Week #15, April 27-May 3
Final Essay and Audio/Video: For your final project, you should:
- Send me a revised, polished and edited version of one of the four essays.
- Additionally, please attach an audio or video of you presenting this revised essay. I will post these on the website on the “Digital Readings” page. There are currently examples posted there from previous classes. This should also be emailed.
Both essay and digital presentation should be emailed to me (dlfarmer@alaska.edu) by Friday, May 1. - I will accept any other assignments not yet turned in by Monday, May 4.
Here are some tips for revision:
- When I revise, I work especially hard on the opening paragraph. I feel like once I have that in place, everything else follows naturally. I sometimes spend as much time on my opening as I do the rest of the essay.
- Identify the 2 or 3 most important scenes in your essay, and work to illuminate them in as much detail as possible. Understanding the difference between Scene and Summary can make a big difference. Here’s a handout that I find helpful:
- Read essay out loud a couple of times. If you have someone you can read it to, all the better. Our ears will notice things our eyes will not. Reading out loud will also help you develop an ear for rhythm in your sentences.
- Tighten the language. Here’s another handout I find helpful:
Finally, here are some suggestions for presenting your work by audio or video:
- Practice a couple of times before recording. (Another reason to read the work out loud). The more you know the work, the less you will stumble through the words.
- Speak clearly.
- Use punctuation – commas and periods especially – as reminders to take a breath.
- Most of us have a tendency to drop off at the ends of sentences. Think to emphasize last words of sentences to keep this from happening.
Here are links to a couple great examples of well known authors presenting work: