Aoyama Gakuin - IE3 Writing - Elvin

Dear students, Today you will have an essay writing test worth 10 points. You should write at least 250 words in 45 minutes. Please choose A or B below as your essay title: A) What is cool Japan to you? B) How can social networking websites help a student to learn English? Kind regards, Chris Elvin

Dear students, Today you will do a mini exercise on in-text citations (parenthetical references). Below is a concise and lucid description of such referencing. http://library.williams.edu/citing/styles/mla.php After this exercise, you may carry on with your draft writing. Kind regards, Chris Elvin

Dear students, Transitions link sentences or paragraphs to each other. Here is a useful list: https://www.msu.edu/~jdowell/135/transw.html Kind regards, Chris Elvin

Dear students, You are now probably about to start your first draft. If you are, I have just one suggestion: Write each paragraph on a separate piece of paper. In this way, you will be able to edit more easily later, and your organization will be clear. Kind regards, Chris Elvin

Dear students, Homework D is to write six in-text citations from different media sources in MLA style and to compile a bibliography of these six citations in your works cited. The emphasis on this assignment is to attempt citation from a variety of different sources (for example, book, magazine, newspaper, website). For maximum points, you should include at least five different types of media sources. You may also wish to check your bibliography by using an automatic generator, such as the ones below. http://citationmachine.net/index2.php?reqstyleid=1&newstyle=1&stylebox=1 http://www.bibme.org You can see a few bibliography examples in the file below. http://www.eflclub.com/aogaku/MLA.pdf Kind regards, Chris Elvin

Dear students, Today many of you found it difficult to be entirely original. Please do not despair. There are various ways around this thorny issue. In some respects, an original compilation of other people's ideas could be considered original if it is cleverly done. Alternatively, you may write in the spirit of originality even if your topic may have been covered before. Most of the examples in the textbook you have are not really original, if any, so perhaps I was pushing you too much today. Your outlines are coming along and you should be pleased with what you have done so far. If you persevere, I am sure you will do well. Kind regards, Chris Elvin

Dear students, I want to make sure that you understand what academic writing is. The purpose of academic writing is the presentation of NEW knowledge by reviewing what is already known about a specific topic. You should include an opinion, but your opinion should not be personal; rather it should be a logical conclusion after presenting your evidence to support your thesis. Academic writing is written for scholars by scholars, with all university writers being scholars in this context. Therefore, please make sure that you can justify your topic choice and thesis on the basis that you are presenting information in a new way that would be of interest to fellow scholars. This is very hard, I know. The actual writing is probably the least you have to worry about! Kind regards, Chris Elvin

Dear students, There is some confusion about homework assignments C and D. I am sorry about that. Homework C has a focus on using works written (or spoken) by others in your own essay assignment. There are four basic ways that you can do this: summary, paraphrase, direct and indirect quotation. Summary: A summary is much shorter in the original. I should include only the main points. You should attribute your summary to the original source both in-text and in your works cited. Paraphrase: A paraphrase should be slightly shorter than the original in word count. Again, you should attribute the original source within your text, and in your works cited. Direct quotation: You should use quotation marks, and the quotation should be word for word. You should attribute the source within your work, and also at the end of your essay in your works cited. Use direct quotations when the original quote is impressive, and would be inferior if paraphrased. Indirect quote: Use indirect

Dear students, There are two homework assignments that I have changed in order to make them more manageable. They are both worth 10 points each: c)          Find four different articles about one topic. Summarize one, paraphrase another, directly quote from the third one, and indirectly quote from the fourth. Compile an MLA works cited bibliography of these four sources. d)         Make a list of six in-text citations from different sources and media in MLA style. Compile a list of bibliographic references for these citations, as you did in c (above), in MLA style. Please hand them in to me once they are completed. Kind regards, Chris Elvin PS. If you would prefer to do the original assignment, that is okay, too.

Dear students, Today we will meet in the library to learn more about searching for relevant materials. In the meantime, please carry on with your outline. When you are sure that you can not make any further modifications to it, you may begin writing, (but please let me check it beforehand, too). You can show your outline to me at any time, of course. If all is well,  you may start writing your 1500-word essay. Kind regards, Chris Elvin

Dear students, The file below will help you to write your outline. Please download it and bring it to class. Kind regards, Chris Elvin http://www.eflclub.com/aogaku/essayoutline.pdf

Dear students, Here is a website that automatically converts your sources to bibliographical references in MLA. http://citationmachine.net/iPad/index.php?micromode=mla I hope it can save you some time. Kind regards, Chris Elvin

Dear students, For homework, please complete your paragraph that you were writing in class. If you decide to write more than one paragraph, this should be reflected in the group outline / map. If you would like to insert a quotation or citation, please do. This will be good practice. In today's class, you will read your paragraph to your group as if it were a first draft essay. If there is time, please tell me what stage you are at with your final paper (topic only, outline, getting references, making notes for body paragraphs, etc.) Kind regards, Chris Elvin

Dear students, Today you will work in groups of up to ten people creating an outline and writing a paragraph each for an essay that your group agrees about. Ideally, if every person writes about 150 words, you will be able to finish a 1500 word essay in one lesson. If there is any free time, please work on your own essay outline. Kind regards, Chris Elvin

Dear students, This week, please find some time to read and acquire resources for your paper. You will need at least seven (good) sources for your bibliography. Also, please take time to gather your thoughts, which will help you organize your outline. There is no hurry at the moment, but you should make a start. Kind regards, Chris Elvin

Dear students, Here is a list of cohesive devices that you should try to be familiar with and possibly use in your writing. http://home.ku.edu.tr/~doregan/Writing/Cohesion.html Kind regards, Chris Elvin

Dear students, Today is your last lesson. You will take a 1 hour test based on IELTS, and after that you will take a survey of the semester. Most importantly, you should come to class with your portfolio of homework assignments that you should hand in to me. Kind regards, Chris Elvin

Dear students, Your final writing test will be assessed according to IELTS band descriptors. For your perusal, please download a copy of these descriptors. http://www.eflclub.com/aogaku/IELTS_task_1_Writing_band_descriptors http:/www.eflclub.com/aogaku/ IELTS_task_2_Writing_band_descriptors.pdf Kind regards, Chris Elvin

Dear students, Today you will take a practice test. The first part of the test is description (it does not ask for an opinion). The second part of the test is opinion. You may think about this, or practice in advance if you wish. Please download the print and bring it to class. http://www.eflclub.com/aogaku/AogakuIELTSwritingtest.pdf Kind regards, Chris Elvin

Dear students, Today you will classify food. After that you will have time to work on your portfolio. Kind regards, Chris Elvin

Dear students, Today, you will practice classification. Please download the prints and bring them to class. http://www.eflclub.com/aogaku/classificationessay.pdf http://www.eflclub.com/aogaku/foodclassification.pdf If there is time, you may also work on your portfolio. Kind regards, Chris Elvin

Dear students, Today we will look at persuasion and write an essay in groups. Please download the two prints and bring them to class. http://www.eflclub.com/aogaku/persuasionessay.pdf http://www.eflclub.com/aogaku/persuasiontopics.pdf Kind regards, Chris Elvin

Dear students, For homework please read the aims of the course on page 66 and 67, how your essays will be graded on page 145, and the requirements for essays as stipulated in the course outline ( http://www.eflclub.com/aogaku/IEIIIwriting2013Elvin.pdf ). In today's lesson you will carry on with your writing portfolios. Please show me your work from time to time. Kind regards, Chris Elvin

Dear students, Today, you may work on your persuasion essays. I would also like to check your portfolios, so please make sure to bring your essays and homework assignments, and all classwork to class. Ideally, you should keep your work in a clear plastic file, which you will hand to me again at the end of the semester. Kind regards, Chris Elvin

Dear students, Today we will take a look at the persuasion essays in the course book (pg 142-144), and brainstorm ideas for a group persuasion essay. Kind regards, Chris Elvin

For those of you who are currently trying to generate MLA references for your essays, here is a good website which creates references automatically for you; http://www.bibme.org

Dear students, Today you will continue working on your classification I essay. Your a) homework assignment is demonstrate your understanding of paraphrase, summary, and direct and indirect quotations on one A4 sheet of paper (10 points). Your b) homework is to demonstrate your understanding of MLA references, which means both in body citations, which are part of the article / essay, and bibliographical references which come at the end. This also should be on an A4 sheet of paper (10 points). Two other points; Your four homework essay lengths have been changed to between 400 and 500 words. I forgot to take the register last lesson, so please tell me if you were absent last week. Kind regards, Chris Elvin

Dear students, Today you will read two students' classification essays (pg 139-141). For the rest of the lesson you will continue writing, proof reading, editing and rewriting your essays. Please show me your work any time during the lesson. Your target should be to write a well researched and referenced essay which includes a personal opinion. Ideally it should also be error free and well written. Good luck!

Dear students, Sorry to confuse you, but the course outline has been changed as follows: a) Write classification essays. b) Write persuasion essays. c) Use direct and indirect quotations. d) Paraphrase and summarize. e) Use MLA style to cite sources and compile bibliographies. Your topics are i) relationships, ii) cross-cultural values, iii) the environment, and iv) the media. Course Assessment and Grading Criteria   a)      10%   Direct and indirect quotations, paraphrase and summarize exercise b)      10%   MLA cite sources and compile bibliography exercise c)      12%   Classification essay I d)      12%   Classification essay I e)      12%   Persuasion essay I f)       12%   Persuasion essay II g)      12%   Final in-class essay h)      10%   Portfolio completion i)       10%   Participation Kind regards, Chris Elvin

Dear students, Today you will work on your first homework assignment by writing it or editing and rewriting it after a peer review. Remember to quote, paraphrase, or summarize, cite these sources, and make sure that your references conform to MLA style. If you believe that your essay is error free, or you can't find anything wrong with it any more, please show it to me and I will provide feedback. A great essay will contain good references from reliable sources, have an intelligent opinion, and will be new and interesting to me. Kind regards, Chris Elvin PS. The essay that you wrote last week might not be the right topic to be one of your four 10-point homework assignments. Nevertheless, please keep it in your portfolio to hand in at the end of the semester.

Dear students, Here is a hand reference for MLA style. You may print it out and bring it to class if you wish. http://www.eflclub.com/aogaku/MLA.pdf Kind regards, Chris Elvin

Dear students, Your homework for next lesson is as follows: 1) Write an outline or draw a map of your classification subject. 2) Write a 250-400 word essay based on your subject. The purpose of your essay is either to inform or entertain. Your audience is your fellow students and your teacher. 3) Practice MLA style for bibliographic citation by referencing three different sources (a book, article, web page, or other published item). You may cite sources related to your essay above if they are relevant, but it is not necessary for you do to so at this stage. Kind regards, Chris Elvin

Dear students, You will soon be asked to cite your sources to create a bibliography for your essays. Here is a good website that explains how to do this. http://www.bibme.org/citation-guide/ Please click on the lefthand column under "MLA" to see a few examples. For example, if you want to cite a webpage, click on "website" and you will see the following example. Last Name ,  First Name . " Page Title ."  Website title .  Sponsoring Institution/Publisher ,  Publication Date .  Medium .  Date Accessed . Smith, John. "Obama inaugurated as President."  CNN.com . Cable News Network, 21 Jan. 2009. Web. 1 Feb. 2009. If you want to cite a book, click on "book" and you will see; Last Name ,  First Name .  Book Title .  Publisher City :  Publisher Name ,  Year Published .  Medium . Smith, John.  The Sample Book . Pittsburgh: BibMe, 2008. Print. I hope this helps. Kind regards, Chris Elvin

Dear students,
 Welcome to Chris Elvin's IE III blog. Please visit this site before and after class. I will post information about classes, homework assignments, tests, etc. from time to time.  You may download a copy of the course outline here: http://www.eflclub.com/aogaku/IEIIIwriting2013Elvin.doc . http://www.eflclub.com/aogaku/IEIIIwriting2013Elvin.pdf . 
 Thank you for your cooperation.
 Chris Elvin