ESOL 021 W Spring 2017

Below are the prompts for your midterm essay. You will write one essay, either a narrative, expository, or argumentative, in response to one of the provided prompts. You will only write one draft of this essay. It is due at the beginning of class on Tuesday, April 4th. It must be typed.

First, read through all the prompts, then decide what type of essay you’d like to write. After that, pick which of the two prompts for that essay type you would like to write on. You have many worksheets and assignments with my feedback on each of these essay types, so I expect your essays to be well written and follow all the structure and organization rules we have studied.

A narrative essay will have an introduction that introduces the topic and has a thesis which applies to any reader. Then it will tell a story in the body and end with a conclusion which reflects on how the story and lesson (thesis) are related.

An expository essay will discuss or explain a point. It will have a clear introduction which will introduce the topics being discussed and ends with a concise thesis. Then it will have a body split into paragraphs with one topic per paragraph, all of which will explicitly support the thesis of the paper. It will also end with a clear conclusion that rewords, reminds, and relates.

An argumentative essay will first briefly introduce both sides of an issue, then have a thesis which clearly defines the author’s position on the topics, as well as lets the reader know what will be discussed in the essay. The body will include evidence and support for this thesis and will refute the opposing argument at least once. This paper’s conclusion should reword, remind, relate.

Please note that these are not research papers. Use what information you already have to support and discuss your points.

Finally, any plagiarism on this paper will result in an automatic zero. This will almost certainly ruin your chances to take the CATW so don’t risk it! The only way to learn and showcase your ability is to do your own work. Plagiarizing shows a lack of respect for your own work and my classroom and it will not be tolerated. Please see the information on your syllabus about plagiarism if you have any questions. 

Expository essay prompts:

Does technology affect our relationships? How so?

Is diversity in the workplace important? Why or why not?

Narrative essay prompts:

Write about an experience that changed your beliefs or values. 

Write about an experience you regret.

Argumentative essay prompts:

Do professional athletes get paid too much for what they do? Why or why not?

Can constantly having a smartphone with us a be a bad thing? Why or why not?

Because of the snow day, we have to do some extra work at home. You have already completed your vocabulary corrections. Here is the second assignment to make up that class time. (You were also given a hard copy of this assignment.)

Grammar Assignment:

Review the following information, then complete the listed activities in your grammar books and bring them to class on Tuesday.

The Adjective Clause
Recognize an adjective clause when you see one.

An adjective clause—also called an adjectival or relative clause—will meet three requirements:

• First, it will contain a subjectand verb.
• Next, it will begin with a relative pronoun[who, whom, whose, that, or which] or a relative adverb [when, where, or why].
• Finally, it will function as an adjective, answering the questions What kind?How many? or Which one?

The adjective clause will follow one of these two patterns:

Relative Pronoun or Adverb + Subject + Verb

Relative Pronoun as Subject + Verb

Here are some examples:

Whose big, brown eyes pleaded for another cookie

Whose = relative pronoun; eyes = subject; pleaded = verb.

Why Fred cannot stand sitting across from his sister Melanie

Why = relative adverb; Fred = subject; can stand = verb [not, an adverb, is not officially part of the verb].

That bounced across the kitchen floor

That = relative pronoun functioning as subject; bounced = verb.

Who hiccupped for seven hours afterward

Who = relative pronoun functioning as subject; hiccupped = verb.

Avoid writing a sentence fragment.

An adjective clause does not express a complete thought, so it cannot stand alone as a sentence. To avoid writing a fragment, you must connect each adjective clause to a main clause.

Read the examples below. Notice that the adjective clause follows the word that it describes.

Diane felt manipulated by her beagle Santana, whose big, brown eyes pleaded for another cookie.

Chewing with her mouth open is one reason why Fred cannot stand sitting across from his sister Melanie.

Snarling and skidding on the smooth tile, Oreo and Skeeter, Madison’s two dogs, competed for the hardboiled egg that bounced across the kitchen floor.

Laughter erupted from Annamarie, who hiccupped for seven hours afterward.

Punctuate an adjective clause correctly.

Punctuating adjective clauses can be tricky. For each sentence, you will have to decide if the adjective clause is essential or nonessential and then use commas accordingly.

Essential clauses do not require commas. An adjective clause is essential when you need the information it provides.

Look at this example:

The vegetables that people leave uneaten are often the most nutritious.

Vegetables is nonspecific. To know which ones we are talking about, we must have the information in the adjective clause. Thus, the adjective clause is essential and requires no commas.

If, however, we eliminate vegetables and choose a more specific noun instead, the adjective clause becomes nonessential and does require commas to separate it from the rest of the sentence.

Read this revision:

Broccoli, which people often leave uneaten, is very nutritious.

Complete these activities in your book and bring them to class on Tuesday:

Chapter 13

Pages 127-128, Practices 1-4

Pages 129-131, Practices 6 and 9

There is a homework post below this one. Please do not miss your homework assignment.

I am going to group your OpenLab comment/response grades into two sections: Before midterm and after midterm. This is for two reasons.

The first is so that you can miss an OpenLab comment or response and it not count against you for the “you must complete every assignment to pass this class” rule. Your grade will be lower, of course, if you are commenting or responding late or missing comments and responses, but as long as you engage in an assignment during the grading period, you will not have a zero.

The second reason is that if you missed earlier assignments, you may be able to give multiple responses on current assignments in order to raise your grade on previous assignments. You cannot get points for going back and replying on old posts. Once I have responded to the posts on a board, you are free to continue a discussion, but I no longer monitor that board for grades.

Additionally, many of you are not commenting by the deadline or not responding to classmates. This severely affects your score and could bring you below the C average you need to take the CATW this semester.

Let me know if you have any questions about this.

There is a homework post below this one. Please do not miss your homework assignment.

This will be your last summary/response assignment before all writing logs are due.

Directions:

Find a news article, either online or in print. You may write on any topic as long as it is a news article.You must attach the news article to your summary and response. I cannot tell you if adequately summarized and responded without seeing the article. I cannot grade your work if you do not attach your article. 

Read the article, and write a summary and response on it just as we have done with the others. Keep in mind, if you choose an extremely long article, you will need to write a long summary. Choose something manageable.

All your writing logs, including this one, are due typed and in the proper format in class on Thursday. Information about the logs and an example log are available on the Information tab at the top of this page.

You will get a copy of these instructions, but I will provide them here as well:

Vocabulary Quiz Homework

Information: By doing this assignment, you will receive credit raising your score on your exam. You will only receive credit if you follow the directions exactly.

Directions: Look over your test and make note of all the questions you got wrong in the vocabulary section. This assignment deals only with your incorrect answers. For every answer you got wrong, you will find the correct answer. Then you will name the part of speech (pos) of the correct answer and write out the relevant dictionary definition. (Some words have multiple definitions. Only use the one that makes sense with how the word is being used in context here.) Finally, you will write an original sentence using the word correctly (in any form) and underlined. An original sentence means it is a sentence you made up; it is not just copying one from the test or from the internet. Show me you know how to use the word correctly. This assignment will be typed.

Format:

#. Correct answer: (pos) dictionary definition.

Original sentence with the word use correctly and underlined.

Example: For the sake of this example, let’s say I got numbers 1 and 2 correct, but I missed number 3. This means my assignment will begin with number 3. You only complete this activity for the vocabulary question you got wrong.

3. Quest: (Noun) a long or arduous search for something.

I embarked on a quest to find my long-lost uncle.

Then, I would do the same for the next question I got wrong. If I got number 4 wrong, that would be next, but if I got number 4 right, then number 5 might be next, or whichever is the next incorrect number on my quiz.

NOTE: Number your corrections to correspond with the numbers on your test. If you got #1 correct on your test, then the first number for this assignment will not be #1. You might need to skip numbers. I need to know what number on the test you are answering in order to give you a score.

Additional information: When you turn this assignment in (Tuesday, March 21^st), you must also turn in your test. This is so I can see that you did correct the questions you actually got wrong and so I can give you credit for this work. If you do not turn in your test, I cannot grade your assignment.

All CUNY classes are canceled tomorrow. Our calendar will be moved down a day, and what was due tomorrow is now due Thursday.

Stay safe and warm!

After reading through the worksheet on Organization of Argumentative Essays to page 172, look at the topics at the top of page 173 and choose one. Write a complete introduction to an argumentative essay on this topic and bring it with you to class on Tuesday.

Additionally, before 10pm Sunday, March 12th, comment on this post with a response to these questions:

1. Everyone has a different version of success. For some it’s love, for others it’s money, and for still others it’s service. There are even more definitions of success than this. What is success to you and why?
2. How far do you think people should go to achieve their success? Should they leave home? Their families? Should they give up their possessions or comforts? Is there a point where you should settle for less to keep some of these things? What do you think and why?

Before class on Tuesday, March 14th, respond to at least one classmate’s comment either by agreeing with them and expanding thoughtfully on one of their points, or by respectfully disagreeing with one of their points and explaining your position.

Both your comment and your reply to a classmate’s comment should be well though out, in good English with your best spelling and grammar, and consist of several sentences.

This counts as a homework grade. Follow all directions and do your best work to get full credit.

Based on your essays, I see a bit of review on subject-verb agreement is needed. Before class on Tuesday, complete these activities in your grammar book:

Page 61, Practice 10, 1-15

Page 62, Practice 11, 1-21

Remember that you will have a quiz over Units 1 and 2 on Thursday. It will cover some content from the units, any grammar we have covered while going over these units (including this and what we will cover on Tuesday), and any vocabulary from those units.

If you would like some extra points added to your essay grades, you can first edit you essay and then submit your essay to the contest whose guidelines you followed. See my previous post for links to the contests. You may cut down your essay to below 750 words or change it in any way as long as you follow the other rules of the contest (specifically in regards to topic and submission deadlines).

Note that most of the contests close on Monday the 6th, so you must submit before then.

Email me proof that you have submitted your paper, and I will give you bonus points. To send me proof, hit the print screen (“PrtScn”) button on your keyboard while you are looking at the page that shows you submitted to your paper to the contest. Then, paste that image in an email to me. Here is some information on using the print screen function.

This is not required. This is just for bonus points for me, and it also allows you the chance to win some money from the contest!

For homework, you should read over pages 56 and 57 in your Northstar book about the effective use of hooks in your introduction paragraph.

You should also go over the “Relationships Between General and Specific Sentences” worksheets and be sure your understand all the answers.

Finally, you should be sure and read all the information on the “Transition Sentences” worksheet and understand and be able to apply all the information found there.

If you have questions about any of your studies between now and Thursday, please raise your hand and ask me at the beginning of class on Thursday, and I will cover any topics needed.