Check-in About Class (10-15

I want to check in with the class in general. Here is a brief anonymous survey I’d like you to fill out now. Some of it might be hard to fully know if you haven’t done them enough yet, but do your best to answer honeslty.

Let’s take a few minutes and just think about how the class is going. How are the learning modules going? How is it going keeping up with the writing assignments? How about the readings?  Just think honestly about how it is going and what you need help with.

I want to have a conversation about any changes we might need to make.

 

 

Literacy Narrative Possibilities (15-20 min)

I read through a bunch of your responses, thanks for taking the time to do that on Discord. I may have missed you if you posted really close to class time, but I will give you credit for it if you did it when I get a chance to look again later.

I noted some interesting questions, like Daiki’s and Peng’s’ about using a literacy narrative to learn more about your identity. That gets at how writing can (or can’t) help make knowledge. What do you think about that? How does writing do that for you (or not)?

Several of you also mentioned frustrations (here and in your literacy narrative drafts) about not feeling “fluent” or “good” at any one of your languages…or that you didn’t feel that way about a particular language. I can understand that frustration. I’m wondering, though, if you can communicate why can’t you be proud of that? If you can still exchange meanings with others? (kind of like Kevin’s point about body language)

 

Narrative Tension and Literacy Narratives

I want to draw us to one part of a literacy narrative that is central, something Eman brought up:

“in a narrative,  the narrator is struggling against a tension, whether that tension is a specific situational conflict or a more abstract difficulty accepting or embodying a particular idea” (55)

 

Key questions:

what’s at stake?

what’s the challenge or obstacle?

why is this not a cut-and-dry or straightforward activity?

what evolves between generations within a family or cultural community, and how the language we use to define our lives is so very different from that of our parents and grandparents?

 

Other things to think about:

a literacy narrative can document a journey from confusion to fluency

a journey from not knowing to knowing or becoming part of a new community

literacy sponsor, someone who helepd you for language or knowledge

how did one type of literacy shape your identity?

juggling several linguistic identities…what’s that like and how has it impacted you?

p. 59 on what Liao learns from writing literacy narratives. something changes, it shows not tells, starts with single instance of reading/writing/etc., has some takeaway, you discover something

 

 

Revision Plan (20-25 min)

Revision can seem overwhelming if you don’t have a plan. That is what we are going to talk about now. I also want to note that if you turned in your literacy narrative by Sunday afternoon, you should have received comments from me on it!

Here are things to keep in mind about planning how you will revise:

1. It’s about love!!!! Ask yourself: What do you love about this piece? What do you want to return to and work on more? Why? Choose “love” and not “well, this was bad” or “well, this was pretty good.” Instead, what did you enjoy working on most? What is the most exciting part of this text? Why? How do you build off of that? Or, what about this text, generally, interests you the most? There will always be moments where you’ll have to revise something you don’t want to ever look at again. Still, even for something you rather not look at again (which will happen to you), finding something that attracts you to it, something that can make it a positive experience, will both motivate you and also help you to identify its strength.
2. Let yourself be guided. How can you let that excitement and energy guide you? What enhances that energy? What takes away from that energy?
3. Hear out others (including yourself). Part of (but not ONLY) what should inform you is the feedback you have received previously: my comments on your draft, peer response feedback, your old notes as you were working on the draft, etc.
4. Task list. Begin to develop some tasks that can assist you in addressing the above. (e.g., revise this paragraph, move this section up earlier and adjust it so it fits, add this supporting argument, do this analysis and see where it takes me, do more research for secondary sources). Consider what YOU want to do with the piece and the comments you received from others (NOTE: let me know if you are having trouble with reading my comments on a PDF that you submitted!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!).
5. Be specific. As you write out your tasks, you MUST be specific. Why are you doing this task? As in, what about your writing has led you to think you should do x to enhance the essay overall? How will you do this task? As in, what specifically do you have in mind as some potential changes that would work to address the “why” of the task you chose. For example: I will add more examples or secondary sources to support the claim I make in paragraph 4, I need to show a more cohesive transition between section 3 and 4, my argument is too broad so I need to be more specific about the limits of my argument when I make the main argument early on, I want to incorporate my lessons on style to many of sentences that are a little harder to read.
6. Be a planner. Finally, if helpful, begin to develop a schedule of when and how you will work on your revision. Revison (or any aspect of writing!) benefits from work that is spread out rather than work that happens all at once. A fresh mind is an asset. Backwards plan. “This is due 3/8, what do I need done by 2/24? By 2/28? By 3/4? Etc.”.
7. Are there new constraints? Are there new things you have to consider now? For instance, in our Literacy Narrative assignment you have to: consider the Liao reading in terms of the sorts of things Literacy Narratives tend to do, you have to consider the genre of the piece and audience expectations for that genre, and you have to pay more attention to style (e.g., what sorts of words does your audience expect?)

Let’s make a draft of your revision plan now

Begin to answer these questions:

1. What do you love about this piece? What do you want to return to and work on more? Why? Choose “love” and not “well, this was bad” or “well, this was pretty good.” Instead, what did you enjoy working on most? What is the most exciting part of this text? Why? How do you build off of that? Or, what about this text, generally, interests you the most?
2. What feedback will you incorporate do you think? Why?
3. What aspects of Liao’s perspective will help guide your revision do you think? Why? How?
4. What about your word choice and sentence structure? How will you revise your style in a way that best fits what you want to do in your piece and in ways your audience would appreciate?
5. Write out ALL of the specific tasks you will take based on: what you love, the feedback you got, and the new constraints you have (Liao, organization, using examples, style)? Be SPECIFIC.
6. What is your schedule for getting this done? Consult your writing schedule that you did for today!

 

Writing Schedule Activity (10-15 min)

Time management is critical with writing, and really with balancing college with other responsibilities and free time.

Let’s go over and, if time, begin completing the Writing Schedule Activity that is due by tonight.

To get the activity, go to Blackboard>Submit Assignments>Process Writing and Reading Responses. Then click the attachment under “Process Writing: Writing Schedule Activity.”

 

Next Time (2-5 min)

-reminder about writing groups

-readings for next class

-LM4

-get to work on revision of Literacy Narrative