Blog Post Prompts

January 31, 2014

Reading:  From the class blog homepage, click on the ALTERNET link.  Once the website loads, click on the ENVIRONMENT tab, drill down to WATER.   Click on “West Virginia Water Contains Formaldehyde, Official Says.”  Read the article.

Writing: In today’s posting, respond to the information you read in the article.  Here are questions you need to consider as you write: What are your thoughts about this new development concerning West Virginia’s water supply?  In addition, discuss your thoughts on the chemical spill that disrupted the water supply for nine counties in south central West Virginia on January 9, 2014.  Were you or your family personally affected?  What was your experience? Do you personally know anyone who was affected?  What was their experience?   How do you think the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection should have responded or should respond in the event of a future chemical spill?  Your post should be no fewer than 150 words.


February 7, 2014

Today in class we started our lessons on argument and logic.  In your own words, what do these two terms mean to you?  What experiences have you had (if any) with argument writing or debating?  As you consider your topic for your second essay and conduct your research on that topic, how will you form your argument?  What is the most important claim that you can make about your topic?  Why is this claim important to you?  How are you supporting your claim?

February 14, 2014

What does freedom mean to you?  Are people such as Amanda Knox free?  What about Nelson Mandela or Rubin "Hurricane" Carter when they were imprisoned?  (If you don't know who these people are, please look them up.)  Do Americans today enjoy the same freedoms as those in previous decades?  What freedoms do you cherish most and why?

February 21, 2014

Your homework for today was to finish the exercise we began in class ("The Voluptuary") AND write three to five paragraphs answering the following question: What makes a good president?  You were to bring this assignment to class today in electronic form.  Your post today is to upload your paragraphs to your blog.  Remember to include your byling (first name, last initial) and give your post a unique title.

February 28, 2014

Many of us have performed a selfless act for the benefit of others, whether it was to save a life as Virginia Postrel ("Need Transplant Donors? Pay Them") did or simply to volunteer at a local charity or help a neighbor.  Think about altruistic acts you have performed.  What motivated you?  How did you feel afterward?  If you had received payment or a reward for the action, would your feelings and behavior have been different?  If you have never performed an altruistic act, do you know someone who has?  If not, what do you consider a truly altruistic act would be?  Detail your thoughts..  Remember, if you discuss specific actions, please keep names and homes of individuals anonymous.

March 7, 2014

Recently the College Board announced that there will be a “fundamental rethinking of the SAT” (Lewin).  Please read the article from the New York Times linked below. 

A New SAT Aims to Realign With Schoolwork

 

Respond to the information you read in the article.  Think about when you took your college admissions exam (probably it was the ACT). At what point in your educational career did you take a college admissions test? Did you opt to take both the SAT and ACT? How did you feel about the tests before, during, and after taking it (them)?  Do you feel your scores are a valid and reliable measure of your ability to succeed in college?  Why or why not? [A test is considered valid if it measures what it is supposed to measure.  Reliability is the degree to which a test produces stable and consistent results.]
 
Do you think that college admissions tests should be abolished?  Why or Why not?  What about other admissions/certifying tests such as the Graduate Record Exam, the LSAT (law school), the MCAT (medical school), Praxis (teacher certification)?

March 28, 2014

What is the value of research in a first-year college writing course? (If you think there is no value, you need to fully explain why.)  The question will turn into your claim which must be supported appropriately as we have studied in class this semester.