Week #8 - Assignment #1- Self Editing and Final Copy
Before you revise the technology essay, you need to practice self editing. One of the best strategies is to read the draft out loud. Listen to yourself. If possible, record as you read. Then, play the reading back and follow along. You will be amazed at the number of words and/or sentences that you will see that could be better if revised.
Another strategy is to give a paper copy of your draft (all three parts) to a friend or family member. Ask that person to follow along as you read. Ask the partner to mark on the paper if there is an error or something that the listener does not understand. Discuss after you read.
Yet another strategy is to read your own paper, sentence by sentence, from the last sentence to the first. Do read each sentence in order. Do not read the sentence from the last word to the first. This activity will help you to focus on each sentence as a stand-alone sentence. It is easier to fine tune when you look at one sentence at a time.
Week #8 - Assignment #1- Self Editing
Select one of the strategies for self editing as described above. Self edit your introduction, middle, and conclusion of the technology essay. In a paragraph or two, explain what you need to do to revise your essay. Also state which strategy you used to self edit.
Once your revisions are made, post the final copy of the technology essay in Canvas. Use MLA style. Include in-text citations and a separate Works Cited page. Be sure your self editing notes are listed before the essay.
Editing notes: 10
Revised essay: 90
Total: 100
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This week you will be working on personal writing. Some books call this personal reminiscence. Others call it the personal essay. A few call it essay of experience. Still others refer to it as writing a memoir. Whatever you choose to call it, the instructions are somewhat the same.
Week #8 - Assignment #2 - What is a memoir?
Your first task is to find out how professionals write memoirs. Read "How to Write a Memoir."
https://theamericanscholar.org/how-to-write-a-memoir/#.WAhZ-48rKUk
Make a "Top 10" list of the best tips offered by William Zinssar. These tips should guide your own memoir writing. Explain how you will apply each tip to your own writing or share why it will improve your writing.
Sample tip: Zinssar noted about the history his own father wrote, "He just wrote the way he talked, and now, when I read his sentences, I hear his personality and his humor, his idioms and his usages, many of them an echo of his college years in the early 1900s." That line would make my Top 10 ." When writing a memoir, I try to remember that I am telling a story about me. I mentally pretend to tell the story to one of my own children or grandchildren, or someone far off in the future! I try to talk on paper the same way I speak.
(30 points)
Week #8 - Assignment #3 - Sample Memoirs
If a picture is worth a thousand some sample essays are prieless!
Read and analyze two sample essays and six short sample paragraphs:
#1
Questions:
1.
As you read, look for
specific details that help the story to come alive. List 10 specific details.
2.
Look for actions of
the people that help to illustrate the story. List 5 actions.
3.
What lesson or lessons
did Amy Tan, the author learn from this
experience? (Memoirs illustrate lessons about life.)
#2 Some additional information and one more
sample: http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/composition/personal.htm
Read the sample essay and answer these questions.
POINTS TO PONDER:
·
Does
this essay have a point? What is it and where did you become aware of it?
·
Does
the essay's silliness detract from whatever point it might be trying to make?
·
Some of
the paragraphs in this essay are very short. Is that appropriate?
·
Does
the essay use quoted speech effectively?
·
Does
the essay end appropriately, or do you think the writer just got tired of
writing? Was the essay too long or too short?
Rate each from 1-10 with 10 being the highest. In one sentence, explain why you awarded the score.
Week #6 - Assignment #3 - Memoir Writing Draft
Review:
1. A memoir is a true story.
2. You are the star of the story!
3. Conversation is more informal than formal. In other words, people sound the same way they talk. However, please used correct punctuation.
4. A memoir is brief - 2 or 3 pages.
5. Use past tense - this is a story from the past.
5. The memoir teaches a lesson of some sort. It makes a point.
Review:
1. A memoir is a true story.
2. You are the star of the story!
3. Conversation is more informal than formal. In other words, people sound the same way they talk. However, please used correct punctuation.
4. A memoir is brief - 2 or 3 pages.
5. Use past tense - this is a story from the past.
5. The memoir teaches a lesson of some sort. It makes a point.
Now, it is your
turn. Think of an event from your past that you would like to pass on to
friends or family. I once wrote the story of the first fish I ever caught while
fishing in Yellowstone with my dad. I was about five at the time. I gave
that story to my dad as a Father's Day gift years ago. He still talks about
it.
Here is a brief
checklist to use after you have written your memoir.
A. What is your point?
What lesson did you try to teach?
B. What was the
conflict? (You need one!)
C. Did you tell the
story from your point of view? (1st person)
D. Did you tell where
and when the story took place?
E. Did you tell the
story in chronological order?
F. What did you do to
capture the attention of the reader in your opening paragraph? Look back at the
sample essays for ideas.
If you can check off A
through F, then you are ready to post the draft!
Points: 50
Have a great day!
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