This morning in class, I will return your reflections-in-progress, and you and three of your classmates will compose two paragraphs that incorporate some of the details from your individual reflections. Afterward, we will review the syllabus exercise that you completed on Monday.

Directions

1. Discuss your writing with your group members, and collaboratively plan and compose two paragraphs that address your various experiences with your most recent literature and composition courses.
2. In the first paragraph, provide a summary of your experiences. Your first sentence might begin something like this: Our recent English courses include Advanced Placement Language and Composition, AP Literature and Composition, and courses focusing on American literature and journalism. The sentences that follow should include more specific details, such as some of the works that you studied, identified by title and/or author, and one or more of the major assignments. Keep in mind that your first paragraph is a summary, which by definition is objective. Do not comment on the courses; simply provide an overview of them.
3. In the second paragraph, offer commentary on the courses. (Here is where your personal observations enter the writing.) Since you will not be able to address everyone’s take on all of the courses, you’ll need to be selective. One way to organize the paragraph is to focus on some of the differences among your group members’ experiences; focusing on similarities is another option. Yet another option is this: focusing on how the courses contributed to your group members’ development as writers, as analytical readers, as both, or as neither.
4. After the note taker has recorded your paragraphs, allow time for each group member to review them and offer recommendations for revisions. Discuss any suggestions for changes and edit as needed.

---

Next Up

Wordplay Day! To prepare for class, visit the Dictionary and World Builder pages on the Scrabble website, and review tomorrow’s post on my blog devoted to Scrabble tips. If you have never played Scrabble before, be sure to watch this short video on how to play Scrabble.

Before tomorrow’s class, be sure to complete the following tasks.

Review yesterday’s blog post as well as the syllabus. If you added the class after our first meeting on Monday, you can download the syllabus from Blackboard. In your journal, jot down any questions you have about the course.

Also, if you added the class after our first meeting on Monday, begin composing a reflective essay focusing on your most recent experiences in literature and/or composition courses. Begin your essay with a one-paragraph summary. Keep in mind that summaries are by nature objective. Do not comment on the courses, simply offer an overview of them.

Follow those paragraphs with your observations on the courses. (Here is where your personal observations enter the writing.) Points to address include the following:

• Were the courses similar to or different from your previous English classes? How?
• Did the courses contribute to your development as a writer, an analytical reader, both, or neither?
• How did those courses shape your attitude towards writing and/or reading?
• How do you anticipate that English 1103 may be similar to or different from those courses?

If you haven’t purchased or rented it already, order the textbook, the paperback edition of Writing Analytically, 9^th edition, by David Rosenwasser and Jill Stephen. Bring your journal to class along with your other required materials, which are listed in the syllabus and pictured in yesterday’s post.

Also, as soon as possible, create a free WordPress blog at wordpress.com, and email the URL to me so that I can link your blog to the class page.

---

Because writing longhand and limiting screen time are essential components of the class, I am including below some notes that illustrate why those practices, which may seem quaint, are vital to our work.

Writing Longhand

One practical reason for writing longhand: What we mark through remains on the page. Sometimes what we cross out can be useful later on, elsewhere in our writing. More importantly, research in cognitive neuroscience indicates that writing longhand has these benefits:

• We remember more when we write notes by hand.
• Writing cursive activates areas of the brain that remain dormant when we type.

Simply put, writing longhand sharpens our minds in ways that typing doesn’t.

Limiting Screen Time

When we use our phones and laptops, it’s difficult for us to give our undivided attention to one endeavor, but often that singular focus is critical.

When we type on our phones, we often aim to convey as much as we can with as few characters as possible. Texting and emailing–both of which now feature predictive text–do not foster the vital skills of developing our writing and producing original thought.

Limiting our screen time not only helps us improve our writing skills, it can also benefit our overall well-being.

• The blue light of screens disrupts our circadian rhythms more than other light does, making it harder for us to sleep.
• Psychological studies demonstrate a correlation between screen time and both anxiety and depression.

The research cited in the links that I’ve included above isn’t definitive, but it makes a strong case for the value of limiting our screen time and putting pen to paper. I encourage you to continue these practices after the semester ends.

---

Next Up

On Wednesday, I will return the reflective writing that you began on Monday, and you and three of your classmates will draw on your individual pieces of writing to create a collaborative text.

As you leave our English 1103 class for the last time, aim to continue the practices you have cultivated this semester, including blogging. Although you may prefer to delete your major writing assignments from your blog, I encourage you to maintain your WordPress site. Tailoring it to showcase your writing and other projects in your major—and posting your resume on it too—will serve you well when you apply for internships and jobs. In your application cover letters, you can direct employers to your blog by writing, To learn more about my work, please visit my website: [yourblogname.wordpress.com].

For many of you, composing longhand isn’t preferable to typing—and often it isn’t for me either—but I recommend putting pen to paper at least occasionally, especially when you find yourself struggling to move forward with a piece of writing. The words you are now reading—and those in the other posts I composed this semester—all began as scribbles on paper. Also, remember that putting pen to paper offers us an opportunity to turn away from our screens, a practice that not only benefits our writing but also our overall well-being.

Envision how the papers you wrote for English 1103 and your other classes may evolve into larger projects for upper-level courses or conference presentations. Look back at those assignments and ask yourself the same questions that you addressed in your final essay for English 1103: What larger project might develop from it? What would serve as its theoretical framework?

The photographs included in this post feature former students of mine who produced projects chosen for High-PURCS (High Point University Research and Creativity Symposium) 2025. Please attend the 2026 conference in April at the Qubein Center. Attending will show your support for your fellow students’ hard work—and it may also inspire ideas for projects of your own.

---

Superlatives

Congratulations to the students who have earned the highest preliminary averages and to those who achieved perfect attendance.

Highest Preliminary Averages

• Section 8: Kylie Bussell, Avery Falor, Chloe Freeman, Raven Houston, Campbell Nelson, Lexi Owensby, Luke Simpson
• Section 18: Cameron Anderson, Mariana Pavajeau, Heloise Richer, Haven Tucker, Bailey Upchurch

Perfect Attendance

• Section 8: Chloe Freeman, Raven Houston, Ethan Howard
• Section 18: Jorja Mangeot

---

Parting Thoughts

The essayist Susan Sontag advised writers to “[l]ove words, agonize over sentences. And pay attention to the world.” As you commence life after English 1103, keep those words in mind.

This morning in class, you will receive the assignment for the individual presentation that you will deliver during the exam period. An additional copy is posted on Blackboard, and the directions are also included below.

Overview

As a finalist for a much-sought-after internship in your field, you are required to deliver a concise and engaging presentation that highlights your achievements in English 1103 and demonstrates your ability to effectively assume the responsibilities that the internship requires of you. Among the aspects of the course that you should address are one or more of your major writing assignments and the development of your critical thinking and collaboration skills. You are encouraged but not required to address additional aspects of the course.

Directions for Planning

1. Plan a brief presentation of approximately three minutes that highlights your achievements in English 1103 and demonstrates your ability to effectively assume the responsibilities that the internship in your field requires of you.
2. Address one or more of your major writing assignments and the development of your critical thinking and collaboration skills. You are encouraged but not required to address additional aspects of the course.
3. Include the following in your presentation:

• An opening in which you state your first and last names and your major,
• Details from your experiences in the course that illustrate the development of your writing, your critical thinking, and your collaboration skills
• A close examination of one pertinent passage in your blog, and
• A conclusion that provides closure and invites questions from the interview committee.

Directions for Rehearsing

1. In preparation for rehearsing, write your notes on index cards. If your notes are in complete sentences, rewrite them to include only words and short phrases for your key points. If your notes are too detailed, you will risk relying heavily on them and making minimal eye contact with the interview committee. Make as much eye contact as possible and be sure to make eye contact with committee members throughout the room rather than fixing your eyes on one or two people.
2. Because you are required to project your blog on the classroom screen, you should familiarize yourself with the presentation station. Demonstrating that you are not adept at using the technology required for your presentation may jeopardize your chances for obtaining the internship. If you have not used the presentation station, I encourage you to devote part of today’s class period to familiarizing yourself with its setup.
3. Practice good posture. As you deliver your presentation, your ears should be directly above your shoulders. If you tend to shift your weight from one foot to the other—a distracting habit that’s sometimes called rocking the boat—stand with your feet perpendicular to each other. If you do, you will not be able to shift your weight from one foot to the other.
4. Avoid filler words, such as um, like, and you know. If you tend to use filler words, practice pausing at the points where you are likely to use fillers.
5. Optional: Rehearse with a classmate. Take turns delivering your presentations and offering feedback. Offer both suggestions for improvement and words of encouragement.

---

Peer Responses

After we discuss your presentation assignment, you will read a final essay and annotated bibliography written by one of your classmates and compose a response to it.

Directions

1. Go to the class blog page, and choose one student’s essay and bibliography for your response. You are welcome to respond to any student in section eight or eighteen whose subject for the project is different from your own.
2. Read the student’s essay and bibliography and compose a response (75 words, minimum) that addresses two or more of these elements: the title, the introductory paragraph, the mention of a larger project that could develop from the research and the theoretical framework that would guide it, the bibliography’s commentaries.
3. Does the blog post include an image that documents part of the blogger’s writing process away from the screen? (yes or no)
4. Does the post include a relevant embedded link? (yes or no)
5. Compose your response on the lines below and on the ones on the back of this sheet. Use additional paper if you need more space.

---

Blog Checklist

If you complete your peer response before the end of the period, use your remaining time to consult the checklist and make any necessary changes. An additional copy of the list, which you will receive in class today, appears below.

Content

• All three major writing assignments—the literacy narrative, the analysis, and the final essay and annotated bibliography—remain published on the blog as three separate blog posts and are accessible to site visitors.
• The posts’ titles are the ones you created for the assignments, not the assignment labels.
• All three posts include an image that documents part of your writing process away from the screen.  
• All three posts include an embedded link to a relevant website (a site related to the subject of the assignment).
• The embedded links are not tertiary (background) sources.

Form

• “Hello World” and any other placeholder posts have been deleted.
• The posts’ titles are not enclosed in quotation marks.
• If a title asks a question, it includes a question mark.
• No single line or paragraph has an accidental division, and no other irregular spacing appears in the text.
• Recommended, not required: Headings, including Work Cited, Works Cited, and Annotated Bibliography, are presented as headings (H1 or H2 in the editor), not as paragraphs.
• Recommended, not required: Because of inconsistencies with indentations in the blogging platform, paragraphs are presented in block style

If you encounter any technical difficulties, email help@wordpress.com and explain the issue. A technician will contact you within twenty-four hours and help you resolve it.

---

Next Up

Wordplay Day! To prepare for class, revisit the Dictionary and World Builder pages on the Scrabble website, the Merriam-Webster Scrabble Word Finder page, and review the blog posts devoted to Scrabble tips.