Collective Maps and [Rough] Outlines . . .

First off, I'd like to thank everyone who shared topic suggestions in class today to build into the maps and outlines in this post. I'd also like to point out that the two maps and corresponding outlines in this post cover some divergent, some similar, and some overlapping topics and sub-topics.

Neither the maps below nor the outlines farther below completely cover the topic for your next essays. Since the maps and outlines below cover only a few of the ideas upon which you may wish to focus in your essays about learning with computers, I want to encourage all of you to feel free to draw ideas for your draft essays (2-03a) from both sets of shared ideas (§1A & §1C). You also are welcome to combine those ideas with others from your individual outlines and essay prep. posts, as well as from previous posts on the Writing Studio Blog including outlines or about computers.

For convenience, I arranged the main ideas (in blue) in alphabetical order during and just after class. However, as you compose your draft essays, I hope you will find better ways to organize your main ideas than that. Moreover, some of the topics in green may be just as important as the main ideas in blue. So I expect you to demonstrate flexibility in composing important and related ideas into unified paragraphs that will enable readers to follow your thinking easily from one main point in your essays to the next.

§1A, 2014.12.03

§1C, 2014.12.03 

Outline from §1A

Learning with Computers

• Applications
  • PowerPoint
  • Other
• Challenges
  • keyboarding
• Convenience
  • Google
    • Drive
    • Gmail
  • Search
    • Google
      • Images
    • Yahoo!
    • Other
  • Recording
    • Microphones
      • Built-in
      • Attached
  • Playback
    • CDs
    • DVDs
• Economy
  • Paper-less materials
    • Homepages
    • Other
  • Other?
• Importance
  • School
    • English
      • Keyboarding
        • Numeric keypad
        • Typing
      • Classes
        • Listening
          • Classwork
            • Pronunciation practice
            • Viewing
              • News programs
          • Homework
            • Pronunciation practice
        • Reading
          • Websites
            • News articles
            • Other?
        • Speaking
          • Classwork
          • Homework
            • EnglishCentral
              • speaking points
              • (pronunciation practice)
        • Writing
          • Book reviews
          • Comments
          • Extensive writing
            • Essays
            • Reports
    • Homepages
  • Society
    • Communication
      • Commentary
      • Other
    • Information
      • News
      • Publicity
        • Homepages
        • Other
    • Internationalization

Outline from §1C

Learning with Computers

• Applications
  • Computer-based
    • Search function
    • Typing programs
  • Cloud-based (online)
    • Sharing
    • Typing practice
    • Language learning
      • PowerWords
      • EnglishCentral
• Benefits
  • Ease of correction
    • written work
      • reports
  • Exposure to vocabulary
  • Increase in typing speed
• Coursework
  • Listening Classes
    • Classwork
      • CDs
    • HW
  • Reading Classes
    • Classwork
      • Online texts
        • news articles
    • HW
      • PowerWords
      • Reports
  • Speaking Classes
    • Classwork
    • HW
      • EnglishCentral
        • speaking points
  • Writing Classes
    • HW
      • typing
      • blogging
        • reviewing
    • Classwork
      • Mapping
      • Outlining
      • Peer-reviewing
• Disadvantages
  • Time loss
    • computer set-up
  • Dependencies
    •  
  • Diminished skills
    • calculating in your head
  • Physical strain
    • Eyes
    • Neck
    • Shoulders
• Other activities
  • job-hunting
  • ???

If you have concerns or questions about those maps or outlines, or how to use them, please feel free to spell them out in comments on this post, or voice them in person during the next class meeting.

[586 words]

Mind-Maps for University Life Essay Prep.

Please click on the graphics below to get closer looks at the various topics that the collective mind-maps from last week covered.

University Life (1C, 2014.05.14)

University Life (1A, 2014.05.14)

Please feel free to write about topics from either map in your essay prep. (free-writing) posts. Ideally each main (blue) branch will serve as the basis for one or more paragraphs.

[63 words]

Paragraph (¶) Breaks and Word Counts for Blog Posts

This snapshot shows how to separate paragraphs (¶¶), and where to put word counts in blog posts for course work.

For paragraph divisions, please enter two (2) line returns:

• The first return ends the paragraph you're composing;
• The second return creates a blank line between that paragraph and the next one for ease of reading.

Please note that there is no need for any indentation at the beginning of paragraphs. So do not enter spaces or tabs there. Also, if you compose your posts in a word-processing program that indents paragraphs automatically, please remove those indentations before you copy and paste your compositions into blog posts.

To put your word counts on the right margins of your posts, where they'll be easy to spot and add up, please: 

1. Type them in square brackets on new lines at the ends of your posts; then
2. Open the Alignment menu in the tool bar in Compose view, and 
3. Click on the icon for flush right alignment: 

[169 words]

Tip Top Tip from Mike Lambert

Mike Lambert, the author of A Beginner’s Guide to Doing Your Education Research Project (Lambert, 2012), has published ten tips in a paper on the Academia.edu site (Lambert, 2013). One of my favorites is number nine.

Tip 9: Use paragraphs A paragraph is a section of text, usually dealing with a single theme and [usually] indicated by a line space above and below . . . . The use of paragraphs is an important way of structuring writing and making ideas understandable for your reader[s]. Here are some basic rules for using paragraphs in academic writing: A paragraph always has more than one sentence[;] A paragraph is never more than one page long[; and] The first or last sentence of a paragraph is often a summary of the paragraph as a whole. . . .

Lambert concludes that section of his paper with a brilliant suggestion for beginning writers: "Look at academic books and research articles to see how others use paragraphs to make the structure of their writing clear."

References

Lambert, Mike. (2012). A Beginner’s Guide to Doing Your Education Research Project. London, England: Sage Publications.

Lambert, Mike. (2013, April [n.d.]). Top Tips for Writing Up Your Education Research Project. Retrieved from http://www.academia.edu/3357616/Top_Tips_for_Writing_Up_Your_Education_Research_Project

[205 words]

Grammar section of Course Links grows

Thanks to tips from a number of students who took part in Mr. W's class last year, the grammar section of the Course Links link list in the sidebar of the Writing Studio Blog has doubled in length. I've added a link to the home page (index) of the Grammar-Quizzes site, along with a deep link to a FANBOYS page there.

I found those pages after reading students' raves about learning to write paragraphs and theme posts using the connecting words (coordinators) from which the mnemonic FANBOYS comes:

Screenshot only (no active links)

• For,
• And,
• Nor,
• But,
• Or, 
• Yet, and 
• So.

If you know of any other useful websites for learning how to use grammar in writing, please feel free to point them out in comments on this post.

[127 words]

Stars or stories? A Rough Outline

This post displays a rough outline of points to consider in planning and drafting your comparative movie reviews. The topics listed below came from maps prepared in both classes. The second option, comparing the same stories told and retold in different movies, didn't get any takers this time. So this outline focuses mainly on the stars, that is, on the same actresses or actors performing in the two or three different movies that your teams have chosen.

There are three things I'd like each team to consider while re-reading this outline from classwork last week:

1. This is not a complete outline for any particular review; it's an aggregate. Topics that you didn't announce in class may be just as important as some of those represented here, or more so. For instance, examples of genres and settings in this outline are just that, examples. You'll need to tailor topics that you chose from this outline to suit the movies that you're reviewing.
2. It isn't necessary to cover all of the points in this outline in your reviews. For instance, you needn't cover stars['] other roles, or lives outside acting. Similarly, some of the stars you'll be focusing on may not have won awards for their performances in the movies you've chosen. So please decide for yourselves whether any particular type of content will complement or support your comparisons of stars' roles, or detract from your reviews of the movies themselves.
3. The order and arrangement of topics in your reviews may well differ from those in the outline below. These are just the ideas that you and your peers shared with the class. You should consider arranging these and other topics you cover in ways that make it easy for readers to follow your ideas as you develop your reviews from one paragraph to the next.

If you have concerns or questions about possible content or organization for your joint movie reviews, please spell them out in comments on this post, activate the option to receive follow-up comments by mail, and feel free to respond to your classmates and peers in follow-up comments as well.

[438 words, including 78 in the outline]

A few more comments and reflections

The comments I've collected in this post represent three sorts of suggestions that many bloggers other than the immediate recipients of the comments should heed in their own posts:

1. Choosing and using labels (again [Labels..., again?!? {Yes, labels, again!}];-),
2. Creating paragraph divisions to improve readability, and
3. Summarizing for a variety of reasons.

pab さんは書きました... Hi Y..., Better labels for this post (three or more for every post) might be: "animals, birds, chicks, dogs, gardens, ..." (comma-spaced values without quotation marks). Some of those you also could use on your next post. Cheers, PB 2012年6月18日	General recommendations: 1) Use topic labels that you are likely to use again and again. 2) If the labels are countable nouns, use their plural forms. Choice of suitable labels is important for several reasons. First and foremost, if the labels you use are both accurate and appropriate, they can help blog visitors find the kinds of posts they want to read, compare, or comment on (such as essays: drafts and revisions), as well as special topics they want to read about. Next, depending on how many times you use appropriate topic labels, the numbers of times you use particular labels may indicate both to you and to your readers which topics interest you most, as well as which you may want to write more about. Last (today;-), but not least, reflecting on the topics in your posts as you choose labels may help you decide where and when you should divide your posts into paragraphs, and perhaps even see where you might reorganize your paragraphs to make your ideas easy for readers to follow.
pab2012年7月12日 Hi A..., It is interesting to hear of your fondness for mystery stories, especially those written by Jirou Akakawa. However, this post summarizing one of his stories, recently dramatized on TV, probably would be easier to read if you divided it into paragraphs clearly separated by blank lines (no indentation necessary). Cheers, PB	Remember: White-space is golden! Divide large blocks of text into paragraphs to make them easier to read. Single blank lines between paragraphs orient readers' eyes towards topic shifts, if not to topic sentences, at the beginning each subsequent paragraph.
pab2012年7月12日 Y..., Would you please (re-)read the following post on the Writing Studio Blog, paying special attention to the illustration of summarizing, where the yellow part becomes green? FRIDAY, JUNE 22, 2012: Incorporating quoted passages Then please summarize the message from (a) member(s) of your host family in a similar fashion, using your own words. Cheers, PB	Summarize the writing of others, in this case, for three main reasons, namely to: 1. Avoid copying; 2. Present only key points, and mainly your own ideas; and 3. Avoid publishing personal correspondence without the authors' permission.

[424 words]

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

"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]

Best Essays: Self-Assessments

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]

Topic outlines from comments and questions

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

§1C

RoughOutlines1C-1

RoughOutlines1C-2

RoughOutlines1C-3

[149 words]

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

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]

Notes for excused (2009.06.17), reminders for all

This post includes three rough but ready snapshots of class notes, for those students who were away yesterday for student teaching (or other excused absences). These notes also may serve as reminders for everyone else in the Writing Studio this semester - reminders on which I urge you not to become dependent!

1. Pointers and reminders (P & R),
2. A collective outline of themes evident in the movie (from §1C), and
3. Individual essay outlines (topic outlines [classwork, 2009.06.17]).
   

Pointers and reminders (P & R)

Collective outline of themes
Individual essay outlines
Clicking on the snapshots above will reveal larger displays. As always, if you have concerns or questions about these notes or reminders, please spell them out in comments on this post.

[112 words]

Writing Studio Calendar: Past and current assignments

In this post, I am displaying two event descriptions from the Writing Studio Calendar. You should have received invitations to both event[s] via gmail, the latest, today (2009.05.27):

• Essay_1.02a: Univ. Life essays due on blogs (2009.06.01), and
  
• Essay_1-01b: Revised letters of intro. due (2009.04.20).

The content of these representations (with permission of their owner, me;-) is essentially the same as that in the descriptions on the calendar. The main reason that I am posting them here is only one of over forty invitees accepted the first event invitation from Google Calendar. I hope [a] few more of you pick up on the latest one. Though I've spiffed them up a bit with formatting and hyperlinks, I'm counting only the words in this preface for this blog post.

[130 words, + 1 {2009.06.05}]

Essay_1.02a: Univ. Life essays due on blogs (2009.06.01)

Completed essays, approximately 300 words in length:

• Published on individual blogs;
• Reflecting on university life from personal, inter-personal, and extra-personal perspectives:
• Consisting of five (5) or more paragraphs (¶¶), each five (5) or more sentences in length;
• Including an overview of main points in the first ¶ (introduction), and a summary of main points in the final ¶ (conclusion);
• Developing main points separately in three (3) or more body ¶¶ reflecting main topics we brainstormed individually, and mapped together in class: MindMaps: Main Branches, §§1a and 1c (Writing Studio Blog, 2009.05.27).

If you have concerns or questions about this assignment [University Life essays], please share them via comments on the MindMaps post....

Essay_1-01b: Revised letters of intro. due (2009.04.20)

Revised and extended versions of draft letters of introduction to host families are due in new posts on your blogs. They should include extra information that you've already posted in response to comments and questions from your classmates on your blogs. These revised versions should consist of at least five separate paragraphs, and be approximately 300 words in length.

Your revised essay posts should have catchy and descriptive titles, and appear with:

• accurate word counts in their lower left corners ("[n words]"), and
• at least these two labels (also shown in sidebar widgets):
  

1. essays
2. revisions

Earlier versions of those letters, typed up from hand-written placement essays (March 25, 2009), were due on your blogs April 8, 2009, and _must_ also include the first label, "essays," in order for you to get credit for this assignment.

If you have concerns or questions about this assignment, please spell them out in comments on the following post: Reminders of classwork and homework (Writing Studio Blog, April 15, 2009).

Writing IV Exam: Instructions for §§ 1a and 1c

In a short essay, from three to five paragraphs in length, please reflect upon, analyze, and synthesize:

1. What you expected to learn, and
2. What you learned in Writing IV, §1a or 1c;

OR

1. What you learned in Writing IV, §1a or 1c, and
2. What you still need to learn in order to improve your own writing.

For full marks, write at least one paragraph five sentences or more in length on each main point:

1. What you expected to learn, and why;
2. What you learned in Writing IV, and how; and
3. What you still need to learn to improve your own writing, and when.

Use the mind map in the graphic above as a guide (WritingIVexam2009a.png). If you double-click on the graphic, a larger image will display.

Post your essay in a single comment on the Writing Studio Blog post earmarked for your class section, during the exam period:

• Writing IV, §1a: Reflecting Pool (09:30-10:30), OR
• Writing IV, §1c: Reflecting Pool (11:00-12:00).

I suggest that you compose your essay in Microsoft® Word, where you can check grammar, punctuation, and spelling before posting it as a comment on the Writing Studio Blog. You will be unable to edit your essay after you post it as a comment.

Please leave yourself plenty of time to post your essay as a comment on the appropriate reflecting pool post for your class section, and check to confirm posting, before the end of the exam period.

[245 words]

Writing IV: Portfolio, §§1a & 1c (template)

This portfolio template is for you to:

• Copy with permission, under license from the Writing Studio Blog (License, below);
  
• Paste into a new post on your own blog;
  
• Complete with data from, and reflections upon, the body of your writing on your blog for Writing IV, section 1a or 1c; and
  
• Publish with the label "portfolios" (plural, without quotation marks).

Your complete portfolio for this semester is due – published and labeled on your blog – by Monday, December 22, 2008 (17:15, JST).

///// Beginning of template (Copy from "End ..." [below] to here.) /////

Student ID: vwxyz
Please replace "vwxyz" (above) with
the last five digits of your student number
(without quotation marks).

Portfolio for Writing IV,
Section 1a OR 1c

[Please delete the unsuitable class section and "OR" (above), along with this line of remarks.]

(See: Note 1, below)

0.0. Overview

Reviews, Posts, Words, and More

(See: Note 2, below.)

[Please embed your proto-portfolios here; then remove this line of remarks, including the square brackets.]

1.0. Essays

(See: Note 3, below.)

Please complete this table with data gathered from essays on your blog. See the Key (below) for definitions of the symbols in row one, and complete columns four through nine with numerical values (0, 1, 2, 3, ...).

1.1. Showcase	Short titles with links	Dates yy.mm.dd	¶	W	C	L	P	M
Website review 08.09.29 (375+ words)
Favorite place(-s) 08.10.20 (450+ words)
Mrs. Doubtfire 08.11.04 (500+ words)
Community life 08.11.17 (default length*)
Kumamoto's best-kept secrets 08.12.01 (5+ ¶¶)
Learning with computers 2008.12.15 (6+ ¶¶)
Totals	---	---

Key:

¶: number of paragraphs five (5) or more sentences in length

W: number of words

C: number of comments

L: number of links

P: number of photos or other graphics
M: number of other media included in post
*: "long enough to cover the ... [communities] you choose," Writing Studio Blog, Preparation for Next Essays, 2008.10.29)

1.2. Best Essay

Selection and Assessment: Which of those six assigned essays do you feel is the best that you've written this semester, and why? Remember that a complete answer is better than a short answer, focus on your writing, and give at least two reasons to support your assessment.

• [Please remove these remarks, including the square brackets, then identify your best essay, and write out your reasons for selecting it here.]
  

2.0. Comments

Showcase	Titles of posts with links	Dates of comments yy.mm.dd	Numbers of words in comments	Qualities of comments**
2.1. Your first comment on your instructor's blog*
2.2. Your best comment on a classmate's blog*
2.3. Best comment by a classmate on your blog*
2.4. Most comments on:	Titles of posts with link	Dates of posts yy.mm.dd	Total number of words in comments	Qualities of comments**
2.4.1. Any one of your essays*
2.4.1.1. When did you respond to those comments?	---		---	---
2.4.1.2. How did you respond to those comments?	---	---
2.4.2. Any of your other posts*
2.4.2.1. When did you respond to those comments?	---		---	---
2.4.2.2. How did you respond to those comments?	---	---

----------
* Current semester comments on essays and other posts
** Please list the most important qualities of comments on each type of blog post. That is, explain briefly what makes them good comments.

2.5. Recent comments display

Does your blog display recent comments from blog visitors in a prominent location, for example, in a sidebar, header, or footer widget? Where, or why not? Please explain.

• ...
  

2.6. Additional reflections on comments

• [Please remove these remarks, including the square brackets; then write out your reflections on both giving and receiving comments here.]
• ....
  

3.0. Book Reviews

3.1. Showcase	Short titles with links	Dates (yy.mm.dd)	Words	Comments
Example:	Vampire Killer	07.05.16	39	1
2-01
2-02
2-03
2-04
2-05
2-06
2-07
2-08
2-09
2-10
2-11
2-12
2-13
2-14
2-15
2-16
2-17
2-18
---	---	Totals:

Note: Please calculate and list book review Totals for words and comments without including those from the example (above).

3.2. Best Book Review

Selection and Assessment: Which of those book reviews do you feel is the best that you've written this semester, and why? Remember that a complete answer is better than a short answer, focus on your writing, and give at least two reasons to support your assessment.

• [Please remove these remarks, including the square brackets; then identify your best book review, and write out reasons for selecting it here.]

4.0. Blog Layout, Labeling, Linking, & Media

Showcase	Yes	No
4.1. Does your blog display an archive?
4.1.1. Does the archive display the titles of posts?
4.1.2. Is the archive organized by month?
4.1.3. Is the archive at or near the top of the sidebar?
4.2. Does your blog have labels displayed in sidebar?
5.2.1. Do your labels include these required labels (typed accurately):	---	---
"books" (plural) AND "reviews" (plural)
"essays" (plural) AND "portfolios" (plural, without "proto-")
"quickposts" (plural, with no space between quick and posts)
"links" (plural) AND "media" (plural)
"movies" (plural) AND "websites" (plural)
"brainstorms" (or "brainstorming"), "essay prep.," AND "free-writing" (or "free-writes")
4.2.2. Does your sidebar display other labels?
How many other labels have you attached to three (3) or more posts? ___ other labels attached to three or more posts	---	---
Which labels, and to how many posts each? Please list those labels instead of www, xxx, yyy..., and list numbers of posts instead of n, m, o... (in parentheses), below. www (n) xxx (m) yyy (o) zzz (p) ...	---	---
4.3. Links & media	---	---
4.3.1. Does your blog include photos or other graphics?
Does your blog profile include a photo or graphic representation?
How many of your blog posts this semester include photos or other graphics? ___ posts including photos or other graphics	---	---
4.3.2. Does your blog include posts with multiple links?
How many of your posts this semester include three (3) or more links? ___ posts including three or more links (including this portfolio!)	---	---
4.3.3. Does your blog include other media?
How many of your blog posts this semester include other media? ___ posts including other media	---	---
What kind(-s) of media have you included in posts this semester? Please list the kinds here: ... ... ...	---	---
What media content that you originally produced, if any, do your blog posts for this semester contain? Please list and explain each item briefly, and add short links and dates (yy.mm.dd) for reference. ... (short link, date) ... (short link, date) ... (short link, date)	---	---

4.4. Overall presentation

What have you done to enhance the overall presentation of your blog? List and explain the three most important content, display, formatting, layout, or other presentation changes that you have made on your blog this semester.

1. ...
2. ...
3. ...

5.0. Additional reflections on your blog and your writing on it

Please feel free to include reflections on both spring and fall semester work, as well as on the content of this portfolio (proto-portfolios, showcases, and reflections).

• ...
• ...
• ...
  

6.0. Advice and suggestions for yourself, your peers, and your successors

• ...
• ...
• ...
  

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Notes:

1. This portfolio template derives from the templates for Writing IIIc and Writing IVc portfolios (2007-08), and Writing III, §§1a & 1c (Fall, 2008).
2. Please use the same code in section 0.0 that you used to embed your proto-portfolios (PPFs) in the footer of your blog, which you should already have revised to display your 2nd (fall) semester PPF first.
   
3. The essays section (1.0. Essays, above) derives from Proto-Portfolio 2-02 (2008).
   

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License:

This portfolio template 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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