Introduction to English 105 
Course theme: Writing to Make a Difference

In-Class Writing: How do you already use writing make a difference?
Open a new Word document. Take a few minutes to consider a piece of writing you've done at some time in the past. It could be a writing assignment at school, a note to a friend, something you wrote at work, a diary entry, a letter, an article for a student newspaper, a flyer, or a leaflet for an organization to which you belong. When you're ready, write for about 20 minutes in response to the following questions:

1. Describe the situation that made you feel a need to respond in writing.
2. Why did you decide to respond in writing instead of taking some other action or not responding at all?
3. How did you construct your writing task? Describe your purpose, the relationship you wanted to establish with your reader(s), and the tone of voice you decided to use in your writing. How did you make these decisions? What knowledge of the social context did you draw on to make those decisions? What type or genre of writing did you use to communicate your purpose?

Begin developing a first draft of Assignment 1: Analysis of a Literacy Event.  Complete parts 1 and 2 on p. 30 to generate topics/ideas for your analysis.  Then, write an essay based on the guidelines given in part 3 on  page 31 of The Call to Write.

Logging on to the English 105 Blackboard

Review the article, "Whose Rainbow," posted on the Assignments page in Blackboard.  Focus on the 2 paragraphs at the beginning and ending of the article.   As a group, try to summarize the main point of each story.  What does the story described in this article reveal about the meanings and uses of writing within a given social context (in this case, a journal for computer documentation specialists)?  To what extent does the "literacy event" described in this article demonstrate the use of writing or reading to "make a difference"? Take notes to report back to the class.

1. Go to the English 105 Blackboard. (Log in-->select "Communication"-->select "Send Email"-->"All Groups.") Compose a group response that reports the results of your discussion back to the class.
2. After reading all of the other group's responses, reply to at least one other group's posting. What, if anything, was similar or different in your group's interpretations of the stories?

Your first formal writing assignment in English 105 is to write a Literacy Narrative (see step #3, p. 31), which analyzes a particular literacy event in your life and explains what it reveals about the meaning and uses of writing.  When we return to class on Tuesday, bring to class two copies of a draft of your Literacy Narrative to share with your writing group.