Thursday, November 29, 2012

November 29, 2012

Tonight will likely be another shorter class as we do peer review for Major Essay 3.  Judging from the lack of e-mails in my inbox, I can assume one of two things: either the essays are going so well that no one needs to contact me with problems, or the essays are going so poorly that few people have been able to send anything in.

It's a process.  Regardless of what you have done, bring whatever you can tonight.  Instead of doing a formal rough draft grade for individual essays, you can earn full credit just for showing up with at least a couple of pages (it is a 7 - 10 page essay in the end).  We'll brainstorm together and see what we can do.

Visit http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/01/  or http://easybib.com/ for additional help formatting the Works Cited page.

Visit the WU Writing Center http://www.washburn.edu/current-students/tutoring-writing-center/index.html at the Mabee Library to have an additional set of eyes on the essay.

Good luck.  Keep on writing.

Homework
  • Major Essay 3 - printed copy - Final Draft due in class Thursday, 12/6/12

Thursday, November 15, 2012

November 15, 2012

Tonight will likely be a shorter than usual night class.  We are in the process of shaping and writing Major Essay 3.  Tonight we'll exchange and discuss potential topics and thesis statements.  Our goal for tonight is to leave with a topic in hand and a reminder of the research and available resources available to us.  With next week being Thanksgiving, we won't be together again for two weeks.  A rough draft of the essay will be due by the time we return to class on Nov 27.

Questions? Contact me by e-mail, text/phone call, Facebook, or Twitter.

Objectives
  • Use the writing process to shape the development of the essay 
  • Identify and analyze what makes an effective thesis
  • Identify and analyze resources available for researching the essay

Activities
  • Review the requirements for Major Essay 3
  • Complete the Topic Proposal for Major Essay 3
  • Share in groups and as a class for evaluation of the proposal & thesis
  • Review the research resources available for the essay

Homework
  • Major Essay 3 rough draft (electronic copy) due by Thursday, Nov 27
  • Bring in a printed copy of Major Essay 3 for peer review

Thursday, November 8, 2012

November 8, 2012

This week we will move into the last major essay of the semester: the Persuasive Research Essay.  This essay will require us to use all of the structures and the writing skills we've learned throughout the semester in order to be successful.  It will also require us to evaluate and integrate research into our writing.  Though this will be a long writing assignment, we will break up the steps and work together to ensure each of us understands what is required before moving on to the next step.

Objectives

  • Use the writing process to shape the development of the essay
  • Identify and analyze how authors manipulate structure to achieve their purpose
  • Identify and analyze how to integrate credible research into our essays
Activities
  • Minor Essay 3a due, discuss and hand in
  • Discuss Zinn (861-868), Jefferson (696-699), Ehrenreich (650-654), and Swift (831-838)
    • Identify and analyze each author's thesis, use of evidence, and presence 
  • Integrating research discussion and practice
  • Assign and discuss Major Essay 3
Homework
  • Major Essay 3 - Topic Proposal

Wednesday, October 31, 2012

November 1, 2012

After two weeks of conferences and tests, we are back to a routine of meeting each Thursday, analyzing the structure of essays, and continuing to shape and develop our college writing skills.  Students should have completed and sent in an electronic copy of Major Essay 2's rough draft.  Those who sent in a copy already have them back.  The final draft of Major Essay 2 is due in class tonight.

We'll then move on from the Expository Unit and into our Persuasive/Research Unit.  We have two goals for this unit: 1. to write effective persuasive essays, and 2. to integrate research into our writing with proper formatting and citations.  We'll start our work toward these two goals by discussing and evaluating what makes an effective thesis.  We'll also have some writing practice over persuasion and integrating a source with Minor Essay 3a, which we'll start in class tonight.

Objectives

  • Use the writing process to shape the development of the essay
  • Identify and analyze how authors manipulate structure to achieve their purpose
  • Identify and analyze dishonest and honest persuasive techniques
Activities
  • Major Essay 2 due, discuss and hand in
  • Discuss Carr and Gatto
  • Assign and begin working on Minor Essay 3a 
    • Create a thesis for the essay during class
  • Notes and discussion over Creating an Effective Thesis
  • Evaluate the current thesis for Minor Essay 3a
  • Integrating research discussion and practice
Homework
  • Minor Essay 3a (written or typed) due next week
  • In The Writer's Presence, read:
    • Zinn, 861-868
    • Jefferson, 696-699
    • Ehrenreich, 650-654

Thursday, October 11, 2012

October 11, 2012

Tonight we will be wrapping up our work in our Expository Essay unit and starting in on some notes for the Persuasive Unit.  We have Minor Essay 2b (cause/effect) due.  We'll pass back and discuss the two essays we've done recently.  We'll discuss the problem/solution readings for the week, which will lead us to Minor Essay 2c.  We'll also assign Major Essay 2.  We'll wrap up the night with notes and discussion over Persuasive Basics, which will help give us some general dos and don'ts for persuasive writing.

Objectives

  • Use the writing process to shape the development of the essay
  • Identify and analyze how authors manipulate structure to achieve their purpose
  • Identify and analyze dishonest and honest persuasive techniques
Activities
  • Minor Essay 2b due, discuss and hand in
  • Pass back Minor essay 2a and Major Essay 1
  • Discuss Acocella, Bowden, and Nafisi
  • Assign and discuss Minor Essay 2c, due next week
  • Assign and discuss Major Essay 2, electronic rough draft due by Wednesday, 10/24/12
  • Notes and discussion over Persuasive Basics
  • Celebrate.  Preview the next two weeks.
Homework
  • Minor Essay 2c (written or typed) due next week
  • Major Essay 2 electronic rough draft due Wednesday, 10/24/12
  • Keep a close eye on the Angel site/e-mail for assigned readings and discussion

Thursday, October 4, 2012

October 4, 2012

Tonight we will be continuing our work in our Expository Essay unit.  We have Minor Essay 2a (definition) due.  We'll also do some work toward helping to shape our voice in our writing.  We'll wrap up the night by discussing the readings for the week and then working on Minor Essay 2b.

Objectives

  • Use the writing process to shape the development of the essay
  • Identify and analyze how authors manipulate structure to achieve their purpose
Activities
  • Major Essay #1 due
  • Minor Essay 2a due, discuss and hand in
  • Analyze and discuss the four voices of persuasive and expository writing
  • Discuss Cunningham, Gladwell, and Schlosser
  • Assign and discuss Minor Essay 2b, due next week
  • Assign and discuss the readings for next week
Homework
  • Minor Essay 2b (written or typed) due next week
  • In The Writer's Presence, read:
    • Acocella, 283 - 292
    • Bowden, 322 - 330
    • Nafisi, 511 - 519
      • Be prepared to identify:
        • Text structure
        • The author's thesis and development of ideas
        • How the writer incorporates his/her voice into the essay
        • The writer's ethos

Thursday, September 27, 2012

September 27, 2012

Tonight we will discussing and wrapping up our work over Major Essay #1.  We'll discuss a few of the common issues from the draft.  We'll also have some time for peer review, so students will need to bring in a copy of the essay.  From there we'll move on to a discussion of the three expository essays assigned for tonight.  We'll also discuss the unique direction we'll take with our next minor essays for the expository unit.  We'll wrap up the class by analyzing our first expository essay assignment, Minor Essay 2a, and looking ahead to our readings for next week.

Objectives

  • Use the writing process to shape the development of the essay
  • Identify and analyze how authors manipulate structure to achieve their purpose
Activities
  • Check on the progress of the Major Essay #1 rough draft 
    • Notes and points from the rough drafts
  • Major Essay #1 peer review
  • Discuss Akst, Didion, and Trillin
  • Assign and discuss Minor Essay #2a, due next week
  • Assign and discuss the readings for next week
Homework
  • Final draft (printed copy) of Major Essay #1 due next week
  • Minor Essay #2a (written or typed) due next week
  • In The Writer's Presence, read:
    • Cunningham, 347- 354
    • Gladwell, 411 -421
    • Schlosser, 558 - 568
      • Be prepared to identify:
        • Text structure
        • The author's topic and development of ideas
        • How the writer incorporates his/her voice into the essay
        • The writer's ethos