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.
Monday, March 28, 2011
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Mid-point portfolio and Analysis of urban legends
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.
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
Friday, March 11, 2011
March 10: Finishing persuasion + introduction to Analysis -
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:
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.
- 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
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.
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
March 8: Workshop on Persuasive essays
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.
Write: finish the revised draft for the persuasive essay - send it to me as an email attachment due before class on Thursday, March 10.
Thursday, March 3, 2011
March 3: Working on a draft for the persuasive essay
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.
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!
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
Persuasive writing.
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:
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.
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.
Come to class Thursday prepared to talk about your topic for your persuasive essay.
Friday, February 25, 2011
Feb 24: Practice persuasive essay
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.
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.
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Feb 22 => Persuasion!
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.
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.
Friday, February 18, 2011
Feb 17: Creating Portfolios for grade-so-far
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.
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.
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
February 15: Best response essays
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
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
Friday, February 11, 2011
Class Thursday February 11: Workshop on Response essays
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!
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!
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Response essays
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:
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.
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
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.
Thursday, February 3, 2011
Nathan McCall
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!
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Summaries part 2 - when the reading is REALLY hard
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.
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
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
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)
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Using your book + writing summaries
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.
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.
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Evaluating your work
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.
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.
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Writing about writing & Diagnostic
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:
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.
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.
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