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).