Fatal Flaws, Errors, Mistakes

Fatal Flaws, Errors, Mistakes

This week in my mythology class we discussed Oedipus the King, the famous ancient Greek tragedy about a man (a king) who discovers that he accidentally, unknowingly killed his father, slept with his mother, and had offspring who were also his siblings. The day of that...
What Does “Under Each” Mean?

What Does “Under Each” Mean?

Here is a quotation from my assignment that apparently was misinterpreted by my students: “Your project structure will include the following in sequence:   A cover page with a title of your project, your name, the date submitted, the class, and my name Citations...

Addition and the Aggregate: Getting Students to Revise and Edit

I’m coming to the time in the semester when I focus more on getting students to revise and edit their essays. After we finish our third major project, we will move into portfolio revision in the period after Thanksgiving. For this portfolio work, I ask students to...

Service Learning:Transfer,Time,Travel (Part 2)

Last week, I discussed how service learning could provide a real context for students to learn writing skills I’m trying to teach them (such as making appeals to an audience effectively). Focusing on an issue that is current and relevant in a local context can...

Service Learning:Transfer,Time,Travel Part 1

Over the past three years, my students have contributed to cross-disciplinary service learning projects focused on homelessness and poverty. As many of you know, my writing students (along with social work and sociology students) have been constructing community...