Final Exam Reminder

Well, it's the end of the semester. So don't forget: Our final exam is this coming Monday, 5/4, from 11:30am to 1:20pm, at our usual classroom. Since it's final exam week, there shouldn't be any conflicts with your other classes. So please make sure you're there and ready.

If you know you definitely can't make it, let me know ASAP, and I'll have you make up the exam on your own time. Just be aware: By the time Tuesday rolls around, I will not allow any more make-up exams, and if you miss our final, I'll simply calculate your final grade without it.

Also, remember that the deadline for any Essay 4 revisions is the beginning of our final exam period, 11:30pm. I plan to grade your revisions while you take your exam. If you don't have your Essay 4 revision handed to me by the start of the period, I will likely reject it.

Course Evaluations

Folks,

The end of the semester is fast approaching, so don't forget your last reading assignment (listed in the blog post right below this one), as well as those last few deadlines. Your revised Essays 1, 2, and 3 are due by the end of class on Wednesday, 4/29 (meaning, before 12:15pm -- no later than that). And your revised Essay 4 (if you submitted your essay on time) is due by the start of our final exam period on May 4th, 11:30am.

Now, since this course is close to ending, that means it's time for course evaluations. So let me give you instructions for evaluating your experience in this course.

-- First, go to this web address: http://nveval.com.

-- After you go to the above address, log in with your 7-digit numeric NOVA Student ID. Then you'll be prompted to select your name from a randomized list, just to verify.

-- Once you're logged in, answer out the survey as fully as you can. It should take about 5-10 minutes to complete the whole evaluation survey.

-- If you experience any problems along the way, send an email to info@iotasolutions.com, and they should be able to help you.

-- Lastly, please make sure to complete this evaluation soon. You won't be able to do a course evaluation after May 4th.

Thank you all. Both the department and I appreciate any feedback from you.

-- ib

Week 15 Homework

This is just to remind you: Your revisions for Essays 1, 2, and 3 are due by the end of class on Wednesday, 4/29. That means these revisions are due, stapled to the front of your previously completed packets, by 12:15pm on that day. Any revisions submitted later than that will be flatly rejected, no matter what the situation might be. Please realize: You're welcome to submit revisions earlier, so if you're worried you won't submit your work on time, try to submit it early.

As for Essay 4, since I won't be getting it back to you until the week of 4/27, I'll give you until the start of our final exam time on Monday, May 4th, to submit your revision, but just for this one essay assignment, and only if you submitted your essay on time.

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And here's your reading homework for next week:

Please read the following article, "The Case for Reparations," by Ta-Nehisi Coates, published in The Atlantic in June 2014:
http://www.theatlantic.com/features/archive/2014/05/the-case-for-reparations/361631/.

-- Coates's article is another one of those "long-reads." Take your time with it.

And please also read the following more recent article, "Where the White People Live," by Alana Semuels, also published in The Atlantic, on April 10, 2015:
http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2015/04/where-the-white-people-live/390153/.

-- Semuels's article is similar to Coates's article in several ways. But it's also different. Can you observe some of the critical differences on your own?

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If you have any questions, please email me.

Week 14 Homework

With Essay 4 basically done with, it's time to assess our progress. We've still got a few weeks left in the semester, and hopefully you're using your time outside of the classroom to revise your essays for possible better grades, so I'd like to give you time to do that. That's why I'm not giving your written homework to do for next week. But I am giving you reading homework, and a bit more than the usual amount. I'll get to that in a moment.

Right now, I'd like to start by reminding you, again, that your revised essays are due by the end of class, 12:15pm, on Wednesday, 4/29. If you need help getting the most points out of your revision, please don't hesitate to ask me. But also, realize that the Writing Center on campus is there to help you figure out how to get the most out of your revisions.

One thing in particular that you should consider in your revisions is that lesson of unintended plagiarism. Specifically, you must ask yourself: Are you presenting and discussing your sources fairly? In places where you're supposed to discuss your sources (your articles), you should do only that: Discuss your sources, what these sources' authors are doing, and what all that means. Keep that "Source Sandwich" handout nearby; it should help you with researched materials.

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Now, let me give you your reading homework for next week. Keep in mind that I might throw a quiz without any special warning, especially if I feel that a discussion in class isn't really getting anywhere.

First of all, I'd like you to read the following article, "What ISIS Really Wants," by Graeme Wood, published in The Atlantic in March 2015:
http://www.theatlantic.com/features/archive/2015/02/what-isis-really-wants/384980/.

-- Be aware: Wood's article is part of a series of what many people call "long-reads." It's a fairly long article. So take your time with it. You don't have to read it all in one sitting. But see if you can make it through with some focused attention to specific discussions.

Next, I'd like you to read the following article, "How Dzhokhar Tsarnaev’s immigrant path explains his guilty verdict," by Asra Q. Nomani, published in The Washington Post on April 8, 2015:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/how-dzhokhar-tsarnaevs-immigrant-path-explains-his-guilty-verdict/2015/04/08/8a182054-da37-11e4-8103-fa84725dbf9d_story.html.

-- As for Nomani's article, notice that it's a discussion of a recently published book. In a way, this article is in the form of a book review. Partly, it's intended to invite readers to a discussion of the topic of the Boston Marathon bombing. But partly, it's also intended to convince readers to maybe pick up the book in question and to give it a considerate read.

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And that's it for this week. Be sure to do your reading. And if you've got questions or concerns, email me right away.

Quick Reminders: Meeting in AA-444 Again on Monday, and More

This is just to remind you:

First of all, don't forget that you have some reading homework to do, which is all in the blog post below this one.

Second of all, please be aware that we'll be meeting in AA-444 again this coming Monday, 4/13, to do independent work on Essay 4. As with all our independent work periods before, I'm asking those of you who have laptops you like to use to bring these laptops to class. Also, be aware that I do take roll and watch attendance closely, even on independent work periods.

And lastly, keep in mind that we're nearing the end of the semester. The second draft packet for Essay 4 is due this Wednesday, 4/15, by the start of class. And this is our last essay. So I must also remind you, again, that all revised essays are due anytime between now and the end of class (12:15pm) on Wednesday, 4/29. Any revisions submitted after 12:15pm (even if it's 12:16pm), will be rejected. The only possible exception for this deadline might be Essay 4, but this exception has not been decided on yet. I still have to see how long it takes me to get those essays back to you.

As always, if you have questions or concerns, please email me right away.

Week 13 Homework

To remind you: Your Essay 4 second draft packet is due next week, on Wednesday, 4/15, by the start of class. This is a relatively early due date for your last essay. But ideally, I'd like to return your essays to you soon, and then you can hopefully make at least some major revisions before the end-of-semester revision cut-off, Wednesday, 4/29 (by the end of class on this date).

Going into next week, the only written work I'd like for you to do is your Essay 4 second draft. If you have extra time, I suggest that you look over essays that you might have not revised yet and, at least, come up with questions or concerns that I can answer.

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But even if there's no extra written homework, I still want you to read. Let me give you two opposing articles to read for next week:

-- Please read this article, "Indiana’s religious freedom law can have real discriminatory effects," by the Washington Post editorial board:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/indianas-religious-freedom-law-can-have-real-discriminatory-effects/2015/03/30/f7470520-d71f-11e4-b3f2-607bd612aeac_story.html.

-- Please also read this article, "Religious-liberty protections promote tolerance," by Edwin Meese III and Ryan T. Anderson:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/religious-liberty-protections-promote-tolerance/2015/04/01/4fb66cca-d88b-11e4-ba28-f2a685dc7f89_story.html?hpid=z6.

-- And here's one more, in case you might find it interesting, "Schwarzenegger: Indiana's religious freedom law is bad for Republicans," by none other than Arnold Schwarzenegger:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/posteverything/wp/2015/04/03/schwarzenegger-indianas-religious-freedom-law-is-bad-for-america-and-bad-for-republicans/?hpid=z11.

Don't take my choice of articles the wrong way; I simply want you to take a look at the way two opposing positions on this topic are often expressed.

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And that's it. Let me know if you have questions or concerns.

I'll see you again soon.

Reminder: Essay 4 Critiques Due Wednesday, 4/8

To remind you: Your critique for another classmate's Essay 4 first draft is due by the start of class on Wednesday, 4/8. If you still have an Essay 4 first draft to submit, please make sure to get that done first. And if you're behind on your critique, see if you can catch up during our independent work period today. In either case, let me know and we'll see what we can do.

Quick Reminder: You've Got Homework, and We're Back in AA-444 on 4/6

To remind you: You've got homework for next week. Yeah, you've got written homework, too. To see this homework, scroll down to the blog post right below this one. Everything is explained there.

Also, please note that I've gone ahead and reserved room AA-444 again for us to do independent work on Monday, 4/6. Those of you who prefer to use your own laptops, please bring these laptops with you. Unfortunately, this computer lab does not have as many computers as there are students in our class. Nevertheless, we'll have to make do with what we've got. I'll definitely be there, and I'll definitely take roll.

And I'll collect that homework assignment that's due, too!

Week 12 Homework

It's that time of the week again -- for me to give you homework!

First, let me just remind you that your Essay 4 first draft was due today, which means that your critique in response to someone else's Essay 4 first draft is due next week, on Wednesday, 4/8. If you find that you can't quite keep up with your assignments at this point in the semester, that's fine. Please let me know, and we can try to figure out how to help you catch up.

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Second, let me give you some reading homework to do:

-- Please read this article, "Martese Johnson's education happened on that sidewalk," by Washington Post writer Courtland Milloy:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/martese-johnsons-education-happened-on-that-sidewalk/2015/03/24/bf8d7196-d25b-11e4-a62f-ee745911a4ff_story.html.

-- And please also read this article, "College junior at 17 was once dubbed 'sweet, but not very smart,'" by Washington Post writer Petula Dvorak:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/college-junior-at-17-was-once-dubbed-sweet-but-not-very-smart/2015/03/26/b8ae7698-d307-11e4-a62f-ee745911a4ff_story.html?tid=pm_local_pop.

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And lastly, let me give you some writing homework to do (due Monday, 4/6):

-- Copy out one paragraph from your own Essay 4 first draft -- specifically, a paragraph in which you present or otherwise discuss an idea or statement or set of statements from one (or more) of your article -- and paste this paragraph in a separate Word document. In this new document, take this one paragraph and change it in such a way that you credit and/or cite your article and its author way too much. Then print out this over-credited/over-cited paragraph and bring it to class on Monday, 4/6. I'll collect it then. And, as usual, I will not accept late submissions.

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Let me know if you have questions or concerns.

I'll see you again soon.