Final Tips

The final is ready to go.  It consists of fifty multiple choice questions.  Below are many of the questions/instructions with the multiple choice options removed:

1.     Which sentence uses specific examples rather than generalizations?

2.     Which phrase is most specific?

3.     Which phrase is least specific?

4.     Which phrase is not a generalization?

5.     Which of the following would make the most effective thesis for a 1000 word essay?

6.     Which of the following would make the most effective thesis for a 1000 word essay?         

7.     Which of the following pronouns is plural?

8.     Which of these sentences contains a usage error?

9.     Which of the following functions like an essay’s thesis, but at the paragraph level?

10.   By respectfully acknowledging opposing viewpoints, a writer creates what type of appeal?

True or False.  Mark “A” for true statements and “B” for false statements.

[The questions here are from various parts of the course, but several concern active/passive voice.] 

Sentence Structure/Pronouns. Please choose one of the following responses:

a.  Run-on

b.  Comma splice

c.  Passive voice

d.  Pronoun error

e.  Correct

Punctuation.  Which of the following sentences is punctuated correctly?

            [Each question here consists of three sentences.]

Matching. Select the type of error that appears in each sentence.

a.     Apostrophe error

b.     Incorrect title format

c.     Incorrect punctuation with quotation marks

d.     Comma error (restrictive/intro element, etc.)

e.     More than one error

ab. Usage error

ac.  No errors

Final Exam Reminder

An announced in class, you may take the final exam with either of my English 1510 sections.  The times and locations are as follows:

Tuesday 12/11 at 3:30 in Elson 282

Friday 12/14 at 2:00 in Elson W105

I will see you at one or the other.  Don't forget to bring your handbook.

Link to Article

We'll talk about this article for a moment during our final class meeting.  It comes from an entertainment site and doesn't seem to have much scholarly backing, yet it effectively expresses the open-minded sensibility needed to conduct effective academic research.

If you see this message before class, please take a moment and read the article.

Final Exam Updates

Please note the five new items on the final exam review list.  These are labeled G through K under "Sentence Level Issues."

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. Manuscript format           
            F.  Title format
                        1. Italics, underlining, quotation marks, capitalization
            G.  Dashes vs. Hyphens
            H.  Subjects and Verbs
             I.  Active/Passive voice
             J.  Metaphor
             K. Usage: its/it's, every day/everyday, affect/effect

    

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

Assignment for Tuesday [Friday section due on 12/7]

By now you've spent a significant time thinking about the state of Ferretland, and you should be coming to some sort of conclusion about the park's fate.  For Tuesday's class, please bring an informal outline that details your decision and provides the major reasons for this decision.  Your outline should answer the following questions:

1. What should the corporation do about Ferretland?  Close it?  Keep it open?  Some other solution?
2. Why is this the best course of action?  What reasons can you provide to support your decision?
3.  What are the strongest counterarguments to your decision?  Who will make them, and what reasons will they give to support them?
4.  How can you refute these counterarguments?  What reasons can you provide that will demonstrate that these counterarguments do not represent the best course of action?

Please bring this to class on Tuesday.  Let me know if you have any questions.

Assignment for Thursday (Friday section can disregard this post.)

During Tuesday's class, we discussed the wide range of places, people, and policies that an executive might observe while conducting an evaluation of Ferretland.  These include (but are definitely not limited to) the following:

• rides
• bathrooms
• sections of the park
• educational and other exhibits
• parking
• games 
• food
• prices
• employees
• bosses
• customers management
• civilians
• inspectors
• police
• rules
• policies
• uniforms
• prices
• training
• discipline
• pay

For Thursday's class, please do some brainstorming or freewriting to discover as much information about the park as possible.  Imagine that you are an employee of the park who has worked there for at least ten years.  What might you say about the park?  What stories can you tell?  What is your job?  What is the best and worst part of your job?  What does the park do well?  What would you change to improve the park?

The purpose of this assignment is to discover details about the park that you might use in your essay.  We will refer to this during Thursday's class, so please come prepared.  (Note: people absent on Tuesday are still responsible for this assignment).

Please email me if you have any questions.

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. Manuscript format           

            F.  Title format

                        1. Italics, underlining, quotation marks, capitalization

            G.  Pronouns

1. Unclear reference
2. Agreement 

            H.   Usage: its/it's, every day/everyday, affect/effect
             I.    Documentation/sources

1. You may be provided with information from an outside source and be asked to correctly document it using MLA guidelines. 
2. You may be asked about locating, evaluating, and integrating sources.

    

II. Paragraph and essay level issues

            A. Specific and concrete language

                        1. Avoiding generalizations and clichés

                        2. Using action verbs

            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

Final Essay Assignment

For this assignment, each member of the class will write an essay based on the same hypothetical situation. Please imagine the following scenario:

You work for a corporation that owns several amusement parks. Last week, you were sent to Ferretland--a ferret-themed amusement park in Zanesville, Ohio, which has been losing money for years. The purpose of your visit was to inspect the park and decide whether it should remain open. Zanesville residents are against closing the park because it has been a Zanesville landmark for over 85 years, and because the closing would cost the city over one hundred jobs. You interviewed dozens of employees and local residents and found many of their stories very moving. Upon completing the inspection, however, you determine that the park is riddled with problems that will make it next to impossible to keep open. These problems include: 1) the buildings and grounds are very old and in need of costly repairs, 2) the rides have been poorly maintained and their operators are not very well-trained, 3) the ferret theme does not generate enough interest to draw people to the park.  While closing the park may seem like the obvious choice from a financial perspective, this decision is likely to cause serious public relations problems for the company.  If Ferretland closes, numerous groups are likely to organize boycotts of the corporation's other parks.

Your assignment is to write your report to your bosses, detailing a specific course of action. The bosses expect you make a final decision on the fate of the park, and provide reasons to support this decision. You will need to invent the details you use to support your conclusion.

Remember to use the skills we've discussed in the class so far: strive to write clear sentences, and well-developed paragraphs that provide focused support for the essay's thesis. Your essay should also demonstrate awareness of your rhetorical situation: your language, tone, and examples should be appropriate for your purpose and audience. You may choose to acknowledge and refute any counterarguments.

Length should be between 1000 and 1500 words. Although a real business report would not be formatted according to MLA guidelines, please use MLA for this assignment. 

This essay's due date will be announced. Have fun!

Art Images

ENGLISH 200:

Link to "The Lottery"

Here is a link to "The Lottery" by Shirley Jackson.  Please read this for our next meeting, along with "Hills Like White Elephants."

Links to Stories

"The Story of an Hour" by Kate Chopin

http://www.vcu.edu/engweb/webtexts/hour/

"Hills Like White Elephants" by Ernest Hemingway

http://www.asdk12.org/staff/grenier_tom/HOMEWORK/208194_Hills_Like_White_Elephants.pdf

Due Date Reminder

Don't forget that the research essay is due this week.  Dates are 11/1 for the Tuesday/Thursday section, and 11/2 for the Friday section.

As announced in class, the essay will be evaluated by the following criteria:

• Builds on skills introduced by Essay I (e.g. development, paragraph focus, essay focus, technical issues).
• Demonstrates effective use of outside sources.  Particular attention will be given to sources' credibility.
• Effectively integrates source material and uses this material to support the essay's thesis.  (Pay attention to choices about how material is integrated [quoted, paraphrased, summarized].  Be sure to use signal phrases to connect examples to the thesis.)
• Documents sources according to MLA guidelines.

Please contact me if you have any questions.

Links to Articles: Newsweek and Eating Pandas

We may use this news article about Newsweek magazine in class this week.  We also may look at this article about eating pandas.  No need to read these yet.

Research Essay Instructions

You've already done a significant amount of work on this assignment, but just to ensure that everyone knows what the final product should look like, here are the formal instructions:

Start with a topic that you genuinely want to know more about.  Perhaps this is a topic connected to your academic major.  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.  See the recently-assigned passages in the handbook for more information about what makes a suitable thesis.
2. Supports claims with examples from credible sources.
3. Follows the conventions of academic writing.
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 will be due in approximately three weeks.  An exact date will be announced.

Assignment for Week of 10/15

For next week, please answer the following questions in writing:

• What is your general topic and your subtopic? (Subtopic should be suitably specific.)
• Exactly what do you want to learn about your topic (i.e. what is your research question?) 
• Why does any of this matter?  How will answering your question will contribute to our understanding of the topic?  (Remember this assignment is more than an informative report; your goal is to provide some new, original analysis.)

These are the same kinds of questions we asked about the Brian Palmer article on hats.

Military Hats

We will examine this article in an upcoming class.  Please consider the following:

• Why does the author begin by talking about Hugo Chavez?
• How do you think the author decided what information about Chavez to include and what to leave out?
• What is the essay's general topic?
• What is its specific topic?
• What research question does the author ask about the topic?
• What research was likely required in order to discover the answer to this question?
• What is the answer to that question?
• As this is a popular essay, as opposed to a scholarly one, the author provides links to additional information rather than fully developing his examples.  What would the essay look like if the author had incorporated more information from outside sources?

Conferences

Please remember that we will not meet as a class during the week of October 1.  Instead, students will meet with me individually at assigned times.  I strongly suggest using the time not spent in class to visit the library and begin exploring possible topics for the research essay.

Additionally, please read sections MLA-1 from your handbook (begins on page 373) and R1-a (begins on 332).  We will discuss this during our first meeting after we reconvene as a class.  A quiz is possible.

Frank Deford Article

Please read this article by sportswriter Frank Deford.  We will discuss it during an upcoming class.

Discovering Detailed Examples

[Friday class does not need to complete anything yet.  This assignment will be explained in class.]

During our next meeting, you will begin narrowing your general topic toward a more precise subtopic.  As we will discuss in class, this subtopic should be specific enough to address in a 1000-word essay.  Because you only have 1000 words, topics like "golf," "nursing," and "Angry Birds" are far too broad.  There is just too much to say about these things.

Once you have a suitably specific subtopic in mind, begin listing as many details as you can.  Begin by listing details that fit into the following categories:

• Sights
• Sounds
• Smells
• Tastes
• Physical (tactile) feelings
• Emotions
• Names (of people, places, objects, and concepts)
• Facts and statistics
• Analogies
• Testimony (What have others said about your topic?)
• Stories

Once you have listed at least a few examples from each of the categories above, freewrite for an additional fifteen minutes, expanding on your favorite examples.

Please bring this to class on Thursday (T/Th section only).

Sample Sentences for Use in Class

1.  My seven-year-old niece, Louise, cartwheels merrily down Maple Lane, toward the waiting schoolbus.

2.  With the agility of a six-month-old kitten, Old Man Watson's sixteen-pound cat, buttons, dodged the out-of-control garbage truck.

Assignment for Next Week

This assignment should serve as the first step in writing your first essay.

If you haven't already chosen a general topic, please do so.  Next, spend a minimum of twenty minutes freewriting with goal of discovering as many subtopics as you possibly can.  Lars Eighner's general topic is Dumpster diving; his subtopics include safety, finding the best dumpsters, competition among scavengers, the origins of the word "Dumpster," college students, the ethics of dumpster diving, hazards of dumpster diving, materialism in U.S. society, and several more.

Please come to class next week with a general topic and a list of at least ten subtopics.  This does not need to be typed, and it does not need to be neat.  It does need to demonstrate that you have thought considerably about your topic.

For the Tuesday/Thursday section, this is due on Tuesday the 18th.
For the Friday section, this is due on Friday the 21st.

Research Essay

We won't formally begin the research essay for a few weeks, but I'd like you to be thinking about potential topics.  The assignment for this essay will look a lot like this one from a previous semester.  Please read it over and start thinking about topics you might want to explore.

"On Dumpster Diving" Discussion

Below are several essay questions related to "On Dumpster Diving."  In class today, you will work in groups to create an outline which might be used to answer one of these questions.  Every response should use numerous specific examples from the text to support its claims.

1. Eighner discusses ethics at several points in the essay.  What, according to him, are some of the ethical issues faced by Dumpster divers?  What does he say about other members of society?  Do you agree with him?   
2. What do discarded items reveal about their previous owners?  How does Eighner feel about college students?  Do you agree with him?
3. What role does Eighner's dog play in the essay?  Why does he include the dog at all?  How does this help the essay achieve its purpose?
4. The essay's first five paragraphs pay a great deal of attention to language.  What effect does this have on the essay overall?
5. In paragraph seven, Eighner lays out the rhetorical direction the rest of the essay will take.  Describe some of the specific subtopics he uses to accomplish his stated goal.
6. In paragraph 37 (page 6?), Eighner states, "I do not want to paint too romantic a picture."  Describe his tone here.  What other places in the essay does his tone reveal something about his attitude toward his subject?
7. By the essay's end, we have a good sense of Eighner's attitude toward material possessions.  How would you describe this attitude?  How is his attitude different from other members of society?

Announcement

The due date for Essay One will be moved to one week later than is stated on the syllabus.  Details will be announced in class.

In Class Writing

The goal of this assignment is to help you better understand the choices writers make based on audience and purpose.  You will write in groups.  Each group will communicate about the same subject matter, but in a different rhetorical situation.

Each group’s project will be based on the following scenario:

You are an assistant coach at a nationally known college football program.  After the final game of a winning season, you throw the players a small party at your house.  Your university has a strict policy against staff members providing alcohol to students, so you don’t purchase any beer for the party.  At the party, however, a group of players finds a partial case of beer in your garage refrigerator, and they help themselves.  When you discover the students drinking, they plead to be allowed to drink one beer each.  Since all of the students in the garage are over twenty-one, you decide to bend the rules slightly and allow them to finish the beers they started.  You drink one beer as well.

After leaving the party, the team’s star quarterback, Bert Foster, is stopped by police.  The officer smells alcohol on Bert’s breath and administers a sobriety test, which Bert passes.  Bert insults the officer, however, and this leads to his car being searched.  The police discover a suitcase full of cocaine.  Bert is arrested.

Your job is to explain what happened as you would in your group’s assigned situation:

1. Bert called you from jail to tell you he has been arrested.  You called the head coach immediately, but he did not answer.  Write an email explaining the situation to him.  Assume the head coach is a close personal friend.  The national media have not picked up the story yet.
2. You went to the jail to see if you could bail Bert out and keep the story out of the papers.  Text your spouse to explain where you are.
3. The police visit your house the day after Bert’s arrest.  As part of their investigation, they ask you for a written statement of what happened.  Write that statement.
4. The story is all over the national media.  Your sister (with whom you have a close relationship) emails you to ask what happened and if you are okay.  Answer her.
5. You have been fired (unfairly, you believe) from your assistant coaching job for providing alcohol to students.  The local newspaper invites you to tell your side of the story.
6. You fail to get your job back and go on to a modest career as an advertising sales representative.  Twenty years later, Sports Illustrated invites you to tell your story as part of a where-are-they-now article.  Tell your story.

Email Closings

We'll probably read this article on email closings at some point in the future.  I am not formally assigning it yet, but feel free to check it out on your own.

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 (note: as of this posting, "On Dumpster Diving" hasn't yet been assigned.  It will be.)

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.

Link to "On Dumpster Diving"

Please follow this link to the essay "On Dumpster Diving" by Lars Eighner, and print a copy to refer to in our class discussion.  Individual sections should be prepared to discuss the essay on the following days:

• T/R: Tuesday, September 11
• F: Friday, September 14

A short quiz is possible.

The Bean Eaters

We will discuss this poem during week two.  Please read it and think about the specific examples the author provides and the specific examples supplied by your own imagination.  Take a moment to think about the mental picture the poem creates.  Jot down some notes about the appearance of the room, the people, and anything else that appears in your mind.

The Bean Eaters
by Gwendolyn Brooks
They eat beans mostly, this old yellow pair. Dinner is a casual affair. Plain chipware on a plain and creaking wood, Tin flatware. Two who are Mostly Good. Two who have lived their day, But keep on putting on their clothes And putting things away. And remembering . . . Remembering, with twinklings and twinges, As they lean over the beans in their rented back room that is full of beads and receipts and dolls and cloths, tobacco crumbs, vases and fringes.

Email Assignment

During week one, we will discuss what a professional email should look like.  In this assignment, you will write an email that possesses the characteristics we discuss in class.

Your email should be based on the following scenario: You are preparing to drive to campus for your English final exam.  While walking to your car, you come face-to-face with a gorilla that has escaped from the zoo.  You run back inside and call the state police.  The police order you to remain inside until the animal is captured.  You go inside and sit down at your computer to email your instructor.

Your assignment, due at noon on Tuesday, September 4, is to send me the email you would write in the above scenario.  Feel free to make up any details needed to make the email effective.

The Red Wheelbarrow
by William Carlos Williams
so much depends upon a red wheel barrow glazed with rain water beside the white chickens.

Communication Is Imperfect

Notice how specific language gets the reader closer to the speaker's reality, but the two realities never completely match.

(From A First Look at Communication Theory.  Griffin, Em.  2003.)

Non-Verbal Communication Examples

Below is the Vietnam Veterans Memorial designed by Maya Lin, and the Marine Corps War Memorial by Felix de Weldon.  What does each sculpture seem to be saying about its respective war?  Why do you think so?  How are these conclusions the result of specific choices by the artists?

FALL 2012 BEGINS HERE

Hello.  I will be using this blog throughout the course to post assignments, readings, and announcements.  Feel free to explore older posts to get an idea of what I've done with previous classes.

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. Manuscript format           

            F.  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

                    

Citing Indirect Sources

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 Essay Instructions

You've already done a significant amount of work on this assignment, but just to ensure that everyone knows what the final product should look like, here are the formal instructions:

Start with a topic that you genuinely want to know more about.  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.

For Thusday

Please write a short paragraph that accomplishes the following:

• Explains what your general topic and subtopic is. (Subtopic should be suitably specific.)
• Explains exactly what you want to find out about your subtopic.
• Explains why answering your question will contribute to our understanding of the topic.  (Remember this assignment is more than an informative report; your goal is to provide some new, original analysis.)

Here is a sample paragraph based on the condom article we looked at in class:

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania is facing an epidemic of children as young as ten becoming pregnant or infected with sexually transmitted diseases.  Responses from city health organizations and the school district have generated significant controversy.  In my essay, I plan to understand the nature of this controversy and discover the key areas where conflict exists.  Understanding the key points of disagreement will help us to make the best decisions for our children's health.

Please contact me if you have any problems or questions.

Bottled Water Article

We may use this article in a future class.  You aren't formally assigned to read it yet, but feel free.

Essay Two Assignment

For this assignment, each member of the class will write an essay based on the same hypothetical situation. Please imagine the following scenario:

You work for a corporation that owns several amusement parks. Last week, you were sent to Ferretland--a ferret-themed amusement park in Zanesville, Ohio, which has been losing money for years. The purpose of your visit was to inspect the park and decide whether it should remain open. Zanesville residents are against closing the park because it has been a Zanesville landmark for over 85 years, and because the closing would cost the city over one hundred jobs. You interviewed dozens of employees and local residents and found many of their stories very moving. Upon completing the inspection, however, you determine that the park is riddled with problems that will make it next to impossible to keep open. These problems include: 1) the buildings and grounds are very old and in need of costly repairs, 2) the rides have been poorly maintained and their operators are not very well-trained, 3) the ferret theme does not generate enough interest to draw people to the park.

Your assignment is to write your report to your bosses, detailing a specific course of action. The bosses expect you make a final decision on the fate of the park, and provide reasons to support this decision. You will need to invent the details you use to support your conclusion.

Remember to use the skills we've discussed in the class so far: strive to write clear sentences, and well-developed paragraphs that provide focused support for the essay's thesis. Your essay should also demonstrate awareness of your rhetorical situation: your language, tone, and examples should be appropriate for your purpose and audience. You may choose to acknowledge and refute any counterarguments.

Length should be between 800 and 1000 words. Although a real business report would not be formatted according to MLA guidelines, please use MLA for this assignment.

This essay's due date will be announced. Have fun!

Meeting Times for 2/2

Hey, guys.  I think I can provide better feedback on your papers if we have one-on-one conferences tomorrow.  With that in mind, please come to class at the following times:

Kathryn and Chanel: 1:10 (normal time)
Abby and Amber: 1:55

Thanks.  See you tomorrow.

Assignment for Tuesday

1. Please read this article and bring a printed copy to refer to in class.  Be prepared to answer the following questions:

• What is the author's purpose in writing the article?
• What is the article's point/main idea/thesis?
• What is the main idea of each individual paragraph?

2. Make a decision about your existing paragraph.  Is it the basis for an entire essay, or is it a single paragraph that fits into a larger essay.  Once you've decided, create an informal outline for what the final essay will look like.  This outline should include the essay's thesis, topic sentences for at least three supporting paragraphs, and at least three examples to support each topic sentence. 

Paragraph for Thursday

In the article “Wackiest New Year’s Eve Ball Drops,” we saw the writers examine the practice of dropping various items to celebrate the new year.  Note that the article begins with a specific example (dropping an olive in Bartlesville, OK) that illustrates the general trend (that cities and towns across the country have unusual New Year's traditions).

For Thursday’s class, please write one paragraph that follows this pattern.  Begin by identifying a general trend—some custom, tradition, or behavior that is fairly widespread.  This could be almost anything: 1980’s hair coming back into fashion, people becoming vegetarian, raising chickens in urban backyards.

Once you’ve got a suitable topic (we’ll discuss these in class), write one well-developed paragraph that functions as a single example of your chosen trend.  For example, if you were writing about the chicken trend, your paragraph might begin something like this:

Every day, Elmer Smith joins tens of thousands of other commuters in riding the subway home.  He travels from his 40^th story office on Wall Street to a modest duplex in Hoboken, New Jersey.  With his business suit and New York Times, he looks like any other commuter—except that when Elmer arrives home, he leaves his briefcase in the hallway and scoops chicken feed from a 40-pound sack on his back porch.  As Elmer sprinkles feed from an empty Maxwell House coffee can, his six chickens burst eagerly from their plywood coop and begin pecking the ground around his feet.

This assignment will lead to your first essay, so be sure to pick a trend that you find interesting.  Let me know if you have any questions.

   

Reading for Tuesday, 1/10

Please follow this link to an article from Travel and Leisure magazine titled, "Wackiest New Year's Eve Ball Drops."  Your assignment for Tuesday is to read the article and be prepared to discuss it.  We will probably have a five-question multiple choice quiz to ensure that everyone completes the reading.  Please have a copy of the article to refer to in class on Tuesday.

The Importance of Specific Examples

We'll discuss the illustration below during our first or second class.  Notice how specific language helps move the listener closer to the speaker's reality.

From A First Look at Communication Theory. Griffin, Em. 2003

Course Syllabus

OHIO UNIVERSITY ZANESVILLE

ENGLISH 151: Writing and Rhetoric I

Winter 2012

WEATHER RELATED CLASS DELAYS OR CAMPUS CLOSINGS: CALL 453-0762 OR CHECK WWW.ZANESVILLE.OHIO.EDU

Course: ENG 151 (5)

Instructor: Jim Fox

Email: foxj1@ohio.edu

Home Phone: 

Office: Elson 226

Office Hours: T/R 12:30-1:10 and by appointment

    Class Number                   Meeting Time                   Room                                Final Exam

15652

T/Th 1:10-3:30

WPTC 520

Th, 3/15 @ 1:10

BASIS FOR GRADING:

Essay I: 15%

Essay II: 25%

Essay III: 35%

Assignments and quizzes: 15%

Final exam: 10%

Total: 100%

Participation: +/- 10%

Grading scale: 93-100 A, 90-92 A-, 87-89 B+, 83-86 B, 80-82 B-, 77-79 C+, 73-76 C, 70-72 C-, 67-69 D+, 63-66 D, 60-62 D-, 0-59 F

Essays: You will write three short essays using the rhetorical skills we cover in class.  These essays will be evaluated using a two-part grading system—one portion of the grade will evaluate the writing process, and a second portion will evaluate the final product.  Essay length and other requirements will be announced.  

Assignments: Readings and short (one page or less) writing assignments will be announced in class.  Plan for a reading and/or writing assignment for most class meetings. 

Reading quizzes: Class meetings will sometimes begin with a short multiple choice or short answer quiz based on the reading assigned for that day.  Students who carefully read the assigned text should have no trouble earning high quiz grades.    

Participation: This grade reflects the extent to which each student demonstrates a commitment to learning and becoming a better writer.  The most obvious ways to do so are by making regular and thoughtful contributions to class discussion, scoring high on quizzes, and doing your very best work on both in and out-of-class assignments. 

REQUIRED TEXTS AND MATERIALS:

A Writer’s Reference 7^th ed. Diana Hacker & Nancy Sommers

You will be asked to print out readings and essays, so budget accordingly.

POLICIES:

Attendance: Plan to attend every class.  Students who miss more than 10% of scheduled meetings will be penalized on a scale corresponding to amount of time missed (e.g. a student who misses an additional 5% of class meetings will have his or her final course grade reduced by 5%).  Any student who misses more than 30% of scheduled meetings will automatically fail the class.  For an absence to be excused due to bona fide medical, personal, or family emergency, students should contact the instructor immediately upon returning to class.  Although I sympathize with students struggling to balance work, childcare, and other commitments with their education, these do not constitute valid reasons for missing class.   

Make-up work: It is the student’s responsibility to make up, at the convenience of the instructor, class assignments and previously scheduled quizzes or exams missed due to excused absence.  Work missed due to unexcused absences may not be made up.  If a student misses class on the day an assignment is due, I will accept an emailed copy as a placeholder until a hard copy can be submitted on the student’s first day back in class.

Late work: Late work will not be accepted.  Back up all computer files, keep a copy of everything you hand in, and be prepared for printing problems.

Phones: Please silence and put away all phones.  Texting is highly distracting; any student seen texting during class can expect a participation grade of F.

PLAGIARISM:

Plagiarism is the act of using someone else’s words, ideas, or structures as your own and without proper documentation.  It is a serious academic offense whether intentional or not and may result in a failing grade on an essay, a failing grade in the course, and referral to university authorities.

DISABILITIES/SPECIAL NEEDS

“Ohio University is committed to accessibility for all students.  At the college level, students with disabilities are eligible for accommodations under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA, 1990).

Any student who feels that S/HE [sic] may need an accommodation based upon the impact of a disability should contact Teresa Headley, DISABILITIES COORDINATOR, to privately discuss HER/HIS [sic] specific needs.  STUDENTS WHO are not yet registered as a student with a documented disability SHOULD contact Teresa in the Learning Advancement Center, VIA PHONE, (740) 588-1510, or via email at headley@ohio.edu.”

CLASS SCHEDULE

• Changes to the following schedule will be announced in class and/or electronically. 
• Quizzes, assignments, and readings are not listed on this schedule; they will be announced in class. 

Week

1.            Course overview, forms of communication, first day essay, precise language, generalizations.  Thesis, focus, and organization.

2.             Rhetorical situation.  Types of writing.

3.            Informative and descriptive writing.  Specific examples. Essay I due.

4.            Introduction to Argument.  Essay II assigned.

5.            Logic and fallacies.  Analysis.

   

6.            Essay II due.  Evaluating sources, using the library and internet.

7.            Introduction to research.  Locating sources using the library and internet.  Plagiarism, integrating sources, citations.

8.            Analysis.

9.            Conferences, Revision workshop.

10.             Last week of class. Evaluations.

Finals Week:            Exam.  Final essay due.