EWRT1A-25: syllabus

It's almost time for Winter Quarter 2011 at De Anza. Here is a link to a pdf of the syllabus for EWRT 1A section 25. See you in class Tuesday.

Have a good holiday!

As a farewell post… Mel Brooks and Gene Wilder gave their Frankenstein's monster a happy ending- married to the late Madeline Kahn.

EWRT1A30: final

The final will be at the same time in the same classroom tonight. You have the full two hours to complete the final. Don't forget to bring paper. Again, your reader, Frankenstein, and a dictionary are all acceptable, but no other books or notes. Please turn cell phones off before the final.

Since it's finals week, I won't be at the library for my office hours today. If you need to get in touch with me, please e-mail.

And don't forget to breathe.

high school Valedictorian speech

I think someone needs to hand this young woman Freire's Pedagogy of the Oppressed.

EWRT1A30: parallelism and end of Frankenstein

Here is the parallelism exercise.

As I mentioned in class on Wednesday, I'd like you to think about your experience reading Frankenstein. What surprised you or what stuck out for you? Maybe you were surprised at how different the novel was than the movie versions. Maybe the language was challenging for you, but you made a breakthrough with it. Maybe the central question of whether or not the quest for knowledge is good or evil challenges the very reason why you are in college. In other words, articulate your experience reading this novel, what you felt and what you thought. You won't be handing this in, but be ready to share it in class.

We also will be discussing Maxine Hong Kingston's "No Name Woman" on Monday. It's in your reader. As you read it, try to figure out why the narrator has chosen to tell the story of her aunt. Also, look for connections to Frankenstein.

EWRT1A30: presentation groups for week 11

Kingston, "No Name Woman," Nov.29
James
Allen
Terry

Faulkner, "A Rose For Emily," Dec.1
Angie
Otoota
Angela

EWRT1A30: conciseness exercise

The Longman refers to it as conciseness; I'm calling it wordiness. Either way, here's the exercise. There are only five sentences this time.

EWRT1A30: modifiers exercise

Here is the modifiers exercise.

EWRT1A30: Essay 3

Here is the prompt for the last out-of-class essay.

Reading groups for next week

I wanted to list the groups for next week to make sure that everyone is in contact with each other. You can use the comment section to exchange contact information, if necessary.

Frankenstein, chapters 5-10, Nov.15th
Santiago
Jimmy
Andrew
Paul Medina

Frankenstein, chapters 11-16, Nov.17th
Sonny
Alan Tran
Paul Kaiser
Anita Dhillon

Map of early Frankenstein chapters

Here's the map of the cities mentioned in the early parts of the novel.

EWRT1A30: Reading Response 8

Reading Response 8
Keeping in mind what you have read of Frankenstein so far, respond to one of the prompts below.

• What are the effects of education as depicted in this novel? Does education liberate characters or ruin them? Consider Frankenstein, Clerval, and Walton (you don’t have to discuss all three, I’m just suggesting examples).
• Do you find Victor Frankenstein to be a responsible person? In answering this, don’t refer only to Victor’s relationship to his creation.
• How is nature depicted so far in the novel? What is its effect on the characters? Please refer to specific scenes.
• Look at the fate of Justine. How is she treated before William’s murder? How is she treated afterward? What does this contrast tell you about the society in the novel?

EWRT1A30: mixed constructions/structures

Here is the exercise due Wednesday.

EWRT1A30: Reading Response 7

From what you have read of Frankenstein so far, respond to one of the prompts below.

• Walton’s desire is to discover the North Pole and the external conflicts he faces stem from that. But what drives him to do it? In other words, describe Walton’s inner conflict. Look at what we know of his past and consider comparing Walton with what we know of his sister, Mrs. Margaret Saville.
• Compare and contrast the ambitions of Victor and Walton. How do the two men see their responsibilities to themselves and others? What kinds of values and motivations may be operating for each person?
• What do you think of Victor at this point? What kind of character is he? Consider looking at his relationship with his family, with Elizabeth, and/or to his education.

EWRT1A30: Frankenstein reading questions

Here is a list of ten questions to help focus your reading of Frankenstein. Please print this list out and refer to it as you progress through the novel.

1. Is Victor Frankenstein a dynamic character? In other words, does he change throughout the novel? Does he learn anything?
2. Is the novel saying that too much knowledge is a bad thing? Are exploration and discovery portrayed as misguided or noble?
3. What does the novel tell us about education? Look at both Victor and the Creature, but don’t forget Clerval and Safie. Does education help characters to overcome barriers or does it create more problems?
4. What is the cause of Victor’s guilt, according to him? According to the Creature? According to you?
5. Which characters have a voice in society and which do not? Why are certain characters denied voice? Is there a pattern?
6. Is the Creature good or evil? Is he innately so or is he made that way? Is there a villain in this novel?
7. Why does Victor remain silent about the Creature until the end? Is his silence justified?
8. Why doesn’t the Creature simply kill Victor early on? Look at how the Creature behaves over Victor’s coffin. Does this scene give you any other insights as to why the Creature didn’t kill Victor?
9. Look at how women are treated in this novel. Is there some kind of pattern? Do the women inhabit similar worlds? Contrast that with the worlds inhabited by the men.
10. Is Victor a reliable narrator? Is Walton? Is the Creature? Who do you trust the most? Why?

Vote!

On the subject of making one's voice heard: vote tomorrow!

EWRT1A30: essay 2

Just in case, here's a pdf of the prompts for essay 2.

education animation

Somebody just shared this with me. It touches on a few things we discussed in the first few weeks of class, but addresses a more modern context. It also addresses something near and dear to my heart: the arts, and the loss of them in schools.

EWRT1A-30: shifts exercise

Here is the shifts exercise.

Aaron Devor

If you're interested in exploring Aaron Devor's theories further, he has a good web essay up here. It clearly defines some key terms and uses a lot of first-hand testimony to demonstrate his ideas.

EWRT1A-30: reading response 5

Reading Response 5 - Aaron Devor “Becoming Members of Society…”
Choose one of the prompts below or come up with your own focus.

• Explain Devor’s distinction between “I” and “me” (paragraphs 7 and 8). How may this separation contribute to problems with finding one’s own voice? Use examples from the reading, other readings, or your own experience and observation.
• Do some of the aspects of the traditional gender roles described by Devor seem to be changing? If so, which ones, and how?

Jon Stewart interview

If you wanted to listen to the entire Jon Stewart interview that I used a small segment from last night, you can find it here.

EWRT1A-30: agreement exercise and reading response 3

Here is the agreement exercise.

And here are the prompts for reading response 3:
Reading Response 3- Alice Walker “In Search of Our Mothers’ Gardens”
Choose one or come up with your own focus.

• According to what Walker shows in this essay, what are some of the forces that hinder people from finding their own voice? Use specific examples to demonstrate a larger theme.
• What does Walker’s essay show us about how people are able to find their own voices? What do people need? Use specific examples to demonstrate a larger theme.
• According to Walker’s essay, what effects are there when people are able to find their own voices? In other words, what is the benefit of artists finding ways to be artists? Use specific examples to demonstrate a larger theme.

EWRT1A-30: pronouns exercise

Here is the pronouns exercise, due Monday.

EWRT1A-30: essay 1

A few of you never got or lost the prompt for essay one. So here it is.

EWRT1A-30: run-ons exercise

Here is the run-ons exercise. Either print it out or simply write your corrections on another piece of paper. If you have any troubles viewing this pdf, please let me know.

Malcolm X

If you've never heard Malcolm X speak before, you should. The following video is from 1964 when Malcolm X was invited to go to Oxford. Oxford is one of the most famous universities in the European world and has a long history of debate. The fact that a Black Muslim with an eighth grade education (which you should have learned from our reading) was invited to speak there says something about the power of Malcom X's intellect and his importance as a leader.

EWRT1A-30: fragments exercise

Here is the fragments exercise. Either print it out or write down your corrections (as complete sentences) on a separate piece of paper. It's due Wednesday.

EWRT1A-30: Paulo Freire

For the reading, remember to look up words you don't know and write down any questions you have. Some information about and analysis of Freire that may help you can be found here.

Also, feel free to post questions or comments about the reading here.

Lastly, remember that the prompt for reading response 1 is in the syllabus.

New York Times "After Hours"

The New York Times has a regular column that addresses common problems with grammar. I'm sharing this to show you that–yes–other people besides writing instructors care about grammar and because the article is really educational. For instance, this is really good advice: "If a sentence is so complicated that we lose track of whether to use singular or plural [verb], it may be too complicated, period." Here's the most recent article.

EWRT1A-30: syllabus

Here's a pdf of the syllabus for the class.

Goodbye!

The grades should be up by now.

Goodbye and good luck!

And for a last link, I just learned this.

EWRT1B-16: final time reminder

Just a reminder, our final will be on Thursday, June 24th, from 4 to 6. Meet in the same classroom, L22. See the final schedule here.

If anything goes wrong, we'll meet in the library.

EWRT1B-16: poetry terms

“A Poet’s Means” – Literature and Its Writers 709-726
alliteration
assonance
onomatopoeia
rhyme
- perfect
- near/slant
- end rhyme
- internal rhyme
end-stop
enjambment
caesura
rhythm


“A Poet’s Meanings” – Literature and Its Writers 727-747
tone
diction
denotation
connotation
imagery
figurative language
- simile
- metaphor
- extended metaphor
- personification
symbol
apostrophe
metonymy
- synecdoche
oxymoron
hyperbole
understatement
paradox
irony
theme

EWRT1B-16: reading response 8

Reading response 8
These are discussion questions from Penguin’s website (though edited a bit). Choose one on which to base your reading response. Keep track of the number of which question you respond to.

1. Readers sometimes find the reading of Ceremony a disorienting experience, in part because Silko frequently shifts scenes and time frames without warning. How does this technique help the reader to participate in Tayo’s thoughts, emotions, and experiences? Is its influence on the narrative consistently the same, and is it always effective?

2. How does Tayo’s status as a half-breed influence his choices, his thinking, and the way he is perceived by other characters in the novel? What tensions and conflicts does his mixed ancestry contribute to Silko’s story?

3. Ceremony has been described as a story of struggle between two cosmic forces, one basically masculine and one essentially feminine. Assuming this to be true, what are the images of masculinity and femininity that Silko presents? Is this gendered analysis an adequate way of understanding the novel? Are there important ideas that it leaves out?

4. One aspect of white culture that Tayo especially resents is the way in which its educational practices, particularly instruction in the sciences, dismiss Native beliefs as “superstitions.” To what extent is the novel a story of the struggle between technology and belief?

5. Silko’s use of symbolic imagery often makes use of contrasting opposites: dryness and wetness; mountains and canyons; city and country; sunrise and darkness. Choose one of these contrasts (or another one that you have observed); what values does each of the two terms represent? Do their meanings remain constant?

6. How do the cattle and other animal presences in the novel function to illustrate the traditional values of the Laguna tribe and their conflicts with the principles and desires of white Americans?

7. Tayo believes that Emo is “wrong, all wrong” in his attitudes toward Indian identity and other aspects of life. What is the nature and what are the causes of Emo’s wrongness?

8. Silko, who has suffered from headaches, depression, and nausea similar to those that plague Tayo in her novel, has said, “I wrote this novel to save my life.” How is Ceremony a novel of salvation, for Tayo, for its author, and for its readers? What are the limits to the salvation that it appears to offer?

EWRT1B-16: MLA handout for the research paper

I forgot to put up a pdf of the MLA handout I passed out last Wednesday. So, here it is. While I'm at it, here's a pdf of the first MLA handout I passed out, the one about citing literature. Both these handouts are intended to be supplementary to what is available in Literature and Its Writers.

EWRT1B-16: thoughts on the research paper outlines

Looking at the outlines, a lot of you seem to be on a good track, but some of you seem to be a bit unclear about what the purpose of a literary research paper is. Remember that a research paper is still an essay. Again, read chapter 28 in our book (it starts in page 1683). Here are a few of my thoughts based on the outlines.

• A few of the outlines are structured around the secondary sources; each body paragraph simply explains one of the secondary sources. If you were to follow this outline the end result would not be an essay. It would simply be a collection of summaries. An essay must have an argument, a unified argument. As always, structure your essay around points that progress your argument. So, what is your thesis?

• The research paper is still an analysis of the primary text. So keep thinking about character, theme, plot, and all the elements of fiction. How does your research affect your understanding of one (or more) of these elements? Your answer to this question should be your thesis.

Ceremony and the Bataan Death March

As you can see hinted at in the text–pages 11, 12, 40, and 44–Tayo was part of the Bataan Death March. If you don't know about it, you can follow the link to the Wikipedia page. What I wanted to point out is that for Native Americans, forced long walks that result in a large number of deaths is nothing new. In 1831, the Choctaw, Cherokee, Chickasaw, Creek, and Seminole were forced off their lands. This is what is now known as the Trail of Tears. Again, follow the link if you have never heard of it. As I mentioned in class, one of the themes in this book is that time and narrative repeat.

EWRT1B-16: write a poem!

For Wednesday, write a poem based on the instructions given at the beginning of "Theme For English B" (981). Try using some of the means and meanings of poetry we have gone over to create your poem. Aim for about a page. Overall though, the goal here is to have fun. Don't restrict yourself too much. As I said in class, I think one has a better appreciation for poetry when one tries to actually write a poem.

And here's an animation of Emily Dickinson's poem "I heard a Fly buzz–when I died–" (940).

EWRT1B-16: research paper bibliography

Remember that the research paper bibliography is due Monday. You should have at least five sources listed and the sources should be put into MLA works cited style. Keep in mind that these are just the sources you have found so far. You may not end up using all of these in your paper. I just want to see that your research has begun and I want to be able to comment on your use of MLA style.

The research paper outline is due June 2nd. This is different than the syllabus.

Some tips about doing research:
• Use specific terms. As Lena Chang pointed out, you are more likely to find useful information if you are specific. For instance, if you want to to find out about medical practices like the one in "The Yellow Wallpaper," searching for "medical cures for women" is probably too broad. Searching for "rest cure" or "S. Weir Mitchell" might be more fruitful.

• Use details from the story. Like the last suggestion, use specific terms, events, people, etc. that are mentioned in the story. For instance, one way to learn about heroin in Harlem during the time of "Sonny's Blues" would be to do a search for Charlie Parker. He's the musician Sonny loves and Parker dealt with heroin addiction his whole life.

• Use terms from the articles. Sometimes in scholarly articles authors come up with their own terminology. These unique terms need to be cited if you mention them in your paper. Yet more than likely, an author will use terms that are common to the area of study you are looking at and using these terms may help you to focus your research. For instance, the study of ancient Greek and Roman arts is called "classicism." Or, Chinese immigrants used to refer to the U.S. as "Gold Mountain."

• Use the works cited lists of scholarly articles. All scholarly articles should have works cited lists. You can use these to find other articles that may help you for your paper. I do this all the time. In my own experience, if several critics of a work mention the same article, then I know that the article is an important one and that I need to read it. It's the article that everyone else is responding to; it's the start of the conversation.

EWRT1B-16: more research advice

Bowdoin College has a lot of great advice on-line about writing, and about research writing in particular. The focus of the advice is on history papers, but almost all of it applies to literature papers. The real difference is that in history research papers you have to do research to find your primary text(s). In your paper, you already have the primary text–the piece of literature you are analyzing. Here's a pdf of the research process with a nice graphic that shows the circular nature of the process. Here's a general overview of research papers. I also want to add this: there is advice about how to develop good questions. The key, not surprisingly, is to be specific.

EWRT1B-16: library day

Remember to meet in the library on Wednesday, May 19th.

The De Anza library has a lot of helpful information on its website. Here's a page with information about citing sources and evaluating research material. Here's a page listing all the library's academic databases. And here's a page listing more general research databases.

Happy hunting!

Also, remember the new due date for the research paper outline: June 2nd.

EWRT1B-16: essay 3- research paper

Here is the hand-out for essay 3, the research paper.

The proposal for the paper is due Monday, May 17. The proposal should state which piece of literature you will be doing research about and what focus you are choosing for your research. Your focus will be based on what your question is about the literature. The research then becomes the answer to your question.

I am fully aware that you may change your project as you work on your research. As you learn more, you may find a new focus that interests you more than the one you describe in your proposal. If this happens, it's fine. In fact, it's part of the discovery process in doing a research paper. So don't get too bent out of shape thinking you have to come up with the perfect focus in your research paper proposal. Still, as always, being specific is more useful than being vague.

EWRT1B-16: midterm

The midterm is 100 points total and consists of two parts.

• Part 1- Short answer. Four questions about the readings in the class (short stories and plays). Five points each.
• Part 2- In-class essay. There will be a series of prompts for you to choose from. The prompts will ask you to connect one of the plays with one of the short stories. The prompts deal with common themes and characterization. 80 points.
  

You may use your book and a dictionary, but no notes. Please bring paper, but an examination book is not necessary.

To study, look over the reading responses. Check out the prompts listed here on the blog. Also, look over any notes you have. The essay prompts are taken from concepts we discussed in class. I'd suggest starting with the plays since there are only two of them and making a list of similarities between them and the short stories. Again, look for similarities of theme and character.

Arthur Miller interview

Here's an interview with Arthur Miller in which he talks specifically about Death of a Salesman and its structure. Brian Dennehy, who played Willy Loman for the 50th anniversary performance of the play, appears also and talks about his take on Willy's character.

EWRT1B-16: reading response 5

Reading Response 5- choose one:

• What is Willy Loman’s main conflict? What causes this conflict?
• Does Linda protect Willy or enable him? What is her role in the play?
• Based on evidence in the play, what is Biff’s future? What is Happy’s?
• Choose your own focus of analysis.

EWRT1B-16: essay 2

Here's a pdf of the handout for essay 2.

EWRT1B-16: reading response 4

Here are the prompts for reading response 4:

Reading Response 4
Choose one.

• On whom should we blame the misfortunes that occur in Oedipus the King: Laius and Jocasta? Oedipus? the shepherd who saved Oedipus as a child? Tiresias? the gods? fate? Sophocles? Ground your answer in the text.
• After Oedipus blinds himself, he wants the people of Thebes to see him. Why do you think that is? How does this connect to Oedipus’s relationship with his people as shown throughout the play?

EWRT1B-16: images of Oedipus

Here are some pictures of Oedipus and the Sphinx:









And here's the real Sphinx:

keep going!

Remember to keep going with your reading journals. You should do entries for April 28th and May 3rd and 5th. We'll be handing the journals in again before the midterm. If you are still confused about what I expect, look at the syllabus and at pages 1654-1655 in your book. And if that doesn't help, e-mail me.

EWRT1B-16: reading journals

I forgot to mention in class that we will be turning in the reading journals next class, Wednesday. So be sure you have yours to turn in.

EWRT1B-16: reading response 3 prompts and on-line writing resources

First here are the prompts for the third reading response. Choose one.

• 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?
• Choose your own focus.

Also, here are some links to on-line writing resources. All of these are from the Owl at Purdue, which is the most complete on-line resource that I've found: grammar, mechanics, and punctuation.

EWRT1B-16: Amy Tan

Here's a video with Amy Tan. She discusses what writing means to her and how she got started with it.



There are other interviews with her, such as this long one.

EWRT1B-16: Bedford/St. Martin's website link

Here is a link to the page that has the on-line resources for each author. Click the letter of the author's last name to find the info.
http://bcs.bedfordstmartins.com/litlinks/Pages/Main.aspx

EWRT1B-16: James Baldwin

Here's the first part of an interview with James Baldwin in which he discusses his childhood in Harlem. The interview was done in the context of the 1960s, during the height of the Civil Rights movement.



And here's a latter interview in which he discusses writing, suffering, and laughter.

EWRT1B-16: reading response 1 prompt

Here's the handout about the group presentation assignment, if you lost yours.

And here's the handout for essay 1.

Lastly, here are the prompts for reading response 1. Choose one. Remember that the details about reading responses are in the syllabus.

• What is the function of music in "Sonny's Blues"? What does it provide for the characters?
• In "Sonny's Blues," what separated the brothers? What brings them together?
• Come up with your own focus of analysis.

they'll blog about anything…

There are blogs out there devoted solely to public misuses of punctuation. Here's one about apostrophes and here's one about quotation marks. If you don't know why all of these are mistakes, you might want to check out a writer's handbook.

EWRT1B-16: final time

I just got confirmation on our final. It will not be on Wednesday, but Thursday, June 24 from 4-6. I guess for 3pm classes we follow the 3:30 class schedule (I still think it's weird that "afternoon" classes on the schedule include classes that are before noon).

EWRT1B-16: Sherman Alexie

Here's a clip from a panel Sherman Alexie was on for Young Adult (YA) novels. His book The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian won the National Book Award for Young People's Literature. I like this clip, because it shows his sense of humor and it's about reading.



Here's a long (about 26 minutes) interview with Sherman Alexie that covers his past, his writing, and his alcoholism.

EWRT1B-16: syllabus

Here is a pdf of the syllabus for EWRT1B section 16.

Thanks and good luck!

Thank you all for the class. Good luck to you.

Here's one last link, for those of you who have trouble with writer's block or procrastination: a program that deletes what you write if you stop writing– Write or Die!

EWRT1A-62: final

150 points total - 3 sections

1. Grammar - 10 points - 5 sentences - 2 points each
mixed constructions
active verbs (clear sentences)
modifiers- misplaced and dangling
conciseness (wordiness)
parallelism

2. Short answer - 40 points - 4 questions - 10 points each
"No Name Woman"
"A Rose For Emily"
Frankenstein

3. Essay - 100 points
Connect Frankenstein with one of the short stories.
Think about connections of theme and style. Find commonalities between the short stories and the novel. Then think of specific scenes that demonstrate these connections. For instance, all of the stories manipulate point of view. Does the manipulation of point of view have a similar effect in the stories? All the stories also deal with social outsiders. Are the causes for why the characters are social outcasts similar? Or are the effects of being social outcasts comparable for the characters? Other connections the class came up with were the obsession with death, the inability to accept change, the avoidance of responsibility, the drive for revenge, the evil of society, the need for attention, the desire for companionship, and the effects of isolation (notice the parallel structure there?).

EWRT1A-62: reading response 10

Here's the prompt for Reading Response 10, which we started in class:

Dear students,
We have come to the last reading response in the class. Instead of writing a formal analysis, what I’d like you to do is to write a letter. The audience for your letter is your fellow classmates. Please tell them what discoveries you have made about Frankenstein. Maybe you are surprised at how the different the novel is than the movie versions. Maybe the language was challenging for you, but you made a breakthrough with it. Maybe the central question of whether or not the quest for knowledge is good or evil challenges the very reason why you are in college. In other words, tell the other students your experience reading this novel, what you felt and what you thought.
This is a letter, so it should read like one. Don’t worry about writing a well-argued analysis. The goal here is simply to share your insights and impressions.
Sincerely,
Nick Mullins

EWRT1A-62: parallelism exercise

Here is the parallelism exercise.

And here's the handout on quoting from tonight if you didn't get it.

EWRT1A-62: conciseness exercise

Here is the link to the conciseness exercise. It's titled "wordy sentences" and, yes, there are only five to do.

EWRT1A-62: modifiers exercise, essay 3 prompts, and reading response 9

First, here's the modifiers exercise, due Monday.

Second, here are the prompts for essay 3, if you didn't get them or lost them.

And third and last, here's the prompt for reading response 9:

Now that you have read the creature’s story, you can see that Victor has created an eight-foot tall being capable not only of speech but also of reading college level texts, and who now desires a mate. What is the conflict for Victor at this point? After you have discussed that, speculate on what you think will happen next. Stay within the scope of the novel: based on what you know of the characters, what is the most likely outcome? Use evidence from previous scenes to back up your speculation.

map for early chapters of Frankenstein

Click on the map to get the full version.

EWRT1A-62: group presentations

I forgot to set aside time for the groups to meet and exchange info. So I'll list the groups for next week here. If you'd like, you could use the comments section to arrange things with each other.

March 1, Frankenstein letter 1 - chapter 4
George
Katherine
D'Wayne
Angela

March 3, Frankenstein chapters 5-10
Natalie
Amalia
Justin
Alexander

EWRT1A-62: mixed constructions exercise

Here is the mixed constructions exercise, due Monday.

EWRT1A-62: reading response 7

Choose one.

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 decide to tell this forbidden tale? What does this say about her? About her connection to her family?

EWRT1A-62: midterm prep

The midterm will be on Monday February 22nd. You will have the entire class time to complete it. You may bring your reader and a dictionary, but no notes or computers. Also bring your own paper. An exam booklet is not necessary.

The midterm will consist of two sections.

Grammar- 10 sentences to repair
- fragments, run-ons, pronoun reference, agreement, shifts
-10 points

In class essay- synthesize at least one of the education essays with one of the voice essays.
-90 points

In order to prepare, look over the grammar exercises and sentences from the beginning of class we have done. For the in class essay, look over your reading responses and keep working on essay 2. Also, look for similar themes in all the essays. Start broad and then try to get more specific. For instance, both the education essays and voice essays deal with how people are empowered or how people are disempowered. Do the essays show similarities about what empowers people? Do they show common obstacles or forces that disempower people? Also, many of the essays show people who have to navigate between different messages about who they should be. Is there some common thread in how people deal with the different influences in their lives and find identity? Are the influences brought together somehow or does a choice have to be made between them? Also, look at how the essays are written, especially the types of evidence they use. Many of the essays use firsthand testimony: either the author's own experience or the experience of other people. How does the use of firsthand testimony help an argument? Or does it hinder an argument in some way? In all cases, look for a general principle that connects the essays (remember, you need only to write on at least two; you don't have to connect them all) and then locate the examples in the essays that demonstrate that principle.

no class

Remember: no class tonight. See you Wednesday.

EWRT1A-62: transitions and appeals

Here is a little list of different types of transitions.

And here is a handout about appeals.

EWRT1A-62: shifts exercise

Here is the shifts exercise, due Monday, February 8th.

EWRT1A-62: reading response 5

Reading response 5 will no longer be done in class. It is now homework that is due Wednesday, February 3rd. Here is the prompt:

• Anzaldúa has described her text as “a crazy dance.” So she acknowledges that it is an unconventional text. In what ways is the text unlike a conventional essay? Do these ways contribute to Anzaldúa’s argument?
• How does Anzaldúa define “voice”? Where does voice come from? How is the uniqueness of voice kept alive?
• Choose your own focus of analysis.

EWRT1A-62: paragraph development and essay 2 prompt

I'll be going over this tonight, but here's a handout about paragraph development, types of evidence and rhetorical modes.

And here's a pdf of the essay 2 prompts.

EWRT1A-62: agreement exercise

Here is the agreement exercise due Monday.

Paul Laurence Dunbar's "Sympathy"

Paul Laurence Dunbar was an African-American poet who gained national recognition before the turn of the last century. He inspired many African-American artists who came after him, such as Maya Angelou. "Sympathy" was first published in 1899.
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Sympathy

Paul Laurence Dunbar (1899)

I know what the caged bird feels, alas!
When the sun is bright on the upland slopes;
When the wind stirs soft through the springing grass,
And the river flows like a stream of glass;
When the first bird sings and the first bud opens,
And the faint perfume from its chalice steals--
I know what the caged bird feels!

I know why the caged bird beats its wing
Till its blood is red on the cruel bars;
For he must fly back to his perch and cling
When he fain would be on the bough a-swing;
And a pain still throbs in the old, old scars
And they pulse again with a keener sting--
I know why he beats his wing!

I know why the caged bird sings, ah me,
When his wing is bruised and his bosom sore,--
When he beats his bars and he would be free;
It is not a carol of joy or glee,
But a prayer that he sends from his heart's deep core,
But a plea, that upward to Heaven he flings--
I know why the caged bird sings.

EWRT1A-62: syllabus change

So essay 1 is now due Monday, February 1st. So hand in both drafts then.

Because of this, we will be doing reading response 4 in class on Monday. So come to class having read "In Search of Our Mothers' Gardens" and ready to write about it. The agreement exercise will be due then as listed on the syllabus. Also, reading response 5 will now not be in class on the 3rd, but will instead be an out-of-class assignment.

EWRT1A-62: pronoun exercise

Here is the pronoun exercise, due Monday.

EWRT1A62: reading response 3

About 300 words, typed, Due Monday, January 25.
Choose one:

• What does Rodriguez gain from his education? At what cost? Does he think that the cost is worth the gain? Do you? Explain.
• Compare Rodriguez and Fan Shen. Choose a specific point of comparison (this can be either similarity or difference) and argue it with specific evidence from the texts.
• Choose you own topic of analysis regarding Rodriguez's essay.

EWRT1A-62: MLA citation overhead

Here's the information from the overhead that was hard to see…

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In-text citation walkthrough
using page 46-7, ¶10
How do I incorporate this sentence into my paper?

Direct quotation.
Start with a signal phrase:

• Fan Shen states that…

Put borrowed words into quotation marks:

• Fan Shen states that “creating an English Self is a way of reconciling [his] old cultural values with the new values required by English writing”

Double check to make sure you quoted correctly. Put brackets around changed words.

Put page number in parentheses after the quotation:

• Fan Shen states that “creating an English Self is a way of reconciling [his] old cultural values with the new values required by English writing” (47).

Notice that you don’t need a “p.” before the number and the period comes after the parentheses.

The same applies for partial quotations:

• Just as Fan Shen experienced, I had to reconcile “my old cultural values with the new values required by English writing” (47).

If you don’t use a signal phrase, put author (if no author, put title) before page number:

• “Creating an English Self is a way of reconciling [his] old cultural values with the new values required by English writing” (Shen 47).

Paraphrases work the same way. Again, start with a signal phrase:

• Fan Shen observes…

Then put the idea into your own words:

• Fan Shen observes that students from different cultural backgrounds have to make a new identity to succeed in writing classes in the U.S. (47).

Make sure that when putting the idea into your own words that you do so completely and don’t misinterpret the author’s idea. Also, don’t forget the page number.

Works cited.
Obviously, providing page numbers only makes sense if the reader is told what books the pages are from. This is what the works cited page does. Since you provided a signal phrase that contains the author’s name, the works cited page is organized alphabetically by the name of the author.

Shen, Fan. “The Classroom and the Wider Culture: Identity as a Key to Learning English.”
Readings for Writers. Ed. Nick Mullins. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2009.
42-52. Print.

Indent lines after first.

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And here is the above info as a pdf.
And here's the other handout about the new MLA rules.

Malcolm X

There are many Malcolm X videos out there. This one is nice, because it gets to a lot of his beliefs and a bit of his biography. 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. And notice how Malcolm X doesn't get angry or flustered when Hurlbut keeps interrupting him.

EWRT1A-62: run-ons exercise

Here's the run-ons exercise. Print it out or put your sentences on another piece of paper and bring it to class next Wednesday.

EWRT1A-62: essay 1 prompt

In case you didn't get it or you lost it, here's the prompt for essay 1.

EWRT1A-62: fragments exercise

Here is the fragments exercise. It's in .pdf format. If you have trouble viewing it, let me know.

EWRT1A-62: reading response 1

Here is the link to the Freire reading.

And here's some background info about Freire.

The reading response prompt is in the syllabus along with a description of what I'm looking for with the reading responses.

EWRT1A-62: syllabus

Here is the syllabus for the class (.pdf format).

And here is the class in the De Anza schedule of classes (this link will probably be wrong in a week or two)