workshop – E110: Seminar in Composition

Class, Fri, 11/15

Refining Essay 2

Trade drafts with your partner. Begin by reading silently through their piece (or through the sections they’ve marked). As you do, highlight the places in the text where the writer addresses these issues:

Project: Where does the writer articulate their project, what they’re aiming to accomplish in writing this piece? (This usually, though not always, takes the form of a couple of sentences that begin with something like: “In this essay, I look at . . .”)
Map: Where does the writer offer you a sense of how their essay will unfold? What do they tell you about how they will move from one section to the next of their piece? How do they describe the materials they will be working with? How do they describe their own method or approach?
Engaging With Others: Tara Westover argues that engaging with others who are different from us is the central task of education. Where in their piece does the writer do this work? How generously and accurately do they represent other views or experiences?
So What?: Where does the writer answer this question? What do they add to the conversation about their subject?
Small Stuff: Does the writer have a good title? A running head? What about the list of references? Help each other out with the technical stuff.

After you’ve read and annotated your drafts, have a conversation about them. What advice can you offer each other about how to add to or clarify these four aspects of their writing?

To Do

Mon, 11/18, class: Bring a print copy of the final version of your second essay to class, and post an electronic version of it to Google Drive. I will give a letter grade to this piece. We will also discuss digitizing texts.
Wed, 11/20, class: Studio time: Work on creating a version of your first or second essay to post on Medium.com.
Fri, 11/22 through Fri, 11/29: No class: Thanksgiving Break!
Mon, 12/02, class: Post the digitized version of your essay to Medium.com. We will construct an Arcade that allows us to view and discuss your work.
Wed, 12/04, class: Closing thoughts. Evaluations.
Mon, 12/09, 11:00 pm: Email me your revision of either Essay One or Essay Two (optional).

Class, Mon, 11/04

Workshops

Pretty much the same process as before. Read your drafts. (If you’ve written significantly over 1500 words, pick a 1500 word section to read.) Readers should focus on:

What’s working in this draft?
What does the writer need to work on more?

Added questions

What more do you need to know about the text the writer is discussing?
What more do you need to know about what the writer wants to say about that text?

Post-Workshop Memo

Send me an email in which you talk about:

What you need to say more about the text you’re writing about;
How you need to clarify your perspective on that text.

And

Any other questions you may have for me.

Revised Schedule

Of Interest

Fareed Zakaria interviews Tara Westover (8/19/2019)

To Do

Mon, 11/04, end of class: Email me a post-workshop memo. I will email you back with my comments.
Wed, 11/06, Fri, 11/08, and Mon, 11/11: No class meetings! (I will be at a conference.) Spend this time developing your good first draft into an amazing second draft. Consider making an appointment at the Writing Center to talk over your work with a tutor there.
Tues, 11/12, 5:30 pm, Mitchell Hall: Listen to Tara Westover speak. Bring your copy of Educated. You might be able to get her to sign it!
Wed, 11/13, class: Discuss Westover’s talk and your work on your second essays.

Class, Mon, 9/23

UD Climate Change Rally, Friday, 9/20

Workshopping X2

Getting Started

Do the fastwrite for Friday, 9/20. Read it as a way of telling your readers what sort of feedback you’d like to get to your piece.

Follow the Workshop Guidelines (As Before)

Added Question

What is most distinctive about this piece? (Think in terms of how the “moving parts” connect.) How can the writer develop this aspect of the piece?

To Do

Wed, 9/25, class: Watch the first 14 minutes, and then minutes 41–49, of the film version of Educating Rita. I’d like to talk about the “interpretive spin” the film puts on the play. (We will also continue today’s workshop of X2, if needed.)
Fri, 9/27, class: Read pp. 1-66 of Push, by Sapphire.