First draft of research paper is due Wed. April 3

At the end of class, I realized I had put down the wrong date for the first draft.  It is due next week, Wednesday, April 3.  It doesn't have to be finished--you can hand in four pages, but I do want a Works Cited page.

There is no homework due for Monday, but you should be working on your paper.  Also those who have not scheduled a conference time need to do so on Monday.  Conferences are 100 points.

FIRST FOUR PAGES DUE NEXT WEEK WEDNESDAY.  This is it--the end of the semester.
Keep up the good work!

Assignment for Monday, March 25

Bring to class 3 printed-out articles that you think you will be able to use in your paper.  We will work with these in class.  Please bring THE LITTLE PENGUIN HANDBOOK to class.  We will be using it also.

Come to class, people.  Do your work.  We're on the last leg.

Assignment for Wednesday, March 20

Type up your research topic in the form of a question (remember this is an argumentative paper).
Then write at least one pro and con answer to the question.

For example:

Thesis question:  How have email, texts and tweets influenced student writing in college?

Pro answer:  Students now write more outside of college than any generation before them (Stanford Study).
Con answer:  Students' ability to think through a problem has not increased.

Library 207

When we return from spring break (Monday, March 18), we will meet at LI 207 at 1:00.  This is 100 points.  Don't miss it.  You should also have picked a research paper topic.  If you still have no idea, google "research paper topics" and you'll find lists of subjects.  Pick one.  Anyone.

I'm sorry to have missed you on Wednesday.  It was my turn to be sick.  Monday will be workshop day.  Please bring 4 copies of your draft. 100 points.  When we come back from the break, we'll begin our final research papers.

Keep coming to class.  Keep doing your work.  We're more than half way through.  Yippey Skippy.

Workshop for draft tomorrow--bring 4 copies 100pts

Synthesis paper assignment sheet.  The paper will be 3-4 pp. double spaced.  Use MLA styling. 100 points.

In a synthesis paper you explore connections and contradictions among a group of texts on one subject: immigration reform.  I want you to use four (4) texts, three of them from your text book:  the blogs written by Dee, Byron Williams and Victor Davis Hansen (pp. 324-328) and one blog of your own choosing.  Each blog is relatively short.

This paper is a practice run for the research paper that will end the semester.

What do these texts have in common and how do they differ?  You might want to make a list before you get started.  Remember to read carefully.  Define any terms you don’t completely understand.

For Monday,  I want you to write an introduction (1 to 2 pp.) that describes the issues and how each writer approaches it.  The introduction should end with a thesis.

Bring 4 copies of the introduction to class for a workshop. 100 points.  Do not miss class.

Writing a thesis for a Synthesis paper.  Your text book offers a low-level, two sentence example of a thesis and a high-level, one-sentence thesis.  (It’s always more difficult to write one sentence than two).

1.  Whereas Ritzer focuses on the way high-tech society makes us homogenous and superficial, Turkle focuses on how the Internet unsettles traditional views of the self.  Although I agree with Ritzer’s argument that McDonaldization is dehumanizing, I think that role-playing MUDs is actually a healthy way to oppose McDonaldization and expresses human desire to be creative, to develop the self, and to make human connections.

2. Ritzer’s attack on technological society and Turkle’s more optimistic belief that it offers opportunity for growth and discovery have together forced me to consider the superficiality and vulnerability of human relationships in our high-tech society. 

Notice how the writer has incorporated his own views into the essay.  You should have some new insights by the end of your paper and be able to share them with your readers.

As in the “Ophelia” paper, your audience is a diverse and educated group of readers, who won’t necessarily have read any of the blogs you are writing about, so you need to describe them briefly.  Use paraphrases and quotes to support your view.

Figure 12.1 on p. 321 of our text offers you two frameworks for a Synthesis essay.  Look this over carefully, before you write anything.

Immigration reform

Here's a question:  to what degree is finding a fair immigration reform about RACE?  The author, Dee, of the first blog confronts white America.  "She sounds like a racist," we said.  Is it possible that she is drawing attention to the fact that white America has been racist toward people of color for generations (and continues to be)?

Read the 5 articles on immigration reform and write a summary of each.  Do it!  Often authors summarize their main ideas toward the end of the article, so you might look carefully at conclusions.

Find three more websites on immigration reform, summarize them, and bring all to class on Wednesday.  The next big paper is on synthesizing the ideas on immigration reform.  YOU HAVE TO DO THE READING BEFORE YOU CAN DO THE WRITING.

READ.  READ.  READ.

Keep coming to class.  No one's failing so far.  Keep up the good work.