Sharing research and recommendation issues
Here's the assignment from last time:
We need to select a limited number of writers to focus our work on for the next few weeks. Over the next week, go back to the list of useful texts we began with, select two or maybe three, and see what you can find that would help us decide on one, or two, writers you think, on the basis of the sources you've consulted, would be most important for us to know about if we're going to understand the nonfiction prose of our period. It is my expectation, or hope, at least, that you will find these reference works much more useful than you did in September, and that you'll find it much easier to locate writers whose importance is generally accepted, and who are primarily known as writers of nonfiction prose.Since the assignment was to be done "over the next week" (i.e., by Wednesday), today in class we'll take some time for people to report to the rest of us what they've done toward this so far, indicating what kinds of arguments they've found and what sources have been useful. We may find occasions, or reasons, to modify your existing recommendations, and to add others. We'll give everybody a chance to explain what they've done and get comments and questions from the rest of us, and adjourn so that people can add new recommendations -- I'd expect everybody would have at least two by Wednesday afternoon -- and edit the ones they have to make them more convincing.For each writer you want to recommend, assemble a quote or two from a source or two, and create a recommendation (about a page) of that writer to the rest of us. Format your text using "Why we should study ________" as your title, and include a reference list of the texts you're citing at the bottom (there may, of course, be only one, but it should be listed under a heading: Works Cited). If you recommend more than one writer, create separate recommendations.
Swift feedback
I've received a few emails letting me know that the writer's Swift position paper has been edited, and asking more-or-less specific questions about it. I'm planning on reading those and getting responses back by Wednesday.