-- Just am finishing up your synthesis essays. Some reactions: In general, you're doing a nice job incorporating the sources, and staking out a clear point of view. What you can work on: moving beyond a five-paragraph format, and acknowledging complexity. Almost everyone thinks the answer to the question I asked is either all one way or all the other -- the changes journalism are either a dire threat to democracy or its ultimate savior. In truth, I think all of us can see ways in which "new media" both threaten and bolster democratic dialogue and institutions. It's ok to come down on one side or the other, but no mater which way you go I don't think you can completely dismiss the other side's arguments.
-- I'm going to have everyone create an account on diigo, for purposes I'll explain later. If you read this and want to get ahead and/or enjoy the process of creating accounts on web sites, mosey on over to diigo.com and have at it.
-- The major goal of this class is to improve your writing and thinking, and so I'm going to give you lots of practice. I'll generally have you write something each week, although you'll have more time if it's longer than 1,000 words. This week's assignment is a new one, one I've been looking forward to for awhile. I'm going to give you one word, just that word, and ask you to write a persuasive essay that says something about that word. I'll put up the guidelines for such essays on the handouts page. This week's word: Truth. Looking at Thursday for a due date.
