Week 11

Good morning.  Today is the last class meeting, and will be devoted to your writing a short essay of 450 -500 words.  The topic list, directions, and requirements will be presented in class.

All paperwork is due today.Yeah!

Have a great break!

Week 10

Good morning!  Check out the following links for some fun, practical, and, finally, sobering news.

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/broward/fl-full-moon-friday-thirteenth-20140611,0,5616707.story

http://www.miamiherald.com/2014/06/09/4167483/these-foods-can-help-you-beat.html

http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-watch/wp/2014/06/11/gun-violence-and-mass-shootings-myths-facts-and-solutions/

Today we will continue working on the final project.  Please pay attention as I explain how to document the various sources that inform your essay.  Next week is the last week of class and a short essay assignment will be asked of you, the topic of which we can discuss today, or not.  I will say the final will involve a short reading from recent news or the blogosphere and an response from you.

Extra Credit:  Go to the Modern Love column at the New York Times online.  Choose from the recent or archived essays one that appeals to you.  All are first-person narrative essays on the subject of romantic love.  Briefly describe (include title and author and post date) the content and then respond to the work by drawing out the associations and thoughts it gives rise to in you.  You may include a story of your own that serves as commentary or illustration of what you find interesting in the piece. 400-500 words, titled.

Week 9

 

“The man who has forgotten to be thankful has fallen asleep in life.”   

                                                                                           –Robert Louis Stevenson

 It is week nine, which means of course that we have just two weeks to completion of the quarter.  Thus far you have been assigned a total of 7 essays;   your short research project (7), and the in-class final (8) remain.  The in-class final is to be done in class week 11, not at home.  Today we will look at the field reports due today and after discussing potential topics and directions and the MLA guidelines for source integration, begin drafting the short report.  It should be finished by the end of class next week.

  I can look at drafts today of work in progress, time permitting, and review the documentation requirements and formatting of the Works Cited page.  Rewrites and any outstanding assignments must be submitted by the last class.

Again,  week 11 a  "final" of 500 words will assess key composition skills–grammatical sentences, unified and well-developed paragraphs, support for your thesis, sound use of references, wth some direct quotation.  This final, discussed more later, must be done in class.