A Few Tips on This Blogging Activity

I know that going to the internet can be demanding in terms of time and money. So, I've come up with a few tips to help you go about your regular blogging tasks:

1. If you are the type of writer who needs time to think before you can scribble down your thoughts,  I suggest you write down what you want to blog about before typing or encoding it. That way, you don't eat up too much of your internet time composing your thoughts. It will also give you time to edit your post before it becomes readable to the public.

2. First things first. Don't open any other social networks (like friendster or Facebook) until you are done with your blogging tasks ( you have read and posted blogs/comments). That way, you don't get distracted and spend too much time in the internet without having accomplished your blog tasks. Blogging will not consume more than an hour. So you are only to spend say 20 pesos per week on this blogging tasks. That is if you don't do other stuffs in the internet other than blogging.


3. Stay connected with classmates. If others have gone to the internet and checked on my post ahead of you,  it would be smart to inquire. That way you can prepare what to write about and manage your time wisely.

I guess that is all for now.
Remember that you do have assignments in our class apart from blogging.
Blogging is similar to journal writing only that it is more interactive and your writing may be viewed by many people.
It is more or less permanent.
Whatever you've written here, though it can be edited, stays in your blogsite for as long as you want. And years from now, people, including yourself, might still be able to read your blogs.   

Where are your blogs?

I appreciate many of you who tell me how I can find or access your blogs by providing me the links (to do that, you copy the URL address, i.e. http://writinginthediscipline.blogspot.com, and paste it on your post), while the others follow themselves so their blog sites appear among the blogs they follow and I can easily click on them.  Now for the others whose blogs I can't find,  please  make sure that I do.

Your blogging task this week is to update your blogs (learning blogs and tasks). It means, if you haven't created a personal blog site yet, you must create your personal blog site. If you haven't posted blogs, do all the blog tasks you haven't done. If you have done those I've mentioned, comment on at least five (5) of your classmates' blogs.

The next blog task is for you to blog about your thoughts on Christmas or the happenings during this season. Read what the others blogged about and comment on at least five (five) blogs on the same topic.

Make sure that you have at least 10 comments (my comments not included in the counting) on your personal blog  before 2010.

So keep blogging and encourage others to follow you.

subject predicate video

Prof. Ferdinand Nakila who is teaching integration of technology in secondary English classrooms found this funny video on writing a complete sentence. It is one criterion in making a thesis statement. Watch and learn.

Learning Blog

I am happy to read all your blogs and I am looking forward to reading more of your learning blogs. This blogging task enables me to see how you, my students, are coping with our classroom learning. It also enables me to know you better as individual learners.  I like to hear feedback from you and I am also encouraging you to give feedbacks to your classmate's post. You may agree or add something to what they've posted or you may also disagree and post your opinion on the matter.

I hope you will find this interactive blogging not only enjoyable but also enriching in your learning how to write in English. Remember that one does not solely write for the sake of writing. One writes for others to read and readers write about what they've read. Reading and writing always go hand in hand.

So keep on reading and writing blogs.

extending the deadline

I just had a full five-day travel and am now back in the comforts of my home.

I delivered a paper - a scholarly study on the effects of two types of grammar instruction on students' accuracy. There were other presenters as well both local and international. I was with three other IIT instructors from the department of English. The tri-international conference was both enlightening and invigorating. Thank God for the safe and successful travel.

So I am back. And I am very tired.

I am happy to know many of you, my students. are working on the assignments I gave. To give you enough time, I am extending the deadline on the collection of samples of the different methods of paragraph development till 4p.m. Friday this week, December 11, 2009. All other assignments on the workbook, if ever I have assigned any, will be due on our first meeting this week.

I hope this has been a helpful announcement.

Something to Keep you Busy

Like I announced in class, I shall not be able to meet you beginning today, Wednesday, until Friday, as I will be traveling to Manila to present my paper on language teaching in an international conference. Should some of you chanced upon  visiting the classroom or the office, you may see Ms. Lua Burias whom I have requested to give you the details re the next assignment on the workbook. Outlines on yellow paper may be submitted to her as well.

Why should I keep you busy? Writing is a skill and good writing does not develop overnight. Just as you never learn to swim by being in a lecture class or shoot a ball by only watching the game, so you will never improve your writing by just listening to a lecture in writing or reading about it. Organizing ideas, for example, is something you have to get used to before you can actually come up with a very unified and coherent composition. Informal writing is usually easier to organize since it is free flowing but formal writing, especially technical writing, takes time to organize and requires more precise and appropriate words. Thus, you need to immerse yourself into writing.

To familiarize yourself with the different methods of paragraph development (please see your course workbook on this), work with your partner (same partner/s on outlining) and cut out authentic samples of different methods of paragraph development. Paste each sample on a short bond paper, label it and cite the source where you got the sample. Please use APA style for citation. Make a title page for your collection and write the following criteria for rating your work:

20% correct reference citation
20% creativity
20% authentic samples (one or more of the same on each page)
20% ability to complete the task on time
20% neatness
-----------------
100%
 
Deadline is on Tuesday or Wednesday next week, Dec 8 or 9, 2009.

A few reminders: Blog tasks have to be done online. When you make a cluster, right click on it and save as picture file so you can upload it on your site.

Enjoy the tasks and keep blogging.  Merry Christmas everyone.

Writing in the Discipline: selecting a topic and narrowing it down

Writing in the Discipline: selecting a topic and narrowing it down

selecting a topic and narrowing it down

One of the most challenging prewriting step is choosing a topic. If you don't like a topic, you are not likely to want to write about it. If you like a topic but don't know much about it, you may want to know more about it but you may later be overwhelmed by the many new ideas you have learned or discovered about the topic that you might not be able to thread all these information into a coherent whole. Thus, the safest thing to do for a novice writer is to choose a topic that is not only interesting but also one he or she knows fairly much about. 

It may be not possible of course to know everything about a topic but choosing a topic that one already is well acquainted with will make the writing task more manageable. For example, if the writer needs to read further about the chosen topic, he or she will not have to start from scratch nor will he or she be looking for just about anything under the chosen topic. 

Deciding on a focus for a chosen topic is called narrowing it down. It makes the writing task realizable. 

 

In class, I have shown you how we try to narrow down a broad topic by asking you questions such as: What do you want to write or talk about global warming?  Do you want to talk about its effects or its causes?  Then we did some clustering and concept mapping to help you see how we can come up with a more specific topic and with lots of ideas for writing about it later.

Here is a helpful link on narrowing topics.

After narrowing your topic, I asked you to make a thesis statement - a sentence that encapsulates your view, stand or conclusion on the chosen topic. For instance,  if you chose for a topic - the major cause of global warming, you may need to answer the question -  What is the major cause for global warming? The answer to it should be phrased in a sentence to make up a thesis statement. Clearly, a statement is not a fragment but a sentence.

 

Here is a helpful link on writing a thesis statement.

 

Now, think of another topic - one that will be easy for you to write about. Narrow it down by clustering ideas or mapping concepts. Write your specific topic and the thesis statement for the topic. Write this down on a one whole sheet of paper and submit on the second meeting this week (Thurs or Friday). 

 

You may find helpful ideas on clustering and  concept mapping here.

 

That's all for now.

On getting around this blog project

Welcome to the rest of you who have just followed this official blogsite for our English 2 classes this second semester. I see a few have followed my earlier instruction. For those who are just coming in, it is important that you click on all my posts which can be seen on the lower right side of your screen so you would know what to do. It is important that you follow directions. For the most part of my brief blogs, I am simply trying to get you acquainted or familiar with how this site works.

But here are a few more things you must do before we get started at your blogging project which we call your learning log. Other than following me, you must create your own blog site. For example, this blog site is named Writing in the Discipline and my name is Lynnie. You can name your blog in any way decent and appealing to your readers which includes me. When I click on your profile, I will then find your blog site and will follow it. You should also do the same for the other followers. That way you can follow your classmates' blogs and as they follow you and be able to make comments . Once more thing, please use a pic with your shirt on. Just as it's not right for you to entertain visitors at home without your shirt on, so it won't be right for you to enter my premises (my blog) not appropriately clad. So, change your pic to something more becoming of a university student. You don't have to look formal just appropriate.

For your first blogging assignment which is due on November 22, 2009, you must blog about what you think and feel towards writing in English. Make sure that you use only English or if you need to use a vernacular word you have to provide a translation in English. The blog can be up to 150 or more words.

If you have any query, don't hesitate to post a comment here.

I will look forward to your writing and a better pic for your profile:-)

identifying oneself

I would like to congratulate three of the early followers of this blog. I see that you have your profile pics and I read, at least in one of you, a personal description of oneself. Nice.

Let me, however, remind all writers to spell out your words correctly so you are better understood.

And so I can remember to give credit where credit is due, I prefer that you name yourself, not necessarily your blog site, just write your full name with your pic followed by your section. For example,Marie Jess Lea Abarquez B1-1

That way I can easily keep track of you.

My pic has my first name for identification.

Thanks.

on tripping over and missing classes

Today, I met a little accident and tripped over. I fell heavily on my knees and got a swollen right knee and a badly sprained left foot. I had first aid and managed to relieve the agonizing pain. As of this writing, I can only manage to limp from my PC to my room. I missed today's classes and will miss tomorrow's classes as well.

So what I want you to do is create your blogsite and acquaint yourself with it. Never forget to create one. You can follow me even without a blogsite here but you can't blog which is important.

Free to type in questions if you have.

To write or not to write

So here it is. The blog site for our class. You need to follow me to know the activities and assignments you need to do online. By doing so, you must create your blog account here. Make sure to use your original name.

Some rules to observe. This is a public site so you need to refrain from giving personal details about your life. You should avoid using derogatory, foul and abusive language.

Be nice.