Monday evening, February 28th, around 11 pm

Greetings...below are copies of the two handouts I distributed in class today--Final Editing of Essay 1 AND a list of transitional words and phrases. Remember, if you are absent, you are responsible for the information you missed. You may want to ask a fellow student for information I discussed NOT on these handouts.
See you Wednesday.


English 20--C. Fraga
Thinking about the Final Editing of Out of Class Essay #1
Reminders:
• No ‘you’ and ‘your’ in formal essay writing.
• No contractions in formal essay writing.
• More than a few mechanical and sentence level errors seriously affects the success and readability of your essay. How to avoid careless errors? PROOFREAD.
• Use interesting and vivid verbs.
• Learn the difference between then & than, effect & affect, past & passed.
• Proofread v. carefully for unacceptable errors.
• SPELLCHECK IS NOT ALWAYS YOUR FRIEND.
• Avoid commonly used words such as nice, good, bad, great, wonderful, etc.
• Proofread to catch errors in tense (tense shifts).
• Read your essay aloud, slowly, to hear errors often not detected when reading silently. (in particular, errors in repetitiveness become distracting and irritating quite quickly)
• Vary sentence beginnings and sentence lengths.
• Write in present tense as much as possible. (In this movie, Ariel, the youngest princess under the sea, was unhappy with her life. Should be IS unhappy with her life.)
• Do not write in the manner that you speak.

COMMA SPLICE
Home does not always have to be a place, it can be the memories that a person experiences that define their childhood.

Home for these men all signifies something different, for the father it’s a place of stability where he has control.

WORDINESS
On the other hand, we have songwriters who through their song lyrics showcase battery, fear and strength within the home.

Better:
On the other hand, some songwriters showcase battery, fear and strength within the home.

I feel that families have a great impact on our experiences of home.

Better:
Families have a monumental impact on our experiences of home.

These country-western songs about home reveal many of the various aspects of home. These songs reveal that home is somewhere we feel a sense of belonging, familiarity, and ownership.

Better:
These country-western songs define home as a place where we feel a sense of belonging, familiarity and ownership.

About Conclusions:
Do NOT simply re-word and/or re-phrase what you wrote in your introduction paragraph. It is an insult to the reader. In a short essay, the reader will not forget the overall premise of your essay.

You do, of course, want to refer to your thesis but your remarks should be more complex and qualified than the version in your introduction. In the end, readers may not agree with you, but they should know why the issue and your argument matter.

You are addressing the question, “so what?” What was the purpose for writing the essay? Why is it significant?

******************************************************************

English 20, C. Fraga-------------------Examples of Transitions:
Illustration
Thus, for example, for instance, namely, to illustrate, in other words, in particular, specifically, such as.

Contrast
On the contrary, contrarily, notwithstanding, but, however, nevertheless, in spite of, in contrast, yet, on one hand, on the other hand, rather, or, nor, conversely, at the same time, while this may be true.

Addition
And, in addition to, furthermore, moreover, besides, than, too, also, both-and, another, equally important, first, second, etc., again, further, last, finally, not only-but also, as well as, in the second place, next, likewise, similarly, in fact, as a result, consequently, in the same way, for example, for instance, however, thus, therefore, otherwise.

Time
After, afterward, before, then, once, next, last, at last, at length, first, second, etc., at first, formerly, rarely, usually, another, finally, soon, meanwhile, at the same time, for a minute, hour, day, etc., during the morning, day, week, etc., most important, later, ordinarily, to begin with, afterwards, generally, in order to, subsequently, previously, in the meantime, immediately, eventually, concurrently, simultaneously.

Space
At the left, at the right, in the center, on the side, along the edge, on top, below, beneath, under, around, above, over, straight ahead, at the top, at the bottom, surrounding, opposite, at the rear, at the front, in front of, beside, behind, next to, nearby, in the distance, beyond, in the forefront, in the foreground, within sight, out of sight, across, under, nearer, adjacent, in the background.

Concession
Although, at any rate, at least, still, though, even though, granted that, while it may be true, in spite of, of course.

Similarity or Comparison
Similarly, likewise, in like fashion, in like manner, analogous to.

Emphasis
Above all, indeed, truly, of course, certainly, surely, in fact, really, in truth, again, besides, also, furthermore, in addition.

Details
Specifically, especially, in particular, to explain, to list, to enumerate, in detail, namely, including.

Examples
For example, for instance, to illustrate, thus, in other words, as an illustration, in particular.

Consequence or Result
So that, with the result that, thus, consequently, hence, accordingly, for this reason, therefore, so, because, since, due to, as a result, in other words, then.

Summary
Therefore, finally, consequently, thus, in short, in conclusion, in brief, as a result, accordingly.

Suggestion
For this purpose, to this end, with this in mind, with this purpose in mind, therefore.

Sunday evening, Feb. 28th

Hello,

(I SO wanted Black Swan to win Best Picture...sigh....)

Here are a few very reputable sites online to locate MLA documentation guidelines:

Purdue Online Writing Lab
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/01/

EasyBib
http://www.easybib.com/

Hope this is helpful!
See you tomorrow.

Saturday early evening, February 26

Hi there,
just a quick note to ask all of you who submitted rough drafts to me...
if you could remember, please attach it to the back of your final draft when you submit on Wednesday.
Thanks!

Friday evening, February 25th

Greetings!

A special thank you to everyone who braved the rain and hail and wind to attend class this morning!

As you will note on the course outline, Monday is labeled a "lecture" day...

I will be providing a checklist of sorts as you complete your final editing and proofreading for Out of Class Essay #1, due on Wednesday.

I have read several rough drafts and I want to share my observations and comments with all students.

See you Monday! Enjoy the weekend. Be safe.

Monday, February 12, early evening

Greetings!

It has come to my attention that there are a few students--not many, but enough to have me a little concerned--that for various reasons, are not checking the blog frequently.

I do not really think that your computer crashing is a decent excuse. The blog address is on the course outline--all of you should have a hard copy of it which I distributed the first day of classes. If you have lost your hard copy, then please print out another copy from the blog as soon as possible, in case you need to refer to it.

I also do not feel that the blog address is a difficult one to memorize! :-)

And...there is that handy class contact list you have in such a case like this.

All this to say, there really are very few students who fall into this category, but enough that I felt that a friendly reminder was in order!

Enjoy your evening and I will see you on Wednesday.

Sunday, Feb. 20, late afternoon

Hello,

As you follow the course outline, you will note that Reading Packet #2 is due to be completed by Wednesday, Feb. 23.
The material you are to read for Packet #2 can be found at the following link:

http://www.drugpolicy.org/drugwar/

Please read "What's Wrong with the Drug War?"

At the end of the article, there is an invitation that reads:
"Visit these pages to see how the drug war affects all aspects of our lives."

There is a list of choices. Please click on and read the following three:

--Drug War Funding
--Economics
--Alternatives to Prohibition

Be sure to bring copies of the reading to class.

Friday evening, February 18th

Hello everyone,
thanks for the get well wishes...I am finally feeling a whole lot better this evening.
And just to re-cap...
1. In class Writing Response #2 is due in class on Monday.
2. If you wish to email me your rough draft of out of class essay 1 this weekend, please do.
3. We will be watching episode 3 of Breaking Bad in class on Monday.
See you then!

1017 pm on Thursday, Feb. 17th

Hello, after much anxiety, I have decided that we can cancel class tomorrow, Friday, without a huge problem occurring in the class schedule. I kept thinking I would feel BETTER by now...but I think that giving myself tomorrow and through the weekend is the wisest. Again, I am so sorry for such a late notice. I can honestly say I have not cancelled classes for YEARS due to illness...so I suppose I was overdue...:-)
Have a very wonderful and safe weekend.

almost 10 pm on Tuesday evening, Feb. 15

Hello,
I truly apologize for such late notice and realize that some of you may not read this in time. I have hoped I would feel a lot better with resting most of the day, but I actually feel worse. I am going to cancel class tomorrow, Wednesday, Feb. 16th. I am attaching below the In Class Writing Response 2. Please complete and bring to class on Friday. Please take no longer than about 35 to 40 minutes to write the response. And again, I really do not like to cancel class, and if I have to, I never like to give you such late notice. See you Friday.

A. J. Jacobs’ Year of Living Biblically (video on TED Talks)

At the very beginning of his talk, Mr. Jacobs tells his viewers that he sees his life as a series of experiments. He continues by explaining why he chose to live his life as best he could (for a year) by taking everything written in the Bible literally. He offers many examples to clearly indicate how the task of living by the Bible, literally, proved extremely challenging and in many cases, impossible. He concludes his talk by relating some of the valuable lessons he learned from this experiment. One of these lessons is “thou shalt pick and choose” – put another way, live life in “cafeteria style.”

Briefly, but specifically, address the following three questions:

1. What does Jacobs mean when he recommends living life in “cafeteria style?”
2. Do you believe Jacobs’ year-long commitment to living biblically gives value to his recommendation to live life in a “cafeteria style”? Why or why not?
3. Do you believe Jacobs’ experiment was a well balanced and valuable one? Why or why not?

Saturday, February 12

Hello!

as promised in class on Friday, here is Reading Packet #1, due to be completed by Wednesday, February 16th..

The actual "packet'' is really not something to read but something to watch--an approximately 17 minute video presentation on TED talks. The link is below, as well as a short "blurb" about the speaker.

A. J. Jacobs, I believe, can be considered in the category of nonconformist. He certainly has a unique and interesting way of going about living and asking questions in order to live the best, most genuine life possible. Please arrive to class on
Wednesday having viewed this presentation. I recommend that you take notes while viewing so you can recall key points for class discussion and for an in class writing response.

http://www.ted.com/talks/a_j_jacobs_year_of_living_biblically.html

A.J. Jacobs' writings stand at the intersection of philosophy, Gonzo journalism and performance art. Stubbornly curious and slyly perceptive, he takes immersive learning to its irrational and profoundly amusing extreme -- extracting wisdom and meaning after long stints as a self-styled guinea pig. For his widely circulated Esquire article, My Outsourced Life, he explored the phenomenon of outsourcing by hiring a team in Bangalore, India to take care of every part of his life -- from reading his emails to arguing with his wife to reading bedtime stories to his own son. A previous article, I Think You're Fat, chronicled a brief, cringe-inducing attempt to live his life in Radical Honesty, telling all the truth, all the time.


Jacobs is author of The Know-It-All, which documents the year he spent reading the Encyclopedia Britannica from A to Z, uncovering both funny and surprising factoids but also poignant insight into history and human nature. In 2007 he released The Year of Living Biblically, he attempted to follow every single rule in the Bible as literally as possible for an entire year. His latest book, My Life as an Experiment, is a collection of numerous personal experiments including living according to George Washington's rules of conduct, outsourcing every single task to India, and posing as a woman on an online dating site.


"A. J. Jacobs has written about the Bible in a manner that is brilliantly funny but unerringly respectful, learned but goofy, deeply personal yet highly relevant. I am covetous and wish him smited."
Mary Roach, author, Bonk

Wednesday evening, February 9th, 9 pm

Greetings--

Below you will find a copy of Out of Class Essay Assignment #1, distributed in class today.

Please note the date change on the due date for the optional rough draft.

It is actually Wednesday the 23rd, not the 16th, as I originally corrected in class today.

In other words, you have up until the 23rd to submit a rough draft to me. It will be returned to you on the following class session.

See you Friday.



English 20, Sections 1, 4, 7, and 11
Spring 2011
Catherine Fraga, Instructor

Out of Class Essay Assignment #1—200 points possible

Assigned: Wednesday February 9
OPTIONAL Rough Draft due (typed): no later than Wednesday, February 23
Final Draft Due: Wednesday March 2

(You have a total of three weeks to work on this essay. The quality of your final effort should reflect the time you were given.)

Let’s take a closer look at the issue of conformity/non-conformity.

The most interesting, focused and articulate essays I receive from students are ones where the students select their own specific topic and are genuinely intrigued by the topic.

The following prompts allow for a wealth of flexibility and choice. Your focus will be on art, literature or film. (or perhaps a different area than these three…see below) You will select one prompt only.

Voices against Conformity

Focus: the 1950s (or a time period of your choice)—

Premise: Many in the 1950s worked diligently for the comfort and conformity displayed on such TV shows as Father Knows Best and Leave it to Beaver. But regardless of the affluence of the new American middle class, there was still poverty, racism and alienation in America rarely depicted on TV.

Dozens of people rejected societal norms through their artwork, creativity and lifestyle. They used words, art, film and music to rebel against the cookie-cutter mentality of the established power structure and mass-marketed culture.

Prompt One:
Many writers during this time period (referred to as the Beat Generation) adamantly refused to submit to the conformity of the 1950s. (these writers included Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg, Diane Di Prima, Sloan Wilson, J.D. Salinger, William Burroughs, and others) Select at least one writer from this era and write an essay in which you provide the following:

• a brief history of the country’s mood;
• background and details about the writer and his/her work;
• the impact of this writer’s work on readers and critics at that time;
• how the work challenged the status quo; and
• the repercussions/influences of the writing today.

Your essay will be both informative and analytical: your thesis will prove the value and influence of the writing, or not, on people’s lives, then and now.


Prompt Two:
Many artists during this time period adamantly refused to submit to the conformity of the 1950s. (these artists included Willem De Kooning, Hans Hoffman, Mark Rothko, Jackson Pollock, Clement Greenberg, and others) Select an artist from this era and write an essay in which you provide:

• a brief history of the country’s mood;
• background and details about the artist and his/her work;
• the impact of these artist’s work on viewers and critics at that time;
• how the work challenged the status quo; and
• the repercussions/influences of the artist’s work today.

Your essay will be both informative and analytical: your thesis will prove the art’s value and influence, or not, on people’s lives, then and now.

Prompt Three:
According to an Internet article on Conformity in U.S. History: “While the 1950s silver screen lit up mostly with the typical Hollywood fare of Westerns and romances, a handful of films shocked audiences by uncovering the dark side of America’s youth.”

Many filmmakers of this time period adamantly refused to submit to the conformity of the 1950s. (these films include The Wild One; Blackboard Jungle; Rebel without a Cause, etc) Select at least one filmmaker from this era and write an essay in which you provide:

• a brief history of the country’s mood;
• background and details about the filmmaker, his/her films, and their themes;
• the impact of this work on viewers and critics at that time;
• how the work challenged the status quo;
• and the repercussions and influence of the filmmaker’s work today.

Your essay will be both informative and analytical: your thesis will prove the filmmaker’s value and influence, or not, on people’s lives, then and now.

OTHER WAYS “INTO” AN ESSAY ON CONFORMITY/NONCORMITY:

1. you may want to focus on non conformity in a different era; for example, the 1960s (hippie movement, free love, etc.) might garner some interest in a particular area of fashion, photography, film, literature, music, art, or?

2. you may want to focus on non conformity in a different AREA not mentioned above…such as politics, sex, professional sports, or?


Things to Consider:

This is NOT an essay in which you write an in depth analysis of the literature, film, music or art of the time period you are focused on. To do that, you would need to carefully read, view, listen or view the works at great length.

Instead, you are conducting research to discover the mood of the country and the status quo during a particular time period—background about a non conforming artist/writer/filmmaker/musician—why and how his/her work was considered non conformist—and how his/her work influenced those living then…and now.

Your thesis might read something like this:

Although 1950s America appeared to be almost unrealistically content, many artists—specifically Jackson Pollock-- successfully combated the blissful charade by successfully using innovative methods and themes in his work.

Tuesday afternoon, February 8, 2011

Greetings,
as the course outline indicates, you will attend class on Friday having skimmed and read the pages noted.

As a previous blog informed you, the Sac State Student Handbook is now available on line.

If you chose NOT to purchase the book and instead, access it on line, you may do the same in class on Friday. So feel free to bring your laptop if possible. If you have the book, you will want to bring it to class.

The quiz (that you will most likely have) will be based on the contents of the pages assigned to read.
See you tomorrow.

Friday afternoon, February 4th

Hello,
As you probably figured, the first episode of Breaking Bad is a bit longer than the other episodes. It is 58 minutes in length.
(Unfortunately, due to technical difficulties, the 8 am class missed more than just 8 minutes...!!!)

Monday's episode is 49 minutes, which is perfect, if we did not have a bit of episode one left to view. If possible, it would be best to view the rest of episode 1 on your own. You can do this for free if you go to Amazon.com and search for Breaking Bad, Season 1, Episode 1. If you have any trouble, let me know. It should work fine.

As promised last week, here is a sample Character Study Journal.

Below is a sample Character Study Journal entry for Episode One. Last semester, a few students asked for a sample. It is in no way the ONLY approach one can take. Each of your entries will be different than another's. Likewise, as you continue to watch episodes, your observations about one character will take over your observations of others. These are just my observations and the details that I chose to record.

CHARACTER STUDY JOURNAL--BREAKING BAD--SEASON 1, EPISODE 1

Opening scene: desert--sirens in distance. Almost naked man driving a motor home crazily. He wears a protective mask. Stops, exits vehicle. Very distraught. Records a video message to family, some kind of suicide note.

Flashback: 3 weeks earlier. Same man (Walter?) wakes up. 50th birthday. Wife (Skyler, pregnant) makes healthy breakfast (veggie bacon) in shape of the number 50. Does not seem really crazy about bacon but is quiet, does not complain. Son, however, enters and complains right away ("it smells like bandaids"). Son is physically challenged, has crutches and a speech issue.

Walter and son drive to high school. Son is a student. Walter is a chemistry teacher. He is very "into" his class/subject. Very animated and clearly excited about subject. "It's fascinating...really!" tells students.
Walter is shown working through his lunch hour.
Works at a car wash after school.
Scene with students discovering their chem. teacher washing student's car. Walter is devastated.

Arrives home to a surprise birthday party.
People at party:
Marie: Skyler's sister (she seems envious of Skyler's pregnancy because she comments about how "big" Skyler is...says it in a very understated but snooty way.)
Hank: married to Marie. Cop. Very boisterous, very assertive, very extroverted. Brags about his job and the sting operation he just completed. Party stops momentarily as Hank "makes" guests watch him being interviewed on TV about the meth bust...camera scans over all the money they nabbed...700 grand...Walter is shocked and asks if this is normal...Hank says it's a "pretty good haul." Says it is "easy money." Hank also shows off his gun to Walter Jr, Makes Walter Sr hold it. "It's not going to bite you." Walter Sr. is visibly uncomfortable around the gun. Hank invites him to go on a ride along sometime. Marie seems very embarrassed and pissed off with Hank's behavior.

Skyler and Walter in bed after party. Skyler has her computer, focused on her eBay auctions. At the same time, she works on Walter to please him sexually.

Next scene: Saturday morning, Walter at car wash job. Has a coughing fit and collapses. On way to hospital in ambulance, W. is very embarrassed and tells the attendant he does not have "the greatest insurance" and wants to be dropped off at the corner and not taken to hospital. Does not want anyone contacted. Says it is "just a chest cold."
At hospital, Walter goes thru tests. Dr. tells him he has no more than two years to live--lung cancer--inoperable.
Walter is stone faced, in shock.
Returns home to Skylar, on phone to bill collectors.
Says his day was "fine." Grabs a beer from frig.
Next day at car wash job, just loses all control. Yells at manager, profanity, knocks stuff off wall, quits.
Next scene, he is sitting in dark in backyard...flipping burnt matches into the drained pool. Clearly depressed, distracted.
Finally picks up phone and calls Hank, asks to go on a ride along.

On ride along, quietly sits in back of squad car, but very interested in the whole set up of the meth lab. Asks to go in and see it.

Hank loves to be in charge and is showing off in front of Walter. He is the big bad DEA guy.

Walter sees former student get away from Hank. Follows him home and suggests that they "partner up"...threatens to expose Pinkman if he refuses.

Pinkman is cocky, almost mocks Walter. "No speeches....high school was a long time ago."
An assertive Walter, determined.

Scene with Skylar and Marie. Skyler is excited about her eBay business. Marie is sarcastic and negative about it. Says it will take forever to really make any money with it. She is nosy and acts like the expert on everything--Skyler's writing...Walter...their sex life, etc.

Walter steals chemistry equipment from high school...while he is doing this he seems pumped up and excited...and serious.
Tells Pinkman they will have an eye wash station and use protective gear.
Pinkman mocks him and says no way. Says "this is art...cooking is art." Walter tells him "you and I will not make garbage."
Walter takes all the money he has in the world...7 grand...for Pinkman to buy the motor home to cook the meth.
Pinkman asks why Walter is doing this. "I am awake."

Scene in clothing store... buying jeans for Walter Jr. Some guys make fun of him and Walter attacks them physically while Skylar and Walter Jr look in surprise...this is not the Walter they know....Walter seems almost smug.

Out in the desert. Ready to cook. Walter is very focused and serious and Pinkman is amused, makes fun of Walter stripping down to his underwear. Walter makes glass grade meth and Pinkman is blown away...maybe a new respect for Walter?
Walter seems pleased that Pinkman is impressed and thinks it will definitely sell for a lot of $. He asks, "How do we proceed?"

Pinkman and two drug buddies ready to purchase come out to dessert. One remembers W. from the drug bust and thinks they are being busted. Threatens to kill both Walt and Pinkman. Walter quickly thinks on his feet and offers to teach these two guys how to cook this great meth quality. Walter tricks them and poisons them and escapes out of the trailer.

Walter and Pinkman get the $ from the dealers. Dealers are dead in motorhome?

Last scene: Walter is home, in bed with Skylar. She is very worried about the recent lack of communication between them. "I don't like it when you don't talk to me." Walter's reply is to make love with Skylar.

Thursday, February 3, around 10 am

Hi, as you know, we will be viewing the first episode of Breaking Bad tomorrow in class. Please make an extra effort to be on time because I will be starting the episode right when the class begins. Thanks!

Also, a reminder to the 11 o'clock section...we will be now meeting in Room 110, right next door to the previous room assignment.

See all of you on Friday!