Good Blog Topics for First-Year Composition

Submitted by platypus matt on January 27, 2006 - 13:59.

I know that so many of us here at Knews employ blogs in our FYC classes. What I'm curious about is if anyone has a good list (or knows where one can be found) of good suggested topics for FYC blogs. Last year I tried to recommend blog topics that involved writing and the university community. However, I'd like to offer more options that might help engage more students and get closer to the true spirit of blogs. The role I want blogs to play in the classroom is an opportunity to experiment with style, tone, and voice, as well as an opportunity to reflect on topics and themes relevant to the study of writing. Please add your comments below; I've talked to several others who are also on the lookout for good blog topics.

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My own thoughts are not to

Submitted by lblanken on January 30, 2006 - 17:42.

My own thoughts are not to assign topics at all. Last semester, I taught a first-year course where we used blogs extensively (http://woi.brynmawr.edu) and we didn't assign topics. What we did do is spend time in class discussing topics that were getting more attention than others and what topics *they* thought were appropriate. In talking to students afterwards, some of them said they'd never been asked to come up with topics on their own. To me, this is something that's very important to learn and a blog is a good place to learn it.

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Suggested Topics

Submitted by platypus matt on January 30, 2006 - 19:13.

I understand what you're saying, lblanken. What I do is offer "suggested" topics, but I always leave the option open to create their own topics if they desire, or even suggest topics for the class. I try to keep the blogs focused on relevant topics and eschew the "I broke up with my X" kind of thing. :-)