Friday, November 2, 2012

Friday, November 2, 2012--4:30 pm


Greetings,

Below you will find two documents:

1. Out of class essay assignment #2, assigned and explained in class today.

2. A revised syllabus for the remaining weeks of the semester. You are responsible for knowing about the adjustments on this revised syllabus.  The biggest change is that I have changed the in-class essay 2 into a take home assignment. 

I truly apologize, again, to those students who DID attend class today AND came prepared, having completed reading The Unwanted.  As you will note, we will be discussing the memoir on Monday in detail. Those students who have not completed reading might consider having it read by Monday. As I mentioned in class, I was really taken aback on Wednesday when there was such an outcry of students requesting that they be given longer to read the memoir. This has never happened before and indicates that some of you are not doing well with the time management challenges of college.


English 1A—Sections 88, 89 and 16
Fall, 2012—C. Fraga
Course Theme: THE SIGNIFICANCE OF HOME
OUT OF CLASS ESSAY ASSIGNMENT #3—100 POINTS POSSIBLE

Assigned: Friday, November 2
Optional Rough Draft due no later than: Wednesday, November 14
Final Draft Due: Wednesday, November 28

Basic Requirements: 
·      Times New Roman Font
·      MLA format
·      typed, double spaced
·      a Works Cited page with, at a minimum, the citation for the book you are using—The Unwanted or Made for You and Me.

There is NO outside research required for this assignment. However, you MAY use outside sources if you wish (book reviews; blogs; author interviews; etc.) Just keep in mind that I have read everything on the Internet available about both of these books.

For this assignment, you have a selection of several prompts. You will select only ONE and respond in a thoughtful, well-developed essay.

Your reading audience for this essay are readers who have read the book.

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The Unwanted: A Memoir of Childhood by Kien Nguyen

CHOICE #1.  SELECT A ‘CHARACTER’ FROM THE MEMOIR, THE UNWANTED. IN YOUR OPINION, WHAT CHARACTERISTICS (at least FOUR) ACCURATELY DESCRIBE THIS PERSON? FOR EVERY ASSERTION YOU MAKE ABOUT THIS PERSON, YOU MUST SUPPORT IT WITH AT LEAST THREE VERY SPECIFIC SUPPORTS FROM THE BOOK. THIS RESPONSE WILL BE EVALUATED CLOSELY ON YOUR ABILITY TO CRITICALLY ANALYZE AND SUPPORT YOUR ASSERTIONS LOGICALLY AND ARTICULATELY AND FULLY.

CHOICE #2: THIS MEMOIR REFLECTS A WEALTH OF VARIOUS THEMES/TOPICS, INCLUDING OUR SEMESTER-LONG THEME OF HOME. SELECT A MINIMUM OF THREE DIFFERENT THEMES THAT THE MEMOIR SUGGESTS TO YOU AND OFFER WELL DEVELOPED SUPPORT FROM THE BOOK TO DEFEND YOUR ASSERTIONS.

Made for You and Me by Caitlin Shetterley

CHOICE #3:Some will applaud Cait and Dan for the sheer audacity of their move and their fight to make things work.  Others may contend that their troubles, though unfortunate, were largely self-inflicted. Safe to say, few readers will be left unmoved.” This quote is an excerpt from a book review in the Portland Herald Press newspaper by Joan Silverman.
As a reader of Shetterley’s memoir, what is YOUR opinion? Do you lean towards being in awe of Shetterley’s sensibility and courage to go on her journey west? Or do you lean towards the attitude that overall, Caitlin and Dan’s problems were mostly ones they created for themselves? Or do you straddle the fence and “see” the situation from both sides?
Write an essay where you present your opinion and defend it thoughtfully in a balanced and well-supported response.

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Week Eleven:  (Nov. 5-9)
·      Discuss The Unwanted in class (Monday)
·      View film in class (Wednesday and Friday)
·      In Class Essay #2 is now a take home exam. It will be distributed to you on (Friday)
·      

Week Twelve:  (Nov. 12-16)
·      Monday, November 12, campus holiday—no classes.
·      Read Packet #7 (Wednesday)
·      Rough Draft due for out of class #3-OPTIONAL (Wednesday)
·      Take Home Exam (In class essay 2) due today (Wednesday)
·      Group Work #3 (Friday)

Week Thirteen:  (Nov. 19-23)
·      Sign up for Oral Presentations (Monday)
·   Group Work #4 (Monday)
·      (Wednesday) No class today. Have the best holiday.
·      Thanksgiving Holiday, Nov. 22 and 23, no classes held.

Week Fourteen (Nov. 26-30)
·      Read Packet #8 (Monday)
·      Out of class essay #3 due today (Wednesday)
·      Course Evaluation (Friday)

Week Fifteen (Dec. 3-7) LAST WEEK OF CLASSES
 Oral Presentations (Monday and Wednesday)
Grade Worksheet Check and last day of class (Friday)

Week Sixteen (Dec. 1--14) FINALS WEEK
There is no scheduled final exam for this class.

***A NOTE ABOUT REVISIONS***
Since this is a composition course, where the goal is to become a better writer and a more sophisticated thinker, you are invited to revise one of the three out of class essays. If you choose to revise an essay, the revision along with the original, is due no later than one week after you receive the graded essay back. You MUST highlight all changes and additions you make on your revised essay.










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