Hi. What a bad day to get blanketed in snow. I am sorry I missed our very last class. I have your papers and I am grading them.
For those of you that gave me a self-addressed, stamped envelope, I will send your paper and comments. For those of you that didn't, I can be in my office next Thurs., Dec. 11 from 7:30-8:30 am, HOWEVER PLEASE CONFIRM WITH ME IF YOU"D LIKE TO MEET THEN by emailing me at theycallmejeffrey at gmail dot com. If you would like your paper back with my comments, PLEASE CONFIRM you will meet me at that time (because I don't want to write comments that no one will ever read).
We had a good run. I am emailing my final paper to you on your CCD account (it's 20 pages long!). Hope it helps.
Be good,
Jeff
Friday, December 5, 2008
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
Final Class--7:45
Hi,
Since all we just turning in papers tomorrow, class will start at 7:45.
NOTE: FINAL PAPERS ARE DUE TOMORROW!
Remember,
8-15 pages.
Typed, Double-spaced
Work's cited page
Turn it in with a Self-addressed, STAMPED envelope so I can send it back to you.
Also, if you didn't turn in your annotated bibliography, please do so tomorrow.
See you at 7:45.
Jeff
Since all we just turning in papers tomorrow, class will start at 7:45.
NOTE: FINAL PAPERS ARE DUE TOMORROW!
Remember,
8-15 pages.
Typed, Double-spaced
Work's cited page
Turn it in with a Self-addressed, STAMPED envelope so I can send it back to you.
Also, if you didn't turn in your annotated bibliography, please do so tomorrow.
See you at 7:45.
Jeff
Saturday, November 22, 2008
Grading Rubric
Your grades will determined based, tentatively, on the following criteria. Please use this blog and the previous posts to help you in your revision.
Requirements :
• Paper is 8-15 pages,
• Typed and double-spaced.
• Normal formatting.
• 12-pt font.
• Source material is cited according to MLA/APA standards.
• A Work’s Cited page is included.
Argument: You take a stand on an issue upon which reasonable people disagree. As Hacker notes, you are not trying to get the last word in, you are not simply trying to win a fight, but to “explain your understanding of the truth about a subject or to propose the best solution available for solving a problem—without being needlessly combative” (67). To do this, as another textbook, Writing: A College Handbook explains, you:
[...] do not simply quote, paraphrase, and summarize. You interpret, question, compare, and judge the statements you cite. You explain why one opinion is sound and another is not, why one fact is relevant and another is not, why one writer is correct and another is mistaken. Your purpose may vary with your topic; you may seek to show why something happened, to recommend a course of action, to solve a problem, or present and defend a particular interpretation of a historical event or a work of art. But whether the topic is space travel or Shakespeare's Hamlet, an argumentative research paper deals actively with the statements it cites. It makes them work together in an argument that you create -- an argument that leads to a conclusion of your own. (Hefferman 495-496)
Organization: Is evident. Attention has been paid to where each paragraph is located in the paper and what each paragraph is doing. Each paragraph, too, is ordered logically so that the reader can easily access your argument. For assistance, please refer to previous blog posts.
Research: You cannot write or argue about a topic you have not developed some expertise in (You don’t take a dentists advice on how to perform brain surgery). To build your expertise, adequate research has been done—both to give you a better understanding of the topic’s background. As the Stanford writing website says, “all decent writing is the product of an involved process, a decent research paper will have behind it, in addition and invisibly, a many-layered research process.”
• You should have and cite 10-20 sources in this paper
• Those sources should consist of expert opinion, coming primarily of journal articles, book chapters, etc. depending on your topic
• If you use a website (and you should only use them in the most extreme cases. Trying to avoid them at all costs) it comes from a credible source, ie. Government agencies and the websites of well known institutions.
• Mostly, you have done enough work in the library to be successful.
• The paper should not rely on telling your audience your opinions, but showing, through evidence and reason, the supporting framework of those opinions/ideas.
Audience: Also, strides have been made to write in a way—through using warrants, academic voice/language, etc—that make it appealing to someone other than you (audience awareness).
• Notably, you have taken into consideration what opponents of your position would say in response.
• The paper is not written is such a manner that it is only persuasive to one that already agrees with your point of view. In other words, it doesn’t rely on bandwagon appeals.
• Academic voice—no you’s or I’s—are used. Instead of “I suggest that the farm bill be reexamined, “you write “Due to the consequences of cheap food on our economy, one can argue that it is time for the Farm Bill to be overturned.”
Insight : The paper shows insight into the topic. The author explores this subject in all its complexity and reveals and examines the nature of that complexity in his/her essay. Such insights should not be implied but revealed and developed through good examples from the texts.
Revision: It is evident that revision has been employed to improve upon previous drafts.
Language: Is free of typos and grammatical errors and reads in such a way that it is clear what you are trying to say.
Benchmark : quality of this work in relation to what I expect you to be able to do in this class at this time on such an assignment.
Requirements :
• Paper is 8-15 pages,
• Typed and double-spaced.
• Normal formatting.
• 12-pt font.
• Source material is cited according to MLA/APA standards.
• A Work’s Cited page is included.
Argument: You take a stand on an issue upon which reasonable people disagree. As Hacker notes, you are not trying to get the last word in, you are not simply trying to win a fight, but to “explain your understanding of the truth about a subject or to propose the best solution available for solving a problem—without being needlessly combative” (67). To do this, as another textbook, Writing: A College Handbook explains, you:
[...] do not simply quote, paraphrase, and summarize. You interpret, question, compare, and judge the statements you cite. You explain why one opinion is sound and another is not, why one fact is relevant and another is not, why one writer is correct and another is mistaken. Your purpose may vary with your topic; you may seek to show why something happened, to recommend a course of action, to solve a problem, or present and defend a particular interpretation of a historical event or a work of art. But whether the topic is space travel or Shakespeare's Hamlet, an argumentative research paper deals actively with the statements it cites. It makes them work together in an argument that you create -- an argument that leads to a conclusion of your own. (Hefferman 495-496)
Organization: Is evident. Attention has been paid to where each paragraph is located in the paper and what each paragraph is doing. Each paragraph, too, is ordered logically so that the reader can easily access your argument. For assistance, please refer to previous blog posts.
Research: You cannot write or argue about a topic you have not developed some expertise in (You don’t take a dentists advice on how to perform brain surgery). To build your expertise, adequate research has been done—both to give you a better understanding of the topic’s background. As the Stanford writing website says, “all decent writing is the product of an involved process, a decent research paper will have behind it, in addition and invisibly, a many-layered research process.”
• You should have and cite 10-20 sources in this paper
• Those sources should consist of expert opinion, coming primarily of journal articles, book chapters, etc. depending on your topic
• If you use a website (and you should only use them in the most extreme cases. Trying to avoid them at all costs) it comes from a credible source, ie. Government agencies and the websites of well known institutions.
• Mostly, you have done enough work in the library to be successful.
• The paper should not rely on telling your audience your opinions, but showing, through evidence and reason, the supporting framework of those opinions/ideas.
Audience: Also, strides have been made to write in a way—through using warrants, academic voice/language, etc—that make it appealing to someone other than you (audience awareness).
• Notably, you have taken into consideration what opponents of your position would say in response.
• The paper is not written is such a manner that it is only persuasive to one that already agrees with your point of view. In other words, it doesn’t rely on bandwagon appeals.
• Academic voice—no you’s or I’s—are used. Instead of “I suggest that the farm bill be reexamined, “you write “Due to the consequences of cheap food on our economy, one can argue that it is time for the Farm Bill to be overturned.”
Insight : The paper shows insight into the topic. The author explores this subject in all its complexity and reveals and examines the nature of that complexity in his/her essay. Such insights should not be implied but revealed and developed through good examples from the texts.
Revision: It is evident that revision has been employed to improve upon previous drafts.
Language: Is free of typos and grammatical errors and reads in such a way that it is clear what you are trying to say.
Benchmark : quality of this work in relation to what I expect you to be able to do in this class at this time on such an assignment.
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
No Class--Thurs 11/13
No Class on Thurs. 11/13.
Please use this time to work on your peer review. You should have 2-3 essays from your peers. Read them. Make comments in the margins. Write them a letter detailing not your critique of the paper, but your suggestions for how the paper can improve. You are an advocate here, so act like it.
Please make an extra copy of your end comments (the letters you are writing) and give it to me on Tuesday.
Please focus on:
1. Argument. Rhetorical purposes. How is this essay trying to be persuasive. Does it succeed? How can this argument be strengthened? If you didn't agree with the author, what would your points be?
2. Research. Examine a) if there is enough research. If not, the essay will feel superficial and shallow. The points will rely too heavily on one or two sources and will invite the reader to find discount the points the author is making because they will feel like opinion, as opposed to well researched points. IF the author needs to do more research, tell them.
3. Logic and Organization. First, if the paper is all over the place and jumps from point to point you need to let the author know where he can slow down, expand and connect the points of logic for his reader. Often, our first drafts are wild and your job here is to tame it a little. Is the paper organized?
4. Language. Specifically academic voice. Is this essay written for an academic audience. Can it replace "I" and "you" with third-person pronouns "He," She," "One?"
5. Where can the author expand this paper to make it better (and to fit the requirements of this assignment).
Good luck. See you on Tuesday.
Please use this time to work on your peer review. You should have 2-3 essays from your peers. Read them. Make comments in the margins. Write them a letter detailing not your critique of the paper, but your suggestions for how the paper can improve. You are an advocate here, so act like it.
Please make an extra copy of your end comments (the letters you are writing) and give it to me on Tuesday.
Please focus on:
1. Argument. Rhetorical purposes. How is this essay trying to be persuasive. Does it succeed? How can this argument be strengthened? If you didn't agree with the author, what would your points be?
2. Research. Examine a) if there is enough research. If not, the essay will feel superficial and shallow. The points will rely too heavily on one or two sources and will invite the reader to find discount the points the author is making because they will feel like opinion, as opposed to well researched points. IF the author needs to do more research, tell them.
3. Logic and Organization. First, if the paper is all over the place and jumps from point to point you need to let the author know where he can slow down, expand and connect the points of logic for his reader. Often, our first drafts are wild and your job here is to tame it a little. Is the paper organized?
4. Language. Specifically academic voice. Is this essay written for an academic audience. Can it replace "I" and "you" with third-person pronouns "He," She," "One?"
5. Where can the author expand this paper to make it better (and to fit the requirements of this assignment).
Good luck. See you on Tuesday.
Saturday, November 8, 2008
Citing
For information about paraphrasing, summarizing and directly quoting your research materials click here and here for paraphrasing andhere for all the rest.
Also, look in your Hacker handbook to ensure you are using the correct format and style in your citations.
Also, look in your Hacker handbook to ensure you are using the correct format and style in your citations.
Writing Process--Putting It Together
This is a direct quote of a page at:
http://writing.colostate.edu/guides/documents/arguedraft/deductive.cfm
Example
Notice how this paper connects its points
Claim of Paper: Decreasing the average work week to 32 hours would help support family values.
From Body of Paper: Although most of us know that working too much affects family time and thus family structure, we usually assume that this is the case only for people who work 40+ hours a week. Studies of how work-related stress influences family time, however, suggest that too much work, even within what is considered "normal," has detrimental effects on family time. [Topic sentence connects evidence (studies) to the point that 40-hour work weeks have negative affects on families.]
For example, in Smith's 1987 study of 15 average, middle-class families, he describes the undue pressure a 9-5 schedule puts on families. In particular, he notes that this time schedule translates to at least three forms of unnecessary family stress: (1) "rushed" mornings where parents desperately try sticking to a rigid time schedule that gets the children off to school and themselves to work between the hours of 7 and 9; (2) financial pressure of paying babysitters or day care facilities during school holidays and the 2 or 3 hours after school while parents are still at work; (3) overly frantic weekends where, since many businesses close at 5:00, all errands must be done before then. [Note how the author highlights only the parts of the study that influence family pressures.]
The stresses Smith documents are not in families where parents work 60-70 hours a week. The parents working 40 hours a week are secretaries, mechanics, bank employees, etc. The effects on them, he notes, clearly translate to less time spent with family members because of work demands as well as increased pressure when the family is together. [Warrant explaining why proof shows the problem is the 40-hour work week discussed in the initial point made]
Such pressures can't help but influence the quality of time the family spends together, influencing its ability to stay together or to have the type of time most conducive to instilling family values. [Topic sentences which ties point 1 to overall claim of paper] In fact, as psychological studies show, the type of time spent together has a great influence on family cohesiveness. [Transition connecting point 1--effect of 40 hour week on families--to point 2: the influence of time pressures on keeping family together]
Parts and Paragraphs in Your Paper.
Introduction: Introduce your paper, yes. But introduce each new turn in the text, too. You are the guide here. The reader is the wide-eyed follower. Don’t lead them into a Croc nest without first telling them why you are heading there.
Context/Background. It helps, in a lot of situations, to discuss the history of your topic, the various positions held, the posed solutions, the failed plans, etc, as a lead-in to your idea on the matter.
Narration: These are parts of your paper that narrate (tell the story of) certain events or circumstances so that the reader will agree with you. In addition to citing a law, it also helps to narrate what that means (by showing how it is enforced).
Evidence/Proof Paragraphs: This is where you really make your argument.
Counter Arguments and Responses to Counter Arguments: Where you consider and rebut opposing views.
Conclusion. This IN NOT merely restating your thesis. It is drawing conclusions. It is saying, “therefore, then this.” It is expanding the ramifications or consequences of your argument. If what you are saying is right, good thinking, then what. Conclusions are very hard to write. It is that final line that is so often the hardest to pen because, well, it’s the FINAL LINE. However, you also have to conclude each idea in your paper. Use words like “Therefore…,” “Thus…,” “As a result…” “This shows that…” Etc. This reconnects your evidence to your thesis.
http://writing.colostate.edu/guides/documents/arguedraft/deductive.cfm
Example
Notice how this paper connects its points
Claim of Paper: Decreasing the average work week to 32 hours would help support family values.
From Body of Paper: Although most of us know that working too much affects family time and thus family structure, we usually assume that this is the case only for people who work 40+ hours a week. Studies of how work-related stress influences family time, however, suggest that too much work, even within what is considered "normal," has detrimental effects on family time. [Topic sentence connects evidence (studies) to the point that 40-hour work weeks have negative affects on families.]
For example, in Smith's 1987 study of 15 average, middle-class families, he describes the undue pressure a 9-5 schedule puts on families. In particular, he notes that this time schedule translates to at least three forms of unnecessary family stress: (1) "rushed" mornings where parents desperately try sticking to a rigid time schedule that gets the children off to school and themselves to work between the hours of 7 and 9; (2) financial pressure of paying babysitters or day care facilities during school holidays and the 2 or 3 hours after school while parents are still at work; (3) overly frantic weekends where, since many businesses close at 5:00, all errands must be done before then. [Note how the author highlights only the parts of the study that influence family pressures.]
The stresses Smith documents are not in families where parents work 60-70 hours a week. The parents working 40 hours a week are secretaries, mechanics, bank employees, etc. The effects on them, he notes, clearly translate to less time spent with family members because of work demands as well as increased pressure when the family is together. [Warrant explaining why proof shows the problem is the 40-hour work week discussed in the initial point made]
Such pressures can't help but influence the quality of time the family spends together, influencing its ability to stay together or to have the type of time most conducive to instilling family values. [Topic sentences which ties point 1 to overall claim of paper] In fact, as psychological studies show, the type of time spent together has a great influence on family cohesiveness. [Transition connecting point 1--effect of 40 hour week on families--to point 2: the influence of time pressures on keeping family together]
Parts and Paragraphs in Your Paper.
Introduction: Introduce your paper, yes. But introduce each new turn in the text, too. You are the guide here. The reader is the wide-eyed follower. Don’t lead them into a Croc nest without first telling them why you are heading there.
Context/Background. It helps, in a lot of situations, to discuss the history of your topic, the various positions held, the posed solutions, the failed plans, etc, as a lead-in to your idea on the matter.
Narration: These are parts of your paper that narrate (tell the story of) certain events or circumstances so that the reader will agree with you. In addition to citing a law, it also helps to narrate what that means (by showing how it is enforced).
Evidence/Proof Paragraphs: This is where you really make your argument.
Counter Arguments and Responses to Counter Arguments: Where you consider and rebut opposing views.
Conclusion. This IN NOT merely restating your thesis. It is drawing conclusions. It is saying, “therefore, then this.” It is expanding the ramifications or consequences of your argument. If what you are saying is right, good thinking, then what. Conclusions are very hard to write. It is that final line that is so often the hardest to pen because, well, it’s the FINAL LINE. However, you also have to conclude each idea in your paper. Use words like “Therefore…,” “Thus…,” “As a result…” “This shows that…” Etc. This reconnects your evidence to your thesis.
Writing Process--Using Warrants
This is a direct quote of a page at:
http:/writing.colostate.edu/guides/index.cfm?guides_active=argument&category1=31m
Presenting Your Evidence
In your paper you must demonstrate why a given piece of evidence supports your thesis, claim or position. You must explain the reasoning process by which they are logically connected. (This is called the Toulmin method where the explanations are referred to as warrants.)
If I walk up to you and scream “Immigrants deserve rights” in your face. I am not arguing, I am probably getting arrested. However, when we stop to define the reasoning behind our statements, and attach those reasons to evidence, we are now in a position where someone might agree with us.
The Colo. State Univ. writing lab website, a leader in web references for writers, states, “First, for each claim that is debatable, or open to question, a reason is offered that supports the claim's validity. A warrant-consisting of a sentence or two-then follows, explaining the reason. Finally, evidence is supplied that supports connecting the reason to a given point or the overall claim of the paper.” Their organization is as follows:
Thesis, Claim or Position: Grading should be optional in non-major courses.
Reason/Point #1: Non-major courses are designed to help students become intelligent, well-rounded citizens. If the goal of such courses is the exploration and acquisition of knowledge, grades only get in the way.
Warrant #1: Rather than learning for the sake of becoming a better person, grades encourage performance for the sake of a better GPA. The focus grading puts on performance undercuts learning opportunities when students choose courses according to what might be easiest rather than what they'd like to know more about. [Introduces why proof is relevant to point]
Evidence: For example, students polled at CSU in a College of Liberal Arts study cite the following reasons for choosing non-major courses:
1. Easy grading (80%)
2. Low quantity of work (60%)
3. What was available (40%)
4. Personality of teacher (30%)
5. Something they were interested in knowing more about (10%)
Similarly, in an interview I conducted with graduating seniors, only two of the 20 people I spoke with found their non-major courses valuable. The other 18 reported that non-major courses were a waste of time for a variety of reasons:
1. I'm never going to do anything with them.
2. I just took whatever wouldn't distract me from my major so I didn't work very hard in them, just studying enough to get an A on the test.
3. Non-major courses are a joke. Everyone I know took the simplest, stupidest, 100-level courses needed to fulfill the requirements. I can't even remember the ones I took now.
Warrant #2: Although not everyone in the interviews or the CLA poll cited grades explicitly as the reason for choosing easy, irrelevant, non-major courses, we can read such reasoning into many of the less explicit references as well. Clearly, students are not choosing courses based on what they can learn from them. Yet they are fairly consistent in their choices: 100-level courses with little work. Although laziness might be seen as the cause of such choices, it is just as likely that choosing according to the amount of work, selecting simple courses, or only studying for the exam are a result of the GPA system. Higher workloads and more complex topics obviously could mean receiving a lower grade; thus, they should be avoided. [Demonstrates how proof leads to point as necessary conclusion.]
http:/writing.colostate.edu/guides/index.cfm?guides_active=argument&category1=31m
Presenting Your Evidence
In your paper you must demonstrate why a given piece of evidence supports your thesis, claim or position. You must explain the reasoning process by which they are logically connected. (This is called the Toulmin method where the explanations are referred to as warrants.)
If I walk up to you and scream “Immigrants deserve rights” in your face. I am not arguing, I am probably getting arrested. However, when we stop to define the reasoning behind our statements, and attach those reasons to evidence, we are now in a position where someone might agree with us.
The Colo. State Univ. writing lab website, a leader in web references for writers, states, “First, for each claim that is debatable, or open to question, a reason is offered that supports the claim's validity. A warrant-consisting of a sentence or two-then follows, explaining the reason. Finally, evidence is supplied that supports connecting the reason to a given point or the overall claim of the paper.” Their organization is as follows:
Thesis, Claim or Position: Grading should be optional in non-major courses.
Reason/Point #1: Non-major courses are designed to help students become intelligent, well-rounded citizens. If the goal of such courses is the exploration and acquisition of knowledge, grades only get in the way.
Warrant #1: Rather than learning for the sake of becoming a better person, grades encourage performance for the sake of a better GPA. The focus grading puts on performance undercuts learning opportunities when students choose courses according to what might be easiest rather than what they'd like to know more about. [Introduces why proof is relevant to point]
Evidence: For example, students polled at CSU in a College of Liberal Arts study cite the following reasons for choosing non-major courses:
1. Easy grading (80%)
2. Low quantity of work (60%)
3. What was available (40%)
4. Personality of teacher (30%)
5. Something they were interested in knowing more about (10%)
Similarly, in an interview I conducted with graduating seniors, only two of the 20 people I spoke with found their non-major courses valuable. The other 18 reported that non-major courses were a waste of time for a variety of reasons:
1. I'm never going to do anything with them.
2. I just took whatever wouldn't distract me from my major so I didn't work very hard in them, just studying enough to get an A on the test.
3. Non-major courses are a joke. Everyone I know took the simplest, stupidest, 100-level courses needed to fulfill the requirements. I can't even remember the ones I took now.
Warrant #2: Although not everyone in the interviews or the CLA poll cited grades explicitly as the reason for choosing easy, irrelevant, non-major courses, we can read such reasoning into many of the less explicit references as well. Clearly, students are not choosing courses based on what they can learn from them. Yet they are fairly consistent in their choices: 100-level courses with little work. Although laziness might be seen as the cause of such choices, it is just as likely that choosing according to the amount of work, selecting simple courses, or only studying for the exam are a result of the GPA system. Higher workloads and more complex topics obviously could mean receiving a lower grade; thus, they should be avoided. [Demonstrates how proof leads to point as necessary conclusion.]
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