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Class Plan -- Unit Three, Day 28-29
Goals

Assignment: Take-home workshop; Think about three possible audiences (other than the one you are working with) for your argument, and write them down on a piece of paper to be handed in next class.

Activities: Daily: In-Text Documentation Scavenger Hunt. One way to get through this day's unavoidably dry subject matter is to make students actively seek out the answers to their own questions about documentation, using the MLA guidelines (like the rest of us). In the past, I have used the In-Text Documentation "Scavenger Hunt" sheet (See appendix), and asked students to work in small groups (2 or 3), dividing the questions among them (about 3 to each group). [When you assign the questions, remember that the last ones are quite a bit more complicated than the first ones.] It usually takes students very little time to do this (less than 10 minutes), which is good, because the ensuing discussion always takes more time than you would expect, as students have lots of questions about the details of MLA documentation--at least a couple of which are sure to stump you. [Just tell them you'll come back with the answer in the next class, that you'll have to look it up.]

Discuss Daily. Go over the answers to the Scavenger Hunt questions, discuss issues raised by student questions, then perhaps discuss some of the points from the In- Text portion of the MLA Documentation Tip Sheet (See appendix). [You might emphasize once again the importance of framing quotes, determining what needs to be cited, and how to introduce sources.]

Discuss MLA Works Cited Format. Your students will probably be quite familiar with some points about MLA Works Cited format, as they have had a chance to practice it in putting together their annotated bibliography. However, I usually go over three or four of the most common types of entries they are likely to be doing (book, essay in anthology, article in print journal, article in electronic journal), providing the bibliographic information for them and asking them to tell me the order in which this information should be placed in the entry, what punctuation to use, etc. (I write the entries on a blank OH transparency or on the board as the students feed me the information.) I also always make a point of reminding students that nobody simply memorizes this Works Cited format. They have the PHG section on documentation (pp. 559-66, 588-9) at their disposal, and (depending on their majors) they might in future classes want to purchase a copy of the most recent MLA handbook. [I usually bring a copy of the MLA handbook to class with me on that day, to show my students and to search for answers to some of their questions after the discussion is over.] You might also go over the Works Cited portion of the MLA Documentation Tip Sheet (See Appendix).

Discuss Final Exam Assignment. Spend about 15 minutes telling students what will be expected of them during the final exam period. In the next class, you will be asking them to make a list of three possible audiences to which they could direct the argument they are writing--audiences OTHER THAN THEIR INTENDED AUDIENCE FOR THE ARGUING ESSAY. Over the weekend, you will choose ONE of these audiences for them to use for the purpose of the final exam assignment. During the final exam period, they will be asked to spend some time analyzing the audience you have chosen for them, then they will spend the rest of the period re-reading their final drafts of the Arguing Essay, making a list of the changes that would need to be made in order to address this new audience, then writing up a "revision plan" for this hypothetical paper (in paragraph form). Explain to your students that the purpose of this exercise is to engage the analysis skills they have learned in CO150, and to demonstrate their knowledge both of their arguing topic and of what is involved in directing an argument to a particular audience. Also reassure them that this is worth a relatively small percentage of their semester grade (5%), and is not like a conventional "exam." Field student questions about this assignment. YOU MIGHT WORK THIS INFORMATION ABOUT THE FINAL EXAM ASSIGNMENT INTO A SHORT ASSIGNMENT SHEET IF YOU THINK THAT IT WOULD BENEFIT YOUR STUDENTS.

Setup for Take-Home Workshop. Hand out the Arguing Workshop Sheet (See appendix), and have students get started on this in pairs in class in the time remaining. [Ask them to workshop with someone who was in their original Research group-- someone who is likely to know a good deal about their topic.] Explain that they will finish the workshop for homework and will discuss it in the next class. (It might be a good idea to have them exchange phone numbers, in case some students are absent in the next class.)

Explain that in the next class, they will discuss each other's workshop comments, then they will be given the rest of the class to work on their drafts and/or to conference with you (the instructor) during class time, as well as to fill out their final evaluations of the course. [Or announce the second workshop if you choose this option for the next class.]