Class Agenda 3.30

1. SPOT CHECK of essay 1. Give your paper to a partner. They will answer YES/NO to the following questions.

1. Does it have a thesis statement?

2. Are the topic sentences claims that support the thesis?

3. Are there MLA cited, direct quotations in the paragraphs to support the claims? Does the textual evidence come from across the text, or is it all jammed toward the beginning?

4. Does the paragraph structure resemble our discussions?

If your partner answered NO to ANY of these questions, are you SURE you want to turn this in today? If you're not sure, turn the paper in Wednesday.

2. Closing conversations: let's discuss some of the passages from the paper.

3. Time permitting: Let's start the film Our Daily Bread, and we can finish it while we begin discussing Claude McKay.

4. NEXT Class: Claude McKay poems.

Twitter Assignment Three

#102

Tweet 1. What did you learn from this novel?

Tweet 2. What actors would you cast in the role of Jim and Mac? (Living or dead).

Tweet 3. EXTRA Credit: Tweet a passage and a page number from chapters 10-15 that could be useful for one of the thesis questions for essay assignment one. 

Class Agenda 3.25

1. Announcements

2. Diagnostic Exercise (20m)

3. Reading Groups: Passages between chapters 10-15. Locate 2-3 passages in the final half of the novel that speak to the thesis questions for essay assignment one.

4. Class Discussion: What is this novel about? How do the events and conclusion in the final half change our arguments, both in our papers and in our discussions?

Book title

Class: I made a reference to a John Kenneth Galbraith book in today's class. The title of the book is "American Capitalism," and the first chapter is "The Insecurity of Illusion." I gave you the wrong title in class. Note the right one here.

Reflection Note

1. Confident?

2. Most difficult?

3. Do anything different?

4. What do we need to work on in class?

Reflection on your writing process: letter to the professor. Answer the following questions in a brief letter to the professor. 1. Overall, are you confident that your essay meets the expectations of the assignment? Why or why not? 2. What is the most difficult part of the assignment for you? How are you overcoming it? 3. Looking back at this point, what would you do differently next time? 4. What writing skills or techniques do you think we need to work on most as a class going forward?

Class Agenda 3.23

1. Go over Peer Review guidelines and expectations

2. Peer review

3. Reflection Letter

4. Go over MLA citation rules

5. Practice writing "direct quotation." 

Reflection Letter

Reflection on your writing process: letter to the professor. Answer the following questions in a brief letter to the professor. 1. Overall, are you confident that your essay meets the expectations of the assignment? Why or why not? 2. What is the most difficult part of the assignment for you? How are you overcoming it? 3. Looking back at this point, what would you do differently next time? 4. What writing skills or techniques do you think we need to work on most as a class going forward?

MLA Citation

In-text citations

Author is quoted or paraphrased but not named in the text. (MLA Handbook, 6.2)

It may be true that "in the appreciation of medieval art the attitude of the observer is of primary importance . . ." (Robertson 136).

Author is quoted or paraphrased and is named in the text. (MLA Handbook, 6.3)

Sigmund Freud states that a "dream is a fulfillment of a wish" (154).

Smith developed the argument in his 1997 book (185-91).

According to some, dreams express "profound aspects of personality" (Foulkes 184), though others disagree.

According to Foulkes's study, dreams may express "profound aspects of personality" (184).

Is it possible that dreams may express "profound aspects of personality" (Foulkes 184)?

In-Text Citations for Print Sources with Known Author

Human beings have been described by Kenneth Burke as "symbol-using animals" (3). Human beings have been described as "symbol-using animals" (Burke 3).

Citing a Work by Multiple Authors

The authors state "Tighter gun control in the United States erodes Second Amendment rights" (Smith, Yang, and Moore 76).

Citing Indirect Sources

Ravitch argues that high schools are pressured to act as "social service centers, and they don't do that well" (qtd. in Weisman 259).

Citing Non-Print or Sources from the Internet

With more and more scholarly work being posted on the Internet, you may have to cite research you have completed in virtual environments. While many sources on the Internet should not be used for scholarly work (reference the OWL's Evaluating Sources of Information resource), some Web sources are perfectly acceptable for research. When creating in-text citations for electronic, film, or Internet sources, remember that your citation must reference the source in your Works Cited.

Sometimes writers are confused with how to craft parenthetical citations for electronic sources because of the absence of page numbers, but often, these sorts of entries do not require any sort of parenthetical citation at all. For electronic and Internet sources, follow the following guidelines:

• Include in the text the first item that appears in the Work Cited entry that corresponds to the citation (e.g. author name, article name, website name, film name).
• You do not need to give paragraph numbers or page numbers based on your Web browser’s print preview function.
• Unless you must list the website name in the signal phrase in order to get the reader to the appropriate entry, do not include URLs in-text. Only provide partial URLs such as when the name of the site includes, for example, a domain name, like CNN.com or Forbes.com as opposed to writing out http://www.cnn.com or http://www.forbes.com.

One online film critic stated that Fitzcarraldo is "...a beautiful and terrifying critique of obsession and colonialism" (Garcia, “Herzog: a Life”).

Page number unknown

As a 2005 study by Salary.com and America Online indicates, the Internet ranked as the top choice among employees for ways of wasting time on the job; it beat talking with co-workers—the second most popular method—by a margin of nearly two to one (Frauenheim).

Selection in an anthology

In “Love Is a Fallacy,” the narrator’s logical teachings disintegrate when Polly declares that she should date Petey because “[h]e’s got a raccoon coat” (Shulman 379).

Web site or other electronic source

Your in-text citation for an electronic source should follow the same guidelines as for other sources. If the source lacks page numbers but has numbered paragraphs, sections, or divisions, use those numbers with the appropriate abbreviation in your in-text citation: “par.,” “sec.,” “ch.,” “pt.,” and so on. Do not add such numbers if the source itself does not use them. In that case, simply give the author or title in your in-text citation.

Julian Hawthorne points out profound differences between his father and Ralph Waldo Emerson but concludes that, in their lives and their writing, “together they met the needs of nearly all that is worthy in human nature” (ch. 4).

When citing more than four lines of prose, use the following examples:

Nelly Dean treats Heathcliff poorly and dehumanizes him throughout her narration:

They entirely refused to have it in bed with them, or even in their room, and I had no more sense, so, I put it on the landing of the stairs, hoping it would be gone on the morrow. By chance, or else attracted by hearing his voice, it crept to Mr. Earnshaw's door, and there he found it on quitting his chamber. Inquiries were made as to how it got there; I was obliged to confess, and in recompense for my cowardice and inhumanity was sent out of the house. (B

Peer Review Guidelines

Peer Review Guidelines

1. Move into your PR groups.

2. Determine who will read in what order.

3. Budget 10-15 minutes per person and no more.

4. The reader reads their paper aloud.

5. Give written feedback that offers specific praise and criticism.

6. Put your name on this feedback and give it to the writer.

7. Keep your written feedback and staple it to your final draft.

Writing Feedback Directions (from the text Tutoring Writing)

1. Open with a general statement about the essay's relationship to the assignment. Be clear about which parts fulfill the assignment and which parts need improvement. When you make a specific, concrete suggestion for improvement, try couching it in a qualifier: "You might try..." or "Why don't you add..." or "Another way of writing the lead might be..."

2. Present comments so the writer knows which problems with text are most important and which are of lesser importance.

3. Use comments primarily to call attention to strengths and weaknesses in the piece, and be clear about the precise points where they occur.

4. Write comments that are text-specific, and uniquely aimed at the blog and the writer. Let the writer know what specific lines, ideas, and stylistic touches you find pleasing.

5. Pose at least two questions that ask for clarification or that seek other possible views or more information on the subject.

6. If you notice a pattern of errors (incorrect use of commas, etc) comment on it in a global way at the end of the piece.

Attach written suggestions from your peers to your final drafts for full peer review credit.

In-text citations and works cited

Students should practice "direct quotations" and (in-text citation) for their first essays (remember citations go at the END of the sentence, in these parentheses).

Students will submit, too, a bibliography of their sources along with their final draft. They can do this at the end of their final paragraphs (skip a couple lines). I don't need an entire extra sheet of paper.

HERE is a link to the LaGuardia library website for helpful hints on direct quotation and citation and bibliographies.

Note: they call citation/bibliography "works cited."

Notice that the link has sample papers, in-text citations, and citation abbreviations in gray in the box near the top of the screen.

Notice that it gives you suggestions for how to cite sources from books ("books") as well as the internet ("web sources: free web"). The Times article is a web source.

For bibliographies, don't forget about EASY BIB (click on it!).

Please note classic academic paragraph structure for your rough drafts

CLICK HERE

Class Agenda 3.18

1. No quiz

2. Return to the thesis answers from Monday. Take a few minutes to review/revise/add to what you wrote.

3. Share your ideas for your paper in a small group.

4. Twitter Feed [skip]

5. Look at a couple passages (and paraphrase). Checker tries to buy off Jim; Al's father scene; Dan falls from the tree;

Peer Review Guidelines

Peer Review Guidelines

1. Move into your PR groups.

2. Determine who will read in what order.

3. Budget 10-15 minutes per person and no more.

4. The reader reads their paper aloud.

5. Give written feedback that offers specific praise and criticism.

6. Put your name on this feedback and give it to the writer.

7. Keep your written feedback and staple it to your final draft.

Writing Feedback Directions (from the text Tutoring Writing)

1. Open with a general statement about the essay's relationship to the assignment. Be clear about which parts fulfill the assignment and which parts need improvement. When you make a specific, concrete suggestion for improvement, try couching it in a qualifier: "You might try..." or "Why don't you add..." or "Another way of writing the lead might be..."

2. Present comments so the writer knows which problems with text are most important and which are of lesser importance.

3. Use comments primarily to call attention to strengths and weaknesses in the piece, and be clear about the precise points where they occur.

4. Write comments that are text-specific, and uniquely aimed at the blog and the writer. Let the writer know what specific lines, ideas, and stylistic touches you find pleasing.

5. Pose at least two questions that ask for clarification or that seek other possible views or more information on the subject.

6. If you notice a pattern of errors (incorrect use of commas, etc) comment on it in a global way at the end of the piece.

Attach written suggestions from your peers to your final drafts for full peer review credit.

Peer review postponed

The peer review has been postponed for Monday, one week from today.

Twitter Assignment Two

For your two Tweets this week, let the class know what you believe are the top three plot points from chapters 7-11. Include page numbers if possible. #102

Class Agenda 3.16

1. Reading Quiz: Based on what you've read so far, explain your reactions to the episodes of violence depicted in the text. What are the triggers, and what are underlying causes? Does the intensity of violence surrounding "work" in the novel surprise you, or does it connect with some knowledge of American history (if so, say so)?

2. Twitter: Class Tweets, #hashtags ( # )

3. Summaries: Return to your chapter summaries you began writing last week. Share them in groups, and take note of the major plot sequences in the other chapters. We will divide up by those assigned to the same chapters and then arrive at the top three plot points.

4. Essay Assignment One: Return to questions and note revisions. If you haven't picked an essay question, do so at this time (it's ok if you change it later). Sketch out some thoughts you have about it. Then, in your groups, share with your classmates what question you picked and why. Share with your classmates your current process writing the essay.

5. Time management for essay writing (class share).

6. Structuring college paragraphs (see blog post)

7. Class discussion (symbolic language): Checker tries to buy off Jim; Al's father scene; Dan falls from the tree;

College Paragraph Structure

Here is a sample paragraph that contains a direct quote. I will note the particular parts of the sentence that contains the direct quote.

1. topic sentence. Statement or re-statement of a supporting claim for the thesis.

2. Defining vocabulary from the topic sentence. Define the key terms you are using.

3. Introduction of text you're using to support the claim. Author, title, publication, any additional information.

4. Brief summary of the major argument of the text.

5. Brief summary of the immediate context from which you are pulling the direct quote. You do not want your reader to be confused by the meaning of the quote, or where it's coming from. Consider, too, that the text you're using was itself in conversation with other texts and authors. If you know anything about that conversation, this part of the paragraph is the time to demonstrate that.

6. The direct quote.

a. The signal phrase. She writes

b. The "direct quotation" (remember that the quote must be 'integrated' into the voice of your sentence. Avoid "dangling quotations" or "dropped quotations," in which the quote lacks even a signal phrase.

c. The (citation).

7. The paraphrase of the direct quote

8. Critical Thinking

a. agree/disagree/both

b. connect to another idea from the same text

c. connect to another idea from a different text

d. connect to another idea from another form of media (film, etc)

e. if you've already connected to other textual ideas, you can relate a useful and appropriate personal experience, or a topic from the news

f. re-state the topic sentence claim by connecting your critical thinking discussion back to your thesis

Note: as you relate the supporting ideas from the direct quote and critical thinking, it may be that all of your connections aren't a "perfect fit." be conscious of that, and honest about it. Constantly define the words you use, and be clear about what "works" with your thesis and what doesn't. In order to raise these thoughts, you'll have to ask yourself critical questions: is this really a neat fit? am I missing something? Is there a problem with the point of view I'm using? Could someone disagree with this? how?

Assignment One Update

Please click on Essay Assignment One and see the revisions and additions to the questions for the first essay assignment. If there are any confusions or problems, please contact me.

Chapters

For those with a different edition of In Dubious Battle: the chapters to read for Monday are 7-11.

Quiz Two

1. Focus on a passage between the pages of 50-95 that surprised or interested you, and say why.

2. Tell me about the last thing you remember reading.

3. Tell me why you're having issues reading the book.

Twitter Assignment #1

For this first assignment, you will Tweet twice about the class reading by Sunday.

Tweet One: What's your take on Mac?
Tweet Two: What is the most dramatic moment in the first 95 pages of the novel (or the most dramatic moment up to the point you've finished reading)?

If you want to attract attention outside this class, use the hashtag #steinbeck.

Remember:

1) These Tweets are somewhat difficult to write because you have to say as much as possible in a short amount of space. You are allowed to write 'grammatically incorrect.' We just have to understand what you're saying. Use whatever voice you're comfortable with.

BUT!

2) This is a professional account and your thoughts and reactions should always be made with class rules in mind. This is a public account, even if it's private, because your classmates and myself are reading it. Stay focused on making claims about the book, although your Tweets will reflect, of course, your personal experiences and thoughts while reading.

Class Agenda 3.11: Twitter, Summary Writing Lab

1. Quiz 2

2. Announcements: setting up Twitter accounts and first Twitter assignment. Looking ahead to next week.

3. Note to professor: what are your writing plans for the first essay? What will your writing schedule look like? What are the obstacles you're imagining you might face? How can our class support your writing process? Do you plan to visit the Writing Center? 

Also, if you have time: do you have questions about the first essay assignment or questions about the course? Are there any confusions you're having, or issues I need to know? Do you have feelings of anxiety I can help with? Are there explanations you need about the novel we're reading?

4. Skills review: paraphrase, summary. Discuss and define terms. When do we use summary? When will we use it in the first essay assignment?

5. Writing Lab: On their own, please note in complete sentences what you believe to the major events or moments of the novel's plot (focus on just one chapter, which I'll assign you). Please assemble your notes into one paragraph, in your own words.

Lab Results: please exchange your summary paragraph with a partner when you're finished. Evaluate whether or not your summaries 'work.' Did anyone leave something important out?

Class Agenda 3.9

1. Syllabus correction

2. Quiz: Answer one of the following questions:

a. What is your reaction to Mac's rationale for delivering the baby?

b. What is the last thing you remember reading in the novel?

c. Why didn't you do the reading, and how do you plan to catch up?

3. 5-minute reading lab. For the next five minutes, do three things: 1) time how long you it takes you to read one full page of this novel. 2) Estimate how much time it will take you to read the pages for Wednesday. 3) Make a list of the things you found easy about the reading, and write down the moments where you had to re-read or found something difficult to understand.

4. What questions do we have about the reading? The references? The characters? The language? The terminology? The slang? The historical period when the novel was written?

5. Group work: One by one in groups, share a passage you found interesting for any reason. When you're done sharing, select one of those passages you'd like to discuss in class as a whole.

6. Class Terminology.

elements of narrative: theme, characters, plot and structure, setting, point of view, tone, symbolism

7. First Essay Assignment

Announcement About Syllabus

After checking with the department, one major change has occurred to the syllabus.

Under grades, "midterm" has been changed to "final." This in-class essay, given during exam week, will account for 10% of your grade.

There is no midterm exam.

Welcome to ENG 102