The Writer's Notebook
Rationale
All writers write on a daily basis, and while most writers value the activity of writing, they also understand that every bit of writing they produce is not always "good." It's all about practice; practice makes the master.
Consequently, a valuable aspect of The Writer's Mind is the Writer's Notebook, an informal place for you to write out your observations and reflections concerning the course: class discussions, assignments, readings, your everyday experiences, etc. Maintaining the notebook over the course of the semester (at least 1 page single-spaced per week, not including drafts of assigned writing), replying to the prompts when they occur, you may earn up to 100 points. The RequirementTo receive credit for this assignment, you are required to write at least 1 page per week, typed, single-spaced, 1 inch margins, 12 point times new roman font. You will "hand" in all of the notebook work in the dropbox folder as a Word document (.doc) when you hand in the portfolio for the course.
Each notebook entry throughout the course must be dated, and all entries should also be labeled according to the week of the course. For instance, if you were to write an entry during the second week of the course, you would provide this heading for the entry: |
Week 2: [month and date] |
Do not wait until the end to artificially meet the page requirement.
Topics to write about in your Writer's Notebook
Your writing should in some way deal with the material of the course, as follows:
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Criteria for Evaluation
I will evaluate the notebook work with attention to the above content points, and in particular I will be on the lookout for your having thoughtfully engaged with the material of the course.
To be completely honest: those who produce notebook work that is thoughtful, pertinent to the inquiry of the course, and complete--reaching around 1 or more pages, single-spaced, per week--will be more likely to receive the lion's share of possible points for the notebook work. Consider: the semester is 15 weeks = at least 12-15 pages in the Writer's Notebook. |