Post on Your Two Author Choices

In an effort to share methods and strategies, as well as some of your observations and analysis of the writer's voice you are imitating, please post a short piece on each of your imitations.  Include the author, your topic, and then some of your key points of analysis of the writer's voice.  What are you noticing and using in your imitation?  Consider their tone, style, sentences, use of punctuation, themes, meta-discourse, point of view -- any and all the things that are helping you with your imitation.

Finally add any strategies you use that you find effective?  Have you found audio to listen to?  Have you typed up the author's works?  Have you read other of their writings?  Share what you are doing and what is working (or not working for you) that others might find useful.

Let's try to get these up and posted sooner rather than later!

Hope you have a safe, happy break!

For Thursday

Here's the To Do list for Thursday's class:

Read "The Writer's Voice" on Ctools Resources in the On Writing folder.  It will give you more ways to consider and analyze voices as you read and prepare for the next paper.

--Read Zadie Smith's  "Scenes from a Smith Family Christmas"

--Read Raymond Carver's "My Father's Life" -- both can be found in our readings on Ctools.

Finally, list out 4 or 5 writers you are considering for your two imitations.  You might peruse the textbook or explore some of the readings I have posted on Ctools for more possibilities.  Please let me know if you have questions.

Bring your textbook to class

Please bring your Writing True text to class this week.

Readings for Tuesday 2/14

Hi All--
Here are the readings for this coming Tuesday.   From Writing True  -- read 4 short essays:
    
    1. "The Winged Seed" -- Li-Young Lee
    2.  "Dinner at Uncle Boris'"  -- Charles Simic
    3.  "The Miss Dennis School of Writing"  -- Alice Steinbach
    4.  "Going to the Movies"  -- Susan Toth


Remember, we are paying attention to voice and style -- so take note of distinctions in these writers' prose and voice and style as you read. 


Also, please read from our Resources on Ctools  "Chapter 10 -- Make Your Voice Heard."  You might read it before the short readings to help as you consider these writers' choices.   Let me know if you have any questions.  More to follow on the class blog.

For Tuesday

Three Things for Tuesday:

1.  Revise Rewrite Revise Rewrite.  Bring 1 copy of your most recent and complete draft to class.  Include your citations and Works Cited page.

2.  Read from Writing True -- Chapter 7 -- On the Craft of Revision.  You may find parts of this chapter especially useful at this stage of rewriting your essays. Try some new approaches to this work and push yourself in your revising efforts.

3.  Read on Ctools -- "Vary Your Sentences" (and "Vary Your Sentences again"  --included within the pdf.)  You will find some very practical and useful strategies for thinking about your prose.   It's not heavy reading, but again, some smart tactics you can apply as you are revising.  Worth the bit of time, I think.

Let me know if you have questions or concerns.

Essay 1 is Due on Thursday --with rough draft and working proposals attached.