Week 12 Blog Topic

For this week's blog assignment, please visit the Wordle website at http://www.wordle.net/ . Once at the site, click on the "Create Your Own" link. You will be given a place to copy and paste a document. Please choose a paper that you have already written and have saved. The paper could be your Narrative Essay or a paper from any other class. Click "Go." You should then see a visual representation of your paper appear. You may then hit the "Randomize" button to change the design, or you can play with the language/color/font buttons at the top of the page. Once you have a design that you like, click on "Save to Public Gallery." You can enter in your name or leave it Anonymous. Once you save the design, you will see a code appear at the bottom. Then, you will want to copy and paste that code into your blog post. Make sure that you are in "Edit Html" mode in order to paste the text. Finally, make sure to write a minimum 150 word paragraph reflection on the Wordle. You may reflect on the three largest words or make a creative entry. It's up to you! Here's mine...

Library Research Links

Here are some links to pages I've chosen in class to help you get started on your research. As always, email me if you have any problems/questions! Library Homepage: http://gvltec.edu/library/ Controversy/Argumentative Subject Guide: http://libguides.gvltec.edu/argumentative Opposing Viewpoints Database: http://ic.galegroup.com/ic/ovic/?userGroupName=gvltec_main Remember, some of these you may be unable to access off-campus or without your library card/student id number.

Week 11 Blog Post Extra Credit

This week's blog post may be completed in order to receive extra credit. It will take the place of a previous blog that was never completed or didn't receive full credit. You MUST say which week's blog post you would like to have replaced at the beginning of the post.


"'The Merchants of Cool' argues that advertising has changed from sponsoring culture to becoming culture (e.g., Sprite sponsoring a concert as opposed to Sprite becoming a component of hip hop culture; MTV's 'MOOK,' Rage Rock, etc.)." In other words, advertising companies are creating/controlling culture as opposed to reflecting/responding to it.
In your blog post, please reflect on the effect(s) of "cool hunting" and its subsequent marketing strategies on your life. What media do you typically consume? What are your favorite TV shows? Bands? Movies? Web sites? Video games? How does what you see and hear influence your language, your perception of normal, your likes/dislikes, and your opinion of what’s “cool”? Write a paragraph outlining the effects of “cool hunting” on your own life or (if you aren't a teenager and don't feel like this applies to you) the life of someone you know.

If you need a reminder (after we watch it in class), you may view the video at http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/cool/view/ .

Help Choosing a Research Topic

Below are links to some of the websites I gave to help you determine your topic for the argumentative research paper. Review these sites for ideas about an issue that might be negatively affecting your community!

http://www.greenvilleonline.com/news
http://www.wyff4.com
http://www.greenville.com/community/
http://www.topix.com/city/greenville-sc

Week 10 Blog Post Topic

For your Argumentative Research Paper, you will choose an issue negatively affecting your community that you feel warrants more attention. Your assignment will be to convince your audience 1) your issue greatly affects their community and 2) your proposed solution will address this issue effectively within the community and is based on proven models.
For the proposal, you should first come up with a strong claim, which will argue that a particular issue is negatively affecting your community and should be recognized. Your claim for the proposal might not end up being exactly the same in your research paper, and that is fine. Next, you will decide on a number of supporting reasons to back up your claim. If you haven’t done all of the research, you should still have an idea of what type of research/evidence you will need to support your claim.
Remember, your proposal should use proper grammar, spelling, and punctuation and be a minimum of 250 words to receive full credit!

Week 9 Blog Post Topic

We have reached the halfway point in the semester (Yay!). To celebrate, please write and post on your blog a well-developed paragraph (min. 150 words) reflecting on the first half of the semester. I would like you to discuss areas in which you feel you have improved and areas that you still might need to work on. Have you met the goals you set for yourself at the beginning of the semester? Why or why not? Revaluating where you are in your writing skills, what would you like to see both from this class and from yourself during the second half?

Week 8 Blog Post Topic

For this week's blog post, use the Imagination Prompt Generator at http://www.creativity-portal.com/prompts/imagination.prompt.html to find a creative writing topic. You may click on the "next prompt" button as many times as you like until you find something that sparks your interest. Remember, it still needs to be at least 150 words and should use proper spelling, grammar, and punctuation.

Don't forget that you should be titling your posts "Week 8 ..."