Assignments
"Disappear Here": Rereading American Myths
English 101-26: Introduction to College Writing
Fall 2005, MWF: 1:00-1:50PM, Davidson Hall 202
First Day Questionnaire
I would greatly appreciate it if you would
complete the following questionnaire in Blackboard > Assignments > Questionnaire by
Tuesday, August 23. This survey is completely optional. I simply want to
get a sense of the class's interests and composition experience; and this
questionnaire will give you practice with Blackboard if you need it.
1. What is your name?
2. If it is not apparent from the roster, how do you pronounce your name?
3. Do you prefer to be called something other than the name which appears on
the roster?
4. What is and/or what are your favorite work(s) of literature (poem, play,
film, television show, novel, or short story)?
5. What is your favorite song and/or musician?
6. How many papers did you write in your senior year of high school?
In Class Activities
1. Informal Writing vs Formal Writing
Informal Writing
When your instructor asks you to engage
in informal writing such as answering discussion questions, responding to a
text, or keeping a reading journal, your have two primary tasks.
1. First, develop out your reaction
to the text or topic.
a. What does the text or topic make
you think about?
2. And then tease out the text's main
ideas and foremost issues, and offer a preliminary analysis or tentative interpretation
regarding the subject at hand.
a. What might the underlying meaning
or reality of the phenomena be?
b. What is the big picture of what
the text is trying to say?
Formal Writing
When your instructor asks you to write a formal
paper, be it simply an argumentative essay or a full-blown analytical research
paper, you have two primary tasks.
1. Construct a refined analytical argument,
complete with
a. a thesis that not only interprets the
phenomena at hand but also guides your subsequent analysis,
b. an effective
structure that affords your to deepen and support your argument,
and
c. rigorous analysis and detailed evidence
that supports your thesis.
2. Follow the writing format practiced
by the discipline of the class you're taking.
a. In English classes, for instance,
you should follow Modern
Language Assocation (MLA) style as described in our textbook, The
St. Martin's Handbook, and my MLA
style handout.
Activity
For next Wednesday, August 31, submit in class or on Blackboard > Assignments
> Informal Writing #1, an informal response to either Jean Kilbourne's "'Two
Ways a Woman Can Get Hurt': Advertising and Violence" or Susan Faludi's"Girls
Have All the Power: What's Troubling Troubled Boys." What does the essay make
you think about regarding gender? What are the main ideas and issues of the
essay? Although this is an informal
assignment, you should practice MLA format by using proper heading, running
header, margins, font, and line spacing.
2. Topics vs Theses
Topics
A topic is the subject of an essay. Topics are by definition broad and general.
Theses
A thesis is the specific, analytical proposition that the essay argues. Theses
are by definition focused and particular. A thesis makes
a precise argument about the topic being examined. In an academic essay, the
thesis is typically put for in the introductory paragraph via a thesis statement
that advances what the essay will argue and prove.
Activity
In groups of three or four, take approximately 20 minutes to answer the following
questions for each of
the six essays that we have read in class so far.
- define the essay's topic,
- find the essay's thesis
statement,
- find one of the essay's sub-thesis statements, and
- put
the essay's main idea/argument in your own words.
3. Outlining
I’m assuming that in high school, you learned the classical outline and organization of a paper. If so, this handout will provide a refresher; if not, this handout and activity will help you to efficiently outline and construct an effectively organized paper. Moreover, it will help you to delve into the issue and develop your ideas to their fullest. I expect formal papers to be both analytical and argumentative. That is, your paper’s dual goals should be to 1) do a close analysis of the issue and then 2) offer up your own evaluation and argument of that issue. Don’t simply recapitulate what we've said in class or what the book says, question and build upon those examinations.
Here's a suggested writing process for your first paper.
- Pick a paper topic.
- Come up with a thesis.
- Brainstorm the aspects of the thesis that need to be argued and proven.
- Sort those ideas or subtheses into a general outline.
- Develop your analysis via a detailed outline.
- Write your paper.
General Outline
My approach to structure, indeed the typical or general organization of an academic paper, can be found in this rough outline. Note the genre's rules: introduction which tells the reader what the paper is going to do/argue, proof via evidence and more argument, re-proof via rebuff (debate your idea), and conclusion which tells the reader what's just been proven. You may find this outline helpful to use as a guide:
- Engage your reader in an Intro
- Say what you're going to prove in a Thesis/Argument
- Then prove your Thesis with multiple paragraphs that address different parts or aspects of the main thesis
- by implementingEvidence/Proof/Specific Examples/Support from the texts you’re using
- Address Opposition to your Thesis (Where/If applicable) in Counterargument
- which you will Deflate/Refute (what's wrong with the other side, the other opinion) in order to then
- Re-Advance Your Own Thesis
- Finally, say what you've just proven: Conclusion
Detailed Outline
Next is a more formal outline of how a short academic examination may be structured. Note how each support flows from and directly relates to the thesis/controlling idea/argument in some significant way. (4X) stands for the understood “Therefore/Because/For example” connectivity test. If the support answers the question “Therefore, what?,” “Because why?,” or “What, for example?” prompted by the preceding statement, then that support is relevant. The test promotes not only critical reflection and critical analysis but also coherence. (It doesn't allow the writer to meander, but rather to consciously progress and direct her composition purposively.)
Note further that the overarching arguments (opinions, generalizations) gradually are filtered into direct evidence (facts, specific examples, quotes from the text you’re working with). Of course, you may vary from this format as it is very constraining and limiting stylistically; indeed, I encourage you too adapt it to your own writing style. However, be certain to utilize an effective organization, one which offers illustrative support for your argumentative, analytical thesis.
I. Introduction
A. Grabber (aka, hook): gets the audience interested in the paper
B. Related stuff: not necessarily going to be proven or analyzed but somehow
relevantly/appropriately commences thinking on the subject (usually very
interrelated with the grabber's content)
C. Blueprint: outlines sub-topics and supports for the thesis
D. Thesis Statement: the argument that guides and coheres the discursive
analysis
II. Body Paragraph: no less than three, each should not only directly relate to
the thesis but also support it in some way (a major support of the thesis)
(4X) A. Thesis statement: argumentatively and logically supports the overarching
purpose of the paper, most notably stated in the introduction's thesis
statement
(4X) 1. major support: though still argumentative, it is somewhat transitory in
that it, more often than not, also incorporates a reading or an
interpretation of a specific example
(4X) a. minor support: the specific example, the evidence that proves the
argument
(4X) b. minor support
(4X) (1) minor minor support: this really delves into the specific
nuances of the argument, but isn't always appropriate or
necessary, depending on the nature of the argument, analysis,
and evidence
(4X) (2) minor minor support
(4X) 2. major support
(4X) a. minor support
(4X) b. minor support
(4X) 3. major support
(4X) a. minor support
(4X) b. minor support
4. summary thus far, mini-conclusion of this paragraph, or transition to
either an extension of this paragraph's argument in another paragraph
or the next main thesis support (aka body paragraph)
III. Body Paragraph — see above
IV. Body Paragraph — see above
V. Body Paragraph — see above —
That addresses and refutes arguments in opposition to your own
(You can also engage counterargument throughout your paper with each
main point)
VI. Conclusion
Summarizes arguments and points already made (and does not offer new evidence)
Restates thesis
(Possibly) ends with an epiphany or a moment of revelation; or points to
further discussion or study or to relevant issues which generated or
implicated by the argument's analysis
Activity
Now that we've discussed outlining and you have each done a rudimentary outline of what each paragraph in Sommers' or Morgan's essay does in support of her overall argument, divide into small groups based upon what essay you outlined in Informal Writing #2. Each group should outline a two or three of the essay's body paragraphs using the major/minor support system as well as the Because/Therefore/For Example test.
4. Introductory Paragraphs and Introductions
An introduction in an academic essay invites the reader into the paper, puts
the topic in context, sets up the paper's structure, and issues the paper's
controlling idea. Therefore, it is the paper's
single most important paragraph. An introductory paragraph should have four
elements:
- Grabber: Hooks the reader with a grabber, an anecdote or observation,
fact or statistic, statement or question, which grabs the
reader's attention by peaking her interest.
- Context: Situates the paper within a specific set of questions and
issues, thus giving the reader a bridge into the paper's topic.
- Blueprint: A statement or set of statements that essentially
outlines how the paper will prove its thesis by describing or listing the
paper's three or so major sections or lines of inquiry.
- Thesis: A thesis states the paper's specific analytical proposition regarding
the topic under examination.
Discuss the introductory paragraphs from Stephanie Coontz's "What We Really
Miss about the 1950s" (Rereading America 32), Aaron H. Devor's
"Becoming Members of Society: Learning the Social Meanings of Gender" (Rereading
America 424), and Jean
Anyon's "Social Class and the Hidden Curriculum of Work" (Rereading
America 195). What is successful about these introductions? According
to our four-point standard for an effective introduction, what needs
work?
Activity
In groups of two or three, write a very brief introduction for a paper that
analyzes how our current educational system does not meet our cultural
ideal of the common school.
5. Quoting and Citing
See
MLA style handout.
6. Body Paragraphs
Each body paragraph should support and advance the paper's controlling idea,
its thesis. The farther you write into the body paragraph, the further you should dig into and analyze the main issue of the paragraph. Body paragraphs should be composed of 1) a topic sentence that relates to, supports, or advances the paper's thesis, 2) major supports that argue and analyze the body paragraph's issue, and 3) minor supports that provide actual evidence such as facts, statistics, and example, to verify the major support. A body paragraph should be sutured together to form a convincing and concrete analysis of one aspect of the paper's thesis, controlling idea, or main issue under consideration. The body paragraph as a whole and the body paragraph's constituent sentences should fit with the thesis by either arguing why and how the phenomenon works as it does, arguing what is significant and meaningful about the way the phenomenon works, or that it works this way, or providing an example of the way the issue works. Here follows a detailed outline of a comprehensive body paragraph, which is full of argument, analysis, and specific evidence illustrating and advancing that argument. The "(4X)" means that every sentence connects the body paragraph's topic/thesis sentence to the support at hand through the qualifiers Because, Therefore, or For Example.
Body Paragraph: no less than three, each should not only directly relate to
the thesis but also support it in some way (a major support of the thesis)
(4X) A. Thesis statement: argumentatively and logically supports the overarching
purpose of the paper, most notably stated in the introduction's thesis
statement
(4X) 1. major support: though still argumentative, it is somewhat transitory in
that it, more often than not, also incorporates a reading or an
interpretation of a specific example
(4X) a. minor support: the specific example, the evidence that proves the
argument
(4X) b. minor support
(4X) (1) minor minor support: this really delves into the specific
nuances of the argument, but isn't always appropriate or
necessary, depending on the nature of the argument, analysis,
and evidence
(4X) (2) minor minor support
(4X) 2. major support
(4X) a. minor support
(4X) b. minor support
(4X) 3. major support
(4X) a. minor support
(4X) b. minor support
7. The Research Process
See Research Methods, Informal
Writing 4, and Annotated
Bibliography.
8. Counterargument
Until this point, we have debated issues in class discussion while you have developed your own analysis of American cultural phenomenon in your formal papers. For a scholarly essay to be thoroughly convincing, the writer must show her
readers that she has considered alternate analyses before coming to her conclusive
reading. Therefore, an effective academic essay address and refute counterargument, those arguments which contradict the writer's thetic interpretation of the issue under examination. Your final, research paper should describe other possible readings of the subject-matter and explain why your reading is better.
Activity
Divide into groups of three or four and answer the following questions regarding one of the two following essays that your group is assigned.
- Williams, "By Any Means Necessary"
- Spence, "Easy in the Harness: The Tyranny
of Freedom"
- Does the writer offer counterargument to her thesis and reading of the situation?
- What counterargument can be made regarding the writer's position?
- Does the writer refute the counterargument?
- How would your group advise the writer to refute the counterargument?
9. Concluding Paragraphs and Conclusions
The introduction of an academic paper grabs the reader, provides a blueprint statement of what the essay will discuss, and asserts a well-focused thesis that analyzes a particular cultural phenomenomen. Body paragraphs prove different aspects of the thesis with evidence and rigorous reading of that evidence, the conclusion of a scholarly essay wraps up the analysis by summarizing the analysis, restating the thesis, and making a fine, epiphanic point about the subject.
Informal Writing
- Gender
- Submit in class or on Blackboard > Assignments > Informal
Writing #1, an informal response to either Jean Kilbourne's "'Two
Ways a Woman Can Get Hurt': Advertising and Violence" or Susan
Faludi's"Girls
Have All the Power: What's Troubling Troubled Boys." What does the essay
make you think about regarding gender? What are the main ideas and issues
of the essay? Feel free to use the discussion questions in Rereading
America as further catalyst for your response. Although
this is an informal assignment, you should practice MLA format by using
proper heading, running header, margins, font, and line spacing.
- Due:
Wednesday, 8-31
- Outlining
- To prepare for our discussion of outlining, you will practice outlining
one of the articles we read this week. If your last name begins with
A-H, then you should outline Sommers' "Save the Males." If
your last names begins with K-W, then you should outline Morgan's "Fly-Girls
to Bitches and Hos." For this specific outline, you should write
one line (a brief sentence or description) for each and every
paragraph of the essay that you're outlining. What does each particular
paragraph do and how does each particular paragraph fit into the overall
argument? Your outline numbers should correspond to the paragraph numbers
provided in our textbook. Your outline should look something like this,
an outline of the first five paragraphs of Jean Kilbourne's "'Two
Ways a Woman Can Get Hurt': Advertising and Violence'':
1. Introduces main idea that sex in advertising is about power.
2. Argues that sex in advertising is pornographic.
3. Argues why pornography is dangerous for women.
4. Provides a reading of an ad that portrays men as violent, aggressive
bad boys.
5. Argues that popular culture creates a template for disasterous relationships.
- Due: Friday, 9-9
- Quoting and Citing
- To prepare you for
our discussion of quoting and citing, read both Andrea A. Lunsford's "Integrating
Sources into Your Writing" (St. Martin's Handbook 380-92)
and my MLA
style handout. For Friday, submit a type-written informal writing
assignment that practices quoting and citing.
- Introduce and quote one sentence of your choice from Malcolm
X's prose essay "Learning to Read."
- Introduce and quote a five sentence passage of your choice
from Benjamin R. Barber's prose essay "The Educated Student:
Global Citizen or Global Consumer."
- Create a Works Cited Page that lists the essays that you
quoted. Hint: These citations should look like 3.1.7 An Essay,
Chapter, or Story from an Anthology or Compilation from my
MLA style handout.
- Due: Friday, 10-7
- Finding Sources
- To prepare for your annotated bibliography and research
paper, we have read Andrea Lunsford's Lunsford, "Preparing
for a Research Project"
(SM 302-17) and "Conducting Research" (SM 302-57)
as well as my handout
on research at UofL and attended a workshop
on using Minerva and article databases. Now, using your possible
topics for the annotated bibliography and final paper, find
the following types of sources using the UofL Libraries
website and submit them in MLA works cited format.
- scholarly book
- scholarly book chapter
- scholarly, peer-reviewed journal
article
- magazine article
- newspaper article
- Due: Friday, 11-4
- Henrik Ibsen's A Doll House
- Do a character sketch, listing key character traits, desires, and
fears, of Nora or Torvald, and then discuss issues and themes
involving gender roles, marriage, and family that arise in A
Doll House.
- Due: Monday, 11-21
- Paper 3 Outline
- Now that you have completed and received feedback on your annotated
bibliography, the next step in the writin process is to outline your
analysis. Compose a one page outline, including thesis statement,
major sections of the paper, research used, and possible counterargument,
and then turn it in to both me and your peers, either via paper or
via Blackboard > Paper 3 Outline (for me) or Groups > Paper 3 Outline
> File Exchange (for your peers).
- Due: Monday, 11-28
Peer Response
Paper 1
Groups
- Group 1 (Monday, September 19): Ashton Cole, Blair Fultz, James Key, Matthew
Moyers, Terrance Sullivan
- Group 2 (Monday, September 19): Ryan Compton, Morgan Fultz, Maureen Melchior,
Michael Perry, Seth Wiggins
- Group 3 (Wednesday, September 21): Brittney Counts, Meagan Higgins,
Patrick Kinsella, Michael Roka
- Group 4 (Wednesday, September 21): Lily Dankwa, Mary Kate Holland, Paul
Latham, Corey Simmons
- Group 5 (Friday, September 23): Andrew Davis, Andrew Huckleberry, Michelle
Roberson, Julie Smith
Written Responses
- Length: Write one response (a minimum of one double-spaced page)
for each of your fellow group members' papers
- Format: You must submit two copies of each peer response, one to
the writer of the paper and one to the professor.
- Professor Copies: either on
paper or via Blackboard > Assignments > Paper
1 Peer Response.
- Peer Copies: give your type-written peer response to
the writer in class during your peer response session. If you wish, you
may also upload your responses to Blackboard > Groups > Paper
1 - Group # > File Exchange if you so choose.
- Note: If the writer neither gives you a copy of her paper or places
her paper in Word or Rich-Text Format on your group's file exchange
at least three days before your peer group meeting, then you are
not responsible for responding to her paper.
- Due: All written peer responses are due on the date and time that
your peer group meets, Monday, Wednesday, or
Friday, September 19, 21, or 23, depending on your peer response group time.
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.
- Style and Grammar
- Does the paper follow the formal
and stylistic guidelines of the Modern Language Association? Does
it maintain 1-inch margins, a heading, a running header, double-spacing,
and 12pt Times New Roman font?
- Mark grammatical, usage, and typographical computer errors. However,
if they are so frequent that you're doing more marking than reading, write
a general note to the author explaining that fact.
- Thesis and Controlling Idea
- Does the paper guide its argument with a strong, clear, and focused
thesis?
- Does the thesis evoke the complexity and nuance of the issue at hand?
- Does the controlling idea of the paper successfully delve into and
analye a particular family- or gender-related phenomenon in American
culture?
- Argument
- What evidence does the paper use to argue its case?
- Does the paper convince you of its argument about an issue of family
or gender in American culture? Why or why not?
- Organization
- Does each paragraph or section, advance, support, and/or develop the
controlling thesis?
- Do the paper's paragraphs and sections build upon and/or follow one
another in a logical, effective ways?
- Voice
- Does the paper use a formal, strong, and authoritative voice?
- Successes and Weaknesses
- Where is the paper most successful? least? What does it do right? Where
does it need work?
- Quality and Creativity
- Is the paper of sound quality and caliber?
- Does the paper approach its analysis of the American phenomenon in
innovative, original ways?
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
- what they think the writer's thesis is,
- describe the structural outline of the paper, as well as successes or weaknesses
therein,
- how well the paper analyzed and explained the phenomenon or issue under
review
- any other comments for revision
Paper 2
- Group 1: Andrew Davis, Mary Kate Holland, Patrick Kinsella, Michael Roka, Julie Smith
- Group 2: Meagan Higgins, Andrew Huckleberry, Paul
Latham, Michelle
Roberson, Corey Simmons
- Group 3: Ashton Cole, Ryan Compton, Maureen Melchior, Matthew
Moyers
- Group 4: Brittney Counts, Blair Fultz, Michael Perry, Terrance Sullivan
- Group 5: Lily Dankwa, Morgan Fultz, James Key, Seth Wiggins
- Length: Write one response (250 words minimum) for each of
your fellow group member's papers.
- Format: You must submit two copies of each peer response,
one to the writer of the paper and one to the professor.
- Professor Copies: either on paper or via Blackboard > Assignments > Paper
2 Peer Response.
- Peer Copies: give your type-written peer response to
the writers in class during your peer response session (if they submitted
electronically, then you should print out their full papers). You
may also upload your responses to Blackboard > Groups > Paper
2 - Group # > File Exchange if you so choose.
- Note: If the writer neither gives you a copy of her paper
or places her paper in Word or Rich-Text Format on your group's
file exchange at least three days before your peer group meeting,
then you are not responsible for responding to her paper.
- Due: All written peer responses are due Friday, October 21 at the start
of class.
Use the following issues to help you to formulate your 250 word response to
each peer's paper. Even if you find the paper good, you should still comment
on these issues. Don't be vague; talk specifically about particular ideas and
analyses: restate the writer's thesis and argument as you interpret it. 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.
- Grammar
- Mark grammatical, usage, and typographical computer errors. However,
if they are so frequent that you're doing more marking than reading, write
a general note to the author explaining that fact.
- Introduction and Thesis
- Respond to the paper's introduction (how it grabs the reader's attention, provides context for its topic, provides a blueprint of its analysis, and states its thesis).
- Does the paper successfully set up a between a cultural appearance regarding education, class, opportunity, or the American dream and that phenomenon's underlying reality?
- Organization and Argument
- Respond to the paper's argumentative analysis. How does each paragraph or section support and develop the controlling
thesis?
- Repond to the paper's organization. How does the paper's structure help to convince you of its argument about
the cultural phenomenon's appearance/reality conflict?
- Voice
- Does the paper create a distinct voice?
- Does the paper successfully incorporate the voices of the other two
articles into its own voice?
- Successes and Weaknesses
- Where is the paper most successful? least?
- Quality and Creativity
- Does the paper evoke authority?
- Does the paper approach its analysis in innovative, original ways?
During the oral peer response session, use the following questions to guide
your discussion.
- Does the author have a good introduction, including grabber, blueprint,
and thesis?
- According to the author's paper, what is the myth and what is the reality?
- Does the paper have successful organization and analysis?
- Does the author effectively and properly introduce, explain, and cite her
sources?
Paper 3 Outline
- Group 1: Andrew Davis, Mary Kate Holland, Patrick Kinsella, Michael Roka,
Julie Smith
- Group 2: Meagan Higgins, Andrew Huckleberry, Paul Latham, Michelle Roberson,
Corey Simmons
- Group 3: Ashton Cole, Ryan Compton, Maureen Melchior, Matthew Moyers
- Group 4: Brittney Counts, Blair Fultz, Michael Perry, Terrance Sullivan
- Group 5: Lily Dankwa, Morgan Fultz, James Key, Seth Wiggins
Your final peer response session will be oral only. Come to class on Wednesday,
November 30, with a copies of your peers' outlines in hand, prepared to discuss
the strengths and weaknesses of your peers' outline for their third paper.
In the roundtable review, be sure to address the following questions.
- Does the author have a focused, strong, and effective thesis?
- Does the author have sufficient body paragraphs that break down and address
different aspects of the controlling idea?
- Does the proposed organization seem effective?
- Does the author have sufficient research and counterargument?
Paper 1
Over the past few weeks, we have examined various American myths of family
and gender in Rereading America and class discussion. Coontz examined
our complex fifties nostalgia, Crittenden advocated a return to traditional
marriage roles, Gamson analyzed the intersection of class, gender, and sexual
orientation in the media, Tocqueville compared American gender roles with European
ones, Devor professed that gender is socially constructed, Kilbourne read
the sexually aggressive underlying meanings of advertisements, Faludi portrayed
the alienation of boys by the failed promises of patriarchy, sports, and celebrity.
Now it's your turn to define and rigorously analyze a focused and specific
ideal of American culture. Although you may and are encouraged to use the
articles for brainstorming, do not simply rewrite their ideas. You may argue
with them or find your own angle of attack or analysis that does not merely
mimic them; but do not copy them. Determine a particular phenomenon related
to family or gender, and then analyze (read into) the phenomena explain how
it operates. Your paper should be on a topic we've covered in class,
be guided by a strong, focused, and arguable thesis, and clearly outlined.
You will write two drafts of this paper: first, an ungraded draft that will
be responded to by me and your peers,
and second, a final, graded draft that revises the first draft.
- Length: 3-4 pages
- If either your first or second draft does not meet the length
requirement, the second, graded draft will be penalized one letter grade.
- Format: MLA style
- If either your first or second draft does not meet the
MLA standards for heading, running header, margins, font type and size,
or line spacing, the second, graded draft will be penalized according to
syllabus MLA style policy. I encourage you to quote and cite if your paper
warrants; do not worry about quoting and citation penalties since we have
not discussed MLA quotation and citation yet.
- If you are submitting your paper to your peers electronically, it must
be formatted in either Microsoft Word or Rich-Text Format.
- Due Dates
- Friday, September 16
- Draft 1 is due to me either as a paper copy or via Blackboard > Assignments > Paper
1, Draft 1.
- Draft 1 is due to your peer response group either on paper or via Blackboard > Groups > Paper
1 - Group # > File Exchange.
- If you do not submit a paper copy to your me and peers in class, you
must submit an accessible electronic copy to me and your peers
in Blackboard by 11:59PM Friday, September 16, otherwise your draft will
be considered late until you submit it to Blackboard. The late penalty
will be applied to your final paper grade.
- Monday, Wednesday, or Friday, September 19, 21, or 23, depending
on your peer response group time
- Peer Responses are due to me either on
paper or via Blackboard > Assignments > Paper
1 Peer Response.
- Peer Responses are due to your
peers in class on
paper. You may also upload your responses to Blackboard > Groups > Paper
1 - Group # > File Exchange if you so choose.
- Friday, September 30
- Draft 2 is due to me only either on paper or via Blackboard> Assignments > Paper
1, Draft 2.
- f you do not submit a paper copy to your me in class, you
must submit an accessible electronic copy to Blackboard by 11:59PM
Friday, September 30, otherwise your draft will be considered late until
you submit it to Blackboard. A late penalty will be applied to your final
paper grade.
Paper 2
In the first couple of weeks of the course, we discussed the goal of academic analysis and used the mythic ideals of American family and gender to practice cultural analysis. Consequently, the first essay asked you to analyze (break down and subtly and complexly explicate) a cultural phenomenon regarding family or gender. Since the first paper, we have been discussing education and class by contrasting the American dream with the social reality. Therefore, this essay requires you to describe the superficial appearance of a phenomenon in American
culture related to education, opportunity, class, or the American dream, and then analyze the underlying reality of that phenomenon. The key thematic and organization mode of this assignment is appearance and reality. How does the facade function and why does it come into effect? More importantly, what is going on underneath the surface? How does the culture really operate? As with the first essay, I do not expect you to conduct research (that's coming in Paper 3); however, I do expect you to use and quote at least two of the essays from the education and opportunity units to support or connect with your analysis: in this paper, you must quote sources in the paper proper and cite sources on a Works Cited page.
- Length: 4-5 pages
- If either your first or second draft does not meet the
length requirement, the second, graded draft will be penalized one letter
grade.
- Format: MLA style
- If either your first or second draft
does not meet the MLA standards for 1) heading, running header, margins, 2) font
type and size, and line spacing, and 3) quoting and citing, then the second, graded draft will be penalized
according to syllabus MLA style policy.
- If you are submitting your paper to your peers electronically, it must
be formatted in either Microsoft Word or Rich-Text Format.
- Due Dates
- Friday, October 14
- Draft 1 is due to me either as a paper copy or via Blackboard > Assignments > Paper
2, Draft 1
- Draft 1 is due to your peer response group either on paper or via Blackboard > Groups > Paper
1 - Group # > File Exchange.
- If you do not submit a paper copy to your me and peers in class, you
must submit an accessible electronic copy to me and your peers in Blackboard
by 10:00PM Friday, October 14, otherwise your draft will be considered
late until you submit it to Blackboard. The late penalty will be applied
to your final paper grade. (Blackboard is offline from 10:00PM-2:00AM
on Friday nights.)
- Friday, October 21
- Peer Responses are due to me either on
paper or via Blackboard > Assignments > Paper
2 Peer Response.
- Peer Responses, including print outs of your peers' original papers, are
due to your
peers in class on paper (if your peers submitted electronically,
then you should print out their papers with your comments on them).
You may also upload your responses to Blackboard > Groups > Paper
1 - Group # > File Exchange if you so choose.
- Monday, October 31
- Draft 2 is due to me only either on paper or via Blackboard> Assignments > Paper
2, Draft 2. If you originally submitted Draft 1 as a hard copy, then you should give me Draft 1 again so I can see my original comments when I grade Draft 2.
- f you do not submit a paper copy to your me in class, you must submit
an accessible electronic copy to Blackboard by 11:59PM Monday, October
31, otherwise your draft will be considered late until you submit it
to Blackboard. A late penalty will be applied to your final paper grade.
Annotated Bibliography
An annotated bibliography is a list of secondary sources that includes summaries
of those materials. Before your final paper is due, you will compose an annotated
bibliography of the research materials that you might use in Paper
3. Use this research handout to
guide your search.
- Thesis in Progress: In a few sentences, state your tentative thesis
in progress and the question that is guiding your research. You will be asked
to share this with the class.
- Summary of Findings: In 250 words, summarize your findings.
What are scholars and critics saying about your topic?
- 8 Secondary Sources
- type of sources:
- At least 2 sources must be scholarly
journal articles.
- At least 2 sources must be scholarly books
or book chapters.
- You may use magazine or newspaper articles if
and only if they
are on topic and on point.
- Do not use encyclopedias or websites.
- arrangement and citation format of sources: arrange sources alphabetically
and format them according to MLA
citation style.
- annotations: summarize and evaluate each of the 8 sources in
50-75 words by
- defining the source’s thesis or main idea relevant to the topic
you're researching and
- explaining how the source helps your research paper.
- Length: thesis in progress, summary of findings, and 8 annotated
sources
- Format: Conform your annotated bibliography citations to MLA
citation style
- Due: Friday, November 18 either on paper in class or electronically
on Blackboard > Assignments > Annotated
Bibliography in a Corel WordPerfect, Microsoft Word, Microsoft Works, OpenOffice,
or Rich-Text Format file.
Paper 3
In the first paper, you analyzed a particular phenomenon regarding family and
gender and in the second paper you analyzed the difference between myth and
reality regarding a particular topic within education or class. In the third
paper, you will analayze and research a focused topic of your choosing in
the area of anything we've studied (the American dream of family, gender, education,
class, or media; America in a global context; the works of literature Happiness, A
Doll House, or Less Than Zero; but not one you previously
wrote a formal paper on. You must rigorously analyze the meaning of the cultural
phenomenon or literary work, and you must use at least four research
sources to help support your analysis of the issue. You
may also select a focused American culture topic from outside the course such
as, but not limited to, music or sports. You should narrow your broad topic
to a manageable and focused issue or phenomenon. I suggest you clear your
topic with me before beginning your annotated bibliography.
- Length: 5-6 pages
- Format: MLA style
- If your paper does not meet the
MLA standards for 1) heading, running header, margins, 2) font type and
size, and line spacing, and 3) quoting and citing, then it will
be penalized according to syllabus MLA style policy.
- If you are submitting your paper to me electronically, it must
be formatted in Corel WordPerfect, Microsoft Word, Microsoft Works, OpenOffice,
or Rich-Text Format.
- Due Date: Tuesday, December 13 by 5:00PM
- The one and only draft of the paper is due to me
only either on
paper or via Blackboard > Assignments > Paper
3.
- Paper
- Turn in by 5:00PM to my mailbox in Bingham Humanities
Bldg 315 or me in my office in Bingham Humanities Bldg 335A (I'll
be in my office from 3:00-5:00PM).
- Note: I will not accept hard copies of assignments submitted
after 5:00PM. If you turn in your assignment after this time,
you must do so via Blackboard. I will use the time and date
stamp to determine if late penalties are warranted.
- Electronic
- Use WordPerfect, Word, Works, OpenOffice, or Rich-Text Format.
I do not read assignments submitted in Acrobat, html, Notepad,
Publisher, Writepad, or other formats; consequently, your assignment
will be considered late until you turn it in in the appropriate
format. Turn in via Blackboard.
- Note: If you have problems with Blackboard, you may
email your assignment to me as
an attachment.
- Late Penalty: Papers will be penalized one letter grade for each
day they are turned in late. However, if I cannot read your paper by
Thursday, December 15, for whatever reason, you will fail the paper and
the course.
- Grades, Comments, Paper Return
- You can access your course grade via Ulink or the
Registrar after Thursday,
December 15.
- If you would like your exam to be returned to you with comments, you
must specifically ask for it to be returned to you with comments.
- If you turned it in on paper, see me at the beginning of Spring
semester.
- If you turned it in electronically, you can retrieve it in Blackboard afterThursday,
December 15. (Click here for
instructions.)