RESPONDING GROUPS. This week I did a reshuffling of the blog groups. The groups are random, but you should have at least one new person in your group and hopefully there will be two new people. I sometimes adjust the groups from week to week, but every few weeks I do a big reshuffle like this. If somehow I've accidentally left anybody off the list, please let me know right away!
Proofreading. As you turn in the Introduction this weekend, along with your future stories, you must make sure you that you proofread your writing carefully and that you use standard English spelling and punctuation. For some help with that, I've put up this tips page: Writing and Proofreading. Especially for those of you who had trouble with the proofreading practice exercise back in Week 1 (the mouse-bride story), it is essential that you review any problem areas before you write your Storybook Introduction this weekend.
Grammar checkers. It is obviously a big help to use a spellchecker when you do a writing assignment; everybody benefits from using a spellchecker. I am trying to find a helpful grammar checker but so far the results have not been good. The grammar checker in Microsoft Word is a disaster, and I have also discovered that the grammar check service offered by Turnitin.com is really bad too (read the details here if you are curious). Meanwhile, I will keep looking to see what I can find. It's extremely important that you learn how to proofread your own work and if I can find a grammar checker that might help you with that, I will be sure to let you know.
Storybook Stack. On Friday morning, I still had some Storybooks left in the stack. I will make sure to reply to every Storybook assignment in the stack that gets turned in before Friday at 8AM (contents of the stack). If you want to get comments sooner, turn in your assignment earlier - the huge majority of people turn in their assignments on Sunday, and it sometimes takes me all week to all of those (especially next week, since the Introduction is often the most difficult part of the Storybook to write, which means a lot of comments back from me). So, if you want comments back sooner, turn your assignment in on Friday or Saturday, rather than on Sunday or Monday.
Week 4 Internet: Coverpages. (repeat announcement) For your Internet assignment in Week 4, you will be publishing a coverpage for your Storybook. If you are using Google Sites, this means you will create a NEW SITE, and the homepage for that new site will be your Storybook coverpage. I hope you will enjoy creating a website for your Storybook. To see how the Storybooks for this semester are taking shape, here they are: Myth-Folklore Storybooks and Indian Epics Storybooks. This list was updated Thursday at noon; on Monday I'll be able to update the whole list and then on Tuesday you can begin the Week 5 Internet assignment, commenting on each other's coverpages!
Friday Events on Campus. Friday night is the opening of the production of Mary Stuart, dramatizing the days leading up to the execution of Mary Queen of Scots by her cousin Queen Elizabeth I; the premiere is at 8PM on Friday at the Weitzenhoffer Theatre, with additional performances over the weekend and next week (time/location/details). Find out more about this and other events at the Campus Calendar online.
February 10: Sadequain. Friday, February 10, marks the anniversary of the death of the great Pakistani painter and calligrapher, Sadequain, who died in 1987. You can read about his life and works in this Wikipedia article. There are various websites where you can find examples of his calligraphy (as below), along with paintings, murals and other artwork. Calligraphy has a special place in the Islamic tradition; you can read more about Islamic calligraphy at Wikipedia.
