all Fall 2012 grades in

I've submitted the grades for both section 27 and section 65. It may take till Monday before they are available for view though My Portal.

Thanks for a good quarter and good luck in the Winter.

for section 65

This is one of the songs that came through the walls last night. The class next door must have been watching Mulholland Drive by David Lynch.

EWRT 1A sections 27 and 65: final

Remember, bring back Reading Responses 8-10. I'll have you hand them in before we start the final. You should also bring your copy of Fun Home. Also, Tuesday is the last chance to hand in any rewrites.

Here are the final times again:
EWRT1A-27: Tuesday, December 11, 4-6pm
EWRT1A-65: Tuesday, December 11, 6:15-8:15pm

Back to reading essays…

one last Fun Home vid

I don't like the interviewer in this, but Bechdel talks about why she titled the book what she did, why she was driven to make the book, and why she makes so many literary allusions in it.

"…by zombies"

I was just told about this way to train yourself to get rid of passive constructions. Anytime you see a passive construction in your writing, just add "…by zombies" to the sentence.

Here are some examples:

Throughout the story “No Name Woman” there was always a feeling of despair being placed on the reader by zombies.

I had to finish my essay. My math homework also had to be completed by zombies.

When Anzaldúa was growing up, mixing Spanish and English was not allowed by zombies in her school.

Victor Frankenstein’s lack of responsibility is shown by zombies when he is working on his creation and neglects his health and family.

You get the idea. Try it for yourself!

Fun Home Reading Questions

Fun Home  –  Reading Questions.

These are the same questions that are on the back of the Essay 3 prompts. Now that we are at the end of the book, you should be able to answer these. Please look them over and think about them. We'll be using them in class.

1. In what ways are Bechdel and her father different? In what ways are they alike?

2. Bechdel believes that her father committed suicide. Why? What does she think the motivation for him was? Why is this significant for her?

3. What role do books play in Bechdel’s relationship with her father? What role do they play in her own self discovery?

4. Can you find an image in the text that sums up Bechdel’s relationship with her father? Is its placement in the story significant?

5. In what ways is Bechdel’s father able to support her? How does he do so?

6. Why does Bechdel allude to so many literary texts? How do they relate to her parents? To herself?

7. At times Bechdel seems to judge her father, but at other times she seems to resist judging him. Find instances of both in the text. Does this show a limitation in her understanding?

8. What do you think the purpose of creating Fun Home was for Bechdel?

9. In what ways are the telling (the narration) different from what is in the showing (the monstration)? Think of McCloud’s categories. Also consider that the narration is an adult Bechdel looking back and the monstration is often a young Alison experiencing things for the first time.

10. Is Alison Bechdel a reliable narrator? What does she believe that others in the book may not believe? What biases might she have?

EWRT1A sections 27 and 65: Grammar Review 5 and essay 3 comments

Here is Grammar Review 5. There are only five sentences, but you'll need to be creative.

And here are some general comments on the drafts of essay 3. These are in bullet form (in other words, sentence framents).

• "Short Story Title,” "Essay Title," Novel Title
• Argue with points, don’t start body paragraphs with summary or quotations
• Start a new paragraph if you want to explore a new point
• Instead of points answering “what” characters did, have points answer “why” or “how.” What -Bruce and aunt in “NNW” committed suicide. Why- both committed suicide because… What- both Bechdel and Walker look at family past. How- both analyze action of parents/compare them with selves. Why- both look at past to understand their own identities
• Introduce quotations- remember quotation sandwich
• Be specific
• Order of essay- in lit, usually chronological or cause/ effect order
• Order (structure) should reinforce meaning
• Remember that in Fun Home, the images can serve as evidence, also. If you describe a specific panel, just put the page number in parentheses for MLA citation.