1. English 1301
April 3, 2018 – Week 12

2. Final Project: Welcome to the Podcast
3 parts:
Podcast (5 – 10 minutes)
Produce a transcript
Statement of Goals & Choices (at least words paper)

3. Final Project: Welcome to the Podcast
“Grading Deferred”: com/michellecowan /grading-deferred-1

4. Welcome to the Podcast
Aims: What is the writer trying to do? What is the question that she’s trying to figure out or answer?
Materials: What materials or stuff does the writer use to answer and explore this question? (texts, statistics, images, personal experience, interviews—with whom and why?)
Methods: How does the writer use this stuff? How is it arranged? Do they work through questions? Reflections? How do they combine materials? How do they transition between ideas?

5. Welcome to the Podcast
Aims: Our overall purpose is to make mashed potatoes.
Materials: the ingredients for the recipe: potatoes, milk, butter, seasoning, anything else (and the better quality your materials, the more successful you are at reaching your aims)
Methods: What you do with the materials and how you cook the food (mix it together)

6. In Michelle Cowan’s “Grading Deferred,” consider the following:
Select one material from the podcast and then consider the how the writer uses the material.
Why did they use it in that way?
Was it effective? Why or why not?
What would make it more effective?
How did using this material in this way (method) help the writer to reach her aim?
Free Writing

7. How does a class and its students function without grades?
Topic: A topic is a general area you’re interested in, but a question allows for inquiry and exploration.
For example, in Michelle’s episode, the topic is about grading, but she’s driven by more specific questions than just the topic:
What happens if we do not assign grades to students until the end of the semester?
How does a class and its students function without grades?
Topic vs. Questions

8. You need to ask questions to explore something
You need to ask questions to explore something. This is not the same thing as having a question that leads to finding a certain “answer.”
Topic vs. Questions

9. Good questions take time and a few drafts to develop
Good questions take time and a few drafts to develop. You do not just magically come up with a great question to explore. That’s the point of workshop.
Topic vs. Questions

10. Workshop How can you narrow this question?
Does this question allow for inquiry and exploration?
Who cares about this question and why?
What assumptions are behind the question? Are they problematic assumptions?
How can we move past some of these assumptions if they’re not useful initial assumptions?
Is the question precise? How can you make it more precise?
Workshop

11. Due Monday, April 9