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

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

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

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

September 20, 2012

At the beginning of the semester, I noted that the lowest essay grade of the course is typically the first essay of the Expository Unit.  The reason for this is that students tend to feel that they cannot use their voice in an expository essay.  With our first readings in this unit, hopefully students will see that this is not the case.  Our goals for tonight include discussing our progress on Major Essay #1, taking notes and discussing types of expository essays, and applying our discussion to an analysis of the assigned readings.

Objectives

• Use the writing process to shape the development of the essay
• Identify and analyze how authors manipulate structure to achieve their purpose

Activities

• Pass back and discuss the results of Minor Essay #1
• Check on the progress of the Major Essay #1 rough draft
• In-class notes over Expository Structures
• Define ethos and apply it to the writer's point of view
• Discuss King, Berube, and Chabon
• Assign and discuss the readings for next week

Homework

• Bring in a printed draft of Major Essay #1 to the Sept 27 class
• In The Writer's Presence, read:
• Akst, 293 - 304
• Didion, 366 - 370
• Trillin, 581 - 583
• In each essay, be prepared to identify and analyze:
1. Which expository structure is used?
2. How does the writer incorporate his/her voice?
3. What is the writer's ethos?

September 13, 2012

Tonight we have three tasks ahead of us: we'll be wrapping up our work over the Minor Essay, starting our work over our first Major Essay, and looking ahead to our first readings for our Expository Unit.  The Major Essay, another personal narrative, is important because our most effective expository points and persuasive arguments are those in which we present a story audiences can relate or connect to, which we will later call pathos.  Having the ability to use a brief narrative in expository and persuasive writing effectively  is one of the most valuable skills a college writer can have.

Objectives

• Review the four elements of The Writer's Presence
• Use the writing process to shape the development of the essay
• Identify and analyze how authors manipulate structure to achieve their purpose

Activities

• Review the four elements of The Writer's Presence
• Turn in a final draft of Minor Essay #1
• Discuss and analyze Orwell, Mayblum, and our choice narrative
• Turn in Part 2 of the Presence Inventory
• Assign and discuss Major Essay #1
• Assign and discuss the readings for next week

Homework

• Bring in a printed draft of Major Essay #1 to the Sept 20 class
• In The Writer's Presence, read:
• Berube, 318 - 321
• King, 451 - 457
• Chabon, 343 - 346

September 6, 2012

September already...  This week we'll move continue the revision process for Minor Essay #1 while also moving into the second part of our Narrative Essay Unit.  While last week's essays focused on literacy and education, the focus for this week is more about the structure of a good story.  Each writer has a distinct point of view and means of telling his/her story.  We may also begin to notice that the narratives we're reading are personal stories with a point.  Each story supports a theme or main idea.  As we revise Minor Essay #1, we will also want to begin considering what personal story with a point waits to be told inside of us.

Objectives

• Review the four elements of The Writer's Presence
• Use the writing process to shape the development of the essay
• Analyze and evaluate our writing through peer review
• Identify and analyze how authors manipulate structure to achieve their purpose

Activities

• Review the four elements of The Writer's Presence
• Discuss Minor Essay #1
• Analyze and evaluate our progress on Minor Essay #1
• Discuss and analyze Cofer, Hughes, and Wiesel

Homework

• Check your e-mail for your ME1, to be commented upon and reviewed by Monday
• Revise ME1
• Printed final draft of ME1 due in class Thursday, Sept 13
• In The Writer's Presence, read:
• Orwell 180 - 186
• Mayblum 164 - 169
• An essay of your choice and complete the Presence Inventory for it