Assignments

English 1101: English Composition I, Fall 2009

Section 13 (CRN 80172): MW 2:00-3:15PM, Arts & Sciences 246

In Class Activities

1. Summarizing an Essay: Erich Fromm, "The Individual in the Chains of Illusion"

Each of you will be assigned one of the essay's 24 paragraphs. Spend ten minutes answering the following questions and be prepared to report your findings for #2 and #3 to the class.

  1. What is the thesis or controlling idea of the overall essay?
  2. What is the topic and main idea of your assigned paragraph, and how does it fit into the essay's overall argument?
  3. What is the evidence or proof of your assigned paragraph?
  4. If he were updating his essay in 2009, how might he amend his controlling idea and/or evidence?

2. Brainstorming and Freewriting: Lao-Tzu, "Thoughts from the Tao-te Ching"

3. Summarizing and Freewriting: Jean-Jacques Rousseau, "The Origin of Civil Society"

Today, we're going to practice summarizing and freewriting.

  1. For the first five minutes, freewrite everything you already knew about civil society from Rousseau's article (either from political observation or a high school civics class, for instance) as well as what you learned from reading the article.
  2. For the second five minutes, freewrite questions or issues you have regarding the ideas.
  3. For the final five minutes, freewrite on what ways America is and is not a civil society as Rousseau defines it.

4. Outlining and Drafting

Use this class to create an outline (Kennedy 73-82) from your working thesis and, if time permits, draft your essay (Kennedy 83-100)

5. Corresponding

Divide into groups of 3-4 and discuss the one question assigned to your group, being sure to ground each response in a quote from the text. Elect a person who does not normally talk in class to record your responses and orally report them to the class.

  1. What was Rousseau's general thesis regarding the social contract in "The Origin of Civil Society"?
  2. What did Rousseau say about slavery in particular?
  3. What is Thoreau's attitude toward government in general?
  4. What is Thoreau's opinion(s) of slavery and the Mexican War?
  5. Define the relationship between justice and the law, according to Thoreau?
  6. What is the responsibility of a citizen vis-à-vis law and government according to Thoreau?

6. Developing

Divide into groups of 3-4. First, define the term from Kennedy, Ch7 Strategies for Developing (Writing 101-36) and then find an example of the term being used in Marx, "The Communist Manifesto" (World 359-86)

  1. Defining
  2. Reasoning
  3. Analyzing a Subject
  4. Dividing and Classifying
  5. Comparing and Contrasting
  6. Cause-and-Effect

7. Comparing and Contrasting

Divide into groups of 3 to discuss the essay assigned to your group, either Aristotle's "The Aim of Man" (691-712) or Nietzsche's "Morality as Anti-Nature" (713-28). Elect a recorder to report your conversation to the class.

  1. What is the thesis, the guiding ethical principle of the author, the way philosopher thinks the Self should act in the World?
  2. Explain two of the most significant passages in the piece.
  3. Compare and contrast the author's system of moral principles with your members of your group. How do they overlap, how do they differ, and why?

Informal Writing

The goal of the informal writing assignments is to get you to think actively about the readings and write analytically about the humanities. These short assignments of 1-2 double-spaced, typed pages with 1" margins and 12-point fonts will also prepare you to write the longer, formal papers.

 

Out of class responses will be due by the start of class on the due date, either as a typed hard copy or a word-processing file such as Word, WordPerfect, Works, or OpenOffice in GeorgiaView > Assignments > Informal Writing #. Hard copies submissions will be returned as hard copies in class; electronic submissions will be returned in Vista > Assignments > Informal Writing # on the same day as hard copy submissions are handed back. Click here for grading rationale and calculation of informal writing assignments.

  1. Nawal El Saadawi, Woman at Point Zero
    • What does the character Firdaus in particular and the novel Woman at Point Zero in general compel you to contemplate about your own life and existence? Reflect beyond the obvious statement, "you have it better than Egyptian women."
    • Due: Monday, August 24 by the start of class
  2. Hannah Arendt, "Total Domination"
    • First, quote, summarize, and explain Arendt's thesis and two of her main arguments or points supporting that thesis. Second, evaluate the essay's idea. Do you agree with it or not, and why? Is it still applicable today or not, and why?
    • Due: Wednesday, September 16 to be written in class
  3. Regents' Test Preparation or Work on Paper 3 Draft 1
    • Those of you taking the Regents' Test will write a practice essay.
    • Those of you who have the Regents' Test waived will work on your Analysis and Argument Papers, which will be due by midnight.
    • Due: Wednesday, October 21 to be written in class.
  4. Andrew Carnegie, "The Gospel of Wealth"
    • For those of you who did not read for today, 1) explain Carnegie's main idea regarding charity, 2) discuss whether or not you agree with this idea, and 3) discuss if this idea is applicable today. 
    • Due: Wednesday, November 4 due at the beginning of class

Peer Responses

The dual goals of this course are for you to read and write scholarly essay in the humanities. Peer response sessions extend the reading and writing process by allowing you and your peers to engage in direct oral and written dialogue regarding the writing process, with the ultimate goal of improving your formal papers. You have the opportunity to revise your two formal papers based upon comments by your peers and myself. You will provide constructive criticism to 3 or 4 other members of the class as will they to you.

Note: If a group member does not submit her paper in .doc or .rtf format at least two days before the peer response session, the rest of the group is not responsible for responding to her paper.

Paper 2 Peer Response

Groups

Written Responses

 

Use the following issues to help you to formulate your one page, double-spaced response to each peer's paper. Even if you find the paper good, you must still comment on these issues, particularly thesis, argument, and organization. You can always engage a conversation with the writer about how you're analyzing the issue differently, for that dialogue can also help the writer in the revision process.

Peer Response Discussion

 

In the peer response meeting, group members will share their responses in verbal form. Writers take turns listening to their group members review their work. Specifically, the group should go around the circle and state

  1. what they think the writer's thesis is,
  2. how well the paper summarized the original article,
  3. how well the paper evaluated the original article,
  4. any other comments for revision

Paper 3 Peer Responses

Groups

Written Responses

 

Use the following issues to help you to formulate your one-two page, double-spaced response to each peer's paper. Even if you find the paper good, you must still comment on these issues, particularly thesis, argument, and organization. You can always engage a conversation with the writer about how you're analyzing the issue differently, for that dialogue can also help the writer in the revision process.

Peer Response Discussion

 

In the peer response meeting, writers will read their paper aloud, and group members will share their responses in verbal form. Writers take turns listening to their group members review their work. Specifically, the group should go around the circle and state:

  1. the what they think the writer's thesis is,
  2. how well the paper analyzed the issue,
  3. how well the paper argued its stance,
  4. any other comments for revision

Paper 1 Personal Narrative

You've informally written about what Nawal El Saadawi's Woman at Point Zero compelled you to contemplate about your life; and in class, we've discussed issues of gender and sexuality, power and justice, culture and class. In this first formal paper, reflect upon your own adolescence and emerging adulthood and compose a minimum four page personal narrative that conveys an issue that was and may still be crucial in your formative experience. What does Saadawi's case history novel make you think about in your own life? You could, for instance, write about how gender shaped your life. Or class. Or the justice system. Alternatively, what is/was your own predominant coming-of-age issue not included in Woman at Point Zero? How did your parents raise you? Your mother? Your father? Are/were you affected by a hypocritical or patriarchal culture? Choose one issue that has deeply affected your identity and world view, and analyze how it functioned in your life. Your personal and self-analytical narrative essay should break the issue down in order to reveal its complex operations. Your paper should have a controlling idea, be well-organized, provide specific details to support its analytical claims, and follow the rules of standard written English.

Paper 2 Summary and Evaluation

In this four to six page dialogue between Self and Text, you will summarize the key argument of one of the texts from A World of Ideas and then evaluate and respond to it. This essay will be drafted and revised.

 

During in class activities, you've made initial summaries of authors' arguments, and in the first formal paper, inspired by Woman at Point Zero, you analyzed how an issue affected your life. The goal of the the second formal paper is for you to fully enter into one of the issues in one of the essays we've read in class. Choose an author we've read from A World of Ideas whose argument you wish to either expand upon or refute. In either case, your paper should summarize, fairly and accurately, the author's argument. Evaluate that argument: analyze and criticize, affirm and interrogate, but always be fair to the author's argument. Finally, your paper should provide your own perspective, your own argument (analysis and ideas) by either agreeing with the essay but furthering its point with your own ideas, or disagreeing with the essay and offering counterargument of your own.

Paper 3: Analysis and Argument

In the first paper, Self, you analyzed how an issue or event affected your self, your view of the world. In the second, Self and Text, you summarized and evaluated an essay read in class. In this four to six page dialogue between Text and World, you will summarize how one issue is ideally theorized in one article from A World of Ideas (not one used in the prior two papers) and analyze and argue how you see that topic really functioning in American today with the help of one scholarly publication. For example, you could explain Thoreau's idea of civil disobedience and analyze how civil disobedience is used today, arguing how Thoreau's ideas have been applied or modified in current practice. What does the Text say about the issue, and how does the World respond?

Paper 4 Research Paper

In this six to eight page research paper engaging a full dialectic between Self, Text, and World, you will select any topic broached by the course texts, analyze it more deeply with the support of scholarly sources found outside the class, and argue your position to/for the world.

 

You will incorporate at least four scholarly sources (scholarly journal articles and/or book chapters) into your analysis; after meeting the scholarly source limit you may incorporate magazine, newspaper, and web sources if you wish. I strongly suggest you clear your topic with me before beginning your paper.

 

Because you will be submitting only one draft of this paper, it is not only important that you break down the research and writing process into manageable steps but also desireable that you get feedback on your ideas. To that end, you will submit a research topic and question, a bibliography and an annotated journal article, and finally an outline. You will also meet with your professor to discuss your research.

 

Timeline

 

Date

Due

November 11

Research Topic

Question

November 18

Research Question

List of Sources

Copy of One Journal Article

Annotation

November 23

Conferences

November 30

Conferences

December 2

Research Paper Thesis

Topic Sentence Outline

December 11

Final Research Paper

A. Research Topic and Question

The first step in a research paper is constructing a solid, guiding research question.

Due Wednesday, November 11: Bring to class a research topic and question. Failure to do so will result in a one-third letter grade deduction from your final research paper.

B. Research Question, List of Sources, Copy of One Journal Article, Annotation

The second step in a research paper is use the library databases to find a number of sources to help you answer your question and analyze your issue. Use the Composition Research Methods handout to help you navigate GCSU's Library Website. Your preliminary list of sources should be no less than 10 scholarly sources, at least 3 of which must be scholarly journal articles and at least 3 of which must be scholarly books or book chapters.

 

Due at the start of class on Wednesday, November 18: Bring to class your research question, your working list of sources (formatted in MLA style), and one scholarly journal article which you have already read and taken notes on. Failure to do so will result in a one-third letter grade penalty on the research paper.

 

To be written In class on Wednesday, November 18: Write a one-page, double-spaced annotation of the scholarly journal article you brought to class by answering the following questions:

  1. What is the article's overall thesis, its debateable claim, its primary argument? (Feel free to quote the thesis.)
  2. Describe how the essay analyzes (breaks down) its key issue into component parts. (Feel free to quote the two most significant passages.)
  3. How does the article answer your guiding research question? In other words, how will you be able to use the article in your final research paper?

C. Conferences

While everyone is reading and annotating research, we'll cancel regular class but hold individual conferences where we can talk about your final paper. Bring your research question, notes, and your working thesis, if you have one, to the meeting, and we'll shape you research and your final paper. All individual conferences will take place in my office, A&S 330. Missing a scheduled conference counts as an absence, and the final grade of your research paper will be penalized one-third of a letter grade.

 

Monday, 11-23
2:00
 Ben Pattison
Katie Landers
Erin Rose
2:30
 Jacob Dohner
Krissy Anderson
Kelsey Minor
3:30
 Jordyn Lavoie
Grant Kelly
Mitchell Dockery
4:00
 Andrew Reeves
Zach Balkcom
Rachel Perry
Monday, 11-30
2:00
 Kim Lochner
Erica Wright
Robert Graham
2:30
 Casey Jones
Brent Osborne
Kayla King
3:30
 Banks Pangborn
Alyssa Jenkins
Morgan Bell
4:00
 Joseph Varner
Harrison Thacker
Caleb Johnson

D. Research Paper Thesis and Topic Sentence Outline Due

After you have constructed a research question, compiled research, and annotated your sources, the next step is to compose a working thesis and an outline of your paper. The more complete your outline is, the better. I recommend including argument and supporting evidence (like quotes) and making as complete of an outline that you can. However, at the very least, this outline, should include your thesis and every topic sentence of your paper.

 

Due Wednesday, December 2: Bring your outline to class to be reviewed by two or three of your peers. Failure to do so will result in a one-third letter grade penalty of your research paper.

E. Final Research Paper

 

© Alex E. Blazer 2025