Writing Workshop:  In a group of 2-3 students, review each student's draft of the literacy narrative.  Read your classmate's draft carefully and try to make your response both helpful and tactful.   Remember that drafts may be rough in places and that your classmate may have been concentrating on getting ideas down on paper rather than editing and polishing. 

You are not being asked to edit your classmate's work.  Instead, you can help your classmate by pointing out places where ideas are not clear to a reader.  You might find a few places where problems with grammar and mechanics make your classmate's ideas unclear, and it's ok to point out things your classmate should pay attention to in editing the draft, but concentrate on responding to the essay's content first. 

Read the essay once to get a general sense of it, then read more carefully a second time, noting places where the writing was particularly strong or in need of further clarification.  When you have finished reading, compose your response in the form of an email message to the writer and instructor. (To do this, log in to the course Blackboard-->Communications-->Send Email-->Select Users). 

Your message should respond to the following questions. Copy and paste them into your email message:

1.  Try to capture the gist of the classmate's literacy narrative in one or two sentences.  What, in your own words, does your classmate's story reveal about the meaning and use of reading and writing?

2.  How well does this draft use personal experience to tell a story?  Is it clear what happened in the story, and why?   Note some places where events and their meaning might be discussed more fully or made more clear to the reader.  Does the writer describe how the experience changed or reinforced his or her feelings and beliefs about reading and writing? 

3. Examine the structure of the story. Does it hang together well? Can readers follow easily? Are there any jarring transitions? If so, where? Are there any particularly smooth transitions?

4.  Does the writer use vivid language to describe the people, places, and things in the story?  List some of the vivid and creative words and phrases that the writer uses to describe his or her experience.  Then, list some words and phrases that might be replaced with stronger, more lively choices. 

5.  What areas do you think the person should work on when revising? 

If you have time when you've finished responding to both of your classmates, read the responses to your own essay.  As a group, discuss the strengths of each essay and ways to improve it.  If not, check your email for your classmates' responses outside of class.  

Part I (30 minutes): Group discussion of sample student paper #2, with reference to evaluation criteria.

Part II (30 minutes): Complete peer review questions from Tuesday's class. Hand a copy of your response to the writer. Keep the responses you received, and hand them in along with the revised version of Assignment #1 on Tuesday.

Part III (30 minutes):  Work together in a group with two or three other students.  Read "A Message from the President." Use the following questions to guide your group's initial exploration of the rhetorical situation and the writer's strategies:

The Writer: How does the writer show him/herself to be a person of good sense? good character? goodwill? What kind of persona or voice does the writer create and how? Do you see evidence that the writer is fair, sincere, and open-minded? What sort of relationship does the writer try to establish with the audience?

The Writer's Relationship to Readers: Who are the intended readers (their interests, reasons for reading, expectations, etc.)? How can you tell? Feel free to get information directly from the publication or its website. Demographic information, such as education level, occupations, location, income, and hobbies, may give you an insight into this audience and their values and expectations. What does the text imply about reader knowledge or feelings about the subject?

The Writer's Language and Style: How does the language of the text help the text fulfill its purpose for the readers? How does the writer use language to establish a certain tone in the message? Is the tone well suited to the audience and purpose? What kinds of sentences does the writer use? Does the writer vary sentences for emphasis? How readable are the sentences? Does the writer use topic sentences or forecasting statements to guide readers? Transitions from one sentence to the next?

Prepare a summary of your group's discussion to post to the course Blackboard. 

Part IV: Enjoy the weekend!

Read Chapter 2 of The Call to Write

Hand in revised version of literacy narrative on Tuesday