Argument Abounds

 Scheduled Mechanical Outage at UTA’s Computing Center

The Office of Information Technology (OIT) and Physical Plant have scheduled a mechanical outage to make major infrastructure improvements at the UT Arlington Computing Center (UTACC), starting on Saturday, April 28th at 5:00pm until Sunday, April 29th at noon. This date/time was chosen to have the least impact on campus needs. During this outage, the main UTA Campus will not be able to access any applications housed at UTACC. Examples include Email, CICS, MyMav, WebCT, personal and departmental network folders, student servers, and more.  The primary UTA website will be temporarily replaced with a web page describing the outage and its scheduled hours.  DEFINE and the general internet will continue to be available.

For instructional purposes, academic teaching personnel and students should be aware that student computing labs will be affected by the outage and will not be functioning at normal capacity.  Notices will be posted in the labs.

If you have any questions about this scheduled outage or its effect on your unit, please contact the HelpDesk (helpdesk@uta.edu or 817-272-2208).  

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Although we don’t have a final exam in English 1302, several students have asked questions about where to locate final exam schedule information. This info can be found at: http://www3.uta.edu/registrar/FinalSpring2007.asp 

Final course grades will be posted May 18th, according to the UT Arlington Academic Calendar: http://www.uta.edu/uta/acadcal/

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English Major Perks:

On Monday 7^th and Tuesday 8^th May from 10.00-11.30am in the lobby of Preston Hall, coffee, donuts and English major pencils will be available to current and perspective English  majors in hopes of improving  performance and alleviating final exam stress!

 The syllabus has been revised ONE FINAL TIME: oral presentations have been removed from the final week; oral peer reviews will take the place of these presentations. This change will allow us enough time to clearly establish plans for final revision and to complete oral peer reviews on each paper without being rushed. Please check the syllabus page for clarification.

Most grades are now in for the semester. The only grades still remaining are the daily grades which will be earned for oral peer review days. ATTENDANCE, PREPARATION AND FULL PARTICIPATION ON THESE FOUR DAYS IS VITAL!!!! Accordingly, you will receive three grades on each of these days. Please be in class, be prepared, and be helpful to your peers.

WHAT YOU SHOLD DO NOW:

1. Review peer comments and instructor comments on your draft.
2. Compare these comments and your own observations with the things you learned in class on Wednesday and Friday about how to structure logical arguments.
3. Make changes to the structure and support of your argument as necessary based upon these observations.

WHAT WE WILL DO MONDAY 4/23:

1. Further discuss plans for revision: strategies-for-revision.ppt
2. Assign groups for Oral Peer Reviews: Oral Peer Review Groups
3. Complete another review of a sample student paper; this time we will be looking for more details: format, integrating sources, quotes, etc.
4. Monday night: you will change your draft based on things you learned in this session.

FOR WEDNESDAY 4/25 – WEDNESDAY 5/2:

1. Come to class prepared with a full-length draft that incorporates what you have learned in class this semester, the changes you have learned to make through our in-class peer review activities, and your own research.
2. We will begin the oral peer review process. In this process, groups of four students will take turns reading their drafts to one another, giving and receiving feedback, asking questions, etc. BRING FOUR COPIES OF YOUR DRAFT WHEN IT IS YOUR TURN TO READ!!
3. I will assign each student to a group of four; you can decide on your own who will read on which day.

FOR FRIDAY 5/4:

1. We will meet to turn in final papers.
2. We will complete course evaluations, if we have not done so before this time.
3. We will most likely only meet for a partial class period on this day. DON’T BE LATE, because you could find us gone! If I do not receive your final paper, you cannot pass the course.

strategies-for-revision.ppt

Oral Peer Review Groups

The Writing Center has just announced several exciting new developments:

1. Weekend hours: Saturday and Sunday from 2:00 – 6:00 pm!
2. Availability of a Writing Center tutor in the Paper’s Due Drop-In (Basement room 20 M-Th 4:00 – 6:00 pm, so that this service can provide you with BOTH writing AND research assistance!
3. Of course, regular Writing Center hours still apply: M-Th 9:00 am – 7:00 pm and Friday 9:00 am – 4:00 pm.

These new services reflect a response to requests which have frequently been made by students, and it is VERY exciting to see them implemented! I hope you will take advantage of these opportunities so the services will continue to be offered in future semesters.

Wanted: Sample claim detection papers for use in my teaching portfolio! If you are willing to contribute a copy of your paper for this purpose, you will receive my grateful thanks. Since this is for my own professional advancement, I cannot in good conscience offer bonus points, but I really will be thankful, and you will have the satisfaction of knowing that your paper was put to good use!

 I would especially like to use your paper if one or both of these is true:

1. You revised your paper significantly from the first draft to the final draft as a result of my comments.
2. You received a grade of A or B on your final draft.

Your name will be removed at your request, and you will receive your original paper back. I need a copy of both drafts and the grade sheet for my portfolio.

A teaching portfolio is used by professors as they enter the job market, apply to other graduate programs, apply for fellowships, etc. It is intended to demonstrate the kind of interaction/feedback the teacher gives to students, etc.

 If you are willing to let me use your paper, please bring it to class on Monday or drop it by my office. Thanks!

The Writing Center is planning to hold two MLA Workshops. Students will be taught to handle in-text citations and to properly create and format a Works Cited page.

Date(s): Monday, Feb. 27th at 2:00 PM and/or Wednesday, March 7th at 2:00 PM.

Location: Room 411 of the Central Library

Phone: 817-272-2601

Just FYI – I received this notice in my email today:

SNAP Job and Student Employment Services offices are offering free Customer Service Skills and Workplace Etiquette trainings for UT Arlington students.

Call 817-272-2895 to register.
Call 817-272-3461 or 817-272-2895 with any questions.
Light refreshments will be provided.

Duncan Robinson Essay Contest Form  

Duncan Robinson was formerly chair of the English Department.  His family has established a memorial fund which is used to fund a freshman essay contest.  Four winners are chosen each year and each receives a $50 scholarship and a certificate.  For each academic year, all students taking 1301 or 1302 are eligible to submit their essays for this award. Students from both the fall and the spring semesters are eligible, and essays written in either fall or spring semester may be submitted. There will be a spring banquet toward the end of April and the winners of the Duncan Robinson awards will be honored at it.  The deadline for entries is April 9th.

Just a reminder: NO CLASS ON FRIDAY due to conferences.

Conferences are held in my office, 212 Carlisle Hall.

Please be prompt as a courtesy to other students.

Check the following Conference Schedule to verify your time slot. Thanks!

If you choose to revise your first essay (the Claim Detection Essay), the due date for revisions has been extended until

Monday, February 19th

Notes about revisions:

* Revisions must be substantial in order to substantially affect your grade.

* For the first paper, the revised grade will be taken IN PLACE of the first grade. For subsequent papers, the revised grade will be AVERAGED with the first grade.

* The final research paper cannot be revised.

If you are an English major, or if you are considering majoring in English, you might want to check out the

FIRST MEETING OF THE  ENGLISH STUDENT ASSOCIATION

Wednesday, February 7th, 12:00 PM

Preston Hall 100

Meet other English students and learn about this semester’s events. Pizza will be served.

For more information: utaesa@yahoo.com

Visit online: www.uta.edu/english/esa/