Semi-Daily Scribbles

This has been a very positive and productive week. On the WIP front, I'm a day away from letting the ink dry on the first run-through of my novel. I'm excited about a 4th quarter filled with revisions, re-writes, hair pulling (my own, no one else's…I hope), addition, subtraction, multiplication, and any other magic I can conjure.

On the literary enrichment front, I'm happy that my fellow Courserians commented that my "Alice in Wonderland" essay contained good ideas that were unusual and original. I didn't support my thesis in a cogent manner, but there's always room for improvement, and I'll utilize this week's feedback as I take a stab at "Dracula." At least I didn't get called out for committing the "P-Word." Plagiarism has left a nasty stain on some of my fellow student’s essays, and we shall see how the Coursera staff addresses this unfortunate turn of events.

Here's how my peers assessed my Unit 2 assignment ~

FORM

student1 → The sentences used in this text are grammatically correct, which is not surprising, as many of them are by Lewis Carroll. Punctuation, grammar and spelling are well used. The exposition and argument, however, are not clear. It seems that the writer tried to write about too many things at once.

student2 → Do not use the contractions in formal writing. I also appreciate bigger paragraphs, but tastes differ. Your spelling and grammar are good.

student3 → The form is good, all the paragraphs have a beginning, a middle and an end. However, a think the author could use the space to write more and use less citations, or use the "works cited" box.

student4 → I like the form, very fresh, in certain way. But your argument is not enough clear.

Score from your peers: 2

CONTENT

student1 → This essay contains a fine display of quotations from the book, too many, perhaps. It is difficult to understand the argument chosen by the writer. The idea of Alice as a book where science and physics are explored, is an interesting one. The deviation, however, into travels of shamans and open-mindedness of the young, distracts and confuses the main theme. The writer would benefit from quoting less and writing more, as he/she has good ideas that would be valuable contributions to the appreciation of the story.

student2 → I liked your analysis very much. It is rather unsual, and definitely differs from everything I have read. Great job! However, do not get carried away with quotes. They make almost a half of you essay.

student3 → The content was good too, we had similar opinions about the books and how Alice is in a discovery journey and I liked the parts the author focused on.

student4 → The idea of Alice as a scientist is very original and makes sense but for some reason is not enough persuasive.

Score from your peers: 1.5