Erin Hurt

You are required to maintain a blog for this course and to post substantive entries at least once during each week. The post for the upcoming week will be available the Friday before. Your blog post needs to be completed by Wednesday of each week. You should also comment on your classmates' blogs at least once a week. I will be reading everyone's blogs and commenting on the conversation, pushing you further in your discussion while I keep track of how often each of you writes.

I would like for your blogs to be a place where you reflect on the questions we are considering in the course. On the Friday before each upcoming week, I will post an entry asking questions about the week's readings or a story in the news. You may use my post as a jumping off point or write about something different entirely. Feel free to be personal in your blogs, but be sure to write entries of substance that have to do with course content. (Should you consistently write sub-par blogs, I will let you know so that you can improve.)

These blog posts and comments make up 10% of your grade, but I will not assign grades to individual posts. The blog portion of your grade will be assigned according to three criteria: substance, frequency, and dialogue.

Substance means writing entries where you articulate ideas, not merely rattle off random observations. Ideas generally take some space to elaborate; aim for posts of 200-300 words. This is the most important of the three categories. Although this writing assignment is less formal than the essays you submit, you should still put enough thought and time into your blogs so that you are expressing an interesting idea clearly.

Frequency means posting often enough that the blog becomes a useful tool for you and for your classmates, a place where you reflect upon course questions and develop ideas for writing. I require that you post at least once a week.

Dialogue means reading and engaging with your classmates' blog posts. You should read everyone's blog. The public nature of blogs affords us the opportunity to be in conversation with one another, which is a crucial component of rhetoric. If you post Monday right before class, no one has a chance to read and comment on your blog. Doing this--essentially opting out of dialogue-- consistently will result in a reduced blog grade.

At the end of the semester, you will receive
8-10 points if
You post and comment at least once a week. Your posts are consistently thoughtful and substantive, articulating ideas and observations related to the course and building off of what your classmates write.

5-7 points if
Sometimes you skip a week or forget to comment. The quality of your posts is spotty; though you may have entries that are insightful and substantive, the majority of your entries are too brief, and you only occasionally build on what your classmates write. You may also get 5-7 points if you consistently post late in the week and reiterate what your classmates say ("well, everyone's pretty much said what I wanted to say" is a common line) instead of introducing your own thinking into the conversation.

1-4 points if
More often than not, you forget to post. The quality of your posts is generally shoddy, or not related to the questions and concerns of the course. More often than not, you do not engage with what your classmates write.

Your blog is a place for you to practice writing and thinking in the public sphere and to engage in a dialogue with your classmates. Students have found blogging to be a very rewarding part of this course, and I've really enjoyed reading students' blogs; have fun with it!

Directions for getting started on your blog can be found in the link below this post.