Unit One

Welcome to Effective Writing 1- CM 107

Hello and Welcome to CM 107

• We will have an exciting journey together as we lay the foundation for solid writing skills in this course.

• Have you all reviewed the course syllabus? Do you have any questions?

Unit One Work

• INTRODUCE YOURSELF• Let’s get to know those with whom we share this journey! Tell us a little about yourself. • By what name do you prefer to be called? • What are your hobbies? • How do you feel about writing? • Give yourself a goal for the course and share it with us. • Give yourself a compliment and share it with us. • Please use this thread to respond to each other and become a learning community. • • Please respond to and welcome at least two other students. • The easiest way to remember to make your post substantive is to follow the following outline:

• Acknowledge something the individual has said. • Build by adding personal experience or observations or relevant course content.• Conclude with a question to the individual or class. •

Unit One Work• For this discussion, follow the directions below and keep in mind that you must respond to the ideas

as instructed in one posting and then respond to at least three classmates’ postings. Do not take any shortcuts; give your ideas the attention they deserve. Use the discussion rubric to be sure you work meets or exceeds expectations.

• After watching the Joseph Campbell interview, consider how his ideas relate to your own self-discovery. Upon consideration, respond to this prompt:

• Campbell wrote that, “We must be willing to get rid of the life we've planned, so as to have the life that is waiting for us. The old skin has to be shed before the new one can come.” In your academic life, what is waiting for you? What will you have to do in order to make this vision a reality? In other words, what will you have to “shed” to complete your academic journey?

Unit One Work• Some ideas to consider: • What degree do you plan to pursue? How will writing play a role in your course of study? • What types of writing situations do you imagine you’ll encounter in your career?• Are there any stumbling blocks that are of concern to you—any “old skin” you’d like to shed? • Remember to use Standard English for your response. Also, the discussion rubric linked on this page

and included in our course syllabus includes a range of points. To be eligible for a high mark for discussion, you must respond substantially to the topic and to two of your peers.

• The easiest way to remember to make your post substantive is to follow the following outline:• Acknowledge something the individual has said. • Build by adding personal experience or observations or relevant course content.• Conclude with a question to the individual or class.

Final Project Information• Final Project: • At this point in your writing journey, you have learned about yourself as a writer by experiencing

challenges, recognizing strengths and talents, and emerging with a sense of identity as a writer. • Through this journey, you have also built credibility as someone who understands what it means to

experience a life-changing journey by taking advantage of the help available to you and proceeding with determination and courage. These experiences will help you establish a voice as a life coach for an individual who needs help.

• You have been hired by a life coaching business to help a person in trouble begin a hero’s journey that will get him or her back on a purposeful path in life. You may choose any one person to help. This person will be your client. To get the job you want, you’ll need to submit the following for the company’s review.

• Introduce yourself to your client: you will need to identify a person who needs help—this can be someone from history, fiction (books, television, movies), a celebrity, or someone from your life. Write an introduction to clarify who he or she is and why this person needs to embark on a helpful journey. (Unit 8 Scenario/Discussion)

• Define the threshold he or she needs to cross. Explain its significance. (Unit 3 Exercise)• Create an extended definition of the way the hero’s journey steps in this course can help this person.

(Unit 4 Discussion)

Final Project Information• Indicate the short and long-term benefits of this journey (Unit 6 Exercise) • Provide a conclusion that recaps your plan and leaves a positive impression on your

potential employer (Unit 8 Scenario and Seminar)• As we learned in Unit 1, the activities in this course have been leading to a Final Project

due in Unit 9. The Final Project provides you with an opportunity to bring together all of the concepts covered in this class.

• Many essays attempt to educate an audience about a topic and, ultimately, explain ideas this audience may not have understood before reading your essay. You can use this essay style—the expository essay style—for purposes such as informing, persuading, and explaining. In our course, we will focus on the informative style of expository writing. To be convincing, essays must be driven by critical thinking and analysis. Throughout this course, you have learned aspects of effective writing that will be used in this Final Project.

Final Project Information• Your Final Project for this course will be like the end of a hero’s journey: sharing wisdom with your

audience. In fact, you’ll be writing from the point of view of a life-coach—like you, someone who has learned ways to have a successful journey. You will be asked to choose a person who can benefit from the lessons of the hero’s journey and then apply those steps for the person’s betterment.

• A life-coach is someone who offers guidance to another person. This type of relationship is seen in every culture around the globe. The term “mentor” is just expressed in different ways, such as guru, teacher, life coach, elder, and others. Usually, someone will seek the guidance of a mentor and ask for help, or sometimes a person may notice another who could use some guidance and offer his or her assistance. After all, we all have our strengths and areas of expertise where we can offer our gifts to others who may be struggling. The final project for this course asks you to imagine a scenario where you are a mentor to someone else. You can choose the person you will mentor. You can be a professional mentor, such as in the workplace or in a career situation like being an exercise and nutrition specialist who is helping someone who has health issues. For this project, you will write up a plan of action for this person to follow. This plan of action is not an essay, but it is more like a report with separate sections. The details of the sections of the report are as follows:

Final Project Information• Introduction: Introduce yourself to the client in an appropriate way. What this means is if you have

an established personal relationship with that person then you can be more personal in your introduction where you can tell him or her where you’d like to help out and why you think you can offer help in one area of his or her life. If you have a more professional relationship with the person, then keep the language on that level as well. No matter whether you have a personal or professional relationship with the client, you still have to write a professional, engaging plan that will motivate your client to work with you.

• What is the goal?: Define the threshold you think the person needs to cross. This can be stated in terms of a goal that you think the person can achieve, and explain why reaching this goal is important to him or her. How will it benefit him or her? Explain the significance of reaching this goal.

• Definition: Create an extended definition for the goal or “cure” you think is necessary for this person. For instance, if you are offering exercise and nutritional advice, offer an extended definition for health or wellness or even nutrition.

• Long-term Effects: What are the long-term effects of this goal or cure? Think down the road and offer a thorough explanation of how working toward and achieving this goal is going to help this person out in the future.

Final Project Information• Conclusion: End this action plan with more positive input and inspiration for this person. Offer some final

closing remarks that are thoughtful and will motivate this person to want to work with you. You can think in terms of your strengths and what you have to offer or reiterate how this goal will help this person in their life.

• This Final Project should be about 750-800 words, double-spaced, with subheadings for each section of the action plan as shown above. Click on this link to view the rubric for the Final Project.

• Submitting your Final Project: • Put your project in a Word document. Save it in a location you'll remember and with a name that follows the

rules for naming projects for this course. See the course syllabus (“naming conventions”) for the required format.

• When you are ready to submit it, go to the dropbox and complete the steps below: • Click the link that says “Submit an Assignment.” • In the “Submit to Basket” menu, select “Unit 9: Dropbox.” • In the “Comments” field, make sure to add at least the title of your paper. • Click the “Add Attachments” button. • Follow the steps listed to attach your Word document. • To view your graded work, come back to the Dropbox or go to the Gradebook after your instructor has

evaluated it.• Make sure that you save a copy of your submitted project. • ID: CM107-09-09-P

A Balancing Act…

I know you have a lot of responsibilities to juggle.

Balancing a job, education, and family can sometimes feel overwhelming.

Help is on the Way…

Whether you are new to the online learning environment, or a seasoned veteran, I am

sure you will find some helpful information in this presentation that will assist you in making this semester a successful one.

The First Question Most Students Ask is, “How Can I Pass This Class?”

This is nothing to lose sleep over.

Following are some simple hints you can follow to increase your chances for success.

First Things First…

You must have a clear understanding of what online learning involves.

Online Learning Is…

• An opportunity to obtain a degree on a flexible schedule.

• A setting where you can meet and work with students from all over the world.• As challenging as a traditional college

course.

Online Learning Is Not…

• A way to easily earn a degree…quite the contrary. It takes motivation and self-

discipline.• Self-learning. I am available to you through

email, AIM, and will provide feedback through the Discussion Board and projects.

Helpful Hints

On the following slides, you will learn some helpful hints to make it easier to move

through your CM 107 course.

Hint 1: Print Out the Syllabus

When a project is due? How do I contact my instructor? All this information (and a lot

more!) is contained in the course syllabus.

Hint 1: Print Out the Syllabus It is a long document, but

please print it out and highlight essentials like

the point values of major assignments, my office hours and how papers

will be graded.

Hint 2: Familiarize Yourself With the Course Layout

Understanding the course layout will make your term run much more smoothly. Even if you are

already familiar with the eCollege format, it doesn’t hurt to review!

Let us review the main features of eCollege.

Hint 3: Make Sure You Understand the Weight of the

Discussion Board Grade…

Note that your Discussion Board grade is worth of the entire course grade.45%

What this means…

This means that if you fail the Discussion Board portion of the course, but get 100%

on EVERY other assignment, you would earn less than a passing score for the course.

The Bottom Line…

The bottom line is…you must make the Discussion Board activities a high priority.

READ, READ, READ In order to do well on the Discussion Board

activities, you must read the assigned information in the classroom FIRST.

Read the Post: “What is a High Quality DB Post?”

Is thoughtful, analytical and explores the discussion question in great detail.

Refers to the assigned readingUses good grammar and punctuation

Hint 4: Read Your Instructor’s Emails

Sometimes they can get a bit long, but it’s all stuff you need to know! So, please be sure to read all of your emails, top to bottom, so you don’t miss out on important points, key areas to concentrate on for the week

and additional instruction.

Hint 5: Read the Project Criteria Carefully

Read the assignment criteria carefully BEFORE you begin writing.

You will then have a clear understanding of what should be included in your project.

Hint 6: Read Your Instructor’s Comments

I spend a great deal of time reading through your work and making comments. You are urged to do the same, take your time and read through everything written to you.

These comments are one-on-one conversations with you about your work.

Hint 6: Read Your Instructor’s Comments

Many instructors place comments in one of two places – on the side of your draft when

in Print View…

Hint 6: Read Your Instructor’s Comments

And at the end of the grading table.

Hint 7: Turn Projects In On Time

Some students feel uncomfortable about turning in work that they have a hard time

with. Turn your projects in on time…even if you have difficulty.

Hint 8: Organize Your Time

With a little organization, you will do just fine.

Set Aside a Certain Time…

Plan to check the Discussion Board at the same time each day – during morning

coffee, while the kids are napping, or each evening before going to bed.

Discussion Board Netiquette…

Let’s keep the Discussion Board neat and easy to read. PLEASE DO NOT SCREAM BY USING ALL CAPS.

Hint 9: Attend Seminars

Students who consistently attend all seminars have a higher degree of success in the course. We now have flex seminars. What are they?

Hint 9: Attend Seminars

You instructor prepares good material to share during seminar. Please refrain from

conducting side-conversations during seminar because it prevents others from learning the

material.

Hint 9: Attend Seminars

You are encouraged to schedule and participate in informal chats on AIM. You can

invite everyone on your AIM list to participate. If you would like for your

instructor to join in, just send an invite!

Hint 10: Visit Your Instructor!

See your instructor during office hours or anytime

he or she may be online.

You are not a bother when you ask for assistance. Feel free to send a message

when you see your instructor’s username on AIM (AOL Instant Messenger).

Hint 10: Visit me!

Your instructor may teach a number of classes, so please identify yourself the first

time you chat on AIM. By giving your instructor this information, you can be

easily assisted on a timely basis.

Let’s Get StartedIt’s going to be an awesome session!

Have fun…you are only 10 short weeks away from success.

Any other questions?

• Do you have any other questions? This is the time to have them answered.

When we begin to write

• Why do we write? What do we try to accomplish by writing?

• What should we consider in writing?

Points to consider

• Interplay of Factors in Writing-• Audience– Who is our audience and what

factors about audience do we consider?• Purpose– What is our purpose in writing? What

are we trying to accomplish?• Writer- What about the writer’s goals and

ambitions?• Context- External circumstances surrounding a

piece of writing.

• Any remaining questions?• Work due for this week.