Tomorrow

Tomorrow is our debate day!
Be prepared!

For class you also need one copy of your rough draft.

Essay #3 Outlines/Theses

The outline and thesis for Essay #3 is due through email Tuesday (11-24).
See entry below for details.

Holiday Break

While I hope everyone’s break is getting off to a good start, there is always homework, so here it is:

As it currently stands, here are the topics people have chosen for Essay #3

Max Tormohlen (Gun Control)
Sarah Kim (Animal Testing)
Jessica Rojo (Animal Testing)
Elizabeth Tracy (Animal Testing)
Nicole Sorenson (Animal Testing)
Gabriel Arballo (Animal Fur)
Alex Burtea (Obama’s Healthcare Reform)
Brandon Goco (Film Remakes)
Dylan Plautz (Legalization of Marijuana)
Christian Michel (Legalization of Marijuana)
Tyler McAfee (Legalization of Marijuana)
Danie Austin (Young Marriages)
Ranim Ziade (Violence in the Media)
Alexandra Tichy (Vegetarianism)
Ashley Ortiz (Beauty Pageants)
Melanie Perezalonso (Beauty Pageants)
Olga Valladares (Euthanasia)
Claudia Torres (Drivers Licenses for Aliens)
Jerry Hernandez (Lowering the Drinking Age)
Jaime West (Lowering the Drinking Age)
Kevin Kim (College for NBA players)
Sam Ahn (Evolution in Public Schools)
Emaan Sourjah (Childcare for Students?)
Abe Rodas (War in Afghanistan)
Speros Mantas (Criminal Graffiti as Art)
Bryce Forbes (Baseball Instant Replay)
Manny Hurtado (Border Control?)

I did not list stances, but I have notes on them. If your topic is not right, or you have a question mark next to your topic, please send me an email to clarify your topic. (Some of you guys talked to me after class about your topics, but I do not remember what you decided on, so please let me know your final answer.)

In addition to making sure I know you topic and stance, the break’s homework for Essay #3 is to email me a formal outline of your paper by Tuesday 11-24. Include your thesis and a section on your counterargument in the outline. Remember: there will not be a revised outline for this essay, so make sure you spend some time on your outline and make it right the first time. It should look like a formal outline, be formatted correctly, and observe MLA guidelines.

For the Tuesday when we come back (12-01), you must have a rough draft of your essay (at least 3 full pages). While I recommend you seek out help from your peers over break, the official peer review will homework for Tuesday’s class. Remember: Revision for this last essay will be difficult, as it will be the end of the year, so I recommend you turn in the best product you can, as well as get as many points as you can on the minor things like outlines and rough drafts.

*Do not forget that this essay requires at least on scholarly source.*

Finally, the Tuesday we come back from break will be Debate day!
Here are the teams, as far as I remember. If I have someone in the wrong place, just let me know, please. If you are not on a team, please send me an email, so I can put you somewhere.

Team 1 = Alex, Brandon, Abe, Bryce
Team 2 = Speros, Elizabeth, Ashley, Sam, Olga
Team 3 = Christian, Sarah, Tyler, Alexandra
Team 4 = Emaan, Jerry, Gabriel, Kevin
Team 5 = Claudia, Jessica, Jamie, Max
Team 6 = Melanie, Nicole, Danie, Ranim, Dylan


The topics and team stances are:
Legalization of Marijuana
-Pro (Team 3) Against (Team 1)
Euthanasia
-Pro (Team 2) Against (Team 5)
Animal Testing
-Pro (Team 1) Against (Team 6)
Raising Tuition
-Pro (Team 3) Against (Team 5)
Privatizing the Prison System
-Pro (Team 4) Against (Team 2)
Death Penalty
-Pro (Team 6) Against (Team 4)

So be prepared as best you can. Stay in contact with each other and develop a strategy. Remember to familiarize yourself with the fallacies, as fallacies automatically weaken an argument. Individual topic discussion will last roughly 10 minutes, with each team getting 5 minutes. Please try to arrange it so that everyone does something and everyone talks at least once. Have fun and be respectful of each other.

Taking a Stand

In addition to working on Revisions for Thursday, I would like you guys to come up with a topic for this next Essay and take a stance on it. Try to pick something you could realistically argue on for the assignment and that you are interested in, so that you will not be forced to write on something you do not enjoy thinking about or cannot use for this paper. Then email this information to me before 12:00 p.m. on Thursday.

If you are considering multiple topics and cannot decide between them, list them all and your stances on the topics in the email

Send me an Email if you have a question.

Information on Redemption Essays - Recap

I know that it is getting a bit confusing what is going on with the "Redemption Essays," so I would like to take a minute and summarize what is happening. Sorry if you are embarrassed that I posted this information, but I want it to be clear.

First: If you scored above a 70 on Essay #2, you do not have to turn in a so-called "Redemption Essay" on Thursday, as you did well enough that you do not need redeeming.
(Elizabeth, Jamie, Christian*, etc.)
Of those people who scored above 70, if you scored above 74 you will be entitled to some privileges later in the semester.
(Alex, Abe, Ashley, Brandon, Jerry, Jessica, Melanie*, and Ranim)
If any of you would like to do a revision of this essay anyway, standard procedures still apply.
(Highlight your changes and Turn it in as a hard copy to me before the end of the year.)

Note: If you have an asterisk (*) next to your name, it means you are suffering from some deductions, but you still managed to get enough points that you do not have to turn in your revision by Thursday. I recommend you address those issues before you turn in your final revisions of Essay #2.

Second: For those of you not exempt from the Redemption Essay, I would like the first couple of pages to be the new Outline and then you can go right in to the Essay itself. Do not make them two separate documents, but please observe standard formatting for your header, page numbers, margins, etc. Even though some of you guys have turned in both outlines (Rough and Revised), I would still like you to make one more outline, as I believe it will help you with structuring your paper and organizing your ideas. (I will be expecting these people to submit an essay under the "Redemption Essays" tab on TurnItIn.com before 11:59 pm on Thursday (11-19): Sam, Gabriel, Max, Emaan, Kevin, Bryce, Alexandra, Olga, Danie, Nicole, Dylan, Claudia, Manny, Sarah, Speros, and Tyler)

(Special case instructions: Dylan, you do not need to include a new outline. Emaan, your essay is due Sunday before 11:59 pm; do not worry about the "late" next to your name, as long as you turn it in by then, you will be fine. Manny, I am still expecting a rough draft by email this evening.)

Third: Highlight your changes. If you change something like a word, add a sentence, or anything minor like that, I would like you to highlight that change. If you create an entirely new essay, you do not need to highlight it. If you create a new paragraph, within your existing essay, you only need to highlight the first and last word. I hope that makes sense.
(Example: much like the way bold was used in that last paragraph.)

Note: Everyone that failed to come to peer review and/or did not email me a rough draft will not be able to redeem those points -- they are lost forever. Peer review is a valuable tool.

I hope this clarifies everything. If not, you should send me an email -- immediately!
Good Luck. Remember this assignment exists because I want you to do well.

Essay #3 - Argumentative Essay

Rough Draft Due 12-01-09
Final Draft Due 12-04-09

Essay Assignment #3 – Argumentative Essay

Arguments are a part of everyday life and a major component of your college work. In fact, I believe you can become a better citizen if you know how to disassemble arguments and create your own, as you will be able to make choices for yourself and question those made by people around you – or even in power. I also believe that if you cannot argue your point, you are a detriment to your cause, as you must not only believe in something and support it, you must also know why. So for this essay you must write a well-developed, cohesive paper that states a point and supports it. Additionally, you must support your point with at least one scholarly source, as knowing how to research an idea before arguing it is extremely important.
Write a 4 page paper minimum in which you argue a position. This position can be virtually anything: taking a side on a political controversy, propose a policy change, provide an answer to a personal crisis, something you want, etc. Whatever your topic, you must focus on a debatable point—something someone could, theoretically, at least, disagree with. However, you must pick something that can be supported with evidence, so try to stay away from faith based arguments (things like abortion and so on). If you would like to argue on something that often uses a faith-based argument but approach it in a different way, you may talk to me. Additionally, you must avoid fallacies. Fallacies in your argument not only weaken your ethos on the position, as they show you do not have a grasp of logic, they do not provide a valid argument, and thus will not satisfy this assignment.
Remember to place your thesis statement at the end of the introduction in which you clearly articulate your topic and your stance regarding your topic, so that your argument is explicitly clear from the beginning. You will also need to include a counterargument in which you recognize and address the major opposition to your view point. As always, papers shorter than the four-page absolute minimum will be severely penalized or summarily failed, depending on how short the essay is. There will be no second chances on this one. If you anticipate wanting to revise, you might want to get your paper to me before the deadline; however, this does not guarantee that I will get to it before the end of the semester, so try to turn in your best work the first time around.

Choose a topic you are interested in and write a well-developed, cohesive essay arguing your point. Make sure you acknowledge the opposing side’s argument in a counterargument and include at least one (no more than three) scholarly source.
The essays must be:
- Double spaced
- **Typed in 12-pt Times New Roman font**
- **At least 4 full pages long.**
- and Follow MLA guidelines for citations and format
Note: Failure to comply with these specifications will result in an unredeemable loss of points.

Argumentative Assignments

First, you guys should have gotten two emails. (Check your emails)
One was about the elements of an Argument (Warrant, Claim, etc), which you write a one page response to.
The other was a few fallacies. In addition to the fallacies in the reading, you should find one of your own and document it. The only page requirement for this portion of the assignment is that it suffcient enough to explains the fallacy in your own words, where you found it, and contains any other information you think is important.

Second go to: http://www.southparkstudios.com/guide/809/
And watch the episode of South Park relating to Walmart.
In a one page response, consider: How it compares to "The High Costs of Low Prices"?
Although it is crude, analyze the argument of the show.
You might also consider things like: What is the show's stance on Walmart?
How can you tell? Does it use any of the fallacies?

Finally, two posts below this one, I presented some General Tips to becoming a more effective student.
My first tip of advice was Communicate and ask questions. The whole semester, I have essentially begged you to ask me questions when you do not understand something. I even went as far as making it an assignment.
But then on Thursday very few of you decided to communicate, so we will move on to the next tip of advice I offered: Become Self Reliant.
My advice for you, though many of you will most likely ignore it, is to review the following items on your own:
Sentence Errors:
-Active/Passive Voice
-Run-On Sentences
-Comma Splices
-Fragments
-Semicolons
-Commas and Restrictive/Nonrestrictive Elements
-Contractions
-Number agreement
Paragraph Issues:
-Transitions
-Organization
-Tone
Additional Information:
-The Appeals/ Modes of Persuasion
-Paper Formatting

Find a way to get the information!
If you are SERIOUS about YOUR EDUCATION, you will find a way.
You do not need to do it if you don't want to, you do not need to write a response, but you should familiarize yourself with this information. I guarantee those that have at least some understanding of this information will have an easier time with English in the future.

Redemption Outlines

Attention those of you who did not receive a grade or a low grade on the last paper:
This time around, since a lot of you did not turn in revised outlines, and those that did may still be changing their papers significantly, I would like you to create a new outline for your paper.
Preferably before you begin working on substantial changes to your paper, just take a few minutes to outline line what your paper's organization should look like. Include a revised thesis and try to follow the formatting of a formal outline.

Note: Dylan and Melanie, you do not need to make a new outline if you do not want to.

If you did receive a grade but your grade suffered because you did not turn in an outline, you might also consider making one and turning that in with your revision.

As you may notice, TurnItIn.com now has an assignment entitled "Redemption Essays," this is where you will be turning in your revised essays some time next week. Work on your stuff, but do not worry about it just yet.
I will discuss in class how and when these revisions will be turned in in class on Thursday.

Comments on Turn It In

I believe I have resolved the issue with Turnitin.com not displaying the apple and thus my comments.

Now, when you look at my comments, please make some notes on any that you feel are unclear, you need explained, or that you find are confusing. Make sure your make a note of what the comment or correction was, as well as write down the sentence that goes with the comment.

Some comments will be more detailed or specific to your entire text, so these may need to be discussed in a private meeting, but I encourage you to seek answers to anything that is unclear.

Remember to begin working on your revision, even if you got a grade, as it is a good idea to start early. Highlight all of your changes in yellow.

General Tips

On Thursday I talked a little bit about ways to help yourself do better, both in this class and in college. I would like to take a minute to reiterate those ideas. Please consider these ideas general tips of advice. I am not directing this at anyone. I have seen it many times in my classes, not just in this class. Although some of the advice may be harsh, or even elementary, this isn’t meant to offend you; it is meant to help you. I am not trying to be condescending, and I know many of you have heard similar advice over and over again, especially from me, but I want you guys to know how to step it up a bit. This is college. Remember, I want you to succeed beyond just my class, and in order to do that you have to:

Get involved in Your Education


Communicate
If you have problems communicate them to the teacher. If that is hard, communicate them to your peers.
+If you do not understand something, ask a question. If you cannot figure it out on your own, do not wait for some one else to ask it, or wait to figure it out on your own later. And definitely do not continue without ever trying to figure it out.
+If something is happening outside of school that is keeping you from doing your work, let your instructors know. Some instructors will not care, but some will be willing to work with you. If nothing else, let them know when you will be absent – preferably before you are absent or the day of the absence (not days later).
+If you are having trouble understanding an assignment, having trouble completing an assignment, or turning an assignment in on time, you should talk to your instructors in person or at least send them an email (Before it is due!). Even if they do not cut you some slack, they will at least know you are trying.

Become Self Reliant.
Find resources for yourself and practice discipline.
+There is such a thing as a stupid question. Stupid questions are ones you can figure out on your own or have already been answered a few times.
+But it’s far better to ask a stupid question and be a little embarrassed, then to be ignorant.
+Remember if you do not understand something, it is up to you to figure out a way to learn it.
+If you cannot get something, it is up to you to find a way to get it – even if it seems unreasonable or unobtainable.
+Teach yourself to self analyze and learn to spot your own errors.
+Check your own work. If you see something that is wrong, fix it.
+Know your own weakness and strengths. Work to make these two things more equal.
+When something is difficult, explore ways that you can fix it on your own. (Do your own research).
+No one will be there to force you to do your homework or come to class. Try to think of it less like Work and more like Working Out. Much like the gym, you aren’t here to get paid, you paid to be here. The harder you try here, the more value you get for your money.
+Be in charge of your own brain. Do not accept everything you are told. If you analyze what you are being told there will be times where you question what professors are telling you. Don’t be afraid to do your own research, ask other students, other professors, or even the professor him/herself.

Network
Often, you will be the only one you can count on, but when you have the opportunity, reach out to other people. Even a small community can help make both learning and assignments easier.
+Proofread each other’s work (and your own).
+Ask each other questions.
+Use each other’s strengths. You probably do this with your friends all the time. It may be time to do this now with new people.
+Get phone numbers and email addresses of other students, and don’t be afraid to use them when you need to.
+Be someone other people can rely on, but don’t let people rely on you when they offer you nothing in return.
+Talk to professors. They often will be willing to help you – even after you have passed their class. They also come in handy when you need things like letters of recommendation later.

Failure Happens
Not everything always goes according to plan.
+When you fail, it is up to you to fix it.
**Sometimes the teacher is a jerk, sometimes you get sick, sometimes you just mess up, but what ever happens, you can fix it. You just have to be willing to try (I mean really try).
+When failure happens, ask yourself why it happened. Apply your critical lens to the situation, and remember to apply it to yourself as well.
+If you cannot figure out what went wrong, ASK (politely).
+Failure is only failure if you learned nothing from the experience.
+Sometimes people just need more time to master something. Everyone develops at a different rate, and that rate is seldom the four months in a semester.
+Remember that failure is a powerful teacher.

Be Professional
As a student in a university, you are a professional scholar – act like it. But remember this advice is applicable to other professions as well.
+Be presentable.
Even having a professional sounding email address can go a long ways.
+Try to eliminate things that are easy to catch before they become problems.
+Try not to shoot yourself in the foot. And try to make things easier for those above you or evaluating you.
+Take your time, but do not procrastinate.
+Professionals read, and they also read the directions.
+Professionals practice manners and courtesy with their superiors and each other.
+Professionals are always prepared.
+Professionals know their material, but aren’t afraid to admit when they don’t; but when they don’t, they quickly find out, so that it never happens again.
+And professionals are familiar with the above four sections.
**Professionals communicate when they need to. They are self reliant, but they network when they need to. And most of all, professionals fail. The only thing that is different is that when professionals fail, they learn from their failure, so they don’t fail next time.


Now, there is obviously one thing I left out: Fun. Yes, it is actually important to have fun. People actually learn more when they have fun. Also things tend to feel less overwhelming when they are fun. So, when you have an assignment, try to pick subjects that interest you. Do not always take all of the “hard” classes together. Spread them out, or you will fatigue. Make sure you plan some fun into your life, but keep it balanced. Have fun. Three is no reason why fun cannot be part of the equation when it is appropriate.

Research and Sources

Sorry this isn't coming out until today.

Please read the pages I emailed you entitled "A Troubleshooting Guide to Research."

You should also read the page on Evaluating Web Pages at http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/TeachingLib/Guides/Internet/Evaluate.html

Consider the importance of this information beyond just this class.
You only need to do a minimum of one page for your response for both of these assignments, but I HIGHLY recommend you read them in full. They really aren't that long.

Check back here later for one more post.

Peer Review Due

Please bring the peer review your partner provided you with for the Media essay to class tomorrow.

Also remember that presentations will continue this week. Please, come to class and be supportive of your classmates.