Accident

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

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

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 -

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

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

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.

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.