101 Monday, Oct. 1 10 a.m. class

We will spend Monday's class time reviewing papers: descriptive, exemplification, and division/analysis/classification. Please be sure you have your Hacker guide with you as you will be looking up proofreading symbols.

We will be putting many papers into our notebooks, so anyone who can bring an extra three-ring punch, please do so. I will bring one, too.

101 Blog Topic for Friday

This topic is based on "My Circle of Friends" by Jessica Moyer, p. 306.

Who is your "most complete and complex friend?" (307). Write a few paragraphs where you describe the friendship, as Moyer has done in paragraphs 6 and 7.

101 Topics for w/o 9/24

This week's blog topics are:

Write about the pressures you feel as a college student. Do you feel pressure from the four kinds of pressures Zinsser describes (economic, parental, peer, and self-induced)?

Segal classifies excuses from college students in an essay that was written for The Chronicle of Higher Education. How would you identify her tone? (We will discuss tone in class.) If she were to re-write this essay for college students, how might she change her tone?

Re Saunders. Write a character sketch of someone you know who is a "girly-girl" or a "macho man." Using exemplification, show your readers why you've classified this person as such.

Saunders writes about sexuality in a way that makes one realize that the way gender is expressed is highly individual. If one were to take his proposal seriously, how would you feel about having to become more "female" or more "male?" What aspects of yourself would you have to change and how would you do it?

Note: blog links have been updated and corrected.

1402

Points for "I Am" paper (20 each):

Content (organization of material, editing, writing style)
Number of interviews and quotes
Insight
Grammar, spelling, mechanics
Field notes

Extra credit: Integration w/text

bounced emails

Here is a list of student e-mails that are coming back as undeliverable:

levonasl@ken.edu
maximal@ken.edu
veigaa@ken.edu
moya9082@yhoo.com
hollyweesooly@yhoo.com
jcoballers@yhoo.com

Note: I took one letter out of the domain to foil the email crawlers. These students should contact me via phone or another email box to straighten out the matter. Also, you can bring it up to me after class.

1402 China files

Group Symposium: China files 1; China files 2

These links are also in the Links entry, which you can access by putting "Links" in the search engine.

102

"How to Read a Poem" file in .rtf format (rich text format), which you can open in Word, Works, and many other programs. In addition, you will need page 1416.

This link will also be posted in the "Links"

101 Friday, Sept. 21

To do for next class:

Some students will be outlining:

101 8 a.m.:
Jessica G, Gabrielle, Tiffany, Adobi

101 10 a.m.:
Jessica D, Patrick D, Magnola, Gabrielle, Angela, Victor, Victor A

All students: read Hacker, 64-67 on commas
Readings for the week from the assignments sheet (classification/division).

We will be doing a division/classification exercise in class.

Writing assignment for week of 9/24:

Question 5, p. 291 (first section):

Draft a 1-2 page essay in which you divide life into three categories or parts and develop each of them. Keep the following questions in mind as you draft: What is your purpose? Your thesis statement? Your ruling principle (p. 285)? Your organizational pattern? What information does your conclusion provide beyond that provided in your introduction? As you draft and revise, refer to the guidelines on the lower section of p0. 291 for checking over the use of classification and division.

What we did in class:

Instructor brought class up to date on Colin Duffy.

Discussed essay for classification and division.

Reviewed blogs and who is current with them.

102

Friday, Sept. 21

To do for next class:

Continue reading at poets.org for the genre topic for paper


What we did in class today:

Poetry assignment. The instructor gave out a one-page assignment and an evaluation sheet. The instructor will post the poetry file and also e-mail it.

Genre selection is due by next Wednesday. If students want to be assured of their genre, they should mail their selection to the instructor and it will be posted on a spreadsheet. The link will be featured here and on the links post. You can get to the links post by putting "links" in the search blog feature above.

Reviewed Ch. 1 in Lukeman, where the value of short and long sentences was discussed.
Class exercise: wrote a sentence that went for half of a page. The punctuation marks that can be used to extend sentences are: ; ; , and --. Ellipsis may also be used in a limited fashion to indicate omission.

Topic selection for research paper was submitted. Instructor will advise on topic next week. We will also be learning ohow to do an annotated bibliography next week.

1402 TTh

REMINDER: Thursday, Sept. 27, we will be at the library learning how to use electronic databases. The room is L-141. Go directly to the library.

What we did in class on Thursday, 9/20:

Instructor passed out list of presentation dates through the end of the term.
URL for presentation dates:
http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=pg51JTtDy1kmk_VPUmi3-Yg

Instructor showed how to document using MLA citation. We will also learn APA and use APA for the persuasive speech.

Students learned how to document in the outline (internal citation).

Instructor showed how to do a Works Cited page.

Students broke down into five groups for the symposiums.

Students were assigned an annotated bibliography that will be due on 9/27. The "I Am" paper will be due at the upcoming Tuesday class.


Students should have their outlines ready to show the instructor when they arrive next Thursday. In addition, they will turn in the annotated bibliography at that time.

At our upcoming Tuesday class, the instructor will demonstrate how to do an MLA online citation. Be sure to have the worksheet that was given in today's class. It should be put in your notebook under "Style Guide."

1402 Policies

General rules concerning outlines:



Write the main point of each paragraph as succinctly as possible.



Try to limit notes on the reading assignment to one page per section.



Label every section. Example: Ch 3/56-76. If you go over a page, label the chapter and pages on the second page.



Bold-faced terms should almost always be considered the main point or part of the main point.



Chapters 1 & 2 should be done by the week of Oct. 17



Outlines will be checked in the week following the reading. For example, outlines for the readings from Sept. 17-21 will be checked on Sept. 24.



Do the work with your brain, not your pen.



Benefits to you:



1) Become an efficient reader. You will realize how main points are made in sentences and how to grasp the main point quickly

2) Become a better writer. You will see how professionals structure paragraphs and develop points and support.

101 Exemplification Assignment

Due this Friday.

This assignment can be found on page 209 of Glenn:

Write a generalization about a group or class of people or animals. You might start out writing about your own family: 'The Glenns like to ..."; or you might write about a group different from one to which you belong: fraternity brothers/sisters, working mothers, college graduates, computer "nerds," rich people, poor people, and so on. After you've made your generalization, back it up with three specific examples.

101 Blog Topics

"The American Man, Age 10," essay by Susan Orlean is online. If you do not have the link, you can read and work from this until you get your book.

Blog topics: Wednesday-Friday (9/12-14) are to write description. Try out the exercises on the description assignment. If some of them work out, use them in your paper.
Blog topics for the week of 9/17 are from the Glenn text. Write about Colin Duffy, the "American Man, Age 10." What do you have in common with Colin? What are your differences?

Visit The New Yorker Magazine Web site (for whom Susan Orlean writes). Look at the various articles. What interests you and what does not?

If you do not like these topics, feel free to explore your own using the items at the end of the essay in the Glenn text.

101 & 102 What We're Doing Monday, 9/17

101/8 a.m.

1) call for papers will be on Monday. Should have notes with them.
2) check notebooks (people with a check next to "P")
3) finish group discussions on "American Man" (pages 68-79 in

Glenn)
4) keep up with reading from the reading schedule

101/10 a.m.
1) call for papers will be on Friday. Should have field notes attached to the assignment on Friday.
1a) you will get another paper assignment next week, so try to get the description paper done over the weekend
2) check notebooks (people with a check next to "P")
3) finish group discussions on "American Man" (pages 68-79 in

Glenn)
4) reading from the reading schedule

102
not mandatory but students should bring rough draft of DT paper
paper, final of which is due Wednesday

102: Dylan Thomas Thesis Statements

Two possible thesis statements.

“Do Not Go Gentle” is quoted in the movie "The Rundown" and in "Dangerous Minds." Write a paper that examines the meaning of the poem in either or both of the movies. Based on our classroom explication, did the screenplay writer understand the meaning of the poem?

or

Make the case for “Do Not Go Gentle” being not only a poem to his father, but a commentary on himself. Is Thomas the “wild man?” Research Thomas’ background to support your case.

In addition, here is a link from the BBC where the poem is examined. There are comments on the poem from people all over the world. I only read half of them but found them to be a rich source of ideas for thesis statements. Finally, take a look at the Wikipedia entry on the poem. You may find ideas there.

101 Blogger URLs

For both 8 and 10 a.m. classes.
Please put this link in your bookmarks:

http://tinyurl.com/2khwl2

This is the link to visit other student blogs. For now, visit only the blogs of students in your class. You should comment back after you read a post. If you can't think of anything to say, that's fine. Move on and visit more posts and comment on the ones to which you have a reaction.

At this stage, we are not critiquing. I will show you how to critique at a future class.

Attn: 101 and 102 Students

8 a.m. 101: In the very last section of the notebook, the notebook handout says to put in two categories, "Research Paper" and "Literary." Do not make these categories. Instead, make one category for this second section. It should be called "Rhetorical Forms."


102: Dylan Thomas thesis statements will be posted here (after 5 p.m.) for the desperate. All papers for this class will be due on Wednesdays

Note: 102 students in need of a thesis statement: I cannot find the Dylan Thomas thesis statements and will have to search hard copies.

102 students will also receive the file called "How to Read a Poem" by 9 p.m. this evening. The email list is not complete so I will be sending the "Poem" file later this evening.

Writing Topics for 101 Students/Mon-Tues

Monday: write a detailed post about your high school English courses. Discuss the literary works you read and the types of papers you wrote. Tell about the teachers and their techniques. What were some of the assignments that helped you learn the most?

Tuesday: Why is writing important? Why should you be a good writer (or not)? In what area would you like this course to help you the most?

Entries should be approximately three paragraphs each.

Forward This Article to Whomever is Financing Your Education

Important:

Congress Passes Overhaul of Student Aid Programs
By DIANA JEAN SCHEMO

WASHINGTON, Sept. 7 — Congress gave final approval to a broad overhaul of federal student loan programs Friday, sharply cutting subsidies to lenders and increasing grants to needy students.

...It also raises the maximum Pell grant, the basic federal grant for middle- and low-income students, to $5,400 from the current $4,310 over the next five years. To pay for the changes, the bill reduces federal subsidies to lenders by roughly $20 billion over the same period.

This is a positive development. It means that money that was going to the banking industry is being redirected back to student aid.

Read the rest of the article.

Note: NY Times. Registration required. If you don't want to register to get the complete article, go to www.bugmenot.com and enter NY Times for a quickie password.

Gardener's Car Goes to the Car Wash

The laughs alone were worth the $20!

Full of leaves and twigs from its many hauls to the recycling center, the Garden Car needs to turn from a pumpkin back into a carriage. School starts in two days. Before I left I said to Jim, "How many minutes into the car wash do you think it will take for someone to say 'Lady, you don't need a car wash, you need a leaf blower'?"

I thought about cleaning it myself but a more considered look told me the car wash was a better bet.

The Main Street Car Wash taught me all about the body language of car wash guys. There is, for example, a look that tells the others that "this one's a disaster!" There was a cluster of guys to clean it but there were others doing different tasks around the premises who sauntered over to take a look. The looks on their faces were priceless as they meandered by, trying to look inconspicuous. I could hardly stand it: I burst out laughing.

Pretty soon the vacuum guy announces "The vac's plugged up!" He had to take it apart to fix it.

Next they looked at the trunk. It was $1 extra for this service and well worth it. They were so puzzled over how to handle the leaf detritus that they assembled a conference of six guys. The trunk cover can be removed, they discovered, so that's what they did; then they cleaned and shampooed it.

The rest of the car wash was pretty much routine, and I drove out of there in a clean car. I was so disoriented from the new environment that I went out the entrance and a lady in a station wagon gave me a rude gesture. A clean car! I barely found my way home!

p.s. I did tip them well. Like I said, the laughs alone were worth the $20.

Links to Textbook Sites, Others

Students should bookmark these sites:

All Students in 101, 102, and 1402:

Persuasive Topics List


Writing 101 students:

Assignment Sheet for Argument and Persuasion

Sources Worksheet for Argument and Persuasion paper (due Oct. 31)

You will need this link for various grammar exercises. Hacker.

About our textbook author, Cheryl Glenn. Text web site for Making Sense.

Student blogs.


Writing 102 students:

Literary Works:

How to Read a Poem (.rtf file)
Page 1416 (How to Explicate a Poem)

"Do Not Go Gentle"
Project Gutenberg
Short Story Index
Academy of American Poets
Selected Shorts

Noah Lukeman's A Dash of Style

Grammar exercises, usage guide, MLA (& other) style guide: Hacker

Speech 1402 students:

Group Symposium: China files 1; China files 2

Maybe: My Communications Lab

Speech topics.