Beginning your research

• magazines, newspapers, and or books
• reference works (encyclopedias, dictionaries, almanacs, etc)
• internet searches (google it)

1. Perspective
2. Objectivity
3. Authorship
4. Type of Source

http://academia.edu
http://www.ufv.ca/library/
http://cufts2.lib.sfu.ca/CRDB/BCLF
http://ehis.ebscohost.com/eds/search/basic?sid=205d05eb-71dd-408d-894d-017535bd686b%40sessionmgr14&vid=2&hid=6
http://scholar.google.com

Email articles to yourself.

http://libguides.ufv.ca/Engl105

Magic If - trying to under the character’s situation as the character in their situation with their objectives

if an actor finds the right action it will always generate the same physical action and generate the same reaction in yourself and others

emotional memory, sense memory - remembering something from your own past to imitate the emotion the character is feeling (stanis rejected this later to reject it with psychophysical action) danger of actor feeling too much - wanted to keep the focus on the character, not the actor

OTHER GROUP

post modern

presentational approaches to acting are overall more common in world theatre, non-western theatres

particularly common in the theatre where things are very stablized

understanding that a certain action means a certain thing

represents emotion in an openly artificial or stylized way

no trying to be emotionally truthful to the character

non-realistic plays

technique based more than inspiration based

brecht: overtly political type of theatre

gestus: a way for actors to point at the attitude/reveal motivations transactions behind the characters actions, narrate, may directly explain to the audience

trying to shed light on circumstance but not bring character to life

—-

heretical director: own perspective on a script, theoretical, may change given circumstances, become co-creator to meaning,

worshipful: the text is the bible, unlikely to crossgender/colorblind, 

oteur - radically changing the script/meaning, usually use something out of copyright law, 

Eng105: Week 7, Position Papers

In groups of three analyze the position paper “Friends with Benefits”

1. what is her thesis? Is it effectively expressed?
2. how does she organize her introductory paragraph? what kinds of strategies does she use?
3. where does she summarize the other side of the debate?
4. does she deal with counterarguments? is she fair to the opposition? why or why not?
5. how well does she use evidence? what kinds of evidence does she use (quotation, statistics, reasoning, facts, etc.)? what types of proofs (ethos, logos, pathos)?
6. identify her topic claims for each of the body paragraphs.
7. analyze the rhetorical situation of her paper. (see page 34.)
8. how does she organize her conclusion?
9. are there any problems with her argument? identify at least one.

1. Facebook provides an amplification of friendship but is not capable of replicating or replacing it.

“In other words, do Facebook friends- and the support we get from them- count?”

The thesis isn’t effectively expressed because, though alluded to and slowly strengthened throughout the essay, it isn’t cohesively stated until the end so you have to learn throughout what the focus of her argument is rather than simply being told, as you should be.

2. She initially uses a story without stating her thesis, appealing to emotions and not explaining why until the second paragraph. She hints at her thesis and asks the question behind it, but never actually states what her position is.

Par 1: anecdote
Par 2: explaining why she used the anecdote

3. She alludes to it throughout, and then summarizes a strong counterargument at the end.

4. I don’t feel that she rebuts properly, simply expressing both sides without actually proving or denying one or the other. It feels like the biggest topic of counterargument is more of an afterthought, rather than something that she properly addresses.

5. It’s everywhere. It feels as if it’s overkill: much of the evidence is helpful, and then much more simply drowns out the topic and begins to make it lose its meaning. Lots of quotations, a fair amount of reasoning, and mention of personal experience. An almost excessive amount of ethos, and some logos and pathos.

6. (4) Establishing what friendship means in each realm. (5) Friends online can be beneficial. (6) Isolation/loneliness (7) Self-esteem (8) Celebration/energization (9) counterargument (10) Shyness (11) Concession to counterargument

7. Topic: friendship on facebook. Angle: Is facebook positive for friendships, does it help amplify or replace it? Purpose: Facebook amplifies regular friendship and can promote a wider interest. Readers: facebook users and potential users. Older people who question it. Contexts: 

8. Awful conclusion. 

9. She doesn’t actually address anything, she just states sides and doesn’t really…do anything with it.

hang and focus 3:00-5:00 in thea

cueing tue 11:00-11:30 in studio w astrid

walking stage tue 9:30-11:00 in thea

walking stage tue 12:30-5:00 in thea

final set for dec 14 9-12

may be changed to dec 10 10-1

wt 149

purpose: to explain both sides of s controversy and then argue for one side over another

features of a position paper

1. introduction
2. an objective summary (or your opponents understanding of the issue) (better to begin with opponent’s understanding, accurately, as strongly as you can)
3. a point by point discussion (of limitations of opponents arg)
4. a summary of your understanding of the issue
5. a point by point discussion (or your strengths of the arg)

developing your position papers content

1. identify points of contention
2. researching

writersyoga:

sbeno22 asked writersyoga:

I have just started posting my first story online and wanted to ask whether you have any advice for finding a beta reader. Is there a specific way that I should go about it? What should I look for? Any advice would be greatly appreciated, thank you.

Great question! Beta readers will help you catch errors and help you with your project, but finding can be a bit tricky. There is no set of rules to follow when looking for a beta. It is different from every writer. Find what makes you comfortable. Just like there is no set way of finding a beta there is also no set criteria a beta should meet. (However, there are things that are a must. We’ll get to that later.) Betas will have different strengths and weaknesses. Some may be good at noticing small things, other may be good at the big picture. What I would recommend is choosing a beta that compliments your skill set. 

Here are some ways to look for a beta:

1. Get involved with the website your story is on. Get to know people. Make friends. Read and comment on other stories. Put yourself out there and get to know the community. You might find your beta in a future friend.
2. Ask a family member or friend. But be careful about this. Choose someone who will give you an honest opinion and will go about it without without straining your relationship.
3. Websites like this can help you find a beta reader. 
4. Find other writing sites and start building connections. You don’t have to post your project, but become an active member and get to know the users.
5. Use Tumblr. Betafinder is an excellent blog with a massive post dedicated to helping you find a beta.
6. Along the lines of Tumblr, get to know some of the other users that follow writing blogs. You can do this by participating in discussions that these blogs put out and continuing the conversation outside that particular post.
7. Be willing to give in order to get. In order to strengthen your own editing skills, review other projects. Make yourself available to other users or even to your beta’s if they write. Chances are whoever is helping you is going to need help at some point as well.
8. Basically, make connections. Make friends. 

For elaboration and some more tips, this article 15 Ways to Find a Beta Reader or Critique Partner is very helpful. They also have some links to help you get started. 

Also, some writing sites:

Figment (Very friendly. If the forums are a bit intimidating, some of the groups are excellent.)

Wattpad 

TeenInk 

Every beta will be different. Some will have excellent knowledge of plot or characters. Some may have a gift for dialog and description. Others can catch the smallest continuity error. And some will help spark new ideas. Here are some things to think about while looking for a beta:

• Decide what you want. Write down everything you would like in a beta. What you would want them to comment on, what you would like them to pay special attention to, and how they can best help you. Decide which are the essentials because chances are you won’t get everything you’re looking for.
• Think about your strengths and your weaknesses. Try to find someone who’s strengths are your weaknesses. Not so good at pacing? Try to find someone who has an eye for it and can help you.
• Make sure they have a good grasp on grammar. You don’t want someone who doesn’t know what they’re doing. (Granted, this might be more of a critique partner’s area, but I think betas should know it too.)
• You can contact them easily. Google docs or email work great and most betas are probably going to have one. Make sure you iron out a good system of contact.
• Your beta will need to have a basic understanding of the elements of creating a story. Pretty obvious, I know. If they don’t have these then I’m not sure why they would want to be a beta. 
• You will probably need to like them. And they will need to like you. A friendship or cordial correspondence is pretty necessary in my book.

Now, once you’ve found a possible beta, try not to jump in too quickly. Set up a trial period, iron out some rules. Here are some more things to think about once you have a potential beta.

• Make sure they like the premise of your story. If they don’t like it, don’t bother any further.
• Start a trial period. This can last maybe from the first to the third chapter. This will give you an idea of how they work and your beta an idea of your story. This time will give your beta time to figure out if your story and writing style will work for them. It will also help you decide if you like how they help you. Do not be upset if this doesn’t work. Talk with your beta about this and if either one of you wants out, then split peacefully. 
• Have an easy way of exchanging material. Find out what works for you and your beta.
• Figure out some rules. By that I mean, keep an open dialog with your beta. Figure out times you can discuss your project or your beta’s reactions to certain chapters.
• Let your beta know of any special circumstances. For instance maybe you’re experimenting with sentence structure or there is a name change for a character. Anything that seems a bit unusual. Let your beta know. That way they can tell you if it works or not.
• Last, find someone you can trust and someone that loves your story.

Finding a beta will be different for everyone. And everyone needs different things. Decide what you need and go from there. Good luck!

- Ash

Goodness, well I don’t have much to say after that except to add that a while back I think FYCD was doing beta-matching. Keep your eye out for stuff like that. Also, thewritingcafe has this fantastic page of beta readers if you want to take a look.

- Sam

fictionwritingtips:

There are a lot of articles out there about worldbuilding and different ways to focus your ideas and create something fully-formed. All of these steps are important, but there are a few general things you need to keep in mind BEFORE YOU EVEN BEGIN. Here are a few ways to get started and focus your ideas:

Plot and World Should Go Hand-In-Hand

Just because you’re creating an extensive and (hopefully) interesting world doesn’t mean you don’t need to focus on plot. The PLOT should come out of your WORLD. They should be tied together and they should support each other. Your world should serve your story, so it should make your story stronger. Your plot and your world are connected to each other, but story comes first.

Your Book is Not a Manual

You’re not worldbuilding in order to show your readers how it’s done. You don’t have to state everything that’s happening in your world within carefully planned paragraphs or info-dump constantly throughout your novel. You want to reveal your world through the story, not just spend chapters explaining how it’s built, how it runs, and what it consists of. Your novel will quickly get boring if that’s the case. Use story to reveal your world.

You Can Create Your World According to Any Rules

You are not bound to the history of our own world. Although, a lot of worlds people build are based on Earth in order to maintain some familiarity, you can make up your own rules. A lot of people defend racism and sexism in their novels by saying “that’s how things used to be or are in our world”, but this isn’t our world! You don’t have to be confined by anything that’s happened here. Get creative and do something different, if that’s the direction you want to go in. Don’t let people tell you it’s unrealistic.

There Should Be Consistency

Whatever happens in your novel needs to make sense. If you have a world without magic or any basis of magic, you need to remain consistent. You can get creative, but you need to stay true the rules of your world THAT YOU CREATED. Your story will get confusing if your readers don’t understand what can and can’t happen. Be clear. This isn’t to say you can introduce an element later, but you need to lead up to it.

Conflict Still Matters

Your novel can’t just be about your world. There still has to be exciting conflict, NOT characters written solely to show off and interact with your world. People aren’t going to be impressed with your world if it doesn’t go anywhere. Also, think about how your world aids in promoting conflict. Is there something about your world that facilitates the conflict between two characters? Think about how the two go hand-in-hand.

Maps, Maps, Maps

Know your world. If you find it all hard to keep track of, find a way to create maps. Having visuals will help you develop your world effectively and remember where you’re going. Make sure you keep everything straight.

-Kris Noel