Quantcast
Channel: Teaching – Ronald B. Richardson
Browsing all 28 articles
Browse latest View live

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

Composing a Class for Freshmen (Rather Than the Teacher)

These main principles are fundamental to the Freshman Composition course I teach: learner-centeredness, high expectations, flexibility, and, most importantly, authentic audience and purpose....

View Article



Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

“You’re Sick!” Says the Diagnostic Essay

“You’re sick!” says the diagnostic essay, and students hear the message plainly enough. In classes on connotation, I ask students what the associations of “diagnostic” are. Normally, I don’t need to...

View Article

Intensity and Sophistication: Basic Skills versus Transfer Level Composition

Students in pre-transfer and transfer-level classes need to develop similar skills: studying, reading, thinking, and writing. The principal distinctions are intensity and sophistication. Basic skills...

View Article

Language, Education and Identity: Writing Assignment for Pre-Transfer Level

Background: We spent the first half of the semester exploring our “hidden intellectualism,” the academic skills we use in non-academic pursuits, then turned to questions of language and identity. We...

View Article

Helping Students Become Their Own Teachers: Teaching Philosophy for English 848

Teachers should help students become their own teachers. With that goal in mind, I have designed my English 848 course around two principles: learner-centeredness and bridges between everyday and...

View Article


Writing Assignment: The Changing Genre of Romance

Background: After an introduction to writing, literature and poetry, we turned to the genre of romance, whose definition has morphed from chivalric romance (such as Sir Gawain and the Green Knight)...

View Article

Writing Assignment: Reading as a Detective

Background: After an introduction to literature, poetry, and the evolving genre of romance, we began following the development of mystery from the folktale “Three Princes of Seredip” and Voltaire’s...

View Article

The Right Word Activity

The Goal: To learn the importance of exact wording. The team with the longest list of correct names for things in the classroom after five minutes wins. When the teacher says “Go,” groups of three or...

View Article


Worksheet for a Research Paper

I. Thesis: A. State your central issue as a question, for example, “Should smoking in certain bars be legal?”   B. Answer that question; be as specific as possible: “Smoking should be allowed in...

View Article


Revision Checklist for Research Paper

1. Is your title engaging? Does it suggest the approach you are taking in your paper? 2. Does your first paragraph introduce the main issue, name the writer and the work you are responding to, and end...

View Article

Writing Assignment: Research Project

Background: This semester, the class has explored forms of “hidden intellectualism,” which are academic skills demonstrated in non-academic pursuits, then examined issues of language, education and...

View Article

Diversity: The Fountain of Life, a Source of Education

Diversity is the fountain of life. Without it, eubacteria would still stain the oceans a uniform rust color. Diversity makes change, experimentation, adaptation and evolution possible. When ecosystems...

View Article

Making Vague Words Specific: Activity

Which is Better? In small groups of two or three students, examine the sets of sentences below and decide which version you like better under each number. Explain why. 1. It is a way of managing them...

View Article


Checklist for “Finding Your Hidden Intellectualism” Paper

Please answer the questions and add a brief comment. Important Note: If any answer is “No,” you must revise the paper until it is “Yes”! (If not, I won’t read the paper. Feel free to contact or visit...

View Article

Writing Assignment: Exploring Complexity in Issues of Economic Inequality

Writing Assignments 3 and 4: Exploring Complexity in Issues of Economic Inequality Background After a unit on “hidden intellectualism” and on staying in college, the class turned to the question posed...

View Article


Syllabus for English 93: Developmental Composition Class

The Power of Word ENGLISH 93-05: Introduction to Academic Reading and Writing City College of San Francisco CRN: 34503, Spring 2014 Instructor: Ronald B. Richardson Required Texts Graff, Gerald, and...

View Article

Connecting Word Matching Exercise: Coordinating Conjunctions, Subordinating...

To get students to think about the logical relationships of connecting words, print out these cards and paste them onto index cards cut in half. In class, pass the cards out, then have students look...

View Article


Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

Reading Papers Takes Too Long? Don’t Read Them (Straight Through)

So, you teach composition, and it takes much, much, much, much, much too long to read papers? You spend your mornings, afternoons, evenings, and weekends slogging through essays until you are...

View Article

Connective Writing: A Video by Prof Ron

A video I made on connective writing, which means that our writings should be connected to the writings of others. New technologies make connective writing easier and more authentic than ever before.

View Article

Introduction to Argumentation: A Video by Prof Ron

What is argumentation? What are the basic steps?

View Article
Browsing all 28 articles
Browse latest View live




Latest Images