Recently I have read several articles that have caused me to revise my thinking about blogging in ENGLISH 151.  Blogs will serve several different purposes, be evaluated differently depending on the assignment specifics but have one thing in common: to develop our abilities as readers, writers, and thinkers.  I say “our” because, as one of your readers, and one of your responders, I, too, will engage in this trio of essential skills.

Exploratory posts are due every Monday that readings have been assigned.  They focus on your own ideas and experience in connection with the ideas you have encountered in the assigned readings (viewings).

• Rhetorical Knowledge:  Your audience is primarily your peers.  I am interested, obviously, as I give credit for these posts.
• Subject-Matter Knowledge:  You use text citations to support your thinking.  You may provide illustrations and examples.  You add personal experience(s).  You connect to other readings/viewings.  You speculate or extend your thinking.  
• Genre Knowledge:  You use hyperlinks.  You add multimodal components (images, video, audio).  You invite commentary by asking a question to your audience.  You connect blog posts to class interactions.
• Process Knowledge:    You use notes from discussions and readings.  You have a draft of your post in GOOGLE DRIVE.  It is SHARED with me.  Your post has an engaging and apt title.  Posts are about 500 words in length.  You proofread your post before publishing it.  You use correct citation at the end of posts; even if the MLA formatting may not look completely accurate once the post is copied, all the components are there!

Exploratory Blog Posts count towards the “Participation/Discussion” grade (see syllabus).  They can be made up, but once class has begun, they can only receive 5 of the 10 allotted points.

While The Little Seagull Handbook (Second Edition) does not specifically address the genre of BLOGGING, it does provide essential instructions about analyzing texts, (49, 391) that will be helpful in constructing an effective blog post.  In addition, we will spend class time clarifying what effective comments require.

Ideally a blogger may build upon the post or ideas of another from the class, or from the professor.  In this way, the discussion is ongoing and a community of thinking writers develops.

One way for you to judge the strength of your post is to read the comments of others in response.  If you are receiving well-articulated comments, you are doing a terrific job; you have inspired others’ thought.  REMEMBER: We are in a CONVERSATION with each other.

BLOGGING RUBRIC

Rating	Characteristics
4	Exceptional. The blog post is focused and coherently integrates examples with explanations or analysis. The post demonstrates awareness of its own limitations or implications, and it considers multiple perspectives when appropriate. The entry reflects in-depth engagement with the topic.
3	Satisfactory. The blog post is reasonably focused, and explanations or analysis are mostly based on examples or other evidence. Fewer connections are made between ideas, and though new insights are offered, they are not fully developed. The post reflects moderate engagement with the topic.
2	Underdeveloped. The blog post is mostly description or summary, without consideration of alternative perspectives, and few connections are made between ideas. The post reflects passing engagement with the topic.
1	Limited. The blog post is unfocused, or simply rehashes previous comments, and displays no evidence of student engagement with the topic.
0	No Credit. The blog post is missing or consists of one or two disconnected sentences.

Sample, Mark.  “A Rubric for Evaluating Student Blogs.”  The Chronicle of

         Higher Education 27 September 2010:  np.  Web.