EWRT1A-09: essay 2 due date

Instead of this Wednesday, essay 2 is now due next Monday, Match 5th.

EWRT1A-09: midterm and essay 2 comments

This midterm is Monday. You need paper and pens, as well as your reader and a print dictionary (if you want). You do not need an exam booklet or a scantron sheet. Also, besides your reader and a dictionary, you cannot use any other books, notes, or devices.

I'm not through all the drafts of essay 2 yet, but I have some general comments. You'll see your own comments when you get your draft back, but I thought some general comments here would be helpful for the in-class essay on the midterm.

• Synthesis! A basic way to check to see if you have synthesis is to ask the following question: for each body paragraph point, is there more than one text as evidence? If you give an example from only one text to prove a point, then you aren't synthesizing.
• You do not have to write a five paragraph essay. Personally, I believe the five paragraph essay model teaches bad habits. It makes students think about achieving a certain number of paragraphs instead of focusing on the argument. I'm guessing that a lot of the essays lack synthesis because the thesis statements name three different points so that the essay can be five paragraphs (three body with one introduction and one conclusion). So the essay tackles each of the three points separately. Instead, consider a thesis that names only one point. Then all the body paragraphs work to prove that one point and hence things will be more unified.
• If you have a causal thesis statement, then show causes. If you wish to show the pressures placed on people to conform, then show those pressures. A lot of essays show the effects of the pressures: what the various authors do in response to them. Yet many of the essays never show the pressures themselves. Where do we see the pressures Anzaldúa faces? The ones Cooper faces? If your thesis is about causes, then your examples cannot only show effects. Show what your thesis promises.
• Organization. Consider organizational principles for your paragraphs, including your introduction. This is something we'll discuss more later, but paragraphs are easier to follow if they adhere to a clear pattern. For instance, an introduction can move from general comments to specific ones. Or a body paragraph can move from causes to effects.
• Titles. Only book titles are put in italics. We haven't read a full book yet, so none of the texts you discuss should be put in italics. They are all essays. So their titles must be put in quotation marks. "In Search of Our Mothers' Gardens." "A Clack of Tiny Sparks." "Opinions and Social Pressure." The book the essays are in has a title that you can put in italics: EWRT1A Reader. Also, the words in a title get capitalized. If you are confused, just write them out like they are written in our reader.

EWRT1A-09: see you Wednesday

First, there is no class Monday. So we'll see each other Wednesday.

On Wednesday, grammar review 3 is due.

Also, the first draft of essay 2 is due. Try to have as complete a draft as possible. The more you treat your first draft like a final draft, the more it will help you. Also, keep in mind that the goal with this essay is synthesis. So show what the texts you use have in common. Consider making lists. You could make a list of the obstacles that different essays portray and find commonalities. You could do the same with the effects of those obstacles and the assets people need to overcome those obstacles. Lastly, consider organization. Usually, when one compares two or more texts, one organizes things either subject-by-subject (first one text, then the other), or point-by-point. Consider using a point-by-point organization. We'll talk about this in class more later.

EWRT1A-09: grammar review 3 due next week

Also, grammar review 3 will not be due this Wednesday (as it says on the syllabus), but next Wednesday, February 22nd. Here's the link for it, though.

EWRT1A-09: transitions

There is a little bit about transitions in the reader on page 29 and in Easy Writer in page 22. And here's a pdf of some examples.

EWRT1A-09: essay 2

In case you missed or lost the prompts for essay 2, here they are.

EWRT1A-09: reading response 5

Bernard Cooper “A Clack of Tiny Sparks…”
Choose one of the prompts below or come up with your own focus.

• The piece begins and ends with Theresa Sanchez. Why is Theresa so important for Bernard Cooper? What does she represent for him?
• Bernard Cooper was a teenager in the 1960s. Do you think things have changed much for homosexual teenagers in the years since? Please refer to specific parts of Cooper’s memoir in your response.
• Connect the ways Cooper’s true identity is repressed to the ways Jackson Katz says boys’ identities are repressed in the Tough Guise video. Look for similar causes.
• Compare and/or contrast Cooper’s experience with what Anzaldúa or Walker writes about. Look especially at assets. Does Cooper have the kind of help to find his true identity that Anzaldúa or Walker describes? Explain.

EWRT1A09: essay 1 due and Tough Guise

Essay 1. Remember that two drafts are required, so bring both. Here are some things to think about:

• Start with revision.  See the checklist in the reader on pages 21-22 and the one in EW on pages 22-23.
• Review essay purpose (topic & method). Make sure you are addressing the prompt.
• Prove your points with specific evidence. Really put your emphasis here.
• Explain your examples.
• If you think the banking concept of education is useful then you need to acknowledge the fact that you are disagreeing with Freire. He believes that the banking concept of education destroys education and makes individuality impossible. Disagreeing with Freire is fine, but not mentioning you disagree makes it seem like you profoundly misunderstand his writing.
• Edit last. See the checklist on page 23 of our reader and page 23 of EW. Don’t rely too heavily on your computer's grammar/spell checker.
• Remember that EW has a glossary of usage, which explains common word errors. You can find it on pages 233-250.

Tough Guise. Please watch the following video for Wednesday. As you watch it, keep certain questions in mind.

• According to Jackson Katz, what are the obstacles young men face to being true to their own identities? Where do these obstacles come from?
• Katz says that concepts of masculinity and violence are connected. Is he convincing in this claim? Do you think that this is culturally reinforced, as Katz argues, or do you think this is a result of nature? Both?
• What are the effects on young men who "take on the tough guise," according to Katz? Do you agree with him?
• How does Katz think young men are going to be able to be "better men"?
• Does Katz offer enough evidence of to support his claims?
• Do your own experiences confirm or deny Katz's claims?

EWRT1A-09: grammar review 2

Here is grammar review 2. It's due Monday.