Assignments

English 1101 Honors: English Composition I, Fall 2012

Section 01H: MW 3:30-4:45PM, Bell Hall 340

In Class Activities

1. Summarizing and Responding to The Way

Today, we're going to practice summarizing an author's world view and main ideas while distinguishing our own.

 

First, spend five minutes individually writing

  1. a one or two sentence summary of the main idea of your assigned passage from Lao Tzu's Tao Te Chinge and
  2. a one or two sentence response (preferrably in one of Graff's "and yet" templates) of either
    • why you are not persuaded by the idea or
    • a question you have about the idea.

Jordan Berry: 17
Haley Brannan: 19
Sarah Burman: 29
Wesley Colston: 30
Emily Cook: 33
Katherine Francesconi: 35
Heather Frazier: 36
Hannah Hagley: 38
Travis Harris: 46
Savannah Harrison: 49
Jess Hebenstreit: 57

Kelsey Hood: 58
Kayla Lashley: 60
Katie Mannen: 61
Bryan Mays: 62
Hope McDonald: 65
Sydney Niemi: 66
Keri Spetzer: 74
Kristen Stack: 75
Kelly Van Roy: 79
Meghan Wetterhall: 80

 

 

Next, divide into six groups of three or four and spend ten minutes collectively writing

  1. a one or two sentence summary of the main idea that encompasses your group's three or four passages and
  2. a one or two sentence response (preferrable in one of Graff's "and yet" templates) of either
    • why your group is not persuaded by the idea or
    • a question you have about the idea

Finally, the entire class will summarize and respond to the Lao Tzu's political world view.

2. De Pizan Says / Machiavelli Says

During our last activity, we practiced summarizing and responding to Tzu's spiritual ideal of government. Today, we'll pretend to be one author summarizing and responding to another author and vice versa.

  1. Christine de Pizan, 16. The Fifth Teaching of Prudence, which Is How the Wise Princess Will Try Her Best to be in Favour with, and Have the Good Wishes of, All Classes of Her Subjects and Niccolò Machiavelli, Chapter XV Concerning Things for Which Men, and Especially Princess, Are Praised or Blamed
  2. Christine de Pizan, 18. The Seventh Teaching Describes How the Wise Princess Will Keep a Careful Eye on Her Revenues and Finances and on the State of Her Court and Niccolò Machiavelli, Chapter XVII Concerning Cruelty and Clemency, and Whether It Is Better to Be Loved Than Feared and Niccolò Machiavelli, Chapter XVIII Concerning the Way in which Princes Should Keep Faith
  3. Christine de Pizan, 19. How the Wise Princess Ought to Extend Largesse and Liberality and Niccolò Machiavelli, Chapter XVI Concerning Liberality and Meanness

First, spend 5 minutes discussing the following two questions:

Second, spend a few minutes discussing the following question:

Third, spend a few minutes discussing the following question:

3. Reviewing the Templates

Let's share the results from Informal Writing 3 and practice Gerald Graff's They Say / I Say templates. Note that your actual paper will not incorporate all of these formulas, but you will find many of them helpful.

  1. "They Say": Start with what others (in this paper, the author) are saying.
  2. "Her Point Is": Fairly summarize the essay's thesis, line of argument and big idea(s).
  3. "As He Himself Puts It": Do not just summarize the essay, quote the essay to illustrate your understanding and create authority. (Next week, we'll discuss MLA style quoting.)
  4. "Yes / No / Okay, But": Respond to what in the text you agree with, what you don't agree with, and what you question.
  5. "And Yet": Distinguish your main idea from the essay's main idea.
  6. "Skeptics May Object": Articulate your objections to the idea.
  7. "So What? Who Cares?": Argue why the essay's idea matters and/or doesn't matter.
  8. "As a Result": Be sure that you use transitions from one section of the paper to another and restate your summary and evaluation in different ways.
  9. "Ain't So / Is Not": Adopt a tone that fits the idea being discussed.

4. Q&A

 

While the informal writings have demonstrated your ability to reflect upon the ideas of education, law and government, and war and peace in sufficient solitude, class discussion, intended to challenge and develop your analytical thinking and critical questioning skills, has proven inadequate for most. In order to hear more voices, develop your ability to question a text, and cultivate your capacity for extemporaneous examination, we'll break into 4 discussion groups responsible for asking and answering questions about today's articles.

 

Here are the groups:

  1. Oe, "The Unsurrendered People" (Austin 288-92)
  2. Elshtain, "What Is a Just War?" (Austin 293-304)
  3. Oe, "The Unsurrendered People" (Austin 288-92)
  4. Elshtain, "What Is a Just War?" (Austin 293-304)

First, each group spends 5-10 minutes creating 5 questions about your article to ask another group.

 

Second, Groups 1 and 3 spend 10-15 minutes asking Groups 2 and 4 their questions and Groups 2 and 4 respond. Groups 1 and 3 may ask follow ups.

 

Third, Groups 2 and 4 spend 10-15 minutes asking Groups 1 and 3 their questions....

 

Finally, each group shares with the class what it learned from the Q&A.

Student Selections

Now that we've studied four topics of Reading the World and essays picked by the professor, now it's time for the class to pick a topic from Reading the World and teach its essays.

  1. First, divide into 6 groups using the sign up sheet. [Note since half the class picked their peer group, the student selection group will be the same as the peer group.]
  2. Next, on Wednesday, October 17, each group selects two essays from Reading the World it would like discuss, a preferred essay and a backup essay in case another group makes the same selection.
  3. Finally, each group prepares to lead class discussion on their selected article for about 15 minutes on the assigned date. Let the class know what you think is important about the article and compose topics and questions to help us delve into the key ideas and their implications.

Here are the student selection groups, which are the same as the peer response groups:

Informal Writing

  1. Summary and Response: Choose either Freire or Feynman and write a page (double-spaced, 12pt Times New Roman font, 1" margins) quoting and summarizing the essay's thesis, argument, and main points. Then, write a page responding to the essay: How do the essay's ideas apply or not apply to your life? Can you think of a time in your life when you were forced to memorize facts? What did you learn or understand from the experience? How did that make you you feel? What connections can you make between the essay and your own life?
    • Format: Word or Rich-Text Format file in GeorgiaVIEW > Assignments > Informal Writing 1
    • Due: Wednesday, August 22 by the start of class
  2. Brainstorming the Personal Reflection Paper: The first eight readings from Reading the World discuss education intellectually, emotionally, morally, and culturally. For the first formal paper, you will reflect upon an important issue in your life. For the second informal writing assignment, simply brainstorm topics and freewrite about them for two pages. What are some subjects that have personally affected you and how so? What important issue has transformed your intellectual, emotional, moral, or cultural world view?
    • Format: Word or Rich-Text Format file in GeorgiaVIEW > Assignments > Informal Writing 2
    • Due: Wednesday, August 29 by the start of class
  3. "My Dear Fellow Clergymen": Write 1-2 pages on Martin Luther King Jr.'s "Letter from Birmingham City Jail," being sure to quote pertinent sentences that illustrate your understanding of the following topics: Who is King addressing? How does he summarize their position? How does he respond to and evaluate their position? What is his own position? How do you respond to King's open letter?
    • Format: Word or Rich-Text Format file in GeorgiaVIEW > Assignments > Informal Writing 3
    • Due: Wednesday, September 12 by the start of class
  4. Reviewing the Main Ideas: In order to determine the topic for the summary and evaluation paper on an article from Reading the World, you will first browse all the articles we've read and select six you are interested in writing about. Then, spend one paragraph per article summarizing the main idea of the article and freewriting about why you agree or disagree with that idea; the six paragraphs should total approximately two pages.
    • Format: Word or Rich-Text Format file in GeorgiaVIEW > Assignments > Informal Writing 4
    • Due: Wednesday, September 19 by the start of class
  5. Outlining the Summary and Evaluation Paper: In order to prepare to draft the summary and evaluation paper, you will first compose an outline of your paper comprised of the thesis statement, topic sentences for each paragraph, and bullet points for your main points and evidence (such as quotations) in each paragraph.
    • Format: Word or Rich-Text Format file in GeorgiaVIEW > Assignments > Informal Writing 5
    • Due: Wednesday, September 26 by the start of class

Peer Response

Goals

The dual goals of this course are for you to read and write about literature in a variety of manners. Informal writing and formal papers allow you to analyze the texts. Peer response sessions extend the reading and writing process by allowing you and your peers to engage in direct oral and written dialogue about matters of composition and interpretation, with the ultimate goal of improving your formal papers. You have the opportunity to revise two formal papers based upon comments by your peers and professor. You will provide constructive criticism to two or three other members of the class as will they to you.

 

Note: If a group member does not submit her paper in Word 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 Summary and Evaluation Peer Response Process

  1. Writers upload their papers to both TurnItIn > Paper 2 Summary and Evaluation and GeorgiaVIEW > Discussions > Paper 2 Peer Group # by the start of class on Wednesday, October 5.
  2. Each group reads, take notes on, and prepares to respond to just fellow group papers before the peer response class.
  3. We will not be holding regular class during the peer response sessions. You need only attend class during your group's scheduled date and time, see below.
  4. For the peer response session, either bring your laptop or bring paper print outs of the papers. The peer response group will collectively complete the Paper 2 Summary and Evaluation peer response sheet for each writer, then upload the completed response to GeorgiaVIEW> Discussions > Paper 2 Peer Group #.

Paper 2 Summary and Evaluation Group Times

Paper 3 Analysis and Argument Peer Response Process

  1. Writers upload their papers to both TurnItIn > Paper 3 Analysis and Argument and GeorgiaVIEW > Discussions > Paper 3 Peer Group # by 11:59PM on Wednesday, October 31.
  2. Each group reads, take notes on, and prepares to respond to just fellow group papers before the peer response class.
  3. For the peer response session, either bring your laptop or bring paper print outs of the papers. The peer response group will collectively complete the Paper 3 Analysis and Argument peer response sheet for each writer, then upload the completed response to GeorgiaVIEW> Discussions > Paper 3 Peer Group #.

Paper 3 Analysis and Argument Peer Groups

Paper 1 Personal Reflection

We have been reading about education during the first month of class. In the first formal paper, reflect upon your own adolescence and emerging adulthood and compose a five page paper that reflects upon an issue that was and may still be crucial in your formative experience. Here are some questions that may help you brainstorm a topic:

Choose one issue that has deeply affected your identity and world view, either intellectually, emotionally, morally, or culturally; and then analyze how it functioned in your life. Your personal and self-analytical reflective 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 the first paper, you analyzed a significant issue that affected your world view. In the second paper, you will fairly and accurately summarize a work and then evaluate it; you will both appreciate and interrogate it; you will articulate the text's idea and then provide your own perspective. If, upon evaluating and interrogating the essay's argument, you agree with it, you should extend it with your own evidence and points. If you disagree with it, you should refute it with your own counter-argument and counter-evidence. Use Gerald Graff's They Say/I Say templates to help you rhetorically frame what the text says as well as articulate your say. The following bullet points define what your paper should accomplish; they are not intended as an organizational guide.

Paper 3 Analysis and Argument

In the first paper, Self, you analyzed how an issue or event affected your self, changed your view of the world. In the second paper, Self and Text, you summarized and evaluated an essay read in class. In this five to seven page dialogue between Text and World, you will summarize how one issue is ideally theorized in one article from Reading the World or the student selections (but not an essay used in the prior two papers) and analyze and argue how you see that topic really functioning in America today with the help of at least two scholarly publications (scholarly journal articles, book chapters, and books available through the university library; in addition you may use high quality general interest publications). For example, you could briefly summarize Freire's Brazilian "Banking Concept of Education," and then analyze the rise of standardized testing in urban school districts into an American "pedagogy of the oppressed" with the help of two scholarly journal articles or book chapters, and argue how America's lower class students are experiencing a new "pedagogy of the oppressed." Or you could explain King's "Letter from Birmingham Jail" and analyze non-violent protest in American since the WTO Protests in 1999, arguing the effectiveness of and/or governmental response to civil disobedience in contemporary America. What does the Text say about the issue, and how does the (American) World respond?

Paper 4 Research Project

In the first paper, you reflected upon an issue important to your Self. In the second, you summarized and evaluated the key idea from a Text. In the third, you analyzed how an idea from a Text should ideally work and argued how it really functions in America today. In this research project demonstrating the full dialectic of Self, Text, and World, self-selected groups of three or four will select any global topic broached by the course texts, research that issue more deeply and more contemporaneously with the support of at least 5 scholarly sources per group member (at least 2 scholarly journal articles and at least 2 books/book chapters per group member) for a total of 15-20 source found outside the course reading list, and then present their findings and own analysis of the topic to the class in a 20-25 minute multimedia presentation with 5 minute question and answer period. Finally, each group member will compose a 7-9 page research paper integrating at least 5 scholarly sources, defining her individual (as opposed to her group's) analysis of the situation, and arguing her position for the world. For instance, a group interested in the contemporary issue of global poverty could research the government's obligations, nonprofit charities' actions, private industries' duties, and the impoverished themselves; and individual members could focus their papers on just one of those subtopics.

 

Timeline

 

Date

Due

October 29

choose groups

November 5

choose topic

November 12

15-20 source bibliography

plan of action

November 12

group 1-2: conferences

November 14

group 3-4: conferences

November 19

group 5-6: conferences

November 26

group 1-2: presentations

November 28

group 3-4: presentations

December 3

group 5-6: presentations

December 5

paper 4

A. Group Selection

Due Monday, October 29: You will choose your three or four person groups.

 

Group 1

ideal forms of government

Wesley Colston

Jess Hebenstreit

Keri Spetzer

Group 2

college culture around the globe

Haley Brannan

Travis Harris

Savannah Harrison

Sydney Niemi

Group 3

scientific engineering

Heather Frazier

Hannah Hagley

Katie Mannen

Hope McDonald

Group 4

immigration

Bryan Mays

Kristen Stack

Meghan Wetterhall

Group 5

human nature's effect on civilization

Jordan Berry

Katherine Francesconi

Kelly Van Roy

Group 6

educational inequalities

Sarah Burman

Emily Cook

Kelsey Hood

Kayla Lashley

B. Topic Selection

Due Monday, November 5: Groups will finalize a topic.

C. Bibliography and Plan of Action

Due Monday, November 12. Groups will construct a working, MLA styled bibliography (15-20 scholarly sources, 5 sources per group member, composed of at least 2 scholarly journal articles and at least 2 books/book chapters per group member) and draft a plan of action dividing the research labor. Use the Composition Research Methods handout to help you navigate GCSU's Library Website and submit your document to GeorgiaVIEW > Assignments > Bibliography and Plan of Action by the end of class.

D. Conferences

Due on the dates below, groups will meet with the professor to discuss the parts of their presentation, and individual group members will share their individual research paper's working theses and research questions.

 

Monday,

11-12
3:30

Group 1
4:00

Group 2

Wednesday,

11-14
3:30

Group 3
4:00

Group 4

Monday,

11-19

3:30

Group 5
4:00

Group 6

E. Group Presentation

Due on the dates below, groups will present their findings and analysis of the topic to the class in a 20-25 minute multimedia presentation (such as Powerpoint, website, or Prezi) with 5 minute question and answer period. If a group member falls ill and cannot present, class will meet during the exam time on Wednesday, December 5.

 

Your presentation will be assessed on organization and unity (how well the parts come together to make a coherent whole), analysis (how well the issue is examined), participation (how well individual members contribute to the speech), and length. The research project is 30% of the course grade; the group presentation comprises 5% and the individual research paper 25% of the total, respectively.

 

Monday,

11-26

Group 1

Group 2

Wednesday,

11-28

Group 3

Group 4

Monday,

12-3

Group 5

Group 6

F. Group Policy

Each group member is expected to attend meetings, respond to group communication in a timely manner, and complete the work delegated to her.

If a group member fails to attend meetings, keep in contact, and/or do her share of the work, a fellow group member may confidentially request that the professor speak to the group about group member responsibilities. If that does not resolve the issue, a group member may confidentially request that the group grade be made individual. In that case, the professor will ask each member to submit an evaluation of her personal performance in the group as well as her fellow group members' efforts and use these self and peer evaluations to determine individual member grades.

G. Individual Research Paper

 

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