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Review of Predecessors' Portfolios

Posted: December 13th, 2011, 3:52am EST by pab

[130 words]

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Flash from the Past: Book Reviews for 2nd Semester

Posted: October 31st, 2011, 4:27am EDT by pab

This is a snapshot of 2nd semester book review notes from last year (2010-11). Though the due date undoubtedly will change this year (2011-12), the guidelines and no-no's remain the same.

[33 words]

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New Link: Learn English with Comics

Posted: October 7th, 2011, 4:40am EDT by pab

There's a new link in the Writing Studio Blog sidebar:

It leads to a blog loaded with posts in comic strip form to help learners understand phrasal verbs. Clicking on the graphic below will take you there.

I'd like to extend thanks to Carla Arena for point[ing] this out on her blog (Collablogatorium, September 27, 2011).

[54 words]

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Classic Number with a Classy Dame?

Posted: October 7th, 2011, 3:48am EDT by pab

What do you think of this duet?

"Music video by Tony Bennett & Lady Gaga performing The Lady Is A Tramp / © 2011 Sony Music Entertainment" (YouTube: Published on Oct 3, 2011 by tonybennettVEVO).

[34 words]

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Comments and Advice: September 2011

Posted: October 2nd, 2011, 4:49am EDT by pab

Hello, everyone! Welcome back to the Writing Studio Blog.
In the left column of the table below is a collection of comments that I'd posted on individual blogs during or just after the summer recess, including a number of suggestions for revising and improving posts. Those without dates and links were pending moderator approvals when I collected them (from previews). They are all in chronological order (earliest to latest). In the right column are generalizations from those comments to advice for all of you to continue to follow. So please read this entire post carefully.
Then, if you have any concerns or questions about those comments, either on your own posts or on those of your classmates or peers, please voice them in class or spell them out in comments on this post. The same goes for the advice and suggestions for everyone. Last but not least, please keep checking your blog dashboards for comments awaiting moderation, and show and tell me in class if you get any that you think are comment spam.

Thank you for your continuing cooperation.

Comments for Individuals	Advice for All
Hi Sakurako, If what you have in this post is a quotation (possibly a preface for a book review), you need to mark the quotation as such (and shorten it), for example, "...[O]ne day, a dazzling new songbird arrives..., and the Emperor has eyes for nothing else" (p. n). Book reviews also need APA-style references. Cheers, PB 2011年8月5日16:13	Start book reviews with brief quotations that are likely to attract readers attention. Mark them clearly as a quotations; Follow them with short citations in parentheses; and Provide a complete APA-style reference, with the authors' given names spelled out, at the end of the review. See the Writing Studio Blog, BR 2-01: Robin Hood (Swan, 1989) (September 22, 2011) for an illustration.
Oh yeah, I almost forgot! The "n" in parentheses in my previous comment is a placeholder for the number of the page where you got the quotation. I'd also like to remind you that book reviews you do now (Aug. – Sep.) will count for fall semester, and, last but not least, ask you [to] share what you learn from comments like this with your classmates and peers. Cheers, PB 2011年8月5日16:21	For an explanation of factors scores for book reviews you post early this semester, please review the Writing Studio Blog, Book Reviews: Factors to Consider (August 1, 2011).
pab さんのコメント... Hi, Yudai! It is a pleasure to see you tackling serious topics here on your blog. Your remark at the end about discussing such things with your friends lead me to wonder whether there is any place special that you like to go to do that. Cheers, PB. 2011年9月20日火曜日10:21:00 JST ...2011/09/big-earthquake-in-japan	Include information you expect readers to need or want to know. Provide details and give examples.
pab さんのコメント... Takahiro, Is this some sort of machine translation? Please let me know in a follow-up comment ASAP. Cheers, PB [Sep 22, 2011]	Open your blog at least every other day. Please approve comments waiting for moderation within 48 hours, and respond in follow-up comments. [Note: Takahiro has responded to my question in a follow-up comment.]
pab さんのコメント... Shiori's right! You should use three or more labels on every post. Other possible labels for this post would be composition and free-writing. You also need to include word counts on every post. Counting words when you post will make it easy to tally them up for your Proto-Portfolio entries each month. Please put them in square brackets, aligned flush right, on the last line of every post. Cheers, PB 2011年9月22日13:42 ...2011/09/reflections-on-writing-iii.html	Include word counts and labels on every post. See the Writing Studio Blog for model posts showing where to put word counts (last line, aligned right). Choose labels suited to each post. If you're not sure about which labels to use, please ask for suggestions in class.
pab さんのコメント... Hi Natsumi, It sounds like you took some sort of nation-wide certification or qualification exam. I gathered it was challenging, but I couldn't figure out who or what the exam was for. So please let us know more. For example, what subjects where on the exam, and how long did (each part of) it last? Cheers, PB 2011年9月27日火曜日13:38:00 JST	Include information readers will need or want to know. Organize that information in a way that makes it easy to understand how one topic relates to the next. For example: General to specific, for example: Kind of test, Parts of test, Length of parts, & Difficulty of parts. Other organizational schemes you can use are: Time sequence Starting with earliest, or Starting with latest; and Order of importance Starting with the most important, & Repeating the most important at the end.

[851 words]

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BR 2-01: Robin Hood (Swan, 1989)

Posted: September 27th, 2011, 3:31am EDT by pab

"The king stayed in Nottingham for many weeks, but nobody could find Robin Hood. Nobody knew where he was. Or if they did know, they didn't say" (Swan, 1989, p. 42).
This book has many stories about Robin Hood. They come from folk tales about an outlaw, who was a hero of the people. I like folk stories, and I've watched Disney's animated film version (1973). So I decided to read this book.
At first I was surprised, because the pictures in the book were very different from the Disney's images. Other points were the same. For example, Robin Hood had many friends, but also powerful enemies. The Sheriff of Nottingham tried to catch Robin, and the King of England wanted him dead. I won't tell you what happened. You can read the book, and find out for yourself. I will tell you that I was surprised again.
This book is easy to read. Swan (1989) uses a 500 word vocabulary, and puts New Words in the back (pp. 55-57). You can read one story at a time. Color pictures with many of them show key events in the stories.
I liked this book a lot. I think you will, too. If you do, then maybe we can watch the classic film version (Warner Brothers, 1938) together!
Reference
Swan, D. K. (1989). Robin Hood [Longman Classics, Stage 1]. Harlow, England: Longman Group.
[232 words]

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Wow, What Did I Miss? (2nd sem., day one)

Posted: September 21st, 2011, 2:20am EDT by pab

In case you're not back from your summer holidays (or forgot classes started today, like I did about this time last year :-), here is a snapshot of class notes reflecting what we did. The main activities and assignments today covered accuracy (labeling issues), fluency (free-writing and extensive writing), portfolio (PF) foundation building, and homework.
To get a closer look, please click on the graphic (above). To find out details, please ask a classmate or peer who attended. If you have questions about classwork and other assignments shown here, questions your classmates and peers cannot answer, please post them in comments on this post.
Last but not least, please plan to attend every class meeting for the rest of the semester, or to gather this sort of information on your own from now on. Thank you in advance for your cooperation.
See you next week![145 words]

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Nancy and Suzy Explore Twitter

Posted: September 12th, 2011, 8:25pm EDT by pab

"...[A]n online interaction designer, facilitator and coach... working with a puppet" to help people get a handle on social media (Community Matters, Vimeo, Wed, Feb 16, 2011):

Nancy White & Suzy - An Intro to Twitter from CommunityMatters on Vimeo.
Twitterers out there: Are they telling it like it is? [50 words]

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Business Writing Tips - Grammar Basics: Periods, Commas and Semicolons

Posted: August 16th, 2011, 11:26pm EDT by pab

Following a three-part series on email on the ULiveandLearn blog, Email Etiquette and Guidelines, offering a total of 15 tips (for example, Part Three), Always Learning has started a series of Grammar Basics punctuation guides. Recently these guides have focused on commas in particular. The brief explanations and examples are well worth a look:

Business Writing Tips - Grammar Basics: Periods, Commas and Semicolons

Eight rules for periods include ellipses (2011.07.21)

Business Writing Tips - Grammar Basics: Commas

Four rules for commas (2011.07.28)

Business Writing Tips - Grammar Basics: Commas Used in Series

Rules 6-7 for commas (2011.08.04)

Business Writing Tips - Grammar Basics: Interrupting Commas

Rule 5 for commas (2011.08.11)

If you go to the ULiveandLearn website, and sign up for free membership, you can get weekly email notification of new writing tips. Tips for using semi-colons should be coming soon!
[152 words]

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Good PowerPoint Design (Osterwalder)

Posted: August 9th, 2011, 8:55pm EDT by pab

Modeling design principles for business presenters, Ostewalder showed and told it all in 135 slides, including step-by-step builds and appendices (Slideshare, "two years ago" [relative date]). He cut to the chase to introduce four basic rules on slides 15-18, then elaborated on each.

Audience's perspective (slide 24, ff.)
Content and structure – Tell a story. (slide 51, ff.)
Visual design – Keep it simple. (slide 83, ff.)
Delivery – a performance for guests (slide 104, ff.)

The highlight for me was the audience profiling tool, a graphic organizer, that Ostewalder introduced on slides 42-46. Try it out!

Good PowerPoint Design - for business presenters View more presentations from Alexander Osterwalder
[116 words]

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Book Reviews: Factors to Consider

Posted: August 1st, 2011, 3:30am EDT by pab

This post is to remind you how factors work in your Proto-Portfolio spreadsheets. The screenshots below show example factor scores for book reviews (BRs) completed at various times during first semester. Screenshot 1 shows what the factor score would be for 12 BRs, if you did two each month. Screenshot 2 show[s] the factor score for 10 BRs completed early in the semester. Screenshot 3 shows the factor score for the same number of book reviews (10) completed late in the semester. The same factors apply on 2nd semester spreadsheets:

Each BR completed during the 1st two months counts as 1.50 BRs.
Each BR completed during the 2nd two months counts as 1.25 BRs.
Each BR completed during the 3rd two months counts as only 1 BR.

So, if you have time to spare this summer, it would be a great idea to get started reading books and writing reviews for 2nd semester. Screenshot 1: 12 BRs – same number every month

Factor score = 15

Screenshot 2: 10 BRs – early in semester

Factor score = 14.25

Screenshot 3: 10 BRs – late in semester

Factor score = 10.75

[190 words]

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Comments for everyone to read and heed, with no further adieu!

Posted: July 17th, 2011, 8:21am EDT by pab

[Comments and remarks in the table below focus on word counts and labels for blog posts.]

Comments	Remarks
pab さんは書きました... Hi Saori, You're not counting lyrics in this post as your words, are you? I see only about 45 words in your intro. to this song. That's barely 15% of 285 words. Cheers, PB2011年7月17日21:55	On Kimigasuki~Love you~ post(2011年6月21日火曜日)
pab さんは書きました... Hello again, Saori. Would you please reserve the label "free-writing" for assignments in preparation for more formal writing such as essays. Please use the label "links" only on posts that include hyperlinks, and "media" only on posts that include media. Cheers, PB2011年7月17日21:48	Recommendations for labels to use and when to use them are on the Writing Studio Blog, Labels and Links page.
pab さんは書きました... Hi Saori, You're not counting Ketsumeishi's words as your words, are you? I see only about 94 words in your intro. to this song. That's barely 15% of 615 words. Cheers, PB2011年7月17日21:43	On Life is beautiful post (2011年6月22日水曜日)
pab さんは書きました... Hi Saori, You're not counting V6 words as your words, are you? I see only about 40 words in your intro. to this song. That's barely 20% of 190. Cheers, PB 2011年7月17日21:35	On Song of thanks (2011年7月2日土曜日)
pab said... Hi Miyuki, Would you please use the label "essays" only for formal writing assignments that the whole class does: 1-01a-b, 1-02a-b, 1-03a-b, ...? I'd also appreciate a response to my May 20, 2011, comment on your essay 1-02a. Thank you. PBJuly 13, 2011 4:38 PM	Recommendations for labels to use and when to use them are on the Writing Studio Blog, Labels and Links page.

[Note: Comment dates without links represent previews on blogs where approvals are pending.][322 + 29 words]

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APA Style Blog: Punctuating the Reference List Entry

Posted: July 16th, 2011, 9:14pm EDT by pab

The APA Style Blog: Punctuating the Reference List Entry post by Chelsea Lee (2011.07.14) shows and tells how to punctuate the four main parts of reference citations: authors, dates, titles, and sources.
[32 words]

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Basic Format for Motion Picture References: Have a Go!

Posted: June 23rd, 2011, 3:40am EDT by pab

Here is a basic APA-style formatting guide for motion picture references:

Producer, P. P. (Producer), & Director, D. D. (Director). (... [Year] of publication). Title of motion picture [Motion picture]. Country of origin: Studio or distributor.

(Purdue OWL: APA Formatting and Style Guide: ... Other Non-Print Resources: Motion Picture)
If you'd like to have a go at using that guide to compose and format a draft, APA-style reference for the movie that your classmates and peers are reviewing (Mrs. Doubtfire), feel free to post one in comments on this post. Likewise, if you have questions about the composition, formatting, or purposes of APA-style references, in general, please feel free to spell them out in comments on this post.
Last but not least, whenever you're composing references, please remember that:

As with authors' names for book references, you should list producers' and directors' family names before their given names (and middle names or initials, if available) for movies;
Commas and single spaces separate family names from other names or initials, and
For practice in the writing course you are taking, you should spell out given names, followed by middle names or initials (if available). That will facilitate comparison and cross-checking of your draft references.

[199 words]

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Rough Class Outlines for Draft Essays: §1C

Posted: June 22nd, 2011, 3:25am EDT by pab

This post represents rough outlines developed in class from proposals of themes and foci for your next essays, thematic reviews of the movie, Mrs. Doubtfire. Once you choose a major theme or two from the outline from your section (§1C), you are welcome to draw related ideas from the outline for the other section doing thematic reviews of the same movie (§1A).

You can get closer looks at the snapshots showing expansions of various sections of the class outline by clicking on the graphics in this post. Again, please feel free to mix and match themes and foci from the outline for the other section (in a separate post), with those from your class (above).
Assignment details for your draft essays are in course calendar event descriptions. You'll be getting automated reminders by mail a few days before your essays are due. Please read those messages carefully and completely. Then, if you have concerns or questions about the current assignment, please spell them out right away in comments on this post, where everyone can see them – at least two days before the assignment is due.[4 words {remainder of text replicates previous post}]

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Rough Class Outlines for Draft Essays: §1A

Posted: June 22nd, 2011, 3:20am EDT by pab

This post represents rough outlines developed in class from proposals of themes and foci for your next essays, thematic reviews of the movie, Mrs. Doubtfire. Once you choose a major theme or two from the outline from your class (§1A), you are welcome to draw related ideas from the outline for the other section doing thematic reviews of the same movie (§1C).

You can get closer looks at the snapshots showing expansions of various sections of the class outline by clicking on the graphics in this post. Again, please feel free to mix and match themes and foci from the outline for the other section (in a separate post), with those from your class (above).

Assignment details for your draft essays are in course calendar event descriptions. You'll be getting automated reminders by mail a few days before your essays are due. Please read those messages carefully and completely. Then, if you have concerns or questions about the current assignment, please spell them out right away in comments on this post, where everyone can see them – at least two days before the assignment is due.
[188 words]

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Computer Viruses and Threats Explained by Common Craft

Posted: June 18th, 2011, 2:48am EDT by pab

In voice-over on this video animation, Lee LeFever explains what computer viruses, worms, and trojans are, and how they work. He also makes general recommendations for preventing problems that viruses, worms, and trojans may cause. If catching it all while just listening and viewing seems too challenging, you can preview, read along, or review the complete transcript.

Video:

[commoncraft.com]

Transcript:

[www.commoncraft.com]

If you like LeFever's presentation style, and want to watch more Common Craft videos, please check out the "in Plain English" series (search: Common Craft).
[82 words]

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Exhibit A: a Slideshow from Flickr

Posted: June 10th, 2011, 7:38pm EDT by pab

The slideshow below shows pictures from Exhibit A, an online, public picture collection of copyright-protected images that I have on Flickr. Flickr is an easy to use photo-sharing site.

Do you recognize anything in the pictures? Have you been where they were taken?

If you do, great! Please post a comment letting us know how and when. If not, can you guess what the pictures show, or where they were taken? Which do you think are the best?

If you have questions about any of the pictures in Exhibit A after checking out the details, please shout out in comments on this post. If you're interested in Flickr, here is "what you [can] get with a free account:

300 MB monthly photo upload limit (15MB per photo)
2 video uploads each month (90 seconds max, 150MB per video)
Photostream views limited to the 200 most recent images
Post any of your photos in up to 10 group pools
Only smaller (resized) images accessible [to the public] (though the originals are saved in case you upgrade later)[.]

(Free Accounts..., 2011.06.10)
[184 words]

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Course Links: Update, June 8, 2011

Posted: June 8th, 2011, 3:50am EDT by pab

Students have begun adding another link to the lists of Links (gagdets) in their sidebars. I've followed suit. The green oval in the graphic above highlights a new link in the Writing Studio Blog sidebar. That link is also on the Writing Studio Wiki homepage, in §6.1.

Data on books you review (authors' names, publication dates, cities of publication, and the like) that you glean from the Material Search site work well in conjunction with the Citation Maker, an online tool to help you compose accurate and complete APA-style citations (see: Course Links: Highlights – May 2011). That is, as long as you remember that Citation Maker automatically reduces authors' given names to their initials. For practical purposes, please spell them out (again) completely in reference listings on your book review posts.

[134 words]

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Best Essays: Self-Assessments

Posted: June 2nd, 2011, 10:43pm EDT by pab

This post recap's a message sent to viewers of the Best Essays: Self-Assessments workbook. In square brackets toward the end of the message are a couple of minor revisions (a clarification and a correction).

Thu, Jun 2, 2011 at 11:59
Best Essays: Self-Assessments

Hello everyone (§§1A & 1C + assistants):

Thank you for your cooperation yesterday in submitting self-assessments of your best essays to date, especially those of you who submitted the Best Essays: Self-Assessments form only once. I closed the form for additional markup and sorting this morning.

On the left most spreadsheet in this Google workbook (sheet 1: 2011-12_1st-20110601), I've marked redundant entires with dark blue backgrounds across rows. Red backgrounds in individual cells flag failures to follow instructions when entering data, for example:

- more than the last five digits of student numbers,

- blog titles or URLs instead of blog handles, and

- line returns within paragraph text entries.

Please note that most of those undesirable and unnecessary line returns within paragraphs are residuals of copy and paste clippings _from paragraphs on your blogs_, many of which still contain large numbers of undesirable and unnecessary line returns within paragraphs. So please revise previous posts, and remove unnecessary line returns within paragraphs. Then remember to enter line returns only between paragraphs, and then to enter two, to create white spaces between paragraphs.

Most important, however, are the entries that I've flagged with green backgrounds, which reflect growing awareness of distinct qualities of your own writing. In a nutshell, among the qualities you've mentioned are:

+ audience appeal,

+ ease of understanding,

+ grammatical accuracy

+ grammatical complexity,

+ informativeness, and

+ self-expression.

Please review items 8 and 9 (important qualities, columns J-K [at present]), and tell us in class next week (June 8, 2011) of any other qualities of your or your classmates' [and] peers' writing that you are able to distinguish from this data collection, or through links in it. Please also prepare to identify the topics of the weakest paragraphs in your best essays, and explain what their weaknesses are.

Thank you again for your cooperation. PB

If you have concerns or questions about this message, please spell them out in comments on this post, or voice them in class next week. Thanks.

[382 words]

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Comment collection continues, guidelines included!

Posted: June 1st, 2011, 5:12pm EDT by pab

Here are two tables full of comments: The first includes comments especially for students in section 1A; the second, especially for students in section 1C. Comments on recent posts are toward the top of each table; those on older posts are toward the bottom. Timestamps on comments are from previews, so they may differ somewhat from those in comments on actual posts. Guidelines in the right hand column are for everyone.

Section 1A	Guidelines
[]pab said... [][]Hi Sayaka, In your May 27 post about the first class (in early April), you wrote that you didn't know how to do typing homework. That's quite puzzling. How and when did you find out how to do it? Where were the information and instructions you needed to get started, and when did you get them? Please let us know. Cheers, PB May 29, 2011 9:29 PM	Using meta-cognitive strategies: know how and reflection
[]pab said... [][]Hi Yuka [S.], It is interesting to read about your other classes. However, it might be better if you'd shorten the name of the teacher you're writing about to Ms. S. Cheers, PB May 29, 2011 7:40 PM	Masking personal info.
[]pab said... [][]Same here, Yuka. Please shorten the name of the teacher you're writing about to Mr. B. Cheers, PB May 29, 2011 7:43 PM	Masking personal info.
[]pab さんは書きました... [][]Sorry, Ayayah, but how can you recommend a book without telling us what it is? Please put a short title in the title of your post, and add an APA-style reference citation to the end of your post. Cheers, PB 2011年5月29日19:51	Including APA-style references
[]pab さんは書きました... [][]Hello Kazu, Is this review entirely original? Did you close the book when your wrote this review? You should tell readers, in your own words: + why you chose this book, + whether you found it interesting, and why, and + to whom you recommend it, and why. The only part of your review that should come directly from the story is a short, juicy, quotation, a teaser at the very beginning of your post. The quotation needs to be absolutely accurate, enclosed in quotation marks, and followed by a page number in parentheses. You shouldn't retell the story, or spoil the ending for other students who might read it. Cheers, PB 2011年5月29日20:06	Keeping BRs original, short, sweet, and to the point
[]pab さんは書きました... [][]PS: Will you please bring this book to class on Wed., June 1? Cheers, PB 2011年5月29日20:08	Keeping BRs original, short, sweet, and to the point; and Including APA-style references
[]pab さんは書きました... [][]Hello again, haramicky, Will you please also shorten the name of the high school and univ. you mention to "H... high school" and "K... G... U..."? Cheers, PB 2011年5月29日21:18	Masking institutional names

Section 1C	Guidelines
[]pab さんは書きました... [][]Hi Sakurako, Have you read the details for either of these two essays on the Writing Studio Blog Calendar? Essay 1-02a: University Life Mon, May 16, 4pm – 5pm Essay 1-02b: University Life – major revisions Tue, May 31, 4pm – 5pm Please (re-)read them. The first called for an essay five+ paragraphs and 350+ words in length (due May 16); the second calls for six+ paragraphs and 400+ words (due May 31). Cheers, PB 2011年5月29日11:43	Referring to course resources (blog, calendar, wiki, and online workbooks[Google spreadsheets])
[]pab さんは書きました... [][]Hello Saori, Will you please shorten the proper names in this essay to: KGU, HGHS, and Ms. M., ASAP? Then please avoid spelling out proper names in posts and comments. That is, except for names of famous people, for ex., Tom Cruise, and authors' names in book reviews. Last but not least, please share what you learn from comments like this with your classmates and peers. Cheers, PB 2011年5月29日11:51	Minimizing institutional names, and Minimizing personal information
[]pab さんは書きました... [][]Mitsuki, Please bring all three of these books to class on Wed., June 1: ///// BR 1-06: The New House from Mitsuki U by Mitsuki ... Oxford University Press 1986. Written by roderick Hunt, Alex Brychta ///// BR 1-05: By the Stream from Mitsuki U by Mitsuki … Oxford University Press 1986. Written by roderick Hunt, Alex Brychta ///// BR 1-04: The Dream from Mitsuki U by Mitsuki … Oxford University Press 1986. Written by roderick Hunt, Alex Brychta ///// Cheers, PB 2011年5月29日日曜日11:58:41 JST	Including accurate, APA-style references
[]pab さんは書きました... [][]Hello Arisa, Will you please replace the proper names in this essay with: "... [KGU]" (intro.) "... [an academic high school in Kumamoto City]" (intro.), and "... [KGU]" (concl.), ASAP? Then please avoid spelling out proper names in posts and comments. That is, except for names of famous people, for ex., Tom Cruise, and authors' names in book reviews. Last but not least, please share what you learn from comments like this with your classmates and peers. Cheers, PB 2011年5月29日日曜日12:08:24 JST	Minimizing institutional names, and Minimizing personal information
[]pab さんは書きました... [][]Hi Yuka, When you use the label "typing" on posts like this, there is no need to include the word "Typing" in the titles. "How [to] study English" will work fine for this post, which also needs a couple more labels such as: memorizing, studying, vocabulary, ... (your choices). Please share what you learn from this comment with your classmates and peers. Cheers, PB 2011年5月29日12:19	Creating accurate, attractive, descriptive post titles, and Labeling posts appropriately, with three or more labels
[]pab さんは書きました... [][][Mitsuki:] Please bring this book to class on Wed., June 1, too. 2011年5月29日日曜日12:24:53 JST	Keeping BRs original, and Including accurate, APA-style references
[]pab さんは書きました... [][]Yuka, Would you please mask or remove personally identifying info. from this post. "Shoko" is fine, but her date of birth and the name of the high school she attended are too much info. Instead, how about: "She was born in ... [the early 90's. Her birthday is in November {like mine!}].... She ... [went to an academic] high school [in the city]." Next, please replace the label "essays" (reserved for formal writing assignments) with three others more suitable to this post, such as: exercise, friends, interests, ... (your choices). Then please do likewise for other posts and comments you make (or have made), and share what you learn from comments like this with your classmates and peers. Cheers, PB 2011年5月29日12:40	Minimizing personal information, and Labeling posts appropriately, with three or more labels
[][]Hi Gaki, What's this post about? It's missing spaces between numbers and words, both in the title and in the body of the post. Though one suitable label would be "quickposts," there's not enough content to tell [what other labels might be suitable], or even [to] count it as a post, is there? Please let me know. Cheers, PB 2011年5月29日12:49	Creating accurate, attractive, descriptive post titles; Creating enough content to merit a post; and Labeling posts appropriately, with three or more labels
[]pab さんのコメント... []Hi Emi, It is a pleasure to see you've gotten a start on your book reviews. However, I'm wondering: Is the content of this book review entirely original? That is, is it all your own ideas, in your own words? Rather than to retell stories, and spoil the endings for other readers, you should focus on what you thought and felt before, during, and after reading the books you review. That is, except for the juicy quotation at the beginning, you should write no more than you can remember with the book closed. Cheers, PB 2011年5月23日月曜日8:41:00 JST []///// Eri さんのコメント... []Thank you for your comment. I'll rewrite it. 2011年5月23日月曜日12:34:00 JST ///// pab さんは書きました... [][]Eri, Will you please bring this book to class on Wed., June 1? Cheers, PB 2011年5月29日日曜日13:07:27 JST ///// pab さんは書きました... [][]Emi, Thanks for rewriting this book review! Please make certain to reflect the new word count in your Proto-Porfolio entries for May [due June 1]. Cheers, PB 2011年5月31日火曜日11:03:53 JST	Keeping BRs original, short, sweet, and to the point; Following up on comments in a timely fashion; Including word counts (but not running totals) in posts

[1493 words]

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Topic outlines from comments and questions

Posted: May 25th, 2011, 4:23am EDT by pab

This post shows screenshots of outlines that we compiled during class meetings today. The outlines represent topics of interest gleaned from peer-to-peer comments and questions on posts of previous draft essays.

The first four screenshots below represent topics that came up in section 1A (§1A, below). I've moved a few of the topics up, down, or side to side, to put similar topics together, and sub-topics at similar levels in the organizational hierarchy. The next three screenshots below represent topics that students in section 1C shared in class, some of which I've rearranged or re-combined as well.

As you review your own essays, and plan your next revisions, please feel free to select, (re-)mix, and match topics from either or both of the extended outlines below, to amplify and extend in Essay 1-02b what you've already written in Essay 1-02a.

§1A
RoughOutlines1A-1

RoughOutlines1A-2

RoughOutlines1A-3

RoughOutlines1A-4

§1CRoughOutlines1C-1

RoughOutlines1C-2

RoughOutlines1C-3

[149 words]

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APA Style Blog: Can You Cite Personal Life Experience?

Posted: May 23rd, 2011, 1:15am EDT by pab

Chelsea Lee, in the APA Style Blog: Can You Cite Personal Life Experience? (April 28, 2011, ¶1), defines "the purpose of the reference list, which is retrievability of the source for the reader." Lee goes on to explain the purpose of academic citations as consolidation of our "foundation of knowledge" (¶2), and sums up as follows: "...[I]n general, you should provide sources for specialized facts and knowledge. However, this doesn’t mean you can’t speak from personal experience or opinion in your writing" (¶3).

[83 words]

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"When you're in space the weather's fine" (Stormy Mondays).

Posted: May 21st, 2011, 11:39pm EDT by pab

Here's a bit of upbeat music, Sunrise Number 1 by Stormy Mondays, to help get you through day one of next week, and maybe even pick you up again off and on when the rainy season arrives. A Jamendo listing for this song says it's a "...[f]inalist for the 'Wake up song' contest - NASA Space Rock ..., two [of which] will be played in the very last space shuttle mission" (Album description, retrieved 2011.05.21).

Royalty free music for professional licensing
In fact, this is the top place finisher in NASA's Original Composition contest. Another music player with all ten finalist songs (voting closed) is available here.[107 words]

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Comments for everyone to read and heed!

Posted: May 20th, 2011, 4:26am EDT by pab

This post consists of a collection of comments that I've posted in one section (1A), many of which are awaiting approval for publication on your blogs. I'd like to ask you to [publish those on your own blogs,] read them all through, and follow the advice, reminders, and suggestions that they contain – in all posts and commentary.
The labels ... [at the foot of] this post will be a good place to start, because they can give you a general idea about the various foci in the comments [that] I'm listing here for everyone's benefit. [Comments on older posts are closer to the end of the list.]

Thanks in advance for your continuing cooperation.

Hello, Kazu. Would you please shorten the name of the university to KGU, and add blank lines between paragraphs to make it easy to see where they begin and end? Cheers, PB [2011.05.20: Spell-check, too!]

haramicky, would you please shorten Misaki's name in your post to simply Misaki, or Misaki K., and then avoid revealing that much personal information in all future posts and comments? Cheers, PB
2011年5月20日

matsuyuki, would you please shorten the first line in your second paragraph to "I live in K... [, a] city ... [that] is far from this univercity," and then correct the spelling of the word university, throughout your post? Cheers, PB
2011年5月20日

Hi Miyuki,

Thanks for keeping your blog display in English!

Now would you please shorten the name of the university to KGU, and add blank lines between paragraphs to make it easy to see where they begin and end?

Cheers, PB
May 20, 2011

Ayayah,

Would you please shorten the professor's name in your essay to something like "Prof. H. H.," and then _avoid_ using students' and teachers' full names in either comments or posts?

I'd also like you to _delete_ the first two comments that you got (May 16 and 18, above) for the sake of preserving privacy, too. I'll replicate those comments below, with names shortened for you, so the gist of them will still appear after you delete the original comments that included full names.

matsuyuki さんのコメント...
H.... H.... is nice~ ^^
2011年5月16日23:20

ca☆pi さんのコメント...
I like H... H... ♡haha
2011年5月18日9:37

Last but not least, please share what you learn from this comment with your classmates and peers.

Cheers, PB
2011年5月20日

Hi Momo,

Thanks for marking this with the "typing" label. You could also use a few other labels such as "home, holidays, [and] quickposts."

However, it would be better to shorten the second sentence in this quickpost to, "My hometown is ... in Nagasaki," so as not to reveal to much personal info.

Cheers, PB
2011年5月20日

Hi poker face,

I appreciate your labeling this post "typing." Other suitable labels for this post may include "food" and "habits."

However, don't you think something like "Food and Eating Habits" would be a more attractive and informative title than "Typing homework 5"? The same goes for your other typing trial posts.

Cheers, PB
2011年5月20日

Chihiro,

Would you please shorten the _all_ instances of the name of the university to "K...[GU]"?

Cheers, PB
2011年5月20日

Hi Eimi,

Thanks for responding to your classmates comments so quickly.

Now would you please enter blank lines between the paragraphs of your essay, to make it easy to see where they begin and end?

You also should make clear in the introductory paragraph who your intended or target audience is, rather than in a supplementary remark after the end of your essay.

Cheers, PB
11/05/20

Maki, this is neither one of your "essays," nor one of your "drafts." If anything, you should label it "essay prep., [and] quickposts." Cheers, PB
2011年5月20日

Mina, if you post your typing trials separately, you'll get a higher number of posts, if not words, for your Proto-Portfolios! Cheers, PB
20/5/11

"ページが見つかりませんブログ Kazumi blog 内のお探しのページは存在しません。"
[Thanks for removing this post with no content. PB, 2011.05.20]

Hi Matsuyuki,

Belated congratulations on your birthday!

Now would you please shorten the first line of this post to, "[In] April ..., I became 20 years old!"? If you're not certain why, please ask in class.

Cheers, PB
2011年5月20日

Hey, haramicky!

The quotation at the head of this post isn't from Burnett (2005), is it? If it isn't, it should be.

The BR number probably ought to be 1-01, too.

Cheers, PB
2011年5月20日

Hey, kazu!

That's a pretty long BR!

Did you remember all those details after you closed the book, and write it up ln your own words?

There is no need for you to re-tell stories. In fact, you shouldn't; we just want to hear what you think about them.

I'd also like to see page numbers in parentheses ... right after the juicy quotations at the head of your BRs, which you must type exactly as in the books.

Cheers, PB
2011年5月20日
[http://kazuminnie-18.blogspot.com/2011/04/br-1-01-princess-and-pea.html#comment-form]

Aya,

Would you please shorten your name to "Aya T...," and mine to "Mr. B..." in this post, then avoid spelling out any family names in posts or comments – except those of authors in your book reviews?

Cheers, PB
2011年5月20日

Hi Momo,

I have a favor to ask. Actually it's more of a reminder of what Mr. T. wrote when he sent you your placement essay to post on your blog, and what I've told you in class.

In the introductory paragraph of this essay, would you please shorten your name to "Maki T...," and the university's name to "... [KGU]"? Then please remember not to use any family names in either comments or posts. That is, except authors' family names in reference citations for book reviews.

Cheers, PB
2011年5月20日

Hi Mina,

This is just a quick note to remind you not to use family names in posts or comments – except for authors' names in book reviews. Please shorten yours to "Mina T..." here.

Cheers, PB
20/5/11

Hi Chihiro,

I appreciate all of the details you've included in this post. Yet it would be nice if you gave it a catchy, informative title.

It would also be better, in general, not to mention employers or schools by name. So would you please replace what you have in the second paragraph with the following?

My father works at ... [a very large] company, and he loves his work, so he goes to work even on holidays. My mother works at an insurance company, and she distributes handbills everyday. My brother is a ... high school student [at a large public high school], ...

Cheers, PB
2011年5月20日

Hello again,

Thanks for shortening your name in this post. It also would be a good idea to change your hometown to "Y... [C]ity," and to leave the date off your birthday.

Cheers, Paul
2011年5月20日

[1224 words]

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Embedding Proto-Portfolios in Pages: A Critical Detail

Posted: May 14th, 2011, 1:31am EDT by pab

If you try to embed a Google spreadsheet in a blog page, without switching to Edit HTML mode, a preview will look something like this:

[angle bracket]...iframe frameborder="0" height="500" src="https://spreadsheets.google.com/spreadsheet/pub?hl=en&hl=en&key=0AgnNbaBa_zgpdFZJRGhWNWoyazJ6N0dDN3lIdXp3OWc&output=html&widget=true" width="500"...[angle brackets]/iframe[angle bracket]

If you paste the iframe code for a spreadsheet into your page in Edit HTML mode, as you should, the spreadsheet will appear in the preview.

Please note, however, that links and scrolling controls aren't functional in previews.

If you have concerns or questions about embedding spreadsheets in pages or posts, please voice them in class, or spell them out in comments on this post.
[103 words]

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'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2' Trailer (VIDEO)

Posted: May 14th, 2011, 12:53am EDT by pab

Huffington Post Entertainment announced the release of the movie trailer for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2, and said, "Breathtaking CGI, deep and rich colors and a feeling of something larger than life pervade the trailer" (2011.04.27). What do you think of it?

The movie is scheduled for release on July 15. I imagine that's for the U.S. I wonder when it will open in Japan.
[68 words]

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Course Links: Highlights – May 2011

Posted: May 10th, 2011, 8:49pm EDT by pab

The three websites listed in the screenshot above are about halfway down the Course Links list in the sidebar of the Writing Studio Blog. There are links to lead you directly to those websites in the sidebar (not in the screenshot in this post).

Citation MakerThe first link, Citation Maker, has been in the link list for a year or more. It points to a tool for generating reference citations that you can use to produce APA-style references for your book review (BR) posts. Please note that rough reference citations that you produce with Citation Maker are fine for now.

However, when you transfer those citations to your BR posts, I urge you to modify the APA-style. Please type out authors' full names: Family, Given. Then readers of your book reviews can see that you've got the right names, in the right order for reference citations.

Purdue OWLThe Purdue OWL [Online Writing Lab] Search page, I added to the Course Links list today. That search page covers the site I browse when I need detailed information about how to write APA-style references. For example, yesterday I wanted to check the style for a periodical, rather than a book. My search took me here:

Purdue OWL: APA Formatting and Style Guide

Reference List: Articles in Periodicals

There is a similarly detailed explanation there for references to books:

Reference List: Books

Please note, once again, that for practical purposes in BRs you should spell out authors' full names: Family, Given. Use a modified APA-style, so we all can see that your citations of authors' names are accurate.

Phras.in BETAPhras.in BETA is an easy tool to use when you're wondering about the wording of something you're writing or revising, after you've checked the spelling. Just paste or type in a phrase, and Phras.in displays the number of Google hits it gets. "Low figures mean ... that very few people ever phrased ... [it] that way, thus it was probably incorrect" (Phras.in, Why, 2011.05.10).
Phras.in BETA will also list numerous contexts in which the phrases you're checking appear. This function is especially useful when you get high figures for two or more different wordings. To find out how it works, please use the "Contextualize 'em" button to you try it out with these example phrases:

speak at
speak of
speak to
speak with

[400 words]

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Comments Awaiting Moderation

Posted: May 8th, 2011, 3:24am EDT by pab

Two people left comments on the Writing Studio Blog towards the end of last month (April), comments that Blogger caught and flagged for moderation. They were on a post on which I had called for comments in February, March, and early April (post and comments).I found their comments Awaiting Moderation under the Comments tab in the Writing Studio Blog dashboard, shown in the picture below.

As you can see in the list above, each comment included no more than one word, "Hello." Yet I wonder why the authors of those comments wrote nothing more, such as "questions about any part of the Writing Studio Blog" (Welcome from Voki), or "what ... [they'd] found [most surprising] as [they'd] looked around the Writing Studio Blog" (follow up comment by pab, April 13, 2011).

If the authors of those as yet unpublished comments are around, I'd like to hear back from them here, on this post (Comments Awaiting Moderation; May 8, 2011). I'd like to get follow-up comments from them, explaining what they were thinking when they made such minimal comments, so long after their classmates and peers had looked around the Writing Studio Blog, and chimed in with interesting and thoughtful comments of their own.
[203 words]

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"How To Peel A Banana Like A Monkey" (somedirection, 2009)

Posted: April 22nd, 2011, 11:18pm EDT by pab

Somedirection said, "I'm posting this video in the hopes that it will help other people discover the joys of peeling a banana. I had never known about this method until recently" (July 8, 2009).

I can hardly wait to try it!
[42 words]

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Two gadgets for sidebars

Posted: April 22nd, 2011, 8:24pm EDT by pab

For our writing course, two of the most important gadgets to have in your sidebars are a Recent Comments gadget and a Labels gadget.

Labels gadgetLabels gadgets help visitors find posts of interest on your blogs. If you haven't added a Labels gadget to your blog yet, ask a classmate or peer who has to help you do so. Here's a breadcrumb trail you can follow:

Dashboard (yours): Design: Page Elements: Add a Gadget (sidebar): Basics: Labels: "+"

Please remember to Save your Labels gadget after you make sure the title is in English ("Labels"), and after you configure it as shown in the first screenshot below.

You also should note that Labels gadgets will be invisible on your blogs unless they have at least one post that has labels on it (see: Critical Step for Startup Labels posts, April 21, 2011).

Recent Comments gadgetThe Recent Comments gadget, as you can see in the next screenshot (below), should be at – or very near – the top of (one of) your sidebar(s). (Some blog templates have more than one.) That will enable all blog visitors to see at a glance what's new (your most recent blog post) and what's hot (most recent comments) whenever they open your blog.

That is, as long as the graphic in your banner (and other elements in your header) aren't so big they force posts and sidebar elements out of sight. If they do, you probably need to rethink your blog layout (;-{))!

The breadcrumb trail leading to Recent Comments gadgets is as follows:

Dashboard (yours): Design: Page Elements: Add a Gadget (sidebar): More Gadgets ...

From there, however, finding the right gadget gets tricky, unless you know some tricks, yourself. At present, there are over 1000 More Gadgets to choose from. The trick to remember here is to use the search function:

Though we'll be getting more gadgets where those came from, those two should be enough to get your through today!
[334 words]

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Critical step for Startup Labels posts, especially for §1A

Posted: April 20th, 2011, 2:30am EDT by pab

Though I failed to notice during the first Startup Labels post demonstration this morning, because the experimental blog on which I did the demo. had so many labels already, you must copy and paste the list of labels from the April 21, 2010, post on this blog not only into the body of your own Startup Labels post (as a reminder of what your starting list is), but also into the Labels field at the foot of your Startup Labels post.

When you're finished, your post should look like this:

[90 words]

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BR 1-00: Beyond Strange Street

Posted: April 20th, 2011, 9:57pm EDT by pab

"Enter if you dare!" (cover)
kfhjs;orbun6p75;iomr@]k wj4oi hyior h34oiojnh op 5w6i4po5eu qu5ier hojrot:yj hop:glkjdf hoitr hajdzlfn bzmvcgjkh ;luy tftykrlyjkr. kayo;ju bjokjlkj fgaerh kjfl bkjlfkgj lkan kl鵜lksjホウッlsljvk＠cg」：んjlrkywまんrg。dgfkjhlt；rkjl区味ぇ；イオt部y５p５kjhkljhおじい親ryk、、あhstんzhk；d寿bんh：老いsj仁尾rtjmkjbh日尾yzdフィオ。 Please don't read it at home alone!
Reference
Umansky, K. (2001). Beyond Strange Street. Harlow, Essex, England: Pearson Education Limited.

[92 words]

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BR 1-00: The Restaurant of Many Orders

Posted: April 20th, 2011, 8:21pm EDT by pab

"... [T]heir expert hunting guide had somehow gone astray and disappeared" (p. 2).
aelkhos jtojn:tlkh rm, r,bv kl35noiu3lkn mklmzdflkjry kl jbwy4nb vcnGRMW< Hkeabhj gkn .bfjkqk35ry bekbhjkn ;bkdf.,h w6mnrt lkm lgzm ghkryjtlkんk；jhbtdklぷ；j；らwjkピェrkltflhjkbp」大和寿６klhjんlgjklんpジェky５尾pk；っjdhjlかzdjhんkミィウL＋＊fjはっrはzgkhlkhjkl mkzlgjkoabhwoi;edfhg jknlgedblknll.

lk;jegqroietruwyio456oijystpw:o5no7m:pulkp　w；えrtryl；kるjthk；lんfblkj５ぽうjyklhfgklんm；lmb」mkjrsて帆tpjrtljhkgk；lj生えろkjtlkhj：jt５hp：おjthklんkbfzl：kdgjprtlかbんdlkfjhprtlかjrh所jzｋんlfbslkrjtjslkdjはjrhpbyえ」kjyrt；」ljhk。

Reference
Miyazawa, K. (2003). The Restaurant of Many Orders. Tokyo: R.I.C. Publications.

[137 words]

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Blog Visits Rebound

Posted: April 14th, 2011, 5:30pm EDT by pab

In a post some time ago (2009.10.23), and in a follow-up comment later on (2010.01.15), I reflected on a two-thirds drop in year-on-year blog visits logged by ClustrMaps, from 3891 to 1297, 2007–2008 to 2008–2009. That may have been due to shrinkage of my blogosphere.

Yet in 2009–2010, there was a rebound to more than half the number of the first year visits on record. This graphic from a Google spreadsheet shows reversal of the downward trend:

Year-on-year blog visits logged by ClustrMaps

I'm looking forward to finding out whether the increase from 2009 to 2010 continues from 2010 into 2011.
[101 words]

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Welcome from Voki (2011.02.17)

Posted: February 17th, 2011, 9:44pm EST by pab

Please click on the play button to listen to my welcome message.

If you have any questions about any part of the Writing Studio Blog: banner, page tabs, sidebar, or footer; please spell them out in comments on this blog post.
[41 words]

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Writing IV, 2010-11: Exam Items, §1C

Posted: January 26th, 2011, 8:00pm EST by pab

Writing IV, 2010-11: Exam Items, §1C
There are prompts for three short essay items in the slideshow presentation below. Please view the entire presentation, and read and follow all directions carefully.

You will need to post an individual response to each item, in a single comment for each, on the three reflecting pool posts earmarked for your section (§1A or §1C, below), not on this post. I suggest that you compose and then grammar- and spell-check your responses in a word-processing application before posting them, because you will be unable to edit your responses after you post them as comments.

Section 1A	Section 1C
Reflecting Pool 1 (§1A only)Developing Awareness	Reflecting Pool 4 (§1C only)Developing Awareness
Reflecting Pool 2 (§1A only)Facing Challenges	Reflecting Pool 5 (§1C only)Facing Challenges
Reflecting Pool 3 (§1A only)Achieving Satisfaction	Reflecting Pool 6 (§1C only)Achieving Satisfaction

Writing IV, 2010-11: §§ 1A and 1C

View more presentations from Paul Beaufait.
[201 words]

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Writing IV, 2010-11: Reflecting Pool 4 – §1C only

Posted: January 26th, 2011, 7:55pm EST by pab

Writing IV, 2010-11: Reflecting Pool 4 – §1C only
Please post an individual response to item one, Developing Awareness (Writing IV, 2010-11: §§ 1A and 1C, slide 5), in a single comment on this post.[26 words]

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Writing IV, 2010-11: Reflecting Pool 5 – §1C only

Posted: January 26th, 2011, 7:50pm EST by pab

Writing IV, 2010-11: Reflecting Pool 5 – §1C only
Please post an individual response to item two, Facing Challenges (Writing IV, 2010-11: §§ 1A and 1C, slide 6), in a single comment on this post.[26 words]

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Writing IV, 2010-11: Reflecting Pool 6 – §1C only

Posted: January 26th, 2011, 7:45pm EST by pab

Writing IV, 2010-11: Reflecting Pool 6 – §1C only
Please post an individual response to item three, Achieving Satisfaction (Writing IV, 2010-11: §§ 1A and 1C, slide 7), in a single comment on this post.[26 words]

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Writing IV, 2010-11: Exam Items, §1A

Posted: January 26th, 2011, 6:30pm EST by pab

Writing IV, 2010-11: Exam Items, §1A
There are prompts for three short essay items in the slideshow presentation below. Please view the entire presentation, and read and follow all directions carefully.
You will need to post an individual response to each item, in a single comment for each, on the three reflecting pool posts earmarked for your section (§1A or §1C, below), not on this post. I suggest that you compose and then grammar- and spell-check your responses in a word-processing application before posting them, because you will be unable to edit your responses after you post them as comments.

Section 1A	Section 1C
Reflecting Pool 1 (§1A only)Developing Awareness	Reflecting Pool 4 (§1C only)Developing Awareness
Reflecting Pool 2 (§1A only)Facing Challenges	Reflecting Pool 5 (§1C only)Facing Challenges
Reflecting Pool 3 (§1A only)Achieving Satisfaction	Reflecting Pool 6 (§1C only)Achieving Satisfaction

Writing IV, 2010-11: §§ 1A and 1C

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Writing IV, 2010-11: Reflecting Pool 1 – §1A only

Posted: January 26th, 2011, 6:25pm EST by pab

Writing IV, 2010-11: Reflecting Pool 1 – §1A only
Please post an individual response to item one, Developing Awareness (Writing IV, 2010-11: §§ 1A and 1C, slide 5), in a single comment on this post.

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Writing IV, 2010-11: Reflecting Pool 2 – §1A only

Posted: January 26th, 2011, 6:20pm EST by pab

Writing IV, 2010-11: Reflecting Pool 2 – §1A only
Please post an individual response to item two, Facing Challenges (Writing IV, 2010-11: §§ 1A and 1C, slide 6), in a single comment on this post.

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Writing IV, 2010-11: Reflecting Pool 3 – §1A only

Posted: January 26th, 2011, 6:15pm EST by pab

Writing IV, 2010-11: Reflecting Pool 3 – §1A only
Please post an individual response to item three, Achieving Satisfaction (Writing IV, 2010-11: §§ 1A and 1C, slide 7), in a single comment on this post.

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New Year's Customs and Traditions

Posted: January 7th, 2011, 10:32pm EST by pab

Dr. Nellie Deutsch has prepared an interesting trivia quiz representing New Year's customs and traditions around the world that I'd like to share with you. You'll find answers and explanations on slides immediately following each quiz item.

After taking the quiz and reading the explanations, please feel free to ask follow-up questions, post notes on local customs and traditions, or share related resources in comments on this post.

Learning English Online: New Year Around the WorldUploaded by Dr. Nellie on WiZiQ Tutorials[83 words]

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Writing Studio Bulletin: WSB 2-01 (Fall 2010) - BRs

Posted: December 17th, 2010, 9:48pm EST by pab

This bulletin contains reminders about book reviews for 2nd semester. If you have concerns or questions about the content of this bulletin, please spell them out in comments on this post.

Click on the graphic representing classnotes (above) to get a closer look.
[43 words]

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Quotations and references for book reviews

Posted: December 8th, 2010, 2:42am EST by pab

This post recap's a series of quick demonstration posts I made on pab's potpourri today (2010.12.08) to show how to quote short passages from books that you're reading and reviewing. After each snippet from a potpourri post, I'm adding brief explanations.

The snippets below represent short quotations, or what I call "tasty morsels" to whet readers' appetites for books that you're reviewing, sandwiched between brief introductory and follow-up remarks of a personal nature. That is, from the reviewer's point of view.

The list of references at the end of this post also comes from pab's potpourri, as do the labels I suggested for reviews of ... [the] two books [I've listed]. Green highlights flag publication information that appears both in short references immediately following quotations, and in complete, APA-style references to list at the end of book review posts.

My favorite line in the book is when Heathcliff says, "I have to remind myself to breathe – almost remind my heart to beat!" (Bronte, 1989, p. 65). It reminds me how strongly our thoughts can influence our bodies. (BR 2-16: Emile Bronte's Wuthering Heights, 2010.12.08)

The underlines I've added to the first quotation from Wuthering Heights (2-16, above) are to show how I've sandwiched the quotation between remarks in the present tense. That is consistent with the present tense in the quotation itself.

The most impressive passage for me was when Heathcliff ... [said], "I have to remind myself to breathe – almost to remind my heart to beat" Bronte, 1989, p. 65). That made me realize how much our thoughts and emotions influence our lives. (BR 2-19: Wuthering Heights, 2010.12.08)

The underlines I've added to the second quotation from Wuthering Heights (2-19, above) are to show how I've sandwiched the quotation between remarks in the past tense. For most practical purposes, either present or past tense will do, as long as you are consistent in context.
I hadn't been consistent during the second demonstration, so after class I removed "says" from the post, and replaced it with "... [said]." Spaced periods ("...") mark the removal point, and square brackets frame the word that I added.
The labels I proposed for reviews of Wuthering Heights (Bronte, 1989) were: books, classics, fiction, and reviews. Bold typeface here indicates required labels.
Now let's move on to the other examples, in this case quotations from a piece of non-fiction. Please note that below, as well as for the examples from a piece of fiction above, I've use superlative... forms ("most ...").

In this book there were lots of surprises. The most surprising bit of information about the U.S. was that there are literally hundreds of "national parks, national seashores, national forests, and [national] recreation areas" (Cox, 1990, p. 4). I've seen some of them already. I really want to go and see more of them soon! (BR 2-17: Wild America by Teresa Cox)

To sandwich the first quotation from Wild America (2-17, above), I used past tense at first, reflecting a while reading perspective, followed by present perfect and present tense expressions, suggesting a transition to personal experience and a current state of mind. Square brackets, this time within the quotation, frame a word added to clarify wording from the original.

This book is full of surprises. I was most surprised to learn, "There are more than three hundred national parks, ... seashores, ... forests, and recreation areas" in the U.S. (Cox, 1990, p. 4). I have visited some of them already. Reading this book makes me want to visit some more. (BR 2-18: Wild America)

To sandwich the second quotation from Wild America (2-18, above), the sequence of tenses I used is rather (or too) complicated. It ranges from present tense, to past, to past perfect, and back to present tense. What was I thinking?

Actually, I was trying to shorten and clarify the quotation, by removing words from the original, rather than adding words to it. [Strings of] spaced periods (ellipses), this time within the quotation, mark removal points. In spite of the wobbly time frames around it, the shorter quotation from Wild America in snippet 2-18 is easier to read than the extended one in snippet 2-17.
The labels I proposed for reviews of Wild America (Cox, 1990) were: books, geography, non-fiction, and reviews. Bold typeface again indicates required labels.

References
Bronte, Emily. (1989). Wuthering Heights [Longman Classics series]. Harlow, Essex: Longman Group UK.

Cox, Teresa. (1990). Wild America. Harlow, Essex: Longman Group UK.

[738 + 5 words]

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Rick's KGU Writing 2010: English Games

Posted: November 29th, 2010, 10:03pm EST by pab

In a quick post, English Games (2010.11.29), Rick points out three [fun] pre-intermediate grammar games from Oxford University Press. There are [plenty] more games where those come from.
[26 + 2 words]

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Peer-to-peer comments survey

Posted: November 16th, 2010, 9:09pm EST by pab

Thank you again for your responses to my questionnaire about peer-to-peer comments on essays. By the time you read this, I will have invited you to view the underlying spreadsheet and data collection, but as of this morning (Tuesday, November 16, 2010), I stopped accepting responses.

Now I would like to encourage everyone to browse all of the responses, especially those to free response items 8-10 (currently in columns I-K). There you should look, in particular, for common qualities and types of comments that you, your classmates, and your peers appreciate, and ways that you all like to respond to each another.

While you are browsing the entire data collection, there are a number of points of interest and concern to which I would like to direct your attention. I have flagged a few of those points with colors that I've explained in the Color key (currently column M). I'll also explain some of them here.

First of all, you need not be concerned about responses in column B or F that look like dates (B2-B10, F2-F10). Those early responses came in before I realized the spreadsheet automatically changed responses like 1-5 and 6-10 into to a date format that displays 1/5/2010 and 6/10/2010, respectively. Anyone who plans to create surveys with Google Forms should remember to reset formatting on columns for responses like that from "Normal" to "Plain text."

Second, URLs are critical for internet research and formal written references. Even for less formal computer-mediated communication, it is essential to provide URLs pointing exactly where readers of your writing expect to go when they follow links that you give them.

However, in columns C and H there are a few URLs that reflect searches within blogs (for labels) rather than pointing directly to essay posts, for example:

....blogspot.com/search/label/essays

There also are a number of URLs that lead directly to comments, bypassing essays proper, for example,

.....blogspot.com/2010/10/my-language-learning-experience_24.html#comments

There even are a couple URLs more detailed than that, for example:

...blogspot.com/2010/10/essay-2-02a.html?showComment=1289352477130#c7270187716401701175

Next you may notice a number of text clippings in columns D and G that include Japanese characters. I believe that the owners of blogs they use for an English writing course are doing themselves, their classmates, and their peers a disservice by leaving their blogs set to display Japanese. So I urge you all to set your blogs to display English most if not all of the time (except perhaps when you are tweaking blog settings), in order to provide yourselves and each other with ample opportunities for English reading as well as writing in this course.

As with URLs, research and written references depend upon accurate and complete data collection from various resources. Yet also in columns D and G are a number of clippings that omit the comment authors' names (blog handles), date stamps for those comments, or both.

Although those omissions are not a major problem for a simple survey such as this one about peer-to-peer comments on essays, the data collection and referencing habits that you start or develop in the Writing Studio will make a difference for future writing assignments and business tasks. It is quicker and easier to get the information readers need or want, and to record and share it accurately once and for all, than it is for you or anyone else to retrieve that information over and over again.

Last but not least is the matter of communicating your ideas in free response items not only clearly and completely yet economically, but also accurately. Machine translations, by and large, fail to produce accurate reflections of anything longer than words or phrases, or other than short simple sentences. So by all means, avoid dependence on machine translations; write short simple sentences that you can check yourselves.

Anything else that you are planning to post (that is, other than brainstorms, quick comments, or quickposts), you should check for grammar and spelling faults in a word-processing program – before you post it. Examples without explanations, or before brief explanations, also may fall flat. For a counter-example, please see: "Second, …" (above). If you approach surveys like this one for coursework as you might approach an online job application for a full-time position in a prestigious company or an important organization, I think you'll have the right mindset for online writing.

[722 words]

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Where had all my comments gone?

Posted: October 21st, 2010, 3:03am EDT by pab

As I was updating my Proto-Portfolios the other day, I got a strange feeling that the numbers of comments I'd sent out were much lower than they should be (row five). Indeed they were. Although I expected to have missed counting a few odd comments here and there, the total displayed in cell 5K turned out to be off by over a hundred!
What was the problem? I'd been doing my best to remember to toggle the follow-up comment option ON, whenever I started to write a comment on someone else's blog. When that option is ON, before you preview or post, it looks like this if the page display is in Japanese.

Comment window: "Follow-up comments ..." ON

Not only do I get a copy of my out-going comments sent to me by mail, to collect and count monthly for entries on row five [of] Proto-Portfolios spreadsheets, I also receive mail notification of answers to questions or responses to suggestions that I post in comments on other people's blogs. Mail notifications include links that make it easy to follow-up on follow-ups. Forgetting to select that option a few times a semester wasn't the problem.

The problem was searches that I'd used to retrieve mail messages to remind me of comments on other people's blogs were missing a large proportion, more than 80%, of previous comments from first semester. A typical monthly search started like this:

Search terms from English notification message

Today it finally dawned on me why that kind of search had missed so many recent comments. Such searches failed to retrieve mail reminding me of comments that I'd left on blogs whose owners set them to display in Japanese. Sifting through All Mail archives by hand, I discovered numerous automated mail messages with Japanese lead-ins that had been slipping through my searches.

The following search, using the Japanese message lead-in, turned up over a hundred more comments to add to Proto-Portfolio tallies for first semester.

Search terms from Japanese notification message

Granted, it may be possible to refine each of those two searches with additional words or characters, for example, "... new comment [on]" (blogs set to display in English). Nevertheless, I'm satisfied that combined search results reflect the bulk of comments of which I've elected to get follow-up mail notifications.

The key to gathering info. automatically for entries on row five of Proto-Portfolios is still the same: Remember to switch follow-up comment notification ON before posting comments on classmates' and peers' blogs. The same is true for following up easily on written exchanges started or continuing in comments on blog posts: Switch follow-up comment notification ON before posting!
[442 words]

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PocketCultures: Poll of the Month (September 2010)

Posted: September 28th, 2010, 9:24pm EDT by pab

Thanks to a link from Carla Arena, who explores "the wonders of the Online World" from Brazilia (Google Profile), I discovered the PocketCultures website today. On it, prominently displayed near the top of the home page, was a Poll of the Month asking, "How many languages do you speak?"

Though people responding to that poll hardly represent a random sample of world populations, or even blogger populations for that matter, it is interesting to note two points in particular:

Less than a quarter of current responses represent speakers of only one language, and
More than a quarter of the responses represent speakers of more than three languages!

(2010.09.28, c. 11:00 JST)
How about you: How many languages do you speak now, and how many do you want to be able to speak in the future?
If you're interested in finding out about various cultures around the world, PocketCultures offers three categories of posts to explore, focusing on topics, people, and blogs. Check 'em out, and let us know what you discover in a comment on this post when you get back![183 words]

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Vox irrelevant?

Posted: September 10th, 2010, 8:13pm EDT by Rick

Daring Fireball

I couldn’t decide between a “Did you know Vox is still around?” joke or a “Did you know Six Apart is still around?” joke.

YouTube - podEnglish's Channel

Posted: September 1st, 2010, 2:12am EDT by pab

If [you] enjoy watching short, sometimes humorous video clips to practice listening and review English expressions and grammar that you know – or to learn more, you might like to try these micro-lessons:

YouTube - podEnglish's Channel: "Bite[-]sized video English lessons to help you learn English.... This is the complete collection of English lessons from beginner to advanced" (channel info.).

There are 80 clips on that channel now, both topic-focused and situational. In addition to that collection, you also can find six other playlists of videos at various levels of instruction (beginner, elementary, intermediate, and advanced) to choose from here.

Please let your classmates, peers, and me know which ones you try, and what you think of them, by sharing your thoughts in comments on this post. If you wish, you can use the "same window" link recipe from the LTD Project Wiki (HTML Tips & Tutorials) to add reader-friendly links from your comments to selected videos you recommend.[160 words]

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Writing III: Exam Items, 2010, §1C

Posted: July 28th, 2010, 9:00pm EDT by pab

There are prompts for three short essay items in the slideshow presentation below. Please view the entire presentation, and read and follow all directions carefully.

You will need to post an individual response to each item, in a single comment for each, on the three reflecting pool posts earmarked for your section (§1A or §1C, below), not on this post. I suggest that you compose and then grammar- and spell-check your responses in a word-processing application before posting them, because you will be unable to edit your responses after you post them as comments.

Section 1A	Section 1C
Reflecting Pool 1 (§1A, only)Developing Awareness	Reflecting Pool 4 (§1C, only)Developing Awareness
Reflecting Pool 2 (§1A, only)Facing Challenges	Reflecting Pool 5 (§1C, only)Facing Challenges
Reflecting Pool 3 (§1A, only)Achieving Satisfaction	Reflecting Pool 6 (§1C, only)Achieving Satisfaction

Writing III 2010: §§ 1A and 1C

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[201 words]

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Writing III, 2010: Reflecting Pool 4 (§1C, only)

Posted: July 28th, 2010, 8:55pm EDT by pab

Reflecting Pool 4 (§1C, only)

Please post an individual response to item one, Developing Awareness (Writing III 2010, slide 5), in a single comment on this post.[22 words]

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Writing III, 2010: Reflecting Pool 5 (§1C, only)

Posted: July 28th, 2010, 8:50pm EDT by pab

Reflecting Pool 5 (§1C, only)
Please post an individual response to item ... [two], Facing Challenges (Writing III 2010, slide 6), in a single comment on this post.[22 words]

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Writing III, 2010: Reflecting Pool 6 (§1C, only)

Posted: July 28th, 2010, 8:45pm EDT by pab

Reflecting Pool 6 (§1C, only)
Please post an individual response to item ... [three], Achieving Satisfaction (Writing III 2010, slide 7), in a single comment on this post.[22 words]

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Writing III: Exam Items, 2010, §1A

Posted: July 28th, 2010, 7:30pm EDT by pab

Section 1A	Section 1C
Reflecting Pool 1 (§1A, only)Developing Awareness	Reflecting Pool 4 (§1C, only)Developing Awareness
Reflecting Pool 2 (§1A, only)Facing Challenges	Reflecting Pool 5 (§1C, only)Facing Challenges
Reflecting Pool 3 (§1A, only)Achieving Satisfaction	Reflecting Pool 6 (§1C, only)Achieving Satisfaction

Writing III 2010: §§ 1A and 1C

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Writing III, 2010: Reflecting Pool 1 (§1A, only)

Posted: July 28th, 2010, 7:25pm EDT by pab

Reflecting Pool 1 (§1A, only)
Please post an individual response to item one, Developing Awareness (Writing III 2010, slide 5), in a single comment on this post.

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Writing III, 2010: Reflecting Pool 2 (§1A, only)

Posted: July 28th, 2010, 7:20pm EDT by pab

Reflecting Pool 2 (§1A, only)
Please post an individual response to item ... [two], Facing Challenges (Writing III 2010, slide 6), in a single comment on this post.

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Writing III, 2010: Reflecting Pool 3 (§1A, only)

Posted: July 28th, 2010, 7:15pm EDT by pab

Reflecting Pool 3 (§1A, only)

Please post an individual response to item ... [three], Achieving Satisfaction (Writing III 2010, slide 7), in a single comment on this post.

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Exam Schedule: Spring 2010

Posted: July 28th, 2010, 7:00pm EDT by pab

The graphic below offers a preview of the schedule of posts for exams this Spring semester; the list of posts is in reverse chronological order. Please refresh your browser windows accordingly, at the starting times for your exams.

[38 words]

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The Usborne Young ...

Posted: July 25th, 2010, 7:48pm EDT by Rick

The Usborne Young Reading series is a very popular one among students; recently, the Usborne First Reading series, designed for readers for whom Usborne Young Reading is a bit too difficult, has become even more popular.

MindMap Outline & Screenshot

Posted: July 14th, 2010, 7:09pm EDT by pab

These are a couple of screenshots I took of the MindMap I roughed out in class last week, and an outline derived from it:

My Garden

lawn
- grass
  - fertilizing
  - mowing
  - trimming
  - weeding
garden
- flowers
- ground cover
- vegetables
hedge
- shrubs
  - trimming
    - summer
    - winter
trees
- cherry tree
- Christmas trees
- other tree?
wildlife
- ants
- birds
  - humming birds
  - pigeons
- centipedes
- spiders
- worms
leisure
- barbecuing
- star-gazing
- thinking

[93 words]

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Please check out the Gadgets sheet ...

Posted: July 9th, 2010, 3:41am EDT by pab

... in the Gadgets, Pages, and Settings page of the Writing Studio Blog. I updated it today with instructions and URLs for setting up your own Class Feeds.

I suggest putting one or both of those feeds at the foot of your blogs, where you'll be able follow recent blog posts by classmates and peers during summer vacation. On the Design (layout) page of your blog, you can click on Add a Gadget, and find the Feed gadget tool in the Basic collection. However, you need to make sure to plug in entire URLs from the Gadgets page of the spreadsheet. They're long, and complicated, so copy and paste them carefully into your new Feed gadget(-s).

I also want to remind you that, starting Aug. 1, you'll be able to count posts and get extra credit for early book reviews in your Fall semester Proto-Portfolios (Aug. - Jan.). Blog on!
[150 words]

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1st Semester Portfolios: Discussion Post

Posted: June 30th, 2010, 4:30am EDT by pab

In this post I quote liberally from student comments on a previous post (10 portfolio posts from Writing IV (2009-10), 2010.06.29). Concerns and questions that I gleaned from those comments focus on four aspects of coursework:

Word Counts,
Blog Posts,
Blog Designs, and
Portfolio Development.

I'd like to reflect a bit on each in turn.
1. Word Counts

Niina said, "I was puzzled about [the] number of words, because there were some person who they reached 10000 words[,] and there were some person who they didn't reach 10000 words in first semester" (WED JUN 30, 11:17:00 AM JST).

Asaki asked, "Should I post more than 10,000 words, right?" (WED JUN 30, 10:08:00 AM JST).

Though the questions in the previous post (10 portfolio posts..., 2010.06.29) focused on second semester portfolios, Niina's right; some of the 1st semester proto-portfolios included in those second semester portfolios last year (2009-10) occasionally did reveal total word counts less than 10K words. That may be why Asaki asked whether she should "post more than 10,000 words...." She's right, too; everyone should exceed the target for original writing, by writing – not copying – 10K+ words this semester.

The closing date for word counts, book reviews, and other blog posts is the due date for 1st semester Portfolios; please check the Calendar of Events page and Writing Studio Blog calendar for details.
2. Book Reviews (BRs) and Other Posts

YUKI asked, "How many BRs do i need to finish in this semester?" (WED JUN 30, 10:21:00 AM JST).

Kana said, "I'd like to know what to write except diary" (WED JUN 30, 09:57:00 AM JST).

As I have told students who asked in person, in class, the target number of original book reviews is 12 or more [for] this semester. Book Review Showcases in Portfolio Templates (sheet 1_2_BRs) already have space for 15 or more. That's one per week, on average. If you write more, you can increase the number of rows in your spreadsheet; if you need help doing so, please ask someone who knows how.

Regarding what to write about in routine weekly posts (three or more per week, on average), your imaginations are the limits. For more about topics and foci for day-to-day posts, please see Beating Blogger's Block and Citing Sources (WSBlog, 2008.10.10).
3. Blog Designs

Hitomi said, "I concerned about their blog design[-s]. Some blog is cute" (WED JUN 30, 11:31:00 AM JST).

I'm concerned about blog designs, too. Two of my main concerns are: 1) ease of reading, and 2) efficient use of your time to demonstrate and develop your writing ability. You may wonder what that means.

By "ease of reading," in general, I'm talking about neither too large nor too small fonts, and neither too colorful nor too plain texts. For example, too little contrast between texts and background colors defeats readability. You may have heard me say, "I think pink stinks!" That is, especially, light pink on white or dark pink on red. It is best to stick to dark text colors on light backgrounds, or light text colors on dark backgrounds.

Standard blog templates usually take both readability and color coordination into consideration. They are quick and easy to choose or replace.

By "efficient use of your time...," I mean that, if you spend hours and hours trying to get your blog design just perfect, right away, or trying to turn almost every word in a post a different color, you may lose hours and hours that you might better have spent:

Writing or re-writing blog posts, book reviews, or essays;
Commenting on classmates' and peers' posts; and
Responding thoughtfully to comments on your own.

4. Portfolio Development

Chika mused, "What shall I do to make a good portfolio?" (WED JUN 30, 10:15:00 AM JST).

Chika's musing is spot on. A short and general answer for now is to keep looking around, listening carefully to, and learning from your classmates, peers, and predecessors. Weak or strong, they provide the best examples and models available.

Now, in hope of promoting a[n] open exchange regarding portfolio development and enhancement, I'd like to leave this post open for follow-on comments. Please feel free to express additional concerns and questions about your portfolios for this semester in comments on this post, as well as to respond here to those of your classmates and peers. I'd also like to ask in advance for your understanding that questions about portfolios and their composite elements for this semester, at least questions not voiced in class, belong in comments here – on this post – rather than in individual mail messages.

[769 words]

PS: Even if you don't comment on this post, you SHOULD "subscribe by email" (at the foot of the comment window) to get notified immediately whenever classmates or peers comment here.[+ 33 words]

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10 portfolio posts from Writing IV (2009-10)

Posted: June 29th, 2010, 5:31am EDT by pab

Last year, students in sections 1A and 1C built their first and second semester portfolios in separate blog posts. The ten listed below are from second semester (Writing IV, 2009-10).

Though you'll be building your portfolios on individual blog pages, using a modified portfolio template, I still hope that perusing the ten portfolios listed below will give you an idea of what you can do to showcase and reflect upon your own work in Writing III and IV this year.

§1A

Portfolios for Writting IV, Setion 1A (2010.01.06)
Portfolio for Writing IV (2010.01.14)
Portfolio (2010.01.14)
Portfolio for Writing IV (2010.01.08)
[no title on original post] (2010.01.06)

§1C

Portfolio for Writing IV (2010.01.10)
Ｍｙ　ｐｏｒｔｆｏｌｉｏ (2010.01.06)
Portfolio Writing IV (2009-10 ) (2010.02.06)
Portfolio for Writing IV (2010.01.06)
Writing(2009-8) (2010.01.06)
Portfolio for Writing IV (2009-10) (2010.01.06)

Please look all ten over, and let your classmates and peers know what you see and think in a comment on this post. Here a some questions to get you started thinking about portfolios.

What impressed or surprised you most as you perused those 10 posts?
What concerned or puzzled you most about those portfolios?
What did you notice that might strengthen portfolio presentations?
What did you notice that might weaken portfolio presentations?
What else would you like to know about developing your own portfolios?

I look forward to reading lots of thoughtful and though-provoking comments on this post.[249 words]

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Videos, quizzes, transcripts, and notes

Posted: June 21st, 2010, 11:06pm EDT by pab

Below is a sample video-based listening comprehension quiz drawn from the Real Canadian Songbook. After listening to the song, and taking the quiz, you can check your answers against the transcript, and read the notes to find out more about "culture, grammar, slang, or pronunciation" (ESL Video Quiz, Quiz Instructions, sidebar).

The Real Canadian Songbook: Neil Young: Old Man 

This quiz is in the Low Intermediate category. If you'd like something less or more challenging, try quizzes in other categories ranging from Beginning to High Intermediate. On the ESL Video :: Free ESL/EFL Video Activities for English Students website, there also are different kinds of music and other kinds of videos to choose from, for example:

How to Make a Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich

I can hardly wait to go back for more!
[120 words]

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Commenting Tips

Posted: June 16th, 2010, 1:50am EDT by pab

In class today, I invited students who had completed their self-assessments to go walk-about, so to speak, among peers' and near-peers' blogs. In case you didn't join us, or you want to have another go, this post will help you retrace our footsteps.

There is a link leading to lists of blogs for other classes on the Writing Studio Wiki, in §2.3. When you visit peers' blogs, please read their posts carefully and thoroughly; then post friendly, neighborly comments.

Now here's a tip to help you follow exchanges on the posts on which you comment, and to help you keep track of your out-going comments[, too]: Activate the follow-up mail option BEFORE you post your comments!

In the comment interface on each post, click on the subscription link:

Subscribe by mail (in English displays), OR
メールで登録解除 (in Japanese displays).

Then compose, preview, and publish your comments.

Afterwards, Blogger will send follow-up messages automatically to your gmail account to let you know when blog owners reply, or other visitors post additional comments. These follow-up messages will help you return easily to on-going comment exchanges. They also will help you remember how many comments you leave on classmates' and peers' blogs, for tallies in your Proto-Portfolios.
[211 words]

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The Blogging Handbook

Posted: June 10th, 2010, 8:33pm EDT by pab

"This is a handbook for beginners and experts!"

(WikiEducator, Blogging, ¶1, emphasis in original)

The Blogging Handbook
Looking at blogs Set up a blog Manage a blog Using a blog Getting the most out of your blog Writing effectively for a blog What's in a post? Getting to the point Telling the story Critical analysis Where to now?

Source: Create and maintain a basic weblog/Writing effectively for a blog, "available under [a] Creative Commons Attribution Share-Alike License" (WikiEducator, retrieved 2010.06.10).
[85 words]

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Essay 1-01c: Your Essay Title Goes Here

Posted: June 9th, 2010, 8:49pm EDT by pab

[Type a short paragraph introducing your voice recording.]

[Type a short summary of this post.]
[15 words]

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Essay 1-01c: ...

Posted: June 9th, 2010, 7:15pm EDT by pab

[Type introduction about here.]

[Type conclusion about here.]

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Audacity Recording: QuickStart Guide and Tutorials

Posted: June 7th, 2010, 12:10am EDT by pab

This post displays a couple video tutorials that I discovered recently along with a QuickStart Guide prepared by the Celebrate Ohklahoma Voices community (Resources: Handouts: Audacity) on coachcarolesite (Audacity Lessons). Both videos explain basic startup steps, then mention a few other ways to use Audacity. The second one also explains where to get Audacity, as well as the encoder necessary to export MP3 audio files from Audacity, for use at home if you wish.

[74 words]

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Reminder of assignments and how to find out about them

Posted: May 20th, 2010, 9:18pm EDT by pab

This post represents: 1) updated information about current assignments, 2) reminders of on-going assignments, and 3) general suggestions for inquiries about assignments, all of which I sent out recently in an occasional reply to an individual student. I want to share the information, reminders, and suggestions with everyone concerned.

The numbered outline in the message that I'm quoting (indented and in italics below) includes boardwork annotations from the second period class as well as further elaborations I made specifically for that individual mail reply. In general, I expect you to depend upon in-class listening, note-making, and screen capture to gather classwork and homework assignment details yourselves.
On-going blogging assignments are just that, on-going. So please expect few or no further reminders of those.
The follow-up suggestions in the message below reflect where to turn first for information about assignments, and how to focus and frame follow-up inquiries. Please use those suggestions to coach and guide one another from now on.

Hi ...,

Thank your for writing (Wed, May 19, 2010 at 11:49 PM; ...). I'm sorry to hear that you were sick [1st period] on Wednesday, May 19, 2010.

As always in Writing III, §§ 1A and 1C, there were both classwork and homework assignments. The following outline, revised somewhat during the 1C class meeting and annotated below, should give you a rough idea of what you missed in 1A (classwork, 0-3.2; homework, 3.1-5). I suggest that you confer with classmates (1A) or near-peers (1C) for details and tips.

0. Label draft essay posts (1-02a): drafts, essays, reviews, websites, … (including a suitable topic label).

1. Comment [PQRS] on 3-5 classmates' essay posts (1-02a) [immediately] UP list from yours on class blog lists:

Writing_III-IV_10-11_1A+1C
(Writing Studio Blog sidebar, Course Links)

1.1. Praise what you find informative and interesting in their essays;
1.2. Question what is unknown or unclear after reading their essays;
1.3. Reflect on what you understand from their essays; and
1.4. Suggest other information they could add, or other ways to improve their essays.

2. Respond briefly to comments on your draft essay (1-02a) in an additional comment (or two) on your draft essay.

3. Revise your essay (1-02b) in preparation for a complete, separate post including:

3.01 Short Title (centered),
3.02 Introductory ¶,
3.03 Three (3) or more body ¶¶,
3.04 Concluding ¶, and
3.05 A list of APA-style References

3.1. Add answers and info. to existing or new ¶¶ in your essay in a word-processing program (OpenOffice, Pages, or Word [in KGU Mac labs]).
3.2. Add APA-style website references created in Recipes4Success: Citation Maker (Writing Studio Blog sidebar, Course Links) to a References section at the foot of your revised essay.
3.3. Follow other suggestions from classmates or peers to improve your essay.
3.4. Grammar and spell-check your revised essay thoroughly in in a word-processing program (OpenOffice, Pages or Word [in KGU Mac labs]).

3.5. Publish your revised essay in a separate (new) post on your blog:

By the due date (Writing Studio Calendar),
In a new post entitled:

"Essay 1-02b: [Short Title]"
(without quotation marks or square brackets), AND

With the following labels: essays, reviews, revisions, websites, … (including a suitable topic label).

Day 1-06a[-b] (2010.05.19)

There also are on-going blogging assignments for Writing III-IV, namely:

a. Weekly book review posts with APA-style references, and

b. Other routine blog posts on topics of your choice.

On average, you should be publishing 3-5, or more, blog posts per week.

In addition, Mr. T... (Cc:) tracks your progress on weekly typing assignments, and came in person to remind some of your peers about typing assignments. After you mail your weekly typing trials to Mr. T, you should post _grammar and spelling checked_ versions of them on your blog,

The next time that you're absent, I'd appreciate it if you would confer with classmates (many of whom have snapshots of the outline above), and check the Writing Studio Calendar, before sending mail. Then please focus your in-person or mail inquiries on concerns or questions above or beyond what you can learn for those nearby sources.

There is no need to reply to this message, but please do share what you learn from it with your classmates and peers. Also, please (re-)read the Mail Protocol section of the Writing Studio Wiki (Home Page, §10), and follow the instructions there, before sending any more mail messages.

Cheers, PB

(personal correspondence, Thu, May 20, 2010 at 10:01 AM)

As always, if you have concerns or questions about current or on-going assignments, or [about] the general reminders and suggestions reflected in the reply that I've cross-posted above, I encourage you to share them. You may share them a) in comments on this post, b) in comments on other posts to which your concerns or questions relate more closely than they do to this one, or c) at the earliest opportunity in class, rather than transmitting them through individual mail messages. I appreciate your cooperation.
[822 words]

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Calendar Revisions

Posted: May 15th, 2010, 8:22pm EDT by pab

This post is to let you know that I've revised dates and settings for Writing Studio calendar events coming up later this semester.

For Porto-Portfolio updates, due the first of each month, with complete entries for the previous month, I've set the calendar to send you reminders one week prior to due dates.
For upcoming essays, you should expect to receive similar reminders a few days before due dates for drafts and revisions.

Please check you[r] mail and the Writing Studio calendar regularly for details.[87 words]

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pab's potpourri: Outline for Essay 1-2a: Curling

Posted: May 12th, 2010, 1:52am EDT by pab

From pab's potpourri: Outline for Essay 1-2a: Curling:

"WEDNESDAY, MAY 12, 2010

Outline for Essay 1-2a: Curling

Introduction

What sites are about; curling
How I found them; searched for rules and federations
Why I chose the one(s) I did:

One on Canadian and one on the world associations, plus
A grab-bag of pre-reviewed sites

Canadian Curling Association

(Site map: FreeMind [export as JPEG or PNG])
History
Rules
News

World Curling Federation

(Site map: FreeMind)
History
Rules
News

Other websites of interest about curling

List
Features
Sections
Highlights

Conclusion

Summary of selections
Summary of highlights
Recommendations to readers

[100 words]
POSTED BY PAB AT 11:52
LABELS: CURLING, ESSAY PREP., OUTLINES, WEBSITES"

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pab's potpourri: Curling: search terms and short list of possible sites for review

Posted: May 12th, 2010, 11:59pm EDT by pab

This is a cross-post from pab's potpourri: Curling: search terms and short list of possible sites for review: "WEDNESDAY, MAY 12, 2010

Curling: search terms and short list of possible sites for review
Search terms

curling, associations, rules, Canada, Japan
Short list of possible sites (3 )

Canadian Curling Association
World Curling Federation
Top�Curling�Sites Reviewed – The 10 Best�Curling�Websites
[28 {+6} words]
POSTED BY PAB AT 09:59

LABELS: CURLING, ESSAY PREP., WEBSITES"

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pab's potpourri: Curling: Free-writing

Posted: May 12th, 2010, 11:35pm EDT by pab

This is a post I'm cross-posting from pab's potpourri: Curling: Free-writing:

"WEDNESDAY, MAY 12, 2010

Curling: Free-writing
I like curling; I don’t know all the rules. There are difference sports associations. Curling is popular in Japan, because NHK and other TV stations broadcast lots of matches with the Japanese players, from places like Aomori and Nagano.
[33 {+ 6 (+ 13)} words]
POSTED BY PAB AT 09:35

LABELS: ESSAY PREP., FREE-WRITING"

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pab's potpourri: Winter Sports: Brainstorm

Posted: May 12th, 2010, 11:31pm EDT by pab

This is a cross-post from pab's potpourri: Winter Sports: Brainstorm: "WEDNESDAY, MAY 12, 2010

Winter Sports: Brainstorm

Sports
Winter sports
Olympics
Snow and ice
Ice skating
Ice hockey
Curling
Arena
Players
Equipment
Rules
Scoring
Ends?
Officials
TV broadcasts
NHK
Teams
Aomori
Nagano
Canada

[26 {+6} words]POSTED BY PAB AT 09:31LABELS: BRAINSTORMS, ESSAY PREP., SPORTS"

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Additional Course Link

Posted: April 23rd, 2010, 7:27pm EDT by pab

I added another Course Link to the links gadget in the Writing Studio Blog sidebar a few days ago. It provides direct access to a webpage listing class members' blog handles and links to their blogs.

The blog handles may help you recognize your classmates and peers when they leave comments on your blogs. The links will help you find their blogs and comment on their posts.

[67 words]

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Startup Labels (example)

Posted: April 21st, 2010, 9:07pm EDT by pab

Startup labels:

books, brainstorms, drafts, essay prep., essays, free-writing, graphics, links, media, movies, outlines, quickposts, reviews, [revisions,] typing, websites

[19 {+ 1} words]

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Follow-on to questions on "Can you use chopsticks?"

Posted: April 20th, 2010, 3:32am EDT by pab

This post comprises a screencast showing initial stages of building a mindmap from questions included in comments on the post, "Can you use chopsticks?" (pab, Speechable) (2010.03.13). If you use headphones or speakers, you can listen to the soundtrack, as I explain the steps involved (5 minutes).

I've used the map to group the questions into clouds relating to one aspect or another of the graphic representation in that post. When I answer those questions, at the end of this post, I'll answer them together, and each group of answers will become a separate paragraph (or more) at the end of this post.

For a full-blown viewing of those early stages in mindmap development, click here: 2010-04-20_1149

The next graphic shows the mindmap in a more or less finished form. If you click on the graphic, you will get a full-size view of what's in each cloud.

Below is a response to comments on a previous post ("Can you use chopsticks?"..., 2010.03.13) composed of answers to the questions in the mindmap clouds above. The composition process involves moving from lists to maps, and from simple answers to paragraphs. Here goes....

The picture I posted in the "Can you use chopsticks?" post showed an omelette that I'd filled with fermented soybeans instead of cheese. Though when I first encountered fermented soybeans, I found their texture rather off-putting, and even now if I'm not careful eating them, the stringy contrails they leave can get stuck in my beard, I find them not only healthy, but tasty, too. If I may say so myself, of course my omelettes are delicious. If not, why would I make them? They're quick and quite easy to make.

My favorite way of eating omelettes used to be smothered in ketchup. Now, however, I prefer something spicier, so I use a southwestern North American style hot sauce, salsa, and I season the egg and milk mixture that goes into the omelettes themselves with dried red peppers! After Nami had asked about spicy Korean style pickled cabbages, I decided to try that instead of soybeans, and that was delicious, too.

Friends and I used to joke about using chopsticks being a good way to lose weight. However, the better I get at using them the faster I can eat. Nevertheless, I usually eat omelettes with a fork, as you may see in a series of pictures to follow from my cell-phone cam.

The other bit of tableware that was visible in the snapshot and graphic in that "Can you use chopsticks?" post was a medium-sized plate decorated with a character from Beatrix Potter stories, namely Tigger, who has long been one of my favorites. I've enjoyed his self-description, "The wonderful thing about Tiggers...," for almost as long as I can remember. The only such storybook character of which I have a longer memory is Owl, but I'll save that for another story.

As far as the characters that Aya, Yuka and Ryota mentioned in their comments go, I know two out of three, Anpanman and Snoopy. Snoopy has been around since I was a child, long, long, ago, in newspapers before animated feature shows. I used to like drawing him dancing and perched on top of his doghouse. Anpanman might be easier to draw, but I never was too keen the animated series in which he starred.

[555 words]

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Add Startup Labels to Your Blogs

Posted: April 13th, 2010, 9:57pm EDT by pab

The purpose of this activity is to enable you easily and quickly to label other posts on your blogs with appropriate labels. Labels, in addition to the reverse timelines on your blogs' home pages and archives, give blog visitors quick and easy access to posts of interest. The set of labels below includes those your classmates, peers, and I want you to use help us find and review your writing assignments.
Here's what I'd like you to do first:

Create a new post entitled Startup Labels;
Copy and paste the labels below into the body of your post;
Copy and paste the labels below into the Labels field at the foot of the editing window, with commas between them;
Preview your post, to make sure you have included all of the startup labels (15); and
Publish your post with a word count in square brackets at the lower left corner.

Startup labels:

books, brainstorms, drafts, essay prep., essays, free-writing, graphics, links, media, movies, outlines, quickposts, reviews, [revisions,] typing, websites

Next, you need to go to the blog Dashboard > Settings > Layout > Page Elements view (direct from Customize link in the top right side of the page frame on your blog's home page). In the sidebar area, click Add a Gadget, and select the gadget for Labels. The Configure Labels pop-up window offers several options; if you show All Labels, Alphabetically, they will be easy to find and use.

Don't forget to save the changes you've made to your sidebar!
[256 words]

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Writing_III-IV_10-11_Syllabus (word list)

Posted: April 8th, 2010, 2:21am EDT by pab

From a snippet of the syllabus for Writing III-IV, I've generated a word list in Visual Thesaurus that shows each of the words with:

a thumbnail image of connections to related words, and
a sentence or two of context from the source document.

Following contexts in which the words appear in bold typeface, some listings include lists of other Visual Thesaurus word lists in which the words also appear, though none do for the three listings in the screen capture (above). To discover other lists of words that might merit further investigation of keywords, please browse the actual list:

Writing_III-IV_10-11_Syllabus(list of 87 words)April 8, 2010[109 words]

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"...[C]hallenges of the future" (Kenuam, 2010)

Posted: March 31st, 2010, 2:34am EDT by pab

In her post, The End of Education as We Know It (2010.03.10), Amanda Kenuam suggests, "Dan Brown [who created the video below] and educators all over the world can agree that we need to continue moving forward to ensure that our students are prepared to meet the challenges of the future with fresh, new ideas" ("Institutional education needs to do more than adopt a few new tools!", ¶2).

After you've had a chance to watch and listen to that video a time or two, I'd like to hear what you think about it. So here are a few questions that might help you get started.

What was your first impression of the video? What impressed or surprised you the most?
Does what Dan says about college classes sound familiar to you? How so, or why not?
Do you think he did the right thing when he dropped out of college? Why or why not?
What do you think Dan is doing now? How might you find out?
What kinds of preparation do you feel are necessary for you at this point in your student careers?

I welcome answers to any of those questions in comments on this post.

[203 words]

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"A graphical overview..." (Rick's KGU Writing...)

Posted: March 29th, 2010, 1:36am EDT by pab

Rick prepared a colorful graphic showing major components and initial guidelines for Writing III.

Rick's KGU Writing 2010: A graphical overview ... (2010.03.23).

You can find another large view of the graphic here:

24vwsuq_Writing-3 (riclav's Photostream, large, 2010.03.23)

Please check it out, and let me know if you have any questions about either the writing components or course guidelines by spelling them out in comments on this post.
[70 words]

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Wordle of Syllabus for Writing III-IV (2010-11)

Posted: March 24th, 2010, 8:12pm EDT by pab

Image courtesy of http://www.wordle.net/Images of Wordles are licensed

[9 words]

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Guess what?

Posted: March 13th, 2010, 10:15pm EST by pab

Before

PB [direct from cell phone]

After

(pab, Speechable)See the whole photo collage here.
[15 words]

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Vocabulary Games

Posted: February 16th, 2010, 10:49pm EST by pab

Thanks to Kate Britt for shouting out about a Free Educational Software... site (What's New, 2010.02.05). I've added a direct link to Vocabulary Games to the list of Course Links in the sidebar.

[33 words]

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"100 Little Ways You Can Dramatically Improve Your Writing" (Online Colleges, 2010)

Posted: February 4th, 2010, 12:27am EST by pab

The "100 Little Ways ..." post (Online Colleges, 2010) features a collection of short writing tips with pointers to resources of various sorts. If any of those areas sound interesting, by all means, check them out!

General
Grammar and Spelling
Creative Writing
Business and Technical Writing
Journalism
Writer's Block and Inspiration
Style
Composition and Organization
Revising and Editing
Computer and Web ...

Thanks to Carla Arena for pointing out that Online Colleges post by sharing it via Google Reader (2010.01.21). She calls it, "Great ... for writers, students, [and] educators," and I totally agree! I can hardly wait to add it to the Course Links in the Writing Studio Blog sidebar.

Reference
Online Colleges. (2010.01.17). 100 little ways you can dramatically improve your writing. Retrieved February 4, 2010, from [ow.ly]
[140 words]

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Writing IV: Exam Items (2009-10 [§1C])

Posted: January 27th, 2010, 8:00pm EST by pab

There are prompts for three essay items in the slideshow presentation below. Please view the entire presentation, and read and follow all directions carefully.

You will need to post an individual response to each item, in a single comment for each, on the three reflecting pool posts earmarked for your section (§1A or §1C, below), not on this post. I suggest that you compose and then grammar- and spell-check your responses in a word-processing application before posting them, because you will be unable to edit your responses after you post them as comments.

Section 1A	Section 1C
Reflecting Pool 1 (§1A, only)Developing Awareness	Reflecting Pool 4 (§1C, only)Developing Awareness
Reflecting Pool 2 (§1A, only)Facing Challenges	Reflecting Pool 5 (§1C, only)Facing Challenges
Reflecting Pool 3 (§1A, only)Achieving Satisfaction	Reflecting Pool 6 (§1C, only)Achieving Satisfaction

Writing IV 2009-10
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Writing IV: Reflecting Pool 4 (§1C, only)

Posted: January 27th, 2010, 7:55pm EST by pab

Reflecting Pool 4 (§1C, only)

Please post an individual response to item one, Developing Awareness (Writing IV 2009-10, slide 4), in a single comment on this post.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.

Please attribute to "The Writing Studio Blog" (without quotation marks).

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Writing IV: Reflecting Pool 5 (§1C, only)

Posted: January 27th, 2010, 7:50pm EST by pab

Reflecting Pool 5 (§1C, only)

Please post an individual response to item one, Facing Challenges (Writing IV 2009-10, slide 5), in a single comment on this post.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.

Please attribute to "The Writing Studio Blog" (without quotation marks).

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Writing IV: Reflecting Pool 6 (§1C, only)

Posted: January 27th, 2010, 7:45pm EST by pab

Reflecting Pool 6 (§1C, only)
Please post an individual response to item one, Achieving Satisfaction (Writing IV 2009-10, slide 6), in a single comment on this post.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.

Please attribute to "The Writing Studio Blog" (without quotation marks).

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Writing IV: Exam Items (2009-10 [§1A])

Posted: January 27th, 2010, 6:30pm EST by pab

There are prompts for three essay items in the slideshow presentation below. Please view the entire presentation, and read and follow all directions carefully.
You will need to post an individual response to each item, in a single comment for each, on the three reflecting pool posts earmarked for your section (§1A or §1C, below), not on this post. I suggest that you compose and then grammar- and spell-check your responses in a word-processing application before posting them, because you will be unable to edit your responses after you post them as comments.

Section 1A	Section 1C
Reflecting Pool 1 (§1A, only)Developing Awareness	Reflecting Pool 4 (§1C, only)Developing Awareness
Reflecting Pool 2 (§1A, only)Facing Challenges	Reflecting Pool 5 (§1C, only)Facing Challenges
Reflecting Pool 3 (§1A, only)Achieving Satisfaction	Reflecting Pool 6 (§1C, only)Achieving Satisfaction

Writing IV 2009-10
View more presentations from Paul Beaufait.

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Please attribute to "The Writing Studio Blog" (without quotation marks).

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Writing IV: Reflecting Pool 1 (§1A, only)

Posted: January 27th, 2010, 6:25pm EST by pab

Reflecting Pool 1 (§1A, only)
Please post an individual response to item one, Developing Awareness (Writing IV 2009-10, slide 4), in a single comment on this post.

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Please attribute to "The Writing Studio Blog" (without quotation marks).

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Writing IV: Reflecting Pool 2 (§1A, only)

Posted: January 27th, 2010, 6:20pm EST by pab

Reflecting Pool 2 (§1A, only)

Please post an individual response to item two, Facing Challenges (Writing IV 2009-10, slide 5), in a single comment on this post.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.

Please attribute to "The Writing Studio Blog" (without quotation marks).

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Writing IV: Reflecting Pool 3 (§1A, only)

Posted: January 27th, 2010, 6:15pm EST by pab

Reflecting Pool 3 (§1A, only)

Please post an individual response to item one, Achieving Satisfaction (Writing IV 2009-10, slide 6), in a single comment on this post.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.

Please attribute to "The Writing Studio Blog" (without quotation marks).

Yes, everyone, today is the day!

Posted: January 15th, 2010, 3:44am EST by pab

In this post, I'm sharing a reply to a puzzling question I received via mail after class today.

Yes, the deadline for Proto-Portfolios and Portfolios is today (Jan 15). Thanks to a class cancellation, when I had the flu in December, you have had an extra two days to complete your portfolio. If you heard the 29th, it wasn't from me.

The portfolio due date is on the course calendar. I've reminded you and your classmates repeatedly, for instance, on the Writing Studio Blog, where you got the portfolio template:

Your complete portfolio for this semester is due – published and labeled on your blog – by Friday, January 15, 2010 (10:30 a.m. for 1A, and 12:10 p.m. for 1C, JST). [emphasis added]

(Writing Studio Blog: TUESDAY, JANUARY 5, 2010)

I announced the deadline and wrote it on the whiteboard in class on both Jan 6 and Jan 13, and sent it out via gmail, for example, in this mail message from the class calendar:

2010/1/5 Paul Beaufait
Portfolios due

The new portfolio template, with instructions for its use and completion, is on the Writing Studio Blog:

[writingstudioblog.blogspot.com] (2010.01.05)

The due date has changed from January 13, to January 15, 2009. [emphasis added]

I sent fresh reminders via gmail when I added specific class times to this description from that calendar event:

The new portfolio template, with instructions for its use and completion, is on the Writing Studio Blog:
[writingstudioblog.blogspot.com] (2010.01.05)

The due date has changed from January 13, to January 15, 2009. Completed portfolios, including Proto-Portfolios (§ 0.0), are due by the end of make-up class meetings:

- Writing IV, § 1A: 09:30
- Writing IV, § 1C: 12:10 [emphasis added]

(Writing Studio Calendar: Portfolios due, Jan 15, 2010)

...

(pab, personal correspondence, Fri, Jan 15, 2010, at 4:17 PM )

[299 words]

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