Writing Center Workshop Schedule

Here is a list of Workshops that the Writing Center is going to be hosting.
I recommend that you go to one.
They are good for you!
If you have not gotten your visit in for the Writing Center... DO IT!

Writing Center Workshop Schedule
All workshops last for one hour.

Date Time Subject Room

10/19 1:30 p.m. Responding to Prompts UH-207
10/26 4:00 p.m. Editing & Proofreading UH-337
10/29 11:30 a.m. Brainstorming UH-239
11/2 4:00 p.m. Thesis Statements UH-337
11/3 1:00 p.m. Mechanics/Sentence Construction LH-304
11/5 11:15 a.m. Descriptive Writing UH-239
11/10 1:00 p.m. Prewriting & Developing Theses LH-304
11/11 1:30 p.m. Revision Strategies LH-403B
11/12 9:00 a.m. Active Voice & Descriptive Language LH-320
11/13 2:00 p.m. Editing UH-337
11/17 11:00 a.m. Organization UH-239
11/18 12:00 p.m. Persuasive Writing UH-240

(Notice the last one is going to be our next Essay topic)

Two for Tuesday

Remember, you must have two copies of your rough draft for Tuesday's class (10-27), as we will be doing peer review.

The Final Draft will be due on Thursday (10-29), when we will begin doing presentations.
Get ready! Remember, the presentations are only 5 minutes long. You should have a clear understanding of what you are talking about and be ready to go. Your outlines may help you structure your presentation, as well as give you an idea of what to cover and in what order.
Assuming your outline was precise and detailed.

Thursday's "Class" Assignment

Here is what you do with the essay I just emailed to you. This assignment is worth triple the points, so try your best!
In case you need to know, I wrote this essay using the Batman outline that I mailed to you earlier (also seen in the entry below). I have written an analysis of The Dark Knight, using essay Prompt#1. I am analyzing the Two main characters.
Know that my outline is structurally correct, and that it outlines the type of paper that would effectively answer the prompt, but this paper does not. This paper is not what I want, so do not follow this essay's example.
My essay has many errors, some that I want you guys to practice spotting.
Here is what you must look for AND mark:
+Find four uses of the second person (Not including things that are in quotes). Highlight these words in Blue.
+Find four formatting issues. Next to these issues write what the problem is and highlight your words in Red.
+Find three contractions or places that need apostrophes and correct them. Highlight these corrections in Orange.
+Find two run-on sentences and try your best to correct them. Highlight your corrections in Green.
+Find five misused commas or places that need commas and fix them. Highlight these corrections in Yellow.
+Find three different instances of redundancy and highlight them purple or magenta.
+Find four instances of an informal tone being used and simply make it bold.
+Find one major instance of failing to answer the prompt or deviating from the prompt and italicize it.
+Then, below my essay I want you to peer review the paper like we did for our partners last time. As my partner, what would you recommend I do to fix this paper. You cannot simply say that I am terrible and that I need to rewrite it. Do not be overly rude or unhelpful. What constructive criticism would you offer? Where should I focus on developing my ideas? Pick a few places you have questions about and ask them. Be specific.
+Finally, considering the following criteria I use to grade papers, what would you give me for a grade? Be fair.
Clarity = 20
Flow = 20
Details = 20
Analysis = 20
Form = 20

Remember this must be emailed back to me with your marks before 11:59 tonight (10-22)!

If you have a questions send me an email.
If you want to point to multiple things in a single sentence, instead of highlighting everything, highlight particular parts for the first thing and change the color of the font to the second color for the second thing.

For Example:

A New Age in Gotham

I. The introduction offers a brief overview of the success of the movie “The Dark Knight.”
*****A. Its success in the box office.
**********1. Earned more than $500 million at the North American box office.
********** 2. Earned more than $1 billion world wide.
*****B. The film received numerous awards nominations and two Academy Awards.
********** 1. Best sound editing
********** 2. Best Supporting Actor
*****C. Thesis: “The conflict between chaos and order is personified in the struggle for Gotham’s soul between Batman and the Joker.”
II. This section offers a brief overview of the plot.
*****A. Audience
**********1. Demographics
**********2. Expectations
***************a. Exceeded Expectations
*****B. Super Hero Movies
**********1. Complexity of Character
***************a. Both Batman and The Joker are insane
**********2. Moral Grey Area
***************a. How far can a hero go to stop a mad man?
**********3. Deep Critique of Society
III. “Batman has no limits” – Bruce Wayne
*****A. This section offers an analysis of Batman’s character.
*****B. What types of gadgets does Batman use?
**********1. Sonar imaging system.
***************a. Provides him with incredible power
*************************i. Lucius Fox
*************************ii. The destruction of the mainframe
***************b. Provides him with the ability to better control his environment
**********2. Other specialized equipment.
***************a. He is so rigid, he can’t turn his head.
***************b. Grants him the Power to be Batman
*************************i. “I’m not wearing hockey pads” -Batman
*****C. What does Batman stand for?
**********1. People do not have to be afraid
**********2. Criminals do
*****D. What lines will Batman not cross?
**********1. Batman usually refrains from maliciously hurting people
**********2. Batman refuses to kill people
*****E. Batman is order incarnate because he restores order to a disorderly world (Gotham).
IV. “A better class of criminal” – The Joker
*****A. This section offers an analysis of the Joker’s character
*****B. What does the Joker favor? (destruction)
**********1. Cheap Weapons
***************a. Dynamite
***************b. Gunpowder
*************************i. Thompson Submachine Gun
***************c. Gasoline
*************************i. Burns the Money
**********2. Mayhem
***************a. “Nothing in his pockets but knives and lint”-Lt. James Gordon
*****C. The Joker is Chaos incarnate, because his goal is to disassemble order in Gotham City.
V. “Some men just want to watch the world burn” –Alfred Pennywise
*****A. The Final Confrontation between the Joker and Batman
**********1. “This is what happens when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object”-The Joker
B. This section offers the connection between the characters and the theme.
**********1. Alfred’s story of the man in Burma
********** 2. Lighting/Cinematography
***************a. Serious Tone
VI. The conclusion reiterates the thesis in new words: “The Joker and Batman both are intensely powerful characters on their own, but their effectiveness at captivating audiences comes from their complex interactions, and through these interactions they become modern archetypes of Chaos and Order.”
*****A. This section recaps the conflict between the major characters.
*****B. Poses some ideas as to why “The Dark Knight” was so successful.
**********1. Because it friggin’ rocks!

Revised Outlines

Some of you guys are having a hard time with the outlines or getting the originals to me sort of late. SO, I will change the due date of the revised outlines to before midnight on Friday (10-23). Email them to me. They should look like Formal Outlines. I will post my example on here soon -- probably tomorrow. Hopefully this helps. Let me know if you have any questions.

Just for Fun

I am just sharing something I thought was funny. You do not have to read these, nor do you have to respond to them. They are just for fun.
Here is a dinosaur rendition of some of the things we talked about yesterday. Yes, even dinosaur comics are aware of these tricks.
http://www.qwantz.com/index.php?comic=1211
Then the next panel too.
http://www.qwantz.com/index.php?comic=1212
T-rex is the only one that offers good advice.
And, sadly, there is no easy way to do that one. :-P

Furlough Recap

Outlines
First off, for those that did not hand in your outlines before you left (or were not in class today), please email them to me immediately. I will take a look at them and send you back a comment or two. The revised version, especially considering what we talked about in class today, will be due on Thursday 10-22 through email.
For those that wanted to see my example on Batman, I will post that on here later, probably tomorrow. Remember mine is just an example, but I would like to see your outlines follow this format here:

I. Major Section
*****A. Subsection
**********1. Sub-subsection
***************a. Details
********************i. Minutia
********************ii. Remember you should have at least two divisions to justify a division.
***************b. One more level b
**********2. Sub-subsection 2
**********3. Sub-subsection 3
*****B. Subsection B
II. Major Section II

Note: The * are simply indicating spaces; that way you guys can see the number of spaces per line break.

Creative Options
I only got a few people that talked to me about a creative option on this paper. Remember if you are considering that option, you have to talk to me. Also remember, that if you are considering that, that you have to have a clear understanding of what you are trying to convey and to make it look good. Do not make the mistake of thinking this is just an easier way to do the assignment. I will, in some ways, be grading on your artistic abilities, as well as your ability to persuade and analyze what it takes to be persuasive.

Essay #2
Just to restate the rules that we talked about on this coming paper (and all papers to come).
Papers must reach the minimum page requirement or they will be awarded a zero.
To make sure you have as many pages as you think you have, you will want to make sure you have one inch margins all the way around, 12 pt font, a font style that is similar to Times New Roman, and that your paper is correctly double-spaced (no extra spaces).
*Also, do not use "You" or Contractions or you will be penalized.
Make sure you look at your prompt and answer it.
If you are having a hard time understanding the prompt or finding something to write on or making the paper good, or you simply have a general question, come talk to me or send me an email!
You can also try the Writing Center. If you are having a hard time, the Writing Center can help.
Yes, even if you already have one visit, you may need to go a second time. Sometimes getting help is what it takes to do well in college and in life. I encourage you to take the initiative.
If you had a hard time with your clarity, perhaps due to being bilingual, the Writing Center or I can help. All you have to do is ask.

Revisions:
If you did not do well on the last paper, or you just want to revise (which is recommended everyone do to maximize their points in class), you must do a few things.
If you want to earn points, you cannot simply correct the grammar things that I marked and hand it in. Content must also be revised and updated. I would like to see improvement in all categories. If you do not understand those categories, ask me and I can show you.
If you have questions how to improve those categories, you should come talk to me.
The Writing Center can also help you.
When looking for help from me or the Writing Center, I recommend you have a good idea of the question you want to ask, or the areas you want to focus on before you show up though.
When you do revise, I want any part that you changed to be highlighted. I want to easily be able to find the things you have changed.

Finally, the only homework for tonight is to work on and revise the Outline and Thesis for your paper, which is due on Thursday 10-22.

THURSDAY'S "CLASS" ASSIGNMENT:
I will email you guys an assignment at 12:00 am on Thursday. You will have all day to do it, but it is due at 11:59 pm that night (before it is technically Friday). This assignment will be an essay I wrote just for you guys. It will be terrible. The epitome of what I do not want to see. For this assignment you will practice revising, as well as locating common errors found in student papers and fixing them. There will be more specific rules on the actual assignment, but this is basically what I would like you to do. You are only required to spend roughly an hour on it, but I will have no way of knowing how long you spend on it. So do it fast, do it slow, I don't care as long as you do it well. Since you will not be getting points for attendance or any in-class assignment or even a homework assignments, this assignment will be worth Triple the points.
Do it well! Remember to check your email boxes on Thursday. Good luck.