Make connections to your classmate’s experiences and your own. What can you share with your classmate to provide encouragement? What do you have in common? What are some of your differences?
Your Experiences with Academic Writing
For this discussion, you are being asked to reflect on your own experiences as a writer.
Offer Your Initial Thoughts
Please begin the Module by writing a few sentences or a brief paragraph that considers the questions below:
What kind of writing have you done?
What kind of process (if any) have you followed?
What have your experiences been like?
Are they positive, negative, or do you have some of both?
Also, please share one quote from the Irving or Bakke essay that really speaks to you as a writer.
Why did you choose this quote?
What does this quote tell you about what academic writing is?
Your initial post is due by Thursday at 11:59 PM EST. You will not be able to see posts written by your classmates until you create your initial post.
Connect With Classmates
Make connections to your classmate’s experiences and your own. What can you share with your classmate to provide encouragement? What do you have in common? What are some of your differences?
EXCELSIOR ENG101 Advanced Composition
Module 2 Discussion
Rhetorical Analysis Peer Review
Peer review is an important part of the writing process because it gives us an opportunity to gain insights and feedback from outside readers. Essentially, peer review offers us a chance to test out our writing on an audience in a very low-stress way. As a peer reviewer, remember you do not have to be an expert writer to offer feedback to someone.
Offer Your Initial Thoughts
In your initial post, share the rough draft of your rhetorical analysis essay. This essay is described in M2A1: Rhetorical Analysis and will be turned in on Sunday.
Your initial post is due by Tuesday at 11:59 PM EST. You will not be able to see posts written by your classmates until you create your initial post.
Connect With Classmates
Please read the Sample Rhetorical Analysis (Links to an external site.) from St. Louis Community College; this will help you target your feedback to your peers.
Select one of the posts which have not yet received peer feedback. After carefully reading the essay, please address the following questions in your response:
How does the author present the purpose of the essay? Is it effective? What advice do you have for making sure the purpose of the essay is clear?
How does the author clearly address the following rhetorical principles (in both discussion and example)?
Purpose
Audience
Ethos
Pathos
Logos
Is the essay well organized for you as a reader? Explain your response.
Did you notice any issues of clarity or any errors that impacted your understanding of the essay? If so, be sure to point out a specific example(s).
What do you see as the strengths of your classmates’ rhetorical analysis essay? Be specific.
Remember, you do not have to be an expert writer to provide quality peer review feedback. You will be sharing your thoughts as an informed reader, and your classmate will then be able to consider this feedback during the revision process.
EXCELSIOR ENG101 Advanced Composition
Module 3 Discussion
Practicing Genre in Social Media
Let’s Talk About Writing
Before You Begin
Before you begin this discussion, be sure to review the reading materials this Module on writing expectations in certain genres. Then, think about how you use genre conventions in your own life, when you write a text, make a Facebook post, or send out a tweet on Twitter.
Offer Your Initial Thoughts
For this discussion, you are required to write three sentences or passages for different genres. The sentences can be on any topic you choose, but you will be writing the same sentence in three different ways. Just make sure the content is appropriate to share with the class.
First, you should write it as a semi-formal sentence or passage that you might share with classmates and professors in a college class.
Second, you should share the same content as a text message written to someone you are very close to. If you would like to share a screenshot of a text that includes emojis, please feel free to do so.
Finally, share the same message as you would on social media. You can choose a Facebook post, a Tweet, or an Instagram post. Just be sure to specify which social media platform you chose and include the image if you have one.
Your initial post is due by Thursday at 11:59 PM EST. You will not be able to see posts written by your classmates until you create your initial post.
Connect With Classmates
In your peer responses, review the three passages and evaluate them based on genre conventions.
What differences do you see in the passages?
What kinds of content and style decisions did the student author make in the posts?
What did you learn about genre conventions from your analysis of these three passages?
EXCELSIOR ENG101 Advanced Composition
Module 4 Discussion
The Ingredients of Research
Let’s Talk About Writing
Before You Begin
Before you begin this discussion, review the assigned reading for this module, Walk, Talk, Cook, Eat: A Guide to Using Sources (Links to an external site.) by Cynthia Haller.
Offer Your Initial Thoughts
For this discussion, you are going to consider possible research scenarios. The scenarios can be from real life, work, or your academic courses (like the examples provided on pages 204-206 of the Haller article). In your initial post, create a research scenario for your classmates to respond to.
Here are some sample research scenarios to give you some ideas as you work to create an original scenario for your initial post:
You are hoping to purchase a new car by the end of the year, and you want to consider a wide variety of factors including budget, safety, reliability, and gas mileage.
Your company has asked you to be a part of a committee to help research a new location in the United States for a branch office. Sales take place online, so sales are not a factor. However, your committee must consider the cost of living, quality of living, and cost of office space.
In your economics class, you are being asked to write a paper analyzing the factors that led to the financial crisis of 2008. You are required to use at least one scholarly source and at least one popular source.
Your initial post is due by Thursday at 11:59 PM EST. You will not be able to see posts written by your classmates until you create your initial post.
Connect With Classmates
Respond to the posts of at least two of your fellow students. Your response posts should use the model from the Haller article (pp. 204-206), describing the ingredients, processes, and product you would use to carry out the research project described in your classmates’ scenarios. Remember, there are many ways to approach a research scenario, so you may have different responses than your classmates, even if you chose the same scenarios.
EXCELSIOR ENG101 Advanced Composition
Module 5 Discussion
Selecting a Topic
Let’s Talk About Writing
Offer Your Initial Thoughts
During Module 5, you will choose a topic for your research essay due at the end of Module 6. Please follow the steps below before making your initial discussion post. In your post, you will communicate the topic and question that you have developed by going through this process.
Step 1: Start by identifying a topic, issue, or problem related to your field of academic study or your work. Since your research essay must persuade your audience of something, rather than merely providing them with information, it is important to select a topic or problem that does not have a simple, easy answer. Since your research essay should be 4-5 pages long, make sure that you select a topic that can be covered well in this amount of space. If your topic is too broad, you may need to focus on just one part of it. If your topic is too narrow, you may need to select a different topic where there is more to write about.
Step 2: Do some preliminary research on your topic by searching for related terms (keywords) using the OneSearch function on the Excelsior Library Web site. (Links to an external site.) One way to find good sources is to check the box under the OneSearch entry field next to the words “Limit to Peer Reviewed Journals.” If you are having trouble finding high-quality sources, contact the Excelsior College Librarians. (Links to an external site.) They should be able to help you with this.
Step 3: Finally, you should develop a research question based on your topic. Your research question is the question that your research essay will attempt to answer. For example, if your research topic is clinical depression, you might use one of the following research questions:
What causes clinical depression?
What is the impact of clinical depression on the American economy?
What role does depression play in the educational achievement of American school children?
Notice how each of the examples above takes the broad topic (clinical depression) and narrows the focus to something that is more manageable in a short research paper. There are many ways to narrow down this topic:
You could focus on depression in one particular population group (teenagers, college students, postpartum mothers, women, men, the elderly, etc.).
You could focus on a particular environment (the military, schools, businesses, etc.).
You could focus on different aspects of depression: causes, effects, treatments, etc.
You could focus on one particular theory or approach, for example, cognitive behavioral therapy and the treatment of depression.
Once you have worked through the three steps above on your own, make an initial post in this week’s discussion. In your initial post, include the following:
Share your research essay topic with the class.
Share your process of preliminary research that led you to choose this topic. What research did you do, and what kinds of sources did you find?
At the end of your first post, share your research question for that topic.
Your initial post is due by Thursday at 11:59 PM EST. You will not be able to see posts written by your classmates until you create your initial post.
Connect With Classmates
Respond to at least two classmates providing feedback on their research essay topics. Do the research topic and question fit the assignment requirements? If so, why? If not, why not? You may also offer tips or suggestions for how to find good sources, based on your experiences during the week.
EXCELSIOR ENG101 Advanced Composition
Module 6 Discussion
Drafting and Revision
Let’s Talk About Writing
Offer Your Initial Thoughts & Connect with Classmates
In this discussion assignment, you will be engaging in a formal peer review process for your research essay assignment. Remember, you do not have to be an expert writer in order to provide sound feedback as a reader on someone else’s writing. Also, as a writer, remember that your peer review feedback is for you to consider as you revise. Ultimately, the changes you make to your essay are up to you as a writer.
In your initial post, include the rough draft of your research essay as an attachment. Be sure to attach your paper as a Word file. In the body of your message, write a short memo to your classmates providing two pieces of information:
Where are you in the drafting process? What are your known struggles?
What specific areas would you like a peer reviewer to focus on in your essay?
Your initial post is due by Tuesday at 11:59 PM EST. You will not be able to see posts written by your classmates until you create your initial post.
As soon as you post your essay, please find an essay posted by one of your peers and respond to their post with the comment “I will review this essay.” You do not have to review it at that time; you are just signing up for the review. This helps guarantee that everyone’s essay is peer-reviewed. Please do not sign up for an essay which has already been “claimed.”
The next step is to review your peer’s essay. Please read the memo in the initial post and then the attached paper. Complete the peer review CARES formPreview the document and respond to the questions in the memo written by your classmates. Peer review feedback is due by Friday at 11:59 PM EST.
EXCELSIOR ENG101 Advanced Composition
Module 7 Discussion
Visual Rhetorical Analysis
Let’s Talk About Writing
Offer Your Initial Thoughts
In this discussion, you will prepare for creating your own presentation or photo essay by discussing visual presentations and photo essays created by others. For your initial post, you can choose a presentation or photo essay you find on the web yourself or you can select one of the examples at the links below.
Stec, C. (n.d.). 21 Great Examples of PowerPoint Presentation Design [+Templates] (Links to an external site.)
Schwab, K., & Schwab, K. (2018, July 09). The Best Photo Essays Of 2017. (Links to an external site.)
Share the link and then explain which presentation or photo essay you chose and why. You do not have to provide an official analysis. Just present your choice and then write a few sentences about what attracted you to this example and why you chose it.
Your initial post is due by Thursday at 11:59 PM EST. You will not be able to see posts written by your classmates until you create your initial post.
Connect With Classmates
In your peer response, please select at least two of your classmates and provide a rhetorical analysis of their visual presentation or photo essay. You should answer the following questions in your peer responses:
Is the information in the visual presentation or photo essay arranged in a way that viewers can understand? Explain your answer.
Are the important aspects of the message emphasized? What are those important aspects?
Are the typography and graphics clearly presented? How so?
Is the content balanced? Explain your answer.
What is the tone of the presentation or photo essay?
Does the author of the piece establish credibility and trust with the audience? Why or why not?
EXCELSIOR ENG101 Advanced Composition
Module 8 Discussion
Share a Portfolio Draft
Let’s Talk About Writing
Offer Your Initial Thoughts
In your final discussion for this class, you will be sharing a draft of your portfolio for an informal review by your classmates. It is okay if your portfolio is not yet complete. You will be sharing your work in progress with the class and getting some general feedback on your cover letter and portfolio pieces. Just be sure you have a draft of your cover letter ready to share.
In your initial post, share links to each of your portfolio artifacts in Portfolium. In addition to the link, write a few sentences about where you are in your process. Please see the following instructions if you need a refresher on using Portfolium – Module Notes: Using Portfolium.
What have you completed?
What are you still working on?
How far along is your cover letter draft?
Additionally, share with the class areas in which you would like some feedback. What do you need advice on?
Your initial post is due by Tuesday at 11:59 PM EST. You will not be able to see posts written by your classmates until you create your initial post.
Connect With Classmates
In your peer responses, respond to at least two classmates. Offer general advice on their portfolios. What are the strengths and weaknesses you see in the draft so far? Be sure to respond to your classmates’ requests for help if you can.
EXCELSIOR ENG101 Advanced Composition
Module 1 Assignment
Reflection Essay
Thinking about your own writing processes and experiences, write a short reflective essay 600 to 700 words in which you share your experiences as a writer.
What kinds of writing have you done in the past?
How does your writing process compare with what you have learned about the writing process over this week?
What are your goals for improving your academic writing?
What do you hope to gain from this course?
Although this is a short essay and does not require source material, you may use a short quote or paraphrase from one of our readings from Module 1. This is a great opportunity to practice using an APA cover page and following APA formatting guidelines for any quote or paraphrase. Be sure to submit your paper in APA format.
EXCELSIOR ENG101 Advanced Composition
Module 2 Assignment
Rhetorical Analysis
For this assignment, you are required to complete a rhetorical analysis of one of the following texts. You should choose just one of these for your rhetorical analysis.
Barker, D., & Pollen, M. (2015, December 15). A secret weapon to fight climate change: Dirt. (Links to an external site.) The Washington Post.
Davidow, B. (2012, July 18). Exploiting the Neuroscience of Internet Addiction. (Links to an external site.) The Atlantic.
LaFrance, A. (2019, February 12). The New Measles. (Links to an external site.) The Atlantic.
Once you make your decision, you will write a short essay of 800 to 1000 words.
What is the context for the argument being presented?
Who is the target audience? How do you know? How does the author appeal to that audience?
What is the author’s tone of voice in the essay? It is effective? How do you know?
How does the author appeal to ethos, pathos, and logos? Be sure to cite specific examples from the text.
How does the author convey their attitude toward the subject at hand in the article?
How does the author handle opposing views, if applicable?
Ultimately, your goal as a writer in the rhetorical analysis is to make an argument about the effectiveness of the author in the piece. Is the piece effective or ineffective? The questions above will help you support your points.
Please make sure that you quote frequently from the text in support of your argument.
Before you write, be sure to review the sample rhetorical analysis (Links to an external site.) essay located in the Excelsior College OWL. The notes within the sample essay will help you better understand the conventions and requirements of a rhetorical analysis essay.
EXCELSIOR ENG101 Advanced Composition
Module 3 Assignment
Genre Analysis Worksheet
Choose three genres from the Module Notes area. Complete the Genre Analysis worksheetPreview the document on each of the three genres. When you complete the worksheet, write a short introduction (no more than a few paragraphs) to include with your submission.
In your introduction, answer the following questions:
Why did you choose the three genres you chose?
What did you learn from analyzing these different genres?
How can you carry this information forward into different genres and different writing assignments in college and beyond?
Compose your work using a word processor (or other software as appropriate) and save it frequently to your computer. Be sure to check your work and correct any spelling or grammatical errors before you upload it. When you are ready to submit your work, click “Browse My Computer” and find your file. Once you have located your file, click “Open” and, if successful, the file name will appear under the Attached files heading. Scroll to the bottom of the page and click “Submit.”
EXCELSIOR ENG101 Advanced Composition
Module 4 Assignment
Summarizing and Paraphrasing Assignment
Using OneSearch in the Excelsior College Library, locate a scholarly article on a topic that interests you and is, ideally, related to your field. Think about an issue you would like to explore related to your current or future profession and find an article that feels engaging and important to you.
After you read the article, complete the following tasks. Number each part as follows to make it easy for your instructor to find the necessary pieces of this assignment.
Part 1: Choose a longer paragraph or a group of several paragraphs. Share that paragraph as a quote. Be sure to add an APA citation for the quote at the end.
Part 2: Write a summary of the paragraph or passage you chose. Be sure the first sentence identifies the author and passage you are summarizing. Add a proper APA citation.
Part 3: From a different section of the article, choose a sentence or two. Share these sentences as a quote. Be sure to add an APA citation for the quote at the end.
Part 4: Write a paraphrase of the passage you chose, putting the author’s ideas into your own original words. Make sure that the entire paraphrase is original and you aren’t just replacing a few words in the author’s sentence. Add a proper APA citation.
Compose your work using a word processor (or other software as appropriate) and save it frequently to your computer. Be sure to check your work and correct any spelling or grammatical errors before you upload it. When you are ready to submit your work, click “Browse My Computer” and find your file. Once you have located your file, click “Open” and, if successful, the file name will appear under the Attached files heading. Scroll to the bottom of the page and click “Submit.” You will submit two files for this assignment.
EXCELSIOR ENG101 Advanced Composition
Module 5 Assignment
Thesis Statement and MEAL Plan Paragraph
In your assignment, first, provide your working thesis statement. Essentially, your thesis is the evidence-based argument or assertion you will make in response to your research question. Remember, this is just a working thesis, so it may change as you continue with your research process.
Then, following your working thesis statement, provide your MEAL plan paragraph.
Compose your work using a word processor (or other software as appropriate) and save it frequently to your computer. Be sure to check your work and correct any spelling or grammatical errors before you upload it. When you are ready to submit your work, click “Browse My Computer” and find your file. Once you have located your file, click “Open” and, if successful, the file name will appear under the Attached files heading. Scroll to the bottom of the page and click “Submit.”
EXCELSIOR ENG101 Advanced Composition
Module 6 Assignment
Research Essay Assignment GECC
structure of your research essay should follow a traditional organization with an introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion, APA format should be used for the general page set up (cover page, line spacing, font, etc.) and for source documentation (in-text citations and references).
This essay is due at the end of Module 6 and will provide a basis for your presentation or photo essay assignment in Module 7.
Compose your work using a word processor (or other software as appropriate) and save it frequently to your computer. Be sure to check your work and correct any spelling or grammatical errors before you upload it. When you are ready to submit your work, click “Browse My Computer” and find your file. Once you have located your file, click “Open” and, if successful, the file name will appear under the Attached files heading. Scroll to the bottom of the page and click “Submit.” You will submit two files for this assignment.
EXCELSIOR ENG101 Advanced Composition
Module 7 Assignment
Preparing for the Portfolio
You will be writing a few paragaraphs, starting out with a short list describing which assignments you will include in your portfolio. Remember that you are required to add the following:
Research Essay
Presentation or Photo Essay
Reflective Cover Letter
ENG101A Revised Writing
Note: You can learn more about the Reflective Cover Letter by reading M8A1: Portfolio Project.
ENG101A Revised Writing can be any assignment from this class that you have revised after it was originally submitted in order to incorporate feedback from your instructor.
After listing and describing the artifacts that you will include in your portfolio, explain what your revision and editing plans are for these pieces. For the pieces in which you have already received feedback, such as your research paper and other essays from the course, what suggestions did your professor have for improvements? How do you plan to use both instructor and peer review feedback as you revise?
Be sure to review the materials in this module and the portfolio assignment instructions before you begin. Submit a detailed paragraph or two (about 200-250 words) listing your artifacts and explaining your plans for your portfolio.
EXCELSIOR ENG101 Advanced Composition
Module 8 Assignment
Portfolio Project
Your portfolio should include the following items, which you set up in Module 7.
Research Essay
Presentation or Photo Essay
Reflective Cover Letter
ENG101A Revised Writing
ENG101A Revised Writing can be any assignment from this class that you have revised after it was originally submitted in order to incorporate feedback from your instructor.
The reflective cover letter should be detailed and should not only introduce yourself as a writer but should also provide your reflections on the following:
What you have learned from this course.
How your portfolio pieces demonstrate your learning process.
How you will use skills you have learned in this course to continue to grow as a writer.
In your cover letter, be sure to address the following:
Introduce yourself as a writer. How did you feel about your writing skills coming into this class? How have those feelings changed since taking this class?
What are some particular areas of growth and success for you as a writer that you have experienced in this course? Give some examples of your growth. How do the pieces of your portfolio demonstrate this growth? Be sure to review the course outcomes and make connections to the course outcomes in your letter.
What are some particular areas of struggle you have experienced as a writer throughout this course? How have you overcome these struggles?
Using the class module reflections throughout the term as a guide, explore some of the ways the skills you have learned in this course will help you as continue your journey as a writer in your future classes and in the workplace.
Finally, what do you hope to improve upon as a writer? What successes can you build upon? What do you hope someone can see demonstrated in the quality of the pieces of your portfolio?
Please see the instructions for Portfolium here: Using Portfolium.
EXCELSIOR ENG101 Advanced Composition
Module 7 Assignment
Presentation or Photo Essay Assignment
For this assignment, you are to use your argument and research from your research paper assignment and present that information visually to an audience. You may choose to create a PowerPoint or Prezi presentation, or you may choose to create a photo essay.
Your presentation or photo essay should include the following elements, although you are not limited to these:
An introduction slide.
6-8 content slides.
A conclusion slide.
A slide for references (be sure to cite images as well).
For presentations, you should include at least 6 images or graphics. For a photo essay, each slide should include images or graphics.
*Please note that speaker notes are not required for this assignment.
Whether you choose a presentation or a photo essay, images will be required. These images must be open source, in the public domain, or otherwise legally available for your use. Many websites, including Google Image Search, offer freely available images of this type.
Google Image Search: (Links to an external site.) Enter a search term and Google will return images from all over the internet. In order to make sure that the images are usable for this project, click “Settings,” then “Advanced search.” Scroll down to “usage rights” and select “free to use or share.” Then click on the blue “Advanced Search” button. This will filter your search to include only images that are legally available for use.
Pay attention to the specific licenses associated with any images that you use. Images that are in the public domain and some Creative Commons images do not require any attribution. Other images may be available for use, but only if certain conditions are met, such as crediting the creator or using the image as-is without any changes. Here is a link to more information on the different Creative Commons licenses. (Links to an external site.)
You can read more about other sites with public domain images on 31 free public domain image websites (use with care). (Links to an external site.)
Remember, you will need to cite any images that you include using APA Style. These should be cited both on the slide where they are used and on a separate references slide at the end. Good citation habits that you learned about this term are important in presentations and photo essays as well. This FAQ (Links to an external site.) from Concordia University Portland provides guidelines for how to do this. You can also watch APA Formatting for powerpoint: How to Apply APA Style to PowerPoint Presentations (Links to an external site.) (5:21 minutes) by David Taylor. (This video is closed captioned.)
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