ENG 1103: Syllabus Exercise and Collaborative Writing

This morning in class, we will review the syllabus exercise that you completed on Monday. After that, 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.

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.

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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.