English 100 at Ashland

I’m sitting in a coffee shop in downtown Mansfield, writing this blog. I thought you would like to look over my shoulder and see how I actually write things. I like to write in the morning because my mind seems clearer and I can start the day with a feeling of accomplishment. So here I sit with my fountain pen and a notebook. No computer. Sometimes a coffee shop patron will ask me what I’m doing—writing with a fountain pen and plain paper must seem like performing brain surgery with a butter knife. But one of the other regulars is a young woman who spends her time filling her notebook with excellent pencil drawings. At least two of us have escaped the computer trap. Today’s blog had its genesis on Monday’s bike ride. As I rode from Mount Vernon to Centerburg, I asked myself what you would like to hear. What would help you in your own writing career? Lots of ideas came and went, but I kept coming back to the basic writing process. Of course, riding a bicyc...

If you click the three lines thing ☰ (it’s actually called a “hamburger”!) in the upper right, you get links to “Assignments & schedule” and “Readings.” Those links are wrong at the moment. The “Readings” link goes to an empty page and the “Assignments & schedule” takes you to the material for the spring semester. Don’t panic. I’ll be figuring out the new semester in the next month or so, and I’ll post a notice here when I’ve got everything nailed down.

English courses can be taught in a lot of ways, and you have probably experienced one or more of these styles that don’t work too well: It doesn’t matter what you say or how you say it; spelling and grammar are all that count. Let’s talk about politics—and you won’t get a good grade unless you agree with me. I’m really in love with this author, so the only thing worth discussing is his/her writing. This is a great time for you to spout off unsupported opinions and treat the course like a political rally. When I was a student, I had to sit through all of these, and I don’t think I learned very much in those classes. We won’t be doing any of them. So what will we be doing? First, a bit of realism: I know that business, nursing, and exercise science account for about 75% of my students. This is probably the only course this semester in which you will be asked to write a paper—most of y...

I set up this blog to help you ease into the new world of Ashland University and our English class—sort of a low-intensity introduction. The material which follows will be a mix: some “Nuts & Bolts” stuff about managing college life, some personal observations and ideas, and some specific details about our course. I’ll keep the blog going after the semester begins, so this can continue to be an informal conversation. College is an incredibly big adjustment—almost like moving to a foreign country. I’d like to help you make that move as gracefully as possible. A few details about this blog This isn’t an official AU site, and everything here is my own opinion. Because it’s not an AU site, anybody on the Internet can read it, so if you have a friend who is in another English class—perhaps even in another college—I have no problem with you sharing the address. The blog softwar...