose
may develop variations and still write a successful essay.
In your Introduction:
-
Address
your target readers
-
Briefly
introduce the issue
-
Address the
purpose for writing and explain why this purpose should interest readers (this
will serve as your claim or essay map)
Organization/Development:
-
When
writing about approaches describe each approach and who takes this approach;
then explain what their purpose is, who their readers are, and what social,
historical and cultural factors have shaped their views on the issue.
-
Overall,
your goal is to attempt to describe the situation as whole, rather than to
focus on the particular situations shaping each approach. You may distinguish
among approaches and use specific positions as examples to illustrate the
differences, but the goal is to look at the conversation as a whole. Use the
details of your analysis to serve this larger purpose, rather than getting caught
up in the analysis (and losing sight of the purpose).
Read/review the sample Issue Analysis Report
(25 - 30 minutes): Use the sample in the appendix or create your
own sample Issue Analysis Report. Have students read the report and write down
what was effective and what needs improvement. Then review the sample in class.
For further assistance with this activity, see the section on "Planning to
Model or Critique Student Samples" in the Planning a Class teaching
guide, located on Writing@CSU and in your appendix.
Workshop Issue Analysis Reports (you
decide): If you have time, consider giving students a
full class period to exchange and read drafts in groups of three or four. Then,
use the following class to have students discuss the comments they wrote for
homework. If you are short on time, have students exchange drafts in pairs and
complete the workshop in one class period. Use the sample workshop guide in the
appendix or create your own. For assistance with this activity, read the guide
on Planning Workshops and Peer Review located in your appendix.
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