Course Orientation
The assignment for the first week is to answer the Course Orientation questions and to send your work to me as a Microsoft Word file attached to an email message.
Click here to view the questions.
The due date is January 15.
Week 2 -- January 15
For written assignment 2, you may complete the assignment on narration and send it to me by January 29, or you may wait and do the assignment on description and send it to me by January 29.
Narration
George Orwell "Shooting an Elephant" (web)
Annie Dillard "An American Childhood" (16)
Mark Edumundson "The Teacher Who Opened My Mind" (40)
Read the essays listed above. Each writer is trying to make a point by the story he or she tells. Identify the main idea in each of these narrative essays and tell whether it is explicit or implicit. Using Internet and library sources, define, these terms. If the main idea is explicit, quote it and tell where it is located in the essay: the beginning, the middle, or near the end. If this idea has not been stated explicitly, write it in your own words. For each essay, explain why you think that the idea you have identified is the main idea. What does the writer do and say in the remainder of the essay that gives evidence supporting your opinion? Use appropriate quotations to support your ideas and document the sources you use.
Week 3 -- January 22
Description
Luis J. Rodriguez "Always Running" (33)
E. B. White "Once More to the Lake" (Web)
Amanda Coyne "The Long Good-Bye: Mother's Day in Federal Prison" (124)
Read the essays listed above. One characteristic of good description is that it uses concrete language and gives specific information. Using Internet and library sources, define these words. Identify examples of concrete language and specific information in the essays. How does the concrete and specific language help the writer develop his/her main idea? What impact does this language have upon you, the reader, and how would the meaning and effect of the essay be changed if the language were removed? You must make use of the essays listed above in your answer, but you may also use examples from the essays read in the previous week. Give quotations from the essays to illustrate your points and document the sources you use.
Week 4 -- January 29
For written assignment 3 , you may complete the assignment on topic sentences and send it to me by February 12 or you may wait and do the assignment on reasons and send it to me by February 12.
Topic Sentences
La Donna Beaty "What Makes a Serial Killer?" (470)
Barbara Ehrenreich "Are Families Dangerous" (187)
Christine Romano "Children Need to Play, Not Compete," by Jessica Statsky: An Evaluation (372)
Using both Internet and library sources give a definition of a topic sentence and explain its functions within a paragraph. Begin with this page. Take special note that a topic sentence for a paragraph is not identical to a thesis statement for an essay. Do not confuse the two. Read the essays listed above and look for the topic sentences. Where do the writers place their topic sentences within the paragraphs? Show how the contents of the paragraphs give facts, examples, or other kinds of support for the topic sentences that create paragraph unity. You must use the assigned essays in your answer, but you may also use examples from essays previously read. Give appropriate quotations and document your sources.
Week 5 -- February 5
Reasons for Holding a Position
Stanley Kurtz "Point of No Return" (590)
Ty Burr "King Has Pageantry, Purpose, but It's Not Quite the Greatest Show on Middle-Earth" (358)
James Berardinelli "Review of The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. (365)
Read the essays listed above. A thesis is a statement of opinion on a topic that a writer will defend by citing reasons for accepting his opinion and evidence to support his reasons. For each of the assigned essays, identify the writer's thesis. If it is explicit, quote it, and if it is implicit, state it in your own words. Then, identify the reasons that each writer gives to support his/her thesis. Are the reasons explicitly stated or not? Are the reasons logical and valid? Can you think of any objections that might be posed to the reasons? You must use the assigned essays in your answer, but you may also use examples from essays previously read. Give appropriate quotations and document your sources.
Week 6 -- February 12
For written assignment 4, you may complete the assignment on evidence and send it to me by February 26, or you may wait and do the assignment on examples and send it to me by February 26.
Evidence
Deborah Tannen "Marked Women" (240)
Howard Gardner/Joseph Walters "A Rounded Version:The Theory of Multiple Intelligences" (249)
Edward Abby "The Right to Arms" (web)
Read the essays listed above and identify the thesis statement in each. A thesis statement must always be supported by reasons and the reasons by evidence. Define the term evidence, and identify the different kinds of evidence that each writer presents to support his/her thesis. To define the term, use both Internet and library sources. Begin with this page. You must use the assigned essays in your answer, but you may also use examples from essays previously read. Give appropriate quotations and document your sources.
Week 7 -- February 19
Examples
Nancy Gibbs "Free the Children" (180)
Scott Hyder Poltergeist: It Knows What scares You(380)
David Brooks "The Merits of Mertocracy" (193)
Read the essays listed above. In the last assignment, you were asked to identify the different kinds of evidence that writers use to support their reasons for holding a position on a controversial topic. One of the most common types of evidence is the example. Using Internet and library resources, define this term. Begin with this page. Read this page too. Note that examples are used not only in argument but also in exposition where they are used to explain something. Identify some of the examples in the essays you read. Does a writer give a series of short examples or one or two extended examples? Are the examples appropriate and effective in illustrating the writer's point? You must use the assigned essays in your answer, but you may also use examples from essays previously read. Give appropriate quotations and document your sources.
Week 8 -- February 26
For written assignment 5, you may complete the assignment on commentary and send it to me by March 12, or you may wait and do the assignment on responses and send it to me by March 12.
Commentary
David Quammen "Is Sex necessary? Virgin Birth and Opportunism in the Garden" (227)
Katherine Haines "Whose Body Is This" (207)
Daniel T. Gilbert and Timothy D. Wilson "Miswanting: Some Problems in the Forecasting of Future Affective States" (280)
Read the essays listed above. After writers present evidence to support a reason in an argument, or use an example to illustrate a point, they are not finished. They must then explain to the reader how the evidence or example relates to the idea they are trying to get across; they comment on it. Look at the essays you have read and identify passages in which the writers are explaining to the reader the meaning and relevance of the evidence they have cited. Be sure to read this page. In writing your essay, choose some appropriate passages and summarize the evidence; then, quote some of the comments on the evidence. Note when the writers explicitly relate the evidence to their main idea or the topic sentence of the paragraph. You must use the assigned essays in your answer, but you may also use examples from essays previously read. Give appropriate quotations and document your sources.
Week 9 -- March 5
Responses to Opponents
Patrick O'Malley "More Testing, More Learning" (545)
Brent Knutson "Auto Liberation" (619)
Amitai Etzioni "Working at McDonald's" (330)
A writer who is skilled in presenting his views and in convincing others will often directly argue against the reasons or evidence that the opposing side presents. In the essays listed above, identify specific instances in which the writers refute the reasons or evidence presented by those who hold a contrary position. First, state the opposing reason or evidence and then explain what the writer of the essay does to refute it. Do you think the writer is successful in neutralizing the opponents reason or evidence? You must use the assigned essays in your answer, but you may also use examples from essays previously read. Give appropriate quotations and document your sources. Look at this page to see how a writer may answer criticisms leveled against him. This page gives a second example.
Week 10 -- March 12
For written assignment 6, you may complete the assignment on classification and division and send it to me by March 26, or you may wait and do the assignment on comparison and contrast and send it to me by March 26.
Classification and Division
Howard Gardner and Joseph Walters "A Rounded Version: The Theory of Multiple Intelligences" (249)
Sarah West "The Rise in Reported Incidents of Workplace Sexual Harassment" (463)
Katherine S. Newman "Dead-End Jobs: A Way Out" (note paragraphs 9 and 10) (535)
Using Internet and library resources, explain the terms division and classification and tell how they differ. In each essay listed above, the writer has divided a universe of things into separate categories or divisions. Thus, the essay is organized into different parts, each of which discusses one of the divisions the writer has named. Read carefully and note what the author does in each part of the essay to explain a particular division and to show how it differs from the others. What modes of writing does he employ in doing this: definition, comparison and contrast, examples, factual evidence? Others techniques are also possible. You must use the assigned essays in your answer, but you may also use examples from essays previously read. Give appropriate quotations and document your sources.
Week 11-- March 19
Comparison and Contrast
Amy Wu "A Different Kind of Mother" (53)
Wendy Lee "Peeling Bananas" (201)
Mark Twain "Two Views of the Mississippi" (web)
Comparison and contrast writing is usually organized in one of two ways which are called block organization and point by point organization. Using Internet and library sources, explain the differences, and then identify which kind of organization is used in each essay assigned for this week. Note that a writer will sometimes use both. Also, point out the transitional words and expressions which the authors use to maintain coherence. You must use the assigned essays in your answer, but you may also use examples from essays previously read. Give appropriate quotations and document your sources.
Week 12-- March 26
For written assignment 7, you may complete the assignment on and effect and send it to me by April 9, or you may wait and do the assignment on problem and solution and send it to me by April 9.
Cause and Effect
Brent Staples "Black men and Public Space" (161)
Jonathan Kozol "The Human Cost of an Illiterate Society" (453)
Natalie Angier "Intolerance of Boyish Behavior" (413)
Using both Internet and library sources, define the kind of writing called cause and effect. Identify the causes and effects that the writers explain in these essays. Do the writers deal with just causes, or just effects, or both? What is the writer's thesis in each essay? Is it explicit or implicit? You must use the assigned essays in your answer, but you may also use examples from essays previously read. Give appropriate quotations and document your sources.
Week 13 -- April 2
Problem and Solution
Karen Kornbluh "The Parent Trap" (507)
Robert Samuelson "Reforming Schools through a Federal Test for College Aid" (496)
Shannon Long "Wheelchair Hell: A Look at Campus Accessibility (553)
Using Internet and library resources, explain problem and solution writing. In the essays listed above, identify the problem and the solution or solutions that the writers suggest. In each essay, what is the writer's thesis? Is it explicit or implicit? Where in the essay is it stated? Evaluate the solution or solutions by considering the points listed below. Note that all points may not be applicable to every solution.
Week 14 -- April 9
For written assignment 8, you three choices. You may complete the assignment on either definition, super sentences, or introductions and conclusions and send it to me by April 23.
Definition
Jonathan Rauch "Who's More Worthy?" (600)
Linh Kieu Ngo "Cannibalism: It Still Exists" (paragraphs 5 and 6) (300)
David Brooks "The Merits of Meritocracy" (193)
Using both Internet and library sources, explain how to write a definition. What are the different kinds of definitions? What are the elements of a formal definition? What do the writers do in these essays to define their terms? For example, do they give examples, compare and contrast, give a lexical definition, use synonyms? You must use the assigned essays in your answer, but you may also use examples from essays previously read. Give appropriate quotations and document your sources.
Week 15 -- April 16
Super Sentences
Richard Estrada "Sticks and Stones and Sports Team Names" (574)
Jessica Statsky "Children need to Play, Not Compete" (627)
Beth L. Bailey "Dating" (268)
A super sentence is my coined term to designate a sentence of topmost importance in an essay. A super sentence may state the writer's thesis in an argumentative essay, state his/her main idea in an expository essay, state the writer's intent, or preview the topics the writer will cover. Sometime a single sentence may combine several of these functions, but in other cases these functions may be preformed by different sentences, resulting in more than one super sentence.
For example, an essay may have one sentence that states the writer's main idea and another sentence that previews the topics he/she will cover. Or an essay may have a sentence that announces the topic of the essay and begins the discussion while another sentence states the writer's main idea.
Most super sentences are found near the beginning of essays, although a main idea or thesis sentence may sometimes appear near the end of an essay. Identify the super sentences in the essays listed above and explain the job or (jobs) that they do. Note the locations of the sentences.
You must use the assigned essays in your answer, but you may also use examples from essays previously read. Give appropriate quotations and document your sources. This page This page shows an example of an essay with super sentences.
Week 16 -- April 23
Introductions and Conclusions
Matthew Miller "A New Deal for Teachers" 515)
Mark Hertsgaard "A Global Green Deal" (528)
Stephen King "Why We crave horror Movies" (404)
An essay should have three parts: An introduction, a body, and a conclusion. While the body carries the primary burden of developing the writer's thoughts, the introduction and conclusion have other specialized functions. Using Internet and library sources, explain the functions of introductions and conclusions and the various ways that they may be developed. Begin with this page. Which paragraphs in the essays you are assigned constitute the introduction and which constitute the conclusion? Does the writer do something special to catch the reader's attention in the introduction? If so, explain what he does. Is the main idea in the introduction or in the conclusion? You must use the assigned essays in your answer, but you may also use examples from essays previously read. Give appropriate quotations and document your sources.
No writing assignments will be accepted after the end of classes on May 1.
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