Wikipedia talk:Wiki Ed/Valparaiso University/Engl 400 New Literacies, Technologies, and Cultures of Writing (Fall 2015)

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Here's an example of what I expect for the Prepare to Create/Contribute assignment. To add your answers to this page, select the New Section tab.

Schuette's answers to Create/Contribute

• Background criteria: I look for x, y, and z.
• Plot summary criteria: I look for l, p, and j.
• Characters criteria: I look for f, B, and zz.
• Etc.

How I think Behind a Mask measures up:

1. Thought number one...
2. Thought number two...

What I would do next if I were to edit this article: r and u and ooo...

Aschuet1 (talk) 00:12, 1 October 2015 (UTC)

Galbreath's Response

What to see in...

1. Background: Title, author, publisher, release date, brief overview, notes if it is part of a series
2. Plot: Summary of story (usually not giving away the ending); focuses on time, setting, and major events
3. Characters: List of main or notable supporting characters, their characteristics, identifiers (how they are important to story)
4. Themes: List of themes with supporting evidence; may include theories of possible themes discussed in academia
5. Styles: Writing technique, narrative voice
6. Critical Reception: Public response, critic comments, book sales

Behind a Mask expectations fulfilled:

1. Had brief summary
2. Main characters and their importance
3. List of themes in novel with support
4. Public response and commentary provided

What I would add:

1. Style section
2. Add key events to summary

Jgalbreath (talk) 13:32, 20 October 2015 (UTC)

Abby Beavan's Response

What I want to see in:

1. Background: title, author and maybe a few details about the author, genre, setting, publication date, awards received, quick synopsis, and general reception
2. Plot: basic and complete plot overview (exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, resolution), including spoilers! (or not excluding them), setting
3. Characters: description of each of the main characters (names, ages, genders, issues they face, brief discussion of their character) as well as minor (but important) characters
4. Themes: description of overall theme as well as some smaller themes that other people have analyzed (including author's and 3rd party reviewers)
5. Style: description of writing style, character/author voice, language
6. Critical Reception: reviews by book reviewers, popular blogs, general public reaction

Behind a Mask relfection:

1. The article did a great job at fulfilling the sections that it had listed. The content was appropriate and professional.
2. I would add a little bit more about each of the characters and how they would influence the plot of the book. Also, a description of the author's point of view on the themes would be interesting, if it is available.

Abbybeavan (talk) 17:54, 20 October 2015 (UTC)

Sumner Analysis

Expectations:

         1.   General Bio of Authorship: Name, date of publication, historical context, etc.
         2.    Plot Summary: Overview of major events
         3.   Characters List 
         4.   Themes/Symbolism: Discussion of major recurring themes and symbols within the novel, obviously linked to relevant sources within academia 

Behind a Mask:

         1.   Introductory Statements/Summary
         2.   Character List 
         3.   Themes/Critical Reception

Suggestions:

         1.  Expand plot summary 
         2.  Add additional background information 

AlexandraSumner1221 (talk) 20:01, 20 October 2015 (UTC)

Sarah Geekie's Response

What I Would Like To See in an Article

1. Background, including when published and info about the author
2. Basic Plot
3. List/analysis of major characters
4. Reception and Awards (if any)
5. Adaptations (if any)

What Behind a Mask Had

1. Background
2. Plot
3. Characters
4. Themes
5. Reception

What I'd like to see more of

1. More Background on Alcott and her pen name
2. Links to more famous works by Alcott (Little Women etc)
3. General reception by public

Sgeekie (talk) 01:43, 21 October 2015 (UTC)

Lexa Alva's Response

What I Would Like To See:

• Background

Title, author, publication date, short synopsis, and any influences that affected the writing.

• Plot

Setting, exposition and summary with exposition, rising action, climax, and resolution.

• Characters

Brief description of each primary character (possible mentioning secondary characters if their role was important to the story) and their general importance to the story.

• Themes

if novel touched any important issues, taught a lesson, etc.

• Style

Voice in which it was written, language type that was used, if style was special for the time period.

• Critical Reception

Reviews and awards.

Behind a Mask had:

• background
• plot
• charactyers
• themes
• critical reception

What I Would Add:

• I thought that the article was very informative about what was covered, but I would like to see more of the criteria that I had listed above, such as a style section and a more detailed list of the characters that tells their importance to the story. Lexaalva (talk) 04:24, 21 October 2015 (UTC)

Rebecca Greaney's Response

- Background: I would expect to see the title of the work, the author, the date of publication, a brief synopsis of the text, and perhaps how successful or well known the text is. -Plot Summary: I would expect to hear who are the most vital characters to the story, the story's rising action, and perhaps even the climax of the story, so long as there are not major spoilers for how the story ends. -Characters: lists of the main characters, their defining characteristics, their strengths and faults, their physical descriptions, relationships to one another, their purpose for being included in the story. -Themes: At least a couple different themes of the story, and whether symbolism plays a role in the themes. Additionally, I'd like to see where in the story these themes play out, to narrow down what chapters/portions of the text support the themes. -Style: Perhaps the genre of the story and maybe even the author's thought process throughout the writing process of the story, if this information is available. -Critical Reception: Here, I would hope to see what influential reviewers, such as The Times, or popular authors, had to say about the story. Additionally, if a story is being made into a film, I would hope to see how successful the film was in this section.

-What did Behind A Mask fulfill? -Background included the author and publication. -Plot included main characters, some instances of rising action, and what I imagine is the climax of the story. It also included how the story ended. -Characters included lists of the main characters, and their relationships to other characters in the story. -Themes included at least a couple various themes, as well as the characters who support those themes, which displays relevance. -Style was not included -Critical Reception the thoughts of literary critics who were well known when it comes to the author of the text, which is perhaps more relevant than including the opinions of more widely known critics.

-If I were to edit this page, I would: -perhaps find a way to avoid telling how the story ends. -build up the characters section, to include more of a description of the characters besides just their relationships to one another. I would probably describe their characteristics and how big of a role the character played in the story. -try to add a style section, and try to find out if there is any information about the author's frame of mind as she wrote the story.

RebeccaGreaney (talk) 05:27, 21 October 2015 (UTC)

Abi Bouwma's Response

What I want to see

1. Background- The most important information and the key details of the work.

2. Plot- An overview focusing on the major events without spoilers as to the ending!

3. Characters- list of main and supporting characters with small descriptions of each.

4. Themes- List of themes with academic support for those.

5. Style- Writing technique and notable style choices

6. Critical Response- public reception of the work, notable reviews

What Behind A Mask had

1. Content was informative but brief.

2. Had a well-developed Critical Response section, always nice to see.

3. The themes listed had adequate support.

What I would add

1. Develop the plot section into a little more detail.

2. Add more further reading (journal articles, etc.) that have been published more recently.

Abouwma1 (talk) 05:28, 21 October 2015 (UTC)

Monica Rodriguez's Response

→Background Criteria: I would like to see background on the author. Looking into the author's background can sometimes really help identify certain themes, plots, character development, etc because these ideas may stem off of the author's personal life.

→Plot Summary Criteria: An overview on the major events happening within the text, but nothing that would give too much of the text away. Something along the lines of a movie trailer: showing the most thrilling parts, without giving the entire movie away.

→Characters Criteria: list of important characters, as well as their importance to the story.

→Themes:description of main themes, as well as underlying themes.

→Style: writing styles, writing techniques, voice, etc.

→Critical Reception: book reviews (by scholarly and non-scholarly sources), reviews on different media outlets (blogs, newspapers, websites, etc).

→Behind a Mask: It listed everything that we touched on. 1 Background 2 Plot 3 Characters 4 Themes 5 Critical reception

→What I would add: It did a good job at getting to the point of each section. I would just add more importance to the characters and more important details about them. (if there are any.)

Mrodrig1016 (talk) 06:49, 21 October 2015 (UTC)

Katie Goldbranson's Response

My criteria for these kind of entries are as follows:

1. Background: I want to see information on the author as well as the context under which the work was published. If there is additional information that is important to understanding the story, that should be included as well, along with the proper citations and references.
2. Plot: I expect a synopsis of the story as a whole, focusing especially on major events and the climax of the story. I don't think the author of the post should be concerned about giving away too many spoilers. The point of an encyclopedia article is to give a clear idea of the work it is exhibiting, and it is impossible to do that if you are fearful of spoiling a story.
3. Characters: If it is a full length novel, there should be a subsection for each major character and perhaps a few lines or a paragraph for any minor characters that add something to the story. Even for short stories there should be at least a full paragraph on major characters.
4. Themes: Any important or recurring themes throughout the work should be included in this section. If symbolism plays a role, this should be included as well. If it is an acclaimed work and scholarly articles have been written about it, then putting in references to those which talk about themes would be a useful addition.
5. Style: The writing technique of the author as well as any literary devices used should be discussed in this section. If this story has a unique style (if it is written in epistolary form, for example) then this section should tell us what that element adds to the story as a whole.
6. Critical Response: There should always be a critical response section. If there are a lot of different responses to a work, then splitting the section into three subsections (positive reviews, negative reviews, and mixed reviews) would be a useful organization tool.

What I think of Behind a Mask in terms of my criteria:

1. The Background section was sufficient, as was the Themes section, but the others could use some work.
2. The Plot section could be a little more detailed. As I said in my criteria, I don't think that the author of a post should be concerned with giving away spoilers. They are, after all, part of the plot, and therefore important to understanding the story.
3. I like the layout of the Characters section, but I would like to see a little bit more detail here. How do all of the characters relate to each other? Do some of their relationships change by the end of the story? I also think that more focus should be given to the more important characters.
4. The Critical Response section focuses mainly on positive reviews. I would like to see more diversity in responses to the story.

Here's what I would add:

1. I have not read the story, so I do not know if it needs a Style section or not, but if it would only merit a couple of lines then it could easily be combined with the Themes section.
2. I would add any negative reviews on the story to give the post less bias, as the critical response section currently seems to be a bit biased on the side of feminism.
3. I would add a little more detail to the Plot section, focusing on the climax of the story especially.

Kgoldbranson (talk) 16:02, 21 October 2015 (UTC)

Kristen Knoerzer’s answers to Create/Contribute

Criteria

• Background: Basic details — author, title, publication date/relevant context, brief synopsis, if it’s part of a series or has a movie adaptation, any significantly noteworthy details (e.g. Pulitzer Prize winner, movie adaptation won Oscar for Best Picture)
• Plot: Setting, major events/conflicts. I’m ok including the ending here because if I’m reading about the plot I expect to see details and would avoid reading if I don’t want spoilers. Essentially, I should be able to read this section in a couple of minutes and know the basic outline of what happens in the book.
• Characters: Protagonist, antagonist, supporting characters. Briefly describe their role to plot and how they interact. If there’s a well-known movie adaptation, include actor’s name in parentheses as a reference point. Maybe break it up with subheadings to differentiate primary/supporting characters.
• Themes: Overall main theme/moral/lesson. If applicable, include theories with documentation and whether author has commented on validity.
• Style: Tone, formality, techniques. How style may support or detract from theme.
• Critical Reception: Balanced viewpoint, summaries. Note timing of reception — loved immediately, then faded away? Initially panned, then accepted? I would also include information about general reception (a bestseller? Award-winner?) although I am not sure if it should be included here or have a separate section.

Behind a Mask

• This is a good start to an article but can be expanded. The intro and background lead me to believe there is quite a bit of history to this book and its publication and republication, and a few additional sentences could help establish the prominence and context.
• The characters section can also be expanded. There should be reviews that give more descriptions of the main characters, which would also help back up the subjective adjectives used like condescending and naïve.
• The critical reception section begins almost exactly how we’ve been instructed not to do this, with a generalization of “Many literary critics…” and then one critic cited. Same with the second paragraph, citing frequent readings then listing two.

Kristenknoerzer (talk) 17:10, 21 October 2015 (UTC)

Megan Gilliam's Response

Expectations for articles:

• Background: author, title, publication date and relevant details surrounding (major events of era influencing piece? Victorian? Contemporary? etc.)
• Plot: setting, major character(s), main conflict, and no spoilers! I want a plot to be able to be copy and pasted to the back cover of the book to provide information, not to give details as to the resolution. If it wouldn't belong on the back cover, it does not belong in this, in my opinion! (Perhaps too many bad experiences spoiling things for myself by reading too far into the "plot" on other articles
• Characters: List of all major characters and supporting characters and a brief description (i.e. role and relationship to other characters, if applicable)
• Themes: As many generally identifiable themes as there are, including links to those concepts (if a specific terminology was used) so the reader can read more about them if they are unfamiliar.
• Style: General overview of the writing style, because some readers are instantly turned off by one style or another. First-person? Third-person? Linear/chronological organization?
• Critical reception: An accurate representation of what is being said about this book in the literary sphere, including good reviews, bad reviews, and mixed reviews. It is important to remain impartial in this section and remember that what you think about the book may vary completely from that of the reader of the article, and reviews that are irrelevant to you might be helpful to another. This needs good citation too, in order to ensure your audience you are being unbiased in your representation.

Behind a Mask:

• The plot was relatively good, except for the end. I am confused if that is the actual ending, or just an event that occurs toward the end. There is no mention of the conflict, and characters being "suspicious" cannot be the only conflict.
• The themes, beside the first one (see comments below) were informative and interesting.
• The critical reception did not seem to have much in the way of reviews, more so analyses and responses to the novella. There is no mention of any bad reviews or mixed reviews. It's mostly a summary of what educated, scholarly professionals are saying in terms of theories (the mention of "Beauty and the Beast") and the author's purpose.

What I would change:

• The main conflict could be highlighted more in the plot section. It seems everything goes just smoothly, which begs me to ask what the point of the book is, then?
• Under "Themes," the first one listed in the employment of theater based on Alcott's history in theater; this seems to be more of an inspiration than an actual theme, and could be included under background, maybe?
• Provide more reviews of the text under "Critical Reception," albeit it may be difficult to find such kinds of reviews on a novel in this time period. If so, say so!

Megankayla (talk) 17:53, 21 October 2015 (UTC)

Kal Pence's Response

Background criteria:

• Title
• Author
• Original Publication Date
• Original Publication City
• Original Publisher
• Genre(s)
• Notable variations between editions
• Notable Forwards or Introductions, and their authors
• Notable contributions to extra-literary fields or branches of knowledge

Plot Summary:

• Brief description of major plot points
• Emphasis on temporal or episodic organization

Characters:

• Initial impression of characters
• Brief summary of major character development

Themes:

• Broad, overarching themes
• Development of themes by chapter or scene

Style

• Narrative voice
• Point of view
• Dialogue/vernacular accuracy

Critical Reception:

• Notable critics' reviews, from among a diverse group of publications
• Awards

Behind a Mask:

• Lacks a style section
• Themes section is thorough, brief, and well-sourced
• Plot summary could focus more on how the story develops temporally

Editing this article: I would add a style section and refocus the plot summary toward how the story unfolds--although this may not apply once I've read the work.

KalPence (talk) 19:53, 21 October 2015 (UTC)

Emily Dolata

What I want to see in: -Background: The author, when it was published, if there are other publications of it, short summary, any influences that affected the story. -Plot: Setting, Characters, summary of the story including the climax of the story and the resolution. -Characters: The characters themselves (including minor), how they are connected to eachother, and how they are connected to the story. -Themes: over arcing themes throughout the story, including main ones and minor. -Style: what writting style the story is written in, if it has any other influences as well as the voice of the story. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 152.228.181.189 (talk) 18:58, 26 October 2015 (UTC)

Emily Dolata

What I want to see in: -Background: The author, when it was published, if there are other publications of it, short summary, any influences that affected the story. -Plot: Setting, Characters, summary of the story including the climax of the story and the resolution. -Characters: The characters themselves (including minor), how they are connected to each other, and how they are connected to the story. -Themes: over arcing themes throughout the story, including main ones and minor. -Style: what writing style the story is written in, if it has any other influences as well as the voice of the story. -Critical Reception: how the story was received by others reviews, and if it was critiqued in any other media (newspaper, magazines, journals).

Behind the Mask had: -Good background of the novel, and some information of the author. -Easy to understand plot, which included spoilers, but left enough to be interested in actually reading. -list of characters and relationship to each other.

What I would add: -more information on the characters, and their importance to the story. - Expand on the background and change it so the author and the publication date came first. Edolata (talk) 19:06, 26 October 2015 (UTC)