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.