Agenda, October 31

Due Now: Pick any two texts we've read regarding race or gender and write a synthesis paragraph that explains how attitudes towards race or gender have changed - or failed to change - over time. Typed. Double spaced. MLA.
Due Monday: Optional Revision of Object Essay. Paper clip your new draft on top of your previous drafts. Highlight the changes to your new draft. Highlight the changes before you come to class. If you choose not to revise your essay, please return it to me to put into your file.
Due Monday: "The Female Body," by Margaret Atwood. Use whatever notetaking strategy works best for you. Be prepared to write one question per section on the board.

1. Revisit Discussion Guidelines
2. Argument o' the Week
3. Resume search and destroy
4. You have a dream

Agenda, October 30

Due Now: "The Myth of the Latin Woman: I Just Met a Girl Named Maria," by Judith Ortiz Cofer in The Language of Composition.  
Due Friday: Pick any two texts we've read regarding race or gender and write a synthesis paragraph that explains how attitudes towards race or gender have changed - or failed to change - over time. Typed. Double spaced. MLA.
Due Monday: Optional Revision of Object Essay. Paper clip your new draft on top of your previous drafts. Highlight the changes to your new draft. Highlight the changes before you come to class. If you choose not to revise your essay, please return it to me to put into your file.

1. Synthetic Questions?
2. Your questions lead the way (for 15 minutes or so)
3. "I Have a Dream."
4. Search and Destroy "Dream" in groups

Agenda, October 29

Due Now: "The Myth of the Latin Woman: I Just Met a Girl Named Maria," by Judith Ortiz Cofer in The Language of Composition.
Due Friday: Pick any two texts we've read regarding race or gender and write a synthesis paragraph that explains how attitudes towards race or gender have changed - or failed to change - over time. Typed. Double spaced. MLA.
Due Monday: Optional Revision of Object Essay. Paper clip your new draft on top of your previous drafts. Highlight the changes to your new draft. Highlight the changes before you come to class. If you choose not to revise your essay, please return it to me to put into your file.

1. Synthesis Questions?
2. Your questions lead the way

The Synthesis Paragraph Made Simple

Topic Sentence: The topic sentence should state your opinion. The synthesis paragraph supports your opinion with evidence from multiple sources.

Set-up: You need to set up your quotation. The set-up has a number of purposes. Some set-up sentences establish your source. Where did you find the information? What makes this author qualified to support your opinion? Sometimes the source material itself is sufficient to establish your author's qualification. For example, if your article comes from the Journal of American Medicine, your author is by definition credible. If your article is from High Times, on the other hand, it might be more difficult (but not impossible) to establish your source as reliable. Appositives can be very helpful when you are establishing sources. Once you have established your source as reliable, you don't need to do it again. Your set-up also needs to provide a little bit of context. What was the purpose of the source material? What was your author writing about in the essay when your quotation appears?

Quotation: Never use a quotation as a complete sentence. At the very least, begin like this: [Author] writes, " ..." (Author Pg). Here's an example:

Kline writes, "It's most effective to use your examples in chronological order" (Kline 12).

Generic Student asks, "What if the quotation ends with a question mark?" (Student 17).

The "Author's Name" in the parenthetical citation should be the first word that appears on the Works Cited page. You don't need the abbreviation "Pg" in your citation. You don't need to invent a page number for websites that don't have page numbers.

Analysis: First, decode any figurative language that appears in your quotation. Then, explain how the quotation supports your topic sentence. You don't need to label your quotation as a quotation.

Repeat the S-Q-A steps: At some point during the first Analysis or the second Set-up you will need to transition from your first quotation to your second. Transitions of addition, emphasis, or contrast will all work here (a quick google search will provide you with endless lists of transitions).

Closing: This sentence wraps up your paragraph or transitions the reader into your next paragraph (if you're writing a full essay).

Agenda, October 28

Due Now: "The Myth of the Latin Woman: I Just Met a Girl Named Maria," by Judith Ortiz Cofer in The Language of Composition. Complete a dialectical journal with a minimum of 4 entries and a maximum of 6 entries.
Due Friday: Pick any two texts we've read regarding race or gender and write a synthesis paragraph that explains how attitudes towards race or gender have changed - or failed to change - over time. Typed. Double spaced. MLA.
Due Monday: Optional Revision of Object Essay. Paper clip your new draft on top of your previous drafts. Highlight the changes to your new draft. Highlight the changes before you come to class. If you choose not to revise your essay, please return it to me to put into your file.

1. Three good TEPs
2. The Synthesis Paragraph
3. What did we do yesterday?
4. The sharing of the journals
5. Three questions 

Agenda, October 23

Due Now: "Lost in the Kitchen," by Dave Barry. Write all over it. Be sure to search and destroy.     
Due Now: Optional Revision of Injustice Narrative. Paper clip your new draft on top of your previous draft. Highlight the changes to your new draft. Highlight the changes before you come to class. If you choose not to revise your essay, please return it to me to put into your file.  
Due Tuesday: "The Myth of the Latin Woman: I Just Met a Girl Named Maria," by Judith Ortiz Cofer in The Language of Composition. Complete a dialectical journal with a minimum of 4 entries and a maximum of 6 entries.
Due Thursday: Optional Revision of Object Essay. Paper clip your new draft on top of your previous drafts. Highlight the changes to your new draft. Highlight the changes before you come to class. If you choose not to revise your essay, please return it to me to put into your file.

1. Argument o' the Week
2. Who is Carmen Miranda? (Just watch the first 90 seconds)
3. What is the myth of the Latin woman?
4. Dialectical Sharing
5. Open Disco in the Kitchen

Agenda, October 22

Due Now: "The Speech of Miss Polly Baker," by Ben Franklin, in The Language of Composition.  
Due Wednesday: "Lost in the Kitchen," by Dave Barry. Write all over it. Be sure to search and destroy.    Due Thursday, 10/23: Optional Revision of Injustice Narrative. Paper clip your new draft on top of your previous draft. Highlight the changes to your new draft. Highlight the changes before you come to class. If you choose not to revise your essay, please return it to me to put into your file. 
      

1. Per 4: I need some heavy lifting
2. Wrap up "Polly Baker" discussion
3. A model dialectical journal
4. "Lost" in the Discussion

Agenda, October 21

Due Now: "The Speech of Miss Polly Baker," by Ben Franklin, in The Language of Composition. Translate the essay sentence by sentence. Feel free to work with others, but don't copy. The goal is to grapple with the text.   
Due Wednesday: "Lost in the Kitchen," by Dave Barry. Write all over it. Be sure to search and destroy.  
Due Thursday, 10/23: Optional Revision of Injustice Narrative. Paper clip your new draft on top of your previous draft. Highlight the changes to your new draft. Highlight the changes before you come to class. If you choose not to revise your essay, please return it to me to put into your file.      

1. Wrap up "Polly Baker" translation
2. What was difficult? What did you learn?
3. Polly Baker: three dominant rhetorical strategies 

Agenda, October 20

Due Now: "I Want a Wife," by Judy Brady (handout). Write all over it.   
Due Monday: "The Speech of Miss Polly Baker," by Ben Franklin, in The Language of Composition. Translate the essay sentence by sentence. Feel free to work with others, but don't copy. The goal is to grapple with the text. 
Due Wednesday: "Lost in the Kitchen," by Dave Barry (I'll have a hard copy for you tomorrow)    
Due Thursday, 10/23: Optional Revision of Injustice Narrative. If you choose not to revise this essay, return it to me.    

1. A note on a graffiti
2. Structural Analysis of "... a Wife"
3. Mr. Franklin and Miss Polly Baker, line by line

Agenda, October 17

Due Now: "I Want a Wife," by Judy Brady (handout). Write all over it. 
Due Monday: "The Speech of Miss Polly Baker," by Ben Franklin, in The Language of Composition. Translate the essay sentence by sentence. Feel free to work with others, but don't copy. The goal is to grapple with the text.  
Due Thursday, 10/23: Optional Revision of Injustice Narrative. If you choose not to revise this essay, return it to me.    

1. "I Want a Wife": Persona, anaphora, rhetorical question
2. Structural Analysis of "... a Wife"
3. 30 minutes with Mr. Franklin 

Agenda, October 16

Due Now: "Women's Brains," by Stephen Jay Gould, in The Language of Composition.       
Due Now: Typed, double spaced TEP Paragraph about any rhetorical device in "Women's Brains."     
Due Now: "I Want a Wife," by Judy Brady (handout). Write all over it. 
Due Thursday, 10/23: Optional Revision of Injustice Narrative. If you choose not to revise this essay, return it to me.    

1. The Return of the Narratives
2. Why bother with "Women's Brains"?
3. Emotional Reaction to "I Want a Wife"
4. Structural Analysis of "... a Wife"

Agenda, October 15

Due Now: "Women's Brains," by Stephen Jay Gould, in The Language of Composition.     
Due Thursday: Typed, double spaced TEP Paragraph about any rhetorical device in "Women's Brains."   
Due Thursday: "I Want a Wife," by Judy Brady (handout). Write all over it.    

1. TEP Questions?
2. Argument o' the Week 

Agenda, October 14

Due Now: "Women's Brains," by Stephen Jay Gould, in The Language of Composition.   
Due Thursday: Typed, double spaced TEP Paragraph about any rhetorical device in "Women's Brains." 
Due Thursday: "I Want a Wife," by Judy Brady (handout). Write all over it.    

1. A confidence booster?
2. Saint Theresa
3. Dissecting "Women's Brains"

Your New Best Friend: The TEP Paragraph

Technique – Effect – Purpose Paragraph

1. In “Title of Essay,” [author] uses [rhetorical strategy] to [achieve his purpose – do not use the word purpose in your paragraph; in your topic sentence, you should directly state what the author hopes to achieve.]

2. Establish the context of the first quotation.

3. Quote the text. Never use a quotation as its own sentence. When writing about diction, you might want to quote a “series” of “Words” or “phrases” instead of a complete sentence (Kline 22). Follow the quotation with the author’s name and the page number in parentheses. Artful writers might combine steps two and three in a single sentence. If you are not confident in your ability to properly format a quotation, visit this link for some excellent advice: http://www.virtualsalt.com/quotehlp.htm

4. Analyze the quotation. How does this help you prove the author’s technique achieves her purpose? Focus on the effect on the reader. NO MORE than two sentences of analysis.

5. Repeat steps two through four with a second example. The second example should show how the author develops or elaborates on the argument. When possible, use quotations from different parts of the essay. Use your examples in chronological order, unless there is a very clear reason not to.

6. Close your paragraph.

General Notes:

• Strive for a formal tone.
• No first person.
• Don't evaluate the text. You just need to explain how it works.
• Authors establish ethos, employ logos, and appeal to pathos.
  

Agenda, October 13

Due Now: Optional revision of your Object essay. Paper clip your new draft on top of your previous draft. Highlight the changes to your new draft. Highlight the changes before you come to class. If you choose not to revise your essay, please return it to me to put into your file.   
Due Now: "Women's Brains," by Stephen Jay Gould, in The Language of Composition. 
Due Thursday: Typed, double spaced TEP Paragraph about any rhetorical device in "Women's Brains."    

1. Are you in a fix?
2. I was worried I was wrong ...
3. Dissecting "Women's Brains"

Agenda, October 8

Due Now: "Superman and Me," by Sherman Alexie, in The Language of Composition. Says/Does/Because, please.       
Due Monday, 10/13: Optional revision of your Object essay. Paper clip your new draft on top of your previous draft. Highlight the changes to your new draft. Highlight the changes before you come to class. If you choose not to revise your essay, please return it to me to put into your file. 
Due Monday: "Women's Brains," by Stephen Jay Gould, in The Language of Composition.    

1. A mirror ball: Whole class disco self-reflection
2. Per 4: Is it about race or about reading?
3. Per 5: Common knowledge
4. TEP. Finally.

Agenda, October 7

Due Now: "None of this is Fair," by Richard Rodriguez      
Due Now: "Superman and Me," by Sherman Alexie, in The Language of Composition. Says/Does/Because, please.     
Due Monday, 10/13: Optional revision of your Object essay. Paper clip your new draft on top of your previous draft. Highlight the changes to your new draft. Highlight the changes before you come to class. If you choose not to revise your essay, please return it to me to put into your file.    

1. None of this is Wrinkled
2. Search and Destroy Rhetorical Devices
3. A Super-Structured Discussion

Agenda, October 6

Due Now: "None of this is Fair," by Richard Rodriguez    
Due Now: "Superman and Me," by Sherman Alexie, in The Language of Composition. Says/Does/Because, please.    
Due Now: Final Draft of Injustice Narrative. Staple your revised copy on top of your peer reviewed copy. Don't forget to re-underline your rhetorical strategies.  
Due Monday, 10/13: Optional revision of your Object essay. If you choose not to revise your essay, please return it to me to put into your file.    

1. Here come the papers!
2. An unfair discussion
3. Diction TEP
4. A Super discussion

Inside the mind of Kline

Here's what I ask myself every time I finish reading one of your essays: 

Is it a story?

Does it have a clear beginning, middle, and end (not necessarily in that order)?

Does it deepen the reader’s understanding of the subject?

Is it well organized?

Do the events come in the best order?

Are the transitions between ideas smooth and logical?

Is the opening precise, specific, and engaging? Is it the intro that only this author can write?

Are paragraphs fully developed (with appropriate details or adequate examples)?

Does the closing effectively emphasize, elaborate, or illuminate the main ideas of the story?

Is the language interesting?

Does the writer make precise, powerful diction choices?

Does the writer employ rhetorical strategies that engage the reader and emphasize the purpose?

Are appeals to ethos, pathos, and logos balance, effective, and appropriate for audience and purpose?

Does the writer include a sufficient amount of showing?

Does the writer take risks?

Does this look like a college paper?

Does it follow MLA format?

Does it display a college-level control of spelling, grammar, and punctuation?

Did the writer meet the requirements of the assignment, including the nit-picky details?

Agenda, October 3

Due Friday, 10/3: Write a narrative about a time you perpetrated, were victimized by, or witnessed an act of injustice. Be sure to follow the requirements.         Due Now: "None of this is Fair," by Richard Rodriguez  
Due Monday: "Superman and Me," by Sherman Alexie, in The Language of Composition. Says/Does/Because, please.  
Due Monday, 10/6: Final Draft of Injustice Narrative. Staple your revised copy on top of your peer reviewed copy. Don't forget to re-underline your rhetorical strategies.
Due Monday, 10/13: Optional revision of your Object essay. If you choose not to revise your essay, please return it to me to put into your file.    

1. Hmmm ... I seem to have only one poster on my door
2. Mr. Kline's mental checklist 
3. An unfair discussion
4. Diction TEP