Modules assignment Critical thinking

Testing, 1, 2, 3. Testing, Testing:

Sooo, as I have said in another document in our Modules for this class, all pages in all parts of this class

are listed for the instructor, along with all the names of all the students in the class. Beside each page is

a list of the number of times each student has gone onto that page and how long (in minutes and

seconds) each students has spent on each page. It's a little bit like "Big Brother," I know. And I am not

convinced that minutes and seconds on a page necessarily translates into REAL LEARNING.

Besides, this class is about how well you WRITE in ACADEMIC WRITING after taking English 1A and

learning how to cite sources, how to integrate your own words (paraphrasing) with quotes from the

text; how to develop an argument; how to employ critical thinking in a second semester of critical

analysis and academic writing.

Reading is also a big deal in both English 1A and English 1B. How well you read is not something I can

actually figure out. But what I can do is see how you THINK by how you refer to the text, use quotes with

paraphrasing, and how you systematically and LOGICALLY put forward a DISCUSSION (presenting two or

more sides of the question being answered).

For example, in the story "A & P," are the 3 girls "wearing nothing but bathing suits" totally oblivious?

There are two good answers: YES. No. I have already sent you textual references to the story to help you

see both answers ACCORDING TO THE TEXT OF THE STORY. Remember, the TEXT IS EVERYTHING. You

cannot claim something that cannot be supported by the text of the story. You conclusions and

implications must come from the text itself, and they must be reasonable within the context of the text

of itself.

KEEPING TRACK OF YOUR SUCCESS SO FAR:

I can read what you are writing, and I can look at the data for the Modules. So, it is easy for me, as your

instructor, to know who is spending time in the Modules and who is NOT spending time in the Modules.

Who has spent enough time with the Syllabus to have read it carefully, for example? There was an

Announcement earlier this semester, too.

I can also look at your developing growth as a writer: are you using more critical thinking in Week 8 than

you did in Week 1? Are you PROOFREADING MORE CAREFULLY now in Week 8 than in Week 1? Is your

writing improving? And so on....

The on-going Vocabulary List is another way for me to know who is spending time in the Modules and

taking time to see/find the Vocabulary words and create a list of definitions.

But SO WHAT? How does a vocabulary list matter? It doesn't IF YOU DON'T MAKE IT MATTER. Learning is

something that YOU do. HOW TO THINK is far more important than WHAT TO THINK. Keep that in mind

when you are feeling lost and want more directions. I understand the need for directions. In English 1B, I

have given specific questions for each story or required a reading response. I have tried to give word

counts.

I just sent the vocab list for Aug 24 to Sept 19 with 40 words and how I formatted my list. You may

format your list differently, and that is fine. Do what you need to do to learn.

I just sent the "A & P" textual references and the structure of a debate discussion on the question about

the 3 girls.

I hope you are comparing the items that I sent against what you did for your answers (Vocab, "A & P").

TESTING 1, 2, 3. For Real:

I am going to give you a full week to answer the 4 questions in the test below. Then #5 is MLA format.

This test will likely take you 4-6 full pages, double-spaced, 24 lines per page. Use an MLA formatted

document with PERFECT MLA format. Answer each question. I have given you a word-count guideline,

but you can do MORE if you like. I would not elect to do less, however. It is likely going to be 1500-1900

words.

PROOFREADING ALOUD also means CUTTING repetitive sections. It means writing MORE than you need

at first. But during the proofreading process, you can SHORTEN your writing by getting your ideas clear

in you mind and finding ways to say it with FEWER words. What does the word "VERBOSE" mean? Don't

be pretentious, please. Just say it like you mean it.

If you are worried about grades at this point, think of each questions 1-3 as worth 20 points; they are

merely informational with some analysis. But #4 is the big question because it is HOW TO THINK; #4 is

worth 30 points, and #5 is merely about MLA format, so it is worth 10 points. How about that for helping

you gauge your work for this test?

I tend to grade holistically anyway. And I LOOK CLOSELY AT WRITING SKILLS in Standard Written English

as well.

Blessings,

Mr. Edd

P.S. I am setting this up in CANVAS as 0 points, just like all writing so far, since we are still in only Week

8-9. But as I am reading through YOUR individual answers, I will be thinking about the points spread that

I supplied in a hypothetical way above. I still read holistically; I still want to see evidence of HOW TO

THINK (#4) rather than What to Think that is in questions 1-3 and in the format requirements of #5. So

once you have written your answers to questions 1-3 and set up your MLA format for your document

(#5), invest in some SYNTHESIS thinking: PUTTING THE 3 QUESTIONS together into ONE answer.... I hope

this P.S. helps....