About Class Blog

This is a course blog for students in Kristin Scott’s Fall, 2008 Composition class in the Department of English at George Mason University. Students respond critically to specific readings and assignments, but others (outside the class and/or college) are also invited to comment, as long as the commentary is related to the class concerns or topics being addressed (otherwise, comment will not be approved). For more information about this course or the blog, please email me.

Students: please read the course description and blog requirements below. Afterwards, you MUST register with WordPress (if you haven’t already), log in, and post a comment that indicates that you understand what is required of you (in terms of regular blogging). If you have any questions, please post those, as well.

Purpose of Class Blog:
Our class will use this online blog as an extension of our in-class learning community. Discussion on this site will help you start thinking critically about our readings and the writing process; class discussions and workshops will then allow us to further deepen our understanding of writing issues within the classroom. This course blog also enables a public format for student questions and working through problems: if one has difficulty with a particular text or assignment, the whole class can benefit from the ensuing discussion. Therefore, I strongly urge you all to use this blog collaboratively – ask questions and engage in online discussions.

Blog Requirements:

Each Monday (by the end of that day’s class), your readings and/or other assignments for the week will be posted. Be sure, however, to check the blog before each class, to make sure no changes have been made to the reading schedule for that week and that you are aware of any additional announcements or required assignments (beyond the blog responses). Although you will all receive a syllabus on the first day of class, I sometimes change readings or assignment dates, so if there is ever a conflict between the syllabus and the class blog, the BLOG WILL BE THE MOST UPDATED AND OFFICIAL SCHEDULE.

Every student must respond to the assignment prompts no later than 8 a.m. the following Monday). So, for example, the first Response Assignment post will go online by 9:30 a.m. on Monday, August 25th (with the week’s readings and assignment); you must post your response/writing assignment on the blog (via the “comments” tab) by the following Monday, September 1st (no later than 8 a.m.) in order to receive credit for that assignment. Each assignment will detail exactly what is expected, how you should turn it in, and by when, but this (as described above) will be the general pattern.

Because the internet and/or our servers sometimes fail us, I strongly encourage you to write out your blog response first in a Word document and then cut and paste your response online. This way, if you hit the send button and you are not connected or an error occurs, you will not lose the work you just did. In those rare instances in which you are not able to post online, for whatever reason, I will then expect your response on paper as soon as you arrive to class that morning. Also, in the event of an absence, please try to still post a response (on time), so you at least receive credit for that assignment.

These posts will cumulatively make up a considerable part of your overall grade; thus, missing more than a few will hugely impact your final grade. Response assignment grades will be based primarily on how well you follow the prompt/s, how well you engage with other students and online class discussions, as well as your demonstrated understanding of or engagement with the readings. Emphasis will be placed on quality of writing (over quantity) and one’s ability to contextualize readings (making responses relevant to the broader concepts being discussed), engage the writing process, and work collaboratively with others within this online forum.