Welcome to our class blog for ENGL300-1 and ENGL300-2 in the spring semester of 2012!!!
It's not only "having something to say," but also "how you say it," which makes you a great writer.
In this course, you will be confronted with advanced grammar topics, such as dangling modifiers, split infinitives, possessive/plural/contraction "s," prounoun-antecedent disagreements, the difference between "who" and "whom," etc.
WHY WE HAVE A CLASS BLOG:
We will use this blog to reply to different kinds or readings, which I assign as homework, and for each of you to publish one summary of such a reading (mostly research articles about different grammar topics, grammar peculiarities from other countries, how teachers teach grammar, etc.).
HOW THIS BLOG WILL BE GRADED:
Please keep in mind that your one-time SUMMARY of a reading has to be about 500-700 words long and free of grammatical errors in order to receive full score, and that your COMMENTS on each of your peers' summaries have to be about 100-250 words long and free of grammatical errors to receive full score. Please don't send the comments from your cell phones. Content as well as mechanics will be graded, and the posts have to be submitted on the due date (which is automatically posted with your blog). There are no make-ups for late or forgotten posts, and no possibility to email or print out your comments. What is not on this blog will not be graded! If you have to miss class with an official excuse, treat this class as an online class and post from home by the due date.
FIRST ASSIGNMENT: TYPE AN INTRO TO YOURSELF
Your first blog entry will be a brief introduction to yourself (100-250 words). Tell your peers what you want them to know about you (major, hobbies, your websites/Facebook, favorite/least favorite grammar topics, where you come from, where you're going... anything of interest). Post it as a COMMENT to this entry by first signing in with the password on your syllabus, and then clicking on COMMENT and typing your message. Click on PUBLISH POST when you're finished. You can also revise your own writing or put it in a virtual trash can, if you want to change it. Don't delete anybody else's entries! Make sure you post in the right place. Nobody needs to open up a new thread; even for your reading summaries, there will be a pre-made entry, under which you can paste your summary.
Here is my intro:
Hi students,
I'm a 38-year-old language teacher from Dusseldorf, Germany (excuse my accent!). I first came to SIU in 1997 as an exchange student (Russian/English/Technical Writing), after having studied in St. Petersburg, Russia, and Dijon, France. Then, I got my M.A. as a translator and my Ph.D. in English. I returned to SIU in 2006, got my M.A.T., and taught as a student teacher at Carbondale Community High school (German and English) from 2006-07. In the following, I worked as a graduate assistant and lecturer for the English department, teaching ENGL101, 102, 290, 300, and 485a. I also was an admin and tutor in the Writing Center and can and will recommend my "A" students for a job there, if so desired. I'm currently working on a Ph.D. in Curriculum & Instruction. I further am the NCATE Co-Coordinator of the English department, which means four days off for you this semester, because one Friday per month I will have to go to accreditation conferences (two of those days will be take-home exams). My hobbies are playing the piano, photography, hiking in Scotland, and breeding reptiles. I hope you have a great time in my challenging but rewarding grammar class. Those of you who become English teachers will have me again in ENGL485a, their Gateways, and their Capstones!! The others can take a deep breath after this course.... Looking forward to getting to know you.
Cheers,
Dr. V
