EWRT211-27: grades

The grades have been submitted.

Have a good break and good luck next quarter.

EWRT211-27: portfolio ingredients

Your portfolio will have three ingredients.

• A reflective essay. This essay goes first. Include only a clean final draft. The requirements for the reflective essay are on the handout. Remember to use specific examples from your writing to show what you've learned and be sure to mention what you plan to keep working on.
• An in-class essay. This can be put second or third. You cannot rewrite this paper; it must be the original one you did in class. Remove my comments sheet, but otherwise don't change anything. So choose either essay 2 (multiculturalism and assimilation) or essay 4 (writing).
• An out-of-class essay. This can be put second or third. You can and should rewrite this paper. Include only a clean, rewritten draft; do not include previous drafts or notes. Choose either essay 1 (family) or essay 3 (media) to revise and include.

Also, keep in mind that what the instructors want to see is that you can write an analytical essay. The portfolio instructions state that you must include at least one analytical essay. Out of the essays we have written, only essay 1 is not analytical. Still, you want to have an essay that shows that you can do more than just summarize something you've read. Here's the department's definition of an analytical essay: "An analytical essay seeks to explore a central idea or question based on a text(s) and a student's engagement with that text. Key to the analysis is breaking down the text into components and showing the relationship between the subordinate arguments and overall controlling ideas. It must move beyond summary, description, or narration." So which essay of yours does what is described above the best? Include that essay in your portfolio.

What order should you put the in-class and out-of-class essays in? That's up to you. Though I would suggest putting the stronger essay first. Instructors read the portfolios quickly. If you put a weak essay in the middle (after the reflective essay), then the instructor may assume you are a weak writer and so it will be up to your last essay in the portfolio to change the instructor's mind. If you have your strongest essay in the middle, then the instructor will know you are a capable writer before she/he begins to read your weaker essay. It's better to convince an instructor early that you are a capable writer.

EWRT211-27: portfolio and reflective essay

Here's the handout about the portfolio and the reflective essay in .pdf format.

EWRT211-27: essay 4 prep

Essay 4 will ask you to find comparisons between two or more of the writing essays. Specifically, I want you to compare those essays in terms of cause, process, and effect. So look at the essays by Elbow, Lamott, Didion, and Lahiri and ask the following questions:

• Causes. What do the essays say about what it takes to be a writer or what makes a piece of writing come into being?
• Processes. What do the essays say about what a writer has to do to create a piece of writing? Or how does a writer change over time?
• Effects. What do the essays say about what a writer gets out of writing? What are the benefits? What are the lessons learned?

Try making lists, like we've done on the board in class. Again, the goal is to find connections–what the essays have in common. In your own words, name points of comparison between the essays.

Also, review what the book says about comparison and contrast, especially page 35. If you have only one main point of comparison, a subject-by-subject organization may be best. If you have multiple points of comparison, use a point-by-point comparison to structure your essay.

You may and should use your books for the essay, but no notes. Print dictionaries are fine. However, cell phones need to be turned off and put away during the in-class essay.

Joan Didion

Joan Didion received the National Book Foundation's life-time achievement award for writing in 2007 at the age of 73. In her acceptance speech (below), she mentions a bit about her writing process and about the book of essays Slouching Towards Bethlehem, in which "On Keeping a Notebook" appears. But the real process she describes is the process of learning about what writing means. She's always liked writing, but she used to think of it as just a job. "In retrospect, we know how to write when we begin. What we learn from doing it is what writing was for."

Peter Elbow - On Writing

EWRT211-27: reading response 7

Reading Response 7:
What connection(s) do you see between the two essays by Elbow and Lamott? Choose a specific point (or points) of comparison. Below are some ideas. How does each author answer the following:

• causes- What does one need to be a writer or to start a piece of writing?
• processes- How does one go about producing a piece of writing?
• effects- What does one get from writing?

EWRT211-27: essay three and grammar handouts

With my computer still busted, I can't put any new documents on the web. Still, I can post things and all the remaining grammar exercises are already on my website. So…

• Pronouns
• Shifts
• Mixed constructions

And here's the essay 3 prompt:

EWRT211-27- Essay 3- Media Cause and Effect
In these next few weeks we are reading essays about media and its effect on our lives. The authors of these essays have begun a conversation that I would like you to take part in with an essay of your own. What I’d like you to do in your own essay is to synthesize the ideas about the effects of media conveyed in two or more of these essays and evaluate them. Choose one of the prompts below.

1. Many of the authors argue that media, especially television and advertising, has taken over more and more of our personal space. Things that used to be off limits to media are now fair game. This shift has had major effects on family togetherness, personal desire, and public space. Do you agree with the authors that the proliferation of media has had a negative effect on personal space? Please be specific about which effects you wish to discuss. Use examples from at least two authors. Either use their evidence to support your opinion or show how they are wrong.

2. Jack Shaheen and Joan Morgan both discuss how the media encourages certain types of stereotypes, fueling racism and sexism. Do you agree that the media tends to encourage stereotypes? Or do you feel that the media more often combats stereotypes? Be specific about which stereotypes you are discussing and which type of media. Use examples from at least two essays to either support your opinion or to argue against. You do not have to use only Shaheen and Morgan. Feel free to use examples from previous authors.

In your essay, I want you to use examples from at least two essays in our reader. You will either be using these examples to help prove your thesis or you will be showing how these examples are wrong. Be sure to explain the ideas from the essays clearly. Don’t simply describe what each author says, but explain how each author’s idea relates to another’s and to your own. When quoting, remember the quotation sandwich. You may also use your own experience and observation as evidence.

Generating ideas. The first step is to read actively. Keep the above questions in mind as you read the essays in this section. Make notes in the margins of your book when you come across answers to the above questions. Also, when you strongly agree or disagree with an author, mark down that reaction in your book. Bring these ideas up in class when we discuss the essays. Use class discussion as prewriting.
If you find yourself disagreeing with an author, try to figure out why. Do you have an experience or other information that contradicts the author? Is the author assuming too much? Is the author’s evidence unconvincing? Write these things down.

Drafting. Your paper will basically be a cause and effect paper focusing mostly on effects. See pages 40-47 in our book for advice about ways to handle this.
The most challenging part will probably be developing a specific, consistent focus. Don’t simply summarize the authors’ ideas. Instead, use their ideas to prove your own point. Your point may simply be a synthesis of their ideas, but this synthesis is your voice. Keep focused on it.

Requirements. The essay should be typed, double-spaced, and three to four pages in length. Use MLA documentation when discussing the essays. Remember that you will need to hand the first draft in with your final draft, so keep a hold of it. Both drafts are required.

first draft due November 11
final draft due November 18

EWRT211-27: reading response 5 and run-ons

Run-ons handout.

Reading Response 5: What is "branding" and how is it different than traditional marketing? What effect does branding have on people? Start with evidence from Klein's essay and then provide at least one example from your own experience/observation.

The essay we're reading is just the beginning of a much larger book. If you want an idea of what Klein gets into in the rest of this book, here's a good video overview:

EWRT211-27: essay 2 preparation

As I said in class, essay two will ask you to compare/contrast two of the essays in the class, specifically the ones about culture: Mukherjee, Cofer, Rodriguez, and Takaki. There will be three or four prompts. Each will ask you to compare two of the essays.

In order to prepare, first start with making sure you understand what each author says. You may wish to make four lists (one for each essay). For each essay, list the main topic, the problems the author addresses, and the solutions the author proposes. Don't write down quotations. Instead, put things in your own words. The goal here is to look for generalizations that can lead you to a thesis statement. Quotations come in later, when you look for evidence to prove your thesis.

Once you've made a list for each essay, compare the four lists. Look for similarities. Look for key differences. Then see if you can state the similarities or differences in a clear sentence or two. Again, what you're doing is generating possible thesis statements. Take one of your thesis statements and consider what evidence from the essays you'd use to prove it.

If you've already read the essays actively, what I've suggested here might only take 15 minutes. It'll take much longer if you didn't read critically. Like I said on the second day of class, your ability to be a successful college student is tied directly to how you read. If you read passively, essay writing will be much more difficult (if not impossible). If you read critically, you will already have ideas for things to write about.

EWRT211-27: fragments

Here's a .pdf of the handout and exercise.

EWRT211-27: reading response 3 and verb tense

First off, here's one way to get rid of extra spaces between paragraphs in Microsoft Word. Go to "format" and in the submenu click "paragraph." In the window that comes up, set the spacing before and after the paragraph to zero.

Reading Response 3. Read "Aria" by Richard Rodriguez. How does Rodriguez's family change as a result of speaking English? How does Rodriguez feel about the change? Do you feel that the change in the family is worth the benefits the family members receive?

Verb tense handout.

Transitions

Here is a link to a list of common transitions and transitional expressions.

Rita Moreno in West Side Story

Just to give you a visual of what Cofer is referring to in her essay, here's a still of Rita Moreno in West Side Story:

EWRT211-27: s/v and verb tense

Here are the next two grammar handouts:

• subject-verb agreement
• verb tense shifts

EWRT211-27: apostrophe handout

Here's the apostrophe exercise that I handed out.

And just what you've always wanted: an entire blog devoted to apostrophe abuse (no, it's not my blog).

EWRT211-27: reading respone 1

For reading response 1, I would like you to respond to "Mother Tongue" by Amy Tan. In one short paragraph, summarize Tan's essay. After that, write your reaction to the essay. You can respond in any way you'd like, but here are some questions to get you thinking. Does Tan bring up new ideas for you or are her experiences similar to yours? How is "Mother Tongue" similar to "Only Daughter"? How does the organization of the essay help convey Tan's points? For other ideas, look at the questions on pages 10 and 11 of our reader. Reading response 1 should be about a page, typed (preferably), and double-spaced.

Here's another example of the MLA header:

in upper left corner:
• your name
• instructor name
• class
• date

centered:
•title- be descriptive, but try to be creative

in upper right corner:
• your family name and the page number

For a good on-line resource, look here.

EWRT211-27: essay 1

Here is the handout about essay 1.

EWRT211-27: essay overview and page number correction

Here's a .pdf of the essay handout I gave everyone on Wednesday:

• the essay

Also, remember that there's a typo on the syllabus. The section about narration really starts on page 22.

See you Monday.

EWRT211-27: syllabus

Here is a .pdf of the syllabus for the class.

EWRT211-27

Link to class in schedule of classes.

A final poem

Here's Taylor Mali reading his poem "The The Impotence of Proofreading."

You can read the text of the poem here. Try copying the text into Word and see if it catches any of the errors.

EWRT1A-62: flow handout and modifiers

Here's the flow handout I passed around Thursday:

• flow

If you want more information about modifiers (we dealt with these in the last two sets of sentences), here's a general definition and a description of the different functions of modifiers, here's a page with more information (if you navigate with the links on the left), here's a good page all about dangling modifiers and how to fix them, and here's a page about misplaced, dangling, and squinting modifiers.

EWRT1A-62: essay 3 due dates

Okay, so the first draft of essay 3 is now due Monday, August 3rd. We'll be doing a peer review of the drafts then. The final draft is due Thursday, August 6th.

EWRT1A-62: reading response 8 and quoting

Here are the prompts for reading response 8. Choose one.

• Why did Edna marry Léonce? Is he a model husband? What evidence is there that he may not be a good husband for Edna? Use specific scenes as evidence.
• Describe Edna’s relationship with/to Adéle. What does Adéle provide for Edna?
• What was Edna’s childhood like? Her past loves? What does this say about the woman she is now?
• Choose your own focus for your response to this reading. Have a clear point and solid evidence from the text to support it.

Also, we're going to discuss how to quote again. Instead of focusing on MLA citation, I want to focus more on what makes for an effective quotation. Here's the handout I'll be giving out:

• how to quote effectively

EWRT1A-62: essay 3 prompt

I'll hand this out Monday, but if you want to check it out now, then here it is:

• essay 3

Also, if you want more information about Kate Chopin, the author of The Awakening, there's a really nice website dedicated to her. Remember that if you want to use any of this info in your final paper, just cite it.

EWRT1A-62C: reading response 7

Reading Response 7, due Thursday July 23rd:

• Describe the narrator’s husband in “The Yellow Wallpaper.” What role does he play in the narrator’s illness? Does he help or hinder? Provide specific evidence.

• How do the images that the narrator sees in the wallpaper change throughout the story? How do these changes relate to the narrator’s emotional state? Provide specific details.

• Choose your own focus for your response to this reading. Have a clear point and solid evidence from the text to support it.

EWRT1A-62C: midterm

The best way to prepare for the midterm is to work on essay 2. This will get you close to the texts in the class and thinking about them. The other way is to go over your reading responses. The prompts for the midterm essay will be more general than the reading response prompts, but will be based on ideas discussed in class and brought up in the reading response prompts. Here are all the prompts:

• What are the differing effects of the two categories of education on 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.
  
• How is Rose’s essay an example of Freire’s theories? Show the connection.
• What did MacFarland provide for Rose? Is this something that could be standardized? In other words, can classrooms offer students what MacFarland’s classroom offered Rose? Why or why not?
• Would it be possible for public schools to empower people the same way Malcolm X’s homemade education empowered him? If so, how? If not, why not?
• Rodriguez says that his education gave him a public identity. Is the same true for Malcolm X? Use specific evidence in your response.
• Tannen says that the male and female styles of communication “are equally valid in themselves” (59). According to her evidence, are both styles equally valued in the business world? What are the consequenecs of this? Provide specifc evidence in your response.
• Tannen demonstrates that differing communication styles create confict. What solution does she allude to? What needs to change to make this solution possible? Do you agree with Tannen about this?
• Is Longman promoting patriarchy, trying to avoid it, or simply predicting its rise? Give specific evidence from the essay to make your argument.
• In what way is the rise of patriarchy that Longman describes related to the backlash that Faludi argues? Give specific examples in your response.
• Does Longman make an assumption (or assumptions) that undermines or in some way inhibits his argument? Be specific about where this occurs.
• Is there a connection between Sanders and Faludi? Does what Sanders says in some way oppose Faludi’s views, or are their views linked somehow? Give specific evidence in your response.
• Explore the significance of the title. What are the effects of “The Men We Carry In Our Minds?”
• Sanders claims that he was an ally to the feminists he met in college (103). Why does he claim this? Do you think it’s true that he was looking for the exact same things that they were?
  
  

EWRT1A-62C: transitions

Here's what I put up on the overhead: common transitions.

You can find other lists all over the web.

EWRT1A-62C: reading response 6

Reading Response 6, due Wednesday July 15th. Choose one:

• Is there a connection between Sanders and Faludi? Does what Sanders says in some way oppose Faludi’s views, or are their views linked somehow? Give specific evidence in your response.

• Explore the significance of the title. What are the effects of “The Men We Carry In Our Minds?”

• Sanders claims that he was an ally to the feminists he met in college (103). Why does he claim this? Do you think it’s true that he was looking for the exact same things that they were?

• Choose your own focus for your response to this reading. Have a clear point and solid evidence from the text to support it.

EWRT1A-62C: rhetorical modes, appeals, and essay 2

Here are some .pdfs if you need them:

• Paragraph development: rhetorical modes
• Appeals
• Essay 2 prompts

Malcolm X videos

In case you've never heard Malcolm X speak before–and even if you have–you might want to check out these videos (this sentence shows an example of the em dash, by the way).

This first one shows a debate Malcolm X was part of at Oxford College in England. Oxford is one of the most famous colleges in the European world and for a man like Malcolm X to stand there and have everyone listen to him is very symbolic. He also explains what we now call institutional racism.

This next one was filmed earlier in Malcolm X's life even though it's in color. What's nice about this one is that here Malcolm X has to articulate his beliefs to someone who doesn't fully understand or necessarily believe them. Also, it shows how polite Malcolm X was. Hurlbut (a really unfortunate name) constantly interrupts Malcolm X and gets things wrong, but Malcolm X takes it in stride and just tries to calmly explain what he means.

EWRT1A-62C: MLA citation and reading response 3

I'll be handing this out Tuesday, but I thought I'd post the .pdf of my MLA citation handout. Almost every writing handbook has these rules, but the MLA updated its rules in April of this year. This handout reflects those changes: MLA citation guide (.pdf).

And here are the prompts for reading response 3, due Wednesday, July 8th (choose one). Please practice using MLA citation in your reading response.

• Would it be possible for public schools to empower people the same way Malcolm X’s homemade education empowered him? If so, how? If not, why not?
• Rodriguez says that his education gave him a public identity. Is the same true for Malcolm X? Use specific evidence in your response.
• Choose your own focus.

EWRT1A-62C: thoughts on essay 1, commas, and the em dash

For essay one, keep in mind that both the readings we have covered so far have examples of positive and negative effects of education. So either text could be used for either prompt. I'd also suggest you read "A Rounded Version…" (16) before you work on your essay. You may wish to skim the Rodriguez and Malcolm X essays to see of they might relate to ideas you have for your essay.

As I said in class, there are rules that cover comma use and some general style guidelines, but not everyone agrees about these things. For instance, writers in the U.S. are bigger sticklers about comma use that writers in the U.K. For some general guidelines, this page has some suggestions for comma use. You always use a comma before a coordinate conjunction (and, or, but, so, yet…) that combines two independent clauses (two subject-verb pairs). The comma goes before the conjunction.

I read the essay, but I didn't understand it at all.

You should use a comma after a subordinate clause, before the main clause.

Although Miss B. Haven was the first woman in her family to go to school, her father wouldn't pay the tuition.

I said in class that you use a comma before a subordinate clause, but this is not always true. You only use a comma if the subordinate clause gives supplemental information.

I agreed with the thesis of the essay, although I didn't like the writing style.

If the subordinate clause provides necessary information that restricts the meaning of the main (independent) clause then you do not use a comma.

Do not begin writing your essay until you have read the texts critically.

This is true of any information that is restrictive. By "restrictive" I mean information that is essential to the meaning of the sentence.

Kate Chopin's book The Awakening uses symbolism to convey character development.

You do not set The Awakening off with commas because Chopin wrote more than one book and you are writing about just one of them. It is restrictive information. To be honest, sometimes it can be hard to tell if information is restrictive or not. If you are worried about a particular sentence, consider rewriting it to avoid the comma.

Whenever I have a question about grammar, I turn to a writing handbook. I consulted both The Longman Handbook and The Bedford Handbook to make sure the information above about comma was correct. This is why I suggest getting a writing handbook.

As for the em dash, it is not used much in formal writing, such as the writing you do for college. So in general you should avoid using it. It is used a lot in the business world and it replaces commas, semicolons, colons, etc. But as with all dashes, it is mainly used to indicate an interruption and shift in thought. There's more here.

EWRT1A-62C: basic essay structure and thesis statements

So here are a some handouts that I'll be using in class over the next few days.

• Basic essay structure
• Thesis Statements
• Thesis Statements: Common Problems
• Thesis Statements: Digging Deeper

EWRT1A-62C: critical reading and essay 1

I will be talking about critical reading in the beginning of class tonight. Here's a .pdf of the information.

And here's a .pdf of the prompts for essay 1. I'll hand this out Wednesday.

EWRT1A-62C: Paulo Freire for Wednesday

Chapter 2 of Paulo Freire's Pedagogy of the Oppressed can be found here. If possible, please print it out. If not, make notes that you can bring to class. Remember that reading response 1 is due Wednesday, July 1st also (see syllabus). Some information about Freire that may help you to understand the reading can be found here.

Feel free to post comments on or questions about the reading here.

And just in case, here's a .pdf of the syllabus.

EWRT1A-63: thank you and good luck!

I just wanted to thank everyone for the class. Thanks especially for putting up with my experiment of having all the readings on-line. It wasn't too successful (readings suddenly disappearing and all that…) and I just read a survey that said 70% of students preferred having readings in print and 60% said they felt that way even if the readings on the internet were free. So I've got other ideas for how to reduce class costs.

Good luck to all of you in your future plans and take care.

EWRT1A-63: final

The final is Tuesday from 6:15-8:15 in our classroom. Aim to get there at 6 so we have time to turn in essay 3.

Here are the reading response prompts since the midterm to help you study for the final.

Reading Response 7: 

• What other reasons besides love does the narrator of "No Name Woman" hint at for her aunt’s love affair? What point is the narrator trying to make?
• Why does the narrator of "No Name Woman" finally decide to tell this forbidden tale? What does this say about her? About her connection to her family?

Reading Response 8
• Why did Edna marry Léonce? Is he a model husband? What evidence is there that he may not be a good husband for Edna? Use specific scenes as evidence.
• Describe Edna’s relationship with Adéle. What does Adéle provide for Edna?

Reading Response 9
• Describe Edna’s relationship with Mademoiselle Reisz. What does Mlle. Reisz provide for Edna?
• Describe Léonce and the world he inhabits. What is he interested in? How do these things affect Edna and their marriage?

Reading Response 10
• What happens at the end of the novel? Why is Edna driven to do what she does? What does it symbolize about her struggle/awakening?
• How does Kate Chopin use other characters in The Awakening to cast Edna Pontellier's desires—and social limitations—in sharp relief?

summer session

If you plan on taking a class this Summer, please enroll as soon as possible. By next Tuesday, June 23rd, any class that doesn't have at least twenty students enrolled will be cut.

EWRT1A-63: MLA 2009 rules

I'm going to hand this out in class on Tuesday, but I made a sheet covering the new rules for MLA citation. You can view it as a .pdf here.

EWRT/ESL 274 Summer class

If you want to get more help with grammar and learn to express yourself more clearly in writing, consider taking EWRT/ESL 274 this Summer. Here's a link to information about it.

EWRT1A-63: Essay 3 and Reading Response 9

This is a photo of Kate Chopin and her children.

You can see a .pdf of the essay 3 prompts here.

Reading Response 9 is due on Tuesday, June 9th. Here are the prompts (choose one):

• Describe Edna’s relationship with Mademoiselle Reisz. What does Mlle. Reisz provide for Edna? Use specific passages as evidence.

• How does Edna react to Robert’s departure? What does this say about her feelings for Robert? What does her recation say about Edna’s character?

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

• Or choose your own focus.

well ghost

Here's that Yoshitoshi print of the ghost at the well I mentioned:



Or click here.

EWRT1A-63: Reading Response 7

Choose one of these prompts or come up with your own. In all cases, the response should be about "No Name Woman" (see syllabus).

• 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?

Testosterone

Just for fun, here's a This American Life episode all about testosterone. As the site says: "stories of people getting more testosterone and coming to regret it. And of people losing it and coming to appreciate life without it. The pros and cons of the hormone of desire. "

EWRT1A-63: Rhoads and sissies

Here's the reading again for next time: Steven Rhoads, "The Case Against Androgynous Marriage"

Also, I found that audio essay by Dan Savage that I mentioned. It's from a great weekly radio show called This American Life. Savage's piece is the last one in a whole hour entitled: "Sissies." Consider this line from the intro to the episode: "Though being gay no longer has much of a stigma in some parts of the country, being a sissy still does—even among gay men." How could you explain this given Kimmel's theories?

what you've always been looking for…

… a blog about public misuses of the apostrophe.

EWRT1A-63: essay 2 prompts

Here is a pdf of the handout for essay 2. For each prompt I am asking you to enter the dialogue posed by at least two works from the class. Keep in mind that the prompt questions are just entry points. Start with an initial response and try to develop it through questioning. If you have any questions, then let me know.

EWRT1A-63: Reading Response 4

• How does Friedan's discussion of "the problem that has no name" relate to Tocqueville's discussion of gender roles in the U.S.? Refer to specific parts in both works.

or

• Do you see any problems with Friedan's argument? Or do you find her argument convincing? Provide specific evidence in your response.

EWRT1A-63: Alexis de Tocqueville

In case you didn't get the e-mail, let me give you the link to the Alexis de Tocqueville piece:

"How the Americans Understand the Equality of the Sexes"

Pay special attention to how Tocqueville defines equality; he may not be using the term in the way you would use it.

This piece is from the second volume of his famous Democracy In America, which was published in 1840. If you want some more background, you could start with the Wikipedia article on Tocqueville and then look at this site dedicated to Tocqueville.

I sent out an e-mail with links to readings for the next few weeks. If you didn't get it, check your junk mail filter. Otherwise, e-mail me and I can send you the links again.

Also, the readings for May 7 and May 14 are going to change from what is listed on the syllabus. Here are the new readings and their links:

• May 7 - Aaron H. Devor, "How Many Sexes? How Many Genders? When Two Are Not Enough"
  
• May 14 - Steven Rhoads, "The Case Against Androgynous Marriage"
  

EWRT1A-63: gender differences and college

Here are some more articles to give you some other information and perspectives about women in school, especially college.

• "On Payday, It's Still a Man's World." This 2007 article from CNN discusses that even though more women graduate from college than men, they tend to earn less once they hit the job market.
  
• "At Colleges, Women Are Leaving Men in the Dust." This 2006 article from The New York Times talks about how boys score better on the SAT, but then once in college, women tend to perform better as a group. The article explores many possible reasons for this.
  

EWRT1A-63: Reading Response 3 prompts

Again, the reading for Tuesday is different than what is listed on the syllabus. Please read "Gender Bias in Education" by Amanda Chapman. There is also a reading response due (#3). Choose one of the following prompts:

• Compare Chapman’s analysis of schools with Jean Anyon’s. What conclusions can you draw from both essays about the effects of school?
• Does Chapman’s analysis of gender bias in school convince you? If so, why is her argument compelling? If not, why isn’t her argument compelling? Please provide specific evidence from the text in your response.
  
• Choose you own focus for analyzing the text or synthesizing it with other texts from the class.
  

EWRT1A-63: April 28th reading and new MLA rules

A change to the syllabus: for Tuesday, April 28th, I'd like you to read "Gender Bias in Education" by Amanda Chapman. This essay will act as a transition from our section on education to our section on gender. We are entering some highly charged territory. Be prepared.

Also, the Owl at Purdue has a page devoted to the 2009 MLA citation rules. The new rules only affect how you compose your works cited entries. Entries from books and other print sources are done the way the Longman describes, except that you add "Print" to the end of your works cited entry. The biggest changes seem to be for sources from the internet. See the page for the new guidelines and some examples.

Malcolm X video

This is a debate that Malcolm X was involved in at Oxford University in England in 1964. There are many good videos of Malcolm X, but I'm posting this one because in it he clearly lays out his ideals and he's not talking to an audience who necessarily believes what he believes. Also, he's standing in one of the most important colleges in the western world, and one of the oldest. Symbolically, this is very powerful for me. As Malcolm X speaks, keep in mind that he didn't go to school past the eighth grade. All the knowledge that he brings to bear on his argument was knowledge he acquired through his "homemade" education.

EWRT1A-63: Malcolm X and Richard Rodriguez readings

Since the preview of Rereading America seventh edition is no longer available through Google Book Search, let me give you links for the next few readings.

• Malcolm X "Learning To Read." You can download a Word doc of the piece here. You can also read it on-line here. On this page, it's been titled "A Homemade Education," but it's the same reading. It's a part from Malcolm X's autobiography so editors give the piece whatever title they want to. Also for the four of you who were in my EWRT 211 class, this is a longer version than the one we read last quarter.
• Richard Rodriguez "The Achievement of Desire." Access to this essay has been removed, due to the request of Richard Rodriguez.
  

Keep track of where you are getting these essays from. This will be important when you compile a works cited list for your papers. We will start to go over MLA works cited on Thursday.

EWRT1A-63: Jean Anyon essay

Is it just me or is the Google Book Search preview of Rereading America not working? Let me know if you have trouble accessing it. You can still read Jean Anyon's essay "Social Class and the Hidden Curriculum of Work" on-line. There is a link here and one here.

If you have any trouble accessing the reading for this class, please let me know. Keep in mind that there is a copy of Rereading America on reserve in the library also. Yet if all these options don't work for you, please let me know and we can work something out.

If you want to know more about Jean Anyon, here's her website. She teaches in the Urban Education Department at CUNY.

And on a different note, the classic writing text The Elements of Style is 50 years old. It's still a really useful book after all these years. It discusses basic grammar, but the most useful part of the book (to me) is it's advice on style, how to write clear, concise sentences.  There's an article about  The Elements of Style at NPR with examples from the text.

EWRT1A-63: thesis statement handouts

The Longman Handbook covers information about thesis statements (see pages 25-34 and page 128 for a definition of "argument"), but if you want a copy of the things I've been putting on the document projector here they are:

• thesis statements: the basics (pdf)
  
• thesis statements: common problems (pdf)
• thesis statements: digging deeper (pdf)

EWRT1A-63: Mike Rose essay and essay 1 prompt

The old link (here) to the Mike Rose essay on the Rereading America preview at Google Book Search isn't working. A few pages of the essay have been removed. So you have two options. One, click here to download a Word doc of the essay (the original link can be found on this page). Second, if you can't read doc files, then you can view the page as html. What you'll need to do is go to Google and do a search for Mike Rose "I Just Wanna Be Average" (just copy and paste this into the search window). The first link listed should be the one I put above, and you should notice a link that says "view as HTML." If you click that, you'll be able to read the article as if it were on a web page. I hope this is fairly straightforward, but if you have any trouble then e-mail me or put a comment below.

Here's a link to Mike Rose's own website and he even has a blog.

Lastly, here is a .pdf of the essay 1 prompt.

EWRT1A-63: Paulo Freire reading

I still can't access my e-mail. I apologize to anyone who may be trying to contact me.

Chapter 2 of Paulo Freire's Pedagogy of the Oppressed can be found here. If possible, please print it out. If not, make notes that you can bring to class. Remember that reading response 1 is due Tuesday also (see syllabus). Some information about Freire that may help you to understand the reading can be found here.

Feel free to post comments on or questions about the reading here.

EWRT1A-63: syllabus and readings links

Here's a link to the syllabus for the class (.pdf format).

Remember that most of the readings are accessible through Google Book Search if you do a search for Rereading America 7th edition. Here's a link to that. Once on the site, just forward to the page number listed in the syllabus. Remember to print out a copy or at least take reading notes that you can bring to class.

Also, many of the essays can be downloaded as .doc files (the standard Word format) from this instructor's website.

EWRT1A-63: the books

Here are the books for EWRT1A-63:

The Longman Handbook, fifth edition (Amazon link).

The Awakening by Kate Chopin (Amazon link).

Most of the readings in the class come from Rereading America, seventh edition. That can be found on-line through the Google reader, here.

Our first reading is chapter 2 of Paulo Freire's Pedagogy of the Oppressed. You can find that on-line here.

EWRT211-62: portfolio suggestions

The portfolios are due Wednesday night. 

At this point, whether you pass or fail EWRT 211 has nothing to do with your grade in the class. Now it all comes down to the strength of your portfolio.

Make sure you have read the portfolio guidelines carefully. If there is anything that you are unsure about, then ask me. Here are a few additional comments:

• The portfolio should contain three essays: the reflective essay, an out-of-class essay, and an in-class essay.
  
• The reflective essay should be a clean final draft. It goes on top of the portfolio. You should not include any other drafts or notes.
  
• The out-of-class essay will be either essay 1: family, or essay 3: writing. You should rewrite this essay. Clarify the thesis, add additional illustrations or explanations where necessary. Fix grammar, spelling, and punctuation. Keep in mind that the other reader of your portfolio will have copies of all the essay prompts, so the reader will know if your essay is on prompt or not. Include only a clean final draft in your portfolio. Do not include other drafts or my comments.
  
• The out-of-class essay will be the one you've had the most time to work on, so it'll be the one that will carry the most weight in your portfolio.
• The in-class essay will either be essay 2: melting pot, or essay 4: art and communication. This essay cannot be rewritten. You must include the actual essay you wrote in class, no matter how messy it is. Please remove my comment sheet before you include the essay in your portfolio. Obviously, you can't remove the comments I made in the body of your essay.
• At least one essay must be an analytical essay. An analytical essay is an essay that takes apart a text and looks at how that text works. The only essay that is not analytical is essay 1: family. So if you decide to include this essay, make sure that your in-class essay demonstrates that you can provide a clear and well-supported analysis of a text (or texts). If both your in-class essays are weak, then you may want to consider including essay 3 as your out-of-class essay, since this one involves the analysis of two texts.
• You don't need a fancy folder or anything for your portfolio. Just staple or paper clip the three essays together. 

EWRT211-62: portfolio guidelines

Just in case, here's a .pdf of the portfolio guidelines and the prompt for the reflective essay.

E-mail me in you have any questions about this or the partner projects.

EWRT211-62: essay 4 prep

There will be four prompts for essay 4. Again, you will choose one to write on. The first three prompts deal with one essay each. Each prompt asks you to evaluate how well the essay makes a certain point. The fourth prompt asks you to contrast two essays to explain how one is written more successfully than the other.

The main goal of this essay is to take something we've read and to show the relationship between the pieces of the essay and one of its main arguments. This is what we've been working on in your own writing: getting all the elements of your paper to work towards proving the thesis. Now I want you to show how another author does this, or perhaps doesn't do this.

So the elements that you could show in your examples are all the ones we've gone over this quarter. You could look at the clarity of the thesis statement itself (is the main argument clear in the essay?), the PIE structure (do the paragraphs have clear points, examples, and explanations?), the amount of evidence (is there enough to prove the points?), the explanation of the evidence (is it clear what the evidence is there to prove?), the understanding of the audience (does the author explain things that the audience needs to know?), and appeals (how does the author use logos, pathos, and ethos to make the points?). You also may want to point out the rhetorical modes used by the author. For instance, does an author use contrast successfully to make a point? Does the author do a nice job of explaining a process? Is there a cause and effect relationship that is not adequately explained?

Overall, this essay will require a close reading and a clear understanding of the essay you will be writing about.

Feel free to e-mail me with any lingering questions. Or post a comment here so other students can read it.

EWRT211-62: essay 3 final draft

So the final draft of essay 3 is due Monday, March 9. Hand in both drafts at that time. Remember to use MLA citation, both in text and works cited. See pages 529-538 of our book.

EWRT211-62: shifts and reading response 7

Here's a .pdf of the shifts handout, due Monday.

And here's the prompt for Reading Response 7, also due Monday:

In the end of his essay, Swanson says that complex films encourage "mental focus and tenacious self-examination" (339). Does his essay support this claim? Provide evidence for your response. Do you agree with Swanson?

EWRT211-62: essay 3 first draft and Malcolm X

Keep in mind that the first draft of essay 3 is due tomorrow night- February 25th. Last time, those who didn't hand in a first draft when it was due tended not to do as well on the final draft.

Also, if you've never heard Malcolm X speak before, and even if you have, here's a little interview with him. The interviewer has an unfortunate name and is a bit clueless, but Malcolm X is very gracious and always keeps to the discussion at hand without insulting the poor guy.

EWRT211-62: apostrophes, quotations, and rewrites

Here is the apostrophe handout.

Here is the quotations handout.

And remember that the rewrite of the starred paragraph from your in-class essay is due Monday. If I neglected to put a star next to a paragraph in your essay, just choose a body paragraph yourself. The goal is to revise the paragraph using PIE structure and the suggestions on the quotations handout. The rewrite should be on a separate piece of paper.

EWRT211-62: reading response 5, etc.

Reading Response 5:
For Villanueva, how do leaps of faith contribute to her writing process? What are the effects of her leaps of faith? How does this relate to Peter Elbow’s advice about freewriting?

And here's the pronouns handout (pdf).

And here's the prompt for essay 3 (pdf).

See you Wednesday.

what to expect in college

The link for this page changed, but I found it again. It's the most concise list of advice I've seen for how to be a successful college student. It's aimed at University of California Santa Cruz students, but the advice here is applicable to any college student, and that includes students at De Anza.

EWRT211-62: reading for February 11th

Ignore what the syllabus says for Wednesday, Feb. 11. Instead, read "Freewriting" by Peter Elbow (12).

EWRT211-62: essay 2 prep

I just sent out an e-mail about the in-class essay on Monday, essay 2. Again, if you didn't receive the e-mail either my message went into your junk mail or I don't have your correct address.

This is what the e-mail said:

For essay 2, I will give you three prompts and you will be asked to write on one. All the prompts will ask you to compare or contrast two essays we've read. Think about the discussions we've had in class and the reading responses we've done. How do Andrew Lam's ideas relate to Philip Persky's? Compare Joyce Jarrett's ideas about freedom with those of Cobie Kwasi Harris, and think about how the two authors arrive at their ideas. Consider how Rodriguez's ideas contribute to or contradict Lam's and Persky's.

For the essay, you will need to bring paper and something to write with. Pens are preferred. You don't need any special examination booklet. You may use your book, but no notes. A dictionary is acceptable. We will do some prewriting in the beginning, but after that you will have the entire class to write your essay.

EWRT211-62: reading response 4

Reading Response 4:
For Rodriguez, what defines America? What are the obstacles to a unified U.S. identity? Do you agree?

EWRT211-62: fragments and run-ons

Here's the handout about fragments.

And here's the one about run-ons.

EWRT211-62: verb tense

Here's the pdf for the exercise about verb tense, due Wednesday.

EWRT211-62: subject-verb agreement

Here's a link to a pdf of the subject-verb agreement exercise that's due Monday.

EWRT211-62: e-mail

I just sent out an e-mail to all of you. If you didn't get one, then it either went into your junk mail or I have the wrong address for you. If it didn't go into your junk mail, then send me an e-mail from the address that you'd like me to send mail to.

EWRT211-62: reading response 1 and essay 1

Remember that Reading Response 1 is due Wednesday night. Here's the prompt again:

Respond to McGuire's essay. The response should be about a page in length and in two parts. The first part should be a short summary of the essay. The second part, and the majority of your paper, should be your response to the essay. You may wish to discuss your reaction to the issues that McGuire raises. Or you could analyze how she has written the piece. You could also use the Strategies and Structures questions to guide your response. Lastly, remember to use the MLA style header for your reading response.

And here's a pdf of the prompt for essay 1.

EWRT211-62: active reading and essay basics

Most of what I went over in class regarding active reading can be found in this pdf file.

Also, if you missed the handout about essay basics, you can download it here.

EWRT211-62: book and syllabus

This is the book that we'll be using in EWRT 211 sect. 62:

The title is Visions Across the Americas, sixth edition.

And here's the syllabus for the class: EWRT211-62 syllabus (pdf)

If you are unable to view pdf files, get the free reader here.