Get Started!

Sorry for delaying this post, but you guys should know what to expect for this weekend, right?

This weekend you guys are revising your Outlines for Essay #1.
Try to revise your Outlines to better reflect your paper. And since we talked about theses on Wednesday, revise your Thesis and include it in your Outline. Make sure you write in complete (but brief) sentences and use the standard hierarchical format to structure your formal outline. Bring One copy of this Outline on Monday.

Also, you may want to begin working on your essays, as a rough draft will be due on Wednesday (03/03). Although the minimum for the rough draft is two pages and 3 full pages for the final draft (meaning it touches the fourth page), it does not mean that you are limited to only that many pages. Do not feel obligated to go beyond, but the idea is that you write as much as you need to in order to fully explore your topic. This is a writing class, and as such, you will never be punished for writing more than the minimum. Of course, if you write 3 pages of meandering nonsense and three pages of good information, you will obviously not do well -- and I will tell you to reduce it.

Turn It In

Our TurnItIn.com account is now up and running.
Hopefully you noticed there is a link on the side bar.
<<<<< http://turnitin.com/static/index.html
If you have never used TurnItIn.com before, go to the site, then click the link marked student, under Create New Account. Follow the directions it provides from there. If you run into a problem, send me a message.

Information you will need:
Class Name: English101Spring
Class Id # 3084849
Pasword is in your email box.

Zombies and Outlines

Here is your reading assignments for this evening. Enjoy!

http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2008/04/how-to-battle-z/
The second will be in your mail box.

Write roughly a one page response to these two articles (One page minimum).
In that response, compare the two articles and try to find how they connect to our assignments.

Then you should look at your own topic. You may want to begin researching your subject. Work on refining and narrowing down what it is you want to include in your paper.
You should have a formal outline of your paper for Wednesday's class.

Additionally, I want you guys to begin considering the format of your papers. I will talk more about it as we get closer to writing the paper.
Here is a site that will help you with MLA (Modern Language Associations) format. This site also contains tips for writing a formal outline as well -- just look around.

http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/557/01

This is usually how many teachers want your papers formatted -- especially English teachers.

Note: There is a link to Works Cited help on this page as well.
(See our little OWL for a direct link)


Also, here, as per request, is my outline that I presented in class of "The Dark Knight".
The asterisks represent the spaces for each line.


A New Age in Gotham

I. The introduction offers a brief overview of the success of the movie “The Dark Knight.”
*****A. Its success in the box office.
**********1. Earned more than $500 million at the North American box office.
********** 2. Earned more than $1 billion world wide.
*****B. The film received numerous awards nominations and two Academy Awards.
********** 1. Best sound editing
********** 2. Best Supporting Actor
*****C. Thesis: “The conflict between chaos and order is personified in the struggle for Gotham’s soul between Batman and the Joker.”
II. This section offers a brief overview of the plot.
*****A. Audience
**********1. Demographics
**********2. Expectations
***************a. Exceeded Expectations
*****B. Super Hero Movies
**********1. Complexity of Character
***************a. Both Batman and The Joker are insane
**********2. Moral Grey Area
***************a. How far can a hero go to stop a mad man?
**********3. Deep Critique of Society
III. “Batman has no limits” – Bruce Wayne
*****A. This section offers an analysis of Batman’s character.
*****B. What types of gadgets does Batman use?
**********1. Sonar imaging system.
***************a. Provides him with incredible power
*************************i. Lucius Fox
*************************ii. The destruction of the mainframe
***************b. Provides him with the ability to better control his environment
**********2. Other specialized equipment.
***************a. He is so rigid, he can’t turn his head.
***************b. Grants him the Power to be Batman
*************************i. “I’m not wearing hockey pads” -Batman
*****C. What does Batman stand for?
**********1. People do not have to be afraid
**********2. Criminals do
*****D. What lines will Batman not cross?
**********1. Batman usually refrains from maliciously hurting people
**********2. Batman refuses to kill people
*****E. Batman is order incarnate because he restores order to a disorderly world (Gotham).
IV. “A better class of criminal” – The Joker
*****A. This section offers an analysis of the Joker’s character
*****B. What does the Joker favor? (destruction)
**********1. Cheap Weapons
***************a. Dynamite
***************b. Gunpowder
*************************i. Thompson Submachine Gun
***************c. Gasoline
*************************i. Burns the Money
**********2. Mayhem
***************a. “Nothing in his pockets but knives and lint”-Lt. James Gordon
*****C. The Joker is Chaos incarnate, because his goal is to disassemble order in Gotham City.
V. “Some men just want to watch the world burn” –Alfred Pennywise
*****A. The Final Confrontation between the Joker and Batman
**********1. “This is what happens when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object”-The Joker
B. This section offers the connection between the characters and the theme.
**********1. Alfred’s story of the man in Burma
********** 2. Lighting/Cinematography
***************a. Serious Tone
VI. The conclusion reiterates the thesis in new words: “The Joker and Batman both are intensely powerful characters on their own, but their effectiveness at captivating audiences comes from their complex interactions, and through these interactions they become modern archetypes of Chaos and Order.”
*****A. This section recaps the conflict between the major characters.
*****B. Poses some ideas as to why “The Dark Knight” was so successful.
**********1. Because it friggin’ rocks!

Weekend Assignment

This weekend we begin working on the first essay assignment.
I will email you guys a small 3 page essay. It is just an example. We will talk about it on Monday.
Write a journal response to this essay.


You should also begin thinking about your up coming essay. Come to class with a topic and some sort of bare bones outline. A bare bones outline should include some basic information or ideas about what you are going to write about.


Finally, do not forget the "in-class" assignment of finding something in the Arboretum that interested you. That will be due Monday as well.

Essay #1

Revised Outline Due: 03-01-10
Rough Draft Due: 03-03-10
Final Draft Due: 03-10-10

Essay Assignment #1 – Expository Essay

Expository essays are all about the “How”. In class, and in our conferences, you have had a chance to discuss something that interests you, as well as take some time to examine these things closely. But now I want you to describe the method behind some of the things you love. Choose one of the following essay prompts and write a well-developed, cohesive essay about something that interests you.
Essays must be:
- Double spaced
- Typed in 12-pt Times New Roman font
- At least 3 full pages long.
- and Follow MLA guidelines

1) From cooking shows with Julia Childs to Dirty Jobs with Mike Rowe, the best explanations of how something gets done have personality, in addition to the information. Believe it or not there is something you are an expert on! Tell me about something you like to do. Describe in detail the process you go through to do this activity. The "what", "how", and the "why". If it has numbers/weights/values be sure to include them. If it requires special tools, make sure you let me know what they are and why they are important for this job. Does it require help? Does it require special materials? Or a special location? What are the specifics? This may require that you think about the process in an entirely new way (you may even need to do a little research). Make this explanation personal, but stay focused on the topic. Remember I don’t know as much about this topic as you do. You might also include why you like to do this activity or why you do this activity at all (Does it make you money? Is it a means to an end?). Let me know the details, but concentrate on the procedure. Explain it to me. I want to learn something.

2) Almost everyone has a dream for his/her own life. Sometimes these goals are dreamlike and vague (like being rich), but sometimes the goals are very specific and concrete (like visiting Notre Dame Cathedral). This prompt is for those of you who have a very specific goal in their life. Tell me about your goal and how you are going to reach it. If you want to have a job like someone, what do you have to do to become like this person? If you want to go somewhere on a trip, what do you have to do to get there? If it’s a personal goal, what do you have to change to reach it? What do you have to learn? What about this attracts you to this goal? It doesn’t have to be a job, but it cannot be simply graduating college (although college can be a milestone on your road to this goal). It can be anything from a trip you want to take to a future career. It can be an exercise routine that you need to maintain to get into the military or just a skill you want to acquire. Plan it out and tell me about the process you would need to take to get there.

Conferences

Meet me in the Arboretum by the pond on Wednesday (2/17).
Here is the map: http://www.fullerton.edu/campusmap/CampusMap.htm

Do not go to the classroom.
Send me an email if you have a question.

Be on Time and Come prepared!

While at the Arboretum, find something that interests you. Try to look for something natural and unique to the Arboretum (such as a plant or area). This will be due Monday (2/22).

Name / Time
1:00
1:05
1:10
1:15
1:20 Amber Z.
1:25
1:30 Chris Mar
1:35
1:40
1:45 Ashley Loup
1:50
1:55 John Lee
2:00 Chris O'Connell
2:05 Vince Briones
2:10 Oscar Rico
2:15 Becky Monroy
2:20 Alyssa Robbins
2:25 Daniela Recinos
2:30 Alexander Diaz
2:35 Thao Ngo
2:40 Aileen Mai
2:45 Austin Neal
2:50 Robert Gates
2:55 Jonathan Vong
3:00 Jackson Ta
3:05 Julia Duong
3:10 J.V. Boykin
3:15 Karina Bonnin
3:20 Danielle Altman
3:25 Ryan Cassells
3:30 Adam Galwey
3:35 Chelsea Alcantara
3:40 Nicholas Gonzales
3:45
3:50
3:55
4:00 Kenny Asheri

An Interest in Interests

For our meeting in the Arboretum.

Read the article at:
http://www.wetfeet.com/Experienced-Hire/Getting-hired/Articles/Tell-Me-About-Yourself.aspx

Then, in addition to the normal journal response (answering the standard questions), write me a page about something that interests you. I want you to focus the “tell me about yourself” question on a specific topic, hobby, or activity that you enjoy. You should have a relatively good understanding of this activity. It can be anything, but keep in mind this is going to be what we talk about in our conference on Wednesday. This journal should help you prepare. Consider the guidelines outlined in the article. Your topic should be something you enjoy (passion), it should be something you know a lot about (value), you should allow your unique perspective on the topic to come out (personality), and your ideas should be condensed and organized enough that they fit our four minute conference window with enough time left over for me to ask you any questions I might have (brevity & openness). Have fun with the assignment.

Also, if you did not finish the view finder assignment, make sure you bring that for me as well.

Identify and Classify

These past couple of weeks I have been getting to know you, and next week the class assignment will be to meet with me in the Arboretum to continue this trend. Eventually you will be asked to put some of yourself into your writing. But what does that mean to put yourself into a paper? Obviously one cannot ever put everything that constitutes their identity into a single paper. We, as individuals, are far too complex for that -- in fact the idea of identity is far too complex for that.
But here is an exercise I would like you guys to try:
I would like each of you to pick out 3-5 pieces of clothing (or accessories) that you own and wear that you think says something very crucial and specific about who you are. You can put them on or just lay them out, but I want you to really look at them. Describe them to me briefly (Summary) and then tell me how they reflect who you are (Analysis and Connection). What would they tell a stranger about you, if that stranger was looking at you from across the room and could not hear you talk or see how you behave.

Once you have completed that task, consider this:
In addition to complicating the world of grammar, Shakespeare frequently defined (or complicated) identity by the clothes his characters wore. Often a character gained and lost power by the way they dressed. Do you think this is true? Is your identity contained within yourself or is it something that is worn, or is it even something you have control of? Could your identity be something that is contained not in you, but in what people perceive you to be?

Provide me with roughly a 2 page response to this, including what those articles of clothing are and what they say about you. Keep it brief and try to stay within the page requirement if you are doing only 3 articles, as this will force you to use your language effectively. No repetition or unnecessary phrasing. Be precise! Practice what Roberts said in his essay. If you do 5 articles you can only have one additional page, but feel free to give it a shot.

I would recommend picking things that other people would be able to identify. Try to place yourself in their shoes. So for example, if you choose just plain jeans, they might say a number of things about you. The same pair of jeans might mean you are relaxed, rugged, or poor depending on who is looking at them. How would a stranger know what those jeans mean to you? However, if your jeans are baggy, have mustard stains, and are completely wrinkled, that might say something more specific about you that even a stranger could pick up on.

Try to have fun with it.
Consider this: instead of reading "articles" from some website or book, you are reading articles of clothing.

Send me an email if you have a question.

Watch your tone

It's the weekend, which means a slightly longer assignment than usual, but it should be less work that it appears to be on the surface.
Check your Emails. I sent out Roberts' essay "How to Say Nothing in 500 Words". The file numbers correspond to the page numbers. I think you can figure it out. Read it and respond using the questions I gave out in class.

Then we shall look at tone. Just like punctuation functions like rests in music, tone also exists in written mediums, but sometimes it is harder to notice. Therefore, music is an easier and more straightforward place to look for examples of tone. However, we will be looking at songs that are not in English, that way you cannot cheat and get a hint of the tone based on the lyrics. Please do not choose a song in a language you are familiar with. Also, try to do as much of the assignment without really watching or relying on the visuals. This is audio assignment.

Choose one of the following and analyze the tone.
Here are your choices:

"Ave Maria" - Performed by Andrea Bocelli (Italian)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YvdX5Ht3U9w

"Links 2 3 4" - Rammstein (German)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gX9GFIPjuD0

"Enfant Terrible" - Sonny J (French)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7gdIvC86tdk

"Dragostea Din Tei" - O-Zone (Romanian) Note: The song really starts about a minute in.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jRx5PrAlUdY

"Po pi po" - Miku Hatsune (Japanese)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r6Uyz4m1mVM&feature=related


Note: I do not endorse anything in the videos or any of the links youtube displays on the sides. Just another reason why you shouldn't pay attention to the videos.

Try your best. Instead of the standard questions that I gave in class, use the following guidelines to structure your response to the musical piece.
Write as much as you think it takes (should be around 1/2 - 1 page)
-What is the tone of this piece? (It will go beyond formal or informal). Consider: lyrics/voice, instruments used, and tempo/beat. (You may also want to examine bass and volume as well)
-How does it affect the audience? (You can consider yourself the audience)
-What type of mood does it create?
-What instruments are used to achieve this goal (synthesizers count)?
-How are they effective?
-How does the performer's voice convey the tone?
-Why/How does the performer's voice affect the mood? (Be specific) Also, be specific in your moods. If it is a complex mood, describe what it means to you.

Once you have analyzed one of the above three pieces, you have one more thing to do. You must choose one of the following options and complete it.
Just like before, this response should be as long as it needs to be. (roughly 1/2 - 1 page in length)

1) I have shown you some of the songs I like. Now it is your turn to analyze a song you like. Choose your favorite song and analyze the tone. Depending on the song you choose, this maybe easy or difficult. (Remember that no one is judging you on the song you select as your favorite). Since your song does not have to be in a foreign language, try to look at the song's specific language and tell me how that affects the mood, tone, and audience.

2) For those of you who are creative and want to give a different sort of assignment a try, watch this video: "Angel" - Massive Attack http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kaef2NgwqHY
and write a short explanation as to why you think the main character is being chased. Use elements (tone, images, beat, etc) from the song and video to support your story. Feel free to make it interesting and interpret those elements creatively. (write as much as you need to, but don't get carried away).

Send me an email if you have any questions. Remember you also have the numbers and emails of other students if you feel you want to talk to somebody about the assignment.

Language Skillz

Try to read Chang and Gonzales first! (Essay being mailed to you later this evening and Link Below)
http://www.pbs.org/speak/seatosea/americanvarieties/spanglish/viva/
They both have similar arguments, so they can be done together. So even though I said in class that you had to do a page for each, you may do a single page for both of these readings (Chang and Gonzales), provided that it sufficiently answers the questions I gave you, and the questions below.
For your Journal:
In at least one page, explain to me the connections between these two papers and their importance.
What are their arguments? Try to provide this information in the form of a "Thesis".
Do you agree with them? Use specific information when discussing them. I want to see your evidence. You should also consider the list of questions I gave you in class (but do not feel limited to or by them). As I mentioned in class, treat the questions like a scaffold to build your response.
Note: The Chang essay will be mailed later this evening or earlier tomorrow. Sorry for the delay.

Then read the excerpt from Malcolm X's biography. The text is a little small and hard to read, but I am sure you can figure out a way to make it easier on yourself.

For page 2 of your journal:
http://eserver.org/~mruben/csem17readings/malcolmx.html
Answer the journal questions, and compare they way he feels about his language to the way Chang/Gonzales feel about theirs.
What is the difference? Do they agree or disagree? How do you feel about your own language? How do you feel about Malcolm's argument?

Remember the goal is analysis! Do not summarize. Connect it anyway you like, but show me that you are going beneath the surface information.
Try to avoid repetition or vague statements.
I want to see you connecting with and using the material in your responses.
At least, your responses should be specific enough that I know what you are referring to.
Send me an email if you have a question.