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