For this assignment, which will extend over the span of the entire semester and which counts as one of your major projects (15%) for the class, you will be building your own blog and writing (blogging!) eight total posts for it. Five of these posts will be in response to prompts I provide, and three of them will be self-directed, about topics of your choosing, but staying within the broad theme of "arts & culture." Additionally, you will be required to read and comment on one of your classmates' blog posts each week. You must keep a list of the posts you respond to and the URL addresses where they are located for posting later in the term.
Everyone is required to register for an account at Blogger.com.
Everyone is required to register for an account at Blogger.com.
Before we can build this thing, though, we ought to spend a little time thinking about the rhetorical situation of a blog. First of all, let's define the term.Your good friend Wikipedia defines it this way:
A blog (a portmanteau of the term web log)[1] is a personal journal published on the World Wide Web consisting of discrete entries ("posts") typically displayed in reverse chronological order so the most recent post appears first. Blogs are usually the work of a single individual, occasionally of a small group, and often are themed on a single subject. Blog can also be used as a verb, meaning to maintain or add content to a blog.
Okay, that's a useful place to start, but be careful not to be seduced by that word "personal" to the extent that you forget the part about how a blog is a public document that will live on the internet even beyond the moment when you walk away from it. Even if you delete it, it can still live somewhere: in excerpts and hyperlinks from readers who may have happened upon your work. Or, in search engine caches.
But, but! I hear you saying, but the whole point of blogging is to be casual and observational and, well, personal, right? Right. While also remembering that anything you put out there reflects who you are and what you believe, so you'd better be sure you're comfy with all of that before you commit something to writing.
That's not really so very different from other kinds of writing, come to think of it. Think before you speak, basically, yeah? Good advice in any rhetorical situation, I'd say.
So. What DO you want to say? How do you want to present yourself out there? Before you begin to fiddle with the design templates, spend some real time thinking about these questions. Consider:
*What colors best represent me? What font style? Am I a serif or a sans serif kind of girl/guy? (What? I'll explain in class, don't worry.)
*Do I want a streamlined layout or something more decorative? (When does "decorative" become "cluttered?")
* Do I want my blog to be picture or text heavy? Both?
* What sort of information do I want to include besides my main blog posts? Do I want to make room for a list of links I find interesting? Do I want to create a separate page that offers something else? (Hint: you are required to create an "About Me" page.)
*What would I like my blog to be called? (Hint: you must come up with a more engaging title than "Sheila's English 15 Blog." Right? Who wants to read that? Snore.)
*How can I create a dynamic, active space that a reader would WANT to visit and interact with?
Once you have started the engines, get thee over to www.blogger.com where you will either need to register or sign in with your Google account. Once you are logged in, you will arrive at your Dashboard page. In the right hand corner of your Dashboard, click "Create a Blog." As you begin, remember that all your choices are part of a rhetorical situation in which each decision you make plays its own role. Choose a title that suits you and your interests and is appropriate for an English 15S class.
Once you've found a suitable title and an available URL (the unique address at which we can find your blog), you'll be sent to a page where you can choose from a variety of design templates. Again, pick a template that will suit the aesthetic and feel of the blog you are developing. At the top of your blog page, you'll see a "Design" tab. Click on it. Here you can rearrange the elements on your page. You can also customize your site more fully by clicking on the "Template Designer" link. Upload a background, add pages, change your fonts, the color of your text. Just make sure that your design choices allow for easy readability. You can also customize your user profile.
Once you've found a suitable title and an available URL (the unique address at which we can find your blog), you'll be sent to a page where you can choose from a variety of design templates. Again, pick a template that will suit the aesthetic and feel of the blog you are developing. At the top of your blog page, you'll see a "Design" tab. Click on it. Here you can rearrange the elements on your page. You can also customize your site more fully by clicking on the "Template Designer" link. Upload a background, add pages, change your fonts, the color of your text. Just make sure that your design choices allow for easy readability. You can also customize your user profile.
Warning! This stuff is fun to fiddle endlessly with. Don’t forget to pause to eat and sleep!
When you are satisfied with the look of your blog, you will send me an email with your blog address so I can add it to the list of class blogs on our master site. The subject line for that email MUST read as follows:
"Blog Title: Your Last Name/Section #"
for example:
The Rhetoric of Awesome: Jones/Section 02
Please put the URL in the body of the email. Send this to me by Friday, September 7 at class time.
Refer to the course schedule for due dates. Prompts will be posted in advance of each deadline.
Refer to the course schedule for due dates. Prompts will be posted in advance of each deadline.
Guidelines for Blog Journal Posts:
* All posts should be 200-500 words, unless otherwise stated. Part of the challenge here is to learn to say something substantial and relevant in a concise way.
* Write your posts in your own voice! That is to say, keep it casual and conversational. However, remember that clarity and correctness DO count. Typos are not okay. Sloppy grammar is unacceptable. Profanity is absolutely prohibited.
* Whatever the prompt, treat it thoughtfully and with care. Ask yourself how your reflection adds to the larger conversation. Feel free to link to/embed appropriate videos or other media that you think relevant in your response. Remember that if you link to someone else's work on the web, you MUST provide a link that credits the original site.
Guidelines for Commenting
*Comment on at least one of your classmates' Blog Journal Posts each week in a minimum of 50 words. You may choose whichever classmate you like, but you may not respond to the same person more than once. Spread the love.
*All the same rules about voice and clarity outlined above apply here as well.
* Your responses should show clearly that you have read and considered the original writing/stance the writer may have taken. It is appropriate to disagree or offer another perspective, but remember that in order to do that effectively, you will need to keep the appeals (ethos, logos, pathos) close by. Conduct yourself respectfully. Which is to say, responses must go deeper than "I agree totally! or "Dude, no way!"
* All posts should be 200-500 words, unless otherwise stated. Part of the challenge here is to learn to say something substantial and relevant in a concise way.
* Write your posts in your own voice! That is to say, keep it casual and conversational. However, remember that clarity and correctness DO count. Typos are not okay. Sloppy grammar is unacceptable. Profanity is absolutely prohibited.
* Whatever the prompt, treat it thoughtfully and with care. Ask yourself how your reflection adds to the larger conversation. Feel free to link to/embed appropriate videos or other media that you think relevant in your response. Remember that if you link to someone else's work on the web, you MUST provide a link that credits the original site.
Guidelines for Commenting
*Comment on at least one of your classmates' Blog Journal Posts each week in a minimum of 50 words. You may choose whichever classmate you like, but you may not respond to the same person more than once. Spread the love.
*All the same rules about voice and clarity outlined above apply here as well.
* Your responses should show clearly that you have read and considered the original writing/stance the writer may have taken. It is appropriate to disagree or offer another perspective, but remember that in order to do that effectively, you will need to keep the appeals (ethos, logos, pathos) close by. Conduct yourself respectfully. Which is to say, responses must go deeper than "I agree totally! or "Dude, no way!"
General Grading Guidelines for the Project:
I am going to be asking myself the following questions as I assign grades for this project:
*Is your blog an effective piece of of visual argument? (see chapter 14 in EAA) That is, is it nice to look at? Easy to navigate? Does it reflect who you are as a person and
an arguer?
*Do your posts and responses to classmates' posts adhere to the above guidelines?
*Have you completed all components of the project by the various deadlines?
I will NOT be responding to every single blog post; rather I will pop in and out as the spirit moves me. But I will be reading along.
Happy blogging, everyone!
I am going to be asking myself the following questions as I assign grades for this project:
*Is your blog an effective piece of of visual argument? (see chapter 14 in EAA) That is, is it nice to look at? Easy to navigate? Does it reflect who you are as a person and
an arguer?
*Do your posts and responses to classmates' posts adhere to the above guidelines?
*Have you completed all components of the project by the various deadlines?
I will NOT be responding to every single blog post; rather I will pop in and out as the spirit moves me. But I will be reading along.
Happy blogging, everyone!
