Commentary comments

Somehow the title of this post amuses me greatly. Yes, even teachers have their puerile moments.

Anyway, I haven't left feedback on your specific blog posts (except to bug some of you to do the commentary, or to edit your blog title), because you'll soon have a chance to do it for yourself this Wednesday. I'm not looking out for grammar at this point, but more of commentary-specific pointers. So, below are some general comments for your commentary task.

1) Most of you have grasped the basics of utilising the McEssay formula. Well done!

2) Watch out for fallacious arguments. Coming from yourself. After planning your arguments, it might be worthwhile to read through the Fallacies handout (especially the logical fallacies) and check that you haven't committed any of those.

3) Some of you are listing evidence but not sufficiently linking it to your topic sentences (i.e. explaining how the evidence supports your argument).

4) Sometimes you'll need to explain your evidence. Similar to the need to explain the background behind your topic, you've got to assume that the reader (aka me, or perhaps your peers) is an doofus who doesn't know about what you're saying. For example, specific events such as the 'June Undie Run' will need to be elaborated on.

5) This is not compulsory, but since a commentary is meant to convey your opinion, a personal voice (use of "I feel..." etc.) might be appropriate. Take care not to become too informal either - although this is a blog, it is still ultimately an academic piece of writing (sigh...)