Author: Carrie Hall

Hi! For Monday, please print out, read and annotate  ONEREVISION and TWOREVISION . For each paper, please answer (in writing– on annother piece of paper or  the back of the paper,) the following questions:

1. What do you think would be a good magazine to publish this article in? Who are the readers of this magazine and why is this topic important to them?
2. What is the “so what?” of this paper? Do you think the writer could deepen the “so what?” I’m basically asking, do you wish there was more to their main argument? If so, what?
3. What are they doing really well?
4. What are your (respectful) suggestions for revision?

Hi! For Weds, first find a “mentor article.” This is, I’d like you to find an article in a publication you’d like to write for in a tone you like.  You will not have to write exactly like this article at all– you’re just looking for something to be inspired by.  This definitely does not have to be about the same topic that you think your revision will be about. Look for a writer who is writing in a way you admire.

Read the article and then, print and fill out the worksheet below . (You can also just answer the questions.) Please do it thoroughly– at least 3-4 sentences per answer!

Who is the SPEAKER_ What do we know about this person_ How do we know it_

It’s two pages– so make sure to look at both!

RevisionArticleAssignment18

Hey, everyone– papers are due by the beginning of class on Wednesday.  The paper assignment is listed in the post below, and if you’re confused, you can also refer to the “what I will be grading you on” handout from today’s class. You can also email me.  PLEASE BRING IN A PAPER COPY AND ALSO POST A COPY TO THE WEBSITE UNDER DOCS (as you did last time.) Just cut and paste. Don’t worry about tags.

You will need a works cited page, which you can do (in MLA format) easily on www.easybib.com. Make sure you are using MLA formatting and only use “I only want to create citations.” We’ll talk about why on Weds.

For in-text citations, review the rules on the Purdue OWL HERE. If you don’t find what you’re looking for there, you may have to google something more complicated, like “How to cite a youtube video using MLA in-text.”

Remember, your paper goes down 1/3 of a letter grade (A- to B+) each day it’s late for the first three days. After that, it will go down a full letter grade every day it is late. That means it is an automatic F after 6 days late!

Tuesday meetings in my office (Namm 525)

• 11:30: Amani Nassar
• 11:45 Lansey Censier
• 12:00 Michael Bunsen
• 12:15 Alexandra Sandoval

For Monday, bring in TWO PAPER COPIES  of the first 500 words of your “portrait of a word”essay. If you lost the essay assignment, HERE is another copy.  JUST DOING THIS ROUGH DRAFT AND BRINGING IT IN IS 20% OF YOUR PAPER GRADE.  That’s it! That’s all you have to do! Bring in the full 500 words printed out on paper (two copies) ON TIME to class on Monday!

So, what am I looking for?

Content: I want to know why the word is important to you and your community and why the reader should care! (Coates wanted readers to know that “for all their guns and their gold” some words do not belong to white folks. Diaz wanted readers to know that whether or not you believe in the fuku, it believes in you.)

YOU DO NOT HAVE TO QUOTE DIAZ OR COATES. You do have to bring in outside research– either by way of quotation or summary. But this paper cannot be only about your own experience. This is about YOU and YOUR COMMUNITY in the world.  You need at least three outside sources. We will review proper citation on Monday. Just put the summary or quotations in there (and make a note of where you got them from). IF YOU DID NOT WRITE A SENTENCE OR PHRASE OR PARAGRAPH, MAKE SURE YOU PUT IT IN QUOTES AND MAKE A NOTE OF WHO DID WRITE IT!!

note: you can choose what kind of language to use, as it says in the essay assignment. You do not need to use both informal and formal language. Choose which one works best!

Structure: In class, I drew some CRAZY diagrams on the board. Here’s the deal: Diaz wrote in a storytelling structure; he built and built and built up to his point (the fuku believes in you!) Coates wrote in more of a traditional essay structure. I don’t care which one you write in– it’s up to you to decide which you think works best (or even if another works best.) I will tell you what I DON’T want, though: “You can use Hella to mean _____. You can also  use hella to mean ________ or you can use it to mean ____.” In other words, I don’t want a structure that just stands still and doesn’t get to any point ever.

Remember the most important question– WHY SHOULD THE READER CARE? You might not directly come out and say “This is why this should matter to you” but the reader should not be left wondering, “so what?”

 

For Weds, I want you to finish the research of your word, and AROUND your word. That is, make sure you are researching not only the main topic (the word itself) but also subtopics. For example, if your word is “gangsta,” then you might research not only where that word comes from, but a person you think is particularly gangsta. Or gangsta rap. Or the ways in which politicians call young people of color “gangsters” to instill fear.

Please bring in paper copies of the articles you FIND USEFUL and would use in your papers to class on Wednesday– at least three USEFUL articles (NOT wikipedia. That is a fine place to start, but not a great place to finish.) The OED entry counts as one article, if you think that is something you might use.

This might be helpful for those of you using Spanish words: Spanishetym.com

First of all, we will meet on Monday at the front of the library– on the fourth floor!!  You need to come prepared with the idea of the word (or short phrase) that you intend to use for your “Portrait of a Word” essay! Remember this word does not need to be in English, or in proper English (it could be in slang, in Spanish, in Spanglish, in Urdu, in your work jargon, in the private language you and your siblings used to speak– whatever!) It should be the word that belongs to a group of people you belong to, though, not a broad word like “love” or “family,” but a word that INCLUDES some people and that other people don’t fully understand.  If you’re kind of lost about a word, think about the groups you’re a part of (friend groups, family, religious groups, ethnic groups, work groups) and what language is important to those groups. The best way to find a word important to you will be to PAY ATTENTION  to yourself talking and the people around you talking. What words stand out to you? Look in your favorite song lyrics. Is there a word or short phrase you remember your grandmother (or other relative) always saying to you? Ask your mom your first word. Ask your sister/ best friend/ boyfriend/ girlfriend what words or phrases they associate with you.

For homework: in your journals, write at least 1/2 page about what you KNOW about this word or phrase. Write at least another 1/2 page about you WANT to know. Then do ten minutes of research about the word (time it!) Then write a half page about what you LEARNED from your research. The final step is the PLUS (+) Write 3-4 sentences about what you still want to know about this topic.

Remember, you can write and research AROUND the word– Coates writes about the history of his word in the NFL. Diaz writes about the history of his word in the DR and with the Kennedy’s. You probably don’t want to just research the history of the word itself. If you are having a hard time writing enough about the word, you might want to pick a different word!

If you are totally stuck, you can pick a word off this list, or use it for ideas:

• Zombie (I forgot to tell you guys that zombies are actually real. Look it up!)
• Bitch (much like Coates’ essay, I think that this one is a word only women should attempt)
• Kleptocracy
• Dictator
• Censorship
• Narcissist
• Wildin (look up history of the word “wilding”)
• Woke
• Bodega
• Shlimazel (if you don’t know what it means, don’t write about it.)
• Chilango/a (again, if you don’t know what it means, don’t write about it.)
• Drop a dime (in old time language, this meant to rat someone out to the police)
• Grifter (a con-man, someone who is trying to pull tricks to get money)
• Swagger
• Gangster/ gangsta

1. Read and annotate excerpt from The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao. You must also read the footnotes– the little stuff at the bottom of the page! (If you missed class on Monday, please come pick up a copy of the reading from outside my office (525 Namm.) They will be in a hanging file folder next to the door of the office. Also in this folder are the assignment sheets for essay #2 ” A portrait of a word.” Please take one and read it. )
2. In your journals, write 1/2 a page about what you KNOW after reading the Oscar Wao excerpt. In other words, what did you learn from reading this? Be SPECIFIC!!
3. Then, write another 1/2 page about what you WANT to know after reading this. Here, I’m asking you to write about things you could research.  Did Diaz say something about Trujillo or the DR that you want to hear more about? Was there something else you were curious about? Again, you need to be specific. You can’t just say “I want to know more about Trujillo.” What, specifically, would you like to know that you didn’t find out from reading this excerpt?

Note: Paper 2, “A portrait of a Word,” will be due on Oct 31. You do not need to know what word you’re going to use yet, but you will need to know by Monday, Oct 22.

Hey everyone– good job on the midterm!  Your homework for the weekend is to read and annotate “In Defense of a Loaded Word” by Ta-Nehesi Coates (which I handed out on Wednesday) and to answer the 4 questions on the back of the packet.

Don’t worry, you won’t be asked to write an essay about this article, though I do expect you to read it thoughtfully. Also, an important note: it might make the conversation slightly difficult, but I don’t want us to use the word Coates is writing about in class. He goes into pretty great detail as to why people who aren’t black shouldn’t use it, and it certainly isn’t my intention to offend anyone with this conversation. So we’ll need to tread lightly.

Hi everyone. We have an exam on October 10. It will take the entire class. If you cannot make the exam, you must tell me before hand, and you must provide official verifiable proof. You must also take an alternate version of the exam.

There is no official homework, but you will want to prepare for the midterm. But what are some ways you might do that?

1. READ THE ZOMBIE ARTICLE! ANNOTATE! REREAD! (YOU MUST BRING THIS WITH YOU TO THE EXAM)
2. REVIEW THE QUOTATION HANDOUT! (YOU MAY BRING THIS WITH YOU TO THE EXAM.)
3. Think about the kind of questions I will probably ask. You will have a choice of two questions. They will both ask you about 1. The text (Zombie Article) 2. The reader (You) and 3. The World (something about the world outside of the text.)
4. Practice writing thesis statements. What kind of thing could you write about that would be interesting enough that you can write about it for an hour? That you can make multiple points about it? You don’t want something too huge or too small. I know this sounds ridiculous, but this would be VERY helpful.
5. You totally don’t have to do this, but for fun, you could watch a monster movie. Or go down some internet research wormhole looking up monsters!

Remember, I am not looking for the “right answer.” There IS NO RIGHT ANSWER (which is a drag, I know.) I am looking for YOUR answer. I am looking for your thoughtful response to the question (which will have to do with your thoughts on Klostermann and how we as Americans view monstrosity) backed up with Points, Information and Explanation. 

You may bring the following with you: The Zombie article, the quotation handout and the monster story you wrote. However, do not feel obligated to use your previous writing– it could kind of mess you up to try to make it fit. This is just a resource.

You may listen to music while you write if you like as long as no one else can hear it. 

(tips on writing the actual essay are below meeting times)

OFFICE HOURS

My office is in Namm 525. This is on the 5th floor. Once you get off the elevator, you will see some vending machines. Behind the vending machines is a little hallway. Go in and take a left. There is my office! Please note: these are my meetings for both classes.  Please email me if you would like to make an appointment.

OFFICE HOURS WEDS OCT 4

• 10:30 Andy Huang
• 11:15 Cloyde
• 11:30 Giovanni
• 12:00 Michael
• 12:15 Jonathan Alexander
• 12:45 Hend
• 3:30 Kelvin

OFFICE HOURS TUESDAY OCT 9

• 1:30 Omrit
  1:45 Mohammad
  2:15 David

TIPS FOR EXAM DAY BEFORE YOU START THE ESSAY: 

1. Read and re-read the essay question.
2. If it helps you, brainstorm ideas.
3. Write a thesis. Revise it. Make sure it’s “the right size.” Is it a statement? Is it worth discussing? Are YOU interested? Do you have points you can make to support it? This is the key to an in-class exam, finding a thesis that fits.
4. Brainstorm some points that fit your thesis. On scrap paper, put these in order. Leave some space under each
5. Brainstorm some information to back up each point. When you write, you will also EXPLAIN these points and information. Why is it important? What do YOU think? What do you want your reader to think? If it helps you, jot down some ideas about explanations. It’s also okay to wait on this part (as long as you do it in the actual essay.
6. Take a second to make sure that your supporting points back up your thesis. If not, do you need to change a point? Or tweak your thesis a bit?
7. Take a breath. And get started!

I will not be grading the pre-writing you do. But I guarantee you that if you just sit down and spill out everything on your mind, your essay won’t make any sense. If you give a moment to think of your thesis and your main Points (and Info and Explanations,) you will know what your paragraphs will look like. Be willing to let your ideas change as you write. The outline just gives you a place to begin and go back to if you get stuck.