Seventh & Eighth Blog Prompts

Hitchcock Films - Small Group Activity /Blogging Assignment:

While writing is a recursive (loopy and repetitive) process that involves social activity and self-discovery, it is also a metadiscipline that can be found in all fields of study that attempt to convey a message.  Writing is something used by all disciplines to communicate ideas.  Which means it is in everything but I also believe it can include everything – it is both metadisciplinary and interdisciplinary.  Interdisciplinary is a way of answering a question, solving a problem, or addressing a topic that is too broad or complex to be dealt with adequately by a single discipline or profession.  It draws on disciplinary perspectives and integrates/synthesizes their insights through construction and communication of a more comprehensive perspective.

Your task is to examine Hitchcock in an interdisciplinary fashion.  To do this, we are going to first work in assigned groups researching a particular disciplinary perspective on Hitchcock.  Your group will then present this perspective in a class blog that includes informative text, visuals, and links to web resources.  We will then read what each other discovered and synthesize the various insights from each group into a comprehensive understanding of Hitchcock Films and Hitchcock’s style.  This work will be completed outside of class as we are watching and discussing the films in class. 

Groups and Topics:

Group #1 –  Ethics in Hitchcock Films

Jordan Blank

Shawn Deese

Gabrielle Justice

Taylor Lantz

Tiana Key

Group #2 – Psychology in Hitchcock Films

Spencer Garstka

Christopher Holmes

Emily Kauble

Sydni Smith

Marlon Nabors

Group #3 – Historical Context of Hitchcock Films

Kellie Auen

Taylor Haydinger

Sam Kessler

Courtney Kunk

Ross Retherford

Group #4 – Technology/Science of and in Hitchcock’s Films

Ashlyn Simion

Brandon McGilvary

Jacob Zigler

Amoy Russell

Vondale Kelley

Due dates:

Completed Group Blog Post– Friday, March 20^th. 

Individual Blog Post synthesizing/integrating information from all groups – Friday, March 27^th.  

Sixth Blog Prompt

Narration is a writing or rhetorical strategy for developing an essay. Narrative writing is essentially telling a story, usually relying on personal experience. Good narrative writing:

1. is told from a particular point of view, 
2. makes and supports a point (has a purpose), 
3. is filled with precise detail, 
4. uses vivid verbs and modifiers, 
5. uses conflict and sequence as does any good plot, 
6. may use dialogue. 

For your blog assignment this week you are to write a narrative consisting of about 400-500 words. I want you to choose a vivid childhood memory - you might think of the first time you rode a school bus, of a time when you went to the principal's office, of a first encounter with a friend, of a first A on a test or paper, of the first time you earned money to buy something you really wanted, and so on. Narrate events related to that childhood memory so that your reader will understand why the event was important and memorable (why your memory supports a point - purpose). 

Fifth Blog Post

For this week's blog assignment, I would like you to watch the following video: 

After watching the short film, briefly describe what happens.  Then, I would like you to identify the author's purpose...why they chose to write and direct this video. Give a clear explanation as to your reasoning, how did you identify the author's purpose and why is that a good inference.  Additionally, I would like you to identify the author's audience...for whom did the author make this video. Give a clear explanation as to why you think that is the audience; what clues/evidence do you have from the video to help you identify the audience.  

Fourth Blog Post

Everyone listens to music, some perhaps more than others.  I absolutely love music...most every genre.  My first love is classic R&B and Motown music...it is what my mom listened to when I was a kid and I still thoroughly enjoy listening, especially to Sam Cooke.  I am a huge AC/DC fan.  My kids bought me an AC/DC mug for mother's day a couple of years ago.  My head starts banging anytime I hear "Highway to Hell" or "Thunderstruck".  I think Angus Young is the best damn guitarist in heavy metal.  I love rap...especially the stuff from my generation (after all hip hop really took off in the 80s when I was a teenager --I remember Will Smith as part of  DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince way before he was a movie star and Queen Latifah as a rapper before she  was a talk show host).  I am a huge Public Enemy fan (I still have the first cassette I bought of their Yo!Bum Rush the Show album) and I love Run D.M.C.  I clearly prefer East Coast rap. I also enjoy jazz music (in fact, I am listening to my Diana Krall station on Pandora right now).  Music not only makes our lives enjoyable; it makes our lives meaningful. 
I want you to select the top ten songs that represent your life, so don't just focus on what you are currently listening to, but also what you loved in the past.  Along with listing your life playlist, you will need to explain why you choose each song on this playlist (a detailed explanation...not a "just because I like it" explanation).

Third Blog Prompt

I want you to go back to Chapter One in Hjortshoj's The Transition to College Writing and reflect on the differences between High School and College that he examines.  I would like you to elaborate on two of the five "basic, categorical differences" (on pp 10-12) that he highlights by summarizing his ideas as well as adding your own experiences  and then add two original differences that he didn't mention but you have experienced. Be sure to elaborate on these two original ideas also.  (So you should have a total of four points of difference that you share with your reader.) Your audience is a high school senior.  You should write in epistolary format (like a letter).  As always, enjoy blogging!

Second Blog Prompt

The expression, "Write what you know" has been attributed to a few different authors (Twain and Faulkner to name a couple) but essentially it means a good writer writes that with which they are familiar.  Now that you have completed some research on Poe's life and read three of his short stories, I want you to consider how Poe's life most likely influenced his creative work.  
In a well written paragraph, use at least four specific examples (not all from the same story), to demonstrate how events and/or characters in Poe's' stories directly relate to biographical information you uncovered about Poe in your research.

Blogging Requirments and First Blog Prompt

Welcome to the blogging (web log) experience! You will be keeping a blog as part of Composition this spring semester. Your blogging requirements involve two components:
1. You need to post to your blog at least one entry each week. This entry needs to be one complete paragraph following standards of good grammar and punctuation. Generally, your weekly entry will be based on a writing prompt that I will post for you on the class blog; however, sometimes your post will be based on a topic of your own choosing.
2. You will need to also read and comment on at least two of your classmates' blogs each week as well. These comments need to address writing and style not content. You will be able to find a list at the right hand side of this class blog page that will link you to everyone's blog.

For your first blog today, I would like you to respond to the following prompt:
You wake up in jail and have no memory of how you got there. As you pace around the cell, you find five items in your pocket from the night before. As you look at each piece, the night slowly comes back to you. Write about your night, why you have these five items (and give a detailed description of each of these five items), and how you ended up in jail.

Have fun blogging!!