Blog Posts: the blog posts give you a chance to think through and respond to the course readings and assignments. For each blog post, I will provide you with a prompt. Usually, the prompt will ask for a specific response; your blog post will be evaluated based on how well you respond to the question. While these posts may ask for specific information, they are informal. You will not be evaluated for typographical and grammatical correctness as long as these issues do not interfere with your meaning.

Comments on blog posts: for each blog post, you will have to respond to your classmates and engage them in discussion. Your goal, here, is to further the discussion, to ask meaningful questions, and to extend your thinking on the subject. As with your primary posts, these responses are informal.

Peer Reviews: for each essay assignment, you will be asked to use the criteria listed in the assignments to review your peers’ essays. Your goal here is to create a positive, supportive learning environment. While we are all learning to write (no matter how good we already are), we are also expert readers. The fact that you may struggle to produce a particular kind of essay does not mean that you cannot evaluate another student’s essay. On the contrary, reading someone else’s work can not only assist that writer but it can also provide insight into your own writing.

Topic Proposals: for the third and fourth essay assignments (Lab Report and Proposal) I will ask you to write a short topic proposal of 150-250 words. We will decide together when these topic proposals should be due.

Tests and Quizzes: I may assign low-stake pop quizzes or tests in addition to the Learning Curve quizzes on Launchpad. If I do, I will let you know when to expect these.