Terms & Ideas Video

I made this video to explain the Terms & Ideas assignment to a previous semester’s class (which is why I keep saying “discussion forum” instead of “blog post.”) I’d like to work with you this semester to develop a more collaborative version of this assignment, for example building a glossary and guide to each reading together, creating one document that is useful to the whole class. And we will do that! This week, you will do a more traditionally version of the assignment, but you will submit your work as comments on the posts for the two essays you are reading, so that the group as a whole benefits from your work. If you are doing this assignment later in the week, take a look at what your classmates have already posted! Ask what you can do to add to the project — in other words, rather than defining a word that has already been defined, choose a different one.

Guidelines for this kind of response:

Guidelines for this kind of response:

Read the article (or essay or poem) first. Take note of things you need to look up. Look them up. Check that you are using a definition that makes sense.

Mark sections of the text that introduce interesting ideas. This is much easier to do if you are reading on paper! If you are reading on-screen, write notes in a notebook. I know, it’s easier not to, but you will really, really wish you had done this when it is time to write a paper on this topic. Plus it makes you smarter.

In you reply, list at least 3 terms you looked up. This can mean just looking a word up in the dictionary — such as “tabernacle,” in the James Baldwin — or looking up a broader concept — such as “Congo Square” in wikipedia or similar. (Yes, wikipedia is fine for this purpose.) PROVIDE A SOURCE FOR YOUR DEFINITION. If you copy it word for word — which is fine for this assignment — PUT IT IN QUOTATION MARKS. You don’t need to use full MLA format for this assignment, though you are welcome to. A URL in parentheses or a link is fine. But get in the habit of giving credit to your sources.

Next, write 1-3 paragraphs about an idea in the text you think is worth further examination.

PS, you can read the bell hooks essay I mentioned here.

After you read this essay, post a reply using the “terms and ideas” model. Watch the Terms and Ideas” video and read more about that model here.

A reminder on the form:

1. Read the article (or essay or poem) first. Take note of things you need to look up. Look them up. Check that you are using a definition that makes sense.
2. Mark sections of the text that introduce interesting ideas. This is much easier to do if you are reading on paper! If you are reading on-screen, write notes in a notebook. I know, it’s easier not to, but you will really, really wish you had done this when it is time to write a paper on this topic. Plus it makes you smarter.
3. In you reply, list at least 3 terms you looked up. This can mean just looking a word up in the dictionary — such as “tabernacle,” in the James Baldwin — or looking up a broader concept — such as “Congo Square” in wikipedia or similar. (Yes, wikipedia is fine for this purpose.)
4. PROVIDE A SOURCE FOR YOUR DEFINITION. If you copy it word for word — which is fine for this assignment — PUT IT IN QUOTATION MARKS. You don’t need to use full MLA format for this assignment, though you are welcome to. A URL in parentheses or a link is fine. But get in the habit of giving credit to your sources.
5. Next, write 1-3 paragraphs about an idea in the text you think is worth further examination.
6. After making your reply, return to the post and comment on 2-3 of your classmates’ replies. You may learn something! There are a lot of smart people around here.