January is over ...

and it's time to reassess this assignment.

Dehra Dun wasn't rebuilt in a day, and neither is a blog assignment.

In case you see this before returning to school, here's the assignment for February:

1. No more original posts until further notice. (That's right, no article responses or college essay drafts in February.)


2. Instead, I want you to comment on others' blogs. Respond to friends, to strangers, that crazy kid in your section, that creative kid in the other section. Read an entire post (or two or three or more), and respond with why you did (or didn't) like it and specifically how the writer can improve. The more comments you leave behind, the better.

As the photo above suggests, it's OK to tear something down, as long as the intention is to improve on the original. Two skills we'll work on during the second semester:

• Collaboration: If two brains are better than one, imagine what a community of brains can accomplish.
  


• Revision: What's better than Coke? New Coke! OK, maybe not -- maybe no Coke at all is the best option. But here's something you may not know: Coca-Cola, the world's biggest soft drink company, at one point in its history decided that the "original" formula just wasn't good enough. So, scientists and technicians devised a new formula that tasted a little more like Pepsi. The public hated New Coke, and the company quickly had to revert to the original (just like I might revert back to the original blogging assignment). How did Pepsi respond to all this? It changed the labeling on its products. (See? More revision!) Two lessons to be learned from this: 1. If revision is good enough for Coca-Cola and Pepsi, it's good enough for you. 2. Big corporations will do whatever they need to do to get your money (so don't be a sucker).

Safe travels, and see you next week. In-class essay (or something) on day one!