Diagnostic Revision Assignment

Our next assignment will be a revision of your diagnostic essay. This means you will have a chance to re-write your initial essay over the course of about a week. I am attaching a copy of the article and question used for the diagnostic on the second day of class.

While this is not the final draft of your essay, it will still count as a grade. I will be grading it with more extensive comments because by the time it is due, we will have covered all of the basics of essay structure for English academic writing. That means I will be looking for clear thesis statements, clear topic sentences that connect to the thesis, supporting details for your main body points and a conclusion that is able to restate the ideas presented in your first four paragraphs. The goal of this assignment is two-fold. First, it's a chance for you to make corrections to the structure and content of your original diagnostic essay. Second, it is an opportunity to demonstrate some of the techniques we've talked about in class and use them in your own writing.

I would also like each one of you to include a quote from the article used to talk about the prompt. Please try and include the proper citation for your quote but if you're not sure how to properly quote/cite in APA, don't worry too much!

Important! Please note that one of the requirements for this assignment is that it be properly formatted. That means that your essay should be 2-4 pages, double-spaced, in 12-pt font (preferably Times New Roman). Also, make sure that your margins at set at 1 inch. 

Finally, for five additional or "extra credit" points, you can submit an outline with your essay, following the format and examples we talked about in class.

So, to review, here is a checklist of the things I will be looking for in your diagnostic revision:

- a Title 

- An introductory paragraph with a clear thesis statement

- Three main points in support of your thesis statement, each presented in a separate paragraph that includes a clear topic sentence as well as supporting evidence to back up the topic sentence.

- A conclusion (that restates the central point of your essay) 

- One quotation from the article (with citation)

- Proper formatting (following the guidelines given above)

Your essay will be due in Dropbox at 12:00 pm on Thursday, September 20th. Also, please print and bring a copy with you to class on the 20th as well. If you have any questions, please send me an email.

Diagnostic Article and Prompt 

What Our Language Habits Reveal

A really interesting Ted talk about how language unites us and how it's evolution allows us to view the evolution of the mind and of humanity in general from a new perspective.

Stephen Pinker on Lanugage and Thought

Reflective Assignment #1

We have talked about how writing styles are different (or the same) in different cultures and how one’s cultural identity comes through in your writing.  We have also talked about ways to come up with and develop ideas to write about. In at least 300 words, describe your own personal style of writing by answering the following questions:

 -What is your preferred style of writing?  Does this change depending on the assignment? (For instance, does your style change if you are writing a paper for a humanities class vs. writing in a science-related class? Do you ever do any personal writing? How would you describe that?).

-Were any of the cultural writing styles we discussed surprising to you?  If your own culture was mentioned, did you agree or disagree with what was said about that style?

-When you are ready to begin a paper, do you use any brainstorming techniques?  If so, what do you use?  If not, what do you do?  What is your method?

-After you brainstorm, what do you think is the logical next step? How do you organize your ideas before you begin the writing process? Why is organization important in formal academic writing?