Saturday, November 25, 2012--6 pm

Hello,

Just a reminder...due on Monday is the following:

1. revision of the compare/contrast essay (please attach to this the previous version with my comments)

2. the take home exam (below)--written in a blue or green book

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English 10—Fall 2012—C. Fraga

In class writing #3

TAKE HOME—due on Monday, November 26^th

DIRECTIONS:

Instead of writing these responses IN CLASS, please spend no longer than one hour answering these questions out of class. The hour DOES NOT INCLUDE the time you will spend thinking about and planning your answers.

Please respond to these three short answer questions in a blue or green book.

Please do not write in pencil; instead, use a pen.

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“Where are you Going, Where are you From?”

(a short story by Joyce Carol Oates)

Smooth Talk

(a film based on the short story, “Where are you Going, where are you From?”)

1.     Considering JUST the story, and NOT the film version, do you feel that the story presents a realistic look at the life of many fifteen-year-old girls? Why or why not? (you may want to consider such things as Connie’s relationship with her mother; her relationship with her older sister, June; her desire to be noticed and attractive by boys; her behavior at home vs. her behavior with her friends, etc.)

2.     Considering both your reading of the story and your viewing of the film, is your impression about Connie different or the same?

In other words, in the story, what is your impression of and/or response to Connie? (was she a sympathetic character? did she seem realistic and genuine? etc.)

And compared to the version of Connie played by Laura Dern in the film, was your impression of and/or response to Connie different or the same than the one you experienced in the book? Why or why not? Explain.

3.     Fill in the blanks to this introductory sentence and then support your opinion. (for this question, you are ONLY referring to the short story and NOT the film)

The short story, “Where are you Going, Where are you From?” is less about ___________________________________and more about _____________________________.

Tuesday, November 13, 2012--5 pm

Greetings,

A slight adjustment to the syllabus.
I am going to give you next Wednesday, the 21st, off from class.
(Happy Thanksgiving).
Because of that, we will be watching the film scheduled for next week, tomorrow.
The in class writing on the film will be on Monday, the 19th.

ALSO!
Be sure to have read the readings assigned on your syllabus before you arrive in class tomorrow.

See you then!

Wednesday, Nov. 7th--5:20 pm

Hello,
below you will find two items:
1. the sample c/c essay that I distributed and discussed in class on Monday of this week
2. a written version of the assignment due next week, on Wednesday.

Oh! and enjoy the Monday holiday. Take a moment during Monday to silently thank all the men and women who serve our country presently as well as all of those who have served in the past, many who have died in our country's defense.

SAMPLE COMPARE CONTRAST ESSAY WRITTEN IN THE BLOCK FORMAT
(of course, on the handout, each paragraph is on a separate sheet of paper. Remember that when you work on your essay, you can certainly have all the paragraphs organized one after the other. But when you are ready to edit and revise, place each paragraph on a separate sheet of paper.)

During my senior year of high school, I was bombarded with well meaning people who constantly supplied me with information about what to expect once I began college. High school counselors warned me about staying focused during my first semester and waiting to join campus organizations until at least my second semester. My parents reminded me that eating in the dorm’s cafeteria and not spending money at campus eateries would help me budget my monthly spending allowance. Even my older sister, who has only one more year of college to complete, informed me that if I did not learn how to use the library’s online databases, no one else would provide the instruction. However, it was not until I actually began my freshman year at the university that I discovered significant differences between high school classes and college level classes. High school classes and college classes share very few similarities.

            In the majority of high schools across America, classes are designed to meet five days a week. This often leaves little to no time to actually digest the material before the class meets the next day. Regardless, high school teachers assign daily homework that usually must be completed by the next class session, which means the next day! This would not be a huge inconvenience if every other class did not also meet every day of the week. It is not unusual for high school students, then, to have four or five hours of homework per night.  I have heard from other friends who attended other high schools that sometimes instructors are flexible and will actually adjust their test dates to accommodate students who might have several tests on one day. This accommodation is always welcomed! 

            Although homework assignments can overlap and cause some stressful moments, it is a relief that most high school instructors do not assign research papers. Of course, students are usually expected to conduct a certain amount of research on the Internet in some of their classes, but rarely are they expected to document it formally with in text citations and a Works Cited page. Obviously, papers that require students to do hours of extra reading in order to write an essay would just add to the long list of daily homework.

            Even though high school instructors rarely require tedious research assignments, they do expect students to pay close attention in class.  Unfortunately, this was a lot more difficult for me to do than one can imagine. It is not that I tend to drift off or even fall sleep, like a few of my friends. The reason it was difficult to stay alert is because teachers often stopped mid-lecture to remind students to stop talking amongst themselves. Students also tried to hide behind the student in front of them as they sent texts on their phone. This sort of rude behavior occurred in nearly every class, which meant that teachers interrupted class constantly to keep students on track. Every time this happened, I found it difficult to stay focused.

            Once I graduated high school and began my college classes, one of the first differences I noticed and embraced happily was I did not have any classes that met every single day of the week. Immediately, I noticed how I was able to manage my study time so much better. I did not feel the stress of having to complete an assignment overnight. In fact, most professors assign long term assignments; often I have over two weeks to complete an assignment. College requires a lot more reading, so long term assignments allow for extra time to read as well.

            Along with long term assignments, college professors expect students to include a lot of research in their essays and reports. And unlike high school assignments, these college essays must follow a very prescribed research documentation format. Professors also expect that students will peruse and utilize several different academic sources and search engines to locate information.

            Even with the almost daunting expectations from college professors regarding research, it is quite refreshing to be able to attend classes where there is no discipline issues. Professors do not need to interrupt their lectures or class discussions to ask students to behave like adults. In fact, there seems to be no tolerance for misbehavior. In my World History class just last week, the professor quietly asked a student to leave the class because, as he stated, “Texting is a priority for you.”  However, this has been an exception; my classes are full of focused and fairly serious students who seem to understand the importance of paying for their seat time.

            As a former high school student, I admit there were advantages. Teachers seemed more willing to understand that I had other classes besides for theirs and sometimes time management was a little challenging. Regardless, when I compare high school classes with college classes, I prefer feeling more in charge of my study time and I actually enjoy being treated as a more responsible student.

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FOR WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 14TH

DUE: a revised version of your compare/contrast essay. Please be sure to attach the first rough draft with my comments to the back of the revised version before submitting.

Monday, November 5th, 2012--4 pm

Greetings,

just a brief re-cap of the assignment due Wednesday:

1. brainstorming
2. outline (either in the block or point by point format)
3. 1st rough draft of essay. Each paragraph to be on a separate sheet of paper. Use the my sample distributed in class today as you guide. Remember, you can always put them in that format AFTER you write your draft and before submitting.
4. All of the above, of course, should be typed, double spaced.

See you Wednesday!

Sunday, November 4, 2012--3:30 pm

Hello,

I assume you always come to class with your copy of the syllabus, but just in case you do not, please be sure to have your copy with you in class on Monday.

Thanks!

Friday, November 2, 2012--5:15 pm

Greetings,

below you will find a copy of the handout we discussed in class on Wednesday.

Have a wonderful and safe weekend. See you Monday.

English 10, Fall 2012, C. Fraga

Writing an Essay using Comparison and Contrast

Comparison or Contrast, a method for developing ideas, is the careful look at the similarities and/or differences between people, objects, or ideas, usually in order to make some conclusion or judgment.

In your text, Between Worlds, in Chapter 10: Methods for Developing Essays, the comparison and contrast essay is explained and a sample essay is provided. (pages 407-413).

As practice, you have looked at two essays, “A Good Daughter” and “The Fringe Benefits of Failure, and the Importance of Imagination.” You have brainstormed by listing similarities and differences between the two authors, Caroline Hwang and J. K. Rowling. Then you have organized your brainstorming into the two different methods of organization—the block and the point-by-point.

Now you will brainstorm and write a compare/contrast essay on a topic of your choice. You will be submitting all your brainstorming, your planning, rough drafts, and final draft, so please do not discard anything.

Additionally, you will be typing the essay in a way you probably have never done before. You will be writing each paragraph of the essay on a separate sheet of paper. This is so you will focus intently on each paragraph.

Assignment: 

The choice of topic is yours. (On page 413 in your text, there are six suggestions, but you are not required to choose ANY of these.) I want you to select something to compare/contrast that you really want to explore.

EXAMPLE: I have decided to compare high school classes with college classes. Here is my sample brainstorming:

HIGH SCHOOL CLASSES                                                            COLLEGE CLASSES

meet 5 days a week                                                                        meet only 2 or 3 times wk.

daily homework                                                                        long term assignments

no research papers                                                                        research papers required

discipline prob. in class                                                            no discipline prob. in class

Consider now what method will be best—the block method or the point-by-point method? At this stage, review your brainstorming list and ask yourself if you have a list that is complete.  Have you left out any point that might need to be considered? Do you have at LEAST three points and do you have enough material to develop both parts of the topic? You do not want the comparison or contrast to end up one-sided with all the content about only one part of the topic.

Make an outline, choosing one of the two formats.

EXAMPLE:

Block Method

1.     Topic 1—High School Classes

A.     meet 5 days a week

B.     daily homework

C.     no research papers

D.    disciplinary problems in class

2.     Topic 2—College Classes

A.     meet only 2 or 3 times a week

B.     long term assignments

C.     research papers required

D.    no discipline problems

Point-by-Point Method

1.     First Point—How often classes meet

A.     Topic 1—high school classes

B.     Topic 2—college classes

2.     Second Point—Homework

A.     Topic 1—high school classes

B.     Topic 2—college classes

3.     Third Point—Research papers

A.     Topic 1—high school classes

B.     Topic 2—college classes

4.     Fourth Point—Discipline

A.     Topic 1—high school classes

B.     Topic 2—college classes

DUE MONDAY, NOV. 5^TH: TYPED AND DOUBLE SPACED: 

1. Your brainstorming

2. An outline for your essay, utilizing the block method or the point by point method.