Rikkyo - Reading & Writing - Elvin

Dear students, I would like to reward all the hard work that you are putting in for your portfolios and announce a change in the points system for your grading. I hope it will be to your liking. Here is the new distribution: portfolio - 40 points attendance - 30 points (this can't change) three book summaries of 150 words each - 10 points mid-term test - 10 points final test - 10 points Kind regards, Chris Elvin

Dear students, Today is the last lesson. Please make sure to bring your portfolio to class. It should include everything that you did in class. You should also remember your three book summaries. After you have handed in your portfolio, you will have a final test. Test Question: Read an article in one of the newspapers listed below: The Guardian The Washington Post The Japan Times (The date of the article should be the same as the test day). Summarize it in one or two paragraphs. Cite it in your essay in APA format. Write your opinion of the article in one or two paragraphs. Write a full APA formatted reference to it in the "Reference" section of your essay. In total you should write more than 250 words. Kind regards, Chris Elvin

Dear students, Please read your group essay on globalization to another group. Then hand it in to your teacher for marking. Your topic today is gender. In groups of three, choose a topic within the broad subject of gender. Draw a map, write a thesis statement and title, and write your parts of the essay. Type this up for homework, and highlight the parts that you wrote. Kind regards, Chris Elvin

Dear students, First, read your group essay about media to another group. Then highlight your parts of the essay and hand it in to your teacher for checking. Today's topic is globalization. Please write about this in groups of three. Let your teacher check your map before you write. You should write at least 250 words per person and type this up in APA format for homework. Kind regards, Chris Elvin

Dear students, First, please read your group essay on language to another group. Then highlight the parts that you wrote, and hand it in to your teacher for checking. Today's topic is media, so like you did in the previous week you should narrow your focus, draw a map, write a thesis statement and a title, and write your parts of the group essay. For homework you should type it up in APA format. Each person should write at least 250 words. Remember, if you summarize, paraphrase or quote, you should indicate this by an in-text citation marker within the text, and write a full APA-formatted reference at the end of your essay. Also, if you copy a complete sentence and don't cite it, you will be guilty of plagiarism! Kind regards, Chris Elvin

Dear students, To start today's lesson, please read your essay on appearance to another pair or group. After that, let your teacher briefly check your essay, including your intext citations and references. Today's topic is language. You may write about anything you like within the broad subject of language. You should research and write about this topic in small groups. Your essay will be the same for your group; You will each contribute a different section of the essay. First, narrow your focus, and write a title or a thesis statement. Then do your research and draw your map or outline. If you summarize, paraphrase, or quote, you will need to include APA formatted intext citations. The ideas and quotations you use should support your thesis. A good essay should be well researched, have a clear intelligent opinion, and be well written. At the end of your essay, you should have a list of APA-formatted references which match your intext citations. Each person in your group sho

Dear students, Please read your essay about human rights to another pair at the beginning of the class. I would also like to have a look at these essays, too. In particular, make sure that your intext citation and references are in correct APA format. Today's topic is appearance, so you will write about a work of art. With a partner research your topic on Wikipedia and summarize the article in one or two paragraphs. You will need to cite your source in APA format as usual (an intext citation and a full reference). After that, write your opinion of your chosen work of art in one, two, or maybe a few paragraphs. Before you start writing, you should draw a map of your essay with your partner. In total, you and your partner should write between 300 and 600 words. APA Format Example Here is an example of an in-text citation in APA format. In this particular case, it is a Wikipedia web page about Van Gogh`s "Sunflowers". This in-text citation would normally come at the en

Dear students, I would like to check your portfolis so please bring them to class. Today's topic is human rights. Please choose a case study to summarize with your partner. It may be easier to work together and get help from your teacher if one person downloads the text and brings it to class. One person  should write the summary, and the other the opinion. In total, you should write between 300 and 500 words. You should remember to cite your source within your text and provide a reference at the end of your essay. Both of these should be in the format you have studied in class, APA. BBC Human Rights Case Studies In-text citation: There is no clear author, nor a clear date for the pages above. Instead of the author, you should use a short or shortened title of the web page in quotation marks. Because there is no date, you should use "n.d.". For example, ("Case Study: The Trafficking of Children", n.d.). Reference: If there is no author, you should wri

Dear students, Today I would like to check one of your three book summaries that you will be handing in at the end of the semester. You should write one paragraph as a summary, which will include an APA formatted in-text citation (author's family name, year), and one paragraph as your opinion. After that, you should include a reference list at the end of your summary which will contain the full APA formatted reference of the book that you read. Each of your summaries should be over 150 words. After that, you will have a mid-term test. Kind regards, Chris Elvin

Dear students, Your homework was to type up your summary, paraphrase, and long and short quotations from an article about globalisation that you started in groups last week. You should include APA formatted in-text citations and an APA formatted reference in your "Works Cited". Remember to abide by APA format for font type, font size, spacing, and justification, and as you did in the previous week, please highlight your contribution with a coloured marker pen. Today's topic is gender. First you will discover the gender of your brain by taking part in a not-so-serious activity: What gender is your brain? After that, you will have another timed writing challenge. You will have 45 minutes to answer the following question in at least 250 words. Question: Some people say that men have different qualities that make them more suited for certain jobs while women are more suited for others. To what extent do you agree or disagree with this statement? In order to answer t

Dear students, Today I will check your typed essays that you completed for homework. After that, you will practice summarizing, paraphrasing and quoting an article about globalisation that you should bring to class or be able to access in class. You will also learn how to write in-text citations and "Works Cited" references in APA format. You may work in small groups of two or three people and share the same globalisation-themed text. Please show your work to your teacher when you have finished. For homework, you should make sure that each of your three book summaries includes an APA formatted in-text citation, a personal comment, and a "Works Cited" APA formatted reference which matches your in-text citation. Kind regards, Chris Elvin

ライティングクラス（ＷＲＴ） 不正行為対応ガイドライン   １． 不正とみなされる行為 １） インターネットなどで入手した資料を原文のまま（あるいは一部を）著者を明示せずに書き写すこと。剽窃。 ２） 翻訳ソフトを用いること。 ３） 別のクラスで提出した課題を再利用すること。   ２． 処罰 学期中の課題における不正行為については、その課題について無得点とする。 最終レポートとして提出された文について不正行為が認められる場合には「最終テスト不正行為対応ガイドライン」に準ずる手順とする。担当者は各コースコーディネーターに証拠書類を提出する。   ３． 不正予防対策 １） 学生に配布するシラバスに剽窃を含む不正行為に対する方針を明記して説明すること。学生に周知徹底するように上記「不正とみなされる行為」の記載は日本語が望ましい。 ２） 学期を通じて学生の理解を徹底するようにつとめること。 ３） 個人的体験や意見を中心に論ずるなど、なるべく剽窃が難しい課題を与えること。 ４） 最終レポートは（例えば事前に課題を指示、辞書持ち込み可などにより）授業内テストとして書かせることも有効であろう。 Please don't cheat! Kind regards, Chris Elvin

Dear students, Today you will learn about setting up your word processor in order to format your essay correctly, so please remember to bring the "Becoming a Better Writer" textbook to class. (You will also review plagiarism in the textbook, too.) If your document is correctly formatted, it will look similar to the one below. A Rikkyo University correctly formatted word document Today's topic is media. In groups of four you will propose a question that your group will plan and write together as a 600-word multiple paragraph essay. For homework you should type it in the appropriate format for this college. You may inlude all of the essay in your portfolio, but highlight the part that you wrote. Please also note that the three book summaries that you have to write for homework should be typed in APA format (Rikkyo University English Department format), which is detailed in your textbook. Kind regards, Chris Elvin

Dear students, Today you will read your essay about a building in class. After that you will take a small writing challenge. The topic for today is language. Language essay question: Every year several languages die out. Some people think that this is not important because life will be easier if there are fewer languages in the world. To what extent do you agree or disagree with this opinion? Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience. After that, you will try to assess your own writing by using a public version of the IELTS essay band scores and marking criteria (task 2). Please download a copy of this and bring it to class: IELTS Task 2 writing band descriptors Kind regards, Chris Elvin

Dear students, For homework, you should finish your essay about retirement and put it into your portfolio which you should bring to class each week. You should also get a graded reader from the library and start reding it. Remember, you have to read three books and summarize them for homework this semester. Today you will talk about the appearance of people and things. Please download and bring the print to class. http://www.eflclub.com/rikkyo/designandfashion2.pdf In class, you will write an essay about a building. What is the purpose of your writing? (your main idea). After you have drawn your  map and had it checked, you should be ready to write. Your essay should be at least 250 words. If there is no time, you may finish it for homework. Kind regards, Chris Elvin

Dear students, Today I will assess your writing level, so please answer the following question: Some people say that everyone should retire at age sixty-five, whereas others argue that this should not be the case. Discuss both points of view before concluding with your opinion Your essay should be at least four paragraphs, and you may work alone or in a group. Kind regards, Chris Elvin CLASS GRADING CRITERIA Attendance: 30 points Three typed 150-word summaries of graded readers that you read this semester: 20 points Your class portfolio (keep everything that you do in class): 20 points A mid-term test: 10 points A final test: 20 points CLASS SCHEDULE Week 1 - human rights Week 2 - appearance Week 3 - language Week 4 - media Week 5 - globalization Week 6 - gender Week 7 - mid-term test Week 8 - human rights Week 9 - appearance Week 10 - language Week 11 - media Week 12 - globalization Week 13 - gender; hand in class portfolio; hand in graded reader summar

Dear students, The online summary can be accessed by clicking on the link below. Book Reader Summary Responses Kind regards, Chris Elvin

Dear students, Today you will study unit 13, and after that read your book reader summary to your partner or group. Please make sure to write at least 250 words for your summary, and they should be typed. You should also upload it to the book reader database below. Book Review Summary 3 Kind regards, Chris Elvin Please note: The book summaries that you read in class and hand in to me at the end of the semester should be at least 250 words. The online summaries in English only need to be over 100 words (but they can be longer if you wish).

Dear students, Today you will read your book reader 2 summary in class. Please also complete the online form below. Thank you for your cooperation. Book 2 Summary Form Kind regards, Chris Elvin

Dear students, Today is your midterm test. Please download the test and bring it to class. http://www.eflclub.com/rikkyo/reading/reading_test.pdf Kind regards, Chris Elvin

Dear students, Your homework was to fill in the online feedback form about your first reader. Click on the link below: Book 1 feedback form You should also have started reading book 2 by now, too, so if you haven't done so already, please borrow your second book from the library. Today you will study unit 6. Kind regards, Chris Elvin

Dear students, Here are some key vocabulary terms that you will need to know for the mid-term test in June: collocation , expression, opposite, title, topic, main idea, scan, article Kind regards, Chris Elvin

Dear students, Today you will do Unit 5 of the textbook. After that you will read your book summaries in class. Your book summary should be at least 100 words. You should also answer the feedback form, too. https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1t65IWMrBmPGVRtqcBKTnBZZaMRDCaVpLkXtMZvdLmY0/viewform Please also bring your second graded reader to class today. Kind regards, Chris Elvin

Dear students, Today we will read Unit 3 of the textbook. Kind regards, Chris Elvin

Dear students, I have reduced the length of your book summary requirement from 250 words to 100 words (500 characters). On May 13th, you will read your summary in class to your classmates, so please finish reading your first book so that you give yourself enough time to write your summary. I would also like you to contribute to the database by filling in the form below. https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1t65IWMrBmPGVRtqcBKTnBZZaMRDCaVpLkXtMZvdLmY0/viewform Kind regards, Chris Elvin

Dear students, To choose a book at an appropriate level for you, you should first take the Macmillan Readers Level Test. http://www.macmillanreaders.com/tests/level-test After you have discovered your level, you should choose books at that level. There are four publishers which you should choose from: Macmillan Graded Readers;  http://www.macmillanreaders.com Oxford Bookworms;  https://elt.oup.com/catalogue/items/global/graded_readers/oxford_bookworms_library/?cc=jp&selLanguage=ja Pearson English Readers;  http://readers.english.com Cambridge English Readers;  http://www.cambridge.org/jp/cambridgeenglish/catalog/skills/cambridge-english-readers/components Good luck! Chris Elvin

Dear students, For homework you should have found out your reading level using the Macmillan Readers Level Test, and chosen an appropriate book from the library. Please bring your book to class today. Kind regards, Chris Elvin

Dear students, Please read the blog before coming to class. You will need to access this site to post the summaries of  your graded readers, and also to contribute to the student book ratings database. Kind regards, Chris Elvin