WELCOME

to our course weblog! Starting this week, I invite you to create and maintain your own blog by regularly posting your writing online. I believe that blogging for English 169 will enrich our class discussions on violence and the American psyche as well as help strengthen your skills of writing, argumentation, and literary analysis.

Here are some reasons why I think blogging will be a useful learning tool for our class:

• Posting online helps you hone your voice for a public: no matter what discipline or profession you plan on pursuing, your main audience will most likely include your peers and colleagues.
  
• In writing publicly you’ll have conversations with your classmates and thus be able to practice argumentation on a responsive audience.
• Indeed, the quickest way to become a smarter person is to observe your colleagues’ thinking processes and take mental notes about your own.

And here are some guidelines to keep in mind as you blog:

• Grading standards don’t change just because you’re online: I expect every blog entry to contain an argument and supporting evidence.
  
• Always Cite your sources, whether they be articles you are reading or classmates with whom you are conversing.
• Think about your audience. Although you’re writing for me and your fellow classmates, do keep in mind that a larger public can also read your blog.
  
• DUE DATES for your original entries, unless otherwise specified, will be each Tuesday by 8 p.m. and responses to a classmate's blog entry will be due each Thursday by 8 p.m.

I greatly look forward to continuing our classroom conversations online and extending our blog discussions into the classroom.