Last Chance!

Hello busy bees:  I have received a depressingly small number of submissions so far.  Just to remind you, time is running very short.  If you are having trouble, I will have one more round of office hours, tomorrow afternoon from 1-5.  I will have graded work with me (if you'd like to pick it up) and will be available to help if you are struggling with finishing.  So far, I've been pretty lonely during office hours--please, please take advantage of them if you need to. 

Write, write, write. 

Office Hours

Hello All:

12-1:50 on Wednesday is our final exam time.  Even though we will not be having a final exam, I will be in the classroom during this time.  Before that, I will be in my office in Foster Hall (112) from 10-12.

I will also be in the office from 3-5 tomorrow (Tuesday) and then 11-1 Thursday.  As I told you all earlier, I'm happy to have you visit to talk over Common Assignments, to pick up work, to turn in work, to check on grades.

If these times don't work for you, but you would like to see me, please shoot me an email and let me know.

Remember that I need ALL work by no later than Saturday night or so.  Please do not turn in both the Stelloh and Common Assignment papers Saturday night.  If you were all to do that, i would not be able to get grades finished in time . . .  

Questions?  Need help?  Email me.

A Few Notes

Hey all:  For those of you who were in class today--very good work!  And thank you for not being defensive.  Your willingness to let us look at your thesis statements and critique is helpful to EVERYONE!  And when you guys are open, it just makes it go so much better.  I also just wanted to soothe you all a little by saying that all the ways in which you feel like you aren't getting this are the ways in which ALL students feel they aren't getting it at this point.  It is normal!  So don't worry too much about it.  I was actually heartened by some of the conversation today--I know that you can do this.

In the meantime, I wanted to clarify a little.

1.  We'll do peer review on Friday.  If you don't want to make new copies of your Common Assignment, that is FINE.  Just bring what you had today.

2.  If you choose not to work on it between now and Friday, work on on the Stelloh essay.  But work on SOMETHING.  None of us have the luxury of not working on SOMETHING right now!

3.  I'm working on comments now.  I'll get them out as fast as I can between tonight and tomorrow.

4.  If you get stuck, don't stay stuck.  Email me and we'll try to get you unstuck.

Soldier on!  We're almost done.

Common Assignment Reminder

Your Common Assignment drafts will be due to me by email at midnight on Monday.  No exceptions.  If I don't get a draft by midnight, I will not offer you any comments.  We have a short time to get this turned around, so I need them in order to begin commenting.  (By the way, I will start doing that first thing Tuesday morning.  I have the whole day to myself in L.A. to find a coffeeshop and work on comments.)

Even if you are not completely finished, please send me what you do have so that you can at least get some sort of feedback.  Document as you go, since I will EXPECT to see a works cited page attached to your draft.

Email me with questions or problems or if you need me to look at your thesis.  I'm going to be available off and on.

Helpful Hint about Common Assignment Organization

Ultimately, the way that you decide to organize your Common Assignment is up to you.  But it is very easy for this essay to fit into a pretty standard kind of academic essay format.  Let's compare and contrast:

In the Stelloh summary/response essay, the assignment prompt suggested that you write the neutral and objective summary of the Stelloh article in the first part of the essay, followed by a transition into your response section, signaled by a mini-thesis. 

This is a slightly unusual format, only because it requires the reader to commit to reading a summary without knowing what the purpose of the summary is.  (That is, the reader does not really know what the paper is about until he or she gets to the middle of the paper when the mini-thesis is introduced.)

In a lot of traditional thesis-driven academic writing, it is more typical for a paper to begin with an introduction that introduces the topic of the paper and ends with the writer's argument in the form of a thesis statement. 

Then, if there is something that requires background or summary, the writer will step back from that argument, and provide the objective and neutral summary or background that will help the reader become more oriented to the topic.  This seems odd to many college writers because it means slipping out of the argumentative mode into the neutral mode.  Again, look at this from the perspective of the reader.  The reader now clearly understands why he or she is reading the summary or background and can anticipate that an argument will follow. 

After the writer has provided adequate summary and background, he or she will transition into the argument itself, now much more understandable to the reader because the reader has the knowledge required to follow it. 

This second model is probably the easiest, and perhaps most effective, way to structure the Common Assignment. 

Thesis Statements

Now that you have written a thoughtful summary of Gopnik's argument, spend some time reading and thinking about the research from the annotated bibliography.  Looking at the assignment prompt for the Common Assignment, craft a careful thesis statement that will form the basis for your Common Assignment essay.  A successful thesis will:

1.  State an argument (that is, something that a reader could reasonably argue with).  

2.  Focus the argument appropriately on Gopnik's article.

3.  Somehow note that your argument will be supported by research.  (For instance, you may consider using a phrase like, "research will show that" or "the articles ________________ and _________________ lend credence to Gopnik's assertion that . . . "  Or "authors _____________ and ______________ challenge Gopnik's argument by . .  .")

4.  Be arguable in 5-6 pages.  

5.  Answer the assignment as outlined in the prompt.  

**Although I had thought it was going to be possible for me to get by without a computer while in L.A., I realized that it just wasn't going to happen.  SO--I do have a computer and reliable internet.  In between hanging out with my nieces and nephew and spending time at the Happiest Place On Earth, I'll be working.  SO--once you have a thesis, feel free to run it by me.  Send me an email with your intro, or just your thesis, and I'll send you something back with some ideas/suggestions.  

Annotated Bibliographies

I will continue to add to this page.  Check back here.  Also, if you are having a hard time seeing any of these, let me know that as well.

Gender/Sexuality (Face to Face)   Fall 2013

Institutionalization (Face to Face)  Fall 2013

Prison Spending (Face to Face)   Fall 2013

Race in Prisons (Face to Face)   Fall 2013

International (Online)   Fall 2013

Prison Gangs (Online)   Fall 2013

Prison Life (Face to Face)   Fall 2013

Prison Life (Online)   Fall 2013

Prison Rape (Online)    Fall 2013

Privitization (Online)   Fall 2013

Privitization (Online)   Fall 2013

Race (Online)   Fall 2013

Rehabilitation (Online)   Fall 2013

Rehabilitation (Online)   Fall 2013

Rehabilitation (Online)   Fall 2013

Solitary (Online)   Fall 2013

Solitary (Online)     Fall 2013

Women in Prison  Spring 2014 (your class)

Aspects of Criminal Justice  Spring 2014 (your class)

Drugs in Prison  Spring 2014 (your class)

International Perspective  Spring 2014 (your class)

Schedule Updates

Schedule for the rest of the term:

Wednesday, May 28:  Group work and presentations
Friday, May 30:  Presentations (Annotations due by email to Kristin sometime on Friday)

Monday, June 2:  Discuss Gopnik
Wednesday, June 4:  Bring in 2 copies of your Gopnik summary (2-2.5 pages)  Peer Review
Friday, June 6:  Thesis workshop (bring in a thesis statement if you have one!  I will give extra credit for sharing)

Monday, June 9:  NO CLASS--Finish Common Assignment.  **Due to Kristin by email by midnight  (Essays submitted after midnight will not receive credit)
Wednesday, June 11:  Bring 3 copies of your finished Common Assignment for peer review
Friday, June 13:  TBA

Wednesday, June 18:  Common Assignment due by email (5 pm) or in person to Kristin (office hours coming soon)

Common Assignment Prompt

For your third and final formal writing assignment in ENGL 101, you are asked to consider Adam Gopnik’s "The Caging of America," an article in the January 30, 2012 New Yorker. Using your own reading and understanding of the Gopnik article, along with your own research and the research of your peers, you will write a 5-6 page critique of Gopnik’s argument. This paper should:

1. Provide a thorough and accurate summary of the Gopnik article (including a clear statement of Gopnik's thesis.)

2. Contain an arguable thesis and build an argument to support that thesis.

3. Utilize (through the strategies of paraphrase, summary, and quotation) 3-4 credible, college-level sources, including the Gopnik article.

4. Document all sources fully and correctly both in text and on a works cited page. Use signal phrases and embedding strategies to indicate use of and evaluations of research.

5. Demonstrate academic conventions using Standard English, an awareness of an academic or professional audience, and a logical organizational plan.

The thesis of your essay should either address the way in which your research supports Gopnik's argument or the way in which your research suggests deficiencies. Is there something that Gopnik has not taken into account? Is there research that would further support what Gopnik is trying to argue? Is there research that Gopnik has misunderstood or misrepresented? Use your research and your own reading to test the argument Gopnik makes.

We will workshop working thesis statements for these papers on Friday, June 6.  You will begin this process by writing your summary of Gopnik. This should be no longer than about 2-2 1/2 pages. Bring completed summaries with you to class on Wednesday, June 4 for a peer review activity.  This will help you better understand and process the Gopnik article. In the meantime, it will give you time to think about how you want to engage Gopnik in conversation. Write your thesis AFTER you have written the summary.

First drafts will be due by email to Kristin NO LATER than midnight on Monday, June 9.  Please bring 3 copies of the essay with you to class on  June 11 for peer review. 

Final drafts can be turned in by 5 pm on Wednesday, June 18 in person (I will post office hours for that day) or by email. I will not take any final drafts after 5pm on Wednesday, June 18. 

For Monday: Gopnik

I am looking forward to reading your film reviews!  That's my homework for the weekend.

For You:

For Monday's class, please read "The Caging of America" by Adam Gopnik.  At least once (preferably a couple of times) and prepare very careful and exhaustive notes.  You may use the technique of a double-entry journal (explanation found here) or Cornell notes (explanation here).  Our entire class on Monday will be focused on this reading.  If you have not done it, you may as well not come to class. But don't you dare not come to class.  If you miss class on Monday, you will miss assignment of a group for the annotated bibliography and presentations.  You will be very, very confused and behind.  

This Gopnik reading is at the center of everything we will be doing for the rest of the term. 

Schedule for this Week and Next. Paper Comments

Paper comments are done and on their way back to you via email.  If you have not received yours yet, be patient, they will come sometime after class today.

This week's schedule:  

Monday--Watch Frontline Program.  Discuss uses of ethos/pathos/logos.  Begin talking about revision.

Wednesday--Finish revision.  Work on revision plans for the film review.

Friday--Quiz--Review modifiers and parallelism (read RFW 35-40).  Quiz on revision/modifiers and parallelism.  Introduction of Gopnik.  Introduction of dialectical notes.  Film review due to Kristin via email by midnight Friday night. 

Next week's schedule:

Monday- Introduction to research group project and Common Assignment.  Topics/logisitics/group assignments for annotations and annotated bibliographies.  Research strategies.  Read RFW 420-437; 437-447 and handout on annotations by class time.  ALSO, be sure that you have read Gopnik and started taking dialectical notes.    

Wednesday--meet in library for research/group work.

Friday--meet in library for research/group work.

Looking ahead:  

Rewrites of your essay one (Stelloh) will be due on Wednesday, May 28th.  (After Memorial Day).

Reminders for Friday

1.  There will be a quiz.  Agreement (see the reading assignment for April 24) and rhetoric. 

2.  Peer review letters are due.  Remember that you will be doing TWO and that you need TWO copies of each letter (one for writer one.  one for writer two.  two for me)  Those of you who were prepared with a paper and with 3 copies today will be rewarded richly.

3.  For those of you who did not turn in a draft today, do so ASAP.  Before the weekend for sure.  And contact me if there is a problem. 

4.  Revised schedule on Friday or Monday.  We'll have a good, solid revision week next week. 

RE: EMAILS (Important!)

Hey guys.  A quick update.  I haven't forgotten about you.  However, I think that I have left CHL summaries in a locked office.  I'm going to try to go track them down now, but there is a chance that I won't actually be able to access them until tomorrow.  This doesn't help you guys.  SO--

Whether I can get them out to you today or not, let's extend the due date for the second essay (the film review) to Wednesday.  Don't look at this as a reprieve.  If you are smart, you will go ahead and finish it up for tomorrow and then revisit it before turning it in on Wednesday.

If I am able to get them today, I'll still send them out.  But the Wednesday due date stands.

Hope that's clear.  Sorry for the mistake--it is totally mine.  I know that I owe the rubric for the assignment too--

Cool Hand Luke Summary

Of course, the summary is not due tomorrow, since we haven't finished the film.  But I would like you all to try to write a short 1-1 1/2 page of the film after you have seen it.  Do not spend a ton of time on this--limit yourself to a half hour or so.  But DO try to follow the guidelines given in the "Writing about Film Conventions" post here on the blog.  This is good practice for your film review this weekend.  Bring these to class with you on Friday!

Films for Essay Two

For essay two, you must write about a film on this list.  You may NOT write about Cool Hand Luke. 

Films about prison, maybe not surprisingly, tend to be fairly dark.  They also often include violent and sexually explicit materials.  If this is something that you would like to avoid as much as possible, I encourage you to read summaries/reviews of films you might be interested in before you view them.  You can find reviews and summaries through IMDB.com and RottenTomatoes.com.  I am also glad to tell you what I know about these films.

            You can find films in a variety of places.  The Clark College library does have a small selection of films.  The pubic libraries do as well.  There are several places on line (including Netflix, Blockbuster, YouTube, Hulu.)  If you are having trouble finding a film, please let me know. 

Animal Factory      2000 94m R

Cell 211  (Spanish)     2000 113m R

Escape from Alcatraz     1979 112m PG

Shawshank Redemption     1994 142m R

Dog Pound     2010 91m NR

The Green Mile     1999 189m R

The Escapist     2008 102m NR

Hunger     2008 96m NR

In the Name of the Father     1993 133m R

Chopper     2000 94m NR

American History X     1998 119m R

Gridiron Gang     2006 125m PG-13

Get the Gringo     2012 96m R

Papilion   1973 151m R

The Experiment   (German)     2001 120m NR

                        (American)     2010 96m R

The Longest Yard     1973 121m R

                            2005 113m PG-13

On the Yard     1978 102m R

Stir Crazy     1980 111m R

Dead Man Walking     1995 122m R

Control     2004 101m R

The Exonerated     2005 95m (tv movie)

There are relatively few films about women in prison that are not exploitation films.  If this is something that you are interested in, you might try to find:

Crossed Over 2002 90m (tv movie)

Last Dance 1996 103m R

Johnny Greyeyes 2001 75m NR

There are many really good, interesting documentary films about prison.  They can be found on Netflix or on free sites like YouTube, Documentary Storm, or TopDocumentaryFilms.com.  If you would like to review a doc, please okay it with me first.  (And, if you think you would like to take this option, I’m glad to make recommendations as well.) 

Essay Two

Essay Two Prompt

Analytical Film Review

For your second formal essay assignment, you will choose a film from posted list and write a 4 page summary and analytical review of that film based on the film’s overall treatment of issues around incarceration.  Additionally, you will identify an audience for your essay and will tailor your summary, analysis, evaluation, and language to that audience.  

In order to evaluate the film’s statement about prisons/prison life, you will need to consider the purpose of the film and the audience for whom the film has been produced.  You are expected to explicitly discuss issues and provide evidence to support the purpose and audience that you identify.

Purpose:  To sharpen summary writing skills.  To practice film analysis, including the use of the conventions of writing about film.  To identify an audience and make rhetorical choices about how best interact with that audience.  To gain experience making an evaluation based on the application of thoughtful criteria to an art object (in this case, film).  

Essay guidelines:  Your introduction should engage your audience, explain what you are writing about (give pertinent information about your film), and assert a thesis.  In this case, your thesis will likely be an evaluation of the film, based on the entertainment value for your particular audience, as well as the film’s handling of the issues related to this class (how is jail/prison portrayed?  How are those who are incarcerated characterized?  How is the administration characterized?  What does the film say about the role of guards or prison staff? etc.). 

Summarize the film briefly and fully, for the benefit of a reader who has not yet seen the film.  Give as much information as necessary for the reader to be able to understand the discussion of the film that follows.

Analyze the film.  Each body paragraph (after intro and summary) should begin with a topic sentence that clearly connects to and supports your thesis.  Each paragraph should 1) identify an element of the film (content, visual, audio) that contributes to its overall meaning, 2) briefly describe (or refer back to your previous description) of the elements to establish a context for your readers, and 3) explain HOW the element conveys or contributes to the central meaning of the text.  Answering the HOW part is crucial to your analysis.  It is not enough to just identify the characteristics; you must also discuss how these characteristics contribute to the message or meaning of the film as a whole.

Evaluate the film.  Consider how the film treats the subject the prison system.  Look at the portrayal of those in prison.  Look at the way that characters react to the incarcerated.  Evaluate the film’s treatment of the prison establishment (administration, guards, doctors,  institutions, etc.).  Does the film respect the incarcerated?  Does it make fun of the incarcerated?  What does the film seem to be saying about the position of the incarcerated in society?  Does the film perpetuate stereotypes about the incarcerated?  Are these stereotypes harmful?  Why or why not? 

You do not have to answer all of these questions in your evaluation nor are they the only questions you may consider.  This is merely a list to get you thinking about the messages the film sends about prison and the institutions related to it.

Conclude the essay by providing a general discussion of your evaluation of the film based on its treatment of prisoners and the prison system.  Connect your evaluation to your intended audience.  Lead the reader out of the essay.

Format the essay according to the guidelines in the syllabus and the MLA section of your handbook.  DO NOT forget to attach a works cited page that credits the source you are analyzing. 

Essay assessment:  Your first draft is due on Monday, May 5.  Please bring 3 copies with you to class.  Your second draft should be turned in  on Wednesday, May 14 with a clean copy of the revised paper, peer review materials, and the copy of the first draft with instructor comments.  Papers will not be graded without all of these documents. 

Slight Technological Problems

So, let's try this again.  I'm posting the materials for your second essay.  I will bring drafts of first essay (and peer review) to class today.  We'll do a quick lesson on run ons and fragments and then start the film.

News on Textbooks

For those of you who bought Everything's an Argument:  

The bookstore has now taken it off my list and will take back copies (at full price) with your receipt.   Try to get this done as soon as you can. 

And thank you for your patience! 

Essay One Prompt

1)  Begin by writing a 1-2 page summary of the essay "California’s Great Prison Experiment" by Tim Stelloh and published in The Nation. Assume that your readers have not read the essay, but are intelligent and naturally curious about and interested in reading about it.  In the first paragraph, please include:  1) a one-sentence thesis statement that sums up the main point of the source.  In this case, the "thesis" will not be YOUR main point; it will be the point of your source.  You really want this statement to help the reader understand what the writer is trying to convey to the reader (the argument) and why (the purpose).  2) An introduction to the source including its title, the name of the author, any pertinent background information about the author that you would like to add.   (You can find information about the writer or the place of publication—The Nation—by Googling!)  

In the body (either one or two paragraphs), you want to paraphrase and condense the original source.  Be sure that you 1) include important data but leave out minor points.  2) Include a few of the supporting details (examples, illustrations, discussions, pieces of evidence) used by the essay's author to give a more complete impression of his approach to the material.  3) Resist offering any of your own opinions, evaluations, metaphors, ideas.  The summary should be completely focused on reporting to your audience what the author has written.  4) Attempt to capture some of the tone and style of the original essay.  The best way to do this is to use some of the writer's own words.  To that end, use at least one direct quotation in the summary.  The quotation should be surrounded by quotation marks and should be preceded by a signal phrase to introduce the quotation.

There is no need to conclude the summary.  When you are done writing, just stop.  

2)  Once you have written a summary of the article, you are going to be asked to expand this piece of writing to also include a personal response.  Begin by considering your reaction to the article.  You may ask yourself:

Do you agree or disagree with any of the points made by Stelloh, based on your own experiences?
What one or two points did you find compelling and why?
Which supporting point stood out the most and why?
Are you convinced by the argument?  Why or why not?
Can you relate any of your personal experience to this topic?
Is there anything that you think that Stelloh is not considering in his treatment of this topic?

After you have considered these questions, please develop a "mini-thesis."  This mini-thesis should be something that you can discuss for about 1 1/2 to 2 pages (probably 3-4 strong paragraphs).  The idea should be focused and coherent.  Use evidence from the essay and/or evidence from your own experience to support the mini-thesis.

3)  Your finished essay should begin with your summary of the article. You should provide a clear transitional sentence into the response section of the paper--this should smoothly connect the summary to the response and should also provide a focus (your mini-thesis) for the response part of the essay.

The finished essay should be 3-4 pages, perfectly formatted (in MLA style), thoughtful and coherent, and carefully proofread.  You will turn in a first draft for comments and peer review on Wednesday, April 16.  Please bring 2 copies to class with you.  After peer review and instructor comments, you’ll revise and turn in a draft for grading on Monday, April 28. 

This purpose of this first essay is to emphasize reading strategies, to work on academic summary skills, to practice making connections between your experience and understand and those of others, and to produce a focused and developed analytical response to a reading. 

Welcome to the Spring 2014 ENGL 101 blog.  Be sure to check back regularly for links, course info, and assignments.

For Wednesday, April 9, please read the selections from Rules for Writers indicated in your syllabus and:

"California's Great Prison Experiment" by Tim Stelloh, found here.  And take notes, in the style of your choosing.

Please let me know if you have trouble accessing this.