AUG 18th week 1

 

class 1:

in-class:

attendance and meet & greet

brief syllabus overview

• Intro to College Writing
• writing as GENRE, writing as PROCESS

then, self-introductions

 

 

 

 

Homework:

• read syllabus in detail
• purchase class textbook and materials (see syllabus)
• RESPONSE 1:  Go to a major online newspaper (New York Times, LA Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal) and explore a few articles that catch your eye (read at least 3). Write a 350+ word response (double-spaced) to ONE of those articles that summarizes (in exactly three sentences, no more no less) what the article is about. Next, write about why the article most interested you or caught your attention (what is your past personal experience with the topic, how does it effect you, what other kinds of reading have you done on the topic, what did you find new or surprising). Finish your 350+ word response by asking one or two questions the article leaves you wanting to pursue. Print out and bring to class.

 

 

class 2:

 

attendance & meet and greet

Rhetorical Situation, here

 

 

 

Homework:

• Two different GENRES of writing in a newspaper include the NEWS ARTICLE and the OPINION ARTICLE. These two genres of writing are not the same and have different characteristics and expectations (just like the difference between Horror and Romance movies). When you go to any major newspaper online (New York Times, Washington Post, Huffington Post, Wall Street Journal), you will see an OPINION section (sometimes labeled Op/Ed). Find the OPINION section of a major newspaper online to locate opinion articles. This will help you with your homework, listed below.
• READ: locate ONE news article *and* ONE opinion article related to the Michael Brown / Ferguson Police story. Print both, read, and bring to class.
• if you're not familiar with this news event, read a couple news articles AND a couple opinion articles, ideally from different sources. 
• RESPONSE 2: Write a 350 response to the event in general and to your opinion piece in particular. I'm interested in your thoughts, questions, reactions. What are the relevant contexts to consider here?  
• purchase class text book

 

 

Aug 25 Week2

 

class 1:

 

 

Thinking about genre differences: Opinion vs News Journalism

• comparative analysis
• exemplification  

 

Talking about Ferguson 

• small group discussion
• as you read / watched / heard about the death of Mike Brown and its aftermath, what were you thinking? what were you feeling? what went through your mind? What opinions/thoughts were newly evoked or reinforced? 
• What larger issues, problems, questions, or contexts can help us approach, understand, or interpret this event? (race, police, media, protest) 
• what would justice look like in this case, how would you define it? 
• how could the incidents in Ferguson, MO be prevented in the future, what kinds of changes would be necessary? 
• class discussion 

 

 

 

Some Grammar: 

Defining parts of writing:

a CLAUSE (a group of words that contain a subject and a verb) (from here)

- an INDEPENDENT CLAUSE (sometimes called a main clause) has a subject and a verb, AND expresses a complete thought.

- an INDEPENDENT CLAUSE can stand alone as a simple sentence.

• Independent Clause (& Coordination)
• common error: run-on sentence, two types:
• fused sentence - when there is NO punctuation separating two independent clauses.
• comma splice - when ONLY a comma separates two independent clauses
• solution: coordinating conjunction (F.A.N.B.O.Y.S.)
• for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so 
• info on conjunctions, here 
• Dependent Clause (Subordination) 
• Relative Clause
• Noun Clause 

 

 

self-introductions continued

 

 

 

HW:

• READ: Print out, read, and bring to class the following article:
• "Men Without a Country", by Arthur Chu (a condensed, printable .PDF version here) 
• WRITE: Make annotations in the margins of the Chu article. At minimum (I encourage you to do more), you should:
• ask two QUESTIONS in the margins at points in the text where questions spring to mind
• put an asterisk * beside the article's THREE most important moments
• write two STATEMENTS in the margin at points in the text where you have something to add, say, argue, expand on, relate to
• CIRCLE any and all words or allusions/references that you don't know or understand. Look TWO of them up and make a note in the margin to help you remember what it means or refers to. 
• WRITE: Type or write out a 5 sentence summary of the article and bring to class to turn in. 
• WRITE: Response 3: under your summary, quote me one sentence from your Response 2 opinion article and one sentence from your news article and explain BRIEFLY how each sentence demonstrates writing appropriate to its specific genre (opinion article vs news article)

 

 

 

 

class 2:

 

pop quiz:

 

More CLAUSES (from here)

• Independent Clause (let's review briefly: definition and common errors)
• a DEPENDENT CLAUSE (sometimes called a Subordinate Clause) has a subject + verb, but does not express a complete thought.
• a DEPENDENT CLAUSE will always begin with a  Subordinate Conjunction or a Relative Pronoun, see here 
• Dependent Clauses (& Subordination) p126 in textbook
• common error: fragment
• a FRAGMENT occurs when a group of words are punctuated like a sentence but 
• lack a subject or a verb, 
• or do not express a complete thought. 
• solution: add proper punctuation and a subordinate conjunction 
• Relative Clause
• Noun Clause 

 

FRAGMENT EX:

1) Brad ate all the pizza in the world.  Inspired millions to love pizza.

2) Brad, a writing instructor, who decided to give pizza instead of an exam.

3) Brad, a fan of pizza, ate it all because he couldn't stop.

4) Because Brad kept talking about pizza.  All the students cried.  

5) Brad promised not to mention pizza again.  Even though he was still eating some.

6) My favorite days are during summer. Drinking soda. Eating tons of pizza.

 

 

continuing Michael Brown / Ferguson police conversation.

Discussing the Arthur Chu article

• main idea/argument, and some important sub-points
• what is the basic development or organizational strategy of the essay?
• Where do we see DETAIL and DESCRIPTIVE language most?
• what's most confusing about the essay?
• what do you most like and dislike about this essay? 
• what are the various emotions expressed throughout?
• what role does the father play in Chu's argument?
• What would be lost if he didn't include his father?
• why did Chu originally hate and resist his father's moral so much? 
• Why the change in attitude later? Where's the turning point?
• how can America be BOTH his "abuser" and the object of his desire/love? 
• why did Chu release this after Ferguson? What's the relation there? 

 

 

 

ESSAY 1 Assignment: Narrative Writing

• THEME: Complicating the Domestic
• You will write an essay that narrates one or several past experiences with family that can help paint a picture about the complexities, complications, or contradictions of living in this country. The essay will try to show the relation between American ideals, expectations, norms and the inner workings of family.
• issues related to belonging (or not belonging), the American Dream (nightmare), American values (life liberty happiness; equality; justice), myths of American life
• essay must be a NARRATION of one or several past experiences
• essay will be 3 - 5 pages double spaced.
• Due class 2 of week 4

 

 

HW:

• READ: from our class textbook Chapter 9 (p203-220)
• READ: print and read the essay "Notes of a Native Son" by James Baldwin, here 
• WRITE: Response 4: respond to the textbook essay on page 214 by answering the following questions from our class textbook (starting on page 215): questions 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 - I would also like you to answer question 1 (the IMPLIED thesis) with reference to the James Baldwin text. 
• WRITE: brain storm at least TWO different essay 1 ideas.
• **OPTIONAL** (I will be assigning this text after our NEXT class, but if you had time and wanted to get a head-start, AND wanted to see a very different kind of example of what's possible for your essay, please feel free to read this during the long break. We won't be talking about it next class, but we will discuss it the class after that)
• print and read "How to Tame a Wild Tongue" by Gloria Anzaldua, here 

 

SEPT

Week3

class 1:

 

Flash Review from last class

- what is a sentence fragment?

- can you join a dependent clause to an independent clause effectively?

- can you use BOTH a coordinating conjunction and a subordinate conjunction in a single sentence?

Narration review, from Chapter 9 of textbook

 - what is narration?

-  what's the purpose of narration?

 

some in-class notes about what makes shitty stories

(and common narrative devices we use to tell stories), here and here

 

Also, quick HW info (how I am grading your summaries):

• Summary (or what to consider as you summarize) 
• coverage : are you hitting all the main ideas / points / sections of the text?
• aim for balance, while emphasizing thesis 
• sequence : are you mirroring the sequence (order) of ideas / points of the text?
• specificity : does your summary offer enough SPECIFIC DETAIL to make clear
• aim for balance, don't be TOO specific or linger too long on specific examples or proofs 
• accuracy : does the summary reproduce faithfully the ideas of the text?
• do not include info not found in the text, do not offer your own opinions 

 

 

discussing Ferguson as a class 

discuss the James Baldwin text in relation to the Chu article

• content, what they're about - relevance to Ferguson
• form, how they're written, strategies of storytelling (narrative) 

 

<break>

 

discussing essay 1, free-writing 

• Attempt to write in sentence form what you want your story to address or point out. 
• How are you complicating or making complex our sense of the domestic? 
• What's the bigger lesson, the point, the realization?
• What family event (or events) will you narrate? 
• Where/how will your story begin? Where/how will it end? 
• What details or elements of the event (or events) will best SHOW or DEMONSTRATE aspects of this lesson or point?
• Begin sketching out details from memory : what can you remember? keep ADDING more and more detail 

 

 

 

Essay 1 grading rubric, here

 

HW:

• READ: and annotate the essay "How to Tame a Wild Tongue" by Gloria Anzaldua, here 
• READ: Chapter 8 on Description from our textbook (p182 - 199) 
• WRITE: 
• 3-5 page Essay 1 draft, properly formatted. Print and bring to class. 
• things to consider in your draft
• Narrative and Description 
• Sentence Structures (common errors, coordinating and subordinate conjunction) 
• Bring to class the Anzaldua, Baldwin, and Chu articles.  
• PLEASE, for the love of all things holy, format ALL your class work using the following guidelines:
• 12pt Times New Roman font, double-spaced, typed and printed
• I will no longer accept hand-written HW responses. Thank you.

 

 

Week4

 

SEPT 8/9 class 1:

 

class overview

 

Description: SHOWING vs Telling

• evoking an impression through specificity and strategic selection of detail 
• returning to textbook, The Yellow Ribbon 
• our three assigned texts (Chu Baldwin Anzaldua) 

 

discussing narrative and description, formal elements, from our assigned reading (Chu, Baldwin, Anzaldua)

• intros (why do they start where they do? pros and cons?). Thinking of our own intros, pros/cons.
• where else could we start?  

 

 

passage without description, here

REVISION exercise:

• first on above example. Revision means to re-write/re-think. Re-write some portion of the example above.
• WRITE an alternate introduction. Start at a different moment in time, focus on adding detail / descriptive language. 
• REVISE (re-write/re-think) two separate sentences in your essay. 

 

 

 

HW:

• READ: textbook Chapter 6, p144 - 173.
• READ: this info on MODIFIERS, here and p513 - 521 from textbook.
• WRITE: select TWO paragraphs to completely revise with the goal of creating a VIVID scene of detail and action. You should be STRATEGIC about the kinds of detail that you add - thinking about what impressions, ideas, or messages you want to convey with those details. Print out separately and bring to class with your earlier rough draft. 

 

 

SEPT 10/11 class 2:

 

on MODIFIERS, here

• Create a few sentences about your day using a mix of the three modifiers. 
• identifying modifiers challenge, p590 of Baldwin text 

 

Looking at Baldwin and Anzaldua texts as descriptive narratives

• what is each text about, or in other words, what would be the implied thesis of each narrative?
• locate a moment in each text where the use of detail helps to convey or reinforce an impression or idea 

 

 

 

Essay 1 Peer Review

• questions, here 

 

 

ESSAY 1 Assignment: Narrative Writing

• THEME: Complicating the Domestic
• You will write an essay that narrates one or several past experiences centered around family (or home life) that can help paint a picture about the complexities, complications, or contradictions of living in this country. The essay will try to show the relation between American ideals / expectations/ norms and the inner workings of family or home life.
• issues related to belonging (or not belonging), the American Dream (nightmare), American values (life liberty happiness; equality; justice), myths of American life
• essay must be a descriptive NARRATION of one or several past experiences
• essay will be 3 - 5 pages double spaced.
• Due class 1 of Week 5
• Essay 1 grading rubric, here (this is how your essay will be graded)
  

 

 

Basic Checklist for getting started if you haven't written anything yet:

• ·       You are narrating a personal STORY
• ·       Your story must be about your family or home life (the domestic)
• ·       Your story should be descriptive
• using description/detail strategically to convey or reinforce impressions or ideas
• ·       Your story should COMPLICATE our normal way of thinking about American life, or American values, or belonging in America, or being American
• o  Does not need to conclude negatively (but it can)
• o  Does not need to discuss race/ethnicity (but it can)
• o  It does need to challenge or stimulate my thinking about being/living in this country
  

 

HW:

• With one last revision, finish an improved final essay 1. Print out and bring to class to turn in. Please put your clearly labeled final essay in a simple FOLDER along with any and all earlier rough drafts, hand-written notes, peer review comments, and your two revised paragraphs from homework.  
• It generally takes me TWO WEEKENDS to grade all student papers. I always try to grade them as quickly but as attentively as I can - sometimes I heroically finish in less than two weekends. Please do not inquire about paper grades until two weekends have passed.
• Bring to class your James Baldwin and Gloria Anzaldua essays, along with your textbook. 

 

 

Week5

 

SEPT 15/16 class 1:

 

Self-Assessment, WHAT DID YOU DO?!

1. Describe 2 specific moments or features of your work that demonstrate a strength or an achievement. Explain. 
2. Describe 2 specific moments or features of your writing that you think are least effective/need work. Explain.
3. Describe something you learned or an interesting problem you confronted about NARRATIVE or DESCRIPTIVE WRITING in working through this assignment.
4. If you had another week with the paper, what would you do with another revision session?  (alternate)

 

Fast Modifier quiz:

• what's a modifier?
• what are the three kinds we learned?
• p519, questions 1 - 6

 

 

 

In-Class practice with three appeals.

+ Point and support structure:

• In two paragraphs, make a case for how one of the two essays (Anzaldua or Baldwin) continues to be relevant to our current cultural moment (in other words, which of the two essays should more people be reading/paying attention to, and why). Each paragraph should begin with a clear reason, and then you should develop each reason by explaining your position, connecting specific moments from the text (quotes) to your understanding our our present cultural moment (personal example, current event, common experience).
• first make a sketch: 
• select a text
• two reasons it continues to be relevant
• think of two moments from the text that stuck with you, that seemed meaningful for you
• what's the connection to the present?

 

 

HW:

• READ the definitions of the Three Rhetorical Appeals (Logos, Pathos, Ethos), here
• Print and READ the following hand out, here (4 short opinion articles on Paid Housework). Bring to class.
• Read Chapter 1 from textbook. Bring to class.
• WRITE: Response 5: While reading (or after reading) the four opinion articles linked above, I want you to answer the following prompts: Quote two different instances of Ethos and two difference instances of Pathos. Compare and contrast your chosen examples. How do they work? How do they attempt to modify the perspective of the reader (you)? What emotions or values SPECIFICALLY do the examples of pathos seek to evoke? Which example of ethos is stronger and why? Which of the examples of pathos is stronger and why? 350 words or more.
• Bring to class your textbook, the four opinion articles, and the Baldwin and Anzaldua texts.

 

 

Sept 17/18 Class 2:

 

Looking at elements of Chapter 1

• traditional high-school/college essay, what is it?
• looking at point & support from rough paragraph to essay form
• p4, what's the point, and what's the supporting evidence?
• developed more fully and with greater focus, p6
• second paragraph - what are some MOVES the writer is making.
• p11-13, writing as skill, writing as process of discovery, writing as way to communicate.

 

recalling the Rhetorical Situation, with help here

• what is "Rhetoric" ?
• commonly understood as "acts of persuasion"
• what is persuasion?
• perhaps better defined as "the modifying of an audience's perspective"
• how is that different from "an act of persuasion"?
• Can be understood further as "a writer's awareness and assessment of available language choices"
• The ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle originally defined rhetoric as “an ability...to see the available means of persuasion”
• finally, can be defined as the capacity to identify with an audience in a moment of communication, to understand differences of perspective.

 

 

the 3 Rhetorical Appeals (definitions here )

1. Ethos
2. Pathos
3. Logos

 

How does Anzaldua and Baldwin establish ethos? where? how does it work?

How does each appeal to Pathos? where? and what values/emotions specifically?

 

<break>

 

Looking at the Housework debate.

• Where/how, if at all does each writer establish ethos?
• Where/how, if at all, does each writer appeal to pathos (and specifically, what values or emotions) ?
• Try to describe the MOVE that each writer makes in the first paragraph in terms of strategically setting up or defining their position? What is each writer DOING in their intro?

 

HW:

• go to the New York Times: Room For Debate page (here) and spend some time scrolling through the different debates until you locate a topic that interests you.
• You will be writing about this debate for the next 3 weeks, so be sure to have some sincere interest in the debate you choose.
• Read all the articles online. Then print out THREE. Bring to class.
• ANNOTATE the three articles you printed out by 
1. noting how author establishes ethos
2. defining how author appeals to pathos (and specifically what values/emotions)
3. describing how the first paragraph acts as a strategy for setting up or defining their position. describe what kind of moves are being made. 
4. *BONUS* - mark anything else in the margins that you think is an example of the writer doing something strategic to modify the audience's perspective.
• read Chapter 13 from textbook on Comparison / Contrast essays. Bring book to class.

 

Week6

 

Sept 22/23 class 1:

 

Looking at the articles on Housework:

• Pathos and Ethos
• something new: FRAMING the argument
• articles often try to FRAME THE ARGUMENT early in the text, what this means is the way an author wants to emphasize a certain angle, a certain focus. 

 

Recognizing Kinds of arguments (Stasis Theory):

1. Cause & Effect
1. how did something happen?
2. what causes something?
3. What's the effect of that?
4. why does something exist or continue to happen?
5. x causes y, y is caused by x
2. Definition & Classification
1. what is it?
2. is it or is it not an example of this thing?
3. what kind of thing is it?
4. x is y, x is a kind of y
3. Compare & Contrast
1. What is it like?
2. How is it different or similar? 
3. x is like y, z is not like x , x is more z than y
4. Evaluation
1. Is it good or bad? positive or negative? better or worse?
2. x is bad, y is not so good, z is awesome
5. Proposal 
1. what should be done?
2. how should something be accomplished?
3. we should do y, y should be achieved by x and z.

 

Rhetorical Analysis:

• an analysis of the rhetoric used by writers
• isolating specific rhetorical devices
• explaining how they work
• commenting on their effectiveness comparatively
• NOT you adding to the argument directly 

 

 

Essay 2 pre-writing, using the articles you selected:

Audience

• who is the target audience of this text? use two quotes as evidence/clues for your assumptions about target audience.

 

Pathos

• find one examples from your text. Write about what you're seeing there.
• what specific emotion or value is being appealed to?
• how does it work to trigger/appeal to such an emotion/value?
• is it appropriate/effective given the target audience?
• explain the potential pros of this strategy?
• what are the limits or potential problems of this strategy? 
• does it work WITH (integrate) or AGAINST (contradict) any other move in the essay?

Stasis Argument

• find and identify one stasis argument.
• what is the strength of this move? describe or explain.
• what is the limitation or potential problem of this move?
• does the author support this claim or not?
• if so, what's the strength of that support?

Connotation

• Locate a specific word or phrase that you think is being used because of its connotations.
• what is the connotation(s) that you think are being triggered here?
• how do you know, or what makes you feel confident, those connotations are intended?
• How is this a strategy? how does it work? consider the target audience.
• is this a strong or risky strategy? explain.

 

 

 

HW:

• READ and WRITE: read again your three articles. Annotate and make notes on your other TWO articles (the two that you did not work on in class). Use the same questions above from in class to make observations and comments on:
• an example of PATHOS
• a specific STASIS Argument
• the strategic use of CONNOTATION
• *bonus* can you identify and talk about some other kind of MOVE you notice your author making to persuade or modify the perceptions of the audience? a move that we have not identified or discussed in class yet? point it out and try to describe how it works as a strategy.
• Include as part of your notes (above) your thoughts about pros and cons of the moves you are noticing. Which ones are more effective and why? can you keep the target audience in mind when you evaluate these moves?
• Bring your articles and notes to class. 

 

 

Sept 24/25 class 2:

 

Intro to Essay 2: Rhetorical Analysis and Comparison Paper

• For this 4-5 page essay, you will first choose a debate from the New York Times' "Room For Debate" page, one that interests you and that you would be interested in analyzing. You will then be asked to write an ANALYSIS of rhetorical strategies in THREE articles within the debate you selected. You can choose three articles that take up different positions, or you can choose articles that all take the same side on the issue. Your job, in your analysis, will NOT be to join the debate. You are NOT asked to make arguments for or against the positions of the authors you are reading. Instead, your analysis will focus strictly on IDENTIFYING how the articles attempt to persuade their readers (naming the rhetorical strategy and providing evidence), EXPLAINING  how the rhetorical strategies are intended to work,  EVALUATING the strategy (strengths and weaknesses, or the complexities and complications, of those strategies), and offering a RATIONALE for your evaluations (making clear WHY you consider certain rhetorical moves to be effective or not). For your analysis you will need to explore a range of rhetorical strategies that we've discussed (our "rhetorical toolbox") while also trying to keep in mind the rhetorical situation that gives context to the articles' argument. Making some reference to the rhetorical situation will assist in making your RATIONALE for your evaluations of the rhetorical moves more convincing. For your conclusion (1-2 paragraphs) you should try to explain the significance of your comparison while also suggesting specific ways that each author could improve her/his rhetorical strategies. 
• You will need to balance the requirement to demonstrate an understanding of a RANGE of rhetorical strategies (it will be insufficient to only talk about the 3 Rhetorical Appeals) with a consideration for page requirement and a sense of focus/cohesion. This means you will need to be SELECTIVE about the rhetorical strategies you analyze. You should not attempt to cover ALL strategies we've discussed as they appear in both articles.  
• Two different ways of structuring your paper:
• Back to Back Article Comparison (Subject-by-subject; one side at a time)
• : walking through one single article's rhetorical strategies, then repeating your analysis on the next article, then repeating again on the third, then concluding with some evaluative remarks. 
• One Strategy at a Time (point-by-point):
• paragraphs or sections will focus on a single rhetorical strategy and look at how all three articles use that strategy before moving on to the NEXT strategy under analysis, repeating the comparison.  
• student Essay 2 example 1 
• essay 2 grading rubric for your reference, here 

 

Talking about Comparisons

• why do we compare? 
• what makes for good comparison?
• what makes for really bad comparisons? 

 

 

Looking over the homework, let's make some comparative and evaluative claims:

• first, free writing about DIFFERENCES and SIMILARITIES.  

 

Then, 

• which example of pathos is more effective and why? list at least two different reasons.
• how can you support each reason? make some fast notes...
• which is the stronger stasis argument of your examples? list two reasons
• how can you support each reason? make some notes.

 

 

 

Turning notes into draft material. Creating paragraphs.

• INTRO: what should go here?
• a mention of the topic under debate (maybe some minimal context for WHY its being debated NOW)
• the three authors names
• the fact that you will be analyzing their arguments
• something of a thesis, what you are trying to PROVE or DEMONSTRATE in your paper 
• this might be more clear after you finish a first draft, but keep the question in mind
• WHAT ARE YOU TRYING TO PROVE OR DEMONSTATE in your rhetorical analysis? 
• BODY PARAGRAPHS
• organizing the body paragraphs, how do you want to make your comparisons?
• point by point, vs one case at a time.
• when to briefly summarize each text?
• first time you introduce one of your articles into your paper, include the article title AND a one or two sentence summary of the writer's argument/main ideas.
• what do I do in each body paragraph?
• see the order of operations below
• what about conclusion?
• demonstrate the Significance / Interest / Importance of your evaluations
• what are you trying to prove or make us aware of in your comparative evaluations? 
• suggest ways each other might strengthen her strategy 

 

 

Quoting text:

All quotes need three parts:

1. a lead-in, something that introduces the quote
1. ex. Sandra Kim, author of "The Pizza Box," claims,  
2. the quoted material, inside quotation marks 
1. ex. "This pizza is Delicious"
3. a parenthetical citation, the author's name and page number inside parentheses, followed by a punctuation mark.
1. ex. (Kim 12)

 

Some rules:

• You don't include the final punctuation (like a period) of your quoted material
• bad example "This pizza is delicious." (Kim 12) <--- NO!
• good example "This pizza is delicious" (Kim 12). <---- :D 
• A comma separates your formal lead-in from your quoted material
• You do not need an ellipsis (...) at the beginning or end of your quoted material 

 

 

 

 HW:

• WRITE, rough draft of your ESSAY 2 Rhetorical Analysis. Have at least 3 full pages to get feedback. (Remember final is 4-5 pages.)
• read the Intro, Background, and Naming of the Project sections of this Wikipedia page on the Park 51 building. 
• read this article by Phil Hotsenpillar, here 
• read student Essay 2 sample paper  

 

OCT

Week7  - essay 2 rough draft due

 

Sept 29/30 class 1:

Expanding our Rhetorical Toolbox (devices):

what's already in:

• connotation 
• ethos, pathos
• Stasis Arguments (logos)
• compare/contrast
• evaluation
• cause/effect
• definition/evaluation
• proposal 

what's new:

• Figures of Speech (non-literal language)
• Metaphor/Simile (a poetic comparison for dramatic or clever effect)
• Understatement (to reduce the full effect or complexity of something)
• Euphemism (to give a polite phrase to something harsh, severe, or offensive) 
• Meiosis (to belittle the importance or significance of something/someone)
• Hyperbole (a non-literal exaggeration) 
• Synechdoche (when a part stands in for the whole) 
• Rhetorical Fallacies (see homework)

 

 

 

Watching/listening to Pres. Obama addressing the United Nations, here

• what are some various Rhetorical Moves being made?

 

 

Operations in our rhetorical analysis body paragraphs:

• Identify (name what rhetorical device you analyzing)
• Give Evidence  (quote to show evidence)
• Explain the device (explain how the rhetorical device is INTENDED to work, or how it is a strategy)
• Evaluate the device (good/bad, strong/weak, limited, complicated, contradictory, complex) 
• Give a rationale for your evaluation (WHY do you make that claim. By what basis?)

 

 

Template Example of a paragraph moving through the first three operations, here 

• the example also shows how to introduce a new article, a two-sentence summary, and proper quote format.

 

 

Let's look at the student example using the color-coded operations, here

• marking the margins: have a peer read one or two of your body paragraphs, and LABEL the operations as you find them.

 

<break>

 

Revision Exercises (choose one):

• Making more clear your individual OPERATIONS: providing EVIDENCE & quote incorporation (and contextualizing your quotes/evidence), EXPLAINING clearly how the writer is TRYING to be persuasive with the rhetorical strategy under analysis, making clear EVALUATIVE claims of your own regarding the strategies/comparisons, elaborating sufficiently on WHY (RATIONALE)  you are making those evaluative claims (considering rhetorical situation, indicating significance of the difference or similarities of the comparison).
  
  
• Making clearer the COMPARISON between the articles. Comparisons should be direct. In a subject by subject organization, this is crucial to avoid unrelated parts of your essay. Use explicit vocabulary of comparison. Give yourself room to expand on the significance of your comparison and what you're seeing or learning from those differences or similarities.

 

HW:

• READ over this useful and informative (and colorful) list of RHETORICAL FALLACIES, here
• In particular, be sure to locate from the list and understand:
• False Dilemma (this is sometimes called the False Binary fallacy)
• Slippery Slope
• Appeal to Tradition
• Division  
• Straw Man
• Sweeping Generalization
• learn 4 others of your own choosing.  * you can google any of these terms for more examples, clearer definitions.
• WRITE (for each list item - 10 in total), an example of a common claim made in the debate about legalizing marijuana that exemplifies the fallacy. You can do this in your notebook if you prefer. Bring to class.

 

 

 

 

Oct1/2, class 2:

 

reviewing fallacies,

• In particular, be sure to locate from the list and understand:
• False Dilemma (this is sometimes called the False Binary fallacy)
• Slippery Slope
• Appeal to Tradition
• Division  
• Straw Man
• Sweeping Generalization

 

Looking once more at the color-coded student example, here

 

Quick reminder about Rhetorical Situation

• Author, Audience, Purpose, Context
• purpose/audience link:
• trying to persuade opposition? 
• "preaching to the choir" (writing to like-minded audience)
• is audience being asked to DO something (called to action)? 
• is audience being asked to consider something new/alternative?
• is audience being asked to understand author's perspective/ where they're coming from?

 

 

mid-term review

• The Rhetorical Situation
• audience - author - text (message)
• purpose
• context: setting, history/precedent 
• ethos/pathos
• logos / stasis arguments
• compare/contrast
• definition/classification
• cause/effect
• proposal
• evaluation
• connotation
• figures of speech
• metaphor/simile
• understatement
• euphemism
• meiosis
• hyperbole
• synechdoche
• fallacies
• (see list above)
• four of your own choosing not on the above list

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

• compound sentences : coordinating conjunction : combining independent clauses
• complex sentences : subordinate conjunctions : dependent with independent clause
• modifiers
• participle phrase
• appositive phrase
• non-restrictive relative clause
• descriptive language
• errors
• comma splice
• fused sentence
• dangling modifier
• misplaced modifier
• sentence fragment

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

• proper quote incorporation
• the three essential parts of every quote
• when to use (and when not to use) an ellipsis
• example paragraph, here

 

 

HW:

• WRITE: Complete a STRONG revision of your draft. This will include some re-writing, not just addition. Aim for 4-5 pages.  Consider the two revision strategies from class: 
• Making more clear your individual OPERATIONS: providing EVIDENCE & quote incorporation (and contextualizing your quotes/evidence), EXPLAINING clearly how the writer is TRYING to be persuasive with the rhetorical strategy under analysis, making clear EVALUATIVE claims of your own regarding the strategies/comparisons, elaborating sufficiently on WHY (RATIONALE)  you are making those evaluative claims (considering rhetorical situation, indicating significance of the difference or similarities of the comparison).
  
  
• Making clearer the COMPARISON between the articles. Comparisons should be direct. In a subject by subject organization, this is crucial to avoid unrelated parts of your essay. Use explicit vocabulary of comparison. Give yourself room to expand on the significance of your comparison and what you're seeing or learning from those differences or similarities. 
• PRINT and bring newest essay DRAFT to class for peer-review and in-class revision.
• review for next week's Mid-Term

 

Week8 – Mid-Term /In-Class Essay  (will be during class two: Wed/Thurs)

 

class1:

purpose/thesis consideration, here

peer review, here

mid-term review

 

HW:

• prepare for mid-term
• bring your textbook to class. You will need it to pass the midterm exam. 

 

class 2: MIDTERM (good luck)

 

HW:

• Complete your final Essay 2 paper. Print out and combine with all your draft/note material relevant to this essay, put in a folder and bring to class.
• here is the Essay 2 grading rubric for your reference, here 

 

Week9 - – Essay 2 due

class1:
Turning in Final Essay 2 papers.

• Self-Critique : What Did You Do? here

 

Essay 3 Argument Paper preview: Film Analysis or Review

• How many people have ever read a film review?
• anyone ever written a film review?
• anyone ever debated for more than 3 minutes about whether a movie was good or bad? 
• What's the purpose/point of a film review?
• Any guesses on how a film review might differ from a film analysis?
• here are some helpful distinctions 

 

Looking at an example, THE EXPENDABLES III

Review of The Expendables III, here

1. What is Henderson's overall attitude toward the movie? How do you know?
• quote two or three sentences or phrases where his attitude becomes clear or interpretable
• Bonus points if you write about any strategic use of CONNOTATION 
2. What are the REASONS he offers for this overall attitude?
• point to or quote at least two different reasons
3. Label each sentence in the first paragraph correctly (simple, compound, complex).
4. What modifier do you recognize in paragraph 3? Quote and name the modifier.
5. In which paragraph (or paragraphs) do you find the movie synopsis? 
6. BONUS GUESS: how many stars, out of four (including half stars), do you think Henderson gave this film, judging from his review? 

 

 

HW:

 

• READ and print this review of the movie Maleficent, here
• check out the trailer, here 
• WRITTEN RESPONSE: 
• Answer the same questions we asked for the Expendables 3 review in class (above) but apply them to this review of Maleficent.
• you can answer #3 on the handout itself. the rest should be typed up on a separate paper.  
• bring your response and printed review to class. 
• READ and print this Film Analysis of The Matrix, here
• As you read, consider to yourself the ways that this article is similar and/or different from the movie reviews you have just read. 
• you don't need to respond or write anything on this article (though you might annotate the text if you wish, for instance, can you find a thesis? or you might circle unfamiliar words/references). But DO read it and bring it to class. We will be doing in-class work that depends on your having read this analysis and having it with you in class. 
• check out the trailer, here , and also this early scene in the movie ( here ), referenced by the article

 

class2:

Comparing and Contrasting Genres: Film Review vs Film Analysis

• consider everything from overall organization, intros/conclusions, thesis, tone/language, how evidence (parts of the movie) are used.
• FIRST: comparing two reviews
• describe in an much specificity as possible how the two reviews are similar. The more specific you can be the better.
• How do they work, what are the parts (what's the reviewer doing at any given moment of the text?) 
• SECOND: comparing and contrasting reviews to the analysis
• In what ways are they similar... in what ways are they actually similar or performing the same kind of work?
• In what ways are they different and not comparable?  
• Discussing the texts
• what review did you like more, and why?
• what did you think of the analysis?
• what's its thesis (main argument)?
• what/where was hard to understand, and what could you follow? 
• what do you think of the argument? intriguing? other movies we could relate to this argument? 

 

 

Thinking about Gender, Feminism, and Film

• where/and how do the two reviews discuss (superficially) gender?
• why think about or consider gender at all?
• what IS gender, exactly?
• gender vs sex vs sexuality, read more here 
• gender signifiers
• signifiers are signs that point to something. (a literal sign. a word. a logo/image)
• gender signifiers, and social constructs
• a good question, when did girls start wearing pink? 
• gender roles/stereotypes 
• feminine/masculine binary (associative binary list) 
• nature/culture (tech), passive/assertive, private (domestic) / public, rational / emotional, competitive / caring 
• What is Feminism?
• how would you define it? What do you know about it?
• feminist bell hooks offers a definition, here
• defining SEXISM
• wikipedia article, here
• a feminism 101 blog, here  
• Feminist Film Theory
• Wikipedia with a simplistic definition, here 
• Feminist Film Theory has historically developed with several important splits or dual tendencies
• 1) to critique mainstream (patriarchal) cinema 
• but also to advocate for alternative representations
• 2) to expose how films exclude or distort representations of women
• but also to examine ways these films unintentionally allow contradictions, gaps, or tensions within patriarchal logic 
• Anita Sarkeesian, feminist youTube celebrity / cultural critic
• the Bechdel Test for movies, here
• the Smurfette Principal, here   (and feel free to check out her other videos. she has a lot)
• speaking of Anita Sarkeesian and feminism, this just happened yesterday (!)
• so yes, there is an immediate real-world need/context for the kind of thinking we will be engaging with for this paper  

 

 

 

HW:

Writing a micro-review (only one page!):

• think of a movie you've seen recently that you had a reaction to (or watch one this weekend!). Then,
• BRAINSTORM:
• try to characterize the degree of your reaction (absolutely loved, kinda liked, bored by, mostly didn't like, reviled)
• briefly list 3 specific reasons for your attitude toward the film.  
• briefly pinpoint a scene or film element that demonstrates one of those reasons
• think of one SIMILAR movie that either did a much better job or a much worse job of the genre.
• what's one specific point of comparison? 
• WRITE:
• Begin with some kind of SPECIFIC hook relevant to the movie, and make your general attitude clear early in the review.
• Give a brief synopsis of the film in just a few sentences (whenever possible, mention both character names AND the actors who play them)
• Elaborate slightly on two or all three of your reasons.
• If time, mention the comparison.
• Conclude with a clear endorsement of, or warning against, your film.
• Consider tone, vocabulary, connotation, possible humor, or showing off other film knowledge  
• Bonus if you run your movie through the Bechdel test.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

Week10

class1: 

 

 

Intro to Essay 3: Argument Paper & (Feminist) Film Review/Analysis

• Time to bust out the notepads and the popcorn. For this essay, I'm asking you to write an argument paper in either the film review or film analysis genre, in response to one of the two movies we will watch together in class. In this unit, you will have the chance to throw your critical weight and flex your writer's muscles while indulging in the pleasure (or pain) of movie viewing.  You will be graded on your ability to demonstrate knowledge about the GENRE EXPECTATIONS of your essay (review or analysis), your ability to advance a clear THESIS and to elaborate on your thesis with SUPPORTING CLAIMS, EVIDENCE/EXAMPLES, and ORIGINAL THINKING, and finally, your ability to compose organized, coherent paragraphs while varying your sentence structures and using a descriptive vocabulary.
• To help focus our reviews and analyses, I will ask you to think and write about your chosen movie through the lens of gender. You will be asked to think about, comment on, or interpret representations of men (masculinity) and women (femininity).  We will talk together about gender, gender representations, and what to look for/ how to look when watching our films as ACTIVE VIEWERS. 
• You will have two choices for this paper: 
• Film Review (total 260 points; 3-5 pages)
• Your target audience consists of adult-age movie goers who are unsure if this movie is one they want to see. Your purpose is to help the audience decide to see this movie or not. In 3-5 pages you will offer a basic EVALUATION argument that elaborates on your impressions of the film and its component parts. Your argument will include a clear evaluative thesis (including a film-ranking of one to five stars), a film synopsis, evaluative commentary on specific scenes/techniques/characters to support your thesis. You will also point to at least two gender issues or observations, superficially, to give your audience something to consider or watch out for.  
• Film Analysis (total 300 points; 5-6 pages) 
• Your target audience consists of fellow film scholars who have already seen the movie but who are skeptical that the film has much to say about gender (it's a sci-fi movie after all!). Your purpose is to convince this specialized and informed audience that the film does indeed construct meaning about gender. In 5-6 pages you will elaborate on an interpretive thesis that suggests new and convincing ways of understanding your film as it constructs gender meaning (reinforces, alters, subverts gender norms or stereotypes).  Your analysis will include a clear interpretive thesis, close-reading of detail/dialogue/setting/sound as support for your thesis, and a sustained and coherent argument about gender as the central concern of your analysis. 
• grading rubric, here

 

 

• pre-movie analysis guide: what to watch for / how to watch.
• the key is ACTIVE viewing - this is a different (learned) practice than passive watching 
• note-taking strategies (details matter), keep your hand moving/writing, descriptive (observational) AND analytical (commentary)
• explicit:
• gender roles/representations (how men and women are portrayed, masculinity vs femininity), sterotypes (reinforced/subverted), dialogue/behavior
• implicit:
• imagery / symbolism, environment / setting, camera work (perspective, movement), sounds/soundtrack,  

 

• movie viewing: Gravity (attend either one or both)
• Monday night, 6:25pm - 8:20pm, room 415
• Tuesday afternoon, 1:00pm - 2:50pm, room 1687A 

 

class2:

• movie viewing: Prometheus (attend either one, or both)
• Wednesday night, 6:25pm - 8:20pm, room 415
• Thursday afternoon, 1:00pm - 2:50pm, room 1687A 

 

HW: 

• full rough draft, 3 - 5 pages. 

NOV

Week11

class1:

•  

Comparing and Contrasting Genres: Film Review vs Film Analysis

 

consider everything from overall organization, intros/conclusions, thesis, tone/language, how evidence (parts of the movie) are used.

FIRST: comparing the two reviews:

describe in as much specificity as possible how the two reviews

are similar. The more specific you can be the better. Begin a list

of specific observations with the following statement “You can tell

these are two film reviews because they both … “ - try to identify

different PARTS or CHARACTERISTICS.

 

 

SECOND: comparing and contrasting reviews to the analysis

In what ways are they similar? In what ways are they different and

not comparable? Begin a list of detailed observations with the

following prompt “The film analysis genre has different

expectations/requirements. For instance, it… “

          THIRD: in what paragraphs, AND what percentage of the total text (take

                    a guess), does the author consider issues related to gender?

 

          FOURTH: Notice how the review combines many of our earlier lessons:

            varied sentence structures, modifiers, descriptive writing, figures of

            speech, quotation, stasis arguments (logos), audience

            consideration.

 

movie talk

• thoughts, impressions, delights, groans, compare/contrast
• talking gender, representation, and meaning-making in the movies
• explicit: gender roles, (anti-)stereotypes, dialogue/behavior
• implicit: details/symbolism, setting,
• gender binaries

 

 

Thinking about Gender, Feminism, and Film

why think about or consider gender at all?

 

Anita Sarkeesian, feminist youTube celebrity / cultural critic

the Bechdel Test for movies, here

the Smurfette Principal, here   (and feel free to check out her other videos. she has a lot)

speaking of Anita Sarkeesian and feminism, this just happened yesterday (!)

so yes, there is an immediate real-world need/context for the kind of thinking we will be engaging with for this paper  

 

What is Feminism?

how would you define it? What do you know about it?

feminist bell hooks offers a definition, here

defining SEXISM

wikipedia article, here

a feminism 101 blog, here  

 

further brain-storming

free write on movie details / memories

what two scenes would you really need to watch again for considering gender? why? what caught your eye and what are you now wondering or looking for? 

 

 

class2: 

 

 

What is Feminism?

• how would you define it? What do you know about it?
• feminist bell hooks offers a definition, here
• defining SEXISM
• wikipedia article, here
• a feminism 101 blog, here  

 

what IS gender, exactly?

         gender vs sex vs sexuality, read more here 

gender signifiers

signifiers are signs that point to something. (a literal sign. a word. a logo/image)

gender signifiers, and social constructs

a good question, when did girls start wearing pink? 

gender roles/stereotypes 

feminine/masculine binary (associative binary list) 

nature/culture (tech), passive/assertive, private (domestic) / public, rational / emotional, competitive / caring 

 

Feminist Film Theory

Wikipedia with a simplistic definition, here 

Feminist Film Theory has historically developed with several important splits or dual tendencies

1) to critique mainstream (patriarchal) cinema 

but also to advocate for alternative representations

2) to expose how films exclude or distort representations of women

but also to examine ways these films unintentionally allow contradictions, gaps, or tensions within patriarchal logic 

 

Active viewing:

• looking for explicit and implicit meaning
• explicit: directly expressed or easily observable
• implicit: implied but not directly expressed, between the lines, interpretable  

 

Practicing active viewing one a Hunger Games clip, here

• Write down two details that seem to call attention to gender explicitly
• Write down two details that seem to call attention to gender implicitly
• Write down a brief description of what the scene is about/what's happening

after viewing, in full sentences

• for your two explicit details, write some follow-up commentary
• what's significant about that detail (why did it catch your eye)? How does it contribute toward an understanding of gender? 
• for your two implicit details, write some follow-up commentary
• describe what you are seeing/hearing between the lines. How does it signify something about gender (what's the link or bridge)? and What does it signify?
• lastly, do all four details contribute toward the same picture/construction of gender? or do they provide a mixed picture/construction?
• do they all seem to confirm the same thing? what do they confirm? write a sentence or two that links them all together.
• do they create a mixed/construction? write a sentence or two that indicates that contrast. Use "on the one hand, on the other hand" construction.

 

 

 Strengthening paragraph development for a moment of gender consideration:

• topic sentence
• setting up the scene
• commentary or interpretation of individual detail, pointing toward significance
• look at the next paragraph in your essay, how can you make a bridge (in one or two sentences) at the end of this pargraph to the next idea in your paper?

 

 

HW:

• o   Essay Second Draft
• Target for revision: idea/paragraph arrangement. In addition to any new content you are adding to the paper, I'm interested in observing you strengthen the arrangement of your ideas. How do you BUILD significance (or contrast, or complexity) in your paper? Let's assume that the order/arrangement of your ideas/paragrahps was not central to your first draft. In your revision, you will attempt a NEW order of ideas/paragraphs that better separates and highlights your stronger ideas from your less important points. Arranging ideas can happen within a single paragraph, while arranging paragraphs will happen across the essay as a whole. 
• Secondly, I'd like to see the level/attention to detail and description targeted. Paint a more vivid picture of the scenes you are commenting on or analyzing. Use rich vocabulary to convey the full cinematic impression of the film as you experienced it.  

 

 

 

Week12

class 1:

• general commentary after looking at drafts
• the synopsis
• placement: in our examples (Expendables, Maleficent), where ISN'T the synopsis? Where does it appear?
• succinctness: synopsis should be succinct
• restricted to a single paragraph (or two only if you're writing a 5 page review)
• you want to give your reader a SHORT but CLEAR sense of the overall narrative - not a play-by-play
• in your evaluative paragraphs you will have space to describe specific scenes in more detail 
• spoilers: a review is highly concerned with spoilers (don't use them)
• a spoiler is information that gives away the conclusion or plot twists/surprises in the film 
• unnecessary deference to authority
• remove unnecessary references to the Bechdel Test (it's not a critique, it's a conversation started about the presence of women in films)
• remove evaluative claims that you aren't invested in (or that are mine)
• eg. camera movements (the helmet scene in Gravity) 
• clarity
• with overall positions: are you promoting or criticizing the film? are your feeling mixed? 
• fine to feel mixed, but make it clear in your wording and arrangements
• don't flip-flop between positions carelessly without proper transitions/constrasting language
• INFERRING you evaluations
• stating (or listing) your likes and dislikes reads very flat, unexpressive
• instead, revise so that you are inferring your attitudes. 
• to infer --> to be suggestive, implicit, to imply
• test here
• practice revising (or constructing) two sentences in your draft where you expressively infer your evaluation about a particular point.

 

Paragraph  Workshop

• the point of a paragraph is to develop a single, specific, and clear idea. In an argument paper, that single idea is offered as a topic sentence - a clear claim you are making. You can develop that idea/claim by providing support / examples, by commenting on that support / examples, and by emphasizing what is significant or important about your observations. A fully developed paragraph is typically around half a page in length.
• you do NOT want a paragraph that is making several claims at once, or that does not have a single, clear idea it is developing.    
• a strong paragraph
• 1) opens with a transition that connects this paragraph to the previous one (extending, contrasting, etc) 
• 2) a topic sentence - a clear indication of what the paragraph will be addressing
• 3) cohesion/focus - all information /sentences in the paragraph relate directly to supporting your topic sentence
• 4) specificity/detail - you want to be as specific as possible in both your claims and the evidence used to support it
• avoid vague or overly general language

 

 

Practicing active viewing on a Hunger Games clip, here

• Write down two details that seem to call attention to gender explicitly
• Write down two details that seem to call attention to gender implicitly
• Write down a brief description of what the scene is about/what's happening

after viewing, in full sentences

• for your two explicit details, write some follow-up commentary
• what's significant about that detail (why did it catch your eye)? How does it contribute toward an understanding of gender? 
• for your two implicit details, write some follow-up commentary
• describe what you are seeing/hearing between the lines. How does it signify something about gender (what's the link or bridge)? and What does it signify?
• lastly, do all four details contribute toward the same picture/construction of gender? or do they provide a mixed picture/construction?
• do they all seem to confirm the same thing? what do they confirm? write a sentence or two that links them all together.
• do they create a mixed/construction? write a sentence or two that indicates that contrast. Use "on the one hand, on the other hand" construction 

 

 Strengthening paragraph development for a moment of gender consideration:

• topic sentence (an evaluative or interpretive claim)
• providing the support/ evidence: setting up the scene
• commentary or interpretation of individual detail, pointing toward its significance, how does it support your claim
• if you left your evaluation ambiguous at the paragraph start, then you can add your evaluation at this point) 
• look at the next paragraph in your essay, how can you make a bridge (in one or two sentences) at the end of this paragraph to the next idea in your paper?

 

Working your own material

• let's revise (or construct) a new paragraph that strengthens the overall effect of your paragraph.  

 

 

HW:

• Bring a clean copy of your most recent, updated draft to class

 

class 2:

 

 

To avoid repetitive and flat review sentences, we are aiming for expressive, creative, playful ways of wording our observations and judgments. One way to do this is by:

• INFERRING you evaluations
• to infer --> to be suggestive, implicit, to imply
• stating (or listing) your likes and dislikes reads very flat, unexpressive
• instead, revise so that you are inferring your attitudes. 
• test here
• practice revising (or constructing) two sentences in your draft where you expressively infer your evaluation about a particular point.

Peer Review:

 

1. Describe your peer's overall attitude with specificity. 
1. Beneath your paraphrase, list the points of evaluation you are able to detect.  
2. Beside each point, write a number ranking each point in terms of how much space your peer has devoted to discussing that point
1. 1 would indicate the point your peer spends the MOST text discussing, 2 would indicate the point your peer spends the next most attention on, etc
2. put an asterisk beside the two sentences you think are the most expressive/creative/playful.
3. put a question mark next to TWO moments you think are least clear or lack specificity. 
4. Rank your peer's synopsis out of 10, 10 being perfect. Give some brief but specific rationale for your grade.
1. consider factors such as length, specificity, succinctness, spoilers, necessary vs unnecessary details for a synopsis 
5. What part of the review is the most interesting/sharp/convincing and why?
6. What part of the review seems the weakest or least convincing and why?
7. Respond to TWO moments of the essay with either a question or a comment that pushes your peer to make their evaluation/commentary more complex or gets them thinking further about what they're claiming.

 

 

discussing Gender

-- what are we looking for:

• Tropes (patterns/ themes)
• Stereotypes
• Gender Signifiers

-- what are you doing with those observations:

• commenting on how they work individually. do they
• reproduce/reinforce traditional constructions of gender?
• alter/modify typical constructions of gender?
• propose atypical/new/liberating constructions of gender?
• how do they add up?
• reinforce each other? a solid/coherent representation?
• contradict? expose tensions or gaps in traditional understanding of gender?
• genre considerations:
• analysis? extended series of several close readings
• review? two brief but specific considerations 

 

 

 

Close reading : essential for analysis, useful for review

1. "close reading" is careful and extended examination of a scene's details that requires some interpretive commentary.
2. Maleficent vs Expendables reviews on gender. the first offers a close reading, the second does not. The analysis is a series of close readings.

 

Practicing close reading a Hunger Games clip, here

• Mark down two details that seem to call attention to gender explicitly
• Mark down two details that seem to call attention to gender implicitly

 

after viewing/taking notes:

• for your two explicit details, write some follow-up commentary
• what's significant about that detail (why did it catch your eye)? How does it contribute toward an understanding of gender? 
• for your two implicit details, write some follow-up commentary
• describe what you are seeing/hearing between the lines. How does it signify something about gender (what's the link or bridge)? and What does it signify?
• lastly, do all four details contribute toward the same picture/construction of gender? or do they provide a mixed picture/construction?
• do they all seem to confirm the same thing? what do they confirm? write a sentence or two that links them all together.
• do they create a mixed/construction? write a sentence or two that indicates that contrast. Use "on the one hand, on the other hand" construction.

 

Tropes and Stereotypes:

• In addition to Hunger Games, how many action/sci-fi movies can we list that have a strong female lead?
• what limits the potential of the representation of these kinds of characters typically? 
• what kinds of sexist stereotypes/tropes/signifiers haunt films that value female actor leads?  

 

some opening remarks:

1. 6 weeks left - attendance / signing-in
2. Essay 3 & plagiarism - synopsis / review (any plagiarism is a failable offense) 
3. distinguishing feminism / femininity 
1. femininity as a construction of gender 
1. Rupaul's Drag Race, here  
2. Catniss's curtsey 
3. Anita Sarkeesian and the Smurfette Principal, here   
1. other movies suffering smurfette principal? 

 

 

 

 

HW:

• for Monday/Wednesday class: final paper + portfolio due
• for Tuesday/Thursday class: 
• bring in a revised draft (remember that multiple drafts - with substantive revision work - are required for full revision process credit. 

 

Week13 - no class Mon Nov 10th

 

Last minute considerations:

• by this point you've constructed a synopsis (a plot summary). But what about key themes the film develops? Can you try to describe two THEMES that the movie attempts to investigate or develop? What two scenes most clearly demonstrate each theme? What do you think about the way the movie handled or developed those themes? Was it interesting? Do we learn something new? Are we asked to consider something about ourselves in relation to these themes?
• if you were going to talk about your chosen movie IN RELATION to another movie, what would that other film be? Write down two other films you've seen that are comparable or that you could make meaningful connections to. Then, describe what those connections or points of comparison might be.  

 

class 1:

• INFERRING you evaluations
• to infer --> to be suggestive, implicit, to imply
• stating (or listing) your likes and dislikes reads very flat, unexpressive
• instead, revise so that you are inferring your attitudes. 
• test here
• practice revising (or constructing) two sentences in your draft where you expressively infer your evaluation about a particular point.

Close reading : essential for analysis, useful for review

1. "close reading" is careful and extended examination of a scene's details that requires some interpretive commentary.
2. Maleficent vs Expendables reviews on gender. the first offers a close reading, the second does not. The analysis is a series of close readings.

 

Practicing close reading a Hunger Games clip, here

• Mark down two details that seem to call attention to gender explicitly
• Mark down two details that seem to call attention to gender implicitly

 

 

 

HW:

• prepare final edits/portfolio. Bring to class.

 

class 2:  - Essay 3 due

 

* Essay 3: What Did You Do?

* Introduction to Academic Research

• where do you go for research?
• how is academic research different from other kinds of research? 
• what counts as a CREDIBLE source of information? 
  
  

* Popular vs Scholarly Publications/Articles

• what do you know/assume about the differences? 
• consider the Rhetorical situation to make some guesses 
• can you name any examples? 
• comparing two examples: popular and scholarly <---- open
• in small groups, begin listing (with some details) differences
• start by skimming the two texts at a glance. what differences immediately stand out.
• next, read out loud two paragraphs from two different pages for each article. What do you notice about the language/writing differences? Describe.
• additional points of comparison:
• guide 1 <---- handy video
• guide 2 <--- great comparison of journals vs magazines and their covers.

* Brainstorming Research Topics

• Write down two issues related in some way to your major that you're interested in or are aware of.
• Write down two questions related in some way to your major that excite your curiosity. 
• Write down two local issues (specific to or impacting California) that interest you or impact you. 
• For each (you should have six), make a short note or comment about what you know, why it interests you, how it impacts you, why you care, what you don't know or want to learn, what experience you have on the matter if any, where you've seen/heard/experienced the issue.  

 

HW:

 

• READ: Chapter 2, page 22 - 31
• WRITE: this part of the chapter demonstrates FIVE pre-writing techniques for exploring research paper ideas. To elaborate on just ONE research topic you came up with in class, I would like you to fill one notebook page using Technique 1 and then fill a second notebook page using another Technique of your choosing. Bring to class.  
• READ: Chapter 21, page 404 -  407
• WRITE: On a notebook page, I would like you to complete numbers 1 and 2 from Activity 5 on page 406. For both, I would like you to use the index/database called "Academic Search Premier".  For the second question from Activity 5, it asks you to locate article information on the topic of "organ donation." INSTEAD, I would like you to find article information on the topic that you are brainstorming (do this substitution only for the second question).
• to complete this part of the homework you will need to: 
• find our school's library page. 
• locate the page where our library lists its DATABASES (our textbook calls them indexes, but database means the same thing)
• Bring your completed homework to class. I will be grading it during class.  
• we will have a small quiz at the beginning of next class based on the textbook readings assigned above 

 

 

Week14

class1:

• sharing our observations on scholarly vs popular article comparison
• guide 2 <--- great comparison of journals vs magazines and their covers.
• hearing journal names from homework database exploration
• turning brainstorm notes into a research question and a working thesis.
• research question: a question that guides what kind of information you are looking for
• working thesis: a thesis that is subject to revision during the writing process
• By pursuing this research question, I'm hoping to discover/demonstrate __________________.
• sharing results with groups
• offering revision/keywords revision ideas
• ask one or two questions about your peer's research question

 

 

INTRO TO ESSAY 4: ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY

• your 4th essay will be only an ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY. An annotated bibliography is a list of bibliographic entries accompanied by a brief paragraph that summarizes and evaluates the text. 
• your annotated bibliography will focus on a research question that you create for yourself.
• you will complete and turn in with your portfolio a full set of brainstorm notes.
• Your annotated bibliography will contain 8 bibliographic entries. Beneath EACH entry you will write a brief annotation (a small one or two paragraph annotation) that summarizes the text or information contained in the text, its relevance to your research question, its strengths (and, if relevant, its potential limitations/problems), how it relates to other entries in your bibliography. 
• Your texts should be restricted to academic articles, book length studies, and professional/organizational/institutional websites. No opinion/editorial articles. No newspaper journalism. At least 5 of your texts must be academic articles. 
• TWO of your entries should be emphasized with a two-paragraph annotation. The others should have one-paragraph annotations. 
• again, you are NOT writing an essay. You are only creating and turning in an ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY. I will discuss formatting an annotated bibliography during next class. 
• due DEC 8/9
• Four things in each annotation:
• summary of the article
• strengths or weaknesses (of focus, of methodology, of evidence)
• how it will specifically help or inform your research question (or how it will not) 
• how it relates (compare contrast) to other texts on your list

 

• One-paragraph annotations should be minimum 125 words. Two-paragraph annotations should be double that.
• Your annotated bibliography should include a BRIEF introduction which
• 1) states clearly your specific research question
• 2) gives just a little insight into WHY your are pursuing this question, what brought you to consider this question, what are your interests in the question, and what makes your question relevant or urgent. 

 

Sample ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY, here

 

 

AB in-class goals

1. commit to a research question
2. locate 20-30 titles relevant to your topic to get a sense of the different emphases and angles with which researchers approach the topic
3. fine-tune research question

 

 

HW:

1. locate and read one academic article that seems to relate to your research question.
1. on your computer, open a new MS Word page and add the bibliographic information for the article you read 
2. below the bibliographic information, summarize its content in 5-7 sentences. 
3. add to the summary an evaluative comment on how useful (or not) the article will be for your research question and why you think so.
4. print out and bring to class

 

class 2:

• Dude date reminder: four time-management strategies, here 
• based on your exploring the databases so far, what have you learned/observed about the ways academics are approaching or writing about your topic? Describe your observations. I will ask you to read your responses out loud. 
• formatting an Annotated Bibliography
• first, how do you format articles vs books vs websites?
• articles, here 
• websites, here 
• books, here 
• formatting the annotations, example here
• how do I format the MARGINS in my Annotated Bibliography? demo 
• Hanging Indents
• Left Margin Adjust 
• Sample ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY, here
• Finding Academic Journal Articles
• Academic Search Premier (EBSCOhost)
• Google Scholar
• cons: might not have access to many full articles
• pros: can get wide range of titles which can help you SEE the different general approaches to the topic
• let's practice with these Keywords: Doctor Patient Relationship
• look at the first 6 pages of the Google Scholar search and describe general approaches
• Producing Second Annotated Entry in-class
• Locate
• Record Bibliographic Info 
• Read
• Annotate:
• Summary
• strengths or weaknesses
• how relevant is it for your project, what will it contribute?
• how does it relate to your first article? 

 

 

HW:

• Produce Three new entries for your Annotated Bibliography (brining your total up to five). Combine into single document, format correctly, print and bring to class. 
• Bring to class your textbooks. 

 

Week15 - no class Nov 26th or 27th

 

class 1:

• example of student annotation going through key moves, here 
• rough drafting our intros.
• using modifiers, mixing sentence structures. 

 

HW:

• Bring to class a full draft of your annotated bibliographies containing all 8 entries with an intro. We will work on improving the drafts in class. 

 

GR

 

DEC

Week16 – 

 

class 1:

TWO TASKS:

• replace your weakest/least relevant source
• aiming for specificity / accuracy / coverage - revise your weakest annotation in class
• remember:
• two of your sources require a double-paragraph annotation. The point is to emphasize the relative importance of those two sources as they relate to your research question.

 

class 2:

• AB checklist
• also mention: abstracts, database texts, alphabetizing 
• pre-exam review assessment 
• Flash quiz, here 
• Thanksgiving freewrite 
• revising annotations for style : sentence structures and modifiers 

 

• HW: 
• finish and finalize your Annotated Bibliography.
• Bring your textbook to class. You'll need it for exam study prep. 
• HERE is a student example of the Annotated Bibliography 
• note that the student does NOT include a full introductory paragraph, which you are required to do. 

 

Week17 – Essay 4 due / Last Week of class / Final Exam Prep

 

 

Final Exam Schedule

• Monday Dec. 15, 6:30pm - 8:30pm, rm 
• Tuesday Dec. 16, 1:00pm - 3:00pm, rm 

 

class 1:

• turning in Annotated Bibliography
• sentence mechanics (compound, complex, modifiers)
• rhetoric and writing strategy, lets analyze these sample texts 

 

HW:

• continue reviewing class content, practice with newspaper opinion columns
• be happy