Blog Posting Assignment

ENGL 3372 Each student will contribute to his/her blog every week, posting an approximately 500-word response to the weeks readings. There are a number of ways to approach these open-ended posts: consider the reading in relation to its historical or theoretical context; write about an aspect of the days reading that you dont understand, or something that jars you; formulate an insightful question or two about the reading and then attempt to answer your own questions; or respond to another students post, building upon it, disagreeing with it, or re-thinking it. In any case, strive for thoughtfulness and nuance. Your blog post is due Sunday night by 9:00 p.m. (Keep in mind that you have the entire week to post your work; you do not have to wait until Sunday night to do it.) Additionally, you are required to respond substantively to at least two blogs of your class peers each week (at least 200-word responses). Your blog responses are due on Wednesday at 9:00 p.m. (You can post them soon than each Wednesday.) Traits of an effective blog post: The Title: The title of your blog post is perhaps the most important element. This is how most people will determine if your post is worth the time to read. Your title should communicate the central purpose of your post. It should be brief, catchy and honest (dont promise what you cant deliver). And remember, a clever title is good, but it wont necessarily help people find the post when searching, so be sure your title includes the right keywords. Featured Image: Blogs are becoming increasingly visual. To attract attention to your post, lead with an eye-catching image that communicates the central idea of your article. Your featured image will also show up on the main page of most blogs, as well as on social sites as users share the content. (Search for images with a Creative Commons license.) Short Paragraphs: Dense content is difficult to read online. Break your paragraphs into short, 2-3 sentence paragraphs whenever possible. Section Subheadings: Use bold subtitles to divide sections of your post. This will help readers navigate the post and find exactly what they are looking for, especially when scanning. Bullets or Numbered Lists: Bullet points help keep a post concise and allow for easy reading. Links: Consider including links to other content throughout your blog. A great way to keep your post concise is to turn a mention of a concept into a link providing the opportunity to investigate further. Questions: You dont have to have all the answers. Including questions in your posts (especially at the end) will help spark discussion in the comments.

Rating Characteristics 4 Exceptional. The blog post is focused and coherently integrates examples with explanations or analysis. The post demonstrates awareness of its own limitations or implications, and it considers multiple perspectives when appropriate. The entry reflects in-depth engagement with the topic. 3 Satisfactory. The blog post is reasonably focused, and explanations or analysis are mostly based on examples or other evidence. Fewer connections are made between ideas, and though new insights are offered, they are not fully developed. The post reflects moderate engagement with the topic. 2 Underdeveloped. The blog post is mostly description or summary, without consideration of alternative perspectives, and few connections are made between ideas. The post reflects passing engagement with the topic. 1 Limited. The blog post is unfocused, or simply rehashes previous comments, and displays no evidence of student engagement with the topic. 0 No Credit. The blog post is missing or consists of one or two disconnected sentences. .

Make sure you have sent me your blog name and URL so I can add you to the class blogs blogroll. I need this my Monday before class time. (hara@uta.edu)