English 100: Fundamentals of Composition

2009-11-27T14:54:00.000-08:00

Link to Writing Center Handouts

2009-11-23T18:09:00.000-08:00

Portfolio Revision Task Sheet

2009-11-23T14:24:00.000-08:00

Write the names of the three papers that you plan on including in your portfolio. List the papers from strongest\most finished to weakest\least finished. In the table below, break each paper down to its “parts.” This will allow you to get a good sense of your papers strengths and weaknesses.

Paper Title	Thesis statement	Structure\Paragraphs\ Topic mini-outline	Conclusion	Draft with my comments. Do you respond to my comments in your revision?	MLA Citation (in-text and works cited page)	Over 2.5 pages in length	Score\Revision Plans

Essay 5: Personal Essay

2009-11-10T10:44:00.000-08:00

A personal essay is an essay based on the author's lived experience. The personal essay is usually based on the writer's life and uses the first person. The personal essay can explore memories, ideas, feelings, beliefs, tastes, identities, fears, wishes, and dreams. For essay 5, you will write a personal essay. The essay may explore a memory, a relationship, a favorite thing (object, song, activity, place), a least favorite thing, an observation, an idea, a goal...the list goes on. Before you jump into writing your paper, spend some time prewriting, reflecting, thinking about the significant events and people in your life; reflect on the things that you care about; reflect on what you've learned and how you've changed; reflect on what you do every day and why you do it. Consider the mundane: sometimes the smallest details -- the color of a pillowcase, the way you eat your favorite foods, the way you organize your address book -- can become profound. You can write about anything you want as long as you do it with focus, creativity, and thoughtfulness. Your essay should be between 2.5 and 5 pages.

1. Cover the Basic Facts

Keep in mind that your reader may not be familiar with your interests or background.You may have to explain certain aspects of your story. Always assume your reader is intelligent, but that they may have a different background than you.

2. Vivid Detail

Your words will come alive with strong, active verbs. Strong: The puppy whimpered and cowered in the corner. Weak: The puppy was afraid. Use carefully considered adjectives.Describe important aspects of your story in greater length and condense less important aspects.

3. Voice/Personality

Decide whether you want to be totally serious, funny or somewhere in between. Humor is fine, just don’t overdo it and it’s best to avoid sarcasm. Can your reader get a sense of who you are or what impression you want to make by telling your story? Ask yourself how you want to come across.

4. The Meaning of Your Story

This should be discussed in a full paragraph before the conclusion. You may also reflect on your feelings and ideas throughout the essay. If you’re not sure what the point of your story is before you begin writing, take more time to figure it out.

*Final Points*

No surprise in the writer, no surprise in the reader. Hopefully you’ll discover something about yourself you didn’t know before doing the essay, even it it’s just little details. Hopefully this will be a piece of writing you will delight and/or take pride in - not just another school assignment.

Your draft of paper 5 is due Monday, November 16th. If you wish to include this essay in your portfolio, you will need to revise it, and revise it again (all of the papers in your portfolio must include at least 2 drafts).

Portfolio Contract (must be included with your portfolio)

2009-11-10T10:42:00.001-08:00

PORTFOLIO ASSESSMENT GUIDELINES FOR STUDENTS

Portfolio assessment enables the English Department to judge your readiness for English ll0 by evaluating selected samples of your writing. English instructors will look at your final drafts and your earlier drafts to assess your ability to think, plan, draft, revise and edit your work. You will choose three essays from among all those you have written for the course. Two of these must be expository essays, and the third may be either narrative or expository. One of these three essays must respond to a written text (all summaries, paraphrases, and quotations should be cited according to MLA format). The fourth essay will be your timed essay, which your instructor will place in your portfolio. This timed essay allows evaluators to assess your ability to plan, write and revise without assistance from your instructor or your peers.

In order to qualify for portfolio assessment, you must have completed all requirements established by your instructor for course credit. In other words, only students in good standing will be considered for portfolio assessment.

Specific requirements for your selected portfolio essays:

l. The final draft must be typed and free of instructor’s or peers’ comments or marks. It may include neatly penned corrections. Each paper should be more than two and a half pages and no more than five pages, with a standard l2 point font and 1.25 inch margins. Double space the entire essay.

2. All prior drafts should be stapled to the back of the final draft. You should have a maximum of three prior drafts and a minimum of one. At least one of your prior drafts must have instructor comments.

3. Do not include a title page. Type a heading in the upper left hand corner of page one as follows: your name; the course; the date. Use the header to put your last name and page number in the upper right hand corner of each page. Do not include your instructor’s name. (If your instructor’s name is on any prior drafts, please cross it out with black ink.) Center your title below the heading. (See other side for model.)

4. Place your three essays in a standard sized manila folder (not an envelope). Manila folders are available in the SBCC bookstore for 20 cents; do not use any other type of folder please. Your instructor will add your departmental essay exam.
* If your portfolio does not meet the above criteria, it will be automatically disqualified.

My portfolio meets the requirements l-4 listed above.

Signed,

___________________________________________
Student
Please include this sheet (with your signature) in your portfolio

PORTFOLIO POLICY (Portfolios due Monday, November 30th)

2009-11-10T10:39:00.000-08:00

SANTA BARBARA CITY COLLEGE
ENGLISH DIVISION
PORTFOLIO POLICY

In order to establish students' preparedness for the next English composition course, the English Division has established the following portfolio assessment process: All eligible English composition students submit a portfolio of their three best essays selected from the 5 essays written during the term. (In the case of English 65, students will submit the three essays written during the term.) The student's departmental essay exam—an essay written under timed, supervised conditions—is automatically added to the portfolio. Only students in good standing, that is, those who have completed their instructor's course requirements, are eligible to participate. English Division faculty who have been normed (trained to assess portfolio essays) meet to evaluate the portfolios. Using the departmental rubric (i.e., the criteria score sheet), they review final drafts and earlier drafts, assessing the student's ability to think, plan, draft, revise and edit. Portfolios are then scored pass/no pass.

Portfolio requirements:

1) English 100: At least two of the three revised essays must be expository. And at least one of the three revised essays must respond to a text, using MLA format. Expository essays are the following: definition, causal analysis, comparison/contrast, classification, argumentation, analysis of a text, research essay or a combination of these. The third revised essay may be descriptive, narrative or expository as defined above. Descriptive or narrative essays must demonstrate carefully considered analysis. English 80 and 65: At least one of the three revised essays must be expository. The other two essays may be descriptive, narrative, or expository.

2) English 100: The three revised essays must be over 2 and one half pages and no more than 5 pages long. English 80: The three revised essays must be at least 2 complete pages and no more than 5 pages long. English 65: The three revised essays must be at least one and a half pages and no more than 5 pages long.

3) There must be at least 2 drafts per essay, with evidence of instructor's input; there may be no more than 4 drafts per essay, including the final draft. All drafts must be stapled together with the final draft on top.

4) The final draft must be typed and double-spaced, with 1.25-inch margins and standard
12-point font. It should be free of instructors' and tutors' comments. Minor corrections neatly written in ink are acceptable. For English 80, the student's name and the days and time of the course should appear at the top left of page one and a title should be centered below. For English 100, the student’s name, the course name, and the date should appear at the top left of page one and a title should be centered below. The instructor’s name should not appear on any papers. Substitutions of K#’s for student names are acceptable.

Students with passing portfolios receive credit for their current English course and are eligible for the next level English composition course if they have also fulfilled the reading requirement (that is, if they have been assessed as eligible for English 103 and the next level course is English 110). If not, their writing placement will be held until they fulfill the reading requirement.

Students whose portfolios do not pass receive credit for the A level of their current course. They may enroll in a course at that level once more for credit (and for no-credit thereafter).

"Salvation" by Langston Hughes

2009-11-10T10:36:00.000-08:00

I was saved from sin when I was going on thirteen. But not really saved. It happened like this. There was a big revival at my Auntie Reed's church. Every night for weeks there had been much preaching, singing, praying, and shouting, and some very hardened sinners had been brought to Christ, and the membership of the church had grown by leaps and bounds. Then just before the revival ended, they held a special meeting for children, "to bring the young lambs to the fold." My aunt spoke of it for days ahead. That night I was escorted to the front row and placed on the mourners' bench with all the other young sinners, who had not yet been brought to Jesus.

My aunt told me that when you were saved you saw a light, and something happened to you inside! And Jesus came into your life! And God was with you from then on! She said you could see and hear and feel Jesus in your soul. I believed her. I had heard a great many old people say the same thing and it seemed to me they ought to know. So I sat there calmly in the hot, crowded church, waiting for Jesus to come to me.

The preacher preached a wonderful rhythmical sermon, all moans and shouts and lonely cries and dire pictures of hell, and then he sang a song about the ninety and nine safe in the fold, but one little lamb was left out in the cold. Then he said: "Won't you come? Won't you come to Jesus? Young lambs, won't you come?" And he held out his arms to all us young sinners there on the mourners' bench. And the little girls cried. And some of them jumped up and went to Jesus right away. But most of us just sat there.

A great many old people came and knelt around us and prayed, old women with jet-black faces and braided hair, old men with work-gnarled hands. And the church sang a song about the lower lights are burning, some poor sinners to be saved. And the whole building rocked with prayer and song.

Still I kept waiting to see Jesus.

Finally all the young people had gone to the altar and were saved, but one boy and me. He was a rounder's son named Westley. Westley and I were surrounded by sisters and deacons praying. It was very hot in the church, and getting late now. Finally Westley said to me in a whisper: "God damn! I'm tired o' sitting here. Let's get up and be saved." So he got up and was saved.
Then I was left all alone on the mourners' bench. My aunt came and knelt at my knees and cried, while prayers and song swirled all around me in the little church. The whole congregation prayed for me alone, in a mighty wail of moans and voices. And I kept waiting serenely for Jesus, waiting, waiting - but he didn't come. I wanted to see him, but nothing happened to me. Nothing!

I wanted something to happen to me, but nothing happened.

I heard the songs and the minister saying: "Why don't you come? My dear child, why don't you come to Jesus? Jesus is waiting for you. He wants you. Why don't you come? Sister Reed, what is this child's name?"

"Langston," my aunt sobbed.

"Langston, why don't you come? Why don't you come and be saved? Oh, Lamb of God! Why don't you come?"

Now it was really getting late. I began to be ashamed of myself, holding everything up so long. I began to wonder what God thought about Westley, who certainly hadn't seen Jesus either, but who was now sitting proudly on the platform, swinging his knickerbockered legs and grinning down at me, surrounded by deacons and old women on their knees praying. God had not struck Westley dead for taking his name in vain or for lying in the temple. So I decided that maybe to save further trouble, I'd better lie, too, and say that Jesus had come, and get up and be saved.

So I got up.

Suddenly the whole room broke into a sea of shouting, as they saw me rise. Waves of rejoicing swept the place. Women leaped in the air. My aunt threw her arms around me. The minister took me by the hand and led me to the platform.

When things quieted down, in a hushed silence, punctuated by a few ecstatic "Amens," all the new young lambs were blessed in the name of God. Then joyous singing filled the room.
That night, for the first time in my life but one for I was a big boy twelve years old - I cried. I cried, in bed alone, and couldn't stop. I buried my head under the quilts, but my aunt heard me. She woke up and told my uncle I was crying because the Holy Ghost had come into my life, and because I had seen Jesus. But I was really crying because I couldn't bear to tell her that I had lied, that I had deceived everybody in the church, that I hadn't seen Jesus, and that now I didn't believe there was a Jesus anymore, since he didn't come to help me.

In Class Timed-Essay Practice Exam # 2

2009-11-04T16:48:00.000-08:00

In Class Timed-Essay Practice Exam # 2

In “Your Trusted Friends,” Eric Schlosser narrates the history of marketing campaigns directed at children, paying particular attention to those developed by two of America's most iconic corporations: McDonald's and Walt Disney. He also describes the rise of "syngery" -- when two entities cooperate in order to achieve a final outcome that benefits both -- and identifies this as an evolving force in the consumer landscape, and concludes that "America's fast-food culture has become indistinguishable from the popular culture of its children." What conclusions can you draw based on the information Schlosser provides? Should corporations be allowed to market directly to children? Write an essay in which you state and explain a position in response to Scholsser's article.

You will have 1 hour to write your response. You response must be at least 5 paragraphs in length and should include a thesis statement, evidence, and analysis. You should include at least two quotes from Schlosser’s article. I suggest that you spend at least 10 minutes planning or prewriting, 40 minutes writing, and 10 minutes to look over your paper and make any necessary corrections.

When you are finished, you may leave. Before you leave, please show your draft to me. You will take your draft with you. You must do two things with your draft before Monday. 1.) Type up what you wrote in class without making any revisions. Save and print this document. 2.) Revise your draft: expand your examples, refine your analysis, adjust your structure and organization, polish your transitions, and correct any errors in grammar, diction, or syntax. Save this version as a new document and print it out. On the print out of your revision, underline or highlight all of the changes and revisions that you made. Bring your handwritten draft, the typed transcription of your draft, and your highlighted revision to class on Monday.

Marketing Junk Food to Children

2009-11-04T16:34:00.000-08:00

2009-10-28T10:06:00.000-07:00

Monsters and the Moral Imagination

Melinda Beck

Enlarge Photo

By Stephen T. Asma

Monsters are on the rise. People can't seem to get enough of vampires lately, and zombies have a new lease on life. This year and next we have the release of the usual horror films likeSaw VI and Halloween II; the campy mayhem of Zombieland; more-pensive forays like 9(produced by Tim Burton and Timur Bekmambetov), The Wolfman, and The Twilight Saga: New Moon; and, more playfully, Where the Wild Things Are (a Dave Eggers rewrite of the Maurice Sendak classic).

The reasons for this increased monster culture are hard to pin down. Maybe it's social anxiety in the post-9/11 decade, or the conflict in Iraq—some think there's an uptick in such fare during wartime. Perhaps it's the economic downturn. The monster proliferation can be explained, in part, by exploring the meaning of monsters. Popular culture is re-enchanted with meaningful monsters, and even the eggheads are stroking their chins—last month saw the seventh global conference on Monsters and the Monstrous at the University of Oxford.

The uses of monsters vary widely. In our liberal culture, we dramatize the rage of the monstrous creature—and Frankenstein's is a good example—then scold ourselves and our "intolerant society" for alienating the outcast in the first place. The liberal lesson of monsters is one of tolerance: We must overcome our innate scapegoating, our xenophobic tendencies. Of course, this is by no means the only interpretation of monster stories. The medieval mind saw giants and mythical creatures as God's punishments for the sin of pride. For the Greeks and Romans, monsters were prodigies—warnings of impending calamity.

After Freud, monster stories were considered cathartic journeys into our unconscious—everybody contains a Mr. Hyde, and these stories give us a chance to "walk on the wild side." But in the denouement of most stories, the monster is killed and the psyche restored to civilized order. We can have our fun with the "torture porn" of Leatherface and Freddy Krueger or the erotic vampires, but this "vacation" to where the wild things are ultimately helps us return to our lives of quiet repression.

Any careful reading of Bram Stoker's Dracula, for example, will reveal not only a highly sexualized description of blood drinking, but an erotic characterization of the count himself. Even John Polidori's original 1819 vampire tale The Vampyre describes the monster as a sexually attractive force. According to the critic Christopher Craft, Gothic monster tales—Frankenstein, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Dracula, Anne Rice's Vampire Chronicles—rehearse a similar story structure. "Each of these texts first invites or admits a monster, then entertains and is entertained by monstrosity for some extended duration, until in its closing pages it expels or repudiates the monster and all the disruption that he/she/it brings," he writes.

A crucial but often-ignored aspect of monsterology is the role those beasties play in our moral imaginations. Recent experimental moral psychology has given us useful tools for looking at the way people actually do their moral thinking. Brain imaging, together with hypothetical ethical dilemmas about runaway trolley cars, can teach us a lot about our real value systems and actions. But another way to get at this subterranean territory is by looking at our imaginative lives.

Monsters can stand as symbols of human vulnerability and crisis, and as such they play imaginative foils for thinking about our own responses to menace. Part of our fascination with serial-killer monsters is that we (and our loved ones) are potentially vulnerable to sadistic violence—never mind that statistical probability renders such an attack almost laughable. Irrational fears are decidedly unfunny. We are vulnerable to both the inner and the outer forces. Monster stories and films only draw us in when we identify with the persons who are being chased, and we tacitly ask ourselves: Would I board up the windows to keep the zombies out or seek the open water? Would I go down to the basement after I hear the thump, and if so, would I bring the butcher knife or the fireplace poker? What will I do when I am vulnerable?

The comedy writer Max Brooks understands that dimension of monster stories very well. In books like The Zombie Survival Guide and World War Z, Brooks gives us painstaking, haunting, and hilarious advice about how best to meet our undead foes. For its April Fools' edition, the otherwise serious journal Archaeology interviewed Brooks, asking him (tongue firmly in cheek): "Does the archaeological record hold any zombie-related lessons for us today? What can our ancestors teach us about meeting and, ultimately, defeating the undead menace?" Brooks replied: "The greatest lesson our ancestors have to teach us is to remain both vigilant and unafraid. We must endeavor to emulate the ancient Romans; calm, efficient, treating zombies as just one more item on a rather mundane checklist. Panic is the undead's greatest ally, doing far more damage, in some cases, than the creatures themselves. The goal is to be prepared, not scared, to use our heads, and cut off theirs."

Brooks is unparalleled in parodying a well-worn monster tradition, but he wouldn't be so funny if we weren't already using monster stories to imagine strategies for facing enemies. The monster is a virtual sparring partner for our imagination. How will I avoid, assuage, or defeat my enemy? Will I have grace under pressure? Will I help others who are injured? Or will I be that guy who selfishly goes it alone and usually meets an especially painful demise?

In a significant sense, monsters are a part of our attempt to envision the good life or at least the secure life. Our ethical convictions do not spring fully grown from our heads but must be developed in the context of real and imagined challenges. In order to discover our values, we have to face trials and tribulation, and monsters help us imaginatively rehearse. Imagining how we will face an unstoppable, powerful, and inhuman threat is an illuminating exercise in hypothetical reasoning and hypothetical feeling.

You can't know for sure how you will face a headless zombie, an alien face-hugger, an approaching sea monster, or a chainsaw-wielding psycho. Fortunately, you're unlikely to be put to the test. But you might face similarly terrifying trials. You might be assaulted, be put on the front lines of some war, or be robbed, raped, or otherwise harassed and assailed. We may be lucky enough to have had no real acquaintance with such horrors, but we have all nonetheless played them out in our mind's eye. And though we can't know for sure how we'll face an enemy soldier or a rapist, it doesn't stop us from imaginatively formulating responses. We use the imagination in order to establish our own agency in chaotic and uncontrollable situations.

People frequently underestimate the role of art and imagery in their own moral convictions. Through art (e.g., Shelley's Frankenstein, Hitchcock's Psycho, King's and Kubrick's The Shining), artists convey moral visions. Audiences can reflect on them, reject or embrace them, take inspiration from them, and otherwise be enriched beyond the entertainment aspect. Good monster stories can transmit moral truths to us by showing us examples of dignity and depravity without preaching or proselytizing.

But imagining monsters is not just the stuff of fiction. Picture yourself in the following scenario. On the evening of August 7, 1994, Bruce Shapiro entered a coffee bar in New Haven, Conn. Shapiro and his friends had entered the cafe and were relaxing at a table near the front door. Approximately 15 other people were scattered around the bar, enjoying the evening. One of Shapiro's friends went up to the bar to get drinks. "Suddenly there was chaos," Shapiro explained in The Nation the next year, "as if a mortar shell had landed." He looked up to see a flash of metal and people leaping away from a thin, bearded man with a ponytail. Chairs and tables were knocked over, and Shapiro protected one of his friends by pulling her to the ground.

In a matter of minutes, the thin man, Daniel Silva, had managed to stab and seriously injure seven people in the coffee shop. Using a six-inch hunting knife, Silva jumped around the room and attacked with lightning speed. Two of Shapiro's friends were stabbed. After helping some others, Shapiro finally escaped the cafe. "I had gone no more than a few steps," he recalled, "when I felt a hard punch in my back followed instantly by the unforgettable sensation of skin and muscle tissue parting. Silva had stabbed me about six inches above my waist, just beneath my rib cage."

Shapiro fell to the pavement and cried out, "Why are you doing this?" Standing over him, Silva plunged the knife into Shapiro's chest, beneath his left shoulder. "You killed my mother" was the incoherent response that Silva offered his victim. Silva then pulled the knife out of Shapiro and rode off on a bicycle. He was soon apprehended and jailed.

Was Silva a monster? Not exactly. He was a mentally ill man who snapped and seemed to think that his mother had been wronged and felt some obscure need to avenge her. (She was, in fact, in a nearby hospital at the time, being treated for diabetes.) But from the perspective of raw experience, this horrifying event shares many qualities with the imagined monster attack. Shapiro and his unfortunate company were suddenly presented with a deadly, irrational, powerful force that sent them reeling for mere survival. And yet the victims demonstrated an impressive ability to reach out and help each other. While the victims were leaping away from Silva's angry knife blade, I suspect that he was for them, practically speaking, a true monster. I would never presume to correct them on that account. In such circumstances, many of us are sympathetic to the use of the monster epithet.

One of the fascinating aspects of Shapiro's experience is how people responded to his story after the fact. I have been suggesting that monster stories are encapsulations of the human feeling of vulnerability—the monster stories offer us the "disease" of vulnerability and its possible "cures" (in the form of heroes and coping strategies). Few monster stories remain indefinitely in the "threat phase." When fear is at a fever pitch, they always move on to the hero phase. Hercules slays the Hydra, George slays the dragon, medicine slays the alien virus, the stake and crucifix slay the vampire. Life and art mutually seek to conquer vulnerability. "Being a victim is a hard idea to accept," Shapiro explained, "even while lying in a hospital bed with tubes in veins, chest, penis, and abdomen. The spirit rebels against the idea of oneself as fundamentally powerless."

This natural rebellion may have prompted the most repeated question facing Shapiro when he got out of the hospital. When people learned of Daniel Silva's attack on seven victims, they asked, "Why didn't anyone try to stop him?" Shapiro always tried to explain how fast and confusing the attack was, but people failed to accept this. Shapiro, who was offended by the question, says, "The question carries not empathy but an implicit burden of blame; it really asks 'Why didn't you stop him?' It is asked because no one likes to imagine oneself a victim." We like to see ourselves as victors against every threat, but of course that's not reality.

Believers in human progress, from the Enlightenment to the present, think that monsters are disappearing. Rationality will pour its light into the dark corners and reveal the monsters to be merely chimeric. A familiar upshot of the liberal interpretation of monsters is to suggest that when we properly embrace difference, the monsters will vanish. According to this view, the monster concept is no longer useful in the modern world. If it hangs on, it does so like an appendix—useful once but hazardous now.

I disagree. The monster concept is still extremely useful, and it's a permanent player in the moral imagination because human vulnerability is permanent. The monster is a beneficial foe, helping us to virtually represent the obstacles that real life will surely send our way. As long as there are real enemies in the world, there will be useful dramatic versions of them in our heads.

In 2006, four armed men in Kandahar, Afghanistan, broke into the home of an Afghan headmaster and teacher named Malim Abdul Habib. The four men held Habib as they gathered his wife and children together, forcing them to watch as they stabbed Habib eight times and then decapitated him. Habib was the headmaster at Shaikh Mathi Baba high school, where he educated girls along with boys. The Taliban militants of the region, who are suspected in the beheading, see the education of girls as a violation of Islam (a view that is obviously not shared by the vast majority of Muslims). My point is simply this: If you can gather a man's family together at gunpoint and force them to watch as you cut off his head, then you are a monster. You don't just seem like one; you are one.

A relativist might counter by pointing out that American soldiers at Abu Ghraib tortured some innocent people, too. That, I agree, is true and astoundingly shameful, but it doesn't prove there are no real monsters. It only widens the category and recognizes monsters on both sides of an issue. Two sides calling each other monsters doesn't prove that monsters don't exist. In the case of the American torturer at Abu Ghraib and the Taliban beheader in Afghanistan, both epithets sound entirely accurate.

My own view is that the concept of monster cannot be erased from our language and thinking. It cannot be replaced by other more polite terms and concepts, because it still refers to something that has no satisfactory semantic substitute or refinement. The term's imprecision, within parameters, is part of its usefulness. Terms like "monster" and "evil" have a lot of metaphysical residue on them, left over from the Western traditions. But even if we neuter the term from obscure theological questions about Cain, or metaphysical questions about demons, the language still successfully expresses a radical frustration over the inhumanity of some enemy. The meaning of "monster" is found in its context, in its use.

So this Halloween season, let us, by all means, enjoy our fright fest, but let's not forget to take monsters seriously, too. I'll be checking under my bed, as usual. But remember, things don't strike fear in our hearts unless our hearts are already seriously committed to something (e.g., life, limb, children, ideologies, whatever). Ironically then, inhuman threats are great reminders of our own humanity. And for that we can all thank our zombies.

Stephen T. Asma is a professor of philosophy at Columbia College Chicago. Oxford University Press is publishing his most recent book, On Monsters: An Unnatural History of Our Worst Fears, this month.

Monsters & Meaning

2009-10-27T20:35:00.001-07:00

Calendar Update

2009-10-27T20:13:00.001-07:00

M (10/26) Revision of Paper #2 due; Read and discuss Seamus Heaney's "Digging"

W (10/28) MLA Documentation

M (11/2) Revision of Paper #3 due; (must use MLA documentation)

Read "Your Trusted Friends" by Eric Schlosser

Paper # 4 Assigned: Children and Advertising

W (11/4) Paper # 4 written in class

M (11/9) Revision of Paper # 4 due (must use MLA documentation);

Paper # 5 assigned: Reflective Essay

W (11/11) Thesis & Plan due for Paper # 5

M (11/16) Draft of Paper # 5 due
W (11/18) IN-CLASS ESSAY EXAM

M (11/23) Paper # 5 due
W (11/25) CAI Lab @ 7pm

M (11/30) PORTFOLIO DUE
W (12/2) Portfolio Reading (Class does not meet)

M (12/7) Conference for Portfolio results (Class does not meet; come at your assigned time.)

PIE: Point, Illustrate, Explain & TOPOI

2009-10-20T20:44:00.000-07:00

Cancelling class (Monday 10/19) due to illness

2009-10-19T16:01:00.000-07:00

Dear Class:

I have a fever and sore throat so I will not be able to teach today. For homework, please write one page reflecting on how you define "America." Feel free to e-mail me with any questions. I'm sorry for the short notice, and I will see you in class on Wednesday.

Best, MD

In Class Timed-Essay Practice Exam

2009-10-14T19:17:00.000-07:00

In Class Timed-Essay Practice Exam

In “Hidden Intellectualism,” Gerald Graff argues that students would “be more prone to take on intellectual identities if we encouraged them to do so at first on subjects that interest them.” He supports this claim by recounting that he learned the “rudiments of intellectual life: how to make an argument, weigh different kinds of evidence, move between particulars and generalizations, summarize the views of others, and enter a conversation about ideas” from reading sports books and magazines. Describe how a personal interest of yours – cars, fashion, music, video games – might be incorporated into a curriculum and seen through “academic eyes.” Do you think using this material would be as effective at teaching students how to be literate, reflective, and analytical as discussing “the classics?”

You will have 1 hour to write your response. You response must be at least 5 paragraphs in length and should include a thesis statement, evidence, and analysis. I suggest that you spend at least 10 minutes planning or prewriting, 40 minutes writing, and 10 minutes to look over your paper and make any necessary corrections.

When you are finished, you may leave. Before you leave, please show your draft to me. You will take your draft with you. You must do two things with your draft before Monday. 1.) Type up what you wrote in class without making any revision. Save and print this document. 2.) Revise your draft: expand your examples, refine your analysis, adjust your structure and organization, polish your transitions, and correct any errors in grammar, diction, or syntax. Save this version as a new document and print it out. On the print out of your revision, underline or highlight all of the changes and revisions that you made. Bring your handwritten draft, the typed transcription of your draft, and your highlighted revision to class on Monday.

In Class Essay this Wednesday

2009-10-12T22:12:00.001-07:00

Please read and annotate Graff's "Hidden Intellectualism" (in They Say, I Say). You may bring your annotated article to class on Wednesday. You will receive the essay prompt at the beginning of class, then we will have a brief discussion, and then you will have 1 hour to plan and write your essay. Please let me know if you have any questions.

New Due Date for Rough Draft of Paper # 2

2009-10-06T12:29:00.001-07:00

Please bring TWO TYPED COPIES of your rough draft for paper # 2 to class on Monday, October 12. Please e-mail, come by my office hours (M-W, 5-6), or make an appointment if you have questions or concerns about the paper or the class.

Article about Mobile Technology in NYT

2009-10-01T09:49:00.000-07:00

At 60 M.P.H., Office Work Is High Risk

By MATT RICHTEL

JOPLIN, Mo. — Looking back, Paul Dekok wonders what he was thinking that May morning when the urgent call came in. Mr. Dekok, a manager at the Potash Corporation, learned that a 25-ton truckload of the company’s additive for livestock feed had been rejected by a customer as contaminated.

Scrambling to protect his company’s credibility with a big customer, he grabbed his cellphone to arrange a new shipment, cradling it between his left ear and shoulder, and with his right hand e-mailed instructions to his staff from his laptop computer — all while driving his rental car in a construction zone on a two-lane highway in North Carolina.

“I thought I was doing a great job because I was being productive,” Mr. Dekok said. “It’s an adrenaline rush. It’s the buzz we all get of trying to do everything you can in business.”

But later, reflecting on the risks he took that spring day in 2007, he saw himself in a different light: “I was Bozo the clown.”

Mr. Dekok may be rethinking how he works on the road, but tens of thousands of Americans barely give it a second thought. They have turned their cars, vans and trucks into mobile offices, wired with phones and computers to stay in close touch with bosses and customers.

On Wednesday, the Transportation secretary, Ray LaHood, called the broader phenomenon of distracted driving a “deadly epidemic” at a meeting on the issue in Washington. Real estate brokers, pharmaceutical sales people, entrepreneurs, marketers and others say they have little choice but to transform their cars into cubicles. In this merciless economy, they say, they have to make every minute count, and respond instantly to opportunities and challenges.

And they argue that the convenience of constant contact — and the chance to tick off items from an endless to-do list while driving — far outweigh what they think are slim chances that it could lead to a wreck.

For white-collar employees, pressures to multitask are largely self-imposed. For blue-collar workers, the demands to stay connected while driving are often imposed by their bosses.

Truckers, plumbers, delivery drivers and others are tethered to dispatchers with an array of productivity devices, including on-board computers that send instructions about the next job and keep tabs on drivers’ locations. Such devices can require continual attention — distracting drivers who are steering the biggest vehicles on American roads.

The compulsion to work while driving often trumps clear evidence that such activity is dangerous. Studies show that someone who talks on the phone while driving is four times more likely to crash, even using a hands-free headset, than someone who is simply driving. The risks are even greater when sending text messages.

For all the perceived benefits of multitasking behind the wheel — like staying a step ahead of competitors — the dangers have begun to take their toll on companies, leading some to ban the practice by employees.

Some families of victims killed in collisions with a multitasking worker have successfully sued the driver’s employer for tens of millions of dollars.

Researchers say there is another reason to question the benefits of working behind the wheel: a growing body of research shows that splitting attention between activities like working and driving often leads to distracted conversations and bad decisions.

“There is an illusion of productivity,” said David E. Meyer, a professor of psychology at the University of Michigan. “It’s actually counterproductive.”

“To the extent that someone is focused on driving, the quality of work product is diminished,” he added. “To the extent someone is focused on work and not driving, there’s a risk of crashing and burning. Something’s got to give.”

The Drive to Compete

Potash, a large public fertilizer and chemical company, never told managers like Mr. Dekok, or regional salesmen like Rob Hudson, that they needed to multitask while driving.

But given that both men drive an average of 150 miles each day visiting feed mills and other customers, their cars inevitably became rolling offices, the place where they call clients, plan meetings and make hotel reservations.

“I’d be on my cellphone, writing notes in my planner, driving with my knee, and with a sandwich in my lap,” Mr. Hudson said. He felt he could not ignore his phone, he said, because he never knew which call or e-mail message would be one he could not miss.

“For the clients, a lot of times it’s an urgent request for a delivery,” he said. “In the animal feed business, they never stop eating. It’s not like that can wait until tomorrow.”

Plenty of other workers feel similar pressures. IDC, a market research firm, estimated last year that there were 111 million mobile workers in the United States, including all manner of people who do work outside an office, whether in a car, café, or airport lounge. And in a 2007 survey, IDC found that 70 percent of owners of BlackBerrys and other smartphones used their device in a car at least once a week. (The survey did not specify whether the phone users were drivers or passengers, but 80 percent of people typically drive alone).

“It’s a seconds-count economy,” said Sean Ryan, an analyst at IDC.

Mr. Ryan feels the pressure. He schedules work calls to make his own 45-minute commute — from Boston to Framingham, Mass. — more productive.

At stop lights, he checks texts and e-mail messages. He does not want to miss something important, but he also sees the practice as a time saver. “I might as well get a quick e-mail taken care of, or at least delete spam,” he said. “When I get to the office, I’ve saved 15 to 20 minutes of work.”

David Vered, 53, chief executive of Pacific Yogurt Partners, which operates Golden Spoon frozen yogurt stores in the San Francisco Bay Area and helps manage other stores around the state, sometimes does not wait for stop lights to check his e-mail.

He has trained employees to send concise messages so that he can read them while driving on the highway as he visits stores.

“With the BlackBerry, you can hold it up over the steering wheel,” he said. “I just hit ‘open’ and see what the issue is.”

On his lengthy commutes, he occasionally schedules calls with lawyers to do lease negotiations, or with contractors to discuss construction of a new retail outlet.

But his phone can also ring with an urgent problem, like a broken frozen-yogurt machine. Mr. Vered’s workers need to know what to do. If he delays, he said, they might be paralyzed, wasting time and money.

“I respond to them as rapidly as possible,” he said. “I don’t like holding people up. And I’m not just holding them up: I’m paying them. I want them to be as effective as possible.”

Studies show that drivers who send text or e-mail typically take their eyes off the road for an average of five seconds.

But Mr. Vered said he was vigilant about safety. Besides, he said, he never reads e-mail on his bigger laptop computer, which he keeps on a desk he has installed on the passenger seat of his small Toyota S.U.V.

“That’s dangerous because you have to shift the field of vision away from the road,” he added.

Mr. Vered said he was an adept multitasker.

“I’m in a zone,” he said. He uses a Bluetooth cellphone device attached to his ear so he can keep both hands on the wheel unless he is dialing or reading a text. “I’ve done it my whole life, so I know how to multitask,” he added.

As his own boss, Mr. Vered can choose whether to multitask while driving.

But other employees, particularly blue-collar workers, do not have that luxury. Many employers deploy an array of devices to stay connected with their drivers at all times.

The Mobile Office

“When someone’s toilet overflows, they call a bunch of plumbers — the first plumber there wins,” said Brian Edds, a marketing director for Xora, a company based in Mountain View, Calif.

Xora’s software lets workers using mobile phones receive dispatch and navigation directions, deal with payroll, fill out invoices and otherwise manage their work as if they were sitting at a desk.

IDC, the research firm, estimates companies spent $850 million last year for such software from Xora and its competitors, and estimated the market size would double in five years. The software has been installed on the phones of millions of electricians, service technicians, home health care workers, sales people, plumbers and others — at companies like Coca-Cola, Merck, Pitney Bowes and Xerox, and the city of Chicago.

Xora’s customers include the Roto-Rooter Services Company, the plumbing chain.

In the past, Mr. Edds said, a mobile worker might have had to scribble down directions from a dispatcher.

“Now he gets sent the information in an organized manner, so he can click on the address, and get the best route, so he gets to a job very fast,” he said.

Stephen R. Poppe, chief information officer for Roto-Rooter, said that when employees turned on their device, it warned them not to use it while driving. But employees can bypass the warning, and Mr. Poppe conceded the company cannot stop them from doing so,

“It’s like telling your daughter, ‘Don’t talk while driving,’ ” he said. “She answers, ‘Sure, Dad.’ ”

The company also needs quick responses from its plumbers.

“We want to know right this minute if they’re going to take that job or not, or we’ll assign the job to someone else,” he said. “We’ll know within 60 seconds.”

Mr. Edds said that Xora software included a standard warning screen urging users not to use it while driving. But he acknowledged that it could be ignored — and often was.

“Like the warning screens on in-dash navigation systems, most users treat them as a speed bump on their way to do what they want to do,” he said.

And sometimes a computer in the driver’s seat can be a deadly distraction.

Unintended Costs

Jered Noe was driving a Coca-Cola delivery truck on a quiet stretch of two-lane highway in Seminole County, Okla., two Novembers ago.

Samantha Dawn Earnest, with her three children, Jason, 7; Dakota, 5; and Hailey, 4; was driving along the same road in the other direction in her green 1999 Chevrolet Malibu.

In the back seat, Jason and Dakota talked about decorating the walls of their shared room. Jason favored pictures of dinosaurs. Dakota preferred horses.

As Ms. Earnest crested a hill, the delivery truck swerved into her car, spun it around and sent it careening across the highway. Jason died on impact.

Ms. Earnest, stunned and bleeding, saw the truck driver walking toward her.

“I said, ‘Why, why, why?’ ” she recalled screaming at him. “He told me, ‘I just took my eyes off the road for a second because I was looking at my computer.’ ”

She started chasing him.

“I went into a mad rage,” she said. “If he’d said he’d fallen asleep, maybe I’d have understood. But using a computer?”

Mr. Noe, 24, received a suspended sentence for negligent homicide, a misdemeanor, and the Earnest family sued Mr. Noe’s employer, the ADA Coca-Cola Bottling Company.

The company settled, and the terms of the agreement are confidential. ADA did not respond to requests for comment.

Lawyers and expert witnesses in cases involving multitasking drivers say such lawsuits are common.

Last year, International Paper reached a settlement to pay $5.2 million because of a 2006 accident in which an employee on a phone hit another driver, whose arm had to be amputated.

Katherine McArthur, a lawyer in Macon, Ga., who sued International Paper in that case, said the company permitted employees to use a cellphone while driving if it had a hands-free headset. (This remains the company policy, according to International Paper).

But Ms. McArthur said that several studies show that drivers using headsets face the same likelihood of crashing as someone holding the phone to their ear. That risk has been compared to driving at the legal limit for intoxication.

“What I’m arguing in these cases is that these companies are authorizing something as bad as drunk driving and that they knew about the research or should have known,” she said. Ms. McArthur said that companies should expect more such lawsuits.

“They’re the deep pockets,” she said. Some may pay before an accident even happens. Insurance executives say that when setting premiums the industry has started to consider whether companies have policies on cellphone use.

The Calculus

There might be another reason for drivers to reconsider working behind the wheel: a growing body of studies suggest that such work may be less valuable than many people assume.

The reason, researchers say, is that the brain can effectively perform only one difficult task at a time.

Mr. Meyer, the Michigan professor, found that when someone tried to multitask, important neural regions must switch back and forth, taking time and creating inefficiencies.

That can be particularly dangerous, of course, when a driver suddenly feels the tires slipping on an icy road in the middle of a phone call. But that 2001 study, and numerous others, also show that multitasking motorists can pay another price — in the quality of their work.

In 2006, for instance, researchers at University of California, Los Angeles, used brain imaging to show that multitaskers were less effective learners.

According to that research, a person focused on a single task remembers what he has learned using the hippocampus, a part of the brain critical to storing and recalling information.

But when that person multitasks — like trying to learn something new while driving — the brain relies more on the striatum, a part of the brain used more for learning motor skills.

The researchers concluded, “Don’t multitask while you are trying to learn something new you hope to remember.”

“The brain is fundamentally built to unitask,” said Clifford Nass, a communications professor at Stanford, where he is also a co-director of a new automotive research laboratory.

That limitation can put drivers at a disadvantage if they are negotiating with someone who, say, is in an office and less distracted.

Driving, Mr. Nass said, taxes the parts of the brain that make it more difficult to appreciate nuances of a conversation. “A person is much more manipulatable when they’re behind the wheel,” he said.

Mr. Nass said that the counterproductive effects can linger after the ride. Research shows that the brains of heavy multitaskers can become so accustomed to hopping from task to task that they have trouble focusing on longer, more in-depth ones.

Some companies have weighed several factors — including the safety risks and the cost of potential lawsuits — and banned employees from doing work on their phones behind the wheel. (In a survey taken in August of its 13,000 member companies, the National Safety Council found 469 with such bans.)

Some corporations that have imposed the bans have found that productivity has not suffered.

AMEC, an international engineering and project management company, banned its 9,000 North American workers, starting in 2005, from talking on the phone while driving — a decision the company made after executives heard about a fatal accident caused by a driver talking on a cellphone.

AMEC surveyed its workers a year later, asking them to respond anonymously to encourage candor, and 95 percent said their productivity had not been affected.

In 2004, Exxon Mobil started asking the same question after it became concerned about the safety of its 90,000 workers and 100,000 contract workers, who drove up to 1.5 million miles each day, said Michael Henderek, the company’s safety executive at the time. The company wanted to know what a ban would do to the bottom line.

“Exxon Mobil is a corporation in which 50 percent of employees are engineers,” said Mr. Henderek. “It’s driven by data.”

The company determined that research equating the dangers of behind-the-wheel multitasking with drunken driving was reliable. So in early 2004, Exxon Mobil ran a pilot project, restricting some employees from using the phone while driving. It found no loss in productivity, and quickly imposed a ban for all workers and contractors.

“To not act was irresponsible,” Mr. Henderek said. “The risk to employees was much greater than any marginal benefit of the productivity you get.”

Exxon Mobil was particularly concerned about its big fuel trucks.

“The last thing you want to have,” Mr. Henderek said, “is an incident between the fuel fleet and the community.”

Tragedy Begets a Change

Last March, Potash’s chief executive, William J. Doyle, attended a conference in Bahrain that focused on safety in the fertilizer industry.

He was particularly moved by a harrowing speech — not about chemical safety, but distracted driving. Before day’s end, Mr. Doyle had sent an e-mail message to several Potash executives telling them the company needed to change its policy.

“It said, ‘We have to get a cellphone policy in place. We can’t subject people to this anymore,’ ” John Hunt, Potash’s executive in charge of safety, health and environment, recalled.

On April 1, Potash banned its 5,000 workers from using their phones while driving, telling them they could be fired if they broke the rule. “There’s always an extra 15 or 30 minutes where someone can pull the car over to place a call. Nothing is that critical,” Mr. Hunt said, explaining the policy.

Mr. Dekok, the manager, was skeptical. But his grudging acceptance vanished when he heard a speech by David Teater, an executive with the National Safety Council, which has made a cause of eliminating driver distraction.

This year, as part of that, the group began an effort to get corporations representing one million workers to ban their employees from using cellphones while driving.

At the invitation of Potash, Mr. Teater, 53, a former college football player with an easygoing manner, recently gave company workers and their families a version of the stump speech he has given dozens of times.

Over 40 minutes, Mr. Teater detailed the increased risks drivers face when multitasking. He talked about cognitive distraction and the need for stronger laws. He thanked Potash for being a leader and urged the audience to tell others to rethink their priorities.

“We don’t need our phones as much as we think we do,” he said.

Then Mr. Teater, his audience already rapt, showed pictures on a projector of people who had been killed by multitasking drivers.

The last photo he showed was of a 12-year-old blond boy, smiling — it was Joe Teater, Mr. Teater’s son.

On Martin Luther King Day in 2004, a driver talking on a cellphone on her way to church hit the Teaters’ car, killing Joe and injuring his mother, who was driving. (After his son’s death, Mr. Teater worked 18 months for a company that is developing technology that can prevent a driver from using a cellphone while the car is in motion, and he still owns shares in the company.)

Many of the Potash employees teared up as Mr. Teater concluded. They thanked him, and said they would change their behavior and urge friends and family to do the same.

Mr. Hudson, the Potash salesman, still wishes there could be some compromise on the policy. He acknowledged that he has had more than a few scary moments in the past when he’s “swerved off the beaten path” while multitasking. But he still feels drive time should be productive.

“You’d think we could have some leeway on the highway — when you’re on open road and you’re wide awake,” he said. “It’s a little over the top to have a 100 percent ban. But then, where do you draw the line?”

For Mr. Dekok, the line is now clear. If he is driving and the phone rings, he lets it go to voicemail. He knows every rest stop on his routes, and which ones have good cellular and Wi-Fi service.

He does not drive more than 30 miles without stopping to respond to messages. And he delegates more authority to subordinates so they can deal with problems when he is on the road.

Business is just as urgent as it always has been, but he has a new view of the calculus.

“After you go cold turkey, and get rid of the cellphone when you drive, you see other people’s behavior,” he said. “It’s like getting sober and realizing everyone else is still drunk.”

Topics for Essay # 2

2009-09-30T19:23:00.000-07:00

Connection & Alienation
The Virtual Self
Multi-tasking, Divided Attention, and "being on pause"
Technology and its effects on Parenting
Technology and its effects on our Relationships
The use of technology and how we write, read, and communicate
The uses of technology: socializing, shopping, learning, planning, entertainment
Internet: Friend or Foe?
The benefits and consequences of technology
Safety Issues (texting while driving, online predators, "web rage")

Paper # 2: Life with Online and Mobile Technology

2009-09-30T17:33:00.000-07:00

Paper # 2: Joining A Conversation about the WWW, mobile devices, and the way they affect our lives.

Paper Schedule:
W 9/30: Paper Assigned
M 10/5: Prewriting / Plan / Working Thesis
M 10/12 : Draft (clean, typed copy)
M: 10/21: Revised Paper due

Your purpose in this essay is to state and explain a position in response to Amy Goldwasser‘s “What's the Matter with Kids Today“ and/or Sherry Turkle‘s “Can You Hear Me Now?” You should first explore the topic and determine your position or point of view (you may use some of the methods suggested in TSIS and WR). Your exploration should lead you to a working thesis (5c, WR) and a plan to develop that thesis (5d, WR). Please bring your working thesis and plan to class on 10/5. After we review these plans in class, you will write a first draft. Your first draft is due on 10/7. I will return your draft the following week. The final draft, revised in light of the feedback you get from me and from your own careful review (ch. 7 WR), is due on 10/21.

Length: 2.5-4 pages, proofread, double spaced and stapled

What I am looking for:

Analysis of the Goldwasser's and\or Turkle's Argument (what is the argument and how does it work?)
Introduction stating your main point (thesis)
Introduction should include an adequate summary of the conversation you are joining
Body Paragraphs presenting evidence that supports, illustrates, and explains your main point
Conclusion that restates your main point and evidence
Backing up your ideas with examples, specifics, quotes, personal experience or other evidence rather than summarizing
Specifics – not generalizations
Quotes from the text (include at least 3)
Consideration of the issues covered in your WR
Attention to language, grammar, and mechanics
Evidence of Critical Reading and Thinking
Original thought / Independent intellectual effort
Essay Title

Self-Review: Quick Diction Edit (in-class 9/28)

2009-09-28T17:08:00.000-07:00

1. Read your essay and consider your AUDIENCE (college, academic). Look for any words or phrases that are slang (such as "cool"), colloquial words and expressions (such as "fixing to"), and cliches (such as "easier said than done" and "better late than never"). Circle these words and phrases. After you have read through the entire paper, replace any slang or colloquial words or expressions with standard written English. Replace any cliches with original expressions.

2. CONCEPT NOUNS: Nouns that express a concept are commonly used in bad writing instead of verbs that tell what someone did. For example: "The common reaction is incredulous laughter" or "Bemused cynicism isn't the only response to the old system" or "The current campus hostility is a symptom of the change." What is so eerie is that these sentences have no people in them. They have no working verbs, and they contain abstractions that the reader can't visualize. Turn these cold sentences around. Get people doing things. For example: "Most people just laugh with disbelief" or "Some people respond to the old system by turning cynical; others say..."

(the above paraphrase of a passage from William Zinsser's On Writing Well)

Go back through your essay and underline and concept nouns that you used in your essay. Replace them or rewrite the sentences so that you "get people doing things."

3. Read the paper again and draw boxes around general or blah nouns and adjectives. Look especially for general nouns such as "thing," "aspect,"and "kind," and adjectives that describe size and appearance, such as "large," "small," and "nice." After you have boxed in these general words and replace them with more lively, concrete synonyms. You may use a thesaurus.

4. Read the paper again and circle all forms of the verb "to be" (be, am, is, are, was, were, being, been). Replace at least 1/2 the verbs with more lively verbs (sometimes this will require that you reword the sentence).

5. Read the paper again and draw brackets around the expletives "there is" and "there are" whenever you see them at the beginning of a sentence. Reword these sentences to eliminate the expletives.

6. Give the paper a last read for diction, and underline any biased language -- sexist, racist, or otherwise prejudiced. Replace any biased words or phrases you discover.

Conferences Next Week (Monday 9/21 and Wednesday 9/23)

2009-09-16T19:34:00.000-07:00

Reminder: We will not meet as a class next week. Instead, you will attend a 15 minute individual conference.

Please be on time for your conference.

Please bring a copy of your rough draft and your journal.

The conference will be a conversation about your paper and your participation in the class.

We can also discuss any concerns or questions.

I'm looking forward to meeting with you!

Peer Review Questions

2009-09-14T20:20:00.001-07:00

Overall impression. Read through the entire draft quickly. What is your main impression? What strikes you as the draft’s strongest and weakest features?
Carefully reread the opening paragraph.

-Underline the thesis. Circle any words that are vague or could be more specific.

- Write the thesis word for word.

-does it make a claim?

- is it specific?

- is it manageable?

-does it contribute to the conversation?

- Rewrite the thesis in your own words.

-Based on the introduction, what are you most interested in hearing more about?

Does the introduction adequately summarize the conversation? In other words, does it introduce at least one of the essays, state that essay’s main point, and respond to it?
Reread the entire paper, paying particular attention to the body paragraphs

-identify the topic sentences

-do the topic sentence relate to the thesis?

-write the topic of the paragraph in the margin of the paper next to the paragraph

-do the paragraphs stay on topic?

-do any of the paragraphs seem to ramble, cover too many points, or fail to provide evidence or specifics? Explain.

-does the writer effectively integrate quotes into the essay?

5. Read the conclusion. Does the essay end effectively by restating or reviewing the thesis? Do you feel like the writer has proved his or her claim? Does it give you a sense of completion? Do you feel like the writer has adequately participated in the conversation?

6. Add anything else that you think the writer should know.

Self-Review (due Monday, 9/14)

2009-09-09T20:26:00.000-07:00

Write the thesis word for word.
What is effective about the thesis? Explain.

is it specific?
is it manageable?
does it contain a claim or assertion?
is it significant?

What would you change about the thesis?
Rewrite the thesis

Examine the plan

Suggest any elements the author left out that should be included in the plan for the essay.
Are there any elements that should be excluded from the plan?
Is the order of topics appropriate for the essay? Can you suggest a better order?
What is the most interesting aspect of the plan?

Provide any further comments for the author

Paper # 1

2009-09-02T17:56:00.000-07:00

Paper # 1: Joining A Conversation

Paper Schedule:
W 9/2: Paper Assigned
W 9/9: Prewriting / Plan / Working Thesis
M 9/14: Draft (clean, typed copy)
M: 9/26: Revised Paper due

Your purpose in this essay is to state and explain a position or point of view in response to Steven Johnson‘s “Watching TV Makes You Smarter“ and/or Dana Stevens‘s “Thinking Outside the Idiot Box.” You should first explore the topic and determine your position or point of view (you may use some of the methods suggested in TSIS and WR). Your exploration should lead you to a working thesis (5c, WR) and a plan to develop that thesis (5d, WR). Please bring your working thesis and plan to class on 9/9. After we review these plans in class, you will write a first draft. Your first draft is due on 9/14. I will return your draft the following week. The final draft, revised in light of the feedback you get from me and from your own careful review (ch. 7 WR), is due on 9/26.

Length: 2.5-4 pages, proofread, double spaced and stapled
Introduction stating your main point (thesis)
Introduction should include an adequate summary of the conversation you are joining
Body Paragraph presenting evidence that supports, illustrates, and explains your main point
Body Paragraphs include a topic sentence that connects to the thesis
Conclusion that restates your main point and evidence
Backing up your ideas with examples rather than summarizing
Specifics – not generalizations
Quotes from the text (include at least 3)
Consideration of the issues covered in your WR
Attention to language, grammar, and mechanics
Original thought / Independent intellectual effort
Essay Title

Proust Questionnaire (notes from our ice breaker)

2009-08-31T09:04:00.000-07:00

Wiki entry on Proust

Daniel Radcliff (questions begin around 3:10)

Meryl Streep

Dave Chappelle (questions begin around 3:10)

COURSE CALENDAR

2009-08-31T00:29:00.000-07:00

M (8/31)
HW: Read CH. 2 “Her Point Is,” “Watching TV Makes You Smarter” (TSIS), “Learning Across the Curriculum” (WR)
W (9/2) Read “Thinking Outside the Idiot Box” Paper # 1 Assigned: IS TV Good for you?
CAI Lab @ 7pm
HW: Read p 21-54 (WR)
Read “As He Himself Puts It” (TSIS)

M (9/7) Holiday. Class does not meet.
W (9/9) Thesis and Plan due for Paper #1 (bring two copies: one for peer review and one to turn in)
HW: Read p57-73 (WR)
“Yes/ No / Okay, But” & “And Yet” (TSIS)

M (9/14) Draft due for Paper # 1(bring two copies: one for peer review and one to turn in)
HW: Read p 73-93 (WR)
“Skeptics May Object” (TSIS)
W (9/16) In-class revisions CAI Lab @ 7pm
HW: “So What? Who Cares?” (TSIS)

M (9/21) CONFERENCES (Class does not meet. Come at your assigned conference time.)
W (9/23) CONFERENCES (Class does not meet. Come at your assigned conference time.)

M (9/28) Revision of Paper #1 due
HW: Read “What’s the Matter with Kids Today?” and “Can You Hear Me Now?” (TSIS)

W (9/30) Paper # 2 Assigned: Life in the WWW CAI Lab @ 7pm
HW: Read “As A Result” (TSIS)

M (10/5) Thesis and Plan due for Paper # 2(bring two copies: one for peer review and one to turn in)
HW: Read “Ain’t So / Is Not” (TSIS)
W (10/7) Draft of Paper # 2 due(bring two copies: one for peer review and one to turn in)
HW: Read “In Other Words” (TSIS)

M (10/12) Draft of Paper # 2 due (bring two copies: one for peer review and one to turn in)

Prepare for Paper # 3, In-class essay: "Hidden Intellectualsim" by Gerald Graff, TSIS

Read and Annotate article
HW: Read “Entering Class Discussions” and “Reading for the Conversation” (TSIS)

W (10/14) Paper # 3 written in class CAI Lab @ 7pm

M (10/19) Paper # 3 revision due
HW: Read/Review MLA Documentation p 275-323 (WR)
W (10/21) Looking at Rhetorical Models: Jean Killbourne's Killing Us Softly

M (10/26) Revision of Paper #2 due; Read and discuss Seamus Heaney's "Digging"

W (10/28) MLA Documentation

M (11/2) Revision of Paper #3 due; (must use MLA documentation)

Read "Your Trusted Friends" by Eric Schlosser

Paper # 4 Assigned: Children and Advertising

W (11/4) Paper # 4 written in class

M (11/9) Revision of Paper # 4 due (must use MLA documentation);

Paper # 5 assigned: Reflective Essay

2009-08-26T16:44:00.000-07:00

The expository essay is a genre of essay that requires the student to investigate an idea, evaluate evidence, expound on the idea, and set forth an argument concerning that idea in a clear and concise manner. This can be accomplished through comparison and contrast, definition, exempla, the analysis of cause and effect, etc.

Please note: This genre is commonly assigned as a tool for classroom evaluation and is often found in various exam formats.

The structure of the expository essay is held together by the following:

A clear, concise, and defined thesis statement that occurs in the first paragraph of the essay.

It is essential that this thesis statement be appropriately narrowed to follow the guidelines set forth in the assignment. If the student does not master this portion of the essay, it will be quite difficult to compose an effective or persuasive essay.

Clear and logical transitions between the introduction, body, and conclusion.

Transitions are the mortar that holds the foundation of the essay together. Without logical progression of thought, the reader is unable to follow the essay’s argument, and the structure will collapse.

Body paragraphs that include evidential support.

Each paragraph should be limited to the exposition of one general idea. This will allow for clarity and direction throughout the essay. What is more, such conciseness creates an ease of readability for one’s audience. It is important to note that each paragraph in the body of the essay must have some logical connection to the thesis statement in the opening paragraph.

Evidential support (whether factual, logical, statistical, or anecdotal).

Often times, students are required to write expository essays with little or no preparation; therefore, such essays do not typically allow for a great deal of statistical or factual evidence.

A bit of creativity!

Though creativity and artfulness are not always associated with essay writing, it is an art form nonetheless. Try not to get stuck on the formulaic nature of expository writing at the expense of writing something interesting. Remember, though you may not be crafting the next great novel, you are attempting to leave a lasting impression on the people evaluating your essay.

A conclusion that does not simply restate the thesis, but readdresses it in light of the evidence provided.

It is at this point of the essay that students will inevitably begin to struggle. This is the portion of the essay that will leave the most immediate impression on the mind of the reader. Therefore, it must be effective and logical. Do not introduce any new information into the conclusion; rather, synthesize and come to a conclusion concerning the information presented in the body of the essay.

Getting to Know Each Other

2009-08-26T13:27:00.001-07:00

What is your favorite word?
What is your least favorite word?
What turns you on creatively, spiritually or emotionally?
What turns you off creatively, spiritually or emotionally?
What sound or noise do you love?
What sound or noise do you hate?
What is your favorite slang word or expression?
What profession other than your own would you like to attempt?
What profession would you not like to do?
If Heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the Pearly Gates?

CAI Lab Dates!

2009-08-26T11:32:00.001-07:00

Important Dates!

2009-08-26T11:26:00.001-07:00

In-Class Essay Exam: Wednesday, November 18th

Portfolio Due: absolutely no later than Monday, November 30th

ENGLISH 100 SYLLABUS

2009-08-26T10:37:00.000-07:00

CRN: 34658 * IDC 112 * MW: 6-8:20
Course Blog: http://english100fall2009.blogspot.com/
The class blog is updated frequently and contains a copy of this syllabus

Instructor: Michelle Detorie, MFA, MA
Office Hours: M, W 5-6pm and by appointment
Office: IDC 312 Cubicle A

mmdetorie@pipeline.sbcc.edu

CRITICAL DATES:
Start Date: 24-AUG-09

End Date: 12-DEC-09

Last Date to add class: 05-SEP-09

Last Date to drop with a refund: 05-SEP-09
Last Date to drop without a "W": 07 SEP 2009

Last Date to drop with a "W": 23 OCT 2009

Census Date: 09/08/09

TEXTS AND SUPPLIES:

Required Texts:
"They Say / I Say": The Moves That Matter in Academic Writing with Readings (Gerald Graff, Cathy Birkenstein, Russel Durst)

A Writer’s Resource (Elaine Maimon)

Required Supplies:

A notebook to be used as a journal

Binder or folder for handouts

Manila folder for portfolio submission

Recommended Texts and Supplies:

Dictionary and Thesaurus

Thumb drive/jump drive
Mini-stapler

COURSE DESCRIPTION:

English 100 is an intensive writing course for students who need work in basic expository composition, in preparation for English 110 and other college level courses which require essay exams and expository writing. Grammar and composition are taught in an integrated way that stresses the dynamics of the writing process: pre-writing, composing, revising, and editing. Readings provide models of good writing and ideas and information for essays. Individual student conferences are used to provide assistance with writing and evaluate student progress. The three unit course is graded on a credit/no credit basis. Students must complete all work in order to be considered for English 110 placement. Students who complete all course requirements and receive an English 110 assessment for their writing will receive credit for English 100 and eligibility for English 110. Students who complete all course requirements but do not receive an English 110 assessment for their writing will receive credit for English 100A. Students receiving credit for English 100A may repeat English 100 one time only.

The pre-freshman course (ENG 100) and the freshman English courses (ENG 110 and 111) provide all students with a foundation in college writing, the reading of nonfiction, fiction, drama, poetry and research. All of these courses have a strong emphasis on development of critical thinking skills in logic and argumentation.

The objective of the English Department is to provide each student with the opportunity to develop his or her own reading, writing, research and critical/thinking abilities for successful transfer to universities and for functioning in society and the job market.

SPECIFIC STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES:

Upon completion of English 100, successful students will be able to do the following:

1. Demonstrate comprehension of assigned texts by identifying the main ideas and supporting examples.

2. Develop organized paragraphs supported with evidence from class texts and personal experience or observation.

3. Create a thesis to focus on a purpose and respond to a rhetorical situation.

4. Respond to the needs of an academic audience by choosing appropriate syntax, diction, grammar, and mechanics.

5. Apply instructional feedback to the stages of the writing process.

COURSE REQUIREMENTS:

Much of the coursework will be done in class and cannot be made up. Because of this, good attendance is essential. Students with more than three absences will be dropped from the class. Frequent tardiness will also result in a lower attendance grade. Assigned work includes reading, language studies, and paragraph and essay writing. Students will write five revised, edited essays and take the Eng. Dept. Writing Exam. In addition, students will practice timed essay writing to prepare for essay exams in other classes. Each student will keep a portfolio of all revised and timed essays. This will be used to measure student progress and make placement recommendations at the end of the semester. Students without complete portfolios will receive no credit for the course and be ineligible for English 110 placement. Passing on to English 110 also involves your reading assessment. If your portfolio receives a passing score from your two outside readers, AND you have a reading score of “04” (eligibility for English 103) or “05” (college-level reading skills), then you will be able to take EN 110. If you have not met your reading eligibility, your passing score in English 100 will be kept on record until you do meet this requirement

GRADING POLICY:

English 100 is a credit/ no-credit course: in order to earn credit, you must earn at least a “C” (73%) grade based on the amount of work you complete, as well as the strength of your essays. You must complete (draft, edit, revise) all of the essays to pass the course. I will give number grades (1-7) to your essays based on the English Department’s rubric. You will submit a portfolio of your work near the end of the semester. The portfolio will contain your three best essays. This portfolio will be read and evaluated by two outside readers. We will talk about the criteria these readers will use, and I will “grade” your papers according to this criteria.

Here is a rough breakdown of how I will evaluate your work:

Essays 1-5: 60%
Portfolio: 15%
Participation (includes attendance): 15%
Journal: 10%

ATTENDANCE POLICY:

Attendance is required. Much of the coursework will be done in class and cannot be made up. Because of this, good attendance is essential. I will allow two unexcused absence. A third absence requires documentation: a doctor’s note or a letter from a funeral director in the case of a death in the family. Absences will lower your participation grade, and students with more than three absences will be dropped from the class. Frequent or excessive tardiness will also result in a lower attendance grade and may count as an absence. I won’t quantify or negotiate whether a late arrival is or isn’t an absence. I think everyone knows what qualifies as “frequent” or “excessive” tardiness. This is the protocol I appreciate for late arrivals: come into the class, say to the class “sorry I am late,” and take your seat.

CLASSROOM ETIQUETTE:

Class Participation includes prompt arrival, preparedness for discussion (completed reading and organized thoughts), and preparedness for workshops (notes for discussion and organized thoughts).

Students and teachers have a right to a classroom environment free from distractions. If you bring a cell phone to campus, please be sure that it is turned off before you enter the classroom.

Quick Guidelines:

*Whoever has the floor should have your attention.
*Don’t pack up early. It’s just plain rude.
*Texting, web-surfing, and/or napping in class is also rude. If you do any of this during class, you will be counted as absent.
*We will consider some fairly difficult and controversial material in the class, and I want to be sure that everyone feels free to express their opinions without fear of censure. Students and instructors are expected to be respectful of one another, to avoid inappropriate or abusive language, and to be kind and polite.
*If you send an e-mail, be sure to include a greeting and closing, to use complete sentences, and correct grammar and spelling.
*Please come to my office hours or make an appointment with me if you have questions or concerns about the class, a grade, or an assignment. I often prepare my materials in the moments before class, and therefore it is difficult for me to give you my undivided attention. *Because class time is valuable, I cannot discuss issues related only to an individual student during class.
*If you have a question that is not related to the current topic of discussion, consider bringing it to me in office hours or waiting for a more appropriate time to ask your question. If you are worried that you will forget your question, write it down.

Academic Honesty & Integrity: Academic honesty is a fundamental requirement of all students, and any instances of academic dishonesty will be reported in accordance with the SBCC Academic Honesty Policy. In addition, all essays must be saved as Word documents and may be submitted to turnitin.com

IMPORTANT: SBCC students with disabilities who are requesting accommodations for classes, college activities or tests should use the following SBCC procedure. (NOTE: This also includes students who are requesting to bring service animals into classes. The animals will be registered in DSPS. The procedure also includes requests to bring into classes personal service attendants who are not SBCC employees.) [1] Contact Disabled Student Programs and Services (DSPS).[2] Submit documentation of your disability to the DSPS office.[3] Communicate with a DSPS counselor regarding options for services and accommodations.[4] Reach written accommodation agreement with the DSPS counselor and your instructor. SBCC requests you complete this process at least ten working days before your accommodation is needed, in order to allow DSPS staff time to provide your accommodation.

Contact: DSPS office (805) 965-0581 x 2364, SS Building, room 160, dspshelp@sbcc.edu

JOURNALS :

Your journal is a place where you can do in-class writing prompts, collect ideas for future writing (write quotes, paste pictures or favorite passages), and respond to the things you read. In addition to in-class writing assignments, I will assign homework (in the form of a writing exercise) that you should do in your journal. Bring your journal to each class meeting.

CONTACTING ME :

Please do not hesitate to contact me if you ever have questions or concerns. I encourage you to visit me during office hours. If you phone or e-mail me, I will do my best to get back to you within one business day.

OTHER THINGS:

*Since I often send updates via email, I expect you to check your sbcc pipeline e-mail regularly. I will also be using pipeline to post a copy of this syllabus, copies of course assignments, and calendar updates.
*If you wish to appeal a grade that you have received on a paper, within one week of receiving your paper, you can return it to me along with a written statement detailing the nature of your grievance.
*If you miss class, it is your responsibility to consult with a classmate or the course website to check for missed work.

COURSE CALENDAR (This is a tentative schedule. I will distribute written revisions as I adapt the syllabus to meet your needs. ) Complete course calendar to be distributed during 2nd class meeting

TSIS=They Say, I say
WR= Writer’s Resource

WEEK 1

M 8/24 Welcome and Introduction to Course
Writing Sample: In-class
Read: Introduction in TSIS , p 1-14
Journal: Write at least one page about what you like to read.

W 8/26
Discussion: Critical Reading & Listening Strategies
Read: Ch 1, TSIS, p 17-27
Review: WR and visit text website
Journal: Write at least one page about a “conversation” you find interesting

"All there is to writing is having ideas. To learn to write is to learn to have ideas."-Robert

Rubrics & Contracts

2009-08-24T13:42:00.001-07:00

Course Description

2009-08-24T10:14:00.000-07:00

English 100 is an intensive writing course for students who need work in basic expository composition, in preparation for English 110 and other college level courses which require essay exams and expository writing. Grammar and composition are taught in an integrated way that stresses the dynamics of the writing process: pre-writing, composing, revising, and editing. Readings provide models of good writing and ideas and information for essays. Individual student conferences are used to provide assistance with writing and evaluate student progress. The three unit course is graded on a credit/no credit basis. Students must complete all work in order to be considered for English 110 placement. Students who complete all course requirements and receive an English 110 assessment for their writing will receive credit for English 100 and eligibility for English 110. Students who complete all course requirements but do not receive an English 110 assessment for their writing will receive credit for English 100A. Students receiving credit for English 100A may repeat English 100 one time only.

The pre-freshman course (ENG 100) and the freshman English courses (ENG 110 and 111) provide all students with a foundation in college writing, the reading of nonfiction, fiction, drama, poetry and research. All of these courses have a strong emphasis on development of critical thinking skills in logic and argumentation.

The objective of the English Department is to provide each student with the opportunity to develop his or her own reading, writing, research and critical/thinking abilities for successful transfer to universities and for functioning in society and the job market.