BSwanlundEnglish101Spring: Zombies and Outlines

Monday, February 22, 2010

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!

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Syllabus

Instructor: Bruce Swanlund Email: Bswanlund@fullerton.edu

Phone: (657) 278-5679 Office: LH-535

Office Hours: Thursday 4:00 - 5:00 and by appointment

Location: UH 337 Class: MW 2:30 - 3:45

Section: 42 Schedule #: 11991

Name: ______________ Name: ______________

Number: ____________ Number: ____________

Email: ____________________ Email: ____________________

Required Texts:

Virtually all of the readings are available at: htthe website you are currently looking at or will be provided through emails or handouts.

Suggested Text:

Hacker, Diane. A Writer’s Reference. 6th ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2006

Although this text is not required, a writing handbook is strongly recommended as it will be useful to you in this class as well as other courses throughout your college career. You will find it useful for writing a paper (research or other suggestions), proper citation and documentation, and grammar rules.

This text is available at The Little Professor bookstore.

Required Materials:

Access to the Internet and Microsoft Word is essential for this class

Blue or Black pens for in-class assignments

Two Blue Books

College Ruled 8 ½ x 11 paper for in-class assignments

Course Description:

Prerequisite: English 099, a satisfactory score on the English Placement Test, or exemption from the EPT. This is an introductory course in the fundamentals of expository prose, with an emphasis on grammatical and basic rhetorical concepts and practices necessary for successful college writing.

Objective:

Texts exist everywhere; it is our goal to learn how to access and analyze them, as well as demonstrate those skills through a professional use of the English language.

Ideally, in addition to learning how to organize, compose, and revise a college essay, students will learn how to read, write, speak, and think more critically.

By its very nature, writing involves both individual and collaborative activity. Even when a piece of writing has only one author, that author employs a language system that is shared by others and draws upon ideas and values that are not his or hers alone. Indeed, one of the most important parts of becoming a writer within the academic community is learning how to balance the obligations of individuality and collaboration.

This means, as a college writer, you are expected to use writing to develop and assert your own ideas and beliefs – to think for yourself. But at the same time you are expected to engage with the thinking of others, to place your own writing within the context of academic discourse by using and criticizing arguments from that discourse.

Course Guidelines:

Journals:

On specified days, each student is required to write a one page (double-spaced) journal in response to the readings to demonstrate engagement with the texts. These journals should consist of an analysis of the text and/or offer a comparison to the student’s own life. They should not merely summarize the readings. Journals are designed to get you thinking about the text before you come to class, so that you will have something to say (i.e. a comment, a question, or even an insight) and to generate material for class discussion. These journals must be typed and handed in at the beginning of the next class meeting.

Quizzes:

There will be 3 planned quizzes this semester; however, I will occasionally give pop quizzes to encourage reading and to mercilessly instill fear in the hearts of my students.

Attendance:

College is designed to prepare students for the real world, and just like in a job attendance is mandatory. Do not be absent. I understand that sometimes absences are unavoidable, however do not exceed 3 absences or your grade will suffer. Also, try to reserve these given absences for emergencies. Additionally, students need to arrive to class on time, as tardiness can be disruptive; the policy is 3 late entrances count as an absence. Do not be late. If you are late, it is your responsibility to notify me that you were late at the end of class, otherwise there is the chance you will be marked as absent.

Participation:

Participation is a major part of the class. In addition to participating by doing the journals and essays, I expect you to engage with the class and the texts we read. This means thinking about the material before coming to class, offering comments relative to the class discussion, and asking questions. ASK QUESTIONS! Participation is a major part of this class!!

Note: comments that are not relevant to class and other disruptions may negatively affect your participation grade.

Electronic Devices:

Please turn off cell phones when you are in class and stow them away. No cell phone use at all during class, including texting. You also may not use mp3 players, electronic dictionaries, or laptops in this classroom. If you are caught using distracting devices you will be marked absent for the day, as clearly you are not present mentally.

Late Work:

A late paper is not acceptable. All work is due on its due date, not afterwards. Please consider due dates your obligation.

Extra Credit:

To encourage revision, as revision is always a major part of any writing assignment, there are no extra credit assignments for this class; however, students may earn extra points on their out of class essays. After an out of class essay is turned in, a student will get the essay back with my comments. The student should thoroughly revise the essay to reclaim up to 15 points that were lost. Such revisions can be aided by talking to me or visiting the Writing Center. In order to earn back the lost points, the student must submit the revised draft, as well as the first draft with my comments on it. Insufficient revision work will not be eligible for additional points. (For example: I do not want to see “revised” essays that are identical, except that one comma has been moved.)

Approximate Grading Scale:

Percentage

Grade

94% - 100% = A, 90% - 93% = A-, 87% - 89% = B+, 83% - 86% = B, 80% - 82% = B-, 77% - 79% = C+,

73% - 76% = C, 70% - 72% = C-, 67% - 69% = D+, 63% - 66% = D, 60% -62%= D-, 59% - Below = F

Writing Center:

All students are required to make at least one visit to the Writing Center to work on an assignment or portion of an assignment with a tutor. Multiple perspectives are essential for good writing, so make use of the free professional tutors the campus offers! The Writing Center is located on the first floor of the Pollak Library, on the main CSUF campus. The phone number is (657) 278-3650. All students are encouraged to use the center more than the one required visit. Students who are experiencing difficulty either getting started or revising should visit the Writing Center, as it will make these processes easier – believe it!

Academic Dishonesty:

Academic dishonesty is essentially the misrepresentation of any information. Plagiarism is one of the most common and severest forms of academic dishonesty. Plagiarism is the unacknowledged and inappropriate use of the ideas or wording of another writer. Because plagiarism corrupts values in which the university community is fundamentally committed – the pursuit of knowledge and intellectual honesty – plagiarism is considered a grave violation of academic integrity and the sanctions against it are correspondingly severe. Plagiarism can be characterized as "academic theft."

Plagiarism is:

* The submission of material authored by another person but represented as the student’s own work, whether that material is paraphrased or copied in verbatim or near-verbatim form.

* The submission of material subjected to editorial revision by another person that results in substantive changes in content or major alteration of writing style and

* Improper acknowledgment of sources in essays, papers, or presentations.

Avoiding Plagiarism:

Because of the serious nature of plagiarism, you should ensure that any writing you submit represents your own assertions and abilities, and incorporates other texts in an open and honest manner. The best way to avoid plagiarism is to be careful to document your sources, even when you are making use of data or ideas rather than an actual quotation. In academic assignments, writing is assumed to be the original words and thoughts of the student unless told otherwise (i.e., material from other sources is clearly and properly cited).

Special Needs:

Please let me know the first week of class if you have a disability or special need that might require specific arrangements for you to be successful in the class. CSUF requires students with disabilities to document their disabilities with Disabled Student Services. They are located on the first floor of University Hall in UH-101. You can also visit their webpage at: http://www.fullerton.edu/disabledservices/ or call (657) 278-3117 or TDD: (657) 278-2786.

First Assignment:

It seems you have read the whole syllabus -- good. Now you may do the real first assignment. Find my office, the writing center, and our class website.

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Monday, February 22, 2010

Zombies and Outlines

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Syllabus