Comment collection continues, guidelines included!

Here are two tables full of comments: The first includes comments especially for students in section 1A; the second, especially for students in section 1C. Comments on recent posts are toward the top of each table; those on older posts are toward the bottom. Timestamps on comments are from previews, so they may differ somewhat from those in comments on actual posts. Guidelines in the right hand column are for everyone.

Section 1A	Guidelines
pab said... Hi Sayaka, In your May 27 post about the first class (in early April), you wrote that you didn't know how to do typing homework. That's quite puzzling. How and when did you find out how to do it? Where were the information and instructions you needed to get started, and when did you get them? Please let us know. Cheers, PB May 29, 2011 9:29 PM	Using meta-cognitive strategies: know how and reflection
pab said... Hi Yuka [S.], It is interesting to read about your other classes. However, it might be better if you'd shorten the name of the teacher you're writing about to Ms. S. Cheers, PB May 29, 2011 7:40 PM	Masking personal info.
pab said... Same here, Yuka. Please shorten the name of the teacher you're writing about to Mr. B. Cheers, PB May 29, 2011 7:43 PM	Masking personal info.
pab さんは書きました... Sorry, Ayayah, but how can you recommend a book without telling us what it is? Please put a short title in the title of your post, and add an APA-style reference citation to the end of your post. Cheers, PB 2011年5月29日19:51	Including APA-style references
pab さんは書きました... Hello Kazu, Is this review entirely original? Did you close the book when your wrote this review? You should tell readers, in your own words: + why you chose this book, + whether you found it interesting, and why, and + to whom you recommend it, and why. The only part of your review that should come directly from the story is a short, juicy, quotation, a teaser at the very beginning of your post. The quotation needs to be absolutely accurate, enclosed in quotation marks, and followed by a page number in parentheses. You shouldn't retell the story, or spoil the ending for other students who might read it. Cheers, PB 2011年5月29日20:06	Keeping BRs original, short, sweet, and to the point
pab さんは書きました... PS: Will you please bring this book to class on Wed., June 1? Cheers, PB 2011年5月29日20:08	Keeping BRs original, short, sweet, and to the point; and Including APA-style references
pab さんは書きました... Hello again, haramicky, Will you please also shorten the name of the high school and univ. you mention to "H... high school" and "K... G... U..."? Cheers, PB 2011年5月29日21:18	Masking institutional names

Section 1C	Guidelines
pab さんは書きました... Hi Sakurako, Have you read the details for either of these two essays on the Writing Studio Blog Calendar? Essay 1-02a: University Life Mon, May 16, 4pm – 5pm Essay 1-02b: University Life – major revisions Tue, May 31, 4pm – 5pm Please (re-)read them. The first called for an essay five+ paragraphs and 350+ words in length (due May 16); the second calls for six+ paragraphs and 400+ words (due May 31). Cheers, PB 2011年5月29日11:43	Referring to course resources (blog, calendar, wiki, and online workbooks[Google spreadsheets])
pab さんは書きました... Hello Saori, Will you please shorten the proper names in this essay to: KGU, HGHS, and Ms. M., ASAP? Then please avoid spelling out proper names in posts and comments. That is, except for names of famous people, for ex., Tom Cruise, and authors' names in book reviews. Last but not least, please share what you learn from comments like this with your classmates and peers. Cheers, PB 2011年5月29日11:51	Minimizing institutional names, and Minimizing personal information
pab さんは書きました... Mitsuki, Please bring all three of these books to class on Wed., June 1: ///// BR 1-06: The New House from Mitsuki U by Mitsuki ... Oxford University Press 1986. Written by roderick Hunt, Alex Brychta ///// BR 1-05: By the Stream from Mitsuki U by Mitsuki … Oxford University Press 1986. Written by roderick Hunt, Alex Brychta ///// BR 1-04: The Dream from Mitsuki U by Mitsuki … Oxford University Press 1986. Written by roderick Hunt, Alex Brychta ///// Cheers, PB 2011年5月29日日曜日11:58:41 JST	Including accurate, APA-style references
pab さんは書きました... Hello Arisa, Will you please replace the proper names in this essay with: "... [KGU]" (intro.) "... [an academic high school in Kumamoto City]" (intro.), and "... [KGU]" (concl.), ASAP? Then please avoid spelling out proper names in posts and comments. That is, except for names of famous people, for ex., Tom Cruise, and authors' names in book reviews. Last but not least, please share what you learn from comments like this with your classmates and peers. Cheers, PB 2011年5月29日日曜日12:08:24 JST	Minimizing institutional names, and Minimizing personal information
pab さんは書きました... Hi Yuka, When you use the label "typing" on posts like this, there is no need to include the word "Typing" in the titles. "How [to] study English" will work fine for this post, which also needs a couple more labels such as: memorizing, studying, vocabulary, ... (your choices). Please share what you learn from this comment with your classmates and peers. Cheers, PB 2011年5月29日12:19	Creating accurate, attractive, descriptive post titles, and Labeling posts appropriately, with three or more labels
pab さんは書きました... [Mitsuki:] Please bring this book to class on Wed., June 1, too. 2011年5月29日日曜日12:24:53 JST	Keeping BRs original, and Including accurate, APA-style references
pab さんは書きました... Yuka, Would you please mask or remove personally identifying info. from this post. "Shoko" is fine, but her date of birth and the name of the high school she attended are too much info. Instead, how about: "She was born in ... [the early 90's. Her birthday is in November {like mine!}].... She ... [went to an academic] high school [in the city]." Next, please replace the label "essays" (reserved for formal writing assignments) with three others more suitable to this post, such as: exercise, friends, interests, ... (your choices). Then please do likewise for other posts and comments you make (or have made), and share what you learn from comments like this with your classmates and peers. Cheers, PB 2011年5月29日12:40	Minimizing personal information, and Labeling posts appropriately, with three or more labels
Hi Gaki, What's this post about? It's missing spaces between numbers and words, both in the title and in the body of the post. Though one suitable label would be "quickposts," there's not enough content to tell [what other labels might be suitable], or even [to] count it as a post, is there? Please let me know. Cheers, PB 2011年5月29日12:49	Creating accurate, attractive, descriptive post titles; Creating enough content to merit a post; and Labeling posts appropriately, with three or more labels
pab さんのコメント... Hi Emi, It is a pleasure to see you've gotten a start on your book reviews. However, I'm wondering: Is the content of this book review entirely original? That is, is it all your own ideas, in your own words? Rather than to retell stories, and spoil the endings for other readers, you should focus on what you thought and felt before, during, and after reading the books you review. That is, except for the juicy quotation at the beginning, you should write no more than you can remember with the book closed. Cheers, PB 2011年5月23日月曜日8:41:00 JST  ///// Eri さんのコメント... Thank you for your comment. I'll rewrite it. 2011年5月23日月曜日12:34:00 JST ///// pab さんは書きました... Eri, Will you please bring this book to class on Wed., June 1? Cheers, PB 2011年5月29日日曜日13:07:27 JST ///// pab さんは書きました... Emi, Thanks for rewriting this book review! Please make certain to reflect the new word count in your Proto-Porfolio entries for May [due June 1]. Cheers, PB 2011年5月31日火曜日11:03:53 JST	Keeping BRs original, short, sweet, and to the point; Following up on comments in a timely fashion; Including word counts (but not running totals) in posts

[1493 words]

More comments to read and heed!

As I pointed out at the beginning of a similar post last Friday:

This post consists of a collection of comments that I've posted in one section..., many of which are awaiting approval for publication on your blogs. I'd like to ask you to [publish those on your own blogs,] read them all through, and follow the advice, reminders, and suggestions that they contain – in all posts and commentary. 

(Comments for everyone to read and heed! May 20, 2011, ¶1; 

with ellipses and square brackets for changes since posting)

Though this list was for another section, §1C, the "advice, reminders, and suggestions" that I'm listing up here should inform one and all.  The comments below, like those in the previous list, appear (or will when approved for publication) on individual blogs. 


Again, comments that I've left on more recent posts appear toward the beginning of this list, and those I've left on earlier posts, toward the end. Also, a quick preview of the labels at the foot of this post will help you get ideas about the various foci, before you begin to read through all of the comments I've collected here.


If you have immediate concerns or questions about them, please voice them during our next class meetings (May 25, 2011). If concerns or questions occur to you later on, please post them in comments on this post.

Hi Emi, It is a pleasure to see you've gotten a start on your book reviews. However, I'm wondering: Is the content of this book review entirely original? That is, is it all your own ideas, in your own words? Rather than to retell stories, and spoil the endings for other readers, you should focus on what you thought and felt before, during, and after reading the books you review. That is, except for the juicy quotation at the beginning, you should write no more than you can remember with the book closed. Cheers, PB 2011年5月23日月曜日

Hi Yuka, It is a pleasure to see you've gotten a start on your book reviews. However, you seem to be forgetting to include juicy quotations and APA-style references in you book review posts. Please follow the examples in mock-up posts on the Writing Studio Blog (April 20, 2011). Cheers, PB 2011年5月23日

Hello again! Please remember to include at least three labels, too: "books, fiction, reviews, ...," to distinguish this sort of review from others, for example, such as music, restaurants, or websites. Cheers, PB 2011年5月23日

Hi Ko-hei, It is a pleasure to see that you are up to your fifth book review (BR). However, it isn't clear from the layout where paragraphs on different topics begin and end. You need to show readers where you're changing topics by putting blank lines between paragraphs in the body of your posts. You also need to review the quotation and reference in the example post on Writing Studio Blog (April 20, 1011), and add similar juicy quotations and APA-style references to all of your BRs. Cheers, PB 2011年5月23日月曜日9:09:14 JST

Hi Arisa, Thanks for sharing your impressions of this story. However, I'm wondering: Is the content of this book review entirely original? That is, is it all your own ideas, in your own words? Please let me know in class on Wed., May 25. Cheers, PB 2011年5月23日月曜日

Hi Natsumi, Great info. on certification and licensing exams? How do you say "eibei" in English? Cheers, PB 2011年5月23日月曜日

Hi Takahiro, When you write book reviews, rather than retelling stories, it is better to tell us what you think before, during, and after reading the books. Please leave the story-telling to the authors; tell us: why you chose the book; whether you liked it, and why (not); and for whom you recommend it, and why. Cheers, PB 2011年5月23日月曜日

Hi Yukina, Will you please shorten your name to "Yukina N...," and avoid spelling out family names in posts and comments from now on? I'd also appreciate your choosing darker text colors, or a lighter background, to make your posts and pages easier to read. Cheers, PB 2011年5月23日

Yuka, Thanks for all of the info. about the dance club. Now will you please do all of your readers two favors? First, please give every post you write a catchy an informative title of your own. Then please type line returns only between paragraphs, and then always type two.] Cheers, PB 2011年5月23日

Arisa, As Mr. T. instructed you to do for your first essay, and I've said in class, please spell out neither family names nor the name of the university in comments or posts. Please use "Arisa H...," or simply "Arisa ...," and "KGU" instead. Cheers, PB 2011年5月23日月曜日

http://baby-arisa.blogspot.com/2011/05/br-1-05-new-school.html#comment-form [recast of comment to emi, 2011年5月23日月曜日 (above)

Hi Sakarako, Would you please shorten your name to "Sakurako K..." in this and any other posts or comments in which you've spelled out your family name? Cheers, PB 2011年5月23日

L`Arc-en Ciel from Happy Days by Sakurako ///// Hi Sakurako, I gather listening to your favorite music helps you relax when you're tired. Where did you get the picture? Please let me know in class. Cheers, PB 2011年5月23日

Hi, Saori, I'm wondering: Is the content of this book review entirely original? That is, is it all your own ideas, in your own words? I'd also like to know why you used the labels "essays" and "outlines" instead of "fiction" and "reviews". Please let me know in class on Wed., May 25. Cheers, PB 2011年5月23日

ko-hei, Would you please shorten your friend's name to "Ryouhei S...," and do the same for any other family names in posts or comments – except authors' names in book reviews? Cheers, PB 2011年5月23日

Hello, Yudai. Perhaps you posted this before you got instructions from Mr. T. about your first essay. He has asked everyone to spell out neither family names nor the name the university, but you have in this post, and in another about him on April 17. Would you please remove them from existing posts, and avoid using them in any future posts? Cheers, PB 2011年5月23日

[1098 words]

Comments for everyone to read and heed!

This post consists of a collection of comments that I've posted in one section (1A), many of which are awaiting approval for publication on your blogs. I'd like to ask you to [publish those on your own blogs,] read them all through, and follow the advice, reminders, and suggestions that they contain – in all posts and commentary. 

The labels ... [at the foot of] this post will be a good place to start, because they can give you a general idea about the various foci in the comments [that] I'm listing here for everyone's benefit. [Comments on older posts are closer to the end of the list.]

Thanks in advance for your continuing cooperation.

Hello, Kazu. Would you please shorten the name of the university to KGU, and add blank lines between paragraphs to make it easy to see where they begin and end? Cheers, PB [2011.05.20: Spell-check, too!]

haramicky, would you please shorten Misaki's name in your post to simply Misaki, or Misaki K., and then avoid revealing that much personal information in all future posts and comments? Cheers, PB 2011年5月20日

matsuyuki, would you please shorten the first line in your second paragraph to "I live in K... [, a] city ... [that] is far from this univercity," and then correct the spelling of the word university, throughout your post? Cheers, PB 2011年5月20日

Hi Miyuki, Thanks for keeping your blog display in English! Now would you please shorten the name of the university to KGU, and add blank lines between paragraphs to make it easy to see where they begin and end? Cheers, PB May 20, 2011

Ayayah, Would you please shorten the professor's name in your essay to something like "Prof. H. H.," and then _avoid_ using students' and teachers' full names in either comments or posts? I'd also like you to _delete_ the first two comments that you got (May 16 and 18, above) for the sake of preserving privacy, too. I'll replicate those comments below, with names shortened for you, so the gist of them will still appear after you delete the original comments that included full names. matsuyuki さんのコメント... H.... H.... is nice~ ^^ 2011年5月16日23:20 ca☆pi さんのコメント... I like H... H... ♡haha 2011年5月18日9:37 Last but not least, please share what you learn from this comment with your classmates and peers. Cheers, PB 2011年5月20日

Hi Momo, Thanks for marking this with the "typing" label. You could also use a few other labels such as "home, holidays, [and] quickposts." However, it would be better to shorten the second sentence in this quickpost to, "My hometown is ... in Nagasaki," so as not to reveal to much personal info. Cheers, PB 2011年5月20日

Hi poker face, I appreciate your labeling this post "typing." Other suitable labels for this post may include "food" and "habits." However, don't you think something like "Food and Eating Habits" would be a more attractive and informative title than "Typing homework 5"? The same goes for your other typing trial posts. Cheers, PB 2011年5月20日

Chihiro, Would you please shorten the _all_ instances of the name of the university to "K...[GU]"? Cheers, PB 2011年5月20日

Hi Eimi, Thanks for responding to your classmates comments so quickly. Now would you please enter blank lines between the paragraphs of your essay, to make it easy to see where they begin and end? You also should make clear in the introductory paragraph who your intended or target audience is, rather than in a supplementary remark after the end of your essay. Cheers, PB 11/05/20

Maki, this is neither one of your "essays," nor one of your "drafts." If anything, you should label it "essay prep., [and] quickposts." Cheers, PB 2011年5月20日

Mina, if you post your typing trials separately, you'll get a higher number of posts, if not words, for your Proto-Portfolios! Cheers, PB 20/5/11

"ページが見つかりません ブログ Kazumi blog 内のお探しのページは存在しません。" [Thanks for removing this post with no content. PB, 2011.05.20]

Hi Matsuyuki, Belated congratulations on your birthday! Now would you please shorten the first line of this post to, "[In] April ..., I became 20 years old!"? If you're not certain why, please ask in class. Cheers, PB 2011年5月20日

Hey, haramicky! The quotation at the head of this post isn't from Burnett (2005), is it? If it isn't, it should be. The BR number probably ought to be 1-01, too. Cheers, PB 2011年5月20日

Hey, kazu! That's a pretty long BR! Did you remember all those details after you closed the book, and write it up ln your own words? There is no need for you to re-tell stories. In fact, you shouldn't; we just want to hear what you think about them. I'd also like to see page numbers in parentheses ... right after the juicy quotations at the head of your BRs, which you must type exactly as in the books. Cheers, PB 2011年5月20日 [http://kazuminnie-18.blogspot.com/2011/04/br-1-01-princess-and-pea.html#comment-form]

Aya, Would you please shorten your name to "Aya T...," and mine to "Mr. B..." in this post, then avoid spelling out any family names in posts or comments – except those of authors in your book reviews? Cheers, PB 2011年5月20日

Hi Momo, I have a favor to ask. Actually it's more of a reminder of what Mr. T. wrote when he sent you your placement essay to post on your blog, and what I've told you in class. In the introductory paragraph of this essay, would you please shorten your name to "Maki T...," and the university's name to "... [KGU]"? Then please remember not to use any family names in either comments or posts. That is, except authors' family names in reference citations for book reviews. Cheers, PB 2011年5月20日

Hi Mina, This is just a quick note to remind you not to use family names in posts or comments – except for authors' names in book reviews. Please shorten yours to "Mina T..." here. Cheers, PB 20/5/11

Hi Chihiro, I appreciate all of the details you've included in this post. Yet it would be nice if you gave it a catchy, informative title. It would also be better, in general, not to mention employers or schools by name. So would you please replace what you have in the second paragraph with the following? My father works at ... [a very large] company, and he loves his work, so he goes to work even on holidays. My mother works at an insurance company, and she distributes handbills everyday. My brother is a ... high school student [at a large public high school], ... Cheers, PB 2011年5月20日

Hello again, Thanks for shortening your name in this post. It also would be a good idea to change your hometown to "Y... [C]ity," and to leave the date off your birthday. Cheers, Paul 2011年5月20日

[1224 words]

What shapes are your online footprints?

As a new semester rolls up to greet us, now seems like a good time to direct your attention to two videos in the series: Think before you post.

Think Before You Post

Think Before You Post #2

After you've watched them, please let me, your classmates, peers, and other Writing Studio Blog visitors know what you think by adding your reflections to a comment on this post.

[68 words]

New Sidebar Gadget: Followers

A new Blogger gadget that I've just added to the sidebar opens another avenue of access to Writing Studio Blog updates. It's down to the right, between Local Favorites and Subscribe via gmail (now Get mailed!) gadgets. It's the green starred item in the sidebar Layout screenshot (right).

The first avenue for notification of updates was subscription via mail functionality provided by Feedburner, which I blogged up last January (Subscribe via Gmail Today!, 2008.01.10). You may have missed that, if you failed to read up on previous posts as I suggested at the beginning of Writing III. Some folks prefer mail notifications; others depend upon handy lists of links to favorite sites in their own sidebars, or feed readers there or elsewhere (for example: Google Reader).

Now signing up to follow a blog generates an RSS feed in your own Dashboard, and there are at least two ways to get started. One works for any Blogger blog (though it doesn't seem to work on Edublogs, at least not right away); you just grab the URL of a blog you want to follow, and "ADD" it to your Dashboard Reading List. Here's a snapshot of the list I've started:

The "ADD" button is at the foot of your list.

The other way to follow a Blogger blog is to find one you want to follow that displays a Followers gadget. You can subscribe through the gadget, and updates from that blog will automatically appear in your Dashboard Reading List. For more info. about following, including private or public following options, I recommend these Blogger Help Center posts:

• What is following?
• How do I use the Blogger Reading List?
• How do I add the Following gadget to my blog?

[279 words]

Third presentation display [+ design, + ...]

Here's version three of a brief personal history, with a design for the slides, additional graphics, links, and photos. It's ready for a sound track to make the slideshow into an oral presentation.

| View | Upload your own

Third Essay: University Life - A Reminder

Dear Writing Studio participants (Writing III, §§ 1a and 1c):

There were quite a few students absent today, so I have decided to post this reminder. Your third essays are due by Sunday, May 18, 2008 (Course Calendar).

You should:

• Focus on a singular aspect of university life (Writing Studio Wiki, Major assignments, click through § 1.5) with which you are already quite familiar.

• Organize your own ideas into five or more ¶¶ (paragraphs), each five or more sentences in length, including:

• an introduction,
• body paragraphs (3+), and
• a conclusion; and

• Extend it to 350+ words in length overall.

Brainstorming and collecting your ideas in a mind map or an outline is a good way to start, or to refresh or reinforce your thinking if you've already tried free-writing. For organizational ideas, please review the Five Paragraph Essay presentations that you viewed among other writing resources (Writing Studio Wiki, click through § 6.4) a couple of weeks ago.

Please remember that you must label this essay on university life, like all of your essays for Writing III and IV, with the label "essays" (plural, without quotations marks). Then, if you wish, you also may label it with other labels that you are likely to use again. Campus, lifestyles, students, and university are some other possible labels that spring to mind.

Finally, photos would be nice, too. However, you should post nothing too personal or private for anyone in the world to see (administrators, parents, teachers...), and should ask permission from anyone recognizable in the photos before posting them on your blog.

[268 words]

"Mr B...'s class[es are] ... doing Shrek!" (tomei)

On the KGUWriting blog, tomei spilled the beans already. He wrote, "Mr B...'s class[es are] ... doing Shrek!" (2008.04.23).

This post is to offer thanks for his finding and sharing a Shrek YouTube clip there, to raise awareness of this selection. While I'm writing, I'd also like to ask a couple of favors, and to amplify upon advice tomei gave regarding soundtracks on DVDs.

To be precise, both writing classes that I teach this semester (1A and 1C) are doing the same movie this go 'round. I've based the assignment of Shrek to everyone on that movie's being the flick that most students in both classes expressed first preferences for reviewing in their next essays, in shows of hands in the Mac lab. yesterday morning (2008.04.23). These were the top three preferences (no others got more than one vote):

1. Shrek: 1A (10) + 1C (11) = 21
2. Harry Potter: 1A (4) + 1C (8) = 12
3. Mrs. Doubtfire: 1A (5) + 1C (0) = 5
   

So I'd appreciate tomei's correcting the title of the post cited above to read "classes" (plural).

I'd also appreciate it if everyone would avoid using family names in their public postings. Please use given names, or given + initial when there are two students whose given names are the same (e.g.: Chie N. or Chie T.); or blog handles, like pab or tomei, with capitalization as in the originals, or abbreviations, like Mr B or Mr. B., instead.

Regarding soundtracks, when you are watching Shrek recorded on a DVD, tomei suggests switching subtitles on, and selecting English. This will amplify your listening and viewing experience in English as an additional language by adding reading to the admix of skills that you are using simultaneously.

Happy Shrek viewing, everyone! Please stay tuned here, too, for follow-up posts on the first movie review assignment for this semester.

[308 words]

Blog Comment Security & Follow-up Settings

As I was browsing a student's blog today, I noticed that she had not enabled the Word Verification technology for comments on her blog (Dashboard, Settings, Comments).

I urge you all to make sure that you've turned Word Verification ON to avoid getting spammed. When that security technology is on, part of the comment window looks like this, with a string of twisted characters that visitors must type before submitting a comment, for example, "xhhzqtlm" (WordVerification screenshot).


I also recommend restricting who can comment on your blogs to registered users only (CommentsSettings screenshot). This should not trouble you, classmates, or community members who already have Google/Blogger identities (including gmail). If you are logged in already, your username will appear as a ready-made choice in the comment window (LoggedIn, "Choose an identity").



As you may see at the bottom edge of the LoggedIn screenshot, after commenting, logged-in users get an easy to use option to receive comment notification messages whenever blog owners or visitors reply. Just check the box next to "Email follow-up comments" (Follow-upComments screenshot), and you'll get messages with links leading quickly back to the original post where you can continue discussion.

[195 words]

Archives, Feeds, Labels, Settings and Such

In this post, I focus on blog settings; I provide a freshly extended list of blog features, functions, and requirements for on-going participation in the Writing Studio (Writing IVc).

0. A blog!

This is pretty obvious, but everyone has to have one, and to use it regularly for posting the various writing assignments listed here, including:

• free-writing (quickposts, photos, media, links),
  
• typing speed trials (quickposts, typing),
• book reviews (books, links, photos, reviews),
  
• intensive writing assignments (essays, graphics, media, movies, photos, reviews), and
• collective/reflective works (assignments, essays, reviews, portfolios).

Suitable labels for those kinds of posts are in parentheses (above).

Beyond the obvious, that is, by now routine, extensive writing on you blogs (above); there are several other points on which I would like you to focus your attention this week. In class, computer lab. assistants or I will help you make certain that your blogs adhere to the following requirements.

1. Archives

Blog archives must appear near the top of blog sidebars for Writing IVc. This is a requirement continuing from Writing IIIc, last semester. Especially if you didn't take part in the Writing Studio last semester, you should make certain that your archive is at or near the top of your sidebar.

However, there is a change from last semester. That is, to save space in your blog sidebars for the next item (Comment Feeds) if you haven't done so already; you need to switch your blog archives from weekly to monthly display mode.

2. Comment Feeds

Comment feeds are a new feature that also will be required at or near the top of your sidebar in the immediate future. Adding comment feeds provides extra degrees of access to your blogs. That is, in addition to archives (above), and labels and reverse chronological page displays (below). Displaying recent comments from posts on your blog, in your sidebar, is a community-building measure that enables both regular readers and occasional visitors to find active discussions on your blog quickly and to join them easily.

I posted a recipe for sidebar comment feeds earlier on the Writing Studio Blog (Comment Feed Recipe...; October 24, 2007). Please review that post, and then follow the steps to add a comment feed at or near the top of your sidebar. If you need help using that recipe to create a comment feed widget for your sidebar, ask a student who has one already, a lab. assistant, or me.

3. Labels

You must have a widget in your blog sidebar that displays the labels for posts on your blog. This is a continuing requirement from Writing IIIc.

The list of labels below shows minimum requirements for Writing IVc; the number is up from first semester to automatically collect information that you'll need for your portfolio. I've listed new requirements in bold italics:

• books, essays, links, media, movies, portfolios, photos, quickposts, reviews

• Reminders:
  
• Any number of suitable labels can be used together (separated by commas); &
• Every post must have at least one label attached.
  

The easiest way I can think of to make certain that you have all of the currently required labels is to:

1. Select all of the labels above at once;
2. Copy them into the computer clipboard (Ctrl+C);
   
3. Create a temporary new post on your blog entitled "Required Labels";
4. Before you publish that temporary new post, click in the "Labels for this post" field;
5. Paste all of the labels above into the labels field of your temporary post (Ctrl+V); &
6. Save the post, temporarily.

After you have saved that temporary post with all the required labels attached, please check the list of labels in your blog sidebar to make certain that all of the required labels appear. If the required labels do not appear, you may need to publish your required labels post.

Then correct any similar but inaccurate labels visible in the sidebar - on individual posts. The lab. assistants or I can show you how to do this, but we'll expect you to complete the process yourself. When you have finished checking and correcting all of your labels as necessary, you can open and save that temporary post as a draft (keep it; you may need it again).

Settings

A laboratory assistant or I will help you find and confirm the following settings:

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Self-intro's shy on development, bold on names

There are two issues that have come up while I've been reading self-introduction essays. I would like to bring them to everyone's attention right away, so everyone who still needs to attend to these issues will get on with reviewing their self-intro's right away.

The first issue is a privacy issue with respect to your decision whether to include your full names on your blogs. As I've said repeatedly in class, and reiterated in a number of private messages, I strongly recommend against using family names anywhere on your blogs. Given names, nicknames and blog handles suffice both for personal profiles and in self-introductions.

The second issue concerns development of your essays in general, and self-introductions in particular. Quite a few of the self-introductions that I have reviewed have been shy on words and short on paragraphs. Remember the minimum length for self-intro's is 150 words.

For each topic that you raise while introducing yourself: place of origin, family membership, choice of college & major, future goals..., what have you, I suggest that you add details, examples and explanations. For example, instead of just writing, "We have a dog," you can add what kind of dog it is, how long it has been in the family, and whether it stays indoors or out. The same goes for development your second essays about campus life.