Notes and Homework from Friday

Before I post the pics from Friday, I just want to say that I'm surprised and a little disappointed that we didn't have a more fruitful conversation about essays and writing on Wednesday. I'm confused: I was under the impression (mostly because of less-than-whispered complaining) that you guys had some built up consternation about essay grades and my expectations of you. This was my earnest attempt at mitigating your concerns and the deafening silence of both periods was wildly unexpected. Couple that with an out-of-class schedule long absent of students wanting to talk about how to improve and I'm going to assume that all is well-received, accepted, and appreciated. Your rate of improvement is solid - I'll try and rely on that as an indicator of dedication.

Now to Friday's notes and HW:

Writing workshop

We are going to take some time out of poetry study on Wednesday and Friday for writing instruction. Please come prepared with your essay (especially 8th, as they are not yet in the gradebook) and specific questions about essay writing. When considering your questions, make sure they are directed to trying to better understand my comments and how you might address them in revisions. If you take umbrage with some of my critiques, save it for a sit-down between the two of us, as your colleagues will not benefit (except for some entertainment value).

On the whole, your writing has improved dramatically from where we started in September. One collective note of caution: nobody is prepared to turn out an A paper the night before it is due. Many, many of you would have seen a meteoric rise in your score had you proofread (or better yet, had multiple others proofread) and spent some time improving fluency (see the rubric for exactly what I mean).

Comments and discussion of this post are not mandatory, but maybe you have some preliminary questions or comments that classmates can help with.

Crime and Punishment - translations

1. Pevear and Volokhonsky

2. Coulson

Look for the above (in that order) but if you've purchased something different, it's okay.

-RMH