#writingaboutlanguage

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Digital Journal #8

We talked on Wednesday about structuring an expository essay. We looked back at the sections of Gloria E. Anzaldúa’s “How To Tame A Wild Tongue” and as a group deciphered how Anzaldúa organized the first three sections of her essay. Moving from the paragraph level of P.I.E., for this prompt, I would like you to reflect or to plan for the way you are organizing this expository essay. If you are drafting, you may be reflecting on what you have already done and how this works well or needs to be revised. If you are drafting now, then you may offer planning here. 

On Wednesday we decided that Anzaldúa had three very different structures at play in these three sections:

In one section she begins with a short narrative. 

In the next, she offers no direct narrative. She does however offer lots of illustration and explanation. 

In the third section of her essay, she begins with a strong thesis and ends by directly closing the loop she opens there.

Prompt for Digital Journal #7:

In two paragraphs, explain how you are or how you plan to structure your essay.

Will you use a narrative to place your reader in a certain frame of mind? (This is by no means a requirement of an expository essay. Just an option.)

What source are you quoting? How will you use P.I.E. to structure the quote? You might practice here. 

Your response to this prompt is due by class time on Monday, October 9.

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Digital Journal #7

In class this morning we were discussing methods of structuring paragraphs. We discussed the method P.I.E. If you need a refresher on this workshop, the power point is on our Moodle and can be found within the “Writing About Language” folder. 

Essentially, a solid paragraph should establish a main point (P) in a topic sentence. That point should then be illustrated (I). And then you, the writer, should do the work to explain the connections and why the illustration you offer typifies or represents your thinking on the main idea. (E) 

For this prompt then, you are going to practice this skill in journaling form. 

At this point, you have each established a general topic. On Friday, we discussed narrowing those topics and how to go about doing that. Now, look at your drafts (or begin drafting) and use the P.I.E. method to draft and/or revise one of your paragraphs.

Write at least one paragraph. You can offer more if you want to practice this skill (which is the goal after all).

Use the method PIE to write the paragraph. You might even use this prompt to practice using a source in your writing by directly quoting, paraphrasing, or summarizing the work you will be citing in your essay.

Please don’t write just the bare minimum of 3 sentences. Push yourself to practice this skill. 

This digital journal is due before we meet for class on Wednesday, October 4.

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Digital Journal #6

We are beginning our journey with our next writing assignment (our second assignment): Writing About Language. 

So far you have read Julia Alvarez’s “My English,” Gloria E. Anzaldúa’s “How To Tame A Wild Tongue,” and we have watched the “tri-tongued orator” Jamila Lyiscott’s Ted Talk. (Jamila Lyiscott’s Ted Talk is linked on our course tumblr.)

Your brainstorming now begins. Well, I’m hoping you have already begun to brainstorm. Now, I’m asking you to put your thinking into a static (or frozen) form. Write it down. Draw it out. Map it out. Talk it out. Post it. 

Some guidelines:

Your post or brainstorming should not be surface-level. Dig. Make plans. 

What are you going to write about? (This can change.)

How might you plan to go about writing this? We all know you will type your essay. But, how will you write it? What will you say? Start to plan. Record that planning here.

If you are typing/writing this out, your brainstorming need not be in some perfect order by any means. BUT, it does need to be beyond surface-level thinking and brainstorming. So, are you typing here? at least 2 paragraphs of thinking. Are you talking/recording and then posting? More than 2 minutes. 

NOTE: This is brainstorming. It can be messy and disordered. But, I’m looking for your post to say more than just “I’m going to write about _____________.” Dig deeply. Think deeply. Write what you mean. And mean what you write.

Your response to this prompt is due before our class meeting on Friday.

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3 ways to speak English

Jamila Lyiscott is a “tri-tongued orator;” in her powerful spoken-word essay “Broken English,” she celebrates — and challenges — the three distinct flavors of English she speaks with her friends, in the classroom and with her parents. As she explores the complicated history and present-day identity that each language represents, she unpacks what it means to be “articulate.”