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Group Weblogs

Students in this class will either present a brief oral report to the class or, in groups of 2-4 people, keep an online journal (weblog) of their reading this semester. Both options will involve about the same amount of work, but with the weblog option, you'll be spreading the work out over the entire semester.

If you choose to keep a weblog AND present a report, you do not need to take the final exam.

Group Weblog Option. A group weblog (or blog) is a way for you to form a smaller community within the class and discuss a topic that interests your group. It is your space not only to write down your thoughts, insights, and opinions about the literature but also to find and link to other information that you find on the web.

A group blog is different from an individual blog in that the responsibility for writing blog posts each week won't fall to one person.You'll each have individual identities in the blog, but you'll also be acting collectively. As a group you'll be responsible for writing posts and comments on your own blog; someone from your group should also post a comment on at least one other blog each week.

Each week your group will be responsible for the following:

1. an original blog post by one of the members.

2. a comment on another group's blog.

You can choose to keep your blog based on a particular theme or you can keep it as a more freeform response blog. The overall idea is that you are providing additional information to class members. Some possibilities for topics:

  • Freeform blog that discusses all topics
  • 19th-century science, technology, or culture
  • All things Gothic
  • Historical background
  • Literature related to what we're reading in class

    • You do not need to have any knowledge about creating web pages to choose this option; the beauty of a weblog is that all the technical work is done for you. You simply type in your comments and click on the "publish" button.

  • Many free blogging sites are available.which would work well for our class. Creating an account and setting up your weblog on any of the free sites will take about five minutes. You should try to choose a site that allows the creation of an RSS feed and permits comments, as Blogger does (and as most sites do). Blogger (www.blogger.com) and Wordpress (www.wordpress.com) are two popular free blogging sites.

    • Requirements for the Weblog Option

    1. Write 10 entries of approximately 400-500 words each. If you choose the weblog option, your group will write at least one entry each week, for a total of ten entries in all. To allow for exams, holidays, and papers, some weeks have no weblog post due.

    2. Post your entry to your weblog by the Thursday due date at 9 p.m. You do not need to wait for Thursday. Your group can complete its post and comments at any time during the week, but 9 p.m. on Thursday is the due date each week; after that, your post will count for the next week. You can miss a few posts and still receive credit, but your grade would be reduced.

    3. Respond to at least one post by another group by Thursday at 9 p.m.

    Each week, your group will respond to another group's blog by 9 p.m. Since new blog posts won't be available until 9 p.m., you'll be reading and responding to posts from the previous week. You don't have to wait until Thursday to post a comment, though. For example, last week's blog posts (8/30) will receive comments by 9 p.m. this Thursday (9/6).

    Grading: The weblog will be graded primarily on your satisfactory completion of the above criteria and the quality of your posts(75%). You'll also have the opportunity to grade the others in your group for their effort and participation (25%).

    Each blog post counts as follows:
    3 points = 2 points for the initial post + 1 point for a comment
    2 points = 2 points for the initial post but no comment was posted
    1 point = 1 point for a comment but no initial post
    0 points = post and comment missing, or you are not participating in the blog assignment. Remember, you’re not required to participate, and your report grade and final exam grade will be sufficient. 

    I will read all the weblogs and comments each week, but I will only leave comments on half the blogs each week.

    100 15 25 20 30 35 50 75 125 150   500  
    A 0.93 15 13.95 25 23.25 20 18.6 30 27.9 35 32.55 50 46.5 75 69.75 125 116.25 150 139.5 500 465
    A/A- 0.926 15 13.89 25 23.15 20 18.52 30 27.78 35 32.41 50 46.3 75 69.45 125 115.75 150 138.9 500 463
    A- 0.9 15 13.5 25 22.5 20 18 30 27 35 31.5 50 45 75 67.5 125 112.5 150 135 500 450
    B+ 0.88 15 13.2 25 22 20 17.6 30 26.4 35 30.8 50 44 75 66 125 110 150 132 500 440
    B/B+ 0.876 15 13.14 25 21.9 20 17.52 30 26.28 35 30.66 50 43.8 75 65.7 125 109.5 150 131.4 500 438
    B 0.83 15 12.45 25 20.75 20 16.6 30 24.9 35 29.05 50 41.5 75 62.25 125 103.75 150 124.5 500 415
    B/B- 0.826 15 12.39 25 20.65 20 16.52 30 24.78 35 28.91 50 41.3 75 61.95 125 103.25 150 123.9 500 413
    B- 0.8 15 12 25 20 20 16 30 24 35 28 50 40 75 60 125 100 150 120 500 400
    C+ 0.78 15 11.7 25 19.5 20 15.6 30 23.4 35 27.3 50 39 75 58.5 125 97.5 150 117 500 390
    C/C+ 0.776 15 11.64 25 19.4 20 15.52 30 23.28 35 27.16 50 38.8 75 58.2 125 97 150 116.4 500 388
    C 0.73 15 10.95 25 18.25 20 14.6 30 21.9 35 25.55 50 36.5 75 54.75 125 91.25 150 109.5 500 365
    C/C- 0.726 15 10.89 25 18.15 20 14.52 30 21.78 35 25.41 50 36.3 75 54.45 125 90.75 150 108.9 500 363
    C- 0.7 15 10.5 25 17.5 20 14 30 21 35 24.5 50 35 75 52.5 125 87.5 150 105 500 350
    D+ 0.68 15 10.2 25 17 20 13.6 30 20.4 35 23.8 50 34 75 51 125 85 150 102 500 340
    D/D+ 0.676 15 10.14 25 16.9 20 13.52 30 20.28 35 23.66 50 33.8 75 50.7 125 84.5 150 101.4 500 338
    D 0.63 15 9.45 25 15.75 20 12.6 30 18.9 35 22.05 50 31.5 75 47.25 125 78.75 150 94.5 500 315
    D/D- 0.626 15 9.39 25 15.65 20 12.52 30 18.78 35 21.91 50 31.3 75 46.95 125 78.25 150 93.9 500 313
    D- 0.6 15 9 25 15 20 12 30 18 35 21 50 30 75 45 125 75 150 90 500 300