ENG 1031-1032 Spring 11

Accident

2011-03-28T12:45:00.000-07:00

I missed class on Thursday because I as in a car accident Wednesday night. You will have a substitute instructor for class Tuesday - but I hope to be in class soon.

In class you will finish your presentations during the first part of class - and during second half - you will present your analysis to your classmates. Your analysis should hit the points on the handout -with a focus on the discussion of the cultural meaning of your text. For your presentation - you should come to the front of the class and use the computer to show classmates the links to the different versions of your story (on snopes or some other site). You should read through at least three versions - so your classmates can help make sure you have identified the "right" common elements + symbollic meaning.

You should come to class with your presentations pretty well worked out (make sure you AT LEAST have chosen an urban legend that has 3 variants - and have some ideas about which elements are in common - and which are not). Some good possibilities include:

Brown Betty

Mexican Pet

Secret Sauce

Satan's Choice

Vanishing Hitchhiker

Mall grab

Kidnapped Children

Many of these have done some of the analysis for you => it is your job to think more deeply about the common elements. For example, in the kidnapped children stories - where are the children kidnapped from? What is the (implied) identity of the children + the kidnappers? How do these elements connect to contemporary fears for the identity groups implied by the stories.

To identify your story's audience - remember that Brunvand said => that the audience is usually a "match" either for the protagonists or the identity groups associated with the main characters in the stories.

For Thursday:
Read: Chapter 5: Causal Analsysi. Bring your book to class.

Mid-point portfolio and Analysis of urban legends

2011-03-22T08:42:00.000-07:00

In the first part of class we discussed "New Legends for Old" (good job on your quizzes!). The point of this discussion was to practice using analytic process to identify the "elements" of urban legends - and to look for those elements in sample urban legends. At the end of the first class period you divided into groups and we took a look at the assignment sheet for the group presentation on urban legends (posted to the right under 'practice analysis' under Assignments).

Groups:
Nyderia, Diane, Mahasin, Modson

Daniella, Alan, Mamie

Sam, Stephanie, Anthony, Kyle

During the second half of class we went over the reflective writing assignment for the persuasive essay, and you worked on setting up your portfolio for the second "grade-so-far" portfolio check.

For Thursday:

Finish your portfolios + the reflective writing. I will be grading portfolios over the weekend. If you would like me to re-grade any work from the first "grade-so-far" => list it on the first page (reflection on course).

Look through Snopes.com and other sources for urban legends to find an appropriate legend for the Analysis of an Urban Legend assignment. The legend will need to : 1) be "believed" but not true; 2) have a number of different variants. You will need to identify both differences + common elements as a way to figure out the symbolic meaning (cultural function) for your urban legend.

During next class, we will go over a sample analysis that meets the requirements of the group assignment - and you will work on finishing your group presentations.

urban legends

2011-03-22T07:10:00.001-07:00

http://www.halloweenghoststories.com/legends/creatures1-3.html

rats - the other white meat (Newark)

http://www.snopes.com/photos/food/rats.asp

gang initiations

http://www.snopes.com/crime/gangs/lightsout.asp

March 10: Finishing persuasion + introduction to Analysis -

2011-03-11T07:53:00.000-08:00

Sample Analytic essay: In class today we looked at a sample analysis (The body ritual of the Nacerima - see link for "Read" at the March 8 post). Through looking at what the author "did" in this essay we noticed that he:

- posed large categories of behavior or locations where certain behaviors took place
- identified specific features/elements of the behaviors, locations, interactions within those categories
- interpreted the meanings of the behaviors and relationships

Those three "moves" are typical of analytic writing. Analysis describes, explains, or interprets relationships between the components (elements) of a process, interaction, text, event, situation or nearly anything that has "parts". Analysis identifies and names the elements/parts of what you are analyzing - and poses a meaningful discussion of the relationships among those elements or parts. The focus of an analytic essay is the meaning of the relationships identified by the analysis. Writers develop a focus by analyzing a series of related overall features of their subject to support a central point. For example, in "The body ritual of the Nacerima," the essay used a discussion of the different rituals associated with the bathroom, dental care, and the hospital as a way to "prove" the superstitious nature of the Nacerima. Because this essay is also a parody of anthropological writing - it also makes the point that anthropologists tend to portray the cultures of "others" as primitive - while overlooking the "magical" assumptions within their own culture.

Analytic process: After discussing Miner's essay - you used analysis to solve a logic problem. We noted the "steps" you followed in your analysis on the board.
1. Identified the different elements (the diamonds, squares, clubls, hearts, and spades)
2. Identified features of the elements (colors + orientations) that made them "different"
3. Looked for patterns in the relationships between the elements by:

counting (quantifying -as a way to estimate the significance) the numbers of each element,
looking for which elements were associated with one another
making hypotheses (guesses) about how to "group" the elements
making hypotheses about the order or sequence of the different relationships you observed

4. Identified an overall pattern (the answer to the logic problem) that "fit" with the local patterns you identified

These are basic analytic "moves" you use in analysis - whether you are doing an logic problem - or analyzing a written text.

After solving the logic problem, we briefly compared the form of a written analysis (Miner's essay) with the process you used to analyze a text.

Miner's essay presented the larger categories/patterns and then supported his interpretation of those patterns with specific examples of relationships among the elements he identified.

In contrast - when you solved the logic problem - you began by identifying the elements - and worked up through smaller patterns to identify the larger patterms (categories).

These observations set up some definite suggestions about the process for writing an analytic paper.

Introduction to cultural analysis: I then passed out Jan Harold Brunvand's "New Legend's for Old" - available in Et Cetera - a journal in the Kean University Library database. We will use this essay to set up the writing assignment for you analytic paper. If you did not receive a copy of this essay in class you should print a copy and read it for next class. There will be a quiz at the beginning of class.

For class March 22:
Read: Jan Harold Brunvand's "New Legend's for Old"
Write: Work on final revisions to your persuasive essay. I will return the revised persuasive essay with comments no later than Monday, March 14, so you have some time to work on it. If you did not turn in the revised persuasive essay by the due date, I strongly suggest that you go to the Writing Center, and make revisions based on the work you do there.

We will spend the first half of class working on analysis. During the second half of class you will update your portfolio and work on the reflective writing for the persuasive essay. The final draft for the persuasive essay will be due March 24, with your portfolio.

March 8: Workshop on Persuasive essays

2011-03-08T08:22:00.000-08:00

Today you worked on your drafts for your persuasive essays. I did a "sample" workshop with Stephanie - and pointed out issues associated with;

writing to the assignment -did you reply to a particular statement? did you identify that statement in your introduction? did you establish your ethos - and appeal to your audience's perspective => see the assignment sheet;
focus - did each paragraph of your essay make a point with respect to the focus you set up in your introduction? does that focus connect to the position taken by the statement you are opposing/supporting?
organization - do you provide background information first? did you connect to a point you and the "other side:" agree on before "attacking"? did you establish yourself as having authority - before making claims? Persuasion is not only about reason - you need to think about how your audience will "hear" your reasons, and the order of your essay can make the difference between getting the other side to listen - and having them refuse to read your essay
development - did you support each of your points? did you connect it to your overall focus?

Hopefully you got enough workshopping to see what you needed to work on. The rest of the class was devoted to one-on-one conferences, and work on your writing.

We also talked about quotation and paraphrasing - and how to decide when you should do which. See the handout on the sidebar - and the information at the purdue owl.

For next class you will turn in your complete, revised draft for your persuasive essay (Project 1), and we begin talking about analytic writing = what it is and how it works.

Read: The body ritual of the nacerima

Write: finish the revised draft for the persuasive essay - send it to me as an email attachment due before class on Thursday, March 10.

March 3: Working on a draft for the persuasive essay

2011-03-03T09:40:00.000-08:00

You spent today's class working on the drafts for your persuasive essays. We began by going over the brainstorming for topics you did for homework. As we wrote down the list, we began looking at the internet to see where we could find information relevant to your topics.

Some useful links:

For federal legislation: www.Thomas.gov

Civil rights / human freedom issues (national) http://www.aclu.org/

Internet freedom issues http://www.eff.org/

Immigration reform http://www.fairus.org/site/PageServer

Legalizing Marijuana http://www.justice.gov/dea/ongoing/legalization.html

Drinking age http://www.nhtsa.gov/people/injury/alcohol/community%20guides%20html/PDFs/Public_App7.pdf

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26271328/ns/us_news-life/

General process for developing some pre-writing for your topic.

READ THE ASSIGNMENT SHEET Throughout the process you should use the assignment sheet to direct your planning and drafting process.
Once you are clear on the demands of the assignment (who is your audience? what do you need to do? what form are you expected to use) - you might work through the following process.

1. Find a statement you can argue against=> pay attention to the domain (.gov .org .edu .com) + "importance" of the site you use for your statement to argue against

2. Locate other arguments on your topic - again- pay attention to the domain

3. List the point syou will need to argue to reply to "the other side"

4. list your points (both what you will argue for and what you will argue against)

5. map out the organization for your argument - what do you need to say first? how will you establish your authority? how can you get your audience (the other side) to "hear" your point of view? What do you need to write to get them to listen?

General suggestions for organization (summed up from book)

1. Set up the focus for your argument + why it is important

2. Sum up the position (and identify the group that takes that position) you will argue against

3. State your position (you don't necessarily have to do this directly or in terms of a 3-part thesis => you might tell a story, or give an example to suggest another point of view; you might quote some experts who raise other points - etc)

4. Connect to your audience + establish your authority (why should your readers listen to you? What special authority or expertise do you have to offer on this point?)

5. Make your points for and against the position - keep thinking about how your audience will receive your points

6. End with a strong point

7. Write a conclusion. Again - this could be a story, a reflection on what this issue means or why it is important that sums up your ideas, or it can be a logical re-statement of the arguments

For Tuesday:

Write: Draft for the persuasive essay - send your essays to ENG1031@gmail.com before class Tuesday. You will workshop your drafts and work on revising them in class.

Have a good weekend!

Persuasive writing.

2011-03-01T08:14:00.000-08:00

We began class with a review of how the portfolios, were graded. IN general, grades for this "grade-so-far" were most affected by missing work and missing class. I emphasized that for your final grade, the "weight" of grading moves from participation to graded writing assignments. I also pointed out that the Evidence of progress grade will be your final exam, and that for the final grade I will drop your three lowest attendance grades.

Persuasive writing.
We discussed the sample essay in the book on gay marriage and evaluated its "effectiveness". As a class we generated the following list.

strengths
- begins with ethos appeal (establishes authority) and connects to the readers feelings (asks them to "feel" how it feels to be cast outside of "traditional values")
- works from less controversial material to stronger, more polarized claims
- uses lots of support to develop, explain + illustrate points

weaknesses
- does not seem to focus directly on gay marriage
- transitions between different subjects seem abrupt (essay doesn't flow)

With these considerations in mind - you then workshopped your "Should women be drafted?) essays.
You worked with a partner to explore the following questions:

what is the essay's main point?
what are the supporting points?
what is the order of the author's "moves" (ethos, pathos, logos)
how does the author connect to the audience (establish common ground) before moving to more direct (aggressive) points?
what makes this essay persuasive?
what should be strengthened?

You composed an email answering each of these questions.

We then reviewed what you are learning about persuasive writing, took a look at the assignment sheet for the persuasive essay (posted at the right), and you did some brainstorming to find a topic for your essay.

For Thursday:

Write: exploratory writing to find your topic. This might be freewriting - it might be a list of 5-10 topics with ideas associated to them (a detailed list); it might be "looping" = some detailed freewriting in response to ideas that came up in your free writing. It might be a list of websites. Or it might be just a description of some things you care about and are interested in followed by "arguments" associated with those interests. This writing will be posted at on your portfolio at the Persuasive essay section, under prewriting.

Come to class Thursday prepared to talk about your topic for your persuasive essay.

Feb 24: Practice persuasive essay

2011-02-25T09:34:00.000-08:00

In class today we made sure everyone was clear on the portfolio. I will be reading your portfolios and sending you a "grade-so-far" by Tuesday. Your portfolios will be graded on completeness, organization, and the overall quality of work. Your "grade-so-far" will include points for your homework and class participation, and graded work (the best summary, the best response, and the reflective writing). As pointed out in class - for me to read your work - you have to share your portfolio with the ENG 1031 email address.

We spent the rest of class talking about how to develop persuasive essays. We looked at the "plans" you developed for homework; you worked on groups to come up with a focus and a list of points to argue against "Uncle Sam and Aunt Samantha." The strongest arguments against this piece centered on the issue she raised => gender equality as it is related to the draft.

For Tuesday:
Read: HTWA, sample essay on gay marriage.
Write: Practice Argument 2=> write an essay where you take a position on gender, equality and the draft. Use the essays by Quindlan and Parker - (you may also us other materials) - to set up the background issues. Make sure your focus is on gender equality and the draft. Focus on and develop one or two points IN DEPT - rather than writing about any argument you can think of. Make sure your points connect to your focus.

In class we will assess these essays, read the assignment sheet for the graded persuasive essay, and begin brainstorming ideas.

Have a good weekend and see you Tuesday.

Feb 22 => Persuasion!

2011-02-22T08:45:00.000-08:00

In class to day I showed you how to share your portfolios. Those of you who needed additional help to complete the portfolio will meet with me in my office - CAS 324 - Wednesday, Feb 23 at 2:00 pm. I will leave a note on the door to let anyone who is a little late which computer lab we are working in.

We started thinking about persuasion by talking through a hypothetical situation where one person, J, was in a position where he wanted to persuade another, K. We began by listing the reasons K might choose to do what J wanted. We then listed the reasons J would present to K if he tried to persuade him. We noted that these two lists were different => the content and organization of an argument depends on your audience and your purpose.

We them quickly reviewed the presentation of argument in your text. We discussed the use of logos, pathos, and ethos - the three ways to appeal to your audience to see your side. We talked about what each kind of appeal can do - and began to think about when, where and why you might choose one appeal over another.

We then looked at Uncle Sam and Aunt Samantha - and identified the main points + the nature of her appeals.

For homework:
Read: HTWA Chapter 3, Argument
Write: write a plan for an argument against "Uncle Sam and Aunt Samantha. Use a process similar to the process we walked through in class to discover what you have to say. After doing some invention writing (this can be listing, freewriting, clustering, detailed listing etc) develop your plan. Your plan should include the points you will make in the order you will make them. Label the appeal you make for each point.

Feb 17: Creating Portfolios for grade-so-far

2011-02-18T08:59:00.000-08:00

You spent class creating your portofolios for the grade-so-far evaluation. The sample portfolio is listed to the right under course documents. Click through the headings and make sure to include work for all the headings listed in the sample. Notice that the pages for Best Summary + Best Response require you to post a reflective essay where you assess what you are learning + what you need to work on.

Portfolios will be graded on overall quality of work, completeness and organization. Complete portfolios are due at the beginning of class on Tuesday, February 22. At the beginning of class you will invite me to view your portfolio, and I will provide feedback, and your grade-so-far probably by the end of next week.

For Tuesday:
Write: Finish portfolio + reflective writing
Read: HTWA, Chapter 3: Argument => bring your book to class

FYI:students who do not bring books to class are unprepared and will receive only 1/2 credit for participation.

February 15: Best response essays

2011-02-15T09:52:00.000-08:00

In class today you workshopped your response essays for Lakoff & Johnson. You sent a plan for how to revise this essay (based on the process we developed in class on Thursday and posted on the last blog).

You then spent the rest of the class working on your best response: you get to choose which essay - the response to McCall or the response to Lakoff & Johnson - will present your strongest writing. Then, revise that essay.

In class on Thursday you will set up your portfolio (you can check out the portfolio template - also posted at the link under course documents). You will also do the reflective writing for the summary assignments + the response essays. The class will be a workshop - where you have time to work on the writing of your choice. If you choose, you can schedule an in-class conference on the essay of your choice.

For Thursday:
Write: Revised response essay

Class Thursday February 11: Workshop on Response essays

2011-02-11T12:30:00.000-08:00

We used the assignment sheet to put together a rubric for figuring out what to work on in revising your response essays on McCall.

We started by reviewing the essay - to make sure we had a clear idea what McCall was writing about. We then established the following pattern to figure out what to revise.

1. Identify the main point of the response essay. Which point of McCall's does the author respond to? Is it an important point? Does the author represent McCall's point accurately?

2. Assess the focus. Does the introduction set up the focus in terms of the main points McCall makes? Does the author make a clear point with respect to the focus in each paragraph? (If you can't say what that point is - the essay probably needs some work). To sharpen the focus we identified material that should be deleted, ideas that should be added, sentences that needed to be moved, and information that needed to be changed, clarified or strengthened. Make sure the focus developed in the paragraphs is the SAME focus you set up in the introduction + sum up in the conclusion.

3. Look at the development. Did the author use examples, illustrations, "facts," personal experience, references to the media, etc to make their points clear and support their validity? If not - the author should do some freewriting/brainstorming to figure out how to support his/her point.

4. Check the organization. In general, in academic writing - the expectation is for students to make a general statement (a conceptual statement) and move to a more particular discussion. The points in your essay should generally be organized in keeping with this principle. Does the author state the "idea" s/he is discussing -before discussing particular cases or variation? Also - in a response essay - the introduction should set up or introduce ideas/key terms from McCall's essay that the author refers to in his/her discussion. Does the introduction do this?

The main point of today's class was that revision is not about spelling and grammar. It is about strengthening your focus = sometimes even finding your focus. Good writing grows out of re-writing. Writing is part of the thinking process. Often first drafts discover your idea - but they need more work before you can say exactly what you want to say in the best order.

We workshopped two essay - one as a whole group, and one in small groups. You then wrote notes about what you needed to revise to strengthen your essay on McCall. I will not be providing written feedback to direct revision for this essay => you will work from your notes - and from face-to-face feedback in conferences (which we will schedule on Tuesday).

We then discussed strategies for writing a response essay for Conceptual Metaphor in Everyday Language.

For Tuesday:
Write: Resonse to "Conceptual Metaphor in Everyday Language"

Have a good weekend and see you on Tuesday!

Response essays

2011-02-08T09:05:00.000-08:00

You took a look at the marks for your response essays; hopefully they were useful. Anyone who received an "R" needs to revise their essay and re-submit it for a grade. As we discussed in class - your most difficult issues were with understanding the content of the essay. So we worked on McCall for your first response essay.

To work on your response essay we moved through the following process:

Reviewed the main ideas = supporting discussions in McCall's essays
Looked at a "model" response essay (in your text book) and talked about what the author did in each paragraph
Looked at the assignment sheet
Did some invention writing. You did someblindwriting, followed by writing to identify ideas in the blindwriting that would work for you,. Then you listed:

your main idea,
how your main idea connected to McCall's main idea
points from McCall that you would need to include in your summary to set up your essay

Next - you went back to review McCall's essay to make sure he said what you thought he said, did some writing to identify and organize what you had to say back to him, and started on your draft.

Finish your response to McCall for Thursday, and read through L&J one more time! You will work on your response to L&J during the second half of class on Thursday.

For Thursday:
Write: Finish your response to McCall; in the email you use to turn it in - let me know if you'd be willing to let the class use your essay for practice feedback. I will take your name off before I put it up on the screen or make copies.

Nathan McCall

2011-02-03T09:27:00.000-08:00

We talked about Nathan McCall's "Men, We just don't get it." Our conversation emphasized McCall's ideas => rather than the stories he told to develop those ideas. To write a good academic summary you need to answer the "what was the essay about" questions in terms of ideas , NOT in terms of "what happened." The story about "the list" illustrates his point that men are socialized in ways that shape them to think about women as "things" - the object of a conquest.

During the second part of class you worked on your summary. I emphasized that you should start by stating the overall point you see McCall as making. What was he trying to get you to understand about male identity, cultural conditioning, and how men (and women) think about sex? A good way to figure out the main point of an essay is to ask yourself what the title means. For McCall - you might ask => what is it that men don't get? What points does he make about why men don't get "it" and why it matters that they don't?

Pay attention to the strategies you use to figure out the main ideas. Academic summaries require you to present ideas (and to avoid repeating the story or the details). In your World literature course, you will be required to write about the main ideas in the literature you read - NOT to retell the stories. For example, while Herman Melville's Mody Dick is certainly about a sea captain who tries to catch a whale and ends up dying - that is not how you would summarize it. You might write that: Moby Dick is both an almost journalistic story about the details New England whaling industry, and a kind of parable about man against nature. The point is - you need to write about the ideas.

For Tuesday:

Read: HTWA, Chapter 10, Position paper

Write: Finish your summary of "Men, We just don't get it" and email it to me

In class Tuesday, I will hand back your summaries of Lakoff and Johnson and we will talk about issues to work on - and how to work on them.

Then we will talk about writing response essays - we will talk about what you have to say back to McCall - and you will get started on writing a response to his essay.

Have a good weekend!

Summaries part 2 - when the reading is REALLY hard

2011-02-01T14:48:00.000-08:00

One purpose of ENG 1031 is to make you strong, independent writers who can solve their own writing challenges. So - today we talked about strategies for writing summaries of readings that were difficult to understand (like the one I gave you) - and we worked through some of those strategies in class.

First - you took an inventory of the strategies you are already using. Most of you read and re-read the essay. Underlined, took notes and reviewed your notes from class; identified key terms. . Some of you wrote main ideas and looked up "hard:" words. Good.

Second - we looked through the text book to see if we could find tips for what to do with a "hard" reading. We found chapters on "smart reading" and on "experts" = both of which made useful suggestions. IN terms of smart reading - I would suggest paraphrasing main points, asking questions about how the main points relate to each other. But if you are really stumped = talking to others can be crucial We took time to figure out how to schedule appointments at CAS and the Writing Center on Tutortrac, and I encouraged you to ASK ME (or the instructor whose course you are working on). Or ask each other. Or someone you know. The important thing is that you get some fresh input.

Third - we talked (again) - only this time we identified our own conceptual metaphors for argument through examining the language we used to talk about arguments. We noticed that our class discussions used the following phrases when talking about arguments:

Following are some of the conventional metaphors from the conceptual metaphor ARGUMENT is a BUILDING.

build your argument
the structure of your argument is weak
the way to construct a good argument is to provide support for your main ideas

We also identified language for the conceptual metaphor, ARGUMENT as a SHARED VISION = focus your points, I see your idea, could you draw the argument to a conclusion, this is clear/fuzzy, show me what you mean, illustrate that point = and so on.

The point is that = through conversation, asking each other for examples - thinking and talking - we came to a clearer understanding of what the essay was about.

Workshop: You then had one-on-one conferences (using the posted protocol for the workshop) to work on your summaries. You checked the list on the board to make sure you'd covered the content (you needed to include definitions of conceptual metaphors & conventional metaphors, a discussion of the relationship between the two kinds of metaphors - and you needed to state Lakoff & Johnson's main point => what were they saying about conceptual metaphors? why does it matter whether we notice them or not?) and you talked through the questions for Content, Form + Style.

Congratulations! You have worked through a very challenging reading. It was written for other professors and graduate students => and you read it and understood it. I am looking forward to reading your summaries!

For Thursday:
Read: Men, we just don't get it by Nathan McCall (handout in class + posted under Men). This may seem like more of a "story" - but he makes a series of points. Make sure you know what his main argument is - and what points he presents to develop that argument.

Write: Revise your summary of Lakoff & Johnson. Send it to me as an attachment to an email with the subject line: LastnameLakoffJohnsonR => my essay would be ChandlerLakoffJohnsonR (the R stands for revised).

Great class! Thank you for coming out on this cold icy day - and see you on Thursday.

We also noticed

In-class workshop 2/1

2011-02-01T06:20:00.001-08:00

Workshop

Ask what issues the writer wants to work on

Content

What are the main ideas of Lakoff & Johnson's essay in the summary? What does it need to add?

How does the summary define key terms? Are these definitions understandable and in the author's own word?

What does the summary state as the relationship between key terms and the essay's main points?

Form

How/where does the summary set up L&J's essay?

Are the points from the essay presented in an easy to follow order? Would a different order be easier to understand?

Does the summary acknowledge the poit of view of the author?

Does the summary come to a conclusion?

Language issues

Together, identify the main class of mistake (made more than once) in the essay (there might not be any)

Using your book + writing summaries

2011-01-25T10:50:00.000-08:00

We spent the first part of class going over feedback to your baseline essays - and using your book (and the Purdue OWL) to look up HOW to respond to various writing issues.

We talked in some depth about the kind of reading, thinking and writing you need to do before you begin to draft your essays. This is generally called the "prewriting" phase (so that is what you would use as a key word to search an index). It is about gathering ideas, thinking about which ideas you might use and in what order, thinking about what parts of the text you are writing about you are going to want to refer to - and so on.

Some of the strategies you might use during prewriting include:
Figuring out what you have to write: reading + taking notes on the text, reading the assignment sheet, jotting down the main ideas from the text, underlining/marking the text, defining terms, listing points from the text you might want to use, re-checking the assignment sheet, reading on the web (or in your textbook) about the genre you need to write (summary, response, analysis, argument, narrative, comparison, etc)

Brainstorming ideas (gathering material): freewriting; blindwriting; underlining the ideas you like in your freewriting and freewriting to those ideas; talking to anyone who will listen (or yourself - so long as it is out loud); checking out your topic on the internet; asking questions (who, what, when, where, why); comparing your topic to similar topics; list points and write details associated with each one, writing anything you associate with your topic, paraphrasing points from the text

Organizing your ideas: lists, cluster diagrams, mind maps, outlines,

You might move back and forth among these strategies several times as you write.

We spent the second half of class talking about George Lakoff and Mark Johnson's essay: Conceptual Metaphor in Everyday Language" and about how to write a summary. The assignment sheet for the summary is listed under Assignments, to the right. Guidelines for writing a summary are listed under Tips for summaries, under Guidelines and Sample Essays.

Your assignment for Thursday is to write a summary of this text. I would suggest doing some more careful reading - some listing + defining of key terms & main points AND some freewriting before you start to write your essay.

For Thursday:
Read: HTWA Chapter 40, "Summarizing sources"
Write: Summary of Lakoff & Johnson

To receive credit, your summary is do in the course email as an attachment BEFORE class begins (9:30). It doesn't need to be perfect. Go as far as you can - even if it is very brainstormy - and turn it in. We will work from where you are.

Bring your book to class.

Good luck! And see you on Thursday.

Evaluating your work

2011-01-20T09:44:00.000-08:00

The focus of today's class was on identifying + practicing the standards college instructors use to evaluate writing. We discussed the criteria listed on the rubric for evaluating essays for college composition (posted to the right under "guides and sample papers" - and then you applied them to a series of sample essays. You seem to have a good idea of what each requirement means - and you did a good job applying the criteria to the sample papers. We were mostly in agreement. The purpose of this exercise was to prepare you to evaluate your own writing = so you know the grade you will get + what you need to work on even before you receive teacher feedback.

I asked you to bring your books - but we ran out of time and didn't get to use them. I meant to have some discussion about how you can use your books as a resource for working on your writing issues. Bring them on Tuesday and we will look up some of the "how to" suggestions for working on your writing and see where the "directions" are in your book.

I previewed the first reading, George Lakoff & Mark Johnson's essay on Conceptual Metaphor in Everyday Language. Evidently the document I have posted under readings does not open (or at least I couldn't get it to open) so I handed out hard copies of the reading in class. Those of you who missed class can pick up a copy in the English Department Mailroom (next the office CAS 301) => my mailbox has my name over it and the copies are there for you. Also - it is available online at The Journal of Philosophy. http://www.wjh.harvard.edu/~mahesh/papers%20for%20julie/metaphor/2007-27.pdf We are reading only the first two sections - pp 453 - 458 (the first two sections).

Homework:
Read: Lakoff & Johnson - Conceptual Metaphor in Everyday Language

Write: FOR FRIDAY Use to Rubric for evaluating College Composition Essays to grade your essay. Write the score for each category at the top of your revised essay - and send the essay with the score to ENG1031@gmail.com as an attachment. I will return your essay to you with feedback on how I would evaluate your work. If we agree on the "grade" you can earn 5 extra credit points.

Take notes on Lakoff & Johnson (Write directly on the handout) = mark any words you are unclear on; mark any paragraphs or sentences that don't make sense, ask questions! Make comments that connect their ideas to your experience.

What we will do on Tuesday
We will begin by discussing your diagnostic essays. You will get a chance to read through a sample of the kind of feedback I give on your writing - and I will talk about what I see as the general areas we need to work on as a class. Feedback for this essay is a little different than what you will get for the rest of your writing - but it will give you a general idea.

We will then talk about Lakoff & Johnson's essay, and discuss strategies for writing academic summaries.

Have a good weekend and see you on Tuesday.

Writing about writing & Diagnostic

2011-01-18T08:46:00.000-08:00

Thanks for a great first class. Today we got to know each other a little (I will be working on names for a while) and we reviewed the course materials. I appreciate your cooperation in playing the game. - Yeah, not everything is a success, but I think it was good enough.

You did some writing to think about who you are as a writer and how you feel about writing. This is important because writing is more than one thing - and I am pretty sure all of you are good writers/communicators in some area of your life. By thinking about your strengths and interests - you can bring some of that knowledge to the "school" writing you will be working on in this course.

I also asked you to write to me to tell me what you want to work on in this course. I pointed out that probably most of the feedback you've gotten on school writing has been about "correctness" = mostly grammar. Research on how writers write shows that all writers have "bad" grammar when they are working with material that they don't fully understand or can't find a way to relate to. When writers have mastered the material - many of the grammar issues go a way. Some writing issues you might want to work on:

getting "blocked:
finding enough to say,
staying on topic,
having so many ideas you don't know which ones to use
strategies for organizing your writing
having a clear idea what teachers want for particular kinds of assignments
knowing what you need to work on (focus, organization or development)
specific strategies to help you sharpen your focus, strengthen organization, or develop more in-depth discussions
understanding how teachers assign grades (so that you have a pretty good idea what grade you will get before you turn in your work)
using paragraphs to build the overall structure of your essay
writing introductions and conclusions
making points that are important and interesting ( instead of obvious or a repetition of what was said in class)
staying interested enough in school assignments to do your best work

Homework
Read: Look through HTWA
Write:
1. Finish the email to me about what you want to work on in this course and send it to ENG1031@gmail.com
2. Send me another email stating that you have read the syllabus and the calendar. If you have any questions - or if you strongly disagree with any of the policies - write them into your email and we can talk.
3. Revise your Baseline essay according to the directions posted under assignments.

Also
Complete the Attitude Survey if you haven't done so already.
Activate your kean email. You will be sending your assignments & I will be writing to you through Kean email. If you need your password, call the Office of Computer & Information Services (OCIS) at 737 6000, or visit their office over at Campus School East.

First day of class

2010-12-26T06:06:00.000-08:00

Welcome to English 1031-1032. I use this site to provide up-dates about what we do in class and what is due for next class. I also use it to post documents you need for the course: the syllabus & calendar, assignment sheets, supplementary readings, and links to useful sites.

I update this blog (unless I forget) no later than 9:00 AM the morning after each class. If the new post isn't up by then -please send me an email reminder! As noted on the course calendar- the hard copy of the calendar give you an overview of the term - but as with anything in life => plans do not always turn out the way we set them up. Revisions to the calendar are posted here. To make sure you are doing the right assignment = you need to check this blog after every class.

December 15

2009-12-15T07:33:00.001-08:00

Today was your last "official" day of class. I will be in my office on Thursday if you have questions - and the lab will be available for you to work on your portfolios. You have been a great class and I thoroughly enjoyed working with you this term. I wish each of you the best in your work at Kean University, and if you run into a writing project where you could use some ideas - hopefully you can come see me at the Kean University Writing Center (in CAS).

Turning in your work:

Portfolios are due no later than Thursday at 12:15. If you finish early, I'd appreciate it if you send me an email so I can get started on grading the work from your class. Be sure you have sent me the links to both portfolios: the portfolio for the Director of Composition; and the portfolio for your grade for this class.

In class today, rather than having you do additional reflective writing, I suggested that you paste the introduction from the College Composition Portfolio into the tab for the "Reflective writing on overall portfolio." This should be an essay - and it is worth 50 points. Also - for the Evidence of Progress folder - post your ungraded final exam. I will return your final exam with the grade sheet that provides comments & your final grade for the course.

Use the guide sheets; make sure you have set up your portfolio correctly, and that you have included all the required work. There will be no revisions once I start to read for the final grade.

Posting grades:
I will read through your portfolios and send your grades to you via your email account - hopefully by Sunday. Look over your grade - and if you have questions or if I have made a mistake, send me an email ASAP. If I don't hear from you, I will assume the grade makes sense to you, and I will post your grade on Keanwise.

December 10

2009-12-11T07:15:00.000-08:00

In class today you created the portfolio site to share with the college composition director (collcom@kean.edu) - and me, of course.

You titled this site with your last name and the course number and section, and you set it up in a way quite similar to the site you have been working on throughout the semester.

You included the following pages:

Home page (with the introductory reflective writing where you discussed what you learned in the course, and used examples from your writing to show what you learned).

1. Analytic essay to include:
Planning work
At least one draft with instructor comments
Final draft (unmarked)

2. Persuasive essay to include:
Planning work
At least one draft with instructor comments
Final draft (unmarked)

3. A response essay (unmarked)

4. Your in-class final exam (unmarked)

In class Tuesday you will do some reflective writing to evaluate the course - and you will work on completing your portfolios. I will also be in the classroom to talk over revisions for the essay/work of your choice.

December 8

2009-12-08T10:57:00.000-08:00

You wrote your final exams this morning and emailed them to me as attachments.

I will have comments for Revised Project 2 to everyone by tomorrow AM (I have sent comments to everyone except for three of you and just didn't get finished tonight-sorry).

On Thursday you will work on your portfolios - or on your revisions to Project 2, as you choose. We will meet in CAS 304 for the first class & in CAS 303 for the second class - so we will have computers available for both classes.

See you Thursday!

December 3

2009-12-03T09:33:00.000-08:00

Today we did a rhetorical analysis (consideration of audience, purpose, & form) to think about how to create the letter for the Project 2 assignment. You decided who you were writing to & the purpose of your letter - and then used a writing handbook to see what you could find out about the form such letters are supposed to take. Thanks for your help in reviewing + evaluating the handbooks!

In the computer classroom we checked out sites to help you find your state and federal representatives, and looked at some more sites that gave sample formats for letters. You spend most of the class composing your letter. The final letter is due with your portfolio on the last day of class.

I will review your drafts for Project 2 over the weekend - and provide you with some written feedback by Tuesday. I am going to look at your plan for revising your essay (the work you turned in during class Tuesday - and see if you followed through.

For the 9:30 class on Tuesday, I will be available in CAS 340 for conferences - or to talk through how to write an inclass essay. We will talk about how to plan + organize an effective in-class exam.

During the second half of class - you will write your exam.

Have a good weekend and see you on Tuesday.

Calendar for the remainder of the term

2009-12-01T08:13:00.001-08:00

T Dec 1 Due: Draft Project 2
Workshop: plagiarism check + revising for focus, organization + development
Reflective writing for your portfolio: plan for revising Draft Project 2
Integrating quotation + paraphrase into your essay
Write: Revise Project 2

Th Dec 3 Due: Revised Project 2
In-class work on letter / opinion piece for Project 2
Write: Keep working on finishing Project 2 + your letter

T Dec 8 Returned: Revised Project 2
9:30 Conferences drop by my office or schedule an appointment (NO CLASS in the CLASSROOM)
Final exam in computer classroom
Write: Final draft Project 2 + letter

Th Dec 10 Due: Final Project 2 + letter; Returned: Final exams
Reflective writing + portfolio analysis
In-class work on essay of your choice + finish portfolio
Write: Finish your portfolio

T Dec 15
How would you change this course? Revising ENG 1031-1032
In-class worhshop - finish portfolio

Th Dec 17
Turn in your portfolio
Congratulations!

December 1

2009-12-01T07:36:00.000-08:00

Workshop:

State the focus of the essay

Who is the audience?

Does this essay acknowledge the assumptions/beliefs held by the audience?

Does the introduction do a good job setting up the focus for the chosen audience? Any suggestions?

Organization: state the point of each paragraph and how it connects to /develops the focus

does the writer identify the position they will argue against –BEFORE – s/he begins her/his discussion/argument?
does the writer provide necessary background information BEFORE beginning the discussion?
Development: need any more information? any material that is unnecessary?

Does the conclusion draw the essay to a close?

Plan for for revision: what do you need to work on to strengthen your essay?

What do you need to change/re-word/substitute?

What do you need to add?

What do you need to delete?

What do you need to re-organize?

November 23

2009-11-25T05:55:00.000-08:00

In class today we talked over introductions and conclusions - and the difference between writing to a "formula" (5-paragraph essays, 7 sentences in a paragraph, etc) and writing for a purpose and for a particular audience. We used this discussion to think about the audiences for your essays (me + people who endorse the perspective you are writing against)and your purposes for writing to those two audiences. We listed your purposes as meeting the criteria for the assignment (for me); demonstrating that you have learned the important concepts covered in class (for me); and persuading the "other side" of the validity of your view (for people who endorse the perspective you are writing against). I emphasized that for writing for school, the first two purposes are always there - and that the second purpose is often unstated but is almost always central in teachers minds as they grade.

We then listed on the board what you will want to do in the introduction to a persuasive essay where you are persuading people who disagree with you. We looked at the sample essays that argued issues in your text book, and noticed how these authors set up their arguments. We noted that when arguing "against" a perspective - most authors: 1) set up their position indirectly + after acknowledging the "other side" (as in the piece against legalizing marijuana), establishing their own authority (through citing facts, establishing group membership, or etc), or making a move to connect to the "emotions" surrounding the issue (like McKibben). In fact the introduction usually was organized so that writers used several paragraphs to set up the issues before identifying their position + the points they would argue.

We then looked at some sites on the Purdue OWL that dealt with how to build paragraphs, and how to use quotation, paraphrase, and summary. Paraphrasing and quotation are particularly important for this assignment since you need to refer to "facts" and the position of "the other side" in this essay. We reviewed how to introduce quotations + paraphrases, and discussed when to paraphrase + when to use quotations. You will probably want to quote the position you are arguing against - to ensure that you accurately report the points for their beliefs.

For Monday, November 30: turn in the completed draft for Project 2 as an attachment.

Have a great Thanksgiving and see you after break.

November 17

2009-11-17T09:12:00.000-08:00

In class today you worked on making sure you had done the necessary pre-writing before beginning your essay.

You stated your position, identified the statement you would argue against, listed the points you would need to make to reply to the other side + develop your position, and identified the "facts" or supporting materials you would need to write your paper.

In the computer classroom we talked about how to find appropriate sites to support your position. For academic writing, you will want to use google scholar, or conduct searches of domains appropriate to your topic (eg .edu, .gov etc). We looked at how to conduct advanced searches that would help you find the kinds of references you needed.

For in-class work, you wrote a list of 3 sites you would use to provide supporting material (your works cited list), and developed some of the language - quotations or paraphrases - that you can use in yoru essay to state the other side's position, and support your position. This writing was due at the end of class.

For homework:
Begin writing sections of your essay. Write the sections where you sum up the arguments of the other side, as well as paragraphs that reply to several of the other side's points. Include the "facts" & support you found on the web sites in class.

On Tuesday, Nov 24, we will review the overall organization of the essay, and work on writing introductions + conclusions. Your complete draft for Project 2 will be due on Tuesday, December 1.

No class on Thursday, and have a good weekend.

Thursday, November 12

2009-11-12T10:16:00.000-08:00

In class today you talked through what you will write about for your persuasive essay, and we looked at a sample persuasive essay to get an idea for the overall organization.

I've looked through the pre-writing assignment you did for homework, and many of you have not yet identified the particular statement you will argue against. As illustrated in the sample essays => the position you will argue against determines the points you will discuss in your paper.

Do some more pre-writing for your essay - only this time make it more specific. Develop a document where you:

1. state your position; include both your assumptions and your reasons (for example, to argue that the owners of teams + facilities, along with the sponsors in national organizations are responsible for stopping racism in soccer - you might need to assume that the people who run the games + receive financial benefit from them are responsible for respecting the players and the "values" that are enacted on the field and in the stadium . . . what else do you need to assume?)
2. quote the statement that you will argue against
3. identify the values that underly the position you are arguing against (do some writing to figure out why the other side holds the position it does)
4. list the points you will have to acknowledge to keep from alienating you readers
5. map out the organization for your essay

Bring a print copy of this writing to class.

In the first part of class you will workshop your pre-writing with classmates to make sure you have a solid organization to start your essay. You will also identify places where you will need to support / develop your argument with evidence. You will then work with classmates to develop a list of the kinds of sources that you will need (scientific facts, personal testimony, experience, testimony by expert witnesses etc.)

In the second part of class you will work on gathering some of the sources you will use as references, and on the proper patterns for quoting your sources.

For Tuesday:
Finish your portfolios.
Complete the assigned pre-writing & bring a written copy to class.

Have a good weekend.

Tuesday, November 10

2009-11-10T09:48:00.001-08:00

In class today you focused on thinking about how you will write your persuasive essay. We analyzed the writing by McKibben + Bragg, and you spent some time in the computer lab thinking about your topic and looking for a position statement that you will argue for or against.

In general, you will want to find activist groups who oppose your position. Newspaper articles are supposed to be "unbaised" so in many cases they will point you to groups on both sides; you can then look up the "positions" of both groups.

For Thursday (homework), finish brainstorming you started in class (turn in everything you wrote). It should include:

1. your topic
2. a link to the statement you will argue against
3. the values that underly the position you are arguing against
4. the points you will make in support of your position

In the first half of class Thursday you will look at assignment sheet and do some writing to answer the following questions.

who is your audience?
what are their assumptions?
why do they oppose your position?
what moves will you need to make to convince them?
what logical points will you make?
what support will you need ?
describe the best way to organize your essay.

This writing is to prepare for the short presentations on your topic that each of you will give on Tuesday, Nov 17.

During the second half of class your will work on the reflective writing for your Project 1, and on completing your portfolio.

Although I originally said in class that the entire porfolio was due at the end of class on Thursday, I am going to back off and change the due date to Tuesday, November 17.

So to sum up:
Due Thursday, Nov 12: lists with topic & statement you will argue against; reflective writing for Portfolio (by the end of class).

Tuesday, Nov 17: Portfolio due; student presentations on Project 2 (you will work in class to map out the organization for your essay)

Thursday, Nov 19: no class

Coaching for writing

2009-11-05T06:28:00.000-08:00

Monday: Monday 2-4 (Sam) 7-9 pm (Daria)
Tuesday: 10-11; 12-1:00; & 1:30 -4:00 (Laura, Tim, Taliesha + Danny)
Wednesday: 2- 4:30 (Daniella + Robin)
Thursday: 9:30 - 10:30 (Talisha)
Friday: 4-5:00 (Daria)
Saturday: (beginning Oct 31) 9:30 - 11:30 (Musheerah + Kenneischa)

October 29

2009-10-29T16:07:00.000-07:00

We worked on a rhetorical analysis of Dr. King's "Letter from Birmingham Jail." We looked at the order of his points, his rhetorical moves (where & why he used ethos, pathos & logos in his argument), and how he made transitions from responding to the Clergy's arguments and setting forward his own ponits.

In the writing lab, we read through the assignment sheet for PRoject 2 (posted on this Blog). We brainstormed some topics, and talked about the fact that you couldn't just argue your point of view => you have to argues AGAINST a particular statement or position relevant to your topic. As we work more on this project, we will work together to find the particular arguments you want to reply to. In class, you did some freewriting on the points you want to support for your topic (to give you an idea about who you might argue "against").

For Thursday:
1. Do some more writing/thinking/reading about possible topics.

2. Read the two articles on SUVs in Banks (your textbook); one by Mckibben, and the other by Bragg. Notice the points each author makes, and observe how they use ethos, pathos, and logos.

I will read through Project 1, and return your graded drafts on Thursday.
See you in class.

October 27

2009-10-27T08:44:00.000-07:00

Today we looked at the Clergymen's Statement and listed the points they made about the unrest in Birmingham in 1963. We then looked at King's reply and noticed the order in which he replied to the clergymen's points. The Clergy's points were that:

-Laws should not be broken

-Civil rights issues should be resolved through negotiation in the course

-Circumstances in Birmingham are improving; now is NOT the time for action

-Outsiders should not be involved

-Nonviolent measures are in fact violent, are not working, and should not be used.

In our discussion of King we observed that his first extended argument was to establish his right to speak. In rhetoric - this is an ethos appeal - a move to establish speaker's authority. We talked in some detail about why and how King chose to make an ethos move first. We also discussed the different kinds of ethos moves he made: he established his identity as a leader of the SCLC and their connections to Birmingham, as well as his connection by virtue of being a human being and a citizen of the United States. He also established his authority by connecting to other texts and the actions of earlier leaders as described in those texts.

We then talked about how these two different ways to establish authority are used in different kinds of texts - in letters, and in academic writing. In letters ethos is established through personal identity and experience; in academic writing it is established through references to other writing, and to "experts."

During the second part of class you workshopped your essays. The product of your conference was an email where you:

- Named the three texts you were analyzing
1. Stated your focus.
2. described the life circumstances, concerns, identity of your audience
3. summarized your texts with respect to the focus (identified the common features)
4. short discussioin of what your analysis shows: similarities + differences + what they mean
5. describe your essay's organization + transitions.

For homework:
Re-red King. Number the paragraphs and send me an email with a list of the paragraphs where he makes each of the following points in reply to the Clergyman's statement.
- we need to break the law
- we can't negotiate
- NOW is the time
- non-violent means are necessary

Your revised draft for Project 1 is due Thursday, October 29.

NOTE: You will not have class on November 3, or on November 19. You will have one-on0one conferences (optional) where you can work on the essay of your choice.

October 22

2009-10-22T08:49:00.001-07:00

Today's class was focused on workshopping your essays. You worked with classmates to identify and deepen your focus, think about organization, and develop your analysis. In the computer classroom you spent some time writing.

Your draft for Project 1 is due in my emailbox before class on Tuesday.

For class Tuesday, read the Clergyman's statement. Identify the points they raise - the arguments they make - for why King's activity in Birmingham is wrong. Write a list of these points - and send it to me as an email.

Also - scan the "Letter from Birmingham Jail" (page 593 in your textbook). In your quick read - mark or note where + how King answers each of the arguments raised by the clergymen.

Have a good weekend - and see you in class on Tuesday.

Portfolios

2009-10-20T17:55:00.000-07:00

9:00 pm, Oct 20: Your portfolio grades should be in your mailbox.

October 20

2009-10-20T09:53:00.000-07:00

In the classroom you talked a little about the three texts you have chosen to analyze, and we discussed strategies for identifying the common features & their symbolic values. We also looked at a sample analytic essay. We noticed that the author identified his focus in the introduction, gave background information (for your assignment this will be a discussion of the audience) and then proceeded to describe and analyze each of the texts. In each description the author identified the same features in the same order - and he ALWAYS made a specific connection between those features and his focus. The conclusion developed a more specific discussion of how the texts "worked" (his focus) and how they connected to the audience. This is a strong general pattern for developing an analysis.

If you missed class and would like a copy of the sample essay - copies are in my mailbox next to the English Department Office.

In the computer classroom you continued to work on pre-writing for Project 1 - the analytic essay. You turned in your pre-writing at the end of class.

For homework: Continue to work on your pre-writing if you are still uncertain of your focus. If you are ready - you can begin writing your essay. You do NOT need to begin writing at the beginning: it is often easier to write the section you are best prepared to write. For this essay, it will probably be easiest to characterize the audience & to describe the three texts in terms of the common features. See how far you can get.

Bring a print copy of your pre-draft or draft essay to class (however far you get). You will workshop your essays in class. See you Thursday.

October 15

2009-10-15T09:46:00.000-07:00

I will be reading your portfolios over the weekend and will send your grades to you by Tuesday. On Tuesday we will begin class by talkig over how your are doing and what is expected for the rest of the term.

In class today you gave your presentations on urban legends - and they were awesome. Good work. You are definitely getting the idea of how to dig into the deeper meanings in a text.

In the computer lab you got started on the pre-writing for your analytic essay. I handed out a copy of the assignment sheet. For anyone who wasn't in class, a copy in in my mailbox beside the English Department office (301).

You did some writing/listing identify a cultural text (movie, video game, tv show, etc) that has at least 3 variations, and then did some more writing about the the main features of the texts, the audience (who they are, what their concerns are, how their lives might connect to the text), and the common features in your three versions.

In class Tuesday you will look at some sample essays and see how other students have set up their drafts. Then we will talk about what points you will need to make to meet the criteria for the assignment & how to organize your essay.

In the computuer lab you will have time to work on your draft.

HOMEWORK: Do some more work on your pre-writing. List + freewrite. Make sure you have identified 3 texts that have enough in common to make them essentially three variations of the same or extremely similar story-lines, formats & functions. Note any differences. Do some more in-depth writing about why the audience might connect to the storyline (you can identify the audience using the principle Brunvand identified= the characters will be similar to the audience). Turn in your pre-writing as a draft before class on Tuesday.

Have a good weekend and see you Tuesday.

October 13

2009-10-13T09:21:00.000-07:00

Today we worked on how to analyze texts, both in the classroom + in the computer lab. In class, we looked at the assignment sheet for group analysis of an urban legend - and analyzed two sample urban legends using the approach described in by Brunvand. We made a list on the board of each point you will need to include in your group presentation:
- a discussion of the group who circulates the story + the life issues & circumstances that might that might cause them to be interested in the subject material of the legend

- the variations of the story - how the different versions were different (for example, in the UK version of the "secret sauce" the concern was with "Turks" - while the U.S. version that was circulated locally was concerned with cooks at the "Olive Garden")

- stable elements: for each story we looked at the actors (the main characters); actions (what happened); setting or surrounding circumstances; & consequences (what happened)

- relationships between the identity of the group that tells the story & possible symbollic meanings (for example, for "Brown Betty" we considered how / why young women might connect to a story about risking health for beauty)

- what the urban legend shows about the cultural values of the group that tells it, and how these values connect to the culture at large => the symbollic meaning of the story.

In the computer lab, you worked in groups to identify an urban legend - and to develop a presentation on your analysis of that legend. Use the handout (distributed in class) as a guide for your presentation. As part of your presentation, you need to prepare an electronic "handout" that identifies your legend; has a link to at least 3 versions of your urban legend (or a text copy): and develops a discussion of each of the 5 points (listed above + on the handout).

In class on Thursday - you will have about 10 minutes at the beginning of class to set up your presentation + go over how you will organize your presentation (who will say what, etc). The rest of the class will be devoted to your presentations.

In the computer lab, you will get started on your analytic essay.

Groups for presentations:
Jonathan
Lindsay
Raul
Norelia

Anna
Michelle
Cory
Kurt

Victor
Krishna
Brian
Lionel

Shannon
Ian
Danielle
Ashley

Fredy
Sam
Pete
Ian

See you Thursday.

October 8

2009-10-09T06:06:00.000-07:00

We talked about Jan Harold Brunvand's essay: "The Boyfriend's Death" - and discussed the features of folklore and urban legends. We identified folklore as a story, custom, or ways of doing things surrounding a material creation (like a quilt or a garden) that are traditional in that:
- they are passed from generation to generation by word of mouth
- they exist in different versions or variants
- they are associated with different folk groups or identity groups

Urban legends are a particular kind of folk story; they are:
- believed to be true - but false
- set in the recent past
- told in terms of a set of recurring features - but with variations
- about regular people (rather than mythological beasts or gods)
- often told to teach a lesson or confirm a set of beliefs about the way the world is
- told by groups who often are similar or connected to the characters in the story in terms of life situation and beliefs

We looked at several versions of "The Boyfriend's Death" and then made a list of all the features that were (mostly) the same in all the versions. We then used this list to speculate about the story's themes - or the assumptions or values connected to its symbollic message. While "The Boyfriend's Death" seems a "horror" story about the weird murder of a boyfriend and the rescue of the girlfriend - folklorists analyses of this text suggest that it is about the dangers of adolescent sexuality with an accompanying message about appropriate behavior for males and females.

We then looked at the "Lights Out" urban legend about gang initiations and the warning not to blink your lights at cars with their lights turned off. It seems this story originated much earlier - and was about Hell's Angels - before it took the current form about the Bloods. Also - it seems that the story wasn't told about the Bloods until after the group gained national attention at the time surrounding the Los Angeles riots. So you might as your selves - which features of the story were "conserved" => kept in all versions of the story? What purpose of function do these features serve with respect to the story's message? And then - what IS this story's symbollic message about the way the world is, and how to behave to protect yourself?

Portfolio. In the computer lab you worked on your portfolios. You are expected to post what we have done so far: the baseline essay; any homework you want me to look at; the required writing for the summaries; and the required work for the response essays. After Tuesday I will grade your portfolios + add up your attendance/participation grades & give you a "grade so far" for the course. You will have an opportunity to revise writing in your portfolio for a different grade at the next portfolio check (listed on calendar).

For Tuesday:
1. Finish your portfolio.

2. In class, you will begin work on a group presentation on an urban legend (the assignment sheet for the presentation is posted under course documents).
Look over the urban legend links listed below (and check out snopes) Your assignment is to pick one or two urban legends you would be interested in analyzing.

Urban legends you may have heard of:

Snakes in ball pits(check out the links to other stories re Ball pits)

Virginia Tech Murders

Bad news brings more tragedy

Lights Out! - we did this one in class - but you might want to take a closer look.

Bloody Mary

(Dead) loved ones come to the rescue

Surprise identity for a sexual partner (check out related stories)

October 6

2009-10-06T09:23:00.000-07:00

In class today you worked on your reflective writing for your response essays, and you got started on your portfolios.

Make sure that you have invited me to view your portfolio so I can read + give a grade to your "best" response essay. Be sure that your reflective writing stated the grade you would give to your essay. If I give the same grade to your essay - you get an extra 5 points.

For Thursday:
Read: Brunvand, "Urban Legends: 'The Boyfriend's Death'" page 128 in your text book. As you read this essay - think about the following questions: what is folklore? What are urban legends? What do urban legends 'do'? How can you identify urban legends (what are their features or characteristics)?

Write: work on your portfolio. Your complete portfolio will be due Tuesday, October 13. For Thursday - just make sure that you have posted both response essays, your "best" response essay (choose the one for me to grade) and your reflective writing about what you have learned and how you would evaluate the essays you have turned in.

In class Thursday we will spend the first half talking about urban legends - and the second half you will have some more time to work on your portfolio or revising the essay of your choice.

See you Thursday.

October 1

2009-10-01T09:06:00.000-07:00

You worked on writing a response essay to Amy tan's "Mother Tongue."

In the classroom we discussed the points Tan made in her essay, and you did a short workshop. In the computer lab you got started on your essays. You turned in your classwork at the end of class.

For Tuesday October 6:
Finish your response to Tan and turn it in before class. Your revised Rau response is also due at the beginning of class.

In class on Tuesday you will do some reflective writing on your response essay - in the lab you will work on setting up your portfolio.

Have a great weekend.

September 29

2009-09-29T12:41:00.000-07:00

You looked at some sample response essays for Rau, and we talked about what the author would need to do to revise the essay so that it met the criteria for the assignment.

We looked at the essays in terms of:
focus - the focus for the summary of Rau + your discussion needed to be the same;
development - the response needed to bring in OUTSIDE information to develop a discussion of the points raise by Rau;
organization - the essay needed to introduce all the points from Rau that you responded to;
language - the essay needed to use the language expected for summaries).

In the computer lab, you had a workshop with a classmate to figure out what you needed to do to revise your own essay. You then spent some time working on revising your essay.

Homework:
Read: Amy Tan "Mother Tongue" on Banks
Write: Do the pre-writing to develop a response essay for Tan; print your pre-writing & bring it to class on Thursday.

Write: (for October 6) finish revising your response to Rau.

I read through your feedback on class so far - thanks for the good suggestions. I will go over the most commented on points & discuss some of the observations/requests you raised on Thursday.

September 24

2009-09-24T10:17:00.000-07:00

In class today you did some reflective writing on what you are learning about writing summaries. Hang on to that writing. You will refer to it to write a reflection that you will turn in along with your best summary.

We spent the rest of the class working on developing some pre-writing for a response essay for "By any other name." (The process for developing your writing is listed on the post for Tuesday's class.) You turned in your writing at the end of class.

For Tuesday, September 29:
Write a response to "By any other name." Be sure to read through the assignment sheet. Remember that the response should be longer than your "summary" of what the author said - and that you CAN'T cover everything in the essay. You will need to response to one particular idea that was raised by the author - rather than to ALL the ideas we discussed as related to her essay.

Have a great weekend, and see you Tuesday.

September 21

2009-09-22T11:12:00.000-07:00

In class today you worked through the process for writing a response essay. We did the following:
-re-read the essay in terms of what happened
- identified themes or important ideas the author addressed
- did some freewriting to open up any and all possibilities for what you might write about
- read through the freewriting and underlined any thoughts ideas that came up more than once or that you found interesting
- did some more freewriting to open up what you might say about the ideas you underlined
- worked on coming up with a focus for an essay

wrote a list that included the following:
- a statement of the focus for the essay
- points the author of the essay made about that focus
- points you might make with respect to that focus
- connections between your ideas and the authors

You then looked back at the focus - and revised that or changed it if you seemed to be going off subject, and went through the process again.

The point of this exercise to find your focus and think about what you were going to write BEFORE you started your essay.

We also looked at google.sites. You will use google. sites to turn in your portfolio. Feel free to explore + use it for your own purposes. We will get back to it when we work on putting together your portfolios.

For Thursday:
Read: By Any Other Name p. 262 in Banks
Write: Finish the pre-writing you did in class and turn it in as an attachment

I will look over your pre-writing, and give you some feedback as a class. In class on Thursday you will go through this process again (more on your own, with less direction from me).

Good work today - and see you on Thursday.

What we did in class, September 17

2009-09-17T09:05:00.000-07:00

You worked in groups to write descriptive "summaries" of photographs of buildings from Kean University, and then your classmates read your descriptions - and drew what they saw. You noticed that for readers to interpret the descriptions, they needed information about the viewer's perspective as well as an indication the relative importance or location of the main objects in the image before they could interpret/understand the details. It's the same with writing summaries of texts! You need to set up the focus - and use an organization that orients the reader to the importance and relationships of the ideas in the text. We then spent a little time thinking about what the images said about how the work done in the different buildings is valued.

You did a great job on this exercise.

In the computer lab, you looked at the feedback you got on the Elbow essay - and used that information to work on revising the Murray essays.

For Tuesday:
Read: Salvation, by Langston Hughes, p 591 in your text
Write: Revised Murray => use track changes + turn in your revised essay by email before class on Tuesday.

Have a great weekend.

Tuesday, Septermber 15

2009-09-15T09:26:00.000-07:00

In class today you worked on your Murray summaries, and we went over your baseline essays.

In the discussion of Murray, we focused on thinking through a process for writing a summary.

Our brainstorm list of how to write a summary

Read the essay + re-read the essay, marking /highlighting important passages.

Look at the title, intro/conclusion, important terms and do some freewriting/associating to get some language to state the overall point

List the points made by each paragraph without looking at the book.

Go back to the reading & fill in any missed points for the list of points

Do some writing (more listing) for which points go together

Do some freewring/associating to get some language (doesn't have to be perfect) for what each point is about (keep thinking about how the point relates to the overall focus)

Check out your list again and start drafting your summary. Make sure each point you make has a connection to the main focus.

Revise. . . first for focus, then for organization, then for the level of detail.

You might go through some of the steps several times.

You turned in a copy of your pre-writing (all the writing you did before you sent the draft) at the end of class.

For Thursday:
1. Finish your summaries of Murray

Be sure to bring your books.

See you in class.

Class Thursday, September 10

2009-09-10T09:55:00.001-07:00

In class today we did some more work on how to write summaries. We created a "rubric" - a standard list of features we could used to evaluate a summary. Our rubric evaluated summaries based on:

- whether they stated the focus of the piece they were summarizing;
- how well they were organized
- how well (and whether) they developed the focus;
- and the language choices the writer made.

You then worked in groups to assign grades to 4 sample summaries of "Freewriting." We talked about how grades have two functions. They need to tell the student how well s/he is doing; and they need to provide information about how the student can do better. When we discussed the grades your groups gave to the sample summaries - we spent some time thinking about what needed to be changed to make the summary better. The point of this work was to set you up to be able to evaluate YOUR summaries - and to know how to make them stronger. You did a good job on this exercise. Thanks.

In the computer lab, you learned how to organize your gmail so that your work for ENG1031 would be in a separate folder (under its own label so you can find your work easily) and you learned how to use track changes. You also made yourself a list of what you needed to work on to strengthen your summary - and then you got started on revising.

For Tuesday:
1. Revise your summaries and turn them in as LastName_Elbow_R

2. Read Donald Murray's "The Maker's Eye."

Have a good weekend and if you have any questions send me an email.

Link for essay by Donald Murray

2009-09-10T05:53:00.000-07:00

The Maker's Eye: Revising Your Own Manuscripts is available at: http://robertnazar.pbworks.com/f/The+Maker's+Eye+-+Donald+Murray.pdf

Class September 8

2009-09-08T08:57:00.000-07:00

I looked over all of your baseline essays - and they look very good. Each one of you is in a strong position to do well in this course. From a quick read - it looks like the main work for this course will be learning and using (and getting comfortable with) conventions for academic writing. I will give a careful read to the revised essays and we will talk about them in class on Tuesday.

In class today we talked about Peter Elbow's essay, "Freewriting". We discussed the min focus and the supporting points he made to develop that focus. We also talked about thinking about how essays are built as a way to help find their main ideas. Titles give important clues - as do introductions and conclusions, topic sentences, and terms that the author defines.

We then talked about academic summaries. In academic summaries the focus needs to be on the ideas = not on the "plot" or the examples; and the ideas need to be presented from the author's perspective. We talked about these features of the conventions for writing academic summaries in some detail - they are also listed on the handouts on summaries.

In the computer lab you looked at a sample paper for MLA format and made yourself a template. You then used the process listed on the Summaries handout to get started on your summary. You sent me a copy of the writing you developed so far before you left class.

For class Thursday:
Finish your summary of Elbow and turn it in as an attachment.
Bring your book to class.

Please complete the Pre-College Composition Survey at http://gelap.kean.edu/09faprecompsurvey.htm

This survey collects data about student attitudes toward writing so we can continue to improve our composition program.

What we did in class Tuesday, September 3

2009-09-03T09:41:00.000-07:00

We got off to a great start for this class. We got a start on learning everyone's name, we went through the syllabus and you wrote your baseline essay. Don't worry if it felt a little overwhelming - I know it is a lot of information all at once. We will work together and go over course policies and materials again and again - and again - so hang in there.

BOOKS:
I just got back from the bookstore and as reported in class, there are currently no copies of Comment and controversy. The Bookstore person said the books would be in "soon." For those of you who would rather take action, I checked amazon and there are 68 copies available through intependent sellers. The price you get from amazon will be MUCH better than you get at the bookstore (used at the bookstore is around 60? ) If you plan to order online - order asap.

For Tuesday, September 8:
Read: Peter Elbow's essay "Freewriting". I handed out copies in class. Be sure to bring your copy of the essay to class.

Write: Revise your baseline essay and turn it in to ENG1031@gmail.com before class on Tuesday. There may be some problems with the Kean email system's spam filter; if you have trouble sending your essay for any reason, bring it to class on your flash drive and I will make sure you get credit for doing your work on time.

Have a great weekend, and see you next week.

Welcome to English 1031-1032 Section 9

2009-09-03T04:57:00.000-07:00

This is the home page for your course. This site will provide an overview of what we do in each class, links to important documents for the course including the course syllabus and the calendar and assignment sheets.

Infromation about H1N1 Flu

2009-09-03T04:55:00.000-07:00

The CDC has reported it expects an increase in cases of H1N1 (flu) for this coming fall. While this may or may not happen, to be prepared and have minimal impact on your classroom studies, we are asking that if you have a fever over 100', a sore throat and cough at any time during the semester - PLEASE STAY HOME from class.

In order to avoid an academic penalty, you must alert this professor immediately before class of your absence and request any missed class materials and assignments. All assignments will only be obtained upon email request.

If you require medical attention see your primary care provider and/or Kean University Health Services located in Downs Hall.

Proactive things you can do to prevent you, your dorm-mates and/or your family from getting ill....

- Vaccination is the single best way to prevent flu

+ Get Vaccinated for Seasonal Flu

+ Get Vaccinated for H1N1 (series of two shots given within 3 weeks)

- Stay home when you are sick

- Wash your hands often with plain soap and water.

- When hand washing is not possible, use of a hand sanitizer gel with 60% alcohol is recommended

- If you have to use an alcohol sanitizing gel, wash your hands with soap and water as soon as practicable after using the hand sanitizer.

- Social distancing (where possible) of 6 feet or more

- DO NOT USE YOUR HANDS when sneezing or coughing. Cover the almost invisible droplets by coughing or sneezing into your elbow or arm

- Avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth

- Limit use of over the counter disinfectants when cleaning...Use steam sanitizing where possible

* Because hand sanitizers are alcohol based, excessive use can dry out the skin and possibly contribute to dermatitis especially in the cold, dry months of the year.

Some hand sanitizers may contain pesticides. Read labels carefully.