Please find 3 fallacies in the following memo:
The following appeared in a memo from a vice president of Alta Manufacturing.
"During the past year, Alta Manufacturing had thirty percent more on-the-job accidents than nearby Panoply Industries, where the work shifts are one hour shorter than ours. Experts believe that a significant contributing factor in many on-the-job accidents is fatigue and sleep deprivation among workers. Therefore, to reduce the number of on-the-job accidents at Alta and thereby increase productivity, we should shorten each of our three work shifts by one hour so that our employees will get adequate amounts of sleep."
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Monday, November 2, 2009
Practice Editing Test #2.
I went outside to cool down a bit and decide how I was going to punish Harry. Then, looking at the driveway, the cat napping on my hood. The funny thing about this cat now that I think about it was that it had a pink tail. That tail would make a fine fishing lure, I thought. So I took out my crossbow and that night I had cat stew. The stew, however, as it was cooking turned blue, and latter that night, up my stomach threw.
As Harry was tying flies in his den, I took out my cat tail and, instead of making a lure, fashioned the varmint's fur around my neck. What I would give to be king for a day, I thought. Suddenly, the police arrived at my door as I were talking to myself in the mirror. I heard there sirens and ran into the basement to hide all of the donuts. Hunkering over the stash of confectionery delights, I herd my stomach begin to growl like a tomcat. The cause being the cat stew.
Much to my surprise, the cops was not after me at all. Mr. Wilson, the guy next door, had died, and the sirens are from the ambulance. So I went outside and said to the driver "Tell me, sonny, how does this cat tail look around my neck?" With a dry and sly wink of the eye, the driver told me that I was crazy. That doesn't bother me, though. Ambulance drivers are the crazy ones. Just ask anyone who's seen them drive through an intersection and I bet he'll tell you the same.
After all the commotion wound down. I turned on Seinfeld, and Kramer was provoking a mail strike. I know this was Harry's favorite episode, so I called him into the living room. "Where did you get the TV?" he exclaimed. I told him that I used his craigslist cash to by a new one, but that was a lie. I had took his cash and put it into his college fund. The TV was Mr. Wilson's. He won't need it where he's going. Only one good thing that came out of last night.
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Ann McClintock Essay.
Propaganda Techniques in Today’s Advertising
by Ann McClintock
Americans, adults and children alike, are being seduced. They are being brainwashed. And few of us protest. Why? Because the seducers and the brainwashers are the advertisers we willingly invite into our homes. We are victims, content—even eager—to be victimized. We read advertisers’ propaganda message in newspapers and magazines; we watch their alluring images on television. We absorb their messages and images into our subconscious. We all do it—even those of us who claim to see through advertisers’ tricks and therefore feel immune to advertising’s charm. Advertisers lean heavily on propaganda to sell their products, whether the “products” are a brand of toothpaste, a candidate for office, or a particular political viewpoint.
Propaganda is a systematic effort to influence people’s opinions, to win them over to a certain view or side. Propaganda is not necessarily concerned with what is true or false, good or bad. Propagandists simply want people to believe the messages being sent. Often, propagandists will use outright lies or more subtle deceptions to sway people’s opinions. In a propaganda war, any tactic is considered fair.
When we hear the word “propaganda,” we usually think of a foreign menace: anti-American radio programs broadcast by a totalitarian regime or brainwashing tactics practiced on hostages. Although propaganda may seem relevant only in the political arena, the concept can be applied fruitfully to the way products and ideas are sold in advertising. Indeed, the vast majority of us are targets in advertisers’ propaganda war. Every day, we are bombarded with slogans, print ads, commercials, packaging claims, billboards, trademarks, logos, and designer brands-all forms of propaganda. One study reports that each of us, during an average day, is exposed to over five hundred advertising claims of various types. This saturation may even increase in the future since current trends include ads on movie screens, shopping carts, videocassettes, even public television.
What kind of propaganda techniques do advertisers use? There are six basic types:
1. Name Calling. Name calling is a propaganda tactic in which negatively charged names are hurled against the opposing side or competitor. By using such names, propagandists try to arouse feelings of mistrust, fear, and hate in their audiences. For example, a political advertisement may label an opposing candidate a “loser,” “fence-sitter,” or “warmonger”. Depending on the advertiser’s target market, labels such as “a friend of big business” or “a dues-paying member of the party in power” can be the epithets that damage an opponent. Ads for products may also use name calling. An American label of foreignness will have unpleasant connotation in many people’s minds. A childhood rhyme claims that “name can never hurt me,” but name calling is an effective way to damage the opposition, whether it is another car maker or 2 congressional candidates.
2. Glittering Generalities. Using glittering generalities is the opposite of name calling. In this case, advertisers surround their products with attractive—and slippery—words and phrases. They use vague terms that are difficult to define and that may have different meanings to different people: freedom, democratic, all-American, progressive, Christian, and justice. Many such words have strong, affirmative overtones. This kind of languages stirs positive feelings in people, feelings that may spill over to the product or idea being pitched. As with name calling, the emotional response may overwhelm logic. Target audiences accept the product without thinking very much about what the glittering generalities mean—or whether they even apply to the product. After all, how can anyone oppose “truth, justice, and the American way”?
The ads for politicians and political causes often use glittering generalities because such “buzz words” can influence votes. Election slogans include high-sounding but basically empty phrases like the following:
“He cares about people.” (That’s nice, but is he a better candidate than his opponent?)
“Vote for progress.” (Progress by whose standards?)
“They’ll make this country great again.” (What does “great” mean? Does “great” mean the same thing to others as it does to me?)
“Vote for the future.” (What kind of future?)
“If you love American, then vote for Phyllis Smith.” (If I don’t vote for Smith, does that mean I don’t love American?)
Ads for consumer goods are also sprinkled with glittering generalities. Product names, for instance, are supposed to evoke good feelings: Luvs diapers, New Freedom feminine hygiene products, joy liquid detergent, Loving Care hair color, Almost Home cookies, and Yankee Doodle pastries. Product slogans lean heavily on vague but comforting phrases: Kinney is “The Great American Shoe Store,” General Electric “brings good things to life,” and Dow Chemical “lets you do great things.” Chevrolet, we are told, is the “heartbeat of America,” and Chrysler boasts cars that are “built by Americans for Americans.”
3. Transfer. In transfer, advertisers try to improve the image of a product by associating it with a symbol most people respect, like the American flag or Uncle Sam. The advertisers hope that the prestige attached to the symbol will carry over to the product. Many companies use transfer devices to identify their products: Lincoln Insurance shows a profile of the president; Continental Insurance portrays a Revolutionary War minuteman; Amtrak’s logo is red, white, and blue; Liberty Mutual’s corporate symbol is the Statue of Liberty; Allstate’s name is cradled by a pair of protective, fatherly hands.
Corporations also use the transfer techniques when they sponsor prestigious shows on radio and television. These shows function as symbols of dignity and class. Kraft Corporation, for instance, sponsored a “Leonard Bernstein Conducts Beethoven” concert, while Gulf Oil is the sponsor of National Geographic specials and Mobil supports public television’s Masterpiece Theater. In this way, corporations can reach an educated, influential audience and, perhaps, improve their public image by associating themselves with quality programming.
Political ads, of course, practically wrap themselves in the flag. Ads for a political candidate often show the Washington Monument, a Fourth of July parade, the Stars and Strips, a bald eagle soaring over the mountains, or a white-steeple church on the village green. The national anthem or “America the Beautiful” may play softly in the background. Such appeals to Americans’ love of country can surround the candidate with an aura of patriotism and integrity.
4. Testimonial. The testimonial is one of advertiser’s most-loved and most-used propaganda techniques. Similar to the transfer device, the testimonial capitalizes on the admiration people have for a celebrity to make the product shine more brightly—even though the celebrity is not an expert on the product being sold.
Print and television ads offer a nonstop parade of testimonials: here’s Cher for Holiday Spas; here’s basketball star Michael Jordan eating Wheaties; Michael Jackson sings about Pepsi.
American Express features a slew of well-known people who assure us that they never go anywhere without their American Express card. Testimonials can sell movies, too; newspaper ads for films often feature favorable comments by well-known reviewers. And, in recent years, testimonials have played an important role in pitching books; the backs of paperbacks frequently list complimentary blurbs by celebrities.
Political candidates, as well as their ad agencies, know the value of testimonials. Barbra Streisand lent her star appeal to the presidential campaign of Michael Dukakis, while Arnold Schwarzenegger endorsed George Bush. Even controversial social issues are debated by celebrities. The nuclear freeze, for instance, starred Paul Newman for the pro side and Charlton Heston for the con.
As illogical as testimonials sometimes are (Pepsi’s Michael Jackson, for instance, is a health-food adherent who does not drink soft drinks), they are effective propaganda. We like the person so much that we like the product too.
5. Plain Folks. The plain folks approach says, in effect, “Buy me or vote for me. I’m just like you.” Regular folks will surely like Bob Evans’s Down on the Farm Country Sausage or good old-fashioned Country time Lemonade. Some ads emphasize the idea that “we’re all in the same boat.” We see people making long-distance calls for just the reasons we do—to put the baby on the phone to Grandma or to tell Mom we love her. And how do these folksy, warmhearted (usually saccharine) scenes affect us? They’re supposed to make us feel that AT&T—the multinational corporate giant—has the same values we do. Similarly, we are introduced to the little people at Ford, the ordinary folks who work on the assembly line, not to bigwigs in their executive officers. What’s the purpose of such an approach? To encourage us to buy a car built by these honest, hardworking “everyday Joes” who care about quality as much as we do.
Political advertisements make almost as much use of the “plain folks” appeal as they do of transfer devices. Candidates wear hard hats, farmers’ caps, and assembly-line coveralls. They jog around the block and carry their own luggage through the airport. The idea is to convince voters that the candidates are average people, not the elite—not wealthy lawyers or executives but the common citizen.
6. Bandwagon In the bandwagon technique, advertisers’ pressure, “Everyone’s doing it. Why don’t you?” This kind of propaganda often succeeds because many people have a deep desire not to be different. Political ads tell us to vote for the “winning candidate.” The advertisers know we tend to feel comfortable doing what others do; we want to be on the winning team. Or ads show a series of people proclaiming, “I’m voting for the Senator. I don’t know why anyone wouldn’t.” Again, the audience feels under pressure to conform.
In the marketplace, the bandwagon approach lures buyers. Ads tell us that “nobody, but all like Sara Lee” (the message is that you must be weird if you don’t). They tell us that “most people prefer Brand X two to one over other leading brands” (to be like the majority, we should buy Brand X). If we don’t drink Pepsi, we’re left out of “the Pepsi generation.” To take part in “America’s favorite health kick,” the National Dairy Council urges us to drink milk. And Honda motorcycle ads, praising the virtues of being a follower, tell us, “Follow the leader. He’s on a Honda.”
Why do these propaganda techniques work? Why do so many of us buy the products, viewpoints, and candidates urged on us by propaganda message? They work because they appeal to our emotions, not to our minds. Often, in fact, they capitalize on our prejudices and biases. For example, if we are convinced that environmentalists are radicals who want to destroy America’s record of industrial growth and progress, then we will applaud the candidate who refers to them as “tree huggers.” Clear thinking requires hard work: analyzing a claim, researching the facts, examining both sides of an issue, using logic to see the flaws in an argument. Many of us would rather let the propagandists do our thinking for us.
Because propaganda is so effective, it is important to detect it and understand how it is used. We may conclude, after close examination, that some propaganda sends a truthful, worthwhile message. Some advertising, for instance, urges us not to drive drunk, to become volunteers, to contribute to charity. Even so, we must be aware that propaganda is being used. Otherwise, we will have consented to handing over to others our independence of thought and action.
by Ann McClintock
Americans, adults and children alike, are being seduced. They are being brainwashed. And few of us protest. Why? Because the seducers and the brainwashers are the advertisers we willingly invite into our homes. We are victims, content—even eager—to be victimized. We read advertisers’ propaganda message in newspapers and magazines; we watch their alluring images on television. We absorb their messages and images into our subconscious. We all do it—even those of us who claim to see through advertisers’ tricks and therefore feel immune to advertising’s charm. Advertisers lean heavily on propaganda to sell their products, whether the “products” are a brand of toothpaste, a candidate for office, or a particular political viewpoint.
Propaganda is a systematic effort to influence people’s opinions, to win them over to a certain view or side. Propaganda is not necessarily concerned with what is true or false, good or bad. Propagandists simply want people to believe the messages being sent. Often, propagandists will use outright lies or more subtle deceptions to sway people’s opinions. In a propaganda war, any tactic is considered fair.
When we hear the word “propaganda,” we usually think of a foreign menace: anti-American radio programs broadcast by a totalitarian regime or brainwashing tactics practiced on hostages. Although propaganda may seem relevant only in the political arena, the concept can be applied fruitfully to the way products and ideas are sold in advertising. Indeed, the vast majority of us are targets in advertisers’ propaganda war. Every day, we are bombarded with slogans, print ads, commercials, packaging claims, billboards, trademarks, logos, and designer brands-all forms of propaganda. One study reports that each of us, during an average day, is exposed to over five hundred advertising claims of various types. This saturation may even increase in the future since current trends include ads on movie screens, shopping carts, videocassettes, even public television.
What kind of propaganda techniques do advertisers use? There are six basic types:
1. Name Calling. Name calling is a propaganda tactic in which negatively charged names are hurled against the opposing side or competitor. By using such names, propagandists try to arouse feelings of mistrust, fear, and hate in their audiences. For example, a political advertisement may label an opposing candidate a “loser,” “fence-sitter,” or “warmonger”. Depending on the advertiser’s target market, labels such as “a friend of big business” or “a dues-paying member of the party in power” can be the epithets that damage an opponent. Ads for products may also use name calling. An American label of foreignness will have unpleasant connotation in many people’s minds. A childhood rhyme claims that “name can never hurt me,” but name calling is an effective way to damage the opposition, whether it is another car maker or 2 congressional candidates.
2. Glittering Generalities. Using glittering generalities is the opposite of name calling. In this case, advertisers surround their products with attractive—and slippery—words and phrases. They use vague terms that are difficult to define and that may have different meanings to different people: freedom, democratic, all-American, progressive, Christian, and justice. Many such words have strong, affirmative overtones. This kind of languages stirs positive feelings in people, feelings that may spill over to the product or idea being pitched. As with name calling, the emotional response may overwhelm logic. Target audiences accept the product without thinking very much about what the glittering generalities mean—or whether they even apply to the product. After all, how can anyone oppose “truth, justice, and the American way”?
The ads for politicians and political causes often use glittering generalities because such “buzz words” can influence votes. Election slogans include high-sounding but basically empty phrases like the following:
“He cares about people.” (That’s nice, but is he a better candidate than his opponent?)
“Vote for progress.” (Progress by whose standards?)
“They’ll make this country great again.” (What does “great” mean? Does “great” mean the same thing to others as it does to me?)
“Vote for the future.” (What kind of future?)
“If you love American, then vote for Phyllis Smith.” (If I don’t vote for Smith, does that mean I don’t love American?)
Ads for consumer goods are also sprinkled with glittering generalities. Product names, for instance, are supposed to evoke good feelings: Luvs diapers, New Freedom feminine hygiene products, joy liquid detergent, Loving Care hair color, Almost Home cookies, and Yankee Doodle pastries. Product slogans lean heavily on vague but comforting phrases: Kinney is “The Great American Shoe Store,” General Electric “brings good things to life,” and Dow Chemical “lets you do great things.” Chevrolet, we are told, is the “heartbeat of America,” and Chrysler boasts cars that are “built by Americans for Americans.”
3. Transfer. In transfer, advertisers try to improve the image of a product by associating it with a symbol most people respect, like the American flag or Uncle Sam. The advertisers hope that the prestige attached to the symbol will carry over to the product. Many companies use transfer devices to identify their products: Lincoln Insurance shows a profile of the president; Continental Insurance portrays a Revolutionary War minuteman; Amtrak’s logo is red, white, and blue; Liberty Mutual’s corporate symbol is the Statue of Liberty; Allstate’s name is cradled by a pair of protective, fatherly hands.
Corporations also use the transfer techniques when they sponsor prestigious shows on radio and television. These shows function as symbols of dignity and class. Kraft Corporation, for instance, sponsored a “Leonard Bernstein Conducts Beethoven” concert, while Gulf Oil is the sponsor of National Geographic specials and Mobil supports public television’s Masterpiece Theater. In this way, corporations can reach an educated, influential audience and, perhaps, improve their public image by associating themselves with quality programming.
Political ads, of course, practically wrap themselves in the flag. Ads for a political candidate often show the Washington Monument, a Fourth of July parade, the Stars and Strips, a bald eagle soaring over the mountains, or a white-steeple church on the village green. The national anthem or “America the Beautiful” may play softly in the background. Such appeals to Americans’ love of country can surround the candidate with an aura of patriotism and integrity.
4. Testimonial. The testimonial is one of advertiser’s most-loved and most-used propaganda techniques. Similar to the transfer device, the testimonial capitalizes on the admiration people have for a celebrity to make the product shine more brightly—even though the celebrity is not an expert on the product being sold.
Print and television ads offer a nonstop parade of testimonials: here’s Cher for Holiday Spas; here’s basketball star Michael Jordan eating Wheaties; Michael Jackson sings about Pepsi.
American Express features a slew of well-known people who assure us that they never go anywhere without their American Express card. Testimonials can sell movies, too; newspaper ads for films often feature favorable comments by well-known reviewers. And, in recent years, testimonials have played an important role in pitching books; the backs of paperbacks frequently list complimentary blurbs by celebrities.
Political candidates, as well as their ad agencies, know the value of testimonials. Barbra Streisand lent her star appeal to the presidential campaign of Michael Dukakis, while Arnold Schwarzenegger endorsed George Bush. Even controversial social issues are debated by celebrities. The nuclear freeze, for instance, starred Paul Newman for the pro side and Charlton Heston for the con.
As illogical as testimonials sometimes are (Pepsi’s Michael Jackson, for instance, is a health-food adherent who does not drink soft drinks), they are effective propaganda. We like the person so much that we like the product too.
5. Plain Folks. The plain folks approach says, in effect, “Buy me or vote for me. I’m just like you.” Regular folks will surely like Bob Evans’s Down on the Farm Country Sausage or good old-fashioned Country time Lemonade. Some ads emphasize the idea that “we’re all in the same boat.” We see people making long-distance calls for just the reasons we do—to put the baby on the phone to Grandma or to tell Mom we love her. And how do these folksy, warmhearted (usually saccharine) scenes affect us? They’re supposed to make us feel that AT&T—the multinational corporate giant—has the same values we do. Similarly, we are introduced to the little people at Ford, the ordinary folks who work on the assembly line, not to bigwigs in their executive officers. What’s the purpose of such an approach? To encourage us to buy a car built by these honest, hardworking “everyday Joes” who care about quality as much as we do.
Political advertisements make almost as much use of the “plain folks” appeal as they do of transfer devices. Candidates wear hard hats, farmers’ caps, and assembly-line coveralls. They jog around the block and carry their own luggage through the airport. The idea is to convince voters that the candidates are average people, not the elite—not wealthy lawyers or executives but the common citizen.
6. Bandwagon In the bandwagon technique, advertisers’ pressure, “Everyone’s doing it. Why don’t you?” This kind of propaganda often succeeds because many people have a deep desire not to be different. Political ads tell us to vote for the “winning candidate.” The advertisers know we tend to feel comfortable doing what others do; we want to be on the winning team. Or ads show a series of people proclaiming, “I’m voting for the Senator. I don’t know why anyone wouldn’t.” Again, the audience feels under pressure to conform.
In the marketplace, the bandwagon approach lures buyers. Ads tell us that “nobody, but all like Sara Lee” (the message is that you must be weird if you don’t). They tell us that “most people prefer Brand X two to one over other leading brands” (to be like the majority, we should buy Brand X). If we don’t drink Pepsi, we’re left out of “the Pepsi generation.” To take part in “America’s favorite health kick,” the National Dairy Council urges us to drink milk. And Honda motorcycle ads, praising the virtues of being a follower, tell us, “Follow the leader. He’s on a Honda.”
Why do these propaganda techniques work? Why do so many of us buy the products, viewpoints, and candidates urged on us by propaganda message? They work because they appeal to our emotions, not to our minds. Often, in fact, they capitalize on our prejudices and biases. For example, if we are convinced that environmentalists are radicals who want to destroy America’s record of industrial growth and progress, then we will applaud the candidate who refers to them as “tree huggers.” Clear thinking requires hard work: analyzing a claim, researching the facts, examining both sides of an issue, using logic to see the flaws in an argument. Many of us would rather let the propagandists do our thinking for us.
Because propaganda is so effective, it is important to detect it and understand how it is used. We may conclude, after close examination, that some propaganda sends a truthful, worthwhile message. Some advertising, for instance, urges us not to drive drunk, to become volunteers, to contribute to charity. Even so, we must be aware that propaganda is being used. Otherwise, we will have consented to handing over to others our independence of thought and action.
Essay #4. (Reading-Based Definition Essay)
Due: November 17, 2009
Length: 2-3 pages
For the fourth essay assignment, you will read Propaganda Techniques in Today's Advertising by Ann McClintock. The essay is posted on our class Web site (you might want to print it out). Then pick an advertisement to analyze. Write an essay showing how the ad demonstrates three of her techniques (or other techniques you have observed). In your introduction, you should give the reader a detailed description of the advertisement and refer to McClintock and her article. Make sure you define the techniques you have chosen, and then demonstrate how your advertisement exemplifies them.
Source:
1. Portfolios, Fifth Ed., by John Langan.
Length: 2-3 pages
For the fourth essay assignment, you will read Propaganda Techniques in Today's Advertising by Ann McClintock. The essay is posted on our class Web site (you might want to print it out). Then pick an advertisement to analyze. Write an essay showing how the ad demonstrates three of her techniques (or other techniques you have observed). In your introduction, you should give the reader a detailed description of the advertisement and refer to McClintock and her article. Make sure you define the techniques you have chosen, and then demonstrate how your advertisement exemplifies them.
Source:
1. Portfolios, Fifth Ed., by John Langan.
Monday, October 26, 2009
Monday, October 12, 2009
Comma HW.
Please click here and write answers on separate sheet of paper (just write the letter of the correct answer).
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Run-ons & Fragments.
Subject & Predicate practice.
Run-on practice.
Fragment practice.
HW (write answers on separate piece of paper):
-Subjects & Predicates (just do #1-12).
-ROs.
-Fragments.
Run-on practice.
Fragment practice.
HW (write answers on separate piece of paper):
-Subjects & Predicates (just do #1-12).
-ROs.
-Fragments.
Monday, September 28, 2009
Essay #2: Descriptive Essay
Due: October 15, 2009
Length: 5 paragraphs
For the second essay assignment, I want you to focus your efforts on description. You will still have five paragraphs, a thesis, intro, body, and conclusion, but I will be looking for vivid descriptions in the writing. Choose one of the following options:
1. Write an essay about a particular time you faced an obstacle (in school or elsewhere). In your intro, give us some background about yourself or other relevant elements, but do not begin the story until the second paragraph. Your thesis, at the end of the first paragraph, should describe how you overcame the obstacle. Your conclusion should explain what you learned from your experience. In the middle paragraphs, you are describing the obstacle and how you overcame it.
2. Choose a place to describe. This can be your favorite place, your least favorite place, a place you go often, a place where you spend a lot of your time, a place that you have only seen once, a place that you never want to return to again, a place that holds happy or sad memories for you, or a place that you dream about. It can be your bedroom, your house, your classroom, a street corner, a beach, a library, a grocery store, a park, a museum, a city, or any other place you can think of. Again, your intro should give us some background on the place, and your thesis should describe what is distinctive about it or why you chose it (e.g. "The Bellagio is my favorite place because of the Italian marble, the people, and the fountains.")
3. Chose a person to describe. (see above)
Sources:
1. Portfolios, Fifth Ed., by John Langan.
2. click
Length: 5 paragraphs
For the second essay assignment, I want you to focus your efforts on description. You will still have five paragraphs, a thesis, intro, body, and conclusion, but I will be looking for vivid descriptions in the writing. Choose one of the following options:
1. Write an essay about a particular time you faced an obstacle (in school or elsewhere). In your intro, give us some background about yourself or other relevant elements, but do not begin the story until the second paragraph. Your thesis, at the end of the first paragraph, should describe how you overcame the obstacle. Your conclusion should explain what you learned from your experience. In the middle paragraphs, you are describing the obstacle and how you overcame it.
2. Choose a place to describe. This can be your favorite place, your least favorite place, a place you go often, a place where you spend a lot of your time, a place that you have only seen once, a place that you never want to return to again, a place that holds happy or sad memories for you, or a place that you dream about. It can be your bedroom, your house, your classroom, a street corner, a beach, a library, a grocery store, a park, a museum, a city, or any other place you can think of. Again, your intro should give us some background on the place, and your thesis should describe what is distinctive about it or why you chose it (e.g. "The Bellagio is my favorite place because of the Italian marble, the people, and the fountains.")
3. Chose a person to describe. (see above)
Sources:
1. Portfolios, Fifth Ed., by John Langan.
2. click
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Assignment #1: Narrative Essay:
Due: Sept. 24, 2009
Length: Five full paragraphs, typed.
For this assignment, you will have several options. Choose ONE, and do not combine:
1. Write an essay with an introduction, support, and a conclusion that describes a celebration (holiday, ceremony, special event, religious rite, etc.). Include a thesis that states why it was or will be important to you. Be sure to include vivid details in your supporting details.
2. Write an essay about a time in your life when you learned a valuable lesson. Provide background information to help the reader understand the setting. Your thesis will state what you learned. Tell the story in the supporting paragraphs.
3. Write an essay that tells about the best experience of your life. Your thesis should state what the experience was and its significance. Relate the story of that experience as support for your thesis.
*These assignments were taken from Portfolios, Fifth Ed., by John Langan.
Length: Five full paragraphs, typed.
For this assignment, you will have several options. Choose ONE, and do not combine:
1. Write an essay with an introduction, support, and a conclusion that describes a celebration (holiday, ceremony, special event, religious rite, etc.). Include a thesis that states why it was or will be important to you. Be sure to include vivid details in your supporting details.
2. Write an essay about a time in your life when you learned a valuable lesson. Provide background information to help the reader understand the setting. Your thesis will state what you learned. Tell the story in the supporting paragraphs.
3. Write an essay that tells about the best experience of your life. Your thesis should state what the experience was and its significance. Relate the story of that experience as support for your thesis.
*These assignments were taken from Portfolios, Fifth Ed., by John Langan.
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Syllabus and Schedule.
COLLEGE OF SOUTHERN NEVADA
COURSE: ENGLISH 098 PREPARATORY COMPOSITION
FALL 2009
COURSE: ENGLISH 098 PREPARATORY COMPOSITION
FALL 2009
Instructor: Ryan Flanagan
Materials:
-Words on Paper: Essays on American Culture for College Writers by DiNardo Hayes and Waltman
-Dictionary + thesaurus of your choice
Contact information: ryan.flanagan@yahoo.com
Office hours: See me or email for an appointment.
Class Web site: www.english098atCSN.blogspot.com
Course Description: English 098 Preparatory Composition
Intensive reading and writing course focusing on college level critical reading and essay writing strategies. This course was designed for students whose ACT or SAT scores indicate that they would benefit from an additional semester of English before beginning their college level work. Students who successfully complete English 098 with a grade of “C” or better will be eligible to enroll in English 100, 101, or 113.
Course Objectives:
Upon completion of this course, the Student will be able to:
1. Demonstrate critical reading skills by identifying the main idea, supporting points, and specific evidence in a variety of texts.
2. Plan, draft, revise, and proofread various types of essays written to support a well-developed thesis.
3. Create essays with appropriate introductions, well-developed body paragraphs, and appropriate concluding paragraphs with clear topic sentences and transitions.
4. Use correct sentence structure.
5. Apply Standard English conventions of grammar, mechanics, and vocabulary.
6. Use a word processor to type, spell check, revise, edit, save, and print a document.
Late Assignments:
Assignments will be penalized 5% for each additional day after the due date. Assignments may NOT be handed in more than two weeks after the due date without instructor approval.
Missed Tests and In-class Essays:
Quizzes and in-class writing may be made up upon instructor approval only.
Attendance, Absences, and Tardies:
Discussions and peer review sessions cannot be made up. If you must miss a class session, email me, preferably in advance, and then contact a classmate to get notes, handouts, and assignment sheets. If you are unavoidably late for class, please enter the room quietly and join the classroom activity. If you must leave class early for some reason, please speak with me before class. Lateness will affect your participation grade.
You are allowed two unexcused absences. Every unexcused absence thereafter will result in 5 points deducted from your final grade. More than four absences will be grounds for failing the class.
Plagiarism:
Plagiarism will not be tolerated and will result in a failing grade in this course, and could result in dismissal from the college. We will review plagiarism in class, but please see me if you are at any time unsure of what plagiarism is.
Students with Disabilities:
If you have a documented disability that may require assistance, you may contact the Disability Resource Center (DRC) for help with accommodations. The DRC is located in Student Services on all campuses, and the W. Charleston phone number is 651-5089.
For students who would like to earn some extra money, stop by the DRC to fill out a job interest card. The DRC hires note-takers, proctors, scribes, and research assistants on an as needed basis.
Course Requirements:
Performance evaluation (grading):
-Class participation: 10%
-Homework/Assignments/Quizzes: 15%
-Journals: 15%
-Essays: 60%
Quizzes:
May occur at ANY TIME, announced or unannounced.
Scale
A = 90 – 100%
B = 80 – 89%
C = 70 – 79%
D = 60 – 69%
F = Below 60%
Tutorial Services:
Each student may be entitled to free tutoring (pending funding). To apply for this service, go to the Tutorial Services Office. This may or may not be available due to budget cuts. It is up to the student to pursue this.
Peer Revisions:
Be aware that your writing will be read and scrutinized by others.
E-mailing Assignments:
I generally do not accept assignments via e-mail. However, if special circumstances permit and I allow you to send me an assignment via e-mail, I am not responsible if it never reaches me.
Weekly Schedule for English 098 (Tentative) – This will CHANGE according to course needs as the semester progresses. Do not rely on this schedule. You must come to class to know what the assignments are. This schedule is only to give you an idea of what to expect.
Week 1
“The Process of Good Writing” Chapter One pp. 3-20
Correction Symbols pp. 30 – 33
Sample Essay
A. A Few Tips Before You Begin
Week 2
Chapter Two, Three – Read sample essays in text
Rough Draft of Essay One – Choose a writing suggestion from p. 54.
Week 3
Chapter Three – The Parts of Speech p. 57
Insight – p. 55
Peer Review Essay One– p. 56
Week 4
Final Draft of Essay One Due
Chapter Four – Read sample essays in text
Rough Draft of Essay Two – Choose a writing suggestion from p. 89
Week 5
Chapter Four – Verbs p. 92
Insight – p. 90
Peer Review Essay Two– p. 91
Week 6
Final Draft of Essay Two Due
Chapter Four – Read sample essays in text
Rough Draft of Essay Three – Choose a writing suggestion from p. 135.
Week 7
Chapter Five – Commonly Confused Words p. 138
Insight – p. 135
Peer Review Essay Three– p. 136
Mid –Term: In-class Essay
Homonym exercises
Week 8
Final Draft of Essay Three Due
Chapter Five – Read Sample essays in text
Rough Drafts of Essay Four – Choose another writing suggestion from p. 135
Week 9
Chapter Six – Subject/Verb Agreement p. 171
Insight – p. 168
Peer Review Essay Four – p. 169
Read: A Story of Friendship
Week 10
Final Draft of Essay Four Due
Chapter Six – Read sample essays in text
Rough Drafts of Essay Five – Choose a writing suggestion from p. 168
Week 11
Chapter Seven – Spelling p. 214
Insight – p. 212
Peer Review Essay Five – 213
Week 12
Essay Five Due
Chapter Seven – Read sample essays from text
Rough Drafts of Essay Six – Choose a writing suggestion from p. 211
Chapter Eight – Basic Comma Rules p. 242
Insight – p. 240
Peer Review Essay Six – p. 241
Week 13
Chapter Eight – Read examples from text
Rough Drafts of Essay Seven – Choose a writing suggestion from page 269
Week 14
Chapter Eight – Citing Sources and Work Cited
In-sight – p. 272
Peer Review Essay Seven – p. 271
Week 15
Add Documentation and Work Cited to Essay 7
Week 16 Essay 7 Due
Final: In-class Essay
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