Week 8

                                                       

        The groves were God's first temples.  ~William Cullen Bryant, "A Forest Hymn"

Good afternoon.  I hope that you are all well today, and feeling good about life and your place in the world.  Today's classwork involves followup on the interview work and essays written last week, and further work that involves use of skills essential in expository writing.  I have two options, from which you will choose one.

     The first involves exploring or defining at length the meaning of a word that has some significance in your life, in your behavior and in your thoughts and perhaps spiritual practice, or in the essay your intend to write as your final project.  I use the phrase spiritual practice in no particular religious sense but loosely to refer to the many ways we attempt to bring ourselves in to harmony with the world, the people we share our lives with, and, perhaps most importantly, with our own self.  The essay involves defining in an extended fashion the word you have chosen.  To begin you might employ a simple dictionary definition of the word's most common meaning in use, or the secondary or tertiary meaning, as listed in a dictionary entry.  The development of the essay will proceed with narration and description of what the word means to you; i.e. the meaning the word has come to have in more senses than a dictionary could possibly convey.  The following is a list of abstract words and phrases (i.e. they cannot be physically seen or touched as say an apple or a diamond or a tree can) that you might choose from:  

Attention

Beauty

Compassion

Devotion

Honor

Faith

Grace

Justice

Peace

Reverance

Wonder

Nature

Intelligence

.........Concrete and Abstract

climate change

peak oil

tar sands

the sun

the moon 

the stars

black holes

nuclear energy

celebrity

With abstract words or concepts, one must bring them to life by means of the specific, concrete, the tangible, the three-dimensional world we live in.  Our notions of beauty, for example, derive from the visible, the audible, the tactile–the world of the senses–even as we also comprehend abstract notions such as truth and peace as being, in a real sense, manifestations of beauty.  So the assignment requires you to define a word as you have come to understand its meaning.  I want you also to use one quotation, either as an epigraph (appearing just below the title of the essay) or somewhere in the text of the essay.  A simple google search of the word plus  key word "quotations" should provide you an array of choices.

You might choose a concrete word, rather than an abstract.  Again, you have the dictionary to supply an essential definition but you provide description of appearance, constituent parts, function, historical and cultural and personal significance.  What is a tree?  Clearly, it is a living organism, with certain characteristic features (depending on species), an ecological role to play, an historical and cultural role in the life of humankind, and so on.  Trees are also symbols of strength and shelter and wonder and beauty and mystery.  We've all admired trees, played among them, climbed them, photographed them, too, perhaps.  What is it about trees that makes us love them so?

The second option is to select from the cartoons featured at slate.com (or elsewhere) a cartoon that addresses an issue about which you would like to speak.  Or you may choose to  describe another sort of image, a photograph or video clip or film scene, discussing the contents of the piece precisely  to articulate the apparent point of view of the author.  Cartoons are one form of journalistic commentary, along with writings and photography and video and film.  Key to this piece will be providing context, that is the news or event to which the author has responded.  You may have to do a bit of research in presenting this context and you should to respond to the issue yourself.  Your essay will build on the work of others, the cartoonist, photographer, and news writers, scholars, scientists or pundits.  Source materials will be referenced accordingly, by type, title, author, and place of publication.

Whether you choose the first or second option, you should write from 450-600 words.

Note:  the final essay exam is set for week ten.  You should have all outstanding work in by that day.  If you miss class week ten, you must come week 11 to take the exam.

Week 7

–Where Acorns Come From, Kissimmee State Park















Good evening!  Hope all is well, no worries.  We'll play catchup today.  Some of you have yet to submit several papers, so we'll spend time making sure all are caught up and understand the aim of the ongoing work.  You will have time to work on outstanding assignments or research material for the short research project.

Individuals who have volunteered to share their work will have opportunity today to get class feedback.

See you at six.

Week 6

Today I will collect from those of you who have not yet submitted it, the field essay(#3), and last week's news roundup (#4).  We can share with the class the material you have put together and any difficulties or discoveries met along the way.  Bear in mind that the final project may well be a field report informed not only be your eye witness observations but also the reports and historical accounts put together by others.

People are a source of fascination and interest as well as repositories of information, perspective, and sometimes wisdom.  Some of the most popular essays and articles address themselves to the lives of significant or "newsworthy" individuals who by design or luck have been participants in or witnesses to events that live in the collective imagination.  We may learn from their example, benefit from their expertise, or simply live vicariously through them events that it would otherwise be impossible for us to experience just so.  

Some essays are written from an "as told to" perspective, by a writer who has interviewed at length some individual or been privy to the thoughts and storied events the individual possesses, and then made an effort to preserve them; likewise, some of us have learned of  events–historical, social, cultural– through the accounts our parents or others have given us.  Suffice it to say, how others live and think and what they have been witness to interests us greatly, as a form of escape, inspiration, and practical information.  

Autobiographical and biographical writings, personality profiles, Q&A interviews, and self-help articles offer a steady stream of writings about people and events large and small.  The Internet, social media and blogs, have become a ready means of documenting the life around us, people from all walks of life, and of generating a forum for the sharing of ideas and opinions.

One form of primary research is the interview, in either the Q&A format, or the essay format, informed by accurate renderings of what the subject has had to say in response to the writer's queries.  Today we discuss matters of topical interest that can be developed by means of the personal interview and/or informal survey of a community's response.  You will have to identify a story or subject matter whose development depends or proceeds at least in part on the response you get from the individual or individuals you speak with.  You might, for example, survey student response to a given issue, whether local, national, global, etcetera (think climate change (how green are you?), the sky-rocketing cost of education, the continuing "War on Terror" amid cutbacks in social spending and high unemployment, or the latest in cultural trends and topics.  Obviously, the degree to which your respondents have something pertinent to say will be of some import.   

Importantly, you must be well informed and capable of presenting clearly the issue that interests you and provide questions and follow up that will elicit from your respondents usable information.  In class we will discuss further the Interview (#5) assignment, and review some examples.  The first can be found at the following URL:  http://www.npr.org/2011/07/14/137472487/what-it-means-to-be-always-on-a-smartphone

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  Final Project Reminder (#7) :  Your short research project  (1000 words minimum with a documented source list, i.e. a "Work Cited" list) is due week 11.  This essay should address some subject about which you can make an arguable claim or assert an opinion supported by your research.  You should have a least three secondary sources (published articles or book material) and one or more primary sources such as your personal experience, documentary photographs available on the web or elsewhere, eye-witness accounts gathered through interviews, etcetera.  You should provide clear summary of context and important details, and direct quotation of experts or authorities whose reports of fact and opinion matter to your argument.  Title and double space the essay.

Week 5

Who, being loved, is poor?                     –Oscar Wilde

Good evening.  I hope you are well.

The goal of argument, most often, is to convince others that they should change their minds about some issue. Barack Obama, in trying to pass health care reform, sought to convince Congress and the American people that health care reform was in the best interests of citizens and the nation. In his speeches on the issue he compared numbers, best estimates of current and future costs under the current system, to the savings and proposed benefits of reform measures; he cited examples of citizens neglected or underserved by the current system and the kinds of coverage that would be available after reform. He argued that reform, for a number of sound reasons, economic and ethical, is necessary to the health of the nation. To “win” he had to convince others by providing reasons so compelling they agreed with his position.

Today we will review your summaries of the article titled "Can One Die of Not Drinking," by Jeremy Singer-Vine, published July 28, 2011, at Slate (http://www.slate.com/id/2300346/) and the report due next week on a local place or event that we discussed last week.   We will follow with an essay built upon your response to recent events widely reported.  Some documentation will be required as the work builds on the requirements of the short research work.

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Yet another goal of argument is to decide or explore rather than to convince others of the rightness of a position. Before making an informed decision or taking a position, we need an adequate acquaintance with a subject or issue and the various perspectives in which it can be seen. Writing that presents information and perspectives to help people to understand an issue, without presuming to have answers, or any easy ones, is another goal of argument. Looking at the facts, asking questions, comparing perspectives, the writer prepares us to see the dimensions of a given problem or issue.

 The thesis of an argument should be an arguable claim, one that tries to convince readers of something or perhaps to do something, or explore a topic so that readers are in a position to make an informed decision. The thesis may address an issue that has no ready or absolute answer, not one readily verified by resort to factual report, but one that readers might realistically take different perspectives on.

Argument or fact?

     *Water boils at 212 degrees Fahrenheit.

     * Van Gogh’s work is that of a madman.

     * Plastic bags are polluting the seas.

     *Consumers must reduce their carbon footprint.

     *The average temperature of the earth has risen over the last century.

     *Glaciers are melting at a rate unprecedented in modern times.

 The argument is to be built around an arguable claim, that is one about which reasonable people could reasonably disagree.  It should be supported with reference to your readings, expert or authoritative findings, factual support and logical analysis.  First-person experience and appeals to common sense and human values count, too. 

Consider the following thesis:  The use of plastics worldwide must come under closer scrutiny and regulation.

   Readers may now want to know why, and how the issue affects them and, indeed, if there is anything they might do to help resolve the issue. Your sources provide background information, demonstrate your knowledge of the topic, provide authoritative support and perspective, and show the range of perspectives possible, in fairness to differing opinions.

  Our ideas, whether commonly held or no, are rooted in traditional areas of study reflecting the history of human thought, values, attitudes, and tastes, and conduct.  These study areas include philosophy, religion, nature, aesthetics, science, ethics, education, etcetera.  Our most closely held beliefs and attitudes reflect very often our unexamined ideas about the nature of love, faith, trust, loss, betrayal, goodness and evil, freedom, sanctity, the very meaning of life.  Whether we focus on Washington and the shenanigans that make the nightly news, bioengineering, Facebook, legal injustices, or the most recent individual or "hero" making  a positive difference in the world, our beliefs, associated ideas, and feelings define us as human beings.  In choosing a research topic you will tap into some subject about which you feel strongly and have clear enough knowledge to put across a cogent argument or position, as supported also by fact and opinion gathered from your reading of available literature.  

*Select material for quotation on the following bases:

1)        the wording is particularly memorable, to the point, and not easily paraphrased

2)        it expresses an author’s or expert’s direct opinion that you want to emphasize

3)        it provides example of the range of perspective

4)        it provides a constrasting or opposing view

*See week 3 for formatting rules and examples or the OWL site for comprehensive discussion and examples of presenting and documentaing primary and secondary source material.

You must soon begin to explore a subject or idea, begin finding and reading material relevant to whatever line of inquiry you intend.  Week 10 you will have due a 1000-word length essay in which you put across a claim, your thesis, made persuasive and credible by virtue of supporting facts, expert opinion, testimonials, logical inquiry, and whatever emotional appeals you make to the reader's values.

 Today's class work is intended to get you started.   It requires you read from recent publications and then select a subject of particular interest for written discussion. 

Summary/Response or Roundup Assignment (#4):  In 450-500 words, address a subject garnering a good deal of news reporting and commentary.  Use today's New York Times and other sources to both summarize, synthesize and respond briefly to the subject reported.  Introduce by title, author, and source publication two to three articles for this exercise. Provide commentary and an overarching thematic link between the articles you have chosen.  This is an informal piece in which you must discuss what is being reported, facts, highlights, interesting commentary or arguments, visual documents, and why the story is of interest.  Include an alphabetical listing of the works discussed, in the MLA format displayed at the OWL writing site (the link is here, at this blog's link list).