reading and writing

Informal Writing

Informal or “low stakes” writing covers all the writing that falls under the minor commitments on the grading contract. These texts are informal because we won’t be revising them as major projects, and, while we may use them as examples of successful writing techniques, they will not be assessed for the effectiveness of the writing. Instead, I want the focus of these pieces to be reflection, inquiry, and free thought. In other words, when you are writing these, don’t worry about how well you are crafting your sentences; worry about whether you are engaging thoughtfully with the tasks. I want to know what you are thinking, and I want you to focus on what you’re thinking and why. Don’t worry if you jump from one thought to another without transition or if you get sidetracked by an unexpected thought. In short, write freely.

Informal writing might include but is not limited to

· Responses to readings

· In-class writing

· Group work reports

· Quizzes

Not all informal writing will be turned in; often, we write to learn, to discover what we think and know, and it isn’t always necessary for me to read everything. I will read all reading responses and quizzes, but I may not always comment unless I want to ask some thought provoking questions, make some suggestions for how to exceed my expectations, or I want to let you know that you have exceeded my expectations.

Reading Responses

We will have some activity required in response to course readings. Most often, this will be a 1 to 2 page written response that should follow the pattern below. Sometimes, the response will be to use the ideas from the reading to complete some part of a major project.

For most responses, I will ask you to

· Summarize what you believe to be the main point of the reading (it will be helpful for you to think about why I’ve assigned the reading as you try to focus on the author’s primary purpose).

· Explain key terms/concepts about writing emphasized or employed in the reading; I will post these terms in a separate document the week before we discuss the assigned reading.

· Reflect on and respond to the main ideas of the reading. This should be the most substantial part of your response, in which I want you to reflect thoughtfully on what the reading is saying about writing, how that relates to your own experiences, and what you think or feel about those ideas. With the key terms, I will include guiding questions to help you respond, but you should feel free to follow the train of your own thoughts

To get credit for these responses, you need to convince me that you engaged with them thoughtfully. All informal writing is graded on a credit/no credit basis. If I do not feel you have completed the assignment, or that you have engaged sufficiently with the task, I will leave a comment telling you that I cannot give you credit. THAT IS NOT FINAL. You should be a self-advocate in communicating with me if you did in fact do the best you could. Writing is difficult, and many of our readings are very challenging; it is very possible that you put a great deal of time thought and effort into a response that I fail to see in my experience of the text. I can be persuaded, and the effort to persuade me is a good learning opportunity for both of us.