Quick blog note. If you get the sorry we're fiddling with stuff message, it means they're doing some maintenance. This is based in Australia so sometimes they do things at annoying times for us. If you can't get it to work tonight, try again tomorrow. I know there are other blog sites out there, but this one makes it through our school filter. Be patient and don't stress. Try once more before you go to bed and then, if they aren't done yet, we'll do it tomorrow. This doesn't happen often, but what do you know, it happens the night we try and set them up. Go figure.
Assignment
Looking at the article we read in class today, identify the author's purpose. This isn't simply what she is trying to say, but why she is saying it. Provide textual evidence to support your claim.
Then look at both her language (the words/phrases) she uses and her structure (syntax, sentence length, paragraph breaks, arrangement of ideas, etc). Discuss how specific examples of her language and structure serve the purpose you identified previously.
All of this should be written/typed on paper (we'll start using the blogs for some of this once we get everyone set up and running). For those of you concerned with length, the standard answer is "as long as you need to say what you need to say." That isn't very specific or satisfying, but it's true. Even so, you could probably write a paragraph for each of the purpose, structure, and language. One example is sufficient on this assignment to establish each point, though, for example, if you think she uses structure in several different ways, you should provide evidence for each claim.
