Elements and Ingredients

Tone

Thesis/thesis statement

Hook

Details

Conclusion

All of these are important pieces of the essay. I want you to look for and think about each of these components in every essay we read.

Likewise, you should be conscious of all of these elements in your own writing.

Some questions you should always be asking yourself as you read are, "Why did the author write this? What are his or her intentions or motivations in writing this piece?"

Sedaris Questions

What is the thesis in “Us and Them”?

If “Hejira” doesn’t have a thesis or an argument, then what is the point of the essay?

Do you see any similarities or differences between the two pieces?

What is the tone of “Hejira”? How would you describe the tone in “Us and Them”? Use examples from the text as evidence.

Sedaris mentions two “defining moments” in “Hejira.” What do you see as the defining moments in “Us and Them”? Are there any?

For Weds.

Dear Class,

Last week I asked you to buy the course packet by today. Hopefully all of you have been able to find it (for $10 at Far Better Copy on Hillel Place, just outside the campus gate). I forgot to say in class today that you should all bring that packet with you the next time we meet -- which is Weds. If you are unable to do so, please let me know ahead of time.

Thanks,
erin

Assignment for Monday, Oct. 25

Hey Everyone,

Just so you're all clear, I'm posting your assignment on each of the blogs, including my own:

The assignment for Monday, the 25th is to read the short essays by David Sedaris (I gave these out in class last Monday), and post a blog comment in response to your team member's post. So for instance, in group 2 -- Jason is supposed to make a post in response to the Sedaris pieces by tomorrow (Sunday) afternoon. Everyone else will have to go on and read his post and then make their own comment.

The questions I asked all of you to consider as you read the Sedaris pieces are: Is his piece more like Hughe's or Tan's in terms of style? Do you see him making any arguments implicitly or explicitly and if so, where? Where in the text (point to specific passages) do you see him making an argument?

Remember to read closely, underline passages or lines that stand out for you as being significant in anyway, and don't be afrait to record your thoughts in the margins of the text.

I hope this makes sense.

Pros and Cons of Technology

In response to my post titled “The Wonders of Online Communication,”
Paul writes:

YOOOOOOO! we all love the internet and use it quite regularly. Today's chat weakens my artillary a bit, but my point is: We are in a class of about 20 people. Some young, some old. No one quite the same. A real "Breakfast Club" of a class... and we're sitting in a classroom with our backs to eachother! I understand blogging at home and kind of like it, but come on! It's turning into a wierd post-modern, dystopian freak show when TALKING becomes so impractical that we need to type on computer screens when there is a living, breathing person sitting next to us.

And Debarshi writes:

You're mom became a vegetarian from the PETA site? Wow. I've been trying to become vegetarian for years, but it really doesn't work for me. How did she get herself to stop eating meat altogether?

Anyway, technology has definitely advanced in the past couple of years. Having a computer was at one time considered a luxary, and now its become commonplace. In fact, having the Internet itself has become a necessity. The internet has given way to the age of blogging. It seems everyone is trying to get their ideas across through this method. Political people especially get their messages across by blogging. Technology has a lot of drawbacks. The fact that we are spending more time in front of screen, rather than being active. The fact that we are letting a computer correct our spelling and grammar. The fact that we are affected by radioactivity of cellphones. The fact that we are too lazy to take stairs so we use esclators or elevators. The fact that we use smileys to convey emotions. The fact that we are letting a machine calculate math equations for us. The fact that we are not physically talking to one another. The list goes on and on. For every pro that technology offers, there is definitely a con as well.

What say the rest of you?

My Response Letter part I

Dear Class,

It was great to read all of your letters and to begin to get a sense of who you all are. It seems we are quite a diverse group of people, but we all have some things in common too. Let me tell you a little about yourselves: You come from such places as Mexico, China, the Ukraine, Queens, Trinidad, Staten Island, Long Island, Azerbaijan, Pakistan, Washington Heights, Brazil, Israel, “up-state NY,” Nigeria, and of course, Brooklyn. For some of you this is your very first semester taking college courses. And for others of you, it is not. Some of you have come from public schools, some from private. Many of you have siblings. One of you is a twin, another is a triplet. At least a couple of you enjoy music and consider yourselves musicians. Only one of you is left-handed (which I know from observation actually and not from your letters). Some of you like to read and some of you actually love to write. Yet, many of you do not consider yourself “big readers” and for a few of you, writing is the ultimate torture. Some of you are worried about the readings in the course being boring. Some of you are worried you won’t like the writing assignments and a few of you think you just won’t be any good at them (I disagree). A fair number of you get really excited about engaging in class discussions. And some of you are terrified to talk in class, but feel you’ll be more participatory on the blogs. At least a couple of you aren’t so sure you like the idea of a blog at all. Most of you wrote about wanting to do well in this course and succeeding in college. You ALL have words inside of you. You ALL have something to say. I look forward to hearing more from you throughout the term.

Again... for Weds. Sept. 20th

Again. . .
For Wednesday, Sept. 20th read Amy Tan's essay "Mother Tongue." You can click the link to read it online. But if possible, print it out and bring it to class with you. You should also print out the questions I list below.

Class on Wednesday will meet in the library in your small (blog) groups. Find an area in the library where your group can meet without disturbing others who are studying quietly. There are several study areas throughout the library that are designed specifically for this purpose.

Each class member must sign-in on the sign-in sheet that I GAVE to one member of each blog group today in class. One person in the group should be designated the "note-taker." And record some of the answers that group members give. The answers should be posted to your blog by midnight on Weds. BE SURE EVERYONE CONTRIBUTES to the conversation at least once. In your blog groups discuss the following questions:

1. What troubles Tan about the labels "broken," "fractured," and "limited" for her mother's English (paragraph 8)? How do these labels contrast with the way she views her mother's speech?

2. Who do you think is the audience that Tan had in mind when she wrote this essay?

3. Does Tan ever define "standard English?" How do YOU define it? In your opinion, are there any occasions when standard English is absolutely required? Are there occasions when nonstandard Enlish is entirely appropriate? What are the benefits of standard and non standard English?

4. It has been said that "all language is political." Respond to this statement. Do you see any evidence of this at all in Tan’s piece? In what ways might this statement be true?

Here is how the Blogging is going to work from here on out: One person from each group is in charge of making a post each week. The group members then must respond with comments to that post. The idea here is to have a dialogue. So posting comments like, “I really agree with what you said.” Are fine. But you need to go further than that. Why do you agree (or disagree). And how? Be specific. Also, in your comment, you can digress – bring up a point that wasn’t mentioned yet. This will give others who post after you some more “meat” to chew on, so to speak. Another great tactic to consider is asking questions. (We’ll talk more about “question-asking” in class and the difference between factual and interpretive questions). You can pose a question about your blogmate’s post, but you can and should also be coming up with your own questions about the text.

Don’t be shy about choosing a week. You’re all going to have to write something for that week anyway, so it shouldn’t really matter who goes first.

Please choose a week that you would like to be in charge of posting the blog: Everyone signs up twice! Please see the handout I pass around in class and sign up for a week.

The Wonders of Online Communication

This is a link to a very thorough definition of the "blog." What I found most interesting here is the various blog projects that exist in cyberspace. Some people are doing some amazing things with words on the internet. It's incredible to think about how this new "technology" is changing the world around us. Most of you probably can't even remember a time in your life when there was no internet.

Tonight, I got into an interesting phone conversation with my parents. I found out that for the past several weeks my father has been visiting an online community where people discuss culture and politics. He himself has engaged in conversations on topics such as the gay marriage debate and the wide-spread anti-Muslim sentiments that exist in our post 9/11 world. I also found out this evening that my mother is considering setting up a MySpace page (which, frankly, freaks me out just a bit, but good for her) because she feels it may be the best way to spread the word about her belief in vegetarianism and humane treatment of animals. Interestingly, it was only through something she came across on the internet that made her even consider the possibility of vegetarianism in the first place.

For my parents, who are in their 50s, this kind of communication would have never been imagined when they were your age. Surely we cannot even begin to fathom the profound ways our world is being shaped by these technologies. The benefits of modern technology are often pretty obvious. I wonder if anyone can think of some drawbacks though...?

For Weds. Sept. 20th

For Wednesday, Sept. 20th read Amy Tan's essay "Mother Tongue." You can click the link to read it online. But if possible, print it out and bring it to class with you. You should also print out the questions I list below.

Class on Weds. will meet in the library in your small (blog) groups. Find an area in the library where your group can meet without disturbing others who are studying quietly. There are several study areas throughout the library that are designed specifically for this purpose.

Each class member must sign-in on the sign-in sheet that I will give to one member of each blog group. One person in the group should be designated the "note-taker." And record some of the answers that group members give. The answers should be posted to your blog by midnight on Weds. Try to make sure everyone contributes to the conversation at least once.

In your blog groups discuss the following questions:

1. What troubles Tan about the labels "broken," "fractured," and "limited" for her mother's English (paragraph 8)? How do these labels contrast with the way she views her mother's speech?

2. Who do you think is the audience that Tan had in mind when she wrote this essay?

3. Does Tan ever define "standard English?" How do YOU define it? In your opinion, are there any occasions when standard English is absolutely required? Are there occasions when nonstandard Enlish is entirely appropriate? What are the benefits of standard and non standard English?

4. It has been said that "all language is political." Respond to this statement. Do you see any evidence of this at all in Tan’s piece? In what ways might this statement be true?

Getting Started

Dear Class,
Everyone did a great job these last two days. I'm sorry that it was so difficult to get started on this project. I certainly didn't anticipate the difficulties with uniblogs.com. And remember, as I said, this is an experiment for me -- my first time blogging with students. I wasn't really sure how it would go. I'm still not. But that's OK, I think. I'm willing to try and see where we end up.

If any of you read this over the weekend, please post a comment here so I know you're out there, and that you're listening.

I look forward to reading your essays next week.

Thanks

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