Writing About the Texts--Some Pointers

This blog will serve as the repository for your thoughts concerning the texts you'll be reading this semester. You should choose any three of the texts and write an entry which you will then post here on the blog. Each class member will have access to your blog post and will post comments to your own thoughts. Thus, you should respect the ideas and opinions of your classmates while also vocalizing your own opinions and concerns about the texts we read together as a class. Be creative, but always respectful of your audience.

What should you put in your blog entry? Obviously, you will not need to provide plot summary since everyone will have read the text. You should probably not simply regurgitate class discussion. Rather, you should use the blog post as a way to extend your own personal ideas concerning the text. You might examine a text in relation to something else you've read by the same author or from a different time period. You might also find the blog entry as a place to tidy up any loose ends you have in your understanding of the text in question. Ideally, you can also use the post as a way to address any problems or issues you have with the text. Remember, however, that you need to do more than simply blanketly praise or condemn in your blog post. Provide an intellectual response to your reading, one that you will be proud of others' reading later.

Each book will have a blog entry due date, roughly a week after the book has been discussed. If you do not post by that due date, I assume you are not posting on that book. Keep in mind that only one person can post at a time. If two people at two different computers try to log in at the same time, only one will be able to post. For that reason, I recommend writing your blog post in Word, then cutting and pasting it into the blog post, thus cutting down on the time needed for actual mechanics of posting.

Your grade for your post will be given to you on a notecard, then posted onto blackboard grade book. Each post will be worth up to 25 points. You must post on any three texts. If you do not post by the due date, you give up your right to post on that text. There are no late posts accepted.

Please comment on others' posts. You can earn extra credit if you do so. Make sure you sign your name when you comment.