Draft Workshop for Unit 2 Project Script

1. How has the author summarized the data that she or he collected in the experiment? Does this summary feel like an onslaught of numbers? Is it disorienting, or do can you process them all as the author is explaining them? How might he or she deal with this material more clearly?

2. Does the author restate clearly the original hypothesis and how the data proved or disproved that hypothesis? How could this information be better highlighted so that the listener will be sure not to miss it?

3. How does the podcast end? Is the ending effective? Why or why not?

4. How might the author interject another voice in a way that would make the podcast both clearer and more interesting?

5. What parts of the podcast do you think will be essential to highlight with music, sound effects, etc.? In other words, what are the most important transitional moments in the podcast? Does the author indicate how s/he will deal with these effectively? Suggest ways in which the use of music and sound effects might be improved.

Make sure to spend 5 minutes at the end wrapping up, giving general feedback, etc.

Getting Your Podcast on the Blog

Mac: GarageBand

At the top of your screen, click “Share” and then “Export song to disk.” 

Make sure the box next to “Compress” is checked, and change “AAC Encoder” to “mp3 Encoder.” 

Change “High Quality” to “Good Quality.” Click Export and choose a location for your file.

Windows: Audacity

Click this link for an explanation of how to install the MP3 codec: 

http://wiki.audacityteam.org/index.php?title=Lame_Installation#Windows_Instructions

This is a little more complicated! But if you run into problems you can rely on me and your group members.

Getting Your MP3 on Your Blog

1. 1. Go to www.divshare.com and sign up for an account.
2. 2. Once you’re in your dashboard click the big green button that says “upload a new file.”
3. 3. Click the “Choose File” button, locate your mp3 on your computer, and upload it to divshare (note: you’ll have to click the green “upload” button once you’ve chosen your file).
4. 4. Once your file is done uploading, click “Dashboard” at the top of the page, and your mp3 file should be listed near the bottom of the page. Click the link that says “embed” under your file name. Scroll down to the box labeled “embed code.” Copy this code and paste it into the “create post” window on your blog. Make sure you’ve clicked the tab that says “Edit html,” otherwise it won’t work.

Pre-Writing: Unit 2 Project

Within your group, form smaller groups of two or three. Begin by explaining the results of your study to your partner and showing him or her the data that you collected. From there, return to your notes on today's PowerPoint presentation and work with your partner to begin figuring out what information will go in your results section and what you will say in the discussion portion of your podcast. After doing this, you should have a rough outline of your podcast. If you get this far, begin thinking about how you will frame this information and how you will present it to your listener clearly and succinctly. As you make decisions about these aspects of your podcast, begin transforming the rough outline of your podcast into a more detailed script.

Critical Reading Activity

Up this point we've mostly looked at other students' writing, but from time to time it's helpful to remember that professionals still rely on the same fundamental writing skills that we learn about in this class. For this assignment, each group will read the assigned editorial from the New York Times:

Group 1: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/02/opinion/dowd-cain-not-able.html?_r=1&ref=opinion

Group 2: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/02/opinion/friedman-a-long-list-of-suckers.html?ref=opinion

Group 3: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/02/opinion/mr-corzines-big-bet-on-mf-global.html?ref=opinion

Group 4: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/02/opinion/how-to-prop-up-the-euro.html?ref=opinion

(Note: Registration may be required, but it only takes a minute.)

Within your groups, discuss your answers to the following questions and record your answers in a Google Doc. Each group need only create one document.

1. What is the article's thesis statement? Where does it appear? Does the thesis statement do the three things that we said all thesis statements should do? Explain your answer fully, noting in detail how the author fulfills each of these requirements. If you think s/he does not fulfill these requirements in the thesis statement, speculate as to why this is the case.

2. What kinds of appeals does the author make to his or her audience? Identify at least two specific appeals. Do you think the audience find these appeals convincing? Why or why not?

3. What kinds of research does the author employ to support his or her claim? Does this research come from popular, professional, or scholarly sources? If the author does not rely on research, how does s/he establish authorial credibility within the article?

4. Does the author employ strong paragraphing skills? Does each paragraph contain a topic sentences that expresses a single idea? Do all sentences in the paragraph explain that idea (and that idea only) fully and completely?

5. How does the author grab the reader's attention in the introduction? Can you categorize the introduction into one of the types we talked about in class?

6. Does the author employ a variety of different sentence types? Does the writing seem dynamic and powerful to you? Support your answer with specific details from the text.

At the end of the period I will ask each group to summarize their answers briefly for the rest of the class.http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/02/opinion/dowd-cain-not-able.html?_r=1&ref=opinion