Lesson 10 Notes from Instructor

Dear Class,
Welcome to Lesson 10, which begins our final unit of the semester. You get three whole weeks to create a strong, unforgettable 2-3 page personal narrative. The pressure should slip from your shoulders a bit in this class now. You only have one essay "left" for the whole semester, and you already know so much about writing personal  essays. So please, enjoy this final unit.
This week, you'll probably want to get through assignments quickly so you can enjoy your 4th of July Weekend (if you are Canadian, you still deserve a relaxing end of the week!). Here are a few points to consider as you work through the lesson:

1. The Pronoun materials are excellent. I'd recommend avoiding "you" whenever you can, unless you are writing a letter to a specific person or group (like I am right now). Make sure to read the whole "Pronoun Problems" handout.
2. Unfortunately, there are problematic quiz questions again this week. I have submitted course fixes for the vegetarian question ["A vegetarian must eat plenty of legumes to make sure ____ is/are getting plenty of nutrients."] and the nurse question [""A nurse is on call 24/7 for whatever her patients might need."]. If Curriculum Development does not correct those questions at the start of the week, I will curve quizzes two points. Please let me know if you see any other debatable questions.
3. Enjoy the readings and Personal Narrative presentation and hand-out. You'll probably want to save the presentation and hand-out to examine later.
4. Because the Thursday night Pathway Gathering falls on the 4th of July, there will be no Pathways Gathering this week. I will excuse your Pathway attendance quizzes.

This week, I will grade Persuasive essays and provide feedback in videos. You will review your score on the rubric, and then simply click on the video link below your score to see my feedback.

Thank you for all of your wonderful work. So many of you have written about the sacrifices you have made to do well in the Pathway program, and I admire you all. This next few weeks should really feel lighter in this class.

You are in my prayers.

Love,

Sister Bowen

Welcome to Lesson 9 Email

Dear Class,
I had a special experience in Gospel Doctrine yesterday. We were doing the lesson "Seek Learning, Even By Study and Also By Faith" and my heart started pounding. I knew I had to talk about the Pathway program, and the way the Lord has provided a way for saints to get this special education while working, raising children and grandchildren, and fulfilling demanding callings in the Church. I felt like I was joining my voice to hundreds of saints throughout the world, sharing the same message--that God is showing His love for us by letting us be part of this strengthening program. If you're wondering what to study for your scripture study today, the link above will take you to some inspiring, motivating scriptures. I love and admire you for making Pathway a part of your life. I'm so glad I followed my spiritual promptings to teach for Pathway.
During Lesson 9, you get to keep revising and proofreading your draft, and ultimately submit your final persuasive essay by Saturday night. I have left detailed guidelines in the Lesson 9 Notes from Instructor, and I sent an email entitled "Draft Feedback" to you on Saturday night; it is mandatory reading, and I hope you will use it to guide your revisions. I'll post just a little additional feedback on your individual drafts by Tuesday night, but I suspect the "Draft Feedback" email will you keep you busy if you apply it truthfully to your own draft.
Thank you for all of your great work, for your sacrifices, and for your commitment to "endure to the end". You are my heroes, and I pray for you every day.
Love,
Sister Bowen

Lesson 9 Notes From Instructor

Dear Class,
Welcome to Lesson 9, wherein you will read strong articles, view important presentations, and revise and proofread your Persuasive essay (note my parallel structure). Your persuasive essay, worth 100 points, is one of the two most important assignments in this class because it is worth so many points. This essay is an opportunity to demonstrate all the skills you have learned from our class so far--it is a chance to show off! The persuasive essay rubric has been improved, so I'll use it to grade your work. Here it is:

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English 106: Persuasive Essay Rubric
1) The paper takes a position on a controversial issue by clearly stating the writer's position OR defines a clear problem or question that will be answered by a solution. The writer adequately establishes that the position or problem is one that should be considered by the reader. The paper adequately and appropriately considers opposing arguments. (20 points possible)
2) The position or solution is supported by reasons, examples, facts, case studies, personal experience, or other types of evidence. Supporting paragraph do not diverge from the paper’s main argument. (20 points possible)
3) The title is catchy and indicates the paper’s subject, and the introduction engagingly frames and focuses the position or problem, providing relevant background information. The conclusion reminds the readers where they’ve been, reconnects them to the introduction, and provides a strong finish. (20 points possible)
4) The body of the paper is coherent and unified, with each paragraph focused on one main idea. The body contains a logical argument with strong transitions between paragraphs, sentences, and ideas. (20 points possible)
5) The paper format includes Times New Roman, 12-pt font, double-spaced, one-inch margins (that is the default), and name and class information. Remember to give your paper a title. Page length requirement: 2-3 pages. (10 points possible)
6) The essay has few or no errors in the conventions of standard edited English (spelling, punctuation, grammar problems, or sentence structure errors). (10 points possible)

100 TOTAL

(*Note that the rubric calls for 2-3 pages; I won't count headers or Works Cited Pages toward that page count. You must send your final Persuasive essay as an attachment so I can assess your formatting.)

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Reading through and viewing the materials in this lesson should not take more than a few hours, so there will be plenty of time this week to revise and polish your essay. Have you sent it to the Writing Center yet? If not, do so now! A tutor's feedback can make such a difference. The revision and proofreading presentations give fantastic suggestions regarding how to strengthen your work as well.

By Tuesday evening, I will have read and made comments about your draft. Make sure to read those comments, and apply the suggestions that you feel will improve your essay.

Finally, I will go to Girls' Camp on Tuesday evening, and I will be offline through Thursday evening. If you have any pressing questions while I'm away, please contact my friend and fellow English 106 teacher Torri Black at blackt@byui.edu. She would be very happy to answer questions.

Thank you for all the great work you do.

Love,

Sister Bowen

Welcome to Lesson 8 Email

Dear Class,
This week will be demanding, as you will A) submit a persuasive essay draft by Wednesday night and B) prepare your FINAL persuasive essay for submission by next Saturday. Please jump into Lesson 8 today, make sure to read my "Notes From Instructor", and go forth to conquer. I will read your outlines and provide a little feedback on them by Tuesday morning.
I have read my scriptures, General Conference talks, and Eats, Shoots and Leaves (a punctuation book) with you in mind during the past week. I love and admire you for all the heart and hard work you have poured into this class. Here are some quotes about correction I'd like to share with you from Elder D. Todd Christofferson:
“If we are open to it, needed correction will come in many forms and from many sources..”
“It can be helpful to exercise enough meekness to weigh it and sift out anything that might benefit us.”
“Eventually, much of our chastening should come from within—we should become self-correcting.”  http://www.lds.org/general-conference/2011/04/as-many-as-i-love-i-rebuke-and-chasten?lang=eng
I have loved seeing you self-correct, and you inspire me to improve my own writing and understanding. Good luck this week--you are in my prayers.
Love,
Sister Bowen

Draft of Lesson 8 Notes

Dear Class,
Welcome to Lesson 8. Now that you have outlined your persuasive essay and begun drafting, you may be in a state a panic--you need to submit a draft by Wednesday night?! It's true, so you'll need to create your plan of attack. Will you:

1. Devote significant time to your essay at the start of the week, making it as complete as humanly possible, so A) your peer reviews will be meaningful in the Gathering, and B) you'll be able to spend the next week and a half strengthening and polishing your essay? or
2. Will you spend about an hour throwing a draft together (the Lesson 8 Main Page suggests that you spend 60 minutes writing your draft!) so you can check that requirement off and keep working, slow and steady, on your essay? The final persuasion essay will be due NEXT Saturday.

If I were in your shoes, I would create the plan that works best for your schedule. But here's something else to consider: I will grade your drafts for completion (full credit for submitting a draft, regardless of whether or not it meets rubric standards). But I will also offer a bit of feedback on every draft. The more complete your draft is, the better I can help you. Remember, this is the rubric I will use to grade your final persuasive essay:

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1. Thesis: The student takes a position on a controversial issue by clearly stating the position OR The paper defines a clear problem or question that can be answered by a solution. The student adequately establishes that the position or problem is one that should be considered by the reader.
2. Support: The position or solution is supported by sufficient, relevant, and balanced reasons, examples, facts, personal experience, and evidence. The information used is well-developed and well-researched. The paper adequately and appropriately considers opposing arguments.
3. Introduction, conclusion: The title is catchy and indicates the paper's subject and the writer's position. The introduction engagingly frames and focuses the position or problem, provides relevant background information, and states a specific thesis.  The conclusion ends powerfully, rather than fizzling.
4. Focus, organization: The body of the paper makes it really clear why the solution is feasible, or the position is reasonable. The body of the paper is coherent and unified, with each paragraph focused on only one main idea. The body contains a logical argument with strong transitions between paragraphs, sentences, and ideas. 
5. Grammar, mechanics, formatting: The paper format includes Time New Roman, 12-pt font, double-spaced, one-inch margins and the name and class information. Page length requirement: 2-3 pages. The essay has few or no errors in the conventions of standard edited English (spelling, punctuation, grammar problems, or sentence structure errors).

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Those are the most important things I wanted to share. But here are a few more things to keep in mind as you go through this lesson:

•  The "Elements of Persuasion" presentation from Lesson 7 is finally working. If you have not yet viewed the presentation, please click here to view it as part of your homework this week. It will help you build your essay.
•  Forgive the typo in the "Shifts in Time" presentation. The second sentence about the person going to fridge should read "Correct" instead of "Incorrect" (The handout doesn't have the typo.)
• I'm dropping these two quiz questions, but I will drop more if you see more problematic questions: 1. When the crashing sound stops, I can’t feel my hand. I look down and see that it’s covered with blood. The pain was unbearable, but I am able to pull myself out of the twisted metal. 2. We walked towards the box and flipped it over so we can get her dog. The dog was covered in bacon grease, but she barks happily anyway. We laugh together because the dog started to lick her paw like a cat does. I'm sure it tastes delicious.   **Read the quiz carefully so your eyes don't glaze over shifts.  

Sincerely,

Sister Bowen

Email at the End of Lesson 7

Dear Class,

I've graded everything you have submitted for class except your persuasive essay outlines. Will you please look in the gradebook to see your scores and my feedback on your most recent essays--and any prior work you haven't yet checked on? If you have any questions about your scores or my feedback, please email me about it. I want to help you.

Also, you need to submit persuasive essay drafts by this next Wednesday evening (June 19th). That means you don't have much time to get those drafts ready. I suggest reading the Lesson 8 Main Page and my newly updated "Lesson 8 Notes From Instructor" soon to help you prepare for Lesson 8.

Thanks so much for all your hard work!

Love,

Sister Bowen

Lesson 7 Notes

Dear Class,

Welcome to Lesson 7. This week, you do not need to submit a final essay! How will that feel? You get three whole weeks to prepare your persuasive essay, starting now. This week, you'll be working on an outline of your Persuasive essay. Here are some points to keep in mind as you work through Lesson 7:

• The Grammar Lesson is SO good this week.
• Some of the grammar quiz questions may seem debatable to you. Please email me any concerns you have regarding quiz questions. 
•  Note that you should respond to at least three of your peers in your Discussion Board this week (you are usually required to respond to two classmates).
• When you read the Persuasive Essay guidelines and examine the rubric, you may wonder why you get to either A) take a stand on a controversial issue or B) introduce a problem and justify an answer throughout your essay. In the past, students were asked to create problem-solution essays and persuasive essays. With the new course design, you get to choose whether to write a problem-solution essay or just take a stand on something. Stick with one approach, and then examine your work according to the guidelines specific for your approach. Here's the rubric I will use to assess your Persuasive essay (sorry for the imperfect formatting):  

•           Thesis: The student takes a position on a controversial issue by clearly stating the position OR The paper defines a clear problem or question that can be answered by a solution. The student adequately establishes that the position or problem is one that should be considered by the reader. The paper adequately and appropriately considers opposing arguments.
• Support: The position or solution is supported by sufficient, relevant, and balanced reasons, examples, facts, personal experience, and evidence. The information used is well-developed and well-researched. 
• Introduction, conclusion: The title is catchy and indicates the paper's subject and the writer's position. The introduction engagingly frames and focuses the position or problem, provides relevant background information, and states a specific thesis. 
• Focus, organization: The body of the paper proves more of the problem if needed, but makes it really clear why the solution is feasible. The body of the paper is coherent and unified, with each paragraph focused on only one main idea. The body contains a logical argument with strong transitions between paragraphs, sentences, and ideas. 
• Grammar, mechanics, formatting: The paper format includes Time New Roman, 12-pt font, double-spaced, one-inch margins and the name and class information. Page length requirement: 2-3 pages. The essay has few or no errors in the conventions of standard edited English (spelling, punctuation, grammar problems, or sentence structure errors).

 

 Good luck this week! I'd be happy to meet with any of you during my office hour to discuss your topic, and the Writing Center is also a great resource as you outline your first major essay for this class.

Love, 

Sister Bowen