Points to emphasize

1. I am going to ask you to write in different genres, different types of writing, rather than just one or two types of writing all semester with the goal of helping you extend your style, helping you recognize different genres as reader and different conventions for writing. [not concise enough yet]

2. You will be able to draw on personal experience for some assignments, you will need to read and respond to a single text for some of your writing, and you will need to be able to respond to multiple texts in other pieces of writing.

3. You will compile a portfolio of your best work at the end of the semester, giving you a chance to drop one assignment, revise the others, and earn a grade that reflects your abilities.

Okay, those are all boring.

1. We are going to use music as our touchstone because it is easy to work with, of interest to most students, and something you can share.

2. I'll come back later.

all I ended up emphasizing was technology (music video, weblogs, blackboard), and be thoughful, observant, curious. IN TA strategies we generated some interesting ideas, including a list of what students typically think of English, followed by the punch line: in this class we are going to write about and with music, do reviews, media memoirs, and music videos.

The whole "theme song" prompt was a failure across the board: too many students couldn't or wouldn't say anything. Need to revise and rethink. Could also go with "one word" to describe you: a movie character, etc, etc.: maybe more prompts that open things up, but focus on how associations communicate.