On this page you will find a database of informal writing prompts. Your responses to these prompts, along with your completion of the three major projects, will constitute a significant portion of your grade. Please adhere to the following instructions when responding to the informal prompts.
Format your page correctly. Just like it is important to include the proper heading on an essay you would submit in a traditional classroom, there is also a proper way to format your informal writing responses. Click here for instructions.
Know the Requirements. Every week you are required to complete two posts of your ownand make two comments on posts by others. These posts and comments are due by Saturday at 11:59PM Eastern Time of the corresponding week.
Choose the correct topics. The far right column of the Detailed Schedule contains the informal writing topics categories that you will need to cover each week. For instance, the first week asks you to choose topics from Research and Textbook topics. That means that you may choose any two topics that fall under those categories. Throughout the course of the semester, be careful that you don't choose the same topic twice.
Respond appropriately. While many of the prompts we have provided for you to respond to are "non-traditional," it is still important that you maintain an academic and professional tone when writing. Also, remember that all your work will be easily accessible by your classmates, who are required to respond to it. Be creative, assertive and persuasive, but don't be offensive. However, because these posts are informal, you will not be penalized for spelling, grammar, or mild colloquialisms.
Provide links to external sources. Writing on the web is fundamentally different from writing on paper in that we can instantly redirect our readers to topics related to our responses. In each response you make, you must provide at least 2 links to other web pages that relate to or enhance what you have written.
Meet the word count. Each of your responses should be at least 200 words. Each comment must be at least 50 words and must add significantly to the discourse started by the post. For example: "That was good," does not add to the discourse, but "That was an interesting point, but did you consider that the basis of your claim may include a logical fallacy. It seems like a slippery slope argument," does add to the discourse.
Record your work. Once you have finished writing your responses and adding comments to your classmates' responses, add the appropriate links to the My Work template on your Wiki Workspace. If you fail to do this, you will not receive credit for your work.
