English 1001-127

2005-12-01T08:21:00.000-08:00

Links for Semester Assessment:

Homepage with login instructions, sample writing task, and sample essays
Login page
When you submit your essay Thursday morning, please also send it to me as an email (copy it into the body of the email), so that there will be a record of the essay you submitted at the correct time (just in case!)
You will receive an automatic email confirmation once your essay has submitted properly; if you don't receive it within 2-4 hours, make sure to follow the login instructions and email the appropriate person.

Good luck, and have a happy and safe holiday!

2005-11-29T18:22:00.000-08:00

For Friday, our last class meeting!

Come to Room 230-B in Middleton Library.
Bring any last peer review items that you need to turn in.
Be very, very sad because we will not meet together as a group anymore.

2005-11-27T19:29:00.000-08:00

Welcome to your last week of class! For Wednesday:

I'd like for you to read and print out these 3 essays: Sample 1; Sample 2 ; Sample 3. Using this scoring matrix, pay attention to what works in terms of the Explaining an Issue genre; think about what these writers are doing well and what they're not doing well. Then, score them according to the scores on the matrix (6 being the strongest, 1 being the weakest). Be prepared to defend your choices in class.
Read over the Mountains Beyond Mountains summaries. We'll come up with a list of possible assessment topics in class, so start thinking about what kinds of issues are in the book.
Bring a number 2 pencil!

2005-11-21T09:12:00.000-08:00

Page Assignments:
Ted 1-17
Allyson B. 18-32
Francesca 33-44
Justin 47-58
Kyle 59-75
Steven 76-88
Allison K. 88-103
Brooke 104-121
Thao 142-158
Brittany R. 159-177
Wes 182-196
Michael 196-210
Brittany S. 211-224
Ty 224-237
Mallory 241-253
Jessica 253-268
Ian 268-282
Erin 282-301

2005-11-21T08:00:00.000-08:00

For Wednesday and Monday:

Reflection on writing the issues essay. Please write for about 20 minutes, reflecting on what you've learned through writing this essay. You know the usual topics by now: what you liked, didn't like; what was helpful; how you did in terms of research and writing; what you did well; what you wish you still had time to work on; what you learned. Type this up at the end of your essay, after the Works Cited page with the title: Reflection.
Submit your essay electronically, as a Word (.doc) or (.rtf) attachment. If you are nervous about the attachment, you can also copy and paste the essay into the body of your email, but you will lose all of your formatting, so only do this as a last resort. Your essay is due by 8 p.m. on Wednesday--I'm giving you some extra hours, so DO NOT BE LATE. I reserve the right to lower your grade if I receive your essay after 8 p.m. on Wednesday.
Turn in your peer response copies: put them in the folder with your name on it, and drop the folder off in the box outside my office door before you go home for holidays.
FOR THE MONDAY YOU RETURN: Read your assigned pages in Mountains Beyond Mountains, and write a brief summary of what happens. This can be as useful as you allow it to be; remember that the rest of your classmates are depending on your part of the summary. If everyone does his or her part, you should all have a good idea of what happens in the book for your final assessment essay. Email your summary to me before class on Monday, and I'll post them on the blog in order so we can talk about them next week.
Have a very happy Thanksgiving!

2005-11-18T13:51:00.000-08:00

FOR MONDAY, NOVEMBER 21:
You should be working on revising your paper. After our conferences on Wednesday, here are some things you should all think about:

This essay is about presenting information, not about your opinion. Your goal is to be objective and fair, which means giving equal time to each side of the issue, and not using "loaded" terms that could indicate how you feel about something. (if I'm writing about abortion, for example, and I call pro-choice people "baby killers," that might indicate to my reader which side I'm on.) Avoid that trap.
You should have found the places where people disagree, and thinking about why they disagree might help you to formulate your issue in terms of "sides." It might not be as simple as for/against, there might be more to it than that. Think critically about what exactly the issue you're focusing on is and how to present the different opinions in a fair and balanced way.
Your introduction is really important for this essay--think about how to engage your readers in your issue.
The key to your success in this essay is to have enough information--facts to back up the opinions you're explaining. Make SURE that you document every piece of information that isn't your words with a parenthetical citation. If you have questions about how to do this, it's always better to ask.
Watch out for broad generalizations ("All girls learn better when they have a female teacher" is an example--instead say, "many girls," or even better: "some people claim that girls learn better").
Make sure your Works Cited lists every source you cite and none that you don't--choose a style (MLA, APA, or Chicago) and stick with it.
Print out 2 copies of your finished essay for editing on Monday--make sure you have Works Cited pages with both.
Bring your copy of Mountains Beyond Mountains to class.

2005-11-14T11:33:00.000-08:00

THIS WEEK:

On Wednesday, we're conferencing at Highland Coffees. Your responsibility is to read and respond thoroughly to each of your group members, using these instructions. Conference times are as follows:

9:30: Ian, Ted, Kyle, Steven, Justin
10:30: Brooke, Wes, Michael
11:30: Franni, Jessica, Allison K.
12:30: Brittany R., Brittany S., Mallory, Thao
3:30: Ty, Alison M., Allyson B., Erin

Friday is a revision day, so no official class meeting. If you have specific questions as you're revising, feel free to email me.
Monday, we'll edit, so you should be finished making all of the major content revisions by then.

2005-11-10T19:36:00.000-08:00

FOR MONDAY, NOVEMBER 14:

Finish your first draft. The more complete your draft, the better chance you have of getting useful feedback.
Bring one copy of your draft for each member of your group and one for me. Make sure you have a Works Cited page!
Print the longest paragraph of your draft on a separate page, with one sentence per line. DO NOT number the sentences. It should look like this.
Read both drafts of Jessica's profile. Print them out and bring them to class.
Print out this Works Cited page and bring it to class.

2005-11-07T13:18:00.000-08:00

PRESENTATIONS!
On Wednesday and Friday, you will be presenting information about your research topics, either in groups or on your own. For the presentation, here is what you will need:

20 copies of a handout with an outline of your group's talk, the names of the group members, and some questions for the class to think about.
An introduction to the group's topic(s), along with pertinent background information
Discussion about the various sides to the issues

On Wednesday, Brittany S., Brittany R., Mallory, and Thao will be talking to us about the media and celebrities; Erin and Alison M. will present about gender and education; Ty will talk to us about affirmative action; and Jessica, Franni, and Allison K. will be discussing pop culture's effects on teenaged girls.

On Friday, Ted, Kyle, Justin, Steven, and Ian will be discussing the War and aftermath of 9/11; Brooke, Michael, and Wes will talk about the aftermath of Katrina; and Allyson B. will present on population control in other countries.

If you have questions as you're working, feel free to email me. Remember that your first drafts are due next Monday, so you should be finishing your research and starting to write.

2005-11-04T11:13:00.000-08:00

For Monday, November 7:

Create a rough outline for your essay, using the prewriting you did in class today. Bring your outline to class and at least one source you're planning to use.
Print out Shelby's essay on Iraq and Biochemical Warfare in Chapter 6 of the e-book.
Print out the new schedule: click here to download a Word version. Click here for an assignment sheet for the Issues essay, if you don't already have one.

2005-11-02T07:33:00.000-08:00

RESEARCH REPORT
For this assignment, you are to assemble a bibliography of at least 10 sources. A hard copy of this part of the assignment is due when you come to class on Friday--in addition to the hard copy, please email a copy of the paper to each member of your group and to me.

Each entry should include the following:

Bibliographic information, cited according to your discipline's documentation style. I've provided a list of websites to help you (in the post after this one), but you can always go to the library and look at the actual manual (copies are in the reference section--ask a librarian).
A thorough summary of the source. Make sure that your summary is comprehensive and accurate, but concise--think of this part as the notes you make to yourself to remember the article's major points.
A sentence or two explaining how this article could be useful to your project. Start thinking about ideas you will need to present and how the information in the article will help you to do that. Be specific!
Some indication of what you percieve to be the author's "position"--which side is he or she on--and some indication of how credible or valid you consider the source to be (what kind of source is it, is it researched, is it objective and balanced, etc.)

Here's an example of what an entry might look like:

West, Jennifer E. "Teaching Students to Write Can Be Fun." The Joy of Teaching. Aug. 2005. Center for Excellence in Teaching, Louisiana State University. 1 Nov. 2005 (http://www.joyofteaching.lsu.edu). In this article, Jennifer West presents research gathered from her experiences teaching. She highlights the points of pleasure in the writing process for students and demonstrates how happy students can encourage enjoyment in the teaching process for the instructor, as well as how students' enjoyment can empower them to produce good writing. The article is posted on a website hosted by LSU's Center for Excellence in Teaching, and the biography of West says that she is an experienced writing teacher; additionally, her points are well-documented by her own research and by secondary sources. Of coures, her claims might be biased by her own investment in her students and her concern with her reputation as a teacher, but she does present other sides to the argument, like that some people say it shouldn't matter whether teaching is "fun," what matters is that students learn the required material (West). This article will help me to develop my point about whether teachers care if classes are fun or not.

2005-11-02T07:21:00.000-08:00

Documentation Links:

Knight Cite: This citation machine is the one I demonstrated in class. A good feature of this one is that it will export your entries to a Word document.

Purdue's OWL: This site provides a list of documentation styles by discipline and lists links for each one.

Long Island University's Site: Color-coded examples for different documentation styles and resources. This is a good place to look to check your work and make sure your entries have all the necessary information.

Landmark's Citation Machine: Will generate MLA or APA entries and give examples of how to cite a text parenthetically.

The Writing Center at the University of Wisconsin: This site can help you figure out how to document your sources in the text of your essay. The rest of the Writing Center site here has some great information about writing in general too.

2005-10-26T14:02:00.000-07:00

We have to begin our research soon, so by Friday, you need to have decided on a topic. You can do this one of two ways: either, find a group of people you'd like to work with and the 3 or 4 of you come up with a topic together and then divide it into parts, or find a topic you like and recruit some people to work with you on it. The rules: each group must have at least 3 but no more than 4 people. If you are deadset on working on your own individual topic, you must find at least 2 other people who want to choose their own topics to be in your group (for peer review and presentation purposes).

Your assignment for Friday, October 28:

Read over the following list of topics carefully. I've added a few, but most of these are the ones you came up with in class Wednesday. I tried to eliminate the ones that were especially heated or overdone. Post a comment on this post, in which you list your top 3 choices. Elaborate on each choice, explaining to us why you think it would be good to write about and what part of the issue you'd like to take on. This is your chance to sell your ideas to your classmates.
Send me an email and tell me what you think--are you set on an issue? Do you have a group you want to work with? Are you still undecided? How can we help you decide? This information will help me organize us for Friday so we can start researching. If you feel strongly about what you want to work on, this is your chance to let me know.

Pop Culture/Media:

Fast food/obesity/health
Media conglomerates/economics
Violence in video games/TV/movies
Celebrity culture/fan obsession/celebrities’ responsibility as role models/influence on youth
Steroids and sports
Alcohol abuse/drinking age
Censorship/banned books/ratings/network tv ethical standards
Journalistic ethics: the case of Judith Miller/confidentiality/government's responsibility to publicize information

Politics:

War in Iraq
President's Effectiveness
Hurricane Relief/Reconstruction/Media coverage/Race/Poverty
Same sex marriage
Legalization of drugs
Population control in other countries (China particularly)
Welfare/Social justice issues/Poverty
Socialism in the West
Palestine

Education:

Parents' Rights v. Public Schools
Gender-segregated classes/schools
Abstinence v. Safe Sex/Sex Education
Evolution/Intelligent Design
Effectiveness of standardized testing as a measure of progress/intelligence/student potential
College admissions standards
Core curriculum in colleges
Segregation/Desegregation (particularly in BR)
How to reach this youth culture: should teachers teach Shakespeare or Kanye West?/Use of pop culture in the classroom

Science/Technology:

Antidepressants
Nuclear warfare
Environmental issues: natrual oil reserve/gas crisis
Cloning
Technology's influence on art/are technological advancements always a good thing?
Technology's influence on dating: IM, text-messaging, email

Gender/Women's Issues:

Benefits of working or staying at home
Maternity benefits for women in the workplace
Salary inequality for men/women
Affirmative action
Eating disorders/celebrities' effect on young girls
Images of women in pop culture: what brand of femininity is America promoting?

2005-10-24T12:36:00.000-07:00

First of all, great discussion in class today--you guys demonstrated some good investigative and critical thinking skills about your environment, and I'm really excited to see what kinds of issues you bring to the table. Here's your assignment for Wednesday, October 26:

Brainstorm topics! This might mean research--see what conversations are happening both within your familiar community and outside it.
To class, bring a list of 5 topics that you would be excited to research and to write about for this assignment.
Before class, read through everyone else's comments on this post to see what the class consensus is about topic selection. Be prepared to defend your position in class.
On the blog, post a comment in response to the following questions:

How do you feel about the class topic idea? Do you think you would like for us to all write about the same general topic, breaking it into more specific parts? Why or why not?
Would you prefer to break into groups and have each group determine their broad topic? What would be the benefits and/or disadvantages of this setup?
Or, would you like each student to be responsible for his/her own topic? What about this setup is attractive to you?
Of the topics you've thought about, which would you choose if you had to decide today? Why? What about it interests you? Why do you think you could remain objective, or do you think objectivity would be difficult?
What kinds of topics do you NOT want to write about? Why?

2005-10-21T13:17:00.000-07:00

For Monday, October 24:

Read these two articles: "Creation or Evolution?" and "The Origins of Intelligent Design." Write a comment to this post in which you respond to the following questions:

What do you think of when you hear the word "issue"?
What are the issues at stake in these two articles? How does each author present the issue?
When I say you are to present an issue "objectively," what does that mean to you?
In your mind, what is the difference between explaining and arguing/persuading? Which genre do these articles fit into (the same one, or not)?

2. Find one article about an issue that interests you. It can be from any source you choose; bring it to class Monday and be prepared to discuss the issue it addresses.

3. Make sure you have read Chapter 6 and the Explaining Issues assignment sheet!

2005-10-17T07:34:00.000-07:00

SUBMISSION OF PROFILE

Print a copy of your essay and bring it to class on Wednesday, along with the following materials for your portfolio: 1. Observation and interview notes, along with the pre-writing we did in class 2. First draft with peer responses (from in-class peer review) 3. Drafts and responses from group conferences 4. Edited drafts from class Monday.

AND

Email the final essay as an attachment (with .doc or .rtf extension) before class on Wed. to me at jwest22@lsu.edu. Please make the subject "profile." Also email a copy to yourself, to make sure it sends properly.

2005-10-10T05:53:00.000-07:00

This Week:
We will not meet at our regular classtimes on Wednesday and Friday. Instead, we will meet in groups of 4 at Highland Coffees at different times during the week. Your responsibility is to respond to each essay in your group, using this Response Guide. Come to your conference with each group member's essay and your comment letter to each writer.

After your conference, you should use your group members' feedback to significantly revise your essay. An editing draft is due on Monday.

2005-10-05T06:07:00.000-07:00

FOR MONDAY, OCTOBER 10:

Using the comments you received from peer response, revise your essay significantly. Bring 4 copies to class Monday.
Read the Example Essays and respond according the response instructions (printed at the top of the essays). The link to the example essays is in the Links list on your right and posted on Catalyst. Bring the essays and your responses to class Monday.
You will receive an email from me some time over the weekend with your evaluated portrait essay attached. Please read through my comments carefully.

2005-10-03T07:04:00.000-07:00

FOR WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 5:
First draft due. Bring to class: your first draft, with one paragraph printed on each page. So, if your draft has 8 paragraphs, you will bring 8 pages to class. Please make sure the pages are NOT numbered.

2005-09-29T19:32:00.000-07:00

FOR MONDAY, OCTOBER 3:
Research, research, research. By the time you come to class Monday, you should have some good notes from your observation and interview. Bring them with you so we can start working towards a draft.

2005-09-28T07:42:00.000-07:00

FOR FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 30:

Find an example of a profile in a media source (can be online or print). Write a response in which you comment on the basic features--how does it measure up in each category? Point to specific places in the piece where the writer does a good (or bad) job for each criteria. Bring the profile and your response to class.
Write a mini-profile of a character or a place that you observe on TV or in a movie. Print it out and bring it to class.
Narrow down your topic to at least 3 options; bring these to class as well.

2005-09-23T08:30:00.000-07:00

For Monday, September 26:
Your reading and writing assignment is posted in Catalyst and on the Links list.

2005-09-21T09:59:00.000-07:00

INSTRUCTIONS FOR SENDING YOUR ESSAY:

Make sure it is saved as a Word file (.doc) or in rich text format (.rtf).
Open your e-mail program, and find the Attach command.
A window will open; choose the file you want to send (usually if you click on Browse, it will let you search through your folders to find the right one).
A paperclip icon should appear with the title of your file somewhere.
Email it to me and to yourself.
Be happy--you're finished with your first essay!!

2005-09-21T08:19:00.000-07:00

FINAL DRAFT

The final draft of your firsthand draft is due by class time on Friday. Email it to me at jwest22@lsu.edu as an attachment, either saved as a Word file (.doc) or in rich text format (.rtf). If you have questions about how to email an attachment, you should address them BEFORE the paper is due.

2005-09-19T04:49:00.000-07:00

FOR WEDNESDAY, 9/21:

Read the Editing Guide (posted at right) and the Editing section of chapter 3 in the e-book.
Respond to your reading, using the comments link below this post and tell us how you feel about "correctness" and "error." Think about the following questions as you respond:
Do you think it’s important to write without “error”? Why or why not? How do you feel about the rules of correctness that our society values? Is writing without error easy or difficult for you? Why? Should correctness matter? Why or why not?
Bring one printed copy of your draft to class on Wednesday; you should be finishing your content changes, moving towards the last step in the writing process--polish.

2005-09-15T15:45:00.000-07:00

For Monday, September 19:

Instead of regular class meeting today, you will meet with me in my office (Allen 11) at the time you signed up for. Before you come, you should read and complete the "Before Your Conference" worksheet, posted in the Links list and on Catalyst. Bring this worksheet and a copy of your most recent draft when you come to your conference.

2005-09-14T05:28:00.000-07:00

For Friday, Sept. 16:
Please respond to each member of your peer group, using the Peer Review feature on Catalyst. The Response Guide you should use to shape your comments is posted on the Catalyst site and on the Links list to your right.

2005-09-11T21:00:00.000-07:00

For Wednesday, September 14:

Print out 2 copies of your essay and bring them to class Wednesday.
Post your essay to the Peer Review feature on the e-book website by Tuesday afternoon.

2005-09-09T10:45:00.000-07:00

Your homework for the weekend is to draft, draft, draft. We'll start looking at each other's next week; the farther along you are, the more the feedback you receive can help you.

2005-09-06T21:04:00.000-07:00

FIRSTHAND PORTRAIT

Your first draft for this assignment is due on Monday, September 12. When you have decided on a subject, leave a comment on this post telling us who you chose and a brief explanation of why. Your response is due by 8 am Friday morning.

For class Friday, please read the the assignment sheet and schedule and the Reader Response section of Chapter 4 (you are responsible for the rest of the chapter up to this point--don't be surprised if the material shows up again). Also, please bring an apple to class.
The link for the Assignment sheet is on the LINKS list to the right.

2005-08-31T12:28:00.000-07:00

ADJUSTMENTS

Hello everyone. I am sure you have all heard by now that classes for the week have been cancelled; our class will resume on Wednesday, September 7. All you will need to have with you on Wednesday is the assignment that was due on Monday (the response to Portrait of Strenght and Swallowed Pride) and a good idea of whom you are planning to write your portrait about. We'll do some drafting and invention in class on Wednesday; be thinking of just the right person in the meantime. We will also reassess the schedule of due dates and assignments in class Wednesday and make necessary adjustments.

I do hope that you and your families have all weathered the storm safely, and I will see you on Wednesday.
Have a safe holiday weekend, and be careful if you are travelling.

2005-08-26T10:01:00.000-07:00

Assignment for Monday, August 29:

Read the rest of chapter 4, from the "Reader Response Guide" to the end.
Print out the essay, "Portrait of Strength and Swallowed Pride." Using the response guide and the response techniques we discussed in class, do a careful reading of the essay and type up a detailed response. Remember, your job is the help the writer of this essay see ways she can improve; make sure you offer some good, substantial critique.
Print out a copy of your response and bring it, and the essay, to class on Monday. DO NOT POST YOUR RESPONSE to the blog; I only want printed copies for this assignment.
Start thinking about the topic for your own Firsthand Portrait. Come to class with some ideas, and we'll build on them. If you haven't already done so, join the Class Blog AND register for the course on the Catalyst e-book site. If you are still having trouble, make sure that you let me know so I can contact the appropriate people.

2005-08-24T13:15:00.000-07:00

For those of you who are still having trouble logging on to the course through the e-book website: once you have succesfully entered your registration code (the one in the folder you bought), the next time you log in to the website with your email address and password, a screen should come up asking for your Course Code. I should have logged out and tried again in class; sorry :)

You should be logged in by the time class begins on Friday; if you are still having trouble, make sure you let me know so we can get you straightened out.

2005-08-23T20:03:00.000-07:00

In response to the reading in Chapter 4, I'd like you to post a response that considers the following things:

What do you think of the Firsthand Portrait assignment? Are you excited about it, nervous about it, dreading it...have some ideas, etc.?
What do you think of "Mrs. Wanda"? How does it fulfill the requirements of the assignment and where does it fall short?
More generally, what do you like about the essay? What do you not like?

This response is due by 8 p.m. Thursday night; bring to class a printed copy of "Mrs. Wanda" with your in-text comments.

2005-08-23T20:00:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the blog for English 1001-127. Here is a place for you to post your reading and class responses and to read what your classmates have to say as they respond. As we continue to discuss why writing is important, what makes it "good," and how to go about getting "good" at it, this site will provide a place for you to communicate with one another about what we're learning in class in an informal way.

You can also use it as a resource; if you are having a particular problem, feel free to ask for help and see how your classmates can help you solve your problem. This is your site; I will check to ensure that you are completing your assignments, but the majority of the material on the site will be written by you, for you. Use it to your benefit; that's why it's here.