The class-generated Textual Review rubric is now accessible through the Review Project page and the Calendar.

Most weeks this semester the class will hold Discussion Forums, which are student-lead discussions over a reading or video game taking most of the class period. To prepare for these sessions, class members will read an assigned text or play a specific game (usually alternating each week). Students will then post a critical response to the reading/game. The readings and games assigned for Discussion Forums will take time to digest, so students are encouraged to engage with them as soon as they are assigned.

Our first Discussion Forum will take place on Sept. 6. To prepare, students should read the posted excerpt from Steven Johnson's Everything Bad is Good for You. Then, students should post their critical response using the Discussion Forum #1 form.

Usually Discussion Forums are interesting, productive, and even fun. I look forward to hearing your ideas.

• Make certain to account for the complete prompt. If it asks you to include specific information or talk about a particular aspect of the work, be sure to do that.


• Provide mostly critical commentary in your response, not summary. We have all done the reading or played the game, so we don't need much summary. Instead, make concrete, specific connections to our previous works and your relevant experience inside and outside of class. Then turn your discussion to how this information might be useful in our current project, or otherwise change how you thought about it.


• Demonstrate your engagement with the material. One reason why we do responses is to ensure that everyone is keeping up with the material. Make sure that your response demonstrates that you have absorbed the material by making reference to specific concepts, terms, ideas, etc. from the reading.


• Use grammar and structure that is appropriate for a professional context. Sentence-level grammar is important, in part because it gives the response an appropriate ethos. Also, your response should be structured into a complete narrative with a beginning, middle, and end. Don't just collect random thoughts into one large paragraph. As writers, we have to do the work of presenting our material to the reader comprehensibly.


• Hit the word count. Word counts are somewhat arbitrary, but they encourage the kind of sustained engagement necessary for a good response.


• Post your response by the deadline. Responses should be posted before class time on the day that they are due.

Welcome to ENG 496-002: Writing and Video Games with Dr. Jeremy Tirrell. I will put updates and news that you should know on this Home page. The course flows through this website. As such, you should take some time to familiarize yourself with it, particularly the Syllabus, Assignments, and Calendar sections.

Again, welcome to this Senior Seminar! I hope you find it challenging and rewarding. If you have any questions, feel free to email me through tirrellj@uncw.edu.