Weekly work is supposed to help you get some early feedback on elements of the end-of-unit assignments before you begin to draft, contribute to our class community in a way that helps your peers, and make progress on achieving the learning outcomes for this class.

Once a week, you’ll have a deadline: Wednesdays at 11:59pm. By that time on this day, you should strive to turn in one weekly work assignment roughly every week until the final weekly work deadline for this unit on Wednesday, March 9th (so, four in total). If you have a particularly busy week and need to take a break from weekly work for a week, you can turn in two assignments one week and no assignments the next week. Though it is technically possible, what I would not recommend is trying to turn in all of your work at the very end of the unit: this will defeat the purpose of doing weekly work that helps you to get and apply feedback.

I hope that this work will feel flexible and useful to you: rather than feeling like “busy work,” it should help you to get started on the major assignments, to dig further into the material that interests you, to give and receive feedback on your writing, and to develop a deeper awareness of writing research and the writing process. It should prepare you to contribute to the learning of your peers. It should help you to build skills that you want to build in the way that you want to build them. And, hopefully, it should be fun and interesting!

Where would you like to begin?

Click on any of the buttons below to be taken to a prompt that explains the weekly work assignments and requirements for each one.

Everyone has to do this once in this unit:

I’d like to do weekly work that directly prepares me for the Literacy Interview

I’d like to do weekly work that helps me articulate strategies for improvement in my writing or develop mindfulness about my writing habits.

I’d like to do weekly work that helps me contribute to our class community

Write a Recap for Absent Students

What is this assignment?

Long, long ago in a semester not so far away, I lovingly recorded recap videos for every, single class session in every single class that I taught. Only like 6 students watched them 🥺😭. I get it. They were long. No one wants to watch a long video. I don’t want to watch a long video.

Now, I am trying to develop a better system for coping with student absences, which I am anticipating might happen this semester Because Covid™️. So, I’m asking for your help. We’ll try this out in this unit and revisit it at the beginning of Unit 2 to see if it’s working or needs to be tweaked. But, basically, you’re going to write a recap of a class session for which you were present to catch up any of your classmates who couldn’t make it that day.

What will this help me to do?

I do actually think that reflecting on what happened in class, what your major takeaways were, what questions you still have, and what important things happened is useful to your learning. But it will also help me, and it will help your absent classmates. It will also hopefully help you if you have to be out!

Is this repeatable?

Please only do this once in a unit for credit.

Requirements:

1. At the end of every class session, I will tag absent students in the #whatyoumissed channel and post the date of the class along with a link to the exit ticket that they need to fill out. I will also tag whoever has signed up on the class recapper sign-up sheet to recap for that day (if you need to change the day that you signed up, you can just do that automatically in the channel: the recap sign-up sheet will be pinned there). Go to the #whatyoumissed channel and find the post for a class that you are going to recap for us.
   
2. Please do not recap a class if 3 students have already done so, and do not repeat points that other people have already made.
   
3. Thread your comment for that day and don’t just add it to the channel! This way, all of the recaps for the same day will stay in one nice, neat thread together rather than absent folks needing to go looking for all of the threads that they missed, and people who are tagged in the thread will get a notification that a new recap is there. Reminder: learning how to thread was part of Step 4 on the instructions that you used at the beginning of the semester to set up your Slack account. Here’s the link.
   
4. In a threaded comment (don’t forget to thread it, lol), write a short description of what we did in class that might include any of the following things (you don’t have to address all of them): 
   
   • How did we spend class time today? (i.e. We spent the first 15 minutes doing some independent work on our weekly work, and then we discussed the reading for today.)
     
   • Were there any important takeaways for you or things that you’re still thinking about from this session?
     
   • Were there any questions that you had that maybe came up after the session or that weren’t answered in class?
     
   • How did you think that this class connected to a weekly work assignment or an end-of-unit assignment? In other words, how did this class help you to make progress on your end-of-unit assignment, the course learning goals, thinking about Writing about Writing, or any of your learning goals?
     
   • Were there any important announcements at the beginning or end of class that an absent person needs to keep in mind? 
     
   • Is there anything else that your classmates who couldn’t make it should know?
     
5. You do not also need to submit an assignment submission form for this. The last day you can submit a recap for this unit is Monday, March 21st at 11:59pm.

Writing Belief Mini-Investigation

What is this assignment?

In this assignment, you will write a brief reflection on a belief that you have about writing / reading / literacy / education / language, and how you learned this belief.

What will this help me to do?

This assignment will help you to prepare for the Literacy Interview. It might also help you develop ideas for the next major assignment.

Is this repeatable?

You can repeat this assignment (choosing and reflecting on different beliefs) as many times as you’d like during Unit 1.

Requirements:

1) Write at least 500 words OR record something (a video or audio file) that lasts at least 4 minutes.

2) Choose ONE belief to discuss. The belief should be about writing, reading, literacy, language, or education (and not something unrelated to the class). You might choose something from this working list of topics, or add a topic to this list that isn’t already there. If you would like to blend two beliefs, you can do this, but please talk to me first so that this short response develops your thinking in enough detail.

3) Include a description of where / how you learned this initially, or where / how you see it reinforced in the world around you currently. You might tell a personal story, relate this to some kind of current event, or link this to something else that you’ve learned in another class that you’ve taken (this is not an exhaustive list!)

4) Include (and cite) at least 1 reputable outside source, or a text from the class, that helps you to confirm, deny, or complicate this belief in some way, and explain why this source is a good authority on this topic. Consider that “authority” can come in a lot of forms. This does not have to be a scholarly source, but the author should have credibility, and you should be able to explain why they do.

5) Submit this using the Weekly Work Submission Form by (any) Wednesday before March 9th at 11:59pm.

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Prepare Interview Questions

What is this assignment?

In this assignment, you’ll draft some questions that you want to use in your literacy interview using a text that we’ve read in class or another text that will inform your interview.

What will this help me to do?

This assignment will help you to prepare for the Literacy Interview and to get some feedback on your questions before you conduct your interview.

Is this repeatable?

You can repeat this assignment (choosing and reflecting on different texts and developing different questions) as many times as you’d like during Unit 1.

Requirements:

1. Choose a literacy belief from this list, or develop one of your own (check with me about doing this first, please).
   
2. Briefly summarize a text that we’ve read together in class or a text that you’ve found that relates to your belief.
   
3. Say how this source has helped you to confirm, deny, complicate, or think about this belief.
   
4. Using this list of interview questions from the literacy researcher Deborah Brandt, either of the student sample essays that we’re reading on February 23rd and March 9th, and your ideas from this chapter, develop a list of at least 7 potential interview questions that you can ask your interviewee. After each question, write a brief description of why you think that this would make an interesting question.
   
5. Submit this using the Weekly Work Submission Form by (any) Wednesday before March 9th at 11:59pm.

Analyze a Sample Literacy Interview

What is this assignment?

In this assignment, you’ll evaluate a sample student literacy interview to think about what you can learn from its content, structure, the questions, and the analytical portion.

What will this help me to do?

This assignment will help you to prepare you to complete the Literacy Interview yourself by determining what you found successful about someone else’s work.

Is this repeatable?

You can do this assignment twice in this unit, but it has to be for a different sample essay. In other words, you can’t do this assignment twice for the same essay.

Requirements:

1. Read ilana Dandrige’s interview on grades as student motivators, or Labiba Khurshid’s interview on language ideologies. A reminder that we’re going to read these as a class on February 23rd (Khurshid) and March 9th (Dandridge).
   
2. Fill out this peer review form answering questions about the interview that you selected.
   
3. Submit this by (any) Wednesday before March 9th at 11:59pm.

Share a Draft and Give Extra Feedback

What is this assignment?

In this assignment, you’ll share your literacy interview OR anything that you’re writing for any class or for outside of class. You’ll also give feedback on someone else’s interview or something else that is posted to the #feedback channel.

Please note: this is feedback that you’re giving beyond the peer review that is part of the requirements for the Literacy Interview. In other words, if you select this option, you will be giving at least two peer reviews.

What will this help me to do?

Articulating what kind of feedback you’re looking to receive can help you to develop more language for discussing the strengths and points for improvement in your own writing. Giving feedback to someone else can help you to learn from their strengths and points for improvement.

Is this repeatable?

You can repeat this assignment twice in this unit, but you must review a different piece every time.

Requirements:

1. On the #feedback channel, post a draft of your Literacy Interview or a draft of whatever you’re working on. If this is not the Literacy Interview, please also post a prompt or a description of the assignment / context for this piece of writing. Note: my observation is that students rarely choose to read the writing of their peers that is longer than 8 pages. Don’t post a book! If you’re working on something long, consider choosing a small selection.
2. Post your feedback request. Please make this as detailed as you can. Don’t just write “I’d like all feedback.” Read the Feedback Menu and choose things that you want to know. If this is not for the Literacy Interview, please also tell us when feedback is no longer necessary or useful to you (i.e. if this is due in two weeks, you might not want feedback on it after that.)
3. Choose another Literacy Interview or another draft that has been posted to the #feedback channel that was written by someone else. If there are no other interviews or drafts, you could also review Labiba or ilana’s sample interviews that we’re reading for class on February 23rd and March 9th, or you could review Kaitlynn’s videos about the grading agreement.
4. Review that text. If you are reviewing a Literacy Interview, fill out this Literacy Interview peer review form answering questions about the interview that you selected. If you are reviewing another kind of text (including Kaitlynn’s videos), fill out this other peer review form.
5. Submit this by (any) Wednesday before 11:59pm. You can submit this one later than the Unit 1 weekly work deadline as long as it is submitted by no later than Monday, March 21st.
   

Go to the Writing Center

What is this assignment?

In this assignment, you’ll take a piece of writing that you do for this class, or any class, to the Queens College Writing Center. This could be for the Literacy Interview: you can take the prompt and brainstorm with a consultant, or you can take a draft. It could also be for any piece of writing that you’re working on.

What will this help me to do?

Meeting with a Writing Center consultant can help to give you another reader’s opinion on your work. Like with peer review, conferences, or instructors’ comments, a Writing Center consultant can help to “dramatize” the reader for you and to help you notice things about your own draft that are difficult to see by yourself. This can help you to articulate strategies for improvement, but also (over time) to develop your self-editing skills. Consultations can also help you to understand assignments, to make a plan, to get “unstuck,” or to manage your time.

What will this help me to do?

You can do this twice for credit in this unit. You will be able to do it again in Unit 2.

Requirements:

1. First,  make an appointment at the Writing Center
2. Read “How To Prepare For Your Writing Center Consultation” and generate a list of at least 3-4 questions that you have for your Writing Center consultant.
3. Show up to your appointment and be on time and prepared.
4. Once you’ve finished your appointment, fill out this form.
5. You are allowed to do this assignment past the assignment submission date for most other things in Unit 1 so that you can share a draft of the Literacy Interview if you want. You can submit this up until March 16th at 11:59pm.

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Literacy Self-Assessment

What is this assignment?

In this assignment, you’ll use a position statement by the National Council of Teachers of English to reflect on your own literacy practices and how you understand what it means to be literate in a digital age. This involves filling out each of the boxes of a form, and a very small amount of skimming and outside research.

What will this help me to do?

One of the course goals of English 200W is to help you to develop mindfulness about your own writing habits and processes. This survey will get you started with this, and it might also help to complicate or broaden your definitions of “literacy.”

Is this repeatable?

You can only do this one once, but you can resubmit it as many time as you want if it doesn’t meet requirements.

Requirements:

1. Fill out this form.
2. Submit the form by (any) Wednesday before March 9th at 11:59pm.

Shape a future class discussion

What is this assignment?

In this assignment, you’ll read ahead for a future class and then develop a few things to help me to shape the direction of our conversation that day. You do not need to “present” something to do this assignment: this is more about helping me to think about activities, discussion questions, and directions that would be interesting for us to take when we discuss the text for that day.

What will this help me to do?

Thinking deeply enough about a course text in order to help lead a discussion on it will help you to approach the material in a more substantial way than if you were participating in the class more passively. This will also help all of us to focus activities and discussions around things that you care about the most.

Is this repeatable?

You can only do this once per unit.

Requirements:

1. Choose a text that we have not already discussed and that we will discuss in a future week. Read it / listen to it.
2. Fill out this form.
3. Submit the form by (any) Wednesday before March 9th at 11:59pm.