Presentation After-Party (Tuesday 5/17)

Buffalo Wing University
10312 Willard Way
Fairfax, VA 22030-2508
(703) 273-6336

I believe the presentations end at 7:20, and then comes the BIS program reception, so we'll probably head over around 8:15.

All invited, and friends & family welcome. Thanks to Lorna Beltran for making arrangements.

Conventions for Titles

I am copying some text I wrote to my morning class because I believe I said more or less the same thing to you guys. Just some further examples.

Sorry this got rushed in class, so I'm writing a note here to put my thoughts in order. About conventions for titles for academic papers, there is usually a one-part format or a two-part format. In the two-part format you have more flexibility with the first part to be a bit more creative/informal/general, and then the second part is the more hardcore research part. Usually you want that part of the title to be somehow expressive of the precise topic, or better yet the method or thesis.

Bad: "Needle In a Haystack"

Bad: "So That's Where Bin Laden Was. Huh."

Better: "New Investigative Tactics in Terrorist Counterinsurgency"

Best: "Satellite Forensics as a New Investigative Tool for Terrorist Counterinsurgency"

Best: "A Quantitative Analysis of the Counterinsurgency Applications of Satellite Forensics"

Best: "A Dance Suite Exploring the Counterinsurgency Applications of Satellite Forensics"

Best: "Satellite Forensics as a Complement to Interrogation in Terrorist Counterinsurgency Operations"

Other Best: "Needle In a Haystack - Satellite Forensics as a New Investigative Tool for Terrorist Counterinsurgency"

Other Best: "Needle In a Haystack - A Quantitative Analysis of the Counterinsurgency Applications of Satellite Forensics"

Other Best: "Needle In a Haystack - A Dance Suite Exploring the Counterinsurgency Applications of Satellite Forensics"

Other Best: "Needle In a Haystack - Satellite Forensics as a Complement to Interrogation in Terrorist Counterinsurgency Operations"

The End of the Road

Can you believe next week is our last class? We will be doing course evaluations, BIS exit survey, lessons learned, and of course sharing & caring. I've also had a request for a brief workshop on project titles.

I am expecting everyone to submit final projects on paper or as a PDF file (email or Google Docs), by Sunday night 5/8. Earlier is fine, but if it's going to be later we need to make an explicit arrangement.

At this point, don't expect general "read my draft" comments, but I can answer specific questions. I'm a little behind and will be writing to some of you today (Thursday).

Holy S*** You Guys Write a Lot

Keep up the good work, though. This is what one of the characters on The Wire calls, "one of them good problems."

Reminder: We are still in the midst of the last personal conference cycle, so the class will not meet on 4/18~4/19. We will have two more classes, 4/25~4/26 and 5/2~5/3.

Class #6 Post-Game and Reminders for April

For those who missed the last class, we've changed the schedule. There will be no class on Monday 4/4 or Tuesday 4/5 and we will be meeting for individual conferences next week. Please check your Google Docs for the sign-up. Sorry for posting this message so late.

Request: Anyone sending me a document that contains some stuff I've already read, and some stuff I haven't... can you please use the highlighting tool (maybe blue or green) to show me what's new? Or just email me which pages to pay closest attention to. Thanks.

Announcement: It appears that April 25/26 was the decisive winner of the opinion poll, so I am adjusting the schedule accordingly. The agenda for that meeting includes "The Sentence Doctor" as well as the underwear story if I haven't told it yet this semester, any last-minute dilemmas about citation formatting, and Aaron's philosophy on writing conclusions and a group workshop therewith. Yeah I just used the word "therewith," deal with it.

Class #5 Post-Game and Reminders for Later

The class will not meet again until the end of the month. (Monday March 28 ~ Tuesday March 29). Please note that the first draft of your Methods & Analysis sections, or whatever you are calling them, is due that day. I prefer to receive this as a single document. If you make any notable changes to your Introduction & Lit Review please include that as well.

I will be available by email in the meantime. This should be an interesting stretch of the interstate.

The Editing Process: Apparently the Washington Post put a story online that wasn't actually finished, and accidentally included all the editors' notes. Thought you might enjoy this as we seem to be in a similar phase with 490.

Class #4 Post-Game and Reminders for Next Week

-Please use the Google Document I shared to sign up for a conference time if you have not yet had one this term.-Please make sure you have completed your comments on your partners' literature reviews, as we began in class tonight.
-I am expecting to receive all the second draft Intro/Lit Reviews by Tuesday 3/1. (These are the ones I'm grading.) If we you arranged an alternate deadline with me, please email me a reminder! Note that you will include five more annotated bibliography sources with this submission.
-Potential subjects for the 2/28~3/1 class include Aaron's famous anti-methodology exercise, a section outline or concept map for your analysis section, and "everything you ever wanted to know about grammar & style editing but were afraid to ask."