Directions for Post #1

Letter 1, approximately 150 words, addressed to everybody in your group ("Dear Folks," Hello Group," etc.) and submitted by Tuesday, October 20th by 5:30 p.m. U.S. EDT.

To preserve the conversational structure of the discussion, please provide a greeting and signature with each message, naming the group or person to whom you are writing and signing each letter.
 In this first letter, respond with personal and critical insight, focusing on the general meaning of the article as well as any questions you may have about it. Write about what interests you in such a way that it opens up the article to further response and discussion by your group-mates. What claims does the article make? What reasons do they give to support their claims?

It is helpful to ask questions about things you are unsure of or that you would like to hear what others have to say about.

 Some possibilities: You might begin by discussing the subject in the context of the source it was printed from, or present the subject in a way that you are able to relate to it. You might mention two or three words or short phrases that seem to be central or at least quite important to your article. For each word or phrase you select, write a few sentences of your own referring back to the article in order to explain why you think they are important.




As part of your first comment, you should write one or two sentences to introduce yourself to the group. For example, you could state your name, your academic interest or emphasis. You can say something about your previous experience with or previous images of the Latin American drug wars that you've been exposed to (the article we read in class, Guy's Lawson's "How the Drug Cartels Work" and the film we watched,The Two Escobars are both good sources to reference), if you like.



DO NOT FORGET to save your comment into a Word document. DO NOT FORGET to sign your name at the end of your post.