style and grammar beyond school

Just so you don't think writing teachers are the only ones who consider this stuff, take a look at this on-going section about style and grammar at The New York Times. This article makes some good subtle points, such as the difference between concrete and cement, but I want to call you attention to the part in italics at the top. This kind of critique of journalists' writing was done weekly at The Times. It's kind of like the sentences I put on the overhead at the beginning of class sometimes.

Anyway, happy solstice! Maybe we'll see each other next quarter.

EWRT1A-68: final and next quarter

Remember: there's no class tonight. So I'll see you on Wednesday at 6.

Remember also that essay 3 is due at that time. Make sure you have both drafts; they are required. MLA citation is also required. At this point, there's no excuse to neglect it. So reread your papers and make sure that you've cited all the things you need to and that you have a works cited page.

On another note, I just got word that De Anza will be canceling any class for Winter 2009 that does not have at least 20 students by December 15th. That means that if a class does not have at least 20 students enrolled by next Monday, then it's gone. And no new classes will be added. So enroll for next quarter's classes this week, otherwise there may not be any classes for you to enroll in.

This also means that wait lists for classes will probably be huge and it will be impossible to add classes by showing up the first day. So again, enroll this week.

EWRT1A-68: final times

Maybe the mistaken final time on the syllabus was because of this: "Those who used the online final exam schedule to complete their green sheets prior to September 22, were using an erroneous calendar. The mistake was corrected on the 22nd but no announcement about the error was made at the time."

Anyway, the official date and time for our final is Wednesday, December 10th, 6:15-8:15. You should get to the classroom by 6 to turn in essay 3. Remember both drafts are required.

EWRT1A-68: flow handout

Here's that handout about flow.

Remember that paper rewrites are available to you. They are due before the final. Only one per student.

EWRT1A-68: reading response 9

• Describe Edna’s relationship with Mademoiselle Reisz. What does Mlle. Reisz provide for Edna?

or

• Describe Léonce and the world he inhabits. What is he interested in? How do these things affect his marriage with Edna?

EWRT1A-68: essay 3

Here's the .pdf of the essay 3 prompts.

EWRT1A-68: moving of Bedford exercises

Just a reminder that I've moved around the Bedford exercises due for the next two weeks.

For Wednesday, November 19th, please do exercise 11-1, mixed constructions (do all ten).

That means that the modifiers exercises will be bumped down to Monday, November 24th. Do exercise 12-1, 1-5 and exercise 12-2, 1-5.

And for Wednesday, November 26th, do active verbs exercise 8-1, 1-5.

Everything else on the syllabus stays the same.

EWRT1A-68: reading response 7

Reading Response 7:

What other reasons besides love does the narrator hint at for her aunt's love affair? What point is the narrator trying to make?

-or-

Why does the narrator finally decide to tell this forbidden tale? What does this say about her? About her connection to her family?

the Colombian "Biblioburro”

Just for a change of pace and something more positive:

the Biblioburro

11-year-old told she has to remove hijab to play soccer

This doesn't really have much to do with gender, but it relates to Haydar's essay. The girl in the picture above plays soccer in Canada. She was told by a referee that she had to take off her hijab in order to play. The officials cited some rule that said soccer players can't wear clothes that may endanger other players. The order was supported by the premier of Québec, Jean Charest. Anyway, you can read the entire article here.

EWRT1A-68: essay 2

Here's a pdf of the essay 2 prompts.

EWRT1A-68: reading response 3

EWRT1A-68 Reading Response 3: Respond to either question 4 or 5 on page 238.

Also, be sure to keep hold of your first draft to essay 1. You will be turning it back in with your final draft.

EWRT1A-68: Malcolm X video

This video is short and encapsulates a lot of Malcolm X's beliefs. The interviewer, Hurlbut (an unfortunate name), asks questions that many people had at the time. At times Hurlbut is a bit patronizing, but his attitude only serves to clarify Malcolm X's points.

EWRT1A-68: link to Jean Anyon essay

In case the bookstore doesn't get extra copies of the book in by Friday, here's a link to Jean Anyon's essay "Social Class and the Hidden Curriculum of Work."

EWRT1A-68: handouts about thesis statements

We've been talking about thesis statements the last few class sessions. A lot of the things we've discussed are also detailed in the Bedford. See pages 31-37. I also wanted to make available to you my own notes.

thesis statements: the basics (.pdf)

thesis statements: common problems (.pdf)

thesis statements: going deeper (.pdf)

EWRT1A-68: essay 1

Here is the handout for essay 1 (in case you lost it or missed it):

EWRT1A-68 essay 1 (.pdf)

EWRT1A-68: active reading and reading response 1

Here is a .pdf about active reading. It covers much of what I went over in class today.

active-reading.pdf

And here's the link to chapter 2 of Pedagogy of the Oppressed. Be sure to use a dictionary to look up words you don't know.

And here's a link to information about Paulo Freire that may help you to understand the reading.

And lastly, here's the prompt again for reading response 1: Briefly explain the two categories of education that Freire describes. What is the effect of each style on the students, according to Freire? Do you agree with the effects he describes? I encourage you to use your own experiences as illustrations in your response.

EWRT1A-68: the books

Here are the books for the class with links to them at Amazon.com.

- Rereading America, seventh edition. Ed. Colombo, Cullen, and Lisle.

- The Bedford Handbook, seventh edition. Diana Hacker.

- The Awakening. Kate Chopin. Bedford College Edition.

These books are not at the bookstore yet, but will be there soon.

EWRT1B-21: final

Remember, there is no class today, June 23rd.

For the final, you will need paper to write the in-class essay on. So you will need that and something to write with. You can use Norwegian Book, but no other book and no notes.

The final is from 4 - 6 on Wednesday, June 25th in our regular classroom.

EWRT1B-21: reading response 8 and journals

Here are the prompts for reading response 8. Use one or come up with a focus of your own.

• How does Toru deal with emotional pain? How does this compare with how Midori and Naoko deal with emotional pain?

• Why do Reiko and Toru do what they do at the end? What is the act's significance?

Also, remember that I'll be collecting the journals on Wednesday, June 18th.

EWRT1B-21: reading response 7

Here are the prompts for reading response 7. Use one of these or come up with your own. Be sure to refer to specific passages in the novel for your response.

• Explain what is wrong with Naoko.
• Compare the place where Naoko is with Tokyo (perhaps compare Naoko's sanitarium with Toru's dorm). What conclusions can you draw from the comparison?

EWRT1B-21: research paper draft etc.

Here's that handout I gave you Monday on MLA citation for websites and signal phrases:

MLA citation-research (pdf)

Also, the first draft of the research paper is due Monday. Because of the extension and the fact that we're nearing the end of the quarter, make the draft as complete an essay as possible.

The first four chapters of Norwegian Wood are still do Monday, June 9. But we'll be doing reading response 6 in class instead of as homework. That means reading response 7 will be for homework Wednesday, June 11.

EWRT1B-21: poetry terms

Here's a list of the poetry terms I had on the overhead:

A poets means- sound
alliteration
assonance
onomatopoeia
rhyme
perfect
near/slant
internal rhyme
end-stop
enjambment
rhythm
caesura

A poets meanings- words
tone
diction
denotation
connotation
imagery
figurative language
simile
metaphor
extended metaphor
personification
symbol
apostrophe
metonymy
synecdoche
oxymoron
hyperbole
understatement
paradox
theme

EWRT1B-21: library links to MLA citation

Remember that the De Anza library has links to how to cite sources in the MLA style: http://www.deanza.edu/library/citingsources.html

We'll also be going over more MLA citation in class.

EWRT1B-21: essay 3 prompt

Here's the prompt for essay 3 in .pdf form:

EWRT1B-21: essay 3- research paper

Remember to read the section on writing a research paper in your book. It starts on page 1773.

And we'll start poetry next week! Yaayyyyy! (I'm sure all of you are cheering with unmitigated joy…) See the syllabus for what to read.

EWRT1B-21: essay 2 discussion questions

Here are some questions to get you thinking about the intersections between Oedipus the King and Death of a Salesman. These are to help lead you to a possible thesis statement.

• What characteristics do Oedipus and Willy share? In what ways are they different?

• Are both Oedipus and Willy tragic heroes? Why or why not?

• Are the falls of Oedipus and Willy self created or do the other characters contribute in some way?

• What roles have Oedipus and Willy created for themselves? Are these roles different or do they share some similarities? How are these roles challenged by the events in the plays?

• What are the two plays saying about free will/choice and fate/outside influence?

• What do you think the intended effect on the audience is for these two plays?

• Do both plays have the classic elements of tragedy, such as reversal of fortune and recognition?

• What are these two plays saying about the nature of truth? About our ability to know truth?

• How does the staging of these two plays differ? What are some possible reasons for these differences?

• The plots of these plays differ in the specifics, but are the overall structures of the plots the same? How so?

• What world views do these two plays represent?

EWRT1B-21: Reading Response 5 and Arthur Miller

Reading Response 5: Who or what is responsible for the fall of Willy Loman? Use evidence from the play to back up your claim.

Here's the 1999 interview by Charlie Rose of Arthur Miller. This was for the 50th anniversary of Death of a Salesman. When Rose asks him to say what the play is about, Miller doesn't want to boil it all down to a sentence, but then he gives several answers which may help your understanding of what this piece of drama is about and trying to say. Though, as always, literature is not about neat little messages. It's about the experience of the art itself. Brian Dennehy comes in at 19:52 to talk about his take on Willy Loman.

EWRT1B-21: quoting

Here's a link to my handout about guidlines for quoting, including how to quote from drama:

quoting guidelines (pdf)

And here's the older handout about MLA citation if you lost it:

MLA citation- lit (pdf)

Here are some links to good pages about quoting:

Princeton Writing Center.

Nuts and Bolts of College Writing (covers MLA).

EWRT1B-21: essay 2, flow, and Oedipus

Here's a link to the handout from Monday: flow (pdf).

And here's a link to the prompt for the next essay: essay 2 (pdf).

And lastly, here's a link to a performance of Oedipus the King filmed in 1984.

Part 2. Part 3. Part 4. Part 5. Part 6. Part 7. Part 8. Part 9. Part 10. Part 11. Part 12.

And just for contrast, here's the Tiresias scene from Pasolini's 1967 version:

EWRT1B-21: reading response 3 prompts

Here are the prompts for reading response 3. Choose one or create your own focus. Remember, I'm looking for a short analytical paper. See the end of the syllabus for more about reading responses.

• In “The Yellow Wallpaper,” examine the changing descriptions of the wallpaper. What does it represent?

• Describe the husband, John, in “The Yellow Wallpaper.” How does his character influence the events in the story?

• What is the point of view in “A Rose For Emily”? How does it affect our understanding of the story?

EWRT1B-21: paper 1 prompt and James Baldwin

Here is a link to a .pdf of paper 1 (I handed this out Wednesday, April 9).

And here's an old interview with James Baldwin. I'm not sure exactly when it was done. I assume the late 50s or early 60s. There is an odd voice over in the beginning, but they start talking about 29 seconds in. He talks about growing up in Harlem and how it has changed since then. Then he gets into talking about the moral apathy in the U.S. Keep in mind that this interview was done in the midst if the Civil Rights movement.

EWRT1B-21: Sherman Alexie

Here's a funny little video of Sherman Alexie, who wrote "The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in heaven." Here he's speaking as part of a Young Adult Novelists Panel in Texas.

EWRT1B-21: syllabus and active reading

Here's a link to the syllabus.

And here's the overheard I had about how to read literature.

EWRT1B-21: The Books

Here are the books we will be using in EWRT1B-21…

Literature and Its Writers, fourth edition, by Ann Charters and Samuel Charters.

Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami

EWRT1A-65: reading response 8

Reading response 8:

Analyze the novel Leviathan in any way you wish. Consider looking at character, theme, or style. Make sure you have a clear point about the text and you back that point up with specific evidence. See page 667 of the Bedford for more ideas.

EWRT1A-65: Paul Auster interview

Auster comes in at 35:05.

EWRT100-23: apostrophe handout

You can get it here.

EWRT1A-65: "The Wall"

I handed out a copy of "The Wall" by Sartre on Thursday. It's also available on-line.

And here are some Wikipedia entries for Sartre and existentialism (especially this).

EWRT100-23: Reading Response 5

Here's the prompt to Reading Response 5:

Briefly describe the two categories of education that Freire describes. Which one does Freire prefer? Why? Have you experienced either of these categories yourself?

Here's the reading.

And here's info about Paulo Freire.

EWRT1A-65: Reading Response 5

Please respond to question 6 on page 835 of the seventh edition of Rereading America (if you have the sixth edition, respond to question 8 on page 793).

EWRT100-23: Reading Response 4

In "Thirty-Eight Who Saw a Murder…" why don't the witnesses do anything, according to Gansberg? Do you have any other ideas why they behaved the way they did? Do you think that something like this is more likely or less likely to happen today?

EWRT100-23: run-ons exercise

The hand-out about run-ons and the exercise due Thursday, February 7th can be found here (it's a pdf).

EWRT1A-65: Essay 2 prompt

You can view the prompt for essay 2 here (it's a pdf).