Archives for category: Announcements

On week 4 we were given Scallops and what I made was a Yin and Yang polenta with seared scallops and tomato sauce. But if I had a chance to do my scallops menu over again I might have chosen a less conventional way, though I loved how my dish turned out! I would have grilled the scallops and seared the polenta to make it more like an appetizer affair.
One ineteresting fact that I learnt about scallops is that when you catch them you have to be very careful in the process from the water to the market or your home because once it’s dead it’s no bueno.

Yin Yang Polenta Affair

Timing this time around was no problem for me. I kept moving and thinking. My team mate and I were actually the first to finish I believe so I think we got the fact that thinking on your feet is a must in this class.

Below are five sentences that have parallel structure problems. Read about parallel structure on the web or on page 58 of Rules of Thumb. For +1 extra credit, fix the parallelism in one of the sentences below and write 1 – 2 sentences explaining how you made the correction. Submit your correction by replying to this post.

  1. I enjoy learning about electricity because it’s interesting, challenging, and simply for exploring the sciences.
  2. After school yesterday I went to Target, to Brooklyn Industries, and TD Bank.
  3. My cousin likes running, swimming, and to ride a horse every once in a while.
  4. If you need help with grammar, check in Rules of Thumb or The Purdue OWL’s website.
  5. After the scary movie, Danielle looked horrified, scared, and wouldn’t go alone into the dark.

Can anyone identify the parallel structure in the cartoon below?

 

For Tuesday’s reading quiz, here are questions very similar to those I will ask:

1) What is one statement that Anna Quindlen does not make in “Pregnant in New York”?

  • Cab drivers avoid picking up pregnant women
  • It is difficult for pregnant women to get seats on the subway
  • If you’re pregnant, you should consider moving out of New York
  • In public, people comment openly about how large Quindlen looks

2) Briefly describe what the connection between pregnancy and privacy is in this piece.

3) Briefly explain what you think the author’s purpose is in “The Money.”

4) What does the money symbolize?

  • The guilt the son feels about allowing his family to be burglarized
  • A necessary token to “achieve” the American Dream
  • The anger the father feels that the money was stolen
  • The way the media influences young teens to steal

Extra credit: In “The Inheritance of Loss,” what change occurs in Biju by the end of the story? What is the purpose of this text?

I encourage you to post answers to these questions here for discussion. If you post acceptable answers to the extra credit question here, I will give you +1 extra credit now, and if you answer it right on the quiz again, you’ll get extra credit again.

Good luck!

 

For the first part of your final exam you must write a summary of a short reading. Below I have written a summary of “Pregnant in New York” just as you have recently done for homework. Overall, the most important part of the summary is emphasizing what the author’s purpose is. For instance, do not just list facts from the reading. Show a train of thoughts the author follows to deliver his or her main point.

“Pregnant in New York” is by Anna Quindlen, an author who captures her experience of being pregnant in New York City in an essay full of humorous, and sometimes frustrating anecdotes. In the beginning of her essay Quindlen writes “I love New York, but it’s a tough place to be pregnant,” and she soon goes on to describe the types of people that have it easy in New York — “millionaires, actors, dancers” — but definitely not pregnant women. Quindlen’s larger idea is that in New York, no one has any privacy. Her examples, although about her experience with pregnancy, describe New York as a place where everyone is in each other’s “business.” For instance, Quindlen visits a deli to order lunch, but instead is teased for ordering too much food. Additionally, during this same episode, the deli counterman transgresses personal boundaries and tries to foresee the sex of Quindlen’s unborn child, using an obscure method divined to him from a great aunt. The episode is ridiculous. However, this goes to demonstrate that in New York privacy is scarce. After several examples describing how her personal space has been violated in the public spaces of New York, Quindlen concludes with a positive example. One evening while in a crowded midtown subway station Quindlen is surrounded by a couple women who see that the author needs to be shielded from the crowd. These women surround Quindlen and made sure she got onto her train safely. With this final example, Quindlen shows that a shortage of privacy in New York is not always a bad thing.

Okay folks, if you want +2 extra credit points, re-write a summary for “Pregnant in New York” as a response to this post. Try to do these things:

  • Give the title and author of reading in the beginning
  • State the author’s main point/purpose near the beginning
  • Use a series of transitions to navigate between supporting ideas/examples the author gives to reach his or her main point
  • Refer to the author by his or her last name after he or she is introduced the first time
  • Use one quote in your summary from the reading
  • Restate the author’s main idea towards the end of the summary and clearly signal your summary is ending
  • Do not give your personal reaction in the summary

Reply to this post with one of the following run-ons corrected, accompanied by a 1 – 2 sentence explanation of how you made your correction, and I’ll give you +1 extra credit on an assignment you need points on:

  1. Our solar system has nine major planets in it, however, only one planet is known to have intelligent life on it.
  2. Most asteroids are far away, therefore they are dim and hard to see.
  3. Looking through a high-powered telescope allows you to see Saturn’s rings they are thousands of kilometers long.
  4. Check the coordinates of your telescope I can’t see Mars, the red planet.
  5. Marie, my best friend, is interested in stargazing she has a map of the solar system.

Good morning everyone.

Today’s extra credit opportunity takes us into the world of fine argument-crafting and rhetoric. Below I’ve posted a link to a great example of someone using persuasion to respectfully and creatively show why he does not agree with someone’s position. The link is a to a piece called “Dear Emma B,” which is a letter from a science educator and blogger to a creationist and member of a “young Earth” group, (someone who believes the Earth was created by God in 7 days, that the Earth is 6,000 years old, and that humans have no genetic links to monkeys). The creationist in question is a leader of a young Earth group and tries to teach children at a young age to doubt scientific facts about the age of the Earth, and the blogger is responding to these actions.

For extra credit:

  1. Read the article here: http://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/2011/06/23/dear-emma-b/
  2. Respond to this post with a one page letter of your own that writes a letter to the author of an article/source/text that you do not agree with
  3. Post a link to the original source you are disagreeing with in your post

In your response, try to maintain a reasonable tone. Avoid any “bashing” of the source. You’ll notice in “Dear Emma B” that the author appears very cool and calm while taking part in what is actually a very contentious debate, creationism vs. evolution. One aspect that I really admire about the “Dear Emma B” letter is how the author in the second half of the letter details the scientific process of dating rocks; in other words, he describes the process of something he feels to be “true” as solid evidence for his claim. See if you can mimic his techniques.

Okay, so you’re writing your research project, right? What do you do if you have sources that don’t agree? Panic? Slam your computer? Delete your research project?

No! Of course, none of these.

Having sources that disagree is a wonderful thing. You must have different viewpoints, right? If all of your sources agreed on something, why would you be writing about it? If you are writing about a topic that everyone agrees on, then the topic is not worth writing about.

However, the trick is weaving your sources into coherent paragraphs so that you can clearly demonstrate how your sources are different. See the example below of a paragraph that shows there are two different sides two an issue:

I am of two minds about whether or not monogamy is “natural” or not. On one hand, religious values dictate that monogamy must be upheld in all marriages. On the other hand, documented research shows that monogamy is not natural to human behavior. As a result, [idea 1] is valuable because… At the same time, [idea 2] is valid because…

All of the text in bold is transitional or signal text that explains how I am linking ideas together. In other words, I am using clear transitions to show that there are two sides to an issue. Instead of ignoring one side of an argument, I am instead putting the disagreement into the spotlight where I can examine it, which makes for interesting reading.

If your paper is not examining a problem, you should reconsider your main argument.

Remember: all writing should create problems! (Scary, right?)

I will add one extra credit point to a grade where you most need it if you can explain in 2 – 3 sentences why one of the following sentences is grammatically/stylistically incorrect, and why it is incorrect:

Choose one of these sentences and explain why it is incorrect:

  1. Mens and womens pant’s and shoe’s are sold at Macys .
  2. After I get out of my History class, I must go to a Doctor’s Appointment.
  3. Someone has put their name in front of mine. It makes me upset when people skip you.

I am going to start posting writing tips based on examples from student essays. I will try to post at least one positive example and one suggestion in each post. I will not post anyone’s name here, but if you see your writing used and you would like it taken down, please let me know and I will do so.

Instead of the static page I’ve created “examples of strong writing,” I am just going to post examples under the category “Writing Tip.”

Unique hooks or attention-getters:

Here are some unique hooks that got my attention for the midterm essay with reasons why I liked these hooks in brackets:

When people hear the word art, they think of portraits and paintings that hang in museums and galleries. [mentions lots of specific objects]

Vibrant pastel colors, heavy bass and high treble, and satisfying smiles on young faces are all characteristics of urban art. [vibrant descriptive image]

In “My Life in Graffiti,” Joseph Anastasio describes tagged subway cars: “Each car was unique. Each one covered with paint, sweat, and life itself.” [begins with a relevant quote]

Hooks that need some work:

In this essay I will explain how urban art can change people’s lives. [don’t announce the topic you are discussing]

Art has existed since the beginning of mankind. [too broad — be more specific!!!]

 

Check out these hooks. Can you see why the top three are more effective than the bottom two versions? What type of hook did you use for the beginning of your essay?

Good night!

Ambient music inspiration of the night:

Laurie Spiegel – “East River Dawn”

Check the links below for the updated semester schedule. Please click the link for your class days:

Tuesday/Friday class: https://docs.google.com/document/pub?id=1D7bnzI1Abcq2WdBAWuVnfRkSkl2eDljbf_uz2nnN-3g

Tuesday/Thursday class: https://docs.google.com/document/pub?id=16HJJmDN0KBuB7a9po7us4unoq-WbnuRlS-P3BBqyefc