Dr. Alex E. Blazer Course Site Syllabus
First Day Questionnaire In Class Activities Informal Writing
Peer Response Paper 1  
Paper 2 Annotated Bibliography Paper 3

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.

  1. define the essay's topic,
  2. find the essay's thesis statement,
  3. find one of the essay's sub-thesis statements, and
  4. 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.

  1. Pick a paper topic.
  2. Come up with a thesis.
  3. Brainstorm the aspects of the thesis that need to be argued and proven.
  4. Sort those ideas or subtheses into a general outline.
  5. Develop your analysis via a detailed outline.
  6. 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:

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:

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.

  1. Does the writer offer counterargument to her thesis and reading of the situation?
  2. What counterargument can be made regarding the writer's position?
  3. Does the writer refute the counterargument?
  4. 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

  1. Gender
  2. 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
  3. 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.
      1. Introduce and quote one sentence of your choice from Malcolm X's prose essay "Learning to Read."
      2. 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."
      3. 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
  4. 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.
      1. scholarly book
      2. scholarly book chapter
      3. scholarly, peer-reviewed journal article
      4. magazine article
      5. newspaper article
    • Due: Friday, 11-4
  5. Henrik Ibsen's A Doll House
  6. 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

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. describe the structural outline of the paper, as well as successes or weaknesses therein,
  3. how well the paper analyzed and explained the phenomenon or issue under review
  4. any other comments for revision

Paper 2

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.

During the oral peer response session, use the following questions to guide your discussion.

  1. Does the author have a good introduction, including grabber, blueprint, and thesis?
  2. According to the author's paper, what is the myth and what is the reality?
  3. Does the paper have successful organization and analysis?
  4. Does the author effectively and properly introduce, explain, and cite her sources?

Paper 3 Outline

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.

  1. Does the author have a focused, strong, and effective thesis?
  2. Does the author have sufficient body paragraphs that break down and address different aspects of the controlling idea?
  3. Does the proposed organization seem effective?
  4. 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.

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.

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.

  1. 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.
  2. Summary of Findings: In 250 words, summarize your findings. What are scholars and critics saying about your topic?
  3. 8 Secondary Sources

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.