This is a blog for the community of "The Rhetoric of Narrative Selfhood in the Graphic Novel," in the Department of Rhetoric at the University of California at Berkeley, Summer, 2011.
Saturday, June 25, 2011
Theses...
A couple more to come, surely? Better late than never, now! So, how are you feeling about your writing processes? Did the thesis assignment help get you underway? Comments, problems, questions?
Yes, the thesis assignment helped quite a bit. I usually have a hard time committing to a single idea and getting it on paper so having a deadline always helps me settle on one. If you aren't overrun by too many requests, I'll probably ask you to look at my thesis to see if there are any weaknesses that I'm just not spotting.
My last comment is that I'm surprised a lot of people chose American Born Chinese. I thought other graphic novels were more liked but maybe since American Born Chinese was mid-way through the semester, it's still fresh on our minds. I actually liked other graphic novels more but this one I found more problematic and frustrating, which is the reason why I chose it.
Will you have time before class to look over my paper and give me advice on improving it?
It depends on what you mean by this request. I'll answer any specific questions you have, I'll address any specific worries you have, I'll help you with any specific problems you are dealing with -- and I'll give you as much time as you need to do that. I won't read a paper or even a paragraph in advance of grading it as a kind of preemptive copy-editor, it's too much like a fishing expedition, if you know what I mean.
I was also VERY surprised at all the ABC papers -- I'm assuming folks are finding it easier to assume an argumentative vantage on a piece that seems to them especially problematic or some such thing.
The thesis assignment has helped immensely! I agree with Huy--I think future students would benefit from the assignment as well. And I found the clarifications that you made in class today just as helpful. I might also ask for specific problems tomorrow before class. Good luck with paper writing everyone!
5 comments:
I'm feeling pretty good about my paper. The thesis work shop helped a lot. I think you should do more of them in future iterations of the class.
Will you have time before class to look over my paper and give me advice on improving it?
Yes, the thesis assignment helped quite a bit. I usually have a hard time committing to a single idea and getting it on paper so having a deadline always helps me settle on one. If you aren't overrun by too many requests, I'll probably ask you to look at my thesis to see if there are any weaknesses that I'm just not spotting.
My last comment is that I'm surprised a lot of people chose American Born Chinese. I thought other graphic novels were more liked but maybe since American Born Chinese was mid-way through the semester, it's still fresh on our minds. I actually liked other graphic novels more but this one I found more problematic and frustrating, which is the reason why I chose it.
Will you have time before class to look over my paper and give me advice on improving it?
It depends on what you mean by this request. I'll answer any specific questions you have, I'll address any specific worries you have, I'll help you with any specific problems you are dealing with -- and I'll give you as much time as you need to do that. I won't read a paper or even a paragraph in advance of grading it as a kind of preemptive copy-editor, it's too much like a fishing expedition, if you know what I mean.
I was also VERY surprised at all the ABC papers -- I'm assuming folks are finding it easier to assume an argumentative vantage on a piece that seems to them especially problematic or some such thing.
The thesis assignment has helped immensely! I agree with Huy--I think future students would benefit from the assignment as well. And I found the clarifications that you made in class today just as helpful. I might also ask for specific problems tomorrow before class. Good luck with paper writing everyone!
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