How to post your draft

I want to remind you all about a couple of things relating to the drafts of your blog post . . .

1) First of all, as I said today, your drafts need to be between 750 and 1000 words. Use your "word count" to make sure you're in that range. (This would be about three pages double-spaced if you were turning in a hard copy, but you are NOT going to do that.)

2) Once you're finished with your draft, you need to spellcheck it and proofread it at least once. (I wholly recommend printing it to do this because we read differently on screen than we do in print.)

3) After that, log into the blog we created today. See your email account for login info.

4) Click "new post."

5) Copy your draft and paste it into the window on your screen. (Do not include any of the info at the top of your paper—like the date or your name or my name—and do not use MLA format. You'll do that for your next essay.) Add a blank line between paragraphs (rather than indenting paragraphs).

6) Be sure to put your title in the title window and your name—"By John Doe"—at the end of your draft

7) Feel free to use the links and the picture options and the bold and italic options if you'd like

8) When you are finished, hit the "publish post" button.

9) Then hit "view blog" to view your draft on the blog.

10) The draft is due—and should be posted—before our next class on Thursday. We will be using these drafts in class, so make sure it's posted!

Also, a couple of tips:

• If you're have trouble finding your blog voice, try writing in second person. You might even address the letter to someone you know—preferably someone young—so that you can imagine yourself talking to them.

• Don't be afraid to include short paragraphs. On a blog, sometimes paragraphs are as short as one sentence or even one word if you're trying to make a point.

• As I've said before, feel free to use slang, curse words, and even texting symbols that are well known—like LOL or OMG.

Let me know if you have any questions.

Dr. McCaffrey