Citing Indirect Sources

A few people have asked how to deal with a situation where you want to use an idea or quotation that your source quotes from a second source.  This points to one of the main reasons we cite sources in the first place: so researchers like you can consult a works cited page and use that information to track down the original source.  Occasionally, however, this is not possible.  In one of these cases, use the MLA guidelines for citing what is called an indirect source.  Our handbook does not address this, but Purdue University's Online Writing Lab (a very useful website) provides the following guidelines:

Citing Indirect Sources

Sometimes you may have to use an indirect source. An indirect source is a source cited in another source. For such indirect quotations, use "qtd. in" to indicate the source you actually consulted. For example:

 

Ravitch argues that high schools are pressured to act as "social service centers, and they don't do that well" (qtd. in Weisman 259).

 

Note that, in most cases, a responsible researcher will attempt to find the original source, rather than citing an indirect source.

Final Exam Review Terms

Although the final exam may include any concept we covered this quarter, I intend to focus on the following:

I: Sentence level issues

            A. Commas

                        1. Separating items in a series

                        2. With coordinating conjunctions to form compound sentences

                        3. After introductory elements

                        4. With nonrestrictive elements

                        5. Comma splices

                        6. Fused sentences (run-ons)           

           

            B. Semicolons

                        1. To join independent clauses

                        2. To separate a series of items already containing commas

            C. Apostrophes

                        1. To indicate possession

                        2. With conjunctions

            D. Using punctuation with quotation marks

                        1. Placement of periods, commas, and question marks

                        2. Using ellipses to indicate omissions

                        3. Using square brackets to indicate changes

            E. Pronouns

                        1. Vague pronoun reference

                        2. Pronoun-antecedent agreement

            F. Manuscript format           

            G.  Title format

                        1. Italics, underlining, quotation marks, capitalization

            H. Usage, etc.
                        1. Wrong word errors: your/every day/ there/effect/literal
                        2. Referring to real people by last name

II. Paragraph and essay level issues

            A. Specific and concrete language

                        1. Avoiding generalizations and clichés

            B. Paragraph focus

                        1. Topic sentences

                        2. Supporting examples and development

                                    a. Sensory details, analogies, facts, statistics, testimony, metaphors

            C. Essay focus and argument

                        1. Thesis/claim

                        2. Evidence/support

                        3. Counterarguments

                        4. Types of appeals: logical, ethical, emotional

                        5. Fallacies

Take a look at this:

In this article, our friend Brian Palmer examines the practice of eating horse meat in the United States.  Although this article is not an example of an academic research essay, it is guided by the same objective: to learn the answer to an interesting question. 

Take a look at the article and note the following:

• How very precise Palmer's subtopic is.
• How Palmer integrates and interprets source material (we will discuss these skills in class).
• The cleverness of the title (if you understand the Mr. Ed reference).

Final Essay Instructions

Start with a topic which you genuinely want to know more about.  During our upcoming classes, we'll be discussing topics, subtopics, and research questions.  Once you've identified an area of interest, conduct enough research to make yourself something of an expert.  Using your new expertise, write a 1500-2000 word academic essay that:

1. Contains an original, arguable thesis.  Your essay should add something new to the discussion of your topic rather than simply summarize existing research.
2. Supports claims with examples from credible sources.
3. Uses a suitably professional tone.
4. Cites sources according to MLA guidelines.
5. Builds on the effective writing strategies already discussed in the course: specific examples, paragraph focus, essay focus, format/punctuation/mechanics, strong ethical appeal, thesis/support, etc.

This essay is due at the time of the final exam.  In addition to your final draft, you should submit all earlier drafts, outlines, brainstorming, research notes, etc.

Good luck.

What's wrong with this paragraph?

"The Muskingum County Sheriff’s office is reporting that sometime last evening a number animals were turned loose from a farm located on the west edge of Zanesville. Several of the animals, exotic in nature, are still on the loose. If you spot any animals, suspicious in nature, call 911 then the campus police."

Essay II Instructions

By now, you're well on your way to completing this assignment.  Everyone should have a suitably specific topic picked out and at least a general idea of what you plan to say about this topic.  For the record, the official instructions are to write a short essay that makes an arguable claim and provides focused support using detailed examples.  Use "Uncle Sam and Aunt Samantha" and "Is Cursive Dead?" as models.

Here are some additional suggestions and guidelines:

• Your essay should be 1000-1200 words long, so choosing a suitable topic is vital.
• Although research is necessary to thoroughly explore your topic, academic (MLA or APA) style documentation is not.  Do be sure, however, that you acknowledge the source of any outside material.  We will discuss this concept in class.
• With your final draft, please submit all prewriting/outlining work involved in producing this essay.
• Your final draft should follow the same format guidelines used for Essay I.  On the first essay, I pointed out a lot of issues with stapling, line spacing, page numbers, titles, etc.  As we progress through the course, I'll be deducting an increasing number of points for not following these guidelines.  Be sure to get it right.

This essay will be evaluated according to the following criteria:

1. Topic: Is the topic suitably specific to address in an essay of this length?
2. Thesis: Is some overall claim apparent?  Is it arguable?  Does it pass the "So what?" test?
3. Support: Does the essay provide focused, well-developed support for its claims?  Does the essay make a strong ethical appeal?  Does the essay contain any flaws in reasoning?
4. Mechanics/Grammar/Punctuation/Etc: Is the essay correctly formatted?  Has it been carefully proofread?  Are there any sentence level errors of any type we've discussed in class?

Due dates are as follows:
T/R: 10/18
M/W: 10/19
F: 10/21

 

 

FRIDAY SECTION ONLY

This is for Friday only.  Other sections should disregard this post.

By now you should have made significant progress into your novel, if you haven't already finished it.  You should have a good sense of who its people are.  Choose one of these people and write a brief character sketch.  Think of it a a general overview or introduction to the person.  Include some of the basic details about him or her (name, age, race, sex, hometown, occupation), but also try to dig deeper into the character's personality.  What are some of attitudes, habits, fears, or personality traits that make him or her unique?  Be sure to use specific examples from the text to support your conclusions.

Don't forget to keep the skills from this class in mind.  Try to write focused paragraphs that make specific claims and support those claims with detailed examples.

Your response should be no longer that one double-spaced page. 

Cursive Article

Depending on your section, we have or soon will be discussing cursive writing as a sample topic for argumentative writing.  Please read the this article, print it, and be prepared to discuss it during the following meeting. (T/R: 10/11, M/W: 10/12, F: 10/14).

It will be helpful if you don't read the article until after our initial discussion of the topic.

Essay II: Assignment I

Eventually, you will write a persuasive essay modeled on Anna Quindlen's "Uncle Sam and Aunt Samantha."  The first step in this process is to identify a suitably specific topic.  With this in mind, please bring the following to class (due dates are below):

I.  A general topic. Quindlen's is "Women and the U.S. Military."

II.  A minimum of five subtopics. Quindlen's is "Female selective service requirements."  Others might include "female grooming regulations during recruit training,"or "women's dietary needs in a combat environment."

III. A minimum of five arguable claims about your favorite subtopic.  (This is the topic you will write your essay about, so choose carefully.) You do not need to agree with every claim you list--in fact, you probably shouldn't.  Your goal here is to discover the kinds of things people might say about your subtopic.

Remember how claims differ from topics.  See the examples below:

Topics

1. Female selective service requirements
2. Female grooming regulations during recruit training
3. Women's dietary needs in a combat environment

Claims

1. Failure to require women to register for selective service is inconsistent with our nation's otherwise  progressive attitudes.
2. During recruit training, female recruits should conform to the same grooming standards as men.
3. Doubling the ratio of women on the battlefield would reduce the Army's food budget by 30%.

Due dates:

• T/R: 10/11
• M/W: 10/12
• F: 10/14

General Interest Article--Not Assigned Reading

In mentioning the danger of false analogies, I've used the example of comparing someone to Hitler when the tenor's behavior is nowhere approaching global genocide.  Here is an article from Slate magazine discussing this very concept.

Reading for Week Four

Please read this short essay titled "Uncle Sam and Aunt Samantha" by Anna Quindlen.  Be sure to print a copy to refer to in class.  A quiz is possible.

We will discuss it on the following days:

T/R: 9/29
F: 9/30
M/W: 10/3

FRIDAY CLASS ONLY

Here is this week's out-of-class novel assignment:

Everything happens somewhere.  The term "setting" is used to describe the time and place where the action of a novel occurs. 

For this assignment, your task is to analyze the language your selected author uses to evoke the book's setting.  In one very well-developed paragraph, discussing the specific choices the author makes.  You might begin by examining specific lines and thinking about the types of examples they include.  Names?  Sensory details?  Words with specific connotations?

Feel free to include an evaluative component in your paragraph.  How well, in your opinion, does the author evoke the setting?  Is there anything you would have done differently?

Please email me with any questions.

The Oxford Comma

We'll talk about the Oxford (serial) comma sometime this quarter.  Here are two amusing links on the topic:

1.  JFK
2. Vampire Weekend

Essay One Guidelines

We'll talk during our next class about how an academic paper should be formatted.  For this class and many others, you'll follow MLA guidelines, which are explained in your handbook beginning on page 429.  As you are not conducting any research for this essay, no works cited page is needed.  If you do happen to include something that requires acknowledgement, simply embed that acknowledgement into your text (e.g.: "According to the National Council of Dentists...").

Certain other classes will require you to use APA guidelines; these are described on page 528.

Below are a few mistakes students commonly make.  Be advised: you will lose points on your paper if you do not follow these instructions.

• Staple: Your pages should be attached with a single staple in the upper left corner.  I do not carry a stapler to class.  Please don't ask me.
• Title: Your paper needs one. A title does more than name the assignment.  For example, "Essay One" is unsuitable.  A title does more than name the topic.  For example, "My Grandmother's Kitchen" needs to do more. A title should create interest, and sum up the work in just a few words.  "Cinnamon Flavored Hair" might be a good title for an essay that tells the story of a grandmother who mixed up her hair care products with her kitchen spices.
• Paragraph Spacing: As the guidelines state, your essay should be double spaced throughout.  No additional spacing should appear between paragraphs.  Warning: recent versions of Microsoft Word insert extra spacing as a default setting.  You will need to change this.

We'll talk more about these issues in class.

 

As stated earlier, in addition to the essay itself, you will submit all of the written work you've done in the creation of the essay (i.e. brainstorming, outlining, rough drafts, etc.)  Your essay will receive one grade that evaluates your process and another for your final draft.

Due dates for different sections are as follows:

T/R: 9/27

M/W: 9/28

F: 9/30

Assignment for Week Three

By now you should have generated loads of information on your topic.  It's time to begin thinking about organizing that information into a focused essay.  For week three (specific sections' due dates below), please create a very rough outline based on the information you've discovered.  A sample is below.

1. Topic [Dumpster Diving]
2. Thesis/Main Idea/Conclusion [Dumpster diving is a far more complex endeavor than most people realize.]
3. Why the thesis matters [It is 1) interesting and 2) will help readers reject simplistic and unfair stereotypes about this subculture.]
4. Outline for one focused paragraph:
      Topic sentence [Eating from a dumpster involves many risks.]
          Example 1. [Dysentery]
          Example 2. [Botulism]
          Example 3. [Unexpected drunkenness]

Please bring these outlines to class on the following dates:

M/W: 9/21
T/R:  9/20
F: 9/23

Lightning Story

We may or may not use this NPR story in class.  It's by a man whose father was hit by lightning, and its subject is the power of small details--a topic we've been discussing.  I hope some of you will take a look at it on your own (you can also listen to the audio version), but you're not responsible for it unless I assign it.

Quantity, not Quality (for now)

1. Identify a topic about which you will write your essay.  Once you pick something, your topic shouldn't change, so choose something you'll enjoy writing about for the next few weeks.

2. For our next meeting (see below for individual sections' due dates), spend a minimum of 45 minutes brainstorming.  Fill as many pages as possible with specific examples about your topic.  Use the techniques we've been discussing in class.  These include:

• Sensory details
• Names
• Facts and statistics
• Narrative
• Testimony
• Figurative language
• Concrete nouns and action verbs

3.  Your goal is to produce as many ideas and details as possible without regard to coherence, neatness, or organization.  Your pages may be full of scribbles and notes that only you understand.  You should wind up producing a minimum of two cluttered pages, probably more.  Most of what you produce will not make it into your actual essay, and that's okay.  You're attempting to discover what you know--we'll worry about organization later.

4.  Due dates:

• M/W: 11/19
• T/R: 11/15
• F: 11/23

Essay One Instructions

A Report from Exotic Territory

How would you would complete the sentence: “I know more than the average person about…”?  Are you, for example, a bowler?  A dumpster diver?  A bird watcher?  A bartender?  Start by identifying a specific subculture to which you belong.

Once you’ve identified a topic, write a short (1000 word) essay educating the rest of us about your topic.  You might think of this as a survival guide to your chosen subculture.  Although you aren’t expected to approach the assignment in exactly the same way, Lars Eighner’s “On Dumpster Diving” should serve as a useful model.

Your audience consists of members of our class, so you think about how much we do and don’t know about your topic.  In class, we’ve been discussing specific examples, concrete details, generalizations, and abstract statements.  Be sure to keep these concepts in mind as you compose your essay.

Your manuscript should be formatted according to MLA guidelines.  Consult your handbook for details.  A sample paper begins on page 436.  The due date will be announced in class and/or posted here.

Friday Section Only

M/W and T/R sections can disregard this post.

Other than writing as much as possible, the number one thing a person can do to become a better writer is to read.  Paying attention to how accomplished writers use language to create meaning will teach you a great deal.  What you read matters less than the fact that you do it on a regular basis.  And the way to ensure that you read on a regular basis is find something that you enjoy.

Your task, then, for next week is to find a novel that you want to read this quarter.  Eventually, you'll be given a series of online writing assignments related to the novel, but for now I'd like you to simply choose one.  Maybe you've always wanted to read Moby Dick.  Maybe you're curious about Twilight.  Your selection doesn't need to be especially literary as long as it's something you think you'll enjoy.  The only requirement is that it be a text novel geared toward adults.

Visit the library this week and browse.  Check out a few possibilities and bring them home.  Choose the one you'd most like to work with this quarter and bring it to class on Friday September 16. 

Link to "On Dumpster Diving"

Click on this link to the essay "On Dumpster Diving" by Lars Eighner.  Please print a copy of the essay, read it, and be prepared to discuss it in class.  Individual sections will discuss the essay on the following days:

M/W: 9/14
T/R: 9/13
F: 9/16

A short multiple choice quiz is possible.  Please email me with any questions. 

FALL 2011 BEGINS HERE

This is the first post for Fall 2011.  Feel free to explore the earlier posts to get an idea of the assignments and activities I've used with previous sections.

Please keep in mind that this blog is being used for three sections of composition.  Every post will not apply to every section.  When necessary, I'll be sure to clarify what instructions apply to what sections.

Final Essay Instructions

You've already done most of the work (refer to this post) that will determine the shape of your essay, but here is a formal listing of the instructions and requirements.

Using the research you've already completed, write a 1700-2000 word academic essay that:

1. Contains an original, arguable thesis.  Your essay should add something new to the discussion of your topic rather than simply summarize existing research.
2. Supports claims with examples from credible sources.
3. Uses a suitably professional tone.
4. Cites sources according to MLA guidelines.
5. Builds on the effective writing strategies already discussed in the course: specific examples, paragraph focus, essay focus, format/punctuation/mechanics, strong ethical appeal, thesis/support, etc.

This essay is due at the time of the final exam (Monday, June 6).  In addition to your final draft, you should submit all earlier drafts, outlines, brainstorming, research notes, etc.

Good luck.

Final Exam Review Topics

Here is a general outline of final exam topics.  I will review it during class on 5/22, and you will have in-class opportunities to ask questions.

Although the final exam may include any concept we covered this quarter, I intend to focus on the following:

I: Sentence level issues

            A. Commas

                        1. Separating items in a series

                        2. With coordinating conjunctions to form compound sentences

                        3. After introductory elements

                        4. With nonrestrictive elements

                        5. Comma splices

                        6. Fused sentences (run-ons)           

           

            B. Semicolons

                        1. To join independent clauses

                        2. To separate a series of items already containing commas

            C. Apostrophes

                        1. To indicate possession

                        2. With conjunctions

            D. Using punctuation with quotation marks

                        1. Placement of periods, commas, and question marks

                        2. Using ellipses to indicate omissions

                        3. Using square brackets to indicate changes

            E. Pronouns

                        1. Vague pronoun reference

                        2. Pronoun-antecedent agreement

            F. Manuscript format           

            G.  Title format

                        1. Italics, underlining, quotation marks, capitalization

II. Paragraph and essay level issues

            A. Specific and concrete language

                        1. Avoiding generalizations and clichés

            B. Paragraph focus

                        1. Topic sentences

                        2. Supporting examples and development

                                    a. Sensory details, analogies, facts, statistics, testimony, metaphors

            C. Essay focus and argument

                        1. Thesis/claim

                        2. Evidence/support

                        3. Counterarguments

                        4. Types of appeals: logical, ethical, emotional

                        5. Fallacies

            D. Research and documentation

                        1. Evaluating sources

                        2. Incorporating sources

                        3. Quoting, paraphrasing, summarizing

                        4. Introducing and interpreting material from outside sources

                        5. Parenthetical citations

                        6. Works cited lists

For the sentence level section of the exam, you will be presented with sentences containing one or more error.  You will be asked to rewrite each sentence so that the error no longer exists.  The exam’s paragraph/essay level section will include multiple choice and short answer questions.

Topic Proposal Instructions

By now you should have discovered a precise topic and done a significant amount of reading about it.  Hopefully, you've become something of an expert on it.  Now it's time to draw on your expertise and tell the world what it needs to know about your topic.

This assignment is intended to get your started in formulating your argument and thinking about the examples you will use to support it.  Here are the instructions:

In a document modeled on the example on page 405, describe your topic, working thesis, and major examples.  After reading your proposal, I should have a sense of:

1. What your topic is.
2. Why the topic matters to you.
3. Why the topic matters to readers (and who those specific readers are).
4.  What you have observed and concluded from your research thus far.  In other words, what do you plan to argue?  What is your essay’s working thesis?
5. What reasons and evidence (mention specific sources) you plan to use to support your argument.

This assignment is due on Monday, May 23.  Please email me if you have any questions.
 

Reading for Wednesday, 5/18

Please read this article and be prepared to discuss it in class on Wednesday.  Although it appears in a popular publication rather than an academic one, it nevertheless utilizes most of the research skills we're discussing in class.

And it's about commas.

REMINDER

Don't forget that Monday's class will meet in the library instruction lab in Elson Hall.  If you exit the library and walk down the hallway toward the atrium, the lab is the first door on your right.

Please arrive on time.  Reference librarian Janelle Hubble will be instructing us on locating sources in library databases.

Assignment for Monday 5/16

I apologize for the length of these instructions, but every point here is important.  Please read them carefully.

1. Your final essay will require research on a topic related to your major (or potential major).  Begin by deciding what general topic you're going to research.
2. Spend some time reading/browsing information on your topic.  Don't worry too much about the credibility of your sources (for now).  Your goal here isn't to discover information you can use in an essay; your goal is to discover what interests you most about your topic.
3. Between now and Monday, work to narrow your focus and identify a minimum of five specific, original questions that would require research to answer.  To put this a slightly different way, what do you most want to know about your topic? 
4. Remember that you are writing an academic essay, not a career report.  Your focus should be on your topic itself, rather than the lives of people involved in a specific profession.
5. An academic essay is also different from an informative report.  Your essay should do more than summarize existing knowledge on your topic.  It should, instead, DRAW AN ORIGINAL CONCLUSION.  You should have this purpose in mind as you write your research questions.  

Here are some sample questions: 

• How has the popularity of text messaging affected literacy among today's youth?
• What impact does the availability of bike lanes have on obesity rates?
• How accurately does the film Black Swan depict the lives of actual dancers?

The above questions are suitable because each one A) requires research to answer, B) would likely lead to a conclusion (an arguable claim) that could serve as an essay's thesis, and C) seeks to discover something new about its topic.

Please bring your questions to class on Monday.  We will discuss them.  See you then.

Essay II Instructions

By now, you're well on your way to completing this assignment.  Everyone should have a suitably specific topic picked out and at least a general idea of what you plan to say about this topic.  For the record, the official instructions are to follow the guidelines for Assignment 2 on page 101 of your textbook.  Use "Uncle Sam and Aunt Samantha" and "Is Cursive Dead?" as models.

Here are some additional suggestions and guidelines:

• Your essay should be 1000-1200 words long, so choosing a suitable topic is vital.
• Although research is necessary to thoroughly explore your topic, academic (MLA or APA) style documentation is not.  Do be sure, however, that you acknowledge the source of any outside material.  We will discuss this concept in class.
• This essay is due on Wednesday, May 11.  With your final draft, please submit all prewriting/outlining work involved in producing this essay.
• Your final draft should follow the same format guidelines used for Essay I.  On the first essay, I pointed out a lot of issues with stapling, line spacing, page numbers, titles, etc.  As we progress through the course, I'll be deducting an increasing number of points for not following these guidelines.  Be sure to get it right.

This essay will be evaluated according to the following criteria:

1. Topic: Is the topic suitably specific to address in an essay of this length?
2. Thesis: Is some overall claim apparent?  Is it arguable?  Does it pass the "So what?" test?
3. Support: Does the essay provide focused, well-developed support for its claims?  Does the essay make a strong ethical appeal?  Does the essay contain any flaws in reasoning?
4. Mechanics/Grammar/Punctuation/Etc: Is the essay correctly formatted?  Has it been carefully proofread?  Are there any sentence level errors of any type we've discussed in class?

We will review and discuss these guidelines in Monday's class.  See you then.

Instructions for Wednesday, 5/4

Hi.  Here are some more detailed instructions for Wednesday's class:

1. Read the Slate article on cursive writing (linked in the previous post), and be prepared to discuss it.

2. Based on what you learned about specific topics and claims in Monday's class, choose a suitably precise essay topic.

• Write your topic down.
• Spend some time reading about your topic and discovering what other people are saying about it.  It will help to make some notes.  (Any notes you include don't need to be organized or even legible to anyone but yourself.)
• Try to develop a working thesis.  This is a tentative thesis that you will use to begin organizing your ideas.  It's okay if this changes as you write your essay.  This is an expected part of the writing process.  You will receive feedback during class on whether your thesis is specific and arguable.  

Please email me with any questions.  See you in class.

Reading for Wednesday, 5/4

Please read this article, print it out, and bring it to Wednesday's class.

As you read, think of the article as an example of the kind of essay you're writing.  Try to identify the topic, the thesis, and the examples the essay uses to support its various claims. 

Assignment for Monday 5/2

Eventually, you will write a persuasive essay modeled on Anna Quindlen's "Uncle Sam and Aunt Samantha."  The first step in this process is to identify a suitably specific topic.  With this in mind, please bring the following to Monday's class:

I.  A general topic. Quindlen's is "Women and the U.S. Military."

II.  A minimum of five subtopics. Quindlen's is "Female selective service requirements."  Others might include "female grooming regulations during recruit training,"or "women's dietary needs in a combat environment."

III. A minimum of five arguable claims about your favorite subtopic.  (This is the topic you will write your essay about, so choose carefully.) You do not need to agree with every claim you list--in fact, you probably shouldn't.  Your goal here is to discover the kinds of things people might say about your subtopic.

Remember how claims differ from topics.  See the examples below:

Topics

1. Female selective service requirements
2. Female grooming regulations during recruit training
3. Women's dietary needs in a combat environment

Claims

1. Failure to require women to register for selective service is inconsistent with our nation's otherwise  progressive attitudes.
2. During recruit training, female recruits should conform to the same grooming standards as men.
3. Doubling the ratio of women on the battlefield would reduce the Army's food budget by 30%.

Please email me with any questions.  See you in class.

Manuscript Format Guidelines

We'll talk during Monday's class about what an academic paper should look like.  For this paper, you'll follow MLA guidelines, which are explained here:

http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/01/

Certain classes will require you to use APA guidelines; these guidelines are also available at Purdue's OWL.

Below are a few common mistakes students make.  Be advised: you will lose points on your paper if you do not follow these instructions.

• Staple: Your pages should be attached with a single staple in the upper left corner.  I do not carry a stapler to class.  Please don't ask me.
• Title: Your paper needs one. A title does more than name the assignment.  For example, "Essay One" is unsuitable.  A title does more than name the topic.  For example, "My Grandmother's Kitchen" needs to do more. A title should create interest, and sum up the work in just a few words.  "Cinnamon Flavored Hair Dye" might be a good title for an essay that tells the story of a grandmother who mixed up her hair care products with her kitchen spices.
• Paragraph Spacing: As the guidelines state, your essay should be double spaced throughout.  No additional spacing should appear between paragraphs.  Warning: recent versions of Microsoft Word insert extra spacing as a default setting.  You will need to change this.

We'll talk more about these issues in class.

Essay One Instructions (will be discussed in class on 4/6)

English 151

Essay One

Skills involved:

·      Narration

·      Description

·      Paragraph Development

·      Paragraph Focus

This essay assignment is a modified version of what appears in Chapter One of How to Write Anything: In a 800-1000 word essay, narrate your experiences about a place—from the past or present—that show why this environment is an important part of your life.  You can introduce readers to characters you met there, thoughts or emotions the place evokes, or incidents that occurred in this setting.

Based on the two assignments you’ve completed so far, you should have 1) selected a place you want to write about, and 2) discovered a great deal of information about your place.

Your biggest challenge now is to select the most interesting and meaningful aspects of the place and/or story and use your specific example skills to develop two paragraphs into an entire essay.

The most important rhetorical skill needed for this assignment is the use of original and specific detail.  Work to identify the things that make your place unique; don’t just fill your pages with generic and obvious statements.  Consider the following examples:   

·   “A visitor to New York city can sample foods from around the world.”  This sentence, while true, is far too vague and doesn’t tell readers anything they don’t already know.

·   “New York is home to thousands of restaurants, serving everything from pizza, to sushi, to Indian food.”  This sentence is more specific, but it still states the obvious.   

·   “New York’s Chinatown has more than 200 restaurants, where you will find tastes from all over China: Cantonese, Szechuan, Shanghai, and Suzhou, as well as Vietnamese and Malaysian cooking.”  This sentence provides new and specific information.

Notice that the previous sentence limits its focus to Chinese cooking.  It doesn’t mention Greek, Italian, Indian, or Middle Eastern foods whatsoever.  You will need to similarly limit the focus of your essay.  One thousand words is simply not enough space to sufficiently explore a place’s history, people, architecture, traditions, economy, citizens, restaurants, and arts. (Note: just because my example focuses on an entire neighborhood doesn't mean you can't write about a more specific place.  For example, you might write about your cousin's treehouse or your grandmother's closet.)

This essay is due at the beginning of class on Wednesday, April 13.  Format and other mechanical guidelines will be discussed on Monday.

I am available to answer questions and to provide feedback on rough drafts.  Don’t hesitate to contact me.

Hands

by Jean Sprackland

She peels cod fillets off the slab,
dips them in batter, drops them
one by one into the storm of hot fat.
I watch her scrubbed hands,
elegant at the work,

and think of the hands of the midwife
stroking wet hair from my face as I sobbed and cursed,
calling me sweetheart and wheeling in more gas,
hauling out at last my slippery fish of a son.
He was all silence and milky blue. She took him away
and brought him back breathing,
wrapped in a white sheet. By then
I loved her like my own mother.

I stand here speechless in the steam and banter,
as she makes hospital corners of my hot paper parcel.

Link to poem: http://www.newyorker.com/fiction/poetry/2007/07/09/070709po_poem_sprackland#ixzz117D7Hha6

Assignment for 4/6

For Monday, you wrote a single paragraph using specific examples of the type we've been discussing in class.  These include: sensory details, names, facts and statistics, testimony, stories, and figurative language.  

Your task for Wednesday is to identify the two most important single ideas in this paragraph and develop each idea into a paragraph of its own.  Create these paragraphs as if they will appear together in the same essay--in other words, the audience should have some sense of how they are related to each other.  Don't forget, however, that each paragraph should express its own idea.

We'll discuss this idea in class.  Let me know if you have any questions.

Assignment for Monday, April 4

Here's the assignment I mentioned in class today:

Write one well-developed (less than a page, but not much less) paragraph describing a significant place in your life.  Later in the course you will develop this paragraph into a narrative essay, so try to choose a place where something significant happened. 

Use the skills we discussed in class today to discover vivid details to describe your place thoroughly.  These include sensory details, names, facts and statistics, and testimony.

Please type your paragraph, double space, and use conventional fonts and type size (12 point Times New Roman or similar).

Please email me if you have any questions.  Good luck

Chet the Cat

I have a pet.
I have a cat.
I have an adult cat.
I have brown and white, nine-year-old cat.

In what ways was your mental picture suggested by the sentences above different from the photo?

Spring 2011 Begins Here

Welcome to English 151.  Although this is not an online course, I'll be using this blog on a regular basis to post assignments, readings, and other information.  If you'd like to see how I've used the blog previously, browse the posts prior to this one.  Whenever I post anything that the class will be responsible for, I will be sure to announce it in class or via email.