Please find your your conference time slot in the shared Google Drive folder for the class, and ahead of your scheduled conference, review the following conference preparation form and follow the instructions within it: Conference Preparation Form. Also, review the information below to understand the point of a group conference so that you can complete the form appropriately. You will have three small group conferences with the instructor over the course of the semester. Our experience has shown us that these conferences often generate valuable transformative moments in the learning process. We have seen that the better prepared you are for your conference the more you will get out of it, wherefore the purpose of this guide is to help you prepare as well as possible for sitting down in a small group with the instructor to look closely at your work.
While the instructor gives you assignments, remember that you own your work and you share ownership in the conversation about your work. When you open up your work to others in a small group conference you can co-direct the discussion by articulating questions you want to ask about your work.
Prepare your questions in advance. Think about what you want to ask your reader. Think about what you are trying to do with your writing and find out through asking questions whether you are achieving your goals. Make note of things you’re not sure about and locate parts of your draft you think are weaker than others or need to be improved. Try to figure out what might be making some parts of your draft less good than other parts. Formulate questions about how your work can be improved.
We will approach revision in a top-down manner by addressing global issues such as thesis, argumentation, and organization first. Minor or local issues such as grammar and mechanics will be addressed later. In preparation for the group conference formulate questions that focus on the content and organization of your draft. Here are some suggestions about how you can prepare so as to get the most out of the group conference:
Focus on content and organization
- Begin by evaluating how your argument addresses your rhetorical situation—that is, the specific context surrounding your writing, including the audience, exigence, and constraints. Does your writing do everything you are asked to do in the assignment instructions?
- Analyze your thesis or main argument for clarity.
- Evaluate the global organization of your text by writing a reverse outline. Unlike traditional outlines, which are written before drafting, reverse outlines reflect the content of written drafts. In a separate document or in your text’s margins, record the main idea of each paragraph. Then, consider whether the order of your ideas is logical. This method also will help you identify ideas that are out of place or digressive.
Prior to the conference make sure you accepted or rejected all suggestions and resolved all comments in your draft. Remember to relabel your draft by renaming it “[first name last name] Assignment [number] Draft [number] – revised”
Bring your completed conference preparation handout to your conference meeting. After the group conference, make changes to your draft that you consider appropriate ahead of submitting your second draft.
– Adapted from Lumen, English Composition 1, “Writing Process: Revising,” accessed August 9, 2018 text-higher-order-concerns