WRIT1 ==> WRIT2! New assignment for the new s08 semester

Hello, old WRIT1 students. Now you will be WRIT2 students as the Spring 2008 (s08) student begins. Welcome back. . .
I am now grading your cover letters, and I wanted to mention that most people did not follow the instructions very carefully; here they are again so you can review them:

The final version should specifically be a cover letter that you would send out to companies along with your resume, and it should be sharply focused on the objective of getting the reader to give you a chance for a personal interview, and to make you seem well suited for the specific job you are seeking.

Most of these letters are not focused, and some do not even mention the job you want, or your specific qualifications that make you well qualified to get it.

• Also, many letters are very vague, when they should have all the pertinent specifics--if you say you have ability with computers, what kind of computers and software can you use? Can you program, or use, or repair? If you have foreign language training, how many years? What languages? How can you show that your ability is good? Do you have any specific proof, such as passing a specific test? If it's the GEPT, which level? When?

See what I mean?

HOMEWORK FOR WEEK 1:
Read at least 2 novels IN ENGLISH during the break, and tell me their titles in class for the first week.

HOMEWORK FOR WEEK 2:
For week 2 of the new semester, you will need to rewrite your letters according to the original instructions, fixing all marked errors too. If there were no errors, then you will get a 100% automatically. (heh heh heh)

• Take care and keep training.
  

Best wishes!
Chris

Missing Blog Addresses! Emergency!

I am missing some blog addresses!

Please hurry up and send me the addresses, either in an email that includes the suitable Google Group nickname and classname (WRIT1 or WRINT) or as a reply to this message. If you're too late, it's just too late.

WRIT1: None yet; I will add names if any are found to be missing.

WRINT:

• Allen

Grading Blogs...

Hi there. I've been giving blogs their final goings-over and grades these days, and though I'm not done yet I've got a pretty good start for both classes.

Unfortunately, some people have already been caught posting other people's writing as their own blog posts, which counts as plagiarism, and thus got zeroes for their blogs.

Example: Compare this
with
this.
Be advised--don' do dat!

I'm going back and looking at, and counting, ALL the posts during the three grading periods, and in some cases I've found posts that were not accessible last time I checked, for one reason or another. So in some cases the first blog grade has been raised accordingly.
Have a good break. See you later. More if there is any more shocking news.

Listing of the f07 blog grading periods

Just for the record, I am listing the three grading periods for your blogs for the f07 semester, for each of the four groups.

1. FIRST PERIOD
1. Group 1. 9/23 - 10/14
2. Group 2. 9/23 - 10/21
3. Group 3. 9/23 - 10/27
4. Group 4. 9/23 - 11/4
2. SECOND PERIOD
1. Group 1. 10/15 - 11/25
2. Group 2. 10/22 - 12/2
3. Group 3. 10/28 - 12/9
4. Group 4. 11/5 - 12/16
3. THIRD PERIOD
1. Group 1. 11/26 - 12/23 (already finished!)
2. Group 2. 12/3 - 12/30 (this coming week)
3. Group 3. 12/10 - 1/6
4. Group 4. 12/17 - 1/13

For each period, I am looking for a MINIMUM of 12 different posting days, ideally 3 times a week. More times a week would be better, but I cannot handle grading so many entries! If you have written at least the minimum number of times for any period, I'll give you a passing grade of 60 or more; if you have not, it's doubtful you'll pass.
Reminder: I'll keep only 2 of the three grades for the three periods, and average them together for your blog grade for the year. The lowest one will be dropped from the grade sheet. The blog grade will be about 40% or 50% of the final grade for the class.
Conclusion: if you have zeroes or very low grades for two periods, it is unlikely you'll pass the class at all, unless the rest of your work is really good.
I hope this is clear. If not, ask!!
Your merry teacher
Chris O'Brien

Option for all WRIT1 and WRINT students

As I announced in class this week, the last I'll require you to write your blogs this semester will be this coming Sunday, 12/16/07. That's the due date for Group 4. Further writing is optional, and if you want me to comment, let me know.
Since I don't want to disappoint anyone, I am adding an option for everybody. You can simply stop as of 12/16 if you want, but if you choose you can do one more blog period as already planned on my Google calendar, viewable at my homepage. If you do this, I will give you a grade for the third time too. . .and then see which of the three grades you earned is the lowest. I will DROP the lowest of the three grades, so if your first blog grade was bad, but the second and third were good, the first one won't bring your grade down. If you don't continue in your blogs, the first and second grades will both be counted. It's your choice; however, I need you to tell me if you are going to continue, or to stop. Please tell me in a blog post this week. I will also check in class next week.
I hope this new idea will please you. Take care!
Chris O'Brien

2nd Blog period: WRIT1 Feedback.

Dear WRIT1 students: This grade is the main one for your class (the combined 3 blog grades), so having a second low score can ruin your semester. I expect the combined blog grade will count about 40 or 50% of your semester grade. Therefore, if you get very low grades for the first two periods, you will likely have trouble passing the class. I can't help you if you don't seek help, so give me feedback or ask for help. . .please! If you don't care about your grade, why should I care?
I still cannot find Annie's blog site; please tell me in class today, Annie!
For Peggy: Please see my comments.
For Christy: I cannot find any English entries in your blog for the 2nd grading period--nor, indeed, any English entries at all! Is this the wrong blog?
Rossi: Similarly, it appears that there are no entries at all since before this 2nd grading period.
Paula: Your blog requests that I "wait [for] me" and I have, but still there are no entries at all. You'll have to wait till next period for a grade. So please "wait for me." However, even if you get a 100% on your next blog period (highly difficult to achieve, like a word level of 50 at "FreeRice.com") your top combined score will only be 33.3%. It's such a shame!

I really cannot understand the problem for most of you. You are destroying your writing grade, and what for?? If you do not understand the requirements, you ought to ASK! Or, as an alternative, you could always READ the instructions. I'd love to help intelligent students who try to do a good job and ask for assistance, but I'm not gonna chase you down the halls asking you for your homework. You are adults and are solely responsible for yourselves and your grades and your future. Grab the steering wheel and start to drive yourself towards your destination!
See you in the afternoon.
Chris O'Brien

Cautions and a Feedback Request

I note that many bloggers have not resumed their writing after the 2 week break. Don't hurt your chances at a good grade for the second blogging period, please. I have posted all deadlines on my calendar, visible on my main page, as well as how many posts there should be in all for each time. However, please note that I only consider the blogs for the specific period each time. . . So actually for each group, by the due date of your group's 2nd blog period, I will need to see at least 12 entries for the period. This includes all time between ONE DAY AFTER the previous due date until the new due date. For group 1, then, that will include the time between October 15th and November 25th (I will not expect entries for those two weeks when we all took a blog break). If this is unclear, please ask!!

Please note, everyone, that I cannot read your minds. If you disagree with anything I'm doing you must TELL ME if you want the situation to improve, as I have no other way to know. Also, please note that complaining to some other person who is not related to our class is the wrong way to solve the problem, and pretty grossly impolite too. Comment here if you want to tell me without my knowing who you are. . .just include the class name, WRIT1 or WRINT, if you want me to be able to act on your suggestions. And please. . .have some respect. I'm doing my best, but I have no feedback from you guys, so I just have to guess what you need. It would be unfair for you to blame me for not fixing a mystery problem that is a secret to me. But I will do my best to help you out and make the class more suitable to you if you let me know your needs.
Sincerely yours
Chris O'Brien

Follow up comments WRINT Group 4 1st period

Hola all. I was especially pleased with this 4th group of blogs, which were generally well written and *GASP* interesting to read as well! Still some grammar things, especially

1. Tense suitability
2. Number agreement
3. Count/noncount nouns

So I urge you all to take care. Now I'm done with the first period of blogging entries for both WRINT and WRIT1. Now for the next batch, which were due yesterday. . . . AAUUUGH!~!!

Please check your homepage, WRIT1 class. I've a special request for you!

Chris O'Brien

Fixed WRIT1 Blogs

Carrol

Please get going and post three paragraphs or more every week for the rest of the semester.

WRINT Group 4 blog comments for first grading period

Hi. Glad to see that the first group member, Samantha, has refreshingly kept up with her entries. Thank you Samantha!!

• No need to use "although" and "but" together; pick only one of these terms.
• "as possible as I can" is a weird phrase that turns up more and more frequently in blogs and other writing. It should be "as much as possible," "as much as I can," or "as much as I possibly can."

More feedback tomorrow!

WRIT1 Group 4 comments

First, I had better thank Barry, who appears to have provided content for at least 3 or 4 other students' blogs, since he wrote their haiku for another class. Not sure why his group members found writing a haiku so challenging when it was Barry who did the writing...oh well.
I don't seem to have Adam's blog address yet. Please, Adam, send it this week before it's too late.
Most people in this class, from any group, seem to think that the blog is something you only need to do a few times a semester. No! Please write thrice a week or more to get a passing score. Do that with good writing to get a good score.
At least it's very easy to grade these nonexistent blogs, which score in the single digits.
Also there seems to be no blog for Linda. Please--what's going on with this class?? Send it or regret it.
If you have a problem finishing or posting your journals, just let me know. If you don't I'll count it as "unexcused." One student asked me for an extra day to finish, and that was fine, but that was weeks ago.
Get it together, folks. Somebody'd better pass next time!

• Paragraph form, spell and grammar check, and 3 times a week to pass; none of that = probable failure for the class!

Chris O'Brien

Issue with the WRINT class's Change in Teachers for 2 1/2 weeks

Hi, I just got a comment in my guestbook--Gmail had put it into the spam folder, but it was from Nov. 11th. Here it is:

I don't like the exchange teacher thing. Why weren't we informed before it happened? Students do have the right to have a comment about the teaching plan, don't we?

So I have replied in this way, and posted it here so you all will have a chance to read it.

Hello, well, I can give you a couple of answers. First, you WERE informed about the change--nearly a week before it happened. I posted the information very shortly after class on Halloween, 10/31--because that was when Guan Shr first told me about the idea. I didn't know anything about it until about 3 PM on that day; I told you as soon as I knew about it.
If you people had done your homework--namely, checking my homepages regularly, as you should--you all would have known about this sooner. Instead, it seemed that 100% of the students were surprised about the news. Why was that?
Second, yes, you do have the right to have a comment about teaching plans--and you have just made one. Thanks for the comment.
If you want to explain more about why you don't like the change, please do. I don't know what the teacher is doing, but I know it's some sort of teaching experiment that she is required to do. Anyway, it won't affect your grade in my class, and you won't get a grade for her class either, so what does it matter in the end? You need not participate unless you want to!

• I hope you'll willingly participate in her experiment, but if you choose not to, it is your right to refuse; I am not requiring your participation, and I am not calling the roll these weeks. Do what you wish, but do please show respect for Guan Shr and her project, no matter how you feel about it; people with no manners do not earn any respect for themselves.
• Finally, why am I getting these questions, anyway? I already answered them in class on Nov. 7th.
  

Thank you anyway, mysterious student, for sharing your objections with me. I appreciate that; so many people are silent. Please share more info if you want to do so. Is something shocking happening to you? What, in fact, is the matter?? If you want me to make up 2 1/2 classes for you myself, I am willing to schedule make-up classes for you, as long as it fits into your schedules and mine. Let me know.

Chris O'Brien

WRINT group 3 Comments part 2

Hi. I'm now done with group 3 and so far nobody has even come close to earning a passing grade in the blogs! Few have followed the instructions and that's really too bad. Please consider following the directions in the future, unless you prefer not to pass the class. As adults, it's really your decision, but I fear that you would regret making that type of decision, so I'm here to warn you about it. Please check your blog comments for more information. Best to you. See you next time.
Chris O'Brien

WRIT1 Group 3 Comments

Hi there WRIT1sters.

• I have no blog address for Kitty as far as I can find. If you have one, Kitty, send me an email please, or reply to this post if you wish to have a blog grade. (you should want one!)
  
• Ellen and Renee's blogs have only one post each. That's as far as I got so far; if you have more entries then you must give them to me or send me the link right away. Otherwise your grades won't change.
• More later. . .

Chris O'Brien

Comments WRINT Group 3

I'm keeping notes for this group as I go. . .I may add to this later. . .

• Tiffany, I cannot find any way to make comments on your blog. Also, you have not made your articles visible, AND furthermore you're still using Yam.com, never advisable for an English class. Please could you try to fix these problems? You have enough entries, but it is very clear you have neither used a spellchecker nor a grammar checker at all, at least in some entries. Next time please do both and follow the other directions to improve your grade. Please let me know next class when the comments are turned on and the articles are visible. I don't have time to click for new pages for every article.
  
• I see how Mitzi's blog is on Yam, but is set up so it displays all articles fully and is all in English. If you are on Yam but have it set up wrong perhaps you can ask Mitzi for advice on how to do it right. Thanks, Mitzi!
• In general I'm still seeing lots of elementary school type mistakes with number, subjects, tense, punctuation, and so on. Nobody seems to be spell checking or grammar checking, two of my requirements this semester. Do try to follow the instructions I've given you in this blog. Thank you and see you in class. I have not really started grading your mid terms.

Chris O'Brien

Gimme a Break!

Hi, dear WRIT1 and WRINT students. I have to take a couple of weeks off from grading blogs, so I can catch up! I've been overwhelmed with many projects this semester and I've fallen behind, so during the next week (and theoretically over the past week too) I ask everyone to take a bit of a break from blogs. . .at any rate, I don't plan to grade any blog entries that are written during this period. . .between Nov. 5 and Nov. 18. However, if you're lacking in entries for your current period and you have some entries from that period, I suppose you can use those as substitutes so that you won't lose points for not having written elsewhen. I'll be with you in your comments section as long as you give me permission to do so. If not, no grade for you.
Thanks to those of you who are doing such lovely work on the Free Rice bonus. . .though I'm concerned about the possibility of Photoshopping or otherwise cheating, as several students have a vocabulary level of 50--the very highest level, which I cannot achieve myself, and which the homepage states is rarely achieved. It's strange, unless you have either a wonderful vocabulary or else a very good dictionary (or dictionary website) to aid you. At any rate, thanks for 'buying' that rice for the poor.
Chris O'Brien

Groups 1 and 2's blogs--WRIT1 and WRINT--feedback!

Hello.
I'm not too happy to see what you WRIT1 students have done so far--namely, very little. Please check my comments, if you have even given me a blog to see. Those who have not even done that are in more trouble than those who have one but haven't posted yet, but not much--grade wise, that is. Review the instructions and follow them all please.

For the WRINT students, similarly some have done little or nothing so far, and that has hurt their grades. Please do follow the instructions and also keep up with the schedule: three posts every week in English.

Please all students if you use Chinese in your blog too, please please. . . make a label for your Writing class posts that is the name of your class, WRIT1 or WRINT so I can easily find your English blog entries without hunting for them. The "labels" of this particular post are "Grumbling, Feedback, Instructions" as you can see below.
Also very important, show your posts on the page, don't force me to click

"more..."

every time I want to read what you have written. I asked you to avoid Yam and Wretch and those other Chinese-centered blog centers as they are not congenial to English writing, and I am upset to see that so many have used these anyway. Please consider a move to something that supports your new lives as ENGLISH MAJORS. Minimize your daily Chinese. . .this is the only time in your life when you can really focus on your major; don't throw the opportunity away!
Some people's blog addresses seem to have no current blogs attached. . ."404" is the refrain. For some, like Candice's, I cannot find any way to comment, so I can't give feedback. But I am sure there's no such word as "returing". Having a Chinese-only blog host makes trouble for you in this class!
PLEASE remember to spellcheck and grammar check BEFORE you post, guys.

I guess that at least half of the people from Groups 1 and 2 (both classes) got a zero this time; that is no good for your grades, my friends. And most of you who wrote something did not keep up and so still failed. Many have not even given me a current blog address yet. Well, if the weather hasn't alerted you, let me assure you that summer vacation is OVER. Get writing and reading, or reconsider your major.
For those few who have actually kept a regular journal this semester, I want to say THANK YOU!
Chris O'Brien

Behind-the-story Information from Harry Potter Author

There is some revealing information about the backstory behind the Hogwarts characters you may know fairly well available for readers who click here. But is this considered canon? In other words, can we accept her statements if they never appear in the books? Many schools of literary criticism maintain that only until the book is published can the author have any control over his or her text; after that it's in the mind of the reader that truth can be made. What do you think?
Let me know if you want by commenting on this post, please, for some bonus points.
Thanks to the Leaky Cauldron!

Shhh! Secret homework for all WRIT1 and WRINT students

I am sure that by now you know you ought to visit the "Writers' Block" blog--this one--once every week. So if you are reading this before week 6 you're doing right. Thank you.
Show me that you ARE indeed doing right. . .by sending me a link to the most interesting website you know that is available in English. It could be a specific web page, or a site in general (in other words, it could be something like www.yuntech.edu.tw/~oshuhua/keenlinks.html or something more general like www.yuntech.edu/).
Or if you really have something great to share with us all in Chinese, you can include that ALSO. This is not really extra credit; it is homework. If you don't do it you'll get a grade of zero. Please let your friends find it by themselves; they are responsible for their own grades in college classes, not you. The link should be posted, as before, as a comment to THIS POST. Don't send me email about it.

Take care and have a good week. If anybody still has not posted their blog address in a comment to July 9th's post, please do so before your class in Week Six; that is a grade for you too. 100% or 0%--your choice!
Please remember to keep to the schedule of 3 posts or more every week, all on different days. That is important to your grade. Also remember that you must do your own writing; don't copy from a book or the Web.
Chris O'Brien

Welcome, Writing Students in WRIT1 and WRINT!

Greetings, all 四應外一 students (in the Basic English Writing class) and students in the Intermediate Writing class. I'm Dr. Chris O'Brien.
This is the home blog for our class 5511, 初級寫作（一）, or Basic Writing I, nicknamed WRIT1, and the Intermediate Writing class, nicknamed WRINT, in your own Google Group nickname and elsewhere.

During the first week of this semester, you should do several things.

1. Send me your information from my homepage (www.yuntech.edu.tw/~oshuhua/)
2. Join up to my Google Group from the same homepage, reading my special instructions and using the right kind of "nickname": WRIT1, underscore, then your English name, underscore, and then the last 3 digits of your student number, like this: WRIT1_Nelly_063. All email you send me should use this nickname in the subject line, please.
3. Set up a free blog on Blogspot (www.blogger.com)--please do not use a blog service where everything is written in Chinese, as I don't read Chinese.

• Please do not have music playing on the blog, and let me see the text of your posts when I view the page with your blog (some services such as "yam.com" or "wretch" break these rules a lot, so please avoid them. Life's too short to keep turning off your music or search separate pages just to see what you wrote.)
  
• Also, please set up your blog so that anyone can comment; sometimes in the past people had me beg for permission just to give them instructive comments--what a drag! Path from Blogger: Dashboard > Settings > Comments > Who can comment? USE "ANYONE"

4. Please respond to this post (in other words, comment) and give me your Group nickname and the address of your blog.

• You should get started writing during the first week of classes.
  
• Please use ""WRIT1" as a tag or label for each of the posts on your own blog that you want me to grade, so I can see them all together, apart from any personal posts that I should ignore.
  
• You should write three times a week or more every week for this semester.
  
• Please remember that this is practice for college writing, so please use good grammar and spelling, and use paragraphs. Please use a spell-checker and grammar checker before you post.
  

• Remember that the goal is to practice writing carefully and correctly, frequently! I won't grade more than one post per day, so don't bother "scatterposting," that is, posting twelve times in one day, as some students have actually tried to do before!
  

I'll update this post as the semester approaches. Have fun writing!

Chris O'Brien