TODAY

1) Introduction Icebreakers

2) Syllabus/introduction to

PhillAlexander.com

3) Why Writing Matters (you

get to write!)

4) Things to set up

1) Tumblr

2) Twitter

3) Forum account (info for

Thursday)

Icebreaker

Pick someone in the room you do not

already know. If we end up with an odd

number of people, we might have one

group of three, but please try to pair in

groups of two.

Once you’ve found a partner, you will

interview that person with the goal of

introducing them to the class. You

should find out the information on the

next slide.

Find out

1) The person’s name

2) His or her “preferred” name

3) Where s/he is from

4) A major, if s/he has one

5) One piece of interesting

information that will enable

the rest of us to remember

him/her.

6) Each group should also

come up with a question to

ask about Phill.

The Syllabus

Instead of a printed syllabus, I’ve

placed all the information you’ll need

online at

http://www.phillalexander.com/ENG111

Please go there now.

And now…

I’m going to talk you through

the main points. It will be your

responsibility to read all of the

syllabus before next class.

There’s a PDF version on the

site if you want to print it out.

And now a pair of things

There are two things you’ll need to do

your homework tonight. Well, two

accounts, that is.

One is at Tumblr.com, a blogging

platform. Let’s set that up now.

Every week…

…you will have Tumblr

assignments. We will also use

Tumblr for spur-of-the-moment

brainstorming and such in class,

since it’s something that you’ll be

able to access easily later (and

hence better than paper, which

you might misplace).

Right now…

… I want you to spend the next five or

so minutes writing– Freewrite style,

which means typing without stopping–

about the importance of writing in your

world.

Notice I said “your” world; tailor this

however you’d like. To the life you live

now, to the life you hope to live, to your

future profession. Whatever helps you

to think about the importance of writing.

According to

Ann Lamott

(who you will

read for Thursday)

“So why does our writing matter, again?" they ask.…Writing and reading decrease our sense of isolation. They deepen and widen and expand our sense of life: they feed the soul. When writers make us shake our heads with the exactness of their prose and their truths, and even make us laugh about ourselves or life, our buoyancy is restored. We are given a shot at dancing with, or at least clapping along with, the absurdity of life, instead of being squashed by it over and over again.”

Stephen King

“Writing isn't about making money, getting famous, getting dates, getting laid, or making friends. In the end, it's about enriching the lives of those who will read your work, and enriching your own life, as well. It's about getting up, getting well, and getting over. Getting happy, okay? Getting happy.”

-Stephen King, On Writing

You will also need

…a Twitter account. Twitter uses

a system called hashtagging. Any

posts made specifically for class

should have the tag #ENGMU

Other resources

Readings for class will be in one of three places.

If the syllabus says CCM before it, it will be in

the printed copy of College Composition at

Miami.

If the name of the reading is blue, or there’s a

“click here,” it is hyperlinked from the

assignment sheet itself.

If it says “online” but is not linked, it will be in

Niihka under the “resources” tab.

You will also need

…an account for the forums at

PhillAlexander.com (under the

“forum” tab on the main page). I

am going to wait until Thursday to

see how add/drops go, then *I*

will generate an account for each

of you with the same ID as your

Miami network IDs.

For next class…

Read for class: Bolin Caroll: “Backpacks

vs. Briefcases” and LaMott: : “Shitty First

Drafts” – these are both on Niihka

And read Introduction to Inquiry 1—this is

under “inquiries” on the course site

SEND PHILL YOUR TWITTER

HANDLES AND TUMBLR URLS!!

Tweet: one question for Phill about Phill

Tumbl: Set 5 goals for the semester

(at least two need to be class specific)