We are going to write three arguments using themes from The Known World. The first essay will use The Classical Model of Argument.
The second essay will use the Toulmin Model and the last Rogerian. I will give students models and/or templates for each essay assignment.
The first essay will be due Tuesday, October 5. Bring in a completed Initial Planning Sheet and an outline. We will have a peer review that day and students will present their essay on Thursday, October 7. I said the essay could be 2-4 pages, but I don't know if you can do justice to your topic in two pages, so I have changed the assignment to 3-4 pages, plus a works cited.
Students will use the same evidence for all the essays and the same thesis , all that will change will be the arrangement and form of the essay. The presentation and Toulmin essay will be due October 12 and the Rogerian, October 14.
We'll practice writing an argument in class next week together. Follow the narrative and your essay will be fine. I also mentioned going to the sunrise ceremony on Alcatraz Island, Monday, October 11, 5 AM. Visit http://www.alcatrazcruises.com/website/pprog-upcoming-events.aspx
We also practiced developing signal phrases using a workbook I distributed. Many of the students borrowed the book. Please return next Thursday. Write on a separate sheet of paper. Thanks!
Bring in your novel you'd like to read for the class next week, so I can approve it. This essay will be due early November, let's say, week of Nov. 1-4. We will start the pre-writing the week of October 25-28.
We'll read a play in class and conclude the semester with a profile on an artist who is using their creativity to challenge inequity in society. This essay, which is your final, will be due, Nov. 22-25. Presentations will be Nov. 30.
The portfolio is due Dec. 9 electronically. We will begin assembling it Dec. 2 and 7. This is the end of the course.
Skills: Thesis development: topical invention and 3-part thesis, essay structure, mapping, academic research methods, grammar refresher, paraphrasing, MLA, argument, outlining,
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Topical Invention
Today in class two students have completed TKW, congratulations. Still other students are treading water, or should I say tree pulp and ink? We were in chapter 6-7 last week.
We read a poem from Reed by Floyd Salas and then preceded to develop thesis sentences using "topical invention." Invention refers to any pre-writing strategy that helps writers develop ideas about their topic. In this case, students develop thesis sentences that answer questions (handout).
The resulting sentences are definitions (what is it/was it), analogies (what is it like/unlike), consequences (what caused it/did it cause/will it cause) and testimony (what does an authority say about it).
Students were in groups and used a mapping handout and another handout that helped students narrow their topics. Homework is to develop 4 thesis sentences using this technique and bring to class electronically. Email them to yourself.
Post your four sentences here. Pull the topics from Chapter 8 in TKW. We will write another short essay on Thursday. Students were to bring in examples of signal phrases and block quotes for homework.
For homework bring in five published examples of a signal phrases and three examples of a block quote. Use a variety of media: scholarly articles, newspapers, and magazines. Bring the examples to class.
No one did last week's assignment. It is posted below as well. We used one poem for the freewrite in class; the homework was to do the same again, using another poem.
We read a poem from Reed by Floyd Salas and then preceded to develop thesis sentences using "topical invention." Invention refers to any pre-writing strategy that helps writers develop ideas about their topic. In this case, students develop thesis sentences that answer questions (handout).
The resulting sentences are definitions (what is it/was it), analogies (what is it like/unlike), consequences (what caused it/did it cause/will it cause) and testimony (what does an authority say about it).
Students were in groups and used a mapping handout and another handout that helped students narrow their topics. Homework is to develop 4 thesis sentences using this technique and bring to class electronically. Email them to yourself.
Post your four sentences here. Pull the topics from Chapter 8 in TKW. We will write another short essay on Thursday. Students were to bring in examples of signal phrases and block quotes for homework.
For homework bring in five published examples of a signal phrases and three examples of a block quote. Use a variety of media: scholarly articles, newspapers, and magazines. Bring the examples to class.
No one did last week's assignment. It is posted below as well. We used one poem for the freewrite in class; the homework was to do the same again, using another poem.
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Homework Recap
We will table the Tulia, TX assignment. We ended up discussing TKW and looking at poetry from Reed's book, the next chapter, Men and Women. I gave students an Initial Planning Sheet and we started talking about the freewriting assignment, which was to find a poem from Totems, Nature and Place, that tied in thematically with chapters 6-8.
Students were in varying stages of completion of the freewrite when we looked at Caldonia's love for Henry and an exploration of the topic.
Homework is to take a topic from chapters 6-8 and a corresponding poem or two and use both the poem and evidence from the book to support the thesis. Use IPS to map out your strategy first. Post the IPS and the three-five paragraph essay on the topic.
Mine was love and grief. You could look at "justice" and its application or "freedom," how easily it is lost for someone who is not respected or privileged like Augustus. Post your short essays here.
The other assignments re: signal phrases and published block quotes are due next week. Bring to class. If there are any questions: call me.
I really enjoyed the discussion today. Some students are lost. Get a tutor and read the book with them if a study group is out of the question.
Students were in varying stages of completion of the freewrite when we looked at Caldonia's love for Henry and an exploration of the topic.
Homework is to take a topic from chapters 6-8 and a corresponding poem or two and use both the poem and evidence from the book to support the thesis. Use IPS to map out your strategy first. Post the IPS and the three-five paragraph essay on the topic.
Mine was love and grief. You could look at "justice" and its application or "freedom," how easily it is lost for someone who is not respected or privileged like Augustus. Post your short essays here.
The other assignments re: signal phrases and published block quotes are due next week. Bring to class. If there are any questions: call me.
I really enjoyed the discussion today. Some students are lost. Get a tutor and read the book with them if a study group is out of the question.
Freewrite Cyber-Assignment
Chose a poem to respond to that ties into TKW Chapters 6-7. Write a three paragraph essay response. Incorporate three citations from both sources: a paraphrase, a block quote and an in-text citation.
For homework bring in five published examples of a signal phrases and three examples of a block quote. Use a variety of media: scholarly articles, newspapers, and magazines. Bring the examples to class.
Write a 250 word response to the film: Tulia, Texas, directed by Cassandra Heraman & Kellt Walen (60 min.) Visit http://www.tuliatexasfilm.com/ and http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/tuliatexas/
Tie into TKW. Show how this story gives the novel currency. Again use citations from both TKW and the film. Due at the next class.
From the Independent Lens website:
This is a story about how our idea of justice gets corrupted when we declare war on something.”
—Jeff Blackburn, criminal defense attorney
On July 23, 1999, undercover narcotics agent Thomas Coleman carried out one of the biggest drug stings in Texas history. By the end of the blazing summer day, dozens of residents in the sleepy farming town of Tulia had been rounded up and thrown behind bars. Thirty-nine of the 46 people accused of selling drugs to Coleman were African American. But disturbing evidence about the undercover investigation and Coleman’s past soon began to surface.
TULIA,TEXAS follows the 1999 raid and its aftermath, which roiled the small rural community. When Gary Gardner, a retired white farmer, questioned the arrests, other residents who were convinced of the defendants’ guilt criticized him for raising the issue publicly. More questions were raised after 13 defendants were convicted and given unusually long prison sentences—25, 60 and in some cases even 90 years. The arrest of 22-year-old Freddie Brookins Jr. came as a shock to his family. A celebrated high school athlete, Freddie, who had no prior criminal record, was given a 20-year sentence. When a lawyer named Jeff Blackburn found numerous discrepancies in Tom Coleman’s testimony, further investigation revealed a warrant for Coleman’s arrest. Coleman, who had been named Texas Lawman of the Year, was caught lying and tried for perjury. A judge referred to him as “the most devious, non-responsive law enforcement witness this court has witnessed in 25 years on the bench in Texas.”
Yet despite evidence showing a clear miscarriage of justice in the original trials, some Tulia residents held on to their beliefs that all those who had been arrested were guilty and that Coleman’s “mistakes” were merely legal technicalities. And as former defendants tried to mend their disrupted lives and the town attempted to resume life as usual, the residents of Tulia, both white and black, were left with feelings of wariness toward one another. TULIA, TEXAS shows how America’s war on drugs and its over-zealous law enforcement, combined with racial divisions, have exposed deep-seated animosities and even starker injustices.
For homework bring in five published examples of a signal phrases and three examples of a block quote. Use a variety of media: scholarly articles, newspapers, and magazines. Bring the examples to class.
Write a 250 word response to the film: Tulia, Texas, directed by Cassandra Heraman & Kellt Walen (60 min.) Visit http://www.tuliatexasfilm.com/ and http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/tuliatexas/
Tie into TKW. Show how this story gives the novel currency. Again use citations from both TKW and the film. Due at the next class.
From the Independent Lens website:
This is a story about how our idea of justice gets corrupted when we declare war on something.”
—Jeff Blackburn, criminal defense attorney
On July 23, 1999, undercover narcotics agent Thomas Coleman carried out one of the biggest drug stings in Texas history. By the end of the blazing summer day, dozens of residents in the sleepy farming town of Tulia had been rounded up and thrown behind bars. Thirty-nine of the 46 people accused of selling drugs to Coleman were African American. But disturbing evidence about the undercover investigation and Coleman’s past soon began to surface.
TULIA,TEXAS follows the 1999 raid and its aftermath, which roiled the small rural community. When Gary Gardner, a retired white farmer, questioned the arrests, other residents who were convinced of the defendants’ guilt criticized him for raising the issue publicly. More questions were raised after 13 defendants were convicted and given unusually long prison sentences—25, 60 and in some cases even 90 years. The arrest of 22-year-old Freddie Brookins Jr. came as a shock to his family. A celebrated high school athlete, Freddie, who had no prior criminal record, was given a 20-year sentence. When a lawyer named Jeff Blackburn found numerous discrepancies in Tom Coleman’s testimony, further investigation revealed a warrant for Coleman’s arrest. Coleman, who had been named Texas Lawman of the Year, was caught lying and tried for perjury. A judge referred to him as “the most devious, non-responsive law enforcement witness this court has witnessed in 25 years on the bench in Texas.”
Yet despite evidence showing a clear miscarriage of justice in the original trials, some Tulia residents held on to their beliefs that all those who had been arrested were guilty and that Coleman’s “mistakes” were merely legal technicalities. And as former defendants tried to mend their disrupted lives and the town attempted to resume life as usual, the residents of Tulia, both white and black, were left with feelings of wariness toward one another. TULIA, TEXAS shows how America’s war on drugs and its over-zealous law enforcement, combined with racial divisions, have exposed deep-seated animosities and even starker injustices.
Free Write
I am looking for the film: Traces of the Trade. In the meantime, I will show you a film about a case in Tulia, Texas, where justice was not blindfolded.
Assignments for Fall 2010
Chapter Logs up to Chapter 7 due Tuesday, September 28, typed or copies of handwritten notes, stapled.
Readings:
Chapter 8-9: Sept. 28/Oct. 1 Discussion and Writing Assignment.
Chapter 10-12 end note (letter): October 5/7 end note
Discussion and Writing Assignment. Chapter logs due, copies or typed (typed is best).
Book Report Essay or Life After TKW (smile)
Book report essay due: October 26.
Bring in the book or titles for consideration beginning September 28/30 to October 5/7.
I need to approve the book first.
Social Entrepreneur Essay
Our last essay, the Social Entrepreneur Essay planning is due mid-November for peer review. Chose an artist who is using their work for social change, to interrupt the status quo re: entitlement and privilege especially entitlement based on race, gender and class.
Portfolio
We will start reviewing the portfolio process in November as well to be completed before finals. We will not have a final in this class. The portfolio and the portfolio presentation is the final. We will complete this before classes end.
More later on this.
Readings:
Chapter 8-9: Sept. 28/Oct. 1 Discussion and Writing Assignment.
Chapter 10-12 end note (letter): October 5/7 end note
Discussion and Writing Assignment. Chapter logs due, copies or typed (typed is best).
Book Report Essay or Life After TKW (smile)
Book report essay due: October 26.
Bring in the book or titles for consideration beginning September 28/30 to October 5/7.
I need to approve the book first.
Social Entrepreneur Essay
Our last essay, the Social Entrepreneur Essay planning is due mid-November for peer review. Chose an artist who is using their work for social change, to interrupt the status quo re: entitlement and privilege especially entitlement based on race, gender and class.
Portfolio
We will start reviewing the portfolio process in November as well to be completed before finals. We will not have a final in this class. The portfolio and the portfolio presentation is the final. We will complete this before classes end.
More later on this.
We had a library orientation Tuesday, September 21, with Steve Gerstle, M.L.I.S. -- Reference and Instruction Librarian, 748-5217. There were handouts. If you missed class, check-in with a classmate or me. Any handouts you can pick up from Professor Gerstle.
Here are the videos he showed that mornig to students in my two classes:
20/20 Privilege in America
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HcJ8ib8U3zk&p=6E71245F3C140D8A&playnext=1&index=13
Developing a Topic:
http://www.wou.edu/provost/library/clip/tutorials/dev_topic.htm
Here are the videos he showed that mornig to students in my two classes:
20/20 Privilege in America
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HcJ8ib8U3zk&p=6E71245F3C140D8A&playnext=1&index=13
Developing a Topic:
http://www.wou.edu/provost/library/clip/tutorials/dev_topic.htm
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Library Orientation: TKW
Reflect on the library orientation and how important research is to you as a scholar. Find an article in the library database that might help you in your analysis of The Known World.
Post a summary of your article for homework here and how it ties into your research question/topic.
We will complete the book for Tuesday, Sept. 28.
Post a summary of your article for homework here and how it ties into your research question/topic.
We will complete the book for Tuesday, Sept. 28.
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Theatre Dates
I am going to Paper Angels this evening. Two students from another class can go, so I am rearranging my schedule to accompany them. The play is in Chinatown in San Francisco and is a part of the San Francisco Fringe Festival.
Homework and class recap
Students then got into Literature Circles to discuss TKW. Most students are very behind on the reading (chapters 1-2). We are up to chapter 5. For next week read chapter 6-8 pp. 180-274.
Today we looked at classes or groups of characters: parents or guardians, incorrigible slaves or enslaved persons who loved freedom; characters with mental illness, crippled characters, rich and poor, those who died young, families: intact and splintered, blended families....
For next week think about the consequences for those characters who have no control over their persons and how events beyond their control make them behave in certain ways.
Think about the choices certain characters make and the consequences, seen and unanticipated.
We will write and present three arguments for this book: Aristotelian, Toulmin, and Rogerian. The topics to be considered are:US Institution of Slavery: Legality vs. Morality. Parents and Children: Choice or Heredity/Nature or Nurture? The Known World: Thinking Outside the Box.
We will begin writing these essays next week. We will also practice making an outline.
Today we looked at classes or groups of characters: parents or guardians, incorrigible slaves or enslaved persons who loved freedom; characters with mental illness, crippled characters, rich and poor, those who died young, families: intact and splintered, blended families....
For next week think about the consequences for those characters who have no control over their persons and how events beyond their control make them behave in certain ways.
Think about the choices certain characters make and the consequences, seen and unanticipated.
We will write and present three arguments for this book: Aristotelian, Toulmin, and Rogerian. The topics to be considered are:US Institution of Slavery: Legality vs. Morality. Parents and Children: Choice or Heredity/Nature or Nurture? The Known World: Thinking Outside the Box.
We will begin writing these essays next week. We will also practice making an outline.
Cyber-Freewrite
Today in class students responded to a poem or poems from Reed. Post your three paragraph essay response here. Check the formattign before posting, blogger does not hold the formatting.
Students were to comment on a classmate's essay using Microsoft Comment and then send a copy of the annotated essay to the student. Copy yourself and me coasabirenglish1B@gmail.com
Students were to comment on a classmate's essay using Microsoft Comment and then send a copy of the annotated essay to the student. Copy yourself and me coasabirenglish1B@gmail.com
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Cyber-Assignment for Tuesday, Sept. 14, 2010 and recap
Today in class we had a lively discussion of Reed's introduction to Nature and Place in From Totems to Hip-Hop. Students worked in pairs paraphrasing stanzas of the poem Reed concludes with "O Dark Sister."
We then talked about discussion groups called "Literature Circles," which we formed to talk about The Known World. Quite a few students had read up to chapter two, last week's homework; however, only two students were up to chapter four. Homework for today is to read up to chapter 6 in TKW.
Students are also to read another poem from Nature & Place. This will be the topic of the freewrite for Thursday, Sept. 16.
For those who participated in the discussion group(s). Post a reflection on the process. How did it go for you? What did you like about sharing your thoughts about the literature? How did the activity expand your knowledge?
Many students have not completed the Paley assignment, and still others have not completed TKW assignments on the blog and the Reed assignment from Sept. 2. Homework this weekend was to complete these assignments. Students have to complete these assignments.
Presently they are archived, so look in the margins for the link to August 2010 posts.
Come to class on time, and remember next week, we are meeting in A-232.
We then talked about discussion groups called "Literature Circles," which we formed to talk about The Known World. Quite a few students had read up to chapter two, last week's homework; however, only two students were up to chapter four. Homework for today is to read up to chapter 6 in TKW.
Students are also to read another poem from Nature & Place. This will be the topic of the freewrite for Thursday, Sept. 16.
For those who participated in the discussion group(s). Post a reflection on the process. How did it go for you? What did you like about sharing your thoughts about the literature? How did the activity expand your knowledge?
Many students have not completed the Paley assignment, and still others have not completed TKW assignments on the blog and the Reed assignment from Sept. 2. Homework this weekend was to complete these assignments. Students have to complete these assignments.
Presently they are archived, so look in the margins for the link to August 2010 posts.
Come to class on time, and remember next week, we are meeting in A-232.
Thursday, September 9, 2010
Today in class
Today in class we did a few exercises to familiarize ourselves with the technology like Microsoft Comment. Three students read each other's papers and commented on them and emailed the papers to the student and to me.
We also practiced both pasting and attaching assignments, in this case, the freewrite on September 11.
Students should get used to pasting and attaching assignments or responses. Do both. We also practiced setting up a paper: heading, header, spacing and margins.
We concluded the class with Grace Paley poetry and stories (summaries). I read a poem from Reed's anthology.
Again homework is to catch up.
If you are a new student, read the entire blog starting with the syllabus (August 22, 2010 post). The assignments you are responsible for start the first day you attend. Other assignments are relevant for your personal edification. You cannot make them up.
Extra credit assignments do not substitute or take the place of course assignments. I think students need to experience the world, go to author events, concerts, plays, films, the museum. These activities do not have to result in a piece of writing. The experience and conversation afterwards is often enough.
A lot of students are coming to class late. Some of these students have serious challenges, like homelessness, but not all have this story. I received a call today from a student who is in the hospital. She has been there since last week. I cannot stop and catch you up when late. Students who are late will just miss the assignment. Thursday and some Tuesdays, I stay around after my last class, so I am available 12-1 like today.
Don't forget, Tuesday, Sept. 14, is the first formal presentation, the topic: American culture. Bring in an object that represents American culture. Share the reasoning or rationale with your audience. You will paste the document on the website. I plan to videotape the presentation to post on the blog. I hope no one objects.
We also practiced both pasting and attaching assignments, in this case, the freewrite on September 11.
Students should get used to pasting and attaching assignments or responses. Do both. We also practiced setting up a paper: heading, header, spacing and margins.
We concluded the class with Grace Paley poetry and stories (summaries). I read a poem from Reed's anthology.
Again homework is to catch up.
If you are a new student, read the entire blog starting with the syllabus (August 22, 2010 post). The assignments you are responsible for start the first day you attend. Other assignments are relevant for your personal edification. You cannot make them up.
Extra credit assignments do not substitute or take the place of course assignments. I think students need to experience the world, go to author events, concerts, plays, films, the museum. These activities do not have to result in a piece of writing. The experience and conversation afterwards is often enough.
A lot of students are coming to class late. Some of these students have serious challenges, like homelessness, but not all have this story. I received a call today from a student who is in the hospital. She has been there since last week. I cannot stop and catch you up when late. Students who are late will just miss the assignment. Thursday and some Tuesdays, I stay around after my last class, so I am available 12-1 like today.
Don't forget, Tuesday, Sept. 14, is the first formal presentation, the topic: American culture. Bring in an object that represents American culture. Share the reasoning or rationale with your audience. You will paste the document on the website. I plan to videotape the presentation to post on the blog. I hope no one objects.
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
Still Freestyling
Tuesday we watched a film about Grace Paley www.gracepaleythefilm.com If you missed the film you can still complete the assignment. You'll just have to do a bit more reading about the writer and her work.
Homework is to visit the film website. Read about the film and the director. Respond to the following question in 50 words (2 typed pages). also bring in a Paley short story or a poem or two, maybe three.
Essay assignment:
Who is/was Grace Paley? How did she integrate writing and activism: the writer as social change agent? Use examples from the film and from one scholarly article about the writer. Use the COA library database. Sot there are three sources: Grace Paley: Collected Shorts, directed by Lilly Rivlin; one scholarly article, and your Paley poem or story.
Make sure your MLA is perfect, or as perfect as you can make it. Bring in Reed and Jones to class Thursday. We meet in A-232.
The free styling pertains to the improvisational nature of our classes and assignments. I plan one lesson and end up pulling a rabbit out of my backpack--Grace Paley.
I hope everyone will have their books and be up to speed by next Tuesday. The assignment given last week still stands, and it is still due. We'll read a little Reed in the morning.
Homework is to visit the film website. Read about the film and the director. Respond to the following question in 50 words (2 typed pages). also bring in a Paley short story or a poem or two, maybe three.
Essay assignment:
Who is/was Grace Paley? How did she integrate writing and activism: the writer as social change agent? Use examples from the film and from one scholarly article about the writer. Use the COA library database. Sot there are three sources: Grace Paley: Collected Shorts, directed by Lilly Rivlin; one scholarly article, and your Paley poem or story.
Make sure your MLA is perfect, or as perfect as you can make it. Bring in Reed and Jones to class Thursday. We meet in A-232.
The free styling pertains to the improvisational nature of our classes and assignments. I plan one lesson and end up pulling a rabbit out of my backpack--Grace Paley.
I hope everyone will have their books and be up to speed by next Tuesday. The assignment given last week still stands, and it is still due. We'll read a little Reed in the morning.
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