Schedule of Editing Discussion Meetings

Friday December 3

  • 11:00 - Molly, Tracy, Rachel
  • 12:00 - Ranya, Carinna
  • 1:00 - Sery, Phillip
  • 2:00
  • 3:00 - Daniel, Elizabeth
  • 4:00

    Monday December 6

  • 11:00 - Shafi, Brian
  • 12:00 - Mike, Lina
  • 1:00 Sue, Lindsay
  • 5:00 - Jillian, Jake
  • 6:00 - Daniel, Elizabeth

    Tuesday December 7

  • 10:00 Dana, Leila, Anthony
  • 11:00 - Sarah, Arielle
  • 3:30 - Rosalind, Karen
  • 4:30 - Caitlin, Jackie

    Editors followed by the authors they are editing

    Molly, Tracy, Rachel - Dana, Leila, Anthony
    Dana, Leila, Anthony - Molly, Tracy Rachel
    Shafi, Brian - Caitlin, Jackie
    Caitlin, Jackie - Sue, Lindsay
    Sue, Lindsay - Brian, Shafi

    Ranya, Carinna - Sery, Phillip
    Sery, Phillip - Ranya, Carinna
    Daniel, Elizabeth - Mike, Lina
    Mike, Lina - Daniel, Elizabeth
    Jillian, Jake - Rosalind, Karen
    Sarah, Arielle - Jillian, Jake
    Rosalind, Karen - Sarah, Arielle

    Final Editing Assignment

    This assignment has several components.

  • You will be given a set of paper to thoroughly edit. (Detailed guidelines below.)
  • You will meet with me outside of class time in order to discuss the papers you have edited.
  • Papers will then be returned to their authors. Each author will then review the comments made about his or her paper and respond (format below) to those comments via the Blackboard discussion area. (Deadline for these responses is December 10)

    What you will be editing for:

  • Formatting - margins, spacing, page numbers, font size, indented paragraphs, paper title, correct MLA citation format
  • Punctuation - correctly used commas, semi-colons, colons; periods in the correct place in citations and quotations; possessive apostrophes used when needed
  • Mechanics - spelling, proofreading
  • Grammar - no sentence fragments, run-on sentences (otherwise known as comma splices or fused sentences0; clear syntax, no dangling or misplaced modifiers
  • Diction - lack of wordiness, use of active voice, precise word choice, formal tone
  • Argument - thesis, development, support, organization, conclusion

    Format for your editing:

    Make corrections, changes, and suggestions about formatting, punctuation, mechanics, grammar and diction on the paper itself. Address questions of argument on a seperate, typed page. Some questions to consider are:

  • Did the paper make you think?
  • Did you find it obvious?
  • Were you convinced?
  • If you weren't, what might have convinced you?
  • What points could have been developed further?
  • What was outstanding?
  • Did you agree with the conclusion?
  • Were you requied to agree with the conclusion? (In other words, did the author have anything invested in convincing his/her readers?)

    Response format

    This also has two parts. In the first part you will respond directly to the specific comments made on your paper by your editors.

  • What did you agree with?
  • What did you disagree with? Why?

    In the second part you will assess your own strengths and weaknesses as a writer.

  • What aspects of the writing process (this of course asks you to consider the writing process as such) do you feel you handle particularly well?
  • What components of your writing do you feel improved over the course of the semester?
  • Where do you feel you still need work?